Productivity efficiencies in Ukrainian polyclinics: lessons for health system transitions from differential responses to market changes

Ukraine’s recent elections revealed deep divisions between eastern regions, which favored central economic planning, and western regions, which preferred more free market reforms. This study compares polyclinics in Ukraine to see if the inflexibility of Soviet-style planned economies results in lower economic efficiency in eastern regions. Using data from two geopolitical regions, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) scores for polyclinic efficiencies are modeled as a function of demographic and economic determinants. Surprisingly, results indicate that polyclinics in western Ukraine are less efficient. Possible explanations, including case mix intensity, responsiveness to local preferences, physician entrepreneurial behavior and a legacy of inequitable funding, are discussed.

Comparative Research Productivity Measures for Economics Departments

The typical profit-maximization solution for the joint-production problem found in intermediate texts, managerial texts, and other texts concerned with optimal pricing is oversimplified and inconsistent with profit maximization, unless there is either no excess of any of the joint products or no costs associated with dumping. However, it is an inappropriate method of solution where excess does exist and the costs of dumping are explicitly recognized and, with respect to such cases, is at least nongeneral. The authors present a more realistic alternative method of solution, although more complex, as a substitute for the textbook method of solution typically offered.     

How Large are the Welfare Gains from Technological Innovation Induced by Environmental Policies?

This paper examines whether the welfare gains from technological innovation that reduces future abatement costs are larger or smaller than the Pigouvian welfare gains from optimal pollution control. The relative welfare gains from innovation depend on three key factors—the initially optimal level of abatement, the speed at which innovation reduces future abatement costs, and the discount rate. We calculate the welfare gains from innovation under a variety of different scenarios. Mostly they are less than the Pigouvian welfare gains. To be greater, innovation must reduce abatement costs substantially and quickly and the initially optimal abatement level must be fairly modest.     

The New Economics Tests for the College and Pre-college Levels: A Comment

The authors examine the recently revised Test of Understanding of College Economics (TUCE) available from the Joint Council on Economic Education. The article examines its reliability, validity, norms, and item statistics with attention to limitations.     

Dynamics of the UK natural gas industry: System dynamics modelling and long-term energy policy analysis

We present a dynamic model of the indigenous natural gas industry in the UK. The model has been built using a system dynamics approach. Using the model several scenarios have been analyzed. We found that management of the supply-side policy alone cannot substantially postpone the discovery, production and consumption peak. We also found that the dynamics of the main variables, namely, exploration, production and consumption, are sensitive to initial demand conditions. Postponing the onset of gas price increases can therefore be achieved more effectively through efforts to reduce demand growth. One might expect that a low taxation policy would encourage more exploration and production of gas and thereby stimulate higher consumption rates. Instead, there was no overall net effect on production and consumption in the long term. The depletion effect on cost of exploration acts as counterbalance to low taxation policy. Depletion effect causes cost and thus price to rise further which depress consumption rate. The advances in exploration and production technology can delay the peak of exploration, production and consumption. Technological improvements mean lower cost of exploration and production which pressure down the long-term pattern of price dynamics.