Suchergebnisse

AbstractThis article describes the process from first proposals in the early 1990s to project completion many years later for seven large Swedish road and railway projects. The purpose is to find reasons for the massive cost overruns as well as explanations for why projects are brought to completion despite much higher costs than when the decision to build was made. Cost overruns are set in an institutional context to highlight the interplay among national, regional, and local policymakers. National investment programs are seen as promises by other parts of society, irrespective of whether project costs increase during the process toward procurement and implementation. Another aspect is that the infrastructure manager's administrative framework currently makes it impossible to compare costs in contracts with final cost, meaning that there is no institutionalized learning process in place. Design preparations and the estimation of costs for new projects must therefore be done without an understanding of what has been working well in the implementation of previous projects. While Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) played no role in the planning of the seven projects, the article sends a stark warning that early cost estimates provide poor input for assessing project rate of return.

24 cm ; The geo-political transition in 1989-91 had long term consequences for the European integration process. The integration and regionalisation processes following the transition resulted in a transformation of territorial borders in and around the region; the functions of the borders changed. Mobility is vital for these processes. This paper is based on a longitudinal study of the development of air traffic from airports in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea Region, 2000-2012. The purpose of the paper is to discuss how the development of infrastructure and transport networks influence regionalisation processes in the Baltic Sea Region. Firstly, the impact of macro-economic development as a driver of internationalisation in the region is analysed, thereafter the relationship between institutional transition and regional system development. There are three periods of large increase in traffic from the Baltic States towards Western Europe, related to institutional change: rapidly after independence, as a result of the enlargement of the European Union, and related to the emergence of low-cost aviation. Aviation from Minsk and Kaliningrad have also shown substantial increase in air traffic, but mainly to other parts of the former Soviet Union. There is thus little evidence of a regionalisation process involving the whole region. ; 24 cm ; The geo-political transition in 1989-91 had long term consequences for the European integration process. The integration and regionalisation processes following the transition resulted in a transformation of territorial borders in and around the region; the functions of the borders changed. Mobility is vital for these processes. This paper is based on a longitudinal study of the development of air traffic from airports in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea Region, 2000-2012. The purpose of the paper is to discuss how the development of infrastructure and transport networks influence regionalisation processes in the Baltic Sea Region. Firstly, the impact of macro-economic development as a driver of internationalisation in the region is analysed, thereafter the relationship between institutional transition and regional system development. There are three periods of large increase in traffic from the Baltic States towards Western Europe, related to institutional change: rapidly after independence, as a result of the enlargement of the European Union, and related to the emergence of low-cost aviation. Aviation from Minsk and Kaliningrad have also shown substantial increase in air traffic, but mainly to other parts of the former Soviet Union. There is thus little evidence of a regionalisation process involving the whole region.

The aviation business has gone through a process of radical restructuring during recent decades. Deregulation and fierce competition from low-cost carriers have put traditional flag carriers under pressure, resulting in falling fares. In this cost-cutting process, service quality aboard
has in many cases fallen at the same time as the glamorous image of aviation partly remains. This process has resulted in a number of contradictions. The purpose of this article is to conduct a genealogical investigation of hospitality in aviation, in order to explain how the performance and
image of hospitality have developed over time, and to thereby shed some light on contemporary developments. It is argued that the service culture of passenger aviation has two historical roots, both of which developed in distinct social and institutional settings. Traditional scheduled aviation
developed out of first-class rail service and marine traditions coming from the passenger steamliners of the early twentieth century. Low-cost aviation on the other hand developed out of the charter industry, which in turn goes back to tour operators using buses and coaches. These two traditions
have shaped different sets of expectations and relations to service aboard an aircraft. This historic perspective builds on a combination of social, geographic, economic, institutional and technological factors influencing the development of hospitality in aviation.

Since 1988, Sweden's railways have been vertically separated with (private or public) train operators paying for the use of government-owned railway infrastructure. The present paper scrutinizes today's charging regime. The revenue from these charges generates insufficient revenue to recover the total spending on infrastructure. The charges may, never the less, be in line with an efficiency-enhancing pricing policy. To answer whether or not this is so, the paper seeks to compare state-of-the-art knowledge about marginal costs for using infrastructure with current charges. It is found that there may be reason to increase charging on at least two counts: Current tariffs fail to mirror marginal reinvestment cost and scarcity is not priced.

In 1988, Sweden made a vertical cut in its nationalised railway monopoly; since then, infrastructure is handled by a public-sector agency while trains initially were run by a government-owned monopolist. This paper seeks to describe this reorganisation, the subsequent process towards free entry and competition in parts of the sector and the consequences of these changes. It is argued that the policies have not focussed (ticket) prices and competition issues and rather been directed towards the sector's inability to recover costs, which seems to be a Europe-wide phenomenon. Some recommendations for further changes of the industry are suggested. ; Reprint from Swedish economic policy review, vol. 9, no 2, Fall 2002

In 1988, Sweden made a vertical cut in its nationalised railway monopoly; since then, infrastructure is handled by a public-sector agency while trains were initially run by a government-owned monopolist. This paper seeks to describe this reorganisation, the subsequent process towards free entry and competition in parts of the sector and the consequences of these changes. It is argued that the policies have not focussed on (ticket) prices and competition issues and have rather been directed towards the sector's inability to recover costs, which seems to be a Europe-wide phenomenon. Some recommendations for further changes of the industry are suggested.