This study covers “tapering scale” mechanism in hospital payments, i.e. mechanisms linking unit prices to the volume of services produced. This paper begins with an overview of hospital services and hospital payment methods in OECD countries, focusing more specifically on DRG-based payment....

The high cost of purchasing high technology and severe sanctions imposed on Iran over the last decade are the reasons why economical alternatives should be assessed, such as the use of second hand technology. There is evidence to show that in Iran the use of second-hand equipment in the...

Taking global value chains (GVCs) into account has important implications for trade policy. When production is vertically fragmented and trade in intermediate inputs is prevalent, one has to look differently at a certain number of issues. Through case studies, this paper provides new evidence on...