PANEL DATA ANALYSIS OF JAPANESE RESIDENTIAL WATER DEMAND USING A DISCRETE/CONTINUOUS CHOICE APPROACH*

Block rate pricing is often applied to income taxation, telecommunication services, and brand marketing, in addition to its best‐known application in public utility services. Under block rate pricing, consumers face piecewise‐linear budget constraints. A discrete/continuous choice approach is usually used to account for piecewise‐linear budget constraints in demand and price endogeneity. A recent study proposed a method to incorporate a separability condition ignored by previous studies, by implementing a Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation based on a hierarchical Bayesian approach. To extend this approach to panel data, our study proposes Bayesian hierarchical models incorporating random and fixed individual effects.     

Analysis of the supply and demand in the TFT–LCD market

A methodology for the analysis of the supply and demand in the Thin-Film Transitor (TFT)-liquid crystal display (LCD) market in 2004 is proposed. The quarterly history supply and demand data are collected from 63 factories in Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and China during 2000–2003. This method takes into the account supply, demand, and differences between supply/demand. For the supply, a heuristic approach is used to forecast the future supply. For the demand, a transfer function model is used to forecast the future demand. The difference analysis of the supply and demand shows that it can predict whether or not there appears to be a shortage in the market of 2004. In addition, three important managerial implications such as pricing strategy, product-mix decision, and customer's priority are discussed in this paper.     

随机需求曲线下的供应链零售商决策与牛鞭效应

本文讨论由一个供应商和一个零售商组成的简单两级供应链系统中,对于不同的随机需求函数,零售商的联合决策对牛鞭效应的影响。首先建立了基于具有随机扰动项的需求函数下的零售商优化联合决策(库存决策和定价决策)的一般模型;然后分析在随机需求函数为线性和等弹性(假设随机扰动项为独立同分布的正态分布)的情形下零售商决策对牛鞭效应的影响。对于随机线性需求函数,牛鞭效应不会发生;而对于随机等弹性需求函数,仿真实验结果显示,零售商优化联合决策能使牛鞭效应度量值随着曲线等弹性系数或刻度因子的增大而减小,但牛鞭效应始终会发生。因此,零售商在制定策略以减小牛鞭效应时,还应考虑不同需求曲线的形态和精细结构。     

Demand forecasting for multigenerational products combining discrete choice and dynamics of diffusion under technological trajectories

The discrete choice model generally captures consumers' valuation of the product's quality within the framework of a cross-sectional analysis, while the diffusion model captures the dynamics of demand within the framework of a time-series analysis. We propose an adjusted discrete choice model that incorporates the choice behavior of the consumer into the dynamics of product diffusion. In addition, a new estimation structure is proposed, within the framework of the time-series analysis, which enables the estimation of the discrete choice model on market-level data to be performed in such a way as to avoid the problem of price endogeneity and to obtain greater flexibility in forecasting demand. As an empirical application, the suggested model is applied to the case of the worldwide DRAM (dynamic random access memory) market. In forecasting future demand of DRAM generations, we integrate Moore's law and learning by doing to reflect the future technological trajectories of DRAM innovations, as well as consumers' consumption trends to reflect the dynamics of demand environments. As a result, the suggested model shows better performance in explaining the diffusion of new-generation product with limited number of data observations.     

On the theory of effective demand under stochastic rationing

The concept of effective demand under stochastic manipulable quantity rationing is shown to be compatible with the existence of nontrivial equilibrium. It is argued that stochastic rationing is unavoidable for any satisfactory definition of effective demand. Moreover, manipulability of the rationing mechanism is necessary for reasons of logical consistency, at least if the distribution over realisations for each agent depends on his own action and on the aggregate values of demand and supply only. In that case, anonymous stochastic rationing schemes reduce to those random functions, the mean value function of which is the uniform proportional rationing mechanism.     

Ex post vs. ex ante pricing: Optional calling plans and tapered tariffs

We study optimal nonuniform pricing in a setting where a customer's demand at the start of a billing period contains a random variable whose realization becomes known by the end of the billing period. In this context, an optional calling plan is a tariff which the consumer must select based on his/her expectations about the random variable, whereas, under a tapered tariff, the consumer's choice of usage charge is made after he/she knows the realization of the random variable. We show that for low to moderate levels of uncertainty about the random variable entering the demand function, the optional calling plan approach to nonuniform pricing yields higher expected profit than does the tapered tariff approach, given risk-neutral consumers. We illustrate this finding with a case study and argue that it is consistent with the historical evolution of tariffs in the interexchange telecommunications market.     

Asymmetries in price and quantity adjustments by the competitive firm

Focusing on the crucial role of inventory carry-overs in the production and sales decision, we describe the profit maximizing behavior of a dynamic competitive firm facing random prices. Each firm's behavior is incorporated into a stochastic equilibrium model of the competitive industry with uncertain demand. The industry model exhibits asymmetric cyclical fluctuations of the “Keynesian” sort: when demand is weak, output contracts while price holds at a fixed floor; when demand is strong, price increases as output is constrained by a ceiling. Even in a pure world of constant returns, without increasing costs, the inability to instantaneously coordinate production and sales along with the existence of inventories is sufficient to yield a “backward L” shaped supply curve for the short run.     

基于知识供需匹配的知识供给方选择方法

构建了知识供需匹配评价指标体系,给出了指标权重的赋权方法;依据知识需求方的知识需求,构建了知识供需匹配要求度矩阵,并运用模糊综合评价方法构建了知识供给能力评价矩阵;在此基础上,通过计算知识供需双方的知识供需匹配度,对知识供给方进行选择。最后,通过算例说明了该方法的可行性和有效性。     

ON ASYMPTOTIC PROPERTIES OF THE PARAMETERS OF DIFFERENTIATED PRODUCT DEMAND AND SUPPLY SYSTEMS WHEN DEMOGRAPHICALLY CATEGORIZED PURCHASING PATTERN DATA ARE AVAILABLE*

We derive asymptotic properties of an estimator for supply and demand models extended with additional moments relating consumer demographics to the characteristics of purchased products. We clarify the structure of a practical sampling scheme in which the extended estimator is consistent, asymptotically normal, and more efficient than the original estimator. We provide conditions guaranteeing the asymptotic theorems hold for the random coefficient logit model of demand with oligopolistic suppliers. Extensive simulation studies demonstrate significant benefits of the additional moments in estimating the random coefficient logit model.     

供应商管理库存研究现状及展望

自20世纪80年代宝洁与沃尔玛成功实施供应商管理库存（VMI）以来,VMI开始受到学术界的广泛关注。这种库存管理策略打破了传统的各自为政的库存管理模式,体现了供应链的集成化管理思想,是一种新的、有代表性的库存管理思想。从VMI内涵、VMI效果、VMI与信息共享、VMI运作优化以及利益协调几个方面对VMI的研究进行了文献综述。通过文献研究后发现存在以下不足：①现有的VMI实施效果评价方法过于单一;②需求与提前期均随机的情况研究的不多;③建立成本模型时运输成本设计过于简化;④一对多的VMI利益协调方法还有待于进一步拓展。最后,针对上述研究不足,提出了该领域进一步研究的思路,如可运用系统评价的方法对VMI实施效果评价进行综合评价,可探讨需求与提前期均随机时的VMI运作优化问题等,希望能对该问题的深入研究起到有益的促进作用。     

提升农村消费需求的策略研究

中国是农业大国,但农村消费对经济的拉动不足,研究提升农村居民消费需求,对加快社会主义新农村建设、真正落实拉动内需具有重要的意义。分析了当前农村的消费水平现状以及存在的问题,并提出了扩大农村消费的对策思路。     

Intertemporal pricing in laboratory posted offer markets with differential information

Summary. This paper analyzes intertemporal seller pricing and buyer purchasing behavior in a laboratory retail market with differential information. A seller posts one price each period that a buyer either accepts or rejects. Trade occurs over a sequence of "market periods" with a random termination date. The buyer and seller are differentially informed: The seller's cost of producing a unit of a fictitious good is known and constant in all periods, but the buyer's value for the good (demand) is a random variable governed by a Markov Process whose structure is common knowledge. At the beginning of each period the unit's value is determined by "nature" and is privately revealed only to the buyer. The market termination rule is a binary random variable. We conduct 32 laboratory experiments designed to study intertemporal pricing by human subjects in the Posted Offer Institution when demand follows a stochastic process. There are four series of experiments: 8 with simulated buyers, 8 with inexperienced subjects, 8 with once experienced subjects, and 8 with twice experienced subjects.     

A simple estimator for the correlated random coefficient model

This note presents an estimator for the linear correlated random coefficient model which is an extension of Garen's (1984) selectivity bias method. The choice between the proposed estimator and IV estimation reflects a trade-off between efficiency and first-stage reduced form robustness.     

核心企业集约的多产品、多级供应链库存控制策略研究

在供应链环境及结构稳定情况下,供应链上的各节点企业,根据需求来调整相应的运作策略。基于多层供应商及供货产品为多品种且集约到一个核心企业的供应链网络,根据该供应链网络供需结构和特点分析了各节点的需求特征,得出了订货提前期为随机条件下的最佳库存费用,并利用各节点服务水平约束下的临界值及库存费用凸函数特性确定了供应链的运作策略。     

Decomposing the determinants of road traffic demand

This study presents a decomposition of the basic fundamental determinants of road traffic and fuel demand. A general framework is proposed as a means of analysing the impacts of changes in prices and income on the demand for fuel and traffic volume. The objective is to provide a general basis for comparing different road traffic elasticity estimates and for understanding how a variety of different factors work together to create overall road traffic and fuel demand responses. The study emphasizes relationships between different price and income elasticity measures and uses estimates from the literature to evaluate the main determinants of demand including some previously unobserved effects.     

Infinitely repeated games in the laboratory: four perspectives on discounting and random termination

This paper compares behavior under four different implementations of infinitely repeated games in the laboratory: the standard random termination method [proposed by Roth and Murnighan (J Math Psychol 17:189–198, 1978)] and three other methods that de-couple the expected number of rounds and the discount factor. Two of these methods involve a fixed number of repetitions with payoff discounting, followed by random termination [proposed by Sabater-Grande and Georgantzis (J Econ Behav Organ 48:37–50, 2002)] or followed by a coordination game [proposed in (Andersson and Wengström in J Econ Behav Organ 81:207–219, 2012; Cooper and Kuhn in Am Econ J Microecon 6:247–278, 2014a)]. We also propose a new method—block random termination—in which subjects receive feedback about termination in blocks of rounds. We find that behavior is consistent with the presence of dynamic incentives only with methods using random termination, with the standard method generating the highest level of cooperation. Subject behavior in the other two methods display two features: a higher level of stability in cooperation rates and less dependence on past experience. Estimates of the strategies used by subjects reveal that across implementations, even when the discount rate is the same, if interactions are expected to be longer defection increases and the use of the Grim strategy decreases.     

组合预测模型在区域物流需求预测中的应用

针对单一预测方法用于区域物流需求量预测存在的不足,文章提出了基于预测有效度的组合预测模型,即通过组合多个单一模型的预测结果,发挥各自的优点,提高预测的精确度。以广东省江门市为例,分别采用线性回归模型、灰色GM(1,1)模型和组合预测模型对其物流需求量进行了预测,实证结果表明区域物流需求组合预测模型能够取得更高的预测精度。     

Peak load pricing under periodic and stochastic supply

The paper extends to the supply side previous work on peak load pricing embodying periodic and stochastic variations in demand. In a first step it introduces into the problem of periodic demand the additional problem of periodic capacity availability. Then it considers the general case where stochastic fluctuations enter both the demand and capacity availability sides. Welfare-maximising results suggest that off-peak consumers should be charged with capacity costs according to the loss-of-load probability in any period. This probability depends on periodic and random fluctuations in capacity availability. The optimal level of capacity is also affected by such fluctuations.     

A general theory of demand for information about product quality

The purpose of this paper is to construct a general theory—analogous to the neoclassical theory of consumer demand—of demand for information about product quality. The model proposed here introduces uncertain product quality by assuming that commodities possess attributes which consumers desire and that an uncertain commodity possesses are unknown quantity of some attribute. It is assumed that information about the quality of uncertain products is available. The consumer's utility function of information is derived and his information demand function is obtained.Partial analogues of the neoclassical theorems are proved for information demand. Roughly, we find that the Slutsky matrix is symmetric and that a submatrix is negative definite. The negative definite submatrix contains those terms which measure the effect of (income compensated) changes in information prices on information demand.The analysis employed to obtain these results parallels—with some important modifications—the neoclassical analysis of commodity demand. The method used to obtain expressions for the Slutsky substitution terms is an extension of the approach introduced by McKenzie [10] and later used by Hurwicz and Uzawa [6]. This approach uses an “income compensation” function to arrive at an “income compensated” demand function.     

Estimating the size of the shadow economy in Spain: a structural model with latent variables

There has recently been a revival of international interest in measuring the size of the shadow economy. The current study adopts an approach to the Spanish case that is based on the theory of unobservable variables. This methodology involves the estimation of structural models (MIMIC) which analyses a set of causes of the shadow economy while simultaneously taking into account its influence upon a series of indicators. The proposed model permits the determination of a relative evolution over time of the size of the shadow economy, which requires the calibration of the model with an exogenous estimation in order to obtain real values. The exogenous estimation employed is that obtained by a monetary method based on a money demand function. The results show a considerable shadow economy, measuring between 8 and 18.8% of GDP in the period 1976–2002, and demonstrate that the shadow economy is significantly influenced by the tax burden, the degree of regulation and unit labour costs. A positive correlation is obtained between GDP, money demand and the level of the shadow economy.