Environmental assessment in forestry: the initial experience

This study analyses the effectiveness of the European Community's Environmental Assessment Directive of 1985 in its application in the U.K. forestry sector. It assesses the applicability of the regulations in the provision of the public and private outputs of forestry. The environmental assessment regulation may contribute to the provision of the optimal amount of these public and private goods in theory, but it is concluded that, in common with initial results of the environmental assessment process in other sectors, the regulations do not make this contribution in practice in the forestry sector. The main deficiencies of the environmental statements examined were the failure to identify the significant potential impacts; to present alternative project sites and design features; and the erroneous measure of particular externalities. The environmental assessment process was also found to be unsatisfactory in the lack of public accessibility and consultation. The need for revision of the process in the forestry sector is highlighted.     

Determinants of willingness to pay for coastal zone quality improvement

Individuals’ decision to use a particular coastal beach is influenced by their preferences and perceptions as well as site's characteristics. This study examines visitors’ attributes and desired site specific characteristics in order to determine the factors affecting willingness to pay (WTP) for an improvement quality (environment, water as well as recreation activities) program. A contingent valuation survey was carried out in order to evaluate the economic benefits of improving coastal zone quality. The study area was coastal line of an area in Central Greece (Volos) where some beaches failures to meet the standards of the Blue Flag program. Our empirical findings suggest that the major variables affecting respondents’ willingness to pay were related to previous environmental behavior. The previous respondents’ participation in environmental protection programs by paying an amount was the most important determinate parameter for their WTP. Income, age, gender, coastal recreational activities and environmental quality of the site plays an important role to people's WTP for quality improvement of coastal zone.     

Taking Your Eyes Off the Objective: The Relationship Between Income Sources and Satisfaction with Achieving Objectives in the UK Third Sector

As a major funder of the Third Sector, recent cuts in UK Government spending may require Third Sector Organisations (TSOs) to turn to other sources of funding, such as trading activities and public sector contracts. It has been argued that such changes can lead to economic objectives overwhelming social ones. This study utilises data from the 2008 National Survey of Third Sector Organisations to examine the relationship between the use of these alternative funding sources and organisations’ perceived success in achieving their primary objectives. As predicted by theory, a negative relationship between income from trading activities and achievement of objectives is found. Interestingly public sector contracts do not show a significant link with achievement of objectives. Social enterprise should therefore not be seen as an unqualified panacea for difficulties in social welfare provision in the UK, but public sector contracts need not necessarily lead to a loss of those elements that make the Third Sector provision attractive.     

Is there a wage cost for employees in family‐friendly workplaces? The effect of different employer policies

This article assesses the wage impact of different family‐friendly employer policies: in‐kind or in‐cash child‐related benefits and flexible work schedule arrangements. We use French matched employee–employer data with a rich set of indicators of family‐friendly benefits, and we pay attention to the possible endogeneity of worker–employer matching. Our results show that the provision of in‐cash or in‐kind benefits is associated with higher wages for women, while flexible work schedules have no significant effect on wages. Our results lead us to reject the hypothesis of compensating wage differentials: women do not appear to face a trade‐off between wages and a better work–life balance. Our findings are more in line with the enhancing productivity theory: in‐kind benefits reduce the time devoted to household activities and alleviate conflict between professional life and family life, thereby improving women's work effort and productivity. This is not the case for flexible work arrangements, which may be perceived as negatively related to workers’ commitment to their job.     

Farmer participation in voluntary land diversion schemes: Some predictions from a survey

National and European agricultural policy schemes are now coming forward which rely on land diversion to achieve a variety of supply control, social and environmental policy goals. Operating on a voluntary basis, these will depend for their success on sufficient numbers of farmers agreeing to enrol land in sufficient quantities and in the right localities. Participation is thus a crucial variable in any assessment of land diversion policies. This paper draws on the results of a farm survey to make some predictions about the level and pattern of uptake of a range of such schemes, identifying the characteristics of resistors and adopters and exploring the motives of participants. It is concluded that land diversion will have most appeal to well-placed farmers who are able to justify the diversion of land out of an agricultural use in terms of forestry and conservation plans which have already been laid. The implication is that voluntary schemes may not be especially powerful instruments for bringing about land use changes on the large number of holdings in the U.K. which presently lack any history of conservation or forestry management, at least not without accompanying reductions in the level of market support for agriculture.     

Health care consolidation and the changing health care marketplace. A review of the literature and issues

This Issue Brief examines the academic literature and issues in consolidation of the hospital sector in the context of responses to changes in the competitive environment. It analyzes the motivations for consolidation as well as its effects. Hospital merger activity has increased dramatically in recent years. The current wave of mergers is primarily a reaction to a competitive environment that is placing a greater emphasis on controlling costs and forcing high-cost providers out of the market. The growth of managed care has placed considerable pressure on providers of health care and, in particular, on hospitals. The evolution of insurance companies' behavior helps explain the recent hospital consolidation movement. As managed care has become the dominant type of coverage in the last decade, insurance companies have become more active in trying to control costs--a reversion to their previous practices before the advent of managed care. Insurance companies have placed cost constraints on providers, both in the early years of health insurance and currently, when there are strong competitive forces. Hospitals claim that their primary merger motives are improving efficiency and the quality of care. The empirical evidence on this claim is mixed. Vertical integration (between suppliers and buyers of health care services, such as between hospitals and physicians) has appealed to hospitals because of their need to obtain more patients. More research is needed to explore the effects of vertical integration in the health care sector. In one of the more significant recent legal rulings, the U.S. Justice Department lost a 1997 case challenging the merger of two hospitals in the New York City metropolitan area. This, along with other recent losses by the antitrust authorities, does not bode well for the government's ability to prevent hospital mergers in metropolitan areas. It is difficult to generalize on an appropriate antitrust policy for hospital mergers. Hospital consolidation is likely to continue at a rapid pace. Since some developments may reduce the cost of employee benefits while others may increase the cost of these benefits, the final effect on the provision of health care benefits by employers is uncertain. Employers must pay close attention to the hospital consolidation movement because it will lead to important changes in the provision of health care benefits.     

Variations of the same? A sectoral analysis of the gender pay gap in Germany and Austria

Germany and Austria are two countries with a comparably and persistently high gender pay gap. Further, both countries are classified as conservative welfare states where the male breadwinner model has been only partly modernized and strong corporatist structures shape working conditions. At the same time, welfare policy and provision are not only based on but also shape gender‐related norms, beliefs and assumptions that are virulent for job valuation and collective bargaining. Against this background the article analyses similarities and differences regarding the gender pay gap in Germany and Austria. While both countries show significant similarities regarding the causes for the gender pay gap, there are some differences regarding legislation and further policies with which the gender pay gap could be reduced. Arguing that the institutional framework strongly influences income opportunities for women and men, the article provides a sectoral analysis of the financial and insurance sector and the human health sector in both countries. Using qualitative data from a recent research project, it is argued that in the classification of a sector as ‘female’, the sectoral income level combined with different wage‐setting mechanisms have a crucial impact on wage inequalities between women and men.     

Do Nonprofits Treat Their Employees Differently? Incentive Pay and Health Benefits

We examine how nonprofit, public, and for‐profit establishments vary in the provision of health benefits and insurance and performance‐based incentives using the 2002 National Organization Survey of establishments in the United States. We found that in comparison to for‐profit firms, both nonprofit and public organizations are less likely to use performance‐based incentives, although they provide their employees with better health benefits and insurance. Sectoral differences in the provision of health benefits and insurance and use of performance‐based incentives persist after controlling for correlates of sector that predict these outcomes, including establishment size, independence of establishment, market competition, establishment age, and unionization. We also found trade‐offs between the provision of health benefits and insurance and use of performance‐based incentives. Our results are generally consistent with the prediction from agency theory and also consistent with a view that public and nonprofit organizations are more concerned with the well‐being of their employees.     

Rethinking Trade Preferences for Sub‐Saharan Africa: How Can Trade in Tasks Be the Potential Lifeline?

Policy‐related discussion on assisting countries to make use of trade preferences tends to focus on the provision of hard infrastructure to facilitate external economies from modern‐sector exports. This is as opposed to harnessing potential knowledge spillovers. This omission is emblematic of tensions within new trade/new growth theory. Using two country case studies in Asia – Bangladesh and Cambodia – this article shows how different approaches towards making use of trade preferences have resulted in divergent industrial structures and firm‐level technological capability indicators. Less stringent rules of origin requirements may offer new opportunities for late industrialisers in sub‐Saharan Africa to tap into the modern export sector, but a more interventionist approach towards harnessing knowledge spillovers may also be necessary.     

Self-Exclusion as a Harm Minimization Strategy: Evidence for the Casino Sector from Selected European Countries

As the international gambling market continues to expand, determining effective approaches to prevent gambling-related problems becomes increasingly important. Despite a lack of in-depth research into its benefits, self-exclusion is one such measure already in use around the world in various sectors of the gambling industry. The present study is the first of its kind to examine the effectiveness of self-exclusion schemes in the casino sector in selected European countries. A written survey yielded a sample of N = 152 (self)-excluded gamblers. In addition to this cross-section analysis, a small sub-group (n = 31) was monitored over time by means of follow-up surveys carried out 1, 6, and 12 month(s) after the exclusion agreement came into force. The results reveal that the self-excluded individuals are typically under a great deal of strain and show a relatively pronounced willingness to change. However, this largely reaches its peak at the time the decision to self-exclude is made. From a longitudinal perspective, various parameters indicate a clear improvement in psychosocial functioning; a favorable effect that also starts directly after the exclusion agreement was signed. Finally, considering theoretical and empirical findings, possibilities for optimizing (self-)exclusion schemes will be discussed.     

Determinants of contraceptive choice among Japanese women: ten years after the pill approval

The Japanese government approved the use of oral contraception (OC) in 1999, but OC users remain a small minority in Japan. Using the results of an online survey conducted in 2010, I examine the factors determining Japanese women’s choice of contraceptive method by estimating multinomial choice models. The estimation results indicate that OC use is positively associated with age, willingness to pay for contraceptive effectiveness, frequency of intercourse and experience with abortion or emergency contraception. These findings suggest that OC use increases as women learn from experience and that the low and declining frequency of intercourse in Japan offers one explanation for the slow diffusion of OC. Additionally, the findings indicate that OC use is more prevalent among women with a higher risk of unintended pregnancies. Subjective probabilities regarding each contraceptive method’s contraceptive effectiveness, disruption of romantic moods, partner disapproval, side benefits and minor, non-life-threatening side effects are important determinants of contraceptive choice. The perceived risk levels of OC side effects are significantly higher than the population-based probabilities, implying that increased medical knowledge might increase OC use.     

The role of the voluntary sector in the provision of rural services — the case of transport

The voluntary sector has become more fully involved in service provision in rural areas over the last 10 years and this paper attempts to assess its impact with respect to one particular group of services, namely transport. The importance of the initiatives which have taken place is outlined in a statement of recent policy changes, including the radical provisions in the 1985 Transport Act, and through a national review of the three principal kinds of voluntary transport services in rural areas — social car schemes, dial-a-ride and community buses. This review is followed by an in-depth analysis of the extent of the voluntary sector involvement in transport provision in Norfolk and Suffolk. Extensive tables are presented and the characteristics of the schemes outlined together with an assessment of the essential ingredients for success or failure.The conclusion reached is that the scope and scale of voluntary sector initiatives in rural areas is small, and they form no alternative to a more general and systematic provision of transport services. Further, voluntary sector activities may even increase the inequalities in service provision. Suggestions are made as to how the scattered developments could be brought together and developed through the parish councils, parish transport groups and the rural transport broker.     

Citizens’ Perception of Past Environmental Damage and Liability in Countries with Transition: Evidence from Kemerovo,Russia

This paper analyzes citizens’ perception of past environmental damage and liability through the estimation of willingness to pay for the implementation of decontamination and land rehabilitation of the damaged site. The paper takes the Russian Federation as a case of country in transition and focuses on Kemerovo region as one of the most affected regions in the country. The major analytical tool employed in the study is choice experiment, data for which was collected through a household survey. Primary conclusion of the analysis is that citizens' willingness to financially support the implementation of environmental quality improvement projects is not high though individuals in the studied area express high level of concern over the issue in focus.     

Does the Modernization of Environmental Enforcement Reduce Toxic Releases? An Examination of Self-policing,Criminal Prosecutions,and Toxic Releases in the United States, 1988–2014

According to modernization theory, enforcement schemes that rely on end-of-the-pipe regulation are not as effective at achieving improved environmental performance as market-based approaches that encourage pollution prevention. Consistent with that observation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency transitioned to the use of self-policing to encourage pollution prevention. Other studies note that environmental compliance is significantly affected by traditional “command-and-control” strategies. Using Prais Winston regression we examine these contrasting views by estimating the relationship between toxic releases, self-policing, and criminal prosecutions from 1988 through 2014. Initial correlations suggest that (1) self-policing is not associated with toxic releases but that (2) criminal prosecutions may reduce toxic releases through general deterrence signals. Subsequent analyses controlling for gross domestic product revealed that neither self-policing nor criminal enforcement correlate with toxic releases but that gross domestic product was the strongest predictor of emissions. The implications of these findings for the control of toxic emissions are discussed.     

Zur Entwicklung der privaten Altersvorsorge in Deutschland

Additional private old age provision is gaining in importance given the limited success of recent reforms attempting to solve the demographic problem of statutory pension insurance. Thus, the willingness of Germans to invest in private old age provision is analyzed. Points of interest are the extent of existing private old age provision and the expected security in old age. The study is based on two representative surveys examining the group between 30 and 60 years of age. The analysis shows that every second member of this age group is willing to pay for private old age provision in order to maintain the given level of social security; that two thirds have taken measures for private provision; and that the percentage of those taking such measures is growing. Since many people cannot afford private old age provision the inequality of private provision is growing. Financial aid by the state according to the law on old age property will not change much since, particularly, high income people benefit from the sponsorship system consisting of allowances and tax savings, whereas subsidies for low income groups are too small. The welfare guidelines will have to be fundamentally revised. Only those should be supported who are not in a position to build up an additional old age provision out of their own.     

Distribution-neutral provision of public goods

The paper describes a normative approach to budget incidence, given the provision of a public good. The objective is to balance the budget by an income tax such that the budget is distribution-neutral. This property requires that every consumer’s net welfare gain, i.e. the benefit from consuming the public good and the tax burden in financing it, does not change the inequality inherent in the income distribution. The properties of the distribution-neutral tax are investigated and completely determined. The marginal willingness to pay for the public good is decisive for the degree of progression of the tax schedule. My co-author Georg Tillmann passed away in March 2006, much too soon. He was my friend, more than a colleague. I dedicate this paper to his memory.     

We Can Run But We Can't Hide:

Long-term care costs are not covered to any significant extent by public or private insurance. As a result, nursing home patients often must use their entire life savings to pay for their care and once impoverished turn to welfare in the form of Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor. Private-sector solutions, such as private long-term care insurance, should expand to play a larger role but cannot solve the whole problem by themselves. Reform of the Medicaid program to make the means test less onerous would be desirable, but this approach would retain the welfare stigma. What is needed is a public insurance program to which everyone would contribute and earn the right to benefits when they need them without having to prove impoverishment. Any public insurance program should leave a substantial role for the private sector. Public costs of a social insurance program would be high but not unaffordable, especially since society will incur most of these costs even without an expanded public program.     

Does Institutional Trust Increase Willingness to Pay More Taxes to Support the Welfare State?

We evaluate the effect of institutional trust on the willingness to pay more taxes to support the welfare state. We found a positive effect of institutional trust on the willingness to pay more taxes to support the welfare state irrespective of the empirical approach used. Our instrumental variable analysis shows that causality run from institutional trust to welfare state support. A one-unit increase in institutional trust leads to a 15 percentage point increase in the willingness to pay more taxes to help the needy. Similarly, a one-unit increase in institutional trust leads to a 16 percentage point increase in the willingness to pay more taxes to support public health care and education. Consequently, institutional trust should be viewed as one of the most important mechanisms that protect the welfare state from dismantling and retrenchment. We also found a stronger effect of support for more universal programs such as public health care and education than for helping the needy.     

Economic valuation of coastal water quality and protest responses: A case study in Mitilini, Greece

The aim of this study was to evaluate environmental benefits resulting from the construction of a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in Mitilini, Greece. The main benefits identified were the improvement of the coastal water quality and subsequent impacts on citizens’ activities. The valuation was conducted using the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) through the elicitation of individuals’ willingness to pay (WTP). Due to the significant amount of zero and protest responses, different measurements of mean WTP were calculated and the need for further research on social factors which influence individuals’ valuation is emphasized.     

Religious effects on environmentalism

Understanding of religious influences on environmentalism has been biased by political conflicts. This article summarizes the demographic parameters of environmental concern, then evaluates religious and political influences on that concern and related activity, using General Social Surveys data. It assesses influences on willingness to pay for environmental programs, individual environmental behaviors, and participation in political activities for related causes. Young people and women express greater environmental concern, but older persons more often engage in individual environmental activities such as recycling. The association of fundamentalism with political conservatism compounds interpretation of religion because political conservatives are antagonistic to environmentalism. Religious affiliation strength has positive effects on environmental concern, and worship attendance has positive effects on individual environmental behaviors, when fundamentalism and political variables are controlled. This article is part of the third stage of literature on religion and environmentalism in which positive as well as negative patterns are recognized.