Strategic Price Competition and Price Disperion in the Airline Industry;a Conceptual Framework and Empirical Analysis

It is a generally accepted belief in marketing literature that variation in prices, i.e. price dispersion, is a critical, strategic factor that influences product demand, profitability, and social welfare. While there is a substantial amount of research on price dispersion, prior research has mainly studied price dispersion in the context of consumer heterogeneity, and not comprehensively studied the effects of competition on price dispersion. According to the structure-conduct-performance (SCP) paradigm, market structure and firm conduct are important indicators of firm performance and long-term sustainable competitive advantage. A greater understanding of the influences of market structure and competition on price dispersion provides valuable insights and extends the stream of research on price dispersion. Therefore, the main objective of this dissertation is to increase the understanding of the effects of strategic price competition on price dispersion. Specifically, this research encompasses an evaluation of the effects of strategic price competition in a multi-market context on price dispersion by focusing on market and competition characteristics. The effects of strategic price competition on price dispersion of airline ticket prices are empirically evaluated based on an extensive database from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The results of this study show that multi-market contact between rival firms and the interaction of multi-market contact and market concentration have a significant effect on price dispersion. These results have important academic and managerial implication

Understanding the Economic Consequences of Shifting Trends in Population Health

The public economic burden of shifting trends in population health remains uncertain. Sustained increases in obesity, diabetes, and other diseases could reduce life expectancy – with a concomitant decrease in the public-sector’s annuity burden – but these savings may be offset by worsening functional status, which increases health care spending, reduces labor supply, and increases public assistance. Using a microsimulation approach, we quantify the competing public-finance consequences of shifting trends in population health for medical care costs, labor supply, earnings, wealth, tax revenues, and government expenditures (including Social Security and income assistance). Together, the reduction in smoking and the rise in obesity have increased net public-sector liabilities by $430bn, or approximately 4% of the current debt burden. Larger effects are observed for specific public programs: annual spending is 10% higher in the Medicaid program, and 7% higher for Medicare.disability, health care costs, social security, microsimulation

International Differences in Longevity and Health and their Economic Consequences

In 1975, 50 year-old Americans could expect to live slightly longer than their European counterparts. By 2005, American life expectancy at that age has diverged substantially compared to Europe. We find that this growing longevity gap is primarily the symptom of real declines in the health of near-elderly Americans, relative to their European peers. In particular, we use a microsimulation approach to project what US longevity would look like, if US health trends approximated those in Europe. We find that differences in health can explain most of the growing gap in remaining life expectancy. In addition, we quantify the public finance consequences of this deterioration in health. The model predicts that gradually moving American cohorts to the health status enjoyed by Europeans could save up to $1.1 trillion in discounted total health expenditures from 2004 to 2050.disability, mortality, international comparisons, microsimulation

Price Dispersion In The Airline Industry: A Conceptual Framework And Empirical Analysis

Many businesses compete in multiple markets which can cause businesses to temper their price adjustments, affecting price dispersion. The authors propose a framework based on major characteristics of competition and market structure which influence price dispersion. The focus of this study is the U.S. airline industry analyzing data from 5,974 city pair routes. The results of this empirical analysis show that multi-market contact and the interaction of market concentration with multi-market contact have considerable effects on price dispersion. An understanding of these effects provides valuable insights for developing pricing strategies and extending the stream of research on price dispersion

Sampling cecal contents or ileocecal lymph nodes: is it different?

The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of Salmonella enterica in swine populations estimated by sampling cecal contents versus ileocecal lymph nodes. In each of two abattoirs, four groups of pigs (n=30 pigs per group) were studied. Cecal contents and ileocecal lymph nodes were individually collected and processed for isolation and identification of S. enterica. The overall prevalence found by cecal contents was 40%, whereas by ileocecal lymph nodes it was 22.9% (p\u3c0.05). Combining results from both samples, the prevalence found was 50.8%. The relative sensitivity of cecal content sampling was 79.3%, whereas for ileocecal lymph node sampling it was 45.5%. The agreement (Kappa statistic) between both sample types was 13.1%. This study demonstrates that sampling either cecal contents or ileocecal lymph nodes affects results of S. enterica epidemiological studies. It is recommended that both samples be used

Slatted pen floors reduce Salmonella in market swine held in abattoirs

The objective of this study was to directly compare Salmonella isolation rates from pig slaughtered after 4 hours holding on slatted or solid concrete floors. Seven truckloads (replicates) of market swine ( 120 kg) from a fully integrated farrow-to-slaughter operation were studied. At unloading, groups of pigs (15-30) were sorted to 1) no-hold (20-45 minutes waiting), 2) pens with solid concrete floors (4 hours), 3) slatted concrete floors (4 hours). Postmortem samples were cultured for Salmonella. Those pigs held in pens with slatted floors (63.6%) had significantly (P \u3c 0.05) less Salmonella in their ceca than those held on solid floors (72.7%)

Peracute Infection of Swine With Salmonella

It has recently been experimentally demonstrated that pigs exposed naturally to Salmonella on the floor of abattoir holding pens can become infected between two and six hours after being placed in the pens. In addition we have demonstrated that tonsillar tissue are almost immediately culture positive following such exposure under experimental conditions. The objective of this study was to determine the shortest amount of time necessary for infection of selected tissues and to determine if the tonsil served as a route for Salmonella entry into lymphoid tissues draining the tonsil. Forty-four Salmonella-negative, market age pigs (90 to 110 kg) were fasted overnight and exposed to approximately 2 X 106 Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium strain X4232 (nalidixic acid resistant). The bacteria were mixed with a fecal slurry and the slurry spread on the floor of the pens. Pigs were euthanized at 15, 30, 45, 60 and 120 minutes following initial exposure. Tonsil of the soft palate, medial retropharyngeal lymph node, ileocecal lymph node, a five centimeter section of the terminal ileum, cecal contents and 100 ml of blood were cultured for Salmonella. Strain X4232 was isolated from 98 % (43/44) of tonsils. Strain X4232 was isolated from the ileocecal lymph node within 45 minutes (2/9 pigs), terminal ileum within 15 minutes (1/9 pigs), cecal contents within 15 minutes (1/9 pigs), and blood within 45 minutes (1/9 pigs). Strain X4232 was not recovered from the medial retropharyngeal lymph node, indicating that the organism did not move rapidly into this node from the tonsil of the soft palate. Results of this study indicate that Salmonella can be recovered from selected tissues in market age swine in less than the normal two hour abattoir holding time

A study of the mechanism of chemical reactivity of nitrogen tetroxide with titanium alloy Final report, 26 Jan. 1969 - 31 Mar. 1970

Reactions between liquid dinitrogen tetraoxide and titanium alloy that result in stress corrosion crackin

Experimental rapid infection in market swine following exposure to a Salmonella contaminated environment

The objective of these experiments was to evaluate the possibility of swine becoming infected with Salmonella typhimurium from an environment contaminated with feces in a short time interval. Two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, pigs were necropsied at 2 (n=10) and 6 (n=5) hours after continuous exposure to an environment contaminated with nalidixic acid-resistant Salmonella typhimurium (χ4232)

Comparative evaluation of Salmonella detection assays in swine feces

The performance of four commercially available Salmonella detection assays were comparatively evaluated for detection of Salmonella in swine fecal samples. The detection assays included two antigen capture enzyme-linked immunossays (ELISA I and 2), a DNA hybridization assay, and an immunochromatographic assay. For the gold-standard , the combination of results from two isolation methods were used