Markups for Consumers

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Ganglmair ◽  
Alexander Kann ◽  
Ilona Tsanko
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Consumer Welfare ◽  
Price Indices ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Consumption Expenditures ◽  
Industry Classification ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Motivating Factor

Abstract A central motivating factor for studying price markups is their effect on consumer welfare. However, reported estimates of (firm-level) price markups in the literature often focus on industry or cross-country comparisons. These treat different industries equally rather than based on how relevant they are for consumers. We propose markup measures in which firm-level price markups are weighted according to consumption expenditures in the respective industries. Using a concordance table between consumption categories (otherwise used for the calculation of consumer price indices) and a firm’s industry classification, we report results for Germany for the years 2002 through 2016. We find that consumption-weighted price markups are higher and have increased faster than the conventionally reported revenue-weighted markups. We further show that consumption-weighted markups are highest for low-income households, highlighting the potential role of price markups as a contributing factor to changes in inequality in society.

scholarly journals Filling the Gap

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (150) ◽  
Author(s):  
Majid Bazarbash ◽  
Kimberly Beaton
Keyword(s):  
Financial Development ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Financial Efficiency ◽  
Financial Depth ◽  
Consumer Segment ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Credit Gap ◽  
The Relationship

Can fintech credit fill the credit gap in the consumer and business segments? There are few cross-country studies that explore this question. Focusing on marketplace lending, an important part of fintech credit, we use data for 109 countries from 2015 to 2017 to study the relationship between fintech credit to businesses and consumers and various aspects of financial development. Marketplace lending to consumers grows in countries where financial depth declines highlighting the role of fintech credit in filling the credit gap by traditional lenders. This result is particularly strong in low-income countries. In the business segment, marketplace lending expands where financial efficiency declines. Our findings show that low-income countries take advantage of the fintech credit opportunity in the consumer segment but face important challenges in the business segment.

scholarly journals The Well-Being Gap during the Great Recession: The Role of Growth and Institutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Marco Ciziceno ◽  
Pietro Pizzuto
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Great Recession ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Well Being ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The Great Recession

The purpose of this paper is to examine the well-being dynamics across European countries during the Great Recession and to investigate the potential role of the quality of formal institutions in mitigating the negative effect of the economic downturn. This study uses the club convergence methodology by Phillips and Sul (2007; 2009) to group EU-28 countries that present similar features in terms of well-being during the period 2005-2017. The study also applies probit models to investigate the potential role of several social and institutional characteristics that are supposed to affect subjective well-being levels. The results show the existence of a “well-being gap” among European countries. The economic downturn started in 2008 has impacted the perceived well-being more in low-income and low-growth countries (less developed transition and Southern countries), than in high-income and more developed transition countries. The study also shows that countries that present well-functioning institutional systems and, more in general, good institutional performances show higher life satisfaction levels and tend to be more resilient to the negative effects generated by the economic shock.

scholarly journals Cross-Country Differences in Productivity: The Role of Allocation and Selection

2013 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 305-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Bartelsman ◽  
John Haltiwanger ◽  
Stefano Scarpetta
Keyword(s):  
Heterogeneous Firms ◽  
Fixed Capital ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Firm Level Data ◽  
Country Differences ◽  
Cross Country

This paper investigates the effect of idiosyncratic (firm-level) policy distortions on aggregate outcomes. Exploiting harmonized firm-level data for a number of countries, we show that there is substantial and systematic cross-country variation in the within-industry covariance between size and productivity. We develop a model in which heterogeneous firms face adjustment frictions (overhead labor and quasi-fixed capital) and distortions. The model can be readily calibrated so that variations in the distribution of distortions allow matching the observed cross-country moments. We show that the differences in the distortions that account for the size-productivity covariance imply substantial differences in aggregate performance. (JEL D24, L25, O47)

Common Ownership and the Corporate Governance Channel for Employer Power in Labor Markets

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-139
Author(s):  
Marshall Steinbaum
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Market Power ◽  
Profit Maximization ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Consumer Welfare ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Common Ownership

This article combines two relatively new subjects of antitrust scholarly interest: labor market power and corporate governance. In so doing, it speaks to a number of recent debates that have grown up both inside the scholarly antitrust literature and adjacent to it. First, this article interprets the shift in the balance of power within corporations favoring shareholders at the expense of workers, both in economic-theoretical and historical terms. Second, it lays out the role of shareholders and the common ownership channel as a vector for anticompetitive conduct arising between firms, not just within firms, thanks to profit maximization at the portfolio level rather than the firm level. Third, it evaluates the claim that employer market power has increased, relative to other current explanations for labor market trends. Fourth, it ties rising employer power in labor markets to the increasing significance of common ownership. And finally, it contends that antitrust is a suitable policy remedy to the dual problems of anticompetitive common ownership and increased employer power, provided it abandons the consumer welfare standard and instead elevates worker welfare to an equivalent juridical status.

scholarly journals Potential Role of Plant Extracts and Phytochemicals Against Foodborne Pathogens

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 4597
Author(s):  
Farhat Ullah ◽  
Muhammad Ayaz ◽  
Abdul Sadiq ◽  
Farman Ullah ◽  
Ishtiaq Hussain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Extracts ◽  
Foodborne Pathogens ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Trichinella Spiralis ◽  
Foodborne Diseases ◽  
In Vivo Models ◽  
Prevention And Treatment ◽  
Parasitic Pathogens

Foodborne diseases are one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality, especially in low-income countries with poor sanitation and inadequate healthcare facilities. The foremost bacterial pathogens responsible for global outbreaks include Salmonella species, Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli, Shigella sp., Vibrio, Listeria monocytogenes and Clostridium botulinum. Among the viral and parasitic pathogens, norovirus, hepatitis A virus, Giardia lamblia, Trichinella spiralis, Toxoplasma and Entamoeba histolytica are commonly associated with foodborne diseases. The toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens also cause these infections. The currently available therapies for these infections are associated with various limited efficacy, high cost and side-effects. There is an urgent need for effective alternative therapies for the prevention and treatment of foodborne diseases. Several plant extracts and phytochemicals were found to be highly effective to control the growth of these pathogens causing foodborne infections in in vitro systems. The present review attempts to provide comprehensive scientific information on major foodborne pathogens and the potential role of phytochemicals in the prevention and treatment of these infections. Further detailed studies are necessary to evaluate the activities of these extracts and phytochemicals along with their mechanism of action using in vivo models.

scholarly journals Unraveling Cell Death Pathways during Malaria Infection: What Do We Know So Far?

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 479
Author(s):  
Camille Sena-dos-Santos ◽  
Cíntia Braga-da-Silva ◽  
Diego Marques ◽  
Jhully Azevedo dos Santos Pinheiro ◽  
Ândrea Ribeiro-dos-Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Plasmodium Species ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Host Interactions ◽  
Cell Death Pathways ◽  
Pathophysiological Role ◽  
Infected Cells

Malaria is a parasitic disease (caused by different Plasmodium species) that affects millions of people worldwide. The lack of effective malaria drugs and a vaccine contributes to this disease, continuing to cause major public health and socioeconomic problems, especially in low-income countries. Cell death is implicated in malaria immune responses by eliminating infected cells, but it can also provoke an intense inflammatory response and lead to severe malaria outcomes. The study of the pathophysiological role of cell death in malaria in mammalians is key to understanding the parasite–host interactions and design prophylactic and therapeutic strategies for malaria. In this work, we review malaria-triggered cell death pathways (apoptosis, autophagy, necrosis, pyroptosis, NETosis, and ferroptosis) and we discuss their potential role in the development of new approaches for human malaria therapies.

POPDC proteins and cardiac function

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1393-1404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Brand
Keyword(s):  
Potential Role ◽  
Striated Muscle ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
Muscle Disease ◽  
Disease Genes ◽  
Protein Protein Interaction ◽  
Interaction Partners ◽  
And Function

Abstract The Popeye domain-containing gene family encodes a novel class of cAMP effector proteins in striated muscle tissue. In this short review, we first introduce the protein family and discuss their structure and function with an emphasis on their role in cyclic AMP signalling. Another focus of this review is the recently discovered role of POPDC genes as striated muscle disease genes, which have been associated with cardiac arrhythmia and muscular dystrophy. The pathological phenotypes observed in patients will be compared with phenotypes present in null and knockin mutations in zebrafish and mouse. A number of protein–protein interaction partners have been discovered and the potential role of POPDC proteins to control the subcellular localization and function of these interacting proteins will be discussed. Finally, we outline several areas, where research is urgently needed.

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