• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.25
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• pp.7-33
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• 2011

In this paper we attempt to read a film by Haejoon LEE entitled 'Castaway on the moon' from the Bauman's modernity perspective that draws our attention to uncomfortable problems relative to wastes and wasted lifes in the global consumer society we all live in. The so-called consumer society is a post-modern society designed according to the following two criteria: on the one hand, beauty and ugliness and on the other hand, competence and incompetence. Classified as ugly as well as incompetent in this society, the two heros in this film are condemned to live their lifes isolated. Miss Kim is confined to her small room while Mr. Kim is exiled to an uninhabited island called 'Bamsum' in the Han River. In these spaces, neither inside nor outside, they perform what we would like to call 'surplus act', using wastes at their disposal. In this paper we ask ourselves whether or not this act is able to challenge the two criteria and the solidarity of the two wasted lifes can bring about change in the consumer oriented society. As well as Bauman, Agamben will help us approach this question from a theoretical point of view.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.31-39
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• 2022

This study empirically analyzed the welfare effect of the military purveyance program, which plays an important role in maintaining the sales channel and demand base in Korea's agricultural and livestock industry, as well as the stable supply of safe ingredients for military meals essential for the morale and combat power of soldiers. The military purveyance program causes additional demand for domestic livestock products, affecting the trading volumes and price levels in the market. This will change the welfare of producers and consumers, and affect the welfare of soldiers who are subject to military meals. The analysis results obtained through a simulation method based on the equilibrium displacement model are as follows. In the case of pork delivered for military service, producer surplus increased by KRW 55.3-62.2 billion and consumer surplus decreased by KRW 55.1~62.0 billion based on pork production in 2021. It wad analyzed that the consumer surplus in the military supply market, rather than the conventional market, increased by KRW 96.9 billion won, resulting in a total welfare gain of KRW 97.1 billion.

• Journal of Information Technology Services
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.81-96
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• 2016

This study analyzes how breach fee under long-term contract and/or cap regulation on the breach fee can affect the impacts of "Mobile Device Distribution Improvement Act" on handset bundle price, average revenue per unit (ARPU), and social welfare. We conduct comparative analysis with an economic model of duopoly competition in price when users are under long-term contract and the breach fee can be regulated. The results show that the Act lowers the equilibrium prices, lower than incumbent price without the Act. Price of non-dominant Mobile Network Operator (MNO) can be lower than poaching price without the Act if significant portion of switching cost is breach fee or the market is significantly asymmetric. Under the significant circumstances, the Act can raise ARPU even though it improves social welfare. By contrast, the Act increases consumer surplus without affecting social welfare if breach fee is the only source of user's switching cost and is capped by the regulation, and more symmetric market and the stronger cap leads to higher consumer surplus.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.135-159
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• 2010

The purpose of the study was to investigate the characteristics and economic status of deficit households compared to surplus households. Data from The Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2005 by NSO and 50, 207 salary/wage earners' households were used for the analysis. The statistical methods used were GLM, logit, and cluster analyses. The analysis results showed that 25.3 percent of the households were deficit households. Approximately half of the lowest 20% income group were deficit households. Income deficit households earned 1, 273 thousand less than that of surplus households, whereas consumption of deficit households was 1, 006 thousand more than that of surplus households. The average propensity of consumption of deficit households was 142.1. According to the logit analysis, factors contributing to the probability of belonging to a deficit household included income level, household size, age and educational level, occupation, homeownership, car ownership, and wife's employment status. Deficit households were classified into 5 types: 1) health care expenditure-dominated group, 2) housing expenditure-dominated group, 3) education expenditure-dominated group, 4) money transfer-dominated group, and 5) overall-overconsumption group. The overall-overconsumption group was the largest group of all at 58.5%. It was found that for all five groups, the changes in household size, income group, home ownership, and occupation of the individual were variables that influenced the probability of belonging to a certain group.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.587-596
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• 2008

Facility-based competition (FBC) in the telecommunications market is considered to have lower static efficiency in the short term and higher dynamic efficiency in the long term. Under service-based competition (SBC), the entrant can reduce its setup costs by leasing network facilities from the incumbent, which makes the entrant viable, pushes the market price down and promotes static efficiency. This paper attempts to measure static efficiency by comparing the profits of the incumbent and entrant in terms of consumer surplus and social welfare under each competition type by extending the Stackelberg model. The results, assuming a linear demand function and variation in regulatory level, show that FBC results in higher social welfare than SBC on the whole. However, SBC accompanied by strong regulation is also shown to have the potential to be superior over FBC. It is also revealed that FBC exhibits a higher producer surplus (particularly, the incumbent's producer surplus) and is, therefore, more desirable in terms of dynamic efficiency. When the entrant's cost is high in FBC, social welfare is shown to be lowered, implying that cost competitiveness is a necessary condition for social welfare.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.23-52
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• 2016

This paper examines the impact of introducing high-speed trains on consumer welfare, taking the ensuing changes in train schedules into account. Based on the estimated demand model for travel which incorporates consumer's heterogeneous preferences for travel schedules into the standard discrete-choice model, I separately evaluate the impact from adding high-speed trains and that from changes in train schedules. The results indicate that consumers who travel between two cities connected by high-speed trains benefit from the introduction of high-speed trains, while some travelers whose choice set does not include high-speed trains face a reduced frequency of non-high-speed trains, resulting in significant losses.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.93-127
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• 2012

We estimate how much KEPCO can save their loss and how much social welfare can be increased by applying the real-time pricing instead of current regulated retail price in the electricity market in order to analyze the problem of the regulated retail price which is fixed below the marginal cost. We estimate the demand functions of peak time and off-peak time in summer (June to August) and winter (December to February). We construct the supply function based on hourly step-wise linear marginal cost functions, too. We find that the increase of social welfare will be 67 billion won in summer if the fixed retail price is changed into the real-time pricing scheme. The total 705 billion won will be transferred from consumer surplus to producer surplus and the rest (67 billion won) will be saved from the reduction of deadweight loss among KEPCO's loss. In winter, the increase of social surplus will be 225 billion won and 1,174 billion won of KEPCO's loss will be transferred from consumer surplus. As a result, we conclude that the regulation of the retail price in the electricity market induces the social welfare loss and KEPCO suffers a huge loss.

• International Journal of Contents
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.1-8
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• 2021

Online streaming wars are intensifying. Netflix is known as the market leader in the streaming business. However, since 2019, Netflix has been losing subscribers in the United States and is at a turning point where it needs to reassess its current position in the market. While Netflix is losing dominance, rivals Amazon Prime and Hulu continue to gain market shares. Studies from Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers indicated a new shift in the streaming landscape caused by the abundance of streaming options and rising subscription costs. Recent surveys showed that consumers are excited about new streaming services, such as Disney +. Nearly two-thirds of consumers intend to terminate or downgrade one or more of their current subscriptions to make room for a new service. Moreover, it seems that consumers want ad-supported options. In Deloitte's latest Digital Media Trends survey, 65% responded that they would watch ads to eliminate or reduce subscription costs. Seventy percent of Hulu's subscribers choose its lower-priced ad-supported plan. NBC recently launched its own streaming service, Peacock, with a free ad-supported option. This opposes Netflix's brand identity of "no ads" and premium differentiation. With increasing pressure from competition and the growing risk of subscriber loss, Netflix needs to diversify its price plans. The company could try implementing the lower-priced mobile-only plan they are currently testing or plan to test in other regions. Netflix should also consider features or benefits for loyal subscribers to maintain a stronger consumer base.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 2001

The most important task in Korean dairy industry is to keep the seasonal and annual balance of raw milk supply and demand. Too much surplus milk supply which causes dumping sale of market milk makes dairy industries get in trouble of management, and eventually affects to farmers and consumers economically. As balancing of supply and demand is so important in the fee economic market system, the adaption of the quota system of milk production and seasonal price differentiation has been recommended very often as a method of controlling the milk supply and demand. However, this recommendation did not go through successfully due to the strong objection of dairy farmers. Recently, the voice of consumer's requirement for safer and more hygienic, and high protein, low fat level dairy product is getting stronger. By knowledge of this kind changes, quality improvement in nutrients and hygiene is the most positive way to expand the volume of milk consumption. To meet the consumer's demand, therefore, it is necessary to revise the level of milk fat content and the hygienic grading system for the payment system of raw milk.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.689-733
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• 2011

This study evaluates a novel scheme to trade sulfur dioxide emission permits subject to non-uniform rates. These rates are based on generators' marginal costs of compliance with environmental policy in a hypothesized least social-cost solution. This scheme is compared against the existing trading program used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, featuring permits tradable one for one. Both policies are modeled to yield identical aggregate emissions. A numerical partial-equilibrium model of the U.S. energy industry is used to infer sulfur dioxide concentrations and health damages, as well as producer and consumer surplus, under the two policies. Regional pollution levels are found to vary across the two policies significantly. The system of exchange rates is estimated to outperform the uniform-trading scheme by $2.2 billion in industry profits and $2.1 billion in health damages, but to reduce consumer surplus by $6.7 billion. Paradoxically, exchange rates are thus estimated to lower total welfare by $2.5 billion. This is due to conceptual mechanism-design problems, as well as empirical issues.