Multilevel flexible specification of the production function in health economics

^** Email: grassetti{at}stat.unipd.it^*** Email: e.gori{at}dss.uniud.it^**** Email: simona.minotti{at}unicatt.it Previous studies on hospitals' efficiency often refer to quiterestrictive functional forms for the technology (Aigner et al.,1977, J. Econom., 6, 21–37). In this paper, referringto a study about some hospitals in Lombardy, we formulate convenientcorrectives to a statistical model based on the translogarithmicfunction—the most widely used flexible functional form(Christensen et al., 1973, Rev. Econ. Stat., 55, 28–45).More specifically, in order to take into consideration the hierarchicalstructure of the data (as in Gori et al., 2002, Stat. Appl.,14, 247–275), we propose a multilevel model, ignoringfor the moment the one-side error specification, typical ofstochastic frontier analysis (Aigner et al., 1977, J. Econom.,6, 21–37). Given this simplification, however, we areeasily able to take into account some typical econometric problemsas, e.g. heteroscedasticity. The estimated production functioncan be used to identify the technical inefficiency of hospitals(as already seen in previous works), but also to draw some economicconsiderations about scale elasticity, scale efficiency andoptimal resource allocation of the productive units. We willshow, in fact, that for the translogarithmic specification itis possible to obtain the elasticity of the output (regardingan input) at hospital level as a weighted sum of elasticitiesat ward level. Analogous results can be achieved for scale elasticity,which measures how output changes in response to simultaneousinputs variation. In addition, referring to scale efficiencyand to optimal resource allocation, we will consider the resultsof Ray (1998, J. Prod. Anal., 11, 183–194) to our context.The interpretation of the results is surely an interesting administrativeinstrument for decision makers in order to analyse the productiveconditions of each hospital and its single wards and also todecide the preferable interventions.     

An optimal ordering policy for a spare unit with lead time

We consider a generalised ordering policy in which a spare unit for replacement can be delivered only by order after a constant lead time. Introducing the costs for ordering, shortage and holding, we derive the expected cost per unit time in the steady-state. We discuss the optimal ordering policy which minimises the expected cost, and show in a main theorem that the optimal policy is reduced to either one of two typical ordering policies depending on some conditions. We further discuss a similar ordering policy with varying lead times.     

An orthogonal spline collocation alternating direction implicit method for second-order hyperbolic problems

On a rectangular region, we consider a linear second-order hyperbolicinitial-boundary value problem involving a mixed derivativeterm, continuous variable coefficients and non-homogeneous Dirichletboundary conditions. In comparison to the alternating directionimplicit Laplace-modified method of Fernandes (1997), we formulateand analyse a new parameter-free alternating direction implicitscheme in which the standard central difference formula is usedfor the time approximation and orthogonal spline collocationis used for the spatial discretization. We establish unconditionalstability of the scheme, and its optimal order in the discretemaximum norm in time and the H¹ norm in space. Numerical experimentsindicate that the new scheme, which has the same order as themethod of Fernandes (1997, Numer. Math., 77, 223–241),is more accurate. We also show that the new scheme is easilygeneralized to the second-order hyperbolic problems on rectangularpolygons. Extensions of the scheme to problems with discontinuouscoefficients, nonlinear problems, and problems with other boundaryconditions are also discussed.     

Spectra of Analytic Toeplitz Tuples on Hardy Spaces

Let A be a complex algebra (with unit e), X a left A moduleand a = (a₁, ..., a_m) a commuting tuple of elements in A. FollowingTaylor [8], we have to consider the Koszul complex K_•(a,X) in order to define the joint spectrum of the tuple a. 1991Mathematics Subject Classification 47A13.     

Time-optimal control problem for parabolic equations with control constraints and infinite number of variables

A time optimal control problem for parabolic equations withan infinite number of variables is considered. A time optimalcontrol problem is replaced by an equivalent one with a performanceindex in the form of integral form. Constraints on controlsare assumed. To obtain the optimality conditions for the Neumannproblem, the generalization of the Dubovitskii–Milyutintheorem given by Walczak (1984, Acta Universitatis LodziensisFolia Mathematica, 187–196; 1984, J. Optim. Theor. Appl.,42, 561–582) was applied.     

Optimal spare ordering policy under a rebate warranty

This paper develops, from the customer’s perspective, the optimal spare ordering policy for a non-repairable product with a limited-duration lifetime and under a rebate warranty. The spare unit for replacement is available only by order and the lead time for delivery follows a specified probability distribution. Through evaluation of gains due to the rebate and the costs due to ordering, shortage, and holding, we derive the expected cost per unit time and cost effectiveness in the long run and examine the optimal ordering time by minimizing or maximizing these cost expressions. We show that there exists a unique optimum solution under mild assumptions. We provide a numerical example and illustrate sensitivity analysis.     

Optimal error estimates for the hp-version interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin finite element method

We consider the hp-version interior penalty discontinuous Galerkinfinite-element method (hp-DGFEM) for second-order linear reaction–diffusionequations. To the best of our knowledge, the sharpest knownerror bounds for the hp-DGFEM are due to Rivière et al.(1999,Comput. Geosci., 3, 337–360) and Houston et al.(2002,SIAM J. Numer. Anal., 99, 2133–2163). These are optimalwith respect to the meshsize h but suboptimal with respect tothe polynomial degree p by half an order of p. We present improvederror bounds in the energy norm, by introducing a new functionspace framework. More specifically, assuming that the solutionsbelong element-wise to an augmented Sobolev space, we deducefully hp-optimal error bounds.     

Pattern formation in a 2D simple chemical system with general orders of autocatalysis and decay

In this paper, we investigate pattern formation in a coupledsystem of reaction–diffusion equations in two spatialdimensions. These equations arise as a model of isothermal chemicalautocatalysis with termination in which the orders of autocatalysisand termination, m and n, respectively, are such that 1 <n < m. We build on the preliminary work by Leach & Wei(2003, Physica D, 180, 185–209) for this coupled systemin one spatial dimension, by presenting rigorous stability analysisand detailed numerical simulations for the coupled system intwo spatial dimensions. We demonstrate that spotty patternsare observed over a wide parameter range.     

On the asymptotic behaviour for an electromagnetic system with a dissipative boundary condition

In this work we study some properties of solutions for the systemdescribing a three-dimensional non-homogeneous non-conductingdielectric with a general boundary condition with memory. Wefirst show the existence of the inverse of this boundary condition,which allows us to introduce a boundary free energy, similarto the one considered by Fabrizio & Morro (1996, Arch. Rat.Mech. Anal., 136, 359–381). Then, we prove existence anduniqueness theorems for weak and strong solutions of the evolutiveproblem in a finite time interval. Moreover, following Rivera& Olivera (1997, Boll. U.M.I., 11-A, 115–127), weexamine some dissipative properties of the boundary conditionand of its inverse and we give a useful energy estimate. Finally,when there is no memory in the boundary condition the exponentialdecay of the solution is proved.     

On Fusion in Unipotent Blocks

The context of this note is as follows. One considers a connectedreductive group G and a Frobenius endomorphism F: G G definingG over a finite field of order q. One denotes by G^F the associated(finite) group of fixed points. Let l be a prime not dividing q. We are interested in the l-blocksof the finite group G^F. Such a block is called unipotent ifthere is a unipotent character (see, for instance, [6, Definition12.1]) among its representations in characteristic zero. Roughlyspeaking, it is believed that the study of arbitrary blocksof G^F might be reduced to unipotent blocks (see [2, Théorème2.3], [5, Remark 3.6]). In view of certain conjectures aboutblocks (see, for instance, [9]), it would be interesting tofurther reduce the study of unipotent blocks to the study ofprincipal blocks (blocks containing the trivial character).Our Theorem 7 is a step in that direction: we show that thelocal structure of any unipotent block of G^F is very close tothat of a principal block of a group of related type (notionof ‘control of fusion’, see [13, 49]). 1991 MathematicsSubject Classification 20Cxx.