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Disparities in healthy food access and consumption are a major public health concern. This study reports the findings from a two-year randomized control trial conducted at 77 farmers’ markets (FMs) in 13 states and the District of Columbia that sought to understand the impact of fruit and vegetable (FV) incentive vouchers, randomly issued at varied incentive levels to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, for use at FMs. Measures included FV and overall household food purchasing; FV consumption; food insecurity; health status; market expenditure; and demographics. A repeated-measures mixed-effects analysis and the Complier Average Causal Effect (CACE) were used to examine outcomes. Despite 82% reporting food insecurity in the prior year, the findings showed that financial incentives at FMs had statistically significant, positive effects on FV consumption; market expenditures increased with added incentives. SNAP recipients receiving an incentive of USD 0.40 for every USD 1.00 in SNAP spent an average of USD 19.03 per transaction, while those receiving USD 2 for every USD 1 (2:1) spent an average of USD 36.28 per transaction. The data showed that the incentive program at the highest level (2:1) maximally increased SNAP FM expenditure and FV consumption, increasing the latter by 0.31 daily cups among those who used their incentive (CACE model).

I denna framställning görs en kritisk granskning och analys av samspelet mellan regelverken för beskattning av incitamentsprogram och beskattning av ägare till fåmansföretag. Framställningen ämnar precisera hur olika rättigheter som följer av incitamentsprogram ska klassificeras skatterättsligt, när beskattningstidpunkten inträder och slutligen hur beskattningen påverkas av att programmet införs i ett fåmansföretag. Programmen utlöser enligt gällande rätt skatt i inkomstslagen tjänst och kapital. När en programdeltagare erhåller en rättighet utan att betala marknadsmässig ersättning uppstår en förmån. Denna ska, om rättigheten inte följer av en kvalificerad personaloption, alltid beskattas i inkomstslaget tjänst. Vad som blir centralt för beskattningen av incitamentsprogram är när beskattningstidpunkten för rättigheten infaller, vilket avgörs av hur rättigheten skatterättsligt klassificeras. Möjliga klassificeringar är: värdepapper, personaloption eller inget av dessa. I regel strävar både utfärdare och deltagare av incitamentsprogram efter en så tidig beskattningstidpunkt som möjligt. Ju tidigare förmånsbeskattning, desto mindre andel av rättighetens framtida värdeuppgång kommer beskattas i inkomstslaget tjänst och vara föremål för sociala avgifter. Införs programmet i ett fåmansföretag måste emellertid också det s.k. 3:12-regelverket beaktas. Om programdeltagaren är verksam i betydande omfattning kommer denne träffas av klyvningsreglerna i 3:12-regelverket och i stort sett all värdeuppgång kommer då beskattas i inkomstslaget tjänst – oavsett när den ovan nämnda beskattningstiden infaller. Framställningen pekar på att merparten av de som erbjuds att delta i incitaments-program i ett fåmansföretag kommer att träffas av klyvningsreglerna i 3:12-regelverket. Effekten blir då, oavsett skatterättslig kvalificering av incitamentsprogrammet, att beskattningen av programdeltagare i fåmansföretag förfelas på grund av 3:12-reglerna. Dagens rättsläge innebär att fåmansföretagens incitamentsverktygslåda är kraftigt begränsad. För att säkerställa konkurrenskraften för innovativa och entreprenöriella bolag med begränsad tillgång till kapital för löner till nyckelkompetens, måste dessa företag ges tillgång till hela arsenalen i incitamentsverktygslådan.

The paper explains the need for energy renovation of public and other buildings and the regulatory framework (regulations and program procedures) through which this is sought. Important parameters of energy renovation of 48 school buildings in Osijek-Baranja County were processed and analyzed in more detail within the projects contracted in 2017 and 2018 (co-financed from the European Structural and Investment Funds within the Operational Program "Competitiveness and Cohesion" 2014–2020). The content of energy renovation works and their frequency in buildings and the expected energy savings were presented. The representation of existing energy classes and their improvement after reconstruction, regarding the construction period were analysed. The costs of renovation in relation to the age and area of buildings were considered as well. These data were compared to the results from the previous cycle of family houses’ renovation in the same county (2015–2016), while the owners were co-financed, without the required minimum of improvement. The problems of the energy renewal process were highlighted and recommendations for better efficiency were given.

Many voluntary incentive programs for provision of forest ecosystem services (ES) have low participation rates, insufficient enrollment areas, and inefficient ecological outcomes. Understanding participation behavior in such programs has therefore become a crucial part of policy success. We synthesized a large body of literature on the behavior of nonindustrial private forest owners based on surveys of stated (intended) participation or data on actual participation in existing or hypothetical programs. Using metaregression analysis, we examined how methodological, program-characteristic, and economic-incentive variables affected participation rate estimates. Participation rates tended to be overestimated when landowner participation was elicited in hypothetical choice situations (compared with real situations) and when dichotomous choice surveys (compared with census data) were used. The marginal effect sizes were quite large, for example, a 31% increase with use of stated choices in hypothetical scenarios, and practitioners should therefore be aware of them. However, use of choice experiment surveys in a modified scenario based on existing programs had no effect on participation when all other determinants were controlled for. Participation rates decreased significantly as length of the contract increased and when there was no withdrawal option. These results suggest that perpetual contracts have a lower negative impact on participation than time-limited contracts with a duration of over 50 years. We confirmed that as compensation amounts increased, participation increased. One-time up-front payments were more effective in increasing initial participation than annual payments for contracts of over 5 years. We identified the robust determinants and the effect sizes of those determinants on landowner participation rate estimates, thereby contributing to a better understanding of forest owner behavior and offering useful insights to enable researchers and resource managers to improve the design and efficiency of new and existing forest ES programs., Muchos programas de incentivos voluntarios para el suministro de servicios ambientales forestales tienen tasas bajas de participación, áreas insuficientes de inscripción y resultados ecológicos ineficientes. Por lo tanto, el entendimiento del comportamiento de participación en dichos programas se ha convertido en una parte crucial del éxito de las políticas. Sintetizamos un gran acervo de literatura sobre el comportamiento no industrial de los dueños de terrenos forestales privados con base en censos de la participación manifestada (pretendida) o información sobre la participación actual en los programas existentes o hipotéticos. Mediante un análisis de metarregresión, analizamos cómo las variables metodológicas, características del programa o económica-incentivas afectaron los estimaciones de las tasas de participación. Las tasas de participación tuvieron una tendencia a estar sobreestimadas cuando la participación se obtuvo por medio de situaciones hipotéticas de elección (en comparación con las situaciones reales) y cuando se usaron encuestas de elección dicotómica (en comparación con la información de los censos). Los tamaños del efecto marginal fueron bastante grandes, por ejemplo, un incremento del 31% con el uso de opciones manifestadas en los escenarios hipotéticos y, por lo tanto, los practicantes deberían estar conscientes de estos tamaños. Sin embargo, el uso de las encuestas con el experimento de elección en un escenario modificado con base en los programas existentes no tuvo efecto sobre la participación cuando todas las demás determinantes estuvieron controladas. Las tasas de participación disminuían significativamente conforme incrementaba la longitud del contrato y cuando no había opción de rescisión. Estos resultados sugieren que los contratos perpetuos tienen un impacto negativo más bajo sobre la participación que los contratos con límite de tiempo y una duración de más de 50 años. Confirmamos que conforme aumentan las cantidades de la compensación, incrementa la participación. Los pagos únicos y adelantados fueron más efectivos al momento de incrementar la participación inicial que los pagos anuales para los contratos de más de cinco años. Identificamos las determinantes contundentes y los tamaños de los efectos de aquellas determinantes sobre los estimados de las tasas de participación de los terratenientes, contribuyendo así a un mejor entendimiento del comportamiento de los dueños forestales y ofreciendo conocimiento útil para permitir a los investigadores y a los administradores de recursos mejorar el diseño y la eficiencia de los programas de servicios ambientales forestales nuevos y existentes., 许多与森林提供的生态系统服务相关的自愿激励项目存在参与率低、参与土地面积不足, 且生态效益低的问题。因此, 了解这些项目中的参与行为已成为政策成功的关键。本研究综合了大量关于非产业化私人森林的所有者行为文献, 这些文献报道了土地所有者对已有或假设中的保护项目参与意愿)表明有意参与或实际参与(的数据。我们利用荟萃回归分析, 研究了方法、保护项目特征和经济激励变量对参与率估计值的影响。相比于真实情况, 在假设的情况下做选择时, 土地所有者的参与率往往会被高估;使用二分选择调查与普查数据相比, 参与率也被高估。研究发现的边际效应相当大, 例如, 在假设存在的情景中, 使用规定选择产生的边际效应为 31%, 因此保护实践者应注意这个问题。然而, 当所有其它决定因素都得到控制时, 在基于现有方案而所修改的保护情景中使用选择实验调查, 对参与率估计没有影响。此外, 参与率会随着合同期限延长或在没有退出选项时显著下降。这些结果表明, 永久合同对参与率的负面影响低于期限超过 50 年的有期合同。我们还发现, 参与率会随着报酬增加而提高。对于 5 年以上的合同, 一次性预付比每年支付可以更有效地增加初次参与率。本研究确定了自愿激励项目中稳健的决定因素及其对土地所有者参与率估计的影响程度, 从而可以帮助更好地理解森林所有者的行为, 且可以提供有用的见解, 使研究者和资源管理者改善新的和现有森林生态系统服务项目的设计及有效性。【翻译:胡怡思;审校:聂永刚】

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs are one prominent strategy to address economic externalities of resource extraction and commodity production, improving both social and ecological outcomes. But do PES and related incentive programs achieve that lofty goal? Along with considerable enthusiasm, PES has faced a wide range of substantial critiques. In this paper, we characterize seven major classes of concerns associated with common PES designs, and use these as inspiration to consider potential avenues for improvements in PES outcomes and uptake. The problems include (1) new externalities, (2) misplacement of rights and responsibilities, (3) crowding out existing motivations, (4) efficiency-equity tradeoffs, (5) monitoring costs, (6) limited applicability, and (7) top-down prescription/alienating agency. As currently practiced, many PES programs are thus of limited benefit and even potentially detrimental to sustainability. From this dire conclusion, we highlight several innovations that might be combined and extended in a novel approach to PES that may address all seven problems. Recognizing that PES necessarily articulate and even normalize values, our proposed approach entails designing these institutions intentionally to articulate rights and responsibilities conducive to sustainability—those we might collectively seek to entrench. Problems remain, and new ones may arise, but the proposed approach may offer a way to reimagine PES as a major social and economic tool for enabling sustainable relationships with nature, conserving and restoring ecosystems and their benefits for people now and in the future.

Att arbeta i olika typer av arbetsgrupper är idag vanligt förekommande i organisationer, och många företag tillämpar någon form av incitamentsprogram med rörlig lön för att motivera arbetsgrupperna till högre prestationer. Den forskning som finns är framförallt genomförd i laboratoriemiljö och undersöker hur individer påverkas av olika faktorer såsom andel rörlig lön och storlek på arbetsgrupper. Dock finns en brist på forskning som undersöker hur dessa program påverkar till exempel motivation och samarbete i verkliga miljöer. Syftet med denna studie är att studera hur incitamentsprogram för grupper kan utformas. Med studien vill vi ge företag ökad kunskap om hur de kan utforma incitamentsprogram för att öka prestationen i sina arbetsgrupper. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats. Semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med totalt 15 personer ur två säljorganisationer i ett tjänsteföretag med verksamhet spridd över hela Sverige. Genom intervjuerna har vi sökt få svar på hur olika aspekter av incitamentsprogram för grupper motiverar de individuella medarbetarna samt påverkar samarbetet. Respondenternas svar antyder att faktorer som gruppstorlek, andel rörlig lön och frekvens på utbetalningar alla påverkar hur medarbetare beskriver att de motiveras av incitamentsprogrammen. Därutöver har att ett tydligt syfte och klara spelregler framträtt som avgörande för hur incitamentsprogrammen tas emot av de anställda, vilket har föranlett oss att ge ett förslag på hur befintliga modeller kan kompletteras. Today it is very common to work in different types of teams in organizations, and companies are applying incentive programs with variable salary to motivate their teams to increase performance. Existing research is primarily done in laboratory environments and only analyzes how individuals are affected by various factors, such as share of variable salary and team size. However, previous studies are missing to investigate how these programs affect for instance, motivation and collaboration in real environments. The aim of this study is therefore to study how incentive programs for groups in can be designed. With this study we want to give companies a deeper understanding for how they can design incentive programs to increase the performance in their teams. The study has a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews have been performed with a total of 15 persons from two sales organizations in a service company with its business spread over the whole of Sweden. Through the interviews we searched for answers to how different aspects of team-based incentive programs motivate the individual employees and how they affect collaboration. The respondent’s answers suggest that factors such as size of the team, share of variable salary and frequency of payments, all affect how employees describe how they are motivated by the incentive program. In addition, a clear purpose and a set of rules emerged as vital parts for how the incentive program will be received by the employees. This led us to propose how existing models may be complemented. The language of this thesis is Swedish.

With incomplete information about the potential benefits and costs of energy-using durables, households may be unwilling to invest in products that are more energy-efficient but also more expensive in purchase decisions. To deal with this problem, labeling policy has been developed to guide customers’ energy consumption decisions by providing understandable information to evaluate the energy efficiency of products. Over the last 20 years, China has implemented a series of mandatory and voluntary energy labeling and incentive policies to reduce energy use and improve the energy efficiency of durable goods in dwellings. This study has employed empirical survey data from the Chinese General Social Survey to study the implementation effectiveness of these policies and explore demographic factors behind consumer investments in energy-saving durables by using the logistic regression model. Statistical results show that energy efficiency labeling, incentive programs, education levels, and regional differences of customers appear to be strong predictors for investing in energy-efficient air conditioners and washing machines. House size is a decisive factor in driving consumers to choose energy-saving air conditioners. In light of the above results, the study suggests improved policy for motivating consumers to purchase energy-efficient appliances in dwellings.

The low intake of fruits/vegetables (FV) by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants is a persistent public health challenge. Fruit and vegetable incentive programs use inducements to encourage FV purchases. The purpose of this scoping review is to identify structural factors in FV incentive programs that may impact program effectiveness, including (i.) differences in recruitment/eligibility, (ii.) incentive delivery and timing, (iii.) incentive value, (iv.) eligible foods, and (v.) retail venue. Additionally, the FV incentive program impact on FV purchase and/or consumption is summarized. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for scoping reviews, a search of four bibliographic databases resulted in the identification of 45 publications for consideration; 19 of which met the pre-determined inclusion criteria for full-length publications employing a quasi-experimental design and focused on verified, current SNAP participants. The data capturing study objective, study design, sample size, incentive program structure characteristics (participant eligibility and recruitment, delivery and timing of incentive, foods eligible for incentive redemption, type of retail venue), and study outcomes related to FV purchases/consumption were entered in a standardized chart. Eleven of the 19 studies had enrollment processes to receive the incentive, and most studies (17/19) provided the incentive in the form of a token, coupon, or voucher. The value of the incentives varied, but was usually offered as a match. Incentives were typically redeemable only for FV, although three studies required an FV purchase to trigger the delivery of an incentive for any SNAP-eligible food. Finally, most studies (16/19) were conducted at farmers’ markets. Eighteen of the 19 studies reported a positive impact on participant purchase and/or consumption of FV. Overall, this scoping review provides insights intended to inform the design, implementation, and evaluation of future FV incentive programs targeting SNAP participants; and demonstrates the potential effectiveness of FV incentive programs for increasing FV purchase and consumption among vulnerable populations.

Increasing efforts have been dedicated recently towards the development of advanced system controls to optimize Central Energy Facility (CEF) operations in order to reduce energy consumption, and, consequently, energy cost. Reduction of electric consumption is beneficial for both customers and the Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) managing the power grid. Therefore, RTOs have setup Incentive-Based Demand Response (IBDR) programs, such as Economic Load Demand Response (ELDR), and Price-Based Demand Response (PBDR), such as Peak Load Contribution (PLC), to incentivize customers to lower their electric consumption or shift their electric loads. These strategies also reduce the need for the RTO to commission additional or even invest in new power plants during peak hours. The ELDR program allows customers to choose when and by how much to curtail their electric consumption in response to market prices. The customer is then compensated for the amount of power curtailed at the real-time Locational Marginal Prices (LMP). PLC charge, which prompts customers to shave or shift their peak load consumption, is a demand charge structure based on a customer’s contribution to the demand peaks which occur in a region or a zone managed by an RTO at certain hours over a base period. Charges associated with PLC are significant and a customer is billed, in addition to the regular energy consumption and demand charges, a monthly charge during the billing period, based on their PLC during the base period in the prior year. Given the diversity of assets within a CEF, the challenge becomes how to efficiently run the facility and allocate assets while responding to market prices in the IBDR programs and minimizing cost due to PLC charges. In this work, a hierarchal approach for optimizing CEF operations with integrated IBDR and PBDR programs is developed. The approach is focused on the ELDR program and the PLC charge structure in the Pennsylvania, Jersey, Maryland (PJM) RTO region. However, it can be extended to accommodate other programs in different regions. Given predicted CEF loads, day-ahead and/or real-time LMP, PLC charges, and energy rates, the optimization problem is solved over a horizon into the future using a linear programming framework. Since PLC Coincidental Peaks (CP) are not known in advance, the optimization problem uses an hourly mask of projected CP hours, which can be either entered by the user or predicted based on the status of the region. The developed approach allows for an optimal allocation of assets to guarantee the curtailment commitment in the ELDR program, in addition to minimizing the customer’s PLC during projected CP hours. Furthermore, it is adaptive as it updates asset allocation based on feedback from the ELDR market and any changes in the projected CP hours. In this paper, a case study of the implementation of the developed approach at Kent State University (KSU) is presented, which shows the validity of the proposed solution.

Policy makers have proposed various incentive programs to curb consumption-related problems, such as traffic congestion and carbon emissions. While experts consider such programs effective in reducing those problems, consumers are more skeptical. Although this “effectiveness skepticism” is currently viewed as an important cause of public opposition, the authors argue that it may also arise as a consequence of opposition. Specifically, consumers oppose policies they consider personally unattractive or unfair. This opposition motivates them to also be skeptical about the potential effectiveness of such policies. Three studies that include a variety of methods, policies, and samples provide empirical support for this reasoning: perceptions of expected effects can be biased by consumers’ perceptions of personal attractiveness and fairness. In line with this causal ordering, the authors find that offering optimistic effectiveness estimates, although successful in reducing effectiveness skepticism, did not boost policy support. Policy makers aiming to boost support prior to implementation should thus not only communicate a policy's effectiveness, but also address other causes of opposition.

"La propuesta tiene su origen en la necesidad de garantizar un mejoramiento continuo de la Fundación Javeriana de Servicios Médicos Odontológicos Interuniversitarios ""Carlos Márquez Villegas"" Javesalud, lo cual redundará en una excelente calidad y continuidad en la atención, en mantener una ejecución- costo efectiva de la operación, reducir la rotación del personal médico y obtener un mayor número de resultados clínicos satisfactorios que permitan cumplir metas clínicas de control, promoción y prevención. Se realizó una revisión de la literatura en búsqueda de modelos P4P diseñados para motivar a los profesionales de las instituciones para lograr mejores resultados clínicos y en la calidad de la atención. Se realizó una encuesta a los proveedores Javesalud para determinar sus características sociodemográficas y sus preferencias a partir de las cuales se diseñó un modelo P4P para los médicos generales en Javesalud." "The proposal stems from the need to ensure continuous improvement of the Fundación Javeriana de Servicios Médicos Odontológicos Interuniversitarios ""Carlos Márquez Villegas"" Javesalud, which will result in improved quality and continuity of patient care, maintaining an execution-cost effective operation, reduce turnover of medical staff and get more satisfactory clinical result that would meet clinical goals of control, promotion and prevention. A literature review looked at P4P models designed to motivate professionals in institutions to achieve better clinical outcomes and quality of care. A survey of Javesalud providers was undertaken to determine the preferences for motivation for the local providers. A P4P model was designed for general practitioners in Javesalud taking into account demographics and preferences from the survey." Magíster en Administración en Salud Maestría

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Dissertação de Natureza Científica para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil na Área de Especialização de Edificações A reabilitação de edifícios, na região de Lisboa, éuma temática cada vez mais discutida no sentido de reduzir o número de fogos devolutos, degradação generalizada, falta de manutenção do edificado e desertificação de algumaszonas. Por outro lado, a solução, por parte dos habitantes da região, tem sido adquirir habitações novas na periferia, com preços mais baixos. Os centros históricos de grande parte das cidades, no presente caso Lisboa, são os que espelham e evidenciam um maior número de áreas afetadas e edifícios degradados, totalmente ou parcialmente devolutos. Uma das razões que está na origem da referida problemática prende-se com o escasso apoio do Estado e das Autarquias na criação de incentivos para a recuperação e reconversão urbana, nomeadamente no caso dos edifícios degradados. Recentemente foi criado, pela Câmara Municipal de Lisboa (CML), o programa “Reabilita Primeiro, Paga Depois” com o intuito de incentivar e apoiar os investidores a comprar património, na sua maioria, degradado e reabilitá-lo. A presente dissertação visa um estudo mais abrangente sobre o investimento em edifícios para futuro arrendamento bem como as implicações que esse mesmo investimento poderá trazer para à cidade. Para tal, foi necessário realizar pesquisa bibliográfica, de modo a aprofundar conhecimento sobre o estado da reabilitação em Portugal mais concretamente na região de Lisboa. Foi também realizado trabalho de campo, visitando os edifícios em análise permitindo assim definir pressuposto de acordo com a localização e características dos mesmos. Por último, a junção da pesquisa bibliográfica e dotrabalho de campo culminou numa análise de investimento de três edifícios pertencentes ao programa da CML. Abstract: Building rehabilitation, in the Lisbon region, is nowadays being debated with the aim of decreasing the number of abandoned properties, non-existent building maintenance or areas at risk of desertification. Inhabitants many times move to the outskirts of the city because houses are newer and cheaper. Lisbon's city center is quite affected and abandoned buildings are a common sight. One of the reasons for this problem is the lack of support from the State or City concerning small and medium investors, which they can help inverting this trend if they have the funds. The City of Lisbon recently created the program “Reabilita Primeiro, Paga Depois” ("Rehabilitate First, Pay Later") to incentivate and support investors into buying real estate and rehabilitate it. This dissertation aims at a broader study about investment in buildings for leasing, as well as what that investment could bring to the city. To this purpose, it was necessary a bibliographic research for a deeper knowledge about the state of rehabilitation in the region of Lisbon. Field work was also done, visiting buildings allowing assumption set according to their location. Lastly, the bibliographic research in conjunction with the field work culminated in an investment analysis of three buildings that belong to the City Hall Lisbon’s program.

This study investigates electronic health records (EHR) adoption among inpatient hospitals in response to the first operational year of the Medicare EHR Incentive Program. Profile analysis of public attestation datasets finds both system adoption rates and implemented functionalities to have been significantly influenced by the incentive program’s attributes. Key dates and periods in the program’s well-publicized timeline were usually accompanied by spikes in the number of attested systems and/or dips in advanced functionalities. The implication is that hospitals have responded to the program by swiftly implementing EHR systems with capabilities just sufficient to meet program requirements, in order to be able to promptly file attestations and thus claim their incentive payments. The program therefore appears to have yielded mixed results. While it seems to have induced more hospitals to acquire EHR systems, the implemented systems generally possess minimal functionalities, suggesting that adopters have leveraged the program’s rules in order to maximize their own short-term gains., https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rajesh_Mirani/publication/265380579_The_Medicare_Electronic_Health_Records_EHR_Incentive_Program_First_Year_Adoption_Response_from_Inpatient_Hospitals/links/554b7a950cf29752ee7c8b6a/The-Medicare-Electronic-Health-Records-EHR-Incentive-Program-First-Year-Adoption-Response-from-Inpatient-Hospitals.pdf

In finding way from global economic crises women entrepreneurship often stands up as unused economic potential. Why? Probably because women represent, in the world and in the Croatia, majority of unemployed persons, are much less represented as the carriers of entrepreneurial activities, but also for braking down the historical distorted perceptions about value, credibility, competitiveness, responsibility and knowledge which women have, or can have. Although the number of women entrepreneurs is rising today, we believe that there is still a long way to reach potential and successful women entrepreneurship development. By breaking down the barriers as access to finance, education investments, knowledge, skills and confidence development, women just need to accomplish more significant and more efficient entrepreneurial outcome.

Incentive programs aimed at encouraging private landowners to set aside areas of forest for their conservation value have existed in Australia for more than two decades. Many programs restrict the use of the land by legal agreements or other means and some programs offer the landowner financial compensation. Most programs are based on voluntary entry by landowners. Programs available in Tasmania have added significantly to the total forest area conserved on private land. Nevertheless, in some regions more than 80 percent of land with conservation value remains unprotected and programs routinely fail to meet enrolment targets. This has resulted in considerable debate about the design of programs and has resulted in an increase in the amount of compensation offered and the introduction of more flexible conservation management options. In a limited number of situations, the option of forcing landowner entry into conservation incentive programs has also been considered. The objective of this study is to provide information for policy makers that hasn't existed before and that can be used in designing conservation programs. An improved understanding of landowners' decision framework, their motivation and the strength of their behavioral response will facilitate better forecasting of landowner participation decisions which may lead to an increase in landowner enrolment in programs. In this dissertation a conceptual model of landholders' participation choice is developed that combines a traditional utility maximisation framework with information about landowner attitudes. An empirical model of landowners' conservation incentive program choice is then developed. The model is estimated using stated preference data from a Best-Worst and a Choice survey. The responses to the Best-Worst survey, which was carried out first, were used to determine the choice set for the subsequent Choice survey. The Best-Worst survey was also used to explore differences between the perceived importance of program attributes by program designers and administrators, and landowners.

RESUMEN: La Universidad de San Pablo es comparable con las mejores universidades medias de los Estados Unidos donde se lleven a cabo tareas de investigación. En su Facultad de Medicina, la evaluación entre colegas (los pares) es básicamente incuestionable. No obstante, en el mundo de hoy, de intensa especialización, la mayor parte de las subdisciplinas médicas resultan demasiado pequeñas y relacionadas entre sí como para permitir que dicha evaluación entre colegas resulte objetiva, cuando se la realiza internamente. Además, las ciencias biomédicas han llegado a un punto en que la línea que separa las diferentes disciplinas se hace cada vez más borrosa. La mayor parte del personal universitario se compone de empleados estatales que mantienen el mismo trabajo durante toda su vida, con un sueldo bajo que les provee el gobierno. En San Pablo, Brasil, las universidades estatales perciben el 10% de los impuestos del estado; tarde o temprano deberán justificar esa inversión ante la sociedad. Luego de tres décadas de salarios realmente bajos, el sistema actual paga sueldos a un personal que, de a poco, ha ido reduciendo su productividad. Nuestra Facultad de Medicina recibe el apoyo substancial de una fundación particular que se ha creado a tal efecto. Para garantizar la eficacia del empleo de esos recursos, hay que establecer un sistema presupuestario que asegure incentivos que impulsen al personal a destacarse en las actividades académicas. Esto se logró al complementar los bajos sueldos con el otorgamiento de premios y una complementación salarial (además del sueldo), cuyo fin fue incrementar los resultados de productividad hasta que éstos alcanzaran los standards internacionales. La tarea de destinar parte del presupuesto a complementar los salarios de los facultativos requiere programas especiales, que incluyan la adopción de rutinas para la evaluación constante de la productividad académica. Ciertos índices de rendimiento nos permitieron clasificar al personal universitario en categorías, según un escalafón, de modo que se pudieron complementar -con las distinciones de cada caso- sus salarios de acuerdo con la productividad individual. La selección de personas se basa estrictamente en el mérito, con orientaciones explícitas que ayudan al aspirante a comprender los criterios que regirán la consideración de sus solicitudes. El propósito de las prioridades presupuestarias es estimular la atención médica de alta calidad en el Hospital Universitario, como así también mejorar la educación médica como un todo, aliado a una distribución equitativa de tareas de investigación básica y clínica. De este modo, hemos definido diversos parámetros que controlan la productividad en las áreas de atención de la salud incluidas las actividades de mano de obra del Hospital de Clínicas-, además de la carrera académica formal en la Facultad de Medicina. Los índices de rendimiento que aquí presentamos pueden ser de ayuda en las decisiones que atañen a las políticas relacionadas con la investigación científica, la formación médica y las prioridades en salud pública, ya que los parámetros que usamos aspiran a extender el análisis de los resultados de la actividad académica (casi siempre referidos tan sólo en términos de publicaciones científicas) hacia otras áreas, como son el impacto educativo y la calidad de la atención médica. Este programa de evaluación, y las consecuentes inversiones diseñadas específicamente, han revitalizado en forma decisiva nuestra comunidad académica, ya que ofrecen en delicado equilibrio una combinación de presión e incentivo que desencadenó un drástico aumento en la productividad. La implementación del sistema de evaluación que proponemos a continuación gracias a su método netamente objetivo- aspira a liberar a decanos y demás autoridades académicas de los engorros políticos que suelen acarrear las decisiones de este tipo SUMMARY: The University of São Paulo compares favourably with a middle-ranking research university in the United States. Peer review at its School of Medicine is basically honest. However, in today's world of intense specialization, most medical subdisciplines are simply too small and close-knit to allow for objective peer review from within. Moreover, the biomedical sciences have come to the point where there is no real separation between the disciplines. Most university faculties are poorly paid public servants who have a job for life, and a salary paid by the government. In São Paulo, Brazil, state universities receive around 10% of the state taxes; sooner or later they will have to have something to show for it. Following three decades of very low wages, the present system pays salaries to non-productive staff and results in poor peer review of academic productivity. Our School of Medicine receives substantial support through a private foundation set up for that purpose. An efficient use of resources should include a budgetary system that provides the faculty staff with incentives to excel in academic activities. This has been obtained by complementing the low wages through the awarding of fellowships, grants and prizes (on top of salary) in order to raise the ceiling up to international standards. To spend part of the budget in complementing university faculties salaries would require special programs, including adoption of routines for regular assessment of academic productivity. Reliable performance indicators permitted the classification of faculty staff into quality categories in order to differentially complement their salaries according to productivity. The selection of individuals is based strictly on merit, with explicit guidelines helping the faculty to understand the criteria by which their requests will be judged. Budgetary priorities should be intended to enhance the ability to deliver high quality health care to patients and to provide medical education as a whole, and combine a more equitable distribution of clinical and basic research. Thus, several parameters were defined for monitoring productivity in health-related areas, including the activities of the Clinical Hospital's medical labour force, in addition to the formal academic career at the School of Medicine. Trends for performance indicators presented here can be useful to inform the decision process about policies directed at health science research, medical education and public health priorities, because the parameters employed were intended to extend the analyses of the results of academic activity (frequently based on publication outputs) to its educational impact and the quality of health care to patients. This evaluation program, and the resulting focused investments, have played an important role in boosting morale in the academic community by offering the right combination of pressure and incentives to allow dramatic improvement in productivity. The implementation of the evaluation method proposed here should, thanks to its objective approach, free Deans and managers of the usual political issues involved in decision-making

Thoroughbred incentive programs are subsidy policies funded from state parimutuel tax revenue designed to promote regional race horse breeding and ownership. At issue is an ongoing debate concerning the effectiveness of alternative policies. Empirical results indicate that incentive programs have a positive economic effect, but gains to Thoroughbred breeders can be obtained by reallocating tax revenue to non-restricted purses. A policy allocating tax revenue ton non-restricted purses shifts yearling demand and increases prices, while breeder subsidies shift only the supply function and therefore lower prices. Consequently, breeder revenues increase in response to a policy that favors non-restricted purses over subsidies.

This thesis analyzes the productivity of enlisted Navy recruiters for the time period FY 1988 FY 1990. The objectives of this thesis are to examine: (1) productivity by geographic area, (2) productivity with respect to the racial/ethnic background of the recruiter and the individual recruited, (3) productivity by gender of recruiter and gender of recruit, and (4) recruiter productivity under two separate incentive program eras. Descriptive statistics are used to show the actual productivity differences, followed by multivariate regression analysis to examine specific effects of gender, ethnicity and geographic location on recruiter production. Bivariate analysis is employed to compare the differences in recruiter productivity between the two incentive program eras. The results show that, with respect to ethnic background, recruiters are significantly more productive when recruiting individuals like themselves than when recruiting individuals of a different ethnicity. Females were found to be more productive than males when recruiting females and geographically, the southwest area of the country was most often significantly more productive than other areas. The thesis provides recommendations to assist Navy Recruiting Command in the assignment of the most effective and productive recruiters to the field in response to possible changes in specific goal requirements. Further study with current, detailed goal information is needed to assess the impact of incentive programs on recruiting and to examine the trends that should now be established with the current incentive programs. http://archive.org/details/annalysisofenlis1094539909 Lieutenant, United States Navy Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.