The existence of imitative behavior among consumers is a well-known phenomenon in the field of Economics. This behavior is especially common in markets determined by a high degree of innovation, asymmetric information and/or price-inelastic demand, features that exist in the pharmaceutical market. This paper presents evidence of the existence of imitative behavior among primary care physicians in Galicia (Spain) when choosing treatments for their patients. From this and other evidence, we propose a dynamic model for determining the entry of new drugs into the market. To do this, we introduce the structure of the organization of primary health care centers and the presence of groups of doctors who are specially interrelated, as well as the existence of commercial pressure on doctors. For modeling purposes, physicians are treated as spins connected in an exponentially distributed complex network of the Watts-Strogatz type. The proposed model provides an explanation for the differences observed in the patterns of the introduction of technological innovations in different regions. The main cause of these differences is the different structure of relationships among consumers, where the existence of small groups that show a higher degree of coordination over the average is particularly influential. The evidence presented, together with the proposed model, might be useful for the design of optimal strategies for the introduction of new drugs, as well as for planning policies to manage pharmaceutical expenditure.
The aim of this paper is to identify the drivers and barriers of on-farm adoption of renewable energy systems (RES) in Spain and to determine how the existing mix of policies (subsidies, regulation and communication) affected the decisions of the farmers. The analysis is based on the results of a national survey that was completed by 719 farmers, representing the main types of farms and production regions. Statistically significant correlations have been observed between the probability of on-farm RES adoption and variables such as the use of contract farming, interest in new technologies and risk tolerance. Findings suggest that the diffusion of on-farm RES was at an early stage. Farmers are hesitant to adopt RES because the level of economic and regulatory uncertainty is perceived as too high in relation to the return and payback time typical of RES investments. Tailored business models and financing solutions should be implemented and promoted to overcome the described issues. Furthermore, relevant and reliable information should be available within farmers’ most common professional networks such as cooperatives and farmers’ associations. These aspects should be combined or even prioritized over providing direct economic incentives when producing on-farm RES supporting policies.
An important antibiotic stock is being generated in home medicine cabinets as a result of the leftovers of prescribed treatments that in the case of Galicia are equivalent to more than 1,800,000 doses of antibiotic in 2004. This problem could be reduced with the dispensation in customized dose and partially with new presentations.
Farming and food production sustainability increasingly depends on the availability of a clean energy model for irrigated agriculture. This can be achieved by massively introducing photovoltaic irrigation systems (PVI) with sufficient quality and reliability. Nevertheless, such PVI projects require high upfront investment and long payback times, so access to long-term, low-cost capital is essential to ensure their competitiveness. In this regard, decentralized financial (DeFi) solutions based on blockchain (BC) technology present a number of features that can be applied to produce financial instruments (FI) well suited to attract investors to PVI projects and to reduce the cost of clean energy for irrigators. In order to assess such a possibility, a DeFi FI tailored for PVI has been produced and implemented in BC. We demonstrate that a single smart contract executed in a distributed ledger can execute the different tasks related to the securitization of PVI assets. The impact on the cost of capital for PVI projects is significant, leading to an estimated reduction in the cost of clean energy for irrigators of 22%. Nevertheless, decentralization also introduces a number of specific risks that must be considered and mitigated.
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