The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Lisa Kahle, Information Management Services, Inc., for SAS® programming and data analysis; WenYen Juan, USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP), for producing the figures and creating the data for the Whole Fruit component; Thea Palmer Zimmerman, Westat, Inc., for coding the exemplary menus; Meredith Morrissette, National Can...

In this review, we describe the creation of a large database of thermoelectric materials prepared by abstracting information from over 100 publications. The database has over 18 000 data points from multiple classes of compounds, whose relevant properties have been measured at several temperatures. Appropriate visualization of the data immediately allows certain insights to be gained with regar...

Risk analysis depends to a large extent on the type of data. Aggregate data can serve as a useful surrogate for individual data. However, in practice, there is uncertainty on the reliability and adequacy of aggregated data. In this paper we estimate the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) for a loan portfolio using both aggregate data and individual data. Then, we compare both estimates to assess ...

Consumer search is analysed in a cross-sector study of six markets in the US, Germany and UK using online panel data. Two constructs are used to measure the search process: the consideration set and use of price comparison engines. The consideration sets range from 2.3 to 3.1 in the US, from 2.3 to 2.6 in Germany and from 2.6 to 3.2 in the UK, regardless of the use of price comparison engines. ...

In this paper we study a behavioral model of conflict that provides a basis for choosing certain indices of dispersion as indicators for conflict. We show that the (equilibrium) level of conflict can be expressed as an (approximate) linear function of the Gini coefficient, the Herfindahl-Hirschman fractionalization index, and a specific measure of polarization due to Esteban and Ray. JEL-Classi...

I investigate whether the removal of the reserve clause in professional baseball a ected the competitive nature of the industry in the context of whether teams are actively attempting to monopolize in highvalued inputs. It is possible that a very few teams could purchase all of the best players over time leading to a highly concentrated industry in certain production categories and adversely a ...

We study gatekeeping physicians' referrals of patients to specialty care. We derive theoretical results when competition in the physician market intensifies. First, due to competitive pressure, physicians refer patients to specialty care more often. Second, physicians earn more by treating patients themselves, so refer patients to specialty care less often. We assess empirically the overall eff...

Abstract The relative importance of key state-level outcomes upon U.S. national corn and soybean production was examined using correlated component regression , a recently developed technique for application to multicollinear sparse data sets. Standardized coefficients were used rank the states’ importance. A Herfindahl-Hirschman Index measure degree concentration among top ranked states. empir...

We investigate mergers in markets where quality differences between products are central and firms may reposition their product lines by adding or removing of different qualities following a merger. Such materially from those studied the existing literature. Mergers without synergies exhibit product-mix effect which raises consumer surplus, but only when pre-merger industry structure satisfies ...