Using the Big Mac index for comparing construction costs internationally

This paper explores the use of purchasing power parity (PPP) in the comparison of construction costs between different countries, and whether the development of construction-specific indices will improve reliability.

The approach adopted is to compare the construction cost of a typical five star international hotel per square metre in each of ten major cities using a range of PPP methods and to comment on their variability. In particular, this paper looks at whether an index based on the price of a McDonalds Big Mac3 hamburger is a viable alternative when compared against the mainstream methods. The recent publication of construction-specific indices as part of the Eurostat-OECD joint PPP program is also compared against generic indices and the discrepancy is calculated.

The paper concludes with reflections about which approach is preferable when attempting to assess global construction relativities and what further research is needed.

Beyond the silo effect : the challenges of collaboration

Women entering the maternity arena in Australia and other Western regimes have suffered incidentally from what is known as the' silo effect'. This refers to a clash between the training regimes of the 'old' professionalism and the 'new' professionalism. Under the 'old' professionalism, hierarchies were erected between medicine and the so-called semi-professions such as nursing and social work (Tully and Mortlock 2004) resulting in what Degeling et al (1998; 2000) have documented as oppositional modes of decision-making, styles of working, roles and accountabilities. Within the last decade, a 'new professionalism' has emerged in many Western regimes, including Canada, NZ, the UK and The Netherlands. (Romanow Report 2002; Street, Gannon and Holt 1991; Victorian Department of Human Services, Australia 2004) depicted by a flatter more egalitarian structure of multidisciplinarity .. An example in Australia is the Future Directions in Maternity Care document released in mid 2004 by the Bracks Victorian Labor government. In Australia, the move towards the 'new professionalism' can be attributed to a confluence of macro economic factors including the swing away from hospital-based training and towards university-based training for nurses and midwives, the ripple effects of three decades of feminism, the professionalisation of midwifery, the attrition of midwives from the workforce, the rise of health consumerism from the late 1980s and the crippling costs of professional indemnity health insurance for obstetricians leading to a crisis in recruitment.

Factors influencing the direct costs of property trust IPOs

Underwriting, legal, accounting and valuation costs average around 3.3%, 0.39%, 0.23% and 0.12% of proceeds raised and are substantial costs to property trust initial public offering (IPO) issuers. As such, identifYing factors that influence these costs is important. This paper investigates factors influencing these costs as well as the total direct costs of raising equity capital by property trust IPOs in Australia from 1994 to 2004. The results suggest clear economies of scale in direct costs. In addition, IPOs that employ more debt are likely to have higher capital raising costs while those that have proportionally higher net asset values and offer stapled securities (and likely to be engaged in property development activities) have lower capital raising costs.

The costs of raising equity capital for closed-end fund IPOs

This article reports on some of the direct costs of raising equity capital by closed-end fund licensed investment company (LIC) initial public offerings (IPOs) in Australia from 1995 to 2005. The amount of underpricing by these IPOs is also identified. The average total direct costs amounted to a relatively low 3.4% of the capital raised, while fees paid to underwriters and/or stockbrokers was around 2.3%, to legal firms around 0.25% and to accounting firms around 0.07%. The average underpricing by these LIC IPOs was 1.3%. This article also confirms that the percentage total direct capital raising costs are inversely related to the size of the IPO and underwritten closed-end fund IPOs tend to have higher percentage total capital raising costs than those not underwritten.

The costs of a community-based intervention to promote maternal health

The costs of community-level interventions are rarely reported, although such insights are needed if intervention research is to be useful to practitioners seeking to understand what might be involved in replicating interventions in different contexts. We report the costs of a 2-year community-based intervention to promote the health of recent mothers in Victoria, Australia. Program of Resources, Information and Support for Mothers was an integrated programme of primary care and community-based strategies. It had health care professional training, health education and community development components as well as an emphasis on creating ‘mother-friendly’ environments. Costs included the programme costs [primarily the salaries of the community development officers (CDO) in the field] and also ‘induced’ costs that relate to the CDOs' successes in attracting additional resources to the intervention from the local community. The total cost averaged A$272 490 per rural community and A$313 900 per urban community, equivalent to A$172.40 and A$128.70 per mother, respectively. For every A$10 of public funds initially invested in the project, the CDOs were able to attract a further A$1–2 worth of local resources, predominantly in the form of volunteer time or donated services.

The impact of the financial costs of multiple sclerosis on quality of life

This study examined the financial costs of multiple sclerosis (MS) and the impact of financial strain on the subjective quality of life of people with MS and their families. Due to the lack of research in this area, a qualitative research design was employed. Interviews were conducted with 16 health professionals, 26 people with MS, and 11 family members of people who had MS. Adjusting to actual or threatened loss of income caused financial stress. These financial struggles led to a lower quality of life among respondents. Problem solving, coping, and positive reappraisal helped people to adjust to financial changes. Professionals focused on increased funding for services, whereas people with MS focused on improved income support. These findings highlight the need for professionals to consider the financial strain associated with this disease and the impact of this strain on the quality of life of individuals with MS and their families.

Auditing construction costs during building design : a case study of cost planning in action

Building cost planning was originally developed in the framework of traditional procurement methods with conventional documentation, tendering and administration processes. With the advent of alternative forms of procurement with more fluid approaches to design stages and documentation, the need for sound cost planning does not appear to diminish. As a process established on solid theoretical foundations, cost planning should be robust enough to adapt and flourish in a variety of procurement environments. However, little documentation and analysis of transformed and adapted forms of cost planning appear to have been made. This case study of a design-construct company in Melbourne, Australia, presents and explores a contemporary form of building cost planning integrated into a design cost management approach adopted by a construction company experienced in alternative forms of procurement. The article traces this process on a design-construct project from inception to the end of the design development stage and tender. Whilst the fundamental framework of cost planning remains intact, the focus and detail in each of the stages are guided by the company's priority for greater financial control over the cost and value implications of design and other decisions. This recently established working model of design cost management in this company has been designed to deliver added value to the client through a better balance of time, cost and quality in each project.

Preliminary investigation of the costs of incubation in the Australasian Gannet (Morus serrator) breeding in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria

To optimise lifetime reproductive success, individuals must balance current reproductive effort against future reproductive prospects. In birds, incubation and chick-rearing must involve costs, and manipulation of the length of incubation offers an insight into some costs affecting adults. An experiment was conducted at a colony of Australasian Gannets in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, in which length of incubation was manipulated so that some adults experienced short (10–20 days duration), long (70–80 days) or normal (~45 days) incubation periods. Adults with a manipulated incubation period did not show significant differences in weight change (taken here to reflect cost) during incubation or chick-rearing compared with controls. Manipulation of length of incubation did not significantly affect the hatching success or the growth rate of chicks involved and is not, therefore considered to impose an increased reproductive cost. This suggests that the Australasian Gannet has the capacity to maintain body condition and successfully rear young despite modified duration of incubation.

Blood-nourishing and hard-softening capsule costs less in the management of osteoarthriticknee pain : A randomized controlled trial

The blood-nourishing and hard-softening (BNHS) capsule is a traditional Chinese formula used in the symptomatic treatment of inflammation and pain. We conducted this randomized controlled trial to compare the efficacy of BNHS with other commonly prescribed drugs. We recruited 120 patients from two teaching hospitals; 30 patients in each hospital were randomly assigned to receive BNHS. In one hospital, the 30 controls were given another traditional Chinese drug; whereas a Western medicine (chondroprotection drug/Viartril-s) was used as the control in the other hospital. Intervention was carried out over a period of 4 weeks. Primary outcome measures included self-reported pain level, and changes in stiffness and functional ability as measured by the Western Ontario McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) index. Mixed models were used for statistical analysis. Substantial improvements in disease-specific symptoms were observed, after 4 weeks of treatment, in patients taking BNHS capsules. As assessed by the WOMAC index, pain level of the BNHS group decreased by 57% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 50, 63], stiffness by 63% (95% CI = 55, 71) and functional ability increased by 56% (95% CI = 50, 63). No significant differences were found in any of the outcome measures between the BNHS group and either of the comparison groups. No severe adverse effects were reported. However, this study lacked a placebo group; therefore, we conclude that BNHS appears to be as effective as commonly prescribed medicines for the relief of pain and dysfunction in knee osteoarthritis patients, but costs a lot less than other Western and herbal drugs in the study.

Out of pocket costs to stroke patients during the first year after stroke - results from the North East Melbourne stroke incidence study

Non-reimbursed ‘out of pocket’ costs to stroke patients have not been included in existing cost of illness studies. We aimed to determine the nature and magnitude of ‘out of pocket’ costs to stroke patients during the first year after stroke. ‘Out of pocket’ costs during the first year after stroke were documented for 165 persons registered in a community-based stroke incidence study during 1996/1997. Virtually all cases reported some ‘out of pocket’ costs. The average cost over 12 months was A$1110. The highest cost items were home modifications, aids and equipment. The most commonly incurred expense was for prescription medications. Total ‘out of pocket’ costs incurred by first-ever stroke patients in Australia in 1997 were estimated to be A$29 million or 5% of the total cost of stroke. The majority of ‘out of pocket’ costs relate to post-acute care aimed at minimising disability and handicap rather than to ‘acute’ healthcare.

The potential for tobacco control to reduce PBS costs for smoking-related cardiovaccular disease

Objective: To estimate Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) subsidies for drugs to treat smoking-related cardiovascular disease (CVD) in 2001-02, and over the period of the government's Intergenerational Report (IGR), assuming current smoking prevalence rates and a 5% absolute reduction.

Design and setting: An Australian epidemiological study, using prescribing data, aetiological fraction methodology, and IGR trends.

Main outcome measures: Estimated smoking-related PBS subsidy costs in 2001-02 and predicted cumulative subsidies until 2041-42, under current and reduced smoking prevalence assumptions.

Results: The PBS costs of smoking-related CVD in 2001-02 were $126 million, 9.77% of the cost of drugs for CVD and 2.96% of total PBS subsidies. The cumulative difference in these costs over the 40-year period with a 5% drop in smoking prevalence was predicted to be $4.5 billion, a 17% reduction. The saving would be $1.14 billion discounting future costs at 5% per year.

Conclusions: Further investment in tobacco control interventions could curb the increasing cost of the PBS and contribute to government efforts to ensure the viability of Australia's healthcare-financing programs. The net present value of a campaign to reduce smoking prevalence was estimated at $1 billion, with an internal rate of return of 33%.

Making long-term economic growth more sustainable: evaluating the costs and benefits

Currently, traditional development issues such as economic stagnation, poverty, hunger, and illness as well as newer challenges like environmental degradation and globalisation demand attention. Sustainable development, including its economic, environmental and social elements, is a key goal of decisionmakers. Optimal economic growth has also been a crucial goal of both development theorists and practitioners. This paper examines the conditions under which optimal growth might be sustainable, by assessing the costs and benefits of growth. Key environmental and social aspects are considered. The Ecol-Opt-Growth-1 model analyses economic–ecological interactions, including resource depletion, pollution, irreversibility, other environmental effects, and uncertainty. It addresses some important issues, including savings, investment, technical progress, substitutability of productive factors, intergenerational efficiency, equity, and policies to make economic growth more sustainable—a basic element of the sustainomics framework. The empirical results support growing concerns that costs of growth may outweigh its benefits, resulting in unsustainability. Basically, in a wide range of circumstances, long term economic growth is unsustainable due to increasing environmental damage. Nevertheless, the model has many options that can be explored by policy makers, to make the development path more sustainable, as advocated by sustainomics. One example suggests that government supported abatement programs are needed to move towards sustainable development, since the model runs without abatement were infeasible. The optimal rate of abatement increases over time. Abatement of pollution is necessary to improve ecosystem viability and increase sustainability. Further research is necessary to seek conditions under which alternative economic growth paths are likely to become sustainable.