Individual and household willingness to pay for public goods

The issue of whether willingness to pay (WTP) for the benefits generated by a public good should be elicited on an individual or on a household basis is addressed. Differences between individual and household WTP may arise when members of the household are mutually altruistic. It is shown that, for general specifications of altruism, household WTP is less than the sum of household members' individual WTP. Implications for the choice between household and individual measures of WTP are considered, and issues in the elicitation of household WTP are addressed.

"Cheap and nasty": German goods, socialism, and the 1876 Philadelphia world fair

At the World Fair in Philadelphia in 1876, the German goods on display were described as cheap and nasty, setting off a vigorous debate about the state of German industry. Social democrats attacked policies of increasing competitiveness of German exports through keeping wages low, and claimed that the quality of the goods produced by socialist workers was higher than those produced by others. An analysis of the debate shows the extent to which social democrats not only resorted to arguments stressing the national interest, but also the extent to which nominally Marxist socialists in this period were still attached to traditional artisanal values of pride in the quality of their work.

Interpreting white goods: Kunie women's perceptions of progress in New Caledonia

Acknowledging and describing the ways that women shape relations of power and property can add to understandings of how local communities create and experience globalisation. In this paper I examine how relations of power are actively and discursively constructed within Kunieacute households in New Caledonia, how they are inscribed by gender, and link them to local narrativisations of progress.

Durable complete clinical responses in a phase I/II trial using an autologous melanoma cell/dendritic cell vaccine

Advanced metastatic melanoma is incurable by standard treatments, but occasionally responds to immunotherapy. Recent trials using dendritic cells (DC) as a cellular adjuvant have concentrated on defined peptides as the source of antigens, and rely on foreign proteins as a source of help to generate a cell-mediated immune response. This approach limits patient accrual, because currently defined, non-mutated epitopes are restricted by a small number of human leucocyte antigens. It also fails to take advantage of mutated epitopes peculiar to the patient's own tumour, and of CD4(+) T lymphocytes as potential effectors of anti-tumour immunity. We therefore sought to determine whether a fully autologous DC vaccine is feasible, and of therapeutic benefit. Patients with American Joint Cancer Committee stage IV melanoma were treated with a fully autologous immunotherapy consisting of monocyte-derived DC, matured after culture with irradiated tumour cells. Of 19 patients enrolled into the trial, sufficient tumour was available to make treatments for 17. Of these, 12 received a complete priming phase of six cycles of either 0.9X10(6) or 5X10(6) DC/intradermal injection, at 2-weekly intervals. Where possible, treatment continued with the lower dose at 6-weekly intervals. The remaining five patients could not complete priming, due to progressive disease. Three of the 12 patients who completed priming have durable complete responses (average duration 3 5 months +), three had partial responses, and the remaining six had progressive disease (WHO criteria). Disease regression was not correlated with dose or with the development of delayed type hypersensitivity responses to intradermal challenge with irradiated, autologous tumour. However, plasma S-100B levels prior to the commencement of treatment correlated with objective clinical response (P = 0.05) and survival (log rank P < 0.001). The treatment had minimal side-effects and was well tolerated by all patients. Mature, monocyte-derived DC preparations exposed to appropriate tumour antigen sources can be reliably produced for patients with advanced metastatic melanoma, and in a subset of those patients with lower volume disease their repeated administration results in durable complete responses.

Optimal price regulation in a growth model with monopolistic suppliers of intermediate goods

In this paper we investigate the trade-off faced by regulators who must set a price for an intermediate good somewhere between the marginal cost and the monopoly price. We utilize a growth model with monopolistic suppliers of intermediate goods. Investment in innovation is required to produce a new intermediate good. Marginal cost pricing deters innovation, while monopoly pricing maximizes innovation and economic growth at the cost of some static inefficiency. We demonstrate the existence of a second-best price above the marginal cost but below the monopoly price, which maximizes consumer welfare. Simulation results suggest that substantial reductions in consumption, production, growth, and welfare occur where regulators focus on static efficiency issues by setting prices at or near marginal cost.

Vector Error-Correction Models in a consumer packaged goods category forecasting decision support system

A framework for developing marketing category management decision support systems (DSS) based upon the Bayesian Vector Autoregressive (BVAR) model is extended. Since the BVAR model is vulnerable to permanent and temporary shifts in purchasing patterns over time, a form that can correct for the shifts and still provide the other advantages of the BVAR is a Bayesian Vector Error-Correction Model (BVECM). We present the mechanics of extending the DSS to move from a BVAR model to the BVECM model for the category management problem. Several additional iterative steps are required in the DSS to allow the decision maker to arrive at the best forecast possible. The revised marketing DSS framework and model fitting procedures are described. Validation is conducted on a sample problem.