Current Price Index Research Articles

Is the shift in treatment patterns towards new, more expensive drugs still driving the increase in pharmaceutical expenditure? A decomposition analysis of expenditure data in Sweden 1990–2022

ABSTRACT Background Pharmaceutical expenditures (PE) are increasing worldwide, raising concerns about sustainability. However, the current price index provides an incomplete picture of this trend due to the rapid introduction of new drugs on the market. Objective The aim of this study is to decompose PE into their components and investigate the development in Sweden from 1990 to 2022. Methods The PE index was broken down into separate indices for price, quantity, and a residual. The residual reflects changes in expenditure driven by shifts in drug treatment patterns. Results PE increased by 227% during the study period. The decomposition showed that this increase was mainly driven by the residual (215%). Drug quantity increased by 105%, while the relative prices decreased by 50%. When dividing the whole study period into three 11-year-subperiods, the increase in real drug expenditure, drug quantity, and the residual was the highest from 1990 to 2000. Conclusions The finding that the residual is the main driver indicates that the increase in PE is due to the introduction of and shift to more expensive pharmaceutical treatments, while existing treatments tend to become cheaper. Further research is needed to determine whether newer, more expensive drugs are indeed worth the extra cost.

Thermo-Economic Optimization of an Idealized Solar Tower Power Plant Combined with MED System.

Based on the reversible heat engine model, theoretical analysis is carried out for economic performance of a solar tower power plant (STPP) combined with multi-effect desalination (MED). Taking total revenue of the output power and the fresh water yield per unit investment cost as the economic objective function, the most economical working condition of the system is given by analyzing the influence of the system investment composition, the receiver operating temperature, the concentration ratio, the efficiency of the endoreversible heat engine, and the relative water price on the economic parameters of the system. The variation curves of the economic objective function are given out when the main parameter is changed. The results show that the ratio of water price to electricity price, or relative price index, has a significant impact on system economy. When the water price is relatively low, with the effect numbers of the desalination system increasing, and the economic efficiency of the overall system worsens. Only when the price of fresh water rises to a certain value does it make sense to increase the effect. Additionally, the threshold of the fresh water price to the electricity price ratio is 0.22. Under the conditions of the current price index and the heliostat (or reflector), the cost ratio and the system economy can be maximized by selecting the optimum receiver temperature, the endoreversible heat engine efficiency, and the optimum concentration ratio. Given the receiver surface temperature and the endoreversible heat engine efficiency, increasing the system concentration ratio of the heliostat will be in favor of the system economy.

Transition, the Evolution of Stock Market Efficiency and Entry into EU: The Case of Romania

In this paper we demonstrate that the measurement of stock market efficiency is an important activity in establishing whether eastern European countries satisfy the Copenhagen Criteria for EU membership. Specifically, we argue that developing an efficient stock market should be an important policy focus for countries with aspirations to join the EU as it helps to demonstrate the existence of a functioning market economy. We illustrate this issue by examining the evolution of stock market efficiency in the Bucharest Stock Exchange from mid-1997 to September 2002. We use a GARCH model on daily price data and model the disturbances using the Student-t distribution to allow for ‘fat-tails’. We find strong evidence of inefficiency in the Bucharest Stock Exchange in that the lagged stock price index is a significant predictor of the current price index. This result is robust to the inclusion of variables controlling for calendar effects of the sort that have been observed in more developed stock markets. The level of inefficiency appears to diminish over time and we find evidence consistent with stock market efficiency in Romania after January 2000.

U.S. Periodical Prices—2003

Publication of the 2003 U. S. Periodical Price Index represents the forty-third annum study of this type sponsored by the Library Materials Price Index Committee (LMPIC) of the ALAs Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS). Previous editions of this study appeared in each April 15 issue of Library Journal (except for the 1985 edition, which appeared in the August issue) until 1993, when the study began appearing in the May issue of American Libraries. For the nineteenth consecutive year, the price index is based on subscription price information supplied by divine/Faxon Library Services. The annual study follows guidelines, definitions, and criteria established in the ANSI/NISO standard (Z39.20-1999) for library materials price indexes (National Information Standards Organization [NISO] 1999). Purpose, Scope, and Methodology The purpose of the index and accompanying tables and analysis is to measure changes in average U.S. periodical prices in a historical context. The information provided here is of use to librarians who must prepare annual budget requests for serials, as well as those involved in analyzing serials pricing trends over a period of years. The scope of this study is a selected sample of 3,914 periodical titles published in the United States, each of which has an established subscription price and which fulfills the definition of a periodical outlined in ANSI/NISO Z39.201999: publication that comprises publications in a continuous series under the same title, published more than once a year over an indefinite period, with individual issues in the series numbered consecutively or with each issue dated. (NISO 1999, 3). Consistency with previous years indexes is ensured by maintaining the same periodical titles sample as in previous years, except for those titles that ceased publication or otherwise changed for the 2003 subscription year, and that no longer conform to the standard. Serial services, microform editions, electronic journals, annuals, newspapers, and serial publications not adhering to the ANSI/NISO Z39.20-1999 definition of a periodical are excluded from the survey. Periodicals that change title are considered the same publication if volume numbering remains continuous. Because of the need to maintain the continuity of current price index data with that presented in previous studies in this series, no additional periodical titles over and above the standard sample of 3,914 titles have been analyzed. Although the title selection procedure represents a deviation from the ANSI/ NISO Z39.20-1999 standard, LMPIC's emphasis on historical perspective justifies the sampling methodology used in this study. Subscription price information for the 2003 subscription year is derived from Faxon's online subscription rate file as of December 31, 2002. The price information used is established by the publishers for U.S. libraries. Annual subscription prices used in this study are publishers' list prices and exclude all related Faxon service charges as well as publisher discounts to Faxon. The 2003 subscription prices for titles included in this study but not available through Faxon before Faxon closed its offices were obtained directly from the publishers by telephone or e-mail inquiry, or from publisher Web sites. A total of 69 titles included in the 2002 price study were dropped from the 2003 sample for one or more of the following reasons: * title no longer published in the United States * suspended publication * title no longer available on a subscription basis * title available free from publisher * delayed or slow publication * title no longer conforms to the standard definition of a periodical due to changes in publication pattern * title no longer available in print format Replacement tides for 64 of those 69 titles dropped from the 2002 price index sample were selected according to criteria established by the LMPIC and were selected on a tide-by-title basis from the same subject category as those titles that were dropped. …