Price Control Policies Research Articles

Assessment of the Relationship Between Cost of Building Materials and Property Development in Abia State, Nigeria: Evidence from Trends in Cost of Building Materials and Property Development

Building materials contribute immensely to the quality and cost of any construction project. It is therefore pertinent for stakeholders in the construction industry to understand the implication of the rise in price of building materials and its influence on property development. The poor performance of the construction industry in terms of project delay and abandonment has been linked to incessant increase in the price of building materials. This study therefore, aims to assess the relationship between cost of building materials and property development in Abia State in order to address the challenges of building deficits in Nigeria. The study employed a quantitative research approach through a questionnaire survey that was conducted among the various construction professionals and material dealers. A total of one hundred (100) questionnaires were distributed, resulting in 77 valid responses, which is considered adequate for analysis. The study revealed that cost of building materials has a positive and statistically significant relationship with property development, with a p-value of <.022. This indicate that cost of building materials determines the level of property development. Thus, in order to overcome the challenges of project delay, project abandonment and housing deficits resulting from the incessant rise in cost of building materials, the study recommended that urgent attention should be given to the various factors influencing the cost of building materials. Also, adequate and functional price control agencies and policy should be put in place in order to regulate and checkmate the unnecessary price hike on building materials in the country.

THE WAR IN UKRAINE AND ITS EXPANSION IN THE BALKANS: GLOBAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIPLOMATIC SOLUTIONS

This paper aims to document the actuality of the war between Ukraine and Russia, as well as its global impact. The current event of war/conflict with immediate effect in our region and more widely imposes the evidence of the economic circumstances as well as efforts for solutions! The war in Ukraine is causing a major humanitarian crisis. Ukraine's economy is collapsing and undoubtedly the range of economic consequences will affect the globe given the economic complexity. The trauma suffered by the population will have long-term consequences. The above is the overture and this paper, based on the bibliography and references provided, aims to provide an overview of the chronology of the events surrounding the conflict, the history of the conflict, the consequences and impact of the crisis/war, of an economic, developmental nature, the response of international factors, as well as a perspective on the possibilities for a diplomatic solution. The researched topic explains and provides data about the global implications and impacts, reflects on the economic effects, the effects to the food crisis and argues that carefully calibrated policies and diplomatic channels will be decisive in the unforeseen solution. Ominously, due to the pressure of higher prices for food and other essentials, governments may be tempted to implement price control and subsidy policies, but these may prove counterproductive in the global economy. However, the last chapter underlines that what should not be neglected is the possibility of a diplomatic solution and that it should be based on the mutual acceptance of the parties to give hope for long-term peace. We are limited about predictions, where it will end and what the situation will look like in the medium term, though, this should not stop us from the possibility of recording and evidence that will serve as a comparison for the future, and about the situation and global connections, in the world we live today. The world has changed, and it is a fact that crises wherever they are, bring obstacles in communication and connections of a socio-economic nature, in other parts of the globe.

Price Control Policies for Medicines: How Far the Accessibility Is Achieved by Patients?

Price Control Policies for Medicines: How Far the Accessibility Is Achieved by Patients?

Impact of cigarette price and tobacco control policies on youth smoking experimentation in Albania

BackgroundAlbania has one of the highest smoking prevalence in Europe especially among the youth. There is a lack of evidence in Albania, as well as in most of Eastern Europe...

Regulation of brands in the Indian pharmaceutical industry in the 1960s: Examination of the Tariff Commission Report, 1968

The literature on the Indian pharmaceutical industry has examined the importance of product patents and the attempts policy has made to regulate them. However, it has not done the same for the question of brands. Our study addresses this gap. The Tariff Commission Report of 1968, a turning point in the price control policies of the 1960s, is examined. The examination revealed two important points: first, there were attempts to regulate brands through policies; and second, brands were of high importance to all the major industry players. This became evident in the industry's resistance to the government's regulatory efforts.

Spatial Vector Autoregressive with Metric Exogenous Variable (SpVARX) for Inflation and Outflow Forecasting

Forecasting inflation and outflow is very important for the government to make price control policies. We propose SpVARX be applied to inflation and outflow forecasting. SpVARX can simultaneously accommodate interrelationships between variables, the influence of metric exogenous variables, and spatial aspects. Our study shows SpVARX has better forecasting performance than SpVAR, as most of SpVARX's Root Mean Square Errors (RMSEs) are smaller than SpVAR's. Based on the forecast, the highest inflation in Semarang and Solo will occur in November 2023, while the highest inflation in Yogyakarta will occur in December 2023. The highest outflow forecast for all these cities is in April 2023.

Price Controlled Petroleum and LPG Prices and COVID-19: Some Evidence From Fiji

This note examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on price-controlled petroleum and LPG prices in Fiji. We develop autoregressive models of price control orders authorised by the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission and find that the controlled prices of imported fossil fuels in Fiji did increase during the COVID-19 because of supply chain issues during the pandemic. Moreover, the effect of the pandemic on LPG prices was greater than those on petrol prices. These effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are found to be insignificant, which implies that consumers of imported fossil fuel were shielded by the price control policy and in the case of transport fuel, reduced demand for transport fuel due to the economic lockdowns also provided some relief in the domestic market.

Integrasi Pasar Jangka Pendek Ayam Broiler di Indonesia

One of the fast-growing livestock subsectors is the poultry sector. This livestock subsector produces broiler chicken meat as a strategic commodity in addition to beef, milk, and eggs. The level of broiler chicken meat consumption is the highest order, followed by native chicken consumption, then beef. Broiler meat is a rapidly growing strategic commodity. This study uses ECM model analysis to determine the short-term market integration in broiler chickens—time series data on broiler chicken prices at the producer level between January 2015 and December 2020. This analysis's first step is testing broiler chicken meat producer price data stationarity in 28 provinces. Data that are not stationary will be heteroscedastic (have autocorrelation). In addition, time series data that are not stationary can also produce spurious regression, a condition in which two or more variables have a causality relationship, but there is no theory or logic underlying the direct causality relationship between two or more of these variables. According to the findings of this investigation, there is no complete integration. According to the study's findings, the weak flow of information in the market is suspected, so the information transmitted is not perfect. This shows that the broiler meat market in Indonesia leads to imperfect competition. The broiler's construction meat commodity market leads to oligopsony. Government intervention is required to establish broiler meat price control policies with the primary consideration of focusing on the price leader market that will be transmitted in harmony with other regions to make the broiler meat market structure more competitive.

Single or combined tax? A comparative study of the effects of resource and carbon taxes under China's peak emission target

Resource and carbon tax should be taken seriously as typical price control policies to address the dilemma between economic development and carbon emissions in developing countries. Therefore, based on China, we construct a dynamic CGE model to evaluate the carbon emission reduction and economic effects of a single tax policy (resource tax or carbon tax) versus their combination. The simulation results demonstrate that the carbon tax policy is superior to the resource tax-increasing policy under a single tax policy. Specifically, it is hard to meet the autonomous national contribution target of peaking carbon by 2030 only by raising the resource tax, and the economic loss is relatively heavy. The setting of the initial carbon tax will affect the carbon peak time and total carbon emissions. When the initial carbon tax is 25 yuan/tonne, carbon emissions will peak in 2029. A combined tax policy is preferable to a single carbon tax policy. The combination of gradually increasing the carbon tax rate and lowering the resource tax rate can effectively reduce economic losses, achieve a carbon peak and promote the joint development of the environment and economy.

COOKING OIL PRICE CONTROL POLICY IN INDONESIA (A review of Ibn Taimiyah's thoughts)

This study aims to analyze cooking oil price control policies in Indonesia by examining Ibn Taimiyah's thoughts about market mechanisms and price interventions. The research method used is a qualitative research methodology with a literature study approach. The research results show that the market mechanism in Islam is free of any intervention. However, the government can intervene in market prices when distortions occur. The government's policy of providing cooking oil subsidies to the less fortunate and setting the lowest retail price is permissible because there are conditions where producers do not want to sell their goods except at a price higher than the general market price, even though consumers really need these goods. According to Ibnu Taimiyah, the government may intervene in prices and limit sales after conducting negotiations, discussions, and consultations with interested communities.

Why Does Price Control Policies Do Not Apply in the US Pharmaceutical Market, as Opposed to Many EU Markets?

The pharmaceutical market is always the most profitable industry in the US, and private companies dominate the healthcare market. The US ranks the highest globally on healthcare spending due to the high price of healthcare. As a result, American citizens face increased difficulties affording basic health insurance. The main reason behind this problem is that the US does not apply price control policies. Compared with the US, most EU countries’ pharmaceutical markets have government interventions, such as price control policies; hence EU countries have a much lower amount of healthcare spending. This article describes the history of pharmaceutical markets in the US and EU and analyzes why the US does not apply price control policies. This article also critically elaborates on the positive and negative implications of why the US does not apply price control policies. Although there are many benefits to the US does not apply price control policies in the pharmaceutical market, in this research, the disadvantages of applying price control policies outweigh the benefits. As the US does not apply price control policies, this would lead to a higher profit for pharmaceutical companies. In addition, this likely incentivizes pharmaceutical companies to dedicate more funds to research and development. In the long term, without price control policies in the US could increase human longevity.

Quantifying interconnectedness and centrality ranking among financial institutions with TVP-VAR framework.

Financial risk is spread and amplified through the interconnectedness among financial institutions. We apply a time-varying parameter vector autoregression model to analyze the dynamic spillover effects in the Chinese financial system. We find that the 2017 house price control policies have significantly increased the risk of China's financial system. Before 2017, with the prosperity of the real estate market, the interconnectedness of the Chinese financial system continued to decline, while after 2017, with the slowdown of house price growth and the downturn of the real estate market, the interconnectedness turned to increase. For different sectors, the trends and the magnitudes of the spillover effects are diverse, and any sector can contribute to systemic risk in a dynamic way. Finally, we rank 20 systemically important financial institutions according to two centrality measures. The stable institution ranking provides less noisy information for regulators to formulate a policy and intervene in the market effectively.

'No Person Shall Sell Goods at an Unjust Profit': A Review of Consumer Price Controls in Southern Rhodesia, 1939-1949

This article explores the regime of consumer price controls instituted in Southern Rhodesia during World War II and continued in the post-war period up to 1949. The 'war effort' required the colony to change rapidly and tackle emerging shortages, bottlenecks, and general wartime disruptions. Southern Rhodesia responded to rising consumer prices and the spiralling cost of living by assembling price control officials, institutions, legislation and policies. Besides evaluating the immediate outcome of consumer price controls, the article also examines their socioeconomic impact. It argues that while the first few years saw some success in stabilising prices and curtailing price hikes, controls incentivised contravention and other unscrupulous practices as businesses sought to realise profits. Furthermore, controls sacrificed industrial competitiveness because businesses had little incentive to improve their production methods. On consumer price controls extended to Africans in this colonial society, the article argues that the measures were socially retrogressive because they slowed down the emergence of African business enterprises in rural areas while also stifling African wages in urban areas. Thus, while deliberately protecting white consumers, consumer price controls simultaneously enforced African under-consumption to maintain the settler colonial model.

Market Integration Analysis of Cayenne Pepper in East Java Province

Market integration research has often been used to evaluate agricultural products' marketing performance. However, the involvement of marketing agencies in chili marketing resulted in a relatively high price difference and impacted market integration. So it is essential to understand how the chili market integration as an effort to improve marketing efficiency and price control policies. The study analyzed the causality and market integration of cayenne pepper prices at the farmers' and retailers' levels in East Java Province. The study used weekly cayenne pepper price data at the farmers' and retailers' levels from 2016 - 2020. The secondary data was obtained from the Department of Industry and Trade of East Java Province. The analytical methods used in this study were Engle-Granger Causality analysis and Error Correction Model (ECM). The findings showed that retail prices caused the farmgate prices, but not the other way. However, the price of cayenne pepper at the farmer and retail level in East Java Province has been integrated. Therefore, this study showed that there needs to be an improvement in the farmers' institutional system to improve the farmers' bargaining position to reduce the power of the selling price control at the farmers' level by traders.

Cost variation analysis of commonly prescribed anti-diabetic drugs available in Indian market: a pharmaco-economic study

Cost variation analysis of commonly prescribed anti-diabetic drugs available in Indian market: a pharmaco-economic study

Land price control and employee wages: A bunching analysis of factor cost transfer

AbstractTo prevent local governments from transferring industrial land at low prices to attract investment, the central government of China enacted a land price control policy that stipulates a minimum price for land transfers. Using a sample of 235,803 land transactions in China from 2008 to 2015, we estimate the effects of this policy on local governments and companies. First, we find that local governments abide by the policy to some extent. However, owing to the constraints of local economic performance, there is a degree of motivation not to apply the policy, which is manifested in selective law enforcement. Second, for some companies, the policy pushes the land purchase cost above the minimum price, and the distribution of land costs across the sample shows a bunching effect in certain neighborhoods. Third, companies with rising land costs have a significant incentive to pass on their increased costs, which is manifested in a significant decline in their expenditure on employee wages, particularly in companies with poor liquidity ratios. However, there is no evidence that the increase in land costs has an impact on other company behaviors, such as investment or tax compliance.

Alcohol, deterrence, and crime: causality and policy lessons from Korea

ABSTRACT The relationship between alcohol use, crime and public policy interventions is a pressing area of study in the policy sciences. This article compares the effects of alcohol price control policies and crime deterrence policies by type of crime through a case study of South Korea. Specifically, an instrumental variable was introduced to address the problem of endogeneity between alcohol consumption and crime. Instead of using the alcohol tax rate, this study’s instrumental variable was derived from the vertical restraint structure of the Korean distilled liquor industry. The results of the study’s empirical analysis show a significant and negative relationship between the arrest rate and violent, property, and economic crimes. Alcohol consumption is observed to have a positive relationship with violent crime only. Additionally, prevention activities deployed by the police were found to have a negative relationship with property crime, while the prosecution rate was determined to have a negative relationship with economic crime. Furthermore, as opposed to deterrence policies, an alcohol control policy through higher alcohol tax rates emerged as more effective for reducing alcohol-related crime, and a specific rate tax was found to be more effective than an ad valorem tax for deterring alcohol-related crime.

Assessing the Performance and Participation among Young Male and Female Entrepreneurs in Agribusiness: A Case Study of the Rice and Maize Subsectors in Cameroon

The role played by youth in agriculture cannot be overemphasized, while agribusinesses are important generators of employment and income worldwide. Improving the sustainability of food value chains can benefit millions of rural poor people living in developing countries, especially young women. Despite policies and programs aimed at encouraging agricultural entrepreneurs, they are still facing challenges such as high-cost agrochemicals, limited access to credit, price volatility, etc. which seriously affect their capacity to remain in the sector. This study was undertaken to assess the performance and participation of young male and female entrepreneurs. This study made use of cross-section data from a survey conducted on 1019 young agricultural entrepreneurs in Cameroon. The data were analyzed using gross margin, student t-test, and logistic regression. Our study contributes to the literature by showing that young women agribusiness entrepreneurs are as competitive as their male counterparts and that the opportunities for young women in agriculture are good. Incentives such as single-digit interest rates and no collateral security should be directed to young women to receive more credit for purchasing agrochemicals and improved varieties of seed. Furthermore, a price control policy should be set up throughout the year to enable young women earn as their young men counterparts to enable them remain in production and marketing activities.

WHO key access antibiotics prices, availability and affordability in private sector pharmacies in Pakistan

BackgroundPoor availability and unaffordability of key access antibiotics may increase antimicrobial resistance in the community by promoting inappropriate antibiotic selection and abridged therapy compliance.ObjectiveTo check the prices, availability, and affordability of the World Health Organization (WHO) key access antibiotics in private sector pharmacies of Lahore, Pakistan.MethodologyA survey of WHO key access antibiotics from WHO essential medicine list 2017 was conducted in private sector pharmacies of 4 different regions of Lahore employing adapted WHO/HAI methodology. The comparison of prices and availability between originator brands (OB) and lowest price generics (LPG) were conducted followed by the effect of medicine price differences on patient’s affordability. The data were analyzed using a preprogrammed WHO Microsoft excel workbook.ResultsThe mean availability of OB products was 45.20% and the availability of LPGs was 40.40%. The OBs of co-amoxiclav, clarithromycin and metronidazole and LPGs of azithromycin and ciprofloxacin were easily available (100%) in all private sector pharmacies. Whereas, antibiotics like chloramphenicol, cloxacillin, nitrofurantoin, spectinomycin, and cefazolin were totally unavailable in all the surveyed pharmacies. The OBs and LPGs with high MPRs were ceftriaxone (OB; 15.31, LPG; 6.38) and ciprofloxacin (OB; 12.42, LPG; 5.77). The median of brand premium obtained was 38.7%, which varied between the lowest brand premium of 3.97% for metronidazole and highest for ceftriaxone i.e. 140%. The cost of standard treatment was 0.5 day’s wage (median) if using OB and 0.4 day’s wage (median) for LPG, for a lowest paid unskilled government worker. Treatment with OB and LPG was unaffordable for ciprofloxacin (OB; 2.4, LPG; 1.1) & cefotaxime (OB; 12.7, LPG; 8.1).ConclusionThere is dire need to properly implement price control policies to better regulate fragile antibiotic supply system so that the availability of both OB and LPG of key access antibiotics should be increased. The prices could be reduced by improving purchasing efficiency, excluding taxes and regulating mark-ups. This could increase the affordability of patients to complete their antibiotic therapy with subsequent reduction in antimicrobial resistance.

Quantitative Evaluation of China’s Pork Industry Policy: A PMC Index Model Approach

To ease the fluctuation of hog prices and maintain the hog market’s stability, the central government of China has issued a series of hog price control policies. This paper, supplemented by co-word analysis and LDA thematic modeling, constructed 9 first-level indicators and 36 second-level indicators and used a PMC index model to conduct quantitative research on the selected 74 policies and regulations of China’s pig price regulation policies from July 2007 to April 2020. The research concludes that the research tool system of China’s hog price control is formed. The overall design of the hog price control policy is relatively reasonable, but there are still the following problems: the subject of China’s pig price control policy is singular, so it is difficult to form a resultant force; the policy pays attention to the price regulation in the short term, but ignores the long-term industrial structure adjustment; it emphasizes market supervision, but insufficient support for slaughtering and processing; it focuses on production and management to improve the development quality and efficiency of the pig industry, but does not take social equity into account. Finally, some policy suggestions are put forward: multi-department division of labor and close cooperation; adjusting the industrial structure of hog and carrying out appropriate large-scale breeding; establishing the operation mode of slaughtering and processing in the producing area to reduce the circulation cost of the pig industry; ensuring the consumption of pork by low-income groups and giving consideration to social efficiency and equity.