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With decreasing appropriation from public funding and increasing operational costs, public nature-tourism managers are facing ongoing pressure to increase self-generated revenue, such as entrance fees to sustain current services. However, raising fees often arouses resistance from visitors, and thus managing negative reactions is critical to the success of a new fee initiative. Following a three-step process of rendering conceptual relationships from textual data, this study analyzed a large volume of public comments submitted regarding the National Park Service's entrance fee increase proposal and developed a conceptual framework to understand support/opposition of fee increases on public lands. The conceptual framework identified five constructs affecting support/opposition of fee increases: right-based opposition to public land fees, distributive justice principles, fee increase magnitude, place attachment, and trust in government. Theoretical and practical implications were also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article traces domestic legislative and administrative reactions to case law by the European Court of Justice in the area of EU Citizenship, free movement and cross-border welfare rights. Specifically, it contributes to existing Europeanisation research by highlighting the role of politicisation in the implementation process. The empirical case study analyses EU students' free movement and cross-border welfare rights in England, based on an original data collection of newspaper articles, semi-structured expert interviews and policy documents. The analysis thus innovatively combines both quantitative and qualitative analysis of politicisation, explicating an otherwise puzzling ten-years delayed policy change in the English study finance system. Ultimately, the case study is exemplary for the struggle in striking a delicate balance between open borders and sustainable public funds under EU non-discrimination provisions, which many other member states similarly face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines Australian domestic film performance under two distinct policy regimes with respect to direct investment strategy. In particular, we contrast film performance under two public funding agencies with noted differences in (i) the number of films financed annually, (ii) the average (and maximum) funding per film, and (iii) the involvement of an expert review panel in funding decisions. In addition to box office returns, we consider performance benchmarks related to major film festival screenings, nominations and awards; critical acclaim based on IMDb user and critic reviews; and whether or not the film received a release in the major UK and/or US markets. Finally, we exploit a subset of our data where a 'two-door' policy was used for investment decisions that allows us to reflect on our more general results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vagaries of market forces are presenting a financially challenging environment for the higher education sector in England. Intense competition is leaving those overly dependent on tuition fee income in an exposed position. Despite a strong narrative for the need to diversify funding in the available higher education literature, empirical studies examining the degree to which universities are financially diversified are sparse and lack contemporary relevance. This study is the first to produce a National Income Diversification Index for publicly-funded, generalist universities in England. In doing so, it develops a model for a more accurate financial assessment by disaggregating third-stream revenues from core income. The findings suggest established pre-1992 universities are more financially diversified and thus in keeping with modern portfolio theory, are less vulnerable to changes in their external environment. This paper calls for policymakers to include the level of income diversification in any measure of institutional financial health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participatory budgeting (PB) is a significant innovation in democracy and local development. PB provides the opportunity for citizens to engage in processes of deliberation and decision-making upon the allocation of public funds. As new critical discourse emerges surrounding this model of local government spending, a significant area warranting investigation concerns how trust, and indeed mistrust, factor into PB. Through an analysis of interviews with residents and Council staff engaged in PB processes in a county in the north of England, we highlight the ways in which issues of trust can impact on participation in these initiatives, and also strengthen relationships between voting delegates, project teams and local government. This paper argues that increasing the perceived accessibility, and reconsidering the inclusion of mass membership groups in PB, might help to create progressive, effective and trustful participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This comparative study modifies Cabrera and La Nasa's model to examine social and class stratification in students' college-choice outcomes in the USA and Taiwan, and compares the mechanisms that perpetuate this stratification between the two systems. Students' college-choice outcomes are defined by both institutional selectivity and control, in order to test not only stratification in the quality of institution students attend but also their financial burden of college costs. The findings show that students from lower-socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely to attend high-selective institutions and institutions that embrace better resources and provide more subsidies to students. Current financing structures embedded in both systems increase stratification, but through different ways. In addition to enhancing academic preparation for socioeconomically disadvantaged students, fundamentally rethinking the financing structures – especially the distribution of public funds – is imperative to increase equality for both countries in the cost-sharing era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to identify the factors affecting user perception of transfers in order to reduce the penalty associated with transfers. Policy makers can thus concentrate on the most relevant factors to achieve a more effective investment of public funds. We carried out an extensive review of the literature and identified a total of 45 factors. A qualitative study was then conducted in two Spanish cities, Vitoria and Madrid, consisting of various focus groups stratified by age. The results indicate that a combination of factors influence the perception of transfers. Time spent during transfers, both walking and waiting, is the main penalty associated with transfers. However, the provision of real-time passenger information helps reduce the perceived waiting time. Differences were found between cities and age groups. Two new factors were identified, mainly in Madrid: mental effort and activity disruption. We, therefore, advise policy makers to concentrate their efforts on providing real-time information to passengers, improving the frequency and reliability of services, and designing transfer areas to ensure continuity between transport modes and between information and communication systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrastructure is a key area of public investment and development cooperation, and can be seen as a critical enabler of trade and integration. Stakeholders increasingly demand evidence on the effectiveness of investments in infrastructure such as railways, in part because these investments typically lock in development patterns for decades. In this article we take stock of the main findings, methodological approaches, gaps and caveats of the current literature with a focus on railways. Based on this analysis, we present a methodology for an impact evaluation framework which builds on existing knowledge and addresses some of these shortcomings. Beyond the dearth of empirical evidence on the socio-economic and environmental impacts of infrastructure, we discuss critiques of the currently prevalent methodological toolbox. Using a real-world railway project in India, the Konkan Railway, we exemplify how a rigorous quantitative impact assessment can integrate inter-disciplinary and mixed-methods features to address these issues. Specifically, we apply different quasi-experimental techniques on the level of intermediate and ultimate outcome and impact indicators, using census, survey and satellite data and information from document analyses, interviews and focus group discussions. We draw on insights from economics, sociology, engineering and geography in making sense of large infrastructure projects and their impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth sport policies are increasingly driven by health concerns and social issues, and focus on broad participation outcomes. Given the significant financial investment in, and critique of, such policies internationally, this study aimed to examine the implementation of Sporting Schools (SS), a $100 million programme intended to increase children's sport participation in Australia. In addressing the limited research in this area in the Australian context, we draw on the notion of policy as process [Penney & Evans, 2005 Policy, power and politics in physical education. In K. Green, & K. Hardman (Eds.), Physical education: Essential issues (pp. 21-38). London: SAGE] and Fullan's [Fullan (2015) The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press] work on educational change. This analysis employed a qualitative methodology. Data collection included interviews with 32 sporting organisation (SO) representatives, coaches, and teachers involved in the implementation of SS. Data were analysed using a combination of inductive and deductive approaches, and the trustworthiness of the findings was supported using several strategies. Findings indicated divergent understandings of the need for the SS programme by stakeholders, as well as a lack of clarity of the policy aims and the means for realising them. There was little indication that SOs, coaches and teachers were engaged in a meaningful, working relationship to accomplish the reform objectives of SS; however, each saw benefit in the programme. Youth sport policy implementation in schools is a complex process. The dynamic interplay among the various factors influencing such policies makes realising their stated intentions nigh on impossible. While working to enhance the enactment of SS as intended is important, we propose that youth sport policies written for enactment in schools need to be viewed as 'soft policies'. The simplicity and limited accountability associated with 'soft policies' can be viewed as an opportunity to recognise the expertise of those who work, learn and move in schools, and trust them to use resources effectively and reconcile tensions based on their unique knowledge of their local school contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The independence of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) is essential to their effectiveness, yet the actual autonomy of SAIs auditors can be questioned. To whom do SAI officials owe their loyalty? To what extent are their loyalty perceptions reflected in their auditing reports? Our comparative study triangulates interviews, direct observations, and documents and, based on Q methodology, constructs four types of SAI officials who disavow traditional loyalties to political appointees or external stakeholders but abide to Constitutional and professional rules as well as to their respective audit institutions. Loyalty perceptions reflect SAIs’ associational contexts and are related to different work outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the effect of the increased costs of the war in Vietnam to the federal funds for science in the U.S. The National Science Foundation's annual report for the federal funds on scientific activities points on the leveling off in federal research and developing support. It also notes on the sharp reduced rate of growth in federal research and development funds in the 1965-1967 period. Several tables are also presented which focus on the federal obligations for applied science and basic research for fiscal 1966.

The article focuses on the factors which cause the fiscal dilemma of Academic Science in the U.S. The dilemma refers to the situation that if the U.S. government will not provide financial support to academic science, the growth of science and technology will be stagnant but if the U.S. government will provide financial support to the academic science the economy will be affected. Accordingly, this dilemma was due to the lack of forces that form higher education and academic science that mostly affected by economic aspect. This factor leads the colleges and universities in the U.S. to experience internal stresses since private investment is decreasing and public resistance is increasing.

In the 60-plus year history of returns to investment in education estimates, there have been several compilations in the literature. This paper updates Psacharopoulos and Patrinos and reviews the latest trends and patterns based on 1120 estimates in 139 countries from 1950 to 2014. The private average global return to a year of schooling is 9% a year. Private returns to higher education increased, raising issues of financing and equity. Social returns to schooling remain high. Women continue to experience higher average returns to schooling, showing that girls’ education remains a priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the trend of resource funds adoption among extraction economies. Using commodity-based sovereign wealth funds as a reference point, the article analyzes Norway's success story in using its funds to foster development and its influence in Sub-Saharan Africa. The prevalent investment strategy of savings in financial assets abroad could be ideal, especially with respect to the intergenerational wealth transfer. However, this is not advisable for a country that still lacks basic needs. The austerity-like measures introduced to build these funds entail a reduction in current spending and/or an increase in natural resource taxes. The aim is to show that this system of hoarding, rather than reinvestments, poses several risks that a developing country cannot afford. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the evolution of organic production in Andalusia (Southern Spain) over the course of the past decade. The analysis shows the important growth sustained by this sector supported above all by public funding. However, it is developing within an institutional framework that is favorable to conventional agriculture, generating certain imbalances that are pushing organic production towardconventionalization, and generating a strong dependence on public funding and the behavior of international markets. An institutional change is required, promoting a model of organic production that is far removed from theinput substitutionmodel, in order to ensure that organic production is more sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public funding is crucial for the small Norwegian film industry. Based on an analysis of policy documents and interviews with regional film workers, this article discusses the implementation of regional film policy in Norway, and the tensions it has caused between center and periphery with respect to the allocation of funding. The creative industries discourse and the cluster concept are important for understanding this implementation; despite the new regional film policies the capital Oslo remains the undisputed hub of film production, and low production volume is still a challenge for the regions. Size, the article explains, is not only central when discussing Oslo as compared to the regions, but has also become a contentious issuewithinthe regions. A key concern for the government, the article suggests, is how to create strong film milieus all over the country, which may entail the risk of spreading funding too thinly across the regions, resulting in a fragmented industry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this paper is to test the presence of Matthew effects in different types of public funding for innovation – non-refundable grants, subsidized loans and tax credits. According to the literature, Matthew effect refers to the impact of past accessing to public funds on reputation, which increases the probability of accessing in the present. The dataset is made of 966 firms that accessed the Technological Argentinean Fund (FONTAR), main instrument to foster innovation in Argentina, during 2007–2013 – 3300 observations. Results confirm the existence of Matthew effects: past accessing to FONTAR increases the probability of accessing in the present, but only when different instruments are taken altogether. Then, Matthew effect is positively associated with the diversification of access to promotional instruments rather than the repeated access to one type of funding tool. Additionally, results show that firm’s innovation investments, R&D activities, and human resources, explain the increase in probability of accessing, which provides evidence regarding the presence of capability effects. All of this suggests that once the firm enters the system of public funding, it remains with an active innovative behaviour, not just because of reputation effects, but because it has accumulated capabilities in the pursuit of a technological advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation has been at the forefront of procurement policy in Denmark in recent years. The policy incentives emphasize public procurement of innovation as a way to accelerate the development and application of environmental and health technologies, but also as a way to achieve a competitive advantage, growth and job creation. This paper uses a single case study to illustrate the procurement of a chemical-free cleaning system by the local government in Denmark. It describes the public procurement of innovation project in the response to an unsolicited bid from the supplier, and highlights the importance of innovation-friendly procurement practice for supporting innovation. The study identified indirect innovation effects of public procurement and number of conditions that have supported success of public procurement of innovation project such as close and early engagement with supplier; role of supplier acting as a technology champion; competence for applying functional specification; political support; sufficient resource allocation and institutional match between involved organizations. These findings lend support to the idea that public procurement of innovation may have occurred as a result of innovation-friendly procurement practice regardless of the lack of an explicit intention to promote innovation and challenge assumptions on which emerging policy initiatives are based on. These findings also suggest that the local government procurement may have a role to play in supporting innovation that goes beyond current definition of public procurement as a mission-oriented instrument to be exploited for resolving social challenges. These understandings could contribute to further policy development that may lead to a situation where public procurement of innovation is utilized to a greater extent than it is today in Denmark. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A special political connection, i.e., the implicit guarantee of the government on the debts of borrowers, is considered in this article to explore the mechanism through which the implicit guarantee of government will affect the interest rate of bonds issued by borrowers. Theoretical analysis shows that if the implicit guarantee from the government is less convincing, only investment income will play an important role in the determination of interest rate while explicit credence will not affect interest rate. If the implicit guarantee is persuasive, both explicit credence and investment income will affect the interest rate of bonds. Empirical analysis of Chinese urban investment bonds and U.S. municipal bonds during 2006–11 supports our theoretical predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the collapse of Northern Rock in 2008 the UK authorities have constructed a state-of-the-art resolution framework for dealing with failing banks comprising both a Special Resolution Regime and a Proactive Intervention Framework. Whilst the design of the SRR has been examined, how the resolution framework will function in practice has to be analysed in detail. This paper will examine the ambiguity that exists surrounding when a firm should be placed into resolution, along with the discretion regarding the operation of the resolution framework that has been placed into the hands of the new microprudential regulator, the Prudential Regulation Authority. It will argue that these issues have the potential to fatally undermine the framework's ability to protect both public funds and financial stability in the UK from the impact of bank failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the evolution of regional innovation policy in Emilia-Romagna and Valencia, two regions with similar economic features that implemented close innovation policies in the 1970s and 1980s. We investigate whether their similarities have led to parallel targets, policy tools and governance developments. We show that innovation policy in both regions suffered from the effects of privatization, budget constraints and changes to manufacturing during the 1990s and we highlight the consequences. Although Emilia-Romagna experienced deeper changes to its innovation policy, privatizations and/or the replacement of public funds promoted commercial approaches and induced market failures in both regions. The worst effects of these policies were the implementation of less-risky innovation projects, the shift towards extra-regional projects and markets, and the favouring of large firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigates the determinants of patenting at Italian universities. We test the effect of public and external funds, in terms of commercial activity by universities, towards the propensity of universities to file patents at the European Patent Office. We then estimate the effect of several variables referring to the contextual characteristics of both university and localisation. The results suggest that, while in the southern regions of Italy commercial income bears a negative effect on the patenting activity of universities, in the other regions we register an important positive effect. We moreover find that the adoption of internal university regulations relating to patenting and the fact of being embedded in an innovative region are factors that exert a positive influence on the university rate of application for patents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are increasingly powerful actors in the international political system and world economy. The current discourse often focuses on SWFs as political versus market actors. In this exploratory article, however, it is shown that SWFs may be both. They may be employed as a means to increase a state's relative economic power, even when their individual investments are generally made on the basis of economic, market-driven, logic. After a brief overview of SWFs, and literature review of the issues that attend them, I examine the traditional neorealist understanding of internal balancing and argue that there is evidence to support the claim that SWFs can be employed as tools of this state strategy. Four methods, and two cases (Singapore and China), of internal balancing through SWFs are then examined. I find that some SWFs are used for internal balancing purposes in the conventional sense, but that the phenomena may be better captured by the newer concept of non-military internal balancing (in which a state's relative economic power is enhanced without damage to the overall relationship they currently maintain with the target state). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper provides the first empirical estimate of the local economic impact of publicly funded research expenditures in the Yukon, Nunavut, and Northwest Territories of Canada between 2000 and 2009. The total dollar expenditures of northern research during this period was estimated to be $284 million and peaked in 2009 at close to $110 million. Using data acquired from major granting agencies in Canada and Statistics Canada multipliers, the economic impact of northern research on local income, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and employment impacts were estimated. It was determined that at its peak, northern research impacted the territorial GDP by 0.04%, income by 0.09% and employment by 0.11%. While the total economic impact of publicly funded research expendituers may be small relative to other northern industries, individual communities where the field research is conducted, may experience significant income, employment and other intangible benefits. The community of Old Crow is used to illustrate the potential community-level importance of local expenditures associated with northern research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although public investment is often seen as a necessary source of funding for major sporting event facilities, the degree of government involvement remains a controversial issue. This paper proposes an approach that minimizes government investments, without deterring the interest of private investors, in building/refurbishing stadiums for mega-events. Using the FIFA World Cup as an example, we concentrate our attention on demand risks, i.e., the risks related to attendance at matches. In order to deal with the risk-return trade-off, we build a model based on real options theory, which allows us to evaluate the size of the incentive the private entrepreneurs need to invest in a Public–Private Partnership (PPP) setting. Our main findings indicate that ancillary investments near the stadiums are essential to mitigate risks and that the coordination of a central government may reduce the capital required for risk management when several stadiums need to be built in a short time frame. Our results suggest that government should evaluate some infrastructure PPP projects as a portfolio of investments, instead of looking at opportunities only in a single-project basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the politics of making worlds legible, transparent and actionable through devices that governments and international organisations mobilise in the quest to achieve moral certainty about their activities and decisions. Through an analysis of three distinct examples, we examine the effects of such attempts to open things up in the name of the public good: the performance metrics that are part of the UK government's ‘Transparency Agenda’; ‘conflict mapping’ as part of Kyrgyzstan's internationally sponsored programmes of Preventive Development; and the procedures of Peru's National System of Public Investment (SNIP) through which public investments are regulated. We explore these three as instances of what we call ‘transparency devices’. It is to past moral failures – of wrongdoing, conflict or corruption – that these devices react and consequently it is the anticipation of future moral failings towards which they are then oriented. Each device does so by establishing matters of fact as moral certainties through technical settlements carried out in ‘public’. But in their enactment of social realities, such devices are also generative of what we call collateral effects and affects. First, technical settlements require establishing what is to be included/excluded but such stabilisations are only fleeting, always and already partial, and provisional. As such rather than alleviating uncertainty they come to amplify it. Furthermore, while they can be understood as neoliberal techniques of producing active, rational witnessing subjects who take responsibility for ensuring moral futures, they are also generative of affective dispositions of suspicion and hypervigilance; fostering subjects with a greater awareness of that which is yet to be revealed. We suggest that they should not be considered weaknesses, but rather that uncertainty and hypervigilant responsibilised subjects call for the continuation of more of the same and thus are a source of the very authority and legitimacy of transparency devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to analyse whether the receipt of public R&D funding determines firm's R&D strategy selection. This issue is crucial, as previous studies have shown that each R&D strategy is associated to a higher, or lower, innovation performance. We consider three R&D strategies –make, buy, make–buy– and three different sources of public funding – regional, state and other (such as EU). The model estimation is performed through a multinomial logit model with random effects with a sample of 457 large firms for the period 1992–2005, taken from the Spanish Survey of Business Strategies. The main finding is that the source of the funding influences whether firms select themake, buyormake–buystrategy. Additionally, because of the panel structure of the sample, we observe that the effect of public funding on the R&D strategy selection lasts longer for state and regional funds than for other funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The benefits of deferring the payment of higher-education costs are increasingly acknowledged as a way to overcome student-borrowing constraints. Since higher education is a risky investment and students are generally risk averse, the repayment arrangements proposed in the literature frequently include some insurance. In a competitive environment, preventing adverse selection may require coercion to join the scheme or the use of public funds (i.e. contributions from non-students) to make the scheme attractive to all students. Alternatively, when the number of higher-ability students is low, students can be given the option to choose among arrangements that include different degrees of insurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

External quality audits are now being used in universities across the world to improve quality assurance, accountability for quality education and transparency of public funding of higher education. Some countries such as Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark have had external quality audits for more than a decade but there has been limited research as to their impact. This study analyses the extent to which external audits in Australia have improved quality assurance in universities over the past 10 years. The analysis is based on discussions with 40 participants in a workshop on the effectiveness of audits and the review of 60 external quality audit reports between 2001 and December 2010. The research found that while external audits have led to an improvement in systems and processes in Australian universities, they have not necessarily improved the student experience. This lack of impact on the student experience in Australia is similar to other countries, according to the literature review. This study is timely in its analysis on the effectiveness of the current improvement-led audits, as government in Australia is in the process of renewing quality assurance arrangements of higher education institutions with a focus on standards and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The micro approach to the study of the capital budgeting process is illustrated and advocated by this article not as an alternative to the common macro perspective but as a necessary complement. The case describes and explains why the political feasibility of capital budgets may not assure the availability of operating funds. The case is offered as a possible M. P. A. capstone exercise because its analysis requires synthesis and mobilization of knowledge from other courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) spending and enrollment levels have increased in a number of liberal welfare states over the past two decades as part of a social investment strategy aimed at delivering long term economic and human capital benefits. Comparative evidence from social investment experiences in Australia, the UK, Quebec, and New Zealand suggests, however, that governments have made choices about financing and delivery of services that do not match these human capital development goals. Generally high quality ECEC services that would yield those expected human capital benefits have not developed because of the kinds of investments that are being made ‐ particularly government reliance on private providers without strong regulatory regimes capable of ensuring high quality services. The article demonstrates that public investment in ECEC programs requires much greater consideration of the relationship between public finance, public regulation or “governance”, and program delivery mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Stipulating that public funding for arts in the United States is inadequate and unstable, the author reviews a series of alternatives to annual Congressional appropriations. Referencing precedents in Canada and Europe, they propose a new system of funding that would rely on a user fee levied on ticket books, art sales, blank media, and downloads. Such a system would need to be enacted just once and would result in an annual flow of grant funds to the arts vastly in excess of the current level. A new role for the current National Endowment for the Arts is discussed, as are logistical and political challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently several European countries have abolished the traditional public service licence fee system, replacing it with direct public funding. But except for Iceland, the Nordic countries have not followed suit. The article discusses this development within a comparative framework of Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) financing regimes in Europe, concluding that Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden may still be considered conventional, licence fee PSB countries, but with some interesting differences in relation to competitive and market oriented alternatives of resource provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities have increasingly invested in cultural institutions in hopes of revitalizing their urban centers. Critical of the value of these expenditures, scholars have called for an examination of the various types of cultural institutions in which cities have invested, to determine whether they are capable of simultaneously serving the economic, physical, and social goals of urban revitalization. In response to that call, I examine whether the children’s museum, a distinct type of cultural investment, is able to provide this range of public benefit. To do so, I draw on secondary sources to examine the origins, development, and current practices of children’s museum and present an illustrative example of a children’s museum that is intended to serve as a catalyst for urban revitalization in a small city in the USA. I contend that children’s museums are worthy recipients of public funding because they are simultaneously able to address these diverse agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper is based on a keynote address for the 2010 Cultural Trends Conference “A Golden Age?”. It explores the rhetoric of “creativity” that dominated the New Labour government's cultural policy discourse, and argues that while the promotion of the creative industries and of the economic contribution of culture strengthened the hand of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in attracting resources, there was a price to pay, in the form of auditing, that proved ultimately hostile to creativity. With its main focus on the English region, the paper reviews New Labour's institutional reforms and substantial investment in the cultural infrastructure, but argues that the competing claims of “access” and “excellence” remained unresolved, while policymakers failed to respond to the rapid technological developments in “unofficial” culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many types of financial supervision policies have been implemented since the emergence of the financial crisis in the late 1990s, including measures to provide full deposit protection, to inject public funds into banks, to implement prompt corrective action, and to promote so-called relationship banking. This article gives an overview of these policy approaches and surveys empirical studies on financial supervision policies in Japan. The empirical studies that have attempted to assess these policies have clearly shown the following: (1) protecting full deposits may encourage banks' moral hazard, (2) prompt corrective action constrains moral hazard, and (3) the injection of sufficient amounts of public capital to compensate for capital shortfalls at individual banks may mitigate the banks' reluctance to lend, while the injection of small amounts of public capital, when not accompanied by an examination of bank assets, will fail to have the desired effects on lending. Meanwhile, relationship banking, which has been promoted by the Financial Services Agency, has been examined by empirical studies using surveys of companies, but the results of these studies have not facilitated the formation of a consensus on the matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strict limitations on UK public expenditure suggest a much stronger role for preventive services in the future. However, to do this, preventive services must be able to demonstrate good value for money in the use of public funds. This article identifies some research findings concerning value for money in preventive services and suggests lessons to be learned for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cash-releasing efficiency savings targets were doubled in Scotland by the SNP administration, but problems of transparency make it difficult for proper parliamentary scrutiny. There are problems of specifying costs, measuring baselines, and tracking reallocation of funding. Further, cuts in frontline services are occurring, making Scotland ill-prepared for a new round of savings in 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Budgetary consolidations are considered the obvious explanation for the decline in public investment that most Western European countries experienced over the past three decades. However, regressions based on budgetary variables tend to overpredict public investment during the post-1990 period, i.e. when the budgetary stress eased. We supplement the budgetary consolidation approach to public investment with ideas from behavioural economics to explain why these investments do not increase when additional budgetary resources are available. We use the peak/end evaluation procedure to capture the frustration of voters as cuts in government consumption expenditures accumulate. This 'memory-effect' of budgetary consolidations implies that voters recall the previous peak in government consumption expenditures. They remain discontent as long as current expenditures are below the peak value. When the budgetary situation improves, policy makers will choose to increase government consumption because this is electorally more rewarding. Public investment will thus decline when budgetary consolidations are imposed and will remain constant when additional budgetary resources emerge. We test for a memory-effect by introducing expenditure gaps in public investment regressions. These gaps equal the difference between the highest previously observed primary government consumption to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio and the current ratio. The regression results for most EU countries support our assumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article address public funding, free markets, and contemporary art in Canada as shaped by forces integral to the formation of Canada as a nation state and its continual development. Canada has a network of publicly funded institutions in support of contemporary art. Public funding for the arts is direct and plural: it operates at three levels of government - federal, provincial and municipal - and is distributed by government departments and arts councils. Canadian institutions in receipt of public funding relevant to contemporary art include art schools, artist-run centres, non-collecting exhibition venues and art museums. A perception that this creates and maintains a circular system for contemporary art that is co-ordinated via state funding is reconsidered. In addition, it is misleading to consider a boundary divide, with state and not-for-profit sector organizations separated from private and commercial ones. The role of art market intermediaries, namely contemporary art dealers (or gallerists), who are responsible for representing artists and promoting their work for the first time (on the primary art market) to collectors, is integral. It also represents one measure of the overall health of Canada's contemporary art market system. Attention is drawn to the situation where few contemporary art dealers based in Canada have the economic resources to compete in the international arena, with one consequence being the adoption of non-Canadian dealers to represent leading contemporary artists from Canada. The emergence of a generation of aboriginal artists living and working in Canada is another development, one that speaks to the hybrid representations of Canadian identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation is important for the competitive advantage of firms, especially for service firms. We argue that public funding, such as that from national and international agencies, is likely to have a positive influence on firms' innovations by complementing private funding, such as that from foreign and/or domestic firms and organisations. Unlike manufacturing firms, service firms tend to lack complementary resources for innovation; therefore, the additional funding from public sources enables them to acquire the necessary resources for innovation. Empirical results support our arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs). SWFs are investment funds which are owned by sovereign national governments. As they cross the boundary between public monies and private finance, many analysts are concerned about the impact which politically motivated SWF actions could have on financial markets. A discussion of exactly what distinguishes an SWF from other types of government-sponsored investment is presented. Various proposed regulatory regimes are described, and it is noted that SWFs are often lacking in transparency and accountability.

The arts are often seen as peripheral to the 'real business' of school and schooling. While this has been the case for some time now, the increasing pressures of high-stakes testing and ever-more draconian public funding schemes (particularly in the wake of 9/11) have created something of a 'perfect storm' for those working in the arts. Arts proponents today live and operate within a culture of scarcity, having to justify their increasingly marginalized vocations while competing for continually shrinking resources. The result is an often deep-bodied sense of vulnerability, one which saturates the social field (both micro and macro) of arts education in ways not often publicly acknowledged. In this article, I explore this notion of 'vulnerability' as a framework for understanding qualitative data which emerged from a three-year arts and education project I conducted in a large, northeast city in the USA beginning in 2003. In so doing, I look to open up a broader discussion about the oft-ignored intersection(s) between the material and aesthetic in arts and education - a discussion which is sober about the future of such work in times of economic scarcity and conservative retrenchment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes an attempt to provide support for decision making in the area of Rational User of Energy and Renewable Energies, based on the application of a simulation model Invert, developed within the ALTENER Programme. Examples are presented of the results of simulations estimating the efficiency of selected RES & RUE promotion schemes with respect to the main barriers hampering the development of biomass use for energy purposes in Poland. In an attempt to overcome barriers, a solution was suggested, aimed at decreasing the investment costs by combining the financial support schemes with the effect of scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper starts by discussing the principles of public funding of universities. The size of the social returns to investment in education gives an indication regarding the most efficient use of resources, while the difference between the private and the social rates relates to issues of equity. The available evidence is contrasted to higher education funding policies in several countries. It is concluded that there is a divide between the research findings regarding efficient and equitable financing, and the actual public funding of universities. The reasons for this divide are discussed in the context of political economy, rent-seeking by several stakeholders and, above all, vote-seeking by politicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the two exemptions and one subsidy (TEOS) policy in China which has brought life to the western region's rural education and light to impoverished families. It states that with the new changes students were exempted from tuition and miscellaneous fees, some were exempted from textbook fees, and some enjoyed a boarding student subsidy covering living expenses. It also cites that education public funds have increased, school management and administrative conditions have markedly improved, the student dropout rate has significantly decreased, and students' sources of funding are ensured.

A host of empirical studies have indicated that stadiums and arenas have no significant impact on metropolitan area income or employment. In light of this evidence, the continued proliferation of public investment in sports facilities begs the question: Is there some other justification for this spending, or are policymakers simply acting against the public interest (either irrationally, or in response to political-economic influences)? A possibility that has not been fully explored is the notion that stadiums and teams generate tangible and intangible consumption benefits that could support some level of public investment. This research builds on a small foundation of literature that is moving discussion beyond the economic catalyst debate by providing an empirical measure of the consumption benefits that accrue to a region as the result of hosting a major league sports team. A contingent valuation survey is used to quantify the consumption benefits that would be associated with the relocation of a major league baseball team to Portland, Oregon. An empirical measure of the region's aggregate willingness to pay for the benefits associated with hosting a team is disaggregated into option and existence values, which can then be compared to any proposed level of public contribution to a new stadium. The findings indicate that consumption benefits would only support a capital investment of approximately $74 million; a figure far smaller than the typical stadium subsidy. The majority of projected benefits are associated with expected public goods and externalities, rather than anticipated attendance, indicating that an equitable financing plan should employ nonuser revenue sources. The level of projected benefits does not vary by locality within the metropolitan area, which argues for a regional cost-sharing approach. The willingness of residents to pay for stadium construction is tempered by a concern about other pressing social needs in the Portland area and a reaction to the current tax climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on reforms in the British National Health Service (NHS) for establishing accountability and examines the roles of both primary and secondary care providers. It also presents some issues regarding potential problems with the presented reforms. According to the article, the introduction of private care providers in the commissioning process could become confusing and may cause real concern with misappropriation of public funds.

Nanotechnology research receives large sums of public funds because of the technological innovations it promises, not least in the area of medical technologies. Exploration of social aspects of nanotechnology is now encouraged by science policy in attempts to foreclose possible future public controversy. This article explores how the social aspects of nanotechnology have emerged as a public issue; how public engagement projects are framed in terms of nanotechnology; and the rationale for social science research on nanotechnology. The article argues that public policy processes are increasingly focusing narrowly on the environmental and health risks of nanoparticles and that public engagement projects are limited by adopting nanotechnology as a focus of deliberation. The article concludes by rejecting grand claims for social science as a means of making science and technology more reflexive, but suggests more modest ways that research can support a widening of discussion of the public dimensions of nanotechnology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]