Average Price Difference Research Articles

Gluten-free foods: a 'health halo' too far for oral health?

Background Over the past decade, the rise of consumers following a gluten-free diet has increased greatly. The majority of people following a gluten-free diet have not been diagnosed with coeliac disease or gluten or wheat intolerance but believe it to be a health benefit.Aim To assess the differences between gluten-free and gluten-containing products with regards to the implications this might have on oral (and wider) health.Method In total, 50 purposively selected products (25 gluten-free and gluten-containing pairs) available to UK consumers, classified using the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey food categories, were analysed using content analysis of food packaging. The European Union front-of-pack labelling system revealed the nutritional composition of each product, focusing on carbohydrates, sugars and energy. Cost and use of emotive language to market products was also assessed.Results A nutritional comparison of the 25 product pairings found that, on average, all gluten-free products contained more calories, total carbohydrates and total sugar. The majority of the gluten-free products were classified as 'confectionary' or 'baked goods,' emphasising that products primarily consisted of foods high in sugar. The average sugar per 100 g for each category of food ranged from 2.5-37.0 g/100 g (gluten-free) compared to 2.1-30 g/100 g (gluten-containing). All gluten-free products were considerably more expensive when compared with the conventional version; the average price difference ranged from £0.08 to £4.40.Conclusion This study emphasises the 'health halo' phenomena, where foods for special diets are regarded by consumers as healthy when in fact they are not. This results partly from the products being mainly high-sugar 'treats', which are not a core of the UK Eatwell Guide food-based dietary guidelines. As many people consuming gluten-free products in the UK do not need them from a medical perspective, this could have implications for oral and wider health. It is important that members of the dental team are aware of the possible implications of a gluten-free diet where it is not medically indicated, coupled with reliance on convenience foods.

Investigating the effect of E30 fuel on long term vehicle performance, adaptability and economic feasibility

Due to the drawbacks associated with the use of petroleum derived fuels, the use of more sustainable fuel sources has garnered increasing attention in several sectors including road transportation. However, the transition away from gasoline is often hindered by the inability of currently operating vehicles to efficiently run under alternative fuels. Therefore, the logical short-term alternative is to transition to clean fuel sources including higher-ethanol fuel blends that are compatible with current fuel systems and spark-ignition engines. In this work, the long-term adaptability and economic feasibility of non-flex vehicles to consume a 30% ethanol (E30) fuel blend was investigated. Sixteen diagnostic and operating parameters were tracked in real-time in 50 vehicles over a one-year period. The vast amount of data generated was used to train sparse regression and machine learning models to explore differences in performance and operational robustness of commercial vehicles consuming E30 blends compared to the ones consuming 15% blends. Results indicate that although modest changes can be observed in the behavior of a subset of parameters, overall performance and adaptability are not compromised by consumption of E30. It was determined that an average price difference of 2.5% is sufficient to offset the mileage loss caused by the increased ethanol concentration.Finally, we discuss the large-scale environmental impact of an incremental nation-wide shift towards E30 consumption.

Reference Pricing Reduces Total Knee Implant Costs

BackgroundReference pricing establishes a set price a hospital is willing to pay for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) components regardless of vendor. The hospital contracts with vendors that sell implants to the hospital at the hospital-dictated prices. Orthopedic surgeons are free to utilize any implant system that has met the reference price using their best clinical judgment. Our hypothesis is that vendors will meet the set price and selection of different vendors and technologies will not change. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the 12 months prior (May 2017-2018) and the most recent 12 months after (March 2019-2020) implementing reference pricing at our institution. We investigated differences in average prices for total implant and component costs. We evaluated cost of implants with respect to surgeon volume, assessed the rate of cementless TKAs used, and number of companies purchased from before and after reference pricing. ResultsIn total, 7148 TKAs were included in the study with 3790 arthroplasties before and 3358 after implementation of reference pricing. Overall implant costs decreased by 16.7% (P < .0001). All individual knee component costs decreased by at least 11% (P = .0003). No difference in prices were found among surgeons (P = .9758). Cementless knee use increased by 9% (P < .0001; odds ratio 1.94, 95% confidence interval = 1.69-2.24). No vendor business was lost. ConclusionThe strategy of reference pricing significantly reduced costs for TKA implants at our institution. The reduction in implant costs was regardless of surgeon volume. Newer technologies were utilized more often after reference pricing. This strategy represents a significant cost-savings approach for other hospitals.

The long-run relationship between the Italian day-ahead and balancing electricity prices

We study the convergence of day-ahead and balancing prices for the Italian power market. The zonal time-series of the prices are evaluated, seasonally adjusted and tested to assess their long-run properties. We focus on the dynamic behavior of the four continental price zones of Italy (North, Central-North, Central-South and South). Using a sample of data that spans the last decade and applying the fractional cointegration methodology, we show the existence of long-run relationships. This signals the existence of convergence between prices in each zone but zone Central-South, where prices are divergent. We also measure the average price difference, and analyse how it evolves over time. Price differences dynamically reduce for all zones except for Central-South. We comment the results and provide an interpretation for the differences across zones. We also discuss policy consequences for both Italian and other markets.

When individuals behave as marketing firms: Probability discounting and reputation in peer‐to‐peer markets

Reputation systems in peer‐to‐peer markets can shed light on how individuals who operate in such markets manage both the consumer behavior setting scope and reinforcers, thus behaving similarly to marketing firms. Based upon the probability discounting framework, this paper investigated the influence of reputation on subjective values and willingness to pay. Renting prices of 386 properties listed on Airbnb in two cities in Brazil were analyzed. Results indicated that reputation alone does not generate significant differences in average prices per guest, although it has an indirect effect that enhances the influence of other variables on prices, particularly the number of amenities.

Uniform Pricing in U.S. Retail Chains*

AbstractWe show that most U.S. food, drugstore, and mass-merchandise chains charge nearly uniform prices across stores, despite wide variation in consumer demographics and competition. Demand estimates reveal substantial within-chain variation in price elasticities and suggest that the median chain sacrifices ${\$}$16 million of annual profit relative to a benchmark of optimal prices. In contrast, differences in average prices between chains are broadly consistent with the optimal benchmark. We discuss a range of explanations for nearly uniform pricing, highlighting managerial inertia and brand image concerns as mechanisms frequently mentioned by industry participants. Relative to our optimal benchmark, uniform pricing may significantly increase the prices paid by poorer households relative to the rich, dampen the response of prices to local economic shocks, alter the analysis of mergers in antitrust, and shift the incidence of intranational trade costs.

An Agent-Based Model Applied to Brazilian Wind Energy Auctions

This article, for the first time, adopts the agent-based model simulation technique to analyze the pricing process of energy in the Brazilian electricity market (auctions). Within this model, it is possible to analyze how the energy price is affected when a government intervention is observed through the increase in number of public companies participating in the auctions. In this paper, auctions of new and reserve energy of wind power are simulated. Through this model it is possible to compare the choice of bids from participating sellers in the auctions, categorized in two different groups: public and private companies. The agents (sellers) participate in the auctions by learning from the historical and simulated auctions that is regulated by the Brazilian government. Learning is performed through the usage of a variation of the Q-learning algorithm, which provides the sellers the optimal price-bid considering the conditions presented, which means that this price-bid will provide them the maximum reward possible. The results clearly show the average price difference between both generator profiles. In addition, it is possible to state that the price of energy changes due to the relative participation of public or private sellers in the auctions.

Uniform Pricing in U.S. Retail Chains

We show that most US food, drugstore, and mass merchandise chains charge nearly-uniform prices across stores, despite wide variation in consumer demographics and competition. Demand estimates reveal substantial within-chain variation in price elasticities and suggest that the median chain sacrifices $16m of annual profit relative to a benchmark of optimal prices. In contrast, differences in average prices between chains are broadly consistent with the optimal benchmark. We discuss a range of explanations for nearly-uniform pricing, highlighting managerial inertia and brand-image concerns as mechanisms frequently mentioned by industry participants. Relative to our optimal benchmark, uniform pricing may significantly increase the prices paid by poorer households relative to the rich, dampen the response of prices to local economic shocks, alter the analysis of mergers in antitrust, and shift the incidence of intra-national trade costs.

Do healthier foods cost more in Saudi Arabia than less healthier options?

Objectives:To investigate whether healthy foods in Saudi Arabia cost more compared with less healthy options.Method:This is a cross-sectional study conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during June and July 2015. The study targeted well-known market chains in the city of Riyadh. The selection of food items was purposive to include healthy and less healthy food items in each category. Price, caloric value, salt, fat, sugar, and fiber contents for each food item were collected. To test for the correlation between nutritional contents and average price, Spearman’s correlation coefficients were calculated. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to test for the presence of average price difference between healthy and less healthy food items.Results:A total of 162 food items were collected. Sixty-six food items were classified as healthy compared with 96 less healthier options. The calculated correlation coefficients indicate an association between increased cost of food with increased caloric values (0.649 p=0.0000001), increased fat content (0.610 p=0.0000003), and increased salt contents (0.273 p=0.001). Prices of food items with higher fiber contents showed a weaker association (0.191 p=0.015). The overall average cost of healthy food was approximately 10 Saudi riyals cheaper than less healthy food (p=0.000001).Conclusion:The findings of the study suggest that the cost of healthy food is lower than that of less healthy items in the Saudi market.

The comparative cost of food and beverages at remote Indigenous communities, Northern Territory, Australia

Objective:To determine the average price difference between foods and beverages in remote Indigenous community stores and capital city supermarkets and explore differences across products. Methods:A cross‐sectional survey compared prices derived from point‐of‐sale data in 20 remote Northern Territory stores with supermarkets in capital cities of the Northern Territory and South Australia for groceries commonly purchased in remote stores. Average price differences for products, supply categories and food groups were examined. Results:The 443 products examined represented 63% of food and beverage expenditure in remote stores. Remote products were, on average, 60% and 68% more expensive than advertised prices for Darwin and Adelaide supermarkets, respectively. The average price difference for fresh products was half that of packaged groceries for Darwin supermarkets and more than 50% for food groups that contributed most to purchasing. Conclusions:Strategies employed by manufacturers and supermarkets, such as promotional pricing, and supermarkets’ generic products lead to lower prices. These opportunities are not equally available to remote customers and are a major driver of price disparity. Implications:Food affordability for already disadvantaged residents of remote communities could be improved by policies targeted at manufacturers, wholesalers and/or major supermarket chains.

Tobacco product prices before and after a statewide tobacco tax increase

BackgroundIn 2013, the State of Minnesota Legislature passed a tobacco tax increase that increased the combined cigarette excise and sales tax by US$1.75 (from US$1.60 to US$3.35) and increased the...

National Brands, Private Labels, and Food Price Inflation

This article investigates the extent to which national brand and private label (store brand) prices behave differently as food price inflation changes. Empirical tests using a range of indices support the hypotheses that rising commodity and fuel prices lead to relatively larger surges in private label prices. When food prices are rising or high, the average price difference between national brands and private labels shrinks. The findings have implications for understanding the welfare effects of private labels. Moreover, they suggest that food price inflation is stronger for low-income households as food prices rise.

A unified world oil market: Regions in physical, economic, geographic, and political space

Although there is a general consensus that the market is unified, here we quantify the factors that create regions by analyzing the price relation between 33 crude oils. ADF statistics indicate that 447 of the 528 crude oil pairings cointegrate; 81 do not. The presence/absence of cointegration is analyzed using a logit model. The likelihood that the prices for two crude oils cointegrate depends on their physical characteristics (density and sulfur content), economic factors (country risk for the nation of origin), their geographic location (distance between supply ports), and political factors (OPEC membership). Over the sample period, the technology to refine heavy crude oils penetrates the market, and this reduces the price difference between heavy and light crude oils. The effect of country risk implies that crude oils from high risk nations are not perfect substitutes for crude oils of similar quality from low risk nations. Finally, crude oils from widely separated suppliers are more likely to cointegrate than crude oils from near-by nations, which suggests consumers diversify supply across transportation chokepoints. For this sample, these sources of regionalization add $0.20 per barrel to the $2.86 average price difference between crude oils in the same market. Together, these factors have important implications for the efficacy of policy aimed at reducing dependence on unreliable suppliers and the spill-over effects of holding inventories.

Residential property price indices: fit for purpose?

PurposeResidential property price indices (RPPI) are widely used to monitor trends. This article aims to pose the question as to whether the choice of methodology is significant or whether there are material differences in average prices, price trends, and market turning points between RPPI.Design/methodology/approachThe differences between RPPI are explored for the UK, which has RPPI that use different methodologies and capture data at different stages in the transaction process. The different approaches are compared and contrasted.FindingsComparisons between RPPI indicate that there is a relatively low degree of association between them, particularly during periods of recession. There is a trade off between the timeliness with which the RPPI is produced and the reliability of the price data on which it is based. The RPPI that make use of the most reliable price data do not have access to the richest data about individual properties, exposing them to the risk of divergent groups of properties being aggregated together.Research limitations/implicationsThere are certain types of RPPI that are not found in the UK, principally median indices and sale price appraisal ratios so that the study is confined to mix adjustment, hedonic and repeat sales approaches.Practical implicationsThose relying on RPPI should exercise caution over their use and recognise that in periods of recession in particular their results may differ materially.Social implicationsEconomic policy makers and financial services regulators should adopt a cautious approach to the use of RPPI and not to become unduly reliant on a particular index.Originality/valueThe literature on RPPI tends to focus on the statistical techniques used to compile them, but neglects how these are related to the problems of data capture issue. By looking at the relationship between the statistical methodology and where in the transactions process data are captured it is able to bring another perspective to the debate about which methods are most effective and which should be relied on for public policy.

Assessment of the Average Price and Ethanol Content of Alcoholic Beverages by Brand—United States, 2011

There are no existing data on alcoholic beverage prices and ethanol (EtOH) content at the level of alcohol brand. A comprehensive understanding of alcohol prices and EtOH content at the brand level is essential for the development of effective public policy to reduce alcohol use among underage youth. The purpose of this study was to comprehensively assess alcoholic beverage prices and EtOH content at the brand level. Using online alcohol price data from 15 control states and 164 online alcohol stores, we estimated the average alcohol price and percent alcohol by volume for 900 brands of alcohol, across 17 different alcoholic beverage types, in the United States in 2011. There is considerable variation in both brand-specific alcohol prices and EtOH content within most alcoholic beverage types. For many types of alcohol, the within-category variation between brands exceeds the variation in average price and EtOH content among the several alcoholic beverage types. Despite differences in average prices between alcoholic beverage types, in 12 of the 16 alcoholic beverage types, customers can purchase at least 1 brand of alcohol that is under $1 per ounce of EtOH. Relying on data or assumptions about alcohol prices and EtOH content at the level of alcoholic beverage type is insufficient for understanding and influencing youth drinking behavior. Surveillance of alcohol prices and EtOH content at the brand level should become a standard part of alcohol research.

Legislative Action, Market Reaction and Interstate Commerce: Results of Virginia's Natural Experiment with Direct Wine Shipment

We investigate the impact of the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution on market competition by focusing on recent changes in state laws governing interstate direct shipment of alcohol. In 2003, Virginia legalized direct wine shipping to consumers from out-of-state sellers. By 2004, the average price difference between online sellers and bricks-and-mortar stores in Northern Virginia was approximately 26-40 percent lower than in 2002. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that removal of the interstate shipping ban increased competition in the bricks and mortar world, contributing to lower prices. More broadly, they illustrate how the elimination of interstate trade barriers, consistent with the intent of the commerce clause, facilitates efficient markets. Our findings serve as a guidepost to policymakers in various states who need to make their laws conform to the Supreme Court's 2005 ruling striking down discriminatory direct shipment bans.

A Comparison of Forward and Futures Prices of an Interest Rate‐Sensitive Financial Asset

ABSTRACTThis paper focuses on contractual distinctions as an explanation for the price divergence between futures and forward contracts. Specifically, it investigates the effect of marking‐to‐market on the observed price differences using the pricing model described in Cox, Ingersoll, and Ross (CIR) (1981, Journal of Financial Economics 9, 321–346). Using previously unavailable data, this paper employs Eurodollars, an interest rate‐sensitive financial asset, to test the CIR model. Unlike prior empirical studies, test results support both the weak prediction concerning the sign of the average price difference and the stronger prediction that specific covariances explain the variation in the price differences.