On the degree of distortions under second-degree price discrimination

This paper highlights the limitations and applicability of results developed by Chao & Nahata (2015) for nonlinear pricing. Although Chao and Nahata appear to provide necessary and sufficient conditions for general utility functions, we show that one of their results leads only to a restatement of two constraints, and another result may not be valid when consumers can freely dispose of the good. Their model allows for the possibility that higher quantities will have a lower price than smaller quantities. We provide conditions under free disposal that preclude this anomaly. Our analysis suggests that further research on violations of the single-crossing condition should be encouraged.

Existence of Walrasian equilibria with discontinuous, non-ordered, interdependent and price-dependent preferences, without free disposal, and without compact consumption sets

We extend a result on existence of Walrasian equilibria in He and Yannelis (Econ Theory 61:497–513, 2016) by replacing the compactness assumption on consumption sets made there by the standard assumption that these sets are closed and bounded from below. This provides a positive answer to a question explicitly raised in He and Yannelis (Econ Theory 61:497–513, 2016). Our new equilibrium existence theorem generalizes many results in the literature as we do not require any transitivity or completeness or continuity assumption on preferences, initial endowments need not be in the interior of the consumption sets, preferences may be interdependent and price-dependent, and no monotonicity or local non satiation is needed for any of the agents.

Finding Targets in Non-Radial FDH Models: A Hybrid Technique Based on STEM and Extended Ratio Based Approach

Performance evaluation using interactive methods and extended ratio-based approaches can be very important for some organizations. Free disposal hull models can be created if there is no concern for convexity, and using non-radial DEA models can simultaneously create more logical and practical situations for finding DMU targets. In this paper, a new hybrid technique based on the additive slack based method and enhanced Russel measure in variable return to scale technology has been proposed. The proposed technique can find decision making unit targets in non-radial free disposal hull models using the step method. Furthermore, the extended ratio-based approach in the proposed technique has been applied to find DMU targets of related non-radial free disposal hull models without solving any mathematical programming models. Finally, targets of Fars province pharmaceutical distributing companies were found by applying the proposed hybrid technique.

Walrasian equilibrium theory with and without free-disposal: theorems and counterexamples in an infinite-agent context

This paper provides four theorems on the existence of a free-disposal equilibrium in a Walrasian economy: the first with an arbitrary set of agents with compact consumption sets, the next highlighting the trade-offs involved in the relaxation of the compactness assumption, and the last two with a countable set of agents endowed with a weighting structure. The results generalize theorems in the antecedent literature pioneered by Shafer–Sonnenschein in 1975, and currently in the form taken in He–Yannelis 2016. The paper also provides counterexamples to the existence of non-free-disposal equilibrium in cases of both a countable set of agents and an atomless measure space of agents. One of the examples is related to one Chiaki Hara presented in 2005. The examples are of interest because they satisfy all the hypotheses of Shafer’s 1976 result on the existence of a non-free-disposal equilibrium, except for the assumption of a finite set of agents. The work builds on recent work of the authors on abstract economies, and contributes to the ongoing discussion on the modelling of “large” societies.

The impact of ownership and size heterogeneity on hotel efficiency in the Canary Islands (Spain)

This study was conducted to analyse the influence of technological differences on hotel efficiency in the Canary Islands (Spain), with particular regard to the heterogeneity observed in hotel ownership and size. A metafrontier approach, based on non-parametric deterministic efficiency methods (data envelopment analysis and free-disposal hull) and robust non-parametric estimators (order-α), is used. This empirical analysis considered a panel data sample selection model of Canary Islands hotels for the period 2002–2015. The results obtained show that the frontiers against which the hotels are compared (metafrontier or group) and the consideration or otherwise of outliers are factors of crucial importance. We find that efficiency depends on hotel size (large hotels are more efficient than small ones), but not on the type of ownership. The results also show that the impact of the global financial crisis on the average technical efficiency of these hotels was slight or non-existent. Finally, the technological gap narrowed over time, especially in large hotels and those with no majority shareholder.

Beyond the Human? A Critique of Transhumanism

According to transhumanists, the human being in its current shape is fundamentally imperfect. Consequently, they propagate possibilities of enhancing and reshaping one’s body, culminating in the idea of virtual immortality, i.e., transferring one’s mind as software onto more durable substrates (“mind uploading”). Such ideas are based on a blatant mind-body dualism: the body is regarded as a material vehicle, which is at our free disposal; the mind is considered to be a substrate-independent information structure. In contrast, the chapter argues that humans are neither natural machines nor pure minds but living beings in the first place. The idea of mind uploading is thus based on an untenable neuro-reductionism, which wrongly assumes the brain to be the only substrate of the mind. Similarly, the ideas of optimizing the body overlook the necessary balance of functions that has evolved in human evolution.

Analysis of Efficiency for Zakat Management Organization in Indonesia: A Comparison Study of Super Efficiency and Free Disposal Hull

This research aims to analyze the efficiency level of fourteen Zakat Management Organizations (ZMO) in Indonesia. This study uses a quantitative approach with the method of Free Disposal Hull (FDH) and the Super Efficiency (SE) method. Socialization Expense, Operational Expense, and Salary Expense are the input variables, while zakah fund collection and zakah distribution become the output variables. Empirical findings show that ZMO Corp 4 has the highest efficiency level, which analyzed through both methods of FDH or SE. ZMO managed by the government is the most efficient ZMO compared to the others who managed by private group and social organization. Total Potential Importance (TPI) shows that the output variable that requires the most significant adjustment is the zakat distribution, which is 12.66%

The Importance of Well-Being on Resiliency of Filipino Adults During the COVID-19 Enhanced Community Quarantine: A Necessary Condition Analysis

Nation-wide community quarantines and social distancing are part of the new normal because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Since extensive and prolonged lockdowns are relatively novel experiences, not much is known about the well-being of individuals in such extreme situations. This research effort investigated the relationship between well-being elements and resiliency of 533 Filipino adults who were placed under the nationwide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants comprised of 376 females (70.56%) and 157 males (29.45%). The median and mode ages of the participants is 23 years, while 25 is the mean age. PERMA Profiler was used to measure participants’ well-being elements, while Connor-Davidson Resiliency Scale-10 (CD-RISC-10) was used to measure their resiliency. Collected data were analyzed using the regression model and necessary condition analysis. This study corroborated that all the five pillars of well-being are significant positive correlates of resiliency (p < 0.00) in quarantined adults. The results shown accomplishment (β = 0.447, p < 0.01) positively predicts resiliency, while negative emotions (β = −0.171, p < 0.00) negatively predict resiliency. Lastly, the five pillars of well-being are necessary-but-not-sufficient conditions (ceiling envelopment with free disposal hull, CE-FDH p < 0.00) of resiliency. Our results cast a new light on well-being elements as constraints rather than enablers of resiliency. This novel result shows that optimum resiliency is only possible when all the five pillars of well-being are taken care of and when a person is at least minimally contented with their physical health. The present findings underscore the importance of a holistic as against an atomistic approach to maintaining good mental health, which suggests that deficiencies in certain areas of well-being may not be fully addressed by overcompensating on other areas, as all five pillars of well-being are necessary-but-not-sufficient conditions of resiliency. The study ends with the recommendation for the use of necessary condition analysis to study both classical and novel psychological research problems.