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The fast-growing middle class in emerging markets is leading luxury brands to adopt an affordable luxury (aka "masstige") approach to reach the mass market. However, academic research in this promising area is scarce. Focusing on China, the world's largest emerging market, this research shows a novel pattern of masstige brand consumption: Instead of always preferring foreign masstige brands (e.g., Coach) as implied in previous international marketing literature, consumers in emerging markets prefer domestic masstige brands (e.g., Goldlion) when their personally oriented motives are made salient. In contrast, consumers prefer foreign masstige brands when their socially oriented motives are made salient. This stems from domestic masstige brands better manifesting self-focused intangible attributes (i.e., the actual value to please oneself), whereas foreign masstige brands are superior in other-focused intangible attributes (i.e., the symbolic value to impress others). Three studies using a multimethod approach provide converging results that support this phenomenon. The findings bring significant contributions to the literature and offer actionable implications for managers, including positioning and price promotion strategies for masstige brands in emerging markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the interaction between the energy costs/GDP ratio, energy prices, energy efficiency, “quality of energy’’, and economic growth. The relationships between the first three were formulated by the author back in 2007 in the form of three laws of energy transitions. The paper provides additional empirical evidence and theoretical support to these laws and looks into their implications for economic growth and climate mitigation policies. It argues for launching effective energy costs accounting at the national level to support such policies. It also argues that escalation of energy prices driven only by the growing share of higher quality energy resources does not impede, but stimulates economic growth. The paper shows, that improving energy efficiency results in the removal of the ‘limits of growth’ – affordability, resource and environmental limitations; but as it faces the ‘limits of change’, the trade-off between maximizing economic growth and minimizing GHG emissions is inevitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a discrete/continuous choice approach, we compare the effectiveness of increasing block rate and uniform rate structures on residential water conservation. Our findings show that residential water demand is more price elastic under increasing block rates, suggesting its potential as a tool for water conservation. However, its effectiveness may be limited if people do not fully understand the structure and instead rely on the average price when making water consumption decisions. Effective communication of the rate structure to consumers is essential to ensure it actively influences water consumption behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to promote sustainable resource use through reduced meat consumption face challenges as global meat consumption persists. The resistance may be attributed to the lower sales price of meat compared to most plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs). Addressing this, our research delves into the pivotal question of which PBMAs resonate most with consumers and how pricing affects demand. In a hypothetical restaurant context, we conducted 2 representative studies among 2,126 individuals in the United States to scrutinize preferences for meat, analog, semi-analog, and non-analog burgers. First, in a survey, we assessed rankings of the four burgers, alongside evaluating participants' genuine consideration of these choices to discern a diverse preference distribution. Subsequently, in an experiment, we examined the influence of prices on participants' consideration and choice of PBMAs, thereby capturing both phases of the decision-making process. Our survey shows that meat has considerably higher utility and consumer preference than all PBMAs on average, but we also find substantial heterogeneity (i.e., some consumers prefer PBMAs over meat). In the experiment, we establish that there is a negative association between the consideration of meat and PBMA burgers, though consideration of any one PBMA is positively associated with considering other PBMAs. A noteworthy increase in consideration and choice is observed when prices of PBMAs are reduced, while changing the price of the meat burger only has minimal effect on demand. Such findings underscore the importance of affordability beyond price parity in catalyzing the shift toward plant-based diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper demonstrates an apparent long-term constancy of economy-wide energy expenditures relative to Gross Output and GDP. • Time-induced innovations and structural changes bring a very-long-term price-to-energy-intensity elasticity to "Minus 1″. • Complementary theoretical approaches explain the observations but challenge the conventional economic logic that carbon pricing should be the principal instrument to drive transformation. • A new dataset of national ECSs covering 32 OECD countries with 50 years sample for most of them was developed to explore adjustment processes (including via external trade) and timescales. This paper demonstrates an apparent long-term constancy of economy-wide energy expenditures relative to income – an inter-decadally-constrained sustainable ("Bashmakov-Newbery") range of 4.2 ± 0.8 % relative to Gross Output, and 7.2 ± 1.5 % relative to GDP, based on data from industrialised countries. Initial evidence suggests the range to be narrower when external trade effects are accounted for. Statistically equivalent to a very-long-term price-to-energy-intensity elasticity of -1 ("Minus 1"), this indicates long-period economic dynamics including induced innovation and structural change, and we probe theories and policy implications. Either higher energy prices are fully offset by reduced energy intensity, or they later decline to match energy intensity improvements. Complementary theoretical approaches help to explain the observations but challenge the conventional economic logic that high environmental pricing should be the principal instrument to drive transformation. Rather, energy efficiency, innovation, deployment, structural change and pricing co-evolve, suggesting need for a diversity of complementary policy strategies implemented over extended periods of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluate the effect of the recent spate of tax reform laws on cigarette and fermented liquor consumption in the Philippines using an error correction model that utilizes regularly available national data. Since 2012, the Philippine government passed three reform measures that substantially increases cigarette and alcohol excise taxes to address the problems of smoking and noncommunicable diseases, and raises revenue for the country's national health insurance program. This paper offers a potential alternative, considering the estimation challenges stemming from the scarcity of data from individual‐ and household‐based surveys in developing countries like the Philippines. The volume of removals is used to measure consumption while the consumer price index is used to measure price changes. Quarterly national data from 2000 to 2021 yields an elasticity estimate for cigarette demand that is consistent with earlier studies that used individual‐ and household‐level data. Estimates for fermented liquors, meanwhile, offer a basis for policymaking and future studies. Overall, findings highlight the potential of using the error correction model and cointegration techniques to estimate elasticity for countries with limited data, and bolsters the argument on the effectiveness of taxes in influencing health behavior. Key points: An error correction model using regularly available national data can bridge the gap posed by limited availability of individual‐based survey data, especially among developing countries.Excise tax reform remains a viable policy option to discourage cigarette use and address the growing problem of noncommunicable diseases.Fiscal planning in the use of cigarette and alcohol excise taxes to fund the national health insurance system can benefit from price elasticity of demand estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how consumers respond to turbulent market conditions is crucial for planning security of natural gas supply. This paper estimates the price elasticity of demand of small consumers in Germany in the period with both high price fluctuations and a fear of natural gas shortage in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Using granular data between 2018 and 2023, we estimate an Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) time series cointegrating model. We find a price elasticity of demand for natural gas of -0.01 for wholesale prices and -0.04 for retail prices. Additionally, we quantify the effects of weather conditions and public awareness on the energy crisis. The results suggest i) that extreme price changes would be required to trigger short-term demand adjustments, and ii) demonstrate the importance of public attention on the crisis situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVS) have become increasingly popular as a viable transportation option as owners can charge them at home. This will add much energy to the house if the users charge their PEVs at home. The PEV charging load will lead to extra energy demand on the distribution network, and the users will need to pay more for electricity if they use the current domestic tariff in Malaysia. This research aims to analyze the PEV charging costs using time-of-use (ToU) tariffs with different time segmentations and price elasticity. The effect of four residential load profile patterns has also been investigated in Malaysia as a case study. Four PEV charging scenarios were created, and the charging times were set according to Malaysian driving styles, with charging times starting at 6 PM, 10 PM, and 9 AM. The PEV and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) are set to be homogeneous, and the EV was assumed to have a minimum state-ofcharge of 20%. The main contribution of this paper is the selection of the ToU tariff segmentation, where the structure of the smallest time segmentation gave the lowest electricity bill per month compared to the Tenaga Malaysia Berhad (TNB) domestic tariff [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The market for heated tobacco products (HTPs) has grown rapidly in recent years, and many governments have started to include HTPs in tax codes to regulate their use. Currently, the evidence on how HTP prices impact tobacco use behaviors or whether consumers consider them as economic substitutes for cigarettes is lacking. This study is the first to answer these questions with a unique database to assess the own‐ and cross‐ price elasticities of HTP and cigarette demand. We collect a unique database of quarterly retail prices and sales of heated tobacco units and comparable scale cigarettes from 2014 to 2022, available for most countries where both HTPs and cigarettes are sold, and estimate the own‐ and cross‐ price elasticities of cigarette and HTP demand using a seemingly unrelated regression model. We find that HTP demand is price elastic (i.e., sensitive to prices) and has an own‐price elasticity of −1.2 to −1.3, about four times greater than the own‐price elasticity of cigarettes, which is about −0.3. We also find that cigarettes and HTPs are weak economic substitutes: while HTP demand is responsive to higher cigarette prices, cigarette demand is not sensitive to HTP prices. Our results suggest that tax policies that increase HTP and cigarette prices simultaneously will reduce HTP consumption without increasing cigarette consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this paper, a comprehensive energy management framework for microgrids that incorporates price-based demand response programs (DRPs) and leverages an advanced optimization method—Greedy Rat Swarm Optimizer (GRSO) is proposed. The primary objective is to minimize the generation cost and environmental impact of microgrid systems by effectively scheduling distributed energy resources (DERs), including renewable energy sources (RES) such as solar and wind, alongside fossil-fuel-based generators. Four distinct demand response models—exponential, hyperbolic, logarithmic, and critical peak pricing (CPP)—are developed, each reflecting a different price elasticity of demand. These models are integrated with a flexible elasticity matrix to assess the dynamic consumer response to fluctuating electricity prices. The study evaluates four operational scenarios, focusing on grid participation, DER utilization, and the impact of real-time pricing (RTP), time of use (TOU), and critical peak pricing strategies. Quantitative results demonstrate the significant cost-saving potential of integrating DRPs with microgrid operations. In the optimal scenario, the GRSO achieved a minimum generation cost of 882¥ for the base load profile. Further, when critical peak pricing (CPP) was applied, the generation cost was reduced to 746¥, representing a 15.4% reduction. For a scenario where the grid’s participation was limited, the logarithmic-based demand response model decreased the generation cost to 817¥, while full grid interaction led to higher cost reductions. Additionally, our results show a significant reduction in peak load, with load factor improvements of up to 87.7% across the studied demand profiles. Furthermore, limiting the grid’s upstream power capacity to 30 kW resulted in a 7% increase in generation cost across all cases, confirming the importance of grid participation in reducing operational costs. The GRSO algorithm outperformed traditional metaheuristics in terms of both execution time and convergence, making it a viable solution for real-time microgrid optimization. In conclusion, the proposed GRSO-based framework provides an efficient approach for microgrid cost minimization, achieving up to a 15.4% reduction in operational costs and notable environmental benefits by reducing emissions. This study highlights the importance of dynamic demand response strategies and grid participation for sustainable and cost-effective microgrid management.

This study investigates the regional demand for shrimp in Norway by employing the linear approximated Almost Ideal Demand System (LA/AIDS) framework. Shrimp consumption has grown significantly globally, with Norway being no exception. The LA/AIDS model allows us to examine the demand of shrimp across different regions in Norway. We utilize comprehensive data on regional shrimp consumption, prices, and household expenditures to estimate and analyze demand patterns. Moreover, we can distinguish between farmed (freshwater) and wild (coldwater) shrimp. Our findings reveal consistent patterns across regions, with fresh coldwater shrimp emerging as a dominant product form, often substituting for other shrimp species. Furthermore, regional variations in substitution relationships highlight the nuanced nature of the markets, with differences in the intensity of competition and the extent of substitution effects. We also provide the theoretical relationship between regional demand and the aggregate demand at the national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geopolitical developments that occurred in 2022 shook the global fertiliser market. One of the issues that the EJP SOIL 'Scenario modelling for assessing impacts of policy changes and socio-economic effects on ecosystem services of soils (SIMPLE)' project currently investigates is the potential consequences of increased fertiliser price on its demand and subsequent application. Looking at this question from an economic perspective, an answer can be found via the estimation of the relevant elasticity of demand. Therefore, we aim at providing empirical evidence on the responsiveness of demand for nitrogen (N) fertiliser to changes in its price. Having a better understanding of how farmers can react to changes in the price of this production input is key for several reasons. Firstly, lower fertiliser application can reduce soil productivity, leading to price increases of agricultural commodities due to lower production volumes. Secondly, an increase in the cost of inputs can affect negatively the financial viability of those farming activities which rely on mineral fertiliser. Thirdly, important negative environmental impacts are associated with its excessive use, creating a need to curb demand under certain circumstances. Taking Sweden as a case study, three different econometric techniques (OLS, FE and FE-IV) are applied to a panel that covers all Swedish regions over the period 1990-2022. This contribution finds a negative and inelastic relationship between urea prices and nitrogen fertiliser sales, which is in line with the existing literature providing estimates for other world regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water pricing is an economic instrument traditionally used to reduce water demand. However, its effective implementation requires knowledge of the extent to which users reduce water consumption with increasing water prices. The price elasticity of water demand has been estimated using econometric regression, which relies on cross-sectional and time-series water data. As an alternative, we propose the use of agent-based modelling, which does not require reliable historical data on water prices and consumption and enables the simulation of multiple scenarios with different consumer profiles, behaviour profiles and water price changes, thereby allowing comprehensive understanding of price elasticity estimates. To illustrate the potential use of agent-based modelling for the estimation of water demand price elasticity, we performed an empirical application to a residential area in Chile. Price elasticity estimates ranged from −0.0159 to −0.1036 (mean −0.0250), indicating that residential water consumption is inelastic to price changes. This result is consistent with previous findings. Agent-based modelling is an alternative for the ex-ante assessment of the potential effectiveness of water pricing policies intended to reduce residential water demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective pricing is important for on-street parking management and proactive parking pricing is an innovative strategy to achieve optimal parking utilization. For proactive parking pricing, accurately predicting parking occupancy and deriving the price elasticity of parking demand are necessary. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of studies applying big data technology for parking-occupancy prediction. However, existing research has not incorporated economic knowledge into modeling, thus preventing application of the price elasticity of parking demand. In this study, proactive pricing strategies are proposed to adjust on-street parking prices which involve a parking-occupancy prediction model and a price-optimization method. Physics-informed neural networks are employed to achieve accurate prediction of parking occupancy and calculation of parking price elasticity. An elasticity-occupancy parking-management strategy is proposed for on-street parking management which leverages parking occupancy and price elasticity to guide pricing interventions. A case study shows that the parking-occupancy prediction model can make accurate predictions and derive the price elasticity of parking demand. Proactive parking pricing enables drivers to plan their trips in advance, allowing parking occupancy within an optimal range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism demand theory postulates that tourists' incomes, prices in destination countries, and prices in tourists' countries of origin are key determinants of tourism demand—but must this hold for long-haul travel? We find the answer to be no. By analyzing three international tourist archetypes arriving in New Zealand, a remote island nation, from seven countries, we demonstrate that neither incomes nor prices affect tourism demand in the short run. In the long run, some evidence suggests that tourism demand is income-sensitive; however, it remains insensitive to price changes. We also show that estimates of price elasticities are sensitive to how models are specified and should be interpreted cautiously. The results of this study are broadly relevant to long-haul destinations worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to determine the response of the household sector and industrial sector to electricity demand when there are changes in prices and income. The influence of price and income on electricity demand from both sectors can be seen through their elasticity. The approach used in this study is panel data from 33 provinces in Indonesia for the 2010-2020 time period. Panel data regression estimation techniques are used in this study to estimate the elasticity value. The results show that price elasticity in the household and industrial sectors is negative inelastic, but price does not significantly influence household electricity demand. Unlike price, income elasticity has a much higher value and positively and significantly influences electricity demand in both sectors. The number of customers, which reflects the increasing electrification ratio and population growth, significantly impacts electricity demand in the household and industrial sectors. Based on the results, it was found that the number of customers most influences electricity demand in the household sector. At the same time, income has the most significant influence on electricity demand in the industrial sector.

The low‐carbon energy transition requires significant increases in production for many mineral commodities. Understanding demand, technological requirements, and prices associated with this production increase requires understanding the supply chain dynamics of many minerals simultaneously, and via a consistent framework. A generalized economics‐informed material flow method, global materials modeling using Bayesian optimization, captures the market dynamics of key mineral commodities. The method relies only on a limited set of widely available historical data as input, enabling quantification of economic relationships (elasticities) for supply chain components where data are sparse, and relationships cannot be obtained via traditional statistical approaches. Building upon established material flow analysis (MFA) and economic modeling techniques, Bayesian optimization was applied to fit an economics‐informed MFA model to global historical demand, supply, and price for aluminum, copper, gold, lead, nickel, silver, iron, tin, and zinc. This approach enables estimates for the evolution of ore grades, mine costs, refining charges, sector‐specific demand, and scrap collection for each commodity. Economic relationships were quantified and compared with a database compiled from the literature, including 1333 values from 213 analyses across 65 publications. Discrepancies in methods and limited coverage make use of these parameters in modeling efforts difficult. This work provides a single, homogeneous, probabilistic approach to identifying economic relationships across mineral supply chains, with uncertainty quantification, a literature database for comparison, and a modeling framework in which to use them. This article met the requirements for a Gold‐Gold JIE data openness badge described at http://jie.click/badges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Setting the right fares is a key lever for increasing operating profitability in the airline industry. It is crucial to design fares that are both appealing to passengers and contribute to an increase in airline revenue. Although airline revenue management techniques have evolved to capture customer-choice behavior, the pricing and allocation decisions continue to be taken independently. However, since they are linked, a single optimization model can address this shortcoming. This paper presents a joint optimization model (JOM) that considers product prices and their allocation quantities as decision variables. A sequential optimization technique that divides the model into two decision problems is adopted to cope with JOM's complexity. The problem is divided into a master problem and a sub-problem, wherein product price changes are made in the master problem and, with these fixed prices, optimization is performed in the sub-problem. The sub-problem is solved by simplifying the non-linear JOM into a linear programming problem. The direction of product price changes in the master problem is identified using price elasticity of demand. A heuristic based on this concept is proposed and tested. The Elasticity-integrated Pricing and Allocation Heuristic (EPAH) is observed to produce a consistent increase in existing revenues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analyze the oil demand of 49 countries which are net energy importers in the 1990-2016 period within the framework of panel data model. Countries are considered in two panels as high and low energy importing countries according to how much energy they import of their consumption. Income and price elasticities of oil demand for 26 high energy importing countries (Panel A) and 23 low energy importing countries (Panel B) were calculated. The results show that income elasticity of oil demand is positive and significant for both panels, and price elasticity is negative and significant again for both panels. In addition, price elasticity was lower than income elasticity for both panels. Another finding is that high energy importing country panel (Panel A) has lower price elasticity (-0.03) than low energy importing country panel (Panel B), (-0.41). Similarly, the income elasticity of the high-energy importing country panel (Panel A) (1.18) was calculated to be high than that of the low-energy importing country panel (Panel B), (1.04). Based on these results, some important policy implications have been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because taxes on lodging are generally not designed to correct market failure, their presumptive purpose is to maximize public revenue; we investigate whether they do so. Using recent estimates of the price elasticity of demand for hotel rooms in ten major U.S. cities, we find that existing tax rates on lodging are generally below the revenue-maximizing tax rates for all but the most expensive luxury hotels. On average, tax rates are 9 to 10 percentage points below the revenue-maximizing level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine the price and income elasticities of short- and long-run industrial electricity demand in Brazil between 2003 and 2020. The research also examines the impacts of COVID-19 in Brazil's industrial electricity sector, including an analysis in states more and less industrialized. Design/methodology/approach: Dynamic adjustments models in panel data are used to present robust estimates and analyze the impact of different methodologies on reported elasticities. Findings: The short-run price elasticity is estimated at −0.448, while the long-run values are around −1.60. Regarding income elasticity, the value is 0.069 in the short-run and is concentrated in 0.25 in the long-run. The inelastic results of income show that the industrial demand for electric energy follows the trend of loss of competitiveness of the Brazilian industry in the past years. In addition, the price of natural gas, the level of employment, and, in specific cases, the level of imports also influence industrial electricity demand. Originality/value: The research is a pioneer in the investigation of the industrial behavior of electricity of the Brazilian industrial branch, using as control variables, the average temperature, and the level of rainfall, this one, so important for a country whose main source is hydroelectric. In addition, to the best of the authors' knowledge, it is the first study, which is prepared to analyze the effects of COVID-19 on electric consumption in the industrial sector, investigating these impacts, including in the states considered more and less industrialized. The estimates generated may help in the design of the Brazilian energy policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study addresses the need to boost fruit and vegetable consumption amidst rising diet‐related health concerns. Blueberries, rich in phenolic phytochemicals, offer significant health benefits. Using a basket‐based choice experiment (BBCE), the study identifies sensory descriptors that enhance blueberry purchasing likelihood. Packaging with a "Stay Fresh" label reduces price sensitivity compared to others. Additionally, blueberries are commonly purchased alongside other berries rather than as substitutes. Demographic factors such as gender, age, education, employment, fitness, ethnicity, region, nutritional value perception, and budget influence blueberry selection. These insights can aid growers, retailers, and marketers in increasing fresh blueberry demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluate whether changing from a uniform price (UP) to an increasing block tariff (IBT) changes people's behavior. We exploit a unique setting in which the price scheme moves back and forth yearly from UP to IBT. We discuss the effectiveness of IBT in reducing summer consumption. This issue is relevant to many countries and policymakers interested in designing tariff structures. There is no evidence of how the same consumer may react to systematically switching from one tariff structure to another yearly. We estimate the residential water demand and its price elasticity using a generalized least squared random effect model for the UP and the discrete/continuous choice model for the IBT. In addition, we split the sample between low and high‐consumption groups. For the low consumption group unaffected by the tariff change, the elasticity in the nonsummer months is higher (more elastic) than in the summer. Consumers in this group reduce their elasticity from nonsummer to summer months (−0.299 vs. −0.071, respectively) and increase their consumption by 13%. The high consumption group increased its summer consumption, but only by 8.7%, and contrary to the first group, its elasticity increased significantly (from −0.299 to −0.568). The high‐consumption group is indeed affected by the change in tariff. From a policy perspective, this implies that the IBT structure is relevant. However, if the policy seeks to promote conservation, it needs to be adjusted to a lower decile of the water consumption distribution to affect a more significant portion of the population. Key Points: We estimate the residential water demand and its price elasticity under systematic shifts between uniform price and increasing‐block tariff structureWe estimate different treatments of the sample: splitting it between summer and nonsummer months and between low and high consumption levelsFrom a policy perspective, we find that people react to tariff changes and that tariff reforms should consider consumers' heterogeneity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, population growth and economic development have significantly increased energy demand. Natural gas, in particular, plays a crucial role in various industries, including the electricity sector. Therefore, understanding the structure of natural gas consumption across different sectors and planning for its supply and distribution is of paramount importance. In Iran, natural gas consumption has consistently surpassed crude oil over the past 17 years, with its share in the country’s energy basket growing significantly due to vast natural gas reserves. Consequently, controlling consumption in this sector is especially important. Demand, an economic phenomenon, is analyzed using various demand function models, which are based on changes in consumer behavior due to price and income variations. One effective method for implementing consumption control policies is increasing the price of energy carriers, including natural gas. However, it is important to note that the demand for some essential products is less elastic to price changes. To develop appropriate policies for natural gas, we reviewed studies published in domestic journals on the price elasticity of natural gas in the residential and industrial sectors. The results indicate that, according to regression and time series methods, natural gas is an inelastic commodity in Iran. Therefore, policymakers should consider alternative strategies to reduce natural gas consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foods high in fat, sugar or salt are important contributors to the rising burden of non-communicable diseases globally and in India. Health taxes (HTs) have been used by over 70 countries as an effective tool for reducing consumption of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs). However, the potential impacts of HTs on consumption and on revenues have not been estimated in India. This paper aims to estimate the potential impact of health taxes on the demand for sugar, SSBs and foods high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) in India while exploring its impact on tax revenues. PE of sugar was estimated using Private Final Consumption Expenditure and Consumer Price Index data while price elasticities for SSBs and HFSS were obtained from literature. The reduction in demand was estimated for an additional 10–30% HT added to the current goods and services tax, for varying levels of price elasticities. The results show that for manufacturers of sweets and confectionaries who buy sugar in bulk and assuming a higher price elasticity of −0.70, 20% additional HT (total tax 48%) would result in 13–18% decrease in the demand for sugar used for confectionaries and sweets. For SSBs, HT of 10–30% would result in 7–30% decline in the demand of SSBs. For HFSS food products, 10–30% HT would result in 5–24% decline in the demand for HFSS products. These additional taxes would increase tax revenues for the government by 12–200% across different scenarios. Taxing unhealthy foods is likely to reduce demand, while increasing government revenues for reinvestment back into public health programmes and policies that may reduce obesity and the incidence of non-communicable diseases in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to establish an optimal pricing policy is one of the key competitive advantages of companies in the current business environment. The brand management strategy is one of the key tools in this regard. The aim of this study is to identify the ways in which brand management strategies influence the development of companies’ pricing policies. The methodological framework of the analysis is the methods of correlation and regression analysis. The study found a strong relationship between brand health and price elasticity, as evidenced by a correlation of 0.83. Companies with higher brand health scores were found to be able to implement price premiums without significant consumer churn. It was noted that price elasticity varies across brands, depending on such factors as market share, the presence of substitute brands, and the dynamic nature of consumer preferences. The results of the regression analysis indicate a statistically significant inverse relationship between brand health and price elasticity. The root mean square value is 0.16327056 and the root mean square error is 0.07172944. Companies with higher brand health scores are found to be able to establish price premiums for items that show a relatively high price sensitivity. Prospects for further research are designed to analyze the brand management and pricing strategies of organizations in the context of rising inflation and the potential of digital technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing recognition of women's increasing role in the household and corresponding empowerment programs in sub-Saharan Africa, intensive research on the relationship between women's influence and household food consumption is minimal. Using the most recent (2017–2018) national household survey data from Tanzania, this study examined the influence of women's empowerment on household food consumption. First, we compared the monthly consumption of eight food categories between female-headed households (FHHs) and male-headed households (MHHs) using both descriptive statistics and the propensity score matching (PSM) method. Furthermore, we adopted the two-stage Linear Expenditure System and Almost Ideal Demand System model (LES-AIDS) to estimate income and price elasticities for the two household types. The results show that FHHs consume bread and cereals, fish, oils and fats, vegetables, and confectionery (sugar, jam, honey, chocolate, etc.) more than MHHs. Moreover, FHHs have a significantly higher income elasticity of demand for all food groups than MHHs. They are also more price elastic than MHHs in meat, fish, oils, fats, sugar, jam, honey, chocolate, etc.

Measures of demand elasticity indicate the direction and intensity of the reaction of the quantity of demand for a good or service due to a change in the determinants of demand. Among them, the price elasticity of demand stands out because it measures the reaction of customers to price changes. Price elasticity is therefore important for management in making pricing decisions because it answers the question of how raising or lowering prices will affect sales revenue and, consequently, the company's financial results. In this paper, the elasticity of demand for selected types of bread from the company Bobis d.o.o. was empirically tested. The listed company is the leader in the production of bread, fresh pastries, confectionery products, and cakes (NKD 2007 10.71) in County of Split-Dalmatia, and, at the same time, one of the top ten entrepreneurs in the same industry at the national level. For the analysis, data on sales volumes and associated prices of bread in forty-four branches within County of Split-Dalmatia in 2022 were used. In the empirical part of the paper, the coefficients of price and income elasticity of demand for selected types of bread were estimated. By comparing the calculated coefficients of price elasticity of demand for selected types of bread before and after the introduction of the pricing campaign, the results point to the conclusion that the demand for bread is price elastic. The range of the calculated coefficients of price elasticity of demand is significantly higher when the campaign is introduced, in other words, the introduction of the pricing campaign reduced the sensitivity of customers to price changes in the short term, i.e. after the end of the pricing campaign sales increase despite the return of prices to the levels that preceded the campaign. Finally, the calculation of the coefficients of income elasticity of demand implies that, for all selected types, bread is considered to be a normal good.

This research aims to estimate the Almost Ideal Demand Model for Egyptian exports of the orange crop by studying the current production situation of oranges in the world and Egypt, estimating the indicators of the competitive advantage of Egyptian oranges in its most important global markets, and studying the geographical distribution of the quantity and value of Egyptian exports of oranges in the most important global markets, in addition to estimate Almost Ideal Demand Model for the most important importing markets for Egyptian oranges during the period (2008-2022). In order to achieve the objectives of the research, some indicators of foreign trade for the orange crop were calculated, such as the apparent comparative advantage, the competitive advantage, the market share, the relative production, the export operations performance efficiency index, the export strength index, in addition to applying the semi-optimal demand model. The results showed that the value of the comparative advantage index increases about the correct one during that period, which means that there is a comparative advantage for Egypt's exports of oranges in the global markets, as it was found that the export prices of oranges in the State of Turkey are considered the lowest export prices of oranges in the global market, as the average price of exporting a ton of oranges was about $386.54/ tons, which represents about 54.83% of the average international price of oranges during the same period, which is about $705/ton.

This paper conducts a comprehensive review of various estimates for natural gas demand responses. We consider a stream of empirical studies that have been conducted after 1950. The purpose of this paper is to provide the full image, synthesize and analyze the published studies in this field from the first experimental study to the beginning of 2019. In this study, we discuss the methods and techniques used, the application area, the variables, and data sources and data size. Most studies have investigated price and income elasticities; many fewer have focused upon demographic variables. This work will be of significant importance for future researchers aiming to analyze the demand for natural gas.

This study examines regional price elasticities in electricity consumption to offer valuable insights for policymaking in electricity demand-side management in Japan. By employing a partial adjustment model and utilizing data from regional electric utilities, the study estimates regional electricity demand functions. The analysis reveals that, within the residential sector, the size of houses plays a significant role in explaining regional variations in price elasticity. Likewise, in the industrial sector, the presence or absence of private power generation facilities in firms significantly influences regional disparities in price elasticity. These findings hold substantial implications for enhancing the cost-effectiveness of electricity consumption regulations and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People's consumption patterns, alimentary security, and alimentary sovereignty are becoming increasingly relevant as the epidemics of different diseases exhibit comorbidity with overweightness and other junk food-fostered medical conditions. Thus, governments and health-monitoring organizations have proposed and promoted strategies to mitigate the future health consequences of low-nutritional value food intake. In this research, we propose a model-based methodology to assess the effects of discouraging junk food intake (via price rising) on the customers' consumption patterns, separating the population by socioeconomic level and analyzing their price elasticity curves. A simulation model in ARENA® recreates the junk food buying patterns after price rises for a user-defined restaurant/stall setting. Further, non-linear regression models fit the price elasticity curves (discriminated by socioeconomic level). The main contribution of this work is to discriminate the elasticity curves by income level and provide a non-linear approach to fit them. The outcomes indicate that the higher the customers' income, the less susceptible they are to price changes, i.e., the less elastic the yielded curve is. Finally, future research could focus on assessing the effects of reducing prices on customers' buying behavior and discussing the health-related consequences of the observed outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed the mechanism of urban food desert expansion based on data at the block level. According to the food demand curve, elasticity was high, and the nutritional food dietary decreased as store prices increased. The store prices within 500 m of the redevelopment site would tend to increase because luxury supermarkets would dominate, while over 500 m they would often tend to decrease because new non‐luxury supermarkets would compete for opening. There are two types of blocks with a high risk of food desert: A block surrounded by multiple redevelopments or a block whose store price has gone up considerably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper was to investigate the demand function for coffee in selected EU countries using content analysis, price elasticity and income elasticity calculations. The content analysis revealed 13 factors behind the demand for coffee, including quality, rare, healthy, unique and certified coffee, eco-labels, decaffeinated products, sensory and physiological characteristics, human diseases and environmental pollution as the main determinants. The relationship between the demand for coffee and its price was also examined, measuring price and income elasticities of demand. The factors behind coffee demand have created a perfectly inelastic demand in the EU. Low quality coffee is not attractive to consumers who want excellent, rare and healthy products. It is therefore concluded that there is a perfectly inelastic demand for coffee. The quantity demanded is independent of changes in coffee prices, indicating that the quantity demanded does not change despite price fluctuations (no elasticity). Coffee is classified as an inferior commodity in the EU and shows declining demand despite rising incomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Price elasticities of substitution estimated with demand systems and household survey data might suffer of an endogeneity bias due to measurement errors and unobserved quality substitution. The paper compares Deaton's and Cox and Wohlgenant's approaches commonly used to reduce this bias with a method based on instrumental variables. The test is conducted on selected food and beverage goods inVietnam. Price elasticities not corrected for quality substitution obtained with standard market prices are used as a benchmark. Results show that the instrumental variable method significantly reduces the endogeneity bias and performs better than the compared methods. Moreover, it is based on fewer assumptions and controls for measurement errors. Its main limitations are that it still implicitly assumes that price changes have no impact on quality and that it relies on identifying suitable instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase of electric vehicle (EV) sales, the pricing strategies of public charging stations have significant impacts on their revenues and the spatiotemporal distribution of charging loads. In this paper, we quantify three kinds of price elasticity of charging demands based on the historical charging data of multiple public charging stations with different pricing schemes. The relationship between the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) and the corresponding total charging demand within a zone is studied, which does not require changing the charging prices to estimate elasticity. To evaluate the shifting of charging demands in different periods and zones, a conditional random field (CRF) model is built, which depicts the spatiotemporal correlations of charging demands. In this model, the VWAPs and the total charging demands are taken as observed variables and hidden variables, respectively. The loopy belief propagation algorithm is used to infer the loopy graph approximately, and the learning algorithm with forgetting factors is used to estimate the unknown parameters of the CRF model. The price elasticities are derived from CRF, and the elasticity matrices of charging demands are obtained. Computational results based on historical charging data verify the validity of the proposed model and method.

Background and aims: Non-Hispanic African Americans (African Americans) smoke fewer cigarettes per day (CPD) and are more likely to be non-daily smokers than non-Hispanic whites (whites). Little is known about how changes in cigarette prices might contribute to these differences. This study aimed to measure the price-responsiveness of smoking participation, non-daily smoking among current smokers and smoking intensity among daily or non-daily smokers for African Americans and compare the price-responsiveness estimates with those for whites.Design: Analysis of data from the 2009-14 National Adult Tobacco Surveys and cigarette price data from the Tax Burden on Tobacco report.Setting: United States.Participants: A total of 19 232 African American and 197 939 white adults aged 18+.Measurements: We used a three-part econometric model of cigarette demand to estimate the price-responsiveness of smoking participation, daily versus non-daily smoking and smoking intensity. The model controlled for secular variation, state-level anti-smoking sentiment and smoke-free air laws and socio-demographics.Findings: In 2009-14, 20.2% of African Americans and 17.7% of whites identified as current smokers; 70.2% of African American smokers and 81.4% of white smokers smoked daily. The price elasticity of smoking participation was significant for whites at -0.16 [95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.23, -0.09], indicating that a 10% increase in prices would reduce smoking participation by 1.6%, but not statistically significant for African Americans, and this racial/ethnic differential price responsiveness was not statistically significant. The price elasticity of smoking intensity was statistically significant for African American daily smokers at -0.29 (95% CI = -0.42, -0.16), but not statistically significant for white daily smokers, and this racial/ethnic differential price-responsiveness was statistically significant. The price elasticity of daily versus non-daily smoking among current smokers, and the price elasticity of smoking intensity among non-daily smokers were not statistically significant for either racial/ethnic group.Conclusion: In the United States, cigarette price increases may have stronger effects on decreasing daily smokers' consumption among African Americans than among non-Hispanic whites.