1,720,969 research outputs found
The effect of a tariff reform on the demand of water for residential uses: a panel data analysis of water consumption in Sardinia
Full text linkA panel of 240 Sardinian towns in a 6-years' period is analyzed in order to identify the determinants of residential water demand and the effect of a tariff reform under conditions that can typically be found in Mediterranean and arid regions: quantity constraints imposed to sustain periods of drought; the presence of tourists in private residences that inflates the domestic consumption during summer months; inefficient management of the resource. Panel data techniques are employed to estimate the effect on the domestic demand of water of standard economic and structural variables, such as price, income, which are all found significant, in line with previous literature results. Moreover, we are able to estimate the effect that weather differences (both in spatial and temporal dimension), tourist presence in secondary residences, demographic characteristics and quantity restrictions have on the final consumption of water in the domestic sector. Furthermore we explicitly analyze the impact of the tariff reform in average consumption
Studio della Domanda di Servizi di Pubblica Utilità: un'Analisi Panel dei Consumi Residenziali di Acqua
No full text
How much time do visitors spend in a museum? An empirical investigation
No full textPurpose of the study: This paper examines the length of stay of visitors in a museum. Visitors’ characteristics and
attitudes regarding their decision to spend a part of their vacation visiting a museum is analysed. Specifically, visitors’
behavior to the Iceman museum in Bolzano (Italy) is investigated through survey data.
Design/methodology/approach: A fundamental role is played by length of stay at a site influenced by tourists’ budget,
time constraint and preferences (Lancaster, 1966; Rosen, 1974). To this aim, a survey was conducted at the museum
from June to August 2010, via face-to-fa ce interviews. Empirically, a zero-truncated negative binomial specification is
estimated as the dependent is a count variab le that cannot assume a zero value.
Findings: The econometric findings suggest that the model is well-specified and the coefficients are statistically
significant at least at the 10% level. From the empirical findings it has emerged, that length of stay in the museum is
positively influenced by age, having a vacation in the Alto Adige Province, the importance visitors attribute to the
museum, and adverse weather conditions. However, length of stay at the site is negatively affected by visiting the
museum in groups and belonging to a family with multiple income.
Originality/value: The contribution of the present study consists of applying an under-researched empirical approach
into the investigation of length of stay at a museum in a mountain destination. Empirically, given the specific
characteristics of the time spent at the site (expressed in minutes), a zero-truncated Negative Binomial has been
estimated.
Research limitations/implications: Future research will involve the administration of surveys at other cultural sites in
the region, as well as other destinations, in order to fi nd regularities and further test the economic theory.
Practical implications: The findings provide a tool to understand consumers’ behavior and which factors do affect
length of stay at a specific site. Also, museum managers ma y use the results for deciding on policies for the future
Time allocation in a museum: an empirical investigation
No full textThis paper examines the determinants that influence the time spent by visitors in a cultural site. This
empirical investigation is based on survey data collected at the South Tyrol's Museum of
Archaeology in Bolzano (Italy) between June and August 2010. Descriptive statistics show that, on
average, visitors spend almost two hours, much longer than the length of stay in other museums as
found in former empirical studies. Empirically, a zero -truncated Negative Binomial model has proved
to achieve the best results. The analysis reveals that gender, age, income, group type, time spent at
the destination, importance attributed to the museum and weather conditions have an impact on
length of stay at this cultural site. These findings provide a useful tool to implement management
directions about the museum
Assessment of renaturation measures for improvements in ecosystem services and flood risk mitigation
Full text linkThe present paper offers a contribution to the research on social acceptance of interventions aimed at water ecosystem improvement and flood risk mitigation through renaturation measures. A CE study has been implemented to assess trade-offs between attributes of alternative projects, including social costs deriving from proposed actions of renaturation of river flows. The aim of our approach is to investigate the role of attitudinal factors in the valuation of costs and benefits generated by renaturation measures. A Hybrid Latent Class (HLC) model is applied to the data, revealing the existence of two distinct groups, characterised by different valuations of the attributes of the project. It is found that class membership depends on latent attitudes toward environmental protection and risk perception. Our study confirms the fruitfulness of the HLC modelling approach in stated preference studies regarding ecosystems valuation, as it provides a richer understanding of public preferences and allows more finely targeted policy indications
Investigating informal learning at a cultural site
No full textBased on a microeconomic theory framework, this paper explores in what extent the visit
to a museum influences visitors’ informal learning. Empirically, a Heckman selection
model has been employed that allows one to draw causal inferences in the observational
setting. Survey data were collected at the South Tyrol's Museum of Archaeology in
Bolzano (Italy) in 2011. More than half of the sample declared they had the opportunity
to learn. The empirical specification reveals that pull factors have a positive effect on the
propensity to learn new things. However, completing a previous visit does not increase
the probability to learn more. These findings provide a useful policy tool to plan
educational activities in the museum contributing to improve visitors’ human capital
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