Optimal Replenishment Strategy for Inventory Mechanism with a Known Price Increase and Backordering in Finite Horizon

For the finite horizon inventory mechanism with a known price increase and backordering, based on minimizing the inventory cost, we establish two mixed integer optimization models. By buyer’s cost analysis, we present the closed-form solutions to the models, and by comparing the minimum cost of the two strategies, we provide an optimal ordering policy to the buyer. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the validity of the model, and sensitivity analysis on major parameters is also made to show some insights to the inventory model.

Smoking-related behaviour changes among Korean men after the 2015 tobacco price increase: assessing the implications for the tobacco endgame using a reconstructed retrospective cohort study

ObjectivesTo examine the effect of Korea’s 2015 tax policy, discuss its effectiveness and limitations and present future directions for tax policy in the context of the tobacco endgame.DesignA retrospectively reconstructed cohort study.SettingKorea, August 2014–October 2015.ParticipantsThe study examined 41,605 male smokers aged 19 years and older who participated in the 2015 Korea Community Health Survey.Measures and analysisBinary and multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the impact of the tax policy on smoking-related behaviour. We adjusted for demographic and health-related variables.ResultsAmong 41,605 men who were smokers in 2014, 15,499 (35.85%, weighted) reported being affected by the price increase. Of all smokers, 1,772 (3.96%, weighted) reported quitting smoking because of the tobacco price increase. Others reduced their smoking amount (n=9,714, 22.48%, weighted) or made other changes such as switching brands (n=4,013, 9.41%, weighted). An additional 2,401 smokers (5.72%, weighted) quit smoking for reasons other than the tobacco price increase. Compared with those in the highest quintile of household income, the odds that those in the lowest quintile quit smoking due to the price increase were almost twice as high (OR=1.98, 95% CI 1.54 to 2.54).ConclusionsKorea’s 2015 tobacco price increase affected a significant number of smokers within a year, especially in the lowest income group, inducing some to quit or reduce their smoking amount. However, more smokers quit for reasons independent of the price change. Tax policy can effectively reduce smoking, but needs to be combined with other policies for optimal results.

IMPACT OF DIFFERENT PRICE MOVEMENTS ON THE ACCURACY OF NUMERICAL PRICE FORECASTING

The focus of this paper aims at comparison of two prognostic numerical models with different strategies for accuracy improvement. To verify prediction performance of proposed models, the forecasts of aluminium stock exchanges on the London Metal Exchange were carried out as numerical solution of the Cauchy initial problem for the first-order ordinary differential equation. Two techniques for accuracy improvement were utilized, replacing the initial condition value by the nearest known stock exchange and a modification of the differential equation in solved Cauchy initial problem by means of two known initial values. We dealt with an idea of how different price development affected the accuracy of proposed strategies. With regard to obtained results, it was found that the prognoses obtained by using two known initial values were more increasing or decreasing than prognoses calculated by utilizing the initial condition drift. The strategy of a changing form of the differential equation in the Cauchy initial problem can be considered slightly more accurate. Faster increased prognoses were more advantageous especially at a steep price increase and within a price increase following the price decline. A moderate increase of the prognoses determined by the initial condition drift fit reasonably well a price fluctuation and a price decline following the price increase.

Service Pricing In Bulgaria

The article aims to find out how companies operating in Bulgaria determine the prices of their services. In this regard, a review is carried out of the theoretical and empirical research on service pricing, and the results are presented from an online survey including 100 managers/marketing directors of companies that operate in Bulgaria and offer services. The article establishes the pricing factors of substantial importance for the companies in the sector of services, the most common pricing objectives, as well as which pricing strategies, methods and tactics are applied. In addition, the most common reasons for price increase or reduction are considered.

Spatio-Temporal Pricing for Ridesharing Platforms

Ridesharing platforms have radically changed the way people get around in urban areas, but there remain challenges undercutting the mission of “making transportation as reliable as running water.” A particular concern is that drivers strategize: calling riders to find out their destinations and canceling trips that are not worthwhile, declining trips and chasing surge prices in neighboring areas, and going off-line before large events will end in anticipation of a price increase. In this work, we show that such strategic behaviors are symptoms of inefficiencies in the pricing and dispatching rules governing today's platforms. We propose the Spatio-Temporal Pricing mechanism, which solves for the welfare-optimal matching of drivers to trips, and sets prices that are appropriately smooth in both space and time such that the best thing for drivers to do is accept any proposed trip dispatch. This demonstrates that ridesharing platforms can succeed in optimally orchestrating trips and providing reliable transpiration for riders, while still leaving drivers with the flexibility to decide how to work.

COVID-19 and Second Home Prices in Switzerland: An Empirical Insight

During the COVID-19 pandemic, second home ownership created several owner benefits. This paper analyses price changes of second homes during the pandemic. It derives propositions for the impact of the pandemic on the value of second homes for its owners. The contribution draws on panel data of transaction prices for second homes from Switzerland, a country with traditionally strong second home ownership, provided by Wüest Partner. The results show that there is a significant price increase for second homes – especially compared to apartments – after the start of the COVID-19 crisis. They also show that prices even in certain second-class destinations have risen significantly during the pandemic. Different research propositions are derived like that buyers might look for less crowded places in the pandemic, and the reduced benefits of intensive infrastructures during a pandemic.

How is price explosivity triggered in the cryptocurrency markets?

We shed light on how the price explosivity characterising Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies is triggered, by employing the Quantile Self-Exciting Threshold Autoregressive (QSETAR) model. Our results for Bitcoin, Ripple, and Stellar reveal that the explosive behaviour originates from the extreme upper tails of the return distributions following a price increase in the preceding day. We do not find evidence of explositivity in the price of Litecoin.

The Estimated Effect of Physicians' Advice for Smoking Cessation and Assumed Tobacco Retail Price Increase on Smoker's Intention to Quit in Shanghai, China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Tobacco consumption produces a heavy disease burden worldwide, and tobacco price increase, an advertisement for tobacco-induced harm, graphic warning labels on cigarette packages and advice of physicians for quitting are policies that have been proved as effective smoking cessation measures. But evidence on the estimated effect of advice of physicians for quitting and assumed tobacco retail price increase on smoking cessation intention among smokers is still limited in China.Methods: From January to April of 2021, we recruited 664 current smokers in Songjiang district of Shanghai by a multistage sampling design. We implemented a logistic regression analysis to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) to explore how smoking cessation intention would be influenced by the assumed tobacco retail price increase as well as advice of physicians for quitting, and used the paired tabulation method to identify the salient tobacco control measures among smokers as well.Results: A total of 664 current smokers included 548 males (82.53%), with an average smoking duration of 22.50 years (SD: 11.52 years). About 68.79 and 43.67% of current smokers reported smoking cessation intention due to advice of physicians for quitting and the assumed tobacco retail price increase, respectively. Logistic regression analysis indicated that female smokers (OR = 2.85 and 4.55), smokers with previous smoking cessation attempt (OR = 3.71 and 3.07), longer smoking duration (OR = 2.26 and 2.68), lower smoking intensity (OR = 1.82 and 1.69), and heavier tobacco burdens (OR = 1.67 and 2.22) had the higher intention of smoking cessation both due to advice of physicians for quitting and due to assumed tobacco price increase, respectively. Meanwhile, the advice of physicians for quitting was more effective and acceptable (over 80%) than the assumed tobacco price increase for inducing smokers to consider quitting in Shanghai.Conclusions: Smokers have a high intention of smoking cessation in Shanghai, and the advice of physicians for quitting is a potentially more salient tobacco control measure than the assumed tobacco retail price increase. Incorporating smoking duration, intensity, personal burden as well as noncommunicable disease (NCD) status of smokers into the implementation of tobacco control measures is beneficial for descending smoking prevalence.

Severe Allergies, Price Increases, and Supply Shortages

Controlling pharmaceutical prescription costs has been an interest in the United States for decades. In 2016, EpiPen experienced a 600% price increase. This exploratory framing study focuses on news coverage of EpiPen’s price increase and related pharmaceutical price increase stories through analyzing three U.S. television news programs’ coverage. Within 30 news segments that discussed EpiPen or medication price increases, analysis revealed four frames: economic, attribution of responsibility, morality and human interest, and conflict and powerlessness. This study provides a larger understanding of how the crisis of medication price increases is understood and implications for practitioners and individuals aiming to make medications more accessible.