Substance, Form and PFI Contracts

The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) was launched by the United Kingdom Government in 1992 in order to encourage the private sector in the UK to become more involved in public sector development projects. A key theme of the initiative was that the public should receive 'value for money'. This article investigates the accounting issue as to whether or not the private or the public sector should record any property related to PFI projects on balance sheet. It argues that although both HM Treasury and the Accounting Standards Board (ASB) might agree on the accounting principles, the practical impact is that in order for related properties to stay off the public sector's balance sheet, substantial risk needs to be transferred to the private sector. As a consequence of this, the objective of providing value for money to the public may not be achieved.     

Tactical Opportunities,Risk Attitude and Choice of Farming Strategy: an Application of the Distribution Method

When assessing farming strategies, it is important to account for the opportunities provided for tactically adjusting to outcomes of risk. The hypothesis that accounting for tactical adjustment is more important than accounting for risk attitude was supported in this study with regard to identifying the optimal drainage recirculation strategy for an irrigated dairy farm. Failing to account for tactical adjustment would lead to a sub-optimal choice, costing the farmer about A$3 100 in present value terms. In contrast, failing to account for risk aversion would not affect the strategy chosen. The distribution method was found to be well suited to modelling tactical adjustment.     

Cognition of disaster risk in a tourism community: an agricultural heritage system perspective

Cognition of risk is the first step in reducing disaster damage and losses. In this study, risk cognition in the Hani Rice Terraces, the core tourism attraction in Yuanyang County, Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan, China, is analyzed based on field survey and participatory geographic information system (GIS). The results show that tourism communities have cognition of risk; are more sensitive to hazards (especially drought); have more severe potential damage and losses from hazards; and also have more enthusiasm to adapt to disaster risk, when compared with a non-tourism community. On disaster vulnerability maps, the tourism communities identified the unique “Forest – Village – Terrace - River” landscape while the non-tourism community only recognized the terrace and the village as the main elements affected by hazard. Also, the tourism communities had deeper understandings of drought, flash floods and landslide disaster risks. A conceptual model based on “Pressure – State – Response” relationships is put forward to explore the situation in which, in the tourism community, terraces have a greater variety of functions and enhanced values resulting in the spatial expansion of hazard effects.     

Tourism and climate change: An international perspective

This paper addresses the implications of climate change for tourism through a survey of national tourism and meteorological organisations. While climate change may have far‐reaching consequences for tourism, it is shown that while most respondents felt that climate is important to their country's tourism industry, very few were aware of climate change research specifically related to tourism. Almost half felt climate change is or could become a significant issue in their country but almost no climate change publications with direct bearing on tourism are available. It is concluded that climate is an important determinant of tourism, and that global climate change may create new challenges, and opportunities, for the tourism industry. However, more awareness, research, and policy analysis are necessary to reduce uncertainties, further understanding, assess implications and enable the tourism industry to adapt to changing circumstances.     

Production risk,risk aversion and the determination of risk attitudes among Spanish rice producers

Agricultural production is subject to risk and the attitudes of producers toward risk will influence input choices insofar as these affect production risk. Risk attitudes in turn may be affected by certain socioeconomic characteristics of producers. Using 2004 survey data from a cross‐section of 130 Spanish rice farms, we estimate risk‐aversion coefficients of farmers and investigate the influence of a series of socioeconomic variables on their risk attitudes. Our results show that farmers exhibit risk‐averse behavior and that risk attitudes are related to a series of socioeconomic characteristics. In particular, the belief that the farm will continue after the producer retires is found to increase the degree of risk aversion, while age is found to have nonlinear effects on risk aversion. Off‐farm income, especially from nonagricultural activities, is found to reduce risk aversion. Neither the educational level of the producer nor the presence of dependents on the household is found to have an effect on risk preferences. Regarding the production technology, we find that land, labor, and fitosanitary products are risk‐reducing inputs, whereas capital, seeds, and fertilizer all increase risk.     

Productivity and Producer Welfare in the Presence of Production Risk

Production risk is an inherent characteristic of agriculture and changes in production risk will affect the welfare of risk‐averse producers. Using standard concepts from the literature on uncertainty, we introduce a welfare measure which comprises total factor productivity (TFP), production risk and farmer risk preferences, and which reflects the impact on producer welfare of changes in production technology. An empirical application is carried out using data from a sample of Spanish dairy farms which shows how the positive impact of increases in TFP on welfare can be offset by increases in the risk premium (‘cost of risk’) to the point where welfare may decrease.     

International Collaboration in the Search for Sustainable Tourism in Bali,Indonesia

The Bali Sustainable Development Project (BSDP) is described and the procedures, definitions and criteria employed in the formulation of a sustainable development strategy for Bali are presented. Tourism is a major agent of change in Bali so that it has considerable implications for sustainable development there. The BSDP experience indicates the great importance of cultural sensitivity and linkages with and utilisation of existing institutional frameworks when working in an international collaborative context. Pervasive concerns, regardless of culture, are intersectoral linkages and topdown, bottom-up relationships.     

Global Heritage and Local Problems: Some Examples from Indonesia

This article examines what happens to those who live in and around monuments as a result of World Heritage designation. Using the examples of Borobudur and Prambanan in Indonesia as study sites, it is argued that the values that local people attach to heritage are often different from, although not necessarily less important than, the values ascribed by international agencies, government officials, tourism developers and others. However, their perspectives are often not adequately represented or respected by other participants in the planning and management of sites, to the detriment of both the plans and the people. The tendency to adopt top-down, rational comprehensive planning procedures has resulted in the disenfranchisement of local people, giving greater prominence to expressions of national, 'official' culture and nationalism at the expense of local culture. It has tended to freeze sites and displace human activities, effectively excluding local people from their own heritage.