Health Economics Commons^™

Air Pollution And Fetal Loss In The Global Tropics, Shuqiao Cheng

Master's Theses

Abstract: Recent work has shown that in-utero air pollution has negative effects on both contemporaneous birth outcomes and long-term human capital outcomes. However, only a few studies explore the effects of in-utero exposure to air pollution on fetal loss, and none of the studies has been done in developing countries. In this study, we examine the impact of naturally caused CO and PM 2.5 on reproductive outcomes in 40 developing countries from 1997 to 2009. We present childbirths and birth gender as measures for potential fetal losses. The richest model identified using variation in pollution between pregnancies with controlling for …

Behavioral Determinants Of Biofortified Food Acceptance: The Case Of Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato In Ghana, Chinonso E. Etumnu

Master's Theses

Biofortified foods are being introduced in sub-Saharan Africa as an important strategy to help address micronutrient malnutrition. However, there has been little research on factors that could play decisive roles in their successful introduction. This paper investigates the determinants of consumer acceptance of biofortified orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) using data from a choice experiment conducted in Ghana. I find that OFSP is preferred to traditional white-fleshed and yellow-fleshed sweet potatoes as indicated by consumers' marginal willingness to pay for the three varieties. I also find that respondents' socio-economic characteristics do not have a significant effect on consumer acceptance of OFSP. …

The Effect Of Gambling Expansion On Health, Marina Li

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the effect of gambling expansion on health and health behaviors. This paper hypothesized gambling expansion decreases individual’s health and increases negative health behaviors. The study is done by observing the health and health behavior of individuals and results generally supports hypothesis.

Evaluating The Causal Effect Of Insurance Access On Labor Market Outcomes Among Young Adults, Eden Volkov

Theses and Dissertations

The ACA youth coverage mandate took effect in 2010. Under this provision, individuals through age 26 can remain on their parent's health insurance plan. This provision increased insurance coverage. This has led to 22-29 year olds being more likely to be self-employed, to not work, and to work part time.

Variation In Restaurant Sanitary Scores In New York City, Kyle Gregory

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether restaurants that are homogenous in nature would exhibit substantially different hygiene scores based on the underlying consumer learning behaviors present in the neighborhoods in which the restaurants are located.

Exploring The Effects Of Calorie Labeling Laws, Carmen Vargas

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the effects of Calorie labeling laws implemented in some counties in the United States on several health related variables. The findings show a small significant decreasing effect of the law on Limited activity and Poor health of 0.083 and 0.047 at 95% significant level respectively.

Public Health Spending And Its Contributions To The Total Spend On Health, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

This presentation provides an overview of recent research on governmental public health expenditures and their interaction with medical spending, carried out through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supported initiatives on Public Health Services and Systems Research (PHSSR) and the new Systems for Action research program. This work illustrates the value of tracking resource use across multiple sectors that influence health and well-being in American communities. As such, this work can inform the ongoing dialogue about methodologies for summarizing total health spending for the U.S. and for state and local areas.

Hospital-Skilled Nursing Facility Referral Linkage Reduces Readmission Rates Among Medicare Patients Receiving Major Surgery, Andrew J. Schoenfeld, Xuan Zhang, David C. Grabowski, Vincent Mor, Joel S. Weissman, Momotazur Rahman

Research Collection School Of Economics

BACKGROUND:In the health reform era, rehospitalization after discharge may result in financial penalties to hospitals. The effect of increased hospital-skilled nursing facility (SNF) linkage on readmission reduction after surgery has not been explored.METHODS:To determine whether enhanced hospital-SNF linkage, as measured by the proportion of surgical patients referred from a hospital to a particular SNF, would result in reduced 30-day readmission rates for surgical patients, we used national Medicare data (2011-2012) and evaluated patients who underwent 1 of 5 operative procedures (coronary artery bypass grafting [CABG], hip fracture repair, total hip arthroplasty, colectomy, or lumbar spine surgery). Initial evaluation was performed …

Measuring Progress To Comprehensive Public Health Systems, National Preparedness, And A Culture Of Health, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

This update describes recent progress on two national health measurement initiatives: The National Health Security Preparedness Index and the National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems. These longitudinal data sources offer valuable perspectives on how health security practices and public health delivery systems are changing across the U.S.

The Effect Of Health Insurance On Out Of Pocket Expenditure, Andrew M. Bean

Theses and Dissertations

The dependent care provision of the Affordable Care Act went into effect September 2010. This change in insurance policy can be used as a natural experiment to examine the effect of health insurance on healthcare expenditures using a control function two-part model to address endogeneity.

The Relationship Between Obesity And Use Of Electronics For Individuals Under The Age Of 21, Zeeshan Haque

Honors College Theses

Today, obesity is one of the largest health problems in America. There are several factors that contribute to obesity – but one problem that has been rising in this generation is the issues of children deciding to play video games, watch television, or spend time on the computer instead of healthier alternatives such as exercising or playing sports. One factor that could attribute to this is the large advancements in technology over the last few decades. The purpose of this research is to identify the relationship between electronics and obesity by analyzing data provided by the NHANES codebook. In this …

Understanding The Value Of Multi-Sector Partnerships To Improve Population Health, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

We review recent research concerning multi-sectoral partnerships aimed at improving health status on a population-wide basis, with a particular focus on implementation strategies and on health and economic impact. While still preliminary and emerging, research indicates that large health benefits are possible through collective actions that engage the medical, public health, and social sectors. Mechanisms for aligning incentives, dividing responsibilities equitably, and measuring progress regularly appear critical to success.

Measuring Comprehensive Public Health Delivery Systems And Their Contributions To Population Health, Glen P. Mays, Rick Ingram

Health Management and Policy Presentations

We review methods for measuring the structure of public health delivery systems using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems. A growing body of research using these measures demonstrates how multiple sectors contribute to core public health functions, and how these functions influence community health status over time. We end with a summary of how the Comprehensive Public Health System measure will be used in monitoring the impact of the 21st Century Public Health System initiative.

What Is The True Cost To Stay In The Hospital?, Samantha Alicandro

Honors Projects in Mathematics

Currently, the unfortunate reality that receiving diverse health procedures can be extremely expensive is widely acknowledged and woefully accepted. However, have you inquired or been curious about the specific factors that influence the cost per day expensed by a hospital? Through examination, investigation, and evaluation operating SAS Enterprise Guide, SAS Enterprise Miner and Tableau I have attempted to arrive at a conclusion for this very question. Utilizing a 1.5 million row data set provided by Rhode Island, for the years 2003-2013, I analyzed the assorted elements conceivably bearing impact on the cost per day at a hospital. Regressions, decision trees, …

A Precarious Paradigm: Seeking Alternatives To Public-Private Partnerships In Health, A Case For The Code, Lena Mininberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: Breastfeeding is an unparalleled source of nutrition for infants and young children and is recommended as the best practice universally by the World Health Organization (WHO). The benefits in human health and development that result from exclusive and sustained breastfeeding have enormous economic development potential. Because of the non-legally binding nature of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes (the Code), and shifting socio-cultural norms, breastfeeding rates are at an alarming low. In order to progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, breastfeeding practices must be protected, promoted, and supported worldwide.

Objective: This research paper explores implementing strong measures …

Factors Influencing The Variation In Gms Prescribing Expenditure In Ireland, Aisling Conway Lenihan, S. Ahern, J. Cronin, N. Woods

Dept. of Management & Enterprise Publications

Background

Pharmaceutical expenditure growth is a familiar feature in many Western health systems and is a real concern for policymakers. A state funded General Medical Services (GMS) scheme in Ireland experienced an increase in prescription expenditure of 414 % between 1998 and 2012. This paper seeks to explore the rationale for this growth by investigating the composition (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Group level 1 & 5) and drivers of GMS drug expenditure in Ireland in 2012.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out on the Health Service Executive-Primary Care Reimbursement Service (HSE-PCRS) population prescribing database (n = 1,630,775). Three …

Aligning Delivery & Financing Systems To Advance A Culture Of Health, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Systems for Action Research Program supports research on how best to organize, finance, and deliver the constellation of services and supports that promote health and well-being in American communities, including but extending beyond the medical care and public health sectors. This session describes work underway through the S4A program and future research priorities, building on a strong scientific foundation in the fields of health services research (HSR) and public health services & systems research (PHSSR).

Integrating Health Services & Systems: What We Know, Think We Know, And Need To Learn, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

The delivery and financing systems for medical care, public health, and social and community services pursue many common goals and serve overlapping groups of families and communities. Unfortunately, in most American communities these systems interact in complex and often poorly understood ways through fragmented funding vehicles, information flows, governance and decision-making structures, institutional relationships, implementation rules and strategies, and professional and interpersonal connections. New research approaches are required to untangle these interactions and expose novel pathways of influence that can support equitable improvements in service delivery, resource use, health impact, and wellbeing. This presentation will summarize evidence from recent studies …

Measuring Multi-Sector Contributions To Public Health Delivery Systems & Population Health, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

The National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems has followed a nationally-representative cohort of U.S. communities since 1998 to measure the scope of public health activities implemented in each community and the range of organizations and sectors that contribute to each activity. With 16 years of follow-up observations, this survey allows us to study the effects of demographic, economic, and policy shocks on public health delivery systems, and estimate the health effects attributable to delivery system change.

Measuring Comprehensive Public Health Delivery Systems And Their Contributions To Population Health, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

Delivery and financing systems for public health services vary widely across U.S. communities, raising questions about the comparative effectiveness and efficiency of alternative structures. We summarize recent approaches for measuring alternative system configurations and estimating their health and economic effects.

The Fatality And Morbidity Components Of The Value Of Statistical Life, W. Kip Viscusi, Elissa Philip Gentry

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The fatality risk–money tradeoff that is the value of a statistical life (VSL) may vary with the nature of the fatality event. While all fatalities involve loss of future life expectancy, the morbidity effects and their duration may differ. This article analyzes fatality risks accompanied by morbidity effects of different duration to disentangle the mortality and morbidity components of VSL using data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). The VSL is comprised of the sum of the value of the fatality risk and the value of the morbidity risk. Labor market valuations of morbidity risks are positive, even …

Caste-Ethnic Disparity In Vaccine Use Among 0- To 5-Year-Old Children In Nepal: A Decomposition Analysis, Satis Devkota, Christopher Butler

Economics & Management Publications

Objectives To examine what factors, if any, could account for caste/ethnic disparities in vaccine utilization between upper caste and indigenous, and upper caste and low caste (Dalit) groups in Nepal.

Methods Using the Institute of Medicine (IOM) approach to calculate disparity, we estimate the disparity between upper caste and indigenous, and between upper caste and Dalit 0- to 5-year-old children in Nepal. Then we use Fairlie’s non-linear regression-based decomposition technique to account for those disparities in immunization.

Results Using nationally representative data (the Nepal Living Standard Survey II and III), we construct a pooled cross-sectional series and calculate the disparity …

The Impact Of Nurse Turnover On Quality Of Care And Mortality In Nursing Homes: Evidence From The Great Recession, Yaa Akosa Antwi, John R. Bowblis

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We estimate the causal effect of nurse turnover on mortality and the quality of nursing home care with a fixed effect instrumental variable estimation that uses the unemployment rate as an instrument for nursing turnover. We find that ignoring endogeneity leads to a systematic underestimation of the effect of nursing turnover on mortality and quality of care in a sample of California nursing homes. Specifically, 10 percentage point increase in nurse turnover results in a facility receiving 2.2 additional deficiencies per annual regulatory survey, reflecting a 19.3 percent increase. Not accounting for endogeneity of turnover leads to results that suggest …

Socioeconomic Gradients In Early Childhood Health: Evidence From Bangladesh And Nepal, Satis Devkota, Bibhudutta Panda

Economics & Management Publications

Background: A large literature has developed researching the origins of socioeconomic gradients in child health in developed countries. Particularly, this research examines the age at which these gradient effects emerge and how they change across different stages of childhood. However, similar research on developing countries is limited.

Methods: This paper examines the socioeconomic gradients in early childhood health in two developing countries, Bangladesh and Nepal using the 2011 Demographic and Health Surveys. The paper separately studies two measures of household socioeconomic status: household wealth and maternal educational attainment. Two anthropometric measures of early childhood health, height-for-age and weight-for-age Z scores …

Examining The Status Of African Americans And Hispanics In Arkansas, Kathy Deck, Mervin Jebaraj

Urban League of the State of Arkansas

The Urban League of the State of Arkansas seeks to lead efforts in advancing and obtaining equal opportunities for all citizens with a particular focus in the areas of health, education, jobs, and housing. In keeping with this mission, the Urban League of Arkansas partnered with the Center for Business and Economic Research in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas to produce a report that provides data to identify key areas of need in the African American and Latino communities in Arkansas and develop programs and policies to address them.

The Economics Of Health, Donald J. Meyer Editor

Upjohn Press

Donald J. Meyer leads a group of notable health economists who explore critical issues—and their economic impacts—facing the nation's healthcare system today. These include lifestyle choices and their health impacts, decisions on medical care and self-care, the fee-for-service payment model, disability and workers’ compensation insurance claims, long-term care, and how various aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) impact the nation’s healthcare system. Contributors include M. Kate Bundorf, Marcus Dillender, John H. Goddeeris, Donald J. Meyer, Edward C. Norton, and Charles E. Phelps.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center 2016 Economic Impact In El Paso, Texas, Manuel L. Reyes Loya, David A. Schauer, Jesus Mendoza

Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Doctors Without Borders On Low- And Middle-Income Countries In Sub-Saharan Africa, Nathan Hayenga

Honors College Theses

This research studies the relationship between the activity of medical disaster-response humanitarian aid and the rate of growth in developing economies. Data of total annual GDP and Doctors without Borders (MSF) activity in 23 countries was analyzed over the years 2000-2014 with correlation and regression analysis. Under this analysis results are inconclusive, with a correlation of zero between MSF activity’s within a country and change in that country’s rate of GDP growth. A conclusive response was found on the comparison between GDP growth in countries MSF was active in compared to countries with no MSF activity, showing that countries in …

The Impact Of Cash Transfers On Labor Force Participation And Household Consumption: Evidence From Post-Apartheid South Africa, Steve M. M. Muchiri

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

The Old Age Pension (OAP) program for elderly South Africans puts a significant cash transfer in the hands of many poor households. This dissertation investigates its impact on labor force participation and consumption of selected household items. In the first half of the dissertation, we take advantage of a policy reform that lowered men's OAP eligibility age from 65 to 60 for men to match that of women for estimation identification. Using the General Household Survey data, we first demonstrate that both men and women respond to the eligibility age by dropping from labor force participation at the eligibility age, …

A Sustainability-Based Project Selection Algorithm: Socio-Technical-Economic Project Selection (Steps) Algorithm, Bharathi Bhattu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Multi-dimensional aspects play a vital role in the task of project-decision making. Environmental effects are to be considered in addition to other technical and non-technical aspects in order to avoid undue environmental damage. This current work introduces a new decision-making algorithm (Socio-Technical-Economic Project Selection or STEPS) that is demonstrated with the use of RCA (recycled concrete aggregate) as riprap for slope stabilization and erosion control which leaches chemical arsenic when in contact with water. Arsenic has long been recognized for its lethal properties. The main intention of introducing this new algorithm is to use sustainability concepts of social, technical, and …