Benefit-cost Relationship Research Articles

Economic-Financial Analysis of a swine farm in Rosales Chihuahua

Pig cattle are characterized by their high productive capacity and adaptability to different environmental and climatic conditions. The present work was carried out in the Municipality of Rosales, Chihuahua with the purpose of knowing the economic and financial feasibility of an investment project for a small backyard pig farm with six females of the Landrace breed and one male of the Duroc breed. The marketing of pork will be through local butcher shops and chorizo processors in nearby communities. The management of the herd was designed with emphasis on nutrition and health. The results of the economic and financial analysis showed a positive evaluation of the IRR and the NPV, and the benefit-cost relationship was obtained, which also yielded a viable result for its implementation.

Odnos koristi i troškova korištenja betona s udjelom zgure iz visoke peći kao cestovnoga kolnika

In this study, the usability of concrete containing blast furnace slag (BFS; 15, 20, 25, 30 wt.%) as road pavement on soils with weak bearing strength and the corresponding benefit–cost relationship were investigated. The prepared concrete specimens were subjected to physical and mechanical tests following different curing times, and it was determined that the mechanical strength of the BFS-added specimens increased and peaked at the BFS content of 20 %. In addition, according to the AASHTO 1993 design method, it was determined that the thickness of the BFS-added concrete pavement decreased by 1.58 % to 3.38 % and the cost was reduced by 5.59 % to 10.30 %.

Understanding the Benefit-Cost Relationship in Long-standing Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) Partnerships: Findings from the Measurement Approaches to Partnership Success (MAPS) Study.

As part of the Measurement Approaches to Partnership Success (MAPS) study, we investigated the relationship between benefits and costs of participation in long-standing community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships using social exchange theory as a theoretical framework. Three major findings were identified: (1) the concept of benefits and costs operating as a ratio, where individual benefits must outweigh costs for participation, applies to early stages of CBPR partnership formation; (2) as CBPR partnerships develop, the benefits and costs of participation include each other's needs and the needs of the group as a whole; and (3) there is a shift in the relationship of benefits and costs over time in long-standing CBPR partnerships, in which partners no longer think in terms of costs but rather investments that contribute to mutual benefits.

Veri Madenciliği Algoritmaları Kullanarak Türkiye’deki Elektrik Tüketicileri İçin En Uygun Tarife Seçim Önerisi

With the development of technology, dependence on electricity is increasing day by day. Cost increases as electricity consumption increases. For this reason, individuals aim to save by searching for the optimum benefit-cost relationship. In this study, firstly 1500 rows of data created with day, peak, night values and Roc analysis was used to select the most appropriate algorithm for the data set.Later total electricity consumption in households was analyzed by selecting logistic regression which is data mining algorithm in RapidMiner. The most appropriate tariff selection was provided to the subscribers. As a result, 100% accurate estimation was obtained.

REDUCCIÓN DE LA FERTILIZACIÓN INORGÁNICA MEDIANTE MICORRIZA ARBUSCULAR EN SORGO

The role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) has been emphasized in the fields of conservation and soil fertility. The objective of this study was to explore the response of sorghum DKS60 in 2011 and 83G19 in 2016—with respect to plant physiology and productivity—to AMF ( Rhizophagus intraradices ) alone or combined with half of inorganic fertilizer (IF50 %), compared with conventional fertilization (120N-40P-00K; IF100 %). Profitability was estimated through grain yield with a benefit-cost (b/c) indicator. All treatments exceeded significantly the control with respect to chlorophyll index (SPAD), plant height, stem diameter, panicle length and grain yield, although overall the highest values were recorded with IF100 % and IF50 % + AMF. However, the benefit-cost relationship demonstrated that IF50 % + HMA and AMF alone obtained 1.45 and 1.5 b/c, respectively, higher than the profitability obtained with IF-100 % (1.3). This, although AMF alone recorded 852 kg/ha less than the average of IF100 % and IF50 % + AMF. Reduction or replacement of inorganic fertilization through AMF may represent a viable practice promoting greater profitability, as well as the conservation of agro-ecological production systems.

Land readjustment for minimizing public expenditures on school lands: a case study of Turkey

Education infrastructure issues have been one of the most important topics in developing countries that have difficulty reserving money for education infrastructure needs, especially Turkey. Development plans have a crucial role in meeting school infrastructure needs in Turkey. Generally, the expropriation method has been used for land transitions from private to public ownership. However, scarcity of monetary resources for such land transitions and legal/technical deficiencies delays the process. The main objectives of this paper are to respond to the need of the education sector by using land management tools and to identify the most suitable land management tool for allocating basic and primary school lands free of charge. Current trends, education indicators, management responsibility and financial resources, statistical and economical information, education infrastructure needs, and qualitative-quantitative characteristics of the pupils in the Turkish education system are analyzed based on national and international reports. Then, the property right problems experienced in the process of allocating school lands are defined. Methods of transferring school lands to public ownership are examined, and the benefit-cost relationships are revealed. Land readjustment (LR) would make an important contribution to planning decisions and the implementation stage in the sustainable management of school lands.

Evaluation of a clinical pharmacogenetics model to predict methotrexate response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Variability of response to treatment hinders successful management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Consequently, a clinical pharmacogenetics model for predicting response to methotrexate (CP-MTX) has been previously proposed that includes four clinical variables (disease activity, sex, the presence of rheumatoid factor and smoking status) and four SNPs (rs2236225, rs17602729, rs1127354, and rs2372536) in genes of the folate pathway. It showed good performance, but failed to attract attention, likely, in relation with lack of clear clinical benefit. Here, we have revised the value of the CP-MTX model directly addressing its clinical benefit by focusing on the expected benefit-cost of the predictions. In addition, our study included a much larger number of RA patients (n = 720) in MTX monotherapy than previous studies. Benefit of CP-MTX prediction was defined as the patients that would have received combination therapy as first treatment because they were correctly predicted as non-responders to MTX monotherapy. In contrast, cost of CP-MTX prediction was defined as the responder patients that were wrongly predicted as non-responders. Application of CP-MTX predictions to our patients showed a good benefit-cost relationship, with half of the 66.7% non-responders to MTX monotherapy rightly directed to alternative treatments (a benefit of 33.3%) at the cost of 8.5% wrongly predicted non-responders. These benefits-costs were consistent with reanalysis of the previously published studies. Therefore, predictions of CP-MTX showed a good benefit-cost relationship for informing MTX prescription.

Competitiveness of the Mexican Strawberry for Export to USA: A Partial Equilibrium Model

USA is the main strawberry consumer in the world, so in order to satisfy the demand also imports large quantities from Mexico. The Mexican strawberry represented, in 2009, the 99,30 % of the total imported by this country; while between 1989 and 2009, the annual average growth rate of the Mexican exports of strawberry to USA was 9.81 %. According with the calculated price flexibility by the econometric model results, due to increments of 30 % in the exported quantity to USA for one year, the price would be reduced in 2,4715 % in the short time. The simulation model shows that the Benefit-Cost Relationship for producers of the States of Michoacán, Baja California and Guanajuato would be greater than 1 (1,42; 1,36 and 1,12 respectively); that is to say, that continues being profitable for the strawberry producers of the three States, an increment of 30 % in the exported quantity to USA.

Performance properties of vacuum insulation panels produced with various filling materials

Abstract Vacuum insulation panel (VIP) is known to be the most effective insulation material. However, the usage areas of VIPs are restricted because of their high production costs. The core of VIP is the most important item affecting the cost of VIP. In this study, to obtain VIPs, which are provided with minimum thermal conductivity resistance value (R=5 m2 K/mW), was aimed for the optimal thickness of the panel (<40 mm). Therefore, 14 different core samples of VIP were produced by using various types of powders (fumed silica, precipitated silica, perlite, and diatomite), opacifiers (silicon carbide, carbon black, and titanium dioxide), and fibers (glass fiber, organic fiber, and cellulosic fiber). By using appropriate test methods, the physical properties of core samples such as unit weight, porosity, mass per volume and mechanical properties, their uniaxial compressive strength, tensile strength, and dimensional stability and also thermal conductivity coefficient in vacuum were determined. Results were compared with values of reference materials. The most appropriate compression pressure used in the manufacture of core sample was 27.5 kN. In addition, taking into account the benefit-cost relationship, the results of this study showed that the mix of fumed silica and precipitated silica (powder material), silicon carbide (opacifier), and glass fiber (fiber) was determined as the most suitable raw materials.

Adoption, constraints and economic returns of paddy rice under the system of rice intensification in Mwea, Kenya

A detailed farm survey was conducted in Mwea Irrigation Scheme, Kenya during the 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 main growing seasons to assess the adoption and to quantify the net income advantages of using system of rice intensification (SRI) management over farmer practices (FP) for rice cultivation.Data were collected through questionnaires and structured interviews with farmers who were practicing both SRI and FP methods of rice production on their farms. Under FP, three seedlings aged 28 days are transplanted in respective hills at random spacing. The fields are then flooded with water throughout the growing period. For SRI practice, factors considered as essential were transplanting only one seedling per hill aged 8–15 days with spacing of at least 20cm by 20cm; weeding the crop at least three times at intervals of ten days; and intermittently irrigating the fields. The contributions of using organic manure for fertilization and soil-aeration weed control methods were not considerations in this study since the availability of organic materials and mechanical push-weeders were challenges at the time of study. A total of 40 farmers in 10 units out of the 50 SRI farmers from 18 units of the irrigation scheme were sampled. Benefit–cost relationships were estimated using tabular analysis of all the variable costs and income from production using the survey data.On average, yield under SRI management increased by 1.6t/ha (33%), with seed requirements reduced by 87% and, water savings of 28%. SRI required 9% more labor than FP on average, but this factor of production showed great variability; in three Mwea units, labor costs were reduced by an average of 13%. SRI required 30% more labor for weeding than FP in the first season, but this was reduced to 15% in the second season when push-weeders became available. The results showed SRI giving a higher benefit–cost ratio of 1.76 and 1.88 in the first and second seasons, respectively, compared to 1.3 and 1.35 for FP.The results indicated that SRI practices of planting younger seedlings, with wider spacing and intermittent irrigation, lead to increased paddy rice yields with concomitant rise in the income accruing to farmers. Possibly further increases in net benefit could come with enhanced availability of mechanical weeders and using organic material for fertilization. Up-scaling of SRI in Mwea can be expected to help achieve greater national and household food security

How Regulators Should Use Natural Gas Price Forecasts

Natural gas prices are critical to a range of regulatory decisions covering both electric and gas utilities. Natural gas prices are often a crucial variable in electric generation capacity planning and in the benefit–cost relationship for energy-efficiency programs. High natural gas prices can make coal generation the most economical new source, while low prices can make natural gas generation the most economical. Forecasting is like driving a car blindfolded while following directions given by someone who is looking out of the back window. – Anonymous

Effects of pollinia removal and insertion on flower longevity inChloraea alpina (Orchidaceae)

Although it is known that stigmatic pollen deposition may trigger early flower senescence, the existence of a similar plastic response of flower lifespan to pollen removal has been much less studied. Here we report on a factorial, manipulative experiment in which all 2 × 2 flower combinations of pollinia removal and stigmatic pollinia insertion were performed in inflorescences of the Patagonian ground orchidChloraea alpina. This experiment was conducted in the laboratory, in a population of cut inflorescences and in the field. We hypothesized that if expected fitness gains, through both the male and female functions, were weighed against the costs of flower maintenance, then early flower senescence should be triggered by either pollinia removal or insertion. The shortest flower lifespan would be expected in flowers where both processes occurred. Results showed that flower longevity was very strongly affected by pollinia insertion, reducing the flower lifespan by approximately 60%. The response of pollinia removal was much weaker. A significant reduction in flower longevity caused by pollinia removal was only detected in unpollinated flowers (i.e. no pollinia inserted). Within the racemose inflorescences, flowers in basal positions lived longer than flowers in terminal ones, which might be evidence of the importance of resource availability in determining maximum flower longevity. The observed responses of flower lifespan plasticity to pollinia manipulation only partially supported our expectations based on fitness benefit—cost relationships. Other factors that might explain these discrepancies are the different fitness gains that may indeed accrue to the processes of pollinia removal and insertion as they occur in nature, donor manipulation of the recipient flower lifespan associated with the evolution of pollen clustering into pollinia and physiological constraints in terms of the extent to which flower longevity may respond to pollen removal.

Hemophilia Home Treatment:Economic Analysis and Implications for Health Policy

This analysis describes the development of technology for home self-infusion of factor VII in the treatment of hemophilia and its clinical, economic, and social consequences, and uses the case study of such home care treatment to illustrate the potentials and pitfalls of formal economic analyses of programs to treat chronically ill children. A comprehensive review of all original data on hemophilia programs, their related costs, and outcomes, conducted from 1966 through 1993, examined the economic outcomes for two hypothetical cohorts, one aged 0-4 years and the other aged 30-34 years. Including the measurement of treatment effects on the productivity of parental caregivers substantially increases the benefit-cost relationship of an intervention directed at chronically ill children. Increased economic productivity and societal return resulting from such a program for young adults exceeds those for a cohort of children, primarily due to assumptions related to discounting. However, estimation of quality-adjusted life years favors the younger age cohort, since children survive for a longer period of time and with each year survived comes a higher quality of life. Unlike simpler instances in which economic benefits can be shown to outweigh resource costs, policy decisions concerning services for chronically ill children raise an additional set of complex analytic issues. Inclusion of the benefits in productivity experienced by family caregivers provides an important added dimension to such analyses. The development of cost-benefit or cost-effectiveness analyses of these programs illustrates the importance of careful measurement of outcomes and explicit statements of underlying assumptions. Such an analysis of home care for children with hemophilia therefore demonstrates both the strengths and the limitations of this approach.

Targeting Economic Development: An Examination of the Needs of Small Businesses

States have adopted a range of incentives to encourage small business retention and expansion. These include industrial development bonds, tax credits for employment or building programs, and large-scale development to improve infrastructure systems. The effectiveness of such strategies has not been examined carefully. One approach, utilized in this study, is to survey small businesses to determine their perceived needs and reactions to incentives. It is discovered that small businesses in a metropolitan setting require better public services—especially crime protection, sanitation, transportation, and lower energy costs—which are generally not addressed by economic development programs. Thus, this study concludes that incentives need to be targeted more directly to the expressed and observed needs of small businesses in order to provide a more optimal benefit-cost relationship between incentives and growth.

A Multivariate Analysis of a Vocational Rehabilitation Program

This study estimates benefit-cost relationships for many subgroups of disabled persons, using regression analysis. The results sharply contradict the findings of a previous study, which suggested that low-productivity groups benefit as much, per dollar of expenditure, as do higher productivity groups. This study finds that, except for the variable of race, the relationship between rehabilitation outcome and variables such as age, sex, etc., are similar to the relationships often observed between these variables and labor market earnings of the general population. In short, high-productivity groups benefit most, per dollar of expenditure, from the provision of rehabilitation services.

A MARGINAL ANALYSIS OF THE BENEFIT-COST RELATIONSHIPS OF EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION PLANS*

CORPORATIONS typically employ a variety of devices to remunerate executive talent. The purpose of this study is to identify the reward and cost associated with each plan in the executive-compensation package and to compare pay plans in terms of their relative cost efficiency. All comparisons are made on an after-tax basis, to recognize explicitly the differences in tax treatment of the various plans and the progressive nature of personal taxes. In addition, comparisons involving differences in timing employ a discounted-cash-flow computational framework. Additional adjustments in the calculations recognize the possibility of the employee's death before receipt of deferred rewards and the uncertain nature of stock-based remuneration. The expected after-tax present value of the relevant monetary flows forms the basis for comparison on both the benefit and cost side of the transaction. The analysis is performed in two distinct phases. First, the benefit-cost relationship for each of a series of pay plans is expressed in equation form and analyzed in detail with a sensitivity analysis to identify the relative importance of parameters such as age, subjective opportunity rates, and marginal tax rates in each set of equations. A set of typical pay plans is then compared on the basis of their cost efficiency in rewarding a group of typical corporate executives. The analysis is extended to consider the possibility of allowing the executive to select his own benefit package from a set of equal-cost pay plans. In addition, the analysis considers the tax implications of executive pay by tracing the effect on federal tax revenues of an increment to the executive's reward under each pay plan. The study was conducted prior to the 1969 tax-reform legislation and hence is based on the prior tax law. The new tax treatment of many pay alternatives, while altering the absolute values of benefit and cost, changes the conclusions based on relative costs very little. The results of the analysis indicate that the lowest cost per dollar of reward in the compensation package is achieved by pay plans that provide for the deferral of payment until retirement. The advantage of such plans lies in their potential for tax savings either as a result of favorable tax treatment granted to a particular plan or the more-general tax savings promised by the lower tax rates expected to apply to income in the post-retirement years. In addition, since the firm normally has opportunities for investment which promise returns in excess of the returns available to individuals, deferral has a higher value to the firm than its corresponding cost to the employee. Salary and bonus, the traditional remuneration plans that predominate in realworld pay packages, are found to be generally inefficient in providing a low-cost package of rewards. Their importance in the pay package, therefore, appears to be primarily a function of such considerations as the practical need of the employee for current cash. Stock options and other equity-based pay plans are found to be very inefficient in economic terms. Since lower-cost compensation plans can be designed to provide

A Marginal Analysis of the Benefit-Cost Relationships of Executive Compensation Plans

A Marginal Analysis of the Benefit-Cost Relationships of Executive Compensation Plans