Compensation Allocation Research Articles

RTIFed: A Reputation based Triple-step Incentive mechanism for energy-aware Federated learning over battery-constricted devices

Federated Learning (FL) is an emerging field of research that contributes to collaboratively training machine learning models by leveraging idle computing resources and sensitive data scattered among massive IoT devices in a privacy-preserving manner without raw data exchange. The majority of existing research has concentrated on developing efficient learning algorithms that demonstrate superior learning performance. Despite the extraordinary advancement, FL encounters three challenges that need to be resolved jointly, specifically, (1) how to properly measure the client reliability and contribution that serve as the basis for compensation allocation, (2) how to reasonably activate reliable clients, whose dataset grows gradually, to avoid over-learning, and (3) how to efficiently formulate the optimal local training decisions to improve model performance and energy efficiency of battery-constricted devices. To address the above challenges, this paper proposes a Reputation based Triple-step Incentive mechanism of Federated learning (RTIFed), which (1) introduces reputation as the metric to measure client reliability and contribution while employing blockchain to accomplish decentralized and tamper-resistant reputation management, (2) activates clients with high reputation and informative data pursuant by a Richness-of-Information Activation Strategy (RIAS), (3) determines training epochs for each client based on a Stackelberg Game according to an Optimal Training Decision Strategy (OTDS). Numerical results clearly show that the proposed RTIFed effectively motivates high-quality clients and improves learning accuracy while reducing the energy cost to meet the low resource consumption need of battery-constricted devices in smart city FL scenarios.

A framework for eco-compensation in the Yangtze River Delta region of China based on multiple policy objectives

Eco-compensation plays a pivotal role in mitigating ecological service spillovers and addressing regional development imbalances. To enhance existing eco-compensation projects, a comprehensive eco-compensation framework with multiple objectives was established in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). This framework takes into account various factors such as economic development, social welfare, ecosystem service and environmental pressure to ensure a balanced funding raising and allocation of compensation across regions. The inter-regional eco-compensation framework employs a top-down transfer payment approach to reduce transaction costs. Notably, the case study revealed a remarkable increase in total compensation, adding up to 22.15 billion CNY in 2015 and 44.01 billion CNY in 2020, with a substantial portion raising from the hidden loss of imbalanced economic development. The number of contributing cities decreased from 23 in 2015 to 21 in 2020 whereas the number of receiving cities increased from 18 to 20 during the same period. Compared with traditional eco-compensation policies, this comprehensive eco-compensation framework demonstrates greater fairness in regional compensation, while being more attuned to fostering economic development and ecological protection.

Cross-regional ecological compensation under the composite index of water quality and quantity: A case study of the Yellow River Basin

The calculation of ecological compensation (EC) constitutes the core element of the EC mechanism, which is related to the practicability of the mechanism. Based on the comprehensive index of water quality and quantity, this study establishes a measurement method for EC across administrative divisions. First, the improved Nemerow pollution index (NPI) is adopted to assess the water quality of specific sections, while the water rights and GDP indicators are employed to characterize the water quantity of each section. Secondly, given the spatial relationship of each region within the basin, two compensation allocation schemes are established referring to the water intake and grey water footprint indicators. Finally, the EC amounts of each region in the Yellow River Basin from 2016 to 2021 are calculated using the proposed method. The results show that: (1) the improved NPI is significantly higher in the upstream than in the downstream, implying better water quality in the upstream region; (2) From 2016 to 2021, both Gansu and Ningxia exhibit negative EC coefficients, suggesting superior water quality in the upper section of these regions, while Henan Province demonstrates the opposite trend; (3) During the same period, Qinghai, Gansu, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Shandong experience an EC deficit, while Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Henan, and Yellow River Conservancy Commission exhibit an EC surplus. Using water quality and quantity indicators, this study includes the implementation of basin unification and regional environmental comprehensive management into the scope of responsibility of the basin government, which can effectively solve the drawbacks of unclear responsibilities of stakeholders and ineffective implementation of compensation in the basin EC.

A DEA-based method of watershed ecological compensation allocation and liability sharing and its application: a case study of the Xin’an River

A DEA-based method of watershed ecological compensation allocation and liability sharing and its application: a case study of the Xin’an River

Study on the efficiency of air pollution control and responsibility allocation in the Yangtze River Delta region in China from the perspective of ecological compensation

Ecological compensation is a critical strategy that can be used to promote regional cooperation for the improvement of air pollution control. Overall, this study considers the relationship between air pollution production and economic growth; through this, we incorporate elements such as ecological compensation, technological progress, and PM2.5, into the framework of sustainable development theory. Under the constraints of the air pollution control objectives, a dynamic computable general equilibrium model was constructed to analyze the efficiency of air pollution control and responsibility allocation in the Yangtze River Delta region. Overall, this study yielded several findings. First, with each 10 billion yuan allocated for ecological compensation in the Yangtze River Delta region, there was an annual average carbon emission reduction of approximately 0.26%; this equated to an annual total carbon emission reduction of approximately 8.3 million tons per 10 billion yuan of ecological compensation. Additionally, the annual average PM2.5 concentration was determined to reduce by 0.72 μg/m3 per 10 billion yuan of ecological compensation; this indicated that effective ecological compensation can lead to a significant improvement in air pollution control. Second, the initial allocation of ecological compensation was distributed in the following order, from the highest to lowest burden: Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Shanghai. Third, we calculated the responsibility for air pollution control; this indicated that local contributions to the inter-regional external transmission of air pollution by the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Anhui regions were 65%, 62%, 53%, and 84%, respectively; in contrast, the external contributions to their surrounding regions were 35%, 38%, 47%, and 16%, respectively. Overall, Anhui possessed a higher responsibility for internal responsibility transfers among Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, highlighting the role of Anhui in the fossil fuel industry within the Yangtze River Delta region. Finally, the present study established that there were significant variations in the redistribution of ecological compensation among provinces and cities within the Yangtze River Delta region. Redistribution lead to a reduction in ecological compensation by approximately 1/4 in Zhejiang and Shanghai and approximately 4% in Jiangsu; conversely, this redistribution nearly doubled the ecological compensation allocated to Anhui. Overall, the appropriate allocation of responsibility pertaining to internal trade transfers (i.e., fossil fuels trade) in air pollution and inter-regional external transmission (i.e., air spillover) is crucial for effective air pollution control in the Yangtze River Delta region and other parts of China and, therefore, requires immediate attention.

Pay Dispersion among Non-CEO Executives and Agency Efficiency in State-owned Enterprises

The differential compensation distribution of executives is an important direction of deepening the reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The compensation of SOEs is mainly decided by SASAC according to the unified compensation management method, and tends to adopt the equalitarian compensation distribution mode, leading to the generally low pay dispersion among non-CEO executives in SOEs, which greatly frustrates the work enthusiasm of the executives in SOEs, and often leads to more serious executive agency problems. However, there are few studies on the difference of compensation incentives in the top management team, which mainly focus on the vertical compensation gap between CEO and non-CEO executives, and the research on the internal compensation allocation of non-CEO executives is relatively scarce.Using the compensation data of all the non-CEO executives in listed SOEs from 2005 to 2017, this paper studies whether the pay dispersion among non-CEO executives has a positive governance effect in reducing the executive agency costs of SOEs. We find that, the pay dispersion among non-CEO executives can effectively reduce the executive agency costs of SOEs, and the results are still robust after adopting the IVs and the differential compensation reform of SOEs in 2015 as the exogenous event to control the endogenous problem. Further, we document that reducing the supervision cost and improving the incentive efficiency of non-CEO executives are two potential mechanisms. Specifically, when there are more supervision costs and less incentives for non-CEO executives, the above positive governance effect are more salient.This paper offers empirical evidence for the positive governance effect of the pay dispersion among non-CEO executives in SOEs, and makes up for the deficiency of negative effects such as high turnover and poor corporate performance caused by the pay dispersion among non-CEO executives. This paper not only enriches the literature on the pay dispersion among non-CEO executives, but also extends the related literature on the executive agency costs of SOEs. In addition, this paper has certain policy reference value for further deepening the reform of SOEs and improving the differential compensation distribution system of executives in SOEs. The promulgation of Guiding Opinions on Deepening the Reform of SOEs in 2015 means that, in the context of a new round of comprehensively deepening the compensation reform of SOEs, the incentive mechanism of executives in SOEs should not be limited to the level of executive compensation, but should consider whether the compensation distribution within the top management team is reasonable. Increasing the pay dispersion among the top management team is not only an efficiency issue, but also a fair issue. The underlying economic logic is that the pay dispersion among the top management team is an institutional arrangement for SOEs to reduce the agency costs under the specific governance environment in China. Only by truly realizing differentiated incentives for the top management team, can the enthusiasm of executives in SOEs be effectively activated, the agency efficiency be improved, and the high-quality development of SOEs be realized.

When Cape slavery ended: Introducing a new slave emancipation dataset

When the enslaved were emancipated across the British Empire in 1834, slave-owners received cash compensation, and four years of unpaid labour as the former slaves became apprentices. In the Cape Colony, appraisers assigned a value to the former slaves. To investigate this, we transcribed 37,411 valuation records to compile a novel emancipation dataset. This gives us a new picture of the enslaved population in the Cape at the time of the emancipation. Some of our findings, for example that slaves from south-east Asia were assigned lower valuations than Cape-born slaves, are in contrast to those of an earlier literature. To distinguish between what the former slave-owners should have received and what they actually received, we matched the valuation records to the compensation claims. We argue that the uneven allocation of compensation had important implications for the distribution of capital after emancipation.

Toward Fair Gainsharing and a Quality Workplace for Employees: How a Reconceived Compensation Committee Might Help Make Corporations More Responsible Employers and Restore Faith in American Capitalism

In the three decades after World War II, workers and stockholders shared equitably in the nation’s growing wealth. But, during the last several decades, this fair gainsharing has diminished as the power of the stock market, in the form of institutional investors, has grown, and the comparative voice and leverage of workers has declined. As a result of these and other factors, a much greater share of the gains from increased corporate profitability and productivity has gone to stockholders and top management, on the one hand, and much less to employees, on the other. Contributing to this divide has been a push to tie top management pay to total stockholder return and to create incentives for management to deliver returns to stockholders, even if that requires decreasing the share that the workers primarily responsible for corporate success get. The resulting economic insecurity and inequality have caused demands for serious change in corporate governance to give greater weight to the interests of workers. In this Essay, we focus on one practical way to move toward that worthy end: reconceiving the compensation committee. That is, a reconceived compensation committee would focus on the company’s entire workforce, not just senior management, and have the responsibility for overseeing management’s implementation of an effective system to compensate workers fairly, ensuring they receive a fair share when corporate productivity and profitability increases, and analyzing what allocation of compensation within the company’s workforce will provide the most motivation to encourage corporate success. To accomplish this, compensation committees would be expected to understand the nation’s, the industry’s, and the company’s traditional gainsharing practices among workers, stockholders, and top management and develop and implement a corporate strategy to ensure that gainsharing is equitable. By doing so, compensation committees will also be able to more rationally set top executive compensation and establish metrics for top management and key personnel involved in gatekeeping functions that are tied to good EESG practices and not just to stock price. And the reconceived compensation committee should also be the committee charged with compliance and EESG responsibilities in the areas most important to workers, including not just worker pay and benefits, but also safety, racial and gender equality, sexual harassment and inclusion, and training and promotion policies. Not only that, the reconceived compensation committee should monitor company practices in its supply chain to ensure that the company’s adopted policies regarding fair treatment of workers extend to those workers who work for company contractors. By this evolutionary means that builds on the existing American corporate governance system, important strides can be taken toward making our capitalist system work better for the people most critical to its success: workers.

Peaking Compensation Mechanism for Thermal Units and Virtual Peaking Plants Union Promoting Curtailed Wind Power Integration

As the installed capacity of wind power increases rapidly, how to promote wind power curtailment (WPC) integration has become a concern. The surface and underlying causes of wind power curtailment are insufficient peaking capability of the power system and imperfect peaking compensation mechanisms, respectively. Therefore, this paper proposes a peaking compensation mechanism uniting supply side and demand side to enhance system peaking capability. Firstly, through incentive and fairness analysis, the interest relationship of peaking subjects is researched based on game theory, and the peaking contribution on supply/demand side is quantified by Pearson correlation coefficients. Secondly, based on clustering analysis, the potential of system peaking providers are explored adequately, supply-side thermal units are divided into deep peaking clusters, and demand-side demand response (DR) resources are integrated into virtual peaking plants (VPP). Accordingly, a two-stage wind-thermal-VPP coordination optimization model is built to dispatch peaking providers. Furtherly, a two-layer peaking compensation allocation method considering peaking contribution and peaking enthusiasm is proposed to encourage peaking providers and mitigate “combination explosion”. Simulation results indicate that the proposed mechanism effectively promotes the enthusiasm of union peaking and the integration of WPC.

Role of Gifts in Decision Making: An Endowment Effect Incentive Mechanism for Offloading in the IoV

The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is composed of road side units (RSUs) nodes and vehicle nodes. Because the limited bandwidth of RSUs can not satisfy massive requests from vehicle nodes, offloading technology is proposed. Generally, spare vehicle nodes (SVs) with redundant resources are motivated to cache data from RSUs. However, due to the selfishness, the participation of SVs is generally low. Hence, an effective incentive mechanism to motivate SVs to offload is important. There are two problems with current incentive mechanisms: 1) all of them ignore loss aversion, which is the act of preferring avoidance of loss over acquiring equivalent gains. This act can lead to deviation in the final decision and 2) no attention is paid to the critical effects that initial allocation of property have on the final resource allocation. However, researches on behavior economics have found that loss aversion exists and the final resource allocation is affected by the initial configuration. Therefore, we propose an incentive mechanism called reverse auction based on endowment effect (RABEE). To the first problem, we introduce the endowment effect from behavior economics, and propose a term called endowment compensation for increasing the participation rate of SVs. For the second problem, by changing the initial allocation of endowment compensation, we illustrate through theoretical analysis and simulations the significance the initial configuration has in terms of the final resource allocation. Simulations show that RABEE increases the average utility of SVs by 6.8% compared with the conventional scheme, and it also improves participation rate by 2%.

How Do Sectoral Interests Shape Distributive Politics? Evidence from Gasoline and Diesel Subsidy Reforms

AbstractSectoral interests play an important role in distributive politics, but their influence is difficult to measure. We compare the effect of international oil prices on subsidies for domestic gasoline and diesel consumption. Because diesel is used by a smaller number of organized agricultural and transportation interests, they are more capable of collective action than the dispersed beneficiaries of gasoline subsidies. The conventional wisdom holds that sectoral interests could mobilize to stop reform (e.g., price increases, deregulation). Challenging this view, we consider the possibility that sectoral interests promote reform by facilitating the targeted allocation of compensation and exemptions. An empirical analysis of gasoline and diesel prices, 1991–2012, strongly supports the second hypothesis: diesel prices respond to international oil prices more strongly than do gasoline prices. Quantitative tests and case studies allow us to explore causal mechanisms, verify that the gasoline‐diesel difference is related to actual policy reforms, and reject alternative explanations.

Study of Compensation Gap Effect on Corporate Performance

Before 1970s, China applied traditional economic system in which equal distribution mechanism was used for compensation allocation. However, equal compensation distribution mechanism could no longer satisfy actual needs due to economic system reform. As a result, current distribution system appeared and is still working. Change of equal distribution leads to compensation gap and has raised the following questions: Can compensation gap affect employee’s work enthusiasm? How does it affect? Employee’s work enthusiasm can directly influence corporate performance, and thus makes compensation gap become a key factor in corporate development. The influence relation between compensation gap and corporate development is the research task of this thesis. Questions come one after another. Will different compensation gaps generate different influence effects? This thesis conducted investigational analysis on the above questions to confirm the influence relation in between. At last, it reached conclusions and thus can provide certain guidance for real life with practical research significance.

Dynamic Market-Based Generation-Transmission Expansion Planning Considering Fixed Series Compensation Allocation

This paper presents a market-based multi-period generation-transmission expansion planning (GTEP) along with fixed series compensation (FSC) allocation. FSCs can dispatch power more efficiently over the transmission network as well as trading opportunities for market participants and thus improve market surplus and reduce the total transmission investment. The proposed planning may accordingly enhance network efficiency and improve social welfare for all participants. The proposed model is structured as a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) problem. The CPLEX solver, as a commercial solver, is used to solve this MILP problem. Moreover, to find a reliable and viable optimal topology, N − 1 security criterion is employed through the proposed model. This criterion is used to take into account any unanticipated operating condition due to unexpected transmission line failures. The proposed model is applied to the Garver and IEEE 24-bus systems as well-known systems to show the effectiveness of FSC in dynamic GTEP.

Allocating Damage Compensation in a Federalist System: Lessons from Spatially Resolved Air Emissions in the Marcellus.

The benefits and impacts of unconventional natural gas development are realized at different spatial scales, calling into question the appropriate jurisdictional level at which to set and enforce environmental policy. This paper evaluates impact fee allocation under Pennsylvania Act 13, which authorizes Commonwealth payments to Pennsylvania counties to offset damages from unconventional natural gas extraction in exchange for consolidated state-level regulatory authority. We evaluate the adequacy of damage compensation allocation for impacts that are spatially and temporally removed from the well site, using the air emissions associated with natural gas wastewater transport as a case study. Wastewater transport from wells eligible for 2011 impact fee disbursement calculations generated an estimated $11.6 million in air emission damages from 2004 to 2013, with 35% of damages occurring out-of-state and an average of 94% of damages occurring out-of-county. We find that compensatory payments from Pennsylvania Act 13, which are based upon the number of wells drilled in a county in a single year, inadequately account for spatially and temporally distributed impacts from wastewater transport. This case study of Pennsylvania Act 13 highlights potential issues associated with central regulators using compensatory payments as a means of resolving jurisdictional conflict. In cases where the central regulator benefits from the polluting activity, we argue that there is incentive to focus compensation on local damages and undervalue regional and spatially distributed damages in compensation algorithms.

Wetland Dynamic and Ecological Compensation of the Yellow River Delta based on RS

Abstract This paper selects Landsat-5 TM remote sensing images in 2001 and 2008, field investigation, the department visits and other methods as the date source. Based on these datas, the types of the wetland, changes in wetland area and the value of wetland are obtained. And then, we estimated the loss of market value and ecological function value which caused by reduction of wetland area and the environmental pollution with the methods of market value, ecological value, cost of environmental protection investment and outcome parameters. Therefore, we made the fund allocation of wetland compensation and calculated ecological compensation standards of wetland, provided an important reference for Yellow River Delta's eco-compensation.

Análisis de la gestión ambiental en las vías 4G en construcción en Colombia

ONTARE. REVISTA DE INVESTIGACIÓN DE LA FACULTAD DE INGENIERÍA
 En este artículo se pretende analizar la aplicación del manual para la asignación de compensaciones por pérdida de biodiversidad aplicado en el sector de infraestructura vial en Colombia. Para ello se desarrolló una revisión del estado del arte acerca de la biodiversidad, servicios ecosistémicos (SE), perdidas de biodiversidad, las compensaciones por pérdida de biodiversidad y los impactos ambientales ocasionados por las vías, con el fin de analizar los principios de compensación definidos por la normatividad colombiana a la luz de las transformaciones del paisaje ocasionados por la fragmentación de ecosistemas, teniendo en cuenta que durante la última década la fragmentación se ha convertido en un problema ambiental global. Con base en lo anterior, la metodología empleada incluye una revisión y análisis del estado actual del arte a la luz de las compensaciones en el sector de infraestructura vial. Luego, se plantea una propuesta de gestión para la infraestructura vial en Colombia que permita incluir la fragmentación de ecosistemas dentro del análisis de compensación para proyectos lineales de infraestructura vial, y que contribuya con la no pérdida neta de biodiversidad

Compensation Provisions in a Venture Capital-Limited Partner (VC-LP) Contract : A Theoretical Framework

In a venture capital (VC) deal, a partnership contract is designed to avoid different conflicts arising due to information asymmetry and agency problem and to make appropriate provision for compensation. This study investigated different theoretical approaches that have been deployed to understand this phenomenon. This article extracted the important aspects of the compensation structure and covenants required to set in the contract between venture capitalists and their limited partner (LP) in order to meet the agreed-upon proportion of return distribution and proposed a VC compensation model. Various studies were analyzed to get evidence on various aspects of a VC deal, such as the reasons why professional VCs exist, and factors that determine the design of a contract. Private ownership, information asymmetry, and illiquidity associated with a VC investment are key explanatory factors, which make VC - LP partnership agreement different from other financial contracts. The findings of this study could be alienated into two constituents. First, the compensation that a VC receives from its LP is performance based, which varies according to the size of the fund, experience of VC, past performance of VC, and signalling function. Second, some important covenants are generally mentioned in such a contract during raising funds for investments, though these are heterogeneous in each deal and their contribution in compensation allocation varies with each deal. In this study, we have proposed a compensation model for venture capitalists as a general partner by their limited partner, which is based on a principal-agent model. Also, this study focuses on contractual covenants, which are responsible for imparting flexible incentive provision and provide control over VC activity. The arrangement of VC compensation and covenants depend upon the management support and effort of VCs. This study can contribute to resolving the conflicts - between venture capitalists and their investors - that arise due to the agency problem and bring to light the compensation arrangement and provision of covenants used in the contract between VCs and their LPs.

Cognitive Diversity Executive Compensation and Resource Allocation Efficiency in Multibusiness Firms

This study investigates the determinants and consequences of the efficiency of resource allocation in multibusiness firms. We find that greater cognitive diversity among top and division managers is associated with decreased resource allocation efficiency. When diversity is greater top managers find it more difficult to verify the value benefits of resource allocation proposals and are more likely to be swayed by influence activities of divisional managers. However, performance based compensation incentives for divisional managers appear to counter this negative effect, and act to reduce the sensitivity of resource allocation efficiency to cognitive diversity. Lastly, there is strong evidence that higher resource allocation efficiency is related to higher stock market performance.

Perceptions of health stakeholders on task shifting and motivation of community health workers in different socio demographic contexts in Kenya (nomadic, peri-urban and rural agrarian).

BackgroundThe shortage of health professionals in low income countries is recognized as a crisis. Community health workers are part of a “task-shift” strategy to address this crisis. Task shifting in this paper refers to the delegation of tasks from health professionals to lay, trained volunteers. In Kenya, there is a debate as to whether these volunteers should be compensated, and what motivation strategies would be effective in different socio-demographic contexts, based type of tasks shifted. The purpose of this study was to find out, from stakeholders’ perspectives, the type of tasks to be shifted to community health workers and the appropriate strategies to motivate and retain them.MethodsThis was an analytical comparative study employing qualitative methods: key informant interviews with health policy makers, managers, and service providers, and focus group discussions with community health workers and service consumers, to explore their perspectives on tasks to be shifted and appropriate motivation strategies.ResultsThe study found that there were tasks to be shifted and motivation strategies that were common to all three contexts. Common tasks were promotive, preventive, and simple curative services. Common motivation strategies were supportive supervision, means of identification, equitable allocation of resources, training, compensation, recognition, and evidence based community dialogue.Further, in the nomadic and peri-urban sites, community health workers had assumed curative services beyond the range provided for in the Kenyan task shifting policy. This was explained to be influenced by lack of access to care due to distance to health facilities, population movement, and scarcity of health providers in the nomadic setting and the harsh economic realities in peri-urban set up. Therefore, their motivation strategies included training on curative skills, technical support, and resources for curative care. Data collection was viewed as an important task in the rural site, but was not recognized as priority in nomadic and peri-urban sites, where they sought monetary compensation for data collection.ConclusionsThe study concluded that inclusion of curative tasks for community health workers, particularly in nomadic contexts, is inevitable but raises the need for accreditation of their training and regulation of their tasks.

Multistage Transmission Expansion Planning Considering Fixed Series Compensation Allocation

This paper proposes a mathematical model for multistage transmission expansion planning (TEP) considering fixed series compensation (FSC) allocation and N-1 security constraints for both transmission lines and FSCs. FSCs can increase the transmission lines transfer capacity, but the importance of using them in TEP is to dispatch the power more efficiently, resulting in a different topology with less investment cost compared with planning without FSCs. This problem is modeled as a linear mixed binary programming problem and is solved by a commercial branch-and-cut solver to obtain the optimum solution. FSC is modeled as a fixed impedance located in the transmission lines in discrete steps and with an investment cost based on the prices of reinforcement lines. The results obtained using two known test systems show the economic benefits of using FSC in multistage TEP problems.