Environmental Issues in Business Transactions Essay

Environmental Issues in Business Transactions - Essay Example In January 2000 after finalizing the purchased amount of seven million dollars and obtaining the assurance of Tyco that the Plant is compliant to existing environmental laws Shan finalized the acquisition of the Plant from Tyco. To reiterate this assurance the purchase contract stipulated that Tyco â€Å"will be responsible for any losses arising out of environmental clean-ups, fines or penalties†. After the purchase of the Plant, Shan discovered that it would cost more than two million dollars to make the Plant compliant to federal and state environmental laws. Shan also discovered that the potential fines and penalties for the non-compliance to environmental state and federal laws could amount to more than one billion dollars. Shan thru its owners tried in several instances to persuade Tyco to buy back the Plant at the same cost or pay for the necessary remediation cost to make the Plant comply with state and federal environmental laws. ... the final report was sent to the Chief Executive Officer of Tyco, the report was accompanied by a request from Shan for assistance in making the Plant compliant. However, Tyco ignored the report including the request. Thereafter, Shan reiterated its offer for Tyco to just buy back the Plant for the same amount it was bought to which, Tyco declined. In December 2003, Shan voluntarily reported to the Environmental Protection Agency that the Plant is not compliant to state and federal regulations. At around the same time Shan also met with the Tyco officials who promised to send documents that would prove that the Plant was in compliance with the regulations set by state and federal laws. Perusing over the documents sent over by Tyco it was determined that Tyco was not doing its responsibility to make sure that the Plant are compliant to regulations under state and federal environmental laws. On the last day of 2003, they filed a case against Tyco for breach of contract. In April 2004, the Plant was visited by state and federal environmental authorities and naturally found it non-compliant to environmental laws. It was determined that it was Tyco who suggested that environmental auditors examine the Plant. Based on their findings the state and federal environmental authorities issued a cease-and-desist order that affected forty percent of the Plant’s operating capacity. That could have greatly diminished its earning capacity thus its initiative to make the Plant compliant to environmental state and federal laws. In June 2004, Shan appealed the cease-and-desist order by asserting that the environmental problem was an issue inherited from Tyco, the previous owner. The appeal contained the findings of the independent consultants showing the extent of the violation in the

Case study for subject (Strategic Leadership in Criminal Justice Essay

Case study for subject (Strategic Leadership in Criminal Justice 7038CCJ ) - Essay Example Kathy is required to resort to an apt leadership strategy that will ameliorate the concerns and distress of the personnel in one’s team and will lead to the requisite levels of work performance. The key issue is that Kathy’s organization is opting for a change, which it believes will lead to better work performance, efficiency and effectiveness. Managing organizational change is one of the most difficulties things to do, as the resistance to change ensues from varied sections of an organization (Joyce, 2000, p. 3). Those personnel who are most likely to be impacted by change could positively be expected to register maximum resistance, which is either intended, or happens inadvertently (Randall, 2004, p. 16). The employees in Kathy’s team are resisting the change and Kathy is required to resort to an apt leadership strategy to manage this problem (Barganza, 2001, p. 119). The personnel could be resisting change owing to a variety of reasons like: It goes without saying that the apprehensions of the personnel in Kathy’s team are to a great extent valid and justified. Hence, Kathy ought to resort to an appropriate leadership approach to ameliorate the identifiable and genuine concerns of the employees. As Kathy is the team leader, it goes without saying that he enjoys a degree of rapport with one’s team members. Hence, in the given dilemma, Kathy ought to establish herself as a transformational leader to assure a smooth management of change in the organization. Transformational leadership is an approach towards leadership which enables the team leaders to help team members rise to higher levels of moral and effectiveness. It allows the team leaders to help wrought out a positive and desirable change in the personnel following them. It is an approach towards leadership wherein the team leader exploits one’s vision and integrity to secure the commitment and sincerity of the team members in the intended change process (Rickards, 2005, p.

Individual report of approximately 1,000 words Coursework

Individual report of approximately 1,000 words - Coursework Example nancial gain through gain in sales, reduced cost of operation, reduction in project overruns and reduction in the time taken to create strategic changes. The performance management objective also involves motivating the workforce by optimizing plans, improving employee engagement, creating transparency, and conducting professional development programs. For improved management control - a flexible, responsible management is required. The management should display data relationships, help audit and comply with the legislative requirements, simplify communications and provide documented system for communications. Spreadsheets are electronic tools similar to various other IT tools; however the code and underlying structure is unknown (MacMillan, 2000). The main advantage of using spreadsheet is that it is easy and simple to use. Moreover, no specific training is needed for using spreadsheets and employees can easily create, distribute, manipulate and access the data of spreadsheets. However, there exist risks of uncontrolled spreadsheet used, which should be analysed to reduce errors. Spreadsheets are used for countless business functions and accounting calculations. It can be used for tracking workflow, for creating accounting estimates and for key financial reporting. Spreadsheets provide instant snapshots of a situation, which can be used for driving critical decisions. The research is based on production and service data of a firm which has been used to calculate the total expense and derive the selling price of finished products. The allocated costs related to printing, finishing, quality control and material handling has been provided in columns along the labour hours and machine hours. The expense on employees, requisitions and maintenance is also given to get the calculations. The relocation cost of the admin department is derived from the formula - Allocated Costs per Employee x Employees without Administration (for printing). Excel sheet has been used

Economics Article Analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economics Analysis - Article Example Comparative advantage is often measured in terms of the overall cost involved in producing any particular good or service. Further with the increase in the competition at the international level puts pressures on the international prices of the goods and it may become difficult for the firms to continue to export their products in the international markets at the current prices without reducing the costs or improving the technology to manufacture the product. The article under review discusses the wine industry of Australia and how the exports changed over the period of time due to certain factors. This article discusses as to how the sales in terms of volume changed over the period of time besides the reduction in the prices at international level. This report will therefore focus on the application of microeconomic theory on the facts and statements made in the article and will provide a comprehensive discussion of how the international trade dynamics come into interaction with each other in international market. The article under study provides a historical overview of the Australian Wine industry and how it evolved over the period of time. It also discusses some of the dynamics in international market and what are the factors on which competition between the countries is based. (McEachern 2003) It is critical to note that the article suggest that the Australian wine is regarded highly by the wine drinkers all over the world. Due to the quality of the wine, Australian companies have been able to erode the French domination from the market. This fact suggests that the Australian firms have been able to achieve the relative comparative advantage in international market due to the quality of the wine. The above graph shows the composition of how the total production in the country is sold. It clearly indicates that most of the wine produced in the country is exported to countries like UK, US, China and Hong Kong thus suggesting that the

History Study Notes Essay Example for Free

History Study Notes Essay Topic 1 Investigating History †¢ interpret and construct time lines †¢ define the terms that describe historical periods of time †¢ the terminology and concepts of historical time, including year, decade, generation, century, age, BC/AD, BCE/CE †¢ sequence societies and events within specific periods of time †¢ ask historical questions †¢ distinguish between fact and opinion †¢ draw some conclusions about the usefulness of sources including a website †¢ examine differing historical perspectives and interpretations †¢ explain cause and effect †¢ identify significant people of the past  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ examine the motives for people. s actions in the past †¢ the process of historical inquiry: . Fact and opinion . †¢ the usefulness of sources as evidence including a website . †¢ differing perspectives . cause and effect . history as the study of people †¢ explain the consequences of people. s actions †¢ describe some aspects of family/community heritage †¢ heritage issues †¢ appreciate the value of preserving and conserving our heritage Ancient Egypt †¢ the origins of the society or period †¢ identify the origins of the society or historical period †¢ daily life of men and women in the society or period  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ describe how both men and women lived in the society or period †¢ Civics and citizenship in the society or period †¢ describe the way in which the people of the society or period were governed †¢ describe the rights and freedoms of different groups in the society or period †¢ beliefs and values of the people of the society or period †¢ explain the beliefs and values of the society †¢ impact of significant people and/or events †¢ explain the impact made by significant people and/or events on the society or period †¢ contacts with other peoples †¢ outline the contacts that the society had with other peoples.

The Defining Of Corruption In Governments Politics Essay

The Defining Of Corruption In Governments Politics Essay Corruption as a word is derived from the Latin word corruptus meaning to break up. The use of the word emphasizes the destructive effect of corruption on the fabric of society and the situations where agents and public officers break the confidence entrusted in them Nicholls, Daniel, Polaine, Hatchard, (2006). Johnston, (2005) quoting the works of Nye, (1967); Heidenheinmer, (1970); Scott, (1972); Thompson, (1993); Thompson, (1995); Johnston, (1996); Philip, (1997); and Philip, (2002), stated that definitional issues of corruption is a matter of long-running debate and therefore it is always difficult to settle for any specific definition. He states that the decisive role of the state is reflected in most definitions of corruption, and therefore agrees that corruption is conventionally understood, and referred to, as the private wealth seeking behaviour of someone who represents the state and the public authority. It is the misuse of public resources by public officials, for private gains. The working definition used by the World Bank, Transparency International and others is that corruption is the abuse of public power for private benefit (or profit). Another widely used description is that corruption is a transaction between private and public sector actors through which collective goods are illegitimately converted into private-regarding payoffs (Heidenheimer et al. 1989:6). This point is also emphasized by Rose-Ackerman, who says corruption exists at the interface of the public and private sectors (Rose-Ackerman 1978). In Colin Nyes classical definition, corruption is behaviour that deviates from the formal duties of a public role (elective or appointive) because of private-regarding (personal, close family, private clique) wealth or status gains(Nye 1967:416). Samuel Huntington noted that where political opportunities are scarce, corruption occurs as people use wealth to buy power, and where economic opportunities are few, corruption occurs when political power is used to pursue wealth (Huntington 1968). Huntington (1968), Myrdal (1968) and Scott (1969), believes that corruption is most prevalent during the most intense phase of modernization of a country and tends to decline with institutionalization of advanced democracy (see also Pavarala, 1996). It is however argued that this view cannot explain the prevalence of corruption in advanced industrial democracies because there is now increasing evidence of political corruption and systematic influence peddling in the US and UK (Amick, 1976; Drewry, 1977; Pinto-Duschinsky, 1977; Benson, 1978; Ashworth, 1981; Johnston, 1982; Doig, 1984; Etzioni, 1984). For the purpose of this dissertation, corruption will be defined as the use of public office for private gain provided by Rose-Ackerman (1975, 1978), Becker and Stigler (1974), Klitgaard (1988, 1991), Shleifer and Vishny (1993), Myint, U, 2000; Johnson D.T Zimring F.E, 2005) and Transparency International. This in other words, involves the use of official position, rank or status by an office bearer for his personal benefit. 2.3. Forms of Corruption: There are different forms of corruption, Pedersen and Johannsen (2008); classification by typology, Roebuck and Barker (1974); Heidenheimer, (1989); Alemann (1995); Punch (200); Tserndoodov (2001); and Miller (2003). According to Shah, (2008) corruption is not manifested in one single form. Some scholars group corruption as grand corruption, petty corruption, sporadic corruption, systemic corruption or active and passive corruption base on the stages and magnitude of the malaise, while some like Robinson (2004 p.3) categorized corruption into three main forms: incidental (individual), institutional (for example, the police service) and systemic (societal). However, irrespective of the classification or level of the phenomenon, Vargas-Hernandez (2009), like many other scholars, believe that corruption can be in form of any of the following: bribery, collusion, embezzlement of public funds and theft, fraud, extortion, abuse of discretion, favouritism, clientelism, nepotism, and others. This can be presented in a pictorial form as shown in figure (1) below. Bribery Cronyism Embezzlement Extortion Forms of Corruption Nepotism Conflict of Interest Favouritism Fraud Figure 1. Forms of Corruption In various forms listed in figure (1) above, corrupt activities such as fraud and embezzlement can be undertaken by an official alone and without involvement of a second party. While others such as bribery, extortion and influence peddling involve two parties. There must be a giver and taker in a corrupt deal. The two party type of corruption can arise under a variety of circumstances either in public or private official function. 2.3.1 Bribery: Bribery is defined as the payment for a corrupt act (Zimring Johnson, 2005). A bribery corrupt act is always perpetuated by two or more individuals. Bribery requires collusion between a private citizen and a public employee (Morris, 1991). Albrecht, Albrecht, Albrecht Zimbelman (2009) says bribery involves the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of anything of value to influence and official act. According to Myint, (2000), bribes as one of several two party corrupt act offence, involves amongst others, government contracts to determine who gets what contract and the terms of the contract; government benefits like subsidies for importation, permits for explorations and purchase of privatized government corporations; reduction in taxable fees like import duties, custom duties, utility fees, electricity fees and income taxes for both business and private individuals, thus reducing government revenue (See also Rose-Ackerman 2005). It is also argued that bribery c an speed up the wheels of bureaucracy more smoothly and speedily (Myint, 2000); as well as influence the outcome of a legal and regulatory process. A legal definition can be found in (Nicholls, Daniel, Polaine Hatchard, 2006 p. 18). While some theorists like Leff (1964), Leys (1965), Huntington (1968) and Mendez Sepulveda (2006), see bribery under the greasing the wheels hypothesis as payment that is beneficial in alleviating the distortions caused by ill-functioning institutions and thus reducing cost associated with queues (Lui, 1985) (see also Rose-Ackerman 2005, pp. 15-16), it has been established that bribery constitute not only a threat to some countries, but a threat to the future of global security. Osborne (1997) argues that bribery undermines governments by reducing income from taxes, duties, and fees, while increasing the cost of service delivery. He posited that bribery destroys competition and thus companies that bribe their way to a contract or waiver for exploration, loads their prices to cover for the bribes. This creates a spiralling effect that distorts government policies as a result of the personal gain to be derived, subvert company cultures, destabilizes society due to resource diversion, low productivity and making controls ineffective and invariably constituting a threat to global security as a result of drug trafficking, organised crime and terrorism. The most widely quoted bribery statistic is the World Banks worldwide estimate of $1 trillion per year with the total cost of corruption estimated at more than 5% of global GDP (US $2.6 trillion), Cleveland, Favo, Frecka Owens (2010) and the economic effects and ethicality of bribery have been discussed by literally hundreds of sources including Dalton (2006), Gray and Kaufmann (1988), Nichols (1999), and Shaw (2000). 2.3.2. Fraud: Another common corrupt practice is fraud. Fraud is an act of misrepresentation or deception by way of charging for goods or services that was never delivered, changing the specifications or timing on goods and services and their expiration dates, and concealment of funds paid as fees or custom duties. Customs fraud for instance can be the under or over valuation of the value of goods or misclassification and underpayment of taxes. Fraud is the use of misleading information to induce someone to turn over the property voluntarily. According to Albrecht et al (2009 p 7), fraud is a generic term, and embraces all multifarious means which human ingenuity can devise, which are resorted to by one individual, to get an advantage over another by false representationincludes surprise, trickery, cunning and unfair ways by which another is cheated. Fraud is mostly expressed in the form of the Fraud Triangle depicting the three elements of pressure, opportunity and rationalization ( Albrecht, Wernz Williams, 1995). In the public sector therefore, bureaucrats and their private collaborators tend to defraud the public by way of contract inflation, white elephant projects, and poor quality service delivery. In the private sector, fraud is classified variously as employee fraud, vendor fraud, customer fraud, management fraud, investment scams and others (Albrecht et al, 2009). However, the focus of this research is on public sector fraud. 2.3.3. Embezzlement and Theft: These are the form of corruption that is characterized by the taking or conversion of funds, assets or other valuables for private gain. These forms of corruption involve the abuse of public trust on the asset entrusted to the individual. According to Green (2002 p. 99), embezzlement is a crime of specific intent in which a person fraudulently misappropriates or misapplies something that has been legally entrusted to that person but which he or she does not own, thereby usurping the legal owners control For instance, an official can collide with a contractor who is engaged to perform some service and embezzle some of the fund meant for the contract and encourage the contractor to provide a substandard service to be able to recoup the original cost of the contract. Embezzlement therefore is the misappropriation of funds legally entrusted to an official in their formal position as an agent, guardian or trustee. According to Albrecht et al, (2009) embezzle ment is a common type of occupational fraud in both private and public sectors. They posit that employees (or officials) can steal cash, supplies and other assets or establish dummy companies or vendors to pay for goods and services that are not actually delivered. It is however argued (Green, 2002) that determining exactly what constitute embezzlement is sometimes difficult due to legal interpretations of the difference between embezzlement and offense of criminal conversion. 2.3.4. Conflict of Interest: Conflict of interest occurs when an employee (public official) has an undisclosed economic or personal interest in a transaction that will be undertaken by his/her organization. According to Albrecht et al, (2009), conflict of interest involves the exertion of influence by the employee at the detriment of the organization for personal gain or to benefit a friend or relative even though he/she may not received a financial benefit from the act. The conundrum to the conflict of interest is a situation where a public official may have to decline engaging competent and qualified person/organization for the supply of goods or services simple because he/she has a vested economic interest in the supplying organization. However, Albrecht et al, posits that to be classified as a conflict of interest, scheme, the officials interest in the transaction must be undisclosed, and thus the organization is not aware of his/her divided loyalty. 2.3.5. Cronyism: It refers to favorable treatment of friends and associates in the distribution of resources and positions without regard to their objective qualifications and professionalism. 2.3.6. Favoritism: Generally, favouritism, nepotism and clientelism involve abuses of discretion. Such abuses, however, are governed not by the self-interest of an official but the interests of someone linked to him or her through membership of a family, political party, tribe, religious or other group. If an individual bribes an official to hire him or her, the official acts in self-interest. If a corrupt official hires a relative, he or she acts in exchange for the less tangible benefit of advancing the interests of family or the specific relative involved (nepotism). The favouring of, or discriminating against, individuals can be based on a wide range of group characteristics: race, religion, geographical factors, political or other affiliation, as well as personal or organizational relationships, such as friendship or membership of clubs or associations. Favoritism takes place when one favors or prefers acquaintances, friends and family over strangers. It becomes corruption when public (and private sector) officials unfairly distribute positions and resources to colleagues. 2.3.7. Nepotism: Nepotism is used to indicate a form of favoritism that involves family relationships. It describes situations in which a person exploits his or her power and authority to procure jobs or other favors for relatives 2.3.8. Extortion: It is the illegal demand or receipt of property or money through the use of force or threat. According to Morris (1991), extortion in contrast to bribery, is a is a situation where the public official influences the behavior of a citizen through the use of negative sanctions as a threat further to abuse authority to induce cooperation. This is also widely referred to as graft. 2.4. Historical Context of corruption in Nigeria and Britain 2.4.1. Nigeria A comparative perspective on corruption provides insight about the role of this peculiar form of crime in various cultures and stages of development (Johnson D.T. Zimring F.E, 2007). The global perception of Nigeria on corruption should therefore be seen in its proper historical context by undertaking a comparative review of the historical evolution of the country and the colonial legacy (Olaleye-Oruene, 2007). Olaleye-Oruene argues that an examination of the Nigerian traditional business ethos prior to contact with Europeans, especially the British, indicates that corruption is not a cultural norm of the Nigerian people pre-colonial. In the Nigerian culture, an inducement by one party for the purpose of gaining an advantage over a competitor would be paramount to an insult and indeed an effrontery to the party awarding the contract. However, there is little documentation on African and Nigerian commercial and administrative transactions before the advent of colonialism to support t his believe. It is therefore on this note that the considered base for any empirical write-up on corruption in Nigeria can only be done from the colonial era. In the 1700 1800s, corruption especially political corruption (Willis 2002, p.151) was seen as a major problem in Britain only partly addressed by electoral reforms in the 19th century and thus during the Balkanization of the African continent that took place in Berlin in 1884-1885, the British which took control of the Northern and Southern Nigeria, imported its legal system, education and economic culture (Olaleye-Oruene, 2007). According to Olaleye-Oruene, European values endorses corruption in view of the commonality and political and corporate corruption found in many countries both eastern and western, with Germany, Britain, Italy, France, Belgium and the Netherlands in the West and therefore the sub-culture of corruption is seen as the acceptable face of capitalism and any form of commercial transactions with the West, notably with multinationals at the time. Foreign-sponsored bribery tends to be held by many observers in developing countries as the most significant contribut ing factor to corruption (Andvig Fjeldstad, 2000). To many commentators like Bloom, (2010) Western companies constitute the main culprits of the corruption syndrome in most developing countries. Quoting Transparency International, he said that the most corrupt industries are arms, construction and oil, and many western companies are helping to line peoples pockets illegally by selling wrong equipment, and dams and roads are built in the wrong place for no better reason other than the politicians can get their kick backs. See also Tanzi, Davoodi, (1997); Hunt and Laszlo, (2005); and Svensson, (2003). This is the situation Nigeria found itself when the country was amalgamated between the south and the north in 1914. In attempting to tackle the menace of the scourge as been treated in Britain in the earlier 18th century, the then British Colonial Administration promulgated the Nigerian Criminal Code in 1916, Ch. XII, with sections 98 and 116 dealing with corruption. The Code made it an offence corruptly to give or receive any gift or other advantage as an inducement to influence the conduct of any . . . officer or servant of any public body as defined in the code. It is punishable with a maximum of 14 years imprisonment and/or fine (Olaleye-Oruene, T. 2007, p.232). However, fitting as the buck shifting may be, the Nigerian perpetrators of corruption or pen-robbers (as they are euphemistically known) have superseded the Europeans in the art of corruption by making it the lifestyle of the body politic. Corruption is no longer confined to government contracts where the perpetrators share the loot of the graft, but percolates to every nook and cranny of the civil service and local government, political hierarchy, both civil and military, and even the church. It is widely noted that the judiciary is tainted by trials settled with bribes . . . universities are tarnished by the trade in diplomas (also bribery as means of gaining entry into universities) . . . the nobility has been mocked by the sale of chieftaincy titles . . . In other words, the majority of public officials are expected to be bribed for performing the duty which constitutes the terms of contract of their employment. For instance, messengers are regarded as powerful because they contr ol the movement of files and could bury the files if anyone fails to bribe them (Olaleye-Oruene, 2007 p.234). According to BBCs Caroline Duffield in Lagos, extortion of civilians and bribery of police is a fact of life in Nigeria often taking place in public and in broad daylight (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11001624) and the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu while speaking with the US Congress Financial Services Committee in May 2009, state that Nigeria have lost about $440 billion to corruption since independence in 1960. The question therefore is where did Nigeria get it wrong? Can the country continue to blame the British Colonialist considering that Britain has shed off its corruption tag of the 19th century? Several reasons have been adduced for this state of affairs such as prolonged military dictatorship; lack of political will to tackle corruption; lack of national plan; and the cultural tolerance of corruption and corrupt leadership and the absence of enforcement of the law against corruption. Corruption in public life in Nigeria manifested itself in the 1950s to 1960s with the first penal inquiry on the African Continental Bank (ACB) and Nnamdi Azikiwe affairs with a Justice Strafford Forster-Sutton commission in 1957; the Justice G.B. Coker Commission in 1962 to look into the activities of the then Western region government led by Chief Awolowo and the National Investment and Property company. However, it is widely believed that the malaise started to become a public way of life during the military regimes of General Gown, (Ministry of Defence cement importation scandal), General Obasanjo, (Missing N2.8 Billion from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) and the subsequent pr omulgation of Decree No.11 of 1976 (Public officers Protection Against False Accusation) seen as the arming of corrupt government officials with immunity and a carte blanche to be above the law (Nwaobi, G.C. 2004). From the Military administration of Gen. Obasanjo in 1976 to President Obasanjo in 1999, there have been many looting of the Nigerian Commonwealth by its leaders and their cronies and such funds deposited in foreign bank accounts that may or may not ever be recovered again. The corruption activities of the Shagari civilian regime and the dictatorial military regimes of Buhari, Babangida, Abacha and even Abdulsalam are well documented in Nigeria (Nwaobi, 2004). The subject of this dissertation will not permit a detail review of the corruption cases in these regimes; however, a table highlighting some of the looted funds is attached as appendix 1. 2.4.2. Great Britain. Concern about corruption is as old as the history of government. In 350 BCE, Aristotle suggested in The Politics, To protect the treasury from being defrauded, let all money be issued openly in front of the whole city, and let copies of the accounts be deposited in various wards. The UK has widely been seen as the model of the non-corrupt industrial democracy (Adonis, 1997). However, a look into the UK history in the last few centuries will portray a society once rife with all forms of corruption. Willis (2002, p.151) quoting Lever 1971 and Denning 1981, stated that the court of King James I of England was once described in the following terms: this is a tale of extravagance, waste, corruption and vice unprecedented sums of money were squandered Titles and government offices were bought and sold. Through Monopolies, tax-farming and appropriation of public land for private purposes the entire national economy was fleeced by parasitic rulers and their cronies Also quoting Williams (1960), Willis said that corruption was the major avenue of securing election to parliament, forming government and staying in government. Therefore buying a seat in parliament out of your own resources was almost the only mode by which parliament was accessible with honour to those who had no family connection or local patron. The Anti-Bribery Act (Last Determination Act 1729, 2 Geo II c 24) called an Act for the more effectual preventing bribery and corruption in election of members to serve in Parliament; The Place Act 1742 (15 Geo II c 22); and Burkes Place Act 1782 (22 Geo III c 45) were some of the early measures taken between the century 1729 to 1832 to curb bribery and corruption in the British political and administrative system. In Britain, the practice of corruption was so rampant in the late 19th century as to necessitate the enactment of a private members bill, the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889, in order to implement the recommendation made in 1888 in an interim report by the Royal Commission which investigated various malpractices by the Metropolitan Board of Works. In the decade either side of the First World War a succession of corruption scandals seriously clouded the government of Prime Minister David Lloyd George (Adonis, 1997) In the last half century however, Britain invariably scores highly in indices on integrity in public life despite evidence of underlying and persistent corruption (Doig, 1984, 1995, 1996) as quoted in Doig, (2004). Evidence of bribery and the misuse of public office for partisan or personal benefit has invariably been treated as episodic and personalized. When identified, such as the Poulson scandal of the 1970s; the cash -for- question scandals in the House of Commons in the 1990s; the corruption at the local government council levels like the Lambeth borough council in 1993 and the recent Expenses scandals involving MPs in 2009, cases have been subject to investigations that have dealt with the offenders while confirming the general integrity of institutions and the robustness of the procedures involved in dealing with the offences. At the same time, British political and administrative life has pragmatically so ordered its affairs that the need for corruption has been widely minim ized. Thus members of the executive and senior civil servants are unlikely even to be offered, let alone accept, bribes from government contractors while in office and from the latter half of the nineteenth, into the early twentieth century, political and administrative leaderships were able to introduce measures that precluded membership of Parliament as a means of personal profit in return for government support; required verbal disclosure of financial interests; curbed payments for honours; disengaged MPs and ministers from the spoils and patronage systems that dominated traditional politics; introduced constraints on civil servants moving to the private sector; outlawed voter bribery, and introduced anticorruption legislation for both public and private sectors (Doig, 2003). While it should be remembered that corruption and misconduct did not necessarily disappear during this period, allegations invariably provoked some form of official inquiry that was often used as a vehicle f or some general statement of the principles of conduct. It is therefore not surprising that Britain is rated highly above Nigeria in the Transparency Internationals corruption perception index. 2.5. Theoretical Empirical Works on Corruption: Corruption generally has attracted a great deal of attention in both academic and non-academic circles as reflected through an increased number of studies devoted to the topics. There is a growing body of theoretical and empirical studies within the economics literature examining the factors contributing to corruption and corruptibility within the public service. This will be looked into as below: 2.5.1. Theories on Corruption: Existing theories fail to differentiate various forms of corruption. Morris, (1991 p. 10), states that most theoretical arguments posit a major causal agent as producing corruption; non really specifies what type of corruption may result or what specific factors may relate to different corrupt acts This could be as a result of the difficult nature of defining what really constitute corruption. According to deGraaf (2007), most definitions of corruption are focused on social constructivism and thus it is based on what is considered as corruption at a certain place and at a particular time. In his studies of corruption in the Western countries, he theorized six causes of corruption which will also be considered below: Principal Agent Theory: One of the standard frameworks used in the theoretical analysis of corruption is the principal-agent model. A principal can be a person or an organization, in the case of this research, a government. The model holds that on behalf of the principal, the agent interacts with a client and thus may commit corruption if in his analysis, the benefits outweighs the costs. Using this model researchers like (Bardhan, 1997; Klitgaard, 1988; Rose-Ackerman, 1978) have investigated the trade-offs between the expected costs and benefits of corrupt acts. The reasons for the considered economic benefit may include such as lower wages (Becker and Stigler, 1974; Chand and Moene, 1999; Mookherjee and Png, 1995), social welfare (Becker and Stigler, 1974; Khalil and Lawarree, 1995; Mookherjee and Png, 1995) and greed (de Graaf, 2007). The Principal-Agent theory considers corruption at the micro-model and the agent makes his/her decisions based on a benefit versus costs and thus i f the agent chooses not to be corrupt, they receive a payoff that is the sum of their regular pay plus the moral satisfaction of not being a corrupt. According to Klitgaard as quoted by Chan (2000), the cost depends on his/her own ethical, cultural and religious standards; influence of peers and colleagues; the size and magnitude of the bribe and responsibilities to the principal. Economic Rent and corruption equation: All economic agents are maximizing their individual utility that is personal welfare (wealth). Therefore, selfish interests of economic agents are the basic motive for economic transactions between them. A common thread in these models is that the government is led by a benevolent dictator (the principal), who aims to motivate government officials (agents) to act with integrity in the use of public resources (see Banfield 1975; Becker 1968, 1983; Becker and Stigler 1974; Klitgaard 1988, 1997; Rose-Ackerman 1975, 1978). Resources are allocated to the activities that provide the greatest returns on investment (an allocation decision). Rent by economic definition is a factor of income above the competitive returns (opportunity costs) of the factor and thus because rent appropriations will maximize individual utility (welfare), economic agents are engaged in the rent-seeking process, the process of creation and distribution (appropriation) of rent. Theoretically speaking, rent can be created in a few distinctive ways, but in reality the most significant rent generator is government intervention through the violation of free market operations by way of regulations. In his classical Corruption Equation, Kiltgaard, (1998) postulates that: Corruption Equation C=R+D A Where C= Corruption, R= Economic Rent D= Discretionary powers A= Accountability. In the equation, Kiltgaard posits that Corruption (C) will exist if more opportunities for Economic Rent ( R) exist in a country and that the greater the discretionary powers (D) granted to administrators (bureaucrats, leaders, politicians etc) the more the chances of corruption. However, the equation states that the more administrators are held Accountable (A) for their actions, the less will be corruption. This is designated by the minus sign in front of A. Stated differently, the equation tells us that a fertile ground for growth of a thoroughly corrupt system will emerge in a country if it satisfies the following three conditions: It has a large number of laws, rules, regulations, and administrative orders to restrict business and economic activities and thereby creates huge opportunities for generating economic rent, and especially if these restrictive measures are complex and opaque and applied in a selective, secretive, inconsistent and non-transparent way; Administrators are granted large discretionary powers with respect to interpreting rules, are given a lot of freedom to decide on how rules are to be applied, to whom and in what manner they are to be applied, are vested with powers to amend, alter, and rescind the rules, and even to supplement the rules by invoking new restrictive administrative measures and procedures; and There are no effective mechanisms and institutional arrangements in the country to hold administrators accountable for their actions. The Public/Rational Choice Theory: Like most white-collar crimes, corruption has been seen as a crime of rational choice where the causal chain is that of an individual making a rational decision that leads to a predetermined outcome (de Graaf, 2007). According to de Graaf, the individual corrupt official tries to maximize his utility by rationally calculating when to become corrupt if its expected advantages outweigh its expected disadvantages (a combination of possible penalty and the chance of being caught). Rose-Ackeman (1978), posits that public officials are corrupt simply because they perceive that the potential benefits of corruption exceeds that potential costs. See also Klitgaard, (1988), Gambetta, 1993). This theory is supported by works of Hirschi and Gottfredson (1987) Shover and Hochstetler (2006), and Simpson (2009) in their rational choice theories on white-collar crimes. The rational choice theory, unlike others concentrates on a specific situation of an agent who ca lculates the pros and cons ignoring the larger social context that breeds corruption. Its focus on the officials calculation of the ensuing trade-off as a motivation leaves a gapping question of why some officials especially in the Western countries are not corrupt. The Bad Apple (Anomie) Theory: This theory also looks at the level of an individual for the causal effect of corruption. Most studies on

Managing Urban Green Spaces Environmental Sciences Essay

Managing Urban Green Spaces Environmental Sciences Essay In the past recent decades there has been an increase in urbanisation and urban sprawl, which has resulted in a decline of green spaces, especially in urban areas. This has contributed towards a degradation of the natural environment, as developments are overtaking rural areas at an increasingly rapid rate. Furthermore, this has also had an impact on climate change as less green spaces increases the effects of global warming. This also creates other environmental issues as urban areas have a high risk of flooding due to lack of green or open space. This creates social problems as higher pollution levels in urban areas also create health problems. These factors also create economic problems, for example it is expensive to recover from disasters, especially as the impacts of flooding are higher when there is less green space. Therefore careful and sustainable management of urban green spaces is especially important for social, environmental and economic reasons. These processes have le d towards the developed of new techniques and schemes for managing and creating urban green spaces. Urban green spaces are areas of land that consist of permeable surfaces such as grass, trees and soil. Examples include parks, play areas, areas specifically intended for recreational use, private gardens, and urban woodlands (Dunnett et al 2002). The aim of the following essay is to discuss critically the environmental, economic and social aspects of managing urban green spaces. In order to achieve this aim the essay will be split into three main sections. Section one will look at the characteristics of the environmental problem the nature of these problems and who is affected by them, linking this into how environmental problems create economic problems. Section two will look at what is and what could be done to address the environmental problems, such as new forms of green spaces such as green roofs. It will also look at the economic aspects of these courses of action and economic valuation of urban green spaces. It will argue that making a city greener can increase its economic performance, and lead to sustainable economic growth. However, the final part of the essay will challenge this, arguing that creating urban green spaces may not be the best solution for economic sustainability. Finally, the conclusions reached are t hat there needs to be a well managed balance of green and built areas in cities. Market failures in the urban land market Today we realise that we must protect networks of open space (Benedict and McMahon 2002:3). Regarding natural resource use, market forces determine the choices people make. However, resources such as urban green spaces do not have securely enforced property rights which result in a lack of markets. Therefore, environmental resources cannot be directly traded in an open market which leads to externality problems. Thus, due to market failures the full costs are not represented in the private costs (Panayotou 2000). The structure of the market fails to maximise social welfare, and the true cost to society is higher than the private costs to the producer as property rights are neither defined nor enforced, the private costs of using environmental resources is zero (Gwartney et al 2000). Therefore producers have no incentive to protect environmental resources (Cropper and Griffiths 1994). To illustrate this problem of environmental externalities Pigou (1932) used the example of a company who builds a factory in a residential area and thus destroys some of the amenities of the ne ighbouring sites. The result is that the company sells its products at a lower price than the full costs felt by the society. Consequently, as a result of these market failures there has been a rapid increase of urbanisation and urban sprawl without efficient land-use planning, and conservation of environmental resources. Nationally, urban areas consist of approximately 14% green space (Comber et al 2008). However, the United Nations (2001, cited in Tzoulasa et al 2007) estimated that in Europe the level of urbanisation will increase to almost 80% by 2015, which will result in a further loss of urban green spaces. Environmental amenities are usually ignored or underestimated by urban planners, resulting in a shrinking of urban green spaces that have gradually been taken over by urban development (Kong et al 2007). Therefore urban development projects create negative externalities (Tyrvà ¤inen and Và ¤Ãƒ ¤nà ¤nen 1998). This level of urban growth presents numerous environmental challenges for tackling environmental issues such as climate change and biodiversity (Tzoulasa et al 2007). Less green space contributes to global warming, which is especially important in cities where the mean pollution levels are higher. Urbanisation replaces green spaces with impermeable built surfaces which causes negative environmental effects as green spaces provide rainwater interception and infiltration, evaporative cooling, and shading functions (Gill et al 2007). Furthermore, urban areas are more at risk to global warming due to the lack of green spaces, and urban areas are usually hotter than the surrounding countryside. In urban areas, the concentration of buildings and paved surfaces creates higher temperatures, this is known as the heat island effect (Dunnett et al 2002). City centres can be up to 7 °c hotter than the surrounding countryside (Hilliam 2010).Furthermore, build environments restricts wind flow wh ich in turn restricts the dispersal of pollutants, and causes an increase in surface run-off from rainfall. Furthermore, levels of pollution are higher in urban areas as emissions mainly come from the use of private vehicles (Morancho 2003). It is important to tackle these issues as in 2003, during the European summer heat wave, 35,000 lives were lost (Gill et al 2007). Moreover, tackling environmental issues in urban areas is especially important as in 2001 nearly eight of every ten people in the United Kingdom lived in urban areas (Pointer 2005). Therefore due to a higher population and an increase of built surfaces, urban areas are where climate change impacts will be mostly felt in these areas (Gill et al 2007). Therefore as the level of urbanisation increases, this create environmental externalities as urban developers ignore the external environmental costs. This also has economic impacts as a lack of green space can increase the costs of public infrastructure and services such as, flood control and storm water management. Lack of green areas increases a communitys susceptibility to natural disasters, as green spaces tackle climate change through carbon storage, and flood protection (Goode 2006). Furthermore, a lack of green spaces was often seen to be the main motive for people leaving the city, as they moved to the urban fringe for more green space (Van-Herzele and Wiedemann 2003). Therefore this results in economic decline of an area as people move out. This then results in lower property values, which can act as a poverty magnet, attracting less wealthy people. This makes it hard to secure investment or attract and retain business in the area. A lack of green space also has negative impacts on tourism as fewer people will want to visit the area (Crompton 2001). Furthermore, a lack of green space creates health issues which are costly for the economy as an unhealthy society increases the costs of health care to UK tax payers (Mell 2008). Therefore the demand for urban green spaces exceeds supply, which results in consumer shortage. Furthermore a rising concern for environmental and economic impacts of urban green space have resulted in a growing interest in, and a need for more urban green space (Shaw et al 2007). For example, in Greater Manchester the proportion of tree cover is fairly low, with an average of 12% cover, and 16% in urbanised Greater Manchester (Gill et al 2007). The next part of the essay will discuss how to tackle these environmental and economic problems. efforts to preserve natural areas, acquire new greenspace, initiate plantings, and manage existing greenspace resources. Solution to the problem Urban green spaces have many benefits which can be divided into market benefits and non-market benefits. Non-market benefits fall into three categories: use, option and existence value. Option value occurs when the future benefits are uncertain and depletion of the resource is irreversible. Existence value refers to the knowing the resource exists, and use value is from the direct use of the resource. Total value is the sum of all three. Thus, urban green spaces have existence value, and direct use value, such as recreational use. Furthermore, urban green spaces create consumer surplus, which is the difference between what one is willing to pay (WTP) and what one actually pays, as the cost of using urban green spaces is usually free (Goodstein 2010). The issues discussed above raises the need for protection and allocation of urban green spaces. In 2004-2005 local authorities in the UK spent an estimated  £700 million on renovating and maintaining urban green spaces (Comber et al 2008). Furthermore, Londons draft Climate Change Adaptation Strategy in May 2010 (online), proposes that there is a need to increase the citys green spaces by creating small green spaces, which will help to absorb rain on wet days and cool the city on hot days. Therefore, green spaces are multifunctional, which is one the key aspects why urban green space are important for tackling environmental, social and economic issues. For example, regenerating a park may increase tourism and result in fewer medical expenses. Developing green spaces in urban areas is one way to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change. Urban green spaces have many environmental functions that provide areas within the built environment where adaptation to climate change c an take place (Gill et al 2007). Therefore making cities greener with parks, more trees and green roofs will provide cooling and ventilation, as well as water storage and infiltration (Bulkeley and Betsill 2003). Urban green spaces can also help to reduce pollution, and act as sinks for carbon dioxide which is a major contributor to global warming (Dunnett et al 2002). In cities, gardens and parks absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which come from private vehicles in urban transport (Morancho 2003). Vegetation, particularly trees reduce air pollution by absorbing pollutants in the air, and by intercepting particulate matter. Hence 20 trees can offset the pollution from a car driven 60 miles per day. Therefore trees can form a buffer round sources of pollution to control the effects. Plants reduce the urban heat island effect by shading heat absorbing surfaces and through evapotranspirational (ET) cooling, and evidence has shown vegetation lowers wall surface temperatures by 17 °C (McPherson 1994). This has led to the phrase park cool island to contrast urban heat island (Gill et al 2007). This will ensure economic sustainability as less money will be needed to recover from natural disasters, and climate change impacts (Hilliam 2010, Goode 2006). In such a congested environment, existence of greenery along the streets and small parks within residential zones are considered to improve air quality. This creates social benefits from direct use such as recreational use and health benefits as a higher proportion of green space and less air pollution is associated with a better population health (Popham and Mitchel 2007). Health improvements lead to economic benefits, as a healthy community costs less to the economy. There is a growing recognition that green space can increase activity and will ensure a healthy population, which is essential for economic growth, as health benefits from urban green spaces would lower costs of health care to UK tax payers (Mell 2008). This results in economic sustainability as healthier communities work longer hours, take less sick days and cost less money in health benefits (Goode 2006). Bird (2004 cited in Tzoulasa et al 2007) found that if people live closer to green space then they are more likel y to undertake physical activity, which would save the UKs National Health Service up to  £1.8million a year. Moreover, inactivity in children often results in inactive adults, which costs the economy approximately  £8.2billion (Tzoulasa et al 2007). Therefore, protecting and creating green spaces ensures there is economic sustainability through a healthier society (Amati and Taylor 2010). Thus a key feature of green spaces is that they provide multiple benefits to communities and the economy (Dunnett et al 2002). Urban green spaces can act as catalysts for wider economic benefits, such as increase in property prices, attracting and retaining businesses and an important role in attracting tourists to urban areas. This is a key part of the solution for economic growth as urban green spaces makes cities more desirable and this can result in local economic stimulation (Dunnett et al 2002). Green amenities attract the highly skilled, who pursue a higher standard of living and quality of life, Florida (2002) describes how green spaces can attract creative class workers and the businesses that hire them. Moreover, employers locate in areas where the skilled want to live and this further attracts skilled workers, and high-end restaurants and retail stores. Therefore urban green spaces can raise a citys economic growth. Cities with more skilled workers experience an increase in population, house price and wages. Additionally, people who are highly educated will also be more likely to support investmen ts for environmental protection and are usually willing to pay higher prices for environmental quality. Furthermore, a greener city will also have an insurance against recessions as the city remains attractive and people still want to live there. This will pull other industries into the area over time. Therefore it is important to protect existing urban green spaces. Londons Green Belt is an example of an attempt to reduce development in order to improve the environment by restricting housing supply (Kahn 2006). The Mayor of London has set targets to plant 10,000 more street trees by 2012, and enhance up to 1,000 hectares of green space (Environmental Agency 2010). Additionally, new methods, such as green roofs have been developed to increase green space in urban areas. A green roof is the roof of a building that is covered by vegetation, most common are turf roofs. They have several purposes which are similar to urban green space in general such as cooling the heat island effect and absorbing rainwater. They also provide insulation and create habitats for wildlife. The benefits can therefore be divided into private and public benefits. Private economic benefits include saving energy cost and an increase in roof life. Public benefits include storm-water management (Dunnett and Kingsbury 2004). Currently there is only one green roof in Manchester. These trends raise the need for green space protection and allocation, which in turn requires estimates of the value of green spaces (Kong et al 2007). Due to their lack of values, expressed in monetary terms, green spaces are often not considered in cost-benefit analyses of urban planning policies. Therefore, there is a risk they will fall below the social optimum. Furthermore, it is the failure of the market system, as discussed above, which creates the need for economic measures to value environmental services and guide policymaking (Freeman 1993). Environmental quality is an economic good that people are willing to pay (WTP) for. Urban green spaces have non-market benefits and therefore do not have a market price. Thus there is a need for economic measures to values these amenities. Several methods have been developed to value non-market amenities such as the travel cost method, the contingent valuation method (CVM) and the hedonic pricing models. The hedonic pricing method uses house prices to quantify environmental amenities by how much consumers are WTP. The hedonic pricing model is a revealed preference method and is based actual behaviour in the market. Properties have many characteristics which reflect the selling prices such as housing structure, neighbourhood and environmental amenities. The monetary value of each characteristic is calculated by observing the differences in the market price of commodities sharing the same attributes. Once all the characteristics are collected the next step is to measure the portion of the property price that is attributable to each characteristic (Boyle and Kiel 2001) . By using the hedonic pricing method the value of green spaces can be estimated from the prices of related actual market house transactions (Kong et al 2007). This method has been used to show the value of changes in the environment by looking at how the value of the average home changes when the environment changes, for example a new park is created. Therefore the amenity of urban green spaces can be valued in monetary terms according to how much people are willing to pay for such benefits in their housing. The concept of hedonic pricing is that property values can be affected by the presence of urban green spaces. Green spaces can have a positive impact on house prices. There is usually a shortage of land in urban areas, and therefore an increase in green spaces will increase the positive amenity values. proximity to urban green spaces has a positive impact on property values, while proximity to negative impacts such as highways reduces property values, as it is desirable to live close to a park, and people are willing to pay higher prices. Especially in city centres where demand for land is high, open spaces are often subject to develop ment pressures. The demand for a property increases with the creation of new green spaces nearby (Tajima 2003). This then increases the price of those properties as numerous studies have shown that property values are typically 8-20 percent more expensive if they are located near a park (Crompton 2000). The real estate market often reveals that people are willing to pay higher prices for properties located close to parks and open spaces, than for homes that do not (Crompton 2000). The creation of a new park nearby increases the demand for a property, which in turn raises the price of those properties. Therefore, in dense urban areas the value of nearby parks and green space can be one of the key selling points and a stronger feature than lot itself (Tajima 2003). Morancho (2003) did a study in Castellà ³n (Spain) and found there was an inverse relationship between the selling price of the dwelling and its distance from a green urban area. According to the estimates obtained, every 100  m further away from a green area means a drop of approximately à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1800 in the housing price. Therefore, Green spaces in city centres are also an important aspect of the citys character, such as Royal Parks in London. Urban amenities are becoming increasingly important as cities compete for skilled workers. Help to build a good reputation of an area, which will further increase house prices and encourage people to move there. This enables the community to grow economically, without damaging the environment, and simultaneously create a desirable place to live for present and future generations (Benedict and McMahon 2002). Urban green areas also benefit more people as the city draws more people into the area, such as residents, commuters, and tourists (Tajima 2003). Hedonic valuation can also be applied to retail situations as people are willing to pay about ten percent more for products in greener shopping areas (Miller and Wise 2004). Therefore to reduce the impact of urbanisation, allocation of new and protection of existing urban green spaces is required to ensure economic growth (Kong et al 2007). DeSanto and others ( 1976 ) used the least-cost approach to compare trees and mechanical air pollution control devices to maintain air quality standards for particulates and sulfur dioxide in St. Louis, MO. They determined that open space plantings were over three times as cost-effective for controlling sulphur dioxide as scrubbers located in power plants. Benefits from trees are environmental externalities because these benefits are not reflected in consumer prices we do not pay money to trees for cooling homes. McPherson 1992. Urban green spaces in isolation will not increase economic growth However, not all green spaces are equally beneficial. To ensure that urban green spaces enhance economic growth, they must be well maintained, safe and secure. Over the past recent decades there has been a decline in the quality of urban green spaces in England. This can be linked to the declining budgets for local authorities over the past 20 to 25 years (Dunnett et al 2002). This has a negative economic effect as green spaces that are dangerous or unmanaged are likely to decrease the value of nearby homes, which would lead to economic decline (Crompton 2001). Furthermore if green spaces are perceived to be overgrown or unmanaged this may have a negative effect on peoples well-being by increasing anxiety caused by fear of crime (Tzoulasa et al 2007). Research shows that open spaces which a most highly values are those which enhance the qualities of urban life and offer a variety of opportunities (Burgess et al 1988). If there is a lack of facilities or the area in poor condition the n people are less likely to use it. Evidence suggests that lower-income suburban areas may have a larger proportion of poor-quality green space. Thus even if green spaces are in large quantities, if they are of poor quality then economic and health benefits are not felt by the population (Popham and Mitchel 2007). Additionally, if green spaces are poorly managed so that they become inaccessible, then less people will use them, especially the elderly or people with disabilities. Therefore, quality as well as quantity of green space is a key factor. Moreover, McConnell and Walls (2005) argue for the importance of distinguishing between different types of open space. The value of green spaces depends on its usage for example, whether it is a well managed park or an open field. Barker (2003) also reported that the value of open space depends strongly on its location and use. Green space in the urban core was valued higher than greenbelt land. Anderson and West (2006) show that the value of open space depends on the type of open space, how far away it from the house and the neighbourhood characteristics. They find that benefits from open space range from a low of 0.0035% of sale price for every 1% decrease in the distance to the nearest neighbourhood park, to a high of 0.034% for every 1% decrease in the distance to the nearest lake. Furthermore, the net result of restricting housing supply is that prices are driven up. This results in poverty magnets in areas with low property prices, resulting in a segregation of the poor and urban social problems. For example, Glasgow has lost population over time, and relative poverty has grown. Therefore Londons pursuit to a greener city could further increase house prices and it could be argued that a city can become too green when economic growth is damaged. An upward pressure on house prices could have a negative impact on some residents and first time buyers as it would squeeze out the poorer renters and new immigrants (Kahn 2006). The constraints on housing supply are already high and this will be exacerbated if more green space is created or current green space is not used for development. The result of this limited supply would not lead to economic sustainability as it would limit economic growth. Therefore it will not necessarily lead to a sustained economic growth n ationally, but only benefits certain regions (Kahn 2006). It is often the wealthier people who benefit most, as studies have shown that vegetation and tree cover is lower in residential areas with higher levels of socioeconomic deprivation. Therefore only certain areas benefit as less wealthy areas might not be able to afford to maintain new green spaces (Pauleit et al 2005). Moreover, an increased economic wealth will also increase the values of losses; making the cost to restore damages after a disaster much greater (Shaw et al 2007). Therefore, there are difficulties in coming to a firm conclusion. Therefore, conserving green spaces may restrict the supply of valued goods, such as housing, shops, offices or private open space. This results in distributional effects as those landowners who can build get an increase in their asset value, whereas those unable to develop will experience a reduction in asset values. Part of the market failure associated with urbanisation is the increase in land prices imposed on existing inhabitants by additional workers. Furthermore, policies of containment, such as greenbelts, may increase energy use as commuters move out beyond the greenbelt which results in longer commuter journeys. Therefore it could be argued that policy in the UK restricts urban growth which leads to higher costs and welfare losses. Hence land regulation can have adverse economic effects as it diverts resources from other growth activities. Therefore the solution maybe not regulating land markets but regulating or taxing energy markets (Cheshire). However, the value open space is contextual as it rises with increased income. Open space is a normal good, and therefore has a higher value in richer areas. The value is also higher in high density areas, which suggests that public green areas are a substitute for private open space (Anderson and West 2006). Therefore the willingness to pay for environmental quality is highly elastic with respect to income. literature has also examined the degree to which brown cities have to pay higher wages (i.e. combat pay) to lure high quality workers relative to high quality of life cities. Kahn 2006 having a clear narrative voice, making judgements and interpreting others work and also the data. economic and policy concepts. Conclusion To conclude, this essay has highlighted the environmental problem of urbanisation, explaining how this is a result of market failures. It has also shown how this can lead to economic problems. This essay then goes on to argue that a solution would be preserving, maintaining and developing new green spaces in urban areas. It goes on to explain the environmental, social and economic benefits of urban green spaces. It also highlights the hedonic pricing method, which shows how urban green spaces can be valued. It also argues that green spaces create economic benefits by increasing property values. However, the latter part of the essay challenges this, arguing that not all green spaces is equally beneficial. It also argues that preserving green spaces could also have a negative impact as the cost of land increases further, resulting in large increase in house prices. Therefore, it is important to maintain urban green spaces for the many environmental, economic and social benefits. However, this cannot be in isolation as for green spaces to be beneficial they must be well maintained and managed. Furthermore if too much green space is protected then this could have negative impacts overall. Therefore urban land policies need to be well managed in order to achieve the maximum benefits. Furthermore, methods other than land protections could also be used, such as taxes.