Utveckling av infrastruktur är en förutsättning för att hantera, men också för att stimulera, urbanisering och stadsutveckling. År 2012 inleddes vad som kom att kallas stockholmsförhandlingen där staten, Stockholms läns landsting och fyra kommuner skulle besluta om finansiering av nya tunnelbanesträckningar samt bostadsbebyggelse i Stockholms län. Att genomföra stora infrastrukturprojekt är kostsamt och kräver omfattande finansiering och den första april 2017 öppnades nya möjligheter upp för finansiering av sådana projekt. Denna nya möjlighet innebär att kommuner kan ålägga exploatörer att medfinansiera en del av kommunens kostnader för investeringar i transportinfrastruktur, så kallad medfinansieringsersättning. Den nya medfinansieringsersättningen är i sin tur ett verktyg för så kallad värdeåterföring. Under antagandet att infrastruktur ger upphov till stora värdeökningar i närliggande fastigheter används värdeåterföring för att den som har nytta av infrastruktur ska finansiera densamma. Internationellt har värdeåterföring sedan länge använts för att finansiera infrastruktur och således finns det en mängd olika metoder för hur det ska gå till. Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att, med utgångspunkt i hur värdeåterföring implementeras vid utbyggnaden av tunnelbanan i Stockholm, jämföra olika metoder för värdeåterföring. Jämförelsen av tre olika metoder: Development Impact Fees, Tax Increment Financing och Special Assessments, har gjorts i form av fallstudier med utgångspunkt i faktorer så som möjlighet till applicering på svenska förhållanden, grad av värdeåterföring och deltagandegrad. Fallstudier tillsammans med teori om markvärden visar att värdeåterföring är en finansieringsmetod med stor potential att möjliggöra infrastrukturinvesteringar. Utgångspunkten är att en bra metod för värdeåterföring bör kännetecknas av att det värde som återförs står i relation till nyttan samt att deltagandegraden är hög. Det visar sig att samtliga studerade metoder har sina för- och nackdelar och att total rättvisa är svår att åstadkomma. Samtidigt visar det sig att den metod som i störst utsträckning anses uppfylla kriterierna för vad som är en bra metod för värdeåterföring inte lämpar sig bäst i Sverige givet rådande förhållanden. Att Sverige har regioner med olika förutsättningar, framförallt skillnader i markvärden, har bidragit till slutsatsen att ett strikt rikstäckande ramverk kan vara kontraproduktivt i syftet att utnyttja värdeåterföringens fulla potential. / Development of infrastructure is fundamental to manage, but also to stimulate urbanization and development of cities. In 2012, an agreement called stockholmsförhandlingen, was made where the state, Stockholm County Council and four municipalities were to decide how a new subway should be financed and how the supply of housing in the Stockholm region were to be solved. It is not a new finding that infrastructure projects require large investments but in April 2017 a new possibility of financing these kinds of projects occurred. This opportunity makes it possible for municipalities to oblige developers to bear a part of the infrastructure costs. This new possibility is a tool for value capturing. With the assumption that infrastructure cause large increases in values of nearby properties, value capturing is used because property owners who benefit from the infrastructure should contribute to the cost of the investment.  Value capturing has been widely used internationally and therefore there are many ways to accomplish it. The purpose of this thesis is, with starting point in the financing of the new subway in Stockholm, to compare different methods for value capturing. The comparison of the three methods; Development Impact Fees, Tax increment Financing and Special Assessments has been made using case studies to acknowledge the possibilities of implementing each method in current Swedish legislation and conditions.  The case studies, along with theory about property values shows that value capturing is a method of big potential to enable investments in infrastructure. The conclusion is also that a good method should be characterized by the fact that the value captured is in proper relation to the benefits received but also a high level of participation. It has been shown that all three methods have its advantages and disadvantages and that total justice is hard to accomplish. At the same time, it has been shown that the method best meeting these requirements perhaps isn’t the best method for implementation in Sweden. The fact that Sweden has regions with different attributes, especially large variations in property value has led to the conclusion that a strictly nationwide framework could turn out to be counterproductive in the purpose of utilizing the full potential of value capture.

According to a recent report by the U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee, the costs of domestic air traffic delays were estimated to be a staggering $41 billion in 2007. Of this, $19.1 billion was attributed to airline operating costs and $12 billion was attributed to passenger delays. In instances of irregular operations, an airline's primary objective is to get operations back to normal as quickly as possible while incurring minimal cost. Historically, airlines have prioritized recovering schedules for aircraft and crew before attempting to reaccommodate disrupted passengers. The literature has not examined how proactive movement of passengers can be used to mitigate the impact of irregular operations. This work bridges this gap by exploring how early standby fees (which influence customer behavior) can be utilized to improve operations. This research uses a variety of public and private data sources to construct a micro-level simulation to explore the impact that early standby pricing policies have on aggregate and average delay for disrupted passengers. Three distinct modules developed for use in the simulation have broader applications to the research community: (1) logic for a passenger reaccommodation algorithm; (2) a model that predicts the number of early standby passengers; and (3) a model to predict the probability a passenger misses a connecting flight. Preliminary results confirm the hypothesis that early standby pricing policies affect both profitability and operational performance. A simple example illustrates that an airline faces an important tradeoff when setting an early standby pricing policy: the early standby fee that maximizes an airline's profitability is different from the early standby fee that yields the lowest aggregate and average delay metrics for customers. This dissertation proposes a new product that remedies these competing objectives by improving them both simultaneously.

Die vorliegende Arbeit setzt sich mit der öffentlichen Kinderbetreuung in Deutschland auseinander. Im Fokus stehen dabei die Determinanten der regional unterschiedlichen Kindergartengebühren, die Nachfrage nach öffentlicher Kinderbetreuung einschließlich der daraus resultierenden Verteilungswirkungen, die kommunale Effizienz in der Bereitstellung sowie die Anpassbarkeit der kommunalen Ausgaben an sich ändernde Nachfragemuster. Ein besonderes Augenmerk wird auf die Bereitstellung öffentlicher Kindergärtenplätze für Kinder im Alter von vier Jahren bis zum Schuleintritt gelegt. Zum Zeitpunkt der Datenerfassung war nur für diese Gruppe ein rechtlicher Betreuungsrahmen vorgegeben, der verschiedene Regionen miteinander vergleichbar macht und somit eine wesentliche Grundlage für die vorgenommene empirische Analyse darstellt. Hinsichtlich der Gebührenunterschiede zeigt sich, dass Städte die Kinderbetreuungsgebühren als Instrument für einen aktiven Standortwettbewerb nutzen. In Städten mit einem hohen Anteil junger Bevölkerung sind die Gebühren geringer als in anderen Städten. Zugleich verlangen Städte, die eine höhere Betreuungsqualität bereitstellen, geringere Gebühren als Städte mit einer geringeren Betreuungsqualität. Aufgrund einkommensabhängiger Gebühren resultieren aus der Nachfrage nach öffentlicher Kinderbetreuung Einkommensumverteilungseffekte. Nach der ökonomischen Theorie sollte die Nachfrage nach Kinderbetreuung im Einkommen der Eltern steigen und im Preis der Betreuung fallen. Bei einer Einkommensänderung wirken demnach zwei gegenläufige Effekte gleichzeitig auf die Nachfrage: Eine höhere Zahlungsbereitschaft steht einem höheren Preis gegenüber. Die empirische Analyse zeigt, dass in Deutschland der negative Preiseffekt den positiven Einkommenseffekt der Nachfrage überwiegt. Die Nachfrage nach öffentlicher Kinderbetreuung ist somit im Einkommen der Eltern rückläufig, wodurch es zu einer Einkommensumverteilung von einkommensstärkeren zu einkommensschwächeren Haushalten kommt. Unterschiedliche Gebühren in den Kommunen können auch auf eine unterschiedliche Effizienz in der Bereitstellung öffentlicher Kinderbetreuung zurückzuführen sein. Die Ergebnisse einer empirischen Effizienzanalyse zeigen, dass die betrachteten Kommunen unterschiedlich gut in der Lage sind, eine bestimmte Betreuungskapazität mit geringstmöglichem Mitteleinsatz zu erreichen. Die Median-Kommune gibt etwa 25 % mehr aus, als es für das Betreuungsangebot erforderlich wäre. Dieses Ergebnis bleibt erhalten, wenn für die Ergebnisse der betreuten Kinder in ihren Schuleingangstests kontrolliert wird. Bestimmte Einflussfaktoren bedingen die Ineffizienzen vor Ort. Beispielsweise sind die Kommunen mit einem ehrenamtlichen Bürgermeister bzw. solche Kommunen mit geringer Einwohnerzahl vergleichsweise ineffizient. Gleiches gilt auch für Kommunen mit einem hohen Anteil der über-65-Jährigen Bevölkerungsgruppe. Vor dem Hintergrund des demografischen Wandels muss auch die Anpassbarkeit kommunaler Ausgaben für Kinderbetreuung an sich ändernde Nachfragemuster in den Blick genommen werden. Es wird gezeigt, dass sich die Ausgaben für Kinderbetreuung proportional an die Nutzerzahl anpassen lassen, ohne dass dabei die Qualität der Leistungserstellung beeinträchtigt werden muss. Die Anpassungen müssen jedoch diskretionär und regelmäßig erfolgen, da andernfalls ein ineffizientes Betreuungsangebot zu überhöhten Kosten unterhalten wird.

Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since the intervention of the Competition Commission and the abolition of the mandatory use of the government gazetted Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) fees scale, engineering services consultants in South Africa have been competing based on price for engineering contracts in both the public and private sectors. Discounts benchmarked against ECSA professional fees scale demanded by clients have resulted in declines in professional fees over the years. The capacity to deliver professional services that are of such high quality that it meets the client’s expectation, professional and ethical standards when working at low fees is one of the biggest challenges facing consulting professionals today. This research studied the risks encountered by civil and structural engineering services consultants and the impact of discounted professional fees on their risk exposure. The study included a review of literature, discussions with practicing engineers and a questionnaire based survey. A total of 23 practicing consulting engineers representing small, medium and large consulting engineering firms participated as respondents in the questionnaire survey. The literature review identified project and organisational level risks particular to civil and structural engineering services consultants. The study compiled information on the discounting practices of civil and structural engineering services consultants in South Africa. It is found that the practice of discounting is widespread, affecting small, medium and large consulting firms. The range of discounts offered in the industry results in a significant decrease in the fee scale recommended by ECSA for various engineering project types. Respondents identified the primary reasons why they are forced to offer discounts and identified project and organisational risks most impacted by discounted fees in an order of perceived importance to them. Financial loss on the project, inadequate supervision and quality control on site and inability to perform value engineering were identified as project risks with the most impact on respondents’ organisation. At the organisational level human resource issues such as training and mentoring of young engineers, ability to attract and retain quality/experienced staff and overall business sustenance were identified as risks most impacted by discounted fees. Measures adopted by respondents to mitigate risk associated with discounted fees on project were also identified and recommended. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sedert die ingryping van die Kompetisie Kommissie en die afskaffing van verpligte fooie soos gepubliseer deur die regerings koerant en Ingenieurs Raad van Suid Afrika (IRSA), het ingenieurs konsultante in Suid Afrika meegeding gebaseer op die prys van ingenieurs kontrakte in beide die publieke en private sektore. Afslag wat gemeet word teen professionele skale van ECSA word vereis deur kliënte. Onetiese tender gedrag deur kliënte en raadgewers het gelei tot ʼn daling in professionele fooie oor die jare. Die kapasiteit om professionele dienste te verskaf, wat van ʼn hoë kwaliteit is, kliënte se verwagtinge bereik en professionele en etiese standaarde bereik teen lae koste is een van die grootste uitdagings vir professionele raadgewende ingenieurs in vandag se mark. Hierdie tesis bestudeer die risiko’s wat siviele en strukturele raadgewende ingenieurs ondervind, asook die impak wat afslag van professionele fooie het in terme van die blootstelling van risiko’s. Hierdie studie behels ʼn literatuur studie, gesprekke met ingenieurs in die praktyk en ʼn vraelys opname. ʼn Totaal van 23 raadgewende ingenieurs wat klein, medium en groot raadgewende ingenieurs instansies verteenwoordig het deelgeneem aan die vraelys opname. Die literatuur studie het projek risiko’s en risiko’s op die organisasie vlak geïdentifiseer wat veral verband hou met siviele en strukturele raadgewende dienste. Die studie het informasie gegenereer oor die dalende uitvoering van siviele en strukturele raadgewende dienste in Suid-Afrika. Dit is bevind dat die beginsel van afslag in die algemeen klein, medium en groot raadgewende firmas beïnvloed. Die omvang van die afslag wat aangebied word in die ingenieurs bedryf het gelei tot ʼn beduidende afname in die fooi skaal wat aanbeveel word deur ECSA vir die verskeie ingenieurs projek tipes. Die verskeie deelnemers van die studie het gedui dat die primêre rede hoekom hulle gedwing word om afslag aan te bied en projek en organisasie risiko’s identifiseer, is omdat afslag fooie ʼn voorafgestelde belang is vir hulle. Finansiële verliese op ʼn projek, onvoldoende toesig, kwaliteitsbeheer en die onvermoë om hoë gehalte ingenieurswese toe te pas was geïdentifiseer as die projek risiko’s wat die meeste invloed het op die deelnemers se organisasies. By die organisasie vlak was menslike hulpbronne, soos opleiding en die mentorskap van jong ingenieurs, die vermoë om kwaliteit of ervare personeel te trek en te behou, en die algehele besigheid lewensmiddele geïdentifiseer as risiko’s wat die meeste beïnvloed word deur afslag fooie. Maatreëls wat aangeneem is deur deelnemers aan die studie om risiko’s wat verband hou met afslag fooie van ʼn projek te versag is geïdentifiseer en aanbeveel.

In this study, I use Section 404(b) of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act as an exogenous shock to examine the effect of auditors’ assessment of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) on audit fees, cost of debt, and net value of compliance between 2002 and 2010. Using firms themselves as their own control, this study conducts firm-fixed effects analyses to explore the close causal effect of SOX 404(b) on compliance costs (proxied by audit fees), compliance benefit (proxied by cost of debt) and net compliance benefit (proxied by Tobin’s q). Through analyzing how SOX 404(b) affects firms’ compliance cost, compliance benefit, and net compliance benefit, the results suggest that SOX 404(b) decreases firms’ cost of debt, but also imposes compliance costs. Overall, SOX 404(b) increases firm value premium by around 8.63%. The study also examines whether the 2007 reforms have achieved their purpose by comparing audit fees before and after the 2007 reforms.

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75 Abstract - Changes in tax administration in relation to the adoption of the Tax Procedure Code For my diploma thesis I have chosen the topic which I consider as very actual currently and therefore it needs attention. The purpose of my thesis named "Changes in tax administration in relation to the adoption of the Tax Procedure Code" is to analyze the selected issues of Act no. 337/1992 Sb., about administration of taxes and fees (hereinafter the ZSDP) and refers to judgments of the Supreme Administrative Court and the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic and then compares these problematic issues with Act no. 280/2009 Sb., Tax Procedure Code, which is going to come into force on 1. January 2011. The topic I am interested in is very huge, so I do not deal with all changes in tax administration that Tax Procedure Code provides. My thesis focuses only on those areas of tax administration, which are essential for the process of tax administrators and for negotiation of taxpayers. In particular, I focus on those areas of legislation in which Tax Procedure Code establishes the rights and responsibilities that were previously inferred only from the case of the Czech court. My thesis is formally composed of five chapters, these chapters are divided into subchapters and sections. The structure is organized...

The aim of this thesis is to examine the relationship of all corporate governance indicators with firm performance (proxied by price to book value) and tax fees. Using a sample of 133 large U.S firms, in a single model, we explore the correlation of price to book value with board of director's structure (composition and size). Our results show that smaller and younger boards with less independent directors lead to a higher firm performance. We further find that presence of women on board is important rather than their number. The outcome of the study shows also that financial expertise of audit committee members has a significant and positive influence on the amount of tax fees. Overall, the results suggest that board characteristics are important and they influence firm performance. Keywords: board of directors, firm performance, price to book value, governance indicators, tax fees.

In this master thesis, I resume basic principles of health systems in some developed countries and also in the Czech Republic. Further, I describe changes in Czech health system and main bases of health reform with emphasis on incentive fees. Following sociological survey indicates, that factors influence behaviour of consumer in health care services. Some proposals created with regard to sociological survey are found as the conclusions of this thesis.

Redes de franquia constituem um tipo de arranjo híbrido de governança onde, normalmente, lojas próprias e franqueadas operam sob uma mesma marca e formato de negócios. Considerando que taxas de franquia (fixas e variáveis) estão entres as principais fontes de receita do franqueador senão a principal, este trabalho tem por objetivo identificar evidências quanto a fixação destas taxas por redes de franquia. A variação de tais taxas é comparada à capacidade de monitoramento das redes, considerando que custos de monitoramento são influenciados pelo nível de dispersão geográfica das unidades das redes. Verifica-se também o efeito de variáveis que tornam o monitoramento a distância mais factível e eficiente, o que modera o custo de monitorar unidades a distância. Para tal objetivo, um total de 376 redes associadas à Associação Brasileira de Franchising (ABF) são investigadas em uma análise cross-section tendo como base o ano de 2011. Os resultados indicam que, de fato, custos de monitoramento levam as redes a praticarem taxas menores como forma de incentivar e motivar franqueados. Porém, características das redes com relação a maior nível monitoramento mitiga tal efeito. Os resultados são mais claros para taxas variáveis de franquia (royalties). Também se constatou que as taxas de franquias não apresentam efeito substitutivo entre elas, ou seja, não são inversamente proporcionais, o que indica uma diferenciação do cenário brasileiro em relação a outros países. / Franchise chains are a type of hybrid arrangement of governance, which usually owned and franchised stores operate under the same brand and business format. Considering that franchise fees (fixed and variable) are among the main sources of the franchisor´s income, (otherwise the franchisor\'s major source), this paper aims to identify evidence for setting these fees for franchise chains. The variation of such fees is compared to the chains monitoring capacity, considering that monitoring costs are influenced by the geographical dispersion level of the units of the chains. There is also the effect of variables that make the remote monitoring more feasible and efficient, which moderates the cost of monitoring distance units. To this aim, 376 chains associated with the Brazilian Franchising Association (ABF) are investigated in a cross-section analysis based in 2011. The results indicate that, in fact, monitoring costs lead the networks to practice lower rates as a way to encourage and motivate franchisees. However, chains characteristics related to higher-level of monitoring mitigates this effect. The results are more evident to franchise variable fees (royalties). It was also found that franchises fees show no substitute effect between them, ie they are not inversely proportional, which indicates a differentiation of the Brazilian scenery in relation to other countries.