• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.523-534
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• 2010

Objectives: We assessed impact of performance reporting information about the readmission rate, length of stay and cost of hip hemiarthroplasty. Methods: The data are from a nationwide claims database, National Quality Improvement Project database, of Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service in Korea. From January 2006 to April 2008, we received information of length of stay, readmission within 30 days, cost of 22 851 hip hemiarthroplasty episodes. Each episodes has retained the diagnoses of comorbidities and demographics. We used time-series analysis to assess the shifting of patients selections, between high volume (over 16 operations in a year) and low volume institutions, after performance reporting (December 2007). The changes of quality (readmission, length of stay) and cost were evaluated by multilevel analysis with adjustment of patient's factors and institutional factors after performance reporting. Results: As compared with the before performance reporting, the proportion of patients who choose the high volume institution, increased 3.45% and the trends continued 4 months at marginal significance (p = 0.059). After performance reporting, national average readmission rate, length of stay were decreased by 0.49 OR (95% CI=0.25 - 0.95) and 10% (${\beta}$=-0.102, p<0.01) and cost was not changed (${\beta}$=-0.01, p=0.27). The high volume institutions were more decreased than low volume in length of stay. Conclusions: After performance reporting, readmission rate, length of stay were decreased and the patient selections were marginally shifted from low volume institutions to high volume institutions.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.91-101
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• 2000

The optimal congestion charge in transportation economics corresponds to the solution to the welfare maximization Problem for users of a certain road link where congestion takes Place. This congestion charge is in nature the optimal Price of the transportation facility, which is derived by the Partial equilibrium analysis on that facility. Therefore it is not certain that this congestion charge can maximize the well-being of all the users of the total transportation network, since the analysis does not count the impact of the congestion charge on traffic volumes of other links. This study suggests an alternative approach to estimate the optimal congestion charge. The key difference of this study from Previous ones is to derive the solution through the general equilibrium analysis on a market where several transportation facilities as well as Private goods are available to consumers. This approach shows a set of solutions a little different from the Previous one, which are explained below. The optimal congestion charge is derived for two different cases. One is the situation of which the congestion charge is levied on every transportation facility In this case, the optimal solution of each facility should equate the marginal utility of every user to the marginal cost of the corresponding facility. This analysis result in general equilibrium coincides with the Previous analysis result in partial equilibrium. However this result cannot apply to another case of which the charge is imposed only on a certain transportation facility. In this case, the optimal charge on a certain transportation facility should be less than the optimal congestion charge of partial equilibrium analysis.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.845-873
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• 2008

This study estimates the VSL(value of a statistical life) as well as the WTP(willingness to pay) for mortality risk reduction using sample selection model with data on liver cancer examination which is associated with little possibility of multi-purpose(i.e. joint production) in averting behavior. The marginal benefits of mortality risk reduction are estimated by applying for household production function model with medical expense and the time required for medical examination of liver cancer. Individuals are more likely to take liver cancer test if they are male, older, higher educated, those with spouse, smoker, more income of household, and more anxious about their health. The costs of liver cancer examination are statistically significantly affected with expected signs by size of mortality risk reduction, sex, period of eduction, those with spouse, and household income. The marginal effect of mortality risk reduction owing to taking liver cancer examination is estimated at 321,097 won. The costs of liver cancer examination are increased by 905 won with more one year of education period and by 1,743 won with more one million won in household income. On liver cancer examination, male spends more 12,310 won than female and those with spouse pay more 7,969 won than those without spouse. Therefore the VSL from mortality risk reduction due to liver cancer examination is 321.10 million won at mean size of mortality risk reduction and mean cost of liver cancer examination. The results of sensitivity tests on costs and effects of liver cancer test shows that the VSLs are estimated in a range from 160.55 million won to 642.19 million won.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.395-433
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• 2021

This paper aims to examine the effects of homeownership and residential types on the economic values of urban green spaces. Green open spaces as public goods provide positive externalities that are comprised of pecuniary and technological externalities. Seoul, South Korea, is used as a case study using choice experiments, with split-sample online respondents of 1,000. The study results evidenced that the differentiation between the two types of externalities is imperative for equitable provisions and efficient management of various urban open spaces. There is a positively significant and substantial impact of homeownership for apartment dwellers, ceteris paribus, but not for house dwellers. For apartments, the efficiency loss can be reduced by increasing green spaces up to the critical point where the marginal cost is at equilibrium with tenants' marginal values. For non-apartment houses, it is not homeownership but the monthly household income that has a significant impact on the amenity value. In general, public benefits from green spaces are equivalent to 16% to 33% of the current residential prices on average for a view or access. Different residential types do not cause a significant impact on the access values. Residential profiles for green spaces were developed, together with tailor-made policy suggestions.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.6
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• pp.152-171
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• 2002

This study analyses the avatar service, which is recognized as an alternative strategy of animation industry. The research questions of this study are following: (1) How have the avatar services been developed and what are the present dominant types? (2) Which structural characteristics of e-business environment are needed for the success of avatar services? (3) What is the economic characteristics of avatar business model? To solve these research questions, the basic conditions and the structural characteristics of avatar services have been investigated. In the first place, two forms of avatar service are classified. One is the internet service site whole primary service is to provide chatting service based on avatar service. The other is the portal site in which many kinds of products and services are presented as bundles to meet the needs of internet users. So avatar service is one of bundles which those portal sites are providing with. In this study, the big five internet service sites are selected based on the profits they earned through the sales of avatar service. The result of analysis is that the pricing strategy of those big five sites is very different from those of traditional off-line markets. The pricing mechanism are based on the value which internet users endow with the avatar items, not based on the costs of making the products. Avatar is the representative informative goods. The informative goods have the original cost structures, constant fixed costs and zero marginal costs, so the providers of avatar services make much of the subjective values of consumers. The sayclub, which is the most successful avatar service site and earn the average sales of 3 billing won a month, takes the aggressive strategy of pricing avatar items at highest price in the industry. The avatar service providers which make lots of profits are planning of making differentiate the services, introducing well-known brand items and star-named items. Nevertheless, the fact that the members of the sayclub are not decreasing means that the network effect of the site is so strongly manifest. Moreover, the costs the members have paid for the avatar items are so big not as to switch from one site to the other site, it can be very costly. These switching costs are endemic in high-technology industries and digital contents industries. It can be so large that switching suppliers is virtually unthinkable, a situation known as 'lock-in'. When switching costs are substantial, competition can be intense to attract new customers, since, one they are locked in, they can be a substantial source of profit. The consumers of avatar items have switching costs if they subscribe for the new avatar service site. The switching costs can be subscription costs as well as the costs of giving up the items they already paid for. One common example of switching costs involves specialized supplies, as with inkjet printer cartridges. In this example, the switching cost is the purchase of a new printer. The market is competitive ex ante, but since cartridges are incompatible, it is monopolized dx post. So the providers of printer/cartridges set pricing printer so cheap and cartridges expensive. On the contrary, since the avatar service can be successful with the strong network effect, the providers of avatar services have to compete aggressively for new customers. So they allow the subscription at a low price(almost marginal cost) in the early market. The network effect can be maximized when the members are sufficiently growing. The providers which have the monopoly power with sufficient subscribers. begin to raise the prices over the lifetime of the product and make profits.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.157-168
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• 2009

The random utility theory and the multinomial logit model (including a more recent variant--the mixed multinomial logit) derived from it have constituted a back bone for theoretical and empirical analyses of various travel demand features including mode choice. In their empirical applications, however, it is customary to specify random utilities which are linear in modal attributes such as time and cost, and in socio-economic variables. The linearity helps easy derivation of important information such as value of travel time savings by calculating marginal rate of substitution between time and cost. In this paper the author focuses on the very linearity of the random utilities. Taking into account the fact that the mode chooser is also labour supplier, commodity consumer as well as leisure-seeker, the author sets up a maximization model of the traveller, which encompasses various economic activities of the traveller. The author derive from the model the indifference curve defined on the space of modal attributes, time and cost and investigate under what conditions the random utility of the traveller becomes linear. It turns out that there exist the conditions under which the random utility is really linear in modal attributes, but the property does not hold when the traveller has a corner solution on the space of modal attributes, or when the primary utility function of the traveller is directly affected by labour provided and/or the travel time itself. As a corollary of the analysis, a random utility is suggested, approximated up to the second order of the variables involved for empirical studies of the field.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.459-479
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• 2013

To assess the feasibility of 'low carbon, sustainable growth' policy pursued of the Chinese government, this paper first measures technical efficiency, $CO_2$ shadow prices, and indirect Morishima elasticity of substitution between capital and energy for 24 of manufacturing sectors in Beijing and Chongqing, in which China launched pilot carbon emissions trading scheme, by estimating the input distance function. Based on these results, then the potential for $CO_2$ reduction, cost savings from emissions trading, and the effectiveness of capital investment in reducing $CO_2$ are compared across industries and provinces. In 2010, manufacturing industries in Beijing and Chongqing could potentially reduce the largest $CO_2$ emissions, amounting 5.2 and 17 million tons, respectively, by achieving 100% technical efficiency. While, on average, Chongqing has a comparative advantage in the cost savings from carbon trading over Beijing, Beijing is more likely to reduce $CO_2$ by expanding capital investment.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.25 no.2 s.95
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• pp.121-132
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• 2007

This paper addressed the issue of a generalized cost model for transit assignment. The model composed of walk time, waiting time (including transfer waiting time), line-haul time, transfer walk time, and fare. The weights of each component were supposed to be calculated using the stated preference (SP) data, which were collected prudently in order to reflect reality. The marginal rate of substitution and wage rate were applied to calculate the weights. The results showed that the weight of walking time per in-vehicle travel time (IVTT) was 1.507, the weight of waiting time (per IVTT) was 1.749, that of transfer time (per IVTT) was 1.474, and that of fare (per IVTT) was 1.476 for trips between inner-city areas in Seoul. Weights for each component were identified as 1.871, 1.967, 1.015, and 0.857, respectively, for trips between Seoul and Gyeonggi. Statistical significance existed between two cases and each variable was also statistically significant. Transit assignment using the relative weights estimated in this study was implemented to analyze the travel index in a macroscopic and quantitative basis. The results showed that average total travel times were 30.23 minutes and 63.29 minutes and average generalized costs were 2,510 won and 3,880 won for trips between inner-city areas in Seoul and between Seoul and Gyeonggi, respectively.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.817-838
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• 2005

In this paper, the resource adequacy as well as the optimum fuel mix is obtained by the following procedures. First, the regulation body, the government agency, determine the reliability index as well as the optimum portfolio of the fuel mix during the planning horizon. Here, the resources with the characteristics of public goods such as demand-side management, renewable resources are assigned in advance. Also, the optimum portfolio is determined by reflecting the economics, environmental characteristics, public acceptance, regional supply and demand, etc. Second, the government announces the required amount of each fuel-type new resources during the planning horizon and the market participants bid to the government based on their own estimated fixed cost. Here, the government announces the winners of the each auction by plant type and the guaranteed fixed cost is determined by the marginal auction price by plant type. Third, the energy market is run and the surplus of each plant except their cost (guaranteed fixed cost and operating cost) is withdrew by the regulatory body. Here, to induce the generators to reduce their operating cost some incentives for each generator is given based on their performance. The performance is determined by the mechanism of the performance-based regulation (PBR). Here the free-riding performance should be subtracted to guarantee the transparent competition. Although the suggested mechanism looks like very regulated one, it provides two mechanism of the competition. That is, one is in the resource construction auction and the other is in the energy spot market. Also the advantages of the proposed method are it guarantee the proper resource adequacy as well as the desired fuel mix. However, this mechanism should be sustained during the transient period of the deregulation only. Therefore, generation resource planning procedure and market mechanisms are suggested to minimize possible stranded costs.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.85-100
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• 2008

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funded collaborative project on The Economic Feasibility Analysis of Crop Cultivation Practice Project in Pirganj and Kurigram Districts in Bangladesh will started during 2008-2012, for 4 years with total project cost of US$ 571,270. The project will be implemented in 6 villages; has 1,097 hectares areas which is divided into 948 hectares of agricultural land, 52 hectares of forest land and 345 hectares of other land, covered 1,059 households equal to 5,305 persons in Pirganj and Kurigram districts The project has proposed to be implemented in joint collaboration by Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) Bangladesh with full participation of the farmers' groups of respective project site. The specific objectives of the project are: (1) to estimate the productivity of paddy, wheat, maize, tobacco and sugarcane (2) to determine the cost of production and returns to the above mentioned crops (3) to study the interrelationship between inputs and output of the above mentioned crops and (4) to examine the resource utilization patterns at farm level. In this project analysis, the net incremental profit is US$33,028. The expected incremental project benefit and incremented production cost are estimated as US$ 219,959 and US$ 186,931 respectively. The financial decision making criteria would be followed in this crop cultivation practice project. After the project implementation, the expected project benefits are assumed to be continued for 15 years. The benefit cost ratio (B/C) of the project is estimated at 1.077 (table 11) when using discount rate of 10% as an opportunity cost of capital in Bangladesh. FIRR of project is estimated at 26.15% which is bigger than the opportunity cost by more than double. So this project is financially feasible and acceptable. Therefore, this project should be extended to other areas to increase the farm income and economic growth of marginal poor farmers in Bangladesh.