Austrian economics and development: The case of Sudha Shenoy’s analysis

The aim of this paper is to describe Sudha Shenoy’s use of Menger, Mises, and Hayek (she explicitly called them ‘the older Austrians’) to explain development and growth. Her aim was to show that the application of Austrian economics, based on the notions of capital structure and division of labor, embedded in a specific legal framework (common law), historically promoted development and growth (as in early modern England); and can promote development and growth in underdeveloped countries (her specific focus was India). Shenoy also claimed that any policymaking as well as government’s intervention are either useless or dangerous, having two main dysfunctional effects, which are often interrelated; namely, make development slower (or even stop it), and increase corruption.     

Econometric analysis of China’s GDP growth and industrial structure

Since the Reform and Opening-up in 1978,China’s economy,society and other fields have developed very rapidly.Economic growth has achieved leapfrog development,and the three industries have achieved great development,but the overall industrial structure needs to be improved.At present,China’s economy has entered the “New Normal”.In order to achieve “Sound and Rapid” economic development,it is imperative to transform the industrial structure.Using econometric analysis and based on China’s economic...     

Factor analysis and structural equation model for patent analysis: a case study of Apple’s technology

In this study, we analyse patent data for technology analysis (TA) because patents are rich in information on developed technology. The results of TA can be used to perform more efficient research and development (R&D) planning. Most companies are trying to develop new and innovative technologies to improve their competitive positions. Research involving TA has been introduced in a variety of fields. Most of the published research analysed original variables related to a target technology. However, it is necessary to analyse the latent variables as well as the original variables included in the technology to achieve a better TA model. Therefore, we propose a factor analysis and a structural equation model for patent analysis. In addition, we use Apple’s patents to determine the target technology. In our case study, we analyse Apple’s technologies by latent variables. Our case study shows how the proposed model is applied to Apple’s R&D planning.     

Italy’s decline and the balance-of-payments constraint: a multicountry analysis

According to the literature, the decline experienced by the Italian economy in the last two decades depends on a slowdown of its labour productivity, starting in the 1990s. The supply-side explanations of this slowdown are inconsistent with the major stylised facts. In this paper, we verify whether a better explanation is provided by the effect of a negative demand shock, through Italy’s external constraints, in the framework of Kaldor-Dixon-Thirlwall’s cumulative growth model. To this end, we use a multi-country generalisation of Thirlwall’s balance-of-payments-constrained growth model, which allows us to investigate the contribution of Italy’s main trade partners to Italy’s long-run growth from 1970 to 2010. The trade partners are disaggregated into seven groups: Eurozone core, Eurozone periphery, United States, other European countries, OPEC countries, BRIC, and the rest of the world. The results show that Italy’s long-run growth has been consistent with the Bop-constraint, that its decline can be explained by a progressive tightening of this constraint, that the sudden slowdown of labour productivity in the 1990s corresponds to a major shock on Italy’s external constraint, and that the major contributions to this shock came, through different channels of transmission, from the core Eurozone countries and from OPEC countries.     

Quantifying the impacts of China’s currency depreciation and capital control: a CGE analysis

A dynamic global multi-regional computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is built to study the effects of Renminbi (RMB) depreciation and capital account liberalization. The simulation results suggest that although the depreciation of RMB can promote China’s trade surplus, it will nevertheless discourage domestic investment, consumption and lead to a decrease of real GDP.     

Multivariate filter estimation and ARDL model analysis of China’s potential output

In this article, we apply a new multivariate filter approach to estimate China’s potential output. Furthermore, we build an ARDL model to analyse the influence on potential growth caused by important factors that contribute to estimation and China’s development. Our results show that the current economic slowdown is not a cyclical phenomenon and China’s potential growth has declined since 2010. We also show that fixed asset investment and trade, which have a long-run relationship with potential output, exert negative long-run effect on potential growth justifying the implementation of China’s recent supply-side reforms.     

The economic analysis of social norms: A reappraisal of Hayek’s legacy

This paper is organized as follows: first, we show that the reference to the notion of group selection is coherent with the other parts of Hayek’s thought. Second, we develop the idea that recent works in terms of the emergence and evolution of social norms corroborate in part Hayek’s theses in this domain. Finally, we put to the fore some drawbacks in Hayek’s approach and propose means to solve them.

Comparison of indicators of women’s labour between Turkey and EU member states by employing multidimensional scaling analysis and clustering analysis

At present, because of social, cultural and economic changes, women support the economies of their countries by their status as workers. In this research, we aim at comparing the status of Turkey in terms of indicators of women in the labour force with that of EU countries, thereby revealing the similarities and differences. The variables indicating women in the labour forces of the 28 EU countries and Turkey were analysed utilizing multidimensional scaling analysis (MDSA) and clustering analysis (CA).

According to the MDSA, the countries form three different groups in two-dimensional space. The clusters formed by the CA are congruent with the groups formed according to the MDSA. When compared with EU members, Turkey has very low values, particularly in terms of the ratio of working women, the ratio of jobless females who are primary or secondary school graduates and the ratio of women who are senior high school graduates.     

Monopoly power and the firm’s valuation: a dynamic analysis of short versus long-term policies

Summary. Recent anti-trust cases exacerbated the concerns of investors regarding the effects of a firms monopoly power on its production choice, shareholder value, and the overall economy. We address this issue within a dynamic equilibrium model featuring a large monopolistic firm whose actions not only affect the price of its output, but also effectively influence the valuation of its stock. The latter renders time-inconsistency to the firms dynamic production choice. When the firm is required to pre-commit to its strategy, the ensuing equilibrium is largely in line with the predictions of the textbook monopoly model. When the firm behaves in a time-consistent manner, however, the predictions are strikingly at odds. The trade-off between current profits and the valuation of future profits induces the firm to increase production beyond the competitive benchmark and cut prices. This policy may result in destroying shareholder value, and does indeed fully wipe out the firms profit in the limit of the decision-making interval shrinking to zero, in line with the Coase conjecture.Received: 23 December 2003, Revised: 1 March 2004, JEL Classification Numbers: D42, D51, D92, E20, G12.Correspondence to: Anna PavlovaWe thank Steve Spear and the anonymous referees for helpful suggestions. We are also grateful to Franklin Allen, Dave Cass, Peter DeMarzo, Bernard Dumas, Ron Giammarino, Rich Kihlstrom, Leonid Kogan, Branko Urosevic, Dimitri Vayanos, seminar participants at Boston University, University of Colorado at Boulder, Columbia University, MIT, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, American Finance Association Meetings, and European Finance Association Meetings for valuable comments. All errors are solely our responsibility.     

Bendamustine-rituximab: a cost-utility analysis in first-line treatment of indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in England and Wales

Objective:

To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of bendamustine-rituximab (B-R) compared with CHOP-R (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone, rituximab) and CVP-R (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone, rituximab) as first-line treatment for patients with advanced indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL).

Methods:

A patient-level simulation was adapted from the model used by the University of Sheffield School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) in a health technology appraisal of rituximab for first-line treatment of follicular lymphoma. This approach allowed modelling of the complex treatment pathways in indolent NHL. Data from a Phase 3 randomized, open-label trial were used to compare B-R with CHOP-R. The relative efficacy of CHOP-R and CVP-R was estimated using an indirect treatment comparison similar to the original ScHARR approach. The analysis was conducted from the perspective of the National Health Service in England and Wales, using a lifetime time horizon. A number of one-way sensitivity and scenario analyses were conducted, including one using recently published data comparing CVP-R with CHOP-R.

Results:

The deterministic incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was £5249 per quality adjusted life year (QALY) for B-R vs CHOP-R, and £8092 per QALY for B-R vs CVP-R. The alternative scenario using direct data comparing CVP-R with CHOP-R approximately halved the ICER for B-R vs CVP-R to £4733. Owing to its better toxicity profile, B-R reduced the cost of treating adverse events by over £1000 per patient vs CHOP-R.

Limitations:

The main limitations were: immaturity of overall survival data from the Phase 3 trial; reliance on quality-of-life data from previous health technology appraisals (as this was not collected in the trial); and a lack of direct evidence or a network of connected evidence comparing B-R with CVP-R.

Conclusions:

The ICERs for B-R vs CHOP-R and CVP-R were considerably below the thresholds normally regarded as cost-effective in England and Wales (£20,000–30,000 per QALY).     

China’s government finance and food security nexus: a regime switching analysis

This paper is an empirical assessment of the government finance and food security nexus in China from 1978 to 2016. Using autoregressive distributed lag for linear and threshold cointegration, the results suggest that China’s government finance and food security have reinforced each other throughout the reform era when a structural break was allowed in the model. However, the strength of cointegration and Granger causality in the government-led food security link is stronger, hence supporting the state interventionist view that a strong state has played a dominant role in fulfilling national food security in China. China’s government finance and food security changes indicate food sector reform probabilities under fiscal constraint, as regime-switching indicators have delineated the Chinese government’s difficult fiscal periods and the main reforms in the food sector. In practice, this result implies that further policy reforms can be effective for China’s future food security.     

Cournot duopoly and environmental R&D under regulator’s precommitment to an emissions tax

This study examines the environmental R&D (E-R&D) of Cournot duopolists with end-of-pipe technology under a regulator’s precommitment to an emissions tax. Under technological spillover effect, the government invariably prefers E-R&D cartelization to E-R&D competition. Highly contrary to earlier studies, consumer surplus is not necessarily maximized by environmental research joint venture cartelization, although this offers private and social incentives.     

Tobacco and alcohol: complements or substitutes?

The question of whether alcohol and tobacco are consumed as complements or substitutes is crucial for determining the side-effects of anti-smoking policies. Numerous papers have empirically addressed this issue by estimating demand systems for alcohol and tobacco, and subsequently calculating cross-price effects. However, this traditional approach is often seriously hampered by insufficient price variation observed in survey data. We, therefore, suggest an alternative instrumental variables approach that statistically mimics an experimental study and does not rely on prices as explanatory variables. This approach is applied by means of German survey data. Our estimation results suggest that a reduction in tobacco consumption results in a moderate reduction in alcohol consumption. It is demonstrated that this implies that alcohol and tobacco are complements. Hence, we conclude that successful anti-smoking policies will not result in the unintended side-effect of an increased (ab)use of alcohol.     

Innovation and imitation: substitutes or complements?

Most of the research on imitation and innovation has focused on developed countries and examined whether imitation promotes or hinders innovation at the macro, industry and intra firm level, and the effect that this has on economic growth. Less research has been conducted about the dynamics that exist between innovation and imitation at the plant-level in developing countries, and the effect that trade policy has on this relationship. This article uses plant-level data from Mexico to analyse the dynamic relationship that exists between innovation and imitation at the microeconomic level. The empirical results suggest that in the context of a developing country, innovation and imitation complement each other and trade policy has no effect on this relationship.     

Medical management,costs, and consequences of Alzheimer’s disease in Germany: an analysis of health claims data

Abstract

Objective:

The main objective of this analysis was to assess the medical and economic differences between patients with and without diagnosed Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Analysis included co-morbidities, patterns of drug use, and clinical course, as well as the magnitude of these differences attributable to AD.     

An economic analysis of the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board demand-enhancing programmes

The research reported here addressed two objectives. The first objective was to measure the overall impact of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board as well as eight-specific advertising, promotion and research activities on US beef demand. The second objective was to compute marginal benefit–cost ratios (BCRs) for the eight individual checkoff activities and for the overall programme. The results indicated that Cattlemen’s Beef Board’s Promotion activities increased total domestic beef demand by 15.7 billion pounds in total, or 2.1 billion pounds per year between 2006 and 2014. Collectively, the overall marginal BCR for all Cattlemen’s Beef Board activities was $11.20.