Steven Brand

The efficiency of museums: a stochastic frontier production function approach

This article examines the technical efficiency of museums based upon data derived from a questionnaire survey of South West England. A stochastic frontier production function is estimated with output measured in terms of visitor numbers. The Cobb-Douglas function is shown to be the best representation of the production function. Average levels of efficiency are estimated to be fairly low at 45.5% with wide variations across museums. The results indicate that high levels of public funding and voluntary activity have a significantly negative impact on technical efficiency. It is argued that further research is needed to develop more sophisticated measures of the output of cultural industries and understand the economic importance of volunteers.

The Use of Input-Output Models in Local Impact Analysis

This paper examines the potential use of input–output analysis for the assessment of the local impact of key sectors or industrial clusters. The recent development of models for Devon and Cornwall is discussed together with a case study of the impact of the Devonport naval base/dockyard complex in Plymouth. It is argued that there is a strong case for the further development of such models through partnerships of local organisations concerned with economic development.

A lottery within a lottery? An examination of the distribution of lottery funds in England

The UK National Lottery has been in operation since 1994. An examination of the regional distribution of awards per head of population suggests marked spatial disparities with London doing particularly well and Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the North East faring much better than other regions. Such disparities also exist at English Local Authority level with London and some major provincial centres doing much better than more rural authorities. Such inequalities may give grounds for concern, given that they appear to replicate those for other types of Government spending. The results of an empirical model designed to explain the spatial distribution of awards suggest that, in addition to a London effect, levels of deprivation have a positive impact. Another important explanatory variable which has a positive impact on lottery funding is the qualifications of residents which might plausibly reflect the quality of lottery bids received from an area. However, once these factors are taken account of, there is little evidence that rural areas fare badly.

Human capital, diversity, and new firm formation

This paper analyses the role of human capital in determining regional variations in firm births. It is argued that both the level and heterogeneity of human capital are particularly important for services. This is confirmed by an empirical analysis of data for sub-regions of Great Britain from 2001 to 2007 utilising ordinary least-squares and maximum likelihood models incorporating spatial effects. Other variables found to impact on the creation of new service firms are related to labour market effects, agglomeration economies and competition; there are also significant differences in the impact of human capital between services and manufacturing.

Measuring the low carbon economy at the local level: A hybrid approach

Identifying and measuring low carbon activities at the local authority level faces a number of problems related to the proliferation of overlapping low carbon concepts, a lack of data related to meaningful low carbon sectors and the rapidly changing nature of the sector. This paper provides a critical overview of the low carbon concept and presents a hybrid method of measurement involving a compromise between relatively costly bottom-up methods of data collection and the limitations of using existing data sources and statistical categories. The method maps existing national and regional survey data to the local level using an iterative scaling approach, utilising the recently developed concept of low carbon, environmental goods and services. The method is illustrated by outlining its application in the case of Plymouth within the context of a recent pilot study for the Low Carbon Framework.

A new approach to estimating value–income ratios with income growth and time-varying yields

Value–income ratios, such as dividend yields in finance and price–rent ratios in housing and real estate markets, impact society in a variety of ways. This paper proposes a new type of the present value model that features income growth with time-varying yields. It offers a new risk perspective, which may alleviate timid investor behavior in market downturns while cooling down the market in seemingly booming times. A binding relationship, the value–income ratio adjusted by yields of the asset and growth in income, is revealed. This has notable implications for empirical research, which examines value–income ratios time and again. Incorrectly perceived market behavior distorts the formation of investor behavior, and vice versa, which has serious consequences to the functioning of the market and beyond.