Prices Of Elements Research Articles

Toward a least-effort principle for evaluating prices of elements as indicators of sustainability

HighlightsIn this article, we use rank to understand the price of chemical elements. We observe that the role of the volume from global mining production dominates in materials economics.In this article, we explore simplifying mechanisms in materials economics for conceptionally organizing the flows of chemical elements into society. We use the concept of rank, which plays a crucial role in information theory where power laws are involved, and is a useful measure for seeking extremal principles. Borrowing from an analogy to Zipf’s law leads to a power-law relationship between abundance and rank that—pressing the Zipf’s law analogy further—may suggest that the price paid for elemental materials optimizes efficient utilization. Factors such as weight, volume, and moles in the earth's crust or in global mining production of elements are used in our analysis. For this research, 42 elements with price and production data for the year 2010 (a relatively typical year) were considered. We observe that the role of the volume from global mining production dominates in materials economics and indicate that elements such as Te and He should be sold at prices at least ~ 100–1000 times more than their present price for efficient utilization.Graphic abstract

Complex Services: Product Market Definition in Mobile Communications

Based on the features of modern mobile services, we propose conceptual approaches to determining the boundaries of the retail market for these services in the context of antitrust law application. Taking into account the survey of consumers of mobile services conducted in 2018, we explain the sources of the complexity of mobile services on the demand side. Additionally, we address the grounds for the complexity of services on the supply side. Two key analytical approaches to the study of the mobile services market are revealed: the concept of cluster markets and the definition of market boundaries through bundles. Summarizing foreign experience in analyzing cluster markets and markets for bundles allowed us to formulate a number of criteria, based on which conclusions about the correct boundaries of product markets in mobile communications can be drawn. Verification of compliance with such criteria on the basis of the survey, as well as on the basis of other data about the industry, suggests that the relevant product markets are bundles represented by tariff plans. Communication services in intranet roaming should also be analyzed only in conjunction with other elements of tariff plans. Isolation of individual components for the purpose of their separate analysis can lead to errors, including ignoring the fact that the prices of elements within a bundle are set based on the need to ensure the desired level of profitability of the entire bundle as a whole, rather than the profitability of individual components.