Search results for "Productivity."
showing 10 items of 557 documents
Does cutting back the public sector improve efficiency? Some evidence from 15 European countries
2013
The successful development of the welfare state that transpired for three decades after WWII in the developed countries, came to a halt around the end of the 1980s. Since then, the number of articles and books dedicated to the crisis of the welfare state has increased. We can now assert that at the turn of the century, almost all industrialized countries had cut at least “some” entitlements in their welfare program along with other expenditure items, and the trend continued in the first decade of this century. To defend the cuts and possibly to justify continuing cuts, several economic reasons, both theoretical and empirical, have been highlighted. From mention of Baumol’s disease to the fi…
Productivity change of the Spanish Port System: impact of the economic crisis
2016
The main goal of this study was to assess the impact of the economic crisis on the productivity growth of the Spanish Port System (SPS). The Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) was estimated for the 28 Port Authorities of the SPS, for a 'non-crisis period' (2005-2008) and a 'crisis period' (2008-2011). From a policy perspective, the MPI is a very useful approach for assessing the productivity change because it can be decomposed into the catching-up index and the frontier productivity index. The results showed that the economic crisis did not impact all of the Spanish Port Authorities equally. Some Port Authorities presented higher productivity growth during the crisis period than in the non-…
The Determinants of Retail Productivity: A Critical Review of the Evidence
2009
This paper discusses the literature on the established determinants of productivity in the retail sector. It also draws attention to some neglected strands of research which provide useful insights into strategies that could allow productivity enhancements in this area of the economy. To date, very few attempts have been made to integrate different specialisms in order to explain what drives productivity in retail. Here this paper rectifies this omission by putting together studies from economics, geography, knowledge management and employment studies. It is the authors’ view that quantitative studies of retail productivity should focus on total factor productivity in retailing as the resul…
Three Essays in Microeconometrics
2020
This dissertation examines three distinct issues using microeconometric techniques. The first two chapters fall in the realm of discrete choice models and try to make allowance for limited attention. The third chapter focuses on firm behavior and investigates the impact of ownership concentration on productivity. Chapter 1 predominantly builds on the consideration capacity model in Dardanoni, Manzini, Mariotti and Tyson (2019). In the attempt to behavioralize rational choice theory, their model identifies the distribution of cognitive characteristics in a population of agents who are observed choosing repeatedly from a single menu. By exploiting algebraic arguments, we first generalize the …
FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER – RELATIONS BETWEEN PRICES OF SELECTED PRODUCTS ON THE AGRI-FOOD MARKET
2019
The food supply chain is characterized by a large diversity of entities comprising it, combining actions taken by individual links, starting with the producer on the consumer. The primary goal of the smooth functioning of the food supply chain is to ensure satisfaction of buyers, while profiting by companies participating in the flow of products. The primary aim of the efficient functioning of the food supply chain is to ensure satisfaction of buyers, while profiting by companies participating in the flow of products. Changes occurring in agricultural production, often cyclical, are transferred to individual links in the supply chain. This phenomenon is visible in changes in the level of pr…
Environmental aspects of the implementation of bioeconomy in the Baltic Sea Region: An input-output approach
2019
Abstract Bioeconomy is one of the main aspects of the Baltic Sea Region (BRS) Programme. However, at the national level, bioeconomy strategies are still under development in several countries. As environmental aspects are particularly important to ensure the sustainability of bioeconomy, the aim of this paper is to analyse changes in consumption- and production-based bio-resource, land and water footprints for the period of 2011–2015 and couple them with economic indicators, to assess the efficiency of bioeconomy in the BSR countries. The results show significant differences in consumption- and production-based bio-resource, land and water footprints among the BSR countries; these differenc…
Diffusion of innovative agricultural production systems for sustainable development of small islands: A methodological approach based on the science …
1992
In order to develop small islands, not only must a vital agricultural system be maintained, but the range of opportunities for tourism must be increased with respect to both the seaside and the environmental features of the rural landscape. As an alternative to the traditional and economically declining ones, many innovative production processes can be identified, but their success depends on their interaction with the physical, biological, economic and social environment. In order to identify the main nodes and the most critical interactions, so as to increase the probability of success of a new productive process, a methodological approach based on the science of complexity is proposed fo…
Human Factor and LEAN Analysis at Industrial Manufacturing Plants
2018
The aim of the research was to find out effective identification and prevention of ergonomics problems in industrial metal processing manufacturing plant, based on human factor workload analysis and LEAN failure mode and effect analysis. Creation of safe, effective work places, emphasizing human oriented approach and implementing ergonomics in business process management is one of the main conditions for sustainable development of an enterprise. For the research were chosen packaging, assembling and quality control manufacturing plant operations due to main complaints from workers about physical overload, intensive work pace and task complexity. Human factor analysis provides holistic under…
Soil Mapping and Processes Models for Sustainable Land Management Applied to Modern Challenges
2017
Abstract In the context of growing population and global change, increasing demands for food production are an enormous challenge that we face in the modern world. At the same time the need to prevent land degradation, restore lands that are already degraded, and maintain soil quality and health is critical to a sustainable use of land resources. Accurate maps and adequate models are indispensable tools to assist managers, scientists, and decision makers in addressing these challenges. In this chapter, we outline the main impacts of climate change on soils, key adaptation, and mitigation strategies and provide an overview of key issues in sustainable agricultural production as well as land …
Evaluation of the MOD16A2 evapotranspiration product in an agricultural area of Argentina, the Pampas region
2021
The Pampas Region is a big plain of approximately 520,000 km2 in Argentina. It is essential to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) in this region since the primary productivity is directly linked to water availability. Information provided by satellite missions allows monitoring the spatial and temporal variability of ET. In the current study, we evaluated the version 006 of MOD16A2 product (MOD16A2.006) of Potential Evapotranspiration (ETp) and Actual Evapotranspiration (ETa) in Argentinian Pampas Region (APR). MOD16A2.006 product was compared with Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc), calculated with local measurements from the Oficina de Riesgo Agropecuario (ORA), and Crop Coefficient (Kc) data (f…