scholarly journals The Impact of Debt Burden on the Number of Suicides in the Russian Regions

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 97-117
Author(s):  
Svetlana Doroshenko ◽  
◽  
Olga Sanaeva ◽  
◽  

Population size is one of the most important parameters of national social and economic systems. This parameter is controlled by a variety of factors (components) that form ambiguous and complex feedback circuits. The most important issue is the study of the behavioral reactions of the population, which form certain parameters of the dynamics of the population. The authors consider only one behavioral reaction that seems to them to be important – the propensity for suicide, which ultimately leads to the formation of the suicide dynamics and which entails serious socio-economic and demographic losses. We put an emphasis on assessing the impact of financial parameters, namely households’ debt burden, on the suicide rates in the Russian regions. An econometric assessment of the influence of individual debt on the number of suicides among other socio-economic factors (unemployment rate, logarithm of GRP per capita, divorce rate, number of patients with mental disorders, average actual working week, number of alcoholics) was carried out for the regions among rural, urban populations and total. We use panel data for 80 Russian regions covering the period from 2005 to 2018. We apply the generalized method of moments (GMM) using Stata 14 statistical package. The empirical analysis demonstrates negative impact of the amount of individual debt on the number of suicides in the regions of Russia, which contradicts the results of similar studies conducted for developed economies. At the same time, some results obtained earlier in domestic and foreign studies have been confirmed, including an existence of a parabolic (U-shaped) dependence between the length of working hours and the suicide rates in the regions of the Russian Federation. In addition, there is a direct connection between an increase in the committed suicides and an increase in divorce rates and the number of patients with mental disorders. Moreover, we find out that the rise in unemployment rate and alcohol consumption leads to an increase in the number of committed suicides. This effect is especially perceptible among the people living in rural areas

Author(s):  
Ernest Osei ◽  
Ruth Francis ◽  
Ayan Mohamed ◽  
Lyba Sheraz ◽  
Fariba Soltani-Mayvan

Abstract Background: Globally, cancer is the second leading cause of death, and it is estimated that over 18·1 million new cases are diagnosed annually. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted almost every aspect of the provision and management of cancer care worldwide. The time-critical nature of COVID-19 diagnosis and the large number of patients requiring hospitalisation necessitated the rerouting of already limited resources available for cancer services and programmes to the care of COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, the stringent social distancing, restricted in-hospital visits and lockdown measures instituted by various governments resulted in the disruption of the oncologic continuum including screening, diagnostic and prevention programmes, treatments and follow-up services as well as research and clinical trial programmes. Materials and Methods: We searched several databases from October 2020 to January 2021 for relevant studies published in English between 2020 and 2021 and reporting on the impact of COVID-19 on the cancer care continuum. This narrative review paper describes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cancer patient care continuum from screening and prevention to treatments and ongoing management of patients. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted cancer care and the management of cancer services and patients. Nevertheless, the oncology healthcare communities worldwide have done phenomenal work with joint and collaborative efforts, utilising best available evidence-based guidelines to continue to give safe and effective treatments for cancer patients while maintaining the safety of patients, healthcare professionals and the general population. Nevertheless, several healthcare centres are now faced with significant challenges with the management of the backlog of screening, diagnosis and treatment cases. It is imperative that governments, leaders of healthcare centres and healthcare professionals take all necessary actions and policies focused on minimising further system-level delays to cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment initiation and clearing of all backlogs cases from the COVID-19 pandemic in order to mitigate the negative impact on cancer outcomes.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shun-Ku Lin ◽  
Chien-Tung Wu ◽  
Chia-Jen Liu ◽  
Hui-Jer Chou ◽  
Fu-Yang Ko ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Large-scale epidemics have changed people’s medical behavior, and patients tend to delay non-urgent medical needs. However, the impact of the pandemic on the use of complementary and alternative medicine remains unknown. Methods: This retrospective study aimed to analyze the changes in the number of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) patients and examine the epidemic prevention policy during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We analyzed the number of TCM patients in Taipei City Hospital from January 2017 to May 2020. We tallied the numbers of patients in each month and compared them with those in the same months last year. We calculated the percentage difference in the number of patients to reveal the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TCM utilization. We used the Mann­–Whitney U test to examine whether there was a significant difference in the number of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: We included a total of 41 months and 1,935,827 patients in this study. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of patients decreased significantly, except in February 2020. The numbers of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic had fallen by more than 15% compared with those in the same months last year. March and April had the greatest number of patient losses, with falls of 32.8% and 40%, respectively. TCM patients declined significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and mobile medicine provided to rural areas fell considerably. Among all the TCM specialties, pediatrics and traumatology, as well as infertility treatment, witnessed the most significant decline in the number of patients. However, the number of cancer patients has reportedly increased. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic decreased the utilization rate of TCM, especially for mobile healthcare in rural areas. We suggest that the government pay attention to the medical disparity between urban and rural areas, which are affected by the pandemic, as well as allocate adequate resources in areas deprived of medical care.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-18
Author(s):  
Muhammad Munwar Hayat ◽  
Raheela Khatoon

This paper aims to estimate the impact of different factors of basmati exports from Pakistan to its trading partner. Results are obtained by using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model and panel data methodology with a sample of 22 countries for the period of 2003-2019. To estimate the impact of different variables on basmati exports Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model is used on the panel dataset. The results revealed that the inflation rate of Pakistan has a negative and significant effect on the export competitiveness of Pakistani basmati. The exchange rate of Pakistan has a positive and significant impact on the basmati export, the population of Pakistan has a negative and significant impact on basmati export. Basmati production in Pakistan also has a significant and negative impact on basmati export. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Pakistan has a significant and positive impact on the basmati export while the GDP of the trading partner has a significant and negative impact on the basmati export. The dummy variable for joint border also has a positive and significant impact on basmati exports of Pakistan.


2021 ◽  
Vol 213 (10) ◽  
pp. 81-92
Author(s):  
Lyudmila Shalaeva

Abstract. Goal. The assessment of the main trends in the activity of agricultural producers in crop production was carried out in order to substantiate the possibilities of the Perm Region for self-sufficiency with the main types of food resources in the presence of adverse effects of natural and climatic conditions. Methods. A statistical analysis was carried out using grouping and comparison methods based on the official statistics of the Perm Region for 2016-2020. Results. In accordance with the social and geographical specifics of the Perm Region, on the territory of which rural areas predominate, the largest volume of crop production is produced in the households of the population (up to 58 %), whose activities are characterized by the lowest level of stability and are more susceptible to the negative impact of natural and climatic conditions. The activity of agricultural organizations (share up to 36 %) and farms (share up to 8 %) is more stable. A higher level of dependence on natural and climatic conditions was revealed in the field of potato production, a lower level – in the field of grain and vegetables production of protected soil. The risk is reinforced by the fact that up to 70 % of the natural volume of potatoes and more than 80% of vegetables are produced in households. With a decrease in the total sown area by 1.2 %, there is a decrease in the sown area of potatoes by 15 % and vegetables by 6 %. The identified trends allowed us to identify the risk of reducing the level of food self-sufficiency of the Perm Region with potatoes and vegetables. The insecurity of domestic potato consumption in the Perm Region is, according to preliminary data, 13 % in 2020. The presence of risk was also revealed for vegetables, the internal consumption of the region was provided with vegetable products of its own production by an average of 56% during the study period. The results obtained allow us to identify the directions of optimization of the Perm Region strategy in solving the problems of food self-sufficiency. Scientific novelty. The dynamics of factors of crop production (structure, yield, acreage, intensification) is assessed taking into account the social, geographical, natural and climatic specifics of the Perm Region through the prism of the impact on the regional food balance and the level of self-sufficiency of the region with potatoes and vegetables.


The objective of the study was to determine the effect of inflation volatility on an enterprise's innovation strategy. The study showed that increasing inflation leads to a decrease in the stationary level of potential output, as well as to a decrease in the rate of economic growth in the process of transition to a stationary state. A formula is proposed for calculating the total effect of inflation on the level of enterprise output. The negative impact of the inflation rate on the welfare of economic agents was revealed, which is expressed in the fall in their equilibrium consumption level. Higher-income countries have been shown to suffer more from high inflation than poorer countries. All conclusions made in the analysis of the dynamic model of the impact of inflation on potential output are verified based on econometric modelling using methods and models for panel data: models with fixed effects, models with random effects, and a generalized method of moments. Moreover, the obtained empirical results are stable concerning changes in the specification of the equation and estimation method


2019 ◽  
Vol 86 ◽  
pp. 00011
Author(s):  
Edward Preweda

Linear investments cause irreversible changes in the existing shape and way of using the land located alongside it. In the case of the construction of the highway, these lands are mostly located in rural areas and prior to construction, they were used mostly in agriculture. Losses resulting from such investments affect the natural environment and landscape. Along the impact zone wind conditions change, also exhaust emissions and noise increase. Investors try to avoid the design of wide protection zones of greenery, due to the cost of buying a larger area of land and they usually use it only when it is necessary. Severe ecological losses result from land degradation, disturbances in the drainage system and changes in water relations. Such investments also have a negative impact on the profitability of agricultural holdings, in particular organic farms. The market value of land adjacent to the motorway is also decreasing. Often, on both sides of the motorway there remain land with a small area, access to the ground is difficult or even impossible. In order to reduce the negative impact of linear investments on the spatial structure of agricultural areas, infrastructure integration is carried out. The implementation of consolidations related to the construction of motorways in Poland is not a common and frequent phenomenon, which lacks concrete plans and schemes of actions. The paper presents the objectives of consolidation in the area of the village of Szczepanow in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 951-975
Author(s):  
Asit Bhattacharyya ◽  
Md Lutfur Rahman

Purpose India has mandated corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure under Section 135 of the Indian Companies Act, 2013 – the first national jurisdiction to do so. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of mandated CSR expenditure on firms’ stock returns by using actual CSR spending data, whereas the previous studies mostly focus on voluntary CSR proxied by CSR scores. Design/methodology/approach The authors estimate their baseline regression by using ordinary least squares(OLS) method. Although the baseline regression involving CSR expenditure and stock returns using ordinary least squares method are estimated, endogeneity and reverse causality biases are addressed by using two-stage least squares and generalized method of moments approaches. These approaches contribute mitigating endogeneity bias and biases associated with unobserved heterogeneity and simultaneity. Findings The findings document that mandatory CSR expenditure has a negative impact on firms’ stock returns which supports the “shareholders” expense’ view. This result remain robust after controlling for endogeneity bias and the use of both standard and robust test statistics. The authors however observe that this result holds for the firms with actual CSR expenditure equal to the mandated amount but does not hold for the firms with actual CSR expenditure greater than the mandated amount. Therefore, the authors provide evidence that CSR expenditure’s impact on stock returns depends on whether firms simply comply the regulation or voluntarily chose an amount of CSR expenditure above the mandated amount. Originality/value The primary contribution is to present a valid and robust evidence of negative effect of mandated CSR spending on firms’ stock returns when the mandatory CSR spending rule is already in place. This study contributes by examining the impact of mandated CSR spending on stock during post-implementation period (2015-2017), whereas other studies by Dharampala and Khanna (2018); Kapoor and Dhamija (2017); and Mukherjee et al. (2018) mainly examined the impact of legislation on Indian CSR. The authors use mandated actual CSR expenditure, whereas previous studies mostly focus on voluntary CSR proxied by CSR scores.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (01) ◽  
pp. 078-083
Author(s):  
Manikandan Srinivasan ◽  
Mahendra M. Reddy ◽  
Sonali Sarkar ◽  
Vikas Menon

Abstract Background The burden of common mental disorders (CMDs) which includes depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders are on the rise in India. Women in rural areas form one of the high-risk groups with respect to CMDs due to their compromised status of living. Objective The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress, and the predictors to depression among women in rural Puducherry. Methods A community-based, cross-sectional study was performed in 2016, among women aged 18 to 59 years, residing in the rural area of Puducherry. Prevalence of CMDs was determined using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS)-21. Using a systematic random sampling method, women were interviewed in their houses. The socio-demographic characteristics along with risk factors for depression were captured using a semi-structured proforma. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to determine the predictors of depression. Results A total of 301 women were surveyed and their mean age (SD) was 34.9 (10.2) years. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was found to be 15% (95% CI: 11.3–19.3), 10.6% (95% CI: 7.5–14.5), and 5% (95% CI: 3–8), respectively. Multivariable analysis identified that lesser education and living separately/divorced to be significant predictors for depression in these women. Conclusion About one in six adult women living in a rural area was found to be depressed, which is considerably high. This emphasizes the need for screening among women for common mental disorders in primary care settings, especially in rural areas so that early diagnoses happen and thus reduce the impact due to mental disability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Imran Hunjra ◽  
Rashid Mehmood ◽  
Tahar Tayachi

We investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate governance on stock price crash risk in manufacturing sector of India and Pakistan. We collect data of nine years from 2010 to 2018 from DataStream of 353 manufacturing firms. We apply the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to the analysis of the data. We find that when firms actively engage in CSR activities, they lead to reduced stock price crash risk. We further find that managerial ownership has a significant positive impact on stock price crash risk, while board size and CEO duality show a significant and negative impact on stock price crash risk.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Imran Hunjra ◽  
Asad Mehmood ◽  
Hung Phu Nguyen ◽  
Tahar Tayachi

PurposeThe authors examine the impact of credit, liquidity and operational risks on the financial performance of commercial banks of South Asia.Design/methodology/approachData are extracted from DataStream of 76 commercial banks of four countries, i.e. Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for the period 2009–2018. The generalized method of moments (GMM) is used to analyze the results.FindingsAll three risks are significantly associated with financial performance. The authors find that Z-score positively affects the bank performance, whereas the nonperforming loans (NPLs) ratio has a negative impact on financial performance of bank. Liquidity risk analyses show the current and loan-to-deposit (LTD) ratios positively and negatively, respectively, affect financial performance. While operational risk positively affects financial performance. The authors further present the significant effects of joint occurrence of credit and liquidity risks on financial performance.Practical implicationsFor managing credit risk, banking management should ensure the policies for granting loans and timely reimbursement of the loan installments from customers. Bank managers should regularly monitor the liquidity position by maintaining the necessary levels of loans and deposits. Management should retain a healthy capital charge to meet operational risks.Originality/valueCredit, liquidity and operational risks are considered the most important categories of risk which are faced by financial institutions. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study which investigates the impact of these risks on banks’ financial performance in selected South Asian countries. The results of this study have relevance and probable generalizability about the impact of risks on the performance of banks in emerging markets.


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