WHO BENEFITS FROM PUBLIC EDUCATION EXPENDITURES?

In most countries, governments remain the largest financiers and providers of education. This note examines the evidence on the extent to which public expenditure on education have been effective in reaching the poor. The distribution of educational expenditures is inequitable, especially at the post-primary levels, where poor income groups are under-represented as compared with higher income groups. Targeted financing and a redefinition of the role of the government vis-á-vis the non-public sector can help achieve greater equity and efficiency.     

Different voices from community groups to support sustainable tourism development at Iranian World Heritage Sites: evidence from Bisotun

Abstract

This empirical study investigates the causal factors affecting support for sustainable tourism development (SSTD) at a world heritage site in Bisotun, a city in Kermanshah Province, Iran. It uses social exchange theory to assess the effects of community attachment, community involvement, perceived benefits, and perceived costs on SSTD. Using social identity theory, it identifies whether these associations significantly vary across four different community groups: farmers, businesses, handicraft sellers, and local government employees. A questionnaire was administered to 489 respondents from these four community groups in the Bisotun area. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling and invariance metric tests. The results revealed that community attachment, community involvement, and perceived benefits had a significant and positive impact on SSTD. The results of the metric invariance tests show that the effects of community attachment and community involvement on SSTD varied across the community groups at this world heritage site located in a developing country. The study discusses the theoretical and managerial implications of these findings.     

On the distribution of a distance function on the sphere

Summary The distribution of the square of the distance between a random point and a fixed point on ap-dimensional unit sphere when (i) the two points lie on the whole sphere and (ii) the two points lie in the positive quadrant, has been derived, assuming that the random point is distributed proportionally to exp (ky ₁), wherek is a concentration parameter. Then-th order moment in both cases is also obtained.