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Abstract
This study investigates government public policies facing competing firms' strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and finds that the choice of CSR crucially depends on corporate profit tax. We demonstrate that strategic CSR decreases while social welfare increases with corporate tax. When the government grants uniform output subsidies, we show that bilateral CSR leads to a lower CSR level than under unilateral CSR but bilateral CSR is always beneficial to society. However, when the government grants discriminatory output subsidies which yield different levels of unilateral CSR, we show that domestic CSR leads to a lower CSR level than under foreign CSR. In an endogenous CSR choice game, domestic CSR (no CSR) is a Nash equilibrium when corporate tax is low (high) under the uniform subsidy, while foreign CSR could be a Nash equilibrium when corporate tax is low under the discriminatory subsidy.

AbstractPrice competition is more intense than quantity competition in private oligopolies, wherein all firms are profit maximizers. However, in mixed oligopolies where one state‐owned public firm competes with profit‐maximizing private firms, price competition may not result in tougher competition than quantity competition. In this study, we introduce common ownership, a distinct feature of recent financial markets, into a mixed oligopoly model and investigate how common ownership affects this ranking. We show that under common ownership, quantity competition is likely to be tougher than price competition. Moreover, we find that common ownership harms welfare regardless of the competition mode. Common ownership enhances private firms' profits under Bertrand competition while these may decline under Cournot competition.

AbstractThis study explores the effect of partial passive ownership (PPO) in a successive two‐round endogenous timing game wherein firms choose research and development (R&D) investments in the first round and then subsequently choose quantities in the second round. We show that each firm prefers to be a quantity leader independent of the timing of R&D decisions, but the welfare‐inferior Cournot competition is an equilibrium of an endogenous production timing game. Moreover, we discover that the equilibrium of an endogenous R&D timing game crucially depends on the PPO level and R&D spillovers rate, while the R&D timing coordination may not be socially desirable unless both are low or high. Our findings suggest that the R&D leadership position of a PPO holder can play an anticompetitive role in the coordination of R&D competition with higher R&D spillovers rates and PPO levels.

We consider the interaction of two countries regarding strategic choices on privatization policy in an international mixed market under an open economy. We demonstrate that the equilibrium degree of privatization depends not only on the relative efficiency of the state‐owned enterprise, but also on trade policy. We show that, if the state‐owned enterprise is relatively inefficient, the competitive optimal degree of privatization is lower in open competition than in closed competition. We also show that the international competitive equilibrium involves less privatization and a higher tariff, even though they are jointly suboptimal.

Wei Zhang,1,* Lili Xu,1,* Shen Gao,2 Nan Ding,2 Ping Shu,1 Zhuo Wang,2 Yuping Li1 1Department of Pharmacy, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China; 2Department of Pharmacy, Changhai Hospital Affiliated to The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Zhuo Wang; Yuping Li Email wztgyx223@163.com; grace_li_2020@126.comBackground: Proper inhaler technique is highly relevant to the effective management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The tiotropium bromide spray (TBS) (Spiriva® Respimat®) is a soft mist inhaler (SMI) preferred by patients to pressurized metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs) and dry powder inhalers (DPIs) because of its convenience in use. However, the technique of using TBS inhaler in the real world is unclear.Objective: To evaluate techniques in using TBS inhaler and investigate the association between the patient characteristics and the correct use of TBS inhaler.Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 74 COPD patients who used TBS inhaler device for more than 3 months. The sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were recorded. The technique of using TBS inhaler was evaluated step by step. Incorrect use was defined as the patient's inability to complete the key steps in the inhalation manoeuvre. The percentage of incorrect use was compared between the groups. Risk factors related to incorrect use were analyzed by logistic regression analysis.Results: Of the 74 participants, only 2 (2.7%) patients completed all the steps correctly, and 48 (64.9%) patients misused the key steps in the inhalation manoeuvre. Incorrect preparation of the TBS inhaler for the first use was the most frequently misused step, accounting for 77.0%. Factors associated with misuse of TBS inhaler included the educational background (p=0.010), living state (p=0.031) and COPD assessment test (CAT) score (p=0.005) of the patients. Additionally, logistic regression analysis showed that the COPD duration was significantly associated with the incorrect use (p=0.019). Compared with patients with a higher educational background, patients with an elementary school background [OR 11652.99, CI: 22.72– 5975697.72], junior high school background [OR 7187.78, CI: 16.41– 3146787] and high school background [OR 1563, CI: 4.27– 572329.67] were more likely to misuse TBS inhaler. Patients living with their spouses alone were also more likely to commit errors in using TBS inhaler as compared with those living with their children [OR 12.29, CI of 1.14– 1.96]. Clinical factors like the COPD symptoms were relative to the technical use of the device. Better technique was accompanied by a lower CAT score [OR 1.49, CI of 1.14– 1.96].Conclusion: The incorrect use of TBS inhaler was common in COPD patients. Healthcare providers should not only teach the patients about the drug preparation but help them use the inhaler correctly. Special attention should be paid to patients with a short COPD duration and a low educational background and those who live without the company of their children. Proper use of TBS inhaler can significantly improve the symptom control of COPD patients.Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, inhaler technique, soft mist inhaler, incorrect use