Energy sources choice and environmental sustainability disputes: an evolutional graph model approach

Quality & Quantity - The present study proposes a conflict resolution methodology for energy-environment policy conflicts. The choice of energy source is primarily important in fulfilling...     

Dynamics of the non linear learning curve with spillovers in a differentiated oligopoly: effects on industry structure

We analyze the effects on industry structure of non strategic learning-by-doing with spillovers in a differentiated oligopoly à la Bertrand. The dynamics is driven by a non linear learning curve. Conditions for shakeouts are analyzed, focusing on the key factors affecting them. Policy interventions to limit shakeouts are suggested.      

Technical efficiency measures for dairy farms using panel data: A comparison of alternative model specifications

This article examines the impact of fixed effects production functions vis-à-vis stochastic production frontiers on technical efficiency measures. An unbalanced panel consisting of 96 Vermont dairy farmers for the 1971–1984 period was used in the analysis. The models examined incorporated both time-variant and time-invariant technical efficiency. The major source of variation in efficiency levels across models stemmed from the assumption made concerning the distribution of the one-sided term in the stochastic frontiers. In general, the fixed effects technique was found superior to the stochastic production frontier methodology. Despite the fact that the results of various statistical tests revealed the superiority of some specifications over others, the overall conclusion of the study is that the efficiency analysis was fairly consistent throughout all the models considered.     

The effects of small sample bias in Threshold Autoregressive models

This paper investigates Threshold Autoregressive (TAR) models that contain a limited number of observations in some regimes. Simulations show that within the context of the real exchange rate literature, parameter estimates exhibit significant small sample bias even with long time series data. These distortions create substantial power losses in attempting to identify values of coefficients from data.     

Fiscal stance,foreign capital inflows and the behavior of current account in the Asian countries

Empirical Economics - This paper investigates the causality relationship between budget and current account deficits for 14 Asian countries. The major findings based on bootstrap Granger causality...     

Cost-effectiveness of six months versus 1-year adjuvant trastuzumab in HER2 positive early breast cancer in Egypt

Abstract

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women in Egypt. Trastuzumab is administered with chemotherapy for patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer (HER2?+?ve ABC) in the metastatic and adjuvant settings resulting in improved treatment outcomes, and long-term follow-up. Some studies have evaluated whether equivalent outcomes can be achieved with reduced treatment duration. This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness of 6-month versus 1-year trastuzumab treatments from payer perspective over a 10 year time horizon.

Methods: A half-cycle corrected Markov model was developed with five mutually exclusive health states; patient with HER2?+ve ABC, disease-free survival (DFS), local or regional relapse, metastatic relapse, and death. A cycle length of 6 months was applied, direct medical costs including cost of treatments, day-care, surgery, health states and follow-up visits were collected, and indirect costs such as lost productivity were not estimated. The transition probabilities and utilities were extracted from published literature, and deterministic sensitivity analyses were conducted.

Results: Among the HER2?+ve ABC patient population in Egypt, the total QALYs of the 6-month trastuzumab were estimated to be 2.99 compared with 2.93 for the 1-year trastuzumab which resulted in a difference of 0.06 QALYs. The total costs were EGP 271,647 ($106,947) and EGP 381,248 ($150,097), respectively. These costs yielded an ICER of –109,600 EGP/QALY (–43,149 $/QALY) for the 6-month trastuzumab. The 6-month trastuzumab is a dominant strategy when compared to 1-year trastuzumab, resulting in improved effectiveness at a reduced cost. All analyses results confirmed the dominance of 6-month trastuzumab and our model robustness.

Conclusions: This study concluded that 6-month trastuzumab is a cost-effective option when compared to 1-year trastuzumab in patients with HER2?+ve ABC in Egypt. Our findings provide health care decision makers with additional insights to best allocate available resources concurrently with the improvement of the Egyptian patient’s outcomes.     

Cash management in the travel and leisure sector: evidence from the United Kingdom

This study investigates the determinants of cash holdings for companies operating in the travel and leisure (TL) sector of the United Kingdom (UK) between 2005 and 2016. The study finds that growth opportunities, cash flow, and cash flow volatility affect cash holdings positively, while size, leverage, liquidity, asset intangibility and dividend payments affect negatively. Companies operating in the airlines sub-sector hold more cash, while companies in the hotels and restaurants and bars sub-sectors hold less cash than the reference sub-sector of travel and tourism. Except for the free cash flow model, the trade-off and pecking order models of cash holdings are empirically supported for the TL sector.     

Identifying contextual effective factors on total fertility rate decline in Iran: a qualitative framework-based study

This study was conducted to explain the contextual factors associated with total fertility rate (TFR) decline to help policymakers. A qualitative approach and Leichter contextual analysis framework were applied to conduct this study. The participants were selected using purposive sampling method, and also the interviews continued until data saturation was reached. Individuals with knowledge and perspectives on population policies were included in the study to improve the research credibility. The data validity was achieved by applying the maximum variety in selecting the sample. The results were classified into four groups, including situational, structural, cultural, and environmental factors. Situational factors included political sanctions, drought, and road accidents. Structural factors involved government policies, the absence of monitoring, paying no attention to the required conditions, housing status, employment status, economic status, and other issues. Cultural factors were classified into the seven categories, including divorce, socio-economic development, women's employment, marriage age, urbanization, and other issues and factors included international treaties, and the western influence. Policymakers and administrators in the field of demographic policies can make more accurate strategies to increase TFR by recognizing the causes that reduce fertility with the help of providing the possibility to understand better the factors affecting the TFR decline.