Disorganization in the process of transition Firm-level evidence from Ukraine

Most post-communist economies are characterized by an initial collapse in aggregate output. Blanchard and Kremer (1997) and Roland and Verdier (1997) have recently modelled supply-side distortions – disorganization in the links of production – that can lead to a short-term output contraction after market liberalization and a recovery thereafter. This paper is the first to illustrate and test the effects of disorganization in the transition process by using a unique dataset of 300 Ukrainian firms. Our results show that for firms that existed under central planning, disorganization constrains employment and productivity growth during the transition process to a market economy. We also show that the effects of disorganization are greater the more out-dated the capital stock inheritance from the planning system. In contrast, disorganization plays no role in the determination of employment and productivity growth in newly established private firms.
JEL classification: P0, O0, D0.     

A Mathematical Programming Approach for Procurement Using Activity Based Costing

Activity Based Costing and Management are important topics in today's management accounting literature. While there has been much attention paid in the Activity Based Costing literature to customer profitability analysis, process improvement and product design, there has been far less notice taken of purchasing. In this paper we develop an Activity Based Costing approach for the determination of procurement strategies. Vendor selection using an Activity Based Costing approach is choosing the combination of suppliers for a given product group that minimizes the total costs associated with the purchasing strategy. To this end we develop a mathematical programming model where decisions involve the selection of vendors and the determination of order quantities. The system computes the total cost of ownership, thereby increasing the objectivity in the selection process and giving the opportunity for various kinds of sensitivity analysis.     

A discrete-choice experiment to assess treatment modality preferences of patients with anxiety disorder

Aims: The aim of this study was to elicit the preference of patients with an anxiety disorder regarding treatment modalities. Understanding patients’ preferences could help optimize treatment uptake and adherence to therapeutic interventions.

Materials and methods: A discrete-choice experiment was used to elicit patients’ preferences with regard to four treatment characteristics: waiting time until first treatment, intensity of treatment, face-to-face vs digital treatment, and group size. In 12 choice sets, participants were asked to choose between two treatment alternatives. A random parameters logit model was used to analyse the data.

Results: A total of 126 participants, aged 18?years and older, currently or in the previous year in treatment for an anxiety disorder, completed the survey. Respondents preferred short (over long) waiting times, face-to-face (over digital) treatment, individual (over group) treatment and a treatment intensity of one session per week rather than two sessions per week or one session every two weeks. Waiting time and treatment intensity were substantially less important to patients than level of digitalization and group size. Heterogeneity in preference was significant for each attribute, and sub-group analyses revealed this was partly related to education level and age.

Limitations: The convenience sample over-represented the female and younger population, limiting generalizability. Limited information on background characteristics limited the possibilities to explore preference heterogeneity.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated how different treatment components for anxiety disorders affect patients’ preferences for those treatments. There is significant variation in treatment preferences, even after accounting for age and education. Incorporating patients’ preferences into treatment decisions could potentially lead to improved adherence of treatments for anxiety disorders.     

Respondent Related Correlates of Response Behaviour in Audience Research

Audience research by means of surveys has a long tradition, certainly withinarts and humanities oriented research. Yet, due to selective sampling and unitnonresponse it frequently lacks the methodological rigour to make scientificallyvalid statements based on sample estimates. This is one of the first attempts toexplore unit nonresponse in audience research. More specifically, it focuses onthe explanation of nonresponse by the socio-demographic and more topic relatedcharacteristics of a theatre audience. Using a two-step procedure for the on-sitecollection of data, the characteristics of respondents are compared with those ofnonrespondents. In step 1 the composition of the theatre audience is comparedto a proxy of a theatre population benchmark based on a weighted sample of theFlemish population (APS-2000). The validity of this best available method isdiscussed. Step 2 compares respondents with nonrespondents on a micro-level:ignoring unit nonresponse in step 1, we use logistic regression to map selectionin step 2. The chance of cooperating with the survey has been found to increasewith educational attainment and vary according to occupational category. Moreover,involvement with survey topic is confirmed as a strong predictor of survey participation.Gender, age and experience with theatre remain insignificant in predicting responsebehaviour. These findings are compared with the socio-demographic correlates ofresponse behaviour in general populations. Implications for statistically controllingfor nonresponse bias in audience research are discussed. Suggestions for furtherresearch are presented.     

Auβenwirtschaftspolitik und Stabilisierung von Wirtschaftssystemen :

Many studies of the educational sector implicitly assume schools attempt only to maximize student cognitive achievement subject to a budget constraint. The validity of this assumption is tested in this paper. In specific, the preferences of a representative bureaucrat in an urban school system are estimated. The results indicate he does not simply maximize achievement. The representative bureaucrat also has preferences with respect to the distribution of inputs and outputs between black and white children.     

The revealed preferences of a local government: Black/white disparities in scholastic achievement

Many studies of the educational sector implicitly assume schools attempt only to maximize student cognitive achievement subject to a budget constraint. The validity of this assumption is tested in this paper. In specific, the preferences of a representative bureaucrat in an urban school system are estimated. The results indicate he does not simply maximize achievement. The representative bureaucrat also has preferences with respect to the distribution of inputs and outputs between black and white children.