Pub Date : 2020-07-02DOI: 10.1080/0013791X.2020.1781990
Dowon Kim, K. Kim, Jiwoong Lee
Abstract Many studies estimate social discount rates based on the Ramsey rule. The rule has been augmented in various ways in order to reflect the decision maker’s attitude toward risk and uncertainty. In this article, we adopt the recursive utility with ambiguity of Ju and Miao and develop a general social discount rate formula via the utility gradient method. The derived formula allows us to obtain the three-way explicit separation of risk aversion, intertemporal substitution, and ambiguity aversion as in Traeger. It also goes beyond the classical two-period setting and thus term structures of social discount rates under ambiguity can be studied. Due to the generality of this approach, we can directly apply the well-known growth scenarios under climate change so as to derive scenario-based social discount rates, which can be used as a guide in practice to assess climate change policies or related projects.
{"title":"Term structures and scenario-based social discount rates under smooth ambiguity","authors":"Dowon Kim, K. Kim, Jiwoong Lee","doi":"10.1080/0013791X.2020.1781990","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0013791X.2020.1781990","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Many studies estimate social discount rates based on the Ramsey rule. The rule has been augmented in various ways in order to reflect the decision maker’s attitude toward risk and uncertainty. In this article, we adopt the recursive utility with ambiguity of Ju and Miao and develop a general social discount rate formula via the utility gradient method. The derived formula allows us to obtain the three-way explicit separation of risk aversion, intertemporal substitution, and ambiguity aversion as in Traeger. It also goes beyond the classical two-period setting and thus term structures of social discount rates under ambiguity can be studied. Due to the generality of this approach, we can directly apply the well-known growth scenarios under climate change so as to derive scenario-based social discount rates, which can be used as a guide in practice to assess climate change policies or related projects.","PeriodicalId":49210,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Economist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2020-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/0013791X.2020.1781990","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46614395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-06-29DOI: 10.1080/0013791x.2020.1784336
V. Rane, C. MacKenzie
Abstract Engineering economics courses often require students to take time-constrained, in-class exams in which they solve problems by hand, possibly referring to interest rate tables. Many students rely on partial credit to successfully pass exams. Outside of the classroom, professionals rely on computers to solve engineering economics problems, which raises the question of whether engineering economics courses are correctly assessing student performance. This article describes the study of a large engineering economics class using a non-conventional testing method. Student performance was evaluated using online testing modules with a stringent passing criterion, and the tests could be taken multiple times. The questions for each testing attempt were pulled from a database so that students received a new question every time. We compare the performance of students who were assessed using traditional methods with the performance of students assessed with these online testing modules. Our analysis shows that, overall, students who were assessed using the online testing modules earned better grades than students who were assessed via traditional methods. The analysis also discusses several benefits and drawbacks to using online assessments compared with traditional methods. The online assessment method could be useful in large engineering courses that are formula-based.
{"title":"Evaluating students with online testing modules in engineering economics: A comparision of student performance with online testing and with traditional assessments","authors":"V. Rane, C. MacKenzie","doi":"10.1080/0013791x.2020.1784336","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0013791x.2020.1784336","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Engineering economics courses often require students to take time-constrained, in-class exams in which they solve problems by hand, possibly referring to interest rate tables. Many students rely on partial credit to successfully pass exams. Outside of the classroom, professionals rely on computers to solve engineering economics problems, which raises the question of whether engineering economics courses are correctly assessing student performance. This article describes the study of a large engineering economics class using a non-conventional testing method. Student performance was evaluated using online testing modules with a stringent passing criterion, and the tests could be taken multiple times. The questions for each testing attempt were pulled from a database so that students received a new question every time. We compare the performance of students who were assessed using traditional methods with the performance of students assessed with these online testing modules. Our analysis shows that, overall, students who were assessed using the online testing modules earned better grades than students who were assessed via traditional methods. The analysis also discusses several benefits and drawbacks to using online assessments compared with traditional methods. The online assessment method could be useful in large engineering courses that are formula-based.","PeriodicalId":49210,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Economist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2020-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/0013791x.2020.1784336","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43774722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-06-26DOI: 10.1080/0013791x.2020.1784516
Joseph H. Wilck
Cashflows is a Python library developed by Juan David Velasquez-Henao and Ibeth Karina Vergara-Baquero that provides time value of money calculations in the Python programing language. The cashflow...
Cashflows是Juan David Velasquez Henao和Ibeth Karina Vergara Baquero开发的Python库，用Python编程语言提供时间-货币价值计算。现金流。。。
{"title":"Cashflows: A python library for computations in financial analytics developed by Juan David Velásquez-Henao and Ibeth Karina Vergara-Baquero","authors":"Joseph H. Wilck","doi":"10.1080/0013791x.2020.1784516","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0013791x.2020.1784516","url":null,"abstract":"Cashflows is a Python library developed by Juan David Velasquez-Henao and Ibeth Karina Vergara-Baquero that provides time value of money calculations in the Python programing language. The cashflow...","PeriodicalId":49210,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Economist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2020-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/0013791x.2020.1784516","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46556036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-06-25DOI: 10.1080/0013791x.2020.1784515
J. Hartman
{"title":"Investment decisions and the logic of valuation. Linking finance, accounting, and engineering","authors":"J. Hartman","doi":"10.1080/0013791x.2020.1784515","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0013791x.2020.1784515","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49210,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Economist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2020-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/0013791x.2020.1784515","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43483800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-06-12DOI: 10.1080/0013791x.2020.1777360
Karen M. Bursic
Abstract There has been considerable recent emphasis on valid assessment of learning in engineering education. When new teaching pedagogies are introduced, it can be very challenging to demonstrate increases in learning of course concepts. While there are a number of accepted concept inventories available for some engineering topics (statics and dynamics, heat and energy, signals and systems, and statistics), reliable and valid tools for assessing learning are not readily available for many curriculum areas, including engineering economy. This paper discusses the reliability and validity of the Engineering Economy Concept Inventory (EECI) that can be used to assess learning in any introductory engineering economy course. Development of the EECI began in 2009 for use in assessing the effectiveness of model-eliciting activities in the classroom and has since been revised and reformulated a number of times. In the fall of 2018, the EECI was administered at multiple institutions for further evaluation of its validity and results from these groups of students are presented. The paper concludes with remarks regarding the reliability and validity of the instrument and recommendations for its use as a tool to assess knowledge in engineering economy.
{"title":"An engineering economy concept inventory","authors":"Karen M. Bursic","doi":"10.1080/0013791x.2020.1777360","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0013791x.2020.1777360","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract There has been considerable recent emphasis on valid assessment of learning in engineering education. When new teaching pedagogies are introduced, it can be very challenging to demonstrate increases in learning of course concepts. While there are a number of accepted concept inventories available for some engineering topics (statics and dynamics, heat and energy, signals and systems, and statistics), reliable and valid tools for assessing learning are not readily available for many curriculum areas, including engineering economy. This paper discusses the reliability and validity of the Engineering Economy Concept Inventory (EECI) that can be used to assess learning in any introductory engineering economy course. Development of the EECI began in 2009 for use in assessing the effectiveness of model-eliciting activities in the classroom and has since been revised and reformulated a number of times. In the fall of 2018, the EECI was administered at multiple institutions for further evaluation of its validity and results from these groups of students are presented. The paper concludes with remarks regarding the reliability and validity of the instrument and recommendations for its use as a tool to assess knowledge in engineering economy.","PeriodicalId":49210,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Economist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2020-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/0013791x.2020.1777360","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46404102","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-03DOI: 10.1080/0013791x.2020.1745977
D. Nock
Abstract This article presents a modular activity designed to promote interest and understanding of engineering economics concepts in a complex environment. Through a competition game, called “Let’s Bid!”, the students are able to understand the relationship between technological characteristics and supply and demand equilibrium in electricity markets, and discuss how uncertainty impacts investments in generation capacity and firm pricing strategies. This innovative teaching method was implemented in middle school, high school, and undergraduate college settings. Each implementation took less 60 minutes, and resulted in a strong student interest and understanding of engineering economics concepts (i.e., supply-demand equilibrium, risk, and markets).
{"title":"“Let’s Bid!” - A modular activity to promote interest in engineering economy","authors":"D. Nock","doi":"10.1080/0013791x.2020.1745977","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0013791x.2020.1745977","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article presents a modular activity designed to promote interest and understanding of engineering economics concepts in a complex environment. Through a competition game, called “Let’s Bid!”, the students are able to understand the relationship between technological characteristics and supply and demand equilibrium in electricity markets, and discuss how uncertainty impacts investments in generation capacity and firm pricing strategies. This innovative teaching method was implemented in middle school, high school, and undergraduate college settings. Each implementation took less 60 minutes, and resulted in a strong student interest and understanding of engineering economics concepts (i.e., supply-demand equilibrium, risk, and markets).","PeriodicalId":49210,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Economist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2020-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/0013791x.2020.1745977","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49023140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-02DOI: 10.1080/0013791X.2019.1668098
Javier G. Castro, E. A. Tito, L. E. Brandão, L. Gomes
Abstract Crypto-currencies, or crypto-assets, represent a new class of investment assets. The traditional portfolio analysis approach of Markowitz is not appropriate for use with portfolios containing crypto-assets, as the model requires that the investor have a quadratic utility function or that the returns be normally distributed, which isn’t the case for crypto-assets. We develop a portfolio optimization model based on the Omega measure which is more comprehensive than the Markowitz model, and apply this to four crypto-asset investment portfolios by means of a numerical application. The results indicate that these portfolios should favor traditional market assets over crypto-assets. In the case of portfolios formed only by crypto-assets, there is no clear preference in favor of any crypto-asset in particular.
{"title":"Crypto-assets portfolio optimization under the omega measure","authors":"Javier G. Castro, E. A. Tito, L. E. Brandão, L. Gomes","doi":"10.1080/0013791X.2019.1668098","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0013791X.2019.1668098","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Crypto-currencies, or crypto-assets, represent a new class of investment assets. The traditional portfolio analysis approach of Markowitz is not appropriate for use with portfolios containing crypto-assets, as the model requires that the investor have a quadratic utility function or that the returns be normally distributed, which isn’t the case for crypto-assets. We develop a portfolio optimization model based on the Omega measure which is more comprehensive than the Markowitz model, and apply this to four crypto-asset investment portfolios by means of a numerical application. The results indicate that these portfolios should favor traditional market assets over crypto-assets. In the case of portfolios formed only by crypto-assets, there is no clear preference in favor of any crypto-asset in particular.","PeriodicalId":49210,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Economist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/0013791X.2019.1668098","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48990431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-02DOI: 10.1080/0013791X.2019.1668097
Cenk Budayan, I. Dikmen, T. Birgonul
Abstract In the globalized business world, construction companies start to seek new opportunities to invest on an international basis in order to gain profit. Therefore, construction companies have to conduct not only national projects but also international projects to be competitive. However, although these international projects can be profitable, the construction companies face many challenges in the management of these projects due to the country-specific problems and conditions. This can lead to variation in the management of similar projects conducted in different countries. In particular, cost estimation in different countries is a challenging task for construction companies. Therefore, in order to provide insights about construction cost in different countries, different organizations publish construction cost indices. However, some criticisms related to the reliability and usability of these indices are stated. In this study, a new concept, called a cost map, is proposed by developing a framework based on twelve macro level parameters. The cost map is applied to 37 European countries. The data related to these parameters are collected using different databases. European countries are clustered by using a self-organizing map. As a result of this study, the cost map is determined as a reliable and convenient tool for a cost comparison.
{"title":"Construction cost map of European countries","authors":"Cenk Budayan, I. Dikmen, T. Birgonul","doi":"10.1080/0013791X.2019.1668097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0013791X.2019.1668097","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In the globalized business world, construction companies start to seek new opportunities to invest on an international basis in order to gain profit. Therefore, construction companies have to conduct not only national projects but also international projects to be competitive. However, although these international projects can be profitable, the construction companies face many challenges in the management of these projects due to the country-specific problems and conditions. This can lead to variation in the management of similar projects conducted in different countries. In particular, cost estimation in different countries is a challenging task for construction companies. Therefore, in order to provide insights about construction cost in different countries, different organizations publish construction cost indices. However, some criticisms related to the reliability and usability of these indices are stated. In this study, a new concept, called a cost map, is proposed by developing a framework based on twelve macro level parameters. The cost map is applied to 37 European countries. The data related to these parameters are collected using different databases. European countries are clustered by using a self-organizing map. As a result of this study, the cost map is determined as a reliable and convenient tool for a cost comparison.","PeriodicalId":49210,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Economist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/0013791X.2019.1668097","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44777815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-02DOI: 10.1080/0013791X.2019.1668096
Y. Ali, Muhammad Sabir, M. Bilal, Mehnab Ali, A. Khan
Abstract Pakistan Railways has faced a severe financial crisis in recent years. Pakistan has recently become a partner with China in a mega-investment project under an agreement called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Among other things, CPEC also includes a range of investments in Pakistan Railways. This particular study focuses on the analysis of US$8.2 billion investment in the upgrade and expansion of the Karachi-Peshawar railways link, which is also known as the ML-1 (Main Line 1). The study found ML-1 as economically viable with a payback period of 10 years. Furthermore, ML-1 project investment is expected to result in uplifting Pakistan Railways, mainly through an increase in freight and passenger transportation. Some risk factors may hinder the expected economic return from the CPEC investment in Pakistan Railways. These factors include consistency in the government policies, the status of the Pakistani economy in upcoming years, and law and order situations in the country. The study has a utility for the governments of both countries and larger business communities have stakes in the trade between the two countries. It is equally beneficial for the international community, businesses (both in China and Pakistan) and locals of the region associated with the CPEC infrastructure.
{"title":"Economic viability of foreign investment in railways: a case study of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)","authors":"Y. Ali, Muhammad Sabir, M. Bilal, Mehnab Ali, A. Khan","doi":"10.1080/0013791X.2019.1668096","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0013791X.2019.1668096","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Pakistan Railways has faced a severe financial crisis in recent years. Pakistan has recently become a partner with China in a mega-investment project under an agreement called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Among other things, CPEC also includes a range of investments in Pakistan Railways. This particular study focuses on the analysis of US$8.2 billion investment in the upgrade and expansion of the Karachi-Peshawar railways link, which is also known as the ML-1 (Main Line 1). The study found ML-1 as economically viable with a payback period of 10 years. Furthermore, ML-1 project investment is expected to result in uplifting Pakistan Railways, mainly through an increase in freight and passenger transportation. Some risk factors may hinder the expected economic return from the CPEC investment in Pakistan Railways. These factors include consistency in the government policies, the status of the Pakistani economy in upcoming years, and law and order situations in the country. The study has a utility for the governments of both countries and larger business communities have stakes in the trade between the two countries. It is equally beneficial for the international community, businesses (both in China and Pakistan) and locals of the region associated with the CPEC infrastructure.","PeriodicalId":49210,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Economist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/0013791X.2019.1668096","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41404100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-03-11DOI: 10.1080/0013791X.2020.1733721
David Islip, Jason Wei, R. Kwon
Abstract Among construction industry participants, weather has been perceived to be one of the most critical factors impacting project cash-flows. The overall impact of weather on the contractor’s project objectives is non-trivial due to construction industry incentive structures and contract specifics. This paper presents a framework that leverages stylized facts from the construction industry to motivate the use of weather derivatives in managing the non-trivial weather impacts. The proposed framework is demonstrated using data provided by a large construction contractor. We show that weather derivative portfolios used for hedging purposes by the contractor can address the contractor’s aversion for losses as well as the complicated relationship between weather and construction. Furthermore, weather derivative hedging reduces the contractor’s incentive to partake in risk chasing behavior in the face of weather delays and reduces the likelihood of the contractor exploiting other claims channels within the project contract.
{"title":"Managing construction risk with weather derivatives","authors":"David Islip, Jason Wei, R. Kwon","doi":"10.1080/0013791X.2020.1733721","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0013791X.2020.1733721","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Among construction industry participants, weather has been perceived to be one of the most critical factors impacting project cash-flows. The overall impact of weather on the contractor’s project objectives is non-trivial due to construction industry incentive structures and contract specifics. This paper presents a framework that leverages stylized facts from the construction industry to motivate the use of weather derivatives in managing the non-trivial weather impacts. The proposed framework is demonstrated using data provided by a large construction contractor. We show that weather derivative portfolios used for hedging purposes by the contractor can address the contractor’s aversion for losses as well as the complicated relationship between weather and construction. Furthermore, weather derivative hedging reduces the contractor’s incentive to partake in risk chasing behavior in the face of weather delays and reduces the likelihood of the contractor exploiting other claims channels within the project contract.","PeriodicalId":49210,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Economist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2020-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/0013791X.2020.1733721","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44340206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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