Free Market Research Articles

Exploring hidden risks and empowerment in women’s acquisition of medicinal cannabis from illegal markets: a qualitative study

Background: Women are a growing consumer base for medicinal cannabis (MC) in jurisdictions where it has been legalised, however, many still purchase MC from the unregulated illegal market. Little is known about women’s experiences of buying MC from these male-dominated illegal drug markets. This study explores women’s lived experiences accessing MC from illegal markets in New Zealand (NZ) to inform the need to ehance MC schemes for women. Methods: In-depth interviews with 15 women who purchased MC from the illegal market post MC legalisation. A qualitative description approach analysed their experiences, supplier relationships, and safety. Results: MC legalisation has facilitated a pathway to prescriptions, however, women face barriers including less disposable income, prioritising family expenses, and sexist attitudes among health professionals. Illegal markets were described as intimidating, with reports of sexual harassment, assault, and robbery. A novel finding waswomen-only social media groups for safety and supplier monitoring. Participants felt responsible for their own safety, as reporting to police posed legal risks. Conclusion: Women face gende-specific vulnerabilities when buying MC illegally, including safety risks and exposure to unregulated products. The findings are often overlooked in MC policy discussions, highlighting the need for gender-informed MC access.

Strategies for promoting consumer participation in the collection of retired electric vehicle batteries.

Strategies for promoting consumer participation in the collection of retired electric vehicle batteries.

Assessing the Impacts of Economic Complexity and Economic Freedom on the Energy-Induced Environmental Performance: New Evidence from a Panel of EU Countries

Abstract This empirical investigation delves into the interrelations between economic freedom, economic complexity, and renewable energy vis-à-vis the EU’s energy-pertinent environmental performance within the context of the EU’s green transition. Concurrently, the research probes into the interactive impact of economic freedom and economic complexity on energy-induced CO2 emissions, demarcating a critical threshold in economic freedom that alters the overarching environmental ramifications of economic complexity. To fortify the robustness and reliability of the findings, the investigation harnesses several dynamic econometric methodologies, complemented by the recent “Method of Moments Quantile Regression” technique. The results substantiate the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis, unveiling an inverse association between economic complexity, economic freedom, renewable energy sources, and emissions. The interplay between economic freedom and economic complexity insinuates that heightened economic freedom augments the pollutant repercussions of economic complexity. Moreover, in countries with elevated emission levels, the potency of economic complexity and economic freedom in diminishing emissions proves to be negligible. This study posits that initiatives endorsing economic freedom and free market operations ought to be conjoined with strategies focusing on clean energy and the production of complex goods that integrate green technology. Such a synergy is poised to foster pioneering and sustainable value chains.

Urban Quality in Growing Cities. The Case of Rzeszów in Poland

Abstract The economic transformation, which started in 1990 in Poland, opened the possibility to produce and offer flats and apartments in the free market. Since 1990, developers have constructed about 4 million flats, increasing housing resources by more than 30%. The building quality (technologies and materials implemented) improved significantly compared to structures from the pre-transformation period. New investments have been located mainly in cities and city outskirts, complementing the existing development in medium or low development density or open areas, rarely followed by new infrastructure: roads, public transportation, recreational areas and services. These elements define urban quality, an essential indicator of the quality of life. Increasing the density of development threatens the city’s urban structure and worsens the urban quality and residents’ satisfaction. Such phenomena also hamper achieving sustainable development goals. For this study, one of the most dynamically growing cities, Rzeszow, representing a group of medium-sized cities in Poland, was selected and investigated to assess the urban quality of districts/neighborhoods where new housing complexes appeared after 2010. After identifying and describing the essential elements that provide urban quality in cities in Poland and the factors shaping them, the paper presents the survey results that reveal the quality of the neighborhood system, including residential development constructed after 2010.

Electrical losses combat – Detecting theft spots in low voltage networks considering available data from the free energy market

Electrical losses combat – Detecting theft spots in low voltage networks considering available data from the free energy market

THE IMPORTANCE OF INCREASING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE ECONOMY IN JOINING THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

This article discusses the impact of monopolies on the economy, the importance of developing competition, andmarket liberalization. WTO member states are obliged to take specifc measures to protect competition, combat monopolies,and ensure market freedom in their domestic markets and trade policies. The article also examines the role of the WTOin combating monopolistic practices and successful experiences in some countries. The development of competition andthe fght against monopolies are key factors in ensuring global economic stability, protecting consumer rights, increasingmarket efciency, and cooperation processes for Uzbekistan's accession to the World Trade Organization.

Disclosure Readability in Unregulated Financial Markets: Evidence From Initial Coin Offerings

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) have emerged as a popular method to raise capital by startups. During the ICO process, issuers release white papers, which serve as the primary offering documents. Unlike traditional corporate disclosures, ICO disclosures are largely unregulated. We hypothesize that more-readable white papers reflect less information obfuscation by the issuers and are less cognitively costly for potential investors to process and understand, thus enabling the issuers to attract more funding. Utilizing a hand-collected global sample, we find that white paper readability is positively associated with the likelihood of being funded and the amount raised, and the positive association is more pronounced for ICOs that attract more attention from individual investors and for ICOs whose white papers contain fewer numbers or more jargon. Furthermore, we find ventures with more-readable white papers have better post-ICO performance. Overall, this paper enhances our understanding of disclosure readability in a burgeoning, unregulated market.

Green R&D Efficiency and China's Industrial Carbon Intensity: New Evidence From a Spatial Perspective

ABSTRACTOptimising the allocation of limited research and development (R&D) resources significantly enhances the environmental benefits. Based on the innovation value chain theory, this study defines green R&D efficiency and investigates its impact on industrial carbon intensity from a spatial perspective. Using the spatial Durbin model, the results indicate that green R&D efficiency reduces industrial carbon intensity both locally and in neighbouring provinces. Endogenous bias and robustness check further confirm these findings. The key mechanisms driving this effect include green output efficiency and green industrial transformation. Additional analysis manifests that the reduction effect is more pronounced during the development stage of green R&D activities than during the research stage. However, both stages work synergistically to reduce industrial carbon intensity. Environmental regulation and a free market environment positively influence the environmental performance of green R&D efficiency. Finally, policy recommendations are provided.

From economic to structural power: agential capitalism, the belt and road initiative, and China’s economic statecraft after the 2008 crisis

ABSTRACT The 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC) was a critical juncture that prompted not only transformations among market actors but also within the international order. The crisis undermined the normative foundations of neoliberalism. State-led capitalism emerged as a credible alternative to free-market economics. The ‘Beijing Consensus’ now presented a serious challenge to the ‘Washington Consensus’. In the aftermath of the GFC, China launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which represents a case of agential capitalism: Beijing’s growing economic power was converted into structural power, which is defined as the capacity to shape the global order, thus challenging American hegemony.

Responding to the De-Professionalisation of Teaching: Empowering Teachers to Enhance Their Pedagogy Through Action Research

Education is embedded within a complex societal ecosystem that attempts to imbue students with the cultural norms and values of the society in which it operates. Neoliberalism ideology has been shaping education systems, policies and reforms in Australia and many other countries, since the early 1980s. Arguably, there are both benefits and challenges related to neoliberal education. For example, neoliberals advocate for education systems to be run according to free market principles, that elements of education should be privatised endogenously and exogenously, that parents/guardians and students should have more agency and that top-down management should be increased through surveillance and mandated performance. This paper addresses the last point that increased teacher accountability measures and the standardisation of student learning outcomes have resulted in the de-professionalisation of teaching. Using case study research, five expert teachers’ experiences of using action research to explore and challenge their pedagogy is investigated. Perceptions about teacher autonomy and the de-professionalism of teaching emerged as the overarching research aim inquired whether action research can be used as a response to the declining status of the teaching profession. Findings suggest that through action research, teachers can be empowered to enhance their pedagogy, while developing meaningful and contextually relevant evidence-based practice.

Motherhood and medicinal cannabis.

Women are emerging as a key demographic for medicinal cannabis (MC) use in countries that have implemented MC reforms. However, research on mothers' experiences of consuming MC remains limited beyond studies on perinatal outcomes. This study explores mothers' diverse experiences of consuming MC in New Zealand under the legal MC scheme. Interviews with 15 mothers using MC via prescriptions, the illegal market or both in the last 12 months. Thematic analysis focused on MC use in parenting, MC conversations with children, societal stigma and risks. Mothers reported MC as an important facilitator of their ability to positively parent their children, enabling them to manage their own health needs (i.e., anxiety, endometriosis and arthritis). High costs of legal products hindered access to MC. Participants expressed unique risks that mothers face accessing the unregulated market for MC like being deemed a 'bad mother' and losing custody of children. Stigma was countered with narratives of empowerment through proactive MC conversations with children and agency by self-medicating with MC despite the judgement they may face for being a parent that uses cannabis. Mothers felt managing their health with MC allowed them to be more present parents and better tolerate the stressors of motherhood. In-depth exploration of discussing MC with children and anticipating these conversations was a novel finding. Most mothers tried to destigmatise MC in conversations by classifying it in the same category as other medications and discussing its therapeutic benefits. Few were cautious about having these conversations too early.

Contamination of dietary supplements: the impact of the undeclared compounds on health, consequences of daily usage and prevention strategies

Throughout recent years, dietary supplement usage significantly increased. The reason behind it is a desire to enhance physical performance due to the healthy-body trend. As the primarily unregulated market grows, so does the possibility of consumer exploitation. By releasing products intentionally or unintentionally contaminated by undeclared active compounds, producers endanger the health of many people worldwide. Components found in ergonutritional products have a broad spectrum of properties but also many adverse effects, which may occur in long-term use, including cardiovascular, neurological complications, and hormonal imbalance, among others. It is pivotal for users to be aware of the possible risks of DS consumption and crucial for governments to tighten regulations regarding manufacturing, testing, and labeling food supplements to ensure the safety of consumers.

Yes to Koch, No to Woke: Public Opinion, Free Markets, and Business Involvement in Politics

Yes to Koch, No to Woke: Public Opinion, Free Markets, and Business Involvement in Politics

Economic freedom, economic sustainability, and herding behavior: Does the ubiquity of information communication technology matter?

This study investigates the impact of information communication technology (ICT), economic freedom, and economic sustainability on herding behavior, and examines whether the link between economic freedom and economic sustainability depends on ICT. Using quantile regression on a sample of seven Gulf Cooperation Council stock markets from 2004 to 2020, we find that ICT and economic freedom reduce herding in lower quantiles while promoting it in higher quantiles. Conversely, open market freedom and economic sustainability appear to correct herding in all quantiles. The results show that ICT reinforces the move away from herding seen with economic freedom for the transmission channel of ICT on herding. However, ICT plays a dual role in open market freedom and economic sustainability, weakening (strengthening) the curative effect of economic sustainability (open market freedom) in the lower quantiles and strengthening (weakening) it in higher quantiles. Thus, the highest impact in reducing herding exits through the combination of ICT and economic freedom is skewed to the lower quantiles with ICT-open market freedom and skewed to the upper quantiles with ICT-economic sustainability. These results offer substantial implications for policymakers.

'Charge what you think you're worth': a qualitative study exploring the gender pay gap in medicine and the role of price transparency.

The gender pay gap in medicine is entrenched and has a negative impact on economic growth, institutional reputation and financial success, recruitment, retention and job satisfaction of female specialists and patient care. It also discourages women from entering specialist fields of medicine. In the Australian unregulated market setting, female specialists are not simply getting paid less, they are choosing to set lower fees than their male counterparts. We examine how implicit and explicit gender biases affect how fees are set and the potential role of price transparency in addressing the gender pay gap. We conducted 27 semi-structured interviews with medical specialists recruited via social media and medical society newsletters between June 2021 and March 2022. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Twenty surgeons and seven anaesthetists, 15 of whom identified as male and 12 as female, participated in this study. The primary outcomes and measures focused on the perspectives of surgeons and anaesthetists regarding fee-setting practices. A combination of contextual and market- and gender-related factors was the source of the biases that determine fee setting. Further, information asymmetry in medicine in Australia underlies current fee-setting practices, exacerbating and entrenching false perceptions about women's skills as surgeons and anaesthetists. Women tend to internalise these biases, self-regulating their behaviours and how they set their fees. The gender pay gap is pervasive. Greater transparency on fees and quality could be explored as a potential solution to reduce pay inequality.

Living without privilege in Czech society: Building social work knowledge from lived experiences of inequalities

Abstract Social work research has increasingly focused on the intersectionality of social identities and categories, which can create unique forms of disadvantage. This study addresses the underexplored dimension of privilege within systems of inequality, focusing on how wealth inequality, anti-Roma racism, and structural barriers shape the lives of young people at risk of poverty in the Czech Republic. Grounded in a qualitative, multi-generational approach and critical communicative methodology, the study aims to explore the lived experiences of young people and their families facing systemic inequalities. The findings reveal that a lack of family assets, compounded by an unregulated housing market and pervasive racism and discrimination against Roma families, severely limits life opportunities and shapes the trajectories of the young people involved. Despite these challenges, participants demonstrate resilience in navigating systemic barriers, with some actively seeking pathways to social mobility. This study provides critical insights into the mechanisms that perpetuate inequalities and the strategies participants use to navigate them, while proposing anti-poverty and anti-racist strategies to advance social justice in social work education and practice.

Beyond Piketty: Inequality, State Intervention, and the Distinction Between Naturally and Artificially Successful Entrepreneurs

This article introduces the concept of what I term naturally successful entrepreneurs and artificially successful entrepreneurs, a distinction that has not been explicitly developed in the libertarian literature. Natural entrepreneurs achieve success through innovation, competition, and value creation in a free market, while artificial entrepreneurs rely on state intervention, such as subsidies, protectionism, and regulatory privileges, to accumulate wealth. This distinction offers a fresh perspective on the critique of inequality and wealth concentration advanced by Thomas Piketty. Rather than dismissing Piketty’s arguments outright, this article acknowledges the empirical trends he highlights, such as the significant rise in income inequality in the United States and Germany, the relatively stable levels in France, and the more complex situation in the United Kingdom. These trends demonstrate the relevance of Piketty’s work, even for libertarians, and call for a more nuanced analysis of inequality’s drivers. Building on this framework, the article critiques Piketty’s focus on redistributive policies, arguing that much of modern inequality arises not from free-market dynamics but from state-induced distortions that favor artificial entrepreneurs. It further explores libertarian strategies to counter Piketty’s arguments, emphasizing the need for reducing state intervention and fostering genuine competition to address inequality effectively. Finally, the article proposes new avenues for research, including the impact of government favoritism on wealth distribution and this favoritism’s broader economic, social, political, legal, and philosophical implications for economic freedom and social justice.

Pengaruh Harga, Promosi Penjualan dan Kualitas Pelayanan Terhadap Kepuasan Konsumen (Studi Pada Mixue Ice Cream & Tea Kopo Soetta, Kota Bandung)

In today's free market era, marketing is evolving at a rapid pace. Mixue Ice Cream & Tea successfully has many outlets spread across various cities in Indonesia. Mixue came to the attention of researchers, from a survey distributed to 97 people. This study aims to determine the effect of Price, Sales Promotion and Service Quality on Consumer Satisfaction (Study on Mixue Ice Cream & Tea Kopo Soetta Bandung City) with a sample size of 97 respondents. This research method is quantitative based on the philosophy of positivism, data using quantitative or statistical research instruments, with the aim of testing predetermined hypotheses. The results of the study descriptively variable Consumer Satisfaction, Price, Sales Promotion are in the good category while the service quality variable is in the unfavorable category. Partially the effect of price on customer satisfaction has a t-count value of 2.135. So it can be concluded that price has an effect on customer satisfaction. The effect of Sales Promotion on Consumer Satisfaction has a t-count value of 2.403. So it can be concluded that Sales Promotion has no effect on Consumer Satisfaction. The effect of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction has a t-count value of 1.421. So it can be concluded that Service Quality has no effect on customer satisfaction. simultaneously shows the influence between Price, Sales Promotion, and Service Quality.

The limits of restrictions on free competition in the state of emergency—the Hungarian fuel and food retail price maximisation in the light of the Hungarian constitutional court’s, the Strasbourg court’s and the Luxembourg court’s jurisprudence

The limits of restrictions on free competition in the state of emergency—the Hungarian fuel and food retail price maximisation in the light of the Hungarian constitutional court’s, the Strasbourg court’s and the Luxembourg court’s jurisprudence

P-1310. From Website to Parasite: An Analysis of the Unregulated Online Helminth Therapy Supply Chain

Abstract Background Previous literature has demonstrated an inverse relationship between the prevalence of parasitic infections and chronic inflammatory diseases such as allergies, inflammatory bowel diseases, and autoimmunity. The “Old Friends” and “Hygiene” Hypotheses posit that in the sanitized society of high-income countries, the lack of allergens and microbiota is causing immune dysregulation. This research has led some individuals to pursue unregulated "helminth therapies" - ingesting parasites to relieve autoimmune symptoms - despite the lack of FDA approval or controlled clinical trials for the marketed products. The growth of an unregulated market, with transactions often conducted via untraceable Bitcoin and without transparency of origin, poses a public health risk that requires awareness among infectious disease specialists. Methods The researchers investigated 9 different helminth distributors to determine helminth species offered, origin, price, and “recommended dosage" of helminth therapy through the website Helminth Therapy Wiki. Helminth distributors analyzed include Symmbio, Au NAturel, Nathural, Tanawisa, Helminth Therapy NZ, Biome Restoration Ltd, The Llamas Clinic, YourSymbionts, and Autoimmune Therapies (AIT). Results 78% of the helminth providers sold Necator americanus, i.e. hookworms (NA), 22% sold Trichuris trichiura, i.e. whipworms (TTO), 22% sold Hymenolepis diminuta, i.e. rat tapeworms (HDC), and 11% sold Trichuris suis, i.e. pig whipworms (TSO). The price of one dose of these various parasites ranged from $120 USD to $1,789 USD, depending on species and provider. “Doses” were highly variable; the dose of NA ranged from 1 - 25 larvae, while TSO ranged from 500 - 2,500 larvae. Many companies used untraceable payment methods and contact preferences to maintain secrecy. Statements on several provider websites used inaccurate marketing, over-promised benefits, and under-emphasized risks. Conclusion The unregulated market for helminth therapies poses significant public health and consumer protection issues, given the variability in doses, high costs, and dubious marketing claims. The lack of transparency and medical provider oversight further exacerbates the safety concerns in this market. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures