Windows opportunity for water and plastic management? The case for taxing bottled water

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Fischer ◽  
Godfred Amankwaa

Where public supply has failed and made unsatisfactory progress in supplying drinking water, the private sector has readily stepped in to supply citizens with drinking water – most often to make big money. Much of the water bottling industry (i) provides a highly inelastic good, (ii) is immensely profitable and (iii) has significant negative externalities on public utilities, the natural environment and the quality of life in urban settings. The wide-spread introduction of a tax on the commercial water extraction and/or bottled or sachet water is ripe. The new mantra must not be “3Rs”, but “4Rs” – reduce, reuse, remunerate, recycle

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhitush Lutra ◽  
◽  
Deepa Karthykeyan

Where public supply has failed and made unsatisfactory progress in supplying drinking water, the private sector has readily stepped in to supply citizens with drinking water – most often to make big money. Much of the water bottling industry (i) provides a highly inelastic good, (ii) is immensely profitable and (iii) has significant negative externalities on public utilities, the natural environment and the quality of life in urban settings. The wide-spread introduction of a tax on the commercial water extraction and/or bottled or sachet water is ripe. The new mantra must not be “3Rs”, but “4Rs” – reduce, reuse, remunerate, recycle.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mari Korpela

Increasing numbers of “Western” families spend several months a year in Goa, India, and the rest of the time in the parents’ passport countries or elsewhere. These “lifestyle migrants” are motivated by a search for “a better quality of life”, and the parents often claim that an important reason for their lifestyle choice is that it is better for the children to be in Goa, where they have enriching experiences and enjoy playing freely outdoors, in a natural environment. This article discusses parents’ and children’s views of this lifestyle. It argues that although the lifestyle sometimes causes moral panic among outsider adults who see regular transnational mobility as a sign of instability, a closer look reveals that there are various aspects of stability in the children’s lives. Paying careful attention to the parents’ and children’s own accounts, and the empirical realities of their lives, enables us to reach beyond normative judgements.


Author(s):  
Aleksandar Videnovic ◽  
Milos Arandjelovic

The architecture of public buildings in rural areas, through the advancement of skills, knowledge, technologies, and materials, has become increasingly representative in recent decades, especially considering tourism as a global theme. The work is related to the planning of visitor centers in rural areas and the main task is defined by the effort to improve the quality of life in such areas, that is, highlight the major advantages in space, such as the natural environment. The aim of the research is defined by establishing certain elements in the planning of the visitor centers within the idea of promoting local values and cultural heritage. The first part of the chapter has been defined as an analysis of the theoretical views. The second part of the study has been defined as an analysis of the visitor centers. Through a case study, in the third part of the chapter, the work presents a comparative overview of the process to achieve two individual similar investments in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.


Author(s):  
Kalpana Chauhan ◽  
K. B.C. Saxena

Customer Relationship Management (CRM), primarily a concept of the private sector for its multi-benefit approach, is catching up fast in public sector, with constituents worldwide demanding better and more customized services built around their needs and to be treated as customers. This has compelled public sector to act like the private in certain ways and to embrace CRM to ensure better planning and resource allocation leading towards constituents’ satisfaction and better quality of life. This chapter identifies the critical aspect of relationship management and provides a conceptual framework for CRM in e-government.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Renalia Iwan

<p>Clean water is crucial for survival and economic development. Everyday, people need a sufficient amount and a suitable quality of water for drinking, cleaning and sanitation. However, rapid population growth, pollution and climate change have made water a scarce resource, which everyone competed. The United Nations Development Program's recent report stated that more than 1 billion people, up to this day, are without access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Lack of access to clean water can cause social, economic and health problems. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find solutions to this problem. To solve the problem of water scarcity, International Financial Institutions introduced Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the management of water sector. PPP is a concept which involves private sector participation in the management of drinking water service. In PPP, water is recognized as an economic good which is recognised under the 1992 Dublin Principles. It was hoped that by placing an economic value on water, efficient and equitable use of water can be achieved. It was also hoped that it would encourage conservation and protection of water resources. However, studies show opposite results from the Principle. Jakarta drinking water service is one example of a failed PPP. Jakarta, the Capital City of Indonesia, adopted Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the management of its drinking water service in 1998. The twenty five years concession contract was granted to Thames Water International (TWI) and its local partner, Kekarpola Airindo (KATI), now known as Thames PAM Jaya (TPJ). This company is responsible for the management of Eastern Jakarta drinking water service. This research was aimed to evaluate Thames PAM Jaya (TPJ) performance on water provision in Eastern Jakarta, ten years into the twenty five years concession by undergoing a qualitative research method. A range of semi-structured interviews were used to: gain perceptions and opinions of each stakeholder on the Public Private Partnership (PPP), identify the advantages and/or disadvantages of the water privatization in the capital city and to identify the constraints and limitations facing the private sector. Participants involved in this research include Government officials, Thames PAM Jaya, Jakarta Water Supply Regulatory Body (JWSRB), non governmental organizations (NGOs), and TPJ customers. The analysis concludes that Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Eastern Jakarta does not bring improvement to the region's drinking water service. Thames PAM Jaya (TPJ) had failed in fulfilling targets set in the Cooperation Agreement. Lack of transparency and public tendering in the process of forming the public private partnership may have contributed to this poor performance because the proper search for a competent partner was short circuited. Political interference in the bidding process is a form of corruption in which the company granted the contract was clearly complicit. The water tariff in Jakarta is not only the highest in Indonesia, but it is also the highest in the Southeast Asia region. The quality of its service, however, is still of poor quality. Limited access to water due to its high price and low service has resulted in water hacking and the on-going use of groundwater. The Cooperation Agreement, on the other hand, has locked the Government of Indonesia into a long term partnership which is very disadvantageous for the government and the residents. Private sector involvement should be the last alternative to improve the management of the water supply service in Indonesia.</p>


Author(s):  
Thiengtham Keopasith ◽  
Shen Neng

The study examined the effects of rural-urban migration on the economic status of rural residents. The study utilized a mixed-methods research approach to collect and analyze data, first, data were collected through a questionnaire from households whose family members migrated to urban centers, and interviews were held with various heads of villages in the study area. The study reveals that the majority of the migrants were able-bodied youth who migrated to urban centers to seek employment and education. Migrants’ families at places of origin benefited from migration of their own relations to urban centers mainly through remittances which enabled them to improve their livelihood as the remittances were spent on daily consumption and investment into business activities. The study recommends that government should formulate policies that would create employment for citizens in rural areas, and encourage the private sector to build industries in rural areas to prevent rural-urban migration. Government and the private sector should also empower rural farmers through the promotion of markets for farm produce in order to improve the income of rural farmers, reduce poverty, improve the quality of life and well-being, increase their happiness, satisfaction, and minimize rural-urban migration. The study findings are limited to developing countries where rural-urban migration is a challenge due to the generally low quality of life in rural areas. Further research on the effects of rural-urban migration on the economic status of rural residents should involve a quantitative analysis of the impact of remittances by migrants on poverty reduction in rural areas.


2019 ◽  
Vol 133 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
A J Scott ◽  
J K McGuire ◽  
K Manning ◽  
L Leach ◽  
J J Fagan

AbstractObjectiveTotal laryngectomy is considered the primary treatment modality for advanced laryngeal carcinoma. This study assessed the quality of life in patients after total laryngectomy, and ascertained whether quality of life is affected by socioeconomic status.MethodForty-seven patients (20 state- and 27 private-sector) who underwent total laryngectomy between 1998 and 2014 responded to the University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire, the Voice-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire and the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire.ResultsSignificant differences were found in socioeconomic status between state- and private-sector patients (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in overall quality of life between groups (p = 0.210). State-sector patients scored significantly higher Voice-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire scores (p = 0.043). Perception of illness did not differ significantly between groups.ConclusionOverall quality of life after total laryngectomy appears to be similar in patients from different socioeconomic backgrounds. However, patients from lower socioeconomic circumstances have better voice-related quality of life. The results illustrate the importance of including socioeconomic status when reporting voice outcomes in total laryngectomy patients.


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