Optimization of gaussian fuzzy membership functions and evaluation of the monotonicity property of fuzzy inference systems

In this paper, two issues relating to modeling of a monotonicity-preserving Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) are examined. The first is on designing or tuning of Gaussian Membership Functions (MFs) for a monotonic FIS. Designing Gaussian MFs for an FIS is difficult because of its spreading and curvature characteristics. In this study, the sufficient conditions are exploited, and the procedure of designing Gaussian MFs is formulated as a constrained optimization problem. The second issue is on the testing procedure for a monotonic FIS. As such, a testing procedure for a monotonic FIS model is proposed. Applicability of the proposed approach is demonstrated with a real world industrial application, i.e., Failure Mode and Effect Analysis. The results obtained are analysis and discussed. The outcomes show that the proposed approach is useful in designing a monotonicity-preserving FIS model.

Direct versus search engine traffic : an innovative approach to demand analysis in the property market

Purpose – The application of “Google” econometrics (Geco) has evolved rapidly in recent years and can be applied in various fields of research. Based on accepted theories in existing economic literature, this paper seeks to contribute to the innovative use of research on Google search query data to provide a new innovative to property research.

Design/methodology/approach – In this study, existing data from Google Insights for Search (GI4S) is extended into a new potential source of consumer sentiment data based on visits to a commonly-used UK online real-estate agent platform (Rightmove.co.uk). In order to contribute to knowledge about the use of Geco's black box, namely the unknown sampling population and the specific search queries influencing the variables, the GI4S series are compared to direct web navigation.

Findings – The main finding from this study is that GI4S data produce immediate real-time results with a high level of reliability in explaining the future volume of transactions and house prices in comparison to the direct website data. Furthermore, the results reveal that the number of visits to Rightmove.co.uk is driven by GI4S data and vice versa, and indeed without a contemporaneous relationship.

Originality/value – This study contributes to the new emerging and innovative field of research involving search engine data. It also contributes to the knowledge base about the increasing use of online consumer data in economic research in property markets.

The market for corporate control: the case of Australian listed property

 This study investigates the underlying motivation(s) for mergers and acquisitions in the Australian Real Estate Investment Trust sector. Results across the three periods of pre-, during and post-announcement show that mergers and acquisitions create synergistic benefits for both targets and bidders.

Property portfolio composition and earnings management for listed property portfolios

In this paper, we investigate how real estate portfolio composition impacts earnings management (EM) of New Zealand listed property portfolios (NZ-LPPs). We employ a panel dataset containing accounting and property data for NZ-LPPs. The findings include: (1) the office property ratio of the real estate portfolio provides the highest incentive for LPPs to engage in EM; (2) LPPs with a higher ratio of industry are less likely to use accrual EM and real EM approaches based on property transactions; and (3) LPPs with a hospital focus prefer accrual EM, while LPPs with a retail focus prefer long-term accrual EM and sales manipulation.

A Servidão Administrativa e o Estado Regulador: Compatibilidade com o Princípio Constitucional da Legalidade e a Limitação ao Direito Real de Propriedade

The economic changes occurred in the 90s, with the restructuring and privatization of various sectors of the economy have led to a redefinition of the State role, assuming a position of regulator and supervisor of public services in place to direct its role as straight intervenor. It is through the regulatory agencies, autarchies with special legal personality under public law, that the Regulator State will act. In this context, the first objective of this research is to analyze the legality of easements imposed by entities of the Direct Administration and Regulatory Agencies, whose execution is delegated to legal persons of private law, being those public service companies or mixed-economy societies. This examination in question the limits of servitude as a restrictive institute of property rights, observing the principles of function, supremacy of the public interests over the private ones, legality and the separation of powers. Defend the property rights like a fundamental right and your insurance as determining factor of economic development and social justice. Use the procedure in use will be the historiccomparative procedure, in order to demonstrate the legality of the public act as a maximum attempt to preserve the balance between the expansion of public services in various sectors of the economy, and the preservation of property rights, through regulation

Estudo de sistemas quânticos não-hermitianos com espectro real

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Who has really paid for the Reconstruction of East Germany? Expected and Realized Returns on Real Estate Investments in East and West Germany in the 1990s

We evaluate the profitability of investments in residential property in Germany after unification with a focus on the comparison of East and West Germany. Calculations are carried out for (1) the after-tax return an investor might have expected at the beginning of the 1990s, and (2) the after-tax return that has been realized ten years after. We compare a set of statistical data for investments in fifty major cities by using complete financial budgeting. The results show that tax subsidies could not always protect investors from losing money, but they have boosted realized returns after tax considerably. Therefore, it was indeed the taxpayers, not the investors, who have borne the cost of reconstructing East Germany.

Non-Parametric Tests of Real Exchange rates in the Post-Bretton Woods Era

This paper examines the mean-reverting property of real exchange rates. Earlier studies have generally not been able to reject the null hypothesis of a unit-root in real exchange rates, especially for the post-Bretton Woods floating period. The results imply that long-run purchasing power parity does not hold. More recent studies, especially those using panel unit-root tests, have found more favorable results, however. But, Karlsson and Löthgren (2000) and others have recently pointed out several potential pitfalls of panel unit-root tests. Thus, the panel unit-root test results are suggestive, but they are far from conclusive. Moreover, consistent individual country time series evidence that supports long-run purchasing power parity continues to be scarce. In this paper, we test for long memory using Lo's (1991) modified rescaled range test, and the rescaled variance test of Giraitis, Kokoszka, Leipus, and Teyssière (2003). Our testing procedure provides a non-parametric alternative to the parametric tests commonly used in this literature. Our data set consists of monthly observations from April 1973 to April 2001 of the G-7 countries in the OECD. Our two tests find conflicting results when we use U.S. dollar real exchange rates. However, when non-U.S. dollar real exchange rates are used, we find only two cases out of fifteen where the null hypothesis of an unit-root with short-term dependence can be rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis of long-term dependence using the modified rescaled range test, and only one case when using the rescaled variance test. Our results therefore provide a contrast to the recent favorable panel unit-root test results.

Property Condition Disclosure Law: Why Did States Mandate 'Seller Tell All'?

Thirty-six US states have already enacted some form of seller's property condition disclosure law. At a time when there is a movement in this direction nationally, this paper attempts to ascertain the factors that lead states to adopt disclosure law. Motivation for the study stems from the fact that not all states have yet adopted the law, and states that have enacted the law have done so in different years. The analytical structure employs hazard models, using a unique set of economic and institutional attributes for a panel of 50 US States spanning 21 years, from 1984 to 2004. The proportional hazard analysis of law adoption reveals that greater number of disciplinary actions tends to favor passage of the law. Greater broker supervision, implying generally higher awareness among real estate agents, seems to have a negative impact on the likelihood of a state adopting a property condition disclosure law.

Property Condition Disclosure Law: Does 'Seller Tell All' Matter in Property Values?

At the time when at least two-thirds of the US states have already mandated some form of seller's property condition disclosure statement and there is a movement in this direction nationally, this paper examines the impact of seller's property condition disclosure law on the residential real estate values, the information asymmetry in housing transactions and shift of risk from buyers and brokers to the sellers, and attempts to ascertain the factors that lead to adoption of the disclosur law. The analytical structure employs parametric panel data models, semi-parametric propensity score matching models, and an event study framework using a unique set of economic and institutional attributes for a quarterly panel of 291 US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and 50 US States spanning 21 years from 1984 to 2004. Exploiting the MSA level variation in house prices, the study finds that the average seller may be able to fetch a higher price (about three to four percent) for the house if she furnishes a state-mandated seller's property condition disclosure statement to the buyer.

The Impact of Property Condition Disclosure Laws on Housing Prices: Evidence from an Event Study using Propensity Scores

We examine the impact of seller's Property Condition Disclosure Law on the residential real estate values. A disclosure law may address the information asymmetry in housing transactions shifting of risk from buyers and brokers to the sellers and raising housing prices as a result. We combine propensity score techniques from the treatment effects literature with a traditional event study approach. We assemble a unique set of economic and institutional attributes for a quarterly panel of 291 US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and 50 US States spanning 21 years from 1984 to 2004 is used to exploit the MSA level variation in house prices. The study finds that the average seller may be able to fetch a higher price (about three to four percent) for the house if she furnishes a state-mandated seller.s property condition disclosure statement to the buyer. When we compare the results from parametric and semi-parametric event analyses, we find that the semi-parametric or the propensity score analysis generals moderately larger estimated effects of the law on housing prices.

Desarrollo de un modelo de formación del valor inmobiliario en áreas de crecimiento suburbano. Aplicación a la comarca de la Vega Baja del Segura en el litoral alicantino

Una de las principales líneas de investigación de la economía urbana es el comportamiento del mercado inmobiliario y sus relaciones con la estructura territorial. Dentro de este contexto, la reflexión sobre el significado del valor urbano, y abordar su variabilidad, constituye un tema de especial importancia, dada la relevancia que ha supuesto y supone la actividad inmobiliaria en España. El presente estudio ha planteado como principal objetivo la identificación de aquellos factores, ligados a la localización que explican la formación del valor inmobiliario y justifican su variabilidad. Definir este proceso precisa de una evaluación a escala territorial estableciendo aquellos factores de carácter socioeconómico, medioambiental y urbanístico que estructuran el desarrollo urbano, condicionan la demanda de inmuebles y, por tanto, los procesos de formación de su valor. El análisis se centra en valores inmobiliarios residenciales localizados en áreas litorales donde la presión del sector turístico ha impulsado un amplio. Para ello, el ámbito territorial seleccionado como objeto de estudio se sitúa en la costa mediterránea española, al sur de la provincia de Alicante, la comarca de la Vega Baja del Segura. La zona, con una amplia diversidad ecológica y paisajística, ha mantenido históricamente una clara distinción entre espacio urbano y espacio rural. Esta dicotomía ha cambiado drásticamente en las últimas décadas, experimentándose un fuerte crecimiento demográfico y económico ligado a los sectores turístico e inmobiliario, aspectos que han tenido un claro reflejo en los valores inmobiliarios. Este desarrollo de la comarca es un claro ejemplo de la política expansionista de los mercados de suelo que ha tenido lugar en la costa española en las dos últimas décadas y que derivado en la regeneración de un amplio tejido suburbano. El conocimiento del marco territorial ha posibilitado realizar un análisis de variabilidad espacial mediante un tratamiento masivo de datos, así como un análisis econométrico que determina los factores que se valoran positivamente y negativamente por el potencial comprador. Estas relaciones permiten establecer diferentes estructuras matemáticas basadas en los modelos de precios hedónicos, que permiten identificar rasgos diferenciales en los ámbitos económico, social y espacial y su incidencia en el valor inmobiliario. También se ha sistematizado un proceso de valoración territorial a través del análisis del concepto de vulnerabilidad estructural, entendido como una situación de fragilidad debida a circunstancias tanto sociales como económicas, tanto actual como de tendencia en el futuro. Actualmente, esta estructura de demanda de segunda residencia y servicios ha mostrado su fragilidad y ha bloqueado el desarrollo económico de la zona al caer drásticamente la inversión en el sector inmobiliario por la crisis global de la deuda. El proceso se ha agravado al existir un tejido industrial marginal al que no se ha derivado inversiones importantes y un abandono progresivo de las explotaciones agropecuarias. El modelo turístico no sería en sí mismo la causa del bloqueo del desarrollo económico comarcal, sino la forma en que se ha implantado en la Costa Blanca, con un consumo del territorio basado en el corto plazo, poco respetuoso con aspectos paisajísticos y medioambientales, y sin una organización territorial global. Se observa cómo la vinculación entre índices de vulnerabilidad y valor inmobiliario no es especialmente significativa, lo que denota que las tendencias futuras de fragilidad no han sido incorporadas a la hora de establecer los precios de venta del producto inmobiliario analizado. El valor muestra una clara dependencia del sistema de asentamiento y conservación de las áreas medioambientales y un claro reconocimiento de tipologías propias del medio rural aunque vinculadas al sector turístico. En la actualidad, el continuo descenso de la demanda turística ha provocado una clara modificación en la estructura poblacional y económica. Al incorporar estas modificaciones a los modelos especificados podemos comprobar un verdadero desmoronamiento de los valores. Es posible que el remanente de vivienda construida actualmente vaya dirigido a un potencial comprador que se encuentra en retroceso y que se vincula a unos rasgos territoriales ya no existentes. Encontrar soluciones adaptables a la oferta existente, implica la viabilidad de renovación del sistema poblacional o modificaciones a nivel económico. La búsqueda de respuestas a estas cuestiones señala la necesidad de recanalizar el desarrollo, sin obviar la potencialidad del ámbito. SUMMARY One of the main lines of research regarding the urban economy focuses on the behavior of the real estate market and its relationship to territorial structure. Within this context, one of the most important themes involves considering the significance of urban property value and dealing with its variability, particularly given the significant role of the real estate market in Spain, both in the past and present. The main objective of this study is to identify those factors linked to location, which explain the formation of property values and justify their variability. Defining this process requires carrying out an evaluation on a territorial scale, establishing the socioeconomic, environmental and urban planning factors that constitute urban development and influence the demand for housing, thereby defining the processes by which their value is established. The analysis targets residential real estate values in coastal areas where pressure from the tourism industry has prompted large-scale transformations. Therefore, the focal point of this study is an area known as Vega Baja del Segura, which is located on the Spanish Mediterranean coast in southern Alicante (province). Characterized by its scenic and ecological diversity, this area has historically maintained a clear distinction between urban and rural spaces. This dichotomy has drastically changed in past decades due to the large increase in population attributed to the tourism and real estate markets – factors which have had a direct effect on property values. The development of this area provides a clear example of the expansionary policies which have affected the housing market on the coast of Spain during the past two decades, resulting in a large increase in suburban development. Understanding the territorial framework has made it possible to carry out a spatial variability analysis through massive data processing, as well as an econometric analysis that determines the factors that are evaluated positively and negatively by potential buyers. These relationships enable us to establish different mathematical systems based on hedonic pricing models that facilitate the identification of differential features in the economic, social and spatial spheres, and their impact on property values. Additionally, a process for land valuation was established through an analysis of the concept of structural vulnerability, which is understood to be a fragile situation resulting from either social or economic circumstances. Currently, this demand structure for second homes and services has demonstrated its fragility and has inhibited the area’s economic development as a result of the drastic fall in investment in the real estate market, due to the global debt crisis. This process has been worsened by the existence of a marginal industrial base into which no important investments have been channeled, combined with the progressive abandonment of agricultural and fishing operations. In and of itself, the tourism model did not inhibit the area’s economic development, rather it is the result of the manner in which it was implemented on the Costa Brava, with a land consumption based on the short-term, lacking respect for landscape and environmental aspects and without a comprehensive organization of the territory. It is clear that the link between vulnerability indexes and property values is not particularly significant, thereby indicating that future fragility trends have not been incorporated into the problem in terms of establishing the sale prices of the analyzed real estate product in question. Urban property values are clearly dependent on the system of development and environmental conservation, as well as on a clear recognition of the typologies that characterize rural areas, even those linked to the tourism industry. Today, the continued drop in tourism demand has provoked an obvious modification in the populational and economic structures. By incorporating these changes into the specified models, we can confirm a real collapse in values. It’s possible that the surplus of already-built homes is currently being marketed to a potential buyer who is in recession and linked to certain territorial characteristics that no longer exist. Finding solutions that can be adapted to the existing offer implies the viability of renewing the population system or carrying out modifications on an economic level. The search for answers to these questions suggests the need to reform the development model, without leaving out an area’s potentiality.

Sustainable Planning And Land Valuation, New Forms Of Suburban Growth In Areas Of The Spanish Mediterranean Coast

The present study analyzes residential models in coastal areas with large influxes of tourism, the sustainability of their planning and its repercussion on urban values. The project seeks to establish a methodology for territorial valuation through the analysis of externalities that have influenced urban growth and its impact on the formation of residential real estate values. This will make it possible to create a map for qualitative land valuation, resulting from a combination of environmental, landscape, social and productive valuations. This in turn will establish a reference value for each of the areas in question, as well as their spatial interrelations. These values become guidelines for the study of different territorial scenarios, which help improve the sustainable territorial planning process. This is a rating scale for urban planning. The results allow us to establish how the specific characteristics of the coast are valued and how they can be incorporated into sustainable development policies.

Valor inmobiliario y estructura urbana: el análisis del tipo edificatorio como estrategia para la valoración territorial

La valoración de inmuebles urbanos y más cuando se afronta desde un punto de vista masivo, no es una actividad sencilla. Tanto la legislación vigente en España como los estándares de valoración internacionales establecen que los valores deben de estar referenciados al valor de mercado, pero el mercado inmobiliario se caracteriza por su limitada transparencia y porque el producto es relativamente ilíquido. En este contexto, parece necesario acometer el estudio de nuevas herramientas que faciliten el establecer con mayor seguridad el valor de los inmuebles. El análisis de los factores que determinan el precio de los inmuebles permite identificar aquellas características que más inciden en el mismo, como son su tamaño, uso, tipología, calidad, antigüedad y localización. A partir de ellas y a través del estudio de la estructura urbana, localizando las zonas homogéneas y analizando las variables de su producto inmobiliario, se ha desarrollado una nueva metodología basada en el tipo edificatorio como estrategia para la valoración territorial. A lo largo de este trabajo, cuyo ámbito de análisis se ha centrado en los municipios de la Comunidad de Madrid, mediante el análisis comparado de sus características, se va a exponer cómo el tipo de estructura urbana influye significativamente en la calidad de los resultados que se obtienen. También se va a incidir en la sensibilidad de los mismos a los diferentes métodos de tratamiento de datos y de análisis matemático y estadístico. Con todo, se puede afirmar que la utilización de la metodología que se propone facilita, mejora y apoya la valoración de inmuebles, siendo posible su aplicación directa tanto para la valoración masiva de inmuebles como en la individualizada. ABSTRACT The valuation of urban property and more so when one is confronted with it from a massive point of view, is not an easy task. Taking into consideration Spain‟s current regulations as well as the international valuation standards, they establish that the values must be referred to the market value, but the real-estate market is characterised by its limited transparency and because the product is relatively illiquid. Under these circumstances, it seems necessary to undertake the study of new tools that facilitate the obtention of more accurate and secure valuation of real estate assets. The analysis of the factors that determine the price of property allow us to identify those characteristics that influence it most, such as size, use, typology, quality, age and location. Taking these points into consideration and through the study of urban structure, localising the homogeneous areas and analysing the variables of its real-estate product, a new methodology has been developed based on the type of building as well as on the local valuation strategy. Throughout this work, whose scope of analysis has been focussed on the municipalities of the Autonomous Region of Madrid through a comparative analysis of its characteristics, it will be shown how the type of urban structure can significantly influence the quality of the results that are obtained. It will also affect their sensitivity to the different methods of data processing, and of mathematical and statistical analysis. In all, one can confirm that using the methodology that is being proposed facilitates, improves and supports the valuation of properties, enabling its direct application for the mass valuation of property as well as for the individual one.