Welfare Impacts of Cross-Country Spillovers in Agricultural Research, 2007

The welfare implications of intellectual property protection (IPP) for private sector agricultural research are analyzed, focusing on the realistic cases in which countries provide different IPP levels, technology spills over across countries, and the public sector is involved in research. A model is developed to determine who benefits from, and who should pay for, the associated research. The paper contains some interesting results on the implications of a harmonization of IPP policies through multilateral agreements or via technology that allows research firms to prevent the copying of plants and animals that express traits that have emerged from their research.

Safety Impacts of Pavement Edge Drop-offs, 2006

A vehicle may leave its travel lane for a number of reasons, such as driver error, poor surface conditions, or avoidance of a collision with another vehicle in the travel lane. When a vehicle leaves the travel lane, pavement edge drop-off poses a potential safety hazard because significant vertical differences between surfaces can affect vehicle stability and reduce a driver’s ability to handle the vehicle. Numerous controlled studies have tested driver response to encountering drop-offs under various conditions, including different speeds, vehicle types, drop-off height and shape, and tire scrubbing versus non-scrubbing conditions. The studies evaluated the drivers’ ability to return to and recover within their own travel lane after leaving the roadway and encountering a drop-off. Many of these studies, however, have used professional drivers as test subjects, so results may not always apply to the population of average drivers. Furthermore, test subjects are always briefed on what generally is to be expected and how to respond; thus, the sense of surprise that a truly naïve driver may experience upon realizing that one or two of his or her tires have just dropped off the edge of the pavement, is very likely diminished. Additionally, the studies were carried out under controlled conditions. The actual impact of pavement edge drop-off on drivers’ ability to recover safely once they leave the roadway, however, is not well understood under actual driving conditions. Additionally, little information is available that quantifies the number or severity of crashes that occur where pavement edge drop-off may have been a contributing factor. Without sufficient information about the frequency of edge drop-off-related crashes, agencies are not fully able to measure the economic benefits of investment decisions, evaluate the effectiveness of different treatments to mitigate edge drop-off, or focus maintenance resources. To address these issues, this report details research to quantify the contribution of pavement edge drop-off to crash frequency and severity. Additionally, the study evaluated federal and state guidance in sampling and addressing pavement edge drop-off and quantified the extent of pavement edge drop-off in two states. This study focused on rural two-lane paved roadways with unpaved shoulders, since they are often high speed facilities (55+ mph), have varying levels of maintenance, and are likely to be characterized by adverse roadway conditions such as narrow lanes or no shoulders.

Socioeconomic Effects of Gambling on Iowans Study Committee, 2004

Overview. The Studies Committee received an in-person progress report from the consultants retained by the Legislature to conduct a study of the socioeconomic effects of gambling on Iowans. Dr. Deepak Chhabra and Dr. Gene Lutz, both of the University of Northern Iowa, presented an update on the conduct of the study. Gambling Study Description. The consultants indicated that the study objectives are to determine the economic impact of gambling at existing Iowa casinos on the local community, the socioeconomic characteristics of gamblers, the social impact of gambling on the local community, and the impact of problem gambling. The consultants stated that the major research methods they would use would be historical data, telephone surveys of local residents, telephone interviews with key personnel, and use of an economic impact model. In conducting the study, the consultants indicated they would examine four study areas within Iowa. Study area I would be all of Iowa, area II would be that area in Iowa within a 50-mile radius of a casino, area III would be counties with a casino, and area IV would be based upon casino employee zip codes. The consultants briefed the Committee on the data collected so far and described current challenges in obtaining data on all casino visitors and from obtaining information from several convention and visitor bureaus and chambers of commerce.

Measurement and explanation of socioeconomic inequality in health with longitudinal data

This paper presents a method for the measurement of changes in health inequality and income-related health inequality over time in a population.For pure health inequality (as measured by the Gini coefficient) andincome-related health inequality (as measured by the concentration index),we show how measures derived from longitudinal data can be related tocross section Gini and concentration indices that have been typicallyreported in the literature to date, along with measures of health mobilityinspired by the literature on income mobility. We also show how thesemeasures of mobility can be usefully decomposed into the contributions ofdifferent covariates. We apply these methods to investigate the degree ofincome-related mobility in the GHQ measure of psychological well-being inthe first nine waves of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). Thisreveals that dynamics increase the absolute value of the concentrationindex of GHQ on income by 10%.

Association of socioeconomic position with health behaviors and mortality

CONTEXT: Previous studies may have underestimated the contribution of health behaviors to social inequalities in mortality because health behaviors were assessed only at the baseline of the study. OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of health behaviors in the association between socioeconomic position and mortality and compare whether their contribution differs when assessed at only 1 point in time with that assessed longitudinally through the follow-up period. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Established in 1985, the British Whitehall II longitudinal cohort study includes 10 308 civil servants, aged 35 to 55 years, living in London, England. Analyses are based on 9590 men and women followed up for mortality until April 30, 2009. Socioeconomic position was derived from civil service employment grade (high, intermediate, and low) at baseline. Smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, and physical activity were assessed 4 times during the follow-up period. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: All-cause and cause-specific mortality. RESULTS: A total of 654 participants died during the follow-up period. In the analyses adjusted for sex and year of birth, those with the lowest socioeconomic position had 1.60 times higher risk of death from all causes than those with the highest socioeconomic position (a rate difference of 1.94/1000 person-years). This association was attenuated by 42% (95% confidence interval [CI], 21%-94%) when health behaviors assessed at baseline were entered into the model and by 72% (95% CI, 42%-154%) when they were entered as time-dependent covariates. The corresponding attenuations were 29% (95% CI, 11%-54%) and 45% (95% CI, 24%-79%) for cardiovascular mortality and 61% (95% CI, 16%-425%) and 94% (95% CI, 35%-595%) for noncancer and noncardiovascular mortality. The difference between the baseline only and repeated assessments of health behaviors was mostly due to an increased explanatory power of diet (from 7% to 17% for all-cause mortality, respectively), physical activity (from 5% to 21% for all-cause mortality), and alcohol consumption (from 3% to 12% for all-cause mortality). The role of smoking, the strongest mediator in these analyses, did not change when using baseline or repeat assessments (from 32% to 35% for all-cause mortality). CONCLUSION: In a civil service population in London, England, there was an association between socioeconomic position and mortality that was substantially accounted for by adjustment for health behaviors, particularly when the behaviors were assessed repeatedly.

The importance of individual heterogeneity in the decomposition of measures of socioeconomic inequality in health: An approach based on quantile regression

This paper shows how recently developed regression-based methods for thedecomposition of health inequality can be extended to incorporateindividual heterogeneity in the responses of health to the explanatoryvariables. We illustrate our method with an application to the CanadianNPHS of 1994. Our strategy for the estimation of heterogeneous responsesis based on the quantile regression model. The results suggest that thereis an important degree of heterogeneity in the association of health toexplanatory variables which, in turn, accounts for a substantial percentageof inequality in observed health. A particularly interesting finding isthat the marginal response of health to income is zero for healthyindividuals but positive and significant for unhealthy individuals. Theheterogeneity in the income response reduces both overall health inequalityand income related health inequality.

Increasing prevalence of obesity in the Seychelles and association with socioeconomic status

Objective: We assessed the 15-year trends in the distribution of body mass index (BMI) categories in the Seychelles (Indian Ocean, African Region) and the relationship with sex, age and socio-economic status (SES). Methods: We conducted three population-based examination surveys in 1989 (n=1,081; participation rate: 86.4%), in 1994 (n=1,067; 87.0%), and in 2004 (n=1,255; 80.2%). Occupation was categorized as "laborer", "intermediate" or "professional". Results are adjusted to the population of 2002. Results: Between 1989 and 2004, mean BMI increased markedly in all sex and age categories (overall: ∼0.15 kg/m2/calendar year). The prevalence of overweight and obesity combined ("excess weight", BMI ≥25 kg/m2) increased from 29% to 52% in men and from 50% to 67% in women. The prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) increased from 4% to 15% in men and from 23% to 34% in women. Mean BMI - respectively the prevalence of excess weight- was lower in laborers than professionals in men but higher in laborers that professionals in women and this pattern was similar in the three surveys. Odds ratios for excess weight in professionals vs. laborers were 2.10 (95% CI: 1.94-2.17) in men and 0.51 (0.48-0.53) in women, adjusting for calendar year and participants' age and smoking habits. Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight/obesity increased markedly during a 15- year period. Similar increase of BMI over time in all age and sex categories suggests common environment obesogenic factors. The association between SES and excess weight was in opposite directions in men and women. The study emphasizes the need for prevention measures in all sex, age and SES groups, and suggests that they should be tailored according to sex and SES categories.

Extracção de areia na praia de Calhetona (Ilha de Santiago, Cabo Verde): causas, processos e consequências

A extracção clandestina de areia, nas faixas costeiras e nos leitos das ribeiras, tem sido prática de muitos agregados familiares cabo-verdianos. Nas últimas décadas, a praia de Calhetona (Ilha de Santiago) foi um dos muitos locais que sofreram degradação ambiental significativa, devido à realização desta actividade sem quaisquer planos de extracção e de posterior recuperação das áreas degradadas. Este trabalho, através da conjugação de recolha de dados por inquérito, observação directa e pesquisa documental e bibliográfica, teve como objectivos a caracterização da comunidade (que habita no bairro de Ponta Calhetona) que se dedica à extracção de areia na praia de Calhetona, a descrição da dinâmica da actividade extractiva, a avaliação da percepção que a comunidade tem relativamente às consequências da sua actividade e a descrição do impacte ambiental resultante da extracção de areia. Da análise dos inquéritos, efectuados em Fevereiro de 2012, a 25 chefes de agregados familiares que efectuam a extracção de areia na praia de Calhetona, constata-se que estes são maioritariamente mulheres, predominantemente com idade compreendida entre os 40 e os 59 anos, domésticas, com baixa escolaridade, com famílias numerosas e/ou alargadas a seu cargo e dedicando-se à extração de areia à mais de 10 anos. Os inquiridos, face à situação de vulnerabilidade económica, à falta de emprego e à grande procura de areia para a construção civil, vêem nesta actividade uma fonte de rendimento. Contudo, o proveito obtido desta actividade difícil e potencialmente perigosa é reduzido. Quem efectivamente beneficia são os camionistas que compram a areia a quem procede à extracção e a vendem ao consumidor final pelo dobro do preço. Os inquiridos demonstram uma consciência generalizada dos diversos impactes ambientais negativos resultantes da sua actividade, mas alegam que a extracção de areia é uma das poucas alternativas existentes para providenciar o sustento dos seus agregados familiares. Com base na comparação do estado actual da praia de Calhetona com relatos de habitantes locais, relativos às características da mesma no passado, verifica-se que nos últimos 40-50 anos, desde que se iniciou a intensa extracção de areia nesta praia, o seu aspecto físico se degradou claramente. Essa degradação caracteriza-se principalmente pelo recuo da linha de costa, pela quase ausência de areia e pela salinização dos solos localizados nas proximidades da praia, para além dos consequentes impactes negativos sobre a desova das tartarugas e o turismo balnear.

Report on Impacts and Costs of the Iowa Low-Income Weatherization Program, 2001

This report summarizes state and utility low-income weatherization program activity for households weatherized to completion during calendar year 2001. The report includes state, utility, and agency summaries of calendar year 2001 spending and impacts by measure, end-use, and fuel.

Housing’s Economic and Social Impacts, April 2007

Housing is an investment in Iowa’s communities and people. This report investigates the following questions: What impact does affordable housing have • on neighborhoods? • on local and state economies? • on expanding and stabilizing Iowa’s labor force? • on meeting social, individual and community needs?

Report on Impacts and Costs of the Iowa Low-Income Weatherization Program: Executive Summary 2001

This report summarizes state and utility low-income weatherization program activity for households weatherized to completion during calendar year 2001. The report includes state, utility, and agency summaries of calendar year 2001 spending and impacts by measure, end-use, and fuel.

Report on Impacts and Costs of the Iowa Low-Income Weatherization Program: Executive Summary 2001

This report summarizes state and utility low-income weatherization program activity for households weatherized to completion during calendar year 2001. The report includes state, utility, and agency summaries of calendar year 2001 spending and impacts by measure, end-use, and fuel.

Report on Impacts and Costs of the Iowa Low-Income Weatherization Program: Executive Summary 2003

This report summarizes state and utility low-income weatherization program activity for households weatherized to completion during calendar year 2001. The report includes state, utility, and agency summaries of calendar year 2001 spending and impacts by measure, end-use, and fuel.

Report on Impacts and Costs of the Iowa Low-Income Weatherization Program, 2003

This report summarizes state and utility low-income weatherization program activity for households weatherized to completion during calendar year 2003. The report includes state, utility, and agency summaries of calendar year 2003 spending and impacts by measure, end-use, and fuel. The base data consisted of statewide program tracking databases of spending and measure installations for households completed during the calendar year 2003..

Report on Impacts and Costs of the Iowa Low-Income Weatherization Program, 2004

This report summarizes state and utility low-income weatherization program activity for dwellings weatherized to completion during calendar year 2004. The report includes state, utility, and agency summaries of calendar year 2004 spending and impacts by measure, end-use, and fuel. The base data consisted of statewide program tracking databases of spending and measure installations maintained by the Iowa Department of Community Action Agencies.