Welfare Enhancing Research Articles

How Collective Self-construal Buffers Opportunistic Silence After Ineffective Supervision?

Using self-construal theory, this study seeks to investigate the relationship between employees' exposure to authoritarian leadership and job performance while also considering the mediating role of opportunistic silence and the moderating effect of collective self-construal. It aims to reveal that leader's controlling and demanding behavior hinders job performance because employees reserve their opinions to gain advantage for themselves while accepting harm of others. This mediating role of opportunistic silence is mitigated if employees care for collective welfare and group enhancement. This study accordingly identifies a key mechanism—employees' intentional attempt to withhold work-related ideas to achieve selfish gains—by which authoritarian supervision hampers job performance, and it reveals how this process might be contained if employees have interdependent self-construal.

A Solution Management in Handling Economic Inequality Among Agrarian Communities

Agriculture has been an inherent part of human civilization for centuries. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the relationship between agricultural production and agricultural community income. The pattern of their relationship followed the dynamics of the Lotka-Volterra model. Two of the six critical phenomena that might occur: first, if the farmer's crop were abundant, the farmers' income would increase rapidly; second, if the farmers' yields decreased, the farmer's income would automatically decrease. Low and unstable farmer income could lead to poor productivity and low economic growth. Thus, monitoring and early warning were essential to effectively prevent possible negative impacts on agricultural product production, consumption, and changes in market prices. Sustainable agricultural systems included maintenance or enhancement of environmental natural resources, food supply, and social welfare. In brief, good agricultural management could maintain the balance of the ecosystem, contribute to the economy continuously, and increase agrarian communities' economic resilience. Keywords: agrarian community; ecosystem; harvest cycle; income; Lotka-Volterra

BUYER POWER, EXCLUSIVE CONTRACTS, AND VERTICAL MERGERS IN COMPETING SUPPLY CHAINS: IMPLICATIONS FOR COMPETITION LAW AND POLICY

This paper studies how the buyer power of downstream firms can affect the market outcomes in both upstream manufacturing and downstream retail markets. In a two-tier oligopoly, where upstream firms are locked in a pair-wise exclusive relationship with their downstream retailers, we study the choice of firms between vertical merger and Nash Bargaining with twopart tariff regimes. On working with three cases of no vertical merger, single chain vertical merger and double chain vertical merger we find that joint profits of upstream and downstream firms are lowest when both channels choose vertical integration as compared to Nash Bargaining regime. We also find that Vertical integration is welfare enhancing because retail price will be minimum as upstream and downstream firms behave as a single entity. Hence for both single and double chain mergers, elimination of double marginalization is procompetitive. These results have implications for the enforcement of competition (antitrust) law.

Gender Disparity and the Association Between Socioeconomic Status, Mental Health, and the Need for Long-Term Services and Support Among the Older Koreans.

BackgroundPopulation aging—the inevitable increase in the percentage of older adults—is occurring all around the world as the fertility rate declines and life expectancy rises. This study examined the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), mental health, and the need for long-term services and support (LTSS) among Korean older adults. It also aimed to provide evidence-based information for South Korea's long-term support services and programs.MethodsThis study used the data on older adults aged over 60 years from the 2018 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). Ultimately, 5,527 older adults were included in the database (42.6% men, 57.4% women). To clarify the association between SES, mental health, and the need for LTSS among older Korean men and women, chi-squared test, t-test, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were performed.ResultsThe SEM analysis showed that a significant, negative association was observed between SES and the need for LTSS among these older adults—the higher SES groups would generally have less need for LTSS. Mental health had a strong, negative impact on the need for LTSS—better mental health status of the older individuals would indicate a lower need for LTSS, and the effect was stronger among older men. Meanwhile, the positive relationship between SES and mental health was verified—the higher the SES of these older adults the better their mental health.ConclusionsGender- and social class-sensitive impacts of mental health on the need for LTSS were observed in this study. These findings could provide an evidence-based reference for interventions targeting different genders and social classes in Korea's long-term care system, such as the enhancement of social welfare and mental health status of the older adults.

Can Green Economy and Ecological Welfare Achieve Synergistic Development? The Perspective of the "Two Mountains" Theory.

China’s high-speed economic growth and severe environmental problems have resulted in a poor Environmental Performance Index and have affected China’s sustainable development and ecological welfare improvement. Therefore, exploring whether there is a certain relationship between the two and their influencing factors is an important way and a breakthrough to solve the problems regarding green economic progress and ecological welfare enhancement. To this end, by using the undesirable slack-based measure (SBM) model, this paper measures the ecological welfare performance and the green economic efficiency of 11 cities in Zhejiang Province, China, from 2000 to 2019. Through the methods of spatiotemporal evolution, coefficient of variation, coupling coordination degree, and the Tobit model, we found that: (1) The development trend of urban green economic efficiency and ecological welfare performance were both in a “U” shape that first fell and then rose; (2) The coupling coordination degree between green economic efficiency and ecological welfare performance showed a wave-like upward trend as a whole and most cities have entered a more advanced coupling coordination stage during the study period. The coefficient of variation revealed a downward trend; (3) The urbanization level, industrial structure, and government investment can promote the regional coordinated development, while the industrialization degree and the opening level had a negative impact on it; (4) The “Two Mountains” theory was beneficial to the improvement of regional urban green economic efficiency and ecological welfare performance and their coordinated development both in theory and practice. Finally, according to the findings, we offer relevant suggestions on making good use of the country’s preferential policies and informatization means from the perspective of the regional coordinated development.

Autistic children in the care of single mothers: opportunities and barriers to safeguarding the welfare of special needs children

ABSTRACT Single mothers caring for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) go through emotional and financial hardships in Ghana due to discrimination, social isolation, stigmatization and financial strains. This inhibits their efforts to efficiently care for, and safeguard the welfare of the autistic children. Therefore, this qualitative study, through in-depth interviews with 15 single mothers caring for ASD children in Ghana, presents findings on the opportunities available to enhancing autistic childrens’ welfare as well as the barriers which make the welfare and well-being enhancement difficult. The study discovered that while kinship support constitutes a huge part of the support for promoting the welfare of autistic children and their single mothers, kin and kith also neglect them. Also, the study revealed that the existence and availability of autism support centers are a great resource that contribute to safeguarding the welfare of ASD children and their single mothers. However, in Ghana, such centers are limited, making it difficult for single mothers to effectively fend for their children. Therefore, the study recommends the need for a strong collaboration between the ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) and the Ministry of Health to expand the capacities of existing special schools and create new ones in regions without them. The study also recommends that particular attention be given to single mothers under the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty Program (LEAP) for which families with children suffering impairments are eligible.

A new approach to capital control for emerging market economies

The present paper proposes a new approach to capital control for emerging market economies, which restricts capital inflows to a fraction of the gap between foreign currency denominated loans and deposits in the economy. We show that the foreign-currency-gap capital control proposed here outperforms tax-based capital control in attenuating the negative effects of external shocks on business cycle fluctuations. This attenuation effect works via the interest rate channel and the capital control constraint itself. Compared to tax-based capital control, the foreign-currency-gap capital control is welfare enhancing, effectively mitigating financial instability with little cost in terms of macroeconomic stability. Countries with a high level of foreign currency denominated loans and deposits need to implement a stricter foreign-currency-gap capital control.

Integrating ecosystem benefits for sustainable water allocation in hydroeconomic modeling.

The increasing concern about the degradation of water-dependent ecosystems calls for considering ecosystems benefits in water management decision-making. Sustainable water management requires adequate economic and biophysical information on water systems supporting both human activities and natural ecosystems. This information is essential for assessing the impact on social welfare of water allocation options. This paper evaluates various alternative water management policies by including the spatial and sectoral interrelationships between the economic and environmental uses of water. A hydroeconomic model is developed to analyze water management policies for adaptation to reduced water availability in the Ebro Basin of Spain. The originality in our contribution is the integration of environmental benefits across the basin, by using endemic biophysical information that relates stream flows and ecosystem status in the Ebro Basin. The results show the enhancement of social welfare that can be achieved by protecting environmental flows, and the tradeoffs between economic and environmental benefits under alternative adaptation strategies. The introduction of water markets is a policy that maximizes the private benefits of economic activities, but disregards environmental benefits. The results show that the current institutional policy where stakeholders cooperate inside the water authority, provides lower private benefits but higher environmental benefits compared to those obtained under water markets, especially under severe droughts. However, the water authority is not allocating enough environmental flows to optimize social welfare. This study informs strategies for protection of environmental flows in the Ebro Basin, which is a compelling decision under the imminent climate change impacts on water availability in coming decades.

Effectiveness of hospital transfer payments under a prospective payment system: An analysis of a policy change in New Zealand.

Prospective payment systems reimburse hospitals based on diagnosis‐specific flat fees, which are generally based on average costs. While this encourages cost‐consciousness on the part of hospitals, it introduces undesirable incentives for patient transfers. Hospitals might feel encouraged to transfer patients if the expected treatment costs exceed the diagnosis‐related flat fee. A transfer fee would discourage such behavior and, therefore, could be welfare enhancing. In 2003, New Zealand introduced a fee to cover situations of patient transfers between hospitals. We investigate the effects of this fee by analyzing 4,020,796 healthcare events from 2000 to 2007 and find a significant reduction in overall transfers after the policy change. Looking at transfer types, we observe a relative reduction in transfers to non‐specialist hospitals but a relative increase in transfers to specialist facilities. It suggests that the policy change created a focusing effect that encourages public health care providers to transfer patients only when necessary to specialized providers and retain those patients they can treat. We also find no evidence that the transfer fee harmed the quality of care, measured by mortality, readmission and length of stay. The broader policy recommendation of this research is the introduction or reassessment of transfer payments to improve funding efficiency.

Profitability and investment risk of Texan power system winterization

A lack of winterization of power system infrastructure resulted in substantial rolling blackouts in Texas in 2021, but debate about the cost of winterization continues. Here we assess if incentives for winterization on the energy-only market are sufficient. We combine power demand estimates with estimates of power plant outages to derive power deficits and scarcity prices. Expected profits from winterization of a large share of existing capacity are positive. However, investment risk is high due to the low frequency of freeze events, potentially explaining the under-investment, as do the high discount rates and uncertainty about power generation failure under cold temperatures. As the social cost of power deficits is one to two orders of magnitude higher than the winterization cost, regulatory enforcement of winterization is welfare enhancing. Current legislation can be improved by emphasizing the winterization of gas power plants and infrastructure. There has been continued debate on the cost and benefits of winterization of energy infrastructure in Texas, especially after 2021 power outages. Here the authors estimate the expected revenues from winterization, and its cost, and find that winterization would pay off taking into account the probability of similar outages.

Present bias and externalities: Can government intervention raise welfare?

AbstractQuasi‐hyperbolic discounted preferences imply that consumers overemphasize immediate current rewards and overlook future ones (they have a “bias for the present”). Within this context the literature has emphasized that the misalignment between immediate and future rewards can be rectified by government policy. Importantly, it has also been shown that intervention by a government that shares the same biased intertemporal preferences with consumers does not deliver welfare improvements. Focusing on the latter, this paper identifies conditions under which, in the presence of quasi‐hyperbolic preferences and a market imperfection (which takes the form of a negative externality), intervention by a present‐biased government is welfare enhancing. This is the case if the market imperfection is sufficiently strong or the consumers' bias for the present is weak.

Equity factors for multi-asset class portfolios: a strategic asset allocation perspective

This paper highlights the long run, strategic benefits of factor premia as a complement (overlay) to an underlying exposure to equities and bonds. We provide a utility-based framework for evaluating alternative strategies and in particular account for the impact of extreme and undesirable events to long run wealth accumulation. We present evidence suggesting that an overlay of equity premia to a reference portfolio can enhance the likelihood of achieving wealth accumulation goals and can smooth the transition path to achieving those goals. These results can be attributed to both long positions and short positions in contrast to recent findings suggesting shorts fail to add value. The benefits of the factor premia overlay additionally extend to the decumulation or retirement stage as reflected in an enhancement to the coverage ratio. Taken together, these findings suggest that the equity factor premia strategies we present can be utilized to support welfare enhancing gains.

On the pro-competitive effects of passive partial backward ownership

We consider a vertically related market where an upstream monopolist supplier trades, via interim observable two-part tariff contracts, with two differentiated downstream Cournot competitors. We show that passive partial backward ownership (PPBO) is pro-competitive and welfare enhancing. PPBO exacerbates the upstream monopolist’s commitment problem and yields lower wholesale prices, and higher industry output, consumers surplus, and welfare than in the absence of PPBO.

The Linkage between Sustainable Development Goals 9 and 11: Examining the Association between Sustainable Urbanization and Intellectual Property Rights Protection

AbstractUnited Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 9 and 11 advocate industrial innovation and sustainable cities, respectively, although how sustainable urban development ensures the protection of innovative achievements remains understudied. Employing the Spatial Durbin Model, this study examines how the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) has affected sustainable urbanization using the case of the Huaihai economic zone (HEZ), China. Adopting a theoretical and empirical approach, the study seeks to understand how sustainable urbanization affects the protection of IPRs, and explores the spatial spillover from the perspectives of economic growth structure, technological progress, economic agglomeration and social welfare enhancement, taking into account also the protection of IPRs at a sub‐national level. The results indicate that sustainable urbanization is positively related to the protection of IPRs (as can be understood from the four abovementioned aspects of sustainable urbanization), that the spatial spillover effects of sustainable urbanization on the protection of IPRs and distance from the central city are significant, and that foreign direct investment (FDI)—a significant driving force in China's urbanization—has a negative impact.

Insecticidal efficacy and safety of Phoxim and influence on hematological, biochemical, and antioxidant profiles in German Shepherd dogs.

Dogs' health and welfare enhancement can be achieved using some prophylactics and immunization go with strict hygienic and optimum biosecurity measures. Exploration of the insecticidal action of Phoxim® for combating Rhipicephalus sanguineus infestation in dogs and its prophylactic influences on the blood indices, biochemistry, antioxidant enzymes, and cortisol hormone in healthy and infested dogs. Twenty German Shepherd male dogs at 1 year old and 44.0 kg were divided randomly into four groups of five dogs in four separate Kennels with optimum biosecurity measures. The 1st group (G1) was artificially infested with R. sanguineus and treated with Phoxim®, the 2nd (G2) was non-infested and treated with Phoxim®, the 3rd (G3) was infested with R. sanguineus and not treated (positive control), and the 4th (G4) was accounted as negative control (non-infested and non-treated). A total of 160 (80 whole blood and 80 sera) samples were collected. Parasitological examination revealed prominent characteristic features of R. sanguineus such as a distinct anal groove, the basis capitulum is hexagonal and lateral, the palpi are short, the second segment of the palpi as long as wide and not produced laterally, and the spiracular plate is comma-shaped and consists of stigma, peritreme, and tail. The results conveyed highly significant (p < 0.01) enhancement in erythrocytes, leukocytes, hematohiston, hematocrit, hemoglobin centering, granulocytes, alanine aminotransferase, random blood sugars, triglycerides, and total cholesterol, and highly significant (p < 0.01) declines of all measured antioxidant enzymes in treated non-infested dogs. Phoxim® proved efficient insecticidal activity with optimum safety and can be brought into play in the prophylactic biosecurity measures installed to eradicate external parasitism in dogs.

Assessment of Economic Impact of the Prospective India–GCC FTA: A Partial Equilibrium Simulation Analysis

This paper attempts to examine the possible impact of tariff liberalization due to the prospective India–GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on revenue, welfare and potential trade flows between India and GCC by using an ex-ante equilibrium approach through the SMART model on disaggregated trade data. The ex-ante simulation results show that tariff liberalization will have a positive impact on both sides. The reduction in tariffs will lead to a significant increase in trade between India and GCC countries. The overall results suggest that for both sides, the fall in government revenue associated with tariff reduction would be greater than the net welfare gains, but these tariff revenue losses can be balanced by a significant expansion in exports. In a nutshell, both India and GCC have substantial trade potential and the proposed FTA will be mutually beneficial and welfare enhancing.

WITHDRAWN - GLOBAL BANK RISK AND MONETARY POLICY IN AN EMERGING ECONOMY

The global financial crisis was characterized by heightened financial risk in the USA, which spread to the rest of the world, including emerging economies. This paper constructs a core–periphery model with a global banking network and financial frictions. Due to a common-lender effect, when global banks lend to an emerging economy, heightened financial risk in the center depresses cross-border lending to the emerging economy, reducing real activities and exacerbating monetary policy trade-offs. As financial markets become more integrated, exchange rate flexibility becomes less welfare enhancing and active capital account policy becomes more welfare enhancing.

Subsidizing Fuel-Efficient Cars: Evidence from China’s Automobile Industry

This paper examines the response of vehicle purchase behavior to China’s largest national subsidy program for fuel-efficient vehicles during 2010 and 2011. Using variation from the program’s eligibility cutoffs and the rollout of the subsidy program, the program is found to boost sales for subsidized vehicle models, but also to create a substitution effect within highly fuel-efficient vehicles. Estimates imply that ignoring the substitution effect would lead one to conclude that the program is welfare enhancing, whereas in fact the marginal cost of the program exceeds the marginal benefit by as much as 300 percent. (JEL D12, H25, L25, L62, O14, P23, P36)

Academic entrepreneurial engagement for frugal innovation in higher education institutions: a systematic literature review

Higher education institutions (HEI) are faced with increasing challenges related to shrinking resources, high operation costs, the COVID-19 pandemic, decreasing student enrolment rates, and pressure to contribute to regional development and economic growth. To overcome such challenges, academics must move beyond their traditional functions of research and teaching and engage in entrepreneurial activities. Through engagement in entrepreneurial activities, academics can contribute to frugal innovation (FI) in private HEI (PHEI). The literature in this context emphasizes that academic entrepreneurial engagement (AEE) will lead to innovation, the identification of opportunities for new business ventures, financial rewards for institutions and academics, an impact on the economy, and the enhancement of social welfare. This study presents a systematic review of the literature and adopts the Transfield five-phase strategy to review the literature on AEE from the past two decades (2000–2020). A total of 1,067 papers on FI are obtained, only five of which focus on AEE. Moreover, papers related to AEE for FI are few. The study presents the research gaps, challenges, and potential factors for further research in this context. We conclude that FI for AEE in PHEI can be a game-changer for future sustainability. Moreover, we believe that the outcome of this review warrants further research.

Aggregate modeling and equilibrium analysis of the crowdsourcing market for autonomous vehicles

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have the potential of reshaping the human mobility in a wide variety of aspects. This paper focuses on a new possibility that the AV owners have the option of “renting” their AVs to a company, which can use these collected AVs to provide on-demand ride services without any drivers. We call such a mobility market with AV renting options the “AV crowdsourcing market”. This paper establishes an aggregate equilibrium model with multiple transport modes to analyze the AV crowdsourcing market. The modeling framework can capture the customers’ mode choices and AV owners’ rental decisions with the presence of traffic congestion. Then, we explore different scenarios that either maximize the crowdsourcing platform’s profit or maximize social welfare. Gradient-based optimization algorithms are designed for solving the problems. The results obtained by numerical examples reveal the welfare enhancement and the strong profitability of the AV crowdsourcing service. However, when the crowdsourcing scale is small, the crowdsourcing platform might not be profitable. A second-best pricing scheme is able to avoid such undesirable cases. The insights generated from the analyses provide guidance for regulators, service providers and citizens to make future decisions regarding the utilization of the AV crowdsourcing markets for serving the good of the society.