We consider two game-theoretic settings to determine the optimal values of an issuer's interchange fee rate, an acquirer's merchant discount rate, and a merchant's retail prices for multiple products in a credit card network. In the first setting, we investigate a two-stage game problem in which the issuer and the acquirer first negotiate the interchange fee rate, and the acquirer and the retailer then determine their merchant discount rate and retail prices, respectively. In the second setting, motivated by the recent U.S. bill "H.R. 2695," we develop a three-player cooperative game in which the issuer, the acquirer, and the merchant form a grand coalition and bargain over the interchange fee rate and the merchant discount rate. Following the cooperative game, the retailer makes its retail pricing decisions. We derive both the Shapley value- and the nucleolus-characterized unique rates for the grand coalition. Comparing the two game settings, we show that the participation of the merchant in the negotiation process can result in the reduction of both rates. Moreover, the stability of the grand coalition in the cooperative game setting may require that the merchant should delegate the credit card business only to the issuer and the acquirer with sufficiently low operation costs. We also find that the large, highly-specialized merchants and banks are more likely to join the cooperative negotiation whereas the small firms may prefer the two-stage game setting. Our numerical experiments demonstrate that the acquirer's and the issuer's unit operation costs more significantly impact both rates in the cooperative game setting than in the two-stage game setting.

This paper considers a two-echelon supply chain involving a manufacturer and a retailer who make their pricing, quality, and restocking fee decisions under the word-of-mouth (WOM) effect. To investigate the decision-making problem for the sales and product returns, we construct a leader-follower game model in which the manufacturer first determines his quality effort and the wholesale price and the retailer then decides on her retail price and the restocking fee. Our results show that the wholesale and retail prices under no WOM effect are smaller than those when the WOM effect exists; and, as the WOM has a higher impact on consumer purchases, the retailer should increase her retail price, and the manufacturer should also spend more quality control effort and raise his wholesale price. In addition, when the WOM effect exists, both the restocking fee and the retail price are decreasing in the mismatch probability. It is interesting to learn that a positive WOM may not help achieve more total sales and realized sales than a negative WOM, and the realized sales under the full refund policy may be lower than those under a partial refund policy. We also find that the manufacturer and the retailer may not benefit under the WOM effect, which mainly depends on how consumers are sensitive to the restocking fee and the WOM. The retailer can benefit from the full refund policy when the mismatch chance is not high, whereas the manufacturer can always benefit from the full refund policy.

The purpose of this research was to investigate how no-fee schools spend public money.It investigated what the schools spend the money and how they do it. The research investigated how decisions of spending are taken by all the stakeholders at the schools. The research wanted to find out whether the public money in no-fee schools was wisely spent or not. The literature review found that education funding has been at the centre of political reforms since 1994 to address equality and equity. The introduction of no-fee schools was an attempt to increase accesstowards quality public education through provision of more resources. The research found evidence of non-compliance by schools in certain areas on how schools should use funds as provided by SASA. It was found that schools do not spend the public money according to the prescript guidelines. There was evidence of fruitless and unwise spending. The research found that the powers that were given to schools SGBs through SASA were sometimes usurped by school principals asa result of the void created by the SGBs. It was revealed that some schoolsissue fraudulent cheques. Despite the no fee policy, schools still charge certain compulsory fees. The research revealed that certain functionaries directly involved in the use of school money still lack proper financial training, knowledge and skills. Despite the allocation of resources through the no-fee schools policy to schools, there were findings of inefficient and fruitless spending. Some of the sampled no-fee schools showed non-compliance with the guidelines in regard to correct spending and accountability. The different roles and responsibilities of each component of the SGB need to be clarified. Officials need to assist in this regard. There is a need for continuous training by education officials of SGBs on the utilization of school money. There is a need for improved monitoring and supervision as money cannot be utilized without proper monitoring and supervision. Despite the reports that are given to stakeholders there are still complaints from parents that need to be fully addressed by SGBs. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

This paper investigates how the number of students changed due to tuition fee was introduced at KTH. Since fall in 2011, all universities in Sweden have started to charge tuition fee from non-EU/EEA students. Setting tuition fee is always a topic in free education countries. After tuition fee is charged, if non-EU potential master students would invest in a master program and whether they will invest at KTH. There are some important factors influencing the decisions and resulted in two approaches (cross country comparison and willingness to pay tuition fee). According to countries‟ tuition fee and students‟ living cost, we made estimation of education demand curve and categories showing various groups of students studying abroad. Compare with other countries‟ tuition setting, we see phenomenon of KTH and other universities of Sweden about tuition fee and enrollments. According to data from several questionnaires, the paper shows how international students consider of tuition fee at KTH. The data also indicates how factors such as reputation, education quality and tuition cost, living cost affect their choices, and how much tuition fee students would like to pay for studying at KTH by experience. KTH has some students‟ package to compensate fee-paying students, and give some students scholarships, but students are still very few to come. Meanwhile, KTH has competitors which are not only Swedish universities, but also other universities in other countries. How to compete with them and by the society comments, KTH has heavy pressure on its shoulders. / Tuition

Köpet av en bostadsrätt är för de flesta människor den största investering i deras liv. Som bostadsrättsinnehavare förvaltas huset och fastigheten av en bostadsrättsförening. För att finansiera driften och underhållet tar föreningen ut en avgift från bostadsrättsinnehavaren, en månadsavgift. Månadsavgiften, tillsammans med eventuella räntekostnader som uppstår om finansiering skett genom lån, utgör den sammanlagda boendekostnaden för bostadsrättsinnehavaren. Därför bör det vara av stor vikt att köparen försäkrar sig om att föreningen har god ekonomi och har skötts på ett bra sätt, för att undvika stora och oväntade höjningar av månadsavgiften vilket medför ökade boendekostnader. Den här uppsatsen syftar till att undersöka i vilken omfattning aktörer på bostadsmarknaden använder årsredovisningen som beslutsunderlag vid köpet av bostadsrätt samt att ge förslag på hur man kan göra årsredovisningen mer lättläst och förståelig. Data insamlades genom fastighetsekonomisk facklitteratur, myndigheter och organisationer som är verksamma inom området. Frågeställningarna ovan besvarades genom empiriska undersökningar i form av enkäter och intervjuer samt en jämförelsestudie av tre stycken bostadsrättsföreningar i Stockholms innerstad. Resultaten från enkäterna indikerade på att endast de med ekonomisk utbildning använde sig av och kunde tolka årsredovisningarna inför köpet av sin bostadsrätt. I de mer diskuterande intervjuerna framgick att även de med ekonomisk utbildning saknade kunskaperna som krävdes för att analysera föreningarnas årsredovisning på djupet, även om de hade större förståelse än de utan ekonomisk utbildning. Jämförelsestudien illustrerade hur nyckeltal kan användas för att analysera en bostadsrättsförenings ekonomiska status. Slutsatsen är att aktörer på bostadsrättsmarknaden utan ekonomisk utbildning inte använder sig av årsredovisningen som beslutsunderlag vid köp av bostadsrätter. De med ekonomisk utbildning använder sig av föreningens årsredovisning men saknar förmågan att analysera föreningens ekonomi på djupet. Uppsatsen föreslår att de behandlade nyckeltalen med tillhörande förklarande text bör presenteras i varje årsredovisning, förslagsvis under förvaltningsberättelsen. Det skulle medföra att samtliga aktörer på bostadsrättsmarknaden kan analysera föreningens ekonomi på djupet och försäkra sig om att göra ett välgrundat köp. / The purchase of a cooperative apartment is for most people the largest venture in their life. The housing cooperative is responsible for the running expenses and maintenance of the property and the house. To finance these costs, the owner of the cooperative apartment has to pay a monthly fee. The monthly fee, combined with possible interest costs if the apartment was funded by a loan, make the total accommodation cost for the cooperative apartment owner. Therefore it should be of importance to analyze the economic status of the housing cooperation prior the purchase. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the extent to which buyers use the annual reports of the housing cooperatives as decision-making material for the purchase, and provide suggestions on how to make the annual report more readable and understandable. Data were collected by literature, government agencies and other organizations in the real estate economic field. The questions above were answered through empirical research in the form of questionnaires and interviews, as well as a comparative study of three housing cooperatives in the inner city of Stockholm. The questionnaires indicates that only those with economic education made use of and could interpret the annual report when buying their cooperative apartment. The more discursive interviews showed that even those with economic education lacked the knowledge to analyze the association’s annual report in depth. The comparative study illustrated how key figures can be used to analyze the housing cooperative financial status. The conclusion is that actors on the cooperative apartment market that lack economic education does not use the annual reports at all as decision making materials. Even those with economic education lack the ability to analyze the housing cooperatives financial status in depth. The thesis suggests that the treated key figures with accompanying explanatory text should be presented in each annual report. It would mean that all actors in the cooperative apartment market could analyze the housing cooperation’s The purchase of a cooperative apartment is for most people the largest venture in their life. The housing cooperative is responsible for the running expenses and maintenance of the property and the house. To finance these costs, the owner of the cooperative apartment has to pay a monthly fee. The monthly fee, combined with possible interest costs if the apartment was funded by a loan, make the total accommodation cost for the cooperative apartment owner. Therefore it should be of importance to analyze the economic status of the housing cooperation prior the purchase. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the extent to which buyers use the annual reports of the housing cooperatives as decision-making material for the purchase, and provide suggestions on how to make the annual report more readable and understandable. Data were collected by literature, government agencies and other organizations in the real estate economic field. The questions above were answered through empirical research in the form of questionnaires and interviews, as well as a comparative study of three housing cooperatives in the inner city of Stockholm. The questionnaires indicates that only those with economic education made use of and could interpret the annual report when buying their cooperative apartment. The more discursive interviews showed that even those with economic education lacked the knowledge to analyze the association’s annual report in depth. The comparative study illustrated how key figures can be used to analyze the housing cooperative financial status. The conclusion is that actors on the cooperative apartment market that lack economic education does not use the annual reports at all as decision making materials. Even those with economic education lack the ability to analyze the housing cooperatives financial status in depth. The thesis suggests that the treated key figures with accompanying explanatory text should be presented in each annual report. It would mean that all actors in the cooperative apartment market could analyze the housing cooperation’s The purchase of a cooperative apartment is for most people the largest venture in their life. The housing cooperative is responsible for the running expenses and maintenance of the property and the house. To finance these costs, the owner of the cooperative apartment has to pay a monthly fee. The monthly fee, combined with possible interest costs if the apartment was funded by a loan, make the total accommodation cost for the cooperative apartment owner. Therefore it should be of importance to analyze the economic status of the housing cooperation prior the purchase. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the extent to which buyers use the annual reports of the housing cooperatives as decision-making material for the purchase, and provide suggestions on how to make the annual report more readable and understandable. Data were collected by literature, government agencies and other organizations in the real estate economic field. The questions above were answered through empirical research in the form of questionnaires and interviews, as well as a comparative study of three housing cooperatives in the inner city of Stockholm. The questionnaires indicates that only those with economic education made use of and could interpret the annual report when buying their cooperative apartment. The more discursive interviews showed that even those with economic education lacked the knowledge to analyze the association’s annual report in depth. The comparative study illustrated how key figures can be used to analyze the housing cooperative financial status. The conclusion is that actors on the cooperative apartment market that lack economic education does not use the annual reports at all as decision making materials. Even those with economic education lack the ability to analyze the housing cooperatives financial status in depth. The thesis suggests that the treated key figures with accompanying explanatory text should be presented in each annual report. It would mean that all actors in the cooperative apartment market could analyze the housing cooperation’s financial status in depth with ease.

This paper presents a case study examination of the Commonwealth of Virginia\'s public higher education market and the use of asymmetrical information flows between providers and consumers by college and university institutions to intentionally create market failures to maximize brand building through increased revenue collections via profit maximization behaviors. Existing economic research in the financial services market hold that asymmetry of information generates inefficient allocation of goods and subsequent identification of market failure conditions. Market failures can lead to tipping points which may result in public values failures as threats to human subsistence (i.e. food, clothing, education) and imperfect public information. Market failures resulting in public values failures warrant government intervention to correct market inefficiency and ensure pareto efficiency in the allocation of goods. Mandatory non-educational fees increase the cost to attend a post-secondary institution which subsequently aid in increased student debt and reduced access and affordability for low income classification groups thus exacerbating societal cleavages identified as public values failures. This research identifies the application of economic and public administration theory to construct a policy recommendation to mitigate asymmetrical information and improve pareto efficiency involving transactions in the public higher education market. / Master of Public Administration

The Non-Veteran Administration Care (NVC) is a program in which the Veterans Health Administration purchases health care when it cannot provide the health services needed for eligible Veterans. The rising cost of this program led to audits by the Office of the Inspector General and other entities. The scholarly problem for this DNP Project was the lack of oversight, accountability, and management, found throughout the audits of NVC, as well as a lack of evaluation of NVC. The purpose of this project was to ascertain if there was a relationship between the Non-VA Care Coordination program (NVCC) and utilization of care. The NVCC was implemented to eliminate the deficiencies cited by audits. Sleep study and chiropractic consults for FY 2013 (pre-NVCC) and FY 2014 (post-NVCC) were examined. Sleep apnea service was available at the local Veteran Administration Medical Center and chiropractic service was not. Utilization of care was determined by emergency room (ER) visits and admissions related to the consult. A logic model was used to conceptualize the project and the longer-term implementation and evaluation of NVCC, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze trends in the chiropractic data (sleep study consults were excluded from the analysis due to the minute number). There were a total of 859 chiropractic consults and 2,184 approved visits analyzed. The results revealed that Veterans who utilized the consults had no ER visits or admissions related to referrals for chiropractic consults. Completed chiropractic consults remained proportionality the same both years. NVCC had no association with the utilization of care. This scholarly project contributes to social change by empowering consumers and providing transparency in the government through audits that facilitate quality improvement and evaluation of the NVCC program.

Within the boundaries of Utah are approximately 52.7 million acres of land. About 41 million acres are rangeland, of which 73 percent is federally owned and 5 percent state owned (6).1 The portion owned by the Federal government is administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service. Most of this land is either arid or mountainous and has been used mainly for grazing in the past. IT has other uses, however, such as mining, forestry, recreation, and watersheds. Due to recent increases in population, personal income, shorter work weeks, and improved transportation facilities, these alternatives are becoming strong competitors for the use of this land.

Coronapandemin är en pågående kris där de ekonomiska effekterna och inblandade faktorer för företag inte är helt klarlagda ännu. Teoretiska resonemang har förts kring om några av de effekter som sågs vid finanskrisen 2008–2009 (såsom förändrade revisionsarvoden) också kommer att ske till följd av coronapandemin. Studien syfte är att förklara om och isåfall hur coronapandemin påverkat noterade företags revisionsarvoden. Denna kvantitativa studie har utgått från deduktiv ansats för att pröva hypotes utifrån vetenskaplig teori. Datainsamling har gjorts från årsredovisningar från 187 företag på Stockholmsbörsen och Pearson r och OLS-regression har använts för att undersöka eventuella samband. Denna studie visar att coronapandemin har påverkat revisionsarvodet för svenska noterade bolag och att bidragande faktorer är storlek, komplexitet ochkonsultation.

This paper is an attempt to analyze the role of transaction fees in a proof-of-stake cryptocurrency currently in development. The authors have employed a microeconomic, static equilibrium approach to model a market in which the cryptocurrency is exchanged for a physical good. Furthermore, the relationship between transaction capacity and the size of the network has been investigated. It has been shown that the total amount of validator capital and the number of validators can be controlled by setting a fixed fee on transactions as well as a minimum capital requirement on individual validators. The total surplus in the economy has then been optimized by setting a fee and the authors have discussed how a minimal capital requirement could be used to also optimize transaction capacity. / Denna kandidatuppsats ’r ett försök att analysera transaktionsavgiftens roll i en "proof-of-stake"-baserad kryptovaluta under utveckling. Författarna har använt sig av en statisk jämviktsmodell från mikroekonomin för att modellera en marknad på vilken kryptovalutan i fråga används för att handla en fysisk vara. Fortsättningsvis har förhållandet mellan systemets transaktionskapacitet och dess storlek undersökts. Det har visats att den totala mängden kapital från validerare samt antalet validerare kan kontrolleras genom att sätta en fast avgift för transaktioner samt ett minimikrav på kapital för enskilda validerare. Sedan har det totala överskottet optimerats genom att bestämma en avgift och författarna har diskuterat hur ett minimikrav på kapital hade kunnat användas för att också optimera systemets transaktionskapacitet.