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• The Brazilian case do not provide evidence that rises in wages squeezed markups. • Economic sectors pass on different sources of cost pressure asymmetrically to prices. • Attempts to increase competitiveness by cutting labor costs may be ineffective. • Measures to reduce service costs in the production process should be prioritized. This paper aims to empirically investigate the relationship between sectoral unit labor costs and markups for the Brazilian economy from 2000 to 2013. The underlying hypothesis is that labor costs are the sole determinant of a firm's competitiveness, a notion that has been widely accepted as conventional wisdom despite the lack of empirical evidence. Our analysis of the Brazilian economy does not provide evidence that the rises in wages squeezed markup rates over this period. Conversely, our study suggests that the compression of markups was influenced by a set of factors, including the costs of service sector inputs, stagnating labor productivity, and international trade pressure. Therefore, our study highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between unit labor costs and markups by shedding some light on the asymmetric impact of different sources of cost pressures and competition on sectoral markups in the Brazilian economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The North-South trade and growth model is presented. • The North is specified as a demand-led Kalecki-type economy. • The markup rate of North firms is influenced by international competition. • The South is specified as a supply-led Lewis-type economy. • The effects of distributive changes on growth are studied in short and long runs. This study builds a North–South trade and growth model and investigates the effect of a change in each country's income distribution on economic growth in both countries. The North is assumed to be a demand-led Kalecki-type economy with the markup pricing rule and the principle of effective demand, while the South is a supply-led Lewis-type economy with surplus labor and hence, the real wage is fixed. Furthermore, it is assumed that international competition influences the markup rate of North firms. The following four main results are obtained. First, in the short-run equilibrium, an increase in the bargaining power of capitalists of the North increases (decreases) the economic growth rate of the North if the North exhibits profit-led (wage-led) growth. Such an increase in the bargaining power of capitalists of the North necessarily decreases the economic growth rate of the South. Second, in the short-run equilibrium, an increase in the profit share of the South decreases (increases) the economic growth rate of the North if the North exhibits profit-led (wage-led) growth. Such an increase in the profit share of the South can either increase or decrease the economic growth rate of the South. Third, in the long-run equilibrium, an increase in the bargaining power of capitalists of the North decreases (increases) the economic growth rates of the North and the South if the North exhibits wage-led (profit-led) growth in the short-run equilibrium. Fourth, in the long-run equilibrium, an increase in the profit share of the South increases (decreases) the economic growth rates of the North and the South if the North exhibits wage-led (profit-led) growth in the short-run equilibrium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study presents a two-sector Kalecki–Kaldor growth model. • It analyses the interactions of income distribution, technical change, and demand. • Short-run steady state is Kaleckian: wage-, profit-led, and hybrid demand regimes. • Long-run economic growth mechanism is Kaldorian, featuring technical change. • Wage and productivity growth rates between the two sectors differ in the long run. This paper presents a two-sector Kalecki–Kaldor model of income distribution, technical change, and economic growth. The model is Kaleckian in the sense that it incorporates mark-up pricing, investment independent of saving, and excess capacity. It is also Kaldorian, in that labour productivity growth is led by Kaldor's technical progress function. In other words, productivity growth is endogenously realised through the technology embodied in new capital stock, which differentiates our model from previous two-sector models. Our extension drastically changes the standard Kaleckian implications. We find that although the economic activity levels in the short run are led by the demand and income distribution parameters, economic growth in the long run is realised by supply-side (i.e. technical change and the associated productivity and wage growth) parameters. The important implication of our findings is that a two-sector economy faces a trade-off between a high economic growth rate and the local stability of the steady state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent literature documents a secular increase in the sales-weighted average markup in the United States, a phenomenon that was driven by large and productive firms at the top of the profit distribution. Using rich administrative balance-sheet data, this paper documents the behaviour of markups in Spain before, during, and in the aftermath of the Great Recession. We show that markups rose during the financial crisis. Unlike in the U.S., these dynamics were driven by small and unproductive firms following an increase in their average costs due to a high and increasing share of fixed costs, especially overhead labour expenses. Despite the rise in markups, profit rates fell, especially amongst smaller firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Technical progress and variations in industry markups can change characteristics of the labor markets. • A numeric example illustrates the theory of the choice of technique. • In the example, switch points are created and destroyed with varying coefficients of production and varying markups. • Around some switch points, higher wages are associated with greater employment, given the level of net or gross output. • Graphical displays are provided for visualizing these results. This article presents an example in which perturbations in relative markups and technical progress result in variations in characteristics of the labor market. Around a switch point with a positive real Wicksell effect, a higher wage is associated with firms wanting to employ more labor per unit output of net product. Around a switch point with a reverse substitution of labor, firms in a particular industry want to hire more labor per unit output of gross product. Technical progress and variations in markups can bring about and take away circumstances favorable for workers wanting to press claims for higher wages. This article presents specific fluke switch points in which variations in technology and markups change these circumstances, as well as novel diagrams for visualizing the effects of such variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the core services (i.e., information persistence, authentication, authorization, logging and auditing) of the Social Cooperation for Integrated Assisted Living (SOCIAL) platform, a platform aiming to support community-dwelling older adults. In addition to the description of the services' implementation, using state of the art technological solutions (e.g., Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, eXtensible Access Control Markup Language or blockchain), the paper also presents the assessment of their performance considering an application scenario related to local authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chatbot program has been empirically proven help to improve the engagement with users. Moreover, the implementation of a chat-bot program in the industry helps the company to reduce their operational costs in engaging with their customers and employees. There are still quite a number of problems existed in order to build a human-like chatbot program. Understanding a natural conversation and replying back to the conversation the interlocutors, keeping the conversation flowing naturally is a cumbersome task for a computer. This research aims to design an emotionally realistic chatbot system to enhance the believability of the chatbot using Artificial Intelligence Markup Language (AIML) and Information State. The results show that there is a statistically significant improvement to the chatbot believability in the system that has emotions variables induced compare to the one without emotions. Moreover, 63,33% of the respondents perceived Aero and Iris as two different individuals. The future work of this research is to deploy and have an exploration of the chatbot system to other cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We use competition-and-growth methodology to study rent-seeking in development. • Rents, or mark-up, harm productivity growth. Poor countries, and countries with worse institutions, are especially affected. • Tariffs fall more slowly when mark-ups are high, suggesting wasteful rent-seeking. • We conclude that rents are indicative of a broadly unhealthy business environment. Abstract Are rents, or excess profits, good for development? Rents could induce firms to lobby or bribe governments to preserve the status quo; on the other hand, rents may promote growth by giving firms the needed funds to make investments in fixed capital or research and development. To test this question empirically, we use a panel of manufacturing data at the industry-country-year level, and measure rents by the mark-up ratio. We find that the relationship between rents and growth is strongly negative, with the results being primarily driven by the poorer countries (or those with worse institutions) in the sample. This result holds when we instrument for mark-up using the average mark-up in other industries in the country. Even in industries with high external financing needs and countries with less developed financial sectors, precisely the places where excess profits could be used to drive growth, we find that rents are especially harmful. Consistent with the rent-seeking mechanism we highlight, we find that high rents are associated with a slower reduction in tariffs. We also test for the most likely alternative mechanism, that higher rents cause slower growth through the channel of allowing managerial slack. We find that controlling for management has little impact on our estimate of the impact of mark-up on productivity growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The aggregate mark-up on average costs moved pro-cyclically, especially in the period 1958–1980. • A high degree of common reaction to business cycles was found among the twenty industries in consideration. • Groups of industries with different market structures presented strong similarity in their overall mark-up behavior. • The pattern of technical change in the sample is characterized by capital-using/labor-saving bias. Abstract This study investigates the mark-up on average costs in the U.S. manufacturing industry at the aggregate and two-digit industry levels. We first analyze the behavior of profit margins over seven business cycles between 1958 and 1996 and establish some stylized facts for the cyclical dynamics of mark-ups. Second, we look at the secular movements in margins of profits through a simple trend decomposition of the aggregate and two-digit mark-ups. We find that: (1) the aggregate and the majority of two-digit mark-ups behave pro-cyclically; and (2) the trend in margins of profits in the period is explained by a marked rise in the rate of surplus value and a fall in the composition of capital, indicating labor-saving/capital- using technical change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impacts of price and exchange rate volatilities on Atlantic salmon imports in the U.S. market. We first derive an extended Rotterdam demand model, revealing how risk factors affect import demand through 'adjusted' prices. For example, the theoretical model shows that risk-averse importers add risk premiums as a markup for the cost of risk factors. Moreover, the trade effect of volatility variables depends on own-price elasticities and the degree of substitutability between competing products. Our empirical results reveal that U.S. salmon importers are sensitive to price and exchange rate volatilities; however, these two risk factors have differing impacts on import demand, implying the necessity (or effect) of hedging strategies. • Salmon farming is risky due to biophysical factors and supply chain. • Importers add price premium as a mark-up for risk factors. • Price risk and exchange rate volatility affect salmon demand differently. • Different hedging strategies are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Optimization model for the integrated assessment of the green ammonia value chain. • Case study for ammonia trade between Australia and Germany in 2030. • Sensitivity analysis on ammonia prices for technical and economic parameters. • Cost comparison of conventional and green ammonia production. This paper contributes to understanding the transformation of global energy trade to green energy carriers, focusing on green ammonia as the foreseeable first green hydrogen carrier. We provide a comprehensive overview of today's ammonia trade and assess scaling options for the trade of green ammonia. To that aim, we develop an optimization model for the integrated assessment of the green ammonia value chain that covers all steps from green ammonia production in an exporting country, up to delivery to a harbor in an importing country. The model endogenously chooses among different technology options and determines cost minimal operation. In a case study, we apply the model to the large-scale import of ammonia from Australia to Germany in a scenario for 2030. The results show that green ammonia can reach cost parity with gray ammonia even for moderate gas prices (but not necessarily with blue ammonia) if CO 2 prices are high enough. We also provide a sensitivity analysis with respect to the interest rate and other key technical and economic parameters and show that cracking ammonia to provide pure hydrogen comes at a 45 % cost markup per MWh at the destination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bid price for a construction project comprises the contractor's estimated direct cost and overhead cost plus its applied markup. Contractors often use an all-in rate to lump overhead and markup together on top of direct cost for arriving at a bid price. Such a method is naturally prone to inaccuracy and involves a greater risk in competitive bidding, if the applied rate is selected subjectively. The present research aims to develop an improved approach to determining the combined rate of overhead and markup in the bid price for a project. Four factors, i.e., direct cost, duration, type of work, and location, were used as inputs to build a regression model from cost and bid data of collected projects for predicting the overhead and markup rate in the winning bid for a project, which, together with the model error, is used to estimate the probability of winning for a bid level. Then, based on minimization of overall loss risk proposed by a previous research, the bid preventing over-cuts in price competition is determined by using the model, the probabilistic estimates of project cost, and the probability of recovering costs if losing the bid. The approach is illustrated using two cases and the suggested bids for the cases are compared with those from other models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intense nature of the competition in the construction industry is commonly acknowledged by professionals and researchers. Moreover, the owners commonly select the contractors based on how low they offer their bid prices and outbid their rivals. Gaining competitive advantage in order to win a contract is largely based on considering all cost components very carefully and systematically in estimating the bid price. A typical bid price consists of three main cost components, which include: direct costs (e.g., materials, equipment, laborers, etc.), indirect costs (e.g., salaries of the engineers and technical personnel, security, etc.), and bid mark-up (i.e., general overhead, profit and contingency). In the literature, various tools and techniques have been proposed for estimating bid mark-up size in construction projects. This study compares the prediction performances of the artificial neural network (ANN) and multiple regression analysis techniques (MRA). For this purpose, 52 factors that may affect the size of bid mark-up were identified and actual data of 80 public construction projects were obtained from 27 Turkish contractors in public projects in Turkey. The ANN and MRA based models were developed via MATLAB Neural Net Fitting and SPSS software programs, respectively and their prediction performances were evaluated using several statistical measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a novel project evaluation method for non-formatted Chinese text evaluation information. First, the non-formatted Chinese text evaluation information is determined and expressed using extensible markup language and a hypertext preprocessor. Then, the evaluation problem is transformed into a multiple-criteria decision-analysis problem based on multi-granular linguistic labels, including a comprehensive evaluation score for alternatives and an evaluation criteria point score for incomplete items. Next, we propose a weighting model for the criteria based on the minimal difference between the comprehensive evaluation score and the evaluation criterion point score of decision-makers. We establish an estimation model for incomplete evaluation items with the minimal evidence distance of Dempster–Shafer theory using maximal group consistency. In addition, we calculate a weighting for the decision-makers using the similarity of the group. Finally, we present a score modification method for alternatives based on weights of the criteria and the decision-maker. We use a soft science project evaluation and selection to illustrate the application process and feasibility of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Timely on-demand access to geospatial data is necessary for environmental observation and disaster response. However, traditional service methods for acquiring geospatial data are inefficient and cumbersome, which is not beneficial for timely data acquisition. In these service methods, data are obtained and published by managers and are then left to users to discover and to retrieve them. To solve this problem, we propose an event-driven active on-demand data service method, for which a prototype based on sensor web technologies is demonstrated. First, we select a subset of observed properties as the attributes of an observation event of a data service system. Event-filtering technologies are then employed to find the data desired by users. Finally, the data that meet the subscription requirement are pushed to subscribers on time. The aims of the implementation of the method are to test the suitability of the observation and measurement (O&M) profile for Earth observation and OGC event pattern markup language (EML) specification. We determined the attributes of observation events according to the requirement of the data service and encoded observation event information using the OGC Observations and Measurements specification. We encoded the information under filtering conditions using the OGC Event Pattern Markup Language specification. We implemented a data service method that is based on event-driven architecture via a combination of some sensor web enablement services. Finally, we verified the feasibility of the method using MODIS data from the forest fires that occurred on February 7, 2009, in Victoria, Australia. The results show that the proposed method can achieve actively pushing the desired data to subscribers in the shortest possible time. O&M profiles for Earth observation and EML are suitable for the metadata encoding of observation events and the encoding of subscription information respectively. They match well for the data service in the system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Fine dining restaurants with extensive wine lists often have high-value wine inventories and low inventory turnover ratios that reduce the owner''s return on investment. The restaurant management literature does not provide fine dining restaurant managers with the tools that enable them to evaluate and make changes to wine list selections, pricing and inventory levels in order to improve the returns from the investment in wine inventory. This paper contributes to the literature by drawing concepts from yield management, retail science and menu engineering to develop a yield statistic and analytical model for managing wine list and wine inventory productivity. WINSPID (wine sales per inventory dollar) is the product of wine mark-up and inventory turnover ratio. Graphs of wine sales and inventory data, mark-up and inventory turnover ratio enable the restaurant manager to analyse, improve and monitor the wine list, wine inventory and wine supplier performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Limited land area complicates renewable energy deployment in archipelagos. • Renewable offshore floating technologies enable energy transition of islands. • Synthetic e-fuels can be imported or self-produced cost-effectively until 2050. • Energy transition in the Maldives until 2030 is possible with minor cost markup. • Floating offshore solar PV and wave power emerge as the major energy sources. Low-lying coastal areas and archipelago countries are particularly threatened by the impacts of climate change. Concurrently, many island states still rely on extensive use of imported fossil fuels, above all diesel for electricity generation, in addition to hydrocarbon-based fuels to supply aviation and marine transportation. Land area is usually scarce and conventional renewable energy solutions cannot be deployed in a sufficient way. This research highlights the possibility of floating offshore technologies being able to fulfil the task of replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy solutions in challenging topographical areas. On the case of the Maldives, floating offshore solar photovoltaics, wave power and offshore wind are modelled on a full hourly resolution in two different scenarios to deal with the need of transportation fuels: By importing the necessary, carbon neutral synthetic e-fuels from the world market, or by setting up local production capacities for e-fuels. Presented results show that a fully renewable energy system is technically feasible in 2030 with a relative cost per final energy of 120.3 €/MWh and 132.1 €/MWh, respectively, for the two scenarios in comparison to 105.7 €/MWh of the reference scenario in 2017. By 2050, cost per final energy can be reduced to 77.6 €/MWh and 92.6 €/MWh, respectively. It is concluded that floating solar photovoltaics and wave energy converters will play an important role in defossilisation of islands and countries with restricted land area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapidly changing electricity sector requires adjusted and new ancillary services, which enable the secure and reliable operation of the electricity system. However, assessments and policy advice regarding ancillary services and market design lack methods to evaluate the complex interaction of markets and services. Therefore, this paper contributes an open-source agent-based model to test design options for ancillary services and electricity markets. The Ancillary Services Acquisition Model (ASAM) combines the agent-based modeling framework MESA with the toolbox Python for Power System Analysis (PyPSA). The model provides various design parameters per market and agent-specific strategies as well as detailed clearing algorithms for the day-ahead market, intra-day continuous trading, redispatch, and imbalances. Moreover, ASAM includes numerous policy performance indicators, including a novel price mark-up indicator and novel redispatch performance indicators. A stylized simulation scenario verified and validated the model and addressed a redispatch design question. The results displayed the following implications from order types in redispatch markets with multi-period all-or-none design: (1) The order design provides few risks for market parties, as orders are fully cleared. (2) Large orders may lead to dispatch ramps before and after the delivery period and may cause "ramp-risk" mark-ups as well as additional trading of imbalances on intra-day. (3) All-or-none design in a liquid situation leads to the over-procurement of redispatch by the grid operator, as orders cannot be partially activated. Moreover, it is likely that the grid operator induces imbalances to the system by "incomplete" redispatch activation (i.e. upward and downward redispatch volumes are not equal). • Agent-based model covering short-term electricity markets and ancillary services. • Clearing algorithms for day-ahead and intra-day trading, redispatch, and imbalance. • Policy performance including market interactions and design-driven price mark-ups. • Open-source combination of agent-based framework MESA and toolbox PyPSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Charging at each station and the entry of charging stations should be subsidized. • Optimal subsidy rates are proportional to the markup on the charging price. • Standardization of fast charging is likely beneficial to both consumers and firms. • In the long run a direct EV subsidy is superfluous given subsidies for charging. • Without subsidies for charging, a direct subsidy to EVs may still be desirable. Electric vehicles (EVs) and their associated charging stations are characterized by indirect network effects. In this paper we propose a theoretical model covering both the entry of charging stations and the sales of EVs. The model is used to study policies for developing an adequate charging network for existing and future EV owners. First, we find that governments should subsidize both the variable charging costs at each station and the costs of market entry for charging stations. The charging subsidy should ensure marginal cost pricing on charging, while the entry costs subsidy internalizes the indirect network externality. Second, we also find that the ongoing transition to one charging standard in Europe will unambiguously mean higher market shares for EVs and higher welfare for EV owners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental labels are designed to signal environmental and health information on products throughout their life cycle to consumers and other stakeholders. Investigating A-share listed manufacturing firms in China for the 2004–2018 period, this paper sheds new light on the nexus of environmental labeling certifications and firm performance. We find that there is a grouping difference in firm performance between treatment firms and comparison firms, no matter whether measured by ROA, Tobin's Q, or TFP. Based on the difference-in-difference (DID) regression, we show that manufacturing firms significantly increase their financial performance and productivity after obtaining environmental labeling certifications. Our research also reveals that the effects of environmental labels on firm performance stem from both the labeling effect and technical factor. The results are robust when we use the micro-level DID model. Further examination shows that the intervention effect is mainly driven by the mechanism of price markup rather than by market share. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the impact of flight delay on market power in the U.S. airline industry. Consistent with the literature, our estimation results confirm that flight delays are associated with negative consumer welfare effects. Most importantly, we find that poor on-time performance negatively impacts product markup—proxy for market power. Furthermore, we are able to decompose these markup effects into price and marginal cost effects and evidence suggests that the source of these negative markup effects is primarily driven by negative price responses. • This study examines the impact of flight delay on market power. • We find that flight delay negatively impacts airline market power. • We decompose the market power effects into price and marginal cost effects. • The source of these negative market power effects is primarily driven by negative price responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The 2-sector macromodel is stock and flow consistent in both resources and money. • Biophysical and net energy principles are fully translatable to monetary flows. • Pricing and investment behavior influences the rate of resource extraction. • Patterns in resource extraction and economic distribution mimic those of the U.S. • Wage share declines at constant markup pricing and resource consumption per capita. This paper derives a long-term dynamic growth model that endogenously links biophysical and economic variables in a stock-flow consistent manner. The two industrial sector HARMONEY (Human And Resources with MONEY) model enables exploration of interdependencies among resource extraction rate and depletion; the accumulation of population, capital, and debt; and the distribution of money flows within the economy. Using a post-Keynesian economic framework, we find that wage share declines after the model reaches a constant per capita resource extraction rate, with the level of investment and markup on costs determining the rate of decline. This pattern is consistent with data for the United States. Thus, the model framework enables realistic investigation of trade-offs between economic distribution, size, and resources consumption between sectors as well as between labor and capital. These trade-offs are core to the debates regarding environmental and socioeconomic sustainability. This model serves as a platform upon which to add features to explore long-term sustainability questions such as a transition to low-carbon energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]