Information on the quality of healthcare gives providers an incentive to improve care, and this incentive should be stronger in more competitive markets. We examine this hypothesis by studying Pennsylvanian hospitals during the years 1995–2004 to see whether those hospitals located in more...

This study examines the relationship between health outcomes and cost inefficiency in Florida hospitals over the period 1999-2001, with health outcomes measured by risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality rates. Previous research has come to conflicting conclusions regarding the relationship between...

This study explores the association between cost inefficiency and health outcomes in a national sample of acute-care hospitals in the US over the period 1999-2001, with health outcomes being measured by both mortality and complications rates. The empirical analysis examines health outcomes as a...

De Beers is one of the longest lived international cartels in history. But have recent events threatened the diamond pricing structure so carefully developed over the past 100 years? In this paper, we use time series econometric techniques to evaluate the cartel's response to Russian cheating in...

A look at the U.S. Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve Board indexes of capacity utilization, with an explanation of the indexes' construction, advantages, and shortcomings; conclusion of June 15 issue.

An examination of the usefulness of two measures of capacity utilization in predicting price pressures and future investment: one measure attempts to represent the maximum physical output a plant can produce, and one is based on changes in production costs as output increases; article concludes...

Several articles show that differences in firm characteristics such as size or diversification may affect plant-closing decisions during an industry's decline such that higher-cost plants survive lower-cost plants. Examination of the plant-closing decisions of integrated steel firms indicates...