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Advantageous selection occurs when the agents most eager to buy insurance are also the cheapest ones to insure. Hemenway (1990) links it to differences in risk-aversion among agents, implying different prevention efforts, and finally different riskinesses. We argue that it may also appear when agents share the same attitude towards risk, and in the absence of moral hazard. Using a standard asymmetric information setting satisfying a single-crossing property, we show that advantageous selection may occur when several contracts are offered, or when agents also face a non-insurable background risk, or when agents face two mutually exclusive risks that are bundled together. We illustrate this last effect in the context of life care annuities, a product bundling long-term care insurance and annuities, by constructing a numerical example based on Canadian survey data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents commentary on a paper written by Rick Antle and Joel S. Demeski (A&S) entitled "Contracting Frictions, Regulation, and the Structure of CPA Firms," which appeared in the December 1, 1991 issue of the "Journal of Accounting Research." Particular attention is paid to the assumptions of A&S's model, including those related to the relationship between auditing and consulting services, and the CPA firm's cost structure. The author also addresses the relevance of A&S's conclusions to accounting firms.

Despite Congressional and Presidential emphasis on reducing bundling and consolidation of defense contracts, recent studies cast doubt on whether such practices are problematic for small contractors or the defense acquisition system. Those studies proposed that bundling and consolidation are generally positive tools to procure best value. This paper tests these propositions by examining relevant U.S. Department of the Navy (DON) contracts for Fiscal Year 2010, when Congress reported record bundling and consolidation in U.S. defense contracting. Specifically, the paper looks to performance of Navy and Marine Corps buying commands in meeting small business goals and other good-government objectives such as competition, performance-based acquisitions, preference for commercial suppliers, and support for the U.S. defense industrial base. The paper recommends improvements in targeted good-government practices as measures to reduce bundling and consolidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coercive bundling is the practice of conditioning a local broadcast station's retransmission consent on the carriage of other networks affiliated with the local broadcast station. A market defect results because networks, and the programming they contain, are delivered to multichannel television subscribers without regard to whether those networks are actually demanded. This market defect allows broadcast stations and the media companies owning them to charge higher prices for their networks in a way that is not possible if those networks are offered independently of each other. It also paves the way for inefficiencies in the use of resources by multichannel video programming distributors ("MVPDs"), and harms the ability of smaller MVPDs to compete with their larger, more established counterparts. Meanwhile, subscribers not only are forced to receive programming they do not demand in the first place, they also have to pay increasing subscription fees passed on to them by MVPDs that are coerced to pay higher carriage fees for the bundles they have to accept in procuring retransmission consent. These detrimental effects are inefficaciously addressed by the FCC rules on good faith because the FCC's review authority is currently limited to the procedural aspects of retransmission consent negotiations. Therefore, the only effective remedy is for Congress to authorize the FCC to oversee the substantive aspects of retransmission consent negotiations. The FCC should then strengthen its enforcement of rules governing the duty to negotiate in good faith and prohibit practices that constitute coercive wholesale bundling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the finite element (FE) analysis of the consolidation of the foundation of an embankment constructed over soft clay deposit which shows significant time dependent behaviour and was improved with prefabricated vertical drains. To assess the capability of a simple elastic viscoplastic (EVP) model to predict the long term performance of a geotechnical structure constructed on soft soils, a well documented (Leneghans) embankment was analyzed to predict its long term behaviour characteristics. Two fully coupled two dimensional (2D) plane strain FE analyses have been carried out. In one of these, the foundation of the embankment was modelled with a relatively simpler time dependent EVP model and in the other one, for comparison purposes, the foundation soil was modelled with elasto-plastic Modified Cam-clay (MCC) model. Details of the analyses and the results are discussed in comparison with the field performance. Predictions from the creep (EVP) model were found to be better than those from Elasto-plastic (MCC) analysis. However, the creep analysis requires an additional parameter and additional computational time and resources. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a model for the analysis of footings having finite flexural rigidity resting on a granular bed on top of stone columns improved saturated soft (clayey) soil has been proposed. Soft soil has been modeled as a Kelvin–Voigt body to represent its time dependent behavior. Pasternak shear layer has been used to represent the granular layer and the stone columns have been idealized by means of nonlinear Winkler springs. Nonlinear behavior of granular fill, soft soil and stone columns has been invoked by means of hyperbolic constitutive relationships. Governing differential equations for the soil–foundation system have been obtained and finite difference method has been adopted for solving these, using the Gauss-elimination iterative scheme. Detailed parametric study for a combined footing has been carried out to study the influence of parameters, like magnitude of applied load, flexural rigidity of footing, diameter of stone column, spacing of stone column, ultimate bearing capacity of granular fill, poor foundation soil and stone column, relative stiffness of stone columns and degree of consolidation, on flexural response of the footing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article offers a response to the article "Tying, Bundled Discounts, and the Death of the Single Monopoly Profit Theory," by Einer Elhauge published in the "Harvard Law Review" in 2009. Topics include tying liability, safe harbor provisions for bundled discounts, and tied market foreclosure. Information is provided on artificial inflation and unbundled linking product price.

One of the substantive accomplishes of water reform in Australia has been the creation of water markets to assist in the allocation and reallocation of the resource. As the necessity for effectively managing water to achieve environmental objectives becomes more overt, the structure of water rights requires attention. In this article, we argue that the heavy focus on the volumetric attributes of water disguises other important elements of water that are likely to be especially significant for environmental managers and other interests like tourism and recreation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A wide range of contractual arrangements are increasingly being used by the public sector to materialise the delegation of transport infrastructure provision tasks to the private sector, over long periods of time. This paper addresses the issue of transport infrastructure regulation in the specific context of public-private settings. Starting by the discussion on the concept of Public–Private Partnership (PPP) it is stressed that, despite the different meanings that can be found in the literature, it is possible to define a PPP by using a core group of characteristics, such as the bundling of services and the transference of a relevant part of the risks to the private sector on a long term basis. Regarding the action of the regulator, we look at three dimensions of efficiency that are expected to be pursued at the strategic level of regulatory action. However, it is acknowledged that the regulatory function is in practice rather complex since it requires balancing a multiplicity of other objectives or goals, which may vary according to specific economic conditions. In the domain of pricing, the review carried out suggests that since “first best” assumptions are not met in the “real world” it hardly seems possible that the short run marginal cost pricing “canon” could be directly used to shape pricing policies. Consequently, when considering the application of the standard neoclassical marginal cost pricing approach it is pertinent to ask whether the second best solutions can lead to efficient outcomes that might be accepted by the stakeholders. Bundling construction and maintenance tasks into a single long term contract, which is a typical characteristic of “standard” PPPs, could theoretically bring cost benefits since it allows for the possible internalization of any positive externalities that may be generated during the whole project life cycle. The economic rationale for the bundling of construction/maintenance with financing services is that it enhances the likelihood of submission of realistic bids at the procurement stage. In addition, the chances of the contractor sticking to the agreed contractual terms, after contract award, are potentially increased given the higher exposure to financial risk. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article examines the markets for long-term care insurance and annuities when there is asymmetric information and there are costs of administering contracts. Individuals differ in terms of their risk aversion. Risk-averse individuals take more care of their health and are relatively high risk in the annuities market and relatively low risk in the long-term care insurance market. In the long-term care insurance market, both separating and partial-pooling equilibria are possible. However, in the stand-alone annuity market, only separating equilibria are possible. We show, consistent with the extant empirical research, that in the presence of administration costs the more risk-averse individuals may buy relatively more long-term care insurance and more annuity coverage. Under the same assumptions, we show that equilibria exist with bundled contracts that Pareto dominate the outcomes with stand-alone contracts and are robust to competition from stand-alone contracts. The remaining empirical puzzle is to explain why bundled contracts are such a small share of the voluntary annuity market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the dissertation "Federal Procurement Policy Analysis: Has Extent and Effect of Government Contract Bundling on Small Business Been Overstated?" in 2006. The dissertation explored the frequency of a procurement practice called contract bundling by analyzing the bid protests filed by small businesses in the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The findings of the dissertation revealed that such procurement method is a rare and isolated practice and has little importance in business strategy development.

In recent years, several public authorities have been making advances in developing bidding terms for contracts regulating the management of infrastructure. Up to now these bidding terms have focused on granting the contract to the bidder who, having agreed to comply with the requirement of a specified level of quality, as stipulated in the contract, submits the lowest tender in terms of price. As a result, the experience of implementing quality-related incentives for the management of infrastructure has been scarce. This paper demonstrates that, if infrastructure quality is verifiable and the social benefit derived from it is measurable, there is a better way both to tender and to regulate those contracts, based on a combination of price and quality standards. In addition, the paper proposes a new procurement procedure to encourage bidders to provide better quality levels. The last part of the paper provides a practical example of how to calculate a quality index for contracts regulating the management of infrastructure. The paper ends with a set of conclusions related to the advantages of the new tendering mechanism and its possible application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers some practical guidelines to follow for a convincing, rewarding and more competitive bids and contracts. First is the need to decide on the benefits and practicality of the bid. Next comes the management of proposals through a structured, methodical approach and a strategy that has sustained commitment and support from the top.

A vast literature has appeared over the last two decades on democratic transition and subsequently on democratic consolidation. Sometimes both of these phrases are embraced under the word "democratization." The literature initially related to case studies of Eastern European and Latin American transitions from "authoritarian" to "democratic" rule. Subsequently other "waves" of democratization, in particular in Africa, have been identified. Unfortunately there have been "flaws" identified by these experts. In particular, while the transition to "democracy," equated with multi-party elections, has occurred, in many cases, there has been reversion to one or other form of "authoritarian" rule. Another feature of the South African situation that has caused eyebrows to rise among the specialists is the character of the African National Congress as what is called a "dominant party" and the unlikelihood for the foreseeable future of a "circulation of elites," i.e. its defeat by any opposition party. The weakness of the opposition, though not related to significant electoral irregularity, is seen as a basis for withholding accreditation of the South African transition as a democracy that has been consolidated.

The article discusses governance restructuring in Los Angeles, California and Toronto, Ontario. In Toronto an aggressively neoliberal provincial Ontario government decreed an amalgamation of six individual municipal governments and one regional administration. The consolidationist argument, often associated with dirigiste government and compact central city ideals, has now become the means of choice to integrate regional blubber belt hegemony in more than one jurisdiction in Ontario. In Toronto and Los Angeles, what appear to be limited struggles over local jurisdiction and administration of service delivery, are struggles over the urban dimensions of a globalized work, at least in part. Amalgamation and secession become fighting metaphors of change in the war of position in which urban actors find themselves in the age of the global city. Although the old City of Toronto, had retained its hegemony in the region since the introduction of Metro government exactly because it has become one, albeit the strongest, player in a regionally federated system of metropolitan governance, its position had also been waning in the final years of the Metro model.

This article brings into sharper focus an aspect of the restructuring debate: namely the post Fordist orthodoxy which seeks to emphasise the centrality of the locality and the role of small and medium sized firms. Drawing on evidence from empirical examples, including the Hertfordshire study, Rainnie demonstrates that whilst the functions of large firms may be decentralised, with units taking on local appearances, control still resides in the hands of a distant and global management, often overiding local concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel feature of this article is that it puts forward a pragmatic and realistic approach for analysing the competitive bidding situation in a single occasion context. The approach, based on decision analysis (see for example [1], [2]), uses the concept of a "thinking algorithm" to provide an underlying model which requires the decision-maker to make subjective assessments of particular uncertain quantities such as base bM level, cost-concept variability and outthinking shift. The article uses a situation of an unusual tender of impounded butter offered to J. Sainsbury Ltd. as a vehicle to consider aspects of the relevant theory of competitive bidding and to develop a decision analytic-formulation which in fact prescribed a successful and profitable bid. The case situation has been simplified and idealised somewhat for expository reasons. However, whilst the analysis is essentially similar to that originally carried out, the style of presentation attempts to develop a contemporary perspective on the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the problem of competitive bidding (via sealed tenders) under uncertainty when one of the parties knows the value of the prize with certainty. A real problem of this type has been reported in a case study by Woods. The equilibrium strategies are derived and characterized for computational purposes in terms of the solution to a related differential equation. An example is solved in detail and found to be rather surprising in terms of the relative strength it imputes to the position of the party with better information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has approved a $2 million contract to purchase 2 million female condoms that will be made freely available in health clinics and organizations across the city. • The department is moving allocations from various areas to fund the purchase because it has made HIV prevention a priority. It has distributed more than 36 million of its private label male condoms since the condom debuted in 2007. • The second generation of the FC1 female condom, known as the FC2, is under review by the Food and Drug Administration. The Female Health Co., manufacturer of the condom, moved forward in 2007 with large-scale distribution of the nitrile condom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]