Price Effects of Preferential Market Access: Caribbean Basin Initiative and the Apparel Sector

Preferential trade arrangements should be evaluated by theireffect on prices rather than by their effect on the total valueof trade. This point is emphasized in the theoretical literaturebut rarely implemented empirically. This article analyzes theU.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative’s (CBI’s) impacton the prices received by eligible apparel exporters. The CBI’sapparel preferences are the most important and heavily usedunilateral preferences because of high trade barriers imposedon exports from the rest of the world. A fixed-effects generalizedleast squares (GLS) estimation is used to isolate the effectsof other factors (such as quality, exchange rates, and transactioncosts) and to identify the effects of tariff preferences. CBIexporters capture only about two-thirds of their preferencemargin despite the high degree of competition among importers.This translates into a 9 percent increase in the relative pricesthey receive, with some variance across countries and years.Countries specializing in higher value items capture more ofthe preference margin, and the implementation of the North AmericanFree Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has a negative effect. RemovingMultifibre Arrangement quotas significantly lowers the benefitsof CBI preferences.     

An investigation of the effects of exchange rate volatility on exports in East Asia

This study investigates the effects of the exchange rate volatility on the export flows of Indonesia, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines during 1974–2011. Towards this goal a trade weighted real effective (rather than the bilateral) exchange rate and three different measures of volatility, i.e. obtained from an ARCH model, a GARCH model and a moving-average standard deviation measure are used in this study. Specifically, the export flows between six Asian countries and the rest of the world are investigated rather than focusing on trade with only one country. Our findings reveal that the exchange rate volatility has a significant impact on export flows in the short run as well as in the long run for all the countries in the sample. The impact in the long run is predominantly negative with the exception of Singapore, but in the short run the impact varies across countries. Moreover, our results are robust to the alternative measures of volatility used and most of the findings in the long run and short run are also robust to the crisis period.     

Healthcare utilization and costs among relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma patients on carfilzomib or pomalidomide as monotherapy or in combination with dexamethasone

Aim: To compare monthly healthcare resource utilization (HRU) and costs among adult patients with multiple myeloma (MM) receiving second or subsequent line of treatment (LOT) with carfilzomib or pomalidomide as monotherapy or in combination with dexamethasone.

Methods and materials: Adult MM patients who received carfilzomib or pomalidomide as second/subsequent LOT between 2006 and 2014 were selected from the MarketScan databases. LOT was determined using Medical/pharmacy claims using a published algorithm. For each patient, first LOT with carfilzomib or pomalidomide was defined as index LOT. Patients with first LOT as index LOT, who received other chemotherapy in combination with carfilzomib or pomalidomide, or who underwent stem cell transplant (STC) during index LOT were excluded. Monthly HRU and costs during index LOT were compared using inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTW) based on propensity scores for receipt of carfilzomib estimated by logistic regression with LOT, patient demographics, Charlson index, comorbidities, pre-index healthcare cost, and receipt of prior SCT as covariates.

Results: After weighting, baseline characteristics were well balanced among 114 carfilzomib and 144 pomalidomide patients. Mean (95% CI) numbers of outpatient visits per month were 7.1 (5.2–8.0) with carfilzomib and 4.7 (3.9–6.1) with pomalidomide (p?=?0.006). Otherwise, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in mean monthly HRU and costs or median time to therapy discontinuation. Mean (95% CI) monthly total healthcare costs were $19,776 (15,322–27,748) with pomalidomide and $17,321 (12,412–21,874) with carfilzomib (p?=?0.522).

Limitations: Comparison of carfilzomib vs pomalidomide may be biased if there are unobserved factors not balanced by IPTW. The relatively small sample size limits the power of analyses to detect potential differences between treatment groups.

Conclusions: Monthly HRU and costs are similar among patients with relapse or refractory MM patients receiving carfilzomib or pomalidomide as monotherapy or in combination with dexamethasone.     

Inflation Linkages Within The Eurozone: Core vs. Periphery

We examine the process of inflation transmission among GIIPS countries (Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain) and Germany. Our findings suggest that inflation spillovers have increased since 2001. We also find that peripheral economies are (dis‐)inflation transmitters to the core. This finding is significant for policy formulation, given the very low inflation environment that currently exists in the Euro area and the macroeconomic implications that arise from this.     

FDI Location and the Relevance of Spatial Linkages: Evidence from Provincial and Industry FDI in China

In this study both aggregate and industry‐level foreign direct investment (FDI) data are employed to investigate the spatial dependence of FDI hosts. The analysis contributes to the existing literature by focusing on the heterogeneous spatial correlation of FDI in different industries. Using more comprehensive FDI data across multiple industries and multiple provinces in China from 1999 to 2007, the results show a significant spatial correlation among provinces. Aggregate FDI tends to be regional trade platform oriented indicating neighboring provinces become competitors for FDI. In contrast, results based on industry‐level provincial FDI show stronger support for vertical or complex vertical FDI.     

Correcting the t statistic for measurement error

Studies in marketing often involve application of multi-item scales to measure latent constructs. Once the psychometric properties of a scale have been assessed, responses to individual scale items are often summed to form a composite score, which then is compared across groups by performing statistical tests such as a t test. In this note, we draw researchers?? attention to an often overlooked fact that the t test is attenuated by imperfect measures. As a solution, we propose the disattenuated t statistic and discuss how it would increase accuracy of estimates and affect decisions in the marketing discipline.     

Bayesian model averaging and identification of structural breaks in time series

Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) is used for testing for multiple break points in univariate series using conjugate normal-gamma priors. This approach can test for the number of structural breaks and produce posterior probabilities for a break at each point in time. Results are averaged over specifications including: stationary; stationary around trend and unit root models, each containing different types and number of breaks and different lag lengths. The procedures are used to test for structural breaks on 14 annual macroeconomic series and 11 natural resource price series. The results indicate that there are structural breaks in all of the natural resource series and most of the macroeconomic series. Many of the series had multiple breaks. Our findings regarding the existence of unit roots, having allowed for structural breaks in the data, are largely consistent with previous work.     

Imported Intermediate Inputs,R&D,and Productivity at Firm Level: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing Industries

This article examines the effects of imported intermediary inputs and in-house research and development (R&D) on productivity growth, using firm-level data from Indian manufacturing industries for the period 2000–09. For this purpose, we adopted two empirical frameworks: production function and growth accounting method. The estimated results from the production function framework suggest that the impact of imported intermediary goods on output is reasonably sizable. The role of R&D activities under this framework is found to be insignificant. The analysis based on the growth accounting suggests that total factor productivity of firms is linked with import and R&D activities.     

Scarcity Appeal in Advertising: Exploring the Moderating Roles of Need for Uniqueness and Message Framing

In this article we examine differences in the impact of message framing and scarcity appeal types in advertisements on consumers with varying levels of need for uniqueness (NFU). Results from two experimental studies support a two-way NFU × scarcity interaction, wherein participants with lower levels of NFU show a greater impact of demand (versus supply) scarcity appeal on their attitudes and purchase intentions; whereas participants with higher levels of NFU show a greater impact of supply (versus demand) appeal. In addition, we found support for a three-way interaction, which shows that, under both gain and loss frames, participants with lower levels of NFU prefer demand over supply appeal; whereas under the loss frame, participants with higher levels of NFU prefer supply over demand appeal. We discuss the conceptual contribution and managerial implications of these findings.