Productivity growth in east Asia: a reappraisal

In recent years there has been considerable disagreement over the extent to which productivity growth has accounted for the success of the east Asian economies. Empirical evidence, based on forms of growth accounting or direct estimation of a production function, is inconclusive so that the debate appears to be at a stalemate. This article applies an alternative approach, using the Malmquist productivity indices, to investigate the contribution of productivity to the longer term growth. The results support the view that over the longer term, the east Asian economies were input driven but interesting differences arise between countries when shorter periods are analysed.     

Innovation and Market Structure in the Manufacturing Sector: An Application of Linear Feedback Models*

In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the relationship between market structure and innovation activities at an industry level. The paper examines the relationship between these for the manufacturing sector in a sample of 33 countries. It applies a recently developed method, based on linear feedback models, and uses cross‐country time‐series data. Despite the relatively small number of observations, the results indicate that domestic competition, external market share, and research and development have a positive effect on innovation activities. The results also suggest that the introduction of the foreign competition may have an initial positive effect on innovation activities, but over time this becomes dissipated.     

Estimating the Markov-switching almost ideal demand systems: a Bayesian approach

Allias and Nichèle (Eur Rev Agric Econ, 34(4):517–538, 2007) proposed a Markov-switching almost ideal demand system (MS-AIDS) model by extending the idea of Hamilton (Econometrica, 57(2):357–384, 1989). In this paper, we propose a Bayesian estimation for MS-AIDS model and illustrate applicability of our proposed method. We then run two sets of simulation studies to confirm the validity of the proposed method. In the empirical study on the Japanese meat market, our Bayesian estimation improves the MSEs for all meat products over the ML estimation, while successfully capturing the regime shifts of meat demand coinciding with the timing of bovine spongiform encephalopathy cases in Japan and US.     

ON DECISION-MAKING FOR MAXIMUM PROFIT PER UNIT OF TIME FROM BATCH PRODUCTION

Finding ration sequences which result in maximum profit per day from fattening batches of livestock over successive weight intervals has posed difficulties in earlier studies. Fractional and dynamic programming are considered as solution methods and illustrated for a problem previously solved by total enumeration. Other problems are discussed which would be best solved by a combination of the two methods. A novel proposal is made for using the two methods to maximise the present value of returns from sequencing weight gains over infinite production cycles.     

The association between osteoporosis and patient outcomes in Japan

Objective To quantify the burden of osteoporosis and examine the interplay between osteoporosis and various comorbidities as it relates to patient outcomes.

Methods Data from the 2011 Japan National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS; n?=?30 000), an internet health survey fielded to a nationally representative sample of the Japanese population were used. Only women between the ages of 50–90 years were included in the analyses (n?=?6950).

Results Compared with matched controls (n?=?404), patients with osteoporosis (n?=?404) had lower MCS scores (48.94 vs 51.63), PCS scores (45.57 vs 49.12) (all p?<?0.05). The presence of osteoporosis was associated with worse patient outcomes among those with hypertension, high cholesterol, and insomnia, among other conditions.

Conclusions The results suggest a significant quality-of-life and economic burden for patients with osteoporosis in Japan. Moreover, in a complex co-morbid environment, the presence of osteoporosis contributes more to patient outcomes than other chronic conditions.     

Wage distribution in Japan, 1989–2003

Abstract. This study examines the recent trend of the Japanese wage distribution based on a micro‐level data set from the Basic Survey on Wage Structure (1989–2003). We perform several decomposition analyses of changes in the distribution of the hourly wage. We observe that lower returns to education and years of tenure contribute to a diminishing income disparity between groups for both sexes. A larger variance within a group contributes to the wage disparity for males, while an increased heterogeneity of workers' attributes contributes to the wage disparity for females. The Dinardo, Fortin, and Lemieux decomposition confirms the basic findings with a parametric variance decomposition.     

A polyhedral approximation approach to concave numerical dynamic programming

This paper introduces a numerical method for solving concave continuous state dynamic programming problems which is based on a pair of polyhedral approximations of concave functions. The method is globally convergent and produces computable upper and lower bounds on the value function which can in theory be made arbitrarily tight. This is true regardless of the pattern of binding constraints, the smoothness of model primitives, and the dimensionality and rectangularity of the state space. We illustrate the method's performance using an optimal firm management problem subject to credit constraints and partial investment irreversibilities.     

Cordon Pricing and Land‐Use Regulation

This study explores the simultaneous imposition of cordon pricing and land‐use regulations in a continuous and closed monocentric city with homogeneous households. Results reveal the optimal level of a single cordon toll and its location and the optimal floor area ratio (FAR) regulation, clarifying what distortions remain in the existence of cordon pricing and FAR regulation. Among other results, this paper shows that, with an optimal cordon toll, FAR regulation should alternate between a minimum and a maximum regulation, both inside and outside the cordon line.     

Commuter arrivals and optimal service in mass transit: Does queuing behavior at transit stops matter?

This paper considers whether the optimal (second-best) mass-transit policy under a uniform-fare constraint is affected by passengers' queuing disciplines, by comparing the first-in-first-out (FIFO) and the random-access queuing. We analyze the problem by extending the model of mass-transit in Kraus and Yoshida (JUE(2002)) to the case of random-access queuing. The model involves the optimal number and capacity of trains as well as pricing. It is shown that, when the shadow value of a unit of waiting time exceeds that of a unit time of being late, the passengers' queuing discipline does not have any effect on the optimal (second-best) mass-transit policy including the number of trains and runs, scheduling, and pricing. If in turn, the shadow value of a unit of waiting time is smaller than that of being late, then aggregate travel costs are lower with random-access queuing than with FIFO, due to randomization of passengers' positions in a mass.     

Optimal Control of Pollution Accumulation with Long-Run Average Welfare

This paper considers the problem of pollution accumulation in order to maximize the long-run average welfare functional in environmental economics. We approach the problem by solving the associated Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation in the classical sense, via the viscosity solution method. The optimal policy is shown to exist in a feedback from, and the maximum value is also obtained independently of the initial level of pollution. An equilibrium of the optimal stock of pollution is discussed.