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Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

The purpose in this thesis was to undertake a bioeconomic analysis of the fisheries of the English Channel. An economic survey of the fishery was undertaken to establish the economic and financial performance of the various fleet segments in the fishery in 1994-95. It was found that the fishery as a whole was producing negligible levels of resource rent, although some boat owners were receiving intra-marginal rents. Long run equilibrium models of sole and plaice were developed and the optimal (profit maximising) level of effort (in beam trawl hours equivalent) was estimated. It was found that the optimal level of effort was substantially lower than the current level of effort expended on these two species. A method for estimating surplus production models which incorporate decreasing returns to effort was also developed and applied to the fishery. A linear programming (LP) model was also developed which incorporate the multi-species and multi-gear features of the fishery. The model was used to estimate the maximum level of profits that could be achieved in the fishery given existing stock conditions. It was found that profits could be increased substantially, but at the cost of a large reduction in fishing employment. A compromise `optimal' was estimate using multi-objective (goal programming) techniques. The LP model was also used to estimate the effects of a restriction on days at sea and reduced total allowable catches of sole and plaice. It was estimated that these policies would impose additional costs on various segments of the fishery, particularly the trawl segments to which they are targeted. Benefits, if any, were likely to be negligible as the policies were estimated to result in increased discarding rather than decreased catch. The model results suggest that the long term level of effort may be more effectively reduced through implementing a charge on access to, or use of, the resource.

Farm equipment is becoming an increasingly important financial asset for many farmers. Tractors probably represent the single largest component of equipment asset value. As such, changes in tractor values can have a dramatic effect on a farmer's financial situation. Changes in equipment value can be attributed to depreciation and the value of output produced. The general objective of this study was to identify a specific set of variables explaining changes in equipment value and to determine the relative importance of these variables. The Box-Cox power transformation technique was employed in estimating the depreciation patterns. The method was applied to two different sources of used tractor prices--auction and advertised. Remaining value (RV), defined as the real market price in time t divided by real purchase price, was regressed against several independent variables. These independent variables were age, usage per year, condition, horsepower, manufacturer, regions of the U.S., auction types, and net farm income. A number of these variables were found to have some important impact on RV. Depreciation patterns were found to differ between manufacturers. Significant differences in remaining values (RV) were found to exist for different regions of the U.S. and different auction types. For both auction and advertised data, an increase in usage produces a noticeable decrease in RV. For auction data, however, the level of usage tends to have greater influence on RV when the tractor is newer. The results did not closely approximate any clear depreciation pattern. The depreciation patterns are accelerated relative to straight-line method and are a combination of the geometric and sum-of-the-year's digits functions. The RV model was used to examine optimal replacement ages for farm tractors. Annual usage levels had the most influence on the age at which tractors were replaced. Expensing and some tax law changes had a less significant impact. / Graduation date: 1989

<p>Background:</p><p>Over the last three years uranium prices have soard from US $14 per pound (lb) to the current price of US $120/lb and this rapid incline of the commodity have created a boom within the uranium prospecting and min-ing industry. There are currently 435 nuclear reactors all over the world and these reactors demand 180 millions of pounds of uranium each year to run at full production. Currently the uranium mining industry only sup-plies 110 million pounds of the demanded quantity. The remaining 70 mil-lion pounds are coming from secondary sources such as decommissioned nuclear warheads and other sources. Market estimations say that the sec-ondary sources will only cover the shortage up until around 2012 then primary sources have to supply almost the whole quantity demanded. These factors imply that some sort of analysis model for uranium mining companies would be needed.</p><p>Purpose:</p><p>The purpose of this report is to valuate three companies within the ura-nium industry and to establish if the current market value is coherent with the fundamental value of these companies. The authors will propose a valuation model that could be used when valuating companies within the uranium industry.</p><p>Method:</p><p>A qualitative method has been used in order to value three companies within the uranium mining business that are fairly large players on the market. The valuation of these companies is based upon a discounted cash flow analysis, a relative PV valuation and relative valuation. The compa-nies included in the report are corporations that are quoted at Toronto Stock Exchange and they have started mining uranium. Data have been collected through annual reports and the companies Internet pages. Other secondary information such as valuation theories has been collected from academic search engines and books on the subjects.</p><p>Conclusions:</p><p>The current market values of uranium mining companies are not coherent with the actual fundamental values according to the authors. Both funda-mental and a comparative approach could be used when valuing these companies and the most important part in the valuation is to try and fore-cast the commodity price and then to estimate the companies possible mining reserve/extractable resources.</p>

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This thesis is concerned with examining issues of theoretical validity and bias in contingent valuation (CV) and discrete choice experiment (DCE) methods in low income countries. This thesis contributes to the small body of literature on the application of CV and DCEs in low income countries and in populations which have little or no formal education. Theoretical validity is examined by testing whether willingness to pay corresponds to theoretical expectations focusing on gender and willingness to pay, sensitivity to scope, starting point bias, and strategic bias in CV. The theoretical validity of the DCE method in populations with no formal education is also explored. It is found that whilst iterative methods to elicit willingness to pay often mimic local market conditions in low income countries they are prone to starting point bias and strategic bias. An association between gender and willingness to pay was also found. Issues of gender, starting point bias and strategic behaviour can be tested for and controlled for in the estimation of willingness to pay and do not present an insurmountable problem. Willingness to pay was also found to be insensitive to the size of the benefit in CV. Using the DCE method, it was found that with the use of visual aids, DCEs can be used among respondents with no formal education. It is concluded that CV and DCEs are feasible and valid in populations with low levels of education when surveys are conducted using trained enumerators and administered using face-to-face interviews. This suggests that both techniques are capable of being used in wide variety of settings. The exception to this is a lack of evidence on sensitivity to scope. Further research is therefore required into sensitivity to scope. Further research is also required to examine the association between gender and willingness to pay.

Environmentally Sensitive Areas constitute the principal policy instrument for rewarding farmers as providers of environmental goods and services in the EU. This study examines two Scottish ESAs and considers whether the environmental benefits resulting exceed the costs and whether money is being targeted in a way which maximises the benefits. The study examines two main aspects of the public's perceptions of the benefits of the ESA policy: • the public's preferences for different landscape and conservation features within the ESA, and • the public's monetary valuation of the benefits of the scheme (using the Contingent Valuation Method). The individual features which are eligible for grant support under the ESA scheme are generally in accord with public preferences. It is clear from this study that, in principle, a high level of support for the ESA scheme exists amongst members of the public in the Loch Lomond and Stewartry areas. However, in practice, the way that the scheme has operated in the past has focused on an unduly narrow range of environmental services. Furthermore, those features commanding the greatest input of expenditure generate low levels of benefit to the public. If the primary aim were to maximise the monetary value of environmental gains resulting from a given level of expenditure, then an adjustment in the allocation of funding between different policy elements would seem to offer considerable potential for increasing the resulting consumer benefits. Furthermore, the current levels of expenditure on the policy are well below the mean willingness to pay for the policy stated by residents and visitors in the study sites.

The diploma thesis deals with setting of market value of the company Budejovicky Budvar as of 31. December 2009. The theoretical part of this thesis describes risks and difficulties that can be encountered by each professional valuator while evaluating a particular business. Practical part of the thesis consists of strategic analysis, which focuses on assessing and estimating of the target's market. Financial analysis covers financial position of the company and leads in analysis of the value generators and compilation of a financial plan. The actual valuation is based on discounted cash-flows attributable to the shareholders. The business valuation also estimates the value of the brand.