BACKGROUND Policymakers and researchers frequently compare the prices of medicines between countries. Such comparisons often serve as barometers of how pricing and reimbursement policies are performing. The aim of this study was to examine methodological challenges to comparing generic drug prices. METHODS We calculated all commonly used price indices based on 2013 IMS Health data on sales of...

In his inaugural presidential address to the Population Association of America in 1978, Richard Easterlin challenged the orthodox neoclassical economic model of fertility originally suggested by Becker and subsequently elaborated by Becker and Lewis. While maintaining an economic approach to fertility, Easterlin's model was based upon the notion of material aspirations which changed systematic...

A multisector model was formulated to simulate the effects of recombinant porcine somatotropin (pST) on the U.S. hog-pork industry. A producer sector submodel was specified for nine hog-producing states, and a retail-wholesale sector was specified on a national level. Four pST adoption scenarios were tested; these differed in the extent of feed cost reduction (15 vs 25%) with or without premium...

Since Marshall, the standard approach to developing a theory of competitive markets is to separate demand behavior (“consumer theory”) from supply behavior (“producer theory”) and then use the notion of market equilibrium to reconcile demand and supply. This note studies producer theory and a separate one studies consumer theory. The standard model has the following features. Firms are describe...

In many power markets around the world the energy generation decisions result from two-sided auctions in which producing and consuming agents submit their price-quantity bids. The determination of optimal bids in power markets is a complicated task that has to be undertaken every day. In the present work, we propose an optimization model for a price-taker hydropower producer in Nord Pool that t...

A good model of the relationship between the market demand and prices plays a fundamental role in much economic decision-making. However, many decision-making models use either incomplete demand functions which are defined only on a restricted domain, or functions that do not reflect market reality. In the first part of this paper, we explain our motivation behind a complete reasonable definiti...

This paper examines a homogeneous-good Bertrand–Edgeworth oligopoly model to explore the role of firm size and number in pricing. We consider price impact merger, break up, investment, divestment, entry exit. A merger leads higher prices only when it increases largest seller industry capacity is neither too big nor small post-merger. Similarly, breaking up lower concerns biggest producer aggreg...

Adurable-goods monopolist who will be introducing new and improved versions of his product must decide how to price his products, keeping in mind the relative attractiveness of the current and future products. Dhebar (1994) has shown that if technology is changing too quickly and the producer cannot credibly commit to future prices and quality, then no equilibrium strategy exists. That is, ther...

Introduction Historically, India is the largest producer, consumer and importer of pulses. Although it is the world’s largest pulses producer, there is still a huge shortage of pulses and also, the prices are not affordable to a large section of consumers. An immediate need is the development and dissemination of low-cost technologies in pulses production, so that they can be affordable to the ...

Energy poverty can be understood as the inability of a household to secure a socially and materially necessitated level of energy services in the home. While the condition is widespread across Europe, its spatial and social distribution is highly uneven. In this paper, the existence of a geographical energy poverty divide in the European Union (EU) provides a starting point for conceptualizing ...