Total Net Benefit Research Articles

All "NG" Up On Clubs?: a "Bran-New Flawer" of Brennan-Flowers

This article attempts to clarifv two controversial issues in the theory of clubs: (I) Abstract Is the Buchanan (Economica 1965) framework similar to the Tiebout (JPE 1956)? (2) Is the Pareto optimality condition of Ng(Economica 1973) generally applicable? Buchanan's own authoritv is invoked to give a negative answer to issue 1. A negative answer to issue 2 is refuted as being based on a misinterpreta tion of Ng's method of maximizing Pareto optimality or total net benefit ofthe whole population as that of one club.

Applying game theory to library networks

AbstractThe application of game theory to library networks consists of four basic subjects: the development of a systematic way to study individual coalitions, the calculation of the costs of a network, the calculation of the gross benefits for the whole network, the stability of the network. This article concentrates on the first and last of these subjects. Coalitions are compared in a systematic way by first defining coalitions and introducing the concept of a division. The latter is defined as a unique combination of coalitions such that every participating library is a member of one and only one coalition and the division exhausts all “n” libraries. The definition of division stability depends on the payoff vector being in the “core.” This happens when members of the coalitions in the division have more to distribute among themselves than they would in any other division. When a division is stable, any variation in the coalition structure will reduce total net benefits to coalition members. In practice, the choices open to the individual library may not be as plentiful as the theoretical analysis suggests. Thinking of networks performing a single function, most members will belong to a single coalition with remaining coalitions in the optimal division having zero members.

User Losses in Earthquake-Damaged Roadway Networks

Network analysis of an earthquake-damaged arterial system is performed using a highly efficient traffic assignment algorithm. The reduced trip volume and increased average trip time can be obtained for any simulated earthquake; the (hourly) loss in total net user benefit is obtained, and is labelled the user loss. The analysis is repeated for a set of discrete earthquakes which model the hazard. The end result is the annual expected user loss; this is a direct measure of seismic risk. In one example the user loss increases more rapidly with intensity than does the repair-replacement costs.

Crowding Models for Backcountry Recreation

The effect of crowding is a major concern in outdoor recreation, particularly in wild or back-country areas. But the process by which different numbers of people are experienced and evaluated is complex. How many can enter an area before it becomes crowded, reducing the quality of individual experience? Because resource managers regulate the number of people using certain areas and may turn away potential users, the question has applied as well as theoretical significance. The crowding model commonly used to answer this question comes from an economic tradition. It is essentially a production function relating density and satisfaction in an attempt to maximize aggregate satisfaction (Clawson and Knetsch 1966, pp. 164-75; Fisher and Krutilla 1972; Cicchetti and Smith 1973, 1976; Alldredge 1973). Crowding has also been studied with an implied rather than explicit economic model (LaPage 1963; Lucas 1966; Held, Brickler, and Wilcox 1969; Willard 1971; Boster 1972; Godfrey and Peckfelder 1972; Stankey 1972; McConnell 1977). Besides appealing to many researchers, this model is often the intuitive basis for decisions made by managers. In its simplest form, the economic model contends that there comes a degree of intensity of use . . . where . . . satisfactions from the area or activity decline (Clawson and Knetsch 1966, p. 167). The reasoning (outlined by Alldredge 1973) is that the first visitor to enter a given area experiences uncontaminated solitude. When a second user is added, the enjoyment of each user is reduced, because solitude is no longer absolute. As long as the gain from admitting additional numbers exceeds the loss due to congestion costs, aggregate net benefits will increase. Beyond a point the congestion costs exceed the gains experienced by the additional recreationists and total net benefits diminish .... Optimal capacity is the point at which the total benefit is a maximum and the incremental or marginal benefit is zero (Fisher and Krutilla 1972, p. 425). McConnell's empirical study (1977) of Rhode Island beaches comes closest to this two-variable approach. Density was measured by counting people per acre on a given beach, and satisfaction was measured as individual willingness to pay. Combining the data for six beaches and controlling the effects of air temperature, income, and number of previous visits, McConnell found a significant negative effect due to density. The simple two-variable approach has

The Shapley Value As Applied to Cost Allocation: A Reinterpretation

The problem of cost allocation is inescapable in virtually every organization and consequently pervades every facet of accounting. As an alternative to traditional accounting allocation bases, there is a growing interest in cost allocation schemes predicated on notions in game theory. Shubik [1962] was among the original proponents of this. He suggested the Shapley value as a method of joint-cost allocation, and it is the Shapley value that has continued to attract the widest interest.' The Shapley value was introduced by Shapley [1953] as a method for each player to assess a priori the benefits he would expect from playing a game. To show its application to the problem of assigning joint cost, let us suppose that the full cost of some common service (e.g., a computer facility, a power plant, or a maintenance staff) is to be shared among n departments, which will be designated by N = {1, 2, ..., n}. The function v( S) describes the net total benefit to the coalition S when those departments cooperate to secure the common service. For purposes of this discussion, it will be assumed that the total net benefit is expressed in

The Fundamental Studies on the Opimal Development and Allocation of Forests

Forest lands are utilized and managed for a multiplicity of purposes, with usually one use, frequently timber production, dominant on a particular area. Forest lands can often be utilized and managed for several uses, sometimes on the same area and sometimes with different dominant uses assigned to separate areas. Utilization and management of the whole are directed to obtain the total net benefit of forest lands. Forest lands managed primarily for timber production can be frequently, and with comparatively small adjustment, served watershed, wildlife, or recreational purposes. A major use, well managed, often ensures others. In some conditions, the usage of forest lands are incompatible, one with another, and priority decision must be made.Japan, compared with western countries, even with asiatic countries having relatively high percentage of forest land, is one of the most forested countries in the world. However, there was no precise knowledge of the effect of forest cover upon environmental supplies. Much has been explained about sustained yield as a major objective of timber management, and it has been regarded as something of a general cureall.Environmental stress of forest lands refers to a discordance between man's economic activities and his natural surroundings. The result of the discordance is a deterioration in the quality of the natural surroundings that leads to a reduction in social welfare. The phyical environment and its characteristics have an important influence on the economic and ecological structure of a region. I took a statistical approach, (principal component analysis) to the collection and presentation of envionmental data of forest lands, and indicated the results of valuation and classification of forest lands in Yamagata Prefecture on the use of a map and graphs, to summarize information visually, for easy comparisons among forest lands.If the above-mentioned standards of classification of forest lands are supplied by public organizations, they may be possible to indicate the appropriate environmental measures such as the choice species and regeneration procedures.

Total Net Benefit and the Quantity of Life: A Query

When it is expected that different population levels will be associated with alternative land uses, cost—benefit analysts could adopt three treatments of benefit. (1) Only the benefit of population common to all land uses is considered. (2) The potential Pareto improvement criterion is adopted, requiring that gainers from any change can compensate losers. (3) Utility weights are used to interpret willingness-to-pay in terms of benefit. Despite the apparent feeling of economists that treatment (1) avoids difficult value judgements, all three treatments raise problems of ascribing preferences to the yet-unborn, and of estimating the total utility of life.

Social Rates of Return and Other Aspects of Agricultural Research: The Case of Cotton Research in São Paulo, Brazil

AbstractEconomic impacts of investments in cotton seed research and development in São Paulo, Brazil, are estimated. The internal rate of return to Brazilian society is estimated to have been approximately 90 percent. The effect on export earnings was large, and consumers benefited via a decrease in the price and an increase in the quantity of cotton cloth. Of total net benefits producers captured about 60 percent and consumers 40 percent. Landowners and managers received the largest share of producer benefits. Laborers benefited through an increase in employment, but wage rates were not raised. Policy implications are given.

Regional versus inter-regional efficiency in resource allocations

This discussion invest igates the question whether the introduction of compensation payments for resource t ransfe rs between independent regions with unequal endowments of r e sources such as water would lead to an efficient in te r reg iona l allocation and utilization pat tern of these resources . The basic assumption underlying the analysis is that the respect ive regions have e i ther complete or part ial jur isdict ion or ownership r ights over these r e sources so that they themselves could determine or at least substant ially influence existing and future util ization pat terns. Given this c r i t e r i a , the definition would mean a special poli t ical subunit such as an individual water dis t r ic t , it could mean an individual state or province forming part of a l a rge r national unit, or it could r e f e r to a sovereign country such as Canada or the United States. Regional efficiency, then, can be defined as the maximizat ion of net benefits accruing to the region i tself f rom the util ization of the par t icular r e source within or without its own boundaries, whereas in ter regional efficiency r e f e r s to the maximizat ion of total net benefits for all affected regions combined. The analysis will be conducted in t e rms of usual benefi t cost terminology, with net benefits r e f e r r ing to the present value of the sum of public and pr ivate total benefits minus the sum of public and pr ivate total costs. However, such a definition r a i ses three important issues. The f i r s t is the question of the appropriate rate or ra tes of discount, a question which has found much attention in the l i te ra ture without resul t ing in a

Total Dollar Benefit of Water Pollution Control

Tangible dollar benefits of a lake or stream at a given water quality may be estimated by determining all uses which both affect and are affected by water quality, by independently valuing each use, and by summing the resultant values. Measurable beneficial water uses related to water quality include recreational uses, withdrawal water uses, wastewater disposal uses, bordering land uses and in-stream water uses. The value of each beneficial use may be estimated by a user willingness to pay criteria or by an evaluation of benefits derived from avoiding payment. Application of this method to Onondaga Lake at Syracuse, New York, produces an estimated net social benefit of $4,400,000 per yr. Recreation proves to be the most important beneficial use for Onondaga Lake at improved water quality and recreational value comprises close to half of the total net annual benefits of decreased pollution. Estimation of tangible dollar benefits of water pollution control may be useful in the decision of the value of installing advanced forms of waste treatment by river basin firms composed of members representing all major groups in water-using society.