Economics at the FTC: Drug and PBM Mergers and Drip Pricing

Economists at the Federal Trade Commission pursue the agency??s competition and consumer protection missions. In this year??s essay, in antitrust, we discuss two recent mergers that involved Rx drugs: First, we describe key elements of the inquiry into the Express Scripts/Medco transaction in the pharmacy benefit management industry. Next, we analyze a merger that involved drugs that are used to treat patent ductus arteriosus: a condition that affects premature babies. On the consumer protection side, we discuss a pricing strategy??drip pricing??that involves the release of price information about a multi-part product over time as the consumer goes through the purchase process.     

Careers in public sector science: orientations and implications

There is consensus that the world of science is changing (Ziman, 1994; see for example Nowotny et al., 2002). The environment in which scientists work is typified now as increasingly dynamic, managerialist and commercialised. This paper focuses on how scientists within different organisational and national contexts understand and enact their careers in the face of such changes. Based on empirical work in the UK and New Zealand, this paper introduces four career orientations evident in the career accounts of these participants. The categories are further analysed in terms of the key drivers to career: science, the organisation and the individual. Implications for career management are discussed in each section. In conclusion, the paper makes two related contributions. First, the evidence presented poses a challenge to highly individualised notions of the career actor central to current career thinking, instead revealing scientists' continued attachment to old institutional arrangements alongside new and emerging ways of understanding career. Second, with reference to the issue of career management of research scientists, the study highlights the need for those involved in management to look beyond employing organisations to other life interests, and science itself. It argues the need for those involved in career management to recognise the variety of legitimate ways to run a scientific career.     

Environmental factors of food literacy in Australian high schools: views of home economics teachers

This study set out to examine environmental factors impacting on the food literacy of adolescents. It utilized data from a nation‐wide survey of home economics teachers regarding their experience of food literacy education in Australian high schools. Content analysis and the ANGELO framework were applied to analyse free‐text comments from 78 of the respondents that were collected as part of a more extensive data set. The analysis of environmental factors revealed three enablers and ten barriers that could influence food literacy education delivered by high schools in Australia. High schools are well positioned to improve adolescents’ food literacy through a comprehensive, hands‐on approach in home economics. However, many environmental barriers were reported that could influence food literacy education in Australian high schools such as: lack of teaching materials and facilities, and human resources; the perceived inadequacy of the Australian school curriculum; non‐supportive school canteens; and negative role modelling. This study points to the need to eliminate or reduce these environmental barriers impacting on the capacity for effective food literacy education in high schools to help adolescents increase their food literacy and thereby support them in making informed food choices.     

Proposed treatment program for acute renal failure (ARF) in the United Republic of Tanzania as a model for sub-Saharan Africa

To date, no sustainable treatment program exists for kidney failure in countries in sub-Saharan Africa. No data are available on the incidence, prevalence or cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The world's focus has been on treating 'priority diseases' as defined by the United Nations Millennium Project and the World Health Organization because of their high mortality rates. This is understandable because HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases and malaria claim majority of the lives; however, in many cases, the mortality is due to acute renal failure (ARF) as a consequence of the progression of these diseases. Moreover, to date, no data are available on mortality rates due to ARF as a consequence of these 'priority diseases.' Sustainable Kidney Care Foundation (SKCF), working with industry, institutions, universities and funding organizations, is in the process of establishing a pilot program for the treatment of acute renal failure (ARF) using peritoneal dialysis (PD) as the modality of choice with a special focus on treating children and women of childbearing age in the United Republic of Tanzania.     

Power perceptions and modes of complaining in higher education

This study examines the relationship between student perceptions of different types of educator power and different modes of student complaining behaviour in the case of university education. A large sample of marketing students in the business school responded to the study from a state university in Northeastern United States. Factor analysis and canonical correlation analysis are used to explore the relationships between five bases of power perceptions (referent, expert, reward, legitimate, and punishment) and four modes of complaining behaviour (voice, negative word of mouth, third party, and exit). The results indicate that students engage in different modes of complaining as they perceive different types of educator power. The predominant complaining mode is found to be voice under referent or expert power, third party under legitimate power, and exit under reward or punishment power. Our findings offer important implications for student satisfaction, retention, and completion rates in higher education.     

Perceptions of facilitators of a keypad‐based group support system

Organizations are using Group Support Systems (GSSs) to improve the quality of group meetings. Keypad‐based GSSs are a widely used form of this technology, yet there has been little research on their use and effects. This paper reports the findings of a survey of facilitators of a particular keypad GSS. Facilitators indicate that keypad technology improves the quality of meetings for a variety of tasks in a range of group settings and cultures. The findings are in general agreement with field studies of workstation‐based systems.     

Effects of Consumer Weight Level and Advertising Appeals on Consumer Attitude Toward Food and Advertisements

This study examines the link between consumer weight level, food type, and consumer attitude toward both food and food advertisements. Further, this research explores how food advertisements containing emotional or informational claims influence the attitudes of overweight and normal-weight consumers. Two experiments were conducted to study the interaction between weight levels, food types (meat vs. vegetables), and advertising appeals (emotional vs. informational). The results showed mixed support for the six hypotheses. The findings indicate that consumer weight level interacts with food types, and emotional/information appeals affecting food evaluation and attitudes toward food advertisements. Managerial implications for food manufacturers and advertisers are discussed.     

Effectiveness of Absurdity in Advertising Across Cultures

This paper examines the effect of absurd advertising on memory and persuasion across cultures. Drawing on Hofstede's cultural dimensions, it is hypothesized that the effect of absurdity on recall is culturally invariant, whereas the effect on attitude toward the ad is contingent on the recipients’ cultural orientation. The assumptions are tested using a between-subjects experimental design, in which we manipulated type of absurdity and used the cultural dimensions as blocking variables. Data was collected from 274 students in the United States, Germany, Russia, and China. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications of these findings as well as guidelines for further research.     

The Direct Contribution of FDI to Productivity Growth in Britain, 1997–2008

This paper considers the contribution of foreign‐owned plants and firms to aggregate total factor productivity (TFP) growth in Britain for 1997–2008 using data from the Annual Respondents' Database. The contribution of different sub‐groups is further decomposed to show the role of continuing plants vis‐à‐vis reallocations in output shares. TFP is calculated using system GMM estimation. Taking into account the smaller initial size of the foreign‐owned sector in 1997, foreign‐owned plants contributed relatively more to aggregate productivity growth than UK‐owned plants over the period. This strong performance is mostly the result of reallocations of output shares towards high productivity continuing plants and the opening of high productivity plants.