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on Health Economics |
| By: | Cristina Borra; Libertad González; Almudena Sevilla-Sanz |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of the cancellation of a sizeable child benefit in Spain on birth timing and neonatal health. In May 2010, the government announced that a 2,500-euro universal “baby bonus†would stop being paid to babies born starting January 1, 2011. We use detailed micro data from birth certificates from 2000 to 2011, and find that more than 2,000 families were able to anticipate the date of birth of their babies from (early) January 2011 to (late) December 2010 (for a total of about 10,000 births a week nationally). This shifting took place in part via an increase as well as an anticipation of pre-programmed c-sections, seemingly mostly in private clinics. We find that this shifting of birthdates resulted in a significant increase in the number of borderline low birth weight babies, as well as a peak in neonatal mortality. The results suggest that announcement effects are important, and that families and health professionals may face effective trade-offs when deciding on the timing (and method) of birth. |
| Keywords: | timing of births, benefit elimination, announcement effects, infant health |
| JEL: | H31 J13 I10 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:707&r=hea |
| By: | Diana Cheung (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne); Ysaline Padieu (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the impact of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) on household saving across income quartiles in rural China. We use data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey for the 2006 wave and we run an ordinary least squares regression. We control for the endogeneity of NCMS participation by using an instrumental variable strategy. We find evidence that NCMS has a negative impact on savings of lower-middle-income participants, while it does not affect the poorest households. The negative effect of NCMS on savings of middle-income participants holds when we use propensity score matching estimations as a robustness check. |
| Keywords: | Rural China; New Cooperative Medical Scheme; health insurance; Chinese savings and consumption; propensity score matching |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-00848061&r=hea |
| By: | Martine Audibert (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I); Yong He (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I); Jacky Mathonnat (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the evolution of healthcare demand under the influence of income growth and population aging with two samples of patients surveyed in the same regions, but with an interval of 18 years in rural China and with mixed logit to deal with heterogeneity. In accordance with theoretical and inductive inferences, it is found that healthcare price effects decreased and became more heterogeneous. Aging impact overweighed income growth impact, resulting in increasing distance effect and patients' preference to proximity. In the face of this demand change, the adjustment of governmental supply should be to promote small and middle-sized healthcare providers. However during this period to cope with urbanization, the Chinese policy consisted of privileging large hospitals. This has led to a higher share of patients, especially the aging patients, to choose self-care and a higher share of poorer patients to suffer from catastrophic health expenditures. This finding carries broad implications for rural health policy-making on, along with income growth, population aging and urbanization, how to provide better coverage of rural areas by enough qualified and multifunctional small and middle-sized healthcare providers in the developing world. |
| Keywords: | Two-period healthcare demand comparison;mixed logit model;price and distance effects;heterogeneity;insurance;rural China |
| Date: | 2013–07–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00846088&r=hea |
| By: | Catherine M. DesRoches; Michael W. Painter; Ashish K. Jha |
| Keywords: | Health Information Technology, HIT, Information Systems, Health |
| Date: | 2013–07–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:7843&r=hea |
| By: | Yin-Chi Wang; Ping Wang |
| Abstract: | Why have some poor countries been able to take off while others are still stuck in the poverty trap? To address this old question, we observe that (i) with similar or higher levels of educational attainment, trapped countries tend to have much poorer health conditions compared to the initially poor countries that later took off, and (ii) improving health conditions in poor countries usually involves large-scale investment where such resources can be easily misallocated. We construct a dynamic general equilibrium model with endogenous health and knowledge accumulation, allowing health-related institutional barriers to affect individual incentives and equilibrium outcomes. We then calibrate the model to fit (i) the U.S. economy (as a benchmark), (ii) a representative trapped economy based on the average economic performance and economic conditions of 41 countries that are still in the poverty trap, (iii) a group of trapped economies with richer institutional data (Bangladesh, Kenya and Nigeria), and (iv) two initially poor countries that later took off (China and India). The results show that, although low among all countries in this study, the U.S. economy still faced a health-related institutional barrier of 15%. The trapped economies all suffered much large barriers ranging from 50% to 73% under which the incentive to invest in health is severely hindered. For China and India, the magnitudes of such barriers were large (about twice as much as for the U.S. and half that for the trapped economies on average) but not enough to undermine the willingness to invest in health. This paper thereby advances our understanding of the role played by barriers to health in the poverty trap. |
| JEL: | I15 I25 O4 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19263&r=hea |
| By: | David M. Cutler; Kaushik Ghosh; Mary Beth Landrum |
| Abstract: | The question of whether morbidity is being compressed into the period just before death has been at the center of health debates in the United States for some time. Compression of morbidity would lead to longer life but less rapid medical spending increases than if life extension were accompanied by expanding morbidity. Using nearly 20 years of data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, we examine how health is changing by time period until death. We show that functional measures of health are improving, and more so the farther away from death the person is surveyed. Disease rates are relatively constant at all times until death. On net, there is strong evidence for compression of morbidity based on measured disability, but less clear evidence based on disease-free survival. |
| JEL: | I1 J11 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19268&r=hea |
| By: | Kerry Anne McGeary |
| Abstract: | Previous research studying the correlation in smoking behavior between spouses has discounted the role of bargaining or learning. Using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which contains information on smoking cessation and spouse’s preferences, this paper presents an essential investigation of the importance of spousal bargaining or learning on the decision to cease smoking. We find, regardless of gender, when one member of couple ceases smoking this induces the other member to cease smoking through bargaining. Further, we find females demonstrate either altruistic behavior toward a spouse, who has suffered a health shock, or learning from their spouse’s health shock. |
| JEL: | I12 I18 J12 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19274&r=hea |
| By: | Nguyen, Cuong; Nguyen, Hoa |
| Abstract: | Using data from Vietnam Household and Living Standard Surveys in 2006 and 2008, the paper estimates the effect of the receipt of international remittances and internal remittances on education, labor and healthcare utilization of children in Vietnam. It shows that there are no statistically significant effects of receipt of remittances on school enrolment of children as well as child labor. However, receiving international remittances helps children increase the number of completed grades by around 2 percent of the average completed grade for children. Both international and internal remittances are positively associated with the number of outpatient health care contacts. |
| Keywords: | Remittances, children, education, child labor, healthcare, Vietnam. |
| JEL: | I23 O15 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–05–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48672&r=hea |
| By: | Ankita, Ankita Shukla; Kaushal, Kaushalendra Kumar; Abhishek, Abhishek Singh |
| Abstract: | Context: Over the past few decades, obesity has reached epidemic proportions, and is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic diseases and disability. There is little evidence on obesity related co-morbidities in BRICS countries. Objectives: The first objective is to examine the factors associated with overweight and obesity in four of the five BRICS countries (China, India, Russia and South Africa). The second is to examine the linkage of obesity with selected morbidities. Methods: We used data from the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) survey conducted in China, India, Russia and South Africa during 2007-10. Respondents with a body mass index (BMI)>= 25 but <30 were coded as overweight, and those with BMI>= 30 as obese. Bivariate analysis, binary logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression are used in the analysis. The morbidities included in the analysis are Hypertension, Diabetes, Angina, Stroke, Arthritis and Depression. Results: The prevalence of obesity was highest in South Africa (35%) followed by Russia (27%), China (5%) and India (3%). The prevalence of obesity was significantly higher in females as compared to males in all the countries. While the wealth quintile was significantly associated with obesity in India, Russia and South Africa, engaging in work requiring physical activity was significantly associated with obesity in China and South Africa. Overweight/obesity was significantly associated with morbidities such as Hypertension, Angina, Diabetes and Arthritis in all the four countries. In comparison, overweight/obesity was not associated with Stroke and Depression in any of the four countries included in the analysis. Conclusion: The data demonstrates a high prevalence of obesity in South Africa and Russia. Overweight/obesity was significantly associated with Hypertension, Angina, Diabetes and Arthritis. |
| Keywords: | overweight, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, angina, stroke, arthritis, depression, BRICS |
| JEL: | I1 I12 |
| Date: | 2013–07–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48678&r=hea |
| By: | Kaushal, Kaushalendra Kumar; F Ram, Faujdar Ram; Abhishek, Abhishek Singh |
| Abstract: | The present study attempts to investigate the association between public spending on health and childhood mortality in India; using time-series cross-sectional data from various government sources for the period 1985-2009. Infant and child (age 1 to 4 years) mortality rates were used as the indicators for childhood mortality. Ordinary least squares, generalized least squares and fixed effects regression models were used to investigate the association between public spending on health and childhood mortality. The findings suggest insignificant association between public spending on health and childhood mortality both at the country level and for the EAG states. On the contrary, per capita state income and female literacy were significantly associated with improved childhood survival. Percentage of the population living below the poverty line was significantly associated with infant and child mortality only in the EAG states. The findings call for a number of other measures along with increased public spending on health to reduce infant and child mortality in India. |
| Keywords: | Public spending, fixed effect, India, childhood |
| JEL: | H51 I18 |
| Date: | 2013–01–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48680&r=hea |
| By: | Anjana Bhattacharjee |
| Abstract: | The objective of the present study was to ascertain the self concept among male and female cancer patients. The study also attempted to compare the cancer patients and non cancer individuals in regard to their self concept. For the said purpose the study was carried out among 100 cancer patients. Among them 50 were male cancer patients and the rest were female cancer patients. All of them were selected from Regional Cancer Center, Agartala following purposive sampling technique. A group of matched non cancer individuals (N=100) were also selected purposively to fulfill the objectives of the study. Data were collected by Back Ground Information Schedule and Self Concept Scale. Findings revealed significant difference among male and female cancer patients in regard to their self concept. Again self concept of cancer patients also differed significantly from the self concept of non-cancer individuals. Key words: Self Concept, Cancer |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vor:issues:2013-5-8&r=hea |
| By: | Asha Rai M.G. |
| Abstract: | The important factors for cultivation of health are: environment conducive for healthful living, balanced diet, adequate physical activity and rest as per individual needs. Further it requires promotive, preventive, therapeutic and welfare services, suitable occupation with job satisfaction and proper use of leisure and wholesome mental attitude to life. The present study elucidates an immediate need to create awareness about the environmental sanitation and personal hygiene through some integrated tribal-rural sanitation programme dealing with their personal hygiene, waste water disposal, solid waste management and domestic sanitati for exit of smoke in any of their houses. It is necessary that people should be made aware of harmful impact of smoke accumulation on health of an individual and should be persuaded for making such provision in their houses. Key words: health, hygiene, promotion of health and hygiene, health education |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vor:issues:2013-5-9&r=hea |
| By: | Konsam Manitombi Devi |
| Abstract: | The paper is focused on the women’s living in HIV/AIDS affected in India. Women are already economically, culturally and social disadvantage lockage access to treatment, financial support and education. The paper is attempting to explore the situation they have been facing from various quarters. Stigma and discrimination is the only way through which they suffer unbearable mental stress in life. This paper integrates about the reasons of women’s suffering from this dangerous disease and what is our government doing to stop this disease? How it remains successful to help the women’s in facing the real world. Key words: HIV/AIDS, Sexual, Violence, Women |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vor:issues:2013-6-4&r=hea |