Achieving Competitiveness in Greek Accommodation Establishments during Recession

The article examines the strategies that Greek hotels have implemented to strengthen their competitiveness during recession. The research is based on a nationwide e‐mail survey to hospitality managers/owners. The results reveal that the most important perceived competitiveness factor is cost reduction and implementation of actions against crisis, followed by innovation, human resource management and marketing. The study also proposes actions that can improve the competitiveness of accommodation establishments. The article helps fill the gaps in our understanding of how hospitality firms tackle competition during crises, and suggests managerial policies that can help hospitality firms to strengthen their positioning and competitiveness during crises. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The fiscal consequences of public health investments in disease-modifying therapies for the treatment of multiple sclerosis in Sweden

Abstract

Background and aims: The economic consequences of multiple sclerosis (MS) are broader than those observed within the health system. The progressive nature suggests that people will not be able to live a normal productive life and will gradually require public benefits to maintain living standards. This study investigates the public economic impact of MS and how investments in disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) influence the lifetime costs to government attributed to changes in lifetime tax revenue and disability benefits based on improved health status linked to delayed disease progression.

Methods: Disease progression rates from previous MS Markov cohort models were applied to interferon beta-1a, peginterferon beta-1a, dimethyl fumarate, and natalizumab using a public economic framework. The established relationship between expanded disability status scale and work-force participation, annual earnings, and disability rates for each DMT were applied. Subsequently, we assessed the effect of DMTs on discounted governmental costs consisting of health service costs, social insurance and disability costs, and changes in lifetime tax revenues.

Results: Fiscal benefits attributed to informal care and community services savings for interferon beta-1a, peginterferon beta-1a, dimethyl fumarate, and natalizumab were SEK340,387, SEK486,837, SEK257,330, and SEK958,852 compared to placebo, respectively. Tax revenue gains linked to changes in lifetime productivity for interferon beta-1a, peginterferon beta-1a, dimethyl fumarate, and natalizumab were estimated to be SEK27,474, SEK39,659, SEK21,661, and SEK75,809, with combined fiscal benefits of cost savings and tax revenue increases of SEK410,039, SEK596,592, SEK326,939, and SEK1,208,023, respectively.

Conclusion: The analysis described here illustrates the broader public economic benefits for government attributed to changes in disease status. The lifetime social insurance transfer costs were highest in non-treated patients, and lower social insurance costs were demonstrated with DMTs. These findings suggest that focusing cost-effectiveness analysis only on health costs will likely underestimate the value of DMTs.     

Economic efficiency of Greek retail SMEs in a period of high fluctuations in economic activity: a DEA approach

This study aims to analyse the economic efficiency of Greek small and medium retail enterprises before and after the crisis that started in 2008. Based on the Accounting Equation, we use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to estimate variable returns of scale efficiency scores and to conclude on specific characteristics that efficient companies have, for example, on capital structure. Our results from the DEA application show a high degree of inefficiency. We found that SMEs on the islands are more efficient than those on the mainland and that SMEs in the cities are the least efficient. Size seems to be important, more so on the islands and on the mainland than in the cities. We conclude that companies should act more conservatively in terms of operating cost when the first signs of a recession appear. In addition, during a recession period, companies that have evidences that their operations will continue positively should strengthen their operations by raising more own capital. Finally, our study clarifies four issues: the efficiency of retail companies in a period of growth and a period of recession, focusing on SMEs that operate in different regions, connecting Accounting Equation and DEA and adding acid ratio as an output in our model.     

Dynamic Linkages between FDI Inflows and Domestic Investment: A Panel Cointegration Approach

This paper analyzes the dynamic relationship between FDI inflows and domestic investment for a panel of selected countries by means of panel cointegration and causality techniques. Specifically, the paper provides empirical evidence regarding the existence of possible crowding in or crowding out effects between FDI inflows and domestic investment, accounting for the location and the level of development of the host countries.The paper was presented at the International Atlantic Economic Conference in London, March 9–13, 2005. The authors wish to thank the participants of the Macroeconomic Topics session for their valuable comments on an earlier draft. We would also like to express our gratitude to G. Chortareas and G. Konteos for helpful comments and suggestions. Nevertheless, the usual disclaimer applies.     

Fishery Products Distribution and Logistics in Greece

Greece has a population of 10.9 million people. The consumption of fish is high (approx. 25kg per capita per year), with many traditional Greek dishes being focused on fish. Fish farming has emerged as one of the fastest growing technologies in Greece and is now the country's third largest export sector and shows great potential for further development. For this reason, fishery products distribution and logistics is an issue of major significance in Greece. This article attempts to analyze the structure of the fishery products distribution and logistics system and identifies major problems within that system. The article is based on the findings of a survey of 186 companies. As one of the first studies in Greece ocusing on fishery products distribution and logistics, it will generate new insights and information for distribution and logistics academics and managers.     

Winners and Losers in EU State Aid Policy

Who gains and who loses from the European Union’s state aid policy? Using data published by the Competition Directorate from 1992 to 2007, I employ pooled time series analysis to understand the motives behind state aid allocations and then interpret the findings in light of the political relationship between Member States and the Commission. Demand for aid is shaped by national macroeconomic and institutional characteristics. Governments then bargain with the Commission to allocate aid. As a result, the Commission finds itself in a delicate balancing act as controller of state aids and as an institution subject to the political power of member government.     

Local Public Corruption and Bank Lending Activity in the United States

Using a conviction-based measure, we find that local (state-level) public corruption exerts a negative effect on the lending activity of US banks. Our baseline estimations show that the difference in public corruption between, for example, Alabama, where corruption is high, and Minnesota, where corruption is low, implies that banks headquartered in the former state grant 0.55% less credit (or $3.52 million for the average bank) ceteris paribus. Using proxies for relationship lending and monitoring, we also find that these bank characteristics weaken the negative effect of public corruption on lending. These results are robust to tests that address endogeneity, to the use of perception-based measures of corruption, and after controlling for credit demand conditions. In further analysis, we show that these effects are more evident for smaller banks and banks operating in a single state. These findings provide evidence that public corruption could facilitate information asymmetry in the lending market and, thus, could hinder local development by reducing bank credit.

     

On the evolution of monopoly pricing in Internet-assisted search markets

This study examines the evolution of prices in markets with Internet price-comparison search engines. The empirical study analyzes laboratory data of prices available to informed consumers, for two industry sizes and two conditions on the sample (complete and incomplete). Distributions are typically bimodal. One of the two modes of distribution, corresponding to monopoly pricing, tends to attract such pricing strategies increasingly over time. The second one, corresponding to interior pricing, follows a decreasing trend. Monopoly pricing can serve as a means of insurance against more competitive (but riskier) behavior. In fact, experimental subjects who initially earn low profits due to interior pricing are more likely to switch to monopoly pricing than subjects who experience good returns from the start.     

Particle swarm optimization for optimal product line design

Designing optimal products is one of the most critical activities for a firm to stay competitive. Except for genetic algorithms, previous approaches that solve the optimal product line design problem provide the decision maker with a single best solution. Furthermore, they assume a static market, in which the incumbent firms will not respond to the entrance of a new player. In this paper we apply a new population-based algorithm called particle swarm optimization to the problem and employ a Monte Carlo simulation to compare its performance to that of genetic algorithms. The results indicate that the proposed particle swarm optimization algorithm constitutes an attractive alternative for solving the optimal product line design problem because its performance is comparable to that of genetic algorithms concerning the best solution found while it outperforms genetic algorithms regarding the diversity of the final set of provided solutions. Furthermore, we use concepts from game theory to illustrate how the algorithm can be extended to incorporate retaliatory actions from competitors. The dynamic approach is illustrated through a real-world case in which a firm intends to enter the Greek retail milk market. While employing highly simplifying assumptions, the incorporation of the Nash equilibrium concept provides useful insights, such as the attribute levels that may be resistant to competitive reactions and the incumbent firms that will benefit most in the long term.     

LIQUIDITY AND PRICE VARIABILITY IN FUTURES MARKETS

This paper tests the hypothesis that market liquidity affects the price variability of futures contracts. The analyses used take into account the maturity effect and various sources of nonstationarity. Empirical testing involved eleven commodities in various markets. The evidence strongly suggests that futures contracts in distant and thinly traded months exhibit different price variability than contracts in near to maturity and liquid traded months, and that the behavior is commodity dependent. These findings could help investors better evaluate risks and provide a better basis for hedging strategies. Also, monthly averages of open interest can be used interchangeably with volume to measure liquidity in determining which pattern applies to a given commodity.