Improving the efficiency of metropolitan area transit by joint analysis of its multiple providers

Public transportation in a metropolitan area often is supplied by multiple types of transit. This paper develops and illustrates a DEA-based procedure for estimating: overall efficiency of an area’s public transportation; technical efficiencies of the individual transit types; effect of each type on overall efficiency; and efficiency of the allocation of resources among types and an algorithm for improving it. The paper concludes that the overall efficiency of an urban area’s public transportation can be validly estimated only if the technical efficiency of each major transport type and the efficiency in allocating resources among them are taken into consideration.     

The influence of growth opportunities on the relationship between equity ownership and leverage

This study investigates whether the association between ownership structure and leverage varies with the magnitude of growth opportunities. According to the free cash flow hypothesis, managers receive utility from increasing firm size and the over-investment problem is more severe for firms with fewer growth opportunities. Considering the disciplinary role of leverage on the over-investment problem and ownership structure as a control mechanism to affect financing decisions, we hypothesize that the association between ownership structure and leverage is stronger for firms with fewer growth opportunities. We find that the association between equity ownership and leverage is significant for low-growth firms, but not for high-growth firms. The results mostly hold when sample firms are partitioned into large and small firms to directly control for the effect of firm size on the association between ownership structure and leverage.

Firm survival through a crisis: The influence of market orientation,marketing innovation and business strategy

As an outcome of the economic crisis, the global manufacturing sector is collapsing. Focusing on Chinese manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs), this study investigates whether marketing innovation, defined as improvements in the marketing mix, can assist in withstanding the challenges of operating under the current economic conditions. A conceptual model linking market orientation, marketing innovation, competitive advantage and firm survival is tested using structural equation modelling. Three key findings are derived. First, the examined Chinese manufacturing SMEs had a greater perceived likelihood of survival had they developed and sustained a competitive advantage. Second, marketing innovation assisted in developing and sustaining competitive advantages based on differentiation and cost leadership strategies. Third, marketing innovation capabilities improved when the examined manufacturing SMEs were competitor oriented and had good inter-functional capabilities.     

Common stock returns,real activity,money, and inflation: Some international evidence

This paper tests whether the negative relationship between real stock returns and inflation in the United States is in fact proxying for a positive relationship between stock returns and real activity variables in six major industrial countries over 1966–1979. Consistent with Fama's ‘proxy-effect’ hypothesis, we document a negative relationship between inflation and real activity and a positive one between real stock returns and real activity variables. Real activity variables dominate money growth rates and expected and unexpected inflation in explaining real stock returns. A puzzling result that still remains is the positive role of money and the negative role of expected inflation in explaining these real stock returns in all major industrial countries.     

Higher educational services exports: sources of growth of Asian students in US and UK

The paper reviews the recent trends and current developments in the global higher education market with a particular focus on growth of Asian students studying in US and UK. Using pool cross section-time series data over the 1985–2003 period, it is found that different factors affect students from different countries differently. This suggests that the marketing strategies of offshore higher education providers need to be tailored to the specific needs of different markets in order to be successful. The emergence of a number of new players in the higher education export market is also rapidly becoming a major threat to the traditional higher education service exporters.

Rezensionen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Impact of completing chronic hepatitis C (CHC) treatment on post-therapy healthcare cost

Background:

Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is associated with significant economic burden. This study evaluated the healthcare cost alleviation associated with treatment of CHC.

Methods:

Health insurance claims from 60 self-insured US companies were analyzed (01/2001–03/2012). Adult patients with ≥1 CHC diagnosis (ICD-9-CM: 070.44, 070.54), initiating interferon, and with ≥2 dispensings and with ≥48 weeks of follow-up were selected. Patients diagnosed with HIV or who completed only 24 weeks of interferon therapy (a surrogate for CHC genotypes 2 and 3) were excluded from the study. Interferon users were categorized into complete and discontinued therapy cohorts. During the post–48-week treatment period, cohorts were compared for healthcare resource utilization using rate ratios (RRs), as well as healthcare costs using per-patient per-year (PPPY) cost differences.

Results:

A total of 1017 patients who completed and 953 patients who discontinued interferon therapy were identified. Relative to the discontinued therapy cohort, the completed therapy cohort had significantly fewer hospitalizations (RR [95% CI]?=?0.74 [0.68, 0.81], p?p?p?=?0.039), which translated into significantly lower total healthcare costs PPPY (cost difference [95% CI]?=?$4540 [1570, 7680], p?=?0.004) and hospitalization costs (cost difference [95% CI]?=?$3039 [1140, 5248], p?=?0.002). Non–CHC-related costs accounted for 55% and CHC-related costs for 45% of the all-cause cost difference between cohorts.

Limitations:

Claims data may have contained inaccuracies, and genotypes of patients with CHC could not be confirmed. The study consisted of privately insured individuals and may not be generalizable to the entire CHC population.

Conclusion:

Compared to discontinued therapy patients, CHC patients who completed interferon therapy and presumably had a higher rate of achieving SVR were found to have lower levels of healthcare resource utilization and costs post-therapy. The reduction was primarily in costs associated with non–HCV-related comorbidities.