Non-monetary Benefits Research Articles

Competitions: Grand challenges

Scientists lured by big-prize competitions should weigh contests' aims and non-monetary benefits before entering.

Cost–benefit analysis of a media campaign to increase registrations of Power of Attorney in Scotland

BackgroundThe number of days patients are delayed in hospital because a welfare Power of Attorney (POA) has not been registered is increasing. This problem is costly and blocks beds. The aim of this study was to measure the cost–benefit ratio of a media campaign to increase POA registrations. MethodsThe media campaign (television, radio, YouTube, and billboard advertising) began in Glasgow in November, 2013, with seven other local authorities subsequently joining. Mean length of stay for adults with incapacity delayed in hospital was calculated from routinely collected delayed discharge data. Published data on hospital admissions and adults with incapacity were used to calculate the probability of a person being admitted to hospital and subsequently becoming an adult with incapacity delayed there. Using this information and previously published estimates of registrations generated per phase of campaign, under an interrupted time-series analysis, estimated bed day costs avoided were compared with the cost of the campaign. A sensitivity analysis was carried out, using different probability assumptions for new registrants' survival and becoming an incapacitated hospital patient. FindingsThe campaign cost was met by cost savings of two new registrants avoiding becoming a delayed adult with incapacity at any future time. 1486 (95% CI 1281–1746) of the 11 366 POA registrations across Scotland during the first quarter of 2015 were due to the media campaign. The campaign cost £60 385 per phase, with estimated savings of £191 743 (95% CI 165 292–225 292) in prevented delayed bed days, giving a net benefit of £131 358 (104 907–164 907) per campaign phase and a benefit–cost ratio of 3·17 (under the assumption that all new registrants lived for 5 years and that their probability of becoming a delayed adult with incapacity remained the same during this time). A sensitivity analysis found a benefit–cost ratio range of 2·73—10·16, adjusting for these assumptions. This analysis excludes known spill-over effects such as other family members subsequently registering a POA, and non-monetary benefits including the avoided emotional cost to family members of the guardianship process. InterpretationThis analysis shows that the media campaign was cost effective even under fairly conservative assumptions. FundingGlasgow City Council (GCC) provided financial support for the preparation of the article. GCC had no role in the analysing of data, interpretation, writing of the abstract, or the decision to submit it for publication.

Mergers and Acquisitions of the Financial Institutions: Factors Affecting the Employee Turnover Intention

A prudent analysis of the factors affecting turnover intention of the employees after mergers and acquisitions should guide the managers to prevent the fallout of employees during such complex process; the primary objective of this study is to identify those factors that influence turnover intention of the employees. Drawing from the previous studies, a conceptual framework was developed that took into account pre-merger organizational identification, procedural justice, utility with the merger, non-monetary benefits, monetary benefits, trust with merger and adequate authority delegation as variables that influence post-merger organizational identification and satisfaction with the merger. The results illustrate that pre-merger organization identification, utility with the merger, and trust with merger significantly predicted the post-merger organization identification, whereas only trust with merger significantly predicted the satisfaction with the merger. Furthermore, the study elucidates that the post-merger organizational identification could prevent the turnover intention among the employees. The findings of the study unravel sentiments of the employees during the consolidation process and provide the practitioners and the policy-makers with a base to develop an effective strategy to prevent turnover of employees during the mergers and acquisitions.

Crowdfunding Civil Justice

Crowdfunding—the aggregation of numerous but modest individual contributions through specialized online platforms—is a relatively new finance method. In the last few years, it has started its incursion into the realm of civil litigation funding. Three unrelated events, which took place in different jurisdictions in 2017, demonstrate this evolving trend and its potential impact. In the United States, the Southern Poverty Law Center included the political activist Maajid Nawaz on a list of “anti-Muslim extremists.” Nawaz launched an independent campaign for crowdfunding a defamation action against the organization. In the United Kingdom, a wildlife protection organization brought a defamation action against Andy Wightman, a Member of the Scottish Parliament, over his blog posts about the plaintiff’s practices. Wightman raised more than £60,000 through a British crowdfunding platform to fight this lawsuit. In Israel, the acclaimed journalist Igal Sarna was found liable in defamation for a Facebook post scorning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Sarna raised over $45,000 through a crowdfunding website to cover his liability. The Article provides a law and economics analysis of this emerging global trend, which may revolutionize the civil process in the near future. It argues, first, that the distinction between investment-based and non-investment-based crowdfunding models is crucial. In non-investment-based models, contributors expect only a non-monetary benefit (reward-based crowdfunding) or none at all (donation-based crowdfunding). In investment-based models, contributors expect financial return—a share in the fundraiser’s future gain (equity-crowdfunding) or repayment of the contribution with interest (debt-crowdfunding). The Article contends that investment-based litigation crowdfunding is generally a welcome phenomenon, because it enables parties to pursue meritorious claims and defenses without generating a significant risk of frivolous litigation. Thus, it should be minimally regulated by securing disclosure of relevant information to potential investors. Non-investment-based litigation crowdfunding should be more constrained. The analysis entails a second fundamental distinction between process costs and outcome costs. Process costs are any outlays incurred by either party in relation to the dispute resolution process and prior to its conclusion. These may include court charges, attorneys’ fees, witnesses’ and experts’ expenditures and remuneration, etc. In cases of incapacitating injury, process costs may also include the claimant’s living expenses throughout the process. Outcome costs are the amounts payable under the settlement or the judgment. The Article contends that non-investment-based crowdfunding of process costs should be subject to professional vetting. This will inhibit frivolous claims and defenses that waste scarce administrative resources and do not further the underlying goals of civil law. Non-investment-based crowdfunding of outcome costs should be prohibited, because it undermines at least one of the primary objectives of substantive law.

Social manufacturing: When the maker movement meets interfirm production networks

New business models harnessing the power of individuals have already revolutionized service industries and digital content production. In this study, we investigate whether a similar phenomenon is taking place in manufacturing industries. We start by conceptually defining two distinct forms of firm-individual collaboration in manufacturing industries: (1) social cloud manufacturing, in which firms outsource manufacturing to individuals, and (2) social platform manufacturing, in which firms provide manufacturing services to individuals. We then empirically investigate the nature of firm-individual collaboration within these forms, focusing on the role of individuals. We find that the individuals are often makers who view their participation primarily as a hobby and are driven mainly by nonmonetary benefits, that the design process often involves both parties, and that the two forms of collaboration exploit different enabling technologies. Our findings suggest that firms working with individuals can potentially reap multiple benefits, including fresh ideas, broader design support, and quick delivery times. This article contributes to an improved understanding of how firms can build potentially disruptive business models in manufacturing industries by leveraging individuals, thereby adding to the emerging stream of literature on social manufacturing.

Insights for Measuring Social Value: Classification of Measures Related to the Capabilities Approach

The measurement of performance and the evaluation of social change efforts are vital yet challenging issues for practitioners and researchers in the social sector. Although tools exist to measure social value, they tend to focus on converting non-monetary costs and benefits into monetary terms to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of operations. The capabilities approach provides a value-based alternative that could potentially enable a broader assessment of a project’s impact; this approach encapsulates societal-level factors, beneficiary perspectives, and a more holistic view of a beneficiary’s life. Ultimately, our goal is to raise the following question in the social sector field: what might a capabilities approach to social value measurement that is suitable for practical application by social sector organizations look like? The purpose of this article is to introduce the theoretical framework and to present what some of the measures and instruments might look like, at least in part, based on applications in other contexts.

Who controls the board in non-profit organizations? The case of private higher education institutions in Colombia

How should the governance system in a non-membership non-profit organization be designed? This organizational form has no shareholders; instead, donors provide funds. Thus, at the organizational level, the board of directors could have all the power. Under this legal form, who controls the board? If too powerful, boards could misuse resources or distract the organization from its foundational goals. We examine the case of private higher education institutions (HEIs) in Colombia and the balance of power in university governance systems which feature this organizational form. Most HEIs in our sample have a kind of assembly of representatives as the governance body with the highest authority and able to appoint and control the board. We specifically discuss the assemblies’ reason for being, structure, and functions in private HEIs in Colombia. We analyze a total of 204 HEI governance structures and find governance arrangements with the characteristics of an assembly of representatives in 154 (75.9%). Our analysis highlights features in some of these governance bodies that could lead to overly powerful assemblies (e.g., founder donors with tenure for life). Clearly, a proper balance of power is required to avoid rent-seeking behaviors or the pursuit of harmful private non-monetary benefits from assembly members as well as boards.

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Two Child Abuse and Neglect Primary Prevention Programs for US States.

We assessed the US state-level budget and societal impact of implementing two child abuse and neglect (CAN) primary prevention programs. CAN cost estimates and data from two prevention programs (Child-Parent Centers and Nurse-Family Partnership) were combined with current population, cost, and CAN incidence data by US state. A cost-benefit mathematical model for each program by US state compared program costs with the future monetary value of benefits from reduced CAN. The models used a lifetime time horizon from government payer and societal perspectives. Both programs could potentially avert CAN among tens of thousands of children across the country. Lower costs from reduced CAN may substantially offset, but not always entirely eliminate, payers' program implementation cost. Results are sensitive to the rate of CAN in each US state. Given the considerable lifetime societal cost of CAN, including victims' lost work productivity, the programs were cost saving from the societal perspective in all US states using base case methods. This analysis represents an overall minimum return on payers' investment because averted CAN is just one of many positive health and educational outcomes associated with these programs and non-monetary benefits from reduced CAN were not included. Translating cost and effectiveness research on injury prevention programs for local conditions might increase decision makers' adoption of effective programs.

Carbon Trading: Who Gets What, When, and How?

Carbon Trading: Who Gets What, When, and How?

The Effect of Political Office on Life Expectancy

In this paper, we analyze the effect of political office on candidates' health. We build on a novel dataset of birth and death dates of close to all deceased candidates for US gubernatorial office in the post-war period, and estimate causal effects using a regression discontinuity design. We find that candidates who win the gubernatorial election live on average 5 years longer than candidates who lose. These results are robust to a wide range of robustness checks and placebo tests. Our findings suggest that holding political office has important non-monetary benefits.

Investigating Miss Fisher: the value of a television crime drama

This article explores the concept of value in relation to the Australian television crime drama series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. Drawing on a range of approaches to the economic valuation of culture, it argues for a nuanced approach to capturing the total cultural and economic value of a television crime drama series. While this may include the quantifiable, direct monetary benefits to be derived at all stages of development, production, distribution and consumption, the case is made for consideration of the unquantifiable, indirect non-monetary benefits that may also accrue to creators, to audiences and to society in general, as are clearly evident in the case of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.

Filling the demand for municipal government accountants: The benefits of a governmental and not-for-profit accounting course

The demand for accounting professionals in municipal governments is increasing as a result of an aging workforce and a period characterized by cautious hiring. Challenges faced by municipal governments in filling these positions are exacerbated by the competing opportunities available for accounting graduates. In this paper, we examine undergraduate- and graduate-level accounting students’ perceptions of careers in government and whether perceptions improve for students who take an elective governmental and not-for-profit accounting course. From the beginning to the end of the course, we document an increase in students’ perceptions of financial and non-monetary benefits associated with a government job as well as a shift toward viewing governmental accounting as offering creative and dynamic opportunities. The increase suggests that students taking the elective course view government careers as providing greater opportunity than public accounting or corporate accounting for work-life balance and having the potential for non-monetary benefits, although students tend to still view government careers as having less potential for monetary benefits. These results underscore the benefits of a governmental and not-for-profit accounting course within accounting programs.

Measuring the Welfare Effects of Residential Energy Efficiency Programs

We introduce a framework to evaluate the welfare effects of residential energy efficiency programs and estimate key parameters using a 100,000-household field experiment. Results generally contradict conventional wisdom: there is no evidence of informational or behavioral market failures, efficiency investments entail large non-monetary costs and benefits, and realized energy savings are just 58% of engineering predictions. The programs we study reduce social welfare by $0.18 per subsidy dollar, because investment subsidies are poorly targeted to externality damages and marginal program participants are unlikely to make externality-reducing investments. Such self-selection may undermine socially desirable program expansion in this and other domains.

Los servicios ecosistémicos como soporte para la toma de decisiones ambiental y socialmente sustentables

The theory of ecosystem services (ES) needs to be operationalized to contribute to practices leading to sustainable use of ecosystems, which includes solving trade-offs between private and public benefits and incorporating monetary and non-monetary values to help inform decisions. We developed a framework to analyse the impacts of farmers’ management alternatives on Nothofagus antarctica (G. Forst.) Oerst. forest in northern Patagonia, and analysed synergies and trade-offs between private and public benefits based on three conceptual and methodological approaches: a) a state-and-transition model of ecosystem dynamics, and b) indicators of values of ecosystem service benefits based on the cascade model, implemented as c) a decision support tool based on a Bayesian network. We optimized a utility function for short (0-10 yr) and long (70-140 yr) term management decisions (levels of grazing, logging and tree planting) based on monetary and non-monetary indicators of benefits that fulfilled “farmer’s satisfaction” objectives. We then assessed the consequences of these decisions on the fulfilment of public benefits as defined by the National Forest Law when projected into short (0-10 yr), intermediate (10-40 yr) and long (70-140 yr) time horizons. We found that when the short-term decisions are projected into a long-time horizon, they lead to high losses of benefits, mainly linked to “regulating and maintenance” ES. On the other hand, long-term decisions improved the level of benefits in degraded systems but resulted in the degradation of well-preserved forests. The decisions that optimize farmer’s satisfaction did not change with different weights of “farm income” in the utility function, indicating the absence of trade-offs between monetary and non-monetary benefits considered in the utility function. The tool developed helps to show long-term impacts of management, and discloses cause-effect relationships between levels of use and multiple benefits. It can therefore support measures aiming to raise awareness about degradation trends, and improve the functional understanding of the system that can lead to identify solutions for socio-economic and environmental sustainability. https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.17.27.1.1.295

An evaluation of the costs and consequences of Children Community Nursing teams

Recent years have seen an increasing shift towards providing care in the community, epitomised by the role of Children's Community Nursing (CCN) teams. However, there have been few attempts to use robust evaluative methods to interrogate the impact of such services. This study sought to evaluate whether reduction in secondary care costs, resulting from the introduction of 2 CCN teams, was sufficient to offset the additional cost of commissioning. Among the potential benefits of the CCN teams is a reduction in the burden placed on secondary care through the delivery of care at home; it is this potential reduction which is evaluated in this study via a 2-part analytical method. Firstly, an interrupted time series analysis used Hospital Episode Statistics data to interrogate any change in total paediatric bed days as a result of the introduction of 2 teams. Secondly, a costing analysis compared the cost savings from any reduction in total bed days with the cost of commissioning the teams. This study used a retrospective longitudinal study design as part of the transforming children's community services trial, which was conducted between June 2012 and June 2015. A reduction in hospital activity after introduction of the 2 nursing teams was found, (9634 and 8969 fewer bed days), but this did not reach statistical significance. The resultant cost saving to the National Health Service was less than the cost of employing the teams. The study represents an important first step in understanding the role of such teams as a means of providing a high quality of paediatric care in an era of limited resource. While the cost saving from released paediatric bed days was not sufficient to demonstrate cost-effectiveness, the analysis does not incorporate wider measures of health care utilisation and nonmonetary benefits resulting from the CCN teams.

IPO excessive financing, managerial power, and private benefits: evidence from the IPO market in China

Excessive financing by means of an initial public offering (IPO) is an important issue in the resource allocation efficiency of the capital market that has deeply concerned the public and regulatory authorities. Within the Chinese context and applying the theory of managerial power, we discuss the influence of IPO excessive financing on the private benefits of top managers. Using data on companies listed in 2006–2011, we find that: (1) the top managers of listed companies with excessive financing obtain greater monetary and non-monetary private benefits; (2) this phenomenon is significant for both state-owned and non–state-owned firms; (3) in non–state-owned enterprises, the greater the managerial power, the greater the monetary and non-monetary private benefits top managers receive, whereas this relation does not exist in state-owned enterprises; and (4) the market responds negatively to companies with excessive financing that provide greater monetary private benefits to top managers, but there is no significant response to companies that provide greater non-monetary private benefits to top managers. This paper expands the research on the economic consequences of excessive financing via an IPO and managerial power and provides regulatory implications of such excessive financing.

Valuing conservation benefits of disease control in wildlife: A choice experiment approach to bovine tuberculosis management in New Zealand's native forests

We assess the non-monetary environmental benefits that accrue incidentally in New Zealand (NZ) from pest management conducted primarily to control an animal disease, bovine tuberculosis (TB). TB is an infectious disease that is one of the world's most serious animal health problems and, in many parts of the developing world, still a major mortality risk for humans. The incidence of TB in New Zealand (NZ) farmed livestock has been reduced progressively over the last 20 years, largely due to extensive and sustained population control of the main wildlife reservoir of disease, the introduced brushtail possum. Possums are also major pests that threaten indigenous forest biodiversity, and so extensive possum control for TB mitigation also incidental benefits conservation, but the extent and public value of this benefit has yet to be quantified. We conducted a choice experiment survey of the NZ public in an effort to value the native forest biodiversity benefits of TB-related possum control. We find strong public support for conservation outcomes consequent to TB-possum control in public native forests. The public place substantial value on the most observable biodiversity benefits of TB possum control, such as improved forest canopies and presence of native birds. The benefits, costs and values of TB-possum control are discussed in relation to the future directives of NZ's TB control programme, which is headed toward first regional and then national level disease eradication.

Payments for environmental services and community-level socioeconomic wellbeing: Comparing programs in Vietnam and Australia

The success of Payments for Environmental Services (PES) programs depend crucially on local conditions, although some considerations can help make PES schemes more successful in any locale. Many PES programs are in their infancy yet have ambitious goals for environmental preservation and poverty alleviation. Monitoring and evaluating the outcomes of PES programs can provide insights into how they can best achieve these goals. This research adds to existing PES case studies by evaluating new data on one village’s participation in a World Wildlife Fund PES scheme. A village in central Vietnam was visited and the Administrative Chief of the village was interviewed to gauge the success of the PES scheme in that village. The comments from the Vietnamese village were then compared to written and verbal accounts of the Working on Country program in Australia to elucidate factors that can make PES schemes successful. This comparison revealed four key factors that can improve the outcomes of PES schemes. Community involvement in the design, implementation and evaluation of projects is crucial. Furthermore, the monetary remuneration that the community receives should be adequate. In addition, PES schemes are particularly successful when the community receives non-monetary benefits, such as social or cultural benefits, from participating in the program. Finally, the involvement of outside organisations, including the state, needs to be adequate and appropriate to ensure positive socioeconomic outcomes for the communities involved.

Marine science and technology transfer: Can the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission advance governance of biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction?

Marine scientific research is crucial to forge solutions in the development of a new international legally binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea . The transfer of marine technology, capacity development and marine genetic resources are key issues. This paper examines how the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), as a competent international organisation for marine scientific research and technology transfer, can inform the development of the instrument. Synergies between marine technology transfer and non-monetary benefit sharing of genetic resources are illustrated. Four key lessons from the IOC are examined: 1. Coordinating international cooperation in marine scientific research; 2. Enabling open access to data and knowledge; 3. Facilitating capacity development through scientific training and education; and 4. Governance of marine scientific research. Realising the potential of the IOC to advance governance solutions for ABNJ will depend on increased political will from Member States and strengthened partnerships to reduce resource constraints and enhance the IOC's capacity at global and regional scales.

Employee Benefits in Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs): Practice and Challenges

This paper examines the emerging issues in the practice of Employee Benefits (EB) in SMEs.An insight of the types of employee benefits (EB) rationally offered in business is brought forward with its importance.Costs, minimum wage policy, non-monetary benefits, tax implications and cafeteria plan flexibility have been identified as issues and challenges for EB practices in SMEs.This paper contributes knowledge on the contemporary state of EB to the SMEs.