Exploring Duopoly Markets with Conjectural Variations

In this article, the authors investigate competitive firm behaviors in a two-firm environment assuming linear cost and demand functions. By introducing conjectural variations, they capture the different market structures as specific configurations of a more general model. Conjectural variations are based on the assumption that each firm believes its own strategy influences its rival's strategy. Firms derive their optimal choice from these exogenous conjectures, under the form of a conjectural best-response function. The authors’ approach fully encompasses the standard measures of market power (the Lerner Index) and concentration (the Herfindahl Index), both depending on the conjectural variations. They finally represent, analytically and graphically, the equilibrium strategies and the associated indexes in a unified framework for any level of competition, ranging from perfect competition to collusion.     

Visitors to Litchfield National Park,Australia: A Typology Based on Behaviours

Litchfield Park is located in the Northern Territory, Australia, and attracts over 280,000 visitors a year. The paper reports results derived from a visitor monitoring system established by the Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory in 1997. Specific attention is paid to the development of clusters of visitors. Five such clusters were identified and the paper reports not simply the results of a cluster analysis, but additionally provides an importance–satisfaction matrix for the total sample. These five clusters were described as 'day visitors', 'hedonists', 'generalists', 'four-wheeldrive enthusiasts' and 'information seekers'. It was found that there was a desire to limit commercial activities within the park. It is suggested that the Parks and Wildlife Commission might have to view advertising parks as a series of complementary attractions linked to specific usage patterns rather than simply regard each park as an isolated unit. The paper also provides background data about the park, and the activities undertaken by visitors.     

Contemporary Capitalism as a New Monetary Economy of Production: The Logic of Conventions,M&A,and LBOs

Social interaction models, i.e. the changing sequence of actions between individuals who modify their behavior under the influence of their peers, have rarely enjoyed as high a profile in economic analysis as they do today. However, the literature growth has not been accompanied by a process of academic consolidation. The difficulties encountered in research are largely but not entirely the result of data constraints. The main argument of this article is that the source of problems may be traceable to the lack of a complementary approach between economics and other disciplines. The difficulties presented by the deficit in academic exchange among social scientists are compounded by the current analytical framework, which still concentrates on the fundamental, but mutually exclusive, traditions of thought: homo oeconomicus and homo sociologicus. In spotlighting these ideas, this article reviews the economic body of literature on social interactions and their effect on individual unemployment status. Two directions in current research are analyzed: the impact of social (work) norms on unemployment and the role of social networks in the job search process. The theoretical and methodological challenges encountered in research suggest that the future of social interactions models might be found at the crossroads of economics and other social sciences.     

The effect of pharmacogenetic profiling with a clinical decision support tool on healthcare resource utilization and estimated costs in the elderly exposed to polypharmacy

Objective:

To compare healthcare resource utilization (HRU) and clinical decision-making for elderly patients based on cytochrome P450 (CYP) pharmacogenetic testing and the use of a comprehensive medication management clinical decision support tool (CDST), to a cohort of similar non-tested patients.

Methods:

An observational study compared a prospective cohort of patients ≥65 years subjected to pharmacogenetic testing to a propensity score (PS) matched historical cohort of untested patients in a claims database. Patients had a prescribed medication or dose change of at least one of 61 oral drugs or combinations of ≥3 drugs at enrollment. Four-month HRU outcomes examined included hospitalizations, emergency department (ED) and outpatient visits and provider acceptance of test recommendations. Costs were estimated using national data sources.

Results:

There were 205 tested patients PS matched to 820 untested patients. Hospitalization rate was 9.8% in the tested group vs 16.1% in the untested group (RR?=?0.61, 95% CI?=?0.39–0.95, p?=?0.027), ED visit rate was 4.4% in the tested group vs 15.4% in the untested group (RR?=?0.29, 95% CI?=?0.15–0.55, p?=?0.0002) and outpatient visit rate was 71.7% in the tested group vs 36.5% in the untested group (RR?=?1.97, 95% CI?=?1.74–2.23, p?<?0.0001). The rate of overall HRU was 72.2% in the tested group vs 49.0% in the untested group (RR?=?1.47, 95% CI?=?1.32–1.64, p?<?0.0001). Potential cost savings were estimated at $218 (mean) in the tested group. The provider majority (95%) considered the test helpful and 46% followed CDST provided recommendations.

Conclusion:

Patients CYP DNA tested and treated according to the personalized prescribing system had a significant decrease in hospitalizations and emergency department visits, resulting in potential cost savings. Providers had a high satisfaction rate with the clinical utility of the system and followed recommendations when appropriate.     

More long-term care for better healthcare and vice versa: investigating the mortality effects of interactions between these public sectors

Public healthcare (HC) and long-term care (LTC) sectors coexist in several OECD countries. Economic interactions between these two sectors have been found to occur even in the absence of formal integrated care arrangements. We investigate whether and how interactions between the HC and LTC sectors impact mortality. We analyse data on English local authorities in 2014–15 and employ a sequence of cross-sectional econometric specifications based on instrumental variables to identify the effect that LTC expenditure has on mortality through its interactions with HC services, and vice versa. Our findings suggest that any effect of LTC expenditure on mortality is likely to run through the HC sector by allowing the latter to reallocate resources from less to more effective services. A 10 per cent increase in LTC expenditure per user can indirectly save, on average, about three lives per million individuals. In addition, on top of the known HC direct mortality effects, we find that investing an extra £42 million in the HC sector – equivalent to a 10 per cent increase in HC expenditure per capita for the average local authority – can decrease the use of LTC services, producing around £7.8 million of savings. These can generate mortality effects if invested in services having an impact on mortality.     

Service robots with (perceived) theory of mind: An examination of humans’ reactions

In the near future, it is expected that we humans will receive an increasing part of various services from robots. Many observers, and several existing studies, indicate that we react more positively if our robots have humanlike attributes and capabilities, and the present study examines one such capability: theory of mind. It has to do with the ability to impute mental states to others, which is essential for human-to-human interaction (including interactions in service settings). More specifically, the present study examines the effects of perceptions of service robots' theory of mind capabilities in human-to-robot interactions when the main downstream variable is perceived service quality. Several mediators are also examined. To this end, two empirical studies comprising human-to-robot interactions in a domestic setting were conducted. Both studies indicate that a service robot with more as opposed to less perceived theory of mind enhances perceived service quality, and that this effect is mediated by perceived humanness and perceived usefulness in relation to the robot. It may be argued that a robot's theory of mind capability can also be seen as creepy, which may reduce perceived service quality, because a competent mind reader can create serious harm to others. In the present study, however, robotic theory of mind capabilities did not influence creepiness perceptions.