The paper estimates the shadow prices of SO2 emissions for 36 Czech industry sectors during the period 2000-2008. A convex nonparametric least squares quadratic optimization formulated by Mekaroonreung & Johnson (2012) is applied to measure technical efficiency and to jointly estimate the shadow prices of SO2 emissions. The weighted average shadow price ranges between 360€ and 1,316€ per ton of...

This study used publicly available data to examine the effect of the separation of dispensing and prescribing medicines between pharmacists in pharmacies and doctors in medical institutions (the separation system) and the generic medicine replacement ratio on the cost of various medicines in Japanese prefectures. For Japanese medical institutions, participation in the separation system is optio...

OBJECTIVE To compare the initial costs of the three most established treatments for clinically localized prostate cancer according to risk, age and comorbidity groups, from the healthcare provider's perspective. METHODS We carried out a cost comparison study in a sample of patients consecutively recruited between 2003 and 2005 from a functional unit for prostate cancer treatment in Catalonia ...

The organizational economics literature provides two primary arguments for vertically integrating a factor of production: incentives for investment in relationship-specific assets and improved coordination due to less bargaining activity (and other factors). Although there is now a well-established body of empirical work investigating investments in specific assets, there is almost no empirical...

This study investigated predictions of the life-span theory of selection, optimization, and compensation, focusing on different patterns of task priority during dual-task performance in younger and older adults. Cognitive (memorizing) and sensorimotor (walking a narrow track) performance were measured singly, concurrently, and when task difficulty was manipulated. Use of external aids was measu...

for their advice and Ed Lowery and Link Hoewing for their input on telecommunications industry dynamics. All errors and omissions are my own. Abstract I examine the effects of market concentration on interconnection in network industries. Using Cournot interactions, each network chooses quantity, quality for communications within the provider's own network, which I call internal quality, and qu...

This paper researches the determinants of financing decisions of extreme growth companies. For this purpose, we use a longitudinal dataset, free of survivorship bias, covering the financing events of extreme growth companies for up to eight years. Results are generally consistent with the extended pecking order theory. Profitable companies are more likely to use internal finance, while they hav...

In this paper we describe data structures for orthogonal range reporting in external memory that support fast update operations. The query costs either match the query costs of the best previously known data structures or differ by a small multiplicative factor.

We study the use of fines and inspections to control production activities that create external damages. The model contains a continuum of firms, differing in their compliance costs, so that only high-cost firms evade the regulations. If fines are low, then Pigouvian rules for taxing externalities apply, modified to account for costly inspections. According to Becker’s classic work on crime and...

Mental states-such as thinking, remembering, or feeling angry, happy, or dizzy-have a clear internal component. We feel a certain way when we are in these states. These internal experiences may be simulated when people understand conceptual references to mental states. However, mental states can also be described from an "external" perspective, for example when referring to "smiling." In those ...