Evaluation of the profitability of quality labels in rural tourism accommodation: a hedonic approach using propensity score matching

In recent years, quality labels for the Spanish tourism sector have been developed as part of a competitive strategy focused on the differentiation of the product. Given this development, it is interesting to analyse the profitability of quality labels for the accommodation owners and managers. In particular, this article calculates the profitability of a rural tourism quality label. Through the use of the hedonic price approach, the market valuation of the quality label for rural self-catering cottages is obtained. This valuation is subsequently compared with the expenses incurred by establishments in achieving the quality label. In order to address the usual methodological problems associated with the endogeneity, prior to application of the hedonic approach, the propensity score matching is used. The results indicate that possessing a quality label has a positive impact on the profitability of rural tourism.     

Bias-corrected estimates of reduction of post-surgery length of stay and corresponding cost savings through the widespread national implementation of fast-tracking after liver transplantation: a quasi-experimental study

Background: Fast-tracking is an approach adopted by Mayo Clinic in Florida’s (MCF) liver transplant (LT) program, which consists of early tracheal extubation and transfer of patients to surgical ward, eliminating a stay in the intensive care unit in select patients. Since adopting this approach in 2002, MCF has successfully fast-tracked 54.3% of patients undergoing LT.

Objectives: This study evaluated the reduction in post-operative length of stay (LOS) that resulted from the fast-tracking protocol and assessed the potential cost saving in the case of nationwide implementation.

Methods: A propensity score for fast-tracking was generated based on MCF liver transplant databases during 2011–2013. Various propensity score matching algorithms were used to form control groups from the United Network of Organ Sharing Standard Analysis and Research (STAR) file that had comparable demographic characteristics and health status to the treatment group identified in MCF. Multiple regression and matching estimators were employed for evaluation of the post-surgery LOS. The algorithm generated from the analysis was also applied to the STAR data to determine the proportion of patients in the US who could potentially be candidates for fast-tracking, and the potential savings.

Results: The effect of the fast-tracking on the post-transplant LOS was estimated at approximately from 2.5 (p-value?=?0.001) to 3.2 (p-value?Conclusion: The fast-track program was found to be effective in reducing post-transplant LOS, although the reduction appeared to be less than previously reported. Nationwide implementation of fast-tracking could result in substantial cost savings without compromising the patient outcome.     

The Productivity Effects of Worker Mobility Between Heterogeneous Firms

We analyze the effect of worker inflows on establishments’ productivity, using German data. Previous studies for other countries have found positive effects of hiring workers from superior (more productive or higher paying) firms. Ranking establishments by their median wage, we find that inflows from inferior establishments seem to increase hiring establishments’ productivity. Further empirical analyses suggest our findings are due to a positive selection of such inflows from their sending establishments. These workers might have to find a better job match in order to advance their careers, an interpretation supported by the finding that the effect is driven by workers with short tenure at their previous employer. Our findings reflect the increasingly assortative pattern of worker mobility in Germany found in a related strand of literature.     

Price matching and product differentiation strategies considering showrooming

Showrooming, a phenomenon in which customers use brick-and-mortar stores to assess products and then purchase them from online retailers (o-retailers) for lower prices, is considered a great threat to traditional retailers (t-retailers). To combat showrooming, many t-retailers have executed price matching which enables customers to pay o-retailers' lower prices for the identical product. To avoid direct competition with t-retailers who execute price matching, many o-retailers have begun to sell differentiated products from t-retailers, which weakens the information advantage to customers from practicing showrooming. Motivated by these observations, we construct a duopoly game, where a t-retailer and an o-retailer sell products in a same category, to study the profitabilities of product differentiation and price matching in the context of showrooming. The results show that in the scenario without price matching, the o-retailer is likely to benefit from product differentiation only when the o-retailer's differentiated product is more popular with customers than the t-retailer's product. However, in the price matching scenario, the o-retailer also has the opportunity to benefit from product differentiation when the o-retailer's differentiated product is less popular with customers than the t-retailer's product, and product differentiation can be a win-win strategy for the two retailers under certain conditions. Considering the o-retailer's product differentiation decision, the t-retailer is only likely to execute price matching if the non-digital attributes of the product category sold by two retailers are not very obvious.     

Exploring the factors that drive consumers to use contactless delivery services in the context of the continued COVID-19 pandemic

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the launch of contactless delivery services. This research integrates resource matching, service quality evaluation, and perceived value theories to explore the factors that promote the use contactless delivery services. The data was obtained through questionnaire surveys, and research hypotheses were verified through the structural equation modelling approach. With the exception of convenience, the results show that privacy, reliability, security, and flexibility have a significantly positive effect on consumers' intention to use “contactless” delivery services through consumers' perceived value. This study contributes to the literature by introducing theoretical frameworks from various paradigms and enriches the academic research on existing theoretical structure models. It also helps optimize resource allocation and realize the social environment related to coexisting with the COVID-19 pandemic.     

普及互联网使用有助于缩小农村内部收入差距吗？——来自CLDS村级数据的经验证据

由于互联网具有普惠性和亲贫性,个体使用互联网对其收入增长的促进作用在群体上表现为互联网使用普及的平均收入增长效应和收入差距缩小效应。采用“中国劳动力动态调查”（CLDS）2014年、2016年、2018年三期的数据,分析互联网使用普及对农村社区（村庄）平均家庭收入和家庭收入差距的影响,结果显示：村庄内使用互联网家庭的占比提高不仅能显著提升平均家庭收入水平,而且会显著降低家庭收入基尼系数,验证了互联网的普惠性和亲贫性;当普及程度小于0.4时互联网使用对家庭收入差距的影响不显著（具有随着互联网使用率提高由正转负的趋势）,当普及程度大于0.4后互联网使用对家庭收入差距具有显著的负向影响;互联网使用普及可以通过促进服务业发展、提升劳动力技能等群体改善效应缩小农村内部收入差距。因此,应当加快网络基础设施建设,推进互联网使用在农村地区的普及,着重提高弱势群体对互联网使用的可及性,推动互联网与农村应用场景的深度耦合,充分发挥互联网的普惠性和亲贫性功效,有效促进农村居民的收入水平提升和收入差距缩小。     

信号调节器与传感器的匹配研究

工程测量技术人员在工程项目中常常遇到不知如何在众多的信号调理器中挑选一台适合与传感器配接的仪器的问题。据此,以磁电式传感器、压电加速度计和力平衡式加速度计3种常见类型的传感器为例,结合具体型号的产品,介绍与传感器配接的信号调理器的选择方法以及应注意的问题。     

车货匹配平台价值共创逻辑的演进——从“再中介化”到“去中介化”

文章以运满满为研究案例,对车货匹配平台的价值创造活动展开研究,分析平台价值创造逻辑的演进,从中归纳运满满的成功经验,为车货匹配平台的发展提供经验借鉴。研究发现：车货匹配业务是多个参与主体的价值共创活动,物流平台企业介入车货匹配业务后,促使新的车货匹配生态系统的形成,不仅使车货匹配平台的价值共创活动从车货匹配业务向其他增值业务延伸,也使价值实现的要素和价值共创的参与主体产生改变;平台经历了从“再中介化”到“去中介化”的演进,车货匹配生态系统内部“社会价值”的持续创造,为生态系统的发展演进提供了条件。     

Labour market effects of retraining for the unemployed: the role of occupations

We analyse the impact of retraining for unemployed low-skilled job-seekers in Germany. This extensive training programme leads to a formal vocational degree, which is often required to access certain professions. Applying statistical matching methods, we find that on average, after a period with large lock-in effects, retraining strongly increases the employment probability of participants, especially women. We add to the literature by estimating the employment effects for different occupations for which participants are trained. Our results show that there are substantial differences depending on the occupation. As the composition of trained occupations differs for men and women, segregation could be a driver of higher employment effects for women. However, comparisons of men and women trained for the same occupations reveal that even after controlling for segregation, women profit more from retraining. While caseworkers are instructed to choose professions with high labour demand, other aspects, such as working conditions, preferences and aptitudes of participants, should be crucial in the choice of a suitable occupation. An individual assessment of the suitability of an occupation could therefore improve the overall effectiveness of the programme.     

The negative consequences of school bullying on academic performance and mitigation through female teacher participation: evidence from Ghana

Exploiting data from Ghanaian schools’ eighth grade students collected in 2011, we estimate the causal effects of school bullying on academic achievement and gender-based mitigating approaches by using propensity score matching (PSM) and doubly robust (DR) estimator approach. We find that students victimized by bullying score at least 0.22 standard deviation lower than their peers in a standardized mathematics examination. Meanwhile, we document that the effect of bullying is significantly attenuated in the presence of female teachers in the classroom. These results hold through a set of robustness checks including placebo regressions and matching quality test. We explain the results through gender difference in teaching paradigm and conclude that a feminine management approach in class is required to reduce the effect of bullying.