Search results for "cost–benefit analysi"

The social benefits of restoring water quality in the context of the Water Framework Directive: A comparison of willingness to pay and willingness to…

2009

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is by far the most important piece of water legislation in Europe for the coming decades. Its main aim is to achieve "good ecological status" for all water resources by 2015. The economic valuation of the non-market benefits derived from improving water quality is an important input in assisting the design and implementation of efficient and effective water management policies. In this study, the contingent valuation method has been applied with a double purpose. On the one hand, we have estimated the value of a hypothetical improvement in water quality of a river asking individuals about their willingness to pay, and on the other hand, the issue of exemp…

Economic analysis of PV systems on buildings in Sicilian farms

2013

Abstract The photovoltaic sector in Italy in recent years has experienced a rapid growth also in the primary sector, thanks to substantial incentives guaranteed by energy policies, simultaneous reduction of investment costs and tax benefits. In order to better understand the growth of the PV industry in Italian primary sector, the aim of this paper has been to evaluate the economic convenience of four PV systems on farm buildings located in four different farms of the north-western coast of Sicily and realized during the second and fourth Italian feed-in schemes. For each feed-in scheme it has been considered a PV plant that sells the electricity to the grid and another in which the energy …

An Essay on the Social Costs and Benefits of Technology Evolution

2013

Pricing for Reclaimed Water in Valencia, Spain: Externalities and Cost Recovery

2015

The cost of reclaimed water and the tariffs paid by water users illustrate that the principle of cost recovery is not met in the majority of water reuse projects. However, such projects may also generate positive externalities, contributing to improved welfare of the entire society. This chapter describes the case of the Valencia region of Spain, referring to agreements among water stakeholders. It also includes a proposal of pricing for reclaimed water to be implemented in this area as a pilot case in order to develop a framework for costs and financial, institutional, and social arrangements for water reuse projects. A two-part tariff with a combination of a decreasing and increasing rate…

Economic comparison between offshore and inshore aquaculture production systems of European sea bass in Italy

2014

Abstract Offshore production system is predicted to increase in the near future driven by the lack of coastal space and lower environmental impacts. The aim of this paper has been to evaluate the economic performance of offshore production system respect to inshore one, by comparing net present value (NPV), discounted payback time (DPBT) and internal rate of return (IRR) of two Italian mariculture farms that produce European sea bass. Results showed a better economic profitability of offshore farm, even if sensitivity analysis revealed that financial indicators of both aquaculture production systems have been very sensitive to market condition changes. So, offshore production system could r…

Economic globalization and voter turnout in established democracies

2010

This paper asks whether international economic integration negatively affects electoral turnout. The theoretical model builds on the premise that economic integration constrains the ability of national governments to shape outcomes. Citizens are conscious of such constraints and take them into account when considering the costs and benefits of casting a vote in national elections. The result is a lower inclination to vote under conditions of high economic integration. Consequently, aggregate turnout is lower the more internationally integrated a national economy is. Analysis of aggregate data for parliamentary elections in 23 OECD democracies over the period 1965–2006 robustly supports this…

Development of analysis tools for social, economic and ecological effects of water reuse

2008

Abstract The full implementation of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) in Europe will contribute to obtain treated wastewaters of quite high quality that could be reused for certain applications or improved by polishing steps for uses with higher quality requirements. Even though reclaimed water reuse is currently implemented in many European countries, mainly for irrigation, its potential has not yet been exploited in many areas. In fact, a decisive factor to achieve a higher percentage of water reuse is the establishment of effective incentives, which in many instances will be of either an economic or a regulatory nature. The limiting factor for water reuse can in many…

Economic feasibility study for wastewater treatment: a cost-benefit analysis.

2010

Water resource management should be made from a multidisciplinary perspective. In this sense, economic research into the design and implementation of policies for the efficient management of water resources has been emphasized by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is one of the more widely accepted economic instruments since it is a rational and systematic decision-making support tool. Moreover, the wastewater treatment process has significant associated environmental benefits. However, these benefits are often left uncalculated because they have no market value. In this paper, using the concept of shadow price, a quantification of the environmental be…

Economic feasibility study for new technological alternatives in wastewater treatment processes: a review

2012

The concept of sustainability involves the integration of economic, environmental, and social aspects and this also applies in the field of wastewater treatment. Economic feasibility studies are a key tool for selecting the most appropriate option from a set of technological proposals. Moreover, these studies are needed to assess the viability of transferring new technologies from pilot-scale to full-scale. In traditional economic feasibility studies, the benefits that have no market price, such as environmental benefits, are not considered and are therefore underestimated. To overcome this limitation, we propose a new methodology to assess the economic viability of wastewater treatment tec…

How is Building Information Modeling Influenced by Project Complexity?

2014

Virtual design and construction of buildings and architectural spaces require extensive collaboration among a diverse set of design professionals. The authors analyze e-collaboration performance in two construction projects of differing complexity, to gain an understanding of how collaborative design based on building information modeling (BIM) is influenced by the complexity of the building project. The findings suggest that the perceived business value of BIM depends on project complexity and that BIM-based collaboration does not yield unconditional positive implications for all types of construction projects. The authors argue that current practice would benefit from a more structured ap…