The demand for medical care services: evidence from Kuwait based on households’ out-of-pocket expenses

This article used a data set containing information on 1267 households from Kuwait to investigate the determinants of demand for medical care services by examining households’ out-of-pocket expenses. To deal with the problems associated with households’ health expenditure data, a two-part model (TPM) was estimated. Given Kuwait’s demographic composition, the model was estimated for full sample, nationals only and expatriates only. Prior to estimating the model, tests were conducted to select a transformation that reduces problems associated with heteroscedasticity and non-normality of the errors. In addition, tests were performed to determine if differences in the estimated coefficients across population groups were statistically significant.     

Implanting competitive strategy: A contingency approach

Competitive business strategies are often formulated with little regard given to the articulation format. This paper examines the strategy formulation process from a systems perspective and argues that articulation of a competitive strategy, such that sustained competitive advantage is created, requires consistency along the entire business chain. Internal consistency within the business chain is built through inter‐linkages. The inter‐linkages are made through four inter‐connective elements: human resources, technological resources, information resources and financial resources. It is argued in this paper that the human factor is of major importance since it integrates the other inter‐connective elements and therefore represents a key factor in the process of articulation and implementation. In view of the critical role of the human element in articulation of business strategy for competitive advantage, the paper develops a human‐factor related contingency framework. The developed contingency framework examines Porter's (1980, 1985) generic strategies with respect to congruent requisites necessary for building competitive advantage.     

25 years of Psychology & Marketing: a multidimensional review

The first issue of Psychology & Marketing was published in 1984. The journal was conceived as a forum for academics and practitioners in psychology, marketing, and related fields to engage in an exchange of scholarly information. The raison d'être of the journal was to bring psychologically sophisticated information and methodologies to bear on all aspects of marketing theory and practice. This review analyzes the performance of Psychology & Marketing from several perspectives, and includes data comparing its performance to the performance of other journals. Looking back over the last 25 years of its history, it seems fair to conclude that Psychology & Marketing has clearly delivered on its tacit promise of effectively building the knowledge base of marketing through psychology‐based insights. Looking forward, it seems reasonable to anticipate that the journal's well‐established track record in terms of diversity in the content, research design, and methodologies of its published articles will continue to stand as a welcome and refreshing distinction from other journals covering comparable domains of study. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Can market frictions really explain the price impact asymmetry of block trades? Evidence from the Saudi Stock Market

We empirically examine the price impact of block trades, in the Saudi Stock Market over the time period of 2005–2008. Using a unique dataset of intraday data consisting of 2.3 million block buys and 1.9 million block sales, we find an asymmetry in the price impact of block purchases and sales. The asymmetry persists even when we account for the bid–ask bias in block trades, which is contrary to the previous literature. Overall, our findings suggest that in an emerging market where institutional trading is relatively scarce, market microstructure cannot explain the asymmetry in the price impact of large trades.     

Analyzing airlines market service using panel data

Quarterly panel data covering the largest 10,000 city-pairs in the domestic US from 1998 are used to investigate airlines market entry and exit decisions. Several models are estimated looking at changes in the number of carriers serving in a market. The influence of a number of markets characteristics is examined, including number of passengers, average fare, average yield, service concentration, great circle distance, and seasonality. The results suggest that airlines are more likely to enter a market when market concentration is high and there are high average fares. Also airlines tend to enter new markets in the second quarter, then in the fourth quarter, and then in the third quarter of the year.     

Institutional Quality and Public Debt Accumulation: An Empirical Analysis

The question of public debt management for both developed and developing economies has generated an enormous amount of political as well as academic interest. This study examines how governance affects public debt accumulation in the MENA countries during the 1996–2015 period. The six Worldwide Governance indicators (voice and accountability, political stability and the absence of violence/terrorism, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law and control of corruption) were used to measure the quality of governance in these countries. The results show that only three governance indicators support well the hypothesis that poor governance leads to higher accumulation of MENA public debt. Moreover, the estimates suggest a significant indirect impact of bad governance operating via decreased GDP growth. These findings have important implications for policy makers of these countries, which are currently facing major fiscal and external imbalances due to the high cost of war and terrorist attacks, low oil prices and a decline in trade. Sound public debt management represents an urgent task especially that public debt management problems often find their origins in the lack of attention paid by policymakers to the costs of bad governance and weak macroeconomic management.     

“我们正在寻找中国进口商”

亚洲是我国开展对外经贸合作最主要的对象之一，特别是东盟一巾吲自由贸易区2010年1月1日全面启动以来，中国与亚洲国家经贸合作正变得更广泛而深入。近日，本刊记者集中采访了新加坡、马尔代夫和马来阳砸驻华大使，请他们介绍中国企业在这些国家的发展机会。     

Optimal foreign debt for Egypt: A stochastic control approach

This study assesses the foreign debt policy in Egypt and contrasts it versus the optimal policy during the period 1985–2008. It also presents a forecast of the optimal debt during the period 2009–2014. The optimal debt policy was derived using an open economy model for Egypt. The uncertainties in the model stem from the uncertainties in the interest or debt service payments and the uncertainties in the rate of return on investments. The stochastic control approach was used to find the optimal debt policy. It was found that Egypt could borrow externally as long as the trend in the rate of return on investments exceeds the trend in the real interest rate or the trend in the rate of the debt service payments. The analysis finds that Egypt's foreign debt was higher than the optimal level before 1997. After 1997, foreign debt seems to converge to the optimal level. However, Egypt's foreign debt is still below its optimal level which results in an opportunity cost for the economy to grow, otherwise, GDP could have recorded a favorable increase.