The need for policies to reduce the costs of cleaner cooking in low income settings: Implications from systematic analysis of costs and benefits

Clinical studies/trials are experiments or observations on human subjects considered by the scientific community the most appropriate instrument to answer specific research questions on interventions on health outcomes. The time-line of the observations might be focused on a single time point or to follow time, backward or forward, in the so called, respectively, retrospective and prospective study design. Since the retrospective approach has been criticized for the possible sources of errors due to bias and confounding, we aimed this study to assess if there is a prevalence of retrospective vs prospective design in the clinical studies/trials by querying MEDLINE. Our results on a sample of 1,438,872 studies/trials, (yrs 1960-2017), support a prevalence of retrospective, respectively 55% vs 45%. To explain this result, arandom sub-sample of studies where the country of origin was reported (n=1576) was categorized in high and low-income based onthe nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and matched with the topic of the research. As expected, the absolute majority of studies/trials are carried on by high-income countries, respectively 86% vs 14%; even if a slight prevalence of retrospective was recorded in both income groups, nonetheless the most part of prospective studies are carried out by high-GDP countries, 85% vs 15%. Finally the differences in the design of the study are understandable when considering the topic of the research.

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Trends in reported antibiotic use among children under 5 years of age with fever, diarrhoea, or cough with fast or difficult breathing across low-income and middle-income countries in 2005–17: a systematic analysis of 132 national surveys from 73 countries

The Lancet Global Health ◽

10.1016/s2214-109x(20)30079-6 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. e799-e807 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gbemisola Allwell-Brown ◽

Laith Hussain-Alkhateeb ◽

Freddy Eric Kitutu ◽

Susanne Strömdahl ◽

Andreas Mårtensson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Antibiotic Use ◽

Systematic Analysis ◽

Middle Income ◽

National Surveys ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Children Under 5

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Green Affordable Housing: Implications of Costs and Benefits for Municipal Incentives

10.20944/preprints201910.0160.v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Armin Jeddi Yeganeh ◽

Andrew Patton McCoy ◽

Steve Hankey

Keyword(s):

Affordable Housing ◽

Low Income ◽

Local Governments ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Spillover Effects ◽

Listing Service ◽

Costs And Benefits ◽

Construction Costs ◽

Market Rate ◽

Housing Units

In the year 2017, about 89 percent of the total energy consumed in the US was produced using non-renewable energy sources, and about 43 percent of tenant households were cost-burdened. Local governments are in a unique position to facilitate green affordable housing that could reduce cost burdens, environmental degradation, and environmental injustice. Nonetheless, limited studies have made progress on costs and benefits of green affordable housing to guide decision-making, particularly in small communities. This study investigates density bonus options for green affordable housing by analyzing construction costs, sale prices, and spillover effects for green certifications and affordable housing units. The authors employ construction costs and sale data from 422 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects and 11,418 Multiple Listing Service (MLS) transactions in Virginia. Using hedonic regression analyses controlling for mediating factors, we find that the new construction of market-rate green certified houses is associated with small upfront costs but large and statistically significant price premiums. The construction of market-rate green certified houses has large and statistically significant spillover effects on existing non-certified houses. Existing non-certified affordable housing units show small and statistically insignificant negative price impacts on transactions of surrounding properties. The magnitude of social benefits associated with green building justifies the local provision of voluntary programs for green affordable housing where housing is expensive relative to its basic costs of production to promote sustainable development.

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Time arrow in published clinical studies/trials indexed in MEDLINE: a systematic analysis of retrospective vs. prospective study design, from 1960 to 2017

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.6363 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. e6363

Author(s):

Michele M. Ciulla ◽

Patrizia Vivona

Keyword(s):

Prospective Study ◽

Study Design ◽

Low Income ◽

Clinical Studies ◽

Human Subjects ◽

Systematic Analysis ◽

Time Line ◽

Time Arrow ◽

Prospective Study Design ◽

Single Time Point

Clinical studies/trials are experiments or observations on human subjects considered by the scientific community the most appropriate instrument to answer specific research questions on interventions on health outcomes. The time-line of the observations might be focused on a single time point or to follow time, backward or forward, in the so called, respectively, retrospective and prospective study design. Since the retrospective approach has been criticized for the possible sources of errors due to bias and confounding, we aimed this study to assess if there is a prevalence of retrospective vs. prospective design in the clinical studies/trials by querying MEDLINE. Our results on a sample of 1,438,872 studies/trials, (yrs 1960–2017), support a prevalence of retrospective, respectively 55% vs. 45%. To explain this result, a random sub-sample of studies where the country of origin was reported (n = 1,576) was categorized in high and low-income based onthe nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and matched with the topic of the research. As expected, the absolute majority of studies/trials are carried on by high-income countries, respectively 86% vs. 14%; even if a slight prevalence of retrospective was recorded in both income groups, for the most part prospective studies are carried out by high-GDP countries, 85% vs. 15%. Finally, the differences in the design of the study are understandable when considering the topic of the research.

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Post-Subsidy Solar PV Business Models to Tackle Fuel Poverty in Multi-Occupancy Social Housing

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13184852 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (18) ◽

pp. 4852

Author(s):

Joe Pitt ◽

Colin Nolden

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Social Housing ◽

Business Models ◽

Policy Design ◽

Production Costs ◽

Third Party ◽

Solar Pv ◽

Costs And Benefits ◽

Regressive Tax ◽

Progressive Policy

UK Feed-in Tariffs created a vibrant business ecosystem for the deployment of decentralised renewable energy technologies while constituting a regressive tax and increasing inequality. Business model innovation spurred by their withdrawal is providing valuable lessons for progressive policy design. Using the case study of solar PV deployment on multi-occupancy social housing, this paper reveals policy, business and organisational challenges that need to be overcome to address fuel poverty and reduce inequality. Suitable ‘export’ and ‘local’ business models were identified through a workshop and subsequently evaluated through qualitative thematic interview analysis. The ‘local’ model compares favourably in terms of production costs and benefits for fuel poor tenants but unfavourably in terms of transaction costs. Both models are considered equally susceptible to changes in policy. Their success hinges upon third party intermediaries, peer-to-peer learning and a supportive policy environment. This paper concludes with a policy recommendation to ensure that energy justice lies at the heart of the UK’s transition to net-zero carbon through the fair distribution of costs and benefits by including specific provisions to protect low-income groups.

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Low-Income Households and Credit: Exclusion, Preference, and Inclusion

Environment and Planning A Economy and Space ◽

10.1068/a281345 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 28 (8) ◽

pp. 1345-1360 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

J Ford ◽

K Rowlingson

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Financial Services ◽

Economic Life ◽

Mail Order ◽

Costs And Benefits ◽

Financial Exclusion ◽

Low Income Households

In this paper it is suggested that current debates on financial exclusion are often too narrowly drawn and institutionally focused. As a consequence, less recognition is given to the availability and use of other regulated financial services such as mail order and moneylending. Drawing on data from a number of recent studies, the authors explore the structures and processes involved in the provision and use of these additional credit sources and assess their costs and benefits. It is suggested that alongside institutional exclusion are processes of self-exclusion, and also inclusion. The implications of such credit patterns for social and economic life in low-income communities are raised.

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Using a behaviour discovery curve to predict optimal observation time

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/156853909x447775 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 146 (11) ◽

pp. 1531-1542 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stephen Lea ◽

Lisa Leaver ◽

Kristen Jule

Keyword(s):

Observation Time ◽

Costs And Benefits ◽

Total Size ◽

Systematic Analysis ◽

Optimal Amount ◽

Optimal Observation ◽

Ailurus Fulgens ◽

Behavioural Repertoire ◽

Observation Period ◽

Species Ecology

AbstractBehavioural observations are vital to furthering our knowledge of species' ecology. Determining a method for formalising the length of behavioural observation time (coined Behaviour Discovery Curve) is practical for both reducing disturbance to the animals observed and limiting costs to the researcher. This paper suggests a method of calculating behaviour discovery curves, which allows researchers to estimate the optimal amount of data to collect when establishing an ethogram. The curve is fitted to a logarithmic model that predicts the rate of new behaviours that will be observed in any given length of observation time. To illustrate the methods, 31 captive red pandas (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) were observed for 30 h each and a behaviour discovery curve was estimated for each animal based on the rate at which new behaviours were observed. We demonstrate how to use the curve in the evaluation of an ethogram, whilst also providing an indication of how many more behaviours would be observed in a specified longer observation period. This is an important consideration in the creation of any ethogram, since there are currently no standard methodologies for establishing ethograms, and no guidelines on how much data is 'sufficient' for determining a species' behavioural repertoire. The curve does not allow an estimate of the total size of the behavioural repertoire, but does allow a systematic analysis of the likely costs and benefits of further observation. We also suggest a method for quantifying the degree of idiosyncrasy of a population.

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Socioeconomic status and parent perceptions about the costs and benefits of youth sport

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0258885 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (11) ◽

pp. e0258885

Author(s):

Emily Kroshus ◽

Pingping Qu ◽

Sara Chrisman ◽

Stanley Herring ◽

Frederick Rivara

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Low Income ◽

Sport Participation ◽

Family Income ◽

Youth Sport ◽

High Income ◽

Costs And Benefits ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Parental Decision Making ◽

The Impact

Objectives Describe what costs and benefits parents across the socioeconomic spectrum weight most heavily when making decisions about sport participation for their children. Method Cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative online panel of parents of children between the ages of 5 and 18 (n = 1025, 52% response rate). Parents rated the importance of a series of potential costs and benefits of youth sport and these responses were compared across tertiles of per capita family income. We first examined the association between family income tertiles and cost and benefit variables. Model-based cluster analysis was then used to identity homogeneous groups of responses to costs and benefits. Results In all income tertiles, the top two benefits of sport were the same: having fun and being physically active. Sport as a means of keeping children out of trouble was very important for 64% of low-income parents as compared to 40% of high-income parents. Obtaining a college athletic scholarship was very important for 26% of low-income parents, as compared to 8% of high-income parents. Relative rankings of potential costs were similar by income tertile, with risk of concussion and other injury and the impact of sport on schoolwork prioritized across tertiles. Conclusions Parents prioritized fun and fitness in sport, and were concerned about injury and the impact of sport on academics. Lower income parents were the most likely to view keeping their child out of trouble, and the potential for a college athletics scholarship, as benefits of sport. Efforts to support parental decision making should be grounded in an understanding that family preferences are contextually constrained. While all parents should be appropriately informed about the potential costs and benefits they are weighting in their sports-related decision making, such family-focused efforts should be balanced with the recognition that structural change is needed to address income-related concerns about sport participation.

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