Evaluating the Cost- Effectiveness of In-Work Benefits: A Simulation Study for Switzerland

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Gerfin ◽  
Robert E. Leu
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Labour Supply ◽  
Social Assistance ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Working Poor ◽  
Assistance System ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Poor Households ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
The Cost

Abstract Income support for working low-income families (the ‘working poor’) is on top of the political agenda in Switzerland. The current social assistance system is considered inadequate to support working poor households. Several European countries have introduced in-work benefits in order to make work pay. Based on a structural labour supply model, this paper provides microsimulation results of the effects of introducing different schemes of in-work benefits. It turns out that adding a minimum hours requirement to the current social assistance system is the most cost-effective reform. Onethird of expected costs can be attributed to behavioural changes in labour supply.

Demonstrating Nutrient Cost Gradients: A Brooklyn Case Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 84 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 244-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Karp ◽  
Gary Wong ◽  
Marguerite Orsi
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Food Selection ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Department ◽  
Micronutrient Deficiencies ◽  
Caloric Density ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Introduction: Foods dense in micronutrients are generally more expensive than those with higher energy content. These cost-differentials may put low-income families at risk of diminished micronutrient intake. Objectives: We sought to determine differences in the cost for iron, folate, and choline in foods available for purchase in a low-income community when assessed for energy content and serving size. Methods: Sixty-nine foods listed in the menu plans provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for low-income families were considered, in 10 domains. The cost and micronutrient content for-energy and per-serving of these foods were determined for the three micronutrients. Exact Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for comparisons of energy costs; Spearman rho tests for comparisons of micronutrient content. Ninety families were interviewed in a pediatric clinic to assess the impact of food cost on food selection. Results: Significant differences between domains were shown for energy density with both cost-for-energy (p < 0.001) and cost-per-serving (p < 0.05) comparisons. All three micronutrient contents were significantly correlated with cost-for-energy (p < 0.01). Both iron and choline contents were significantly correlated with cost-per-serving (p < 0.05). Of the 90 families, 38 (42 %) worried about food costs; 40 (44 %) had chosen foods of high caloric density in response to that fear, and 29 of 40 families experiencing both worry and making such food selection. Conclusion: Adjustments to USDA meal plans using cost-for-energy analysis showed differentials for both energy and micronutrients. These differentials were reduced using cost-per-serving analysis, but were not eliminated. A substantial proportion of low-income families are vulnerable to micronutrient deficiencies.

scholarly journals Public Subsidies for Employees' Contributions to Employer-Sponsored Insurance

2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Merlis
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Tax Credits ◽  
Public Subsidies ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Employee Premium Contributions ◽  
Premium Contributions ◽  
Insurance Tax ◽  
Fair Balance

Proposals to provide or subsidize health insurance for low-income families must take account of the fact that many workers have access to employer-sponsored insurance (ESI), but decline it because of required employee premium contributions. This article considers a tax credit for the employee share of ESI in the context of a broader program of income-based health insurance tax credits. Helping uninsured workers pay for available ESI could be more cost-effective than subsidizing their coverage in the nongroup market. The credit would also be available to workers who were already covered, both for equity reasons and to reduce the incentives for employers to drop coverage or for workers to shift to subsidized individual plans. One key issue is how to prevent employers from reducing their current health plan contributions to take advantage of the new funding. Other design questions considered by the article include whether workers should be able to choose between ESI and nongroup coverage, whether minimum benefit standards should apply for employer plans, and how to achieve a fair balance in subsidies for group and nongroup coverage.

scholarly journals Developing a route filtering system for street network development by integrating GIS and space syntax: a case study from tehran, Iran

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omid Rismanchian 1 ◽  
Simon Bell 1 ◽  
Safoora Mokhtarzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Pattern ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Space Syntax ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Street Network ◽  
Deprived Neighbourhoods ◽  
Natural Movement ◽  
Spatial Isolation ◽  
Low Income Families

Throughout the urban development process over the last seven decades in Tehran, Iran many self-generated neighbourhoods have developed, in which the majority of the residents are low-income families. The main spatial attribute of these deprived neighbourhoods in space syntax terms is spatial isolation from the surrounding, more affluent areas, which is accompanied by inadequate urban infrastructure and a lack of accessibility and permeability. This paper discusses a method of developing a route filtering system for identifying the most suitable streets for the creation of a pedestrian-friendly network, using an example of a deprived area, in order to integrate it with the surrounding urban fabric. The theory of ‘Natural Movement’ formed the basis of the research, the spatial pattern being analysed through Space Syntax using Depthmap software and GIS. The results showed that it is possible to identify the underlying spatial pattern using this approach and this could form a very cost effective basis for developing a pedestrian friendly street network, in order to release the deprived area from its spatial isolation. 

scholarly journals Improvement of the targeted social support of low-income families with children: Vologda Pilot Project

POPULATION ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-121
Author(s):  
Vyacheslav Bobkov
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Social Assistance ◽  
Minimum Income ◽  
Lump Sum ◽  
Subsistence Minimum ◽  
Regional Budget ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Families With Children ◽  
Guaranteed Minimum Income

The article deals with the theoretical, methodical and practical principles of forming a new model of targeted social support of low-income families with children on the basis of guaranteed minimum income. Approbation of the new approaches to targeted social support of low-income families with children was implemented in Vologda oblast. The target representative sample was 70 families. It has been found out that after the targeted social support under the current legislation (lump-sum payments excluded), basic income in these families averaged 35.3 per cent of the differentiated equivalent subsistence minimum, thus being evidence of the inefficient state social assistance. The author has substantiated introducing additional monthly targeted social payments to parents besides the set regular payments (additional family poverty benefit) that will enable families to improve their economic sustainability. He substantiated a number of threshold values of the guaranteed minimum income that would ensure current consumption ranging from the cost food basket up to the size of the differentiated equivalent living standards of families, depending on the financial capacity of the regional budget. The guaranteed minimum income of low-income families with children averaged 54.6 per cent of the regional differentiated equivalent subsistence minimum. There have been developed methodical recommendations for identifying untapped socio-economic potential of families as a source of raising income from employment, as well as criteria for removal of families from the recipients of targeted social assistance in the form of cash benefits. Proposals on correcting the current legislation on the state social support have been formulated.

‘The Pragmatist’s Solution to Poverty’

2019 ◽  
pp. 125-144
Author(s):  
Peter Sloman
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Tax Credits ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
British Government ◽  
Conservative Government ◽  
System P ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Negative Income Tax

The ‘rediscovery of poverty’ prompted a wide-ranging debate over how the British government could best support low-income families. One radical response came from Edward Heath’s Conservative government, which published plans to replace the whole system of personal tax allowances with refundable tax credits—the closest any British government has come to introducing a Universal Basic Income. This chapter examines the origins of the Tax Credit Scheme in 1971–2, which was devised by special adviser Arthur Cockfield in response to the rising cost of tax administration and the difficulty of establishing a selective Negative Income Tax in Britain. As the plans took shape, however, the cost of introducing the reforms on a no-losers basis became a source of growing concern within government. Indeed, Treasury officials were relieved when Labour’s victory in the February 1974 election made it possible to jettison the scheme and focus on simplifying and computerizing the PAYE system.

The Effects of Behavioural Contracting and Preferred Reinforcement on Appointment Keeping

2000 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Hayes ◽  
Lisa A. Efron ◽  
Gina S. Richman ◽  
Kelley A. Harrison ◽  
Elizabeth L. Aguilera
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Treatment Implementation ◽  
The Family ◽  
Appointment Keeping ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Contingency Contract ◽  
Therapy Clinic

AbstractThe current study demonstrates the efficacy of using a behavioural contingency contract in conjunction with family-selected reinforcers to increase appointment keeping among low income families in a child and family therapy clinic. Three families with similar presenting problems participated. A multiple baseline across-subjects design with the addition of a reversal component was utilised. Upon treatment implementation, contracts were signed by family members stating that they would receive coupons valuing $30.00 after attending four consecutive clinic appointments. These coupons were selected by the family from a diverse menu. Results indicated increases in appointment keeping following implementation of the behavioural contract. The cost effectiveness of using a behavioural contract in conjunction with economic incentives with low-income families is discussed, and suggestions for future research on appointment keeping are made.

scholarly journals The Distributional Consequences of Large Devaluations

2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (11) ◽  
pp. 3477-3509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Cravino ◽  
Andrei A. Levchenko
Keyword(s):  
Exchange Rate ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Relative Price ◽  
Cost Of Living ◽  
Product Categories ◽  
Poor Households ◽  
Distributional Consequences ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Income Decile

We study the impact of large exchange rate devaluations on the cost of living at different points on the income distribution. Poor households spend relatively more on tradeable product categories and consume lower-priced varieties within categories. Changes in the relative price of tradeables and of lower-priced varieties affect the cost of living of low-income relative to high-income households. We quantify these effects following the 1994 Mexican devaluation and show that they can have large distributional consequences. Two years post-devaluation, the cost of living for the bottom income decile rose 1.48 to 1.62 times more than for the top income decile. (JEL D12, D31, E31, F31, O12, O19, O24)

scholarly journals Are Poor Cities Cheap for Everyone? Non‐Homotheticity and the Cost of Living Across U.S. Cities

Econometrica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 89 (6) ◽  
pp. 2679-2715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessie Handbury
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Cost Of Living ◽  
Relative Prices ◽  
Welfare Impact ◽  
Product Assortment ◽  
Poor Households ◽  
Price Indexes ◽  
Choice Sets ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Grocery Products

This paper shows that the products and prices offered in markets are correlated with local income‐specific tastes. To quantify the welfare impact of this variation, I calculate local price indexes micro‐founded by a model of non‐homothetic demand over thousands of grocery products. These indexes reveal large differences in how wealthy and poor households perceive the choice sets available in wealthy and poor cities. Relative to low‐income households, high‐income households enjoy 40 percent higher utility per dollar expenditure in wealthy cities, relative to poor cities. Similar patterns are observed across stores in different neighborhoods. Most of this variation is explained by differences in the product assortment offered, rather than the relative prices charged, by chains that operate in different markets.

scholarly journals Are current preventive chemotherapy strategies for controlling and eliminating neglected tropical diseases cost-effective?

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. e005456
Author(s):  
Hugo C Turner ◽  
Wilma A Stolk ◽  
Anthony W Solomon ◽  
Jonathan D King ◽  
Antonio Montresor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lymphatic Filariasis ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Healthcare Spending ◽  
Tropical Diseases ◽  
Preventive Chemotherapy ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life ◽  
The Cost

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in many low-income and middle-income countries. Several NTDs, namely lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH) and trachoma, are predominantly controlled by preventive chemotherapy (or mass drug administration), following recommendations set by the WHO. Over one billion people are now treated for NTDs with this strategy per year. However, further investment and increased domestic healthcare spending are urgently needed to continue these programmes. Consequently, it is vital that the cost-effectiveness of preventive chemotherapy is understood. We analyse the current estimates on the cost per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) of the preventive chemotherapy strategies predominantly used for these diseases and identify key evidence gaps that require further research. Overall, the reported estimates show that preventive chemotherapy is generally cost-effective, supporting WHO recommendations. More specifically, the cost per DALY averted estimates relating to community-wide preventive chemotherapy for lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis were particularly favourable when compared with other public health interventions. Cost per DALY averted estimates of school-based preventive chemotherapy for schistosomiasis and STH were also generally favourable but more variable. Notably, the broader socioeconomic benefits are likely not being fully captured by the DALYs averted metric. No estimates of cost per DALY averted relating to community-wide mass antibiotic treatment for trachoma were found, highlighting the need for further research. These findings are important for informing global health policy and support the need for continuing NTD control and elimination efforts.

scholarly journals Addressing low consumption of fruit and vegetables in England: a cost-effectiveness analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
A C Pinho-Gomes ◽  
A Knight ◽  
J Critchley ◽  
M Pennington
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Societal Perspective ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Healthcare Costs ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Fruit And Vegetables ◽  
Years Of Life Lost ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Low Consumption ◽  
Low Income Households

Abstract Background Most adults do not meet the recommended intake of five portions per day of fruit and vegetables (F&V) in England, but economic analyses of structural policies to change diet are sparse. This study aimed to estimate (1) the health and economic burden attributable to the low intake of fruit and vegetables (F&V) by English adults, and (2) the cost-effectiveness of three policies promoting consumption of F&V in England - a universal 10% subsidy, a targeted 30% subsidy for low-income households, and a nationwide social marketing campaign (SMC). Methods Using published data from official statistics and meta-epidemiological studies, we estimated the deaths, years-of-life lost (YLL), and the healthcare costs attributable to consumption of F&V below the recommended five portions per day by English adults. Then, we estimated the cost-effectiveness from governmental and societal perspectives of three policies. Results Low consumption of F&V accounted for 16,321 [10,091-23,516] deaths and 238,767 [170,350-311,651] YLL due to cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and cancer in England in 2017, alongside £705,951 [398,761-1,061,559] million in healthcare costs. From a societal perspective, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were £22,891 [22,300-25,079], £16,860 [15,589-19,763], and £25,683 [25,237-28,671] per life-year saved for the universal subsidy, targeted subsidy and SMC, respectively. At a threshold of £20,000 per life-year saved, the likelihood that the universal subsidy, the targeted subsidy and the SMC were cost-effective was 84%, 19% and 5%, respectively. The targeted subsidy was the only policy that would also reduce inequalities. Conclusions Both a SMC and subsidies can significantly increase consumption of F&V and reduce the attributable burden of disease and healthcare costs, but their cost-effectiveness varies substantially. A targeted subsidy to low-income households is most likely cost-effective and can additionally reduce inequalities. Key messages Low intake of fruit and vegetables accounts for a substantial number of deaths and years of life lost and represents a heavy burden for the healthcare system in England. From a societal perspective, a targeted subsidy to low-income households was most likely cost-effective and it would reduce inequalities.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document