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on Neuroeconomics |
| By: | Joan Costa-Font; Sergi Jiménez; Juan Oliva; Cristina Vilaplana Prieto; Analía Viola |
| Abstract: | Population ageing in Spain is driving a growing demand for long-term care (LTC) services, particularly for individuals with cognitive impairments resulting from neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. While ageing reflects societal progress, it poses challenges for healthcare and LTC systems. In Spain, around 734, 000 to 937, 000 people live with dementia, and cognitive impairment affects 18.5% of those aged 65 and older, rising sharply in older age groups. |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fda:fdaeee:eee2025-03 |
| By: | Catarina Midões (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona); Enrica De Cian (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice; Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici; RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment) |
| Abstract: | Climate change is bringing abnormally high temperatures to Europe and thus a substantial physical and mental health burden, especially for older populations. We expand the individual longitudinal Survey on Health, Aging and Retirement (SHARE) on the 50+ population in Europe, with heat exposure from gridded datasets and derived household location. We estimate that ten extra days in a year at 31º, an increase predicted for many European regions, without air-conditioning (AC), increases by 3 - 7 p.p. the probability of reporting fatigue, by 2 - 4 p.p. of reporting reduced appetite and by 4 p.p. of reporting difficulties sleeping. It also increases the probability of being irritable by 4 p.p., but the effect is short lived. Ultimately, heat increases the probability of hospitalization by 2 - 4 p.p.. Addressing potential biases in estimating AC's effect, we find that it protects meaningfully against hospitalization risk and especially against fatigue, but not against irritability nor difficulties sleeping. These states are mechanisms behind socio-economic outcomes connected with rising temperatures - cognitive performance, labour productivity, and aggressive behaviours. We find that the effects of heat and AC's protection accrue over time. The evidence of significant residual impacts calls for research on alternative adaptation measures. |
| Keywords: | Climate Adaptation, Air-conditioning, Heat, Well-being, Climate Change |
| JEL: | D12 O13 Q41 Q5 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2025:03 |
| By: | Michele Garagnani; Petra Schweinhardt; Philippe N. Tobler; Carlos Alos Ferrer |
| Abstract: | Numerical self-report scales are extensively used in economics, psychology, and even medicine to quantify subjective feelings, ranging from life satisfaction to the experience of pain. These scales are often criticized for lacking an objective foundation, and defended on the grounds of empirical performance. We focus on the case of pain measurement, where existing self-reported measures are the workhorse but known to be inaccurate and difficult to compare across individuals. We provide a new measure, inspired by standard economic elicitation methods, that quantifies the negative value of acute pain in monetary terms, making it comparable across individuals. In three preregistered studies, 330 healthy participants were randomly allocated to receive either only a high- or only a low-pain stimulus or a high-pain stimulus after having double-blindly received a topical analgesic or a placebo. In all three studies, the new measure greatly outperformed the existing self-report scales at distinguishing whether participants were in the more or the less painful condition, as confirmed by effect sizes, Bayesian factor analysis, and regression-based predictions. |
| Keywords: | Self-Reported Scales, Preference Elicitation, Pain |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lan:wpaper:421926304 |