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State, public, academic, and special libraries are conducting and publishing the results of studies aimed at showing the value of their services and resources. Librarians must be prepared and proactive so when asked to justify budget allocations they have the tools to show their library's value and understand the importance of expressing value in terms familiar to the administrators. By identifying stakeholders and obtaining their buy in, librarians can turn data into evidence of the organization's return on investment (ROI) in the library. ROI is a powerful tool to use when establishing credibility, accountability, and evidence demonstrating the library's value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the problem of whether the left tail and the right tail of a distribution share the same extreme value index (EVI) is addressed and we propose two different test statistics. The first one is based on the result of the joint asymptotic normality of the two Hill estimators for the EVIs of both tails. And therefore, we can construct a quotient-type test statistic, which is asymptotic χ2(1) distributed after some standardization. The second test statistic proposed in this paper is inspired by the two-sample empirical likelihood methodology, and we prove its non parametric version of Wilk's theorem. At last, we compare the efficiencies of our two test statistics and the maximum likelihood (ML) ratio test statistic proposed by Jondeau and Rockinger (2003) in terms of empirical first type error and power through a number of simulation studies, which indicate that the performance of the ML ratio test statistic is worse than our two test statistics in most cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many small-scale irrigation systems are characterized by low yields and deteriorating infrastructure. Interventions often erroneously focus on increasing yields and rehabilitating infrastructure. Small-scale irrigation systems have many of the characteristics of complex socio-ecological systems, with many different actors and numerous interconnected subsystems. However, the limited interaction between the different subsystems and their agents prevents learning and the emergence of more beneficial outcomes. This article reports on using Agricultural Innovation Platforms to create an environment in which irrigation scheme actors can engage, experiment, learn and build adaptive capacity to increase market-related offtake and move out of poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The cost of using private finance is at the centre of the public private partnerships (PPPs) debate, but until now most works considered only the direct financial costs such as the loan interest rate and the shareholders return on equity and were based on various secondary sources. This paper focuses on seven shadow toll deals closed in Portugal between 1999 and 2002 and reports the financial costs of the PPP model considering also the associated transaction costs and is based on detailed information included in each concession's financial base case. The transaction costs include financial costs such as banking fees, due diligence costs and the impact of all cash distribution traps, such as reserve accounts or minimum-level of debt ratios. The PPP financial costs were then compared with the costs arising from raising public debt through a government or a public agency bond. Our analysis shows that the PPP ‘true' financing costs are, on average, 370 basis points above the cost of raising public debt and that the ‘transaction costs' account for around 40% of that financial premium. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research in multiple internal rate of return (MROR) has mainly focused on three areas: uniqueness, conditions where MROR occur, and solutions to MROR. In an attempt to solve for MROR, researchers have assumed that the occurrence of MROR is prevalent and thus a solution is direly needed. This article examines the probability that positive MROR would occur when variation is incorporated into the cash flow and the probability of getting positive MROR when multiple sign-change cash flow is generated. Results show that the probability of positive MROR occurring in multiple sign-change cash flows is relatively low and potentially a rare event. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper estimates the effects of human capital skills largely created through education on life's chances over the life cycle. Qualifications as a measure of these skills affect earnings, and schooling affects private and social non-market benefits beyond earnings. Private non-market benefits include better own-health, child health, spousal health, infant mortality, longevity, fertility, household efficiency, asset management and happiness. Social benefits include increased democratisation, civil rights, political stability, reduced crime, lower prison, health and welfare costs, and new ideas. Individual benefits enhance community-wide development. New ‘narrow’ social rates of return using UK Labour Force earnings correct for institutional costs, longitudinal trends and ability. The paper's objective, however, is to estimate these earnings plus non-market outcomes comprehensively without overlaps and also relative to costs. Non-market outcomes are measured by averaging regression coefficients from published studies that meet scientific standards. New UK ‘narrow’ social rates of return average 12.1 per cent for short-cycle and 13.6 per cent for bachelor's programmes. Augmented with non-market effects on life chances, they are over twice that. Short degrees are found effective for regional development and have potential for developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In many finance and economics courses as well as in practice, the concept of risk aversion is reduced to the standard deviation of returns, whereby risk-averse investors prefer to minimize their portfolios' standard deviations. In reality, the concept of risk aversion is richer and more interesting than this, and can easily be conveyed through theoretical or applied examples. The authors offer an example of a 2-asset choice problem in which risk-averse investors ought to prefer the asset with not only a higher standard deviation but also a lower expected return. A corresponding survey of 131 respondents confirmed this preference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The papal encyclical Caritas in Veritate affirms the dignity of work and unions but also calls for new perspectives in an era of hyper-globalism. The North American understanding of unions, common to both critics and advocates, is insufficient. It does not recognize that the labor union is a primarily economic institution; instead, unions tend to be cast as either political organizations or social institutions. Caritas in Veritate implores us to have public conversations using moral language. Unions ought not to be about merely rights, redistribution, or social support. They are about stewarding human capital, ensuring its potential is realized, and providing a fair return on investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates Nordhaus's neoclassical complaints about the Stern Review from the vantage point of classical growth theory. Nordhaus criticizes the Stern Review because it uses a discount rate that is well below the market rate of return on capital. From the perspective of classical growth theory, Nordhaus's belief in choosing preference parameters for the social planner based on observed market rates of return is equivalent to assigning the preferences of the capitalist agents to the social planner. This equivalence is an implication of the Cambridge Theorem, which interprets the Ramsey equation as the saving function of the capitalist agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent paper Chandra & Sandilands (2006) put forward three contentious propositions concerning the 'mechanics' of the process of economic growth: these propositions are to the effect (1) that 'pecuniary external economies' should not be considered instances of market failure; (2) that economies of scale are of little importance in accounting for increasing returns, increasing returns being, it is alleged, attributable to other factors such as external economies or 'industrial differentiation'; and (3) that increasing returns are not 'sector specific', implying that particular sectors should not therefore be singled out for special promotion. This note investigates the arguments advanced by Chandra & Sandilands in support of these propositions, and finds that no convincing case is made for any of them. In particular, we stress the invalidity of Chandra & Sandilands' contention that increasing returns are largely independent of economies of scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses whether a lottery ticket is a good investment based on using elementary mathematics and economics. It presents a mathematical model of a lottery drawing which considers ticket sales and the size of jackpot. Using Portfolio theory and Kelly criterion, it examines whether the drawings with positive expected rates of return or the good bets is a good investment. It concludes that lotteries are still too risky to make good investments even with good expected rate of return.

Abstract: This paper assesses the effect of three major soccer teams’ wins on the returns of the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE). We argue that the effect of soccer wins on ISE returns increases with the fanaticism of the teams’ supporters. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Alaska North Slope oilfield is a potential candidate for the gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology. With over 38 Tcf of natural gas occurring on the slope, gas gathering for a GTL facility will be relatively easy. GTL fuels are environmentally friendly (sulfur free) with better ignition and burning properties than conventional petroleum products from crude oil. Evaluating the options of transporting GTL products through the existing Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) together with crude oil, either as a blend of crude oil and GTL (commingled) or as alternate slugs of each product (batching), is the main focus of this study. Economic evaluation model was employed using Rate of Return analysis to identify the most favorable mode of transportation of the GTL products. Batching, using modern tracking and sensor techniques, was found to be a more economic mode, yielding the highest rate of return on the investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of revenue management systems has diminished in recent years due to the systems' inability to address the increasing complication of online deal-seeking behavior. To restore their efficiency, one must first understand the changes in advanced-booking behavior and their implications. This study expands the consumer booking model by addressing the impact of time-before-the-date-of-stay and exploring the implication for the hotel's pricing/marketing strategies. The findings underscore the urgent need for empirical research on timing by showing that the predictions of the advanced-booking model, and consequently the effectiveness of RM systems, depend on the actual patterns over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims at enhancing current understanding of the history of investment evaluation criteria based on discounting. Their emergence constitutes a challenging issue for scholars devoted to the history of financial economics, as well as to fundamental tools of economic analysis. Their history is analysed in a comparative perspective, starting with the neglected contribution of Duvillard as a reference case. More than two centuries ago, this French language scholar developed, by an optimizing analytical machinery, a financial measure technically similar to Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR). In order to assess his theoretical contribution in a comparative perspective, the author will try to briefly account for the different contexts where the financial measure has been invented twice. This approach, indeed, is concerned with the institutional changes and the theoretical developments they fostered. It analyses concepts such as time preference, techniques such as discounting and issues such as the ‘reinvestment problem’. On the one hand, the Past (especially around the eighteenth century) and Duvillard's contribution is explored. On the other hand, the Present is reconstructed (in particular the late Fifties and later), especially the recent debate that re-invented the MIRR. This article will conclude with some comparative results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Longer life expectancy and lower fertility rates will lead to an ageing population in most Western countries. This is thought to make earnings-based defined-benefit pay-as-you-go pension schemes unviable in the near future. Some economists suggest shifting towards a capitalized funded system grounding their proposal on the following advantages: (i) it raises national saving, thus leading to a faster rate of accumulation and a larger per capita income; (ii) it offers a higher rate of return on savings; (iii) it is immune to demographic shifts. In this paper we explore the fundamentals of these advantages, and conclude that the theoretical basis supporting them is very weak. We base our theoretical standpoint on the Sraffian-based capital critique and the theory of endogenous money. Additionally, we defend a parametric reform of a standard PAYG using figures that correspond to the Spanish economy for the period 2001–70. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the current economic impact and future potential of cold-water marine finfish aquaculture in Maine. Salmon farming currently accounts for nearly 86% of the total value of state production. In 2001, 13,202 mt of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, were produced in Maine, generating US$63.7 million in revenue and an additional US$32.7 million in indirect and induced economic activity. In addition, alternative cold-water finfish species are under evaluation for commercial aquaculture including haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus, Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, and Atlantic halibut,Hippoglossus hippoglossus. Important constraints to culture of alternative species are identified through an ex-ante assessment of the early culture of haddock. Overall, capital formation is the most important constraint due to high risk and uncertainty on the rate of return to investment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]