scholarly journals Mass media coverage and vaccination uptake: evidence from the demand for meningococcal vaccinations in Hungary

Author(s):  
Anikó Bíró ◽  
Ágnes Szabó-Morvai

AbstractWe estimate the effect of mass media coverage of the meningococcal disease on the uptake of meningococcal vaccinations in Hungary. Our analysis is based on administrative county-level data on vaccination purchases linked to indicators of media coverage of the meningococcal disease and to administrative records of disease incidence. Using geographical and time variations in these indicators, our fixed effects estimates indicate a strong positive effect of mass media coverage of the disease on the rate of vaccination with all types of the meningococcal vaccine. At the same time, we do not find evidence that disease incidence itself has a positive impact on vaccination. These findings are broadly in line with imperfect information and the principles of bounded rationality and highlight the responsibility of mass media in influencing health-related behaviours.

2021 ◽  
pp. 097300522199758
Author(s):  
Raju Mandal ◽  
Shrabanti Maity

The agriculture sector in India is beset with twin limitations of shrinking cultivable area and absence of major technological breakthroughs in the recent past. In such a situation, a judicious management of the farm in the form of adjustment in a crop portfolio can be quite useful to maximise output and minimise wastage of resources. This article seeks to examine whether a diversified crop portfolio makes the farmers more efficient using farm-level survey data collected from geographically diverse areas of Assam, a state in northeast India. The results of a stochastic production frontier analysis show that adoption of a diversified crop portfolio across crops and seasons makes the farmers more efficient in cultivation by helping them reduce weather-induced damages to crops and reap better returns from farming. This efficiency-enhancing effect of crop diversification is found to be heterogeneous among the regions. However, too much diversification reduces the efficiency of farmers. The results have important implications for Assam where floods cause extensive damage to crops every year. Moreover, access to extension services and government support are found to make the farmers more efficient. On the other hand, fixed-rent form of tenancy reduces efficiency of the farmers while household size has a positive impact on the same.


2021 ◽  
pp. 095001702110042
Author(s):  
Aleksander Å Madsen ◽  
Idunn Brekke ◽  
Silje Bringsrud Fekjær

This study explores women’s attrition from male-dominated workplaces based on Norwegian public administrative records, covering individuals born 1945–1983, in the period between 2003 and 2013. It examines sex differences in rates of attrition and tests the significance of two commonly proposed explanations in the literature, namely the degree of numerical minority status and motherhood. It also investigates whether these explanations vary by occupational class. Selection into male-dominated workplaces is accounted for by using individual fixed effects models. The results show that attrition rates from male-dominated workplaces are considerably higher among women than among men. Moreover, the risk of female attrition to sex-balanced workplaces increases, regardless of occupational class, with increases in the percentage of males. Childbirth is associated with an increased risk of attrition to female-dominated workplaces, while having young children (⩽ 10 years old) lowered the risk. This association, however, was primarily evident among working-class women in manual occupations.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanika Mahajan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) on farm sector wage rate. This identification strategy rests on the assumption that all districts across India would have had similar wage trends in the absence of the program. The author argues that this assumption may not be true due to non-random allocation of districts to the program’s three phases across states and different economic growth paths of the states post the implementation of NREGS. Design/methodology/approach – To control for overall macroeconomic trends, the author allows for state-level time fixed effects to capture the differences in growth trajectories across districts due to changing economic landscape in the parent-state over time. The author also estimates the expected farm sector wage growth due to the increased public work employment provision using a theoretical model. Findings – The results, contrary to the existing studies, do not find support for a significantly positive impact of NREGS treatment on private cultivation wage rate. The theoretical model also shows that an increase in public employment work days explains very little of the total growth in cultivation wage post 2004. Originality/value – This paper looks specifically at farm sector wage growth and the possible impact of NREGS on it, accounting for state specific factors in shaping farm wages. Theoretical estimates are presented to overcome econometric limitations.


Author(s):  
Laura Anselmi ◽  
Yiu-Shing Lau ◽  
Matt Sutton ◽  
Anna Everton ◽  
Rob Shaw ◽  
...  

AbstractRisk-adjustment models are used to predict the cost of care for patients based on their observable characteristics, and to derive efficient and equitable budgets based on weighted capitation. Markers based on past care contacts can improve model fit, but their coefficients may be affected by provider variations in diagnostic, treatment and reporting quality. This is problematic when distinguishing need and supply influences on costs is required.We examine the extent of this bias in the national formula for mental health care using administrative records for 43.7 million adults registered with 7746 GP practices in England in 2015. We also illustrate a method to control for provider effects.A linear regression containing a rich set of individual, GP practice and area characteristics, and fixed effects for local health organisations, had goodness-of-fit equal to R2 = 0.007 at person level and R2 = 0.720 at GP practice level. The addition of past care markers changed substantially the coefficients on the other variables and increased the goodness-of-fit to R2 = 0.275 at person level and R2 = 0.815 at GP practice level. The further inclusion of provider effects affected the coefficients on GP practice and area variables and on local health organisation fixed effects, increasing goodness-of-fit at GP practice level to R2 = 0.848.With adequate supply controls, it is possible to estimate coefficients on past care markers that are stable and unbiased. Nonetheless, inconsistent reporting may affect need predictions and penalise populations served by underreporting providers.


2021 ◽  
pp. 001041402199717
Author(s):  
Charles T. McClean

How can incumbent governments benefit when they control the timing of elections? The conventional wisdom is that incumbents gain an advantage by timing elections to coincide with favorable economic conditions. An alternative mechanism that has received less attention is the element of surprise: the incumbent’s ability to exploit the opposition’s lack of election preparedness. I theorize and empirically test this surprise mechanism using candidate-level data from Japanese House of Representatives elections (1955–2017). The results show that in surprise elections, opposition parties recruit fewer, lower-quality candidates, spend less money campaigning, coordinate their candidates less effectively, and ultimately receive fewer votes and seats. Evidence from fixed effects models and exogenously timed by-elections further suggest that surprise matters more in shorter, competitive election campaigns and helps incumbents more with confronting inter-party as opposed to intra-party electoral competition. These findings add to our understanding of how strategic election timing can undermine electoral accountability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Garr Whitaker ◽  
Nina Sperber ◽  
Michael Baumgartner ◽  
Alrik Thiem ◽  
Deborah Cragun ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Implementation of multifaceted interventions typically involves many diverse elements working together in interrelated ways, including intervention components, implementation strategies, and features of local context. Given this real-world complexity, implementation researchers may be interested in a new mathematical, cross-case method called Coincidence Analysis (CNA) that has been designed explicitly to support causal inference, answer research questions about combinations of conditions that are minimally necessary or sufficient for an outcome, and identify the possible presence of multiple causal paths to an outcome. CNA can be applied as a standalone method or in conjunction with other approaches and can reveal new empirical findings related to implementation that might otherwise have gone undetected. Methods We applied CNA to a publicly available dataset from Sweden with county-level data on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaigns and vaccination uptake in 2012 and 2014 and then compared CNA results to the published regression findings. Results The original regression analysis found vaccination uptake was positively associated only with the availability of vaccines in schools. CNA produced different findings and uncovered an additional solution path: high vaccination rates were achieved by either (1) offering the vaccine in all schools or (2) a combination of offering the vaccine in some schools and media coverage. Conclusions CNA offers a new comparative approach for researchers seeking to understand how implementation conditions work together and link to outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 302-302
Author(s):  
Cara Cargo-Froom ◽  
Anna-Kate Shoveller ◽  
Daniel A Columbus ◽  
Chris Marinangeli ◽  
Elijah Kiarie ◽  
...  

Abstract Alternative forms of protein are an important focus in nutrition. This study sought to compare the effects of pelleting and extrusion on nutrient composition and protein quality measurements of Canadian pulses. Pulses used for the study included: 2 pea variety (Amarillo and dunn), lentils, chickpeas, and faba bean. Ingredients were ground through a 10/64” or a 2/64” screen to create a coarse and fine ground product, respectively. Both coarse and fine ground ingredients were pelleted at 60–65, 70–75, and 80–85 C0. Fine ground ingredients were extruded at three different temperatures (110, 130, 150 C0) and two moisture levels (18 and 22%). Samples were collected for all runs at the beginning, middle, and end of each run for both pelleted and extruded samples. Samples were analyzed for proximate analysis, amino acids including lysinoalanine, total and damaged starch, and total dietary fibre (including insoluble and soluble). Data were analyzed using a mixed model via proc glimmix in SAS, where ingredient, process, grind, temperature, and extrusion moisture were treated as fixed effects with different interactions selected based on model investigated. Crude protein content of whole pulses was highest in faba bean and lowest in the Amarillo pea, with faba bean protein content significantly higher than all other pulses, and lentil protein content significantly higher than Amarillo peas (P < 0.05). All pelleting temperatures, nested within grind, significantly increased crude protein content of all pulses compared to whole pulses (P < 0.05). All extrusion moistures significantly increased crude protein content of all pulses compared to whole pulses (P < 0.05) and moisture/temperature interactions were significantly higher for all pulses compared to whole pulses (P < 0.05). Amino acid comparisons produced similar significant results. This suggests that pelleting and extrusion processing can have a positive impact on protein content of pulses and protein quality measurements in pulses.


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