Health Economics Commons^™

Empirical Essays On The Impact Of Health-Aid On Health Outcomes, Elsy Thomas Kizhakethalackal

Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays that empirically explore the impact of multilateral health-aid on health outcomes like infant mortality rate (IMR) and incidences of an infectious disease, Tuberculosis, in developing economies. The first essay uses parametric and semiparametric mean regressions (additive and non-additive specifications) to capture the impact of education and health-aid on the IMR, after controlling for other covariates. Both specifications confirm education as an important factor in reducing IMR. However, the effect of health-aid on IMR is not significant. In our additive model, we do see a threshold level of health-aid after which the impacts of health-aid …

Compassion: Why It Is Better To Eat Fish, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Compassion was probably the farthest notion from Colonel Sanders’ mind when he became the global poster boy for delicious fried chicken. He had started his business in the early twentieth century – a period marked by the great depression and two world wars. Prejudices festered under the hostile global climate then, where little consideration was given to the suffering of human beings, much less animals. However, with the progress of time, scientific advancements have urged us, increasingly, to be kinder to fellow humans, animals, the environment… and that we really ought to be munching on fried fish instead.

Booty Calls: Is It Just About Sex?, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

It may seem that booty calls serve men more so than women. After all, men desire sex more than women – a notion often rationalised by the lower biological cost of sex to men, compared to women. However, if booty calls favour men more than women, why might women be inclined to entertain calls for casual sex? Psychology professor Norman Li believes that booty calls should be looked upon as more than just sex; that it is, in fact, a strategy employed by both sexes in negotiating between their needs.

Male Metal Goat Wanted: Why Our Children’S Futures May Lie In The Stars, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

The birth of a child is usually a joyous occasion. In many Asian societies, it also represents an important milestone for families - so important that spiritual mediums have to be consulted and fortunes told, for there are auspicious and inauspicious times to bear a child. While the idea of birth planning by means of star-gazing may sound ludicrous, research has shown that ‘auspicious children’ do indeed fare better. Are there mystical powers at play? A study of child births and children in Vietnam provides an unusual take on the motivating factors behind a child’s future.

Penny For Your Pint: The Tricky Art Of Buying Kindness, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Do material incentives influence blood donations? A commonly held view is that people donate their blood out of a pro-social motivation. But not everyone is willing to offer their blood for nothing. Material incentives might persuade some to step forward, yet they could very well alienate those who believe that such acts must not be motivated by selfish gains. Indeed, blood banks thread a fine line between motivating the ‘selfish’ and pandering to the ‘selfless’. Economist Alois Stutzer shares the results of a field experiment involving more than 10,000 potential blood donors with Singapore Management University.

Complexity, Cofactors, And The Failure Of Aids Policy In Africa, Eileen Stillwaggon

Economics Faculty Publications

Global AIDS policy still treats HIV as an exceptional case, abstracting from the context in which infection occurs. Policy is based on a simplistic theory of HIV causation, and evaluated using outdated tools of health economics. Recent calls for a health systems strategy – preventing and treating HIV within a programme of comprehensive health care – have not yet influenced the silo approach of AIDS policy.

Evidence continues to accumulate, showing that multiple factors, such as malnutrition, malaria and helminthes, increase the risk of sexual and vertical transmission of HIV. Moreover, complementary interventions that reduce viral load, improve immune response, …

Opportunities For Comparative Research In Public Health Pbrns : A Baseline Analysis Of Local Practice Settings, Glen P. Mays, Sharla A. Smith, Elaine B. Wootten, Sylvia J. Porchia

Health Management and Policy Presentations

This analysis describes the organizational and operational characteristics of local public health agencies participating in an initial cohort of five (5) public health PBRNs in the U.S. We examine variation in practice settings within and between PBRNs; compare practice settings to state and national norms; and identify opportunities for comparative research that can be conducted through PBRNs.

A Critique Of Neoclassical Theory Of Health Care Consumption, Xiao Jiang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to display an internal critique of the neoclassical theory of health care consumption with the intention of understanding its true merits and limitations. To avoid arbitrariness, instead of criticizing it directly, this thesis first explores the existing scholarly critiques, as well as the developments of this theory in response to these criticisms. What is interestingly observed is that the neoclassical responses tend to systematically fall into two problematic categories – the trade-off between reality and theoretical determinacy, and free-market behavior resolution. Such observation suggests that there is something fundamentally problematic with this theory, which …

Children's Health Insurance Program: The Dynamics Of Federalism And Health Care Policy, Erik White

Political Science Theses and Capstones

On February 4^th, 2009, President Obama signed into law the reauthorization of the Children Health Insurance Program. The federal government will now spend 30 billion dollars towards the goal of ensuring that more children in the United States are insured. I investigate this particular health care policy and look at the different dynamics that affect the ultimate goal of universal health insurance for children. Because this program allows for state flexibility under broad federal guidelines, one is able to look at individual states, and their particular actions and characteristics, to determine the best approach to insuring the most …

Health Insurance Tax Credits And Health Insurance Coverage Of Low-Income Single Mothers, Merve Cebi, Stephen A. Woodbury

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Who Will Care For The Women?, Candace Howes

Economics Faculty Publications

Over 20 million people today, including children, working-age disabled, and elderly persons, require some sort of assistance to live safely. Largely because women live longer than men, well into the ages when the probability of needing care increases, 70 percent of elderly people who need long-term care are women. Furthermore, most long-term care is provided by women, mainly as unpaid care in the home, or as low-paid care in institutions and community settings (Stone & Weiner 2001). The United States faces a severe long-term care crisis because of the nation's inability to plan for the changing demographic balance. The crisis …

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Value-Based Purchasing Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Governance And Value-Based Purchasing: What Employers Need To Know, Valerie Pracilio

Value-Based Purchasing Newsletter

In the current economy, employers are increasingly aware of the need to employ value-based purchasing strategies. Similar strategies can also be used by health care organization governing boards.

Today, more health care providers are accepting positions at the boardroom table than in the past. These providers are well trained in the clinical aspects of health care but not the business of health care delivery. It is not surprising that providers often find themselves unprepared for a board member’s role as a decision-maker and steward. It has become clear that education is essential to prepare providers for board positions.

The Patient Centered Medical Home-What Employers Need To Know, Richard Jacoby Md

Value-Based Purchasing Newsletter

In their capacity as payers for their employees’ medical services, employers need to be aware of trends that impact the provision and payment of healthcare services. One such trend in primary care healthcare services – specifically, the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) - meets both of these criteria by providing financial incentives to physicians for meeting certain quality criteria. In the following paragraphs, I’ll elaborate on the concepts underlying the PCMH, its potential to impact quality and cost of patient care, and some of the barriers to its implementation.

Consumer Health Websites Accelerate Consumer-Driven Healthcare, Richard Toner

Value-Based Purchasing Newsletter

Consumer health websites (sites) have been around for more than a decade now. WebMD, RevolutionHealth, MyOptumHealth, HealthCentral, Everydayhealth, QualityHealth… the list of sites goes on and on. Employers, employees, health plans, providers, and general healthcare consumers have had varying reactions to these sites and buy-in remains largely a personal preference.

Editor's Updates From The College, Neil I. Goldfarb

Value-Based Purchasing Newsletter

CAMHB Gets a New Name. The College for Advanced Management of Health Benefits has been renamed The College for Value-Based Purchasing of Health Benefits (CVBP). When the College was founded in 2004 the term “value-based purchasing” was relatively unknown outside of the limited circle of employers and coalitions that were already engaged in VBP activity. Since that time, the VBP movement has gathered steam, due in no small part to DHHS’ stated commitment to becoming a value-based purchaser of health services. The College curriculum has always been focused on value-based purchasing, and will continue to have this focus, so, in …

Has Vietnam’S Economic Progress Bypassed Its Ethnic Minorities?, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

In Vietnam, young people account for about one-third of the country’s 85 million population, a historic peak for this age group. While previously with the Population Council in Vietnam, sociology professor at the Singapore Management University (SMU), Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan, conducted studies of ethnic minority youths as well as health-seeking behavioural practices of minority parents with children less than five years. The findings raised concerns that the benefits of the country’s rapid progress as well as improvements in living and health standards have not filtered through to those living in the remote areas.

A Look At Women And Abortion In The United States, Denitsa D. Koleva, Kristina V. Marinova, Robyn A. Byrne

Gettysburg Economic Review

The issue of abortion is defined by ethical questions and, often, controversial views. This paper argues the importance of a coherent and enhanced effort to study the quantitative relationship between women’s characteristics and the average number of abortions in the United States. It specifically looks at the average number of previous abortions and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, as this relationship has not been explored before in the existing literature. We expect to establish a correlation between the average number of previous abortions and characteristics such as age, marital status, income and highest degree of education completed. An empirical model is …

After The Revolution: Global Health Politics In A Time Of Economic Crisis And Threatening Future Trends, David P. Fidler

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In 2008, global health’s political revolution, which unfolded over the preceding 10-15 years, ended when four global crises damaged global health and altered the political, diplomatic, and governance contexts in which global health activities operate. The climate change, energy, food, and economic crises revealed limitations in global health’s ability to shape large-scale political, economic, and environmental problems that adversely affect health or harm underlying determinants of health. In addition, projected trends in world affairs potentially threaten health and the ability of countries to craft effective collective action responses to global problems damaging health directly and indirectly. In the post-revolution period, …