... in terms of prevention preparedness and recovery or rehabilitation from natural disasters in the Pacific Islands that local traditional agricultural diversity and traditional knowledge have considerable value in helping island societies solve the problems presented by natural disasters. At present, however, there is an increasing reliancy by individual island societies (eg. Villages, outer ...

The standards recommended at the United Nations Inter regional Seminar on Standards for the Training of Prosthetists in Holte, Denmark, in 1968 were universally accepted as being ideal, practical and economical. As these standards and the services to patients are not always observed, world wide, a study was made to investigate the situation in Australia. Australia is a federation with responsib...

We present a dynamic two-region model with overlapping generations. There are two types of productive public expenditure, education and infrastructure funding, and governments decide optimally on budget size (tax rate) and its allocation across the two outlays. Productivity of government infrastructure spending can differ across regions. This assumption follows well established empirical eviden...

Nunavut, the youngest Canadian territory, has developed a complete dependence on diesel-generated electricity over the last 50 years, which has led to environmental and economic stress on the territory. However, renewable energy technologies (RETs) could provide substantial electricity to communities, thereby reducing the use of diesel fuel. This study explored the perspectives of government po...

This study compares the relative efficacy of centralized versus decentralized governance of national road services delivery, both theoretically and empirically. National roads are normally governed by the central government due to their functional importance as major arteries. Of the major functions of national road governance comprising planning, financing, construction and maintenance, the Mi...

This paper examines how legal standards of liability may apply to geologic carbon storage. The liability regime governing geologic carbon storage will shape the technology’s cost-effectiveness and overall attractiveness. We classify potential sources of liability into operational, in situ, and climate liability. As a first step, we explore in situ liability in the United States. After summarizi...

This paper examines how a fiscal equalization system affects the disciplining effect of competition for capital among heterogeneous regions in a decentralized economy. I build a model in which regions that are heterogeneous in initial endowments try to attract capital by competing public input that enhances the productivity of capital; meanwhile, a fiscal equalization system is imposed by the c...

Note: The background and methods related to this project and a comparison of all Australian jurisdictions, along with a short summary for the Federal Government, are contained in the following journal article: Newman L, F Baum & E Harris (2006), ‘Federal, State and Territory government responses to health inequities and the social determinants of health in Australia’, Health Promotion Journal o...

[1] Among countries with river basin organizations to manage their water resources, Spain’s experience is one of the longest. One of the first basin agencies established in Spain was for the Guadalquivir River in the south. A case study of that river basin and its management indicates how basin management is shaped by political economy factors such as the historical path of the agency’s evoluti...

Data from the 1997 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Employer Health Insurance Survey provide new information comparing public- and private-sector employee health benefits. The federal government is ahead of other employers in adopting managed competition principles using financial incentives and consumer information to promote choosing efficient plans. Federal employees experience a $200 annual c...