Systems of cities in closed and open economies

This paper investigates the equilibrium properties of the system of cities in an economy. First, for a closed economy, the numbers of each type of city, their capital-to-labor ratios and their wages and costs of living, are solved for. Then the characteristics of international trade between open economies composed of systems of cities are examined, through an evaluation of standard trade theorems. This leads into topics in regional economics, such as migration and regional specialization.     

Use of a validated algorithm to estimate the annual cost of effective biologic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis

Objectives:

To estimate biologic cost per effectively treated patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using a claims-based algorithm for effectiveness.

Methods:

Patients with RA aged 18–63 years in the IMS PharMetrics Plus database were categorized as effectively treated if they met all six criteria: (1) a medication possession ratio ≥80% (subcutaneous) or at least as many infusions as specified in US labeling (intravenous); (2) no biologic dose increase; (3) no biologic switch; (4) no new non-biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug; (5) no new or increased oral glucocorticoid; and (6) ≤1 glucocorticoid injection. Biologic cost per effectively treated patient was defined as total cost of the index biologic (drug plus intravenous administration) divided by the number of patients categorized by the algorithm as effectively treated. Similar methods were used for the index biologic in the second year and for a second biologic after a switch.

Results:

Rates that the index biologic was categorized as effective in the first year were 31.0% etanercept (2243/7247), 28.6% adalimumab (1426/4991), 28.6% abatacept (332/1160), 27.2% golimumab (71/261), and 20.2% infliximab (474/2352). Mean biologic cost per effectively treated patient, per the algorithm, was $50,141 etanercept, $53,386 golimumab, $56,942 adalimumab, $73,516 abatacept, and $114,089 infliximab. Biologic cost per effectively treated patient, using this algorithm, was lower for patients who continued the index biologic in the second year and higher after switching.

Conclusions:

When a claims-based algorithm was applied to a large commercial claims database, etanercept was categorized as the most effective and had the lowest estimated 1-year biologic cost per effectively treated patient. This proxy for effectiveness from claims databases was validated against a clinical effectiveness scale, but analyses of the second year or the year after a biologic switch were not included in the validation. Costs of other medications were not included in cost calculations.     

The Application of Multivariate Stochastic Dominance Criteria to Agricultural Economic Problems

This paper provides a discussion of multivariate risk analysis and multivariate stochastic dominance criteria. The assumptions and conditions required to extend the use of stochastic dominance criteria to multivariate problems are examined. The assumptions of additive utility or statistical independence are required to apply true multivariate stochastic dominance criteria. Implications for the application of several multivariate stochastic dominance criteria to empirical problems are discussed. An empirical application is presented to demonstrate the importance of recognizing the assumptions underlying alternative multivariate stochastic dominance criteria. Alternative structural adjustments for a representative upper midwestern dairy farm are examined and assessed using multivariate stochastic dominance. The results of the analysis indicate that, if utility is assumed to be additive, dairy expansion and specialization may not be optimal. If utility is assumed to be defined in terms of overall wealth, however, dairy expansion and specialization are preferred to the present firm structure. Cet article analyse le risque des variables aléatoires multiples et les critères de prédominance des variables aléatoires stochastiques multiples. Les suppositions et les conditions requises pour étendre l'usage des critères de prédominance stochastiques aux variables aléatoires multiples sont étudiées. Les suppositions d'utilité additive ou d'indépendance statistique sont exigées pour appliquer les critères de prédominance des variables aléatoires stochastiques multiples. L'étude examine également les implications de l'application de plusieurs critères de prédominance des variables aléatoires stochastiques multiples sur des problèmes empiriques. Une application empirique est utilisée pour démontrer qu'il important de reconnaître les suppositions qui sont à la base des critères alternatifs de prédominance des variables aléatoires stochastiques multiples. Les variables aléatoires multiples de prédominance stochastique sont utilisées pour examiner et évaluer des ajustements structurels alternatifs pour une ferme laitière representative du haut-midwest. Les résultats de l'analyse indiquent que, dans les conditions d'utilityé additive, l'expansion et la spécialisation des fermes laitières pourraient ne pas être optimales. Par contre si l'utilityé est défine en termes de fortune, l'expansion et la spécialisation laitiéres sont préferables à la structure actuelle des fermes.     

Corruption and local democratization in Indonesia: The role of Islamic parties

Indonesia has a tradition of corruption among local officials who harass and collect bribes from firms. This paper examines whether corruption is affected by local democratization and by the party composition of local assemblies. Democratization occurred in 1999 and decentralization in 2001. We have firm-level data for 2001 and 2004. The 2001 data benchmark corruption at the time of decentralization. We find that corruption declines between 2001 and 2004 overall, but much less so in districts with more secular party as opposed to Islamic party representatives in district assemblies. For a larger sample of districts, correspondingly, we find that corruption in 2004 is more in districts which voted more in favor of secular party representatives in the first elections in 1999. We argue that the effects seem to be causal, over above any effects of changing religiosity and economic circumstances across districts.