scholarly journals Provisional COVID-19 infrastructure induces large, rapid increases in cycling

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (15) ◽  
pp. e2024399118
Author(s):  
Sebastian Kraus ◽  
Nicolas Koch
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Low Risk ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
European Cities ◽  
Street Space ◽  
Bicycle Infrastructure ◽  
Road Work ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Infrastructure

The bicycle is a low-cost means of transport linked to low risk of transmission of infectious disease. During the COVID-19 crisis, governments have therefore incentivized cycling by provisionally redistributing street space. We evaluate the impact of this new bicycle infrastructure on cycling traffic using a generalized difference in differences design. We scrape daily bicycle counts from 736 bicycle counters in 106 European cities. We combine these with data on announced and completed pop-up bike lane road work projects. Within 4 mo, an average of 11.5 km of provisional pop-up bike lanes have been built per city and the policy has increased cycling between 11 and 48% on average. We calculate that the new infrastructure will generate between $1 and $7 billion in health benefits per year if cycling habits are sticky.

Computer simulation study about the dependence of amorphous silicon photonic waveguides efficiency on the material quality

2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 30502
Author(s):  
Alessandro Fantoni ◽  
João Costa ◽  
Paulo Lourenço ◽  
Manuela Vieira
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Simulation Analysis ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Deposition Process ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Sidewall Roughness ◽  
Sensing Applications ◽  
Fabrication Defects ◽  
The Impact

Amorphous silicon PECVD photonic integrated devices are promising candidates for low cost sensing applications. This manuscript reports a simulation analysis about the impact on the overall efficiency caused by the lithography imperfections in the deposition process. The tolerance to the fabrication defects of a photonic sensor based on surface plasmonic resonance is analysed. The simulations are performed with FDTD and BPM algorithms. The device is a plasmonic interferometer composed by an a-Si:H waveguide covered by a thin gold layer. The sensing analysis is performed by equally splitting the input light into two arms, allowing the sensor to be calibrated by its reference arm. Two different 1 × 2 power splitter configurations are presented: a directional coupler and a multimode interference splitter. The waveguide sidewall roughness is considered as the major negative effect caused by deposition imperfections. The simulation results show that plasmonic effects can be excited in the interferometric waveguide structure, allowing a sensing device with enough sensitivity to support the functioning of a bio sensor for high throughput screening. In addition, the good tolerance to the waveguide wall roughness, points out the PECVD deposition technique as reliable method for the overall sensor system to be produced in a low-cost system. The large area deposition of photonics structures, allowed by the PECVD method, can be explored to design a multiplexed system for analysis of multiple biomarkers to further increase the tolerance to fabrication defects.

Evaluation of the impact of public investment programs on social and economic performance of territories

2019 ◽  
pp. 109-123
Author(s):  
I. E. Limonov ◽  
M. V. Nesena
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Modeling ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
The Public ◽  
Export Activity ◽  
Regional Investment ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Development Institution

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of public investment programs on the socio-economic development of territories. As a case, the federal target programs for the development of regions and investment programs of the financial development institution — Vnesheconombank, designed to solve the problems of regional development are considered. The impact of the public interventions were evaluated by the “difference in differences” method using Bayesian modeling. The results of the evaluation suggest the positive impact of federal target programs on the total factor productivity of regions and on innovation; and that regional investment programs of Vnesheconombank are improving the export activity. All of the investments considered are likely to have contributed to the reduction of unemployment, but their implementation has been accompanied by an increase in social inequality.

Advancing dairy farming profitability through research

2001 ◽  
pp. 17-22
Author(s):  
J.R. Caradus ◽  
D.A. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Research And Development ◽  
Dairy Cow ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Pasture Management ◽  
Nitrogen Fertiliser ◽  
Grass Endophyte ◽  
Forage Species ◽  
Development Outcomes ◽  
Dairy Cow Nutrition ◽  
The Impact

The New Zealand dairy industry recognises that to remain competitive it must continue to invest in research and development. Outcomes from research have ensured year-round provision of low-cost feed from pasture while improving productivity. Some of these advances, discussed in this paper, include the use of white clover in pasture, understanding the impacts of grass endophyte, improved dairy cow nutrition, the use of alternative forage species and nitrogen fertiliser to improve productivity, demonstration of the impact of days-in-milk on profitability, and the use of feed budgeting and appropriate pasture management. Keywords: dairy, profitability, research and development

The effect of the implementation of a good medical practice booklet on nursing home residents’ drug prescriptions: a difference-in-differences analysis based on data from electronic pill dispensers (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphane Sanchez ◽  
Cécile Payet ◽  
Marie Herr ◽  
Anne Dazinieras ◽  
Caroline Blochet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Medical Practice ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Medication Use ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Good Medical Practice ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND The elderly are particularly exposed to adverse events from medication. Among the various strategies to reduce polypharmacy, educational approaches have shown promising results. OBJECTIVE We aimed to evaluate the impact of the implementation of a good medical practice booklet on polypharmacy in nursing homes. METHODS We identified nursing homes belonging to a geriatric care provider that had launched a policy of proper medication use using a good medical practice booklet delivered to prescribers and pharmacists. Data were derived from electronic pill dispensers. The effect of the intervention on polypharmacy was assessed with multilevel regression models, with a control group to account for natural trends over time. The main outcomes were the average daily number of times when medication was administered and the number of drugs with different presentation identifier codes per resident per month. RESULTS 96,216 residents from 519 nursing homes were included between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2014. The intervention group and the control group both decreased their average daily use of medication (-0.05 and -0.06). The good medical practice booklet did not have a statistically significant effect (exponentiated difference-in-differences coefficient 1.00, 95% confidence interval 0.99-1.02, P=.45). CONCLUSIONS Although the good medical practice booklet itself did not seem effective in decreasing medication use, our data show the effectiveness of a higher-level policy to decrease polypharmacy.

Motivating Compliance: Firm Response to Mandatory Disclosure Policies

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-119
Author(s):  
Colleen M. Boland ◽  
Chris E. Hogan ◽  
Marilyn F. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Policy Adoption ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Regulated Firms ◽  
Firm Response ◽  
Disclosure Rules ◽  
The Impact

SYNOPSIS Mandatory existence disclosure rules require an organization to disclose a policy's existence, but not its content. We examine policy adoption frequencies in the year immediately after the IRS required mandatory existence disclosure by nonprofits of various governance policies. We also examine adoption frequencies in the year of the subsequent change from mandatory existence disclosure to a disclose-and-explain regime that required supplemental disclosures about the content and implementation of conflict of interest policies. Our results suggest that in areas where there is unclear regulatory authority, mandatory existence disclosure is an effective and low cost regulatory device for encouraging the adoption of policies desired by regulators, provided those policies are cost-effective for regulated firms to implement. In addition, we find that disclose-and-explain regulatory regimes provide stronger incentives for policy adoption than do mandatory existence disclosure regimes and also discourage “check the box” behavior. Future research should examine the impact of mandatory existence disclosure rules in the year that the regulation is implemented. Data Availability: Data are available from sources cited in the text.

Does Board Independence Increase Firm Value? Evidence from Closed-End Funds

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Matthew E. Souther
Keyword(s):  
Instrumental Variables ◽  
Firm Value ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Closed End Funds ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Evidence

Researchers disagree about the impact of board independence on firm value. The disagreement generally stems from the endogenous nature of board appointments. I add new evidence to this discussion by using a sample of closed-end funds to document the value-enhancing effects of independent boards. Using cross-sectional, difference-in-differences, and instrumental variables techniques, I address these endogeneity concerns and find consistent evidence that board independence is associated with higher firm value.

scholarly journals The Impact of the First Professional Police Forces on Crime*

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Bindler ◽  
Randi Hjalmarsson
Keyword(s):  
Property Crime ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Violent Crimes ◽  
Metropolitan Police ◽  
Police Data ◽  
Reporting Rates ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Police Forces

Abstract This paper evaluates the effect on crime of creating a fundamental modern-day institution: centralized professional police forces tasked with preventing crime. We study the 1829 formation of the London Metropolitan Police – the first professional force worldwide. Using newly digitized and geocoded crime and police data together with difference-in-differences and pre-post designs, we find evidence of a significant reduction in violent crimes (despite the possibility of off-setting increases in clearance and reporting rates). In contrast, a reduction in property crime is not visible

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