scholarly journals Smoking inequality across genders and socio-economic positions. Evidence from Italian data

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-203
Author(s):  
Cinzia Di Novi ◽  
Rowena Jacobs ◽  
Matteo Migheli

Abstract There has been a dearth of literature on smoking inequalities, in spite of its contribution to health inequalities. We exploit Italian individual-level data from repeated cross-sections of the annual household survey, “Aspects of Daily Life,” that was part of the Multipurpose Survey carried out by the Italian National Statistical Office (ISTAT) for the period 1999–2012 to identify the main socio-demographic characteristics that determine smoking inequalities. We use the Concentration Index to identify in which groups smoking is relatively more prevalent. We find that, among men, pro-rich inequality is driven by members of the lower socio-economic positions, while we observe the opposite for women. We encourage policymakers to address the issue of smoking inequalities, which the current policies have largely disregarded.

2018 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 713-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
GABRIELE MAGNI ◽  
ANDREW REYNOLDS

Does sexual orientation and gender identity matter at election time? While previous literature has explored the effect of candidate gender and ethnicity on electoral results, this is the first study to quantitatively investigate the impact of sexual orientation. We build an original dataset combining individual-level data on more than 3,000 candidates in the 2015 UK election with sociodemographic indicators at the constituency level. In addition to sexual orientation and other demographic characteristics, we include candidate education, political experience, and campaign spending. We find that LGBT candidates generally do not have a negative impact on party vote share. Even in more conservative environments, LGBT candidates perform at least as well as their straight counterparts. This work is important to understand the consequences of descriptive representation and, relatedly, how rapid social change happens.


2002 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kortt ◽  
Jonathan Baldry

The aim of this study was to examine the association between musculoskeletal disorders and the level of obesity (as defined by the body mass index) for a sample of the Australian population aged 20-64.A logistic regression model was used to estimate the association between musculoskeletal disorders and obesity, controlling for a range of socio-demographic characteristics. Individual-level data on obesity, musculoskeletal disorders, and various socio-demographic characteristics were extracted from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 1995 National Health Survey (NHS). Individuals with musculoskeletal disorders were identified using ICD-9 codes 710-739 from a sample of 28,376 individuals from the non-institutionalised population. Estimates from the logistic regression equation indicate that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between the probability of having a musculoskeletal disorder and the level of obesity. Socio-demographic variables such as age, sex, origin, income level, employment status and geographic location also had a statistically significant relationship. This information can be used by public health practitioners and educators to identify those at risk and to design health strategies that target at-risk patients.


Author(s):  
Jingjing Wang ◽  
Xueying Wu ◽  
Ruoyu Wang ◽  
Dongsheng He ◽  
Dongying Li ◽  
...  

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has stimulated intensive research interest in its transmission pathways and infection factors, e.g., socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, climatology, baseline health conditions or pre-existing diseases, and government policies. Meanwhile, some empirical studies suggested that built environment attributes may be associated with the transmission mechanism and infection risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, no review has been conducted to explore the effect of built environment characteristics on the infection risk. This research gap prevents government officials and urban planners from creating effective urban design guidelines to contain SARS-CoV-2 infections and face future pandemic challenges. This review summarizes evidence from 25 empirical studies and provides an overview of the effect of built environment on SARS-CoV-2 infection risk. Virus infection risk was positively associated with the density of commercial facilities, roads, and schools and with public transit accessibility, whereas it was negatively associated with the availability of green spaces. This review recommends several directions for future studies, namely using longitudinal research design and individual-level data, considering multilevel factors and extending to diversified geographic areas.


Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 557
Author(s):  
Elena Raptou

This study investigated the relationship of behavioral factors, such as snack choices, obesity stereotypes and smoking with adolescents’ body weight. Individual-level data for 1254 Greek youths were selected via a formal questionnaire. Snack choices seem to be gender specific with girls showing a stronger preference for healthier snacks. Frequent consumption of high-calorie and more filling snacks was found to increase Body Mass Index (BMI) in both genders. Fruit/vegetable snacks were associated with lower body weight in females, whereas cereal/nut snacks had a negative influence in males’ BMI. The majority of participants expressed anti-fat attitudes and more boys than girls assigned positive attributes to lean peers. The endorsement of the thin-ideal was positively associated with the BMI of both adolescent boys and girls. This study also revealed that neglecting potential endogeneity issues can lead to biased estimates of smoking. Gender may be a crucial moderator of smoking–BMI relationships. Male smokers presented a higher obesity risk, whereas female smokers were more likely to be underweight. Nutrition professionals should pay attention to increase the acceptance of healthy snack options. Gender differences in the influence of weight stereotypes and smoking on BMI should be considered in order to enhance the efficacy of obesity prevention interventions.


Author(s):  
Joachim Wagner

SummaryThis paper contributes to the literature on the use of anonymized firm level data by reporting results from a replication study. To test for the practical usefulness of anonymized data I selected two of my published papers based on different cross sections of firm data. The data used there were anonymized by micro aggregation. I replicated the analyses reported in the papers with the anonymized data, and then compared the results to those produced with the original data. Frequently, the reported levels of statistical significance differ. Furthermore, statistically significant coefficients sometimes differ by order of magnitude. Therefore, at least for the moderate sample sizes used here micro-aggregated firm data should not be considered as a tool for empirical research.


2021 ◽  
pp. 001041402110243
Author(s):  
Carolina Plescia ◽  
Sylvia Kritzinger

Combining individual-level with event-level data across 25 European countries and three sets of European Election Studies, this study examines the effect of conflict between parties in coalition government on electoral accountability and responsibility attribution. We find that conflict increases punishment for poor economic performance precisely because it helps clarify to voters parties’ actions and responsibilities while in office. The results indicate that under conditions of conflict, the punishment is equal for all coalition partners when they share responsibility for poor economic performance. When there is no conflict within a government, the effect of poor economic evaluations on vote choice is rather low, with slightly more punishment targeted to the prime minister’s party. These findings have important implications for our understanding of electoral accountability and political representation in coalition governments.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document