59 research outputs found
Voucher privatization with investment funds : an institutional analysis
No full textCommon wisdom among post-socialist reformers has beento use voucher investment funds to provide the corporate governance needed to restructure newly privatized enterprises after mass privatization efforts. The idea has been that mass privatization would spread the ownership too wide and make corporate governance difficult. The author examines the likely institutional behavior of voucher funds and the possible effects of their development on a transition economy. Since most policy advice has been in favor of voucher privatization with investment funds, the author can be seen as playing the devil's advocate, but his argument is institutional, not statistical. Policymaking requires insight and foresight into how institutions will tend to function. He concludes that voucher funds will introduce a bias in the economy away from the real industrial sector toward an ersatz"financial sector"that will have little if any positive financial role but will be well-protected by friendly regulators. One long-term consequence of voucher privatization with investment funds, according to this view, is a de facto"industrial policy"of real sector decapitalization in favor of short-term rent-seeking by fund managers through board sinecures and lucrative side deals with portfolio companies and through financial market manipulation and paper entrepreneurship in the"financial sector."Without strong corporate governance from the funds and without stable ownership of their own, many enterprise managers will exploit the post-socialist version of the"separation of ownership and control"to grab what they can in the form of salaries, bonuses, perquisites, and side deals. The most likely results of the strategy of voucher privatization with investment funds may be a two-sided grab fest by fund managers and enterprise managers -- together with the accompanying drift, stagnation, and decapitalization of the privatized industrial sector.Economic Adjustment and Lending,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Adjustment and Lending,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research
Flooded Edge Gateways
No full textIncreasing numbers of internet-compatible devices, in particular in the context of IoT, usually cause increasing amounts of data. The processing and analysis of a continuously growing amount of data in real-time by means of cloud platforms cannot be guaranteed anymore. Approaches of Edge Computing decentralize parts of the data analysis logics towards the data sources in order to control the data transfer rate to the cloud through pre-processing with predefined quality-of-service parameters. In this paper, we present a solution for preventing overloaded gateways by optimizing the transfer of IoT data through a combination of Complex Event Processing and Machine Learning. The presented solution is completely based on open-source technologies and can therefore also be used in smaller companies.Steigende Zahlen Internet-fähiger Geräte, besonders im Kontext des Internet der Dinge (IoT), verursachen zunehmend große Mengen an Daten. Die Verarbeitung und Analyse einer stetig steigenden Datenmenge mit Hilfe von Cloud-Plattformen kann in Echtzeit nicht mehr garantiert werden. Ansätze des Edge Computing dezentralisieren Teile der Datenanalyselogik in Richtung der Datenquellen, um den Datendurchsatz zur Cloud durch eine Vorverarbeitung im Rahmen vordefinierter Quality-Of-Service-Parameter zu kontrollieren. In dieser Arbeit stellen wir eine Lösung zur Prävention überladener Gateways vor, indem wir die Übertragung von IoT-Daten durch eine Kombination von Complex Event Processing und maschinelles Lernen optimieren. Die vorgestellte Lösung basiert vollständig auf Open-Source-Technologien und kann somit auch in kleineren Unternehmen angewendet werden
The effects of fiscal consolidation in the OECD
No full textDespite the current recession in many parts of the OECD, fiscal consolidation is likely in many OECD economies in the 1990s. The author asks: is fiscal consolidation in the OECD in a period of low growth a recipe for global stagnation? In particular, what effects are likely in developing countries? The author starts with an overview of cuts in the U.S. fiscal deficit proposed by the Clinton administration and the extent to which European governments must cut fiscal deficits between now and 1997 to satisfy deficit targets in the Maastricht Treaty. How changes in fiscal policy are transmitted within an economy and between that economy and the rest of the world depends on whether those changes lead to permanent or temporary changes in government saving; whether they are implemented through government spending or taxes; and whether the taxes fall on households or firms. The main channels of transmission are through changes in: agents'expectations about future taxes, interest rates, exchange rates, and economic activity. The author uses the MSG2 multicountry models to quantify the ramifications of those changes. He concludes, among other things, that fiscal contraction in the OECD will probably lead to slower growth over the next several years. But the current and likely paths of fiscal policy are such that deficit reduction programs may have stimulating effect in the short run, as long as future fiscal contraction is credible. And fiscal deficit reduction will probably increase long-run output in the OECD through its effects on savings and investment. Finally, growth in the developing countries (at least total growth) may not be impaired at all by fiscal consolidationin the OECD. The negative effects of fiscal contraction will occur through lower net exports of non-OECD economies. For developing countries with open capital markets, the initial reduction in demand through lower exports can be offset by the reduction in interest rates following an inflow of capital from the countries with contracting fiscal policy. A significant decline in real global interest rates is likely to increase growth in developing countries that are debt-constrained, either directly (through private capital inflows) or indirectly (by relaxing the balance of payments constraint, allowing more resources to be channeled to domestic investment needs).Economic Theory&Research,Economic Stabilization,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Macroeconomic Management
Revenue-productive income tax structures and tax reforms in emerging market economies - evidence from Bulgaria
No full textUsing a household budget survey for 1992, The author shows the poor revenue performance and distributional impact of Bulgaria's personal income tax system. He explores the implications for revenue and income distribution of two alternative tax systems - a flat tax and a progressive but simpler three-brackets tax system. He demonstrates that simpler tax structures with lower tax rates could achieve at least equal revenue and distributional objectives and are superior in terms of efficiency and equity. (The findings are robust when Bulgaria's significant tax evasion is included). But tax changes since 1992 have, if anything, moved Bulgaria even further from a simple income tax system: the number of rates and brackets increased from 7 to 10, and the levels of exemption remain unchanged. (Complex, higher rates complicate administration and enforcement and provide incentives for tax evasions. And in the alternative systems the author explores, the poor are protected with higher exemptions.) Fortunately, the country's personal income tax structure began to move toward less nominal progressivity after Bulgaria's 1997 tax reform program. The tax rate in thetop income bracket was reduced from 52 percent to 40 percent, the number of tax brackets was halved, and the exemption level was increased 20 percent (reducing tax burdens on the poor).Environmental Economics&Policies,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Regional Governance,Tax Policy and Administration,Economic Theory&Research,Governance Indicators,Economic Theory&Research,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Tax Policy and Administration
With the help of one's neighbors - externalities in the production of nutrition in Peru
No full textBoth public, and private resources contribute to children's nutritional status. And investments by one household may improve health in other neighborhood households, by improving the sanitation environment, and increasing shared knowledge. The authors measure the externalities of investments in nutrition, by indicatingthe impact of women's education in Peruvian neighborhoods, on children's nutrition in other households, after controlling for those households'education, and income. They find that in rural areas this shared knowledge has a significant impact on nutrition. The coefficient of an increase in the average education in the neighborhood is appreciably larger than the coefficient of education in isolation. That is, educating women in rural areas, improves all children's nutritional status, even for those whose caregivers are themselves not educated. In both urban, and rural areas, they observe externalities from investments in sanitation made by neighboring households. They do not find the same externalities in the case of investments, only in the household water supply. There is a direct link between the caregivers'education, and their children's health status. Education transmits information about health, and nutrition. It teaches numeracy, and literacy, which help caregivers read labels, and instructions. Bu exposing caregivers to new environments, it makes them receptive to modern medical treatment. It gives women the confidence to participate in decision-making within a household, and it gives men, and women the confidence to interact with health care professionals.Health Economics&Finance,Urban Services to the Poor,Urban Services to the Poor,Decentralization,Public Health Promotion,Urban Services to the Poor,Urban Services to the Poor,Health Economics&Finance,Water Supply and Sanitation Governance and Institutions,Town Water Supply and Sanitation
Design In and Against the Neoliberal City
No full textThe article intends to position the practice of contemporary design in the context of cities which have become battle fields within a globalization process fostered mainly by market interests. The author defines the post political condition of urban development and criticizes the post-planning approach. He warns that in the field of design, which until now has seen only a timid approach to urban topics, we might find an unexplored potential for the intentional (re)design of the space
Prescient Profiling : AI driven Volunteer Selection within a Volunteer Notification System
No full textCompetition in network industries
No full textA wave of privatization is sweeping the globe, affecting about 100 countries and adding up to an average of more than $60 billion a year in business in the past decade. The challenge is to ensure that privatization yields clear benefits. Empirical studies suggest that ownership change by itself will often yield results, especially when it reduces government interference. But the regulation required in areas of natural monopoly can become overly intrusive and undermine progress. Real competition is required to generate sizable and lasting welfare improvements. But in infrastructure sectors, the introduction of competition is complicated by the existence of complex transport and communications networks. Debate about whether and how to introduce competition in network industries is sometimes heated. Certain questions recur: Will continuing regulation be needed? Whether and at what terms will private finance be forthcoming? The author argues that policymakers need to understand how competitive forces can be brought to bear in network industries. He explains the following: 1) common principles that are often lost in"technical"debates about specific sectors; 2) various methods for introducing competition in network industries; 3) competition for the market, and bidding for franchises; 4) options for competition for existing networks; 5) options for expanding competitive systems by decentralizing investment in new network capacity; 6) the option of allowing competition among multiple networks; and 7) the implications of these options for the sectors and for financing industry expansion. In case of doubt, he contends, policymakers should not restrict the entry of competitive firms in such networks. If they do, entry restrictions should be subject to an automatic test after a set period, and reviewed for costs and benefits.Economic Theory&Research,Decentralization,Markets and Market Access,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Policies,Education for the Knowledge Economy,Economic Theory&Research,Access to Markets,Markets and Market Access,Environmental Economics&Policies
Education and earnings inequality in Mexico
No full textEducation attainment levels increased dramatically for Mexico's labor force in the 1980s and early 1990s. In parallel, the country experienced a pronounced increase in earnings inequality from 1984-94, reflected in a higher dispersion of wages and an absolute decline in the real incomes of less educated, poorer Mexicans. This increased wage dispersion presents policymakers with a tradeoff between efficiency considerations (favoring increased spending on higher education) and equity considerations (favoring a more equal distribution of per student spending) in the allocation of fiscal resources to education. The author concludes that the best way to deal with this equity-efficiency tradeoff is to encourage greater private participation in higher education. His main findings are that: a) The accumulation of human capital during 1984-94, as proxied by education attainment, was accompanied by a more equal distribution of education attainment levels over that period and, thus, exerted an equalizing effect on the distribution of incomes. The increased income inequalityobserved over that period appears to be caused by an increased rate of skill-based technological change, whose transmission to Mexico and other developing countries may have been facilitated by the increased openness of their economies. b) The greater dispersion of wager observed in Mexico during the past decade raised the rates of return on investing in higher education, reversing the traditional pattern where primary education exhibits the highest rates of return. c) The social rates of return across levels of schooling were more uniform in 1994 than in 1984, suggesting a more efficient assignment of education spending. At the same time, the distribution of spending on education became more egalitarian, as per student spending in higher education declined markedly compared with per student spending at the primary level. This surprising coincidence in the pattern of spending on education was only possible because Mexico started out with a very distorted resource allocation in education that was both highly inequitable and inefficient. As Mexico's policymakers are on the way to correcting these distortions, the opportunities for avoiding the equity-efficiency tradeoff within Mexico's centralized education framework will become progressively exhausted. d) There is little reason to expect the pace of technological change, which appears mainly responsible for raising wage dispersion and the relative returns on higher education, to abate. Efficiency considerations dictate that Mexico should respond by devoting more resources to higher education. However, the federal budget, which traditionally has financed the lion's share of higher education costs in Mexico, is unable to accommodate additional spending on higher education, while spending cuts elsewhere in the education sector are bound to raise serious equity questions. Thus, to avoid falling behind in terms of human capital accumulation, greater private sector participation is necessary, at least, in terms of cost recovery from the main beneficiaries of higher education.Decentralization,Teaching and Learning,Environmental Economics&Policies,Public Health Promotion,Curriculum&Instruction,Teaching and Learning,Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Gender and Education,Curriculum&Instruction
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