Prices Of Goods Research Articles

The simple analytics of the environmental Kuznets curve: a reformulation

PurposeThis paper aims to review the relationship between per capita income and aggregate emission in an economy populated by rational agents. According to the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis, pollution–income relationship is an inverted U-shaped curve. This paper aims to derive that relationship in an endogenous way and extends the relevant literature in an important way.Design/methodology/approachThis paper formulated a general equilibrium model of homogenous population with identical tastes and preferences. Production side is modelled with firms operating in a monopolistically competitive environment. The approach is modelling the economy in an analytical way so that closed form solutions can be achieved. Model simulations have also been performed to get a clear view of results.FindingsThis study shows that increasing returns to scale in abatement technology ceases to be a sufficient condition for the generation of the EKC hypothesis. The general equilibrium structure of the model allows studying the endogenous evolution of income, emissions and prices of the abatement goods in a unified setting.Originality/valueThe paper is novel and original in nature. The results are new in the literature. These results extend and generalise the previous research work in this area in an important way. The sufficient condition that is obtained in this study limits the applicability of EKC in an otherwise identical economy as used in previous literature. Therefore, this paper adds value to the ongoing research related to EKC.

Endogenous Preference for Nonmarket Goods in Carbon Abatement Decisions

Long-term decisions, such as decisions about carbon abatement, are usually based on the implausible assumption of constant social preference. This paper focuses on a specific case of market and nonmarket goods, and it investigates the optimal climate policy when social preference for them is also changed by climate policy in a seminal climate-economy model: the Dynamic Integrated Model of Climate and the Economy (DICE) model with a single objective to maximize market goods consumption. We amend DICE to study an optimization problem that trades off the values of market and nonmarket goods, considering endogenous preferences. The relative price of non-market goods grows over time because of increases in both relative scarcity and the appreciation that represents the preference of it. As nonmarket goods are increasingly valuable relative to market ones, climate damages on nonmarket goods are increasingly expensive. The social cost of carbon, which aggregated climate impact on both goods, is consequently higher. Because abatement decision affects the valuation of nonmarket goods in the utility function, unlike previous climate-economy models, we solve the model iteratively by taking the obtained abatement rates from the last run as inputs in the current run. The results in baseline calibration advocate a more stringent climate policy, where endogenous social preference to climate policy raises the social cost of carbon further by roughly 12%–18% this century. Moreover, neglecting changing social preference leads to an underestimate of nonmarket goods damages by 15%. Climate policy is self-reinforced if it favors the more expensive consumption good. The proposed method can be applied to other long-term problems with endogenous preferences. Funding: H. Liao appreciates the funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 71925008, 72293603, and 72488101].

Research on the Consumption Behavior of Gen Z within the Context of the Internet Celebrity Economy

This paper delves into the consumer behaviour characteristics of the Generation Z group and its influencing factors in the context of the Internet celebrity economy. Through literature review and questionnaire survey, the study found that the Internet celebrity economy, with its low-cost and diversified features, has attracted a large number of fans through content creation and social interaction, forming a new economic model. As the aborigines of digital technology, Generation Z’s consumption behaviour has been significantly influenced by the Internet celebrity economy, showing digital consumption trends, personalised and differentiated needs, increased environmental awareness and social responsibility, as well as the trend of linked consumption and experiential consumption. The paper further analyses eight major factors influencing the consumption behaviour of Generation Z, including the price of Internet celebrity-recommended goods, credibility, interaction rate, display method, social influence, content recognition, conformity to trendy consumption needs, and social platform promotion. The results of the study show that the quality of goods and preferential policies recommended by Internet celebrities are the key factors influencing the consumption behaviour of Generation Z. At the same time, the attitudes of other consumers and the intervention of third-party factors also have a significant impact on Generation Z’s consumption behaviour. Based on the results of the study, this paper proposes countermeasures and recommendations for Internet celebrities, consumers, and relevant live-streaming platforms, as well as an outlook on the depth and breadth of future research.

Selection of Flour Suppliers as the Main Ingredient of Onion Crackers Using the Interpretive Structural Modeling Method and Simple Multi-Attribute Rating Technique

Raw materials are very important because raw materials are something that will determine whether the products produced are good and by the wishes of consumers or not, so it is necessary to pay attention to the provider of raw materials, namely the supplier of raw materials. The purpose of this research is to be able to find out the best suppliers by relying on the criteria that are the key criteria. In this study, the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and Simple Multi-Attribute Rating Technique (SMART) methods were used. The ISM method is useful for sorting out the criteria used so that it is obtained only in the form of key criteria while the SMART method is useful for determining the best supplier based on the existing key criteria. The results of this study are obtained from 9 key criteria out of 12 criteria used, namely quality criteria, delivery of goods, price of goods, communication system, control in operation, service improvement, attitude, packaging ability, and geographical location. The supplier that has the highest criteria based on the key criteria used is Sinar Terang supplier with a score of 0.5895 followed by Cece (0.555), Av (0.555), Aroma (0.5305), Harapan (0.5155), and finally Laris (0.4005).

Urban Sustainability in the Age of Digital Nomads - Diverse Group Impacts

Digital nomads are a whole new group of people empowered by digital information technology, and although they have a subtle impact on urban change, little attention has been paid to the impact on different urban groups with the influx of digital nomads. The aim of this paper is to examine how the increase in the number of digital nomads in recent years has affected different urban groups in the context of the broader goal of sustainable urban development. The case study comes from the Digital Nomad Commune in Anji, China, and through the literature research method, the urban groups are divided into: digital nomads, profit-driven locals and negatively affected locals, analyzing the various phenomena presented by different groups of people, such as the promotion of local economic development, cultural exchange and cultural diversity by the emergence of digital nomads, the pressure on the price of goods in the neighbouring towns and the irreversible negative impacts on the ecological environment, as well as proposing the strategies for the future construction of the city. It suggests how to build digital nomad-friendly cities from the economic, ecological and social perspectives.

Taste and Habit of Food and Consumer Behavior in the USA in the Early Years of Covid-19 Pandemic

The USA, a highly advanced economy in the world, had experienced increase in household demand for specific food items (restaurant and cafeteria supply, in particular) in the early years of Cobid-19 pandemic. People of America depended largely on the tastes and habits of food items in their household consumption. Even with increasing prices the demand for restaurant foods showed increasing trends. This means that the consumption of food away from home (FAFH) increased and food at home (FAH) fell in demand in 2020 and 2021 (Covid- 19 pandemic). Fundamental law of demand in economics (Ceteris Paribus) for normal goods demand will fall if price of the same increases and vice versa. In the present study, rise in prices of normal goods (restaurant and cafeteria foods) had also shown increase in their demand. This perhaps shows paradoxical to the law of demand in economic theory.  Methodology: This is a study based on secondary sources of information including research works, official publications and those from academic institutions. Analysis of data generated and narratives have been used to find the contemporary food economy of the USA. The demand for food (both FAFH and FAH) has been given importance in the situation of food inflation in the USA in early years of Covid- 19 pandemic. Finally, the equilibrium of the household food consumption is shown geometrically (Fig-1).  Findings and Results: It is found from the study that while the price of food away from home (FAFH) was increasing, the demand for those was also increasing in 2020 and 2021 in the USA. Food being a ‘normal good’ might have shown a fall in demand when price was increasing. This is perhaps, paradoxical in view of the law of demand in economic theory.

Dynamic spatial price equilibrium, dynamic user equilibrium, and freight transportation in continuous time: A differential variational inequality perspective

In this paper we provide a statement of dynamic spatial price equilibrium (DSPE) in continuous time as a basis for modeling freight flows in a network economy. The model presented describes a spatial price equilibrium due to its reliance on the notion that freight movements occur in response to differences between the local and distant prices of goods for which there is excess demand; moreover, local and distant delivered prices are equated at equilibrium. We propose and analyze a differential variational inequality (DVI) associated with dynamic spatial price equilibrium to study the Nash-like aggregate game at the heart of DSPE using the calculus of variations and optimal control theory. Our formulation explicitly considers inventory and the time lag between shipping and demand fulfillment. We stress that such a time lag cannot be readily accommodated in a discrete-time formulation. We provide an in-depth analysis of the DVI's necessary conditions that reveals the dynamic user equilibrium nature of freight flows obtained from the DVI, alongside the role played by freight transport in maintaining equilibrium commodity prices and the delivered-price-equals-local-price property of spatial price equilibrium. By intent, our contribution is wholly theoretical in nature, focusing on a mathematical statement of the defining equations and inequalities for dynamic spatial price equilibrium (DSPE), while also showing there is an associated differential variational inequality (DVI), any solution of which is a DSPE. The model of spatial price equilibrium we present integrates the theory of spatial price equilibrium in a dynamic setting with the path delay operator notion used in the theory of dynamic user equilibrium. It should be noted that the path delay operator used herein is based on LWR theory and fully vetted in the published dynamic user equilibrium literature. This integration is new and constitutes a significant addition to the spatial price equilibrium and freight network equilibrium modeling literatures. Among other things, it points the way for researchers interested in dynamic traffic assignment to become involved in dynamic freight modeling using the technical knowledge they already possess. In particular, it suggests that algorithms developed for dynamic user equilibrium may be adapted to the study of urban freight modelled as a dynamic spatial price equilibrium. As such, our work provides direction for future DSPE algorithmic research and application. However, no computational experiments are reported herein; instead, the computing of dynamic spatial price equilibria is the subject of a separate manuscript.

Research on the social functions of trade to support the development of marketability of farm products

In recent years, there has been a problem of reducing the marketability of agricultural products of farms for many types of goods. Among the key food products supplied by farmers, the negative dynamics of sales was noted for the sale of potatoes and vegetables. This situation is largely related to the annual fluctuations in agricultural production, which is especially evident in the cultivation of fruit and vegetable crops. Using econometric modeling based on the construction of regressions based on panel data, the article shows the negative impact of changes in production volumes on the percentage of marketability of farm products. Farmers, like other small-scale enterprises, do not have a developed marketing infrastructure, unlike agricultural organizations. Therefore, farms are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in production volumes, which create for them the problem of lack or excess of resources for sales. An important way to solve this problem is the activity of trade organizations aimed at implementing social functions to support the sale of farm products. In Russia, such social practices are being implemented by the largest representatives of the retail industry in a pilot mode in certain regions of the country. In particular, in some areas, agricultural aggregators are operating, launched by the “X5 Group” and “Magnit” retail chains, which perform technological and marketing functions to ensure the sale of farm goods. There are other social projects of trade organizations, for example, “Agrocontract” and “Farmer›s Island”, initiated by “X5 Group”, which involve the conclusion of direct contracts with farmers in order to reduce the purchase prices of goods and provide for the purchase of various unique goods from farmers. The expansion of the social functions of trade organizations will significantly overcome the existing problems of marketing farm products and provide such farms with sufficient income and profit for further self-development of activities.

Patient out-of-pocket expenditure in primary care comparing high income, middle income and low-income countries

Background: Out-of-pocket health expenditures (OOPHE) in primary care can pose a significant financial burden on individuals and households, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Understanding the factors influencing OOPHE is crucial for developing effective policies to improve healthcare access and affordability. Objective: This systematic review aimed to identify and analyze the factors influencing OOPHE in primary care settings across high-, middle-, and low-income countries. Methods: A comprehensive search of electronic databases was conducted to identify relevant studies. Included studies were assessed for quality and data were extracted to identify key factors influencing OOPHE. Results: Demographic characteristics, socioeconomic factors, healthcare utilization, system factors, and cultural factors were all found to influence OOPHE. Lower income levels, limited insurance coverage, frequent healthcare utilization, and higher disease severity were consistently associated with higher OOP costs. Conclusion: The findings highlight the significant burden of OOP expenditures on individuals and households. Policymakers should prioritize strategies to expand health insurance coverage, improve access to primary care services, negotiate lower prices for healthcare goods, and address underlying socioeconomic factors. Further research is needed to explore the impact of specific interventions and the role of cultural factors in shaping OOP expenditures.

Musculoskeletal Health Problems Among the Loom Weavers of Sirajganj District, Bangladesh

Land use change is increasing in West Nusa Tenggara province, especially in Bima district. This condition occurs because people who make land use change patterns that are utilized as agricultural areas for corn commodities. The limited agricultural land in Bima Regency with the potential for good selling prices of corn commodities is a major factor in land use change, this has an impact on flood disaster vulnerability. This study aimed to determine the condition of the livelihood assets of seasonal corn farmers in the Bima district. The research method used a descriptive presentative statistical approach. The sample in this study amounted to 97 respondents who were taken in 8 districts with flood vulnerability, namely Sanggar, Madapangga, Palibelo, Woha, Belo, Monta, Sape, and Lambu. Random sampling was used to determine the respondents. The results showed that the condition of the livelihood assets of seasonal corn farmers in Bima District from 8 flood-prone villages is dominated by human resources, where the average percentage value is 83%. This is followed by physical assets at 81% and natural and financial resources at 71%, while the lowest is social assets with a percentage value of 69%. The farmer livelihood assets with high percentage values in each flood-prone area are human resources in Sanggar, natural resources in Palibelo, financial and physical in Sape, and social assets in Palibelo and Woha. The pentagon of livelihood assets does not form a triangle, so it can be concluded that there is inequality between assets. The lack of agricultural land owned by farmers encourages the use of land cover as corn farmland. This can be seen from the use of land by farmers that is not their own, resulting in environmental damage that causes flood vulnerability. Keywords: Land use change, Livelihood assets, Flood Disaster

Intermediate inputs in Dutch disease. Copper in Chile

PurposeBy means of a practical model, the paper discusses the role of intermediate inputs in the ability of a booming extractive sector to draw resources out of lagging sectors, giving rise to Dutch disease. MethodsThe model is for the Chilean economy and follows an ‘extended’ input-output structure, with 35 production sectors. Once calibrated and parameterized, the model can be solved numerically to estimate the resource movement effect and the spending effect of a copper boom. FindingsThe numerical exercises show that, when the use of intermediate inputs is taken into account, the resource movement effect is of similar magnitude to the spending effect in explaining deindustrialization in Dutch disease. The key mechanism here is that, when the copper sector expands, its effects on real wages and good prices can be significant, due to the use of intermediate inputs. ImplicationThis implies that the policies that are commonly recommended to avoid Dutch disease (fiscal rules, sovereign wealth funds, etc.) may not be very effective if they are not accompanied by others aimed at promoting greater provision or efficient use of scarce resources. OriginalityThe present study contributes to the literature on Dutch disease in two ways. On the one hand, it provides an estimate of the resource movement effect and the spending effect of a commodity boom. On the other hand, it provides evidence in favour of the hypothesis that extractive activities can lead to direct deindustrialization.

(In)Stability of the Relationship between Relative Expenditure and Price of Durable and Nondurable Goods

AbstractUsing an intertemporal consumption model with nondurable and durable goods, we identify a break in the long‐run equilibrium relationship between their relative expenditure and relative prices. From 1959 to 1981, these goods were gross substitutes with an elasticity greater than one. Post‐1981, the estimated elasticity is below one, indicating complementarity. This shift altered short‐run dynamics with durable goods still driving error correction but the magnitude of adjustment is smaller. The cyclical component of durable goods consumption has become more persistent, suggesting that shocks, such as the COVID‐19 pandemic, now result in more prolonged deviations from the long‐run equilibrium.

Economic outcomes and evaluation of market power of enterprises

Equitable distribution of society's resources is impossible without controlling monopolies. This is especially true of state-owned enterprises, which, in addition to inflated prices, often have the ability to use the resources received inefficiently. In order to control the market power of enterprises, scientists have already developed many approaches to analysing the market structure and assessing the level of its concentration. At the same time, the problem of formal numerical assessment of the degree of market power of enterprises remains insufficiently resolved. One of the most important areas of assessing the market power of an enterprise is the analysis of its economic results. The essence of this assumption is quite simple: the higher the level of market power an enterprise has, the more independent it is in setting higher prices, which lead to excessive profits. This paper does not consider possible sources and causes of market power related to product uniqueness, cross elasticity of demand or market structure. The purpose of the paper is to find a way to assess market power according to performance indicators that are derived from and result from the use of market power by an enterprise. However, a study of the existing methods of assessing the level of market power of an enterprise has shown that there is no single approach to determining the degree of market power of an enterprise, despite the unambiguous dependence. Most methods propose to use profitability as a basis, but there is a variety of views on how to calculate this indicator. While the first component of profit, revenue or the price of goods, is a fairly objective indicator, the greatest difficulties are found in understanding and applying cost elements to calculate profitability as a measure of market power.

OPTIMIZATION OF WAGE STRUCTURE AND LIMITS OF ABOVE-TARIFF PAYMENTS IN KAZAKHSTAN

The policy of forming the wage system is largely determined by the economic situation in the country, the amount of inflation caused by the growth of prices for goods and services. The article substantiates the relationship between the size of real wages and economic growth caused by changes in labor productivity, as the main indicator determining the long-term standard of living. In the structure of the wage fund, a special place is occupied by above-tariff payments, which carry the function of regulating the basic wage. Their amount depends on the profession, industry and regional characteristics. Therefore, the assessment of above-tariff payments in distribution relations is objectively conditioned and significant. The following results were obtained during the study: - in general, for all types of economic activity, the share of above-tariff payments amounted to 27-30% of the wage fund. This means that 1/3 of wages is formed to a greater extent subjectively, i.e. decent wages are compensated by incentive payments; - in the regions of Kazakhstan, the threshold of payment at the tariff, which should be constant and ensure a decent life without above-tariff payments, is not ensured; - the variable part of wages (payments) should be used only when stimulating the achievement of exceptional results, and not become a tool for maintaining wages at the appropriate level.

The Effect of Product Quality, Price and Sales Location of Nugin Lamping Tofu on Consumer Satisfaction

Tofu lanting nuggets are one type of snack food that is very popular with the public. Along with increasing consumer awareness of product quality, competition in the lanting tofu market is getting tougher. The focus of the study aims to determine the extent to which "the influence of product quality, price and sales location of Tahu Lamping Nugin" plays a role in influencing the level of customer satisfaction. This research was conducted using quantitative as a research method. Meanwhile, data collection was carried out involving questionnaire surveys and other literature studies. After the data was collected, it was analyzed using the regression test using SPSS software. The conclusion from the results of the research analysis shows that product quality, price and sales location of Lamping Nugin Tahu have an effect on customer satisfaction. In an effort to achieve an optimal level of customer satisfaction, companies need to focus on maintaining and improving product quality and determining prices that remain balanced with the value offered. Meanwhile, the sales location is still important to attract consumer interest, but this needs to be balanced by offering products of good quality and reasonable prices.

Key Aspects of the Integration of the Donetsk People’s Republic into the Economic Space of the Russian Federation

The article considers the problems of integration of the new region - Donetsk People’s Republic into the economic field of the Russian Federation. The main tasks to be solved in the liberated territories are given. It is suggested to form a state programme aimed at solving these problems. It is revealed that one of the key problems limiting further economic growth, along with the ongoing military operations, is the outflow of able-bodied population. As a strategic goal of socio-economic development of the Republic for the next 10 years, it is proposed to restore infrastructure, modernize industry and structural reform of the economy, increase the population, as well as the quality and duration of life. To achieve this goal, three directions are considered: formation and accumulation of human capital; creation of space for human capital development; creation of appropriate economic environment. The stages for the realization of goals and tasks have been identified. It has been determined that industry should form the basis of the economy of the reviving Donbas. It is necessary to develop manufacturing industries, knowledgeintensive and complex production. It is of fundamental importance to improve the quality of economic growth - to build and move along the supply and value chains from the first links, with a low specific weight of added value in the price of goods, to the next links, with a higher specific weight of added value. Priority sectors of the Republic are identified. It was noted that the activation of economic development cannot be carried out without reforming the existing system of state administration in the Republic. An important task is to transfer the functioning of public authorities to the technology of strategic and programme-target planning and budgeting.

Heterogeneity in exchange rate pass-through to import prices in Thailand: Evidence from micro data

We use transaction-level customs data and show that there is significant the Thai border. Our findings uncover several structural determinants of ERPT, where we document lower ERPT for (i) prices of differentiated goods, (ii) firms with a higher degree of market power, (iii) prices of goods controlled by the government and (iv) goods invoiced in the local currency. We also find that for the large majority of Thai imports that are invoiced in the US dollar under the dominant currency pricing (DCP) paradigm, price responses to the US dollar are much stronger than those associated with the bilateral exchange rate vis-à-vis the exporters' currency, but only in the short run. Finally, by investigating state-dependent properties of ERPT, we find that small exchange rate changes are associated with higher ERPT, while the degree of pass-through is stronger during episodes of depreciations rather than appreciations, particularly for goods that practice DCP.

Partisanship in the Trump Trade War: Evidence from County-Level Crop Planting Data

Abstracts In 2018, the US–China trade war drove down the price of many US agricultural goods. While many farmers responded by planting alternative crops instead, others continued planting the low-value crops, with a high cost to their bottom line and resulting in a large number of agricultural bankruptcies. Why did some farmers disregard their own economic interests and plant low-value crops during the trade war? We argue that political preferences partially explain farmer behavior. Matching geo-referenced crop data to product-level sanctions lists from China, we calculate county-level changes in the planting of crops affected by the tariffs. We find that counties with a higher Trump vote share in the 2016 election were significantly less likely to change planting decisions due to the trade war. This suggests that partisanship may affect the economy more broadly than previously realized.

Labour market impacts of the China shock: Why the tide of Globalisation did not lift all boats

The 1990s and 2000s saw a dramatic expansion in global goods trade. China rapidly emerged as the world's leading exporter while manufacturing employment in many high-income countries plummeted. Guided by textbook models that assumed frictionless labour markets and balanced trade, economists long maintained the view that trade had only modest labour market impacts and was not an important contributor to rising inequalities in high-income countries. We review recent evidence on the impacts of rapidly rising import competition from China on a broad range of outcomes in high-income countries. Import competition led to employment and wage losses that were heavily concentrated among the employees of exposed industries and individuals residing in local labour markets where such industries clustered, while consumer gains from lower goods prices were much more evenly distributed in the population. The disruptive effects of trade were particularly salient in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom where a rapid growth of imports did not coincide with a commensurate expansion of own exports. Local labour markets facing greater import competition also experienced deteriorations in terms of health outcomes, crime, and family structures, and they became more likely to support far right politicians. We discuss several policy options to support the losers from globalisation.

Why gender norms matter

AbstractThis study examines the influence of gender norms on household behaviour and welfare. Using Japanese household data, we find that households with a conventional norm on gender roles spend more time on housework and less money on family‐common goods. To understand the underlying mechanism, we construct a collective labour supply model that explicitly introduces gender norms. We show that an inefficient ratio of wives' household time to that of husbands leads to an increase in the shadow price of domestic goods, through which the norm distorts the time and money allocated to home production and decreases household welfare.