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on Health Economics |
| By: | Vibhuti Mendiratta (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC), PSE - Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | While there is evidence of discrimination against girls in the allocation of resources within a household under normal circumstances, it would be worthwhile to explore the effect of extreme conditions such as rainfall shocks on the outcomes of surviving girls and boys. In this paper, I estimate the impact of rainfall shocks in early childhood on the anthropometric outcomes of girls and boys aged 13-36 months in rural India. I find that adverse negative rainfall shocks (in utero and first year after birth) negatively impact height for age and weight for age for both girls and boys. Further, I explore two channels through which rainfall affects child health: by affecting the relative price of parent's time in childcare and through income (as rainfall generates variation in income through its effect on agricultural output). I find that positive rainfall has a positive effect on agricultural yield and arguably income in India. This is further supported by the finding that negative shocks are harder to insure in poorer states and poorer households as reflected by the poor anthropometric outcomes of children. |
| Keywords: | Anthropometric outcomes,Rainfall,India |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01211575&r=hea |
| By: | Florian Heiss; Daniel McFadden; Joachim Winter; Amelie Wuppermann; Bo Zhou |
| Abstract: | The trend towards giving consumers choice about their health plans has invited research on how good they actually are at making these decisions. The introduction of Medicare Part D is an important example. Initial plan choices in this market were generally far from optimal. In this paper, we focus on plan choice in the years after initial enrollment. Due to changes in plan supply, consumer health status, and prescription drug needs, consumers' optimal plans change over time. However, in Medicare Part D only about 10% of consumers switch plans every year, and on average, plan choices worsen for those who do not switch. We develop a two-stage panel data model of plan choice whose stages correspond to two separate reasons for inertia: inattention and switching costs. The model allows for unobserved heterogeneity that is correlated across the two decision stages. We estimate the model using administrative data on Medicare Part D claims from 2007 to 2010. We find that consumers are more likely to pay attention to plan choice if overspending in the last year is more salient and if their old plan gets worse, for instance due to premium increases. Moreover, conditional on attention there are significant switching costs. Separating the two stages of the switching decision is thus important when designing interventions that improve consumers' plan choice. |
| JEL: | C25 D12 G22 I13 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22765&r=hea |
| By: | Lei Zhu; et al |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qsh:wpaper:464701&r=hea |
| By: | Ryan, Chris (University of Melbourne); Zhu, Anna (University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | We explore the extent to which starting primary school earlier by up to one year can help shield children from the detrimental, long-term developmental consequences of having an ill or disabled sibling. Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, we employ a Regression Discontinuity Design based on birthday eligibility cut-offs. We find that Australian children who have a sibling in poor health persistently lag behind other children in their cognitive development - but only for the children who start school later. In contrast, for the children who commence school earlier, we do not find any cognitive developmental gaps. The results are strongest when the ill-health in the sibling is of a temporary rather than longer-term nature. We hypothesise that an early school start achieves this by lessening the importance of resource-access inequalities within the family home. However, we find mixed impacts on the gaps in non-cognitive development. |
| Keywords: | educational economics, human capital, school starting age, sibling health |
| JEL: | J13 I21 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10253&r=hea |
| By: | Thomas Barnay; Eric Defebvre |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tep:teppwp:wp16-06&r=hea |
| By: | Juergen Jung (Department of Economics, Towson University); Vinish Shrestha (Department of Economics, Towson University) |
| Abstract: | Abstract We investigate the effect of the extension of the federal dependent coverage mandate for young adults under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on the college enrollment decisions of young Americans. The ACA removes the conditionality that young individuals need to be enrolled as full-time students in order to be able to remain on their parents' health insurance past the age of 18 and extends the coverage mandate to age 26 irrespective of student status. This expansion of the coverage mandate will change the incentives for the full-time and part-time college enrollment decisions of young individuals. We use panel data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) for the years 2008 to 2013 and estimate that the dependent coverage expansion under the ACA decreases the probability to enroll as full-time student by 2 to 3 percentage points. Furthermore we find that part-time college enrollment is unaffected by the new policy. The results from a difference-in-differences model are robust to changes in the model specification and become stronger when we increase the sample overlap between treatment and control groups using various propensity score methods. |
| Keywords: | Affordable Care Act, dependent health insurance coverage, youth health insurance, occupational choice, educational choice, survey of income and program participation (SIPP). |
| JEL: | C35 I23 I10 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tow:wpaper:2016-16&r=hea |
| By: | Evgeny Yakovlev (New Economic School (NES)) |
| Abstract: | Alcohol abuse is widely blamed for the very high rate of male mortality in Russia. I specify and estimate a simple structural model of the demand for alcohol that incorporates two key features of the Russian context. First, alcohol use – particularly incidents of heavy drinking – often involves friends and (male) family members. Second, there is strong habit persistence in alcohol use: depending on the degree of forward-looking behavior by consumers, responses to a tax policy will depend on beliefs about the future path of prices. I estimate the model using panel data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS), and two alternative sources of variation in alcohol prices: a 2011 change that shifted the trend in the rate of growth of the excise tax for alcohol, and regional variation in alcohol regulations over the 1995-2014 period. To obtain direct information on peer use of alcohol, I exploit the clustered design of the RLMS, which enables me to find close neighbors for nearly all sample members. The estimation results confirm that both peer influence and habit persistence are critical determinants of the longer-run response of alcohol demand to price changes. One third of the predicted 30% reduction in the rate of heavy drinking caused by a 50% permanent increase in vodka prices, for example, is attributed to the social multiplier effect that emerges as groups of friends jointly reduce their consumption. Finally, I use the RLMS data to relate patterns of heavy drinking to mortality. The estimates imply that permanent increases in alcohol prices would yield significant reductions in male mortality. |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cfr:cefirw:w0221&r=hea |
| By: | María José Aragón (Centre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK.); Martin Chalkley (Centre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK.); Adriana Castelli (Centre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK.); James Gaughan (Centre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK.) |
| Abstract: | This report is concerned with the extent to which NHS hospital Trusts make better use of resources over time by increasing the number of patients they treat and the services they deliver for the same or fewer inputs. The ratio of all outputs to all inputs is termed Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and growth in TFP is vital to achieving patient care with increasingly limited resources. Measures of TFP for the NHS as a whole are well-established but any aggregate measure may reflect a diversity of experience and performance across individual Trusts. In this report we extend earlier studies to determine whether measures of TFP growth at the level of individual Trusts can establish consistently high performers - Trusts that habitually exhibit above average TFP growth. This work is potentially important because it may establish a benchmark figure for high performance and thus enable setting realistic targets for efficiency savings, and identify Trusts that are exemplars of good performance so that others can learn from their practices and methods. |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chy:respap:138cherp&r=hea |
| By: | Marlène Guillon (PSE - Paris School of Economics, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)); Michel Celse (Conseil National du Sida); Pierre-Yves Geoffard (PSE - Paris School of Economics, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)) |
| Abstract: | Background In 2011, migrants accounted for 47% of newly diagnosed cases of HIV infection in France, including 70% from Sub-Saharan Africa. These populations meet with speci_c obstacles leading to late diagnosis and access to medical and social care. Reducing these delays has a proven benefit to patients' health and contributes to a better control of the epidemic by preventing secondary infections. Methods The objective of this study is to assess the cost-effectiveness impact of an early access to care (ATC) for migrant people living with HIV (PLHIV) in France. The model compares \early" vs. \late" ATC for migrant PLHIV in France, defined by an entry into care with a CD4 cell count of 350 and 100/mm3 respectively, and integrate the positive externality of treatment on prevention. To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of \early" ATC, incidence and hidden prevalence among migrants in France were estimated. Findings Early ATC strategy proved cost-saving, or cost-effective in the worst case scenario. In the most favorable scenario, early ATC generated an average net saving of €198,000 per patient, and prevented 0.542 secondary infection. In the worst case scenario, early ATC strategy generated an average cost of €28,000, a cost-effectiveness ratio of €133,000 per averted infection and prevented 0.211 secondary infection. Interpretation In addition to individual health benefit, improving early ATC for migrant PLHIV proves an efficient strategy in terms of public health and economics. These results stress out the benefit of ensuring ATC for all individuals living with HIV in France. |
| Keywords: | HIV/AIDS,Migrant populations,Access to care,Public policy |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01118612&r=hea |
| By: | Grégory Ponthière (ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l’Utilisation des Données Individuelles en lien avec la Théorie Economique - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC), PSE - Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Individuals care not only about their own survival, but also about the survival of other persons. However, little attention has been paid so far to measuring the contribution of longer coexistence time to living standards. For that purpose, we develop a measure of coexistence time - the joint life expectancy -, which quantifies the average duration of existence for a group of persons. Then, using a lifecycle model with risky lifetime, we construct an equivalent consumption measure incorporating gains in single and joint life expectancies. An empirical application to France (1820-2010) shows that, assuming independent individual mortality risks, the rise in joint life expectancies contributed to improve standards of living significantly. We examine the robustness of that result to the introduction of dependent mortality risks using copulas, and we show that equivalent consumption patterns are robust to introducing risk dependence. |
| Keywords: | Mortality,Joint survival,Coexistence,Measurement,Standards of living |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01194427&r=hea |
| By: | Maria Kuecken (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics); Josselin Thuilliez (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Marie-Anne Valfort (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Relying on microeconomic data, we examine the impact of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) control campaigns on the educational attainment of primary school children in 14 Sub-Saharan African countries. Combining a difference-in-differences approach with an IV analysis, we exploit exogenous variation in pre-campaign malaria prevalence and exogenous variation in exposure to the timing and disbursements of the RBM campaign. In all 14 countries, the RBM campaign reveals itself as a particularly cost-effective strategy to improve primary school children’s educational attainment. |
| Keywords: | Malaria,Education,Roll-Back-Malaria |
| Date: | 2015–01–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01099524&r=hea |
| By: | Pierre Pestieau (CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research - CEPR, CORE - Center of Operation Research and Econometrics [Louvain] - UCL - Université Catholique de Louvain, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC), PSE - Paris School of Economics); Grégory Ponthière (ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l’Utilisation des Données Individuelles en lien avec la Théorie Economique - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC), PSE - Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Due to the ageing process, the provision of long-term care (LTC) to the dependent elderly has become a major challenge of our epoch. But at the same time, our societies are characterized, since the 1970s, by a significant postponement of births. This paper aims at examining the impact of those demographic trends on the optimal family policy. We develop a four-period OLG model where individuals, who receive children's informal LTC at the old age, must choose, when being young, how to allocate births along their lifecycle. It is shown that early children provide more LTC to their elderly parents than late children, because of the lower opportunity cost of providing LTC when being retired. In comparison with the social optimum, individuals have, at the laissez-faire, too few children early in their life, and too many later on in their life. The decentralization of the first-best optimum requires thus to subsidize early births. We study also the design of the optimal subsidy on early births in a second-best setting. Its level depends on efficiency and equity issues, as well as on its incidence on the long-run population composition and on LTC provision. |
| Keywords: | birth timing,childbearing age,family policy,Long term care,OLG models |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01131236&r=hea |
| By: | Andrew E. Clark (PSE - Paris School of Economics, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)); Carine Milcent (CEPREMAP - Centre pour la recherche économique et ses applications, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC), PSE - Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | We here ask whether French local authorities respond to depressed local labour markets by increasing employment in State-owned hospitals. We use 2006-2010 panel data to examine within-hospital employment changes: higher local unemployment is associated with greater employment in State-owned hospitals, but not for any other hospital type. Our data cover a reimbursement reform introducing competition between hospitals. This reform reduced public-hospital employment, but had no overall effect on the relationship between public-hospital employment and local unemployment. Further analysis shows that this continuing relationship is only found in higher unemployment areas, where public-hospital employment remained counter-cyclical. |
| Keywords: | I18,D21,D72,Hospitals,Competition,Public Employment,Unemployment,J21 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01183454&r=hea |
| By: | Stefan Priebe; Stephen A. Bremner; Christoph Lauber; Catherine Henderson; Tom Burns |
| Abstract: | Background Poor adherence to long-term antipsychotic injectable (LAI) medication in patients with psychotic disorders is associated with a range of negative outcomes. No psychosocial intervention has been found to be consistently effective in improving adherence. Objectives To test whether or not offering financial incentives is effective and cost-effective in improving adherence and to explore patient and clinician experiences with such incentives. Design A cluster randomised controlled trial with economic and nested qualitative evaluation. The intervention period lasted for 12 months with 24 months’ follow-up. The unit of randomisation was mental health teams in the community. Setting Community teams in secondary mental health care. Participants Patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective psychosis or bipolar illness, receiving ≤ 75% of their prescribed LAI medication. In total, 73 teams with 141 patients (intervention n = 78 and control n = 63) were included. Interventions Participants in the intervention group received £15 for each LAI medication. Patients in the control group received treatment as usual. Main outcome measures Primary outcome: adherence to LAI medication (the percentage of received out of those prescribed). Secondary outcomes: percentage of patients with at least 95% adherence; clinical global improvement; subjective quality of life; satisfaction with medication; hospitalisation; adverse events; and costs. Qualitative evaluation: semistructured interviews with patients in the intervention group and their clinicians. Results Primary outcome: outcome data were available for 131 patients. Baseline adherence was 69% in the intervention group and 67% in the control group. During the intervention period, adherence was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (85% vs. 71%) [adjusted mean difference 11.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.9% to 19.0%; p = 0.003]. Secondary outcome: patients in the intervention group showed statistically significant improvement in adherence of at least 95% (adjusted odds ratio 8.21, 95% CI 2.00 to 33.67; p = 0.003) and subjective quality of life (difference in means 0.71, 95% CI 0.26 to 1.15; p = 0.002). Follow-ups: after incentives stopped, adherence did not differ significantly between groups, neither during the first 6 months (adjusted difference in means –7.4%, 95% CI –17.0% to 2.1%; p = 0.175) nor during the period from month 7 to month 24 (difference in means –5.7%, 95% CI –13.1% to 1.7%; p = 0.130). Cost-effectiveness: the average costs of the financial incentives was £303. Overall costs per patient were somewhat higher in the intervention group, but the difference was not significant. Semistructured interviews: the majority of patients and clinicians reported positive experiences with the incentives beyond their monetary value. These included improvement in the therapeutic relationship. The majority of both patients and clinicians perceived no negative impact after the intervention was stopped after 1 year. Conclusions Financial incentives are effective in improving adherence to LAI medication. Health-care costs (including costs of the financial incentive) are unlikely to be increased substantially by this intervention. Once the incentives stop, the advantage is not maintained. The experiences of both patients and clinicians are largely, but not exclusively, positive. Whether or not financial incentives are effective for patients with more favourable background, those on oral mediation or for shorter or longer time periods remains unknown. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN77769281. |
| JEL: | E6 |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:68110&r=hea |
| By: | Armin Falk; Fabian Kosse; Ingo Menrath; Pablo E. Verde; Johannes Siegrist |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates physiological responses to perceptions of unfair pay. We use an integrated approach exploiting complementarities between controlled lab and representative panel data. In a simple principal-agent experiment agents produce revenue by working on a tedious task. Principals decide how this revenue is allocated between themselves and their agents. Throughout the experiment we record agents' heart rate variability, which is an indicator of stress-related impaired cardiac autonomic control, and which has been shown to predict coronary heart disease in the long-run. Our findings establish a link between unfair payment and heart rate variability. Building on these findings, we further test for potential adverse health effects of unfair pay using observational data from a large representative panel data set. Complementary to our experimental findings we show a strong and significant negative association between unfair pay and health outcomes, in particular cardiovascular health. |
| Keywords: | Fairness, social preferences, inequality, heart rate variability, health, experiments, SOEP |
| JEL: | C91 D03 D63 I14 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp870&r=hea |
| By: | Markus Brueckner |
| Abstract: | Since the 1980s, no significant negative relationship exists in sub-Saharan Africa between adult mortality and urbanization. In the rest of the world, the relationship between adult mortality and urbanization is significantly negative. High prevalence of HIV likely explains the absence of a significant negative relationship between adult mortality and urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa. HIV can spread more rapidly in the city than in the countryside because the costs of finding multiple sexual partners are lower in the city than in the countryside. During the 1960s and 1970s, i.e. prior to the HIV pandemic, adult mortality and urbanization are significantly negatively correlated in sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:camaaa:2016-66&r=hea |
| By: | Clemens Noelke; Mauricio Avendano |
| Abstract: | Job loss in the years before retirement has been found to increase risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but some studies suggest that CVD mortality among older workers declines during recessions. We hypothesized that recessionary labor market conditions were associated with reduced CVD risk among persons who did not experience job loss and increased CVD risk among persons who lost their jobs. In our analyses, we used longitudinal, nationally representative data from Americans 50 years of age or older who were enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study and surveyed every 2 years from 1992 to 2010 about their employment status and whether they had experienced a stroke or myocardial infarction. To measure local labor market conditions, Health and Retirement Study data were linked to county unemployment rates. Among workers who experienced job loss, recessionary labor market conditions at the time of job loss were associated with a significantly higher CVD risk (hazard ratio = 2.54, 95% confidence interval: 1.39, 4.65). In contrast, among workers who did not experience job loss, recessionary labor market conditions were associated with a lower CVD risk (hazard ratio = 0.50, 95% confidence interval: 0.31, 0.78). These results suggest that recessions might be protective in the absence of job loss but hazardous in the presence of job loss. |
| Keywords: | business cycles; recession; unemployment; cardiovascular disease |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:64691&r=hea |
| By: | Hu, Luojia (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago); Kaestner, Robert (University of Illinois at Chicago); Mazumder, Bhashkar (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago); Miller, Sarah (University of Michigan); Wong, Ashley |
| Abstract: | We examine the effect of the Medicaid expansions under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) on consumer, financial outcomes using data from a major credit reporting agency for a large, national sample of adults. We employ the synthetic control method to compare individuals living in states that expanded Medicaid to those that did not. We find that the Medicaid expansions significantly reduced the number of unpaid bills and the amount of debt sent to third-party collection agencies among those residing in zip codes with the highest share of low-income, uninsured individuals. Our estimates imply a reduction in collection balances of between $600 to $1,000 among those who gain Medicaid coverage due to the ACA. Our findings suggest that the ACA Medicaid expansions had important financial impacts beyond health care use. |
| Keywords: | Health insurance; consumer finance; low income; Medicaid; public policy; Affordable Care Act (ACA) |
| JEL: | H42 I12 I18 |
| Date: | 2016–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedhwp:wp-2016-10&r=hea |
| By: | SEKIZAWA Yoichi; GOTO Yasuo; SO Mirai; NOGUCHI Remi; SHIMIZU Eiji |
| Abstract: | Recent economic studies maintain that people who expect an increase in their income and improved living conditions tend to be happier and mentally healthier at the moment. As a reverse causality, there are studies, especially in psychology, maintaining that mental health related emotions such as anxiety and depression lead to pessimistic future expectations and that happiness leads to optimistic future expectations. We examine this relationship through a questionnaire on the Japanese version of consumer confidence which contains questions regarding expectations of living condition and income in the future. We examine whether psychological interventions aimed at improving mental health would enhance consumer confidence and expectations of future income and living conditions. Such interventions include internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy and emotion-focused mindfulness. The results show that consumer confidence for the intervention groups did not improve significantly as compared with the control group. Through panel data analyses using the above mentioned two intervention studies and one observation study, we reconfirm that a higher level of consumer confidence is associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety, and negative affect, and with higher levels of positive affect. |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:16052&r=hea |
| By: | Pulmanis, Emils |
| Abstract: | In order to improve effectiveness of provision of healthcare service, the project implemented by the Ministry of Health- ”E-health in Latvia” is a step towards the right direction. It will provide the possibility for patients to ensure a greater control over their health issues, by maintaining healthy habits, lifestyle, increase substantiation of adoption of decisions and speed of service in the healthcare industry, ensuring quality and accessible information; patients will receive more quality services and in a shorter period of time for issuance of prescription drugs. Nevertheless, the policy prepared by the Ministry of Health in the area of e-Health will not be implemented in the planned scope and the planned term; therefore the target-to improve the effectiveness of the provision of healthcare services will only be partially achieved. The project „e-Health in Latvia” is necessary and important for the society, but already from the very beginning there have been substantial deficiencies (errors) - the professionals of industry are not involved in the project, multiple changes of institutions implementing the project, ineffective project management and finally, there has not been sufficient supervision of the project. This Paper analyzes the implementation of the e-Health Project in Latvia from the audit perspective, showing th results from the performance-compliance audit carried out by the supreme audit institution – State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia. |
| Keywords: | Project management, e-health, public administration, planning |
| JEL: | D6 D61 H43 O22 |
| Date: | 2016–10–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:74629&r=hea |
| By: | Staudigel, Matthias; Anders, Sven |
| Abstract: | Recent controversial policy proposals have aimed at creating a healthier food supply by means of taxation, minimum quality standards or nutritional labeling. Yet the outcomes of such policies strongly depend on the competitive structures and thus substitution processes of individual products within categories, which are not well understood. The objective of this paper is to quantify the source and impact of differentiation in ingredient formulation and especially product health attributes on the competitive positioning of brands under heterogeneous consumer preferences. We employ Berry, Levinsohn and Pakes’ (1995) random-coefficient logit framework to estimate product-level demand for highly differentiated potato and tortilla chips in the U.S. We are specifically interested in the extent to which heterogeneous consumers respond to changes in product formulation, pricing and brand attributes. Our results support the unhealthy-tasty intuition hypothesis to a certain degree with consumers’ utility increasing in sodium and saturated fat levels but decreasing in energy and total fat content. Results further suggest strong impacts of price, brand, and flavor effects on band-level market shares. Our analysis underlines the trade-offs involved in food manufacturers’ decisions to reformulate products in order to comply with policy and public demands for healthier product options that do not sacrifice taste. |
| Keywords: | Brand-level demand, differentiated products, health-taste trade-off, retail scanner data, random-coefficients logit, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gewi16:244760&r=hea |