市政排水事业市场化改革的几点思考

近几年来，随着我国社会主义市场经济改革的深入，要求对包括排水事业在内的市政公用事业进行市场化改革的呼声越来越高。但是，在政府、企业纷纷掀起“市场化热潮”的背后，对如何进行市场化改革，却少有系统性的研究。更重要的是，市政公用事业门类很多，各有特点，改革难点不一。以我国当前市政排水事业市场化改革中的热点问题为重点，在调查研究的基础上，从发展的角度对市政排水事业的市场化改革思路、方案进行了阐述。     

Cost economies,urban patterns and population density: The case of public infrastructure for basic utilities

Determination of optimal population densities underlies the economic rationality when planning the provision of basic public infrastructure by local governments. Using econometric techniques based on the translog cost function, we investigate the existence of economies of scale, associated to a larger urban size in terms of population and housing, determine the effect of alternative urban patterns – compact or dispersed – on the cost of provision, and calculate optimal population densities as targets for urban planning. We illustrate the practicality of our model using Spanish municipal data, and unveil latent economies of scale and suboptimal urban densities due to excessive dispersion. Based on these findings we propose specific policy guidelines in terms of desirable urban structures.     

Evaluation of the multi-dimensional growth potential of China's public charging facilities for electric vehicles through 2030

Based on almost 6 million charging records of 1588 charging stations in Jiangsu Province, China, this paper quantitatively analyzes the growth potential of public charging facilities for electric vehicles (EVs) in China towards 2030, from both aspects of saving power cost and providing flexible regulation capability. Based on the single EV charging optimization model, the unsupervised method is adopted to handle the efficiency problem of sampling calculation for massive actual data, and loop calculations were then conducted for sampling optimization. Bus charging stations (BCS), urban public charging stations (UPCS), and highway charging stations (HWCS)) are considered. Calculation results show that charging operators or users can save more than 20% of the power purchase cost (about 88.1 billion yuan) through intelligent charging management. By 2030, large-scale adoption of EVs would enable schedulable capacity that accounts for more than 10% of China's annual electricity generation from renewable energy sources (wind and photovoltaic energy). Moreover, electrical buses have the most potential now, while the figure for electrical passenger cars charged in UPCS would account for the greatest proportion in the future.     

Challenge-driven design for public housing: The case of Hong Kong

Public housing (PH) has existed in Hong Kong for six decades. Previous and current challenges that have been encountered over time function as a collective driver for design progression. However, such challenges have remained under research to be able to draw useful lessons from them. To understand how this established motif can suit the sustainability-consciousera, this study uses Hong Kong as a representative case for sub-tropical compact cities by critiquing its PH design against multiple constraints. The objective of this study is to trace the historical relationships between challenges and design progress as well as to assess current and future implications of sustainability trends on PH design. By synthesizing data from literature, policy documents, and empirical evidence, this research develops an evolution map for PH design in Hong Kong that is driven by seven major challenges. Based on this map, a conceptual framework for intersecting considerations that envisages five main future prospects toward future PH design is also established.     

Understanding the hold-up problem in the management of megaprojects: The case of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project

This research examines the outcome of renegotiations that happened between the UK government and private investors in the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project and develops a model to formalise the evolution of bargaining power of these two parties in the contracting period. This model makes two novel contributions in the development of theoretical understanding to hold-up problems for project management: (1) the effect of financial arrangement on bargaining power balance is quantitatively examined; and (2) the relationship between bargaining power and quasi-rent is established through the application of the Nash bargaining model.     

When public opposition defeats alternative water projects - The case of Toowoomba Australia

Located approximately 100 km west of Brisbane, Toowoomba is home to approximately 95,000 people. Surface water from dams is the main source of water for the city. In 2006 the residents of Toowoomba were invited to vote in a referendum (plebiscite) concerning whether or not an indirect potable wastewater reuse scheme should be constructed to supply additional water to the area. At that stage dam levels in Toowoomba were at approximately twenty percent of capacity. Toowoomba residents, after intense campaigning on both sides of the referendum debate, voted against the proposal. In July 2008 dam levels dropped to eleven percent. Stage 5 water restrictions have been in place since September 2006, subsequently mains water must not be used for any outdoor uses. This paper describes in detail how public opposition in the case of Toowoomba's referendum, defeated the proposal for a water augmentation solution. Reasons for the failure are analysed. In so doing, the paper provides valuable insights with respect to public participation in indirect potable reuse proposals, and discusses factors including politics, vested interest and information manipulation. This paper is significant because of the lack of detailed information published about failed water infrastructure projects.     

Substitution of piped water and self-supplied groundwater: The case of residential water in South Africa

The choice of water for use by residential households is usually limited to the centralized and more regulated piped water or the decentralized and less regulated groundwater sources. Many households secure access to water through self-supply from groundwater sources, consequently putting the resource at risk. Our analysis shows empirical evidence on the determinants of households’ choice of water-supply sources and suggests a high substitution threshold for piped water and self-supplied groundwater in South Africa. Furthermore, we provide insights into the potential welfare impact of a stylized piped water tariff change that reduces prices and leads to increased piped water choices.     

Assessing the public health risk of microbial intrusion events in distribution systems: conceptual model, available data, and challenges

Low and negative pressure events in drinking water distribution systems have the potential to result in intrusion of pathogenic microorganisms if an external source of contamination is present (e.g., nearby leaking sewer main) and there is a pathway for contaminant entry (e.g., leaks in drinking water main). While the public health risk associated with such events is not well understood, quantitative microbial risk assessment can be used to estimate such risk. A conceptual model is provided and the state of knowledge, current assumptions, and challenges associated with the conceptual model parameters are presented. This review provides a characterization of the causes, magnitudes, durations and frequencies of low/negative pressure events; pathways for pathogen entry; pathogen occurrence in external sources of contamination; volumes of water that may enter through the different pathways; fate and transport of pathogens from the pathways of entry to customer taps; pathogen exposure to populations consuming the drinking water; and risk associated with pathogen exposure.     

The principal-agent problem in contracting public transport provision to private operators: A case study of the UK Quality Contract Scheme

This study explores the principal-agent problem as part of a broader discussion of the challenges of privatising and outsourcing of public utilities. The research asks: how can a public transport authority (the principal) motivate bus operators (agents) to achieve the authority's goals (more and better public transport) when their respective interests may not align? The case study is based on the UK “Quality Contract Scheme”, an option that has never been used before, thus providing an opportunity to understand the challenges in such cooperative schemes, and explore how public authorities struggle to achieve their goals via private service providers. Our findings reveal that the actors could not align their incentives due to transaction costs and information asymmetry, which ultimately damaged the quality of the financial projections and thwarted approval of the scheme.     

层次分析法在工程成本风险分析中的应用

施工过程中存在着各种各样可能导致工程成本超支的风险因素 ,用层次分析法分析了工程成本形成过程中潜在风险因素发生的可能性及其影响程度 ,建立了新的风险分析系统模型 ,对风险发生的概率和风险造成的严重程度进行了全面的估计和预测 ,并通过工程实例证明其实用性     

Beyond REACH: Roadblocks and shortcuts en route to integrated risk assessment and management of chemicals

This paper addresses obstacles and opportunities for the development and application of novel methods for integrated assessment of cumulative risks from chemicals, exemplified by the REACH legislation of the EU, in the context of multiple stressors and of chemicals policy. We examine the role of such methods in connection with REACH by models of integration and innovation of risk information in multi-actor risk governance; analyses of key documents on REACH; and interviews with EU regulators and stakeholders. We first explain the emergence of REACH as a response to tensions in EU chemicals, environmental and other policies. We then analyze the present configuration of REACH particularly in relation to key dimensions of risk integration: across stressors; exposed organisms; and impacts. Among the policy aspects of integrated risk information, we focus on its interaction with management and the contesting framings and interpretations of assessment. Avenues and barriers are identified for integrated treatment of risks under REACH and with other instruments. We emphasize how bounded, formal and static assessments interact with open and informal approaches that have more flexibility in integrating risks in new ways. We conclude with a generalizing discussion on the role of novel methods of integrated risk assessment in the development of reflexive and participatory governance under REACH and beyond.     

An analysis of adaptive planning capacity: The case of chilean water utilities

New long-term planning approaches capable of coping with uncertainties such as climate change, rapid urbanization, and changing societal values, have been put forward as a way of producing more robust and sustainable plans for the future. But is the planning practice ready for their adoption? This paper takes four key propositions from the adaptive planning literature and tests the existing capacity for adopting those propositions in the context of Chilean water utilities. We will then propose how existing capacities could be enhanced, and propose alternatives for current planning practices, highlighting the importance of implementation through experimentation.     

Redevelopment of public housing estates: The Australian experience

This paper provides an overview of some key aspects of the different contemporary approaches being utilised across the Australian States to redevelop public housing estates. Questions are raised about the effects of the projects on existing and future tenants, both in terms of the strategies used to address particular concentrations of disadvantage on the estates and the success in maintaining the current and future supply of public housing stock. In addition, the study points to the need for further evaluation of the approaches used in redevelopment, as currently little is known about the success or otherwise of the projects.     

The role of efficiency estimates in UK regulatory price reviews: The case of rail

This paper reviews the methods that have been applied to assess the efficiency performance of Britain's rail infrastructure provider since privatisation. The paper shows that a wide range of approaches has been adopted by the ORR. However, we argue that, in contrast to the other regulated sectors, the benchmarking methods developed in rail have not been sufficiently robust to restrain costs to efficient levels. We suggest that the main problem stems from a lack of external comparators based on hard data, such as international benchmarks or comparisons with previous experience under British Rail. Although, during the 2003 Interim Review, the ORR obtained an external perspective through bottom-up consultant reviews, we suggest that such studies are not an adequate substitute for quantitative analysis. Looking forward we suggest that more work needs to be done to obtain a better understanding of the reasons for recent cost increases, and also to develop robust international benchmarks against which to judge Network Rail's relative efficiency position. International comparisons are not straightforward, of course, and it is therefore important to start now, rather than wait until the next review of Network Rail's finances, by which time it will be too late.     

The determinants of the vertical boundaries of the construction firm: comment

A method is presented for allocating resources to construction activities and for scheduling construction projects under resource constraints by considering the effects that such resource limitations may have on the tendency of the activities (and the project in general) to fall into disarray and behind schedule. Resource‐constrained scheduling problems (RCSP) are very common in real‐life construction projects and because of their nature their numerical solution is computationally intensive. The method utilizes a measure of each activity's perceived level of disorder stemming from resource limitations. The proposed technique aims to optimize the number of resources assigned to the activities and to schedule the project so as to minimize the overall project's tendency to fall into disorder. The entropy‐like metric used in the scheduling optimization is related to the ratio of required over‐assigned resource units per activity, and its utilization allows a planner to take into consideration project disorder when planning a project. A case study and its mathematical framework help demonstrate the ‘duration vs. disorder’ trade‐off analysis that planners should perform when considering possible activity resource assignments and the feasibility of these assignments in terms of induced disorder. The entropy optimization method proves to be a powerful project‐planning metric.     

Cost efficiency benchmarking of urban water supply utilities: The case of an Indian state

In most developing countries like India, benchmarking of water supply utilities is rarely carried out as these services are not run on professional lines to ensure profitability, even as social goals of making provision for all, including the poor, take priority over profitability. When performances of these services are not measured, efforts to improve these services remain directionless and arbitrary. Urban water supplies in India, therefore, suffer a self‐inflicted fate, wherein city municipalities remain mired in mundane issues, leading to large dissatisfaction and inefficiencies. This paper attempts to evolve a framework for evaluating cost efficiencies of water supply services and applies stochastic frontier analysis to 18 urban centres in India through six models. The results indicate large relative inefficiencies and a scope of savings of 24.5% of average current operating and maintenance costs even with existing levels of resource inputs. The results are discussed from a regulatory and policy‐making perspective.     

The political side of public utilities: How opportunistic behaviour and yardstick competition shape water prices in Austria

This paper studies the effect of politics on water prices in Austria. When public utilities are under political control, price setting may be affected by political incentives. Besides theories like the political budget cycle, more current research stresses the role of spatial interactions between jurisdictions (yardstick competition). The paper tests for both local political determinants and yardstick competition using a spatial lag model. The results suggest that water prices are lower when political competition is strong and before elections. At the same time the magnitude of the political budget cycle appears to depend upon neighbouring jurisdictions, thus confirming yardstick competition as an indirect determinant of water prices.     

油气管道风险指标体系及模糊综合评价模型

指出油气管道项目是典型的风险项目,风险分析是管道项目评估的重要内容,在分析油气管道项目风险因素的基础上建立起了风险评估指标体系,对层次分析法进行改进,用改进后的方法确定风险指标权重,建立风险等级评语集,并对项目风险进行定量评估.     

The role of water utilities in urban greening: A case study of Melbourne,Australia

Melbourne's “Greening the West” (GTW) initiative is a successful example of water utilities actively supporting urban greening through facilitating collaboration between stakeholders. GTW was convened by City West Water in 2011, to bring together 23 partner organisations to protect and enhance urban greening to support community wellbeing. This research involved interviews to determine how GTW works, its challenges, factors for success, achievements, areas for improvement, future directions, and implications. It is found that the existence of GTW has resulted in an additional one million trees planted in Melbourne's western suburbs, and has caused a significant cultural shift within local government.     

State intervention in urban housing markets: A case study of public housing development and change in Melbourne, 1945–1980

Abstract

The paper analyses the three major public housing programmes which have been operating within Melbourne since 1945 within the framework of the theory of the state. The paper also reviews the functions and causes of state intervention and assesses the utility of the theory of the state.