Endogenous Timing in a Price-Setting Mixed Oligopoly

We investigate the endogenous order of moves in a price-setting mixed oligopoly model, comprising two private firms and a public firm. We show that sequential moves emerge as the equilibrium in the observable delay game. Specifically, one of the private firms and the public firm set their prices in period 1, and the other private firm does so in period 2, in equilibrium, if their goods are not significantly differentiated. This is a clear contrast to a mixed duopoly where a simultaneous move game is a unique equilibrium. We also discuss a number of extensions and the robustness of our result

Emission Cap Commitment versus Emission Intensity Commitment as Self-Regulation

We compare emission cap commitment that restricts total emissions and emission intensity commitment that restricts emissions per unit of output as measures of self-regulation. The monopolist chooses either emission cap commitment or emission intensity commitment and sets the target level under the constraint that the resulting emissions do not exceed the upper limit. We find that profit-maximizing firms choose emission cap commitment, although emission intensity commitment always yields greater consumer surplus. It is ambiguous whether emission intensity commitment or emission cap commitment yields greater welfare. We present two cases in which emission intensity commitment yields greater welfare. One is the most stringent target case (the target emission level is close to zero), and the other is the weakest target case (the target emission level is close to business-as-usual). Our result suggests that the incentive for adopting emission cap commitment is too large for profit-maximizing firms, and thus, governments should encourage the adoption of emission intensity commitment, especially to achieve a zero-emission society efficiently

An Advantage of Emission Intensity Regulation for Emission Cap Regulation in a Near-Zero Emission Industry

We revisit command-and-control regulations and compare their efficiencies, in particular, an emission cap regulation that restricts total emissions and an emission intensity regulation that restricts emissions per unit of output under emission equivalence. We find that in both the most stringent target case, when the target emission level is close to zero, and the weakest target case, when the target emission level is close to business as usual, emission intensity yields greater welfare, although the same may not be true in moderate target cases

Comparing Welfare and Profit in Quantity and Price Competition within Stackelberg Mixed Duopolies

We compare welfare and profits under price and quantity competition in mixed duopolies, wherein a state-owned public firm competes against a private firm. It has been shown that price competition yields larger profit for the private firm and greater welfare if the two firms move simultaneously, regardless of whether the private firm is domestic or foreign. We investigate welfare and profit rankings under Stackelberg competition. Under public leadership, the profit and welfare rankings have common features with the simultaneous-move game, regardless of the nationality of private firms. By contrast, under private leadership, the result depends on the nationality of the private firm. When the private firm is domestic, welfare is greater under quantity competition, while the result is reversed when the private firm is foreign. However, regardless of nationality, private firms earn more under price competition. Introducing the nonnegative profit constraint in the public firm improves welfare and increases the private firm's profit, and price competition yields a higher profit for private firms regardless of nationality and which firm is the leader. However, this constraint affects the welfare ranking. Under private leadership, quantity competition yields greater welfare regardless of the nationality of the private firm. These results indicate that profit ranking is fairly robust to the time structure in mixed Stackelberg duopolies, but welfare ranking is not

Green Transformation in Oligopoly Markets under Common Ownership

A theoretical investigation is conducted on how common ownership (or the extent of cooperation in an industry) affects firms' incentives to adopt green fuel in an oligopoly. The findings show that common ownership hinders the switch from brown to green fuels in two ways. First, an increase in the degree of common ownership reduces a firm's incentive to adopt green fuel. Second, an increase in the degree of common ownership induces a production substitution from green to brown fuel firms. Both these effects reduce the share of green fuel

Comparing Welfare and Profit in Quantity and Price Competition within Stackelberg Mixed Duopolies

We compare welfare and profits under price and quantity competition in mixed duopolies, wherein a state-owned public firm competes against a private firm. It has been shown that price competition yields larger profit for the private firm and greater welfare if the two firms move simultaneously, regardless of whether the private firm is domestic or foreign. We investigate welfare and profit rankings under Stackelberg competition. Under public leadership, the profit and welfare rankings have common features with the simultaneous-move game, regardless of the nationality of private firms. By contrast, under private leadership, the result depends on the nationality of the private firm. When the private firm is domestic, welfare is greater under quantity competition, while the result is reversed when the private firm is foreign. However, regardless of nationality, private firms earn more under price competition. Introducing the nonnegative profit constraint in the public firm improves welfare and increases the private firm's profit, and price competition yields a higher profit for private firms regardless of nationality and which firm is the leader. However, this constraint affects the welfare ranking. Under private leadership, quantity competition yields greater welfare regardless of the nationality of the private firm. These results indicate that profit ranking is fairly robust to the time structure in mixed Stackelberg duopolies, but welfare ranking is not

An Advantage of Emission Intensity Regulation for Emission Cap Regulation in a Near-Zero Emission Industry

We revisit command-and-control regulations and compare their efficiencies, in particular, an emission cap regulation that restricts total emissions and an emission intensity regulation that restricts emissions per unit of output under emission equivalence. We find that in both the most stringent target case, when the target emission level is close to zero, and the weakest target case, when the target emission level is close to business as usual, emission intensity yields greater welfare, although the same may not be true in moderate target cases

Survey on Evacuation Behavior at Nursing Facilities in Ashikita Town due to Heavy Rain in July 2020

The nursing facility C located near the Sashiki River was flooded due to Heavy Rain in July 2020. The survey method was an interview survey on the damage situation and evacuation behavior. In addition, a flood inundation analysis was conducted. Judging from both the execution and the process of flooding, facility C missed the timing of the evacuation action. The main reasons were that the event was beyond one’s expectation, information was not helpful, lack of manpower, flooded water rose fast. The lessons of this experience are action plan using information, nighttime emergency system, evacuation drills with multiple patterns. For the safety of elderly people, both an evacuation security plan and a business continuity plan (BCP) are needed. On the other hand, there are administrative issues related to wide-area evacuation. Deregulation of the long-term care insurance system and simplification of administrative procedures are desirable.令和2年7月豪雨により佐敷川の近くに立地する高齢者施設Cは浸水被害を受けた。高齢者施設Cを対象に，被害状況や避難行動に関するインタビュー調査と氾濫解析を実施した。避難行動と浸水の過程からみて，より安全な避難のタイミングを逃していた。主な理由として，想定外の出来事であったこと，情報が活用されなかったこと，マンパワーが足りなかったこと，浸水の速度が速かったことなどが考えられる。この教訓として，情報を活用した行動計画，夜間の緊急参集体制，複数のパターンによる避難訓練，などが挙げられる。また，高齢者の安全な生活のためには避難確保計画と事業継続計画（BCP）の両方が求められる。一方，広域避難に関する行政上の課題も明らかになった。この課題を解決するためには，自治体や福祉団体による計画策定支援が必要で，介護保険制度の規制緩和，行政手続きの簡略化が望まれる

Effects of calcium channel blockers on glucose tolerance, inflammatory state, and circulating progenitor cells in non-diabetic patients with essential hypertension: a comparative study between Azelnidipine and amlodipine on glucose tolerance and endothelial function - a crossover trial (AGENT)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hypertension is associated with impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. Medical treatment that interferes with various steps in the renin-angiotensin system improves glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. However, it remains unclear if long-acting calcium channel blockers (CCBs) such as azelnidipine and amlodipine affect glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in clinical practice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Seventeen non-diabetic patients with essential hypertension who had controlled blood pressure levels using amlodipine (5 mg/day) were enrolled in this study. After randomization, either azelnidipine (16 mg/day) or amlodipine (5 mg/day) was administered in a crossover design for 12-weeks. At baseline and the end of each CCB therapy, samples of blood and urine were collected and 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed. In addition, hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) were measured at each point by flow cytometry and endothelial functions were measured by fingertip pulse amplitude tonometry using EndoPAT.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Although blood pressure levels were identical after each CCB treatment, the heart rate significantly decreased after azelnidipine administration than that after amlodipine administration (<it>P </it>< 0.005). Compared with amlodipine administration, azelnidipine significantly decreased levels of glucose and insulin 120 min after the 75 g OGTT (both <it>P </it>< 0.05). Serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (<it>P </it>= 0.067) and interleukin-6 (<it>P </it>= 0.035) were decreased. Although endothelial functions were not different between the two medication groups, the number of circulating HPCs was significantly increased after azelnidipine administration (<it>P </it>= 0.016).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggest that azelnidipine treatment may have beneficial effects on glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, the inflammatory state, and number of circulating progenitor cells in non-diabetic patients with essential hypertension.</p

Trends and characteristics of severe road traffic injuries in children: a nationwide cohort study in Japan

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate temporal trends of characteristics of severe road traffic injuries in children and identify factors associated with mortality using a nationwide database in Japan. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of Japan Trauma Data Bank (JTDB) from 2004 to 2018. We included patients with traffic injuries under the age of 18 who were hospitalized. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. We evaluated trends in characteristics and assessed factors associated with in-hospital mortality using a logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 4706 patients were analyzed. The most common mechanism of injury was bicycle crash (34.4%), followed by pedestrian (28.3%), and motorcycle crash (21.3%). The overall in-hospital mortality was 11.2%. We found decreasing trends in motorcycle crash and in-hospital mortality and increasing trends in rear passenger seats in cars over the 15-year period. The following factors were associated with in-hospital mortality: car crash (aOR 1.69, 95%CI 1.18–2.40), pedestrian (aOR 1.50, 95%CI 1.13–1.99), motorcycle crash (aOR 1.42, 95%CI 1.03–1.95) [bicycle crash as a reference]; concomitant injuries to head/neck (aOR 5.06, 95%CI 3.81–6.79), thorax (aOR 2.34, 95%CI 1.92–2.87), abdomen (aOR 1.74, 95%CI 1.29–2.33), pelvis/lower-extremity (aOR 1.57, 95%CI 1.23–2.00), spine (aOR 3.01, 95%CI 2.02–4.43); and 5-year increase in time period (aOR 0.80, 95%CI 0.70–0.91). Conclusions: We found decreasing trends in motorcycle crash and in-hospital mortality, increasing trends in rear passenger seats in cars over the 15-year period, and factors associated with in-hospital mortality such as type of mechanisms and concomitant injuries. Strengthening child road safety measures, particularly for rear passenger seats in vehicles, is imperative to enhance our dedication to injury prevention.The version of record of this article, first published in European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery, is available online at Publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00068-023-02372-