Accounting for Growth Disparity: Lucas's Framework Revisited

This paper proposes a theoretical method to account for historical episodes of growth disparity. A numerical computation shows that the properties of the local dynamics of the proposed model are consistent with the facts indicated by selected episodes.     

The impact of basic human needs on the use of retailing self-service technologies: A study of self-determination theory

Self-service technologies (SSTs) are becoming increasingly popular in retailing contexts. Previous theories of SST adoption have largely ignored the basic human needs, such as competence, autonomy and relatedness, that drive customer motivation and the use of SSTs. We address this theoretical gap and examine self-determination theory (SDT) in the context of the supermarket self-checkout. Based on the argument proposed by SDT, self-determined motivation is hypothesized to mediate the relationships between autonomy, competence, and perceived anonymity, and the intention to use SSTs. Data collected from 361 respondents form a structural equation model and support these hypotheses. The current study is important as it helps understand the role of customers' participation in the self-service. Managerial and theoretical implications are suggested.     

Growth and multiple equilibria: A unique local dynamics

The paper investigates the local dynamics of a simple growth model with a public health factor. A notable feature of the model is that it employs a non-separable utility function between consumption and the level of public health infrastructure (publicly provided health environment). In addition to the effects on utility, an increase in the public health level contributes to labor productivity growth. From a three-dimensional dynamic system that includes physical capital, public health infrastructure and consumption, our model is found to have multiple equilibria (dual steady states) if the deep parameters of the utility function satisfy certain conditions. Then, numerical computations demonstrate that each equilibrium exhibits local saddle-path stability. This result deserves careful attention, as it indicates that the economy experiences a relatively undiversified growth pattern when converging on high- and low-growth equilibria. Our striking result has important implications in the study of growth and development.     

A discrete choice experiment to assess patients’ preferences for HIV treatment in the urban population in Colombia

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to assess patients’ preferences for HIV treatment in an urban Colombian population.

Methods: A Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) was conducted. Urban Colombian HIV patients were asked to repetitively choose between two hypothetical treatments that differ in regard to five attributes ‘effect on life expectancy’, ‘effect on physical activity’, ‘risk of moderate side effects, ‘accessibility to clinic’ and ‘economic cost to access controls’. Twelve choice sets were made using an efficient design. A Mixed Logit Panel Model was used for the analysis and subgroup analyses were performed according to age, gender, education level and sexual preference.

Results: A total of 224 HIV patients were included. All attributes were significant, indicating that there were differences between at least two levels of each attribute. Patients preferred to be able to perform all physical activity without difficulty, to have large positive effects on life expectancy, to travel less than 2?h, to have lower risk of side-effects and to have subsidized travel costs. The attributes ‘effect on physical activity’ and ‘effects on life expectancy’ were deemed the most important. Sub-analyses showed that higher educated patients placed more importance on the large positive effects of HIV treatment, and a more negative preference for subsidized travel cost (5% level).

Limitations: A potential limitation is selection bias as it is difficult to make a systematic urban/rural division of respondents. Additional, questionnaires were partly administered in the waiting rooms, which potentially led to some noise in the data.

Conclusions: Findings suggests that short-term efficacy (i.e. effect on physical activity) and long-term efficacy (i.e. effect on life expectancy) are the most important treatment characteristics for HIV urban patients in Colombia. Preference data could provide relevant information for clinical and policy decision-making to optimize HIV care.     

Effects on poverty and equity of the decline in collective tank irrigation management in Tamil Nadu, India

This paper investigates the factors influencing the decline in collective management of local commons and the impact of this decline on agricultural production and household consumption. The analysis is based on a village and household data set collected in 1999 in Tamil Nadu, India, where tank irrigation systems are managed collectively for rice cultivation by informal water users' organizations. Our statistical analyses find that one major reason for the decline in collective tank irrigation management is the dissemination of private well irrigation systems. Once the decline has occurred, our analyses predict that the gap in rice yields between farmers who have access to private wells and those who must rely solely on tanks will widen, with only the latter group suffering lower yields. Our analyses also find that the same pattern holds for levels of income and consumption because the affected farmers cannot sufficiently compensate for the loss of their rice income by diversifying their income sources to agricultural labor or nonagricultural work. In this way, the decline in collective management results in greater inequality and poverty.     

An investigation of social media data during a product recall scandal

As social media has become an important part of modern daily life, users often share product opinions online and these tend to spike when large companies undergo crises. This paper investigates customer online responses to a large company crisis by uncovering hidden insights in social media comments and presents a framework for handling social media data and crisis management. Analysis of textual Facebook data from users responding to the 2013 horsemeat scandal is presented. In this study, we used a novel comprehensive data analysis framework alongside a text-mining framework to objectively classify and understand customer perceptions during this horsemeat scandal. This framework provides an effective approach for investigating customer perception during a company crisis and measures the effectiveness of crisis management practices which the company has adopted. Our analyses show that social media can provide important insights into customer behaviour during crisis communications.     

A discrete choice experiment to assess patients’ preferences for HIV treatment in the rural population in Colombia

Abstract

Aim: To elicit patients’ preferences for HIV treatment of the rural population in Colombia.

Methods: A discrete choice experiment (DCE), conducted in a HIV clinic in Bogotá, was used to examine the trade-off between five HIV treatment attributes: effect on life expectancy, effect on physical activity, risk of moderate side-effects, accessibility to clinic, and economic costs to access controls. Attributes selection was based on literature review, expert consultation and a focus group with six patients. An efficient experimental design was used to define two versions of the questionnaire with each of 12 choice sets and a dominance task was added to check reliability. A mixed logit model was then used to analyse the data and sub-group analyses were conducted on the basis of age, gender, education, and sexual preference.

Results: A total of 129 HIV patients were included for analysis. For all treatment attributes, significant differences between at least two levels were observed, meaning that all attributes were significant predictors of choice. Patients valued the effect on physical activity (conditional relative importance of 27.5%) and the effect on life expectancy (26.0%) the most. Sub-group analyses regard age and education showed significant differences: younger patients and high educated patients valued the effect on physical activity the most important, whereas older patients mostly valued the effect on life expectancy and low educated patients mostly valued the accessibility to clinic.

Limitations: One potential limitation is selection bias, as only patients from one HIV clinic were reached. Additionally, questionnaires were partly administered in the waiting rooms, which potentially led to noise in the data.

Conclusions: This study suggests that all HIV treatment characteristics included in this DCE were important and that HIV patients from rural Colombia valued short-term efficacy (i.e. effect on physical activity) and long-term efficacy (i.e. effect on life expectancy) the most.     

Housing Price Dispersion: An Empirical Investigation

The efficiency of a market is challenged when price dispersion occurs. Previous studies focused on non-durable consumption goods. This study extends the analysis to the case of residential property, whose transactions are dominated by a second-hand market with many potential buyers and sellers. We demonstrate that housing price dispersion exists, and the degree of dispersion changes systematically with some macroeconomic factors, though the second and the third moment of the price distribution react differently to the macroeconomic variables. Some directions for future research are suggested.     

Comparison of statistical analysis methods for object case best–worst scaling

Abstract

Aims: Different methods have been used to analyze “object case” best–worst scaling (BWS). This study aims to compare the most common statistical analysis methods for object case BWS (i.e. the count analysis, multinomial logit, mixed logit, latent class analysis, and hierarchical Bayes estimation) and to analyze their potential advantages and limitations based on an applied example.

Methods: Data were analyzed using the five analysis methods. Ranking results were compared among the methods, and methods that take respondent heterogeneity into account were presented specifically. A BWS object case survey with 22 factors was used as a case study, tested among 136 policy-makers and HTA experts from the Netherlands, Germany, France, and the UK to assess the most important barriers to HTA usage.

Results: Overall, the five statistical methods yielded similar rankings, particularly in the extreme ends. Latent class analysis identified five clusters and the mixed logit model revealed significant preference heterogeneity for all, with the exception of three factors.

Limitations: The variety of software used to analyze BWS data may affect the results. Moreover, this study focuses solely on the comparison of different analysis methods for the BWS object case.

Conclusions: The most common statistical methods provide similar rankings of the factors. Therefore, for main preference elicitation, count analysis may be considered as a valid and simple first-choice approach. However, the latent class and mixed logit models reveal additional information: identifying latent segments and/or recognizing respondent heterogeneity.     

Separating the Age Effect from a Repeat Sales Index: Land and Structure Decomposition

Since real estate is heterogeneous and not all its quality attributes are observable, the repeat sales model pioneered by Bailey et al. (1963) has become one of the standard methods to estimate a constant-quality price index. The model, however, fails to adjust for depreciation, as age and time between sales have an exact linear relationship. This paper proposes a new method to estimate an age-adjusted repeat sales index by decomposing property value into land and structure components. As depreciation is more relevant to the structure than land, the property’s depreciation rate should depend on the relative size of land and structure. The larger the land component, the lower the depreciation rate of the property. This new method is applied to property transactions in Hong Kong and Tokyo. Hong Kong is shown to have a higher depreciation rate based on a fixed structure-to-property value ratio, while the resulting age adjustment is larger in Tokyo because its land value has shrunken over time.