Economic Sense Research Articles

Benefits of Preconditioning Cattle under Stochastic Feedlot Performance

AbstractPreconditioning cattle, a management practice of preparing cattle for feedlots as well as following a vaccination protocol for common diseases, has been shown to add value to cattle by reducing disease incidence and severity, yet it is not universally adopted. We estimated the benefits to a beef system of preconditioning weaned calves versus not preconditioning under stochastic returns. Purchasing preconditioned calves makes economic sense, but market efficiency requires complete information of the health status of the cattle, feedlot performance, along with the right market mechanisms, which may not be available in all markets.

Місто Лабунь за інвентарем 1788 року

Th e purpose of the study is to highlight socio-economic aspects in the development of Labun, with an emphasis on the demographic characteristics of its population, based on the studied sources and literature. Th e research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity, and impartiality. Historical, problem-chronological, retrospective, and analytical-synthetic methods have been used in the work. Th e scientifi c novelty – the inventory of Labun of 1788 has been introduced into scientifi c circulation for the fi rst time, based on which the main demographic characteristics of the population have been analyzed, its duties have been specifi ed, and data related to the planning structure and spatial specifi cs of the urban development situation added. Conclusions. In the late 1780s, the privately owned town of Labun was leased by the owner. Th e city-building initiatives of J. Stempkovsky contributed to the concentration of specialists in various fi elds of architecture and construction here and expanded trade opportunities. Th e town was divided into several quarters – 56% of the entire population lived in the Old Town, 34% – in the New Town, and 10% – in the Titkiv suburb. A total of 488 heath taxes were recorded in Labun, in which 2,773 people could live. Th e Christian community of the town made up 73.4% of the population, and the Jewish community had 26.6%. Th e majority of the town’s residents had soil cultivation as the basis of their activity. Th e residents of Labun performed a number of duties for the benefi t of the lord, the owner of the city, or the tenant (natural, monetary, and labor). Th e duties of the Christian and Jewish communities diff ered sig-nifi cantly among themselves in terms of specifi c types of work and their monetary amount. Th e fi rst positions belonged to Jews in the commercial and economic sense. Th e list of craft specialties of Jews was much broader than that of Christians, and furriers occupied the fi rst place. Among Christians, weavers worked the most in the town.

Financialized accumulation, neoliberal hegemony, and the transformation of the Swedish Welfare Model, 1980–2020

Drawing on a Gramscian Regulation Approach and Harvey’s accumulation by dispossession thesis, this article discusses the structural and hegemonic mechanisms of the neoliberal transformation of Sweden’s welfare sectors. Providing new longitudinal data on welfare retrenchment, corporate governance, wealth shares, and private economic power, the article further analyzes how the transformation of the Swedish post-war universal welfare model is related to class struggle and accumulation regime change in the Swedish economy. Following a decade-long countermobilization of Swedish capital and a severe economic crisis in the early 1990s, neoliberal economic common sense was cemented among social democratic policy elites that manifested itself in an institutionalized austerity polity, leading to a slow but steady dismantling of the Swedish welfare project. Roughly a fifth of employees in the three largest welfare sectors work in private welfare companies that generate tax-financed profits on politically created welfare markets. Welfare profits are in turn defended by a welfare–industrial complex and undergirded by a hegemonic bloc consisting of capital elites and sympathetic policymakers. In the virtual absence of vocal antihegemonic forces, many social democratic leaders have limited criticism against welfare profits throughout the last decades. On the contrary, austerity measures practiced by Swedish social democrats have thereto led to deteriorating social cohesion and spawned distrust among core social democratic voters.

Effect of storage temperature on quality parameters of liquid organic fertilizer prepared from Mexican sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia)

Objectives: To determine the effect of storage temperature on physical-chemical properties of tithonia liquid organic fertilizer. To determine the effect of storage temperature on microbial population in tithonia liquid organic fertilizer. To evaluate the effect of tithonia liquid organic fertilizer on kales crop. Problem Statement: Tithonia diversifolia has been used as green manure in soil fertilization and improvement of crop performance. Attempts have been made to extracts tithonia liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) to ease storage and transport. However, not much was known about quality parameters of liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) during storage. This study established the effect of storage temperature on the quality parameters of LOF from Tithonia diversifolia. Methodology: Tithonia LOF was prepared by fermenting 2 kg of tithonia leaves in 20litres of water for 2 weeks to maintain leaf water ratio of 1:10. The fermented extract was filtered using a clean cloth and transferred into 36 one litre specimen jars. Eighteen of the specimen jars were placed in the refrigerator at temperature of 00 C to 50 C while another batch of 18 in the specimen cabinet at room temperature at 230C. Specific laboratory analysis procedures were used to determine the nutritional chemical content of the sampled LOF. Total nitrogen(N) was analyzed by ISO 5315-trimetric method, phosphorus (P) by ultraviolet visible spectrophotometer at λ-420nm, and potassium (K) by AAS ISO17319:2015. Other chemical analysis done were Magnesium (Mg) using method EN 16197:2012 AAS, Calcium by ISO method 17025 AAS and total reducing sugars by normal- phase chromatography HPLC method. The pH of the LOF was analyzed by handheld pH meter. Microbial analysis used plate count agar for bacterial and potato dextrose agar (PDA) for fungus count. Kale plants were arranged in a randomized block design of 9 plots each with 9 potted plants. The treatment was replicated three times for samples stored in the refrigerator and three times for the room temperature storage repeatedly for six months. Plant parameters measured were; plant height, number of leaves and the plant girth. Key findings: The study established that there was a significant change in LOF pH during storage, however correlation was higher for room storage than fridge storage. The study also established that there was no significant change in chemical properties of LOF in both storage conditions however, the room stored LOF had negative correlation with storage time an indicating that plant nutrients in LOF reduced with increase in storage time. In regards to microbial properties, it was found that there was no significant change in microbial count in LOF in both storage temperature experiments. The study also established that treatment of kales with LOF stored at room temperature had higher growth variance than for the fridge stored and control treatment. Discussion There was a significant change in LOF pH during storage where p=0.012. Correlation was higher for room storage than fridge storage. Freshly prepared LOF was slightly acidic at pH 6.5 attaining pH 7.88 and 7.1 at room and fridge temperatures respectively. Change in chemical properties of LOF in both storage conditions was not significant whereas, the room stored LOF had negative correlation with storage time indicating how plant nutrients in LOF reduced with increase in storage time. The microbial count in LOF in both storage temperature experiments had no significant change. The relationship between microbial count and storage period was weak. Application: This study is useful to organic agriculture farmers, researchers and policy makers. Conclusion: The study established that the quality of LOF during storage deteriorated. LOF stored in room temperature reduced in quality faster than the refrigerated one. Therefore, the quality of the LOF is best when freshly prepared. Despite kales performing marginally better when treated with room stored LOF, there was no significant difference with fridge stored LOF. Investment in cold storage of LOF therefore does not make economic sense. Recommendation: The study recommends further research on effect of LOF concentration on crop growth to ensure optimum nutrients for production.

Assessing female accountability in the long eighteenth century through debt imprisonment

AbstractThis article measures the relationship between marital rates and female economic independence in eighteenth‐century England and Wales through an assessment of their confinement in debtors’ prisons. While an array of scholarship has emphasised the enduring agency of women who were able to continue managing enterprises after marriage, this has arguably too severely diminished the significance of coverture which eradicated the legal identity of wives. By insisting agency requires the ability to be held accountable not merely in terms of the capacity to act, this research emphasises that, until it was abolished, coverture continued to matter in a practical economic sense and not merely in legal theory. As marriage rates increased, the rate at which women were held accountable for their debts declined, suggesting a proportional limitation of their independence, functioning essentially as their husband's employee. Industrialisation had little impact upon female accountability, suggesting that demography rather than capitalism governed how women engaged with the market. Furthermore, this research highlights a striking shift in how women understood their own identity, increasingly adopting occupational rather than marital descriptions of themselves possibly owing to the increased marginality of singlewomen.

Sustainable machining of Hastelloy C-276 enabling minimum quantity lubrication of environmentally compatible lubricants

Present industrial scenario attempts to achieve the sustainable manufacturing goal considering economic viability, ecological vulnerability, technological suitability and social acceptability. Also, in current manufacturing paradigm, the machining of fatigue resistance material like Hastelloy C-276 possessing vast applications in aerospace, nuclear and petroleum industries is still challenging. Consequently, leads to uneconomical process and degradation of environment during dry machining and conventional lubrication methods. The present investigations have been focused on economic and ecological sense of machining Hastelloy C-276 with reference to tool damage, surface roughness and lubrication action using different lubricating oils. The flash point, viscosity, and pH values of different oils have been measured using Pensky Marten apparatus, Fann viscometer, measuring strips and a digital pH meter. Additionally, the appearance, odour, and flow ability have been examined physically. The experimental results depicted that surface roughness has been improved by 1.5–62% during vegetable oil and 22% in used oil compared to synthetic oil at lower range of machining parameters. However, at higher levels of process variables, synthetic oil performed better than used oil by 29.2%–98.9% respectively. SEM micrograph indicated 26.17%–50% lower flank wear during vegetable oil compared to synthetic oil. However, Synthetic oil has reduced the tool wear by 3.7%–61.74% than used oil. Further, the coefficient of friction among three oils has varied from 17 to 22.5% manifesting that used oil have considerable lubrication effect. Moreover, the ANOVA analysis revealed that feed rate and lubricant type have an appreciable impact on shear angle and coefficient of friction with maximum percentage error of 3.03% and 6.38% respectively. Finally, minimum quantity lubricant (MQL) of vegetable and synthetic oil has offered a sustainable perspective due to excellent machining performance, better work place conditions, and high-tech lubrication methodology.

Obtaining the best temperature parameters for co-carbonization of lignite (yatağan)-biomass (peach seed shell) by structural characterization

In this study, Yatağan lignite (YL) and peach kernel shells (PKS) were originally taken separately and in a 1: 1 ratio by weight. Experiments were carried out in a 3-zone heated cylindrical furnace in a steel reactor. Structural characterization of all the solid products obtained was made by FTIR, XRD, and SEM analysis. When the FTIR and XRD spectra of the raw samples are examined, it is seen that they are rich in functional groups. It is seen that the PKS has aliphatic and aromatic structures and cellulosic structure –OH stresses (3500 cm−1). The sharp peak around 2918 cm−1 in Yatağan lignite belongs to the aliphatic C–H stretch. In the XRD spectrum, it is seen that both structures are largely amorphous. The raw PKS contains 3 different amorphous macromolecular structures. Yatagan lignite, on the other hand, contains crystalline peaks of clay and inorganic structures, depending on the ash content, as well as the amorphous structure. As the temperature increases depending on the carbonization temperature, as seen in the FTIR spectrum, the peaks of the functional groups decrease and disappear with the disruption of small macromolecular structures. As a result of the structural adjustment with the temperature increase, M-O-M peaks around 1000 cm−1 remain due to the aromatic C–H stretching and ash content. The paper centers around test assurance of operating temperatures in the consuming layer during co-carbonization. It is obtained that 800 °C is the best temperature condition for the co-carbonization process. It has been concluded that the chars obtained as a result of pyrolysis will be used as a solid fuel in both environmental (the lowest sulfur content) and economic (400 °C) sense. However, the fact that it has a very low sulfur content with the increase in the liquid and gas efficiency obtained at high temperatures again proves the production of an environmentally friendly liquid fuel.

Techno-Economic Analysis of Low Carbon Hydrogen Production from Offshore Wind Using Battolyser Technology

A battolyser is a combined battery electrolyser in one unit. It is based on flow battery technology and can be adapted to produce hydrogen at a lower efficiency than an electrolyser but without the need for rare and expensive materials. This paper presents a method of determining if a battolyser connected to a wind farm makes economic sense based on stochastic modelling. A range of cost data and operational scenarios are used to establish the impact on the NPV and LCOE of adding a battolyser to a wind farm. The results are compared to adding a battery or an electrolyser to a wind farm. Indications are that it makes economic sense to add a battolyser or battery to a wind farm to use any curtailed wind with calculated LCOE at £56/MWh to £58/MWh and positive NPV over a range of cost scenarios. However, electrolysers, are still too expensive to make economic sense.

Acid Tar Waste Beneficiation Through Blending with Coal

The possibility of blending acid tar waste with coal as a beneficiation method was explored in this work. It was essential to first establish the material properties of the acid tar and coal samples together with that of the blends in terms of proximate analyses. The acid tar waste to coal blending ratios of 3:1, 1:1 and 1:3 were used. It was observed that acid tar waste exhibited high volatile and moisture content with low ash and carbon content when compared with coal. When compared with coal; a 3:1 blending ratio exhibited 56.9 % and 7.6 % reduction in ash and fixed carbon respectively and on the contrary a 38.1 % increase in volatile matter was observed. An opposite trend was obtained with 1:3 blend ratio. The 1:1 blend ratio was found to decrease the volatile and ash content by 8.3 % and 52.7 % respectively whilst fixed carbon boosted by 4.2 %. The choice for the blending ratio to apply is a trade-off between fixed carbon and volatile matter. If volatile matter is of any significance then a 3:1 mixture would be ideal; such a mixture will aid in easier ignition of coal. On the other hand a 1:3 binary mixture yields a higher fixed carbon fraction, whose effect is to boost the calorific value of the fuel, an excellent factor for combustion. Overall however, it makes economic sense to blend coal with acid tar waste for enhancing sustainability.

Globalization as a factor of international development

The article describes that the objective process of the development of the world community is globalization, through which a complex multi-level system of socio-economic relations is formed. As part of this phenomenon, there is a significant increase in political, socio-economic, informational and cultural interrelations of countries around the world. In the political context, globalization or so-called “mondialism” seeks to establish supranational institutions of governance – a single world government. In the economic sense, globalization embodies the process of formation of an interconnected monolithic global economy, a single market for goods, capital and services. Thus, globalization is understood as the historical process of unification of all spheres of human life, primarily a change in the structure of the world economy, and understood as a close interweaving of the subjects of the world economy on the basis of internationalization, transnationalization and liberalization, connected with each other by a system of political relations. Consequently, capitalism, as a social system and an ideology that calls for an increase in capital and obtaining super profits, occupies a central place in this social process and the trend of world development.

Privacy Management in Service Systems

Problem definition: We study customer-centric privacy management in service systems. Academic/practical relevance: We explore the consequences of extended control over personal information by customers in such systems. Methodology: We adopt a stylized queueing model to capture a service environment that features a service provider and customers who are strategic in deciding whether to disclose personal information to the service provider—that is, customers’ privacy or information disclosure strategy. A customer’s service request can be one of two types, which affects service time but is unknown when customers commit to a privacy strategy. The service provider can discriminate among customers based on their disclosed information by offering different priorities. Results: Our analysis reveals that, when given control over their personal data, strategic customers do not always choose to withhold them. We find that control over information gives customers a tool they can use to hedge against the service provider’s will, which might not be aligned with the interests of customers. More importantly, we find that under certain conditions, giving customers full control over information (e.g., by introducing a privacy regulation) may not only distort already efficiently operating service system but might also backfire by leading to inferior system performance (i.e., longer average wait time), and it can hurt customers themselves. We demonstrate how a regulator can correct information disclosure inefficiencies through monetary incentives to customers and show that providing such incentives makes economic sense in some scenarios. Finally, the service provider itself can benefit from customers being in control of their personal information by enticing more customers joining the service. Managerial implications: Our findings yield insights into how customers’ individually rational actions concerning information disclosure (e.g., granted by a privacy regulation) can lead to market inefficiencies in the form of longer wait times for services. We provide actionable prescriptions, for both service providers and regulators, that can guide their choices of a privacy and information management approach based on giving customers the option of controlling their personal information.

The Netflix Economy in the Perspective of Consumerism

<p>Consumerism is different from consumption in any economic sense. It refers to a way of life in which the purpose of consumption is not to satisfy one's legitimate practical needs, but to satisfy the needs created by consciously stimulated desires. With the continuous development of mass media, the "Netflix economy" is showing a huge development trend. The essence of the Netflix economy is the consumption of symbolic values of commodities, the consumption of desires, and the transmission of a "subculture". Therefore, although it has a catalytic effect on social and economic development, the drawbacks it brings cannot be ignored, and the regulation and guidance of the net popularity economy should be strengthened.</p>

Mendrisio, Château‐d'Oex and Sargans geological maps of Switzerland: free online data viewer and downloads

The Swiss continue to publish highly detailed 1:25 000 geological maps and memoirs, coupled with informative cross sections. They are presented in attractive plastic wallets with a geological time scale on their back including stage names for deciphering partly abbreviated keys in whichever regional language. Swisstopo has also put free downloads of all their geological maps online, including out of print editions. This makes economic sense, given publication represents a small fraction of the overall costs incurred in surveying each sheet. In addition, they have developed an easy‐to‐use online data viewer where different layers of cartographic information can be selected and mixed together to produce bespoke, ready‐to‐print pdf downloads complete with a scale bar. Though, unlike digital data, which may become corrupted, printed material can survive for centuries. The first sheets in this national atlas were published in 1930, and so when their coverage is finally completed within roughly the next decade, policy makers would be wise to start resurveying older editions to keep them up to standard. In this way, Switzerland can maintain enough geologists familiar with regional ground conditions, to provide impartial advice about the impact of climate change on fragile environments vulnerable to flooding, landslides, melting permafrost and other potential geological hazards. Plus, enhancing water supply management, natural resources, radioactive waste disposal, carbon capture and storage, and planning new developments and infrastructure like their futuristic trans‐alpine railway tunnels.

What Does Ibn Khaldūn Mean by the Term Mādda? On Human Association and Political-Economic Organisation

ABSTRACT Preeminent interpreters of Al-Muqaddima situate Ibn Khaldūn’s thought within ancient philosophy based on philosophical terminology that appears in the text. In this essay, I argue that in the context of ʿilm al-ʿumrān, Ibn Khaldūn does not use the term “matter” in the philosophical-metaphysical sense of natural philosophy, but in an economic sense to mean money. This interpretation is based on Ibn Khaldūn’s philosophy of language, rhetorical style and historical method. Attention to how he uses language to communicate his ideas shows that, throughout Al-Muqaddima, Ibn Khaldūn presents arguments based on religious law and tradition, theology and philosophy. However, in constructing his new science, he uses an intellectual method that is based on worldly and demonstrative factors, one of which is money. Money is one of the two foundations of the polity. This interpretation severs the connection to natural philosophy and challenges the natural-cyclical view of his historical-political thought.

The Law and Justice Leader and Prime Minister’s Affinity Towards the Alternative Media on Facebook in Poland

A clear differentiation between media sources and electorates within the legacy media ecosystem may help to explain the limited importance of the alternative media (focused on fake news and hoaxes) as relevant information sources. In a political and analytical discourse, the alternative media can be seen as an “alternative” to the dominant liberal media and discourse. Within this context, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński were active in “liking” other profiles on their FB pages. Morawiecki liked some media, mostly TV and radio channels from his constituency region. His focus was more on the national identity and national interests in an economic sense. However, he also liked a press magazine that is a borderline case between ideologically heavily biased and disinformation scene in Poland.

Initiating an anaerobic ammonium oxidation reactor by inoculation with starved anaerobic ammonium oxidation sludge and modified carriers

Prolonged starved anammox sludge (SAS) obtained during initial rejuvenation was inoculated into a reactor together with activated sludge (AS), anaerobic granular sludge (AGS) and modified carriers consisting of honeycomb carrier with high biological interception and activated carbon carrier with high adsorption performance. SAS accounted for 5% of the inoculated sludge. The anammox process was started and operated at around 25℃. After 160 days, the nitrogen loading rate and nitrogen removal rate reached 1.12 kgN·m−3·d−1 and 0.97 kgN·m−3·d−1, respectively. Obvious red anammox biofilms were observed on the modified carriers. Microbial community analysis showed that the relative abundance of anammox bacteria increased from < 0.1% to 22.96%. Candidatus Jettenia and Candidatus Brocadia were the dominating anammox species. This work demonstrates the potential to reuse SAS to improve the start-up efficiency of anammox reactors, which makes good economic sense.

Self‐Preferencing in Markets with Vertically Integrated Gatekeeper Platforms*

The competitive strategies of ‘gatekeeper’ platforms are subject to enhanced scrutiny. For instance, Apple and Google are being accused of charging excessive access fees to app providers and privileging their own apps. Some have argued that such allegations make no economic sense when the platform's business model is to sell devices. In this paper, we build a model in which a gatekeeper device‐seller facing potentially saturated demand for its device has the incentive and the ability to exclude from the market third‐party suppliers of a service that consumers buy via its devices. Foreclosure is more likely if demand growth for the platform's devices is slow or negative, and can harm consumers if the device‐seller's services are inferior to those offered by the third parties.

Застосування МСФЗ суб’єктами державного сектору економіки: законодавче регулювання операцій з основними засобами

The article is dedicated to the issues of IFRS applied by public sector entities related to property, plant and equipment use as regard to their recognition, depreciation and derecognition. Specifying the general issue, our attention was focused on a certain range of aspects which are acquiring more and more importance in the activity of such kind of economic entities at both conceptual and action-oriented levels. A special consideration is given to some most challenging issues. Primarily, professional judgments implementation was required with the aim to select and apply accounting policy for assets obtained by state enterprises under the rights of economic management and permanent use which are specific legal regimes in post-Soviet countries. In its turn, it’s necessary to walk a line between IFRS and legislative acts of Ukraine’s requirements for addressing another issue concerning physically damaged, obsolescent, inoperable as a result of force-major without economic sense of recovery non-current assets derecognition. By means of applying a comparative analysis methodology, key differences regarding requirements towards depreciation policy of IAS 16 rules and National Accounting Standards 7 are discovered as well as its application by some public sector entities. It is discursive key components of property, plant and equipment depreciation policy with variable part which is being chosen voluntary by enterprise, namely, a depreciation method, useful life as well as salvage value. Having discovered the essence as well as advantages and disadvantages of key depreciation methods introduced by the above mentioned IAS, the dominant trends are revealed not just in Ukraine but in other countries including economically developed ones regarding, in particular, accelerated depreciation. Such kind of methods can be applied as an instrument of the state policy in the field of property, plant and equipment administration with the aim to accelerate their renovation and improve efficiency of performance . For further development above mentioned aspects, the consolidated approach in respect to property, plant and equipment decommission due to maintenance, modernization, modification, reconstruction or conservation through the prism of IFRS provisions and imperative rules of tax legislation of Ukraine is presented.

Estimating Forward-Looking Stock Correlations from Risk Factors

This study provides fully mathematically and economically feasible solutions to estimating implied correlation matrices in equity markets. Factor analysis is combined with option data to receive ex ante beliefs for cross-sectional correlations. Necessary conditions for implied correlation matrices to be realistic, both in a mathematical and in an economical sense, are developed. An evaluation of existing models reveals that none can comply with the developed conditions consistently. This study overcomes this pitfall and provides two estimation models via exploiting the underlying factor structure of returns. The first solution reformulates the task into a constrained nearest correlation matrix problem. This method can be used either as a stand-alone instrument or as a repair tool to re-establish the feasibility of another model’s estimate. One of these properties is matrix invertibility, which is especially valuable for portfolio optimization tasks. The second solution transforms common risk factors into an implied correlation matrix. The solutions are evaluated upon empirical experiments of S&amp;P 100 and S&amp;P 500 data. They turn out to require modest computational power and comply with the developed constraints. Thus, they provide practitioners with a reliable method to estimate realistic implied correlation matrices.

Hospital Cultural Competency Leadership and Training is Associated with Better Financial Performance

SUMMARY Goal: An organization’s cultural competency reflects its ongoing capacity to provide high-quality, equitable, safe, and patient-centered care. Cultural competency leadership and training (CCLT) influences organizational cultural competency, which could affect organizational performance. Policies regarding health disparities point to the need for hospitals to become culturally competent. This study aimed to explore if CCLT practices are associated with better financial performance. Methods: Using secondary data from three sources—the American Hospital Association Annual Survey, the Health Care Cost Information System, and the Area Health Resource File—a longitudinal panel study design reviewed 3,594 hospital-year observations for acute care hospitals across the United States from 2011 to 2012. CCLT, the independent variable, was measured as a summated scale of strategy, execution, implementation, and training in diversity practices. For financial performance, the operating and total margins of hospitals were measured as dependent variables. Two random-effects regression models with year- and state-fixed effects were used to examine the relationship, with hospital being the unit of analysis. Principal Findings: The descriptive statistics showed that hospitals had an average CCLT score of approximately 2 (the range was 0–4). Regression analysis indicated that an increase in the CCLT score was associated with a 0.3% and 0.4% increase in total and operating margins, respectively (p &lt; .05). Also, with each 10 additional staffed beds, hospitals on average experienced a 0.1% increase in both total and operating margins. Overall, for-profit hospitals experienced a 2.4% higher total margin and a 4.9% higher operating margin, as compared to not-for-profit hospitals. On the contrary, government hospitals showed 1% and 5.8% lower total and operating margins, respectively. Applications to Practice: Results of our study support a business case for CCLT practices. Cultural competency makes good economic sense by helping to improve cost savings, increase market share, and enhance the efficiency of care. Therefore, healthcare leaders should consider investing in CCLT. With the growing emphasis on value-based purchasing related to patient outcomes and experience, hospitals that develop a high degree of cultural competency through CCLT can benefit from the changes in reimbursement. CCLT also affects financial performance through avoidance of costs related to employee absenteeism and turnover and improves team cohesiveness by reducing cultural conflicts. Other mechanisms by which CCLT assists in saving costs and affecting financial performance include avoidance of unnecessary readmissions and expensive hospitalizations through the proper screening of patients from diverse backgrounds. CCLT improves cultural competency and diversity management, thus creating a unique competitive advantage for hospitals.