As many variable pricing projects are still in the implementation stage, long-run driver responses to the variable tolls are largely unknown. This research examined the long-run changes in driver behavior in an existing variable pricing project in Lee County, Florida. Using empirical evidence, it was found that over time the price elasticities of demand on the Lee County toll bridges have decreased from -0.42 to - 0.11 (Midpoint Memorial Bridge) and from -0.31 to -0.06 (Cape Coral Bridge) during the early morning discount period. The elasticities have decreased, but to a lesser extent, during the late morning and early afternoon discount periods. A discount period volume spreading ratio was also developed to analyze these changes. The results from this analysis confirmed the elasticity results. In addition to the empirical analysis of travel patterns discussed above, a telephone survey of drivers was conducted. The survey results indicated that certain driver characteristics such as higher frequency of trips, commute trip purpose, full-time employment status, more people in the household, higher education, and age between 25-34 years, were all indicators that the participant may increase his or her variable pricing usage over time. Other characteristics, including being retired and having a household income less than $16,000, were indicators that the driver may not increase variable pricing participation. Binary logit and semiparametric models were also developed to examine socio-economic and commute characteristics that may influence a driver increasing his or her participation in a variable pricing program. The results from these two variable toll bridges in Lee County indicated a decrease in variable toll price elasticity over time. However, these results may not be typical for variable pricing projects. Factors such as alternative routes, different traveler demographics, traffic congestion levels, and size of the toll discount may influence the results obtained from other variable pricing projects. However, the methodology developed in this research can be applied to other projects in order to determine those toll price elasticities of demand.

This thesis analyzes regulation, prescription and prohibition of drugs in condition of their mutual substitution with other addictive substances in the Czech Republic; thesis investigates prices' and cross-prices' elasticities of substances and their markets. Comparison is made between regulated legal markets of alcoholic beverages and cigarettes, non-prohibitively regulated markets of pharmaceuticals and prohibited markets of illegal drugs. The thesis concludes that the demand for drugs is not price elastic. The demand for drugs is price inelastic but not perfectly price inelastic, as can be deduced based on the concept of A Theory of Rational Addiction developed by Gary S. Becker. The price of drugs, therefore, to some extent affects consumption. This opens the room to influence demand through pricing mechanism. The thesis also verifies The Theory of Economic Regulation developed by George J. Stigler and confirms that due to some substitution relationships between addictive substances it is possible speculate about the interests of producers of alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and pharmaceuticals for prohibition of drugs. Interests of producers of alcoholic beverages and cigarettes confirm their mutually complementary linkages.

Denna uppsats behandlar de relativa prisökningar som skett för snusprodukter i Sverige och vill undersöka om dessa har lett till minskad efterfrågan som nationalekonomisk teori föreslår. Utifrån teori och tidigare forskning har en efterfrågemodell konstruerats för att möjliggöra en statistik undersökning. Variablerna som ingår i modellen är inhämtade från Statistiska centralbyråns prisenhet och Swedish Match AB och inkluderar prisuppgifter för varor, försäljningsstatistik och disponibel inkomst under tidsperioden 1999-2009. Resultaten från regressionsanalyser för tidsseriedata visar på att de ökade priserna har haft en negativ inverkan på efterfrågan på snus under den gällande tidsperioden, men att denna effekt varit förhållandevis liten.

O planejamento de produção é um elemento essencial para as empresas, pois permite definir os volumes a serem produzidos, conforme a estimativa de demanda e a capacidade produtiva disponível. Este trabalho contribui para o planejamento da produção, integrando variáveis e parâmetros que podem ajudar na maximização do resultado econômico das organizações. Esta dissertação apresenta três objetivos principais relacionados a esse tema: (i) identificar os problemas e as variáveis que precisam ser analisadas no desenvolvimento de métodos que se adéquam às necessidades das áreas envolvidas; (ii) desenvolver algoritmo para integrar as variáveis identificadas e os dados empresariais, de forma a viabilizar a aplicação do modelo, baseado em programação matemática e distribuições de probabilidade; (iii) aplicar os modelos propostos, a fim de avaliar sua utilidade e discutir os resultados obtidos. O estudo realizado revela a importância do uso de métodos formais de planejamento da produção integrados à definição do preço do produto. A definição de preços ou volumes de produção diferente dos valores ótimos pode afetar substancialmente o lucro global do sistema produtivo. / Production planning is an essential tool for companies, since it establishes the volumes to be produced, according to estimated demand and available production capacity. This work contributes with production planning field by integrating variables and parameters that impact the economic results of the organizations. This study presents three main objectives: (i) identification of issues and variables that need to be analyzed to develop methods suited to the needs of the areas involved, (ii) development of algorithms to integrate the identified variables and business data, in order to enable the application of the model, based on mathematical programming and probability distributions, (iii) application of the proposed models to evaluate their usefulness and discuss results. The study reveals the importance of using production planning formal methods that integrate products’ prices. The establishment of prices or production volumes different from optimum values may substantially affect production system global profit.

O planejamento de produção é um elemento essencial para as empresas, pois permite definir os volumes a serem produzidos, conforme a estimativa de demanda e a capacidade produtiva disponível. Este trabalho contribui para o planejamento da produção, integrando variáveis e parâmetros que podem ajudar na maximização do resultado econômico das organizações. Esta dissertação apresenta três objetivos principais relacionados a esse tema: (i) identificar os problemas e as variáveis que precisam ser analisadas no desenvolvimento de métodos que se adéquam às necessidades das áreas envolvidas; (ii) desenvolver algoritmo para integrar as variáveis identificadas e os dados empresariais, de forma a viabilizar a aplicação do modelo, baseado em programação matemática e distribuições de probabilidade; (iii) aplicar os modelos propostos, a fim de avaliar sua utilidade e discutir os resultados obtidos. O estudo realizado revela a importância do uso de métodos formais de planejamento da produção integrados à definição do preço do produto. A definição de preços ou volumes de produção diferente dos valores ótimos pode afetar substancialmente o lucro global do sistema produtivo. / Production planning is an essential tool for companies, since it establishes the volumes to be produced, according to estimated demand and available production capacity. This work contributes with production planning field by integrating variables and parameters that impact the economic results of the organizations. This study presents three main objectives: (i) identification of issues and variables that need to be analyzed to develop methods suited to the needs of the areas involved, (ii) development of algorithms to integrate the identified variables and business data, in order to enable the application of the model, based on mathematical programming and probability distributions, (iii) application of the proposed models to evaluate their usefulness and discuss results. The study reveals the importance of using production planning formal methods that integrate products’ prices. The establishment of prices or production volumes different from optimum values may substantially affect production system global profit.

O planejamento de produção é um elemento essencial para as empresas, pois permite definir os volumes a serem produzidos, conforme a estimativa de demanda e a capacidade produtiva disponível. Este trabalho contribui para o planejamento da produção, integrando variáveis e parâmetros que podem ajudar na maximização do resultado econômico das organizações. Esta dissertação apresenta três objetivos principais relacionados a esse tema: (i) identificar os problemas e as variáveis que precisam ser analisadas no desenvolvimento de métodos que se adéquam às necessidades das áreas envolvidas; (ii) desenvolver algoritmo para integrar as variáveis identificadas e os dados empresariais, de forma a viabilizar a aplicação do modelo, baseado em programação matemática e distribuições de probabilidade; (iii) aplicar os modelos propostos, a fim de avaliar sua utilidade e discutir os resultados obtidos. O estudo realizado revela a importância do uso de métodos formais de planejamento da produção integrados à definição do preço do produto. A definição de preços ou volumes de produção diferente dos valores ótimos pode afetar substancialmente o lucro global do sistema produtivo. / Production planning is an essential tool for companies, since it establishes the volumes to be produced, according to estimated demand and available production capacity. This work contributes with production planning field by integrating variables and parameters that impact the economic results of the organizations. This study presents three main objectives: (i) identification of issues and variables that need to be analyzed to develop methods suited to the needs of the areas involved, (ii) development of algorithms to integrate the identified variables and business data, in order to enable the application of the model, based on mathematical programming and probability distributions, (iii) application of the proposed models to evaluate their usefulness and discuss results. The study reveals the importance of using production planning formal methods that integrate products’ prices. The establishment of prices or production volumes different from optimum values may substantially affect production system global profit.

The housing market is one of the most important markets for many economic agents. Large differences in the local market across Sweden suggest regional heterogeneity, however. This study aims to answer if the price and income elasticities of demand for small houses vary between different types of Swedish municipalities. This answer is explored in the light of the central place theory and location theory to see if they follow a hierarchal structure across space. To test this empirically, the 290 municipalities were grouped based on the Swedish Association of Local Authority and Regions’ definitions and tested group-wise using a log-log fixed-effect average hedonic price model using data for 2013-2020. The main findings indicate some differences in the estimates of price and income elasticities between different types of municipalities, but mixing results whether they follow a hierarchal relationship. The conclusions changes depending on which scale one measure, which indicate how local the housing market is.

Co-users of alcohol and nicotine are the largest group of polysubstance users worldwide. Although pharmacotherapies are available for alcohol (EtOH) or tobacco use disorders individually, it may be possible to develop a single pharmacotherapy to treat heavy drinking tobacco smokers through capitalizing on the commonalities in their mechanisms of action. Towards this goal, several models of concurrent access to EtOH and nicotine were explored as potential preclinical models of co-use using female alcohol-preferring (P) rats. Additionally, potential pharmacotherapeutics for the treatment of EtOH and nicotine co-use disorder were tested using different variations of our model. Treatments tested included (1) varenicline, a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) partial agonist with high affinity for the α4β2* subtype; (2) r-bPiDI, a subtype-selective antagonist at α6β2* nAChRs; (3) (R)-modafinil, an atypical inhibitor of the dopamine transporter (DAT); and (4) naltrexone, a clinically available µ-opioid receptor antagonist used to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD). Results from the current dissertation show success in developing a translational animal model in female P rats for co-use of EtOH and nicotine under which pharmacologically relevant levels of both EtOH consumption and nicotine intake are achieved. Additionally, our model was successfully used in testing potential pharmacotherapeutics for the treatment of EtOH and nicotine co-use disorder. Although none of the drugs tested were effective as a monotherapy, results from testing the known smoking cessation agent varenicline and the known AUD treatment naltrexone indicate that our model is effective for selectively measuring changes in EtOH and nicotine intake separately, which suggests the beneficial utility of this model for future treatment research. Furthermore, by applying behavioral economic principles to our findings, we found that EtOH acts as an economic substitute for nicotine. Additionally, our behavioral economic analyses revealed that when the cost of nicotine is changed via response requirements vs dose per infusion, there are differences in the elasticity of demand for concurrently available EtOH and nicotine. Finally, the relatively flat consumption curve for EtOH following varenicline pretreatment suggests that pretreatment with varenicline acts to disrupt the relationship between EtOH and nicotine such that EtOH no longer acts as an economic substitute for nicotine.

The study examines the price elasticity of demand for cigarettes in the short- and long run in Sweden. The time period for the study is 17 years and covers the years 1996-2012. The results of the study shows that the price elasticity of demand for cigarettes in the long run is higher than in the short run for the Swedish consumers, which is in line with previous studies in the area. The fact that the price elasticity of demand for cigarettes is higher in the long run, indicates that the substitution effect has a significant impact on the price elasticity of demand for cigarettes in the long run. The study was conducted in two parts where the authors investigated the effect of cigarette tax on cigarette prices and in addition the cigarette prices impact on the demand for cigarettes in Sweden. The combined result of the study demonstrates that increasing the cigarette tax by 10 per cent means that the demand for cigarettes is reduced by 5 per cent, while government revenues from the cigarette tax will increase by 4.5 per cent. The result in this paper shows why the state's incentive to raise the cigarette tax is twofold, since a tax increase will generate health benefits through reduced consumption and generate increased revenues to the state. These incentives are also shown to have a greater impact in the long term. / Studien undersöker efterfrågans priselasticitet på cigaretter på kort- och lång sikt i Sverige. Tidsperioden för undersökningen är 17 år och omfattar åren 1996-2012. Studiens resultat visar att efterfrågans priselasticitet på lång sikt är högre än på kort sikt för de Svenska konsumenterna, vilket ligger i linje med tidigare studier inom ämnet. Det faktum att priselasticiteten för cigaretter är högre på lång sikt indikerar på att substitutionseffekten har betydande effekt för efterfrågans priselasticitet på cigaretter på lång sikt. Studien har genomförts i två delar där författarna undersökt cigarettskattens effekt på cigarettpriset och i sin tur cigarettprisets effekt på efterfrågan på cigaretter i Sverige. Det kombinerade resultatet i studien påvisar att en ökning av cigarettskatten med 10 procent medför att efterfrågan på cigaretter minskar med 5 procent, samtidigt som statens intäkter från cigarettskatten ökar med 4,5 procent. Resultatet i denna uppsats visar därför att statens incitament till att höja cigarettskatten är tvådelad, då en skatteökning genererar hälsovinster genom minskad konsumtion samt genererar ökade intäkter till staten och att dessa incitament har en större påverkan på lång sikt.

American policy makers primarily embrace a deterrent-based policing agenda to curb illicit drug trafficking and use that relies on the principles of the economic price elasticity of demand (Boynum & Reuter, 2005). This counter-drug platform includes three fundamental programs: arresting offenders, seizing illicit drugs, and eradicating horticultural sources of illicit drugs (U.S. DEA, 2015). One of the main goals of these programs is to deter illegal trafficking and use by increasing the price of illicit substances so they are no longer attractive to consumers. The United States has weathered various drug use epidemics during its history, and currently it is facing a heroin and opioid epidemic (Dean, 2017). The present multi-dimensional study is guided by three broad goals: to assess the dynamics of illicit drug pricing and the economic price elasticity of demand perspective; to evaluate whether drug trafficking organizations respond to theoretically deterrence based counter-drug law enforcement efforts; and to assess why law enforcement activities are (or are not) effective in controlling illegal drug markets. To accomplish these three broad goals, four separate yet linked focal points comprised of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods evaluations of official data are examined. The findings in the study call into question the current American counter-drug law enforcement agenda being used to address the ongoing heroin epidemic. Furthermore, the results shine light on various shortcomings in overall U.S. counter-drug policy. Finally, the study calls for a new approach to address illicit drug trafficking and use in the U.S.