PHARMAC, the Pharmaceutical Management Agency, manages the Pharmaceutical Schedule on behalf of the Government. The Agency is tasked with securing the best health outcomes that are reasonably achievable from pharmaceutical treatment and from within the amount of funding provided (§ 47 NZPHD Act, 2000). The Agency reports that it continues to improve New Zealanders’ access to funded medicines. In determining which pharmaceuticals to fund, PHARMAC’s Operating Policies and Procedures (OPPs) state that nine criteria guide its decision- making. The OPPs further state that PHARMAC can apply whatever weight it sees fit to the application of these criteria. I undertook a thematic analysis of 20 cases referred by PHARMAC’s principal medical advisory body, the Pharmacology and Therapeutic Advisory Committee (PTAC), to PHARMAC during the period February 2004 to November 2006 to determine whether these criteria were acknowledged in the official minutes of the respective bodies. PTAC is similarly required to take account of the abiding decision criteria. I also sought to determine whether other factors were apparent in guiding the decisions. There was evidence that PHARMAC consistently applied the decision criteria. PTAC was less assiduous in recording its application. In addition, I found that PHARMAC takes account of factors outside the stated criteria. I noted that PHARMAC takes particular account of the degree to which a decision might be publicly, politically or medically contentious in its decision-making. I also found evidence that consistency with prior decisions is another factor which PHARMAC takes into account, though does not apply routinely. This research indicates that PHARMAC does take account of its abiding decision criteria, applying health needs as well as fiscal criteria, though the weighting given each criterion is nowhere apparent in its official minutes. There remains an opportunity for evaluative research to determine whether fiscal considerations ‘outweigh’ needs considerations in PHARMACs decision-making.

The diversity of US institutions of higher education is manifested in many ways. This study looks at that diversity from the economic perspective by studying the subsidy structure through the distribution of institutional price-cost ratio (PCR), defined as the sum of net tuition price divided by total supplier cost and equals to one minus subsidy-cost ratio (SCR). IPEDS Finance, Enrollment, and Institutional Characteristics survey data for academic year 2006-2007 are used.Significant between-sector differences are found in terms of both central locations and ranges of PCR. Public two-year institutions have the lowest average PCR (0.12) and smallest within-group variation while for-profit four-year institutions have the highest average PCR (0.93). The within-group variations are quite large for both private nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Nine types of subsidy structure are constructed and used to categorize institutions, which reveal considerable overlapping between public and private nonprofit sectors and between private nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Private nonprofit sector is consistently shown as the "hybrid" sector with more similarities to the public sector.This study highlights price-cost ratio as an important metric for economics of higher education because it integrates targeted price adjustments (list price - net price) and general subsidy (supplier cost - list price), allows for negative subsidy, and accounts for cost variations. It succinctly provides a holistic view of the subsidy-profit spectrum and serves the purpose to rectify the currently skewed perspective that predominantly focuses on "student aid" (redefined as "targeted price adjustments") and for the most part excludes the for-profit sector. A byproduct of this study is a detailed account of how to adjust new GASB/FASB-based IPEDS Finance data to derive meaningful price and cost measures to support cross-sector comparison.

PHARMAC, the Pharmaceutical Management Agency, manages the Pharmaceutical Schedule on behalf of the Government. The Agency is tasked with securing the best health outcomes that are reasonably achievable from pharmaceutical treatment and from within the amount of funding provided (§ 47 NZPHD Act, 2000). The Agency reports that it continues to improve New Zealanders’ access to funded medicines. In determining which pharmaceuticals to fund, PHARMAC’s Operating Policies and Procedures (OPPs) state that nine criteria guide its decision- making. The OPPs further state that PHARMAC can apply whatever weight it sees fit to the application of these criteria. I undertook a thematic analysis of 20 cases referred by PHARMAC’s principal medical advisory body, the Pharmacology and Therapeutic Advisory Committee (PTAC), to PHARMAC during the period February 2004 to November 2006 to determine whether these criteria were acknowledged in the official minutes of the respective bodies. PTAC is similarly required to take account of the abiding decision criteria. I also sought to determine whether other factors were apparent in guiding the decisions. There was evidence that PHARMAC consistently applied the decision criteria. PTAC was less assiduous in recording its application. In addition, I found that PHARMAC takes account of factors outside the stated criteria. I noted that PHARMAC takes particular account of the degree to which a decision might be publicly, politically or medically contentious in its decision-making. I also found evidence that consistency with prior decisions is another factor which PHARMAC takes into account, though does not apply routinely. This research indicates that PHARMAC does take account of its abiding decision criteria, applying health needs as well as fiscal criteria, though the weighting given each criterion is nowhere apparent in its official minutes. There remains an opportunity for evaluative research to determine whether fiscal considerations ‘outweigh’ needs considerations in PHARMACs decision-making.

Insects have become increasingly resistant to chemical control methods, while at the same time public awareness of the harmful effects of synthetic pesticides has increased. The search for more environmentally 'friendly' means of pest suppression is gaining momentum and biological control (the use of natural enemies to reduce populations of noxious organisms) has become an increasingly sought-after option. Despite an increase in the establishment rate of insect natural enemies, classical biological control of arthropods is currently no more successful than it was one hundred years ago. Ecological theory relevant to population biology, food webs and diversity provides insight into how biological control agents can be made more effective, yet this theory has often been absent from the biological control literature. Examples of the use of ecological concepts (including intraguild predation, life-history omnivory and resource subsidies) in practical biological control are reviewed, and aspects of theory not yet considered in this context are discussed. Cereals are important as primary food crops, globally and within New Zealand. Possibly the greatest amount of damage sustained by cereal crops in New Zealand is caused by aphids and chemical control of these pests is very expensive relative to biological control. This thesis examines how biological control of the rose-grain aphid Metopolophium dirhodum (Walker) (Hemiptera: Aphidiidae) by the koinobiont, synovigenic endoparasitoid Aphidius rhopalosiphi De Stefani-Perez (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) can be enhanced by floral resource subsidies. The mechanisms underlying this enhancement were determined in a series of laboratory experiments and then tested in laboratory microcosms and in the field. Sugar resources significantly increased longevity and egg load in A. rhopalosiphi and another species of aphidiid, Diaeretiella rapae McIntosh. Pollen had no significant effect on longevity or egg load in these species. These results are discussed in terms of the effects of resource subsidies on egg- versus time-limitation. Laboratory microcosm experiments tested whether the mechanisms of increased potential fecundity via enhanced egg load and longevity translate into increased rates of parasitism (i.e., realised fecundity). Only treatments receiving sugar showed increased reproductive success. The presence of flowering buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (c.v. Kitawase) (Polygonaceae) plants caused a slight, non-significant increase in rates of parasitism. Field surveys of natural aphid populations in a wheat Triticum aestivum (L.) (c.v. Otane) (Gramineae) field showed that proximity to floral buckwheat patches, distance to the nearest edge or the leeward end of the field were not significantly correlated with rates of parasitism. These variables were significantly correlated with aphid density in some surveys. Rates of parasitism were not correlated with aphid density. When aphid population density was controlled by experimental placement of aphids, proximity to floral resource patches significantly affected rates of parasitism. Parasitism rates were highest at the edges of buckwheat patches and declined exponentially with distance, eventually reaching zero beyond 14 m. Lower levels of parasitism were observed within the floral patches than at their edges. This phenomenon is compatible with the concept of spatio-temporal partitioning between parasitoid feeding and host-searching behaviours. Potential costs (increased predation risk, opportunity costs) and benefits (increased fecundity and longevity) associated with floral feeding by parasitoids, and temporal variation in these factors, are discussed. It is concluded that resource subsidies are not only effective in the practical enhancement of the efficacy of a specific biological control agent, but their use is based on a sound foundation in ecological theory that allows extension of these principles across taxa.

This research examines the role of the abatement subsidy as a potential environmental policy option under various scenarios. This is achieved through a combination of theoretical and empirical analyses. The main motivation for this work stems from the existing literature on the abatement subsidy where its role seems to be a negative one from a policy standpoint. The reason for this is that in oligopoly models with free-entry the abatement subsidy encourages new firms into the market via higher profits thereby raising the level of total emissions in the industry, even though at the same time it lowers each firm's emissions. The overarching findings indicate that the abatement subsidy might play a role in environmental policy. The theoretical component of the work employs a symmetric free-entry Cournot oligopoly model both in a closed-economy and international settings. The key findings from these are that the subsidy lowers per-firm emissions and total industry emissions, and that the subsidy is welfare-enhancing when implemented multilaterally. As for the empirical component of the work, the analyses suggest that the subsidy is associated to lower per-firm emission levels and that the number of firms variable is not statistically significant.

The aim of this thesis is to explain the functioning of cluster grouping of small and medium enterprises, to show the method of completing the application for cluster project funding by EU structural funds and to assess the benefits of the cluster.

This Master's thesis is concerned with the process analysis of a subsidy program of a governmental institution. The main objective of this dissertation is to describe and analyze the process of a program cycle as a whole as well as its individual sub-processes. The study also elaborates on the information system (IS) utilized, in the context of subsidy management, by relevant governmental institutions. Finally, hierarchies of these IS will be illustrated and future prospects for their integration will be pondered. The dissertation's main contribution to knowledge is the final assessment of the whole process along with a proposal for its enhancement. The study is divided into a theoretical and empirical part. In the theoretical part, while procedural issue is analyzed in the first part, the subsequent section focuses on the phenomenon of subsidies itself, their common attributes and in what ways do the subsidies discussed in this study differ from other subsidies. The subsidy program is described, in line with the approved documentation, and the official objectives defined. The subsidy program under consideration is administered by the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic and, therefore, the dissertation includes a schematic diagram depicting the organizational structure of this governmental institution as well as the relevant Department of Budget in order to provide a better understanding of the complex processes involved. The empirical part then analyzes a particular subsidy program and its sub-programs. Finally, the dissertation assesses the whole process and proposes possible ways for its enhancement.

No description available.

Thesis advisor: Richard Sweeney / In the first chapter of this dissertation, I study the relative advantages of investment (upfront) and output (production-based) subsidies for rooftop solar Photovoltaic (PV) adoption. While investment subsidies can be cost-effective due to adopters’ inter-temporal discounting (impatience), output subsidies are better targeted to site quality. Using data from the California Solar Initiative, I estimate a dynamic discrete choice model of solar adoption, then simulate counterfactual subsidy policies to find an optimal balance of investment and output subsidy rates. The model estimates adopters’ discounting factor and distribution of tastes, and hinges critically on the observed distribution of site quality as data. Considerable variation in personal taste (taste to be green) implies that the output subsidy can play a helpful role in incentivizing otherwise hesitant property owners with high production potential, while not overpaying eager adopters with lower potential. The intertemporal discount factor, reflecting consumers’ impatience, is a critical element in many models of consumer demand behavior. However, the discount factor must usually be calibrated (assumed) rather than estimated, and if calibrated incorrectly, may yield serious miscalculations in empirical results and policy implications. Therefore, in the second chapter of this dissertation, I estimate distinct values of the discount factor for commercial and residential adopters of solar. In showing that commercial adopters are only about one third as impatient as residential adopters, this paper offers useful context for researchers seeking to make informed calibrations of the discount factor in related settings. In the setting of rooftop PV solar adoption, the difference in discount factors implies that the most cost-effective combination of investment and output subsidies involves relatively higher output subsidy rates for commercial properties, and relatively higher investment subsidy rates for residential properties. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics.

Only when the servant or wife is abruptly removed from the household and the well-oiled wheels of domestic machinery grind to a halt does the superior realize just how important such services really are. This quote shows how important domestic services are, it also points out who executes it and that society and people, at least the superior, tend to take it for granted. The quote also gives a hint to the aim of this study which is to analyze the arguments behind the policy proposal presented in Promemorian Skattelättnader för hushållstjänster from 2006. The study focuses on the social problems behind the policy proposal and if there were problems left unproblematized. Another aim is to study if assumptions on gender and class can be seen in the policy proposal. Two methods have been used; primarily argumentation, but to some extent (theoretically) also Carol Lee Bacchi’s approach ”what’s the problem represented to be?”. Bacchi’s approach is useful because the presented solutions to a problem depend on the representation of problems and how they are formulated. The results show, among other things, that the interpretation of women’s role in household and society, which also contain a representation of problems, line up the solutions of the problems. They also show that gender equality, as well as gender and class, has been left unproblematized in the policy proposal.