Average Tariff Research Articles

The Gap Between the Actual Cost and Tariffs of Global Surgical Procedures: A Retrospective Cross-sectional Study in Qazvin Province, Iran

Background: Iran’s healthcare system has a significant discrepancy between the national tariff and the cost of global surgical procedures (GSPs). This study aimed to compare the actual costs of GSPs with national tariffs in Iran’s public hospitals. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in 2017. Using the census method, 6126 GSPs performed in three public hospitals were investigated in this study. Additionally, national tariffs from the Supreme Council of Health Insurance were obtained. The tariff-cost gap was the discrepancy between a GSP’s actual costs and tariff. Multiple linear regression analysis determined factors affecting the tariff-cost gap. Results: The average actual cost of GSPs was 637 USD, while the average tariff was 495 USD. The reimbursement covered only 78% of the costs. The gap was higher in older (B=1.05, 95% CI: 0.76-1.35, P<0.001), females (B=26.7, 95% CI: 15.5-37.9, P<0.001), patients with a longer stay (B=81.2, 95% CI: 77.5-84.8, P<0.001), and procedures performed by full-time surgeons (B=67.3, 95% CI: 56.9-77.5, P<0.001). Furthermore, neurosurgery had the highest effect on forecasting the gap between actual costs and tariffs among surgical specialties (B=346.9, 95% CI: 214.3-479.5, P<0.001). Conclusion: Public hospitals suffer from large financial losses due to the national tariff for many GSPs not covering their actual costs. It is suggested that tariffs be increased for certain customer segments that can bear higher costs and global tariffs be adjusted to match actual service delivery costs.

Techno-Economic Assessment of Electricity Generation From a Medium-Scale CSP-PV Hybrid Plant Using Long-Duration Storage

The South African electricity sector is transitioning from a single utility buyer model to an open market model due to increasing utility tariffs, the energy crisis, sustainability goals, and enabling legislation. As a result, the private sector is seeking to procure private power generation technologies, with solar photovoltaics (PV) and onshore wind being the primary choices. However, the integration of these technologies is limited due to their variability and lack of dispatchability. Concentrating solar power (CSP) tower technology combined with long-duration storage is gaining traction in high solar resource regions due to efficiency improvements and cost reductions. This paper evaluates a medium-scale CSP-PV hybrid plant’s technical and economic feasibility in South Africa, focusing on cost savings, energy security, and sustainability. The study identifies a hybrid plant suitable for large power users, with independent power producers (IPPs) developing such a plant using non-recourse project finance and energy sold to large users through long-term power purchase agreements (PPA). The first-year PPA tariffs are determined using a typical project finance model developed for local market conditions. Depending on the plant design and the off-taker’s utility tariff structure, the plant offers cost savings (and average tariffs) ranging from 9.25% (at 78 USD/MWh) to 17.58% (at 81 USD/MWh). Hybrid plants are expected to become more feasible and “bankable” with improving technology and decreasing costs in South Africa.

Advancing Sustainable Energy Development: A Study of the Factors Influencing Distributed Photovoltaic Industry in Heilongjiang Province

In today’s energy industry, the development of clean energy has become a global concern. As an important clean energy technology, photovoltaic power generation (PV) is widely used in various countries and regions, helping to reduce the dependence on traditional fossil energy sources and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Existing studies have some shortcomings in terms of factors affecting distributed PV grid-connected capacity. First, previous studies tend to focus on the influence of a single factor on the grid-connected capacity of distributed PV, ignoring the interaction effects among multiple factors. Second, the sample scope in existing studies is relatively narrow, often limited to specific regions or countries, and lacks comprehensive regional comparative analysis. In addition, previous studies often do not fully consider the moderating effect of carbon emission intensity on the influencing factors. Based on the above deficiencies, this study aims to build a regression model by analyzing panel data of central municipalities and provinces including Heilongjiang, Shandong and Beijing over the past three years, and construct an interaction model based on the interaction term. The empirical results show that effective sunshine hours, average feed-in tariff and annual electricity consumption are the main factors affecting the grid-connected capacity of distributed PV with a positive effect. The regional heterogeneity analysis also finds that carbon emission intensity enhances the impact of each factor on distributed PV grid-connected capacity. The regulation effect analysis confirms that the average feed-in tariff and annual electricity consumption have a regulation effect. With the results of this study, we fill the knowledge gaps left by previous studies and provide a new perspective to explore the influencing factors of distributed PV. A deeper understanding of the impact of these factors on distributed PV capacity helps us to better understand and optimize the potential of PV generation. In addition, our findings provide policy makers with recommendations and guidance on how to promote distributed PV generation, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of the clean energy sector.

The US–China Trade War: Quantify the Negative Shocks to Local Housing Markets and Land-Based Finance in Chinese Cities

The US–China trade war’s impacts on Chinese cities’ housing markets and local public finance are examined. In China, institutional reforms and ever-growing housing prices in the past resulted in land-based finance that city governments heavily rely on land sales (state-land use-right transfers) for fiscal revenues. However, the trade war has severely struck the cities’ housing markets and land sales since 2018. This article applies 2016–2019 data to a shift-share analysis and finds the following. Imposed by the US on imports from China, the retaliatory tariffs hurt Chinese cities’ production and caused employment and wage declines and firm exit. Importantly, the tariff shocks also affected housing and land markets. A one percentage point (p.p.) increases in the (weighted average) tariffs applicable to cities’ exports reduced cities’ new home sale volume by 3.1% and prices by 1.2%. Besides, city governments’ land sale revenues dropped 7.6%. Since the applicable tariffs to cities increased by 1.62 p.p. on average and 10.4 p.p. at the extreme by 2019, many cities’ housing markets and public finance have hit trouble. The resilient cities to the tariff shocks were those with less overbuilding, more population, more diversified industries or export destinations, or a stronger tertiary sector.

Impact of efficiency on affordability: A study of the Brazilian new water loss goals

ABSTRACT Infrastructure service affordability has become a burgeoning concern over the past years due to the recent economic crisis and the growing role of tariffs in funding the services. Pressure on utilities to promote social assistance programs in addition to an efficient service has risen toward providing water as affordable as possible. This study shows the positive impact of efficient services on families' water affordability by analyzing the new Brazilian water loss goals and the potential effect of water loss reduction on total expenses reported in the Brazilian utilities' National Water and Sanitation Information System. The total service cost for water and sanitation (before and after the aforementioned goals) was then translated to average tariff per cubic meter and affordability ratios. The potential water volume saved in physical losses can reach up to 16.6% of the water consumed in the country, and although the impact on water affordability was timid, the positive results indicate utilities have an important role in assuring water and sanitation for all, and regulators must be involved toward taking a deep look at local conditions.

ТЕХНИКО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОЕ ОБОСНОВАНИЕ УСТАНОВКИ СОЛНЕЧНЫХ КОЛЛЕКТОРОВ ДЛЯ ИНДИВИДУАЛЬНЫХ ДОМОВ

The hot water supply system of Perm uses solar energy. The aim of the study was to substantiate the economic efficiency of solar collectors and determine their payback period taking into account climatic conditions, equipment cost and economic criteria. The proposed technical solutions of solar energy using were analyzed and compared with electric heating. During the study, the authors defined the required minimum solar collector area for a household (taking into account the hot water standard for Perm) as a functional dependence of the amount of incoming solar insolation on the amount of using heat energy. We evaluated domestic and imported solar collectors on the required parameters. The value of the reduction in the payment for electric energy was taken as the income for the households. The economic efficiency was calculated based on the forecasted average electricity tariff, taking into account inflation from 2 to 16 %. The payback of a solar hot water heating system depends primarily on the cost of purchase, installation of equipment and on the discount rate. The practical significance is to substantiate the economic efficiency of solar collectors for consumers. The methodology and results of the study can be used in private residential construction and in justification of the use of alternative energy sources for Russian regions with low insolation.

Techno-economic assessment and wind energy potential of Nagad in Djibouti

The use of small scaled horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines in urban installation is increasing over the world. However, in Djibouti, the latter is still in the development phase. The paper presents a techno-economical analysis and wind energy potential for the period of five years (2015-2019) in Nagad based on actual measured wind speed data collected every 10 min at 10 m height. The energy pattern factor method has been used to estimate the Weibull parameters. With this method, the mathematical complexity is reduced with a minimization of the error at any heights and locations when calculating the wind power density. At 50 m height, the shape parameter showed a small variation for different periods. The scale parameter values of 7.78 m/s and 4.8 m/s were obtained in the hot and cold seasons, respectively. The results showed that the Nagad site is suitable for wind power development. According to the economic viability, RX30, Vestas V20, Enercon, Nordex N27, and Vestas V44 wind turbines are recommended for the Nagad site due to their low energy price ranging from 0.05$/kWh to 0.31$/kWh. This is 2-6 times cheaper than the average local tariff of electricity in Djibouti.

Achieving Techno-Economic Feasibility for Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems through the Production of Energy and Alternative Fuels

In developing countries like Ghana, the conversion of waste into energy is gaining greater interest among policy makers and researchers. The present study investigates the feasibility of producing electricity and/or fuels from a hybrid waste-to-energy pilot plant located in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The plant integrates three technologies: anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis and solar PV. The plant has the potential to produce both energy and fuels such as green hydrogen, refuse derived fuels, bio-compressed natural gas and compost. Thus, this study compares the financial feasibility of three scenarios—generating electricity and fuels, generating electricity alone and generating fuels alone—by modelling their energy output and financial performance using RETSCREEN expert 6.0.7.55 and Microsoft Excel 2019 softwares. The results indicate that the multiple products of electricity and fuels provide higher investment interest with a Net Present Value in excess of EUR 13 million and a payback period of 12 years compared to the electricity-only model. Also, converting electricity into fuels alone also provides substantial benefits which can be explored. However, the Levelized Cost of Energy, ranging from 0.3 to 0.68 EUR/kWh, is far above the average residential End User tariff. Overall, this study provides an important methodology for assessing the potential products of future projects.

Does Private Means Better? A Water and Sanitation Quasi-Experimental Design

ABSTRACT This paper compares water and sanitation services in municipalities that entered into a concession arrangement with a private operator versus those in a comparable control group that continued with a public operator. We explore five variables of interest: average tariff; water coverage; sewage collection; sewage treatment; and water losses. Our empirical strategy improves on existing techniques: after controlling for municipality idiosyncrasies, we adopt a difference-in-differences model with nearest-neighbor matching to evaluate private sector management impacts on these variables. We find a large drop in tariff after the concession switching to a private operator, but tariff increases are greater than public operator during the first four years. There is economical and statistical evidence of increasing sewage collection and treatment over time, but only economical evidence of improvements in water coverage; and no convincing evidence of reduction in water losses. The results suggest huge positive economic impact of switching services from public to private.

Oman's trade achievements with Singapore given the Gulf–Singapore Free Trade Agreement

AbstractOman's trade performance achievements with Singapore are assessed within the Gulf–Singapore Free Trade Agreement (GSFTA) framework. Since coming into force in January 2015, Oman's total export value to Singapore has plunged significantly. The number of imported products from Singapore remained significantly higher than the number of Oman's exports to Singapore, confirming that Omani exports have a weaker presence in the Singaporean market. In the post‐2015 period, Oman's export partner share in trade remained below its import partner share. Although Oman's comparative advantage strengthened in consumer goods, intermediate goods, chemicals and metals since 2015, animals, food, vegetables and wood consistently revealed their comparative disadvantage since 2000. Between 2015 and 2018, Oman's export share of capital and intermediate goods to Singapore fell from 45.23% to 33.57%, while it rose for consumer goods, chemicals, fuels, machinery and electrical products. Oman's trade reforms have resulted in weighted average tariffs on all products falling from around 5% in 2005 to below 0.60% in 2018. While GSFTA has delivered on expanding trade between Oman and Singapore (though with different magnitudes), it has fallen short of delivering the ‘level playing field’ as expected of Oman's bilateral trade.

‘Cold spots’ in language degree provision in England

ABSTRACT People have been raising the alarm about a language education crisis in the UK, particularly in England, for twenty years. Yet the crisis continues: the number of young people studying languages at school is low, especially in socioeconomically less-privileged areas. University programmes – particularly in universities with below average entry tariffs – are closing, but we do not understand the regional impact of this decline. This paper fills that gap by identifying ‘cold spots’: areas of the country where no universities offer language degrees. The programming language R was used to analyse the location of universities at various entry tariffs, and areas of the country further than a commutable distance of 60 km were identified. Large cold spots were found in the North, East and South West of England for universities offering languages at below average entry tariff, with the cold spot in the South West also present at higher entry tariffs. This is a social justice issue, since most students attend university close to home, with students from less-privileged socioeconomic backgrounds and some ethnic minority backgrounds more likely to commute. This leads to a key strategic recommendation: to open language degree programmes at one lower tariff university in each cold spot.

Estimation of industrial waste heat recovery potential in China: Based on energy consumption

Waste heat is a major source of recoverable losses in societal energy use, and the recycling of waste heat offers great potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. To estimate the potential of waste heat recycling in China, a combined gray relational analysis and bi-directional long- and short-term memory (GRA-BiLSTM) forecasting model is proposed to forecast China's energy consumption under the 1.5 °C scenario and 2 °C scenario, respectively. The results show that the proposed prediction model has high performance with a Mean Absolute Percentage Error value of only 4.21%. Energy consumption peaks at 7015 mtec in 2040 for the 1.5 °C scenario, and continues to increase to 7965 mtec in 2050 for the 2 °C scenario with a peak trend. Energy consumption peaks in 2040 under the 1.5 °C scenario. Energy consumption in the 2 °C scenario continues to increase and peak by 2050. In addition, the potential of waste heat recycling is estimated based on the prediction results and the organic Rankine cycle. The results show that there is a huge potential for waste heat recycling in China, with a minimum of 3.6 TWh. And the economic metrics, such as payback period(Pt), net present value(NPV), and Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) were used to show the economic feasibility of the method. The results show that the payback period for different scenarios is less than 5 years, and the lowest NPV is $2597.8 million. The cost consumed for each kWh produced is much lower than the average feed-in tariff in China, and we believe that the method is economically feasible.

Feasibility analysis of rates of PDAM, South Halmahera district, North Maluku based on full cost recovery

This study aims to conduct an analysis of the feasibility of PDAM tariffs in South Halmahera Regency based on full cost recovery. In 2018, the average water tariff per m3 was IDR 3,046.41, or 53.67% of the essential cost of water per m3 of IDR 5,676.60. Whereas for 2019, the average water tariff per m3 is IDR 3,112.35, or 52.02% of the crucial cost of water per m3 of IDR 5,982.96. In 2018 and 2019, the selling price of water was still below the basic price of water, so the applicable average tariff did not fully cover costs (full cost recovery). This happened because it used the 2006 water tariff. PDAM Halmahera Selatan Regency has never proposed a new tariff policy. It has yet to evaluate its tariff policy every year because it focuses on its social role in serving the community's water supply and expanding service coverage. PDAM has also never received operational assistance subsidies from the South Halmahera Regency Government.
 Public interest statements
 This study proposes tariff changes that can cover total costs (full cost recovery) for the Regent of South Halmahera Regency. If the tariff proposal is not approved, the PDAM should seek operational assistance subsidies to cover the full costs from the South Halmahera Regency Government. If the two efforts are unsuccessful, the PDAM must carry out cost efficiencies to reduce the high operating expenses.

A decision-centric approach for techno-economic optimization and environmental assessment of standalone and grid-integrated renewable-powered electric vehicle charging stations under multiple planning horizons

The automotive sector is undergoing a transitional phase towards electrification with the goal of achieving climate sustainability. Renewable-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure can play a vital role in this paradigm shift. To support and provide a roadmap to this transition, the current study aims to investigate a sustainable planning approach for optimal renewable-powered electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) within institutional premises. A feasibility analysis for multiple renewable-based EV charging station configurations has been carried out based on multi-objective techno-economic and environmental indicators including Levelized cost of energy (LCOE), Net present cost (NPC), and carbon emissions. The proposed planning approach has been applied under Fast charging for private vehicles and on-board charging for Ez-bikes and shuttles (FCOBC) and Medium- charging for private vehicles and on-board charging for Ez-bikes and shuttles (MCOBC). Results reveal that a PV system backed with a utility grid enabling both energy purchase and sale during peak hours and off-peak hours respectively remained the most feasible configuration for EV charging infrastructure experiencing an LCOE of $0.1289/kWh to $0.1262/kWh and $0.1168/kWh to $0.1161/kWh for both FCOBC and MCOBC, respectively. Along with the environmental analysis, a forest absorbing carbon emissions analysis has been performed to provide a policy optimization for the future environmental outlook. Results validations have been undertaken for levelized average tariffs of single point supply (above 66 kV) of different government-owned distribution companies, which indicated the commercial efficacy of the proposed EV charging infrastructure, where the LCOE is lower than the real-time operational tariffs within the region. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is carried out under different uncertainties to check the optimization behavior of proposed systems.

Research on the Current Situation and Influencing Factors of China's Agricultural Exports to RCEP Member Countries

Agricultural trade has always been an important trade area between China and other RCEP members, and the formal landing of the RCEP agreement is bound to further promote China's agricultural exports to these countries. ASEAN, Japan and South Korea are China's main exporters, and Australia and New Zealand have great potential for agricultural trade. Based on the extended trade gravity model, the impact of influencing factors such as GDP, per capita GDP, geographical distance, population, agricultural land area, bilateral free trade agreements, tariffs and other influencing factors on China's export of agricultural products to other RCEP member countries was analyzed. The results show that GDP, per capita GDP, geographical distance, population size, and the establishment of bilateral free trade agreements have positive effects on China's export of agricultural products to other RCEP members. The primary weighted average tariffs and agricultural land area of other RCEP members have a negative impact on China's exports.

L’IMPERFECTION DU MARCHE ET LA PERFORMANCE COMMERCIALE DE MARCHE DES VIVRES FRAIS ENTRE L’ECOP ET COMENAV A KISANGANI.

Although both companies operate in competitive environment can in the event of a market imperfection to constitute to the oligarchs even if they practice the commercial policy of discriminatory prices.
 The naval Steel Construction Company and the People’s Commissary market and distribute fresh food in Kisangani unlike other pairs of companies (Vodacom vs Orange in the communication services, Beltexco vs Plaza in the manufactures’) set the same price for fresh for the same goods and evolve in financial and economic performance.
 Thus faced with this reality, can we affirm that the groups formed from the tariff schedules of prices of fresh food from these two companies have similar revenue averages to explain the financial performance?
 Thus, it cannot be said that the average tariff scales of fresh food marketing and distribution companies in Kisangani (RDC) do not differ significantly from financial or profitability.

Influence of Macroeconomic Indicators on the Profitability of PT Pelabuhan Indonesia

This research was conducted to examine the influence of macroeconomic indicators, including the inflation rate, most-favorable nation (MFN) weighted average tariff, net trade goods (NTG), average crude oil price, and exchange rate (IDR to USD), on the profitability of ports in Indonesia represented by PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo). Several quantitative tests were performed using secondary data from financial reports and macroeconomic data published by Pelindo and the World Bank from 2008 to 2021. The results revealed that there is a significant direct negative relationship between net trade goods and the exchange rate. However, there is no direct relationship found between the inflation rate, the most-favorable nation's (MFN) weighted average tariff, and the average crude oil price. This research is expected to benefit the government, researchers, academics, and the wider public as a literature reference for further research and to establish profitability strategies that involve macroeconomics.

Public Innovation Policy Evaluation: Brazilian Electricity Tariff Paid by Consumers

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the SEB public policy of innovation on the average supply tariff (AST) from its implementation in the year 2000 until 2020, considering the tariff moderation foreseen in the RD&I of the SEB, which is aligned with SDG 7 of Agenda 2030. The methodological procedures included (a) a sample consisting of 40% of the market (seven of the one hundred and eleven electricity distributors) of the market (in consumers and billing); (b) a before and after real tariff model (1994–2020) applied through ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation; (c) calculation of the real AST of the sample using the present value (PV) method, updated based on the IPCA as an indexer; (d) calculation of the result of Model 4 before and after and the AST in PV to verify the impact of the SEB’s RD&I public policy on the AST. The results showed that the creation of the innovation contribution (ContribInova) impacted the AST value by 60.95% in terms of real increase. Three electricity purchasing power (EPP) indicators and the electricity purchasing power index (EPPi) were developed and calculated to track the evolution of the AST to help guide the tariff moderation of the SEB and the Brazilian commitment to Agenda 2030 to ensure access to energy services at affordable prices by 2030.

Role of Customs and Tariff Regulation in Foreign Trade with China (by the Example of Regions of the Siberian Federal District)

The current situation in the world dictates new rules for conducting foreign economic cooperation for Russia. Russia has fully deployed the vector of cooperation to the East. Over the past decades, China has been the main trading partner in this direction. The article analyzes the foreign trade of the regions of the Siberian Federal District with China. The subjects of the Siberian Federal District are strategically important territories for foreign economic transactions due to their geographical location and economic potential. The regions of the Siberian Federal District, according to their commodity specialization, deliver to China: timber, products of the fuel and energy complex, food products and agricultural raw materials. China imports machinery and equipment, products of the chemical industry to the regions of the Siberian Federal District. Given the desire of our state to increase the share of exports of value-added products, the role of customs and tariff regulation in achieving these goals is highlighted. So, using the example of the export of the commodity group "Wood and pulp and paper products" to China by the regions of the Siberian Federal District and the level of export customs duties, it is shown that there has been a redistribution in the commodity structure of timber exports from unprocessed timber in favor of processed. An analysis of China's weighted average import tariff rate showed that the principle of tariff escalation is applied to Russia: rates are low for raw materials, and high for value-added products. At the same time, the level of the weighted average import tariff rate in relation to Russia for many commodity items is lower than in relation to the whole world. It is proposed to increase the volume of production and supply of consumer goods and agricultural products, taking into account the solution of logistical problems.

Does Trade Openness Affect Global Entrepreneurship Development? Evidence from BRICS Countries

Emerging nations focus more on new and innovative business activities across national borders for economic advancement. Further, trade openness has recently emerged in BRICS countries. Thus, global entrepreneurship development can be a great opportunity for the traded open countries. In line with this, the study aims to examine the impact of trade openness on global entrepreneurship development in BRICS countries. The study collected balanced-panel data from BRICS countries for 2001–2020 and applied random-effects estimation to analyze the data. The study drives a cross-sectional dependence test, unit root test, and model specification test before applying the estimated model. The study further checked the robustness of the findings by alternative estimation methods like FMOLS and DOLS and found similar results. The results revealed that trade openness positively influences global entrepreneurship development, but average tariffs can discourage entrepreneurs. Specifically, trade openness through trade spread, trade freedom, and average tariffs increase the total early-stage entrepreneurial activities and entrepreneurial intentions rate in BRICS countries. Through cross-country analysis, the study found that trade openness significantly enhances global entrepreneurship development in Brazil, India, China, and South Africa rather than in Russia. The study found similar results after checking the robustness of the findings by alternative estimation methods like FMOLS and DOLS. Thus, the findings could be a great insight for the policymakers of BRICS countries. Governments, academics, international entrepreneurs, etc., can use the findings in future decisions as a policy dialogue.