Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Income Levels (income + level)
Kinds of Income Levels Selected AbstractsFood consumption impacts of adherence to dietary norms in the United States: a quantitative assessmentAGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 2-3 2007C. S. Srinivasan Dietary norms; Dietary adjustment; Food consumption impacts; Quadratic programming Abstract Promotion of adherence to healthy-eating norms has become an important element of nutrition policy in the United States and other developed countries. We assess the potential consumption impacts of adherence to a set of recommended dietary norms in the United States using a mathematical programming approach. We find that adherence to recommended dietary norms would involve significant changes in diets, with large reductions in the consumption of fats and oils along with large increases in the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and cereals. Compliance with norms recommended by the World Health Organization for energy derived from sugar would involve sharp reductions in sugar intakes. We also analyze how dietary adjustments required vary across demographic groups. Most socio-demographic characteristics appear to have relatively little influence on the pattern of adjustment required to comply with norms. Income levels have little effect on required dietary adjustments. Education is the only characteristic to have a significant influence on the magnitude of adjustments required. The least educated rather than the poorest have to bear the highest burden of adjustment. Our analysis suggests that fiscal measures like nutrient-based taxes may not be as regressive as commonly believed. Dissemination of healthy-eating norms to the less educated will be a key challenge for nutrition policy. [source] Bilingual experience and executive functioning in young childrenDEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2008Stephanie M. Carlson Advanced inhibitory control skills have been found in bilingual speakers as compared to monolingual controls (Bialystok, 1999). We examined whether this effect is generalized to an unstudied language group (Spanish-English bilingual) and multiple measures of executive function by administering a battery of tasks to 50 kindergarten children drawn from three language groups: native bilinguals, monolinguals (English), and English speakers enrolled in second-language immersion kindergarten. Despite having significantly lower verbal scores and parent education/income level, Spanish-English bilingual children's raw scores did not differ from their peers. After statistically controlling for these factors and age, native bilingual children performed significantly better on the executive function battery than both other groups. Importantly, the relative advantage was significant for tasks that appear to call for managing conflicting attentional demands (Conflict tasks); there was no advantage on impulse-control (Delay tasks). These results advance our understanding of both the generalizability and specificity of the compensatory effects of bilingual experience for children's cognitive development. [source] Do California Counties With Lower Socioeconomic Levels Have Less Access to Emergency Department Care?ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 5 2010Deepa Ravikumar Abstract Objectives:, The study objective was to examine the relationship between number of emergency departments (EDs) per capita in California counties and measures of socioeconomic status, to determine whether individuals living in areas with lower socioeconomic levels have decreased access to emergency care. Methods:, The authors linked 2005 data from the American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey of Hospitals with the Area Resource Files from the United States Department of Health and Human Services and performed Poisson regression analyses of the association between EDs per capita in individual California counties using the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) county codes and three measures of socioeconomic status: median household income, percentage uninsured, and years of education for individuals over 25 years of age. Multivariate analyses using Poisson regression were also performed to determine if any of these measures of socioeconomic status were independently associated with access to EDs. Results:, Median household income is inversely related to the number of EDs per capita (rate ratio = 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.71 to 0.96). Controlling for income in the multivariate analysis demonstrates that there are more EDs per 100,000 population in FIPS codes with more insured residents when compared with areas having less insured residents with the same levels of household income. Similarly, FIPS codes whose residents have more education have more EDs per 100,000 compared with areas with the same income level whose residents have less education. Conclusions:, Counties whose residents are poorer have more EDs per 100,000 residents than those with higher median household incomes. However, for the same income level, counties with more insured and more highly educated residents have a greater number of EDs per capita than those with less insured and less educated residents. These findings warrant in-depth studies on disparities in access to care as they relate to socioeconomic status. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2010; 17:508,513 © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine [source] An international survey of training programs for treating tobacco dependenceADDICTION, Issue 2 2009Nancy A. Rigotti ABSTRACT Aims The World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) requires countries to implement tobacco dependence treatment programs. To provide treatment effectively, a country needs trained individuals to deliver these services. We report on the global status of programs that train individuals to provide tobacco dependence treatment. Design Cross-sectional web-based survey of tobacco treatment training programs in a stratified convenience sample of countries chosen to vary by WHO geographic region and World Bank income level. Participants Key informants in 48 countries; 70% of 69 countries who were sent surveys responded. Measurements Program prevalence, frequency, duration and size; background of trainees; content (adherence to pre-defined core competencies); funding sources; challenges. Findings We identified 61 current tobacco treatment training programs in 37 (77%) of 48 countries responding to the survey. Three-quarters of them began in 2000 or later, and 40% began after 2003, when the FCTC was adopted. Programs estimated training 14 194 individuals in 2007. Training was offered to a variety of professionals and paraprofessionals, but most often to physicians and nurses. Median program duration was 16 hours, but programs' duration, intensity and size varied widely. Most programs used evidence-based guidelines and reported adherence to core tobacco treatment competencies. Training programs were less frequent in low-income countries and in Africa. Securing funding was the major challenge for most programs; current funding sources were government (58%), non-government organizations (23%), pharmaceutical companies (17%) and, in one case, the tobacco industry. Conclusion Training programs for tobacco treatment providers are diverse and growing. Most upper- and middle-income countries have programs, and most programs appear to be evidence-based. However, funding is a major challenge. In particular, more programs are needed for non-physicians and for low-income countries. [source] Accounting for Corruption: Economic Structure, Democracy, and TradeINTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2000Wayne Sandholtz Though corruption poses fundamental challenges to both democratic governance and market economies, political science research has only recently begun to address corruption in a comparative context. In this article we explain variation in the perceived level of corruption (defined as the misuse of public office for private gain) across fifty countries. We propose a set of hypotheses that explain variation in corruption levels in terms of domestic political-economic structure, democratic norms, integration into the international economy, and Protestant religious affiliation. Levels of corruption, we propose, are higher: (1) the lower the average income level, (2) the greater the extent of state control of the economy, (3) the weaker are democratic norms and institutions, (4) the lower the degree of integration in the world economy, and (5) the lower the share of the population with Protestant religious affiliation. The data analysis broadly confirms our predictions: in the multivariate regression, each of the independent variables is significant in the direction we expect. [source] Influence of Health and Environmental Information on Hedonic Evaluation of Organic and Conventional BreadJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 4 2008L.E. Annett ABSTRACT:, Grain from paired samples of the hard red spring wheat cultivar "Park" grown on both conventionally and organically managed land was milled and baked into 60% whole wheat bread. Consumers (n= 384) rated their liking of the bread samples on a 9-point hedonic scale before (blind) and after (labeled) receiving information about organic production. Consumers liked organic bread more (P < 0.05) than conventional bread under blind and labeled conditions. Environmental information about organic production did not impact consumer preference changes for organic bread, but health information coupled with sensory evaluation increased liking of organic bread. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and binary response (probit) regression models identified that postsecondary education, income level, frequency of bread consumption, and proenvironmental attitudes played a significant role in preference changes for organic bread. The techniques used in this study demonstrate that a combination of sensory and econometric techniques strengthens the evaluation of consumer food choice. [source] Weight status, energy-balance behaviours and intentions in 9,12-year-old inner-city childrenJOURNAL OF HUMAN NUTRITION & DIETETICS, Issue 1 2010W. Jansen Abstract Background:, Dutch youth health care promotes four so-called energy-balance behaviours for the prevention of obesity: increasing physical activity, reducing sedentary behaviour and sugar-containing drinks, and eating breakfast. However, data on the prevalence of these behaviours and intentions to engage in them among primary schoolchildren is limited, especially for multi-ethnic, inner-city populations. The present study aimed to provide these data and explore differences according to socio-demographic characteristics and weight status. Methods:, Data on behaviours and accompanying intentions were collected using classroom questionnaires. Stature and body weight were measured by trained staff. Twenty primary schools in Rotterdam participated. Data on 1095 9,12 year olds (81.7% response rate) were available for analysis. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine associations between behaviours (favourable or unfavourable), intentions (positive or not), gender, age, ethnicity, neighbourhood income level and weight status. Results:, The prevalence of being overweight was 30.4%, including 9.0% obesity. Engagement in energy-balance behaviours varied from 58.6% for outdoor play (>1 h previous day) to 85.9% for active transportation to school (day of survey). The highest positive intentions were reported for taking part in sports (83.9%), and lowest for reducing computer time (41.3%). Small differences in behaviours and intentions according to socio-demographic characteristics were found, most notably a lower engagement in physical activity by girls. Skipping breakfast and total number of energy-balance behaviours were associated with being overweight. Conclusions:, The prevalence of being overweight among Dutch inner-city schoolchildren is high. A general rather than a differentiated approach is needed to improve engagement in energy-balance behaviours among inner-city schoolchildren. [source] Attitudes Toward Nurse Practitioners: Influence of Gender, Age, Ethnicity, Education and IncomeJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS, Issue 7 2000Carol Y. Phillips PhD ABSTRACT Survey research was undertaken to measure relationships between gender, age, ethnicity, education, income level, and an individual's attitude toward using a nurse practitioner (NP) for health care. Pender's Health Promotion Model provided the theoretical basis for the research initiative and instrument design. Following initial pilot work, 238 individuals were surveyed. While no significant differences on the basis of gender and race were found, high school graduates demonstrated significantly more positive attitudes toward NPs than non-high school graduates, and older subjects and those with lower incomes were less positively inclined to use NP services. These findings have implications for the marketing of NP services, NP education, and public education, and should be used as a basis for additional research in this area. [source] Can Public Housing Authorities Attract and Hold Upwardly Mobile Households?: A Report from CincinnatiJOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 3-4 2001David P. Varady Logistic regression analysis is applied to a pooled, cross sectional data set containing results from approximately 1,300 interviews with Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) residents, carried out between 1995 and 1998 to determine overall levels of residential attachment, and to test whether socially mobile householders had especially weak attachments to their locations. The results highlighted a strong propensity to move among CMHA residents generally. Although most residents stated that they were satisfied with their home, nearly three-fifths said that they expected to move within five years. Multivariate results suggested that socially mobile residents (college educated householders, workers, moderate-income households) were using the CMHA stock as a stepping-stone to better rental housing or homeownership. Public housing officials need to decide whether to make a special effort to hold these upwardly mobile households. A more realistic goal would be to minimize residential turnover caused by environmental problems (e.g., crime), regardless of income level. Policies to achieve this goal are discussed. [source] Risk factors for serious injury in Finnish agricultureAMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 5 2009Risto H. Rautiainen PhD Abstract Background Previous studies indicate 20% of injuries represent 80% of injury costs in agriculture. To help prevent the most costly injuries, we aimed to identify characteristics and risk factors associated with serious injuries. Methods We analyzed insurance records of 93,550 self-employed Finnish farmers. We ranked injury causes by claim cost and used multiple logistic regressions to identify risk factors for (any) injury and serious injury (injuries exceeding claim costs of ,2000). Results A total of 5,507 compensated injuries occurred in 2002 (rate 5.9/100 person-years), and 1,167 or 21% of them (rate 1.25/100 person-years) were serious. The causes/sources resulting in highest average claim costs were motor vehicles; stairs, scaffoldings, and ladders; trailers and wagons; floors, walkways, and steps; other structures and obstacles; augers, mills, and grain handling equipment; horses; combines and harvesting equipment; tractor steps; and uneven and slippery terrain. Older age, male gender, higher income level, greater field size, residing on the farm, Finnish language (vs. Swedish), occupational health service (OHS) membership, and animal production were risk factors for injury. The risk factors for serious injury were similar; however, the effects of age, income level, and the raising of horses were more prominent. Language, residence, ownership status, and OHS membership were not risk factors for serious injury. Conclusions Cost-effective prevention efforts should address the following risk factors: older age, male gender, larger income and operation size, livestock production (particularly dairy, swine, and horses), motor vehicle incidents, falls from elevation, and slips, trips and falls. Am. J. Ind. Med. 52:419,428, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Political Economy of Income Distribution: A Comparative Study of Taiwan and MexicoPOLICY STUDIES JOURNAL, Issue 2 2000He Li Both Taiwan and Mexico have experienced remarkable economic growth since the 1960s. Taiwan demonstrates that higher income level can be accompanied by falling income inequalities. However, unlike Taiwan, the course of economic growth in Mexico has left the country with a very unequal distribution of income. This paper compares the government policies of income distribution in Mexico and Taiwan and identifies the factors contributing to the success of Taiwan and to the highly uneven income distribution in Mexico. The paper concludes that market-oriented growth does not automatically reduce inequality or poverty. The prospects for better income equity and sustainable economic development would be greatly enhanced through implementation of policies aimed at redistributing land and skills, facilitating small enterprises, and increasing domestic saving. [source] Multivariate explanation of the 1985,1990 and 1995,2000 destination choices of newly arrived immigrants in the United States: the beginning of a new trend?POPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 5 2007Kao-Lee Liaw Abstract This paper identifies the salient features in the 1985,1990 and 1995,2000 destination choices of newly arrived immigrants, and performs multivariate explanation of these choices, based on an application of a multinomial logit model to the state-specific immigration data of the 1990 and 2000 censuses. The salient features are that: (1) the destination choice pattern of the newly arrived immigrants became more dispersed from the late 1980s to the late 1990s; (2) the change was pervasive in the sense that it was true for all combinations of five broad ethnic groups and four levels of educational attainment; (3) the change was much greater for Hispanics and Blacks than for Asians and Whites; (4) the lower the level of education, the greater the increase in dispersion; and (5) the Hispanics with the lowest education experienced the greatest increase in dispersion. Our multivariate analysis reveals that: (1) while the attraction of co-ethnic communities as destinations remained strong for both periods, it became much less intense in the late 1990s, especially for Hispanics and Blacks; (2) the newly arrived immigrants were subject to the strong pull of higher income level in both periods; (3) the pull of employment growth became stronger and more industry-specific from the late 1980s to the late 1990s; and (4) the pull of service employment growth, especially for the least-educated Hispanic immigrants, became much stronger in the later period. In the context of the progressive entrenchment of neoliberalism and the major changes in immigration policies, our empirical findings suggest that the ethnically selective dispersal of immigrants in the late 1990s is probably the beginning of a new trend. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Children Enrolled in Public Pre-K: The Relation of Family Life, Neighborhood Quality, and Socioeconomic Resources to Early CompetenceAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2006Oscar Barbarin PhD This article presents data on the family and social environments of 501 children enrolled in public sponsored pre-K in 5 states and tests the relation of these resources to child competence. Structured interviews and questionnaires provide information from parents about the family's social and economic status. Direct assessments and teacher reports provide data on children's literacy, numeracy, and behavioral problems. A majority of the children served in public pre-K lived in poverty and showed decrements in language but not in other domains. A socioeconomic resource factor consisting of parental education, household income, and material need predicted all domains of children's functioning. Children from households high in socioeconomic resources entered pre-K with more well developed language and math skill but fewer behavioral problems than their disadvantaged peers. Neighborhood quality status was related to language competence and mother's marital status to math competence. Neighborhood quality and income level may have their impact on child competence through their relation to dyadic quality and the health and the psychological well-being of the parents. [source] Determinants of Pay-as-You-Go Financing of Capital Projects: Evidence from the StatesPUBLIC BUDGETING AND FINANCE, Issue 4 2007WEN WANG Although states have long practiced pay-as-you-go in financing their capital projects as a supplement to debt, academia has paid scarce attention to pay-go financing. This study fills in the niche by providing empirical evidence on what determines the use of pay-go in financing capital projects. It develops a model that considers the preferences of both voters and politicians when they make capital financing decisions in a given institutional setting. The empirical results suggest that the use of pay-go is affected by a state's income level, its economic conditions, the presence of a divided government, as well as its budgetary institutions. [source] Antisocial Security: The Puzzle of Beggar-Thy-Children PoliciesAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2009Robert Grafstein The U.S. Social Security program has irrevocably transferred substantial wealth from workers to their ostensibly altruistic parents. After some alternative explanations for this paradox are addressed, a formal model is developed to show that a majority of rational voters who care about their descendants can support the preservation of current benefits for themselves but accept the prospect of Social Security's future retrenchment. Incorporating elements of Tabellini's (2000) positive theory of Social Security and Bénabou and Ok's (2001) analysis of income mobility, the model identifies specific forces affecting this time-varying individual support for Social Security. These forces are embodied in three hypotheses related to income mobility, relative income level, and age. An ordered logit analysis of cumulative ANES data supports these hypotheses. [source] Future of Economic Growth for South Korea,ASIAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, Issue 4 2008Byung Woo KimArticle first published online: 11 DEC 200 O41; O53 More than 80 percent of US growth between 1950 and 1993 can be attributed to transition dynamics (increases in R&D intensity and educational attainment), with less than 20 percent of growth deriving from population growth. Similarly, growth accounting shows that 80 percent of economic growth in Korea can be attributed to transition dynamics. However, the specific factors that have moved Korea far from its steady state are significantly different from the factors that have done so for the USA. In addition to the growth rates of the two countries, we also analyzed the (steady-state) level of output per worker to determine where the Korean economy is headed relative to the USA. In 1960, Korea was characterized as poor (0.111) relative to its own steady state (0.765), and incomes were at 11.1 percent of those in the USA. Since then, however, Korea has been growing more rapidly than the USA. In our analysis, we also consider the extreme case where total factor productivity levels converge completely. Interestingly, in this case, the USA and Korea exhibit unconditional convergence similar to what is generally observed in the OECD. As the economy approaches the steady-state income level, however, the growth rate of output per capita will decline. [source] Public Health Conditions and Policies in the Asia Pacific regionASIAN-PACIFIC ECONOMIC LITERATURE, Issue 2 2001Dennis A. Ahlburg Health has improved dramatically in Asia over the last 40 years. Infant mortality dropped over 60 per cent and life expectancy increased by 40 per cent. Despite these gains, health outcomes remain relatively low in many Asian countries, and vary tremendously by region, income level and demographic group. Little progress has been made, for example, in decreasing maternal mortality. Asia is experiencing an epidemiological transition from a high burden of communicable diseases to a high burden of non-communicable diseases. The pace of this transition varies across countries, and some countries will experience increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases before the level of communicable diseases has decreased. Ill-health imposes a heavy economic cost: HIV/AIDS may reduce economic growth in some countries. As incomes and expectations rise, the demand for health care also rises and one of the greatest challenges facing Asia is how to provide and finance this care. [source] Patterns of care for men with prostate cancer after failure of primary treatmentCANCER, Issue 2 2006Tracey L. Krupski MD Abstract BACKGROUND. This study sought to determine trends in patterns of care after failure of primary prostate cancer treatment and to determine whether nonclinical factors influenced the receipt of secondary treatment. METHODS. The authors identified individuals treated for nonmetastatic prostate cancer in the years 1991,1999 from the linked databases of Medicare and the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry. The outcome of interest was receipt of secondary therapy. They performed Cox proportional hazard analyses to investigate the link between demographic and clinical characteristics and the likelihood of receiving secondary treatment after either surgery or radiation. RESULTS. Of 65,716 subjects who met our inclusion criteria, 10,200 (15%) received some form of secondary therapy. For men undergoing initial surgical or radiation therapy, tumor grade, year of diagnosis, and geographic region were associated with secondary therapy. No socioeconomic factors such as education, ethnicity, or income level were associated with secondary therapy. CONCLUSIONS. Patterns of care after primary prostate cancer therapy continue to vary regionally. Standardized clinical algorithms and utilization of prostate-specific antigen testing appear to have influenced secondary therapy rates. Cancer 2006. © 2006 American Cancer Society. [source] Determinants of Household Income Mobility in Rural ChinaCHINA AND WORLD ECONOMY, Issue 2 2010Xuehua Shi D31; O15 Abstract This article uses multivariate regression and decomposition analyses to assess household income mobility determinants and their contributions to income mobility in rural China from 1989 to 2006. The findings indicate that households with lower initial income level, higher share of wage income, higher educational level of household members, larger number of non-agricultural employed household members and younger heads are more mobile. Moreover, besides initial income, change in the share of wage income, change in the share of non-agricultural employed household members, and change in average year of education of household members are the most important factors that account for income mobility. These findings necessitate more emphasis on policies that promote non-agricultural employment and education to enhance household income mobility in rural China. [source] The Livelihoods Gap: Responding to the Economic Dynamics of Vulnerability in SomaliaDISASTERS, Issue 1 2002Andre Le Sage A ,livelihoods gap' has become evident in international aid delivery to Somalia. Existing aid interventions do not address the economic dynamics of vulnerability resulting from Somalia's long history of predatory development and asset stripping. To prevent poor households' regular return to sub-subsistence income levels after a brief period of plenty, this paper argues that aid agencies should reorient and expand existing interventions to assist poor households to capitalise on temporary improvements in environmental and security conditions. As a corollary to emergency relief and efforts to construct state institutions, it is necessary to devise country-wide interventions that will rebuild household asset bases by protecting savings during times of stress and ensuring that markets benefit poor producers. [source] Case studies of tobacco dependence treatment in Brazil, England, India, South Africa and UruguayADDICTION, Issue 10 2010Martin Raw ABSTRACT Aims The aims of this study are to describe the tobacco dependence treatment systems in five countries at different stages of development of their systems, and from different income levels and regions of the world, and to draw some lessons from their experiences that might be useful to other countries. Methods and data sourses Data were drawn from an earlier survey of treatment services led by M.R. and A.M., from Party reports to the Secretariat of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and from correspondents in the five countries. These data were entered onto a standard template by the authors, discussed with the correspondents to ensure they were accurate and to help us interpret them, and then the templates were used as a basis to write prose descriptions of the countries' treatment systems, with additional summary data presented in tables. Results Two of the middle-income countries have based their treatment on specialist support and both consequently have very low population coverage for treatment. Two countries have integrated broad-reach approaches, such as brief advice with intensive specialist support; these countries are focusing currently upon monitoring performance and guaranteeing quality. Cost is a significant barrier to improving treatment coverage and highlights the importance of using existing infrastucture as much as possible. Conclusions Perhaps not surprisingly the greatest challenges appear to be faced by large, lower-income countries that have prioritized more intensive but low-reach approaches to treatment, rather than developing basic infrastructure, including brief advice in primary care and quitlines. [source] From individual attitudes towards migrants to migration policy outcomes: Theory and evidenceECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 56 2008Giovanni Facchini SUMMARY Attitudes and migration policy We are experiencing a wave of globalization that includes everything but labour. In this paper, we argue that this is the result of restrictive migration policies implemented by destination countries. In democratic societies individual attitudes of voters represent the foundations of policy making. To understand policy outcomes, we analyse the patterns and determinants of voters' opinions on immigration. We find that, across countries of different income levels, only a small minority of voters favour more open policies. Furthermore, our analysis supports the role played by economic channels in shaping public opinion. We next investigate how attitudes translate into policy outcomes, considering two alternative frameworks: the median voter and the interest groups model. On the one hand, the very low percentages of voters favouring immigration are, in light of the existing restrictive policies, consistent with the median voter framework. At the same time, given the extent of opposition to immigration that appears in public opinion, it is somewhat surprising in a median voter framework that immigration takes place at all. We find that interest-groups dynamics have the potential to explain this puzzle. , Giovanni Facchini and Anna Maria Mayda [source] Access to Telephone Services and Household Income in Poor Rural Areas Using a Quasi-natural Experiment for PeruECONOMICA, Issue 304 2009ALBERTO CHONG We take advantage of a quasi-natural experiment in Peru in which a privatized telecommunications company was required by the government to randomly install and operate public pay phones in small rural towns throughout the country. Using an especially designed household survey for a representative sample of rural towns, we are able to link access to telephone services with household income. We find that, regardless of income measurement, most characteristics of public telephone use are positively linked with income. Remarkably, the benefits are given at both non-farm and farm income levels. The findings hold when using propensity score matching methods. [source] Corruption and environmental policies: what are the implications for the enlarged EU?ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 3 2006Lorenzo Pellegrini Abstract The paper discusses the prescription of EU environmental regulations for new member states. It has been argued that these countries should be allowed looser directives as a way to take into consideration their lower income levels and correspondingly different priorities. The paper estimates the determinants of environmental policies' stringency. We find that corruption levels are the most important factor in explaining the variance in environmental policies in the enlarged EU. Most notably, differences in corruption levels across countries appear to be more important than income differences. Thus, it is argued, lower environmental standards in new member states are not necessarily implied by lower income levels, but they are more likely to reflect low institutional quality. We argue that harmonization of environmental policies at the EU level can be a way to tackle this problem, and we provide a further rationale for new members states to adjust to existing EU environmental directives. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] China's South-to-North Water Transfer Project: Is it Needed?GEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 9 2010Chansheng He China has started the construction of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP; its magnitude is even greater than the Three Gorges Dam Project), to deliver about 45 billion m3 of water from the Yangtze River to the water starving North China Plain. Is the project needed given the multiple socioeconomic, engineering, and environmental challenges and controversies it is facing and the effects of demand management programs China has been implementing in recent years? This article, through the analysis of the water shortage problems in the North China Plain and the Yellow River basin, demonstrates that considering China's current economic base, technological capacity, and income levels, the SNWTP, while facing multiple challenges, is still needed to relieve the water deficit problems in the North China Plain. However, the SNWTP is only a partial solution to North China's chronic water shortage problem. China should continue to actively implement and enforce its demand management programs nationwide to ensure that its limited fresh water resources are used to meet the multiple needs of human societies and ecosystems in a socially responsible, economically viable, and environmentally sustainable way. [source] Ranking State Environmental Outputs: Evidence from Panel DataGROWTH AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2000John A. List This paper uses state-level pollution data from 1986,1997 to construct two indices that rank U.S. states according to environmental outputs. A major finding is that marginal performers in other indices, such as Wyoming, garner top spots in these ranking systems. The paper also presents findings from fixed and random effects models of panel data that imply state income levels are positively associated with environmental outputs after a threshold level of income is obtained. [source] Health insurance and treatment seeking behaviour: evidence from a low-income countryHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 9 2004Matthew Jowett Abstract This paper analyses the effect of being insured under the voluntary component of Vietnamese Health Insurance, on patterns of treatment seeking behaviour. A multinomial logit model is estimated using household survey data from three provinces in Vietnam. Decisions regarding both the type of provider sought and type of care received are analysed. Insurance status is treated as both exogenous and endogenous to account for potential selection bias. The results indicate that, overall, insured patients are more likely to use outpatient facilities, and public providers, an effect that is particularly strong at lower income levels. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Economics of self-medication: theory and evidenceHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 9 2003Fwu-Ranq Chang Abstract A pervasive phenomenon in developing countries is that self-prescribed medications are purchased from drug vendors without professional supervision. In this article we develop a model of self-medicating behavior of a utility-maximizing consumer who balances the benefits and risks of self-medication. The empirical investigation focuses on the role of income and health insurance on the use of self-medication. Our data are from the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Survey of Vietnam, 1997,1998. The results show that self-medication is an inferior good at high income levels and a normal good at low income levels, and it shows a strong and robust negative insurance effect. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Factors Associated with the Income Distribution of Full-Time Physicians: A Quantile Regression ApproachHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 5 2007Ya-Chen Tina Shih Objective. Physician income is generally high, but quite variable; hence, physicians have divergent perspectives regarding health policy initiatives and market reforms that could affect their incomes. We investigated factors underlying the distribution of income within the physician population. Data Sources. Full-time physicians (N=10,777) from the restricted version of the 1996,1997 Community Tracking Study Physician Survey (CTS-PS), 1996 Area Resource File, and 1996 health maintenance organization penetration data. Study Design. We conducted separate analyses for primary care physicians (PCPs) and specialists. We employed least square and quantile regression models to examine factors associated with physician incomes at the mean and at various points of the income distribution, respectively. We accounted for the complex survey design for the CTS-PS data using appropriate weighted procedures and explored endogeneity using an instrumental variables method. Principal Findings. We detected widespread and subtle effects of many variables on physician incomes at different points (10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentiles) in the distribution that were undetected when employing regression estimations focusing on only the means or medians. Our findings show that the effects of managed care penetration are demonstrable at the mean of specialist incomes, but are more pronounced at higher levels. Conversely, a gender gap in earnings occurs at all levels of income of both PCPs and specialists, but is more pronounced at lower income levels. Conclusions. The quantile regression technique offers an analytical tool to evaluate policy effects beyond the means. A longitudinal application of this approach may enable health policy makers to identify winners and losers among segments of the physician workforce and assess how market dynamics and health policy initiatives affect the overall physician income distribution over various time intervals. [source] Uncounted or illusory blessings?JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2007Competing responses to the Easterlin, Easterbrook, Schwartz paradoxes of well-being Abstract The Easterlin paradox concerns slight or negligible increases in personal satisfaction reported as income rises beyond high middle income levels. Sister paradoxes highlighted by Easterbrook and Schwartz concern the frequent low or negligible impact on personal satisfaction of improvements in various dimensions of life. The paper identifies a range of responses to the paradoxes, shows how these responses reflect a series of different conceptions of the meaning of well-being, and assesses their cogency. It indicates areas where follow-on research is required. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||