OBJECTIVE To analyze the variation in the proportion of households living below the poverty line in Brazil and the factors associated with their impoverishment. METHODS Income and expenditure data from the Household Budget Survey, which was conducted in Brazil between 2002-2003 (n = 48,470 households) and 2008-2009 (n = 55,970 households) with a national sample, were analyzed. Two cutoff poin...

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Consumers need information to compare alternatives for markets to function efficiently. Recognizing this, public policies often pair competition with easy access to comparative information. The implicit assumption is that comparison friction—the wedge between the availability of comparative information and consumers' use of it—is inconsequential because when information is readily available, co...

We study how asset prices are affected by the amount of “liquidity”or cash that is available in asset markets. We find that higher levels of liquidity lead to higher asset prices and lower bid-ask spreads. An increase in inflation increases asset returns and decreases asset prices. The amount of liquidity available in asset markets depends on the fraction of agents who do not have immediate con...

We characterize the price-transparency role of benchmarks in over-the-counter markets. A benchmark can, under conditions, raise total social surplus by increasing the volume of beneficial trade, facilitating more efficient trade matching between dealers and customers, and reducing total search costs. Although the improvement in market transparency caused by benchmarks lowers dealer profit margi...

We study how intermediation and asset prices in over-the-counter markets are affected by illiquidity associated with search and bargaining. We compute explicitly the prices at which investors trade with each other, as well as marketmakers’ bid and ask prices, in a dynamic model with strategic agents. Bid–ask spreads are lower if investors can more easily find other investors or have easier acce...

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Twenty one males 17-22 months old took part in an experiment of the effects of shopping cart design on standing in the seat section of the cart and speed of standing. Two different cart designs were examined. It was predicted that standing would be more likely in the over-the-counter vs deep basket type of cart since the former is less confining because of a larger seating area and larger leg h...

BACKGROUND Generic drugs (GDs) offer a way to reduce health spending without sacrificing quality. Despite this, there are doubts as to their acceptance by the population. This work aims to assess perceptions of GDs among the Brazilian population. METHODS We conducted a national household survey face-to-face between April and May 2013, with 5000 individuals aged over 15 years. The questions ex...

Background. We assessed the prescribing trends, average number of drugs per prescription, and cost per prescription during the initial contact of the patient with the physician in emergency room. Methods. This retro-prospective study was conducted over a period of six months. Medical records of two hundred patients were reviewed for prescribing patterns. Results. 52 different types of drugs (99...