David Walwyn, Andreas Bertoldi and Christian Gable
Hydrogen fuel cells could play an important role in meeting the challenges of the Two Degrees Scenario. The purpose of this paper is to review the development of this technology…
Abstract
Purpose
Hydrogen fuel cells could play an important role in meeting the challenges of the Two Degrees Scenario. The purpose of this paper is to review the development of this technology in South Africa with the aim of understanding how the country can transform its existing socio-technical systems and act to support a hydrogen-based technological innovation system (TIS).
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed methods approach has been followed in this study. Secondary data analysis was used initially to build a profile of South Africa’s present energy system, followed by a stakeholder survey of the emerging hydrogen economy. Respondents were selected based on a convenience/snowball sampling approach and were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire, covering opportunities for South Africa in the global hydrogen economy; sources of competitive advantage; the present phase of development; the maturity of each function and the main weaknesses within the TIS; and finally the appropriate policy instrument to remedy the weakness and/or maximise opportunities for local companies.
Findings
The research has shown that the hydrogen economy is still at a pre-competitive level and requires ongoing government support to ensure an energy transition is realised. In particular, it is important that niche experimentation, a proven strategy in respect of successful sustainability transitions, is further pursued. Importantly, the net cost of hydrogen-based transportation, which is still several times larger than the cost of transport based on the internal combustion engine (ICE), must be reduced, especially in the key applications of public transport and underground vehicles. Furthermore, the development of digital technologies to manage supply fluctuations in energy grids must be accelerated.
Originality/value
The South Africa economy will be severely affected by the replacement of the ICEs with battery electric vehicles due to the country’s reliance on ICEs for platinum demand. Fuel cells represent a new market for platinum but the hydrogen TIS is still at a vulnerable point in its development; without policy support, it will not contribute to a successful socio-technical transformation, nor provide an alternative outlet for platinum.
Details
Keywords
Marc Wouters, Susana Morales, Sven Grollmuss and Michael Scheer
The paper provides an overview of research published in the innovation and operations management (IOM) literature on 15 methods for cost management in new product development, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper provides an overview of research published in the innovation and operations management (IOM) literature on 15 methods for cost management in new product development, and it provides a comparison to an earlier review of the management accounting (MA) literature (Wouters & Morales, 2014).
Methodology/approach
This structured literature search covers papers published in 23 journals in IOM in the period 1990–2014.
Findings
The search yielded a sample of 208 unique papers with 275 results (one paper could refer to multiple cost management methods). The top 3 methods are modular design, component commonality, and product platforms, with 115 results (42%) together. In the MA literature, these three methods accounted for 29%, but target costing was the most researched cost management method by far (26%). Simulation is the most frequently used research method in the IOM literature, whereas this was averagely used in the MA literature; qualitative studies were the most frequently used research method in the MA literature, whereas this was averagely used in the IOM literature. We found a lot of papers presenting practical approaches or decision models as a further development of a particular cost management method, which is a clear difference from the MA literature.
Research limitations/implications
This review focused on the same cost management methods, and future research could also consider other cost management methods which are likely to be more important in the IOM literature compared to the MA literature. Future research could also investigate innovative cost management practices in more detail through longitudinal case studies.
Originality/value
This review of research on methods for cost management published outside the MA literature provides an overview for MA researchers. It highlights key differences between both literatures in their research of the same cost management methods.
Details
Keywords
Ronald C. Kramer and Rob White
This chapter examines SDG 13 which deals with efforts to combat climate change. The chapter begins by outlining the targets related to this goal, the trend towards increased…
Abstract
This chapter examines SDG 13 which deals with efforts to combat climate change. The chapter begins by outlining the targets related to this goal, the trend towards increased heating of the planet and failures to curtail carbon emissions. This is framed using criminological concepts such as state-corporate crime and carbon criminality. The major concern of the rest of the chapter is to outline a climate action plan. As part of this, it discusses a range of initiatives currently underway intended to pressure governments to take more concerted action around climate change. These include activist interventions and climate litigation. The chapter concludes by exploring the possibilities and obligations of global community action to address the most important issue of our era.
Details
Keywords
This article outlines a procedure for quantifying risk‐adjusted capital reserves that may be used for both performance evaluation and capital allocation. The author identifies and…
Abstract
This article outlines a procedure for quantifying risk‐adjusted capital reserves that may be used for both performance evaluation and capital allocation. The author identifies and quantifies the sources of risk capital that must be addressed, to cover current investment and withstand market shocks, for any business line that exhibits earnings volatility. The author classifies risk capital into two types: market‐risk capital and earnings volatility‐related capital. Market risk capital may be divided into two categories; risks due to “normal” or “diffusion” type price movements and catastrophic moves or “stress” events. In contrast, earnings volatility‐related capital is directly related to the firm's equity‐at‐risk, in the event that market shocks lead to sustained earnings volatility. The author suggests that these risk‐adjusted capital measures may be used as a benchmark, in conjunction with net earnings, to evaluate performance, or to allocate equity capital across different operations within a firm.
As manufacturers face demand uncertainty and new retailing practices, such as filling frequent, small replenishment orders, agility has become an important competitive tool. By…
Abstract
As manufacturers face demand uncertainty and new retailing practices, such as filling frequent, small replenishment orders, agility has become an important competitive tool. By sourcing globally, manufacturing firms can reduce production costs, but may not be agile enough to meet retailers' needs on a timely basis. To minimize the cost/agility trade‐off, many firms are combining global and domestic sourcing. However, factors to be considered for mixed strategies have not been suggested. Based on Bucklin's concepts of postponement and speculation, this study tried to find the ideal point, “I”, at which the optimal amount of global and domestic sourcing can be formulated considering the total cost and delivery time simultaneously. In mixing domestic and global sourcing to reach the optimum profit, this study provided four conditions under which the larger portion of domestic sourcing can be formulated: greater level of demand uncertainly, information and manufacturing technology, local subcontractor clusters, and long‐term relationship with a subcontractor.
Details
Keywords
Henry George's fame in the fields of economics, politics and literature rests largely on his powerful book, Progress and Poverty, first published in 1879. The centenary of this…
Abstract
Henry George's fame in the fields of economics, politics and literature rests largely on his powerful book, Progress and Poverty, first published in 1879. The centenary of this event sparked a modest revival of interest in George's work among academic economists, including a special session devoted to him at the December 1979 American Economics Association meetings in Atlanta. Generally, however, his work has been neglected by twentieth‐century economists and, as Robert Heilbroner (1969) remarked, he is cast as a member of the economics “underworld”. If any economics undergraduate has heard his name it is usually through a passing reference in a first‐year textbook to the Single Tax Movement. The impression is then given by the text that George was a single‐issue fanatic. The student is told that a tax on land rents is theoretically interesting and that it would have no disincentive effects but that it is either impractical to separate land from improvements or that rents are not sufficiently important to warrant much attention to them as a major source of government finance.
Bismark Aha, David Higgins and Timothy Lee
The paper considers if house price movements in the United Kingdom (UK) can be linked to the political cycle as governments realise homeowners represent a large portion of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper considers if house price movements in the United Kingdom (UK) can be linked to the political cycle as governments realise homeowners represent a large portion of the voter base and their voting decisions could be influenced by the magnitude and direction of house price changes. Specifically, this paper aims to investigate whether house prices behave differently before and after elections and under different political regimes.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyses quarterly house price data from 1960 to 2018 together with data on UK parliamentary elections for the same period. Descriptive statistics and significance tests are used to analyse the impact of the political cycle on house price movements in the UK.
Findings
While there is no evidence that house prices in the UK performed significantly differently under different political parties, the authors observed that house prices performed much better in the last year before an election compared to the first year after an election. On average, house prices increased by 5.3% per annum in the last year before an election compared to 1.3% per annum in the first year following an election.
Research limitations/implications
The study highlights significant variations in the performance of UK house prices around election times.
Practical implications
It is imperative that the political cycle is given adequate consideration when making residential property investment decisions.
Social implications
House buyers and investors in the residential property market could include the election timings as part of their decision-making process.
Originality/value
This paper represents a unique systematic examination of the influence of the political cycle on residential houses prices in the UK.
Details
Keywords
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…
Abstract
Purpose
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.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper identifies 16 elements of land's taxable capacity that received authorities either trivialize or omit. These 16 elements come in four groups.
Findings
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.
Originality/value
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.
Details
Keywords
Clive Beed and Cara Beed
In the contemporary relation between economics and Judeo‐Christian thought, Smith identifies three positions. These are disciplinary autonomy for economics, disciplinary…
Abstract
In the contemporary relation between economics and Judeo‐Christian thought, Smith identifies three positions. These are disciplinary autonomy for economics, disciplinary interdependence between economics and Christian thought, and distinctively Christian economic analysis. Little evaluation has been made of these positions. Two representatives, as Smith classifies them, of the disciplinary autonomy and interdependence positions are evaluated from the distinctively Christian economic analysis viewpoint. Unlike Smith's classification, both J. David Richardson and Anthony Waterman are assessed as belonging to the disciplinary autonomy group, in which mainstream orthodox economic science is allegedly able to proceed independent of religious input. This position is criticized insofar, as Richardson's major and influential paper in the area (1988) is found to disregard any appraisal of the contribution of modern orthodox economic theory to the explanation of real world processes, and to overlook the contribution Christian thought might make to economic explanation. Both Richardson and Waterman assume an understanding of the “science” in economic science that is problematic, while Waterman utilizes arguments from the philosopher Leslek Kolakowski, and the economist Frank Knight, that are contestable from a Christian perspective.