The National Medical Care Expenditure Survey (NMCES) is one of the most comprehen sive health surveys ever conducted by the federal government. NMCES used a series of procedures designed to increase the quality and accuracy of the data. Since many of these procedures are expensive and...

In recent years, a number of empirical studies and energy regulators have applied benchmarking techniques to measuring the efficiency and performance of network utilities. An important issue has been the extent to which the results are influenced by contextual factors. Among these, weather...

Individual attitudes and opinions may visibly impact upon an individual's decisions on how and when to use health care services and associated decisions with respect to medical expenditures. These health care preferences also serve as important inputs in helping to predict health insurance...