scholarly journals Has Gavi lived up to its promise? Quasi-experimental evidence on country immunisation rates and child mortality

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. e001789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Jaupart ◽  
Lizzie Dipple ◽  
Stefan Dercon
Keyword(s):  
Child Mortality ◽  
Immunisation Coverage ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Percentage Point Increase ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Point Increase ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Vaccines For Children ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

IntroductionGavi, the Vaccine Alliance, was set up in 2000 to improve access to vaccines for children living in the poorest countries. Funding has increased significantly over time, with Gavi disbursements reaching US $1.58 billion in 2015. We assess whether Gavi’s funding programmes have indeed increased immunisation coverage in 51 recipient countries for two key vaccines for 12–23 month olds: combined diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (DPT) and measles. Additionally, we look at effects on infant and child mortality.MethodsTaking a difference-in-differences quasi-experimental approach to observational data, we estimate the impact of Gavi eligibility on immunisation coverage and mortality rates over time, using WHO/UNICEF figures covering 1995–2016. We control for economy size and population of each country as well as running a suite of robustness checks and sensitivity tests.ResultsWe find large and significant positive effects from Gavi’s funding programmes: on average a 12.02 percentage point increase in DPT immunisation coverage (95% CI 6.56 to 17.49) and an 8.81 percentage point increase in measles immunisation coverage (95% CI 3.58 to 14.04) over the period to 2016. Our estimates show Gavi support also induced 6.22 fewer infant deaths (95% CI −10.47 to −1.97) and 12.23 fewer under-five deaths (95% CI −19.66 to −4.79) per 1000 live births.ConclusionOur findings provide evidence that Gavi has had a substantial impact on the fight against communicable diseases for improved population and child health in lower-income countries. In this case, the health policy to verticalise aid—specifically development assistance for health—via a specialised global fund has had positive outcomes.

scholarly journals Stimulating the Vote: ARRA Road Spending and Vote Share

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 292-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emiliano Huet-Vaughn
Keyword(s):  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vote Share ◽  
Percentage Point Increase ◽  
Point Increase ◽  
Multiplier Effect ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Road Projects ◽  
The Impact

This paper estimates the impact of public good spending on voting behavior in the United States, using a quasi-experimental design and the distribution of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) road projects in New Jersey. I find an approximate 1.5 percentage point increase in Democratic Party presidential vote share in areas close to highway and bridge expenditures. I consider two alternative mechanisms: one, a salience mechanism whereby spending and associated “funded-by” signage affect political preferences; the other, a possible political multiplier effect whereby stimulus spending improves local economic outcomes, generating incumbent votes. Evidence is inconsistent with the later explanation. (JEL D72, H41, H54, H76, R42)

scholarly journals The Impact of Mask Usage on COVID-19 Deaths: Evidence from US Counties Using a Quasi-Experimental Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Welsch
Keyword(s):  
Large Set ◽  
Endogeneity Bias ◽  
Percentage Point Increase ◽  
Point Increase ◽  
2016 Election ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Identification Approach ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Number Of Individuals ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract I examine the relationship between mask usage and COVID-19 deaths at the county level. When examining this relationship, even the direction caused by the potential endogeneity bias is unclear. In one direction, characteristics that are known to correlate with a larger amount of potential COVID-19 deaths, such as an older population, may make people more likely to wear masks. This will cause a bias that makes mask usage look less effective than it truly is. In the other direction, areas with higher risk tolerances may have less mask usage, but may at the same time be engaging in other behavior that puts them at higher risk for contracting COVID-19. This will cause a bias that makes mask usage look more effective than it truly is. The identification approach exploits a large set of controls and employs percentage of vote for Donald Trump in the 2016 election as an instrumental variable for mask usage. The main finding is that a one percentage point increase in the number of individuals who say they often or frequently wear a mask when within six feet of people will reduce COVID-19 deaths in a county by 10.5%, or six deaths in the average county.

The Effect of Taxation and Corruption on Firm Growth: An Empirical Investigation for Vietnam

2016 ◽  
pp. 5-29
Author(s):  
Bich Le Thi Ngoc
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Firm Growth ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Manufacturing Firms ◽  
Economic Management ◽  
Tax Rate ◽  
Percentage Point Increase ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Point Increase ◽  
The Impact

The aim of this study is to analyze empirically the impact of taxation and corruption on the growth of manufacturing firms in Vietnam. The study employed pooled OLS estimation and then instrument variables with fixed effect for the panel data of 1377 firms in Vietnam from 2005 to 2011. These data were obtained from the survey of the Central Institute for Economic Management and the Danish International Development Agency. The results show that both taxation and corruption are negatively associated with firm growth measured by firm sales adjusted according to the GDP deflator. A one-percentage point increase in the bribery rate is linked with a reduction of 16,883 percentage points in firm revenue, over four and a half times bigger than the effect of a one-percentage point increase in the tax rate. From the findings of this research, the author recommends the Vietnam government to lessen taxation on firms and that there should be an urgent revolution in anti-corruption policies as well as bureaucratic improvement in Vietnam.

scholarly journals Planning prompts to promote uptake of HIV services among men: a randomised trial in rural Uganda

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. e003390
Author(s):  
Nolan M Kavanagh ◽  
Elisabeth M Schaffer ◽  
Alex Ndyabakira ◽  
Kara Marson ◽  
Diane V Havlir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Testing ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Health Campaign ◽  
Percentage Point Increase ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Point Increase ◽  
Cost Planning ◽  
Testing Uptake ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionInterventions informed by behavioural economics, such as planning prompts, have the potential to increase HIV testing at minimal or no cost. Planning prompts have not been previously evaluated for HIV testing uptake. We conducted a randomised clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of low-cost planning prompts to promote HIV testing among men.MethodsWe randomised adult men in rural Ugandan parishes to receive a calendar planning prompt that gave them the opportunity to make a plan to get tested for HIV at health campaigns held in their communities. Participants received either a calendar showing the dates when the community health campaign would be held (control group) or a calendar showing the dates and prompting them to select a date and time when they planned to attend (planning prompt group). Participants were not required to select a date and time or to share their selection with study staff. The primary outcome was HIV testing uptake at the community health campaign.ResultsAmong 2362 participants, 1796 (76%) participants tested for HIV. Men who received a planning prompt were 2.2 percentage points more likely to test than the control group, although the difference was not statistically significant (77.1% vs 74.9%; 95% CI –1.2 to 5.7 percentage points, p=0.20). The planning prompt was more effective among men enrolled ≤40 days before the campaigns (3.6 percentage-point increase in testing; 95% CI –2.9 to 10.1, p=0.27) than among men enrolled >40 days before the campaigns (1.8 percentage-point increase; 95% CI –2.3 to 5.8, p=0.39), although the effects within the subgroups were not significant.ConclusionThese findings suggest that planning prompts may be an effective behavioural intervention to promote HIV testing at minimal or no cost. Large-scale studies should further assess the impact and cost-effectiveness of such interventions.

Student led outreach workshops to promote Basic Life Support

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Sadia Ahsin ◽  
Madiha Imran ◽  
Ammad Fahim ◽  
Liaquat Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Education Commission ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objectives: Primary aim of this project was to provide BLS training to staff, students and faculty of higher educational institutes of Rawalpindi and Islamabad (twin cities in Punjab, Pakistan) through pre-trained medical students. Secondary aim of the study project was to qualitatively record the impact of community training on student facilitators who conducted BLS workshops, through semi structured interviews. Methods: A mixed method Quasi experimental study was carried out at Foundation University Islamabad in collaboration with Higher Education Commission of Pakistan from 2015 to 2018. BLS trained 120 volunteer medical students were divided in 20 teams to visit and provide hands-on training to 20 educational institutes with 45-50 participants each. These participants completed pre and post training questionnaires, whereas, student trainers went through post training semi structured interviews. Quantitative analysis of participants pre and post training responses was done using SPSS 21. Qualitative assessment of impact on students was done through constant comparative analysis of transcripts. Results: A total of 675 participants including students, faculty and staff received hands on BLS training. Questionnaire based analysis of participants BLS knowledge showed >99% improvement (p < 0.001) after training. Main recurring themes identified in transcribed student interviews were, opportunity to improve self-confidence and technical skill. Conclusion: Hands on training sessions conducted by pre-trained medical students not only resulted in improvement in BLS knowledge of participants at various educational institutes but also had substantial impact on student trainers self-confidence and technique. Continuous...

An Honors Teacher Like Me: Effects of Access to Same-Race Teachers on Black Students’ Advanced-Track Enrollment and Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-187
Author(s):  
Cassandra M. D. Hart
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Role Model ◽  
Black Teachers ◽  
School Students ◽  
Percentage Point Increase ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Point Increase ◽  
And Performance

Using rich administrative data from North Carolina and school-course fixed effects models, this study explores whether the availability of same-race instructors in advanced-track sections of courses affects Black high school students’ enrollment in, and performance in, advanced-track courses. The availability of at least one Black instructor at the advanced level is associated with a 2 percentage point increase in the uptake of advanced courses for Black students. However, conditional on enrollment in the advanced track, Black students are no more likely to pass advanced-track courses when taught by Black teachers. Positive effects on enrollment are driven by enrollment shifts for higher achieving students. Additional analyses showing benefits to non-Black students suggest that the main channels are not race-specific role model effects.

Savings Groups Reduce Vulnerability, but Have Mixed Effects on Financial Inclusion

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verónica Frisancho ◽  
Martín Valdivia
Keyword(s):  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Access To Credit ◽  
Administrative Records ◽  
Labor Allocation ◽  
Percentage Point Increase ◽  
Cluster Randomized Control Trial ◽  
Point Increase ◽  
Idiosyncratic Shocks ◽  
Cluster Randomized ◽  
The Impact

This paper evaluates the impact of the introduction of savings groups on poverty, vulnerability, and financial inclusion outcomes in rural Peru. Using a cluster randomized control trial and relying on both survey and administrative records, we investigate the impact of savings groups after more than two years of exposure. We find t hat savings groups channel expensive investments such as housing improvements and reduce households' vulnerability to idiosyncratic shocks, particularly among households in poorer districts. The treatment also induces changes in households labor allocation choices: access to savings groups increases female labor market participation and, in poorer areas, it fosters greater specialization in agricultural activities. Access to savings groups also leads to a four-percentage point increase in access to credit among women, mainly driven by access to the groups loans. However, the introduction of savings groups has no impact on the likelihood of using formal financial services.On the contrary, it discourages access to loans from formal financial institutions and microfinance lenders among the unbanked.

scholarly journals Inflation Expectations and Readiness to Spend: Cross-Sectional Evidence

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rüdiger Bachmann ◽  
Tim O. Berg ◽  
Eric R. Sims
Keyword(s):  
Lower Bound ◽  
Inflation Expectations ◽  
Zero Lower Bound ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Percentage Point Increase ◽  
Expected Inflation ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Point Increase ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

There have been suggestions for monetary policy to engineer higher inflation expectations to stimulate spending. We examine the relationship between expected inflation and spending attitudes using the microdata from the Michigan Survey of Consumers. The impact of higher inflation expectations on the reported readiness to spend on durables is generally small, outside the zero lower bound, often statistically insignificant, and inside of it typically significantly negative. In our baseline specification, a one percentage point increase in expected inflation during the recent zero lower bound period reduces households' probability of having a positive attitude towards spending by about 0.5 percentage points. (JEL D12, D84, E21, E31, E52)

scholarly journals Research on the Trade Effects of China’s Direct Investment in ASEAN

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. p175
Author(s):  
Shuang-lin LUO ◽  
Min ZHOU ◽  
Yu-feng Huang
Keyword(s):  
Direct Investment ◽  
Variable Parameter ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Mechanical Equipment ◽  
Percentage Point Increase ◽  
Point Increase ◽  
Import And Export ◽  
Asean Countries ◽  
Investment In China ◽  
The Impact

Based on the data of China’s direct investment and trade in ASEAN countries from 2004 to 2018, this paper established a variable parameter model, variable intercept model and constant coefficient model with panel data, and investigated the heterogeneous impact of China’s direct investment in ASEAN countries on their import and export trade and the impact mechanism. It is found that China’s direct investment in ASEAN will be deposited in the trade between China and 10 ASEAN countries, creating effects for trade, and the size of the effect varies with the host country. On average, when other factors remain unchanged, every 1 percentage point increase in China’s direct investment flows to ASEAN countries will increase exports to ASEAN countries by 0.54%, imports will increase by 0.44%. Further studies have found that our country to Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand’s export create effect is greater than the imported create effect, on the whole, China’s investment in the five countries promoted the net exports, mainly on its investment in China, led to many mechanical equipment and other related products exports, and imports mainly import countries have their comparative advantages of products, variety is less.

scholarly journals An Evaluation of the Service Intensity Add-On Payment Policy Reform in the Medicare Hospice Benefit

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 62-62
Author(s):  
Thomas Christian ◽  
Pedro Gozalo ◽  
Joan Teno ◽  
Michael Plotzke
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Average Rate ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Service Intensity ◽  
Payment Policy ◽  
Percentage Point Increase ◽  
Medical Social Worker ◽  
Point Increase ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented the Service Intensity Add-On (SIA) payment, which incentivized skilled nurse and medical social worker (SN/MSW) visits in the last seven days of life. Little is known about the impact of this initiative. Using 100% Medicare hospice claims, we identified a 10% random sample of Medicare hospice beneficiaries utilizing routine home care service during calendar years 2012-2018. We compared the provision of SN/MSW visits on service dates before and after the SIA’s implementation relative to beneficiaries’ date of death. We also determined hospice providers’ success in providing SN/MSW visits in the last days of life and categorized all providers into quintiles according to the average rate of these visits in the period prior to the SIA’s implementation. Cumulative over the last seven days of life, we calculated an increase of 15.7 SN/MSW minutes (95% confidence internal [CI] 14.9-16.5 minutes) per beneficiary after the SIA was implemented. The per-minute increase was greatest on days nearer to death (4.0 minutes day of death, 95% CI 3.6-4.2). There was no detectable visit increase on days which were ineligible for the SIA. Additionally, those providers in the quintile providing the lowest rate of SN/MSW visits pre-SIA exhibited a 14-percentage point increase in rates of these visits, the third, fourth, and fifth quintiles exhibited little change over time. Further monitoring is needed to ensure beneficiaries receive adequate end-of-life care.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document