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Cost Structure (cost + structure)
Selected AbstractsCost structure of CGAM cogeneration systemINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 13 2004Ho-Young Kwak Abstract The cost structure of the CGAM system, a predefined cogeneration system suggested to unify the different methodologies of thermoeconomic analysis, was investigated by using a thermoeconomic method called modified productive structure analysis (MOPSA). An emphasis has been specially put on how the cost structure of the system is affected by the chosen level of aggregation that specifies the subsystems. It has been found that the unit cost of products is dependent on the chosen level of aggregation of the system only when one considers the entropy flow as one of the parameters to determine the unit cost of products. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The international logistics of wood pellets for heating and power production in Europe: Costs, energy-input and greenhouse gas balances of pellet consumption in Italy, Sweden and the NetherlandsBIOFUELS, BIOPRODUCTS AND BIOREFINING, Issue 2 2010Richard Sikkema Abstract The European wood pellet market is booming: concerns about climate change and renewable energy targets are predominant drivers. The aim of this analysis is to compare typical wood pellet chains from the purchase of the feedstock from sawmills to the conversion into heat or electricity. Cost structures, primary energy inputs and avoided greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are reviewed. Three cases are defined: pellets for district heating (DH) in Sweden (replacing heavy fuel oil); bagged pellets for residential heating in Italy (natural gas); and Canadian pellets for electricity production in the Netherlands (coal). Supply may cost ,110,,170 per tonne of delivered pellets, with the main cost factors being feedstock collection, drying and long-distance ocean transportation (for Canadian pellets only). Largest avoided emissions are for power production (1937 kg CO2eq/tonne of pellets), followed by district heating (1483 kg). In relative terms, the GHG reduction varies from 81% for residential heating (with pre-dried feedstock) to 97% for DH. Based on a wood-pellet consumption of 8.2 million tonnes, the EU27 plus Norway and Switzerland avoided about 12.6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2008. Concluding, wood pellets can achieve substantial GHG savings, especially when substituting coal for power production. However, wood pellets are relatively expensive, especially compared to coal. Only in the case of high oil prices, can the substitution of heating oil for DH be commercially viable. In most other cases, substitution is only possible with financial support from national governments, for example, feed-in tariffs or carbon taxes. The commercial markets for CO2 emission rights may cover some costs, but their impact is still limited. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [source] The Impact of Forecast Errors on Early Order Commitment in a Supply Chain,DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 2 2002Xiande Zhao ABSTRACT Supply chain partnership involves mutual commitments among participating firms. One example is early order commitment, wherein a retailer commits to purchase a fixed-order quantity and delivery time from a supplier before the real need takes place. This paper explores the value of practicing early order commitment in the supply chain. We investigate the complex interactions between early order commitment and forecast errors by simulating a supply chain with one capacitated supplier and multiple retailers under demand uncertainty. We found that practicing early order commitment can generate significant savings in the supply chain, but the benefits are only valid within a range of order commitment periods. Different components of forecast errors have different cost implications to the supplier and the retailers. The presence of trend in the demand increases the total supply chain cost, but makes early order commitment more appealing. The more retailers sharing the same supplier, the more valuable for the supply chain to practice early order commitment. Except in cases where little capacity cushion is available, our findings are relatively consistent in the environments where cost structure, number of retailers, capacity utilization, and capacity policy are varied. [source] Economic Production Lot Sizing with Periodic Costs and Overtime,DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 3 2001E. Powell Robinson Jr Abstract Traditional approaches for modeling economic production lot-sizing problems assume that a single, fixed equipment setup cost is incurred each time a product is run, regardless of the quantity manufactured. This permits multiple days of production from one production setup. In this paper, we extend the model to consider additional fixed charges, such as cleanup or inspection costs, that are associated with each time period's production. This manufacturing cost structure is common in the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, where process equipment must be sanitized between item changeovers and at the end of each day's production. We propose two mathematical problem formulations and optimization algorithms. The models' unique features include regular time production constraints, a fixed charge for each time period's production, and the availability of overtime production capacity. Experimental results indicate the conditions under which our algorithms' performance is superior to traditional approaches. We also test the procedures on a set of lot-sizing problems facing a national food processor and document their potential economic benefit. [source] Effects of ownership, subsidization and teaching activities on hospital costs in SwitzerlandHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2008Mehdi Farsi Abstract This paper explores the cost structure of Swiss hospitals, focusing on differences due to teaching activities and those related to ownership and subsidization types. A stochastic total cost frontier with a Cobb,Douglas functional form has been estimated for a panel of 148 general hospitals over the six-year period from 1998 to 2003. Inpatient cases adjusted by DRG cost weights and ambulatory revenues are considered as two separate outputs. The adopted econometric specification allows for unobserved heterogeneity across hospitals. The results suggest that teaching activities are an important cost-driving factor and hospitals that have a broader range of specialization are relatively more costly. The excess costs of university hospitals can be explained by more extensive teaching activities as well as the relative complexity of the offered medical treatments from a teaching point of view. However, even after controlling for such differences university hospitals have shown a relatively low cost-efficiency especially in the first two or three years of the sample period. The analysis does not provide any evidence of significant efficiency differences across ownership/subsidy categories. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Cost structure of CGAM cogeneration systemINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 13 2004Ho-Young Kwak Abstract The cost structure of the CGAM system, a predefined cogeneration system suggested to unify the different methodologies of thermoeconomic analysis, was investigated by using a thermoeconomic method called modified productive structure analysis (MOPSA). An emphasis has been specially put on how the cost structure of the system is affected by the chosen level of aggregation that specifies the subsystems. It has been found that the unit cost of products is dependent on the chosen level of aggregation of the system only when one considers the entropy flow as one of the parameters to determine the unit cost of products. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Measurement matters for modelling US import prices,INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FINANCE & ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2009Charles P. Thomas Abstract We focus on capturing the increasingly important role that emerging economies play in determining US import prices. Emerging-market producers differ from others in two respects: (1) their cost structure is well below that of developed-market producers, and (2) their wide profit margins induce pricing policies that seek to exhaust production capacity. We argue that these features have dampened the short-run responses of import prices to changes in the value of the dollar but that they have not altered the associated long-run response. To capture these considerations, we develop a new method to measure foreign prices and adopt a formulation that differentiates between short- and long-run responses. Our econometric work asks two questions: First, can one replicate the literature's dispersion of pass-through estimates? Second, is there any evidence of a change in the dynamic response of import prices to changes in the exchange value of the dollar? To address the first question, we estimate the parameters of our models using several alternative measures of US and foreign prices, dynamic specifications, and sample periods. We find that these alternative inputs translate into a large range of parameter estimates, a finding that helps to rationalizing the existing dispersion of estimates. To address the second question, we compute the implied dynamic adjustment of import prices to a change in the value of the dollar using parameters estimated from two samples: 1974,2000 and 1974,2005. The long-run response of import prices is similar regardless of which sample is used,roughly one-half of the change in the exchange rate is passed through to import prices. However, the short,run response is quite sensitive to the sample period. Specifically, the short-run response based on data through 2005 is smaller than the short-run response based on data through 2000. We argue that one force behind the change in dynamics of the import-price process is the greater presence of producers from emerging economies and that their effect on import prices can be captured with their measure of foreign prices. Published in 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] An Economic Analysis of Freshwater Prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, Farming in Mymensingh, BangladeshJOURNAL OF THE WORLD AQUACULTURE SOCIETY, Issue 1 2008Nesar Ahmed This paper deals with production systems, cost structure, and profitability of freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, farming in a new area of Mymensingh district in the north-central part of Bangladesh. In the study area, prawn farming practice is still extensive, and only a few farmers (20%) cultivate semiintensively. The costs and returns of extensive and semiintensive farming systems are compared. All farmers in different farming systems made a profit, with seed and feed dominating variable costs. Considerable variation in production costs and profitability was observed. Based on the Cobb,Douglas production function model, return to scale indicates that there is scope to increase production and income from prawn farms in extensive and semiintensive systems by applying more inputs (i.e., seed, feed, and fertilizer). [source] Warehouse sizing to minimize inventory and storage costsNAVAL RESEARCH LOGISTICS: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2001Mark Goh Abstract This paper considers a warehouse sizing problem whose objective is to minimize the total cost of ordering, holding, and warehousing of inventory. Unlike typical economic lot sizing models, the warehousing cost structure examined here is not the simple unit rate type, but rather a more realistic step function of the warehouse space to be acquired. In the cases when only one type of stock-keeping unit (SKU) is warehoused, or when multiple SKUs are warehoused, but, with separable inventory costs, closed form solutions are obtained for the optimal warehouse size. For the case of multi-SKUs with joint inventory replenishment cost, a heuristic with a provable performance bound of 94% is provided. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 48: 299,312, 2001 [source] The Cost Structure of Australian TelecommunicationsTHE ECONOMIC RECORD, Issue 239 2001Harry Bloch Since 1991 Australian telecommunications has undergone substantial reform. To a large extent, the economic correctness of pro-competitive policy depends on the non-existence of natural monopoly technology. This paper provides estimates of the Australian telecommunications system cost structure, and tests for subadditivity from 1943 to 1991. Additivity of the cost function after 1945 rejects the natural monopoly hypothesis and supports recent government policy. Diminished natural monopoly characteristics suggest that co-ordination between firms through networking can achieve similar economies as internal co-ordination within a monopoly. This finding is important, given the trend towards network unbundling, and service provision through interconnection. [source] VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL ECONOMIES IN THE ELECTRIC UTILITY INDUSTRY: AN INTEGRATED APPROACHANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2009Massimiliano Piacenza ABSTRACT,:,The empirical literature on the cost structure of the electric utility industry traditionally focused on the measurement of specific technological properties: 1) scale economies in generation or distribution; 2) multi-product (or horizontal) scope economies at one particular stage; 3) multi-stage (or vertical) scope economies. By adopting an integrated approach, which simultaneously considers both horizontal and vertical aspects of the technology, we find the presence, on a sample of Italian electric utilities, of both vertical integration gains and horizontal scope economies at the downstream stage. In the light of recent regulatory reforms aiming at restructuring European electricity markets, our findings have important policy implications as for the proper configuration of the industry. Moreover, this methodology can be usefully applied to the study of the production structure of other public network utilities involved in similar vertical and horizontal reorganization processes. [source] Where to Focus Efforts to Improve Overall Ratings of Care and Willingness to Return: The Case of Tuscan Emergency DepartmentsACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 2 2009Chiara Seghieri PhD Abstract Objectives:, Both regression and optimization models were used to identify an efficient combination of aspects of care (e.g., comfort of waiting room) necessary to improve global emergency department (ED) patient satisfaction. The approach, based on patient survey data, tends to favor aspects of care with large regression coefficients and those whose current performance is low, because improvements produce a greater effect on global satisfaction. Methods:, The authors used ED patient satisfaction survey data collected between September and October 2007 from a random sample of 5,277 adult patients who visited 43 EDs in Tuscany, Italy. Ordinal logistic regression models were run to predict overall ratings of care and willingness to return using 20 independent variables (i.e., aspects of care). An optimization model was run to increase these two global items to a maximum of 15%. This model minimizes the total combined percentage increase of the aspects of care. Models using all cases (n = 5,277), cases from local hospitals (n = 4,264), and cases from teaching hospitals (n = 1,013) were run. Results:, Four aspects selected by the optimization algorithm were in all models: "satisfaction with waiting time,""comfort of the waiting room,""professionalism of physicians" (technical skills), and "level of collaboration between physicians and nursing staff." Most aspects needed a 15% increase to comply with the percentage increases set for the global satisfaction items. The model found that to increase overall ratings of care by 1, 2, or 8%, hospitals would need to focus only on one aspect: "level of collaboration between physicians and nursing staff." The total number of variables increased to six when the improvement in overall ratings of care was set at 15%. To increase 3 or 5% willingness to return, the optimization algorithm found that 6 or 14 aspects, respectively, are needed. An increase of 6% or more was unfeasible. Conclusions:, This approach is only somewhat efficient, as a cost structure is absent. The optimization model assumes that the cost to increase each aspect by 1% is equivalent. By applying this modeling technique we have demonstrated that, at least, two elements are important to consider when developing efficient improvement strategies to increase global satisfaction: 1) the current level of satisfaction of the aspects of care and 2) the importance ascribed to the aspects of care. A third element, the cost to increase the aspects of care, might also be important. However, the impact of this element on the optimal solution is currently unknown. [source] Fast, scalable, and distributed restoration in general mesh optical networksBELL LABS TECHNICAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2001Gary P. Austin Service providers are demanding transport network solutions that can accommodate exponential traffic growth and, at the same time, provide novel services such as point-and-click provisioning of very high bandwidth circuits, optical bandwidth service management, fast protection and restoration, and bandwidth on demand. It is becoming increasingly clear that the required scalability (terabits/s to petabits/s) and cost structure can only be provided by transparent optical cross connects (OXCs). The challenge, then, is to make the optical network consisting of OXCs, dense wavelength division multiplexers (DWDMs), and optical add/drop multiplexers (OADMs) dynamic and intelligent. A major aspect of this intelligence is fast provisioning and restoration. In this paper, we present a fast, scalable, and distributed solution for optical layer restoration in general mesh-type optical networks, which is being implemented as part of the Optical Navigator System (ONS) residing in Lucent's LambdaRouter product. The key ingredients to our solution are a fast and scalable restoration strategy, a fast and scalable connection setup strategy, a contention-free wavelength assignment strategy, and a fast and reliable data communications network to exchange signaling messages. We also introduce novel concepts of demand bundling and optical virtual paths that ensure that restoration performance scales with network and traffic volumes. Together these components provide an intelligent optical networking solution that not only guarantees restoration times within few hundreds of milliseconds, but also achieves scalability. [source] A Walrasian Theory of Commodity Money: Paradoxical ResultsBULLETIN OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, Issue 3 2000Xavier Cuadras-Morató This note analyses some implications of the model of commodity money described by Banerjee and Maskin (Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 111, 1996, pp. 955-1005) which may seem paradoxical. In order to do this, a general production cost structure is incorporated into the model. Two different results are highlighted. First, the existence of technologies that make counterfeiting a commodity more difficult may exclude it from being used as a medium of exchange. Second, allocative distortions due to problems of asymmetric information may become larger in the presence of such technologies. [source] The Association between Auditor Choice, Ownership Retained, and Earnings Disclosure by Firms Making Initial Public Offerings,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 1 2002Paul A. Copley Abstract Using a system of three simultaneous equations, we test the predictions of Datar, Feltham, and Hughes 1991 and Hughes 1986 between auditor choice, earnings disclosures, and retained ownership in U.S. firms making initial public offerings of securities. Using a sample of initial public offerings between 1990 and 1997, we find that the demand for high-quality auditors increases with firm risk. Additionally, we find that auditor choice, earnings disclosure, and risk are determinants of retained ownership, which is consistent with the predictions of Datar et al. and Hughes that auditor choice and direct disclosure are substitute signals for ownership retention. Further, our results suggest that the signals chosen (i.e., retained ownership, auditor choice, and disclosure) are related through their cost structures and are chosen jointly to minimize the overall cost to the entrepreneur. [source] In search of finance excellenceJOURNAL OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 3 2008Thomas Wunder In recent years, CFOs have been asked to improve efficiency and competitive cost structures within the Finance department, while simultaneously meeting the growing demands of the company's operations. This occurs, of course, while CFOs have also had to face additional external scrutiny and compliance requirements. Together, these developments place themes like "finance excellence" or "finance transformation" at the top of the CFO's agenda. In many cases, the result is a comprehensive reorientation of the entire Finance organization with significant performance improvements in both Finance and the entire company. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Banning subtherapeutic antibiotics in U.S. swine production: a simulation of impacts on industry structureAGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009Michael G. Hogberg Recent discussions of a subtherapeutic antibiotic ban in U.S. livestock gives rise to much speculation regarding industry impacts. Swine producers are heterogeneous; thus, a ban on subtherapeutic antibiotics could affect producers of different sizes, cost structures, different production systems and management styles differently. The authors combine average cost data with physical production data to simulate the impact of a subtherapeutic antibiotics ban on high, middle, and low-cost producers in different types of swine production operations. Their results suggest that although economies of scale would still be important, the ban would potentially limit or reduce economies of scale in the swine industry. [JEL Codes: L11, Q12, Q13]. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] The costs of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia: a patient-based cost of illness analysisJOURNAL OF THROMBOSIS AND HAEMOSTASIS, Issue 5 2009T. WILKE Summary.,Background and objectives:,Due to the complexity of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), currently available cost analyses are rough estimates. The objectives of this study were quantification of costs involved in HIT and identification of main cost drivers based on a patient-oriented approach. Methods:,Patients diagnosed with HIT (1995,2004, University-hospital Greifswald, Germany) based on a positive functional assay (HIPA test) were retrieved from the laboratory records and scored (4T-score) by two medical experts using the patient file. For cost of illness analysis, predefined HIT-relevant cost parameters (medication costs, prolonged in-hospital stay, diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, laboratory tests, blood transfusions) were retrieved from the patient files. The data were analysed by linear regression estimates with the log of costs and a gamma regression model. Mean length of stay data of non-HIT patients were obtained from the German Federal Statistical Office, adjusted for patient characteristics, comorbidities and year of treatment. Hospital costs were provided by the controlling department. Results and conclusions:,One hundred and thirty HIT cases with a 4T-score ,4 and a positive HIPA test were analyzed. Mean additional costs of a HIT case were 9008 ,. The main cost drivers were prolonged in-hospital stay (70.3%) and costs of alternative anticoagulants (19.7%). HIT was more costly in surgical patients compared with medical patients and in patients with thrombosis. Early start of alternative anticoagulation did not increase HIT costs despite the high medication costs indicating prevention of costly complications. An HIT cost calculator is provided, allowing online calculation of HIT costs based on local cost structures and different currencies. [source] Approximation algorithms for general one-warehouse multi-retailer systemsNAVAL RESEARCH LOGISTICS: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 7 2009Zuo-Jun Max Shen Abstract Logistical planning problems are complicated in practice because planners have to deal with the challenges of demand planning and supply replenishment, while taking into account the issues of (i) inventory perishability and storage charges, (ii) management of backlog and/or lost sales, and (iii) cost saving opportunities due to economies of scale in order replenishment and transportation. It is therefore not surprising that many logistical planning problems are computationally difficult, and finding a good solution to these problems necessitates the development of many ad hoc algorithmic procedures to address various features of the planning problems. In this article, we identify simple conditions and structural properties associated with these logistical planning problems in which the warehouse is managed as a cross-docking facility. Despite the nonlinear cost structures in the problems, we show that a solution that is within ,-optimality can be obtained by solving a related piece-wise linear concave cost multi-commodity network flow problem. An immediate consequence of this result is that certain classes of logistical planning problems can be approximated by a factor of (1 + ,) in polynomial time. This significantly improves upon the results found in literature for these classes of problems. We also show that the piece-wise linear concave cost network flow problem can be approximated to within a logarithmic factor via a large scale linear programming relaxation. We use polymatroidal constraints to capture the piece-wise concavity feature of the cost functions. This gives rise to a unified and generic LP-based approach for a large class of complicated logistical planning problems. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2009 [source] Determination of suppliers' optimal quantity discount schedules with heterogeneous buyersNAVAL RESEARCH LOGISTICS: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2002Qinan Wang Abstract Although the quantity discount problem has been extensively studied in the realm of a single supplier and a single buyer, it is not well understood when a supplier has many different buyers. This paper presents an analysis of a supplier's quantity discount decision when there are many buyers with different demand and cost structures. A common discrete all-unit quantity discount schedule with many break points is used. After formulating the model, we first analyze buyers' responses to a general discrete quantity discount schedule. This analysis establishes a framework for a supplier to formulate his quantity discount decision. Under this framework, the supplier's optimal quantity discount schedule can be formulated and solved by a simple non-linear programming model. The applicability of the model is discussed with an application for a large U.S. distribution network. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 49: 46,59, 2002; DOI 10.1002/nav.1052 [source] Cost-constrained G -efficient Response Surface Designs for Cuboidal RegionsQUALITY AND RELIABILITY ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2006Youjin Park Abstract In many industrial experiments there are restrictions on the resource (or cost) required for performing the runs in a response surface design. This will require practitioners to choose some subset of the candidate set of experimental runs. The appropriate selection of design points under resource constraints is an important aspect of multi-factor experimentation. A well-planned experiment should consist of factor-level combinations selected such that the resulting design will have desirable statistical properties but the resource constraints should not be violated or the experimental cost should be minimized. The resulting designs are referred to as cost-efficient designs. We use a genetic algorithm for constructing cost-constrained G -efficient second-order response surface designs over cuboidal regions when an experimental cost at a certain factor level is high and a resource constraint exists. Consideration of practical resource (or cost) restrictions and different cost structures will provide valuable information for planning effective and economical experiments when optimizing statistical design properties. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Deregulation and Subequilibrium in the Australian Dairy Processing IndustryTHE ECONOMIC RECORD, Issue 233 2000HRISTOS DOUCOULIAGOS The Australian dairy processing industry is currently undergoing a program of substantial regulatory reform. In this paper we assess the impact of this deregulation on the production and cost systems of the industry. This is undertaken using a translog restricted cost function, for the period 1969 to 1996, with labour, milk and energy as the variable inputs and capital as the one fixed input. We find that this industry has undergone significant changes in terms of factor demand and cost structures associated with the introduction of new technology. [source] MULTIPLE FACILITIES, STRATEGIC SPLITTING AND VERTICAL STRUCTURES: STABILITY, GROWTH AND DISTRIBUTION RECONSIDERED,THE MANCHESTER SCHOOL, Issue 5 2006DAN COFFEY This paper explores comparative cost structures when large firms split operations between separate production facilities in a way that puts pressure on wage rates and worker effort levels: one example of a ,divide and rule' strategy. It differentiates horizontal structures of this kind based on requirements for stability in a context of growing aggregate production vis-ŕ-vis wages and effort. The analysis is formulated within a more general perspective that also considers vertical structures. It considers the implications for contemporary policy debates on desirable industrial forms, and concludes with a discussion of factors that might limit the scope for policies intended to promote industrial stability and redistribution via existing production networks. [source] Ranked Set Sampling: Cost and Optimal Set SizeBIOMETRICS, Issue 4 2002Ramzi W. Nahhas Summary. Mclntyre (1952, Australian Journal of Agricultural Research3, 385,390) introduced ranked set sampling (RSS) as a method for improving estimation of a population mean in settings where sampling and ranking of units from the population are inexpensive when compared with actual measurement of the units. Two of the major factors in the usefulness of RSS are the set size and the relative costs of the various operations of sampling, ranking, and measurement. In this article, we consider ranking error models and cost models that enable us to assess the effect of different cost structures on the optimal set size for RSS. For reasonable cost structures, we find that the optimal RSS set sizes are generally larger than had been anticipated previously. These results will provide a useful tool for determining whether RSS is likely to lead to an improvement over simple random sampling in a given setting and, if so, what RSS set size is best to use in this case. [source] A national evaluation of school breakfast clubs: where does economics fit in?CHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2004I. Shemilt Abstract Study objective To describe the economics of UK school breakfast clubs, to estimate costs resulting from clubs and to investigate relationships between costs and outcomes. Design A postal survey of schools with a 1-year follow-up, a cluster randomized controlled trial, case studies, semi-structured interviews with parents and a secondary econometric analysis. Setting England, the UK. Main results Key economic differences were identified between clubs based in primary schools and those based in secondary schools in terms of both funding levels and cost structures. However, funding levels were not a significant determinant of the observed outcomes in either type of school. Conclusions For formal economic evaluation to succeed during implementation of a new initiative, a clearer understanding of relevant outcomes and the distinction between short- and long-term outcomes and potential individual, institutional and societal benefits are required from an early stage. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||