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The need in disaster response to assess how reliably and equitably funding was accounted for and distributed is addressed by a standardized report and index applicable to any disaster type. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Data from the Nepal earthquake (2015), Typhoon Haiyan (2013), the Haiti earthquake (2010), Sri Lankan flood (2011), and Hurricane Sandy (2012) illustrate uses of a public equitable allocation of resources log (PEARL). Drawing from activity-based costing and the Gini index, a PEARL spreadsheet computes absolute inequity sector by sector as well as a cumulative index. Response variations guide index value interpretation.

Index values indicates major inequity in Nepal hygiene kit distribution and Haiti earthquake (both PEARL indices near 0.5), moderate inequity for the Sri Lankan flood (index roughly 0.75) and equitable distributions for Typhoon Haiyan and Hurricane Sandy (both indices approximately 0.95). Indices are useful to approximate proportions of inequity in the total response and investigate allocation under uncertainty in sector need specification.

This original tool is implementable using a website containing a practice PEARL, completed examples and downloadable spreadsheet. Used across multiple sectors or for a single sector, PEARL may signal need for additional resources, correct inequitable distribution decisions, simplify administrative monitoring/assessment, and foster greater accounting transparency in summary reports. PEARL also assists historical analysis of all disaster types to determine completeness of public accounting records and equity in fund distribution.

A tax based on land value is in many ways ideal, but many economists dismiss it by assuming it could not raise enough revenue. Standard sources of data omit much of the potential tax base, and undervalue what they do measure. The purpose of this paper is to present more comprehensive and accurate measures of land rents and values, and several modes of raising revenues from them besides the conventional property tax.

The paper identifies 16 elements of land's taxable capacity that received authorities either trivialize or omit. These 16 elements come in four groups.

In Group A, Elements 1‐4 correct for the downward bias in standard sources. In Group B, Elements 5‐10 broaden the concepts of land and rent beyond the conventional narrow perception, while Elements 11‐12 estimate rents to be gained by abating other kinds of taxes. In Group C, Elements 13‐14 explain how using the land tax, since it has no excess burden, uncaps feasible tax rates. In Group D, Elements 15‐16 define some moot possibilities that may warrant further exploration.

This paper shows how previous estimates of rent and land values have been narrowly limited to a fraction of the whole, thus giving a false impression that the tax capacity is low. The paper adds 14 elements to the traditional narrow “single tax” base, plus two moot elements advanced for future consideration. Any one of these 16 elements indicates a much higher land tax base than economists commonly recognize today. Taken together they are overwhelming, and cast an entirely new light on this subject.

The purpose of this paper is to explore farmer acceptance of a biofortified staple food crop in a developing country prior to its commercialization. The paper focuses on the hypothetical introduction of a high-iron pearl millet variety in Maharashtra, India, where pearl millet is among the most important staple crops.

A choice experiment is used to investigate farmer preferences for and trade-offs among various production and consumption attributes of pearl millet. The key pearl millet attributes studied include days it takes pearl millet to mature, color of the roti (flat bread) the grain produces, the presence of high-iron content (nutritional attribute), and the price of the pearl millet seed. Choice data come from 630 pearl millet-producing households from three purposefully selected districts of Maharashtra. A latent class model is used to investigate the heterogeneity in farmers’ preferences for pearl millet attributes and to profile farmers who are more or less likely to choose high-iron varieties of pearl millet.

The results reveal that there are three distinct segments in the sample, and there is significant heterogeneity in farmer preferences across these segments. High-iron pearl millet is valued the most by larger households that produce mainly for household consumption and currently have lower quality diets. Households that mainly produce for market sales, on the other hand, derive lower benefits from consumption characteristics such as color and nutrition.

The main limitation of the study is that it uses a stated preference choice experiment method, which suffers from hypothetical bias. At the time of implementing this study biofortified high-iron pearl millet varieties were not yet developed, therefore the authors could not have implemented revealed preference elicitation methods with real products and payment.

The method used (stated preference choice experiment method) is commonly used to value non-market goods such as environmental goods and products that are not yet in the market. It’s application to agriculture and in developing countries is increasing. As far as the authors know this is the first choice experiment implemented to investigate farmer/consumer preferences for biofortified crops. The study presents valuable information for development and delivery of biofortified crops for reducing micronutrient deficiencies.

The theory of competitiveness of cities is based on Porter’s Diamond Theory. There is a relation between housing and urban competitiveness. The adequacy of land supply and allocation of land for new housing development is integral. This paper aims to estimate the required number of housing units to secure housing needs in Tehran for the next four years in 1400 H.Sh (2021 A.D.). The research methodology is carried out using qualitative and quantitative approaches based on the given data. First, the population of Tehran in 1400 H.Sh was predicted using nonlinear quadratic polynomial, Gompertz and logistic models. Then, a Logistic model is proposed to estimate the number of housing units in Tehran. The calculations of residential units related to the population obtained from the Gompertz model equivalent to 663141 is suggested as a criterion for local authority to future decision making and planning for urban development.

The present research is an applied research in terms of the purpose a descriptive research in terms of the nature and methodology and a descriptive-analytical research in terms of attitude and approach toward the research problem (Hafeznia, 2013, 58, 63 and 71). To provide the required information for the analytical stage, a documentary method, related to the use of internal and external books and papers, has been applied. First, the population of Tehran in 1400 H.Sh is estimated using three nonlinear models of quadratic polynomials, Gompertz and logistic. Then, among them, the options that were more consistent with the estimation of the new comprehensive plan of Tehran (1386 H.Sh), which is the most important plan of this city, were chosen. After that, by using the logistic model, which is an appropriate expression of saturable phenomena and a suitable method of estimating the number of residential units in a city and based on the past trend, the future of housing is predicted, and the number of required residential units is determined.

Any city for competitiveness must seek the search and development of a set of unique strategies and practices that will shape its status from other cities. No single action for all cities is feasible. In fact, the most important challenge is to propose a unique value proposition and to formulate a strategy that distinguishes that city from the rest. Among the measures taken around the world is attention to infrastructure. From the point of view of competitiveness, different types of investment in infrastructure are important for different types of cities and in different stages of development of a city. Large cities need targeted investments in housing issues to overcome the segments associated with the poorer neighborhoods. Without investment in desirable housing, there will be holes in competitive advantage. In this paper, the number of residential units in Tehran was projected for 2021. The city’s population was originally estimated for 2021. In addition to the models used to predict and estimate necessary, it is necessary to consider the area, land use map, future development lines and […] city. To this end, the city can continue to meet the needs of residents’ diversification and the city’s needs. We cannot accept any predictions about the population and, consequently, the number of residential units. Providing predictions can provide the most predictive, or more prudent, and different scenarios that can emerge, which will lead to flexibility in the presentation of plans and programs. Among the models that were used to predict the population, the result obtained from second-order polynomial and Gompartz models was found to be appropriate for the estimation of the new comprehensive design of Tehran (2007). But the prediction of the population of the logistic model was beyond the prediction of the new comprehensive plan of Tehran (2007) and thus was not considered appropriate. The number of residential units required according to the predicted population of the second order polynomial models, Gompartz and the population considered in the new comprehensive plan of Tehran (2007). After the finalization of the proposed population, using the logistic model, the number of residential units needed in Tehran was projected for 2021. Since these three estimates are somewhat close to each other, it is suggested that Gompertz model calculations, equivalent to 663,141 residential units, are proposed, and according to that, local authorities are planning to supply land to achieve economic competitiveness (urban). As it is shown in the conceptual model of the paper in Figure 1, after determining the need for housing, it is necessary to ask whether the adequacy of the supply and allocation of land, as well as the importance of maintaining it for the development of housing by local authorities, is clear. Also, is there any suitable planning for that? Despite the severe shortage of ready-made land for the city of Tehran, a large volume of land is a large area owned by natural and legal persons, and, in particular, state-owned enterprises of semipublic and public institutions, which have been abandoned in cities for years without use and in the form of barren. According to municipal management laws, municipalities can receive land, taxes and fees that are included in the annual budget of the Tehran Municipality. According to the figure obtained from this study, which states that 663,141 residential units are needed for Tehran in 2021, large landowners in Tehran need to supply their land to the market. According to the Population and Housing Census in Tehran in 2011, there are 245,769 inhabited vacancies in Tehran; hence there are two scenarios for the provision of residential units in the city of Tehran in 2021, assuming that these units in the housing market require 417,372 units Another residence will be for Tehran, otherwise 663141 residential units will be needed for Tehran in 2021. Other possibl

Tehran is the largest city and the capital of Iran, and it is also the capital of the province Tehran. In the southern foothills of the Alborz Mountains within a longitude of 51 degrees and 2 minutes East to 51 degrees and 36 minutes East, with an approximate length of 50 kilometers and latitude 35 degrees and 34 minutes North to 35 degrees and 50 minutes North with an approximate width of 30 kilometers. The area of this city is 730 km². This is one of the largest cities in West Asia, the 25th the most populous city, and the 27th greatest city to the world. The administrative structure of Iran has been concentrated in this city. The city has been divided into 22 zones, 134 areas (including Rey and Tajrish), and 370 districts (Wikipedia). The problem of housing in the city of Tehran has always been one of the important issues that less has been planned for it. The result is housing shortage, high housing prices and so on, due to the excessive expansion of the city, its population increase and so on.

Compared to other neighbouring South Asian countries, Sri Lanka performs well in terms of education outcomes. Education is provided by the government for free from primary school level to the first-degree University level, yet households’ private education expenses are steadily increasing over time. Thus, this paper analyses trends and determinants of household private education expenditures using the country-wide micro-data from 1990 to 2013.

Using Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 1990/91, 2002 and 2012/13 data along with annual school census data, this paper examines the relationship between private education expenditure patterns and the observed changes of reported both demand-side and supply-side factors. In particular, the present paper analyses determinants of household private education expenditures within the two-part model econometric framework by taking into account location and time fixed-effects.

The results show that trend of spending privately for education is increasing over time with rising household income. Rural, Tamil and Islamic households and those headed by less-educated members are less likely to spend privately for education. The results also confirm that improved-supply-side factors can significantly lower the household burden arising from out-of-pocket education expenditure.

Unavailability of panel data and missing data on several districts due to security concerns are limitations of the study.

The trend of increasing private education expenses has implications on equity concerns of education in Sri Lanka, and it can undermine the purpose of free public education policy.

To our knowledge, this is the first study for Sri Lanka that examines patterns and determinants of private education expenditures using nationwide data for last two decades. This paper applies novel econometric techniques to account for various issues in household survey data analysis.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-07-2019-0445

This study aims to examine the participants’ [junior high school students and Master of business administration (MBA) consultants] perceptions and utilizations of the multidimensional place-based resources within the context of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), specifically focusing on its alignment with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) for quality education. While place-based resources have demonstrated the potential for fostering innovative thinking and collaborative efforts, a gap exists in understanding how these resources can be effectively integrated to bolster learning and sustainable outcomes.

The authors adopted a single-case research methodology and conducted an in-depth exploration of the integration of place-based resources within the context of ESD using the 2021 Forest Community Outreach (FCO) Project in Ena City, Japan. Questionnaires, daily journals and consultation reports were used for data collection. This study used the coding and qualitative content analysis process to understand the significance of the five dimensions of place-based resources in fostering effective ESD practices.

The findings show the gap between interest in ESD and utilization of place-based resources as reflected in the perceptions and interests of junior high school participants. MBA consultants acknowledged the relevance of leveraging the five dimensions of place-based resources in the context of ESD. This research enriches the understanding of recognizing and harnessing different resources within the settings, emphasizing the significance of a multidimensional place-based resources approach to effectively incorporate these resources into ESD, thereby fostering learning and practical sustainability outcomes.

This study conducts a novel analysis of diverse dimensions within the realm of place-based resources and their profound influence on the learning experiences and creativity of participants engaged in ESD. The study lays the groundwork for the validation of place-based resource dimensions through collaborative efforts involving stakeholders within the region.

Construction waste reduction (CWR) plays a vital role in achieving sustainability in construction. A good CWR practice can result in optimizing material usage, conserving natural resources, limiting environmental pollution, protecting the environment and enhancing human health. In this regard, the purpose of the current study is to identify the most relevant organizational policies that aid in waste reduction and concurrently explores the congruent measures to be adopted during the construction process in the Indian high-rise building sector.

The research findings were obtained through a mixed- method approach. Content analysis was used to identify waste reduction measures (variables) targeting on the two domains of construction – “waste-efficient execution” and “waste – mitigating organizational policies.” Furthermore, the authors explored and documented the key measures from the identified waste reduction measures using the constraint value of the relative importance index. As the next step, the study listed the theoretical hypothesis based on expert interviews and tested the theory through confirmatory factor analysis.

The results revealed that “waste sensitive construction techniques and strategies” as the most significant category under the domain “Execution” with a path coefficient of 0.85. Concurrently, the study has also determined that “control procedures for budget, quality and resources” as the most effective organizational approach in reducing construction waste in the Indian building industry, with a path coefficient of 0.83.

The current research is context-sensitive to the Indian construction sector. It presents the stakeholder’s perspective on construction waste reduction and the relevant measures to be implemented to reduce construction waste in high-rise building projects in India. It can also act as a concordance for decision-makers to further focus on CWR management and aid in formulating policies suitable for the Indian context.