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Supply without Demand: The Paradox of Economies of Scale in the Case of Chris Gardner
No full textThis paper examines the paradox of economies of scale through the real case of Chris Gardner, whose attempt to commercialize portable bone-density scanners illustrates the consequences of excess supply in the absence of effective market demand. Despite a technologically superior product, hospitals and clinics already possessed equipment capable of meeting their needs, making additional purchases economically unjustifiable. High fixed costs, low utilization rates, and market saturation resulted in diseconomies of scale rather than efficiency gains. The analysis highlights how misaligned expectations between entrepreneurial supply and institutional demand can lead to financial losses, even when innovation is present. This case provides an applied perspective on the economic principles of scale, sunk costs, and market structure
Can Criminal Symbiosis Explain the Persistence of Violence in Brazil?
No full textThis paper develops the concept of “criminal symbiosis” to explain the persistence of violence in Brazil. Using official historical series, we document a systematic co-movement between serious crimes and minor offenses, suggesting a process of mutual reinforcement. When minor crimes increase, policing costs rise and the expected punishment for severe offenses declines, enabling escalation into homicide and organized crime. Conversely, targeted repression of minor infractions helps restore social norms and generates measurable deterrent effects. We formalize this mechanism through a dynamic system linking offender stocks, institutional responses, and intergenerational transmission of crime. The framework provides clear testable implications and supports integrated crime-prevention strategies that combine enforcement, rehabilitation, and community resilience
Систематизация процессов импортозависимости регионов Приволжского федерального округа
No full textЦелью работы является разработка методического инструментария к идентификации критически значимых товарных номенклатур, импортируемых из-за рубежа.
Методическую основу исследования определяет инструментарий идентификации критического импорта в рамках многоаспектной его аутентификации: объемы импорта, доля его участия в создании добавленной стоимости конечного продукта региона, страновая принадлежность. Объектом исследования выступают субъекты Приволжского федерального округа РФ. Результатом исследования являются выявленные товарные группы, формирующие каркас критического импорта для регионов ПФО, а особенности его влияния на перспективы устойчивого развития регионов Приволжского федерального округа.
The aim of the work is to develop methodological tools for the identification of critically important commodity items imported from abroad.
The methodological basis of the study is determined by the tools for identifying critical imports within the framework of its multidimensional authentication: import volumes, the share of its participation in creating added value of the final product of the region, and country affiliation. The subjects of the Volga Federal District of the Russian Federation are the object of the study. The result of the study is the identified commodity groups that form the framework of critical imports for the regions of the Volga Federal District, and the specifics of its impact on the prospects for sustainable development of the regions of the Volga Federal District
Оценка взаимосвязи критического импорта и промышленного развития региона на основе пространственного анализа панельных данных
No full textЦелью работы является разработка методических подходов к идентификации критически значимых товарных номенклатур, импортируемых из-за рубежа, и разработка моделей, определяющих их влияние на перспективы промышленного развития регионов. Целью работы является разработка методических подходов к идентификации критически значимых товарных номенклатур, импортируемых из-за рубежа, и разработка моделей, определяющих их влияние на перспективы промышленного развития регионов.
The aim of the work is to develop methodological approaches to the identification of critically important commodity nomenclatures imported from abroad, and to develop models that determine their impact on the prospects of industrial development of the regions. The aim of the work is to develop methodological approaches to the identification of critically important commodity nomenclatures imported from abroad, and to develop models that determine their impact on the prospects of industrial development of the regions
Revisiting the Euro through Joseph E. Stiglitz’s Perspective: A Review of the “Euro. How a Common Currency Threatens the Future of Europe “.
No full textThere was a time in which political authorities and decision makers were not collaborating with anybody else – here including scientific persons and bodies(authorities) – about documents that they were enacting. Such a typical aspect was easy noticed in the case of the international organization of “Latin Monetary Union” (1865-1927), of which’s written status at its time was including some exemplarily hilarious phrases. A new significant moment was the one of the international Conference hosted at Bretton-Woods in 1944 for a new international monetary system to replace the former gold standard – i.e. a tense dialogue between the hosting American administration and the famous JM Keynes, formally the UK’s representative, actually the lonely one in the audience with his own such IMS project and a legend in the area of economics. Briefly, there was a time of lack of or of not yet experience in relating the economic life and reality to the economic thinking. Economics, as a science, unlike physics or chemistry, to which the Nobel Prize is also addressed and which are natural and exact sciences, stays dominated by theories (instead of scientific postulates), so by the dialogue, despite not exactly like in democracy. In such an order, also economics stays different than the real economic life and even than the last’s specific policies applied. Just a natural mutual approaching each-other does complete this landscape since the times in which there was rather no contacts, but nothing could here be sudden or automatic. Today there is to be noticed and why not applauded the good habit in which Nobel Prizes' laureates do address to the communities about current issues in the specialty. Previously, in 1993 Paul Krugman, another Nobel Prize winner in his turn, had issued his “Lessons of Massachusetts for the EMU” and also other examples could be given
Nobel Growth - An Understanding of 2025 Economics Nobel
No full textThis year’s Economics Nobel is provided for finding out the cause of innovation-destructive creation of new ideas. It is also highly individualistic. First, it neglects the welfare of those who lose the race and are destroyed. Can they assimilate this new knowledge and how? If not, then… Second, it neglects the very quality of creative destruction. In a capitalist society as Harrai (2014) argues innovation is always profit motivated. The discoverer of ORS, the simple thing that saved lives of million during dysentery is not recognized. Innovation of vaccine against malaria and dengue are still on a very primitive stage. Development of learning techniques that help first generation learners have taken a back seat to the hype in Artificial Intelligence.
The idea of creative destruction is appropriate to understand the evolution of the new world through a serious of continuous innovation and creation of new techniques, replacing the old ones. However, still there remain some broader aspects which the so-called growth theorists miss out. Yuval Noah Harari tries to point out some of the areas uncharted by the growth theorists. But, the ultimate vision of growth, as provided in the Mahayana doctrine is to lift all in a great vehicle
Beyond homogeneous production functions
No full textStandard production functions, being homogeneous, have unchanging returns to scale. Therefore, it remains unclear to students where the U-shape average-cost curves come from. This article considers non-homogeneous production functions that have variable returns to scale and can produce such curves, providing a specific example. The article also discusses the link between economies/diseconomies of scale and market structures, showing that economies of scale are incompatible with perfect competition. They are peculiar to monopolies and oligopolies, whereas in a perfectly competitive market there are no economies of scale, diseconomies of scale being a quite normal phenomenon
Dynamic Spatial Treatment Effects in Neurotransmitter Diffusion: Applications to Movement Disorders
No full textTraditional spatial treatment effect methods impose arbitrary boundaries between treated and control regions, obscuring how treatments spread through neural tissue. We develop a continuous functional framework deriving explicit treatment boundaries from diffusion physics, eliminating discretization artifacts while providing testable predictions. Our approach applies partial differential equations to neurotransmitter diffusion, unifying spatial scales from synaptic spillover (micrometers) to volume transmission (centimeters).
We validate using synthetic data calibrated to established neuroscience parameters across five conditions: healthy controls, dystonia, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and acute ischemia. Results demonstrate systematic disease-induced boundary alterations. Dystonia reduces treatment reach by 16.3\% (p 0.0001), requiring 24\% dose increases for equivalent coverage. Parkinson's shows 31.8\% reduction, ischemia 34.3\%. Spatial decay parameters evolve from 483 mm(1 hour) to 54 mm (72 hours), matching theoretical predictions.
Compared to difference-in-differences methods, our framework achieves superior fit ( = 0.92 vs. 0.76) with explicit boundary detection. Non-parametric approaches achieve higher in-sample fit ( = 0.99) but lack physical interpretability and cannot identify boundaries.
Clinical applications include: (1) data-driven determination of injection sites and stimulation parameters, (2) disease-specific dose adjustments based on tissue properties, and (3) treatment time course prediction from early measurements. These advances directly address limitations in deep brain stimulation, botulinum toxin therapy, and drug delivery planning.
Methodologically, we extend spatial causal inference from pollution dispersion and financial networks to neuroscience, demonstrating treatment boundaries emerge naturally from diffusion physics across diverse domains
Platforms, information asymmetry and leakage: why disintermediation may not hurt (so much) after all
No full textAsymmetric information in markets puts economic transactions at risk, but it may also provide the opportunity for value creation through digital platforms. This paper develops a typology of digital platforms based on the specific information asymmetries they address. We distinguish three archetypes (search platforms, enforcement platforms, and full-service matchmakers) each substituting for different missing market functions. This typology reveals that platforms do not uniformly reduce information asymmetries but rather substitute for specific missing market functions, and that these substitutions determine both their value proposition and vulnerability to disintermediation. Using a formal model of expert service markets, we show how diagnostic and enforcement roles interact when users can bypass the platform after matching. The analysis demonstrates that disintermediation can increase platform value by expanding the user base and strengthening network effects. Subscription fees outperform transaction fees when diagnostic uncertainty dominates, as they monetize matching value while tolerating selective leakage. Platforms’ strategic responses to disintermediation thus depend not on creating artificial lock-in but on addressing the market failures that justify their existence
Strengthening Policy Frameworks for Economically Viable Sustainable Agriculture
No full textSustainable agriculture is vital for food security, environmental conservation, and economic resilience. This chapter explores policy frameworks and economic viability in promoting sustainable farming. Historically, agricultural policies prioritized productivity, often at the cost of environmental degradation. However, evolving frameworks now integrate financial incentives, regulatory standards, and market-based mechanisms to support sustainability. Key policy instruments such as subsidies, environmental regulations, and public-private partnerships play a crucial role in facilitating the transition to sustainable agriculture. Case studies from various countries highlight diverse policy approaches.
Economic challenges such as high investment costs and market access barriers hinder adoption, though long-term benefits include lower input costs and improved soil health. Financial tools like microfinance, impact investing, and crop insurance help mitigate risks. Innovations in precision farming and digital agriculture enhance sustainability and profitability.
A holistic approach is crucial, integrating economic, environmental, and social dimensions. Strengthening financial support, market incentives, and capacity-building initiatives will drive adoption. Future efforts should harmonize policies, foster global cooperation, and leverage technology for resilient agricultural systems