Book•
Intermediate microeconomics : A modern approach
01 Jan 2006-
TL;DR: The Varian approach as mentioned in this paper gives students tools they can use on exams, in the rest of their classes, and in their careers after graduation, and is still the most modern presentation of the subject.
Abstract: This best-selling text is still the most modern presentation of the subject. The Varian approach gives students tools they can use on exams, in the rest of their classes, and in their careers after graduation.
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08 Jun 1997
TL;DR: A dynamic sessions control algorithm for multimedia distributed systems that includes a session renegotiation function which is used to reduce the blocking probability of calls significantly and the simulation results of the algorithm are demonstrated and discussed.
Abstract: A dynamic sessions control algorithm for multimedia distributed systems is presented in this paper. The algorithm is theoretically based on a "demand and supply" economic model and specifically on "Pareto efficient allocation". In this mechanism, users compete for resources selfishly and attempt to get maximal benefit while resources are not only utilised efficiently, but also allocated in a such way that users with diverse Quality of Services (QoS) requirements achieve individual optimality. The algorithm includes a session renegotiation function which is used to reduce the blocking probability of calls significantly. Finally, the simulation results of the algorithm are demonstrated and discussed.
3 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the impact of micro-finance on business revenue in the informal sector of Ghana using structured questionnaires with the likert scale rating to acquire primary data from respondents such as Traders representing 54% of the sample, Artisans representing 30.7%, Service providers representing 6.8% and others in the manufacturing and production.
Abstract: The study examined the impact of microfinance on business revenue in the informal sector of Ghana. A sample of 400 respondents out of a target population of 211,085 participated from four districts: Upper Manya Krobo, Shai Osudoko, Mpohor, and Jasikan. A total valid response rate of 99.5% (n=398) out of the sample was obtained to make generalizations. The study used structured questionnaires with the likert scale rating to acquire primary data from respondents such as Traders representing 54% of the sample, Artisans representing 30.7%, Service providers’ representing 6.8% and others in the manufacturing and production representing 8.5%. This was undertaken through a combination of purposive sampling and multi-stage sampling techniques using stratified and simple random sampling. The data was analyzed using percentages, mode, weighted average mean, Pearson correlation and regression analysis. The results showed that employing microfinance activity such as micro savings, micro loan, micro training and microinsurance, there is a statistically significant relationship between microfinance and business revenue; micro savings (r=0.612, P-value 0.000), micro loans (r=0.358, P-value 0.000), micro training (r=0.486, P-value 0.000) and micro insurance (r=0.694, P-value 0.000). Furthermore, the multiple regression analysis found a statistically significant impact of microfinance on business revenue in the informal sector of Ghana(p-value=0.000<0.05) at 5% level of significance. Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis that microfinance have a statistically significant impact on business revenue in the informal sector of Ghana. Keywords : microfinance, informal sector, Ghana
3 citations
Cites background from "Intermediate microeconomics : A mod..."
...Strategic investments through access to credits from microfinance institutions can be used to raise the standards of local goods to meet that of the international products (Amartya, 2001; Hal, 2006)....
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TL;DR: In this paper , the authors estimate the price elasticity of demand for the VPHI market in Colombia and conclude that the demand for VHI is noticeably elastic, and therefore tax policy changes can have a significant impact on public health insurance expenditures.
Abstract: Abstract Background Since 1993, Colombia has had a mandatory social health insurance scheme that aims to provide universal health coverage to all citizens. However, some contributory regime participants purchase voluntary private health insurance (VPHI) to access better quality health services (i. e., physicians and hospitals), shorter waiting times, and a more extensive providers’ network. This article aims to estimate the price elasticity of demand for the VPHI market in Colombia. Methods We use data from the 2016–2017 consumer expenditure national survey and apply a Heckman selection model to address the selection problem into purchasing private insurance. Using the estimation results to further estimate the price semi-elasticity for VPHI, we then calculate the price elasticity for the households’ health expenditure and acquisition of VHPI. Results Our main findings indicate that a 1% VPHI price increase reduces the proportion of households affiliated to a VPHI in the country by about 2.32% to 4.66%, with robust results across sample restrictions. There are relevant differences across age groups, with younger households’ heads being less responsive to VPHI price changes. Conclusions We conclude that the VPHI demand in Colombia is noticeably elastic, and therefore tax policy changes can have a significant impact on public health insurance expenditures. The government should estimate the optimal VPHI purchase in order to reduce any welfare loss that the current arrangement might be generating.
3 citations
03 Jul 2017
TL;DR: This research work has developed mathematical models to assist software managers and developers in bug triaging, bug fixing and different software maintenance related tasks and has been validated on issue and code change data of several open source projects, namely Eclipse, Open office, Mozilla and Apache.
Abstract: A huge amount of historical information about the evolution of a software project is available in software repositories, namely bug repositories, source control repositories, archived communications, deployment logs, and code repositories. By mining the evolutionary history of a software, we have designed prediction models to assist software developers by predicting bug attributes like priority, severity, assignee and fix time. We have evaluated the uncertainty in the software in terms of entropy arises due to source code changes done in files of the software to fix different issues. To support software managers, we have designed prediction models to predict potential values of entropy and different issues, namely bugs, improvements in existing features (IMPs) and new features (NFs) over a long run. In this research work, we have developed mathematical models to assist software managers and developers in bug triaging, bug fixing and different software maintenance related tasks. Our work has been validated on issue and code change data of several open source projects, namely Eclipse, Open office, Mozilla and Apache.
3 citations
01 Jan 2010
TL;DR: An overview of major evaluation approaches for rankings as well as major challenges facing the use and usability of rankings are given, and multicriteria decision analysis and the integration of randomness into rankings as solution approaches are proposed.
Abstract: Rankings or ratings are popular methods for structuring large information sets in search engines, e-Commerce, e-Learning, etc. But do they produce the right rankings for their users? In this paper, we give an overview of major evaluation approaches for rankings as well as major challenges facing the use and usability of rankings. We point out the importance of an interdisciplinary perspective for a truly user-centric evaluation of rankings. We then focus on two central problems: the multidimensionality of the criteria that influence both users’ and systems’ rankings, and the randomness inherent in users’ preferences. We propose multicriteria decision analysis and the integration of randomness into rankings as solution approaches to these problems. We close with an outlook on new challenges arising for ranking when systems address not only individuals, but also groups.
3 citations