The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze land degradation from an economic perspective in order to assess its significance, understand its causes and design possible remedies. The physical extent and economic significance of land degradation is not well known, but it is indisputable that declining land productivity is a significant problem in many areas of the developing world. Past efforts to combat land degradation have shown a discouraging rate of failure. This work suggests that they have not gone to the root of the problem. The underlying forces of market and government failures are systematically discussed in the chapters which deal with the macroeconomic aspects of land degradation. This analytical framework is applied to a case study of the nation of Lesotho, Southern Africa. An attempt to estimate the economic significance of soil loss on crop land is made, and market and government failures relating to land use are reviewed. In the microeconomic analysis, a comparative review is made of the theory of cost-benefit analysis and its appliction in 20 empirical studies of land improvement projects. This review forms the basis for a new cost-beefit analysis of a specific project in southern Lesotho. The results have important implications for strategic choices in combating land degradation / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.

The aim of the thesis is to study some of the essential consequences of the location of Algots Ltd in three municipalities (Lycksele, Norsjö and Skellefteå) in Västerbotten County in northern Sweden. The factories were established with huge subsidies from the Swedish Government which considered the location as a major effort to stimulate regional development in Västerbotten County.The study shows that the yearly working time has increased, on average, by 80 per cent for the women who received employment in one of the factories. Both the incomemult i pi i er and the employmentmult i piier effects in Västerbotten County are rather small since the intermediate goods used by the firm are produced outside the region. The study also contain cost-benefit analysis as applied to the whole economy. Primarily due to very poor private profitability, the investment has yielded negative profitability to the whole economy except in the case of the Norsjö factory. / digitalisering@umu

Aerosol administration via small-volume nebulizers are still being used by selected patient-population. In the economic market, several nebulizer designs have become available, with each incorporating unique features that will potentially establish it as the preferred choice in aerosol delivery. With the continuous rising cost of health care services, clinicians are faced with the task of identifying opportunities for cost reduction in respiratory care. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of dosimetric nebulization using the Circulaire system and the traditional VixOne nebulizer. The desired outcome was to elevate awareness of the potential impact of the Circulaire, and how its adoption might reduce costs and enhance productivity in respiratory care. METHODS: A retrospective study using existing data collected from an urban tertiary adult hospital with a Level II Trauma Center was completed. DATA ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics were run for each variable. The total cost of a full-time Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) with benefits per hour was calculated. The average number of RRTs per 12-hour shift, average number of nebulizer treatments by an RRT per 12-hour shift, average costs of traditional VixOne nebulizer and the Circulaire system were also calculated. RESULTS: Descriptive statistics indicated the annual cost of delivering aerosol therapy using the traditional VixOne nebulizer at 9-minutes treatment time to be $114,263.25 per year. The Circulaire was compared at two different treatment times of 5-minutes and 3-minutes, and the annual costs were $137,422.50 per year and $116,982.50 respectively. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted, and the treatment load was increased by 30%, with a reduction to 5 RRTs per shift. Data indicated an annual savings of 8% with the Circulaire at 5-minutes treatment time, and 21% with the Circulaire at 3-minutes treatment time. CONCLUSION: The use of the Circulaire system at 5-minutes or 3-minutes treatment time can reduce department expenditure by reducing labor costs.

Thailand possesses high potential for solar energy, which has been given more attention from both government and the private sector lately. While the major investment in solar energy has gradually shifted from governments to private sectors, this paper aims to compare private investment's net present value (NPV) and production risks of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) projects. The scope of this paper includes PV projects on three different scales: 3 kW, 5 MW and 73 MW installed capacity in 74 locations across Thailand. The study utilizes RETscreen software to estimate means and variability in electricity productions in Thailand. Cost-benefit analysis is the method used to measure projects’ NPV and profitability, while portfolio theory is applied to capture the profit variability or production risk. The analysis also includes 3 feed-in-tariff (FIT or adder) scenarios that are likely to happen in the solar energy policy in Thailand; which are 8 baht/kWh, 6.5 baht/kWh and the case where there is no support at all. The study finds that 3 kW PV projects yield negative NPV, which means investment losses, in all scenarios and locations in the country. On the other hand, 5 MW PV projects result in positive NPV in all scenarios and locations and it is concluded to be the most profitable scale among three. 73 MW PV projects are considered as policy dependenceas the projectsyield negative NPV without the supports. Sensitivity analysis shows that the costs of 3 kW projects have to reduce at least by 60% in order to turn the projects to profits. With respect to allocation of risk, the production risks of 73 MW projects are slightly higher compared to the other two scales. Also, it is shown that the technologies located in north of Thailand have higher production risks, but yield approximately the same expected net benefits as technologies located in the rest of the country. As for conclusions, the future of PV technology in Thailand is still bright, but the investors should intensely consider about scale and location of the implementation. Further researches can examine other scales of PV technology and the drives behind the risk characteristics in Thailand.

In recent years, the use of option pricing models to support IT investment decisions has been proposed in the MIS literature. In this paper, we discuss the practical advantages of such techniques for the selection of a software platform. First, we argue that traditional quantitative approaches to a cost-benefit analysis give only a partial picture of such decision situations: due to the long planning horizon required because of the time-consuming and resource-intensive implementation process, it is not possible to exactly predict which applications will, in fact, run on the system over time. Thus, the investor is faced with the problem of valuing "implementation opportunities". We then compare different valuation techniques for this task and discuss their respective advantages and drawbacks. The practical advantages of employing such models are demonstrated by describing a real-life case study where option pricing models were used for deciding whether to continue employing SAP R/2 or to switch to SAP R/3. (author's abstract) / Series: Working Papers SFB "Adaptive Information Systems and Modelling in Economics and Management Science"

There is a debate in Sweden if the Automatic Safety and speed enforcement systems (SSS) in Sweden are profitable or not. Cost benefit analysis (CBA) is an excellent tool for determining the economy of traffic safety measures. The parameters of the CBA in this work include: tire wear, fuel consumption, environmental pollution, saved lives and injuries, reduced material damage, time for disputing tickets, time in traffic lines due to accidents, longer time due to lower speed and collected fines and maintained cost for the SSS. The sensitivity analysis shows that the SSS system appears to be profitable and the greatest uncertainty arises from the calculation of saved lives. Each SSS will on average generate a profit of approximately 250,000 SEK annually.

Shihmen Reservoir has contributed to the economic development of northern Taiwan since it was built in 1964. As result of natural disasters and improper development, Shihmen Reservoir had a big problem with sediment deposition. To solve this problem, government executed the first stage of integrated treatments planning on Shihmen Reservoir.The period of program is from 2006 to 2008 and divided into three parts. From the government point of view, this study recognized the use of agriculture water¡Nindustrial water¡Ndomestic water¡Nelectricity generation¡Ntourism and decreased sediment extraction expense as benefit index ¡F recognized budgets and natural disasters as cost index to evaluate the effect of this program.The value of benefit-cost ratio before integrated treatments is 2.817 and the value of benefit-cost ratio after integrated treatments is 3.566. The value of benefit-cost ratio after integrated treatments is bigger than the value of benefit-cost ratio before integrated treatments.It means that it is workable for this program. Considering the reason that the water rate and utility bills are much cheaper in Taiwan, this study adjust the rate of water and utility individually. With the adjustment of water rate, the value of benefit-cost ratio before integrated treatments is 3.519 and the value of benefit-cost ratio after integrated treatments is 4.31. With the adjustment of utility rate, the value of benefit-cost ratio before integrated treatments is 3.689 and the value of benefit-cost ratio after integrated treatments is 4.074. It is also beneficial for this program.

The overall objective of this thesis is to assess the financial, technical and social feasibility of investing in modern Automated People Movers (APM) transportation systems, generally known as monorails, in METU campus which presents a unique opportunity to fulfill the modern-day transportation needs of METU campus. This study complements the Presidency Office&rsquo / s long term goal to integrate environmental, social and economic sustainability into the policies, practices and culture of the university and ultimately reduce the consumption of all resources on campus and traffic congestion and accidents. In this context, the consequent cost-benefit effects of the proposed monorail system on campus life were quantified in monetary expressions and the corresponding multi-criteria feasibility assessment including: Break-even Analysis, Cost Effectiveness Assessments and Cost Benefit Analysis have been done successfully. According to these analyses the overall capital cost of system is $46.5 million which covers the 24 months project construction period, and an additional annual operating and maintenance cost of $2 million will span the 30 year project life time. Three different scenarios were proposed for financing the project and relevant break-even points were determined for each of the scenarios. Eventually, it appears that based on the evaluations, constructing such a transit system in METU campus will be cost effective and will certainly enhance the transportation, and will contribute to the institutional improvements and environmental preservation schemes of METU campus.

<p>Global warming is an international problem which has led to that many corporations today has an increased environmental awareness.</p><p>This thesis includes a Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) approach which evaluates whether carbon offsetting is a profitable alternative for corporations and society wide. The study is predominately focusing on the emissions of the greenhouse gas . The calculations of CBA show the difference between the scenarios with or without the carbon offsetting. In the CBA approach effects are divided into benefits and costs.</p><p>The study includes a case study of Husqvarna AB and is carried through with aim to get a decision support whether or not to make the corporation carbon neutral. Basic data from Husqvarna AB has been used.</p>

<p>Global warming is an international problem which has led to that many corporations today has an increased environmental awareness.</p><p>This thesis includes a Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) approach which evaluates whether carbon offsetting is a profitable alternative for corporations and society wide. The study is predominately focusing on the emissions of the greenhouse gas . The calculations of CBA show the difference between the scenarios with or without the carbon offsetting. In the CBA approach effects are divided into benefits and costs.</p><p>The study includes a case study of Husqvarna AB and is carried through with aim to get a decision support whether or not to make the corporation carbon neutral. Basic data from Husqvarna AB has been used.</p>