Relative Prices Research Articles

Similarity Measures between Buying and Selling Prices of Various Exchange Rates with the inclusion of Multidimensionality and Multicollinearity

This paper introduces a new statistical model, the multidimensional measurement error model with multicollinearity, to study the relationship between buying and selling prices of foreign exchange rates of various currencies. Such a model is needed due to the possible rise in multidimensionality and multicollinearity issues that may occur due to the movement of the financial markets towards stock market integration of various countries since the occurrences of the financial crisis as well as the part result of globalization. As this integration involves the participation of various countries, it will affect the foreign exchange rate. Hence, the analyses are performed on seven currencies against the Malaysian Ringgit where four models’ performances are compared. From this research, it can be concluded that the proposed model comparatively performs better than the other models in representing the relationship of the stationary prices and performs as well as existing models towards non-stationary prices. It can also be seen that the Japanese Yen is the currency that has the strongest influence and closer similar trends towards other currencies while the Great British Pound showed otherwise.

Trade costs and the integration of British West Africa in the global economy, c. 1840–1940

AbstractDespite the essential role of trade for African economies, in the extensive literature on the historical evolution of international trade costs, Africa is still missing. In this article, we contribute to filling this gap by (1) providing the first estimates of British West Africa's trade costs with Britain c. 1840–1940 by computing relative price gaps in a representative sample of African export and European import prices, and (2) analysing the main determinants of trade costs trends, by regressing price gaps on measures of transport costs, market efficiency, and trade barriers. The results uncover a diverging pattern in African and global trade costs trends, which was not noticed in the previous literature. British West Africa experienced a reduction in its trade costs with Britain c. 1840–70, similar to the one we observe in other world areas, thanks to improvements in shipping technology and market efficiency. From the late 1870s, however, as colonial monopsonistic trading companies consolidated their control of African export markets, trade costs continued to decline in the rest of the world, but not in British West Africa. Consequently, from the late nineteenth century, trade for West Africa became relatively more expensive than for other world regions.

Transesterification of Persea americana seed oil to methyl ester using bio-based heterogeneous catalyst: Optimization and techno-economic analysis

The techno-economic analysis of producing biodiesel from agrarian wastes at optimal condition was carried out. The acid activated empty palm fruit bunch ash (AAEPFBA) catalyzed the methyl ester production. The AAEPFBA catalyst was synthesized from waste palm fruit bunch, and modified with phosphoric acid. The activation was best achieved by adding H3PO4 acid in a ratio of 1:2 (g/ml). The modification of the catalyst increased the alkaline properties and surface area and decreased the particle size and adsorption energy. The process variables of temperature 61.9 °C, reaction time of 3.09 h, methanol/oil molar ratio of 10.2:1, catalyst concentration of 3.14wt%, and agitation speed of 321.54 rpm at a desirability of one gave an experimental optimal yield of biodiesel as 90.3%. Based on the experimental study, 3062 liters (2728kg) of biodiesel was evaluated annually. The annual operating cost, payback period, and internal rate of return are ₦2201288, 1.5years, and 7.6%, respectively. The sensitivity analysis of oil purchase cost, biodiesel selling price, and labour cost on Return on investment, PBP, IRR, and Net present value were investigated. In this study, the relative biodiesel selling price is a determinant of the profitability of producing avocado pear seed oil methyl ester. The overall results show that investors can embark on biodiesel production using avocado pear seed oil, and AAEPFBA as feedstocks.

Price pass‐through in the U.S. beef industry: Implications of feedlot capacity utilization

AbstractTransmission of prices, profits, and more generally, economic well‐being across vertically connected sectors of agriculture have a long history of interest—arguably of most current interest in meat and livestock markets. Disruptions in live animal harvesting, especially from COVID‐19, have corresponded with substantial market adjustment and hence elevated interest in inner‐industry relationships, including from policymakers. This paper's main contribution is assessing how price changes in the U.S. feedlot industry manifest in feeder cattle markets. We use Ricardian rent theory as a framework to quantify price transmission by testing how price fluctuations actually pass through the supply chain versus theoretical expectations. We posit that the capacity utilization of feedlots changes because of market shocks, impacting price relationships. In the empirical model, when feedlot capacity utilization rates are below the 65% critical point, we find that both fed to feeder cattle and corn to feeder cattle pass‐through rates are higher than hypothesized. When feedlot capacity utilization rates are high (>65%), estimated pass‐through rates are lower and not statistically different from Ricardian rent theory. Understanding how prices pass through in the beef industry can help inform policy discussions about beef market competitiveness and promote efficient resource allocation.

The Influence of Price Perception and Customer Experience on Purchase Intention Mediated by Customer Satisfaction (Empirical Study: Haidilao Restaurant Consumers in Jakarta)

The purpose of this research is to analyze further the relationship and influence of price, customer experience on purchase intentions which is mediated by customer satisfaction on purchase intentions at the HaiDiLao restaurant. The method used in this research is a quantitative method and was processed using AMOS. The survey was conducted on 155 respondents who met the respondent criteria using non-probability sampling. The research found that price perception, customer experience, and customer satisfaction did not significantly influence the purchase intention. Meanwhile, price perception and customer experience had a significant influence on customer satisfaction. On the other hand, price perception and customer experience also did not significantly influence purchase intention. The limitation of the research was the limited respondents, with 155 respondents domiciled in Jakarta who have visited HaiDiLao restaurant in Jakarta. This research could be generalized more widely if the samples were taken not only from Jakarta City. The implications of this research provided managerial contributions to the food and beverages industry, especially an overview of customer experience and an understanding of the factors influencing increased purchase intentions, such as price perception, customer experience, customer satisfaction, and purchase intention. So, managers can develop a business strategic plan that aligns with internal and external company conditions.

Digital product import and domestic value-added ratio of export: Theory and demonstration

Based on the matching of the database of China Industry Business Performance and China Customs Trade from 2000 to 2013, this paper constructs the digital product import index, and adopts the method of panel data modeling to systematically investigate the impact and mechanism of digital product import on the domestic value-added rate of Chinese enterprises' export from the theoretical and empirical aspects. The research finds that the import of digital products significantly promotes the improvement of the domestic value-added rate of enterprises' export, and the core conclusion is still valid after considering the endogeneity of variables, changing the measurement index and estimation method. The mechanism test finds that the import of digital products improves the domestic value-added rate of enterprises' export through two channels: cost markup and relative price. In addition, the heterogeneity test finds that the import of digital products has a stronger effect on the improvement of the domestic value-added rate of enterprises' export in non-export enterprises, pure general trading enterprises, foreign-funded enterprises, labor-intensive enterprises and enterprises in the eastern region.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF EXCHANGE RATE ECONOMICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: 1892–1992

In this paper I analyze the work on exchange rates and external imbalances by University of Chicago faculty members during the university’s first 100 years, 1892 to 1992. Many people associate Chicago’s views with Milton Friedman’s advocacy for flexible exchange rates. But, of course, there was much more than that, including the work of J. Laurence Laughlin on bimetallism, Jacob Viner on the balance of payments, Lloyd Metzler on transfers, Harry Johnson on trade and currencies, Lloyd Mints on exchange rate regimes, Robert Mundell on optimal currency areas, and Arnold Harberger on shadow exchange rates, among others. The analysis shows that, although different scholars emphasized different issues, there was a common thread in this research, anchored on the role of relative prices’ changes during the adjustment process.

AI-POWERED FINANCIAL OPERATION STRATEGY FOR CLOUD COMPUTING COST OPTIMIZATION FOR FUTURE

Cloud computing has revolutionized the way groupings feature by way of manner of presenting scalable and flexible infrastructure services. However, dealing with cloud cost efficiently remains a project, as cloud environments emerge as more complex. This paper proposes an AI-powered financial operation approach for optimizing cloud computing cost. The method leverages AI algorithms to research utilization patterns, forecast future calls, and advise price-saving measures. By imposing this approach, agencies can acquire massive financial savings at the same time as ensuring the nice everyday normal performance and scalability in their cloud infrastructure. Cloud computing has obtained massive prominence in commercial enterprise because of its capacities. However, the effective management of cloud cost remains a complex agency. However, incorporating automation and Machine Learning (ML) gives a possibility to manipulate and mitigate cloud charges successfully, rendering cloud computing an additional economically viable solution. This study will investigate into the transformative effect of automation and Machine learning cloud cost optimization, providing insights into how companies can harness those technologies to curtail fees on the equal time as addressing ability implementation-demanding situations. As organizations increasingly trust upon cloud computing services for their operations, optimizing the related prices performances into a crucial factor of financial management. This paper proposes an AI-powered financial operation technique for cloud computing fee optimization. The technique leverages tool-reading algorithms to investigate historic utilization patterns, forecast future desires, and perceive capability fee-saving possibilities. It integrates with cloud service providers' APIs to continuously reveal useful resource usage and adjust provisioning ranges dynamically. Additionally, the technique includes anomaly detection strategies to discover inefficiencies or sudden spikes in utilization, permitting proactive fee management. Through the implementation of this AI-powered technique, businesses can gain huge discounts in cloud computing costs even while preserving the finest overall performance and scalability.

Comparison of current relative value unit-based prices and utility between common surgical procedures, including orthopedic surgeries, in South Korea

BackgroundThe medical pricing system strongly influences physicians’ job satisfaction and patient health outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the current relative value unit (RVU)-based pricing and utility of patients in commonly performed surgical procedures in South Korea.MethodsFifteen common surgical procedures were selected from OECD statistics, and three additional orthopedic procedures were examined. The current pricing of each surgical procedure was retrieved from the Korea National Health Insurance Service, and the corresponding utilities were obtained as quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gains from previous studies. The relationship between the current prices (RVUs) and the patients’ utility (incremental QALY gains/year) was analyzed. Subgroup analysis was performed between fatal and non-fatal procedures and between orthopedic and non-orthopedic procedures.ResultsA significant negative correlation (r = − 0.558, p < 0.001) was observed between RVU and incremental QALY among all 18 procedures. The fatal subgroup had a significantly higher RVU than the non-fatal subgroup (p < 0.05), while the former had a significantly lower incremental QALY than the latter (p < 0.001). Orthopedic procedures showed higher incremental QALY values than non-orthopedic procedures, but they did not show higher prices (RVU).ConclusionsThis paradoxical relationship between current prices and patient utility is attributed to the higher pricing of surgical procedures for fatal and urgent conditions. Orthopedic surgery has been found to be a cost-effective treatment strategy. These findings could contribute to a better understanding of the potential role of incremental QALY in pursuing value-based purchasing or reasonable modification of the current medical fee schedule.

Modeling the determinants of tourism diversification: An empirical analysis for Australia

This paper aims to use an augmented tourism demand model to examine the determinants of tourism diversification by using the data from 46 tourism markets and seven tourism activities in Australia from 1987 to 2021. The tourism markets in Australia have been further divided into sub-regions, and each region has been analyzed. The empirical evidence shows that an increase in the average income in the source markets and infrastructure investment in Australia increases tourism diversification. At the same time, the relative price effect appears to hinder Australia's tourism market diversification. Political risk has not been shown to have a significant impact on Australia's tourism market diversification. Policy conclusions and discussions related to the empirical results are presented in the main body of the paper.

Energy, pandemics, and urban economics: cost-of-living differences between European cities

ABSTRACT The recent surge of energy prices has started a global revival of inflation. This study sheds light on the determinants influencing living costs across 73 European cities between 2014–2022. Focusing on relative prices between analysed cities, we assess the importance of fundamental variables, such as GDP per capita, as well as crisis-specific variables, including energy prices and covid-related measures. Our findings underscore the significance of the Penn effect, highlighting that wealthier cities exhibit higher living costs. Furthermore, energy variables, especially heating needs and gas prices, show profound impact on city-level living costs, while the Covid period provides insights into the role of covid cases and governmental responses.

Machine Learning based Financial Stock Market Trading Strategies with Moving Average, Stochastic Relative Strength Index and Price Volume Actions for Indian and Malaysian Stock Market

The study related to a new and very powerful stock, index and commodities trading strategy based on machine learning with Moving Average (MA), Stochastic Relative Strength Index (SRSI) and Price Volume (PV) analysis to generate three types of financial market or stock trading signals such as buy, sell and no trade. Moving averages and moving average crossover are widely used to smooth price data and identify trends, whereas Stochastic RSI is a powerful oscillator that measures the relative strength of recent stock prices. Combination of multiple indicators in machine learning can improve strategies and provide more accurate decision for investors and traders which generate financial worth. This model is very much useful for Indian and Islamic stock markets. 

Analysis of the relationship of gold prices with inflation and bitcoin in the post-tapering period

We analyze the hedging feature of gold against inflation by analyzing the factors affecting gold prices for the post-2013 period, including the tapering process in the United States. Our results show that especially demand for gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and US 10-year bond rates are effective on gold prices in this period. Inflation has no statistically significant effect on gold prices over the sample period; however, in the subperiod, excluding 2014–2019, inflation has a statistically significant positive impact on gold prices. We conclude that gold does provide a partial hedge against inflation as an investment tool, at least for the recent period. Furthermore, our analysis of Bitcoin's effect on gold prices starting in the second half of 2016 shows no statistically significant relationship.

Understanding the Influence of Energy Productivity and Income on CO2 Emissions in Spain (1970–2017): A Non-Linear Structural Equations Model Approach

This study examined the causal relations among per capita CO2 emissions, per capita income, non-fossil fuels electricity production, and energy productivity for the Spanish economy (1970–2017) using structural equation modeling with quadratic effects and introducing the fundamentals of the derived demand to formulate a novel approach. The relationships revealed statistical significance with a scale effect between income per capita and the level of per capita CO2 emissions. There is also a structural effect, dominated by a higher share of non-fossil fuel electricity production, and a technical effect associated with a reduction in energy intensity due to a sustained increase in capital formation and a policy of higher energy prices in the long term. Thus, climate change policies must be based on a sustained effort to modify the energy supply, in addition to an accumulation of capital stock and a sustained policy of keeping relative energy prices, at least in the transition phase to more environment-friendly energy production.

Cocaine and heroin interact differently with nondrug reinforcers in a choice situation.

The present study used a rat choice model to test how cocaine or heroin economically interacted with two different nondrug reinforcers along the substitute-to-complement continuum. In Experiment 1, the nondrug alternative was the negative reinforcer timeout-from-avoidance (TOA)-that is, rats could press a lever to obtain a period of safety from footshock. One group of rats chose between cocaine and TOA and another group chose between heroin and TOA. The relative prices of the reinforcers were manipulated across phases while controlling for potential income effects. When cocaine was the reinforcer, rats reacted to price changes by increasing their allocation of behavior to the more expensive option, thereby maintaining relatively proportional intake of cocaine and TOA reinforcers across prices, suggesting these reinforcers were complements here. In contrast, when heroin became relatively cheap, rats increased allocation of income to heroin and decreased allocation of income to TOA, suggesting that heroin substituted for safety. Additionally, rats were willing to accept more footshocks when heroin was easily available. In Experiment 2, the nondrug alternative was saccharin, a positive reinforcer. Heroin and saccharin were complements, but there was no consistent effect of price changes on the allocation of behavior between cocaine and saccharin. As a model of the processes that could be involved in human drug use, these results show that drug-taking behavior depends on the type of drug, the type of nondrug alternative available, and the prices of both. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

공장의 매매가격 결정요인에 관한 연구

Research on the factors influencing the sale price of industrial complex factories, which play a crucial role in the entire manufacturing industry in Korea, is still incomplete. In this study, we empirically analyzed the characteristics of factories in industrial complexes to determine their impact on the sale price. This empirical analysis is based on data collected from 333 factories in the three main industrial complexes of small and medium enterprises in the metropolitan area: Banwol, Sihwa, and Namdong. The analysis results are as follows. First, in terms of location characteristics, the distance from highway interchanges and the distance from the subway station have a negative (-) the transaction price, while proximity to a main road has a positive effect. Second, concerning the building's characteristics, a larger the land area and total floor area, as well as a more complex main building structure, have a greater positive impact on the transaction price. However, the useful life negatively affects the transaction price because of physical and functional depreciation. Third, it was confirmed that the industry factory's industry affects the transaction price in relation to industry characteristics. Fourth, concerning regional policy characteristics, the designation of a regeneration business district has a positive impact on the transaction price. Therefore, manufacturing companies interested in acquiring factories in industrial complexes should conduct precise calculations of sales prices and make purchase decisions based on a medium- and long-term valuation and analysis of industrial properties and manufacturing companies . This should involve thorough consideration of location, building, industry, buyer, and regional policy characteristics specific to the main industry.

Derivation of Growth of Import Demand: A Time Series Analysis 
of Less Developed Countries

In this article, growth of import demand is estimated in a dynamic optimisation framework. Since a conventional micro-theoretic import demand function cannot capture the issue of the growth of import demand, it is derived in a macro-theoretic framework of equilibrium import demand function. Growth rate of import demand in a dynamic optimisation framework (considering utility maximisation problem) has not yet been found in the literature. The main focus of this article is to derive this. It is found that growth rate of imports is the function of the growth of domestic income or expenditure, the growth rate of relative price, which is nothing but the real exchange rate, and productivity of capital. The theoretically derived import growth equation was empirically verified for 35 less developed countries. It is observed that for most of the less developed countries, independent variables are statistically significant with expected sign. JEL Codes: F130, F14

Detecting the horizontal/vertical price relationship patterns in the global oil industry chain through network analysis

The investigation of price relationship patterns within the horizontal regional and vertical industry chain domains of oil market represents a crucial yet under-researched area. This study tackles the inherent complexities in identifying these patterns, arising from three key challenges: the presence of numerous downstream petrochemical products, the interconnectedness of oil product prices across two domains, and the existence of price influence loop. To address these challenges, this study selected 51 oil products from various regions and different segments of oil industry chain, and calculated and tested their price lead-lag relationships. Subsequently, we established and analyzed the price lead-lag relationship networks within two domains. Furthermore, we expanded network topological structure analysis from a single domain to encompass both domains. Finally, employing the network motif analysis method, we successfully detected the price relationship patterns, taking into consideration the intricate nature of price influence loops. Our findings illuminate the general characteristics of the oil market within two domains but also shed light on previous ignored price lead-lag relationships. The thorough analysis and conclusions drawn from this study offer detailed policy implications to downstream refineries and policy makers.

Re-examining crude oil and natural gas price relationship: Evidence from time-varying regime-switching models

In this paper, we re-examine the relationship between crude oil and natural gas prices. Using a more flexible modelling approach, we find that the relationship between these two prices are more complex than previously documented. Specifically, we find that both the short-run and long-run relationships are highly nonlinear and shifted considerably over time. The effects of oil prices on gas prices fell significantly and became less volatile after 2011. We also find a significant shift and nonlinearity in the short-run response of gas prices to demand and supply conditions. Overall, our results imply that the natural gas prices did not decouple from crude oil prices in the sense that the long-run equilibrium relationship between the two prices did not break completely, but instead moved to a new level.

Nonlinear Impact of Labor Market Integration on Tourism Development: Evidence from China

ABSTRACT Based on the theory of labor market segmentation, this study uses the ‘relative price method’ to estimate the labor market integration of 31 provinces and cities in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) from 2007 to 2019, and then empirically examines the nonlinear relationship between labor market integration and tourism development. The results show that, from the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics, the development level of tourism shows an upward trend, while the integration of labor market shows a ‘fluctuating’ upward trend. This shows that with the continuous advancement of the factor marketization policy, the segmentation of the labor market is gradually broken. At the same time, there is a U-shaped relationship between labor market integration and tourism development. When the labor market integration is lower than 19.3, it reduces the tourism development level. However, when the labor market integration exceeds the threshold of 19.3, with the deepening of labor market integration, the development level of tourism is improved. Further research shows that the U-shaped relationship between labor market integration and tourism development is different due to different environmental governance, geographical location and location. Therefore, the relevant departments should take precise measures according to the time and place.