Using Bayesian Tobit Models to Understand the Impact of Mobile Automated Enforcement on Collision and Crime Rates

The Data Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety approach identifies opportunities where a single enforcement deployment can achieve multiple objectives: reduce collision and crime rates. Previous research focused on modeling both events separately despite evidence suggesting a high correlation. Additionally, there is a limited understanding of the impact of Mobile Automated Enforcement (MAE) on crime or the impact of changing a deployment strategy on collision and crime dates. For this reason, this study categorized MAE deployment into three different clusters. A random-parameter multivariate Tobit model was developed under the Bayesian framework to understand the impact of changing the deployment on collision and crime rates in a neighborhood. Firstly, the results of the analysis quantified the high correlation between collision and crime rates (0.86) which suggest that locations with high collision rates also coincide with locations with high crime rates. The results also demonstrated the safety effectiveness (i.e., reduced crime and collision rates) increased for the clusters that are associated with an increased enforcement duration at a neighborhood level. Understanding how changing the deployment strategy at a macro-level affects collision and crime rates provides enforcement agencies with the opportunity to maximize the efficiency of their existing resources.

Decentralization of solid waste management services in rural Lebanon: Barriers and opportunities

Rapid urbanization, closure of dumps, and insufficient infrastructure funding in Lebanon have resulted in improper municipal solid waste management (MSWM), creating a continuing trash crisis in recent years. In Beirut and Mount Lebanon, MSWM was carried out in centralized waste processing and disposal facilities operated by the government. The trash crisis and failure of the centralized system prompted several municipal authorities to decentralize MSWM by establishing local facilities, paid by the council taxes charged to beneficiary households. To study the feasibility of decentralized MSWM, a survey of 228 households in a rural village in Lebanon explored households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for a local MSWM service. For data analysis, a multivariate Tobit model was used to examine the determinants of the WTP amount. Results showed that 79% of surveyed households in the studied village were willing to support local MSWM improvements by contributing an average yearly fee of US$48, representing a 30% increase in their current council taxes. Analysis showed a significant positive association between the WTP amount and the household monthly income level, the residents perceived needs for urgency to act on solid waste management, and the households’ responsibility to be involved in MSWM. An interview with the municipality mayor later revealed that financial, technical, and land resources are lacking to enable consideration of a decentralized project for MSWM in the village. Municipalities in rural areas have limited resources and are unable to sustain a decentralized MSWM service unless adjacent towns join effort in supporting and financing MSWM initiatives.

Impact of Land Use Rights on the Investment and Efficiency of Organic Farming

This study investigated the impact of three land tenure arrangements on organic farming (OF) in terms of increment of efficiency, yield, and investment in soil-improving activities by using farm-level data gathered from three districts located at Punjab, Pakistan. A multivariate tobit model that captured the probable substitute and investment choices, as well as the endogenous nature of land tenure arrangements, has been employed in this analysis. The empirical outcomes displayed that rights of land use affected the decisions made by farmers to invest in land and to improve efficiency. In detail, owner-farmers with secure rental arrangements invested more in improving their land and productivity compared to those with unsecured lease agreements. The yield per hectare was the highest for owner cultivation farm, while sharecropper output seemed the lowest, which are in agreement with the hypothesis of Marshallian inefficiency.

Willingness to Pay for Energy Efficient Appliances: The Case of Lebanese Consumers

A contingent valuation study was conducted to elicit the willingness to pay (WTP) of Lebanese citizens for five types of energy-efficient home appliances: washing machines, air conditioners, televisions, light bulbs, and refrigerators. A face-to-face survey is designed to this end, with data collection achieving a sample of 605 households geographically representative of the Lebanese population. A multivariate Tobit model was used to gauge the effects of socio-demographic characteristics, attitudes, perceptions, behavior, and experience on the WTP across all these appliances, while accounting for potential correlations between these WTP values. Findings provide evidence of the importance of several socio–demographics in determining WTP for more energy efficient appliances, such as income, education, and age, and the importance of perceptions and experience covariates, not least the implementation of energy labelling and the cost of electricity. In terms of policy implications, this study highlights the need to legally enforce a shift in payment mode from renting per capacity (kW) to purchasing per power (kWh) consumed for electricity in the back-up power sector, and the immediate introduction of a local labelling scheme for home appliances.

Does Land Tenure Systems Affect Sustainable Agricultural Development?

The current study aims to investigate the agricultural investment differences among three kinds of land lease agreements and their effect on farmers’ decisions regarding sustainable growth in terms of soil conservation and wheat productivity, using cross-sectional data from rural households in Punjab, Pakistan. The “multivariate Tobit model” was used for the empirical analysis because it considers the possible substitution of investment choices and the tenancy status’ endogeneity. Compared to agricultural lands on lease contracts, landowners involved in agribusiness are more likely to invest in measures to improve soil and increase productivity. Moreover, the present study has also identified that the yield per hectare is much higher for landowners than sharecroppers, and thus, the Marshall’s assumption of low efficiency of tenants under sharecroppers is supported.