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The study seeks to identify and document definitional challenges that hamper the delineation of the scope of real estate as a discipline and as an industry. Through literature review the article distils the perception of body of knowledge (BOK) of real estate within the academia. Two main issues are flagged up: the problem of undefined BOK and the collegiate dilemma. Later the study looks at the standard economic classification documents to capture the occupational domains of real estate professionals or real estate activities. These steps are necessary to help define an alternative academic, practical and social meaning of real estate that is sufficient and precise.

The study uses literature review and, as primary method, qualitative document analysis (QDA). The study has made a special appeal for the application of qualitative strategy in real estate research other than following the methodological orthodoxy of quantitative causal research designs. Further, it has argued for the recognition of QDA as a legitimate research method in the context of real estate studies. Consequently, the study performed QDA procedures on international economic classification standards.

From literature review and QDA, the study identified five definitional problems in the meanings or understandings of real estate: undefined body of knowledge, collegiate dilemma, inadequate classification of real estate occupations, inadequate industry classification and inadequate economic sector positioning. These are aspects that lead to misconceptions of the true boundary of knowledge in society and in the academia. The paper offers clarity and insights for the redrawing of these boundaries to give real estate its rightful place in the academia and in the real world.

The article follows up on the academic and social misconceptions on the BOK of real estate as a discipline and an economic activity domain to identify the contribution of real estate to the welfare of mankind. Ontology or the organization of academic or social knowledge is used to map out or catalogue real estate against competing domains and to show that the role of real estate is grossly understated and misunderstood. From the findings, the study makes recommendations to university curriculum developers, and international organizations like ILO, and UN-DESA to revise their conceptions of real estate to give the discipline its rightful position in society.

This paper brings up the regulatory environment for valuation and estate agency practices in Kenya. Its main purpose is to assess the regulatory institutions to determine whether consumers of real estate services are protected from risks in the property market and to compare Kenya's situation to other markets in the world.

This is a qualitative study of institutions including bodies and laws that are involved in the regulation of valuation and estate agency practices in Kenya, using document analysis method. The roles of professional body, the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya and the registration bodies, the Valuers Registration Board and the Estate Agency Registration Boards and attendant statutes, the Valuers Act and the Estate Agents Act are reviewed to gain insights into the regulation practice in Kenya. Benchmarking is done using regulatory practices in the United Kingdom and the USA.

Concerning valuation, Kenya uses a hybrid system combining the United Kingdom's self-regulation approach and the USA's state regulation approach. The co-regulation approach is working well for valuation practice in Kenya. On the other hand, the regulatory system for estate agents is weak because of limited powers of enforcement, thereby allowing an unknown number of agents to practise outside the regulatory framework.

The paper is unique in its subject matter as it evaluates the external organization (regulatory) environment of professional services firms (PSFs) in the real estate market. Existing studies have been done mainly by management scholars focussing on the internal organization environment of PSFs in general. Secondly, the study brings up to the international audience the regulatory system and practice in the real estate professional services market. This has not been done for Kenya and perhaps for many other countries. Lastly, it makes a novel recommendation that emphasis should be placed on registration and regulation of PSFs rather than individual practitioners to enhance quality in the provision of services where real estate agency is concerned.

The purpose of this paper is to look at the applications of factor cost indices in the building industry in Nairobi, Kenya against the possibilities established through a review of the principles so as to establish the extent of use in practical situations in the industry. There are two organisations involved in compilation of factor cost indices in Kenya – Central Bureau of Statistics and Joint Building Council (JBC). Their practices for compilation of factor cost indices are reported in this paper.

The paper reviews the principles of factor cost index in order to establish a conceptual framework within which practices are then evaluated. The statistical bureau's compilation of building cost indices and the instructions by the JBC are considered as available evidence of application.

The paper finds that the application of factor cost index in Kenya is limited, a situation that therefore demands more research by the construction industry in Kenya.

The research's originality lies in its supportive evaluation of the application of the indicator concept in the building industry. More applications would imply greater possibilities for research and development within the case study industry.

The aim of this paper is to use the case study of Nairobi in Kenya in order to fill the gap of knowledge on the component ratios of new building costs that has been missing from international literature.

Using survey methodology that considered firms of contractors registered and operating in Nairobi Kenya, the paper compares its findings rendered in terms of percentage ratios: with theoretical propositions (e.g. Wood), with past studies (e.g. Knowles) and with practice guidelines in Kenya.

Overall it finds that there is no significant change in percentage component ratios considered from past studies and practice guidelines in Kenya leading to the conclusion that the building industry has not undergone any significant technical change during the periods under study, i.e. 1980‐2006.

The study is limited by the fact that it only manages to capture the contractors' views of the component ratios. Contractors may be inclined to hide their profits which can be a sensitive issue in the Kenyan market, which as a developing economy, may be riddled with corrupt practices such as tax evasion and imperfect business competition. However, the issues raised here can be used as base information for further studies on the topic. Additionally an analysis of variance was performed on the data to ascertain its credibility. Second, the data used to argue the paper's case is partially dated but remains useful. The trend shows that there has been no significant change in the composition of component ratios hence the data remains relevant to date.

The paper's findings would be useful to international readers especially now that international contractors are bidding for work in Kenya. The data would give these contractors a glimpse into the structural composition of building cost components in Nairobi.

The paper's original contribution concerns the component ratios of building costs that has been neglected in the existing literature. In Kenya some work had been done by Knowles, but this was restricted to office block buildings only, while this paper considers all buildings as shown in Table V.

Fluctuations in the tender price index have an adverse effect on the construction sector and the economy at large. This is largely due to the positive relationship that exists between the construction industry and economic growth. The consequences of these variations include cost overruns and schedule delays, among others. An accurate forecast of the tender price index is good for controlling the uncertainty associated with its variation. In the present study, the efficacy of using an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) for tender price forecasting is investigated. In addition, the Box–Jenkins model, which is considered a benchmark technique, was used to evaluate the performance of the ANFIS model. The results demonstrate that the ANFIS model is superior to the Box–Jenkins model in terms of the accuracy and reliability of the forecast. The ANFIS could provide an accurate and reliable forecast of the tender price index in the medium term (i.e. over a three-year period). This chapter provides evidence of the advantages of applying nonlinear modelling techniques (such as the ANFIS) to tender price index forecasting. Although the proposed ANFIS model is applied to the tender price index in this study, it can also be applied to a wider range of problems in the field of construction engineering and management.

The land is a critical resource for public-private partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure development. However, acquisition of land for PPP infrastructure projects implementation increasingly becomes problematic in developing countries. Yet, effort at investigating the factors causing a delay in land acquisition for PPP infrastructure projects through an empirical method in developing countries received scant attention. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify and critically assess the factors predisposing PPP projects implementation to land acquisition delay in Nigeria using an empirical approach.

The study adopted literature review and questionnaire survey. For instance, literature review was used to identify the factors causing delay in land acquisition for PPP projects in developing countries, which was used to design the questionnaire survey culminating in data analysis. To capture a broad perception, the questionnaires were administered to three different primary stakeholder groups comprised public sector authorities (i.e. ministries, department, agencies), concessionaires and lenders/banks involved in PPP projects implementation in Nigeria. Data collected were analysed using mean score, Kruskal–Wallis test and factor analysis.

The study revealed the mean score ranking of 22 identified factors causing a delay in land acquisition for PPP projects in Nigeria. The result of factor analysis grouped the 22 identified factors into 4 principal factors, namely, resettlement issues with political interference; non-availability of land with a higher cost of land transactions; weak planning institutions; and rehabilitation issues with extensive legal delays.

These study findings have implications for both policymakers considering PPP projects and private investors seeking to finance a PPP project in developing countries. Also, the study findings would be useful for the governments in Nigeria and other developing countries to formulate clear policies framework that facilitates the smooth acquisition of land for PPP projects.

The study will be beneficial to the potential local and foreign private investors and governments by broadening their awareness on impediments in land acquisition for PPP projects in Nigeria and developing countries at large. These study findings are crucial, as not many empirical studies have been conducted in Nigeria and many other developing countries.

This paper aims to examine the relationship between mobile phones, the internet, financial inclusion, the informal economy and poverty reduction.

The study examines the relationship between mobile phones, the internet, financial inclusion, the informal economy and poverty reduction using the system generalized method of moments approach and a panel data set of 42 African countries for the period 1995–2017.

The study shows that mobile penetration and internet usage have significant positive relationship with the informal sector. Financial inclusion has significant effects, meaning that increased financial inclusion is associated with a developed informal economy. Also, mobile penetration and internet usage play significant roles in the relationship between financial inclusion and the informal economy. Further, mobile penetration and internet usage have a significant positive relationship with poverty reduction. Similarly, financial inclusion has significant effects, meaning higher financial inclusion is associated with increased poverty reduction. The informal economy also has significant effects, suggesting that the development of the informal economy is associated with poverty reduction.

Most importantly, mobile penetration, internet usage and financial inclusion play significant roles in the link between the informal economy and poverty reduction.

The presence of previous awarded public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects that significantly delays reaching financial close constrain the likely success of new PPP projects. However, effort at investigating financial close delays of PPP projects through empirical studies by the research community received scant attention. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to identify and assess the factors causing delays in PPP projects from reaching financial close in developing countries.

The study adopted literature review and questionnaire survey. In order to capture a broad perception, a questionnaire survey was adopted, which was administered to three different primary stakeholder categories comprised public sector authorities (i.e. ministries, department, and agencies), concessionaires, and lenders/banks already involved in PPP infrastructure projects implementation in Nigeria. The data obtained were analysed using mean score, Kruskal-Wallis test, and factor analysis.

The study revealed the mean score ranking of 39 identified causes of financial close delays in PPP projects, and the mean score values for all the identified 39 causes of financial close delays are very high. The study, through factor analysis, categorised the 39 identified causes of financial close delays into eight principal factors. The factors are: decreased bankability of PPP projects; unstable economic policy; weak financial, technical, and managerial capabilities of the concessionaires; weak public institutions; lack of creditworthiness of both the project sponsors and active partner; unfavourable economy of the host country; weak legal and unfavourable environment; and high contingent liabilities, respectively.

The identification and evaluation of the factors delaying PPP projects development from reaching financial close in a reasonable time manner would be useful for PPP primary stakeholders to develop strategies to safeguard the present and future PPP projects implementation in developing countries.

The study findings would be useful for both policymakers considering PPP projects and private investors seeking to finance PPP projects in developing countries. This study is crucial as not many empirical studies have been conducted in developing countries.

Construction economics scholars have emphasised the importance of construction output forecasting and have called for increased investment in infrastructure projects due to the positive relationship between construction output and economic growth. However, construction output tends to fluctuate over time. Excessive changes in the volume of construction output have a negative impact upon the construction sector, such as liquidation of construction companies and job losses. Information gleaned from extant literature suggests that fluctuation in construction output is a global problem. Evidence indicates that modelling of construction output provides information for understanding the factors responsible for these changes.

An interpretivist epistemological lens is adopted to conduct a systematic review of published studies on modelling of construction output. A thematic analysis is then presented, and the trends and gaps in current knowledge are highlighted.

It is observed that interest rate is the most common determinant of construction output. Also revealed is that very little is known about the underlying factors stimulating growth in the volume of investment in maintenance construction works. Further work is required to investigate the efficacy of using non-linear techniques for construction output modelling.

This study provides a contemporary mapping of existing knowledge relating to construction output and provides insights into gaps in current understanding that can be explored by future researchers.

Fluctuations in construction output has an adverse effect on the construction industry and the economy due to its strong linkage. Developing reliable and accurate predictive models is vital to implementing effective response strategies to mitigate the impact of such fluctuations. The purpose of this paper is to compare the accuracy of two univariate forecast models, i.e. Box-Jenkins (autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA)) and Neural Network Autoregressive (NNAR).

Four quarterly time-series data on the construction output of Hong Kong were collected (1983Q1-2014Q4). The collected data were divided into two parts. The first part was fitted to the model, while the other was used to evaluate the predictive accuracy of the developed models.

The NNAR model can provide reliable and accurate forecast of total, private and “others” construction output for the medium term. In addition, the NNAR model outperforms the ARIMA model, in terms of accuracy.

The applicability of the NNAR model to the construction industry of other countries could be further explored. The main limitation of artificial intelligence models is the lack of explanatory capability.

The NNAR model could be used as a tool for accurately predicting future patterns in construction output. This is vital for the sustained growth of the construction industry and the economy.

This is the first study to apply the NNAR model to construction output forecasting research.