WorldWideScience

Sample records for incentive plans general

  1. Drug plan design incentives among Medicare prescription drug plans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huskamp, Haiden A; Keating, Nancy L; Dalton, Jesse B; Chernew, Michael E; Newhouse, Joseph P

    2014-07-01

    Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MA-PDs) and standalone prescription drug plans (PDPs) face different incentives for plan design resulting from the scope of covered benefits (only outpatient drugs for PDPs versus all drug and nondrug services for Medicare Advantage [MA]/MA-PDs). The objective is to begin to explore how MA-PDs and PDPs may be responding to their different incentives related to benefit design. We compared 2012 PDP and MA-PD average formulary coverage, prior authorization (PA) or step therapy use, and copayment requirements for drugs in 6 classes used commonly among Medicare beneficiaries. We primarily used 2012 Prescription Drug Plan Formulary and Pharmacy Network Files and MA enrollment data. 2011 Truven Health MarketScan claims were used to estimate drug prices and to compute drug market share. Average coverage and PA/step rates, and average copayment requirements, were weighted by plan enrollment and drug market share. MA-PDs are generally more likely to cover and less likely to require PA/step for brand name drugs with generic alternatives than PDPs, and MA-PDs often have lower copayment requirements for these drugs. For brands without generics, we generally found no differences in average rates of coverage or PA/step, but MA-PDs were more likely to cover all brands without generics in a class. We found modest, confirmatory evidence suggesting that PDPs and MA-PDs respond to different incentives for plan design. Future research is needed to understand the factors that influence Medicare drug plan design decisions.

  2. Incentives to promote family planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heil, Sarah H; Gaalema, Diann E; Herrmann, Evan S

    2012-11-01

    Over the past 60 years, population control has become an increasingly urgent issue worldwide as a growing population strains already limited resources. The use of financial incentives to promote family planning is an innovative approach that has potential to make a contribution to efforts to better manage population growth. This report reviews eight studies that examined the effect of incentives on family planning. Published studies that tested the impact of incentives to promote some aspect of family planning and included an appropriate control or comparison condition were reviewed. Incentives have been used to promote attendance at contraceptive education sessions, adoption and continuation of contraceptive methods, sterilization, and to limit family size. All but one of the eight studies reviewed reported positive outcomes, but weaknesses in study design and execution limit the strength of the conclusions that can be drawn. Review of this literature suggests that family planning behaviors, like other behaviors, are sensitive to incentives. Given the tremendous need for efficacious interventions in global efforts to manage population growth, further research on this topic using more rigorous experimental methods is warranted. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. 24 CFR 599.507 - Tax incentives utilization plan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Tax incentives utilization plan....507 Tax incentives utilization plan. (a) Preliminary plan. Within six months of designation, the CoRA must prepare and submit to HUD a preliminary tax incentives utilization plan for achieving the State...

  4. The perils of altering incentive plans: A case study

    OpenAIRE

    Kauhanen, Antti

    2011-01-01

    This paper studies a retail chain that introduced a sales incentive plan that rewarded for exceeding a sales target and subsequently cut the incentive intensity in addition to increasing the target. Utilizing monthly panel data for 54 months for all 53 units of the chain the paper shows that the introduction of the sales incentive plan increased sales and profitability, while the changes in the plan lead to a marked drop in sales and profitability. Thus, modifying the incentive plan proved co...

  5. Incentive-Compatible Robust Line Planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bessas, Apostolos; Kontogiannis, Spyros; Zaroliagis, Christos

    The problem of robust line planning requests for a set of origin-destination paths (lines) along with their frequencies in an underlying railway network infrastructure, which are robust to fluctuations of real-time parameters of the solution. In this work, we investigate a variant of robust line planning stemming from recent regulations in the railway sector that introduce competition and free railway markets, and set up a new application scenario: there is a (potentially large) number of line operators that have their lines fixed and operate as competing entities issuing frequency requests, while the management of the infrastructure itself remains the responsibility of a single entity, the network operator. The line operators are typically unwilling to reveal their true incentives, while the network operator strives to ensure a fair (or socially optimal) usage of the infrastructure, e.g., by maximizing the (unknown to him) aggregate incentives of the line operators.

  6. The use of financial incentives in Australian general practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kecmanovic, Milica; Hall, Jane P

    2015-05-18

    To examine the uptake of financial incentive payments in general practice, and identify what types of practitioners are more likely to participate in these schemes. Analysis of data on general practitioners and GP registrars from the Medicine in Australia - Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) longitudinal panel survey of medical practitioners in Australia, from 2008 to 2011. Income received by GPs from government incentive schemes and grants and factors associated with the likelihood of claiming such incentives. Around half of GPs reported receiving income from financial incentives in 2008, and there was a small fall in this proportion by 2011. There was considerable movement into and out of the incentives schemes, with more GPs exiting than taking up grants and payments. GPs working in larger practices with greater administrative support, GPs practising in rural areas and those who were principals or partners in practices were more likely to use grants and incentive payments. Administrative support available to GPs appears to be an increasingly important predictor of incentive use, suggesting that the administrative burden of claiming incentives is large and not always worth the effort. It is, therefore, crucial to consider such costs (especially relative to the size of the payment) when designing incentive payments. As market conditions are also likely to influence participation in incentive schemes, the impact of incentives can change over time and these schemes should be reviewed regularly.

  7. 78 FR 49359 - Pay Under the General Schedule and Recruitment, Relocation, and Retention Incentives

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-14

    .... Agencies may, in their agency retention incentive plans, require documentation of private-sector job offers... Schedule and Recruitment, Relocation, and Retention Incentives AGENCY: U.S. Office of Personnel Management... to improve oversight of recruitment and retention incentive determinations; add succession planning...

  8. 12 CFR 2.4 - Bonus and incentive plans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... plan based on the sale of credit life insurance if payments to the employee or officer in any one year... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Bonus and incentive plans. 2.4 Section 2.4 Banks and Banking COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY SALES OF CREDIT LIFE INSURANCE...

  9. Setting the right incentives for global planning and operations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Norde, Henk; Ozen, Ulas; Slikker, Marco

    We study incentive issues seen in a firm performing global planning and manufacturing, and local demand management. The stochastic demands in local markets are best observed by the regional business units, and the firm relies on the business units’ forecasts for planning of global manufacturing

  10. Irregular incentives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cicchetti, M.A.

    1993-01-01

    Public utility regulation lacks a formal proxy for the economic profits that can be earned in an effectively competitive market if a firm is efficient or innovative. After all, public utility regulation operated on cost-plus basis. If a utility is efficient or innovative and lowers its costs, its typical reward is to have its rates reduced. This is a perverse incentive to motivate a utility to produce at the most efficient level. In addition, since regulation operates on this cost-plus basis, a utility can increase its net income, all other things being equal, by overinvesting in (or open-quotes gold-platingclose quotes) its system, another perverse incentive. Recognizing these flaws of regulation, academicians, utility executives, regulators, and legislators have tried over the last several years to implement incentive regulation plans that correct such perverse incentives. However, under many of the earnings-sharing or price-regulation incentive plans, the rewards for efficient production are not tied directly to measures under a company's control. In fact, such plans could prove highly detrimental to ratepayers and competitors of the regulated company and its affiliates. An incentive regulation plan that ties an appropriate reward for efficient production to specific efficiency gains is a better proxy of an effectively competitive environment. What's more, it is superior to an incentive plan that rewards circumstances beyond the company's control or self-serving manipulation. This is particularly true if no earnings cap is associated with the reward for efficiency. Rewards for efficient production should be tied to specific actions. A suitable incentive plan does not preclude appropriately derived flexible prices for certain products or services where warranted

  11. Financial Incentives to Increase Advance Care Planning Among Medicaid Beneficiaries: Lessons Learned From Two Pragmatic Randomized Trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnato, Amber E; Moore, Robert; Moore, Charity G; Kohatsu, Neal D; Sudore, Rebecca L

    2017-07-01

    Medicaid populations have low rates of advance care planning (ACP). Potential policy interventions include financial incentives. To test the effectiveness of patient plus provider financial incentive compared with provider financial incentive alone for increasing ACP discussions among Medicaid patients. Between April 2014 and July 2015, we conducted two sequential assessor-blinded pragmatic randomized trials in a health plan that pays primary care providers (PCPs) $100 to discuss ACP: 1) a parallel cluster trial (provider-delivered patient incentive) and 2) an individual-level trial (mail-delivered patient incentive). Control and intervention arms included encouragement to complete ACP, instructions for using an online ACP tool, and (in the intervention arm) $50 for completing the online ACP tool and a small probability of $1000 (i.e., lottery) for discussing ACP with their PCP. The primary outcome was provider-reported ACP discussion within three months. In the provider-delivered patient incentive study, 38 PCPs were randomized to the intervention (n = 18) or control (n = 20) and given 10 patient packets each to distribute. Using an intention-to-treat analysis, there were 27 of 180 ACP discussions (15%) in the intervention group and 5 of 200 (2.5%) in the control group (P = .0391). In the mail-delivered patient incentive study, there were 5 of 187 ACP discussions (2.7%) in the intervention group and 5 of 189 (2.6%) in the control group (P = .99). ACP rates were low despite an existing provider financial incentive. Adding a provider-delivered patient financial incentive, but not a mail-delivered patient incentive, modestly increased ACP discussions. PCP encouragement combined with a patient incentive may be more powerful than either encouragement or incentive alone. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Research 0n Incentive Mechanism of General Contractor and Subcontractors Dynamic Alliance in Construction Project Based on Team Cooperation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Honglian; Sun, Aihua; Liu, Quanru; Chen, Zhiyi

    2018-03-01

    It is the key of motivating sub-contractors working hard and mutual cooperation, ensuring implementation overall goal of the project that to design rational incentive mechanism for general contractor. Based on the principal-agency theory, the subcontractor efforts is divided into two parts, one for individual efforts, another helping other subcontractors, team Cooperation incentive models of multiple subcontractors are set up, incentive schemes and intensities are also given. The results show that the general contractor may provide individual and team motivation incentives when subcontractors working independently, not affecting each other in time and space; otherwise, the general contractor may only provide individual incentive to entice teams collaboration between subcontractors and helping each other. The conclusions can provide a reference for the subcontract design of general and sub-contractor dynamic alliances.

  13. Stock-based Compensation Plans and Employee Incentives

    OpenAIRE

    Jan Zabojnik

    2014-01-01

    Standard principal-agent theory predicts that large firms should not use employee stock options and other stock-based compensation to provide incentives to non-executive employees. Yet, business practitioners appear to believe that stock-based compensation improves incentives, and mounting empirical evidence points to the same conclusion. This paper provides an explanation for why stock-based incentives can be effective. In the model of this paper, employee stock options complement individual...

  14. Designing Incentives for Public School Teachers: Evidence from a Texas Incentive Pay Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Springer, Matthew G.; Taylor, Lori L.

    2016-01-01

    Pay-for-performance is a popular public education reform, but there is little evidence about the characteristics of a well-designed incentive pay plan for teachers. Some of the literature suggests that effective incentive plans must offer relatively large awards to induce behavioral changes. On the other hand, the experimental economics literature…

  15. Non-cooperative planning theory

    CERN Document Server

    Bogetoft, Peter

    1994-01-01

    Planning in a general sense is concerned with the design of communication and decision making mechanisms in organizations where information and choice are decentralized. Non-cooperative planning theory as it is developed in this book treats the incentive aspects hereof. It stresses how strategic behavior and opportunism may impede planning, and how this can be coped with via the organization of communication and decision making, the design of information and control systems, and the development of incentive schemes. In particular, the book contains a thorough investigation of incentive provision in information production.

  16. Calfornia General Plans

    Data.gov (United States)

    California Natural Resource Agency — We undertook creating the first ever seamless statewide General Plan map for California. All county general plans and many city general plans were integrated into 1...

  17. Implementing a comprehensive relative-value-based incentive plan in an academic family medicine department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cramer, J S; Ramalingam, S; Rosenthal, T C; Fox, C H

    2000-12-01

    The authors describe the implementation and first three years (1997-1999) of a department-wide incentive plan of the Department of Family Medicine at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. By using a consensus approach, a representative elected committee designed a clinical relative value unit (explained in detail) that could be translated to equally value and reward faculty efforts in patient care, education, and research and which allowed the department to avoid the imposition of a model that could have undervalued scholarship and teaching. By 1999, the plan's goal of eight patient-care-equivalent points per four-hour session had been exceeded for pure clinical care. Clearly, only a small financial incentive was necessary (in 1999, an incentive pool of 4% of providers' gross salary) to motivate the faculty to be more productive and to self-report their efforts. Long-term productivity for pure clinical care rose from 9.8 points per session in 1997 to 10.4 in 1999. Of the mean total of 3,980 points for the year 1999, the contribution from teaching was 1,146, or 29%, compared with 25% in 1997. For scholarship, the number of points was 775, or 20%, in 1999, compared with 11% in 1997. The authors describe modifications to the original plan (e.g., integration of quality measures) that the department's experience has fostered. Problems encountered included the lack of accurate and timely billing information from the associated teaching hospitals, the inherent problems of self-reported information, difficulties of gaining buy-in from the faculty, and inherent risks of a pay-for-performance approach. But the authors conclude that the plan is fulfilling its goal of effectively and fairly quantifying all areas of faculty effort, and is also helping the department to more effectively demonstrate clinical productivity in negotiations with teaching hospitals.

  18. 24 CFR 248.145 - Criteria for approval of a plan of action involving incentives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ...) Due diligence has been given to ensuring that the package of incentives set forth in the plan of... section, for the remaining useful life of the project; (3) Throughout the remaining useful life of the...) Implementation. Any agreement to maintain the low income affordability restrictions for the remaining useful life...

  19. 5 CFR 575.107 - Agency recruitment incentive plan and approval levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... of employees who are prohibited from receiving recruitment incentives; (3) Required documentation for... approve each determination to pay a recruitment incentive to a newly appointed employee, unless there is... the recruitment incentive determination before the agency may pay the incentive to the employee. (2...

  20. Review of performance-based incentives in community-based family planning programmes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellows, Nicole M; Askew, Ian; Bellows, Benjamin

    2015-01-01

    Background One strategy for improving family planning (FP) uptake at the community level is the use of performance-based incentives (PBIs), which offer community distributors financial incentives to recruit more users of FP. This article examines the use of PBIs in community-based FP programmes via a literature search of the peer-reviewed and grey literature conducted in April 2013. Results A total of 28 community-based FP programmes in 21 countries were identified as having used PBIs. The most common approach was a sales commission model where distributors received commission for FP products sold, while a referral payment model for long-term methods was also used extensively. Six evaluations were identified that specifically examined the impact of the PBI in community-based FP programmes. Overall, the results of the evaluations are mixed and more research is needed; however, the findings suggest that easy-to-understand PBIs can be successful in increasing the use of FP at the community level. Conclusion For future use of PBIs in community-based FP programmes it is important to consider the ethics of incentivising FP and ensuring that PBIs are non-coercive and choice-enhancing. PMID:25037703

  1. The Effect of Incentives and Meta-incentives on the Evolution of Cooperation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isamu Okada

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Although positive incentives for cooperators and/or negative incentives for free-riders in social dilemmas play an important role in maintaining cooperation, there is still the outstanding issue of who should pay the cost of incentives. The second-order free-rider problem, in which players who do not provide the incentives dominate in a game, is a well-known academic challenge. In order to meet this challenge, we devise and analyze a meta-incentive game that integrates positive incentives (rewards and negative incentives (punishments with second-order incentives, which are incentives for other players' incentives. The critical assumption of our model is that players who tend to provide incentives to other players for their cooperative or non-cooperative behavior also tend to provide incentives to their incentive behaviors. In this paper, we solve the replicator dynamics for a simple version of the game and analytically categorize the game types into four groups. We find that the second-order free-rider problem is completely resolved without any third-order or higher (meta incentive under the assumption. To do so, a second-order costly incentive, which is given individually (peer-to-peer after playing donation games, is needed. The paper concludes that (1 second-order incentives for first-order reward are necessary for cooperative regimes, (2 a system without first-order rewards cannot maintain a cooperative regime, (3 a system with first-order rewards and no incentives for rewards is the worst because it never reaches cooperation, and (4 a system with rewards for incentives is more likely to be a cooperative regime than a system with punishments for incentives when the cost-effect ratio of incentives is sufficiently large. This solution is general and strong in the sense that the game does not need any centralized institution or proactive system for incentives.

  2. The Effect of Incentives and Meta-incentives on the Evolution of Cooperation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okada, Isamu; Yamamoto, Hitoshi; Toriumi, Fujio; Sasaki, Tatsuya

    2015-05-01

    Although positive incentives for cooperators and/or negative incentives for free-riders in social dilemmas play an important role in maintaining cooperation, there is still the outstanding issue of who should pay the cost of incentives. The second-order free-rider problem, in which players who do not provide the incentives dominate in a game, is a well-known academic challenge. In order to meet this challenge, we devise and analyze a meta-incentive game that integrates positive incentives (rewards) and negative incentives (punishments) with second-order incentives, which are incentives for other players' incentives. The critical assumption of our model is that players who tend to provide incentives to other players for their cooperative or non-cooperative behavior also tend to provide incentives to their incentive behaviors. In this paper, we solve the replicator dynamics for a simple version of the game and analytically categorize the game types into four groups. We find that the second-order free-rider problem is completely resolved without any third-order or higher (meta) incentive under the assumption. To do so, a second-order costly incentive, which is given individually (peer-to-peer) after playing donation games, is needed. The paper concludes that (1) second-order incentives for first-order reward are necessary for cooperative regimes, (2) a system without first-order rewards cannot maintain a cooperative regime, (3) a system with first-order rewards and no incentives for rewards is the worst because it never reaches cooperation, and (4) a system with rewards for incentives is more likely to be a cooperative regime than a system with punishments for incentives when the cost-effect ratio of incentives is sufficiently large. This solution is general and strong in the sense that the game does not need any centralized institution or proactive system for incentives.

  3. 76 FR 1096 - Pay Under the General Schedule and Recruitment, Relocation, and Retention Incentives

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-07

    ... RIN 3206-AM13 Pay Under the General Schedule and Recruitment, Relocation, and Retention Incentives... instructions for submitting comments. Mail: Jerome D. Mikowicz, Deputy Associate Director, Pay and Leave...-0824; or by e-mail at pay[email protected] . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Office of...

  4. The productivity effects of profit sharing, employee ownership, stock option and team incentive plans: Evidence from korean panel data

    OpenAIRE

    Kato, Takao; Lee, Ju Ho; Ryu, Jang-soo

    2010-01-01

    We report the first results for Korean firms on the incidence, diffusion, scope and effects of diverse employee financial participation schemes, such as Profit Sharing Plans (PSPs), Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Stock Option Plans (SOPs) and Team Incentive Plans (TIPs). In do doing, we assemble important new panel data by merging data from a survey of all Korean firms listed on Korean Stock Exchange which enjoys an unusually high response rate of 60 percent with accounting data from...

  5. 38 CFR 36.4319 - Servicer loss-mitigation options and incentives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... options or alternatives to foreclosure completed: repayment plans, special forbearance agreements, loan modifications, compromise sales, and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure. Only one incentive payment will be made with.... (b) The amount of the incentive payment is as follows: Tier ranking One Two Three Four Repayment Plan...

  6. How effective are energy-efficiency incentive programs? Evidence from Italian homeowners

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alberini, Anna; Bigano, Andrea

    2015-01-01

    We evaluate incentives for residential energy upgrades in Italy using data from an original survey of Italian homeowners. In this paper, attention is restricted to heating system replacements, and to the effect of monetary and non-monetary incentives on the propensity to replace the heating equipment with a more efficient one. To get around adverse selection and free riding issues, we ask stated preference questions to those who weren't planning energy efficiency upgrades any time soon. We argue that these persons are not affected by these behaviors. We use their responses to fit an energy-efficiency renovations curve that predicts the share of the population that will undertake these improvements for any given incentive level. This curve is used to estimate the CO_2 emissions saved and their cost-effectiveness. Respondents are more likely to agree to a replacement when the savings on the energy bills are larger and experienced over a longer horizon, and when rebates are offered to them. Reminding the respondents about possible CO_2 emissions reductions (our non-monetary incentive) had little effect. Even under optimistic assumptions, monetary incentives similar to those in the Italian tax credit program are generally not cost-effective.

  7. The best-laid incentive plans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, Steve

    2003-01-01

    Hiram Phillips couldn't have been in better spirits. The CFO and chief administrative officer of Rainbarrel Products, a diversified consumer-durables manufacturer, Phillips felt he'd single-handedly turned the company's performance around. He'd only been at Rainbarrel a year, but the company's numbers had, according to his measures, already improved by leaps and bounds. Now the day had come for Hiram to share the positive results of his new performance management system with his colleagues. The corporate executive council was meeting, and even CEO Keith Randall was applauding the CFO's work: "Hiram's going to give us some very good news about cost reductions and operating efficiencies, all due to the changes he's designed and implemented this year." Everything looked positively rosy--until some questionable information began to trickle in from other meeting participants. It came to light, for instance, that R&D had developed a breakthrough product that was not being brought to market as quickly as it should have been--thanks to Hiram's inflexible budgeting process. Then, too, an employee survey showed that workers were demoralized. And customers were complaining about Rainbarrel's service. The general message? The new performance metrics and incentives had indeed been affecting overall performance--but not for the better. Should Rainbarrel revisit its approach to performance management? Commentators Stephen Kaufman, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School; compensation consultant Steven Gross; retired U.S. Navy vice admiral and management consultant Diego Hernandez; and Barry Leskin, a consultant and former chief learning officer for Chevron Texaco, offer their advice in this fictional case study.

  8. Tax incentives in emerging economies

    OpenAIRE

    Brodzka, Alicja

    2013-01-01

    Emerging economies have introduced tax incentives for various reasons. In some countries in transition, such instruments may be seen as a counterweight to the investment disincentives inherent in the general tax system. In other countries, the incentives are intended to offset other disadvantages that investors may face, such as a lack of infrastructure, complicated and antiquated laws, bureaucratic complexities and weak administration. The article brings closer the issue of tax incentives of...

  9. Participatory development of incentives to coexist with jaguars and pumas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amit, Ronit; Jacobson, Susan K

    2018-01-22

    Reducing costs and increasing benefits for rural communities coexisting with large carnivores is necessary for conservation of jaguar (Panthera onca) and puma (Puma concolor). To design acceptable incentives, stakeholders must be involved in the process. We conducted an innovative, structured, group communication process based on a Delphi technique as a template for identifying potential incentives. Community workshops with 133 members of 7 communities and surveys with 25 multidisciplinary experts from government, nongovernmental organizations, and academia provided iterative data to design a plan of incentives through 4 rounds of discussion. The final product integrated 862 ideas into 6 types of incentives: organization of communities, mechanisms for improved dialogue, citizen technical assistance, green labeling for community products, payment for the ecosystem service of biodiversity, and an assessment of financial alternatives. We used quantitative and qualitative techniques to indicate support for decisions about the design of incentives, which reduced researcher subjectivity. The diverse incentives developed and the cooperation from multiple stakeholders resulted in an incentive plan that integrated issues of governance, equity, and social norms. © 2018 Society for Conservation Biology.

  10. Incentives – Effectiveness and efficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Björn Hinderlich

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper covers the question if and how incentive schemes work evaluated by their impact on company performance (market capitalization and profit before tax. Based on a unique data set for German executive directors of DAX companies it can be proved that neither short (STI nor long term incentives (LTI plans necessarily support the company success. It rather depends on the efficiency of each plan, i. e. on its design. Special attention has to be paid on target setting. Short term focused objectives often miss their targets, whereas long term oriented objectives significantly support the company success. To solve the prisoner’s dilemma between employers and employees by a quasi-endless game, additional measures may be helpful, such as share ownership guidelines.

  11. 7 CFR 1466.9 - EQIP plan of operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false EQIP plan of operations. 1466.9 Section 1466.9... OF AGRICULTURE LOANS, PURCHASES, AND OTHER OPERATIONS ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM General Provisions § 1466.9 EQIP plan of operations. (a) All conservation practices in the EQIP plan of...

  12. A Proposed Incentive System for Jefferson County Teachers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlechty, Phillip C.; Ingwerson, Donald W.

    1987-01-01

    Outlines a teacher incentive plan developed for the Jefferson County (Kentucky) Public Schools and scheduled for pilot testing during the 1987-88 school year. The program is modeled after airline frequent flyer programs and is designed to encourage cooperative action and individual incentive among teachers. (MD)

  13. Decision-making in general practice: the effect of financial incentives on the use of laboratory analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munkerud, Siri Fauli

    2012-04-01

    This paper examines the reaction of general practitioners (GPs) to a reform in 2004 in the remuneration system for using laboratory services in general practice. The purpose of this paper is to study whether income motivation exists regarding the use of laboratory services in general practice, and if so, the degree of income motivation among general practitioners (GPs) in Norway. We argue that the degree of income motivation is stronger when the physicians are uncertain about the utility of the laboratory service in question. We have panel data from actual physician-patient encounters in general practices in the years 2001-2004 and use discrete choice analysis and random effects models. Estimation results show that an increase in the fees will lead to a small but significant increase in use. The reform led to minor changes in the use of laboratory analyses in GPs' offices, and we argue that financial incentives were diluted because they were in conflict with medical recommendations and existing medical practice. The patient's age has the most influence and the results support the hypothesis that the impact of income increases with increasing uncertainty about diagnosis and treatment. The policy implication of our results is that financial incentives alone are not an effective tool for influencing the use of laboratory services in GPs' offices.

  14. Teacher Pension Incentives, Retirement Behavior, and Potential for Reform in Arkansas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costrell, Robert M.; McGee, Josh B.

    2010-01-01

    The authors analyze the Arkansas teacher pension plan and empirically gauge the behavioral response to incentives embedded in that plan and to possible reforms. The pattern of pension wealth accrual creates sharp incentives to work until eligible for early or normal retirement, often in one's early fifties, and to separate shortly thereafter. We…

  15. Tax incentives for research and development and their use in tax planning

    OpenAIRE

    Pfeiffer, Olena; Spengel, Christoph

    2017-01-01

    This study provides a comprehensive analysis of various aspects of R&D tax incentives. It explains the economic justification behind the state support of research and development and summarizes its main types. In addition, it gives an overview of the existing R&D tax incentives in Europe and provides a thorough review of the empirical literature on the outcomes of fiscal incentives. Furthermore, the Devereux and Griffith model is used to determine the effective tax burden of multinational fir...

  16. Changes in Incentives, Rewards and Sanctions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lonsdale, Alan

    1993-01-01

    A review of the literature over the past decade reflects substantial changes in rewards, incentives, and sanctions used with college faculty. These changes parallel changes in the public sector generally. Increasing emphasis on formal evaluation and on use of money as an incentive and reward for performance is noted. (MSE)

  17. Layoffs as part of an optimal incentive mix:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frederiksen, Anders; Takáts, Elöd

    Firms offer highly complex contracts to their employees. These contracts contain a mix of incentives, such as fixed wages, bonus payments, promotion options, and layoff threats. In general, economists understand how incentives motivate employees but not why a particular mix should be used....... In this paper we present a model in which the observed incentive mix is an optimal contract. In particular, we show that it can be optimal for firms to combine cost-efficient incentives such as promotions and bonuses with layoffs. The intuition is that layoffs play a dual role. First, they create incentives...

  18. Incentives for cogeneration in Italy: Logic and implementation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tomassetti, G.

    1992-01-01

    Within the framework of legal and financial incentives made possible through Italian legislation on cogeneration plants for on-site power generation, this paper reviews the planning criteria that went into the formulation of the incentives and the response obtained from small, medium and large industrial firms. The discussion takes into account the following aspects: the optimal timing of retrofits, national energy conservation and environmental policy objectives, energy surcharges, benefits to consumers as compared with those for energy producers, benefits from incentives as a function of cogeneration plant size, and the technical complexity of application requirements for prospective applicants

  19. Predicting adolescents' disclosure of personal information in exchange for commercial incentives: an application of an extended theory of planned behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heirman, Wannes; Walrave, Michel; Ponnet, Koen

    2013-02-01

    This study adopts a global theoretical framework to predict adolescents' disclosure of personal information in exchange for incentives offered by commercial Websites. The study postulates and tests the validity of a model based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), including antecedent factors of attitude and perceived behavioral control (PBC). A survey was conducted among 1,042 respondents. Results from SEM analyses show that the hypothesized model fits the empirical data well. The model accounts for 61.9 percent of the variance in adolescents' intention to disclose and 43.7 percent of the variance in self-reported disclosure. Perceived social pressure exerted by significant others (subjective norm) is the most important TPB factor in predicting intention to disclose personal information in exchange for incentives. This finding suggests that in discussions of adolescents' information privacy, the importance of social factors outweighs the individually oriented TPB factors of attitude and PBC. Moreover, privacy concern and trust propensity are significant predictors of respondents' attitudes toward online disclosure in exchange for commercial incentives, whereas the frequency of Internet use significantly affects their level of PBC.

  20. El nuevo Plan General de Contabilidad

    OpenAIRE

    Larriba Díaz-Zorita, Alejandro; Gonzalo Angulo, José Antonio; Tua Pereda, Jorge; Mallo Rodríguez, Carlos

    1991-01-01

    Ejemplar dedicado a: Plan General de Contabilidad 90 En el presente artículo los autores trazan una panorámica ordenada del conjunto de novedades que ha introducido el Plan General de Contabilidad de 1990 sobre el hasta ahora vigente de 1973. Publicado

  1. Financial Incentives to Enable Clean Energy Deployment: Policy Overview and Good Practices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cox, Sadie [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2016-02-24

    Financial incentives have been widely implemented by governments around the world to support scaled up deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and practices. As of 2015, at least 48 countries have adopted financial incentives to support renewable energy and energy efficiency deployment. Broader clean energy strategies and plans provide a crucial foundation for financial incentives that often complement regulatory policies such as renewable energy targets, standards, and other mandates. This policy brief provides a primer on key financial incentive design elements, lessons from different country experiences, and curated support resources for more detailed and country-specific financial incentive design information.

  2. How do patients and providers react to different incentives in the Chinese multiple health security systems?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Chun-Yu; Hashimoto, Hideki

    2015-03-05

    China has achieved universal health insurance coverage. This study examined how patients and hospitals react to the different designs of the plans and to monitoring of patients by the local authority in the Chinese multiple health security schemes. The sample for analysis consisted of 1006 orthopedic inpatients who were admitted between January and December 2011 at a tertiary teaching hospital located in Beijing. We conducted general linear regression analyses to investigate whether medical expenditure and length of stay differed according to the different incentives. Patients under plans with lower copayment rates consumed significantly more medication compared with those under plans with higher copayment rates. Under plans with an annual ceiling for insurance coverage, patients spent significantly more in the second half of the year than in the first half of the year. The length of stay was shorter among patients when there were government monitoring and a penalty to the hospital service provider. Our results indicate that the different designs and monitoring of the health security systems in China cause opportunistic behavior by patients and providers. Reformation is necessary to reduce those incentives, and improve equity and efficiency in healthcare use.

  3. A small unconditional non-financial incentive suggests an increase in survey response rates amongst older general practitioners (GPs): a randomised controlled trial study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pit, Sabrina Winona; Hansen, Vibeke; Ewald, Dan

    2013-07-30

    Few studies have investigated the effect of small unconditional non-monetary incentives on survey response rates amongst GPs or medical practitioners. This study assessed the effectiveness of offering a small unconditional non-financial incentive to increase survey response rates amongst general practitioners within a randomised controlled trial (RCT). An RCT was conducted within a general practice survey that investigated how to prolong working lives amongst ageing GPs in Australia. GPs (n = 125) were randomised to receive an attractive pen or no pen during their first invitation for participation in a survey. GPs could elect to complete the survey online or via mail. Two follow up reminders were sent without a pen to both groups. The main outcome measure was response rates. The response rate for GPs who received a pen was higher in the intervention group (61.9%) compared to the control group (46.8%). This study did not find a statistically significant effect of a small unconditional non-financial incentive (in the form of a pen) on survey response rates amongst GPs (Odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 1.85 (0.91 to 3.77). No GPs completed the online version. A small unconditional non-financial incentives, in the form of a pen, may improve response rates for GPs.

  4. A Theory of Tax Avoidance - Managerial Incentives for Tax Planning in a Multi-Task Principal-Agent Model

    OpenAIRE

    Ewert, Ralf; Niemann, Rainer

    2014-01-01

    We derive determinants of tax avoidance by means of a multi-task principal-agent model. We extend prevailing models by integrating both corporate and individual income taxation as well as by including tax planning effort in the agent’s action portfolio. Our model shows novel and apparently paradoxical results regarding the impact of increased tax rates on efforts, risks, and incentive schemes. First, the principal’s after-tax profit can increase with a higher corporate tax rate. Second, t...

  5. Marketing to Nurses through an Incentive Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Jeanne Phillips; Williams, Trudy

    1983-01-01

    Describes the Incentive Career Mobility Plan, a program for improving employee morale and retention by rewarding self-improvement. Discusses its use by nurse administrators for marketing their institutions to current and potential employees. (JOW)

  6. Sex-based differences in income and response to proposed financial incentives among general practitioners in France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weeks, William B; Paraponaris, Alain; Ventelou, Bruno

    2013-11-01

    Women represent a growing proportion of the physician workforce, worldwide. Therefore, for the purposes of workforce planning, it is increasingly important to understand differences in how male and female physicians work and might respond to financial incentives. A recent survey allowed us to determine whether sex-based differences in either physician income or responses to a hypothetical increase in reimbursement exist among French General Practitioners (GPs). Our analysis of 828 male and 244 female GPs' responses showed that females earned 35% less per year from medical practice than their male counterparts. After adjusting for the fact that female GPs had practiced medicine fewer years, worked 11% fewer hours per year, and spent more time with each consultation, female GPs earned 11,194€, or 20.6%, less per year (95% CI: 7085€-15,302€ less per year). Male GPs were more likely than female GPs to indicate that they would work fewer hours if consultation fees were to be increased. Our findings suggest that, as the feminization of medicine increases, the need to address gender-based income disparities increases and the tools that French policymakers use to regulate the physician supply might need to change. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. CROSS-CULTURAL INCENTIVES FOR THE FDI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dumitru ZAIȚ

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available In order to invest there are some incentives needed, including among them, certainly, the ones discussed and analysed in the scientific literature such as: specific earning chances (expectations of each participant (wage, profit, dividend, budget revenue, etc., potential investor’s general or current state, etc.. Less visible incentives from complex areas not obviously related to the investment are, however, less considered. Among these could be incentives arising from inherited or education and culture transmitted philosophy, generally regarding earnings, business and investment. We notice these incentives in case of FDI in different shades and intensities.Investor’s decision to acquire, sell or to carry out projects in a particular area, region or country is not only due to purely economic, commercial or financial reasoning. In such operations, meeting among businessmen, managers and other professionals in the field is, first of all, meeting in specific circumstances, among more or less different cultures.Both theory and practice must be concerned in what way and to what extent these factors influence the investment intention, outcome and yield. Our study proposes a list of the most important cultural type incentives for investment (mainly FDI, based on a set of cases, through a logical and empirical research, using some of the most relevant and recent studies and several real situations to which we got access. These are early data and analysis that will allow us to draw attention to the problem and to develop further research to reach generalizable results

  8. Maximizing Energy Savings Reliability in BC Hydro Industrial Demand-side Management Programs: An Assessment of Performance Incentive Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gosman, Nathaniel

    For energy utilities faced with expanded jurisdictional energy efficiency requirements and pursuing demand-side management (DSM) incentive programs in the large industrial sector, performance incentive programs can be an effective means to maximize the reliability of planned energy savings. Performance incentive programs balance the objectives of high participation rates with persistent energy savings by: (1) providing financial incentives and resources to minimize constraints to investment in energy efficiency, and (2) requiring that incentive payments be dependent on measured energy savings over time. As BC Hydro increases its DSM initiatives to meet the Clean Energy Act objective to reduce at least 66 per cent of new electricity demand with DSM by 2020, the utility is faced with a higher level of DSM risk, or uncertainties that impact the costeffective acquisition of planned energy savings. For industrial DSM incentive programs, DSM risk can be broken down into project development and project performance risks. Development risk represents the project ramp-up phase and is the risk that planned energy savings do not materialize due to low customer response to program incentives. Performance risk represents the operational phase and is the risk that planned energy savings do not persist over the effective measure life. DSM project development and performance risks are, in turn, a result of industrial economic, technological and organizational conditions, or DSM risk factors. In the BC large industrial sector, and characteristic of large industrial sectors in general, these DSM risk factors include: (1) capital constraints to investment in energy efficiency, (2) commodity price volatility, (3) limited internal staffing resources to deploy towards energy efficiency, (4) variable load, process-based energy saving potential, and (5) a lack of organizational awareness of an operation's energy efficiency over time (energy performance). This research assessed the capacity

  9. Monetary incentives: usually neither necessary nor sufficient?

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Ortmann, Andreas; Hertwig, R.

    -, č. 307 (2006), s. 1-17 ISSN 1211-3298 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70850503 Keywords : experimental practices * monetary incentives * rhetorical tactics Subject RIV: AH - Economics http://www.cerge-ei.cz/pdf/wp/Wp307.pdf

  10. Principales diferencias entre el Plan General de Contabilidad y el Plan General de Contabilidad Pública

    OpenAIRE

    Rodríguez Pacheco, Gonzalo

    2016-01-01

    Este trabajo consistirá en un análisis entre los aspectos más significativos del Plan General de Contabilidad y Plan General de Contabilidad Pública, en el que se pondrán de manifiesto las principales diferencias en cada una de las partes en las que se estructuran ambos. Concretamente, marco conceptual, criterios de reconocimiento y valoración, cuentas anuales y cuadro de cuentas. Para ello, será fundamental conocer el fin que persiguen cada entidad, para posteriormente, interpretar y aplicar...

  11. Incentive-Based Primary Care: Cost and Utilization Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollander, Marcus J; Kadlec, Helena

    2015-01-01

    In its fee-for-service funding model for primary care, British Columbia, Canada, introduced incentive payments to general practitioners as pay for performance for providing enhanced, guidelines-based care to patients with chronic conditions. Evaluation of the program was conducted at the health care system level. To examine the impact of the incentive payments on annual health care costs and hospital utilization patterns in British Columbia. The study used Ministry of Health administrative data for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 for patients with diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and/or hypertension. In each disease group, cost and utilization were compared across patients who did, and did not, receive incentive-based care. Health care costs (eg, primary care, hospital) and utilization measures (eg, hospital days, readmissions). After controlling for patients' age, sex, service needs level, and continuity of care (defined as attachment to a general practice), the incentives reduced the net annual health care costs, in Canadian dollars, for patients with hypertension (by approximately Can$308 per patient), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (by Can$496), and congestive heart failure (by Can$96), but not diabetes (incentives cost about Can$148 more per patient). The incentives were also associated with fewer hospital days, fewer admissions and readmissions, and shorter lengths of hospital stays for all 4 groups. Although the available literature on pay for performance shows mixed results, we showed that the funding model used in British Columbia using incentive payments for primary care might reduce health care costs and hospital utilization.

  12. 5 CFR 576.102 - Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment implementation plans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... eliminated, identified by organizational unit, geographic location, occupational series, grade level and any... offered incentives identified by organizational unit, geographic location, occupational series, grade level and any other factors, such as skills, knowledge, or retirement eligibility (as discussed in...

  13. Where do we go from here? Now that some utilities have won the incentive regulation war, many executives are wondering how they can manage the peace

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Christensen, L.R.; Meitzen, M.E.; Schoech, P.E.

    1993-01-01

    Productivity is a measure of how efficiently a company uses its resources. The productivity budgeting model (PBM) is one tool that can aid management in the transition from cost-plus, rate-of-return regulation to the market-oriented, cost-control environment of incentive regulation. Most, if not all, utilities use some type of budgeting/forecasting process that provides the blueprint for future company activity. The PBM reveals the growth in total factor productivity (TFP) implied by a budget and, thus, provides a forecast of the company's future efficiency. The PBM can be used to guide resource usage, because it analyzes investment, labor force, and operating decisions from an economic efficiency perspective. In general, the model makes the budgeting process more relevant to the kind of decisions utility management must make for long-term success under incentive regulation. Furthermore, under many incentive regulation. Furthermore, under many incentive regulation plans (such as the FCC's price-cap plan), a company must meet or beat the productivity offset to increase its profitability. With PBM, the company can determine whether its proposed budget is on track and devise a plan to meet any offset. The PBM can also be used to track productivity using financial data from the period in question

  14. Survey of state approaches to solar energy incentives

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, S. B.

    1979-07-01

    A comprehensive survey is presented of state statutes designed to encourage the application of solar technology. A large majority of the states have enacted financial incentives designed to stimulate solar energy use. Commonly, these incentives include preferential property tax treatment of solar systems, and income tax benefits to solar users. There are a wide variety of other tax breaks as well, including excise and franchise tax incentives. Some states have recently developed loan or grant programs for solar installations. Other states have addressed aspects of real property and land-use planning law, which have served as barriers to either the installation of solar technology or access to sunlight. In addition to removing such obstacles as restrictive convenants and zoning limitations, the legislation of several states provides affirmative recognition of the potential of real property law to serve as a spur to solar development, through solar easements, planning and zoning, and public nuisance. A small number of states have legislated in the field of utility regulation, addressing important questions of (1) nondiscriminatory rates for utility backup to solar systems and public utility commissions, and (2) utility involvement in solar energy applicatons.

  15. 30 CFR 784.11 - Operation plan: General requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Operation plan: General requirements. 784.11... PLAN § 784.11 Operation plan: General requirements. Each application shall contain a description of the... INTERIOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS PERMITS AND COAL EXPLORATION SYSTEMS UNDER...

  16. 30 CFR 780.11 - Operation plan: General requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Operation plan: General requirements. 780.11... PLAN § 780.11 Operation plan: General requirements. Each application shall contain a description of the... INTERIOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS PERMITS AND COAL EXPLORATION SYSTEMS UNDER...

  17. The safety-incentive theory of liability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marshall, J.M.

    1977-11-01

    The use of liability law to improve incentives for safety is supported by certain recent theoretical results. The main ideas and the key argumants are summarized. Basic weaknesses of the theory are discussed, namely: (1) the simple model of Calabresi does not generalize; (2) the more complex systems of J.P. Brown, P. Diamond, and J. Green require that courts possess a great deal of information and use it to set appropriate standards of due care; (3) in practice safety incentives also depend upon fear of criminal penalties and the sense of social responsibility. The questions whether and when liability rules can significantly affect incentives are addressed. It is concluded that the theory in its present state can hardly serve as a basis for altering liability rules

  18. Using Behavioral Economics to Design Physician Incentives That Deliver High-Value Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emanuel, Ezekiel J; Ubel, Peter A; Kessler, Judd B; Meyer, Gregg; Muller, Ralph W; Navathe, Amol S; Patel, Pankaj; Pearl, Robert; Rosenthal, Meredith B; Sacks, Lee; Sen, Aditi P; Sherman, Paul; Volpp, Kevin G

    2016-01-19

    Behavioral economics provides insights about the development of effective incentives for physicians to deliver high-value care. It suggests that the structure and delivery of incentives can shape behavior, as can thoughtful design of the decision-making environment. This article discusses several principles of behavioral economics, including inertia, loss aversion, choice overload, and relative social ranking. Whereas these principles have been applied to motivate personal health decisions, retirement planning, and savings behavior, they have been largely ignored in the design of physician incentive programs. Applying these principles to physician incentives can improve their effectiveness through better alignment with performance goals. Anecdotal examples of successful incentive programs that apply behavioral economics principles are provided, even as the authors recognize that its application to the design of physician incentives is largely untested, and many outstanding questions exist. Application and rigorous evaluation of infrastructure changes and incentives are needed to design payment systems that incentivize high-quality, cost-conscious care.

  19. 10 CFR 436.102 - General operations plan format and content.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false General operations plan format and content. 436.102... PROGRAMS Guidelines for General Operations Plans § 436.102 General operations plan format and content. (a... effective date of these guidelines, a general operations 10-year plan which shall consist of two parts, an...

  20. The Spanish general radioactive waste plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Redondo, J.M.

    2007-01-01

    The author summarized the current status of Spain's general radioactive waste management plan. This plan forms the basis for a national radioactive waste management policy and decommissioning strategy. It is updated periodically, the current 5. plan was approved in 1999. The most important element of the current strategy is the development of a centralized interim HLW storage facility by 2010. (A.L.B.)

  1. Planning, zoning and financial incentives for ecoroofs in Portland, Oregon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liptan, T. [City of Portland, OR (United States). Bureau of Environmental Services

    2003-07-01

    Approximately 35 to 90 per cent of the surface area of various city neighbourhoods is composed of rooftops and pavement. The City of Portland has suffered from several infrastructure and environmental problems as a result of these rooftops and pavement. In response, the City created a program to address storm water related problems and to provide other environmental benefits. This program promotes the use of Ecoroofs or vegetated roofs. City officials are investigating three specific concerns regarding Ecoroofs: (1) the extent to which Ecoroofs can manage precipitation and water quality, (2) the design, construction and maintenance issues to be addressed in order to ensure Ecoroofs are viable, and (3) the policies and economic concerns that must be addressed to determine the appropriate incentives and potential regulations for Ecoroofs. The overall city program was described in this presentation. The incentives and assistance provided by the city were reviewed, and the practical lessons learned were discussed. 1 tab., 1 fig.

  2. The adrenergic alpha2 receptor and sexual incentive motivation in male rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viitamaa, Timo; Haapalinna, Antti; Agmo, Anders

    2006-03-01

    The purpose of the present series of experiments was to determine whether drugs acting at the alpha2-adrenoceptor modify unconditioned sexual incentive motivation in the male rat. To that end a highly specific agonist, dexmedetomidine, a corresponding antagonist, atipamezole, and a less specific antagonist, yohimbine, were administered to groups of sexually inexperienced male rats. The subjects were tested in a large rectangular arena, where a sexually receptive female and an intact male were employed as incentives. The incentive animals were confined behind a wire mesh in opposite corners of the arena. The animals could see, hear and smell each other, but no sexual interaction was possible. Approach to the incentives constituted the measure of incentive motivation. In addition, the test provided data on ambulatory activity and general arousal. Dexmedetomidine, at a dose of 8 microg/kg, produced a slight reduction of sexual incentive motivation. Ambulatory activity and general arousal were also inhibited. Atipamezole, in doses of 0.1 and 0.3mg/kg enhanced the positive incentive properties of the receptive female. A high dose of 1mg/kg did not have any significant effect. Ambulatory activity was slightly reduced by the two larger doses of atipamezole. Yohimbine had a slight stimulatory effect on sexual incentive motivation at a dose (4 mg/kg) that also reduced ambulatory activity and general arousal. It is concluded that blockade of the adrenergic alpha2 receptor stimulates sexual incentive motivation in the male rat whereas stimulation of it has the opposite effect. At present it is not clear if these drug effects are caused by pre- or postsynaptic actions of the drugs, and the importance of secondary changes in other neurotransmitter systems remains unknown.

  3. The Application of the New General Business Accounting Plan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Augusto Lam Wong

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Accounting provides information for making decisions of many economic agents specially the accounting records that have their basis on the organized language called the accounting plan. Until 1973, in Peru, every company prepared its accounting plan according to its information necessities which provoked a variety of words, many with lots of analytical accounts and other general ones. It’s in this situation that the First General Accounting Plan was approved and its mandatory implementation started on January 1st 1974 until 1984, and then it was changed by the General Accounting Plan (PCGR the one that is used until now. However, now its use doesn’t have any relationship with the International Financial Reporting Standars (NIIF, which are a support for the financial estate in our country. For that reason we approved the version of General Accounting Business Plan (PCGE, the one that is going to be considered on January 1st 2011. The objective of the following article is to announce the effects of the application in some of the private organizations from this new Accounting Business Plan (PCGE in relation to the General Accounting Plan.

  4. 48 CFR 52.216-16 - Incentive Price Revision-Firm Target.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ...-Firm Target. 52.216-16 Section 52.216-16 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION... Clauses 52.216-16 Incentive Price Revision—Firm Target. As prescribed in 16.406(a), insert the following clause: Incentive Price Revision—Firm Target (OCT 1997) (a) General. The supplies or services identified...

  5. The Effect of Incentives and Meta-incentives on the Evolution of Cooperation

    OpenAIRE

    Okada, Isamu; Yamamoto, Hitoshi; Toriumi, Fujio; Sasaki, Tatsuya

    2015-01-01

    Although positive incentives for cooperators and/or negative incentives for free-riders in social dilemmas play an important role in maintaining cooperation, there is still the outstanding issue of who should pay the cost of incentives. The second-order free-rider problem, in which players who do not provide the incentives dominate in a game, is a well-known academic challenge. In order to meet this challenge, we devise and analyze a meta-incentive game that integrates positive incentives (re...

  6. Predicting incentives to change among adolescents with substance abuse disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breda, Carolyn; Heflinger, Craig Anne

    2004-05-01

    While interest in understanding the incentives to change among individuals with substance abuse disorders is growing, little is known about incentives among adolescents with substance abuse disorders who are participating in formal services. The present research assesses the degree and nature of motivation and treatment readiness among adolescents admitted to substance abuse services, and whether such factors vary across significant subgroups of youth based on their social, legal, or clinical profiles. Data are based on interviews with 249 youth between 12 and 18 years of age who have been admitted to either inpatient, residential, or outpatient substance abuse treatment. Measures are adapted from an instrument developed to assess multiple domains of motivation to change (e.g., intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, treatment readiness). Results suggest that the incentive to change among adolescents with substance-abusing behavior is modest at best, regardless of dimension. Nonetheless, ethnicity, type of substance use, and psychopathology significantly predict incentives to change, though the predictors depend on which dimension is considered. The most robust predictor of incentives is the severity of negative consequences associated with youth's substance use--the greater the severity, the greater the incentives. Findings underscore the need to examine the utility and dimensionality of incentive for treatment planning, while at the same time, they identify factors that treatment planners can consider as they seek ways to enhance incentives and help adolescents with substance use disorders attain positive outcomes.

  7. Planning for seven generations: Energy planning of American Indian tribes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brookshire, Daniel; Kaza, Nikhil

    2013-01-01

    The prevalence of energy resources on American Indian lands, the links between energy management and tribal sovereignty, and recent federal government incentives make tribal energy planning an interesting case study for community energy planning in the US. This paper studies the strategic energy planning efforts, energy resource development, and energy efficiency policies established by tribes within the continental US. The paper analyzes the results of a survey of various tribes′ energy resource development and planning efforts and supplements the responses with publicly available information on resources, economics, and demographics. We find that incentives and advisory services from the federal government are key to developing the capacity of the tribes to pursue energy planning and energy resource development. These incentives largely avoid the misdeeds of past federal policy by promoting tribal control over energy planning and energy resource development efforts. Tribes with formal energy plans or visions are more likely to develop energy resources than tribes without them and are engaged in a more comprehensive and sustainable approach to energy resource development and energy efficiency. - Highlights: • American Indian tribal energy planning is an understudied topic. • Tribal energy planning is interconnected with tribal sovereignty and sustainability. • We report the results of a survey of energy planning and development efforts. • Federal Government assistance is critical to the efforts of the tribes. • Tribes with energy plans take a more comprehensive approach to energy resource development

  8. R&D Incentives for Neglected Diseases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimitri, Nicola

    2012-01-01

    Neglected diseases are typically characterized as those for which adequate drug treatment is lacking, and the potential return on effort in research and development (R&D), to produce new therapies, is too small for companies to invest significant resources in the field. In recent years various incentives schemes to stimulate R&D by pharmaceutical firms have been considered. Broadly speaking, these can be classified either as ‘push’ or ‘pull’ programs. Hybrid options, that include push and pull incentives, have also become increasingly popular. Supporters and critics of these various incentive schemes have argued in favor of their relative merits and limitations, although the view that no mechanism is a perfect fit for all situations appears to be widely held. For this reason, the debate on the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches has been important for policy decisions, but is dispersed in a variety of sources. With this in mind, the aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the economic determinants behind R&D investments for neglected diseases by comparing the relative strength of different incentive schemes within a simple economic model, based on the assumption of profit maximizing firms. The analysis suggests that co-funded push programs are generally more efficient than pure pull programs. However, by setting appropriate intermediate goals hybrid incentive schemes could further improve efficiency. PMID:23284648

  9. R&D incentives for neglected diseases.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicola Dimitri

    Full Text Available Neglected diseases are typically characterized as those for which adequate drug treatment is lacking, and the potential return on effort in research and development (R&D, to produce new therapies, is too small for companies to invest significant resources in the field. In recent years various incentives schemes to stimulate R&D by pharmaceutical firms have been considered. Broadly speaking, these can be classified either as 'push' or 'pull' programs. Hybrid options, that include push and pull incentives, have also become increasingly popular. Supporters and critics of these various incentive schemes have argued in favor of their relative merits and limitations, although the view that no mechanism is a perfect fit for all situations appears to be widely held. For this reason, the debate on the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches has been important for policy decisions, but is dispersed in a variety of sources. With this in mind, the aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the economic determinants behind R&D investments for neglected diseases by comparing the relative strength of different incentive schemes within a simple economic model, based on the assumption of profit maximizing firms. The analysis suggests that co-funded push programs are generally more efficient than pure pull programs. However, by setting appropriate intermediate goals hybrid incentive schemes could further improve efficiency.

  10. R&D incentives for neglected diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimitri, Nicola

    2012-01-01

    Neglected diseases are typically characterized as those for which adequate drug treatment is lacking, and the potential return on effort in research and development (R&D), to produce new therapies, is too small for companies to invest significant resources in the field. In recent years various incentives schemes to stimulate R&D by pharmaceutical firms have been considered. Broadly speaking, these can be classified either as 'push' or 'pull' programs. Hybrid options, that include push and pull incentives, have also become increasingly popular. Supporters and critics of these various incentive schemes have argued in favor of their relative merits and limitations, although the view that no mechanism is a perfect fit for all situations appears to be widely held. For this reason, the debate on the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches has been important for policy decisions, but is dispersed in a variety of sources. With this in mind, the aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the economic determinants behind R&D investments for neglected diseases by comparing the relative strength of different incentive schemes within a simple economic model, based on the assumption of profit maximizing firms. The analysis suggests that co-funded push programs are generally more efficient than pure pull programs. However, by setting appropriate intermediate goals hybrid incentive schemes could further improve efficiency.

  11. 49 CFR 659.21 - System security plan: general requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false System security plan: general requirements. 659.21... State Oversight Agency § 659.21 System security plan: general requirements. (a) The oversight agency shall require the rail transit agency to implement a system security plan that, at a minimum, complies...

  12. 41 CFR 105-1.109-50 - General plan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false General plan. 105-1.109-50 Section 105-1.109-50 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property Management....109-50 General plan. Chapter 105 is divided into parts, subparts, and further subdivisions as...

  13. Incentives for industrial R&D: The Australian experience

    OpenAIRE

    Peter Hall

    1996-01-01

    The effects of Australian measures to influence investment in industrial R&D (IRD) are anafysed. Australian experience tends to suggest that, while selective schemes have performed a little better than a tax concession alone, the advantage to selectivity would look less pronounced if general incentives were extended at an appropriate rate to firms in tax loss. Even with relatively low inducement rates, such incentives appear to have the advantage, from an evolutionary perspective, of encourag...

  14. Incentive schemes and female leadership in financial firms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Björn Lantz

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Our purpose is to explore how performance in Swedish financial companies is affected by the presence of a female chief executive officer (CEO, the presence of an incentive scheme, and the proportion of female board members. The results indicate that a female CEO is associated with a lower return on equity (ROE and a lower Tobin’s Q, but we find no significant association between the proportion of female board members and firm performance. An incentive scheme is generally associated with a lower return on assets (ROA and a higher Tobin’s Q. In particular, a share-based incentive scheme is associated with a lower ROA, a lower ROE, and a higher Tobin’s Q.

  15. HEFCE Staff Recruitment Incentives: Consultation on "Golden Hellos".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higher Education Funding Council for England, Bristol.

    This "consultation" notifies interested parties of the plans by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to introduce recruitment incentives for teaching staff in higher education, also known as "golden hellos." These are being introduced from 2003-2004 to encourage new entrants to teaching in higher education…

  16. Incentive Compatibility

    OpenAIRE

    Ledyard, John O.

    1987-01-01

    Incentive compatibility is described and discussed. A summary of the current state of understanding is provided. Key words are: incentive compatibility, game theory, implementation, mechanism, Bayes, Nash, and revelation.

  17. The Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program: desirable knowledge, skills and attitudes from the perspective of nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Happell, Brenda; Palmer, Christine; Tennent, Rebeka

    2011-03-01

    To enhance the understanding of the skills and attitudes of mental health nurses working in the Australian Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program. The Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program places qualified mental health nurses alongside community-based general practitioners, private psychiatric practices and other appropriate organisations to provide clients with mental health conditions with a more integrated treatment plan. An exploratory, qualitative approach was undertaken, given the paucity of relevant research in this area. Exploratory individual interviews were conducted with ten mental health nurses working in this scheme. Data analysis was organised and managed using QSR NVivo qualitative analysis software. Respondents identified specific skills and attitudes required for practice under the Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program. Eight areas of skill and attitude were identified as essential for mental health nurses working in this field. This study highlights that many of these skills and attitudes are specific to the setting where mental health nurses are working. Mental health nurses working under this programme have a role to play in the dissemination of knowledge about their practice. More needs to be done by governments and other institutions to ensure that general practitioners and other health professionals understand the role played by mental health nurses in the provision of care. The extent to which the Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program becomes a sustainable strategy to promote quality and accessible mental health care will depend to some degree on the capacity to identify the skills and attitudes necessary for practice. The findings presented in this paper provide a significant contribution to articulating the essential characteristics required for this area of practice. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  18. Tax Incentives : Using Tax Incentives to Attract Foreign Direct Investment

    OpenAIRE

    Morisset, Jacques

    2003-01-01

    The increasing mobility of international firms and the gradual elimination of barriers to global capital flows have stimulated competition among governments to attract foreign direct investment, often through tax incentives. This note reviews the debate about the effectiveness of tax incentives, examining two much-contested questions: can tax incentives attract foreign investment? And what...

  19. Aligning ambition and incentives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Koch, Alexander; Peyrache, Eloïc

    2011-01-01

    Labor turnover creates longer term career concerns incentives that motivate employees in addition to the short term monetary incentives provided by the current employer. We analyze how these incentives interact, and derive implications for the design of incentive contracts and organizational choice...

  20. Aligning Ambition and Incentives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Koch, Alexander; Peyrache, Eloïc

    Labor turnover creates longer term career concerns incentives that motivate employees in addition to the short term monetary incentives provided by the current employer. We analyze how these incentives interact and derive implications for the design of incentive contracts and organizational choice...

  1. Do Tax Incentives Affect Business Location? Evidence from State Film Incentives

    OpenAIRE

    Patrick Button

    2015-01-01

    I provide the first estimates of the impacts of recently-popular U.S. state film incentives on filming location, establishment location, and employment in the film industry. Filming in this industry is relatively insensitive to locational characteristics, and these incentives are numerous and strong, so this is a good case study to bound the effects of tax incentives on business location. I compile a detailed database of incentives across U.S. states, matching this with TV series and feature ...

  2. Exit Options in Corporate Finance: Liquidity versus Incentives

    OpenAIRE

    Aghion, Philippe; Bolton, P.; Tirole, J.

    2004-01-01

    This paper provides a first study of the optimal design of active monitors' exit options in a problem involving a demand for liquidity and costly monitoring of the issuer. Optimal incentives to monitor the issuer may involve restricting the monitor's right to sell her claims on the firm's cash-flow early. But the monitor will then require a liquidity premium for holding such an illiquid claim. In general, therefore, there will be a trade off between incentives and liquidity. The paper highlig...

  3. Financial Incentives to Promote Active Travel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Adam; Suhrcke, Marc; Ogilvie, David

    2012-01-01

    Context Financial incentives, including taxes and subsidies, can be used to encourage behavior change. They are common in transport policy for tackling externalities associated with use of motor vehicles, and in public health for influencing alcohol consumption and smoking behaviors. Financial incentives also offer policymakers a compromise between “nudging,” which may be insufficient for changing habitual behavior, and regulations that restrict individual choice. Evidence acquisition The literature review identified studies published between January 1997 and January 2012 of financial incentives relating to any mode of travel in which the impact on active travel, physical activity, or obesity levels was reported. It encompassed macroenvironmental schemes, such as gasoline taxes, and microenvironmental schemes, such as employer-subsidized bicycles. Five relevant reviews and 20 primary studies (of which nine were not included in the reviews) were identified. Evidence synthesis The results show that more-robust evidence is required if policymakers are to maximize the health impact of fiscal policy relating to transport schemes of this kind. Conclusions Drawing on a literature review and insights from the SLOTH (sleep, leisure, occupation, transportation, and home-based activities) time-budget model, this paper argues that financial incentives may have a larger role in promoting walking and cycling than is acknowledged generally. PMID:23159264

  4. 76 FR 1592 - National Poultry Improvement Plan; General Conference Committee Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-11

    ...] National Poultry Improvement Plan; General Conference Committee Meeting AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health... General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan. DATES: The General Conference... Improvement Plan, VS, APHIS, 1498 Klondike Road, Suite 101, Conyers, GA 30094-5104; (770) 922-3496...

  5. Powerplant productivity improvement study: policy analysis and incentive assessment. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    1979-05-01

    Policy options that the Illinois Commerce Commission might adopt in order to promote improved power plant productivity for existing units in Illinois are identified and analyzed. These policy options would generally involve either removing existing disincentives and/or adding direct incentives through the regulatory process. The following activities are reported: in-depth review of existing theoretical and empirical literature in the areas of power plant reliability, regulatory utility efficiency and performance incentives, and impacts of various regulatory mechanisms such as the Fuel Adjustment Clauses on productivity; contacts with other state public utility commissions known to be investigating or implementing productivity improvement incentive mechanisms; documentation and analysis of incentive mechanisms adopted or under consideration in other states; analysis of current regulatory practice in Illinois as it relates to power plant productivity incentives and disincentives; identification of candidate incentive mechanisms for consideration by the Illinois Commerce Commission; and analysis and evaluation of these candidates. 72 references, 8 figures.

  6. Photovoltaic Incentive Design Handbook

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoff, T. E.

    2006-12-01

    Investments in customer-owned grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) energy systems are growing at a steady pace. This is due, in part, to the availability of attractive economic incentives offered by public state agencies and utilities. In the United States, these incentives have largely been upfront lump payments tied to the system capacity rating. While capacity-based ''buydowns'' have stimulated the domestic PV market, they have been criticized for subsidizing systems with potentially poor energy performance. As a result, the industry has been forced to consider alternative incentive structures, particularly ones that pay based on long-term measured performance. The industry, however, lacks consensus in the debate over the tradeoffs between upfront incentive payments versus longer-term payments for energy delivery. This handbook is designed for agencies and utilities that offer or intend to offer incentive programs for customer-owned PV systems. Its purpose is to help select, design, and implement incentive programs that best meet programmatic goals. The handbook begins with a discussion of the various available incentive structures and then provides qualitative and quantitative tools necessary to design the most appropriate incentive structure. It concludes with program administration considerations.

  7. Carrots and sticks: impact of an incentive/disincentive employee flexible credit benefit plan on health status and medical costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, A D; Karel, T; Zuidema, R

    1999-01-01

    Employee wellness programs aim to assist in controlling employer costs by improving the health status and fitness of employees, potentially increasing productivity, decreasing absenteeism, and reducing medical claims. Most such programs offer no disincentive for nonparticipation. We evaluated an incentive/disincentive program initiated by a large teaching hospital in western Michigan. The HealthPlus Health Quotient program is an incentive/disincentive approach to health promotion. The employer's contribution to the cafeteria plan benefit package is adjusted based on results of an annual appraisal of serum cholesterol, blood pressure, tobacco use, body fat, physical fitness, motor vehicle safety, nutrition, and alcohol consumption. The adjustment (health quotient [HQ]) can range from -$25 to +$25 per pay period. We examined whether appraised health improved between 1993 and 1996 and whether the HQ predicted medical claims. Mean HQ increased slightly (+$0.47 per pay period in 1993 to +$0.89 per pay period in 1996). Individuals with HQs of less than -$10 per pay period incurred approximately twice the medical claims of the other groups (test for linear trend, p = .003). After adjustment, medical claims of employees in the worst category (HQ benefits. Most employees are impacted minimally, but savings are accruing to the employer from reductions in medical claims paid and in days lost to illness and disability.

  8. Are Debt Repayment Incentives Undermined by Foreign Aid?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjørnskov, Christian; Schröder, Philipp

    2013-01-01

    This paper investigates the effects of inflows of foreign aid on the debt repayment behavior of developing countries. The paper first delineates the overall incentives to committing to timely debt repayment in a war of attrition-type model. A set of panel estimates including 93 developing countries...... shows that foreign aid is strongly negatively associated with repayment incentives. The findings pertain to both total debt service and service on publically guaranteed debt. A set of conditional estimates suggest that the main findings generalize to the majority of developing countries...

  9. Teacher Pension Incentives, Retirement Behavior, and Potential for Reform in Arkansas. Conference Paper 2009-10

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costrell, Robert M.; McGee, Josh B.

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, we present an analysis of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System (ATRS) pension plan and an empirical investigation of the behavioral response to that plan, as well as to a possible reform plan. We begin by describing the plan parameters and discussing the incentives these parameters create. We then estimate the effect of pension…

  10. Incentives, equity and the Able Chooser Problem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grill, Kalle

    2017-03-01

    Health incentive schemes aim to produce healthier behaviours in target populations. They may do so both by making incentivised options more salient and by making them less costly. Changes in costs only result in healthier behaviour if the individual rationally assesses the cost change and acts accordingly. Not all people do this well. Those who fail to respond rationally to incentives will typically include those who are least able to make prudent choices more generally. This group will typically include the least advantaged more generally, since disadvantage inhibits one's effective ability to choose well and since poor choices tend to cause or aggravate disadvantage. Therefore, within the target population, health benefits to the better off may come at the cost of aggravated inequity. This is one instance of a problem I name the Able Chooser Problem, previously emphasised by Richard Arneson in relation to coercive paternalism. I describe and discuss this problem by distinguishing between policy options and their effects on the choice situation of individuals. Both positive and negative incentives, as well as mandates that are less than perfectly effective, require some sort of rational deliberation and action and so face the Able Chooser Problem. In contrast, effective restriction of what options are physically available, as well as choice context design that makes some options more salient or appealing, does not demand rational agency. These considerations provide an equity-based argument for preferring smart design of our choice and living environment to incentives and mandates. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  11. Panel presentation: Should some type of incentive regulation replace traditional methods for regulating LDCs?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turner, J.L.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reviews the advantages and disadvantages of using incentive regulation to provide the best service and rates for natural gas consumers and compares it to the traditional rate-of-return regulation. It discusses some of the allegations used to prevent incentive regulation such as the rate-of-return regulation provides an incentive to over-build and pad rate base, thus creating inefficiencies. The author also feels that strict competition is not necessarily beneficial and that some form of regulation is necessary. The paper goes on to outline the author's ideas of how a successful incentive plan should work while emphasizing his preference for a rate-of-return regulation. From the ratepayers' view, the incentives granted should be rewards for improvement in a utility's performance. In other words, there must be clear goals set for management and the fulfillment or lack of fulfillment should result in rewards or penalties. The author feels that incentive regulation could prove to be appropriate in the areas of demand side management such as energy conservation programs

  12. Incentives, health promotion and equality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voigt, Kristin

    2012-07-01

    The use of incentives to encourage individuals to adopt 'healthier' behaviours is an increasingly popular instrument in health policy. Much of the literature has been critical of 'negative' incentives, often due to concerns about equality; 'positive' incentives, however, have largely been welcomed as an instrument for the improvement of population health and possibly the reduction of health inequalities. The aim of this paper is to provide a more systematic assessment of the use of incentives from the perspective of equality. The paper begins with an overview of existing and proposed incentive schemes. I then suggest that the distinction between 'positive' and 'negative' incentives - or 'carrots' and 'sticks' - is of limited use in distinguishing those incentive schemes that raise concerns of equality from those that do not. The paper assesses incentive schemes with respect to two important considerations of equality: equality of access and equality of outcomes. While our assessment of incentive schemes will, ultimately, depend on various empirical facts, the paper aims to advance the debate by identifying some of the empirical questions we need to ask. The paper concludes by considering a number of trade-offs and caveats relevant to the assessment of incentive schemes.

  13. Unintended consequences of incentive provision for behaviour change and maintenance around childbirth.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gill Thomson

    service delivery, but may be detrimental to other health care areas. Financial incentives are controversial and generated emotive and oppositional responses. The planning, design and delivery of future incentive interventions should evaluate unexpected consequences to inform the evidence for effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and future implementation.

  14. Unintended consequences of incentive provision for behaviour change and maintenance around childbirth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomson, Gill; Morgan, Heather; Crossland, Nicola; Bauld, Linda; Dykes, Fiona; Hoddinott, Pat; Dombrowski, Stephan; MacLennan, Graeme; Rothnie, Kieran; Stewart, Fiona; Farrar, Shelley; Yi, Deokhee; Hislop, Jenni; Ludbrook, Anne; Campbell, Marion; Moran, Victoria Hall; Sniehotta, Falko; Tappin, David

    2014-01-01

    , but may be detrimental to other health care areas. Financial incentives are controversial and generated emotive and oppositional responses. The planning, design and delivery of future incentive interventions should evaluate unexpected consequences to inform the evidence for effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and future implementation.

  15. Incentives and compensation: providing resources for communities hosting low-level waste facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1982-01-01

    State responsibility for the management of low-level radioactive waste necessitates the selection of candidate locations for a disposal facility. Concern over potential impacts can be expected from segments of the citizenry neighboring a proposed site. A number of national organizations comprising state and local officials have recommended the use of incentives and compensation to help offset the negative local impacts. This document explores that concept. Discussion provides background information on potential local impacts from a low-level waste facility and considers the nature and types of incentives and compensation benefits that could be provided. The document then examines realistic options for planning and implementing the benefit program. This information is intended, primarily, to assist state officials - executive, legislative, and agency - in planning for and managing low-level waste disposal facilities

  16. Summary of 4th general plan of radioactive wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Veganzones, A.

    1995-01-01

    The last 9th of December 1994 the Council of Ministries approved the Fourth General Plan of Radioactive Waste (PGRR). The Fourth Plan actualizes former texts taking into into account new circumstances, both technical and economical, affecting radioactive waste. Some of the steps that conform the global waste management process have been revised on the light of the Spanish experience but also considering the evolution and trends in other countries. In this work some of the most important aspects included in the Fourth general Plan are overviewed. (Author)

  17. Incentive delegation and collusion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mukherjee, A.

    2000-01-01

    In an infinitely repeated duopoly the implications of strategic incentive delegation are shown. Whether incentive delegation makes consumers or producers better-off depends on the nature of competition. WeThe presence or absence of incentive delegation may affect the interests of the consumers and

  18. User-centric incentive design for participatory mobile phone sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Wei; Lu, Haoyang

    2014-05-01

    Mobile phone sensing is a critical underpinning of pervasive mobile computing, and is one of the key factors for improving people's quality of life in modern society via collective utilization of the on-board sensing capabilities of people's smartphones. The increasing demands for sensing services and ambient awareness in mobile environments highlight the necessity of active participation of individual mobile users in sensing tasks. User incentives for such participation have been continuously offered from an application-centric perspective, i.e., as payments from the sensing server, to compensate users' sensing costs. These payments, however, are manipulated to maximize the benefits of the sensing server, ignoring the runtime flexibility and benefits of participating users. This paper presents a novel framework of user-centric incentive design, and develops a universal sensing platform which translates heterogenous sensing tasks to a generic sensing plan specifying the task-independent requirements of sensing performance. We use this sensing plan as input to reduce three categories of sensing costs, which together cover the possible sources hindering users' participation in sensing.

  19. Toward a General Theory of Commitment, Renegotiation and Contract Incompleteness : (II) Commitment Problem and Optimal Incentive Schemes in Agency with Bilateral Moral Hazard

    OpenAIRE

    Suzuki, Yutaka

    1998-01-01

    This paper investigates the characteristics of the optimal incentive contracts when the principal is also a productive agent. In this bilateral moral hazard framework, the two requirements should be satisfied in designing an incentive scheme. One is the agent's incentive provision and the other is the principal's incentive provision. Because of the trade off between these two incentive provisions, only the second best is obtainable if the incentive contract should be based only on the total o...

  20. Are Debt Repayment Incentives Undermined by Foreign Aid?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjørnskov, Christian; Schröder, Philipp J.H.

    This paper investigates the effects of inflows of foreign aid on the debt repayment behaviour of developing countries. The paper first delineates the overall incentives to committing to timely repayment in a war of attrition-type model. A set of panel estimates including 93 developing countries...... shows that foreign aid is strongly negatively associated with repayment incentives. The findings pertain to both total debt service and service on publically guaranteed debt. Only countries that tend to vote predominantly with the US in the UN General Assembly are not significantly discouraged from...... servicing their debt by inflows of foreign aid....

  1. Alternate financial incentives in multi-tiered formulary systems to improve accountability for outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Richard S; Taira, Deborah A; Noh, Charles

    2003-01-01

    Drug manufacturer rebates paid to health plans and pharmacy benefit management companies have come under increased public scrutiny. Over the past several years, numerous articles have appeared in the literature encouraging a shift to a more quality-based decision-making process for health plan drug formularies. To propose a new basis for formulary placement decisions that would include consideration of health-plan-specific measures (clinical outcomes, total cost, adherence, and appropriateness of care) and align incentives for health plans, physicians, pharmacists, and pharmaceutical companies to promote high-quality care. The proposed approach builds on key components of the Pharmacy's Framework for Drug Therapy Management in the 21st Century and the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's Format for Formulary Submission, including a focus on patient outcomes and evidence-based decision making. The proposed approach would lessen the influence of drug manufacturer rebates on formulary placement by shifting the focus to appropriateness of care, clinical outcomes, patient adherence, and total cost of care. Pharmaceutical manufacturers would benefit from the focus on adherence to drug therapy and total cost of care. Health plans and pharmacy benefit management companies would gain in that they may be able to reduce efforts in drug utilization review as pharmaceutical manufacturers are given incentives to market their drugs more appropriately. Physicians and pharmacists would benefit because the rebate money would be used to provide quality-based financial incentives related to adherence and appropriate use of drugs. The implementation of this approach would be difficult and require cooperation from employers, pharmacists, pharmaceutical manufacturers, health plans, and pharmacy benefit management companies. Aspects of this approach could be incorporated into existing pharmacy benefit management processes to encourage the delivery of high-quality health care.

  2. The Best Laid Plans: Pay for Performance Incentive Programs for School Leaders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goff, Peter; Goldring, Ellen; Canney, Melissa

    2016-01-01

    In an era of heightened accountability and limited fiscal resources, school districts have sought novel ways to increase the effectiveness of their principals in an effort to increase student proficiency. To address these needs, some districts have turned to pay-for-performance programs, aligning leadership goals with financial incentives to…

  3. Reducing the Impact of R.I.F.--An Incentive Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooks, Carl

    A northern Illinois school district (School District 300), forced by budget cuts to curtail its teaching staff, used incentives and the decisionmaking methods of William Ouchi's Theory Z to reduce layoffs. The superintendent and the teachers' union leadership established a Transfer Council of six administrators and nine teachers to plan staff…

  4. The cost of policy simplification in conservation incentive programs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Armsworth, Paul R.; Acs, Szvetlana; Dallimer, Martin

    2012-01-01

    of biodiversity. Common policy simplifications result in a 49100% loss in biodiversity benefits depending on the conservation target chosen. Failure to differentiate prices for conservation improvements in space is particularly problematic. Additional implementation costs that accompany more complicated policies......Incentive payments to private landowners provide a common strategy to conserve biodiversity and enhance the supply of goods and services from ecosystems. To deliver cost-effective improvements in biodiversity, payment schemes must trade-off inefficiencies that result from over-simplified policies...... with the administrative burden of implementing more complex incentive designs. We examine the effectiveness of different payment schemes using field parameterized, ecological economic models of extensive grazing farms. We focus on profit maximising farm management plans and use bird species as a policy-relevant indicator...

  5. Investment Incentives and Effective Tax Rates in the Philippines; A Comparison With Neighboring Countries

    OpenAIRE

    Alexander D Klemm; Dennis P Botman; Reza Baqir

    2008-01-01

    We compare the general tax provisions and investment incentives in the Philippines to six other east-Asian economies-Malaysia, Indonesia, Lao, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. We calculate effective tax rates and find that general effective tax rates are relatively high in the Philippines, while investment incentives are comparable to those in neighboring countries. Tax holidays are most attractive for very profitable firms, creating redundancy, and for investment in short-lived assets. We al...

  6. What factors influence the effectiveness of financial incentives on long-term natural resource management practice change?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emma Swann

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Financial incentives are used by natural resource management organisations to encourage landholders to adopt sustainable practices where the outcomes on a farm scale may be negative or marginal. There is a growing body of research aimed at understanding why landholders do or do not agree to participate in financial incentive programs, however research that considers when and how financial incentives work to bring about long-term behaviour change is relatively immature. The purpose of this review is to answer the question ‘What factors influence the effectiveness of financial incentives on long-term natural resource management practice change?’ In synthesising the evidence, it was found that there are numerous characteristics of the practice change itself, along with the program design and implementation, which are important to understand long-term behaviour change. These include whether inexpensive maintenance or long-term funding is available; whether the changes are relatively simple to sustain; whether the program involves structural changes; whether there is land use rigidity; and whether the changes have resulting environmental benefits that are highly observable. Additionally, it is advisable for programs that use financial incentives to include the following program features: ongoing extension support and a focus on building relationship and trust; flexibility in how the practice change is applied; active landholder involvement from planning to evaluation; and contract length that is appropriate for the complexity of the NRM practice. These characteristics can be used to guide policy makers in their natural resource management investment decisions. There is a clear need for greatly increased monitoring and evaluation of existing programs, both during the program and after its conclusion, in order to more fully understand its long-term impacts and ultimate effectiveness. Finally, landholders undertaking a practice change generally

  7. Rewarding Multitasking: Negative Effects of an Incentive on Problem Solving under Divided Attention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wieth, Mareike B.; Burns, Bruce D.

    2014-01-01

    Research has consistently shown negative effects of multitasking on tasks such as problem solving. This study was designed to investigate the impact of an incentive when solving problems in a multitasking situation. Incentives have generally been shown to increase problem solving (e.g., Wieth & Burns, 2006), however, it is unclear whether an…

  8. Using educational outreach and a financial incentive to increase general practices’ contribution to chlamydia screening in South-East London 2003–2011

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kalwij Sebastian

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The London Boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark have high levels of sexually transmitted infections including Chlamydia trachomatis. Modelling studies suggest that reductions in the prevalence of chlamydia infection will require a high level of population screening coverage and positivity among those screened. General practice has a potentially important role to play in delivering these levels of coverage since large numbers (up to 60% of young people visit their general practice every year but previous work suggests that there are barriers to delivering screening in this setting. The aim of this study was to evaluate an intervention to increase chlamydia screening in general practice within Primary Care Trusts (PCTs of Lambeth and Southwark, a strategy combining financial incentives and supportive practice visits to raise awareness and solve problems. Methods Data on age, gender, venue and chlamydia result for tests on under 25 s in Lambeth from 2003–11 was obtained from the National Chlamydia Screening Programme. We analysed the number and percentage of tests generated in general practice, and looked at the number of practices screening more than 10% of their practice cohort of 15–24 year olds, male/female ratio and positivity rates across other screening venues. We also looked at practices screening less than 10% and studied change over time. We compared data from Lambeth and Southwark with London and England. We also studied features of the level and type of educational and financial incentive interventions employed. Results Chlamydia tests performed in general practice increased from 23 tests in 2003–4 to 4813 tests in 2010–11 in Lambeth. In Southwark they increased from 5 tests in 2003/04 to 4321 in 2010/11. In 2011, 44.6% of tests came from GPs in Lambeth and 46% from GP’s in Southwark. In Lambeth 62.7% of practices tested more than 10% of their cohort and in Southwark this was 55.8%. In Lambeth, postivity

  9. Fiscal planning of private electricity production projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gauthier, R.

    2002-01-01

    Various fiscal considerations frequently encountered in the context of the planning of private electricity production projects were described. Two major themes were discussed: 1) the different jurisdictional vehicles that can be used during the planning of private electricity production projects and the associated fiscal considerations, and 2) the two main fiscal incentives of the Income Tax Act (Canada) which could impact on the financing and operation costs of such a project, namely the accelerated amortization and the possibility of deducting the costs associated to renewable energies and energy savings in Canada. This was a general presentation that did not go into specific details and did not represent a legal opinion. refs

  10. 42 CFR 495.336 - Health information technology planning advance planning document requirements (HIT PAPD).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Health information technology planning advance... STANDARDS FOR THE ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD TECHNOLOGY INCENTIVE PROGRAM Requirements Specific to the Medicaid Program § 495.336 Health information technology planning advance planning document requirements...

  11. Effects of compensation methods and physician group structure on physicians' perceived incentives to alter services to patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reschovsky, James D; Hadley, Jack; Landon, Bruce E

    2006-08-01

    To examine how health plan payment, group ownership, compensation methods, and other practice management tools affect physician perceptions of whether their overall financial incentives tilt toward increasing or decreasing services to patients. Nationally representative data on physicians are from the 2000-2001 Community Tracking Study Physician Survey (N=12,406). Ordered and multinomial logistic regression were used to explore how physician, group, and market characteristics are associated with physician reports of whether overall financial incentives are to increase services, decrease services, or neither. Seven percent of physicians report financial incentives are to reduce services to patients, whereas 23 percent report incentives to increase services. Reported incentives to reduce services were associated with reports of lower ability to provide quality care. Group revenue in the form of capitation was associated with incentives to reduce services whereas practice ownership and variable compensation and bonuses for employee physicians were mostly associated with incentives to increase services to patients. Full ownership of groups, productivity incentives, and perceived competitive markets for patients were associated with incentives to both increase and reduce services. Practice ownership and the ways physicians are compensated affect their perceived incentives to increase or decrease services to patients. In the latter case, this adversely affects perceived quality of care and satisfaction, although incentives to increase services may also have adverse implications for quality, cost, and insurance coverage.

  12. Organisational development in general practice: lessons from practice and professional development plans (PPDPs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hocking Paul

    2000-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Improving the quality and effectiveness of clinical practice is becoming a key task within all health services. Primary medical care, as organised in the UK is composed of clinicians who work in independent partnerships (general practices that collaborate with other health care professionals. Although many practices have successfully introduced innovations, there are no organisational development structures in place that support the evolution of primary medical care towards integrated care processes. Providing incentives for attendance at passive educational events and promoting 'teamwork' without first identifying organisational priorities are interventions that have proved to be ineffective at changing clinical processes. A practice and professional development plan feasibility study was evaluated in Wales and provided the experiential basis for a summary of the lessons learnt on how best to guide organisational development systems for primary medical care. Results Practice and professional development plans are hybrids produced by the combination of ideas from management (the applied behavioural science of organisational development and education (self-directed adult learning theories and, in conceptual terms, address the lack of effectiveness of passive educational strategies by making interventions relevant to identified system wide needs. In the intervention, each practice participated in a series of multidisciplinary workshops (minimum 4 where the process outcome was the production of a practice development plan and a set of personal portfolios, and the final outcome was a realised organisational change. It was apparent during the project that organisational admission to a process of developmental planning needed to be a stepwise process, where initial interest can lead to a fuller understanding, which subsequently develops into motivation and ownership, sufficient to complete the exercise. The advantages of

  13. Understanding the Relationship Between Incentive Design and Participation in U.S. Workplace Wellness Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batorsky, Benjamin; Taylor, Erin; Huang, Crystal; Liu, Hangsheng; Mattke, Soeren

    2016-01-01

    We aimed to understand how employer characteristics relate to the use of incentives to promote participation in wellness programs and to explore the relationship between incentive type and participation rates. A cross-sectional analysis of nationally representative survey data combined with an administrative business database was employed. Random sampling of U.S. companies within strata based on industry and number of employees was used to determine a final sample of 3000 companies. Of these, 19% returned completed surveys. The survey asked about employee participation rate, incentive type, and gender composition of employees. Incentive types included any incentives, high-value rewards, and rewards plus penalties. Logistic regressions of incentive type on employer characteristics were used to determine what types of employers are more likely to offer which type of incentives. A generalized linear model of participation rate was used to determine the relationship between incentive type and participation. Employers located in the Northeast were 5 to 10 times more likely to offer incentives. Employers with a large number of employees, particularly female employees, were up to 1.25 times more likely to use penalties. Penalty and high-value incentives were associated with participation rates of 68% and 52%, respectively. Industry or regional characteristics are likely determinants of incentive use for wellness programs. Penalties appear to be effective, but attention should be paid to what types of employees they affect.

  14. What impact do questionnaire length and monetary incentives have on mailed health psychology survey response?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robb, Kathryn A; Gatting, Lauren; Wardle, Jane

    2017-11-01

    Response rates to health-related surveys are declining. This study tested two strategies to improve the response rate to a health psychology survey mailed through English general practices: (1) sending a shortened questionnaire and (2) offering a monetary incentive to return a completed questionnaire. Randomized controlled trial. Adults (n = 4,241) aged 45-59 years, from four General Practices in South-East England, were mailed a survey on attitudes towards bowel cancer screening. Using a 2 × 4 factorial design, participants were randomized to receive a 'short' (four A4 pages) or a 'long' (seven A4 pages) questionnaire, and one of four monetary incentives to return a completed questionnaire - (1) no monetary incentive, (2) £2.50 shop voucher, (3) £5.00 shop voucher, and (4) inclusion in a £250 shop voucher prize draw. Age, gender, and area-level deprivation were obtained from the General Practices. The overall response rate was 41% (n = 1,589). Response to the 'short' questionnaire (42%) was not significantly different from the 'long' questionnaire (40%). The £2.50 incentive (43%) significantly improved response rates in univariate analyses, and remained significant after controlling for age, gender, area-level deprivation, and questionnaire length. The £5.00 (42%) and £250 prize draw (41%) incentives had no significant impact on response rates compared to no incentive (38%). A small monetary incentive (£2.50) may slightly increase response to a mailed health psychology survey. The length of the questionnaire (four pages vs. seven pages) did not influence response. Although frequently used, entry into a prize draw did not increase response. Achieving representative samples remains a challenge for health psychology. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject Response rates to mailed questionnaires continue to decline, threatening the representativeness of data. Prize draw incentives are frequently used but there is little evidence

  15. Tax incentives and enhanced oil recovery techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stathis, J.S.

    1991-05-01

    Tax expenditures-reductions in income tax liability resulting from a special tax provision-are often used to achieve economic and social objectives. The arguments for petroleum production tax incentives usually encompass some combination of enhancing energy security, rewarding risk, or generating additional investment in new technologies. Generally, however, some portion of any tax expenditure is spend on activities that would have occurred anyway. This paper is a review of tax incentives for petroleum production found two to be of questionable merit. Others, including tax preferences for enhanced oil recovery methods, which offered the potential for better returns on the tax dollar. Increased use of enhanced oil recovery techniques could lead to additional environmental costs, however, and these need to be factored into any cost-benefit calculation

  16. Designing PV Incentive Programs to Promote Performance: A Reviewof Current Practice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barbose, Galen; Wiser, Ryan; Bolinger, Mark

    2007-06-01

    Increasing levels of financial support for customer-sited photovoltaic (PV) systems, provided through publicly-funded incentive programs, has heightened concerns about the long-term performance of these systems. Given the barriers that customers face to ensuring that their PV systems perform well, and the responsibility that PV incentive programs bear to ensure that public funds are prudently spent, these programs should, and often do, play a critical role in ensuring that PV systems receiving incentives perform well. To provide a point of reference for assessing the current state of the art, and to inform program design efforts going forward, we examine the approaches to encouraging PV system performance used by 32 prominent PV incentive programs in the U.S. We identify eight general strategies or groups of related strategies that these programs have used to address performance issues, and highlight important differences in the implementation of these strategies among programs.

  17. Determining Safety Inspection Thresholds for Employee Incentives Programs on Construction Sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sparer, Emily; Dennerlein, Jack

    2013-01-01

    The goal of this project was to evaluate approaches of determining the numerical value of a safety inspection score that would activate a reward in an employee safety incentive program. Safety inspections are a reflection of the physical working conditions at a construction site and provide a safety score that can be used in incentive programs to reward workers. Yet it is unclear what level of safety should be used when implementing this kind of program. This study explored five ways of grouping safety inspection data collected during 19 months at Harvard University-owned construction projects. Each approach grouped the data by one of the following: owner, general contractor, project, trade, or subcontractor. The median value for each grouping provided the threshold score. These five approaches were then applied to data from a completed project in order to calculate the frequency and distribution of rewards in a monthly safety incentive program. The application of each approach was evaluated qualitatively for consistency, competitiveness, attainability, and fairness. The owner-specific approach resulted in a threshold score of 96.3% and met all of the qualitative evaluation goals. It had the most competitive reward distribution (only 1/3 of the project duration) yet it was also attainable. By treating all workers equally and maintaining the same value throughout the project duration, this approach was fair and consistent. The owner-based approach for threshold determination can be used by owners or general contractors when creating leading indicator incentives programs and by researchers in future studies on incentive program effectiveness.

  18. Team incentives in relational contracts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kvaloey, Ola

    2003-01-01

    Incentive schemes for teams are compared. I ask: under which conditions are relational incentive contracts based on joint performance evaluation, relative performance evaluation and independent performance evaluation self-enforceable. The framework of Che and Yoo (2001) on team incentives is combined with the framework of Baker, Gibbons and Murphy (2002) on relational contracts. In a repeated game between one principal and two agents, I find that incentives based on relative or independent performance are expected to dominate when the productivity of effort is high, while joint performance evaluation dominates when productivity is low. Incentives based on independent performance are more probable if the agents own critical assets. (author)

  19. Sixth General Radioactive Waste Plan. Planning to the future of ENRESA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Espejo Hernandez, J. M.

    2006-01-01

    The Government approved last June 23''rd the Sixth General Radioactive Waste Plan that presents the activities to be carried out by ENRESA in all its field of responsibility to the year 2070. The document considers as one of the principal changes that ENRESA will be restructured to corporate public entity assigned to the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade as well as the need of a Centralised Temporary Storage for the spent fuel and the high level radioactive wastes generated in Spain. Nevertheless, information is provided on the plans for the full decommissioning of the nuclear power plants to complete their operational life and also the economic and financial aspects related to the activities contemplated in the Plan. (Author) 13 refs

  20. Using a Mnemonic to Develop Effective Incentive Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forbringer, Linda L.

    2007-01-01

    Special educators frequently provide consultation for parents and general education teachers who are struggling to manage student behavior. One intervention often discussed is the use of rewards to increase student motivation. While research has shown that well-designed incentive systems can provide an effective intervention, poorly designed…

  1. Sixth General Radioactive Waste Plan. Planning to the future of ENRESA; El Sexto Plan General de Residuos. La planificacion del futuro de Enresa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Espejo Hernandez, J. M.

    2006-07-01

    The Government approved last June 23''rd the Sixth General Radioactive Waste Plan that presents the activities to be carried out by ENRESA in all its field of responsibility to the year 2070. The document considers as one of the principal changes that ENRESA will be restructured to corporate public entity assigned to the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade as well as the need of a Centralised Temporary Storage for the spent fuel and the high level radioactive wastes generated in Spain. Nevertheless, information is provided on the plans for the full decommissioning of the nuclear power plants to complete their operational life and also the economic and financial aspects related to the activities contemplated in the Plan. (Author) 13 refs.

  2. Mergers, managerial incentives, and efficiencies

    OpenAIRE

    Jovanovic, Dragan

    2014-01-01

    We analyze the effects of synergies from horizontal mergers in a Cournot oligopoly where principals provide their agents with incentives to cut marginal costs prior to choosing output. We stress that synergies come at a cost which possibly leads to a countervailing incentive effect: The merged firm's principal may be induced to stifle managerial incentives in order to reduce her agency costs. Whenever this incentive effect dominates the well-known direct synergy effect, synergies actually red...

  3. CEOs´ monetary incentives and performance of Mexican firms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen Watkins-Fassler

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes if changes in CEO remuneration and the execution of CEO stock options impact firm performance, under an emerging market context. Data is obtained from 88 non-financial companies listed in the Mexican Stock Exchange (2001-2012. A dynamic panel specification is employed, and regressions are run through the Generalized Method of Moments. Some evidence is found on the negative relationship between flat monetary incentives and Mexican firm performance, specifically for normal times. In addition, financial incentives based on results (particularly CEO stock options do not imply higher firm performance. Results suggest that companies in particular contexts should move towards the development of CEOs, more than promoting mostly monetary incentives for boosting firm performance. Companies operating in Mexico will gain from hiring intrinsically motivated CEOs, together with testing different extrinsic rewards (neither flat nor stock options in order to attain additive effects on intrinsic motivation.

  4. 48 CFR 1019.202-70-5 - Incentives for prime contractor participation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS Policies 1019.202-70-5 Incentives for prime contractor participation. (a) Under the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 637(d)(4)(E), Treasury....219-75. (c) Before awarding a contract that requires a subcontracting plan, the existence of a mentor...

  5. Proceedings of the first Seattle workshop on incentives used to stimulate energy production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cone, B.W. (ed.)

    1979-02-01

    The introductory paper of this workshop was an overview of report PNL-2410, an Analysis of Federal Incentives Used to Stimulate Energy Production; the next four papers critiqued the report. The next 28 presentations were from individuals or various workshop discussion groups on either incentives for solar energy development or for energy source development in general. A separate abstract was prepared for each.

  6. Variation in Incentive Effects across Neighbourhoods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark J Hanly

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Small monetary incentives increase survey cooperation rates, however evidence suggests that the appeal of incentives may vary across sample subgroups. Fieldwork budgets can be most effectively distributed by targeting those subgroups where incentives will have the strongest appeal. We examine data from a randomised experiment implemented in the pilot phase of the Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing, which randomly assigned households to receive a higher (€25 or lower (€10 incentive amount. Using a random effects logistic regression model, we observe a variable effect of the higher incentive across geographic neighbourhoods. The higher incentive has the largest impact in neighbourhoods where baseline cooperation is low, as predicted by Leverage-Saliency theory. Auxiliary neighbourhood-level variables are linked to the sample frame to explore this variation further, however none of these moderate the incentive effect, suggesting that richer information is needed to identify sample subgroups where incentive budgets should be directed.

  7. Incentives Between Firms (and Within)

    OpenAIRE

    Robert Gibbons

    2005-01-01

    This paper reviews the significant progress in Üagency theoryÝ (i.e., the economic theory of incentives) during the 1990s, with an eye toward applications to supply transactions. I emphasize six recent models, in three pairs: (1) new foundations for the theory of incentive contracts, (2) new directions in incentive theory, and (3) new applications to supply transactions. By reviewing these six models, I hope to establish three things. First, the theory of incentive contracts needed and receiv...

  8. A Comprehensive Study of the Incentive Award Program at General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Cox, Michael

    2001-01-01

    .... Therefore, they commissioned this study to evaluate the present incentive award program based on fairness and effectiveness and to explore methods of reshaping the program into one that both rewards...

  9. Polymorphic Uncertain Linear Programming for Generalized Production Planning Problems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinbo Zhang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A polymorphic uncertain linear programming (PULP model is constructed to formulate a class of generalized production planning problems. In accordance with the practical environment, some factors such as the consumption of raw material, the limitation of resource and the demand of product are incorporated into the model as parameters of interval and fuzzy subsets, respectively. Based on the theory of fuzzy interval program and the modified possibility degree for the order of interval numbers, a deterministic equivalent formulation for this model is derived such that a robust solution for the uncertain optimization problem is obtained. Case study indicates that the constructed model and the proposed solution are useful to search for an optimal production plan for the polymorphic uncertain generalized production planning problems.

  10. Marine Corps Pay Incentives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marines from 2000 to 2017. The thesis includes a literature review on economic theory related to pay incentives in the Department of Defense, a...The purpose of this thesis to provide the Marine Corps with a comprehensive report on pay incentive programs and special pay that were available to...summarization of pay incentive categories, a data analysis on take-up rates and average annual amounts at the end of each fiscal year, and a program review

  11. Social values and the corruption argument against financial incentives for healthy behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Rebecca C H

    2017-03-01

    Financial incentives may provide a way of reducing the burden of chronic diseases by motivating people to adopt healthy behaviours. While it is still uncertain how effective such incentives could be for promoting health, some argue that, even if effective, there are ethical objections that preclude their use. One such argument is made by Michael Sandel, who suggests that monetary transactions can have a corrupting effect on the norms and values that ordinarily regulate exchange and behaviour in previously non-monetised contexts. In this paper, I outline Sandel's corruption argument and consider its validity in the context of health incentives. I distinguish between two forms of corruption that are implied by Sandel's argument: efficiency corruption and value corruption While Sandel's thought-provoking discussion provides a valuable contribution to debates about health policies generally and health incentives specifically, I suggest the force of his criticism of health incentives is limited: further empirical evidence and theoretical reasoning are required to support the suggestion that health incentives are an inappropriate tool for promoting health. While I do not find Sandel's corruption argument compelling, this only constitutes a partial defence of health incentives, since other criticisms relating to their use may prove more successful. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  12. A Comprehensive Study of the Incentive Award Program at General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Cox, Michael

    2001-01-01

    ... appropriate behavior and motivates employees. The study is broken into three phases. In Phase I, a retrospective study looked at the current incentive award program to determine if awards distribution is equitable...

  13. The effect of policy incentives on electric vehicle adoption

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Langbroek, Joram H.M.; Franklin, Joel P.; Susilo, Yusak O.

    2016-01-01

    In order to increase the attractiveness of electric vehicles (EVs), packages of policy incentives are provided in many countries. However, it is still unclear how effective different policy incentives are. Also, it is questionable that they have the same impact on different groups of people. In this study, based on a stated-choice experiment, the effect of several potential policy incentives on EV-adoption, as well as the influence of socio-psychological determinants are investigated, using constructs of the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM) and the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT). The probability of stated EV-adoption increases if policy incentives are offered in the choice experiment, which is expected because of the decrease of the generalized cost of EV-use. The high stated valuation of free parking or access to bus lanes makes those incentives an efficient alternative to expensive subsidies. EV-adoption probability increases for people that are further in the process of behavioural change. However, the responsiveness to subsidies decreases for people in more advanced stages-of-change. People that believe EVs to be effective in decreasing the negative externalities of the current transport system and people whose travel patterns can cope with the use of EVs also have a higher probability to choose the EV. - Highlights: •Policy incentives have a positive influence on electric vehicle adoption. •Being in advanced stages-of-change to EV-adoption increases likelihood to adopt EVs. •People in more advanced stages-of-change to EV-adoption are less price-sensitive. •People with a high self-efficacy and response efficacy are more likely to adopt EVs.

  14. Reduction of the renewable energy incentives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rigaud, Ch.

    2010-01-01

    In order to reduce the state deficit the French government plans to reduce the financial incentives in all sectors and particularly in the sector of renewable energies. The photovoltaic sector is the most hit with a tax credit rate dropping from 50% (in 2009) to 22.5% (in 2011). For the other renewable energy sectors the tax credit rate will be reduced by 10% in 2011. The French government wants the cost of the tax credit on the renewable energies to drop from 2.8*10 9 euros in 2009 to 2.0*10 9 euros in 2011. (A.C.)

  15. Health care consumerism: incentives, behavior change and uncertainties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domaszewicz, Sander; Havlin, Linda; Connolly, Susan

    2010-01-01

    Employers affected by the recession's 2009 peak must press for cost containment in 2010, especially in health care benefits. Encouraging employee consumerism--through consumer-directed health plans and other strategies--can be enhanced by incentives, but federal efforts at health care reform add some element of uncertainty to the consumer-directed solution. This article provides some lessons to guide the course of action for employers considering implementing a consumerist approach to improve employee health and control the cost trend.

  16. Generalized production planning problem under interval uncertainty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samir A. Abass

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Data in many real life engineering and economical problems suffer from inexactness. Herein we assume that we are given some intervals in which the data can simultaneously and independently perturb. We consider the generalized production planning problem with interval data. The interval data are in both of the objective function and constraints. The existing results concerning the qualitative and quantitative analysis of basic notions in parametric production planning problem. These notions are the set of feasible parameters, the solvability set and the stability set of the first kind.

  17. General practice in the Nordic countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim Rose Olsen

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: General practice systems in the Nordic countries share certain common features. The sector is based on the Nordic model of a tax-financed supply of services with a political objective of equal access for all. The countries also share the challenges of increased political expectations to deliver primary prevention and increased workload as patients from hospital care are discharged earlier. However, within this common framework, primary care is organized differently. This is particularly in relation to the private-public mix, remuneration systems and the use of financial and non-financial incentives. Objective: The objective of this paper is to compare the differences and similarities in primary care among the Nordic countries, to create a mapping of the future plans and reforms linked to remuneration and incentives schemes, and to discuss the pros and cons for these plans with reference to the literature. An additional objective is to identify gaps in the literature and future research opportunities. Results/Conclusions: Despite the many similarities within the Nordic health care systems, the primary care sectors function under highly different arrangements. Most important are the differences in the gate-keeping function, private versus salaried practices, possibilities for corporate ownership, skill-mix and the organisational structure. Current reforms and political agendas appear to focus on the side effects of the individual countries’ specific systems. For example, countries with salaried systems with geographical responsibility are introducing incentives for private practice and more choices for patients. Countries with systems largely based on private practice are introducing more monitoring and public regulation to control budgets. We also see that new governments tends to bring different views on the future organisation of primary care, which provide considerable political tension but few actual changes. Interestingly

  18. General Plan Environmental Assessment, Hurlburt Field, Florida

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-10-01

    sebiferum) and cogon grass (Imperata Resource/Issue Areas Hurlburt Field General Plan Environmental Assessment 4-9 cylindrica) are most...habitat on the western portion of the installation. The restoration of a native long-leaf pine/wire grass community on Hurlburt is associated with a

  19. Hanford Facility Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Permit General Inspection Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beagles, D.S.

    1995-02-01

    This inspection plan describes the activities that shall be conducted for a general inspection of the Hanford Facility. RCRA includes a requirement that general facility inspections be conducted of the 100, 200 East, 200 West, 300, 400, and 1100 areas and the banks of the Columbia River. This plan meets the RCRA requirements and also provides for scheduling of inspections and defines general and specific items to be noted during the inspections

  20. Differential dependence of Pavlovian incentive motivation and instrumental incentive learning processes on dopamine signaling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wassum, Kate M.; Ostlund, Sean B.; Balleine, Bernard W.; Maidment, Nigel T.

    2011-01-01

    Here we attempted to clarify the role of dopamine signaling in reward seeking. In Experiment 1, we assessed the effects of the dopamine D1/D2 receptor antagonist flupenthixol (0.5 mg/kg i.p.) on Pavlovian incentive motivation and found that flupenthixol blocked the ability of a conditioned stimulus to enhance both goal approach and instrumental performance (Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer). In Experiment 2 we assessed the effects of flupenthixol on reward palatability during post-training noncontingent re-exposure to the sucrose reward in either a control 3-h or novel 23-h food-deprived state. Flupenthixol, although effective in blocking the Pavlovian goal approach, was without effect on palatability or the increase in reward palatability induced by the upshift in motivational state. This noncontingent re-exposure provided an opportunity for instrumental incentive learning, the process by which rats encode the value of a reward for use in updating reward-seeking actions. Flupenthixol administered prior to the instrumental incentive learning opportunity did not affect the increase in subsequent off-drug reward-seeking actions induced by that experience. These data suggest that although dopamine signaling is necessary for Pavlovian incentive motivation, it is not necessary for changes in reward experience, or for the instrumental incentive learning process that translates this experience into the incentive value used to drive reward-seeking actions, and provide further evidence that Pavlovian and instrumental incentive learning processes are dissociable. PMID:21693635

  1. 75 FR 71730 - General Management Plan/Wilderness Study/Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan, Final Environmental...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-24

    ... management under alternative B would be to enable visitor participation in a wide variety of outdoor... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service [2031-A046-409] General Management Plan/Wilderness Study/Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan, Final Environmental Impact Statement, Big Cypress National...

  2. Defining appropriate incentive levels: A review of theory and practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parfett, R.S.; Lodola, J.C.

    1990-01-01

    The theoretical and practical aspects related to determining the incentive levels for demand-side management (DSM) programs are discussed. The theoretical aspects comprise the efficiency criteria, from a social point of view; the equity issue, or ensuring that no one pays higher rates as a result of conservation programs; and the method of recovering the customer's investment, or the implicit discount rate method. The study of these theoretical aspects takes into account the perspectives of all the concerned parties and focuses on the need to harmonize the efficiency criteria which are in opposition. From this process are derived general criteria for aiding program planners and managers to determine the incentive levels for their DSM programs. Past experience has shown that incentive levels cannot be determined in an isolated manner. Other characteristics affecting the carrying out of DSM programs will also have repercussions on the success rate. To determine the appropriate incentives, it is important to have a clear understanding of what the DSM program intends to achieve. Factors such as the market sector, the technology chosen, and demographic characteristics can influence all aspects of the design and implementation of the program, including the type and level of incentive offered. When the goals of the program are clearly established and the intended market is clearly determined, a strategy should be formed which will have the greatest chance of fulfilling the program objectives. The role of each element in the program must be well understood. It is only at this stage that it is possible to determine an appropriate level of incentive. 7 refs

  3. 77 FR 1051 - General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan; Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-09

    ...] General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan; Meeting AGENCY: Animal and Plant... the General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan. DATES: The meeting will be... INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. C. Stephen Roney, Senior Coordinator, National Poultry Improvement Plan, VS, APHIS...

  4. Incentives for breastfeeding and for smoking cessation in pregnancy: an exploration of types and meanings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crossland, Nicola; Thomson, Gill; Morgan, Heather; Dombrowski, Stephan U; Hoddinott, Pat

    2015-03-01

    Financial or tangible incentives are a strategy for improving health behaviours. The mechanisms of action of incentives are complex and debated. Using a multidisciplinary integrated mixed methods study, with service-user collaboration throughout, we developed a typology of incentives and their meanings for initiating and sustaining smoking cessation in pregnancy and breastfeeding. The ultimate aim was to inform incentive intervention design by providing insights into incentive acceptability and mechanisms of action. Systematic evidence syntheses of incentive intervention studies for smoking cessation in pregnancy or breastfeeding identified incentive characteristics, which were developed into initial categories. Little published qualitative data on user perspectives and acceptability was available. Qualitative interviews and focus groups conducted in three UK regions with a diverse socio-demographic sample of 88 women and significant others from the target population, 53 service providers, 24 experts/decision makers, and conference attendees identified new potential incentives and providers, with and without experience of incentives. Identified incentives (published and emergent) were classified into eight categories: cash and shopping vouchers, maternal wellbeing, baby and pregnancy-related, behaviour-related, health-related, general utility, awards and certificates, and experiences. A typology was refined iteratively through concurrent data collection and thematic analysis to explore participants' understandings of 'incentives' and to compare and contrast meanings across types. Our typology can be understood in three dimensions: the degree of restriction, the extent to which each is hedonic and/or utilitarian, and whether each has solely monetary value versus monetary with added social value. The layers of autonomy, meanings and the social value of incentive types influence their acceptability and interact with structural, social, and personal factors. Dimensions

  5. Completion Report for Multi-Site Incentive MRT 2779 Implement ASC Tripod Initiative by 30SEP08

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    East, D; Cerutti, J; Noe, J; Cupps, K; Loncaric, J; Sturtevant, J

    2008-09-22

    This report provides documentation and evidence for the completion of the deployment of the Tripod common operating system (TripodOS, also known as and generally referred to below as TOSS). Background documents for TOSS are provided in Appendices A and B, including the initial TOSS proposal accepted by ASC HQ and Executives in July 2007 and a Governance Model defined by a Tri-Lab working group in September 2007. Appendix C contains a document that clarifies the intent and requirements for the completion criteria associated with MRT 2779. The deployment of TOSS is a Multi-Site Incentive from the ASC FY08-09 Implementation Plan due at the end of Quarter 4 in FY08.

  6. Retirement intentions of general practitioners aged 45-65 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brett, Thomas D; Arnold-Reed, Diane E; Hince, Dana A; Wood, Ian K; Moorhead, Robert G

    2009-07-20

    To ascertain the retirement intentions of a cohort of Australian general practitioners. Postal questionnaire survey of members of four Divisions of General Practice in Western Australia, sent out November 2007 - January 2008. A sample of 178 GPs aged 45-65 years. Intention to work in general practice until retirement; reasons for retiring before age 65 years; factors that might encourage working beyond chosen retirement age; and perceived obstacles to working in general practice. 63% of GPs intended to work to at least age 65 years, with men more likely to retire early. Of 63 GPs intending to retire early, 46% gave pressure of work, exhaustion and burnout as reasons for early retirement. Better remuneration, better staffing levels and more general support were incentives to continue working for 46% of the 64 GPs who responded to the question about incentives, and more flexible working hours, part-time work and reduced workload for 41%. Of 169 participants, 65% gave increasing bureaucracy, poor job satisfaction and disillusionment with the medical system or Medicare as obstacles to working in general practice in Australia, whereas workforce shortage, increasing patient demands and diminishing lifestyle through overwork were obstacles named by 48%. Many GPs are planning to retire early, reflecting an emerging trend among professionals and society generally. Declining job satisfaction, falling workforce numbers, excessive workload and increasing bureaucracy were recurrent concerns of older WA GPs considering premature retirement.

  7. [The use of management contracts and professional incentives in the public health sector].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ditterich, Rafael Gomes; Moysés, Simone Tetu; Moysés, Samuel Jorge

    2012-04-01

    Results-based management is a cornerstone of reform in public administration, including the health field, and has become the basis for other innovations such as the institutionalization of management contracts and the use of professional incentives. This review article aims to introduce and discuss the use of such management contracts in the public health sector. Management by results has developed means and tools that highlight the importance of shared responsibility and mutual commitment between workers and management-level directors. Thus, preset goals are negotiated among all the stakeholders and are evaluated periodically in order to grant professional incentives. It is necessary to improve the mechanisms for control and observation, to more precisely determine the healthcare and management indicators and their patterns, to train stakeholders in designing the plan, and to improve the use of professional incentives in order to effectively increase accountability vis-à-vis the desired results.

  8. The impact of removing financial incentives from clinical quality indicators: longitudinal analysis of four Kaiser Permanente indicators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lester, Helen; Schmittdiel, Julie; Selby, Joe; Fireman, Bruce; Campbell, Stephen; Lee, Janelle; Whippy, Alan; Madvig, Philip

    2010-05-11

    To evaluate the effect of financial incentives on four clinical quality indicators common to pay for performance plans in the United Kingdom and at Kaiser Permanente in California. Longitudinal analysis. 35 medical facilities of Kaiser Permanente Northern California, 1997-2007. 2 523 659 adult members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California. Main outcomes measures Yearly assessment of patient level glycaemic control (HbA(1c) financial incentives were attached to screening for diabetic retinopathy (1999-2003), the rate rose from 84.9% to 88.1%. This was followed by four years without incentives when the rate fell year on year to 80.5%. During the two initial years when financial incentives were attached to cervical cancer screening (1999-2000), the screening rate rose slightly, from 77.4% to 78.0%. During the next five years when financial incentives were removed, screening rates fell year on year to 74.3%. Incentives were then reattached for two years (2006-7) and screening rates began to increase. Across the 35 facilities, the removal of incentives was associated with a decrease in performance of about 3% per year on average for screening for diabetic retinopathy and about 1.6% per year for cervical cancer screening. Policy makers and clinicians should be aware that removing facility directed financial incentives from clinical indicators may mean that performance levels decline.

  9. Acceptability of financial incentives and penalties for encouraging uptake of healthy behaviours: focus groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giles, Emma L; Sniehotta, Falko F; McColl, Elaine; Adams, Jean

    2015-01-31

    There is evidence that financial incentive interventions, which include both financial rewards and also penalties, are effective in encouraging healthy behaviours. However, concerns about the acceptability of such interventions remain. We report on focus groups with a cross-section of adults from North East England exploring their acceptance of financial incentive interventions for encouraging healthy behaviours amongst adults. Such information should help guide the design and development of acceptable, and effective, financial incentive interventions. Eight focus groups with a total of 74 adults were conducted between November 2013 and January 2014 in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Focus groups lasted approximately 60 minutes and explored factors that made financial incentives acceptable and unacceptable to participants, together with discussions on preferred formats for financial incentives. Verbatim transcripts were thematically coded and analysed in Nvivo 10. Participants largely distrusted health promoting financial incentives, with a concern that individuals may abuse such schemes. There was, however, evidence that health promoting financial incentives may be more acceptable if they are fair to all recipients and members of the public; if they are closely monitored and evaluated; if they are shown to be effective and cost-effective; and if clear health education is provided alongside health promoting financial incentives. There was also a preference for positive rewards rather than negative penalties, and for shopping vouchers rather than cash incentives. This qualitative empirical research has highlighted clear suggestions on how to design health promoting financial incentives to maximise acceptability to the general public. It will also be important to determine the acceptability of health promoting financial incentives in a range of stakeholders, and in particular, those who fund such schemes, and policy-makers who are likely to be involved with the design

  10. Earnings progression, human capital and incentives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frederiksen, Anders

    progression by investigating the effects of on-the-job human capital acquisition, explicit short-run incentives and career concern incentives on earnings progression. The model leads to predictions about the incentive structure and the progression in both cross-sectional and individual earnings which...

  11. Personal financial incentives in health promotion: where do they fit in an ethic of autonomy?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashcroft, Richard E

    2011-06-01

    This paper reviews the ethical controversy concerning the use of monetary incentives in health promotion, focussing specifically on the arguments relating to the impact on personal autonomy of such incentives. Offering people small amounts of money in the context of health promotion and medical care has been attempted in a number of settings in recent years. This use of personal financial incentives has attracted a degree of ethical controversy. One form of criticism is that such schemes interfere with the autonomy of the patient or citizen in an illegitimate way. This paper presents a thematic analysis of the main arguments concerning personal autonomy and the use of monetary incentives in behaviour change. The main moral objections to the uses of incentives are that they may be in general or in specific instances paternalistic, coercive, involve bribery, or undermine the agency of the person. While incentive schemes may engage these problems on occasion, there is no good reason to think that they do so inherently and of necessity. We need better behavioural science evidence to understand how incentives work, in order to evaluate their moral effects in practice. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  12. [General aspects of planning and care in mental health].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saforcada, E

    1976-09-01

    This paper reviews some general concepts on Planning, especially in public and welfare sectors, stressing those concerning the major flaws in the argentine system of mental health. The author considers the definition of planning levels, and sets forth three: general plan, program and project. The correlative implementation is also considered. The importance of feed-back from adequate evaluation is stressed, emphasizing three aspects: a) evaluation of dynamics, rate and extent of decrease, increase or stagnation; b) assessment of efficacity of factors involved; c) control and stabilization of goals already attained. The necessity to develop a human ecology, encompassing socio-cultural and psycho-social factors is stressed, together with fostering theoretical research and the use of its results by implementation agents. Several differences among prevailing mental health actions are pointed out which allow a distinction between two typical models: clinical and sanitarist. The main differences between them lye on: standard location of working sites, nature of basic actions, field of action, hypothesis for working, including ethiological and ecological assumptions, theoretical and methodological framework. A series of criteria for evaluating sanitary techniques and strategies are set forth, among which: operative procedures, length of treatments, degree of therapeutic concentration, and general pragmatic criteria. The indicators reviewed are: degree of efficacity, covering, degree of perseverance in treatments, cultural barriers between patient and therapist, delegation of functions into special, first-rate sanitary agents, needs for the training of mental health workers. An attempt is made at developping general evaluation criteria for mental health planning, and several indicators are proposed, among which: a) cost/efficacity ratio, including in costs the use of economical, human and physical resources; b) preventive capacities of the community; c) capacities for the

  13. Paediatric palliative home care by general paediatricians: a multimethod study on perceived barriers and incentives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fischbach Thomas

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Non-specialist palliative care, as it is delivered by general practitioners, is a basic component of a comprehensive palliative care infrastructure for adult patients with progressive and far advanced disease. Currently palliative care for children and adolescents is recognized as a distinct entity of care, requiring networks of service providers across different settings, including paediatricians working in general practice. In Germany, the medical home care for children and adolescents is to a large extent delivered by general paediatricians working in their own practice. However, these are rarely confronted with children suffering from life-limiting diseases. The aim of this study was therefore to examine potential barriers, incentives, and the professional self-image of general paediatricians with regard to paediatric palliative care. Methods Based on qualitative expert interviews, a questionnaire was designed and a survey among general paediatricians in their own practice (n = 293 was undertaken. The survey has been developed and performed in close cooperation with the regional professional association of paediatricians. Results The results showed a high disposition on part of the paediatricians to engage in palliative care, and the majority of respondents regarded palliative care as part of their profile. Main barriers for the implementation were time restrictions (40.7% and financial burden (31.6%, sole responsibility without team support (31.1%, as well as formal requirements such as forms and prescriptions (26.6%. Major facilitations were support by local specialist services such as home care nursing service (83.0%, access to a specialist paediatric palliative care consultation team (82.4%, as well as an option of exchange with colleagues (60.1%. Conclusions Altogether, the high commitment to this survey reflects the relevance of the issue for paediatricians working in general practice. Education in basic palliative

  14. INEQUALITY, INCENTIVES AND THE INTERPERSONAL TEST

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lippert-Rasmussen, Kasper

    2008-01-01

    ABSTRACT This article defends three claims: (1) even if Rawls' difference principle permits incentives to induce talented people to be more productive, it does not follow that it permits inequalities; (2) the difference principle, when adequately specified, may in some circumstances permit incent...... incentives and allow that the worst off are not made as well off as they could be; and (3) an argument for incentives might pass Cohen's interpersonal test even if it is unsound and might not pass it even if it is sound. 1...

  15. General medicine vs subspecialty career plans among internal medicine residents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    West, Colin P; Dupras, Denise M

    2012-12-05

    Current medical training models in the United States are unlikely to produce sufficient numbers of general internists and primary care physicians. Differences in general internal medicine (GIM) career plans between internal medicine residency program types and across resident demographics are not well understood. To evaluate the general medicine career plans of internal medicine residents and how career plans evolve during training. A study of US internal medicine residents using an annual survey linked to the Internal Medicine In-Training Examination taken in October of 2009-2011 to evaluate career plans by training program, sex, and medical school location. Of 67,207 US eligible categorical and primary care internal medicine residents, 57,087 (84.9%) completed and returned the survey. Demographic data provided by the National Board of Medical Examiners were available for 52,035 (77.4%) of these residents, of whom 51,390 (76.5%) responded to all survey items and an additional 645 (1.0%) responded to at least 1 survey item. Data were analyzed from the 16,781 third-year residents (32.2%) in this sample. Self-reported ultimate career plans of internal medicine residents. A GIM career plan was reported by 3605 graduating residents (21.5%). A total of 562 primary care program (39.6%) and 3043 categorical (19.9%) residents reported GIM as their ultimate career plan (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.76; 99% CI, 2.35-3.23; P international medical graduates (22.0% vs 21.1%, respectively; AOR, 1.76; 99% CI, 1.50-2.06; P international medical graduates (57.3% vs 27.3%, respectively; AOR, 3.48; 99% CI, 2.58-4.70; P internal medicine residents, including those in primary care training programs, and differed according to resident sex, medical school location, and program type.

  16. State tax incentives for persons giving informal care to the elderly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hendrickson, Michael C.

    1988-01-01

    Programs for informal caregivers of frail elderly can be adopted by States to address some of the problems associated with an expanding and costly long-term care system. In this article, highlights are given from a 3-year study of Idaho and Arizona tax incentive programs. Characteristics of informal caregivers and elderly participants are described, and elderly participants are compared with elderly nonparticipants and with the general elderly population. Tax incentives were positively related to the level of service and financial support provided by informal caregivers. Data were inadequate to determine whether the induced informal help substituted for public expenditures. PMID:10312965

  17. State tax incentives for person giving informal care of the elderly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hendrickson, M C

    1988-12-01

    Programs for informal caregivers of frail elderly can be adopted by States to address some of the problems associated with an expanding and costly long-term care system. In this article, highlights are given from a 3-year study of Idaho and Arizona tax incentive programs. Characteristics of informal caregivers and elderly participants are described, and elderly participants are compared with elderly nonparticipants and with the general elderly population. Tax incentives were positively related to the level of service and financial support provided by informal caregivers. Data were inadequate to determine whether the induced informal help substituted for public expenditures.

  18. General Vehicle Test Plan (GVTP) for Urban Rail Transit Cars

    Science.gov (United States)

    1977-09-01

    The General Vehicle Test Plan provides a system for general vehicle testing and for documenting and utilizing data and information in the testing of urban rail transit cars. Test procedures are defined for nine categories: (1) Performance; (2) Power ...

  19. The Promise of Tailoring Incentives for Healthy Behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kullgren, Jeffrey T; Williams, Geoffrey C; Resnicow, Kenneth; An, Lawrence C; Rothberg, Amy; Volpp, Kevin G; Heisler, Michele

    2016-01-01

    To describe how tailoring financial incentives for healthy behaviors to employees' goals, values, and aspirations might improve the efficacy of incentives. We integrate insights from self-determination theory (SDT) with principles from behavioral economics in the design of financial incentives by linking how incentives could help meet an employee's life goals, values, or aspirations. Tailored financial incentives could be more effective than standard incentives in promoting autonomous motivation necessary to initiate healthy behaviors and sustain them after incentives are removed. Previous efforts to improve the design of financial incentives have tested different incentive designs that vary the size, schedule, timing, and target of incentives. Our strategy for tailoring incentives builds on strong evidence that difficult behavior changes are more successful when integrated with important life goals and values. We outline necessary research to examine the effectiveness of this approach among at-risk employees. Instead of offering simple financial rewards for engaging in healthy behaviors, existing programs could leverage incentives to promote employees' autonomous motivation for sustained health improvements. Effective application of these concepts could lead to programs more effective at improving health, potentially at lower cost. Our approach for the first time integrates key insights from SDT, behavioral economics, and tailoring to turn an extrinsic reward for behavior change into an internalized, self-sustaining motivator for long-term engagement in risk-reducing behaviors.

  20. Behavioral Health Services in the Changing Landscape of Private Health Plans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horgan, Constance M; Stewart, Maureen T; Reif, Sharon; Garnick, Deborah W; Hodgkin, Dominic; Merrick, Elizabeth L; Quinn, Amity E

    2016-06-01

    Health plans play a key role in facilitating improvements in population health and may engage in activities that have an impact on access, cost, and quality of behavioral health care. Although behavioral health care is becoming more integrated with general medical care, its delivery system has unique aspects. The study examined how health plans deliver and manage behavioral health care in the context of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). This is a critical time to examine how health plans manage behavioral health care. A nationally representative survey of private health plans (weighted N=8,431 products; 89% response rate) was conducted in 2010 during the first year of MHPAEA, when plans were subject to the law but before final regulations, and just before the ACA went into effect. The survey addressed behavioral health coverage, cost-sharing, contracting arrangements, medical home innovations, support for technology, and financial incentives to improve behavioral health care. Coverage for inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services was stable between 2003 and 2010. In 2010, health plans were more likely than in 2003 to manage behavioral health care through internal arrangements and to contract for other services. Medical home initiatives were common and almost always included behavioral health, but financial incentives did not. Some plans facilitated providers' use of technology to improve care delivery, but this was not the norm. Health plans are key to mainstreaming and supporting delivery of high-quality behavioral health services. Since 2003, plans have made changes to support delivery of behavioral health services in the context of a rapidly changing environment.

  1. Incentives for retaining and motivating health workers in Pacific and Asian countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tulloch Jim

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This paper was initiated by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID after identifying the need for an in-depth synthesis and analysis of available literature and information on incentives for retaining health workers in the Asia-Pacific region. The objectives of this paper are to: 1. Highlight the situation of health workers in Pacific and Asian countries to gain a better understanding of the contributing factors to health worker motivation, dissatisfaction and migration. 2. Examine the regional and global evidence on initiatives to retain a competent and motivated health workforce, especially in rural and remote areas. 3. Suggest ways to address the shortages of health workers in Pacific and Asian countries by using incentives. The review draws on literature and information gathered through a targeted search of websites and databases. Additional reports were gathered through AusAID country offices, UN agencies, and non-government organizations. The severe shortage of health workers in Pacific and Asian countries is a critical issue that must be addressed through policy, planning and implementation of innovative strategies – such as incentives – for retaining and motivating health workers. While economic factors play a significant role in the decisions of workers to remain in the health sector, evidence demonstrates that they are not the only factors. Research findings from the Asia-Pacific region indicate that salaries and benefits, together with working conditions, supervision and management, and education and training opportunities are important. The literature highlights the importance of packaging financial and non-financial incentives. Each country facing shortages of health workers needs to identify the underlying reasons for the shortages, determine what motivates health workers to remain in the health sector, and evaluate the incentives required for maintaining a competent and motivated health workforce

  2. Incentives and nuclear waste siting: Prospects and constraints

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carnes, S.A.; Copenhaver, E.D.; Sorensen, J.H.; Soderstrom, E.J.; Reed, J.H.; Bjornstad, D.J.; Peelle, E.

    1983-01-01

    Limited anecdotal evidence from existing incentive-based facility sitings, and from a survey of rural Wisconsin residents in 1980 regarding the acceptability of a nuclear waste repository, indicates that incentives may help ahcieve the twin goals of increasing local support and decreasing local opposition to hosting nuclear waste facilities. Incentives are classified according to functional categories (i.e., mitigation, compensation, and reward), and prerequisites to the use of incentives are outlined (i.e., guarantee of public health and safety, some measure of local control, and a legitimation of negotiations during siting). Criteria for evaluating the utility of incentives packages may be more useful than single incentives, and nonmonetary incentives, such as independent monitoring and access to credible information, may be as important in eliciting support as monetary incentives. 54 references, 1 figure, 4 tables

  3. Gender differences in the incentive salience of adult and infant faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hahn, Amanda C; Xiao, Dengke; Sprengelmeyer, Reiner; Perrett, David I

    2013-01-01

    Facial appearance can motivate behaviour and elicit activation of brain circuits putatively involved in reward. Gender differences have been observed for motivation to view beauty in adult faces--heterosexual women are motivated by beauty in general, while heterosexual men are motivated to view opposite-sex beauty alone. Although gender differences have been observed in sensitivity to infant cuteness, infant faces appear to hold equal incentive salience among men and women. In the present study, we investigated the incentive salience of attractiveness and cuteness in adult and infant faces, respectively. We predicted that, given alternative viewing options, gender differences would emerge for motivation to view infant faces. Heterosexual participants completed a "pay-per-view" key-press task, which allowed them to control stimulus duration. Gender differences were found such that infants held greater incentive salience among women, although both sexes differentiated infant faces based on cuteness. Among adult faces, men exerted more effort than women to view opposite-sex faces. These findings suggest that, contrary to previous reports, gender differences do exist in the incentive salience of infant faces as well as opposite-sex faces.

  4. Incentives and the siting of radioactive waste facilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carnes, S.A.; Copenhaver, E.D.; Reed, J.H.; Soderstrom, E.J.; Sorensen, J.H.; Peelle, E.; Bjornstad, D.J.

    1982-08-01

    The importance of social and institutional issues in the siting of nuclear waste facilities has been recognized in recent years. Limited evidence from a survey of rural Wisconsin residents in 1980 indicates that incentives may help achieve the twin goals of increasing local support and decreasing local opposition to hosting nuclear waste facilities. Incentives are classified according to functional categories (i.e., mitigation, compensation, and reward) and the conditions which may be prerequisites to the use of incentives are outlined (i.e., guarantee of public health and safety, some measure of local control, and a legitimation of negotiations during siting). Criteria for evaluating the utility of incentives in nuclear waste repository siting are developed. Incentive packages may be more useful than single incentives, and nonmonetary incentives, such as independent monitoring and access to credible information, may be as important in eliciting support as monetary incentives. Without careful attention to prerequisites in the siting process it is not likely that incentives will facilitate the siting process.

  5. DSM shareholder incentives: Current designs and economic theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stoft, S.; Eto, J.; Kito, S.

    1995-01-01

    This report reviews recent DSM shareholder incentive designs and performance at 10 US utilities identifies opportunities for regulators to improve the design of DSM shareholder incentive mechanisms to increase the procurement of cost-effective DSM resources. We develop six recommendations: (1) apply shared-savings incentives to DSM resource programs; (2) use markup incentives for individual programs only when net benefits are difficult to measure, but are known to be positive; (3) set expected incentive payments based on covering a utility's open-quotes hidden costs,close quotes which include some transitional management and risk-adjusted opportunity costs; (4) use higher marginal incentives rates than are currently found in practice, but limit total incentive payments by adding a fixed charge; (5) mitigate risks to regulators and utilities by lowering marginal incentive rates at high and low performance levels; and (6) use an aggregate incentive mechanism for all DSM resource programs, with limited exceptions (e.g., information programs where markups are more appropriate)

  6. Incentives and the siting of radioactive waste facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carnes, S.A.; Copenhaver, E.D.; Reed, J.H.; Soderstrom, E.J.; Sorensen, J.H.; Peelle, E.; Bjornstad, D.J.

    1982-08-01

    The importance of social and institutional issues in the siting of nuclear waste facilities has been recognized in recent years. Limited evidence from a survey of rural Wisconsin residents in 1980 indicates that incentives may help achieve the twin goals of increasing local support and decreasing local opposition to hosting nuclear waste facilities. Incentives are classified according to functional categories (i.e., mitigation, compensation, and reward) and the conditions which may be prerequisites to the use of incentives are outlined (i.e., guarantee of public health and safety, some measure of local control, and a legitimation of negotiations during siting). Criteria for evaluating the utility of incentives in nuclear waste repository siting are developed. Incentive packages may be more useful than single incentives, and nonmonetary incentives, such as independent monitoring and access to credible information, may be as important in eliciting support as monetary incentives. Without careful attention to prerequisites in the siting process it is not likely that incentives will facilitate the siting process

  7. A Comprehensive Study of the Incentive Award Program at General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-08-08

    the 95% confidence level (Gravalos & Jack, 1995). Due to slacking sales, Mazda Motors of America, Inc., designed a study similar to the Goodyear... Mazda studies is contained in a 1993/94 study conducted by Innovative Resources. The study Incentive Awards 15 looked at the role emotion plays in the

  8. Determinants of investment under incentive regulation: The case of the Norwegian electricity distribution networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poudineh, Rahmatallah; Jamasb, Tooraj

    2016-01-01

    Investment in electricity networks, as regulated natural monopolies, is among the highest regulatory and energy policy priorities. The electricity sector regulators adopt different incentive mechanisms to ensure that the firms undertake sufficient investment to maintain and modernise the grid. Thus, an effective regulatory treatment of investment requires understanding the response of companies to the regulatory incentives. This study analyses the determinants of investment in electricity distribution networks using a panel dataset of 129 Norwegian companies observed from 2004 to 2010. A Bayesian Model Averaging approach is used to provide a robust statistical inference by taking into account the uncertainties around model selection and estimation. The results show that three factors drive nearly all network investments: investment rate in previous period, socio-economic costs of energy not supplied and finally useful life of assets. The results indicate that Norwegian companies have, to some degree, responded to the investment incentives provided by the regulatory framework. However, some of the incentives do not appear to be effective in driving the investments. - Highlights: • This paper investigates determinants of investment under incentive regulation. • We apply a Bayesian model averaging technique to deal with model uncertainty. • Dataset comprises 129 Norwegian electricity network companies from 2004 to 2010. • The results show that firms have generally responded to investment incentives. • However, some of the incentives do not appear to have been effective.

  9. The cost-effectiveness of cash versus lottery incentives for a web-based, stated-preference community survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gajic, Aleksandra; Cameron, David; Hurley, Jeremiah

    2012-12-01

    We present the results of a randomized experiment to test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of response incentives for a stated-preference survey of a general community population. The survey was administered using a mixed-mode approach, in which community members were invited to participate using a traditional mailed letter using contact information for a representative sample of the community; but individuals completed the survey via the web, which exploited the advantages of electronic capture. Individuals were randomized to four incentive groups: (a) no incentive, (b) prepaid cash incentive ($2), (c) a low lottery (10 prizes of $25) and (d) a high lottery (2 prizes of $250). Letters of invitation were mailed to 3,000 individuals. In total, 405 individuals (14.4%) contacted the website and 277 (9.8%) provided complete responses. The prepaid cash incentive generated the highest contact and response rates (23.3 and 17.3%, respectively), and no incentive generated the lowest (9.1 and 5.7%, respectively). The high lottery, however, was the most cost-effective incentive for obtaining completed surveys: compared with no incentive, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) per completed survey for high lottery was $13.89; for prepaid cash, the ICER was $18.29. This finding suggests that the preferred response incentive for community-based, stated-preference surveys is a lottery with a small number of large prizes.

  10. 48 CFR 16.401 - General.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... outcomes. This information should be considered as part of the acquisition planning process (see 7.105) in... rather than minimum performance requirements. (c) The two basic categories of incentive contracts are...

  11. The Effect of Financial Incentives on Quality of Care: The Case of Diabetes

    OpenAIRE

    Anthony Scott; Stefanie Schurer; Paul H. Jensen; Peter Sivey

    2008-01-01

    Australia introduced an incentive payment scheme for general practitioners to ensure systematic and high quality care in chronic disease management. There is little empirical evidence and ambiguous theoretical guidance on which effects to expect on the quality of care. This paper evaluates the impact of the payment incentives on quality of care in diabetes, as measured by the probability of ordering an HbA1c test. The empirical analysis is conducted with a unique data set and a multivariate p...

  12. The Effects of Financial Incentives on Quality of Care: The Case of Diabetes

    OpenAIRE

    Scott, A; Schurer, S; Jensen, P H; Sivey, P

    2008-01-01

    Australia introduced an incentive payment scheme for general practitioners to ensure systematic and high quality care in chronic disease management. There is little empirical evidence and ambiguous theoretical guidance on which effects to expect on the quality of care. This paper evaluates the impact of the payment incentives on quality of care in diabetes, as measured by the probability of ordering an HbA1c test. The empirical analysis is conducted with a unique data set and a multivariate p...

  13. Ontario's energy action plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-07-01

    In the fall of 2002, the government of Ontario announced an action plan designed to ensure stable electricity prices while additional electricity generating capacity is built. The action plan included a strategy for encouraging major private sector investments in wind, solar and other renewable energy sources. The strategies for new renewable energy projects include: property tax incentives, business income tax incentives, and sales tax rebates. Initiatives to increase supply include: Toronto's Portland 550 megawatt, natural gas-fired generating station, Niagara Falls' Beck Tunnel Project, and Windsor's 580 megawatt natural gas-fired generating station. The government is promoting energy conservation by reducing its electricity consumption by 10 per cent, and setting a target where 20 per cent of electricity consumed in the province must be from renewable energy sources. The use of interval meters by Ontario residents is being encouraged. A provincial sales tax rebate is being offered to customers buying select energy efficient appliances. In its commitment to environmental protection, the Ontario government is phasing out coal, offering rebates for solar energy systems, implementing measures to reduce acid rain, and investing $3.25 billion over ten years to renew and expand public transit. In Chatham, Ontario, a plant producing ethanol from corn was built, and others are planned for other parts of the province. Tax incentives are also offered for alternative fuel users. 1 ref., 1 tab

  14. An assessment of incentive versus survey length trade-offs in a Web survey of radiologists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziegenfuss, Jeanette Y; Niederhauser, Blake D; Kallmes, David; Beebe, Timothy J

    2013-03-20

    It is generally understood that shorter Web surveys and use of incentives result in higher response rates in Web surveys directed to health care providers. Less is known about potential respondent preference for reduced burden as compared to increased reward. To help elicit preference for minimized burden compared to reward for completion of a survey, we observed physician preferences for shorter Web surveys compared to incentives as well as incentive preference (small guaranteed incentive compared to larger lottery incentive) accompanying an electronic request to complete a survey. This was an observational study that accompanied a large Web survey study of radiology staff, fellows, and residents at select academic medical centers in the United States. With the request to complete the survey, potential respondents were offered three options: (1) a 10-minute Web survey with the chance to win an iPad, (2) a 10-minute Web survey with a guaranteed nominal incentive ($5 amazon.com gift card), or (3) a shorter (5-7 minute) Web survey with no incentive. A total of 254 individuals responded to the Web survey request. Overwhelmingly, individuals chose a longer survey accompanied by an incentive compared to a shorter survey with no incentive (85% compared to 15%, P<.001). Of those opting for an incentive, a small, but not significant majority chose the chance to win an iPad over a guaranteed $5 gift card (56% compared to 44%). When given the choice, radiologists preferred a reward (either guaranteed or based on a lottery) to a less burdensome survey, indicating that researchers should focus more attention at increasing perceived benefits of completing a Web survey compared to decreasing perceived burden.

  15. Incentives for partitioning, revisited

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cloninger, M.O.

    1980-01-01

    The incentives for separating and eliminating various elements from radioactive waste prior to final geologic disposal were investigated. Exposure pathways to humans were defined, and potential radiation doses to an individual living within the region of influence of the underground storage site were calculated. The assumed radionuclide source was 1/5 of the accumulated high-level waste from the US nuclear power economy through the year 2000. The repository containing the waste was assumed to be located in a reference salt site geology. The study required numerous assumptions concerning the transport of radioactivity from the geologic storage site to man. The assumptions used maximized the estimated potential radiation doses, particularly in the case of the intrusion water well scenario, where hydrologic flow field dispersion effects were ignored. Thus, incentives for removing elements from the waste tended to be maximized. Incentives were also maximized by assuming that elements removed from the waste could be eliminated from the earth without risk. The results of the study indicate that for reasonable disposal conditions, incentives for partitioning any elements from the waste in order to minimize the risk to humans are marginal at best

  16. The Economics of Foreign Direct Investment Incentives

    OpenAIRE

    Magnus Blomstrom; Ari Kokko

    2003-01-01

    This Paper suggests that the use of investment incentives focusing exclusively on foreign firms - although motivated in some cases from a theoretical point of view - is generally not an efficient way to raise national welfare. The main reason is that the strongest theoretical motive for financial subsidies to inward FDI – spillovers of foreign technology and skills to local industry – is not an automatic consequence of foreign investment. The potential spillover benefits are realized only if ...

  17. Group Acceptance Sampling Plan for Lifetime Data Using Generalized Pareto Distribution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Aslam

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a group acceptance sampling plan (GASP is introduced for the situations when lifetime of the items follows the generalized Pareto distribution. The design parameters such as minimum group size and acceptance number are determined when the consumer’s risk and the test termination time are specified. The proposed sampling plan is compared with the existing sampling plan. It is concluded that the proposed sampling plan performs better than the existing plan in terms of minimum sample size required to reach the same decision.

  18. 48 CFR 1552.216-77 - Award term incentive.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... award term incentive periods] years. (c) Right not to grant or cancel the award term incentive. (1) The Government has the unilateral right not to grant or to cancel award term incentive periods and the associated... the award term incentive is cancelled, a unilateral modification will cite this clause as the...

  19. 77 FR 59888 - General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-01

    ... Improvement Plan AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of intent to renew... the General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan (Committee) for a 2year... Improvement Plan, VS, APHIS, USDA, 1506 Klondike Road, Suite 300, Conyers, GA 30094; (770) 922-3496...

  20. Research on the Effectively Building Patterns of Talent Incentive and Cultural Atmosphere for Modern Enterprise Management

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Zhang Penghui[1

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we conduct research on the effectively building patterns of talent incentive and cultural atmosphere for modern enterprise management. Targeted incentive direction refers to the motivation, namely, to what kind of content to implement incentive. It has signifi cant effect on incentive effect. According to American psychologist Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, people’s behavior motives originated in fi ve kinds of need, namely: the physiological needs, security needs, belonging needs, respect for the needs and the self-actualization needs. People need not set in stone, which is a developing process from low to high, but the process is not a cascade of discontinuous jumping, but a continuous, the evolution of wave. Under this general basis, we propose the cultural atmosphere for modern enterprise management that is novel and innovative.

  1. Merger incentives and the failing firm defense

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bouckaert, J.M.C.; Kort, P.M.

    2014-01-01

    The merger incentives between profitable firms differ fundamentally from the incentives of a profitable firm to merge with a failing firm. We investigate these incentives under different modes of price competition and Cournot behavior. Our main finding is that firms strictly prefer exit of the

  2. U.S. Army Incentive Program: Incentives That Motivate Recruiters

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Starkey, Benjamin

    1999-01-01

    .... Sixty recruiters and staff personnel at the brigade, battalion and company echelons were randomly selected and interviewed on how the various national and local incentives motivate recruiters to meet...

  3. Drilling contracts and incentives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osmundsen, Petter; Sorenes, Terje; Toft, Anders

    2008-01-01

    Shortages of rigs and personnel have encouraged discussion of designing incentive contracts in the drilling sector. However, for the drilling contracts, there are not a large variety of contract types in use. This article describes and analyses incentives for drilling contractors. These are directly represented by the compensation formats utilised in the present and in the consecutive drilling contracts. Indirectly, incentives are also provided by the evaluation criteria that oil companies use for awarding drilling assignments. Changes in contract format pose a number of relevant questions relating to resource management, and the article takes an in-depth look at some of these. Do evaluation criteria for awarding drilling assignments encourage the development of new technology and solutions? How will a stronger focus on drilling efficiency influence reservoir utilisation?

  4. 77 FR 42257 - General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan; Solicitation for Membership

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-18

    ...] General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan; Solicitation for Membership AGENCY... regional membership for the General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan. DATES... INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. C. Stephen Roney, Senior Coordinator, National Poultry Improvement Plan, VS, APHIS...

  5. Office of Inspector General fiscal year 1996 annual work plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-10-01

    This FY 1996 Office of Inspector General (OIG) Annual Work Plan is a summary and distillation of information contained in annual work plans, and includes audits and inspections that are carried over from FY 1995 as well as audits and inspections scheduled to start during FY 1996. Audits and inspections included in this consolidated OIG Annual Work Plan will be performed by OIG staff. Specialized expertise available through a Certified Public Accounting firm will be used to assist in auditing the Department`s financial statements. As part of the OIG Cooperative Audit Strategy, additional audit coverage of the Department`s programs is provided by internal auditors of the Department`s integrated contractors. Through the Cooperative Audit Strategy, the OIG ensures that the internal auditors satisfy audit standards, provides planning guidance to the internal auditors, coordinates work to avoid duplication, and tracks the work of internal auditors to ensure that needed audits are performed. Applicable portions of the four annual work plans issued for Fiscal Year 1996 by the Deputy/Assistant Inspectors General have been combined to form a major part of this overall OIG Annual Work Plan. Also included are portions of the most recent OIG Semiannual Reports to Congress to give an overview of the OIG`s mission/organization, resource status, and the environment in which the OIG currently operates. The OIG Annual Work Plan also lists ongoing and planned audits and inspections, and it presents investigative statistics which have been previously reported in the two OIG Semiannual Reports to Congress which cover Fiscal Year 1995. Furthermore, included in this work plan are descriptions of several innovations developed by the OIG to streamline its operations and to conserve as much efficiency and economy as possible in a time of resource reductions.

  6. Countervailing incentives in value-based payment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Daniel R

    2017-09-01

    Payment reform has been at the forefront of the movement toward higher-value care in the U.S. health care system. A common belief is that volume-based incentives embedded in fee-for-service need to be replaced with value-based payments. While this belief is well-intended, value-based payment also contains perverse incentives. In particular, behavioral economists have identified several features of individual decision making that reverse some of the typical recommendations for inducing desirable behavior through financial incentives. This paper discusses the countervailing incentives associated with four behavioral economic concepts: loss aversion, relative social ranking, inertia or status quo bias, and extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Effort and Selection Effects of Incentive Contracts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bouwens, J.F.M.G.; van Lent, L.A.G.M.

    2003-01-01

    We show that the improved effort of employees associated with incentive contracts depends on the properties of the performance measures used in the contract.We also find that the power of incentives in the contract is only indirectly related to any improved employee effort.High powered incentive

  8. The role of behavioral economic incentive design and demographic characteristics in financial incentive-based approaches to changing health behaviors: a meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haff, Nancy; Patel, Mitesh S; Lim, Raymond; Zhu, Jingsan; Troxel, Andrea B; Asch, David A; Volpp, Kevin G

    2015-01-01

    To evaluate the use of behavioral economics to design financial incentives to promote health behavior change and to explore associations with demographic characteristics. Studies performed by the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics at the University of Pennsylvania published between January 2006 and March 2014. Randomized, controlled trials with available participant-level data. Studies that did not use financial incentives to promote health behavior change were excluded. Participant-level data from seven studies were pooled. Meta-analysis on the pooled sample using a random-effects model with interaction terms to examine treatment effects and whether they varied by incentive structure or demographic characteristics. The pooled study sample comprised 1403 participants, of whom 35% were female, 70% were white, 24% were black, and the mean age was 48 years (standard deviation 11.2 years). In the fully adjusted model, participants offered financial incentives had higher odds of behavior change (odds ratio [OR]: 3.96; p financial incentives and gender, age, race, income, or education. When further adjusting for incentive structure, blacks had higher odds than whites of achieving behavior change (OR: 1.67; p Financial incentives designed using concepts from behavioral economics were effective for promoting health behavior change. There were no large and consistent relationships between the effectiveness of financial incentives and observable demographic characteristics. Second-order examinations of incentive structure suggest potential relationships among the effectiveness of financial incentives, incentive structure, and the demographic characteristics of race and income.

  9. Employee Use of a Wireless Physical Activity Tracker Within Two Incentive Designs at One Company.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norman, Gregory J; Heltemes, Kevin J; Heck, Debi; Osmick, Mary Jane

    2016-04-01

    Physical activity provides numerous health benefits, including reducing risk factors that contribute to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Many employers offer incentives to employees to motivate engagement in wellness program activities. Two incentive designs to reward employees for achieving step goals were evaluated. This study used a retrospective design and the study population consisted of benefit-eligible employees at American Specialty Health ages 18 to 65 years who completed a health assessment and biometric screening during 2011 (N=396) or 2012 (N=500). A total of 320 employees participated in both years. During 2011, the incentive goal was 500,000 steps per quarter. By comparison, a 3-tier step goal plan was implemented in 2012 (ie, 400,000; 650,000; or 900,000 steps/quarter). The prevalence of participants in the step program was 64.7% in 2011 and 72.8% in 2012. The percentage of employees who reached at least 1 quarterly incentive increased from 36.3% in 2011 to 51.4% in 2012. Average steps/day was higher in 2012 (mean [M]=3573, standard deviation [SD]=3010) compared to the same employees in 2011 (M=2817, SD=2654) (Pemployees in physical activity. A multitier incentive design offers participants choices for goal setting and may help shape behavior toward what may be perceived as a difficult goal to achieve. (Population Health Management 2016;19:88-94).

  10. Professional norms, public service motivation and economic incentives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Lotte Bøgh

    2007-01-01

    The theories of professions, public service motivation, and economic incentives explain the behaviour of the producers of publicly financed services differently. They emphasize professional norms, sector, and economic incentives, respectively. The few existing attempts to integrate these theories...... have, however, indicated that these factors interact. Using interviews, surveys and registers, the paper investigated how professional norms, economic incentives and sector affected the behaviour of Danish dentists and physicians. It was found that when strong professional norms existed, economic...... incentives were unimportant for both public and private employees. In contrast, when no firm professional norm applied, economic incentives affected behaviour. Controlling for different economic incentives, sector does not seem to affect the behaviour much. The results imply that the economic...

  11. Incentives for reducing emissions in Krakow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uberman, R.; Pierce, B.; Lazecki, A.

    1994-01-01

    This effort is identifying, specific incentives that may be used by Krakow city officials to encourage, residents to change the way they heat their homes and businesses in order to reduce pollution. This paper describes the incentives study for converting small coal or coke-fired boilers to gas in the Old Town area. A similar study looked at incentives for expanding the district heating system and future analyses will be performed for home stove options

  12. Planning Electric Transmission Lines: A Review of Recent Regional Transmission Plans

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eto, Joseph H. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2017-04-13

    The first Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) recommends that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) conduct a national review of transmission plans and assess the barriers and incentives to their implementation. DOE tasked Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) to prepare two reports to support the agency’s response to this recommendation. This report reviews regional transmission plans and regional transmission planning processes that have been directed by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order Nos. 890 and 1000. We focus on the most recent regional transmission plans (those issued in 2015 and through approximately mid-year 2016) and current regional transmission planning processes. A companion report focuses on non-plan-related factors that affect transmission projects.

  13. Perceived financial incentives, HMO market penetration, and physicians' practice styles and satisfaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadley, J; Mitchell, J M; Sulmasy, D P; Bloche, M G

    1999-04-01

    to make referrals. These effects were generally reinforced by practicing in an area with a high level of HMO penetration and were offset to some extent by having had exposure to HMOs and the practice of cost-effective medicine while in medical training. Although financial incentives to reduce services are not widespread, there is a legitimate reason to be concerned about possible adverse affects on the quality of care. More research is needed to investigate directly whether changes in patients' health are affected by their physicians' financial incentives.

  14. Impact of financial incentives on clinical autonomy and internal motivation in primary care: ethnographic study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, Ruth; Harrison, Stephen; Checkland, Kath; Campbell, Stephen M; Roland, Martin

    2007-06-30

    To explore the impact of financial incentives for quality of care on practice organisation, clinical autonomy, and internal motivation of doctors and nurses working in primary care. Ethnographic case study. Two English general practices. 12 general practitioners, nine nurses, four healthcare assistants, and four administrative staff. Observation of practices over a five month period after the introduction of financial incentives for quality of care introduced in the 2004 general practitioner contract. After the introduction of the quality and outcomes framework there was an increase in the use of templates to collect data on quality of care. New regimens of surveillance were adopted, with clinicians seen as "chasers" or the "chased," depending on their individual responsibility for delivering quality targets. Attitudes towards the contract were largely positive, although discontent was higher in the practice with a more intensive surveillance regimen. Nurses expressed more concern than doctors about changes to their clinical practice but also appreciated being given responsibility for delivering on targets in particular disease areas. Most doctors did not question the quality targets that existed at the time or the implications of the targets for their own clinical autonomy. Implementation of financial incentives for quality of care did not seem to have damaged the internal motivation of the general practitioners studied, although more concern was expressed by nurses.

  15. A problem of incentive compatibility in the North Sea petroleum industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kashani, Hossein A.

    2006-01-01

    The principal-agent relationship between the governments of the UK and Norway, and the multinational oil companies active in the North Sea petroleum industry is, to some extent, different from a typical principal-agent interaction. For almost three decades, the major criterion for allowing a company to take part in the activity was its previous and planned contribution to the domestic economy by means of applying the highest possible domestic inputs. This study applies mathematical modeling to show that the authorities had the opportunity to offer an incentive scheme to persuade the oil companies to involve domestic suppliers at the governments' preferred level. Unlike a typical government regulatory framework, which aims to increase efficiency in terms of price and/or quality, the incentive compatible scheme discussed in this paper could, in certain circumstances, generate inefficiency in the daily operation of the oil and gas fields

  16. Evaluation of the generalized gamma as a tool for treatment planning optimization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emmanouil I Petrou

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of that work is to study the theoretical behavior and merits of the Generalized Gamma (generalized dose response gradient as well as to investigate the usefulness of this concept in practical radiobiological treatment planning.Methods: In this study, the treatment planning system RayStation 1.9 (Raysearch Laboratories AB, Stockholm, Sweden was used. Furthermore, radiobiological models that provide the tumor control probability (TCP, normal tissue complication probability (NTCP, complication-free tumor control probability (P+ and the Generalized Gamma were employed. The Generalized Gammas of TCP and NTCP, respectively were calculated for given heterogeneous dose distributions to different organs in order to verify the TCP and NTCP computations of the treatment planning system. In this process, a treatment plan was created, where the target and the organs at risk were included in the same ROI in order to check the validity of the system regarding the objective function P+ and the Generalized Gamma. Subsequently, six additional treatment plans were created with the target organ and the organs at risk placed in the same or different ROIs. In these plans, the mean dose was increased in order to investigate the behavior of dose change on tissue response and on Generalized Gamma before and after the change in dose. By theoretically calculating these quantities, the agreement of different theoretical expressions compared to the values that the treatment planning system provides could be evaluated. Finally, the relative error between the real and approximate response values using the Poisson and the Probit models, for the case of having a target organ consisting of two compartments in a parallel architecture and with the same number of clonogens could be investigated and quantified. Results: The computations of the RayStation regarding the values of the Generalized Gamma and the objective function (P+ were verified by using an

  17. The impact of removing financial incentives from clinical quality indicators: longitudinal analysis of four Kaiser Permanente indicators.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lester, H.; Schmittdiel, J.; Selby, J.; Fireman, B.; Campbell, S.M.; Lee, J.; Whippy, A.; Madvig, P.

    2010-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of financial incentives on four clinical quality indicators common to pay for performance plans in the United Kingdom and at Kaiser Permanente in California. DESIGN: Longitudinal analysis. SETTING: 35 medical facilities of Kaiser Permanente Northern California,

  18. An overview of reviews evaluating the effectiveness of financial incentives in changing healthcare professional behaviours and patient outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flodgren, Gerd; Eccles, Martin P; Shepperd, Sasha; Scott, Anthony; Parmelli, Elena; Beyer, Fiona R

    2014-01-01

    review according to the AMSTAR criteria. We included systematic reviews of studies evaluating the effectiveness of any type of financial incentive. We grouped financial incentives into five groups: payment for working for a specified time period; payment for each service, episode or visit; payment for providing care for a patient or specific population; payment for providing a pre-specified level or providing a change in activity or quality of care; and mixed or other systems. We summarised data using vote counting. Main results We identified four reviews reporting on 32 studies. Two reviews scored 7 on the AMSTAR criteria (moderate, score 5 to 7, quality) and two scored 9 (high, score 8 to 11, quality). The reported quality of the included studies was, by a variety of methods, low to moderate. Payment for working for a specified time period was generally ineffective, improving 3/11 outcomes from one study reported in one review. Payment for each service, episode or visit was generally effective, improving 7/10 outcomes from five studies reported in three reviews; payment for providing care for a patient or specific population was generally effective, improving 48/69 outcomes from 13 studies reported in two reviews; payment for providing a pre-specified level or providing a change in activity or quality of care was generally effective, improving 17/20 reported outcomes from 10 studies reported in two reviews; and mixed and other systems were of mixed effectiveness, improving 20/31 reported outcomes from seven studies reported in three reviews. When looking at the effect of financial incentives overall across categories of outcomes, they were of mixed effectiveness on consultation or visit rates (improving 10/17 outcomes from three studies in two reviews); generally effective in improving processes of care (improving 41/57 outcomes from 19 studies in three reviews); generally effective in improving referrals and admissions (improving 11/16 outcomes from 11 studies in four

  19. Planning instruments to control urban growth

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Gertrud; Nielsen, Thomas Alexander Sick

    2010-01-01

    It is challenging to plan and control urban development in peri-urban areas. But if no planning is done, the result will often be unsustainable, including widespread, dispersed and uncoordinated urban growth. Spatial planning based on zoning remains the most important planning instrument and its...... success depend on regional coordination. Incentive based instruments may contrbute to growth management, but only few examples are available and their effects on urban growth patterns yet to be seen....

  20. Wellness Programs With Financial Incentives Through Disparities Lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuellar, Alison; LoSasso, Anthony T; Shah, Mona; Atwood, Alicia; Lewis-Walls, Tanya R

    2018-02-01

    To examine wellness programs with financial incentives and their effect on disparities in preventive care. Financial incentives were introduced by 15 large employers, from 2010 to 2013. Fifteen private employers. A total of 299 436 employees and adult dependents. Preventive services and participation in financial incentives. Multivariate linear regression. Disparities in preventive services widened after introduction of financial incentives. Asians were 3% more likely and African Americans were 3% less likely to receive wellness rewards than whites and non-Hispanics, controlling for other factors. Federal law limits targeting of wellness financial incentives by subgroups; thus, employers should consider outreach and culturally appropriate messaging.

  1. Hanford Facility resource conservation and recovery act permit general inspection plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beagles, D.B.

    1995-12-01

    The Hanford Facility Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Permit, General Inspection Requirements, includes a requirement that general facility inspections be conducted of the 100, 200 East, 200 West, 300, 400, and 1100 Areas and the banks of the Columbia River. This inspection plan describes the activities that shall be conducted for a general inspection of the Hanford Facility

  2. Socio-economic and institutional incentives influencing fishers’ behaviour in relation to fishing practices and discard

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eliasen, Soren Q.; Papadopoulou, K. Nadia; Vassilopoulou, Vassiliki

    2014-01-01

    of the underlying socio-economic and institutional incentives causing discard at the fisher level. The paper presents an approach which views discards as a result of decisions made both on deck and at earlier stages of the fishing planning and implementation process. Decisions made by fishers resulting in a more...... selective fishery are considered “selective behaviour”. It is argued that fishing practices are institutionally embedded within three institutional spheres: “state”, “market”, and “community”, which together with “natural conditions” create incentives and frameworks for discard and selective behaviour...

  3. Incentive Mechanism of Micro-grid Project Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yong Long

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the issue of cost and benefit, the investment demand and consumption demand of micro-grids are insufficient in the early stages, which makes all parties lack motivation to participate in the development of micro-grid projects and leads to the slow development of micro-grids. In order to promote the development of micro-grids, the corresponding incentive mechanism should be designed to motivate the development of micro-grid projects. Therefore, this paper builds a multi-stage incentive model of micro-grid project development involving government, grid corporation, energy supplier, equipment supplier, and the user in order to study the incentive problems of micro-grid project development. Through the solution and analysis of the model, this paper deduces the optimal subsidy of government and the optimal cooperation incentive of the energy supplier, and calculates the optimal pricing strategy of grid corporation and the energy supplier, and analyzes the influence of relevant factors on optimal subsidy and incentive. The study reveals that the cost and social benefit of micro-grid development have a positive impact on micro-grid subsidy, technical level and equipment quality of equipment supplier as well as the fact that government subsidies positively adjust the level of cooperation incentives and price incentives. In the end, the validity of the model is verified by numerical analysis, and the incentive strategy of each participant is analyzed. The research of this paper is of great significance to encourage project development of micro-grids and to promote the sustainable development of micro-grids.

  4. 76 FR 75557 - Draft Environmental Impact Statement for General Management Plan/Wilderness Study, Hawaii...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-02

    ... Environmental Impact Statement for General Management Plan/ Wilderness Study, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of intent. SUMMARY: The National Park... updating the General Management Plan (GMP) for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. As part of this conservation...

  5. Incentives and barriers for wind power expansion and system integration in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hvelplund, Frede; Ostergaard, Poul Alberg; Meyer, Niels I

    2017-01-01

    In Denmark expansion of on-shore, near-shore and off-shore wind power is planned to increase the wind power share to 50% of electricity consumption by 2020. In this situation a continuation of past policies will not suffice, and a dual-track incentive system that both establishes incentives...... for investing in wind power and integration infrastructure with integration between the electricity, heating and transportation sectors, is required. The current Danish taxation system discourages electricity use and works against this integration. Likewise, the current day-ahead electricity spot market...... is not appropriate for a high-wind future as wind reduces price levels, but integration across sectors can partly assist in increasing demand and prices. The European Emission Trading System does not suffice in providing a level playing field for wind power and thus needs a revision. Another barrier for on...

  6. The incentive sensitization theory of addiction: some current issues

    OpenAIRE

    Robinson, Terry E; Berridge, Kent C

    2008-01-01

    We present a brief overview of the incentive sensitization theory of addiction. This posits that addiction is caused primarily by drug-induced sensitization in the brain mesocorticolimbic systems that attribute incentive salience to reward-associated stimuli. If rendered hypersensitive, these systems cause pathological incentive motivation (‘wanting’) for drugs. We address some current questions including: what is the role of learning in incentive sensitization and addiction? Does incentive s...

  7. Net costs of health worker rural incentive packages: an example from the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keuffel, Eric; Jaskiewicz, Wanda; Paphassarang, Chanthakhath; Tulenko, Kate

    2013-11-01

    Many developing countries are examining whether to institute incentive packages that increase the share of health workers who opt to locate in rural settings; however, uncertainty exists with respect to the expected net cost (or benefit) from these packages. We utilize the findings from the discrete choice experiment surveys applied to students training to be health professionals and costing analyses in Lao People's Democratic Republic to model the anticipated effect of incentive packages on new worker location decisions and direct costs. Incorporating evidence on health worker density and health outcomes, we then estimate the expected 5-year net cost (or benefit) of each incentive packages for 3 health worker cadres--physicians, nurses/midwives, and medical assistants. Under base case assumptions, the optimal incentive package for each cadre produced a 5-year net benefit (maximum net benefit for physicians: US$ 44,000; nurses/midwives: US$ 5.6 million; medical assistants: US$ 485,000). After accounting for health effects, the expected net cost of select incentive packages would be substantially less than the original estimate of direct costs. In the case of Lao People's Democratic Republic, incentive packages that do not invest in capital-intensive components generally should produce larger net benefits. Combining discrete choice experiment surveys, costing surveys and cost-benefit analysis methods may be replicated by other developing countries to calculate whether health worker incentive packages are viable policy options.

  8. An Examination of Incentive Strategies to Increase Participation in Outcomes Research for an Adolescent Inpatient Unit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ha, Carolyn; Madan, Alok; Long, Tessa A; Sharp, Carla

    2016-05-01

    Tracking adolescent outcomes after inpatient hospitalization is important in informing clinical care for this age group, as inpatient care is one of the most expensive treatment modalities. This study examined 4 incentive strategies used to maintain adolescent participation in follow-up research (at 6, 12, and 18 mo) after their discharge from the hospital (N=267). A generalized estimation equation approach was taken to investigate whether different incentive strategies predicted adolescent completion of the follow-up assessments at each time point. Findings demonstrate that implementation of social worker contact significantly differed from other incentive strategies in increasing adolescent completion of follow-up assessments (Z=2.51, P=0.012) over the 3 time points, even when controlling for age and sex. Although these findings ultimately need to be confirmed through a randomized controlled study of incentive strategies, they provide preliminary support for the notion that relational incentives, such as maintaining contact with a member of the clinical team at the hospital, may be particularly important in promoting adolescent participation in outcomes research.

  9. Designing PV Incentive Programs to Promote Performance: A Reviewof Current Practice in the U.S.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barbose, Galen; Wiser, Ryan; Bolinger, Mark

    2006-10-06

    In the U.S., the increasing financial support for customer-sited photovoltaic (PV) systems provided through publicly-funded incentive programs has heightened concerns about the long-term performance of these systems. Given the barriers that customers face to ensuring that their PV systems perform well, and the responsibility that PV incentive programs bear to ensure that public funds are prudently spent, these programs should, and often do, play a critical role in addressing PV system performance. To provide a point of reference for assessing the current state of the art, and to inform program design efforts going forward, we examine the approaches to encouraging PV system performance used by 32 prominent PV incentive programs in the U.S. We identify eight general strategies or groups of related strategies that these programs have used to address factors that affect performance, and describe key implementation details. Based on this review, we then offer recommendations for how PV incentive programs can be effectively designed to mitigate potential performance issues.

  10. 75 FR 70712 - General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan; Reestablishment

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-18

    ...] General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan; Reestablishment AGENCY: Animal and... Poultry Improvement Plan (Committee) for a 2-year period. The Secretary of Agriculture has determined that.... Rhorer, Senior Coordinator, National Poultry Improvement Plan, VS, APHIS, USDA, Suite 101, 1498 Klondike...

  11. Choking under pressure: The neuropsychological mechanisms for incentives induced performance decrements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rongjun eYu

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available In contrast to the assumption of efficiency wage models, which state that wage incentives should be positively correlated with productivity, high incentives may produce performance decrements in real life scenarios. Such a choking under pressure phenomenon exemplifies how psychological stress can profoundly shape human behavior, for good or for bad. Previous theories suggest that individual choking under pressure because that high pressure may distract individuals’ attention away from the task (the distraction account, raise the attention paid to step-by-step skill processes (the explicit monitoring account, or elevate the arousal in general (the over-arousal account. Recent neuroimaging studies have shown that several brain regions implicated in motivation and top-down control of attention also play a key role in stress-induced choking, supporting for the over-arousal and distraction theories of choking. This review aims to identify psychological factors that determine choking and the neural underpinnings of these processes. Insights into how incentives influence performance may aid engineering training regimens and interventions that equip individuals to better handle high-stakes-induced psychological stress, and to thrive under stress.

  12. Planning Development for a Family Planning Centre in Nursing Unit of the General Hospital of Argolida

    OpenAIRE

    Koukoufilippou J; Koinis A.

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: The family planning centres must be upgraded to a cornerstone of primary health care, and prevent, advise and protect the citizen's health while reducing hospitalization costs for hospitals. Aim: The purpose of this literature review is the family planning centre development in general hospital of Argolida that has a similar clinic. Material and Methods: Literature review was conducted of published English and Greek Articles from bibliographic databases Medline, Goog...

  13. Directions in low-level radioactive-waste management. Incentives and compensation: providing resources for communities hosting low-level waste facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-10-01

    State responsibility for the management of low-level radioactive waste necessitates the selection of candidate locations for a disposal facility. Concern over potential impacts can be expected from segments of the citizenry neighboring a proposed site. A number of national organizations comprising state and local officials have recommended the use of incentives and compensation to help offset the negative local impacts. This document explores that concept. Discussion provides background information on potential local impacts from a low-level waste facility and considers the nature and types of incentives and compensation benefits that could be provided. The document then examines realistic options for planning and implementing the benefit program. This information is intended, primarily, to assist state officials - executive, legislative, and agency - in planning for and managing low-level waste disposal facilities

  14. Effectiveness of UK provider financial incentives on quality of care: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandavia, Rishi; Mehta, Nishchay; Schilder, Anne; Mossialos, Elias

    2017-11-01

    Provider financial incentives are being increasingly adopted to help improve standards of care while promoting efficiency. To review the UK evidence on whether provider financial incentives are an effective way of improving the quality of health care. Systematic review of UK evidence, undertaken in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) recommendations. MEDLINE and Embase databases were searched in August 2016. Original articles that assessed the relationship between UK provider financial incentives and a quantitative measure of quality of health care were included. Studies showing improvement for all measures of quality of care were defined as 'positive', those that were 'intermediate' showed improvement in some measures, and those classified as 'negative' showed a worsening of measures. Studies showing no effect were documented as such. Quality was assessed using the Downs and Black quality checklist. Of the 232 published articles identified by the systematic search, 28 were included. Of these, nine reported positive effects of incentives on quality of care, 16 reported intermediate effects, two reported no effect, and one reported a negative effect. Quality assessment scores for included articles ranged from 15 to 19, out of a maximum of 22 points. The effects of UK provider financial incentives on healthcare quality are unclear. Owing to this uncertainty and their significant costs, use of them may be counterproductive to their goal of improving healthcare quality and efficiency. UK policymakers should be cautious when implementing these incentives - if used, they should be subject to careful long-term monitoring and evaluation. Further research is needed to assess whether provider financial incentives represent a cost-effective intervention to improve the quality of care delivered in the UK. © British Journal of General Practice 2017.

  15. Employee Use of a Wireless Physical Activity Tracker Within Two Incentive Designs at One Company

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heltemes, Kevin J.; Heck, Debi; Osmick, Mary Jane

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Physical activity provides numerous health benefits, including reducing risk factors that contribute to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Many employers offer incentives to employees to motivate engagement in wellness program activities. Two incentive designs to reward employees for achieving step goals were evaluated. This study used a retrospective design and the study population consisted of benefit-eligible employees at American Specialty Health ages 18 to 65 years who completed a health assessment and biometric screening during 2011 (N=396) or 2012 (N=500). A total of 320 employees participated in both years. During 2011, the incentive goal was 500,000 steps per quarter. By comparison, a 3-tier step goal plan was implemented in 2012 (ie, 400,000; 650,000; or 900,000 steps/quarter). The prevalence of participants in the step program was 64.7% in 2011 and 72.8% in 2012. The percentage of employees who reached at least 1 quarterly incentive increased from 36.3% in 2011 to 51.4% in 2012. Average steps/day was higher in 2012 (mean [M]=3573, standard deviation [SD]=3010) compared to the same employees in 2011 (M=2817, SD=2654) (Pemployees in physical activity. A multitier incentive design offers participants choices for goal setting and may help shape behavior toward what may be perceived as a difficult goal to achieve. (Population Health Management 2016;19:88–94) PMID:26087300

  16. Regulating incentives: the past and present role of the state in health care systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saltman, Richard B

    2002-06-01

    The desire of national policymakers to encourage entrepreneurial behavior in the health sector has generated not only a new structure of market-oriented incentives, but also a new regulatory role for the State. To ensure that entrepreneurial behavior will be directed toward achieving planned market objectives, the State must shift modalities from staid bureaucratic models of command-and-control to more sensitive and sophisticated systems of oversight and supervision. Available evidence suggests that this structural transformation is currently occurring in several Northern European countries. Successful implementation of that shift will require a new, intensive, and expensive strategy for human resources development, raising questions about the financial feasibility of this incentives-plus-regulation model for less-well-off CEE/CIS and developing countries.

  17. Short-term incentive schemes for hospital managers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucas Malambe

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Orientation: Short-term incentives, considered to be an extrinsic motivation, are commonly used to motivate performance. This study explored hospital managers’ perceptions of short term incentives in maximising performance and retention. Research purpose: The study explored the experiences, views and perceptions of private hospital managers in South Africa regarding the use of short-term incentives to maximise performance and retention, as well as the applicability of the findings to public hospitals. Motivation for the study: Whilst there is an established link between performance reward schemes and organisational performance, there is little understanding of the effects of short term incentives on the performance and retention of hospital managers within the South African context. Research design, approach, and method: The study used a qualitative research design: interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 19 hospital managers, and a thematic content analysis was performed. Main findings: Short-term incentives may not be the primary motivator for hospital managers, but they do play a critical role in sustaining motivation. Participants indicated that these schemes could also be applicable to public hospitals. Practical/managerial implications: Hospital managers are inclined to be more motivated by intrinsic than extrinsic factors. However, hospital managers (as middle managers also seem to be motivated by short-term incentives. A combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators should thus be used to maximise performance and retention. Contribution/value-add: Whilst the study sought to explore hospital managers’ perceptions of short-term incentives, it also found that an adequate balance between internal and external motivators is key to implementing an effective short-term incentive scheme.

  18. Corporate Social Responsibility and Tax Planning : Rules and Principles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gribnau, Hans; Salter, David; Oats, Lynne

    2016-01-01

    Taxpayers have to plan their tax affairs to plan their life or develop their business strategy. Often tax planning is encouraged and intended by tax legislation. Tax incentives are often used to steer (corporate) citizens’ behaviour to achieve all kind of policy goals. In this way, the tax

  19. Financial incentives to promote active travel: an evidence review and economic framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Adam; Suhrcke, Marc; Ogilvie, David

    2012-12-01

    Financial incentives, including taxes and subsidies, can be used to encourage behavior change. They are common in transport policy for tackling externalities associated with use of motor vehicles, and in public health for influencing alcohol consumption and smoking behaviors. Financial incentives also offer policymakers a compromise between "nudging," which may be insufficient for changing habitual behavior, and regulations that restrict individual choice. The literature review identified studies published between January 1997 and January 2012 of financial incentives relating to any mode of travel in which the impact on active travel, physical activity, or obesity levels was reported. It encompassed macroenvironmental schemes, such as gasoline taxes, and microenvironmental schemes, such as employer-subsidized bicycles. Five relevant reviews and 20 primary studies (of which nine were not included in the reviews) were identified. The results show that more-robust evidence is required if policymakers are to maximize the health impact of fiscal policy relating to transport schemes of this kind. Drawing on a literature review and insights from the SLOTH (sleep, leisure, occupation, transportation, and home-based activities) time-budget model, this paper argues that financial incentives may have a larger role in promoting walking and cycling than is acknowledged generally. Copyright © 2012 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Pattern of the rational worker incentive system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kopytova A.V.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The article presents a model of rational incentive system with the structure consisting of three blocks. The first block (financial incentives provides monetary compensation to a worker. The second block (stimulating by comfortable living conditions is aimed to regulate the quality of a worker’s life in and outside the place he works. The third block (non-financial incentives takes into account cultural and social worker’s needs. The proposed structure of incentive system provides the most comprehensive coverage to the employee’s needs and organizes them in the way accessible both for specialists of labor economics and human resource management and for ordinary workers.

  1. 48 CFR 16.304 - Cost-plus-incentive-fee contracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cost-plus-incentive-fee...-incentive-fee contracts. A cost-plus-incentive-fee contract is a cost-reimbursement contract that provides... allowable costs to total target costs. Cost-plus-incentive-fee contracts are covered in subpart 16.4...

  2. Linking mortgage finance incentives to a voluntary home energy rating system: Insight into consensus building

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jenior, M.-M.

    1994-01-01

    A collaborative consensus process was created to implement a program linking voluntary home energy rating systems (HERS) to mortgage incentives. The participants involved many of the stakeholders or interest groups who have a role in implementing and who will be affected by energy efficiency mortgate incentive programs linked to HERS. The participants included representatives from the primary and secondary mortgage market; real estate, home building, and remodeling industries; utilities; state, local, consumer, and environmental organizations; and home energy rating providers. The participants defined the actions required to implement as well as the technical requirements of a program linking home energy ratings and mortgage finance. Building on the recommendations of the collaborative process, members of the collaborative continue to take initiatives to put a Home Energy Rating Systems Council into place, in planning pilot programs for developing and testing ways to link HERS and mortgage programs, and in making home buyers and owners aware of existing mortgage incentives. At the same time, mortgage providers are working to develop uniformity among mortgage incentive programs and with the US Department of Energy to develop procedures to verify the relative accuracy of HERS calculation tools and their application, and with the emerging HERS Council to develop the guidelines for voluntary HERS required under the Energy Policy Act of 1992

  3. Incentive schemes in development of socio-economic systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grachev, V. V.; Ivushkin, K. A.; Myshlyaev, L. P.

    2018-05-01

    The paper is devoted to the study of incentive schemes when developing socio-economic systems. The article analyzes the existing incentive schemes. It is established that the traditional incentive mechanisms do not fully take into account the specifics of the creation of each socio-economic system and, as a rule, are difficult to implement. The incentive schemes based on the full-scale simulation approach, which allow the most complete information from the existing projects of creation of socio-economic systems to be extracted, are proposed. The statement of the problem is given, the method and algorithm of the full-scale simulation study of the efficiency of incentive functions is developed. The results of the study are presented. It is shown that the use of quadratic and piecewise linear functions of incentive allows the time and costs for creating social and economic systems to be reduced by 10%-15%.

  4. Implementation evaluation of the business process services incentive programme

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nonceba Mashalaba

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The paper describes the implementation evaluation of the business process services (BPS incentive programme undertaken by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti and the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME as part of the 2012/2013 National Evaluation Plan. The evaluation started on 31 October 2012 and the final report was approved on 17 May 2013. The evaluation covers the period from the inception of the programme in January 2011 to December 2012. The BPS incentive programme was implemented to stimulate the business process sector which contributes to economic growth largely through employment creation. The main objectives of the programme are to attract investment and create employment opportunities through offshoring activities. Twenty-six indicators across the five Development Assistance Community (DAC evaluation criteria were developed. A multi-method approach was undertaken to collect data for each of the indicators. The key findings relate to the operation of the programme and a number of suggestions were made as to how to strengthen it. Overall 3807 jobs have been created through the BPS programme during the period under review. Estimated total investment provided by firms is approximately R2.7 billion. Amongst others, the study recommended that the design of the programme be reviewed and extended, potentially to a five-year period in order to maintain the competitiveness of South Africa as a business process off shoring destination. It is essential to address the skills shortage to ensure the growth and sustainability of the South African BPS industry and finally the uptake of the incentive programme.

  5. Using the Plan View to Teach Basic Crystallography in General Chemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cushman, Cody V.; Linford, Matthew R.

    2015-01-01

    The plan view is used in crystallography and materials science to show the positions of atoms in crystal structures. However, it is not widely used in teaching general chemistry. In this contribution, we introduce the plan view, and show these views for the simple cubic, body-centered cubic, face-centered cubic, hexagonal close packed, CsCl, NaCl,…

  6. Incentives and provider payment methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnum, H; Kutzin, J; Saxenian, H

    1995-01-01

    The mode of payment creates powerful incentives affecting provider behavior and the efficiency, equity and quality outcomes of health finance reforms. This article examines provider incentives as well as administrative costs, and institutional conditions for successful implementation associated with provider payment alternatives. The alternatives considered are budget reforms, capitation, fee-for-service, and case-based reimbursement. We conclude that competition, whether through a regulated private sector or within a public system, has the potential to improve the performance of any payment method. All methods generate both adverse and beneficial incentives. Systems with mixed forms of provider payment can provide tradeoffs to offset the disadvantages of individual modes. Low-income countries should avoid complex payment systems requiring higher levels of institutional development.

  7. The effective use of property tax incentives for economic development

    OpenAIRE

    Daphne A. Kenyon; Adam H. Langley; Bethany P. Paquin

    2013-01-01

    To make property-tax incentives for business more effective, do not approve every incentive request, target use of incentives, avoid incentive wars, cooperate with surrounding localities, and conduct regular evaluations.

  8. 75 FR 23222 - National Poultry Improvement Plan; General Conference Committee Meeting and 40th Biennial Conference

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-03

    ...] National Poultry Improvement Plan; General Conference Committee Meeting and 40th Biennial Conference AGENCY... notice of a meeting of the General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP... Coordinator, National Poultry Improvement Plan, VS, APHIS, 1498 Klondike Road, Suite 101, Conyers, GA 30094...

  9. 77 FR 46374 - National Poultry Improvement Plan; General Conference Committee Meeting and 41st Biennial Conference

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-03

    ...] National Poultry Improvement Plan; General Conference Committee Meeting and 41st Biennial Conference AGENCY... notice of a meeting of the General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP... CONTACT: Dr. C. Stephen Roney, Senior Coordinator, National Poultry Improvement Plan, VS, APHIS, 1506...

  10. Incentives and cooperation in firms: Field evidence

    OpenAIRE

    Berger, Johannes; Herbertz, Claus; Sliwka, Dirk

    2011-01-01

    We empirically investigate the impact of incentive scheme structure on the degree of cooperation in firms using a unique and representative data set. Combining employee survey data with detailed firm level information on the relative importance of individual, team, and company performance for compensation, we find a significant positive relation between the intensity of team incentives and several survey measures of cooperation. Moreover, higher powered team incentives are associated with low...

  11. 42 CFR 495.310 - Medicaid provider incentive payments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Medicaid provider incentive payments. 495.310 Section 495.310 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... INCENTIVE PROGRAM Requirements Specific to the Medicaid Program § 495.310 Medicaid provider incentive...

  12. 77 FR 37283 - General Provisions; Operating and Strategic Business Planning; Effective Date

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-21

    ... directors of each Farm Credit System institution to adopt an operational and strategic business plan to... FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION 12 CFR Part 618 RIN 3052-AC66 General Provisions; Operating and Strategic Business Planning; Effective Date AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration. ACTION: Notice of effective...

  13. Draft IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety. Report by the Director General

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amano, Y.

    2011-01-01

    In accordance with paragraphs 23 and 24 of the Declaration adopted by the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety held on 20-24 June 2011, the Director General was requested to prepare and present to the Board of Governors and the General Conference at their September 2011 meetings a report on the Ministerial Conference and a draft Action Plan, building on the Ministerial Declaration, the conclusions and recommendations of the working sessions of the Ministerial Conference and the expertise and knowledge available therein, and to facilitate consultations among Member States on the draft Action Plan. This draft Action Plan is the result of an extensive process of consultations with Member States and responds to the request contained in the Ministerial Declaration.

  14. Behavioural economics: Cash incentives avert deforestation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cárdenas, Juan Camilo

    2017-10-01

    There is tension in developing countries between financial incentives to clear forests and climate regulation benefits of preserving trees. Now research shows that paying private forest owners in Uganda reduced deforestation, adding to the debate on the use of monetary incentives in forest conservation.

  15. Using financial incentives to improve value in orthopaedics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lansky, David; Nwachukwu, Benedict U; Bozic, Kevin J

    2012-04-01

    A variety of reforms to traditional approaches to provider payment and benefit design are being implemented in the United States. There is increasing interest in applying these financial incentives to orthopaedics, although it is unclear whether and to what extent they have been implemented and whether they increase quality or reduce costs. We reviewed and discussed physician- and patient-oriented financial incentives being implemented in orthopaedics, key challenges, and prerequisites to payment reform and value-driven payment policy in orthopaedics. We searched the MEDLINE database using as search terms various provider payment and consumer incentive models. We retrieved a total of 169 articles; none of these studies met the inclusion criteria. For incentive models known to the authors to be in use in orthopaedics but for which no peer-reviewed literature was found, we searched Google for further information. Provider financial incentives reviewed include payments for reporting, performance, and patient safety and episode payment. Patient incentives include tiered networks, value-based benefit design, reference pricing, and value-based purchasing. Reform of financial incentives for orthopaedic surgery is challenged by (1) lack of a payment/incentive model that has demonstrated reductions in cost trends and (2) the complex interrelation of current pay schemes in today's fragmented environment. Prerequisites to reform include (1) a reliable and complete data infrastructure; (2) new business structures to support cost sharing; and (3) a retooling of patient expectations. There is insufficient literature reporting the effects of various financial incentive models under implementation in orthopaedics to know whether they increase quality or reduce costs. National concerns about cost will continue to drive experimentation, and all anticipated innovations will require improved collaboration and data collection and reporting.

  16. Incentives and intrinsic motivation in healthcare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berdud, Mikel; Cabasés, Juan M; Nieto, Jorge

    It has been established in the literature that workers within public organisations are intrinsically motivated. This paper is an empirical study of the healthcare sector using methods of qualitative analysis research, which aims to answer the following hypotheses: 1) doctors are intrinsically motivated; 2) economic incentives and control policies may undermine doctors' intrinsic motivation; and 3) well-designed incentives may encourage doctors' intrinsic motivation. We conducted semi-structured interviews à-la-Bewley with 16 doctors from Navarre's Healthcare Service (Servicio Navarro de Salud-Osasunbidea), Spain. The questions were based on current theories of intrinsic motivation and incentives to test the hypotheses. Interviewees were allowed to respond openly without time constraints. Relevant information was selected, quantified and analysed by using the qualitative concepts of saturation and codification. The results seem to confirm the hypotheses. Evidence supporting hypotheses 1 and 2 was gathered from all interviewees, as well as indications of the validity of hypothesis 3 based on interviewees' proposals of incentives. The conclusions could act as a guide to support the optimal design of incentive policies and schemes within health organisations when healthcare professionals are intrinsically motivated. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  17. Incentives and Earnings Growth

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frederiksen, Anders

    2013-01-01

    The career prospects of newly recruited employees differ substantially within an organization. The stars experience considerable growth in earnings; others can hardly maintain their entry salaries. This article sheds light on the mechanisms generating the observed heterogeneity in earnings growth...... by investigating the effects that explicit short-run incentives and implicit incentives have on earnings growth. The model’s predictions are tested using personnel records from a large bank and are found to be consistent with the observed earnings growth during the first half of the employees’ careers....

  18. 78 FR 12676 - Timing Requirements for the Submission of a Site Assessment Plan (SAP) or General Activities Plan...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-25

    ...: BOEM-2012-0077] RIN 1010-AD77 Timing Requirements for the Submission of a Site Assessment Plan (SAP) or... would amend the timing requirements for submitting a Site Assessment Plan (SAP) or General Activities... and grants will have a preliminary term of 12 months in which a lessee or grantee must submit a SAP or...

  19. 10 CFR 451.6 - Duration of incentive payments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Duration of incentive payments. 451.6 Section 451.6 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCTION INCENTIVES § 451.6 Duration of incentive... part with respect to a qualified renewable energy facility for 10 consecutive fiscal years. Such period...

  20. Cogeneration plants: SNAM (Italy) initiatives and incentives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pipparelli, M.

    1991-01-01

    First, an overall picture is presented of the extension of the use of cogeneration by the Italian brick industry. The particular suitability and usefulness of this form of energy to the brick industry are pointed out. Then a look is given at the legal and financial incentives which have been built into the National Energy Plan to encourage on-site production by Italian industries. Finally, a review is made of initiatives made by SNAM (the Italian National Methane Distribution Society) to develop a favourable tariff structure for on-site power producers using methane as their energy source, as well as, of the Society's efforts to set up a cogeneration equipment consulting service which would provide advice on cogeneration plant design, operation and maintenance

  1. Use of compensation and incentives in siting low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1985-04-01

    This report assumes that local opposition is a critical issue in siting low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities. Although it recognizes the importance of local health and safety concerns, this report only addresses the economic issues facing local officials in the siting process. Finding ways to overcome local opposition through economic compensation and incentives is a basic step in the waste facility siting process. The report argues that the use of these compensation and incentive mechanisms can help achieve greater local acceptance of waste facilities and also help ease the economic burdens that many communities bear when they agree to host a low-level waste disposal facility. The growing national need for low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities requires that state and local planning agencies develop creative new procedures for siting facilities, procedures that are sensitive to local perceptions and effects

  2. The impact of financial incentives on the implementation of asthma or diabetes self-management: A systematic review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shields, Michael D.; Heaney, Liam G.; Kendall, Marilyn; Pearce, Christina J.; Hui, Chi Yan; Pinnock, Hilary

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Financial incentives are utilised in healthcare systems in a number of countries to improve quality of care delivered to patients by rewarding practices or practitioners for achieving set targets. Objectives To systematically review the evidence investigating the impact of financial incentives for implementation of supported self-management on quality of care including: organisational process outcomes, individual behavioural outcomes, and health outcomes for individuals with asthma or diabetes; both conditions with an extensive evidence base for self-management. Methods We followed Cochrane methodology, using a PICOS search strategy to search eight databases in November 2015 (updated May 2017) including a broad range of implementation methodologies. Studies were weighted by robustness of methodology, number of participants and the quality score. We used narrative synthesis due to heterogeneity of studies. Results We identified 2,541 articles; 12 met our inclusion criteria. The articles were from the US (n = 7), UK (n = 4) and Canada (n = 1). Measured outcomes were HbA1c tests undertaken and/or the level achieved (n = 10), written action plans for asthma (n = 1) and hospital/emergency department visits (n = 1). Three of the studies were part of a larger incentive scheme including many conditions; one focused on asthma; eight focussed on diabetes. In asthma, the proportion receiving ‘perfect care’ (including providing a written action plan) increased from 4% to 88% in one study, and there were fewer hospitalisations/emergency department visits in another study. Across the diabetes studies, quality-of-care/GP performance scores improved in three, were unchanged in six and deteriorated in one. Conclusions Results for the impact of financial incentives for the implementation of self-management were mixed. The evidence in diabetes suggests no consistent impact on diabetic control. There was evidence from a single study of improved process and health

  3. Peace Incentives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Emmanuel, Nikolas G.

    2015-01-01

    How does economic assistance influence the success or failure of peace processes in Africa? Can economic assistance act as an incentive to facilitate an end to conflict? The literature largely ignores aid as a factor supporting peace processes. In addressing this topic, the current study tries...

  4. Canadian incentives for oil and gas exploration. [Applicability to USA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1980-04-01

    During the 1970s a number of different exploration and production incentive programs were put in place in Canada, in particular in the Province of Alberta, Canada's principal oil- and gas-producing province. The DOE/RA is evaluating Canadian incentives for oil and gas exploration, and this study is intended to provide information that will help guide DOE/RA in determining the applicability of Canadian incentive programs in US energy policy. The study describes and documents the fiscal structure in which the Canadian oil industry operates. The incentive features of pricing policy, taxation policy, and provincial royalty systems are discussed. A principal focus of the study is on one of the most important of Canada's specific incentive programs, the Alberta Exploratory Drilling Incentive Credit Program (EDICP). The study describes and evaluates the effect of the EDICP on increased oil and gas exploration activity. Similarly, the study also reviews and evaluates other specific incentive programs such as the Alberta Geophysical Incentive Program, Frontier Exploration Allowances, and various tar sand and heavy oil development incentives. Finally the study evaluates the applicability of Canadian incentives to US energy policy.

  5. Non-organ donors' attitudes toward incentives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tumin, Makmor; Noh, Abdillah; Chong, Chin-Sieng; Lim, Soo-Kun; Abdullah, Nawi; Ng, Kok-Peng

    2013-01-01

    Malaysians indicating that they did not intend to become organ donors upon their death were surveyed regarding interest in non-fungible financial incentives to be granted to surviving family members. Among the 730 (56% of the total sample of 1311) indicating unwillingness to be donors, 29.6% (216/730) subsequently indicated that they would be willing donors if the government introduced policies that, upon their death, "rewarded your (their) family with incentives for your (their) deeds." Among the 69% (504/730) who insisted that they would not become organ donor even with incentive, nearly 80% (404/501) of them were able to identify relevant incentives they thought should be provided by the state to those who make organ donations upon death. The majority of both groups preferred the state provide medical benefits to a surviving family member, suggesting this may be an attractive policy option for the state to raise the deceased organ donation pool. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  6. Linking performance incentives to ethical practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boudi FB

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available No abstract available. Article truncated after 150 words. Health spending is a huge part of the United States economy as it is a large business. We all have seen increasing inclusion of corporate practices in health care. One such inclusion is the incentive programs which have at their core the goal of production of the desired behavioral outcomes directly related either to performance output or extraordinary achievement. However, management influence on the organization’s ethical environment and culture can inadvertently encourage or endorse unethical behavior despite the best intentions. One way would be failing to link performance incentives to ethical practice. When leaders create strong incentives to accomplish a goal without creating equally strong incentives to adhere to ethical practice in achieving the desired goal, they effectively set the stage for ethical malpractice. Incentivizing ethical practice is equally important as incentivizing other behaviors (1. In the health care industry, unlike in the sales industry, professionalism and patient care are …

  7. Business Ethics versus Economic Incentives: Contemporary Issues and Dilemmas

    OpenAIRE

    Kulshreshtha Pravin

    2003-01-01

    This paper is based on my experience with teaching a course on ethical dilemmas faced by individuals, managers and businesses in contemporary societies. Modern economic thinking generally presumes that individuals and businesses in a society follow their own self-interest, or private economic incentives. The course highlighted the importance of ethical considerations for action that are based on consideration of others rather than ones own. Four significant ethical dilemmas of modern societie...

  8. [Performance-related middle management in medical teaching. Attractiveness of incentive tools from the perspective of the teachers].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofer, M; Pieper, M; Sadlo, M; Reipen, J; Heussen, N

    2008-08-01

    German medical schools are increasingly challenged by the competition for public funds and talented students. Therefore. many curriculum planners, deans and school administrators plan to implement a systematic and comprehensive awarding system for good teaching. The OBJECTIVE of this study was to elaborate which specific incentives would be most effective to increase the motivation and enthusiasm for teaching among basic scientists as well as residents and attendings involved in medical education. In addition, a cost-effective model should be developed, which could be used as an adjustable blue-print for an awarding system. Based on literature search, existing approaches to rewards and incentives for medical teachers were analysed by an interdisciplinary committee in coordination with the members' department heads. According to german teaching methods and available resources, a catalogue of specific incentives has been designed and ranked by a representative sample of 200 medical teachers / faculty at two universities. Thus, a variety of favourite rewarding instruments could be elaborated, which were preferred by teachers in theoretical versus clinical disciplines. The majority of the medical teachers prefer heterogeneously monetary incentives and additional protected time, followed by career-effective incentives (tenure & promotion). The discussion reflects on a transferable catalogue of different rewarding instruments, including a cost-/benefit-analysis and prerequisite students' evaluation data. A single alteration of departmental teaching budgets does not seem to be sufficient. It seems rather advisable, also to strive for a variety of different incentives on a level that predominantly affects individual teaching personnel. Even with comparatively small amounts of money, significant effects on teachers' motivation can be achieved.

  9. Financial incentives for generic drugs: case study on a reimbursement program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Inocencio

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To discuss the use of financial incentives in choice of medication and to assess the economic results concerning the use of financial incentives to promote the use of genetic medication in lieu of reference drugs in a company with a reimbursement program. Methods: A case study was carried out in a large supermarket. The data was obtained in the company responsible for managing medication. The study reached 83,625 users between August 2005 and July 2007. The data was submitted to regressions in order to analyze trends and hypothesis tests to assess differences in medication consumption. The results were compared with general data regarding medication consumption of five other organizations and also with data about the national consumption of generic medication in Brazil. Results: The use of financial incentives to replace brand medications for generics, in the company studied, increased the consumption of generic drugs without reducing the company expenses with the reimbursement programs. Conclusions: This study show the occurrence of unplanned results (increase in the consumption of medications and the positive consequences of the reimbursement program concerning access to medication.

  10. 78 FR 13081 - Draft Environmental Impact Statement for General Management Plan, Everglades National Park, Florida

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-26

    ... visitor use in the Park. The GMP will provide updated management direction for the entire park. The EEWS....YP0000] Draft Environmental Impact Statement for General Management Plan, Everglades National Park... the General Management Plan (GMP) and East Everglades Wilderness Study (EEWS) for Everglades National...

  11. 7 CFR 3560.656 - Incentives offers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Incentives offers. 3560.656 Section 3560.656... AGRICULTURE DIRECT MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING LOANS AND GRANTS Housing Preservation § 3560.656 Incentives offers. (a) The Agency will offer a borrower, who submits a prepayment request meeting the conditions of § 3560...

  12. On incentives for assurance of petroleum supply

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osmundsen, Petter; Aven, Terje; Tomasgard, Asgeir

    2010-01-01

    Assurance of supply is a crucial objective for producers and consumers of oil and gas. A basic requirement to meet this objective is that producers and transmitters have sufficient economic incentives and capabilities to assure a desired degree of supply. The topic of this paper is to evaluate these incentives from a broad perspective. We examine economic trade-offs inherent in a delay of production, including reputational issues, as well as contract incentives for gas sellers, drilling companies, and oil service companies.

  13. Corporate social responsibility and tax planning : Not by rules alone

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gribnau, Hans

    2015-01-01

    Taxpayers have to plan their tax affairs to plan their life or develop their business strategy. Often tax planning is encouraged and intended by tax legislation, but sometimes it is not. By way of tax incentives the tax legislator often tries to steer citizens’ behaviour to achieve all kind of

  14. R&D tax incentives for innovation and managerial decisions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika Walicka

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In many countries tax incentives are a popular means of realizing political, economic and social objectives. The main motive of their application is often to achieve and accelerate the selected activities in the public interest and also stimulate development of industry, and induce growth in research and investment. The key element that helps a company achieve a competitive advantage is innovation. Global competition forces the production of unique products and services. Tax incentives in science, research and development are important in stimulating innovation. The purpose of this article is to show the level of managerial awareness about R&D tax incentives, the level of R&D tax incentive usage by companies in Poland, and main obstacles that managers meet with R&D tax incentives in practice. We explore R&D tax incentives as a government instrument on R&D management and aim to find the reasons why Polish companies do not take advantage of them. We examine 275 companies using a semi-structured questi onnaire. Our findings suggest that many firms report lack of knowledge about such incentives, and firms find many obstacles to reach all of the requirements which are necessary to use the incentive. Due to our analysis we find that large firms, especially those that implement innovation, are more likely to use the tax incentives, but small and medium sized companies find more obstacle. The effect of this tax policy is significant mainly in large, high-tech sector firms.

  15. Cost incentives for doctors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schottmüller, Christoph

    2013-01-01

    If doctors take the costs of treatment into account when prescribing medication, their objectives differ from their patients' objectives because the patients are insured. This misalignment of interests hampers communication between patient and doctor. Giving cost incentives to doctors increases...... welfare if (i) the doctor's examination technology is sufficiently good or (ii) (marginal) costs of treatment are high enough. If the planner can costlessly choose the extent to which doctors take costs into account, he will opt for less than 100%. Optimal health care systems should implement different...... degrees of cost incentives depending on type of disease and/or doctor....

  16. Applied economics: The use of monetary incentives to modulate behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strang, S; Park, S Q; Strombach, T; Kenning, P

    2016-01-01

    According to standard economic theory higher monetary incentives will lead to higher performance and higher effort independent of task, context, or individual. In many contexts this standard economic advice is implemented. Monetary incentives are, for example, used to enhance performance at workplace or to increase health-related behavior. However, the fundamental positive impact of monetary incentives has been questioned by psychologists as well as behavioral economists during the last decade, arguing that monetary incentives can sometimes even backfire. In this chapter, studies from proponents as well as opponents of monetary incentives will be presented. Specifically, the impact of monetary incentives on performance, prosocial, and health behavior will be discussed. Furthermore, variables determining whether incentives have a positive or negative impact will be identified. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. 48 CFR 16.405-1 - Cost-plus-incentive-fee contracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cost-plus-incentive-fee... CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES TYPES OF CONTRACTS Incentive Contracts 16.405-1 Cost-plus-incentive-fee contracts. (a) Description. The cost-plus-incentive-fee contract is a cost-reimbursement contract that...

  18. Incentive regulation of nuclear power plants by state public utility commissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petersen, J.C.

    1987-12-01

    This report on incentive regulation of nuclear power plants by state public utility commissions (PUCs). Economic performance incentives established by state PUCs are applicable to the construction or operation of about 45 nuclear power reactors owned by 30 utilities in 17 states. The NRC staff monitors development of the incentives and periodically provides an updated report on all nuclear plant incentives to its regional offices. The staff maintains contact with the PUCs and the utilities responsible for implementing the incentives in order to obtain the updated information and to consider potential safety effects of the incentives. This report presents the NRC staff's concerns on potential safety effects of economic performance incentives. It also includes a plant-by-plant survey that describes the mechanics of each incentive and discusses the financial effects of the incentive on the utility-owner(s) of the plant

  19. Incentives in Agency Relationships: To Be Monetary or Non-Monetary?

    OpenAIRE

    Patricia Crifo; Marc-Arthur Diaye

    2004-01-01

    In this paper, we develop a Principal-Agent model with both monetary and non-monetary incentives. We show that the latter are always more efficient, that is Pareto-dominate, monetary incentives. Indeed, we not only show that all what monetary incentives can do, non-monetary incentives can do it as well, we go further and show the possibility for non-monetary incentives to increase intrinsic motivation, thereby compensating the fact that higher rewards, rather than being encouraging can reduce...

  20. Economic incentives to wind systems commercialization. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lotker, M.; Shaw, Jr, R. W.; Adolfson, W. F.; Bernardi, R. P.; Davidoff, P. H.; Eckhart, M. T.; Gunwaldsen, D. S.; Mettam, P. J.; Narayanan, P.; Sillin, J. O.

    1978-08-01

    This assessment of Economic Incentives to Wind Systems Commercialization is an analysis of the quantitative and qualitative impacts of a variety of Government funded economic incentives on Wind Energy Conversion Systems (WECS). The purpose of this study is to achieve better understanding of the relationship between implementation of specific economic incentives for WECS, and the factors surrounding WECS commercial introduction.

  1. The effect of a monetary incentive for administrative assistants on the survey response rate: a randomized controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arnav Agarwal

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There is sufficient evidence that monetary incentives are effective in increasing survey response rates in the general population as well as with physicians. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of a monetary incentive intended for administrative assistants on the survey response rate of physicians in leadership positions. Methods This was an ancillary study to a national survey of chairs of academic Departments of Medicine in the United States about measuring faculty productivity. We randomized survey participants to receive or not receive a $5 gift card enclosed in the survey package. The cover letter explained that the gift card was intended for the administrative assistants as a “thank you for their time.” We compared the response rates between the 2 study arms using the Chi-square test. Results Out of 152 participants to whom survey packages were mailed to, a total of 78 responses were received (51 % response rate. The response rates were 59 % in the incentive arm and 46 % in the no incentive arm. The relative effect of the incentive compared to no monetary incentive was borderline statistically significant (relative risk (RR = 1.36, 95 % confidence interval (CI 0.99 to 1.87; p = 0.055. Conclusion Monetary incentives intended for administrative assistants likely increase the response rate of physicians in leadership positions.

  2. Analysing Incentive and Cost Sharing Issues in Livestock Disease Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Biira, Juliet

    This PhD thesis tackles two main issues in livestock health management: a) the incentives for animal disease prevention on Danish livestock farms and b) allocation of costs of animal disease outbreaks and animal disease preparedness, among stakeholders involved in the livestock sector. The main...... contributions of this thesis are firstly the investigation of incentives for Danish livestock farmers to prevent animal diseases at the farm level and recommendations on how they could be improved. Secondly, the exploration of a mutual fund as a possibility for risk pooling among farmers and how it can...... is used in paper 5. The thesis consists of two parts; first is the introduction section where I introduce the thesis in general and provide an overview of the objectives and main theories and the second part includes the 5 papers which address the thesis objectives. Paper 1 uses existing literature...

  3. Paperless Transaction for Publication Incentive System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibrahim, Rosziati; Madon, Hamiza Diana; Nazri, Nurul Hashida Amira Mohd; Saarani, Norhafizah; Mustapha, Aida

    2017-08-01

    Within the Malaysian context, incentive system in scientific publishing rewards authors for publishing journal articles or conference papers that are indexed by Scopus. At Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, the incentive system is going into its third year in operational. The main challenge lies in preparing the evidences as required by the application guideline. This paper presents an online module for publication incentive within the University Publication Information System (SMPU). The module was developed using the Scrum methodology based on the existing workflow of paper-based application. The module is hoped to increase the quality of the system deliverables of SMPU as well as having the ability to cope with change of university requirements in the future.

  4. 76 FR 70483 - Environmental Impact Statement and General Management Plan, Paterson Great Falls National...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-14

    ... planning process and will remain actively involved throughout the development of the plan. Prepared by... the long-term management of Paterson Great Falls NHP early in the process through public meetings and... Impact Statement and General Management Plan, Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park, NJ AGENCY...

  5. Incentive contracts and time use

    OpenAIRE

    Tor Viking Eriksson; Jaime Ortega

    2011-01-01

    Empirical studies on incentive contracts have primarily been concerned with the effects on employees’ productivity and earnings. The productivity increases associated with such contracts may, however, come at the expense of quality of life at or outside work. In this paper we study the effect on the employees’ non-work activities, testing whether incentive contracts lead to a change in the allocation of time across work and non-work activities. In doing so, we distinguish between two effects,...

  6. Incentive regulation of nuclear power plants by state Public Utility Commissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, R.L.; Olson, J.; Hendrickson, P.

    1989-12-01

    Economic performance incentives established by state Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) currently are applicable to the construction or operation of approximately 73 nuclear power reactors owned by 27 utilities with investment greater than 10% in 18 states. The NRC staff monitors development of the incentives and periodically provides an updated report on all nuclear plant incentives to its headquarters and regional offices. The staff maintains contact with the PUCs and the utilities responsible for implementing the incentives in order to obtain the updated information and to consider potential safety effects of the incentives. This report on incentive regulation of nuclear power plants by state PUCs presents the NRC staff's concerns on potential safety effects of economic performance incentives. It also includes a plant-by-plant survey that describes the mechanics of each incentive and discusses the financial effects of the incentive on the utility-owner(s) of the plant

  7. Incentive theory: IV. Magnitude of reward

    OpenAIRE

    Killeen, Peter R.

    1985-01-01

    Incentive theory is successfully applied to data from experiments in which the amount of food reward is varied. This is accomplished by assuming that incentive value is a negatively accelerated function of reward duration. The interaction of the magnitude of a reward with its delay is confirmed, and the causes and implications of this interaction are discussed.

  8. The Oregon Geothermal Planning Conference

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    1980-10-02

    Oregon's geothermal resources represent a large portion of the nation's total geothermal potential. The State's resources are substantial in size, widespread in location, and presently in various stages of discovery and utilization. The exploration for, and development of, geothermal is presently dependent upon a mixture of engineering, economic, environmental, and legal factors. In response to the State's significant geothermal energy potential, and the emerging impediments and incentives for its development, the State of Oregon has begun a planning program intended to accelerate the environmentally prudent utilization of geothermal, while conserving the resource's long-term productivity. The program, which is based upon preliminary work performed by the Oregon Institute of Technology's Geo-Heat Center, will be managed by the Oregon Department of Energy, with the assistance of the Departments of Economic Development, Geology and Mineral Industries, and Water Resources. Funding support for the program is being provided by the US Department of Energy. The first six-month phase of the program, beginning in July 1980, will include the following five primary tasks: (1) coordination of state and local agency projects and information, in order to keep geothermal personnel abreast of the rapidly expanding resource literature, resource discoveries, technological advances, and each agency's projects. (2) Analysis of resource commercialization impediments and recommendations of incentives for accelerating resource utilization. (3) Compilation and dissemination of Oregon geothermal information, in order to create public and potential user awareness, and to publicize technical assistance programs and financial incentives. (4) Resource planning assistance for local governments in order to create local expertise and action; including a statewide workshop for local officials, and the formulation of two specific community resource development

  9. Successive duopoly under moral hazard: Will incentive contracts persist?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Fernández-Olmos

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available The central purpose of this paper is to examine the incentive contract as an equilibrium phenomenon. We analyse a model of vertical differentiation in which we deal with the strategic role of the competitor’s decisions in a successive duopoly. Is it better for a processor to offer an incentive contract to an upstream producer or the spot market? We determine the equilibrium of a game in which the processors simultaneously decide whether to offer an incentive contract or to continue at the spot market to acquire their input. Our results show that under successive duopoly, offering an incentive contract constitutes the unique equilibrium solution, which highlights the incentive contract persistence.

  10. Incentives for increasing prenatal care use by women in order to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Till, Sara R; Everetts, David; Haas, David M

    2015-12-15

    Prenatal care is recommended during pregnancy as a method to improve neonatal and maternal outcomes. Improving the use of prenatal care is important, particularly for women at moderate to high risk of adverse outcomes. Incentives are sometimes utilized to encourage women to attend prenatal care visits. To determine whether incentives are an effective tool to increase utilization of timely prenatal care among women. We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (31 January 2015) and the reference lists of all retrieved studies. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-RCTs, and cluster-RCTs that utilized direct incentives to pregnant women explicitly linked to initiation and frequency of prenatal care were included. Incentives could include cash, vouchers, coupons or products not generally offered to women as a standard of prenatal care. Comparisons were to no incentives and to incentives not linked directly to utilization of care. We also planned to compare different types of interventions, i.e. monetary versus products or services. Two review authors independently assessed studies for inclusion and methodological quality. Two review authors independently extracted data. Data were checked for accuracy. We identified 11 studies (19 reports), six of which we excluded. Five studies, involving 11,935 pregnancies were included, but only 1893 pregnancies contributed data regarding our specified outcomes. Incentives in the studies included cash, gift card, baby carrier, baby blanket or taxicab voucher and were compared with no incentives. Meta-analysis was performed for only one outcome 'Return for postpartum care' and this outcome was not pre-specified in our protocol. Other analyses were restricted to data from single studies.Trials were at a moderate risk of bias overall. Randomization and allocation were adequate and risk of selection bias was low in three studies and unclear in two studies. None of the studies were blinded to the

  11. The Wisconsin experience with incentives for demand-side management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Landgren, D.A.

    1990-01-01

    It has been noted that, within traditional regulatory frameworks for electric utilities, factors exist which discourage demand side management (DSM) and that there is a lack of positive incentives for DSM. Regulatory agencies should therefore make it possible for DSM measures to benefit from the same treatment as supply-side measures. The Wisconsin Public Service Commission (WPSC) has recognized this need and has adopted various measures accordingly. The need for efficiency incentives is described according to the particular experience of Wisconsin Electric concerning their recourse to a DSM incentive and according to new incentive models being tested in collaboration with other electricity suppliers in Wisconsin. The WPSC has concluded that the fact of considering the costs relating to DSM as expenses or capitalizing them within the rate base does not motivate the utility to promote DSM programs. The WPSC has thus decided to experiment with energy efficiency incentives in order to evaluate their eventual impact. The choice of the type of incentive had an objective of starting the process in an area where the lack of experience has created, from the regulatory point of view, a reticence on the part of utilities to engage in DSM programs. The WPSC has designed a variety of incentive models which have been adapted to each utility's own situation. Specific incentive programs developed for three Wisconsin utilities are reviewed

  12. Numerical semigroups in a problem about economic incentives for consumers

    OpenAIRE

    Robles-Pérez, Aureliano M.; Rosales, José Carlos

    2016-01-01

    Motivated by a promotion to increase the number of musical downloads, we introduce the concept of $C$-incentive and show an algorithm that compute the smallest $C$-incentive containing a subset $X \\subseteq {\\mathbb N}$. On the other hand, in order to study $C$-incentives, we see that we can focus on numerical $C$-incentives. Then, we establish that the set formed by all numerical $C$-incentives is a Frobenius pseudo-variety and we show an algorithmic process to recurrently build such a pseud...

  13. Incentive Pass-through for Residential Solar Systems in California

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dong, C. G. [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); Wiser, Ryan [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Rai, Varun [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)

    2014-10-01

    The deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems has grown rapidly over the last decade, partly because of various government incentives. In the United States, among the largest and longest-running incentives have been those established in California. Building on past research, this report addresses the still-unanswered question: to what degree have the direct PV incentives in California been passed through from installers to consumers? This report helps address this question by carefully examining the residential PV market in California (excluding a certain class of third-party-owned PV systems) and applying both a structural-modeling approach and a reduced-form regression analysis to estimate the incentive pass-through rate. The results suggest an average pass-through rate of direct incentives of nearly 100%, though with regional differences among California counties. While these results could have multiple explanations, they suggest a relatively competitive market and well-functioning subsidy program. Further analysis is required to determine whether similar results broadly apply to other states, to other customer segments, to all third-party-owned PV systems, or to all forms of financial incentives for solar (considering not only direct state subsidies, but also utility electric bill savings and federal tax incentives).

  14. 78 FR 37846 - Resource Management Plan/General Plan and Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-24

    ...The Bureau of Reclamation and the California Department of Parks and Recreation (CDPR) have prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for the San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area Resource Management Plan/General Plan (RMP/GP). The Final EIS/EIR describes and presents the environmental effects of the No Action/No Project Alternative and three Action Alternatives for implementing the RMP/GP. A Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS/EIR was published in the Federal Register on August 3, 2012 (77 FR 46518). The comment period on the Draft EIS/EIR ended on October 2, 2012. The Final EIS/EIR contains responses to all comments received and reflects comments and any additional information received during the review period.

  15. Incentives for preventing smoking in children and adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hefler, Marita; Liberato, Selma C; Thomas, David P

    2017-06-06

    not require biochemical validation of self-reported tobacco use for study inclusion. Where possible we combined eligible studies to calculate pooled estimates at the longest follow-up, using the Mantel-Haenszel fixed-effect method, grouping studies by study design. We identified three eligible RCTs and five CTs, including participants aged 11 to 14 years, who were non-smokers at baseline. Of the eight trials identified, six had analyzable data relevant for this review, which contributed to meta-analyses (7275 participants in total: 4003 intervention; 3272 control; 2484 participants after adjusting for clustering). All except one of the studies tested the 'Smokefree Class Competition' (SFC), which has been widely implemented throughout Europe. In this competition, classes with youth generally between the ages of 11 and 14 years commit to being smoke-free for a six-month period, and report their smoking status regularly. If 90% or more of the class are non-smokers at the end of the six months, the class goes into a competition to win prizes. The one study that was not a trial of the SFC was a controlled trial in which schools in two communities were assigned to the intervention, with schools in a third community acting as controls. Students in the intervention community with lower smoking rates at the end of the project (one school year) received rewards.Most studies resulted in statistically non-significant results. Only one study of the SFC reported a significant effect of the competition on the prevention of smoking at the longest follow-up. However, this study was at risk of multiple biases, and when we calculated the adjusted risk ratio (RR) we no longer detected a statistically significant difference. The pooled RR for the more robust RCTs (3 studies, n = 3056 participants/1107 adjusted for clustering) suggests that there is no statistically significant effect of incentives, in the form of the SFC, to prevent smoking initiation among children and adolescents in

  16. Credit ratings and CEO risk-taking incentives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuang, Y.; Qin, B.

    2013-01-01

    This study examines the sophistication of rating agencies in incorporating managerial risk-taking incentives into their credit risk evaluation. We measure risk-taking incentives using two proxies: the sensitivity of managerial wealth to stock return volatility (vega) and the sensitivity of

  17. Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Base General Plan Development, Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-01

    and is dominated by blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides), three-awned grass (Aristida purpurea), dropseed (Sporobolus...General Plan are to achieve optimal land use planning, protect the natural and human environment, and plan for future mission growth . The Proposed Action...future mission growth , and to improve environmental quality, recreation opportunities, and the safety and medical functions on Base. According to space

  18. A PRACTICAL STUDY ON APPLICABILITY OF THE INCENTIVE SUBSIDY TO BUS NETWORK IN KUMAMOTO CITY

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mizokami, Shoshi; Fujimi, Toshio; Hirano, Toshihiko

    Recently, the number of passenger of public bus services in Japan tends to decrease due to the motorization. This condition leads to a severe management situation, including in Kumamoto City. Since 1984, the deficit of bus companies operation in provision of bus services in Kumamoto has been covered by Kumamoto City Government on the basis of lines subsidy, and the city allocated a number of subsidy of about 200 million yen in 2007. Currently, The Kumamoto city government plans to reduce the amount of subsidy to bus companies by introducing the giving of incentive to bus companies in order to trim bus company deficit. This study aims to construct the mathematical model of the incentive reward and apply the model to realignment of buses lines networks in Kumamoto Metropolitan Area.

  19. Incentives, compensation and other magic tricks: Will they help in establishing new waste disposal sites?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Visocki, K.

    1988-01-01

    As a Fellow of the European Environmental Fellowship Program for US Environmentalists in 1987-88, the author collected case studies relating to the siting of controversial facilities in Western Europe. The author presents findings with regard to factors which may contribute to increased public acceptability in the siting of controversial facilities. Factors thought to have the most effect include sensitivity to cultural differences, the amount of time which is allowed to pass from the announcement of the siting plans to the opening of the facility, credibility of the project staff, sensitivity to the needs of politicians, and the use of incentives and compensation. Based on this and other recent studies, the author makes specific recommendations with regard to personnel selection, maximizing the positive effect of incentives and compensation, and meeting state and federal milestones

  20. 75 FR 28055 - General Management Plan; Joshua Tree National Park; San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, CA...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-19

    ... kinds of resource management activities, visitor activities, and developments that would be appropriate... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service General Management Plan; Joshua Tree National... National Park Service is updating the General Management Plan (GMP) for Joshua Tree National Park...

  1. Coupons for Success: A Marketing Incentive in Academic Support

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potacco, Donna R.; Chen, Peter; Desroches, Danielle; Chisholm, Daniel R.; De Young, Sandra

    2013-01-01

    How does a Coupon Incentive Program motivate students to seek academic support in high-risk courses? Results from this study demonstrated that the Coupon Incentive Program was effective in motivating voluntary student attendance and improving student outcomes. Recommendations related to implementation of the Coupon Incentive Program are discussed.…

  2. Conjoint Analysis of Farmers’ Response to Conservation Incentives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Conner

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Environmental degradation threatens the long term resiliency of the US food and farming system. While USDA has provided conservation incentives for the adoption of best management practices (BMPs, only a small percentage of farms have participated in such conservation programs. This study uses conjoint analysis to examine Vermont farmers’ underlying preferences and willingness-to-accept (WTA incentives for three common BMPs. Based on the results of this survey, we hypothesize that federal cost share programs’ payments are below preferred incentive levels and that less familiar and more complex BMPs require a higher payment. Our implications focus on strategies to test these hypotheses and align incentive payments and other non-monetary options to increase BMP adoption.

  3. Are Delegation and Incentives Complementary Instruments ?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lando, Henrik

    2004-01-01

    It is natural to suppose that delegation and incentives are complementaryboth in the sense that when more decisions are delegated toa lower level of an organizational hierarchy, more use should be madeof incentives at that level, and in the sense that more use of incentivesshould be accompanied...... by more delegation. This issue is analyzedwithin a Principal-Agent framework in which there are two decisionsto be made: an effort decision which can only be made by the Agent,and some other decision which can be made by either the Principal(i.e. be centralized) or by the Agent (i.e. be delegated). Within...... thisframework it is shown that delegation and incentives are not necessarilycomplementary instruments; some decisions should be centralized whenincentives are introduced....

  4. Incentive mechanisms for Opportunistic Cloud Computing Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kuada, Eric; Olesen, Henning

    2012-01-01

    to the OCCS platform as well as the efficient usage of these resources. We employ game theory and mechanism design to model and design the incentive schemes. We present two game models and show the existence of a pure strategy Nash equilibrium for both the cooperative and non-cooperative games. Three base...... ever contributing resources. It may also suffer from resource wastage from members or external entities trying to attack the system so that genuine users are deprived of valuable resources. The purpose of this paper is to design incentive schemes that will encourage the contribution of resources...... incentive schemes are presented and two advanced schemes one based on discount factor and the other a stochastic scheme are also presented. We perform analytical evaluation of our incentive schemes and conclude that the schemes meet the desired properties of budget-balance, ex-post individual rationality...

  5. Carrot or stick? Modelling how landowner behavioural responses can cause incentive-based forest governance to backfire.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirsten A Henderson

    Full Text Available Mitigating the negative impacts of declining worldwide forest cover remains a significant socio-ecological challenge, due to the dominant role of human decision-making. Here we use a Markov chain model of land-use dynamics to examine the impact of governance on forest cover in a region. Each land parcel can be either forested or barren (deforested, and landowners decide whether to deforest their parcel according to perceived value (utility. We focus on three governance strategies: yearly incentive for conservation, one-time penalty for deforestation and one-time incentive for reforestation. The incentive and penalty are incorporated into the expected utility of forested land, which decreases the net gain of deforestation. By analyzing the equilibrium and stability of the landscape dynamics, we observe four possible outcomes: a stationary-forested landscape, a stationary-deforested landscape, an unstable landscape fluctuating near the equilibrium, and a cyclic-forested landscape induced by synchronized deforestation. We find that the two incentive-based strategies often result in highly fluctuating forest cover over decadal time scales or longer, and in a few cases, reforestation incentives actually decrease the average forest cover. In contrast, a penalty for deforestation results in the stable persistence of forest cover (generally >30%. The idea that larger conservation incentives will always yield higher and more stable forest cover is not supported in our findings. The decision to deforest is influenced by more than a simple, "rational" cost-benefit analysis: social learning and myopic, stochastic decision-making also have important effects. We conclude that design of incentive programs may need to account for potential counter-productive long-term effects due to behavioural feedbacks.

  6. Carrot or Stick? Modelling How Landowner Behavioural Responses Can Cause Incentive-Based Forest Governance to Backfire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henderson, Kirsten A.; Anand, Madhur; Bauch, Chris T.

    2013-01-01

    Mitigating the negative impacts of declining worldwide forest cover remains a significant socio-ecological challenge, due to the dominant role of human decision-making. Here we use a Markov chain model of land-use dynamics to examine the impact of governance on forest cover in a region. Each land parcel can be either forested or barren (deforested), and landowners decide whether to deforest their parcel according to perceived value (utility). We focus on three governance strategies: yearly incentive for conservation, one-time penalty for deforestation and one-time incentive for reforestation. The incentive and penalty are incorporated into the expected utility of forested land, which decreases the net gain of deforestation. By analyzing the equilibrium and stability of the landscape dynamics, we observe four possible outcomes: a stationary-forested landscape, a stationary-deforested landscape, an unstable landscape fluctuating near the equilibrium, and a cyclic-forested landscape induced by synchronized deforestation. We find that the two incentive-based strategies often result in highly fluctuating forest cover over decadal time scales or longer, and in a few cases, reforestation incentives actually decrease the average forest cover. In contrast, a penalty for deforestation results in the stable persistence of forest cover (generally >30%). The idea that larger conservation incentives will always yield higher and more stable forest cover is not supported in our findings. The decision to deforest is influenced by more than a simple, “rational” cost-benefit analysis: social learning and myopic, stochastic decision-making also have important effects. We conclude that design of incentive programs may need to account for potential counter-productive long-term effects due to behavioural feedbacks. PMID:24204942

  7. Systematic Reviews of Mechanisms for Financing Family Planning: Findings, Implications, and Future Agenda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lissner, Craig L; Ali, Moazzam

    2016-12-01

    The article describes an international collaboration that systematically reviewed the evidence on financing mechanisms for family planning/contraception, assessed the strength of and summarized the evidence, identified research gaps, and proposed a new research agenda to address the gaps. The review found that the evidence base is weak owing to the paucity of studies, diversity in findings, and variations in intervention, study design, and outcome measures. Of more than 17,000 papers reviewed only 38 met the eligibility criteria. A number of general recommendations on the directions and areas of future research can be drawn. There is a strong need for more robust study designs on the effectiveness of financial incentives in family planning. © 2016 The Population Council, Inc.

  8. Emotional responses to behavioral economic incentives for health behavior change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Swaluw, Koen; Lambooij, Mattijs S; Mathijssen, Jolanda J P; Zeelenberg, Marcel; Polder, Johan J; Prast, Henriëtte M

    2018-03-05

    Many people aim to change their lifestyle, but have trouble acting on their intentions. Behavioral economic incentives and related emotions can support commitment to personal health goals, but the related emotions remain unexplored. In a regret lottery, winners who do not attain their health goals do not get their prize but receive feedback on what their forgone earnings would have been. This counterfactual feedback should provoke anticipated regret and increase commitment to health goals. We explored which emotions were actually expected upon missing out on a prize due to unsuccessful weight loss and which incentive-characteristics influence their likelihood and intensity. Participants reported their expected emotional response after missing out on a prize in one of 12 randomly presented incentive-scenarios, which varied in incentive type, incentive size and deadline distance. Participants primarily reported feeling disappointment, followed by regret. Regret was expected most when losing a lottery prize (vs. a fixed incentive) and intensified with prize size. Multiple features of the participant and the lottery incentive increase the occurrence and intensity of regret. As such, our findings can be helpful in designing behavioral economic incentives that leverage emotions to support health behavior change.

  9. Investigating financial incentives for maternal health: an introduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanton, Mary Ellen; Higgs, Elizabeth S; Koblinsky, Marge

    2013-12-01

    Projection of current trends in maternal and neonatal mortality reduction shows that many countries will fall short of the UN Millennium Development Goal 4 and 5. Underutilization of maternal health services contributes to this poor progress toward reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Moreover, the quality of services continues to lag in many countries, with a negative effect on the health of women and their babies, including deterring women from seeking care. To enhance the use and provision of quality maternal care, countries and donors are increasingly using financial incentives. This paper introduces the JHPN Supplement, in which each paper reviews the evidence of the effectiveness of a specific financial incentive instrument with the aim of improving the use and quality of maternal healthcare and impact. The US Agency for International Development and the US National Institutes of Health convened a US Government Evidence Summit on Enhancing Provision and Use of Maternal Health Services through Financial Incentives on 24-25 April 2012 in Washington, DC. The Summit brought together leading global experts in finance, maternal health, and health systems from governments, academia, development organizations, and foundations to assess the evidence on whether financial incentives significantly and substantially increase provision, use and quality of maternal health services, and the contextual factors that impact the effectiveness of these incentives. Evidence review teams evaluated the multidisciplinary evidence of various financial mechanisms, including supply-side incentives (e.g. performance-based financing, user fees, and various insurance mechanisms) and demand-side incentives (e.g. conditional cash transfers, vouchers, user fee exemptions, and subsidies for care-seeking). At the Summit, the teams presented a synthesis of evidence and initial recommendations on practice, policy, and research for discussion. The Summit enabled structured

  10. Does a monetary incentive improve the response to a postal questionnaire in a randomised controlled trial? The MINT incentive study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mt-Isa Shahrul

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Sending a monetary incentive with postal questionnaires has been found to improve the proportion of responders, in research in non-healthcare settings. However, there is little research on use of incentives to improve follow-up rates in clinical trials, and existing studies are inconclusive. We conducted a randomised trial among participants in the Managing Injuries of the Neck Trial (MINT to investigate the effects on the proportion of questionnaires returned and overall non-response of sending a £5 gift voucher with a follow-up questionnaire. Methods Participants in MINT were randomised to receive either: (a a £5 gift voucher (incentive group or (b no gift voucher (no incentive group, with their 4 month or 8 month follow-up questionnaire. We recorded, for each group, the number of questionnaires returned, the number returned without any chasing from the study office, the overall number of non-responders (after all chasing efforts by the study office, and the costs of following up each group. Results 2144 participants were randomised, 1070 to the incentive group and 1074 to the no incentive group. The proportion of questionnaires returned (RR 1.10 (95% CI 1.05, 1.16 and the proportion returned without chasing (RR 1.14 (95% CI 1.05, 1.24 were higher in the incentive group, and the overall non-response rate was lower (RR 0.68 (95% CI 0.53, 0.87. Adjustment for injury severity and hospital of recruitment to MINT made no difference to these results, and there were no differences in results between the 4-month and 8-month follow up questionnaires. Analysis of costs suggested a cost of £67.29 per additional questionnaire returned. Conclusion Monetary incentives may be an effective way to increase the proportion of postal questionnaires returned and minimise loss to follow-up in clinical trials. Trial registration number ISRCTN61305297

  11. Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (B. N. L. Italy) financial incentives for energy conservation and environmenal protection ENERAMBIENTE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rutondi, L

    1989-02-01

    This paper outlines the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (B.N.L., Italy) financial incentive program, ENERAMBIENTE and explains how it relates to overall E.E.C. plans (for the year 1992) promoting, in various sectors (industry, agricolture, etc.), the rational use of energy and environmental protection. The program's objectives are to ensure the prospective user's awareness of the mechanics, possibilities and limits of financial assistence plans, supply technical and organizational assistance and collaborate with local and regional government administrations, as well as public and private enterprises.

  12. Design of economic incentive instruments in nutrition policy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jørgen Dejgård

    2011-01-01

    • Economic incentives are instruments to improve diets and reduce the fraction of people exposed to diet-related health risks • Proper targeting and design of economic incentive instruments is important, if such instruments should be efficient and feasible policy measures in the improvement...... of dietary behaviour in industrialised countries • From a cost-effectiveness perspective, there are considerable potential for optimizing the targeting and design of economic incentive instruments in nutritional policy...

  13. Globalisation and National Incentives for Protecting Environmental Goods

    OpenAIRE

    Alkuin Kölliker

    2004-01-01

    This article tries to explain national incentives for protecting environmental goods either autonomously or collectively; it explores how globalisation has affected those incentives; and it suggests how national environmental policy might respond so as to ensure its effectiveness. The central argument is that national incentives for environmental protection may to a considerable extent be explained by a combination of the type of environmental good to be protected (in terms of public goods th...

  14. The roles of incentives and voluntary cooperation for contractual compliance

    OpenAIRE

    Gächter, Simon; Kessler, Esther; Königstein, Manfred

    2011-01-01

    Efficiency under contractual incompleteness often requires voluntary cooperation in situations where self-regarding incentives for contractual compliance are present as well. Here we provide a comprehensive experimental analysis based on the gift-exchange game of how explicit and implicit incentives affect cooperation. We first show that there is substantial cooperation under non-incentive compatible contracts. Incentive-compatible contracts induce best-reply effort and crowd out any voluntar...

  15. Optimal transmission planning under the Mexican new electricity market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zenón, Eric; Rosellón, Juan

    2017-01-01

    This paper addresses electricity transmission planning under the new industry and institutional structure of the Mexican electricity market, which has engaged in a deep reform process after decades of a state-owned-vertically-integrated-non-competitive-closed industry. Under this new structure, characterized by a nodal pricing system and an independent system operator (ISO), we analyze welfare-optimal network expansion with two modeling strategies. In a first model, we propose the use of an incentive price-cap mechanism to promote the expansion of Mexican networks. In a second model, we study centrally-planned grid expansion in Mexico by an ISO within a power-flow model. We carry out comparisons of these models which provide us with hints to evaluate the actual transmission planning process proposed by Mexican authorities (PRODESEN). We obtain that the PRODESEN plan appears to be a convergent welfare-optimal planning process. - Highlights: • We model transmission planning (PRODESEN) in the Mexican new electricity market. • We propose a first model with a price-cap mechanism to promote network expansion. • In a second power-flow model, we study centrally-planned grid expansions. • The PRODESEN appears to be a convergent welfare-optimal planning process. • Incentive regulation could further help to implement such an optimal process.

  16. The effect of explicit financial incentives on physician behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armour, B S; Pitts, M M; Maclean, R; Cangialose, C; Kishel, M; Imai, H; Etchason, J

    2001-05-28

    Managed care organizations use explicit financial incentives to influence physicians' use of resources. This has contributed to concerns regarding conflicts of interest for physicians and adverse effects on the quality of patient care. In light of recent publicized legislative and legal battles about this issue, we reviewed the literature and analyzed studies that examine the effect of these explicit financial incentives on the behavior of physicians. The method used to undertake the literature review followed the approach set forth in the Cochrane Collaboration handbook. Our literature review revealed a paucity of data on the effect of explicit financial incentives. Based on this limited evidence, explicit incentives that place individual physicians at financial risk appear to be effective in reducing physician resource use. However, the empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of bonus payments on physician resource use is mixed. Similarly, our review revealed mixed effects of the influence of explicit financial incentives on the quality of patient care. The effect of explicit financial incentives on physician behavior is complicated by a lack of understanding of the incentive structure by the managed care organization and the physician. The lack of a universally acceptable definition of quality renders it important that future researchers identify the term explicitly.

  17. Can an incentive-based intervention increase physical activity and reduce sitting among adults? the ACHIEVE (Active Choices IncEntiVE) feasibility study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ball, Kylie; Hunter, Ruth F; Maple, Jaimie-Lee; Moodie, Marj; Salmon, Jo; Ong, Kok-Leong; Stephens, Lena D; Jackson, Michelle; Crawford, David

    2017-03-21

    Despite recent interest in the potential of incentivisation as a strategy for motivating healthier behaviors, little remains known about the effectiveness of incentives in promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behavior, and improving associated health outcomes. This pre-post-test design study investigated the feasibility, appeal and effects of providing non-financial incentives for promoting increased physical activity, reduced sedentary time, and reduced body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure among inactive middle-aged adults. Inactive men (n = 36) and women (n = 46) aged 40-65 years were recruited via a not-for-profit insurance fund and participated in a 4 month pre-post design intervention. Baseline and post-intervention data were collected on self-reported physical activity and sitting time (IPAQ-Long), BMI and blood pressure. Participants were encouraged to increase physical activity to 150 mins/week and reduce sedentary behavior by 150 mins/week in progressive increments. Incentives included clothing, recipe books, store gift vouchers, and a chance to win one of four Apple iPad Mini devices. The incentive component of the intervention was supported by an initial motivational interview and text messaging to encourage participants and provide strategies to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviors. Only two participants withdrew during the program, demonstrating the feasibility of recruiting and retaining inactive middle-aged participants. While two-thirds of the sample qualified for the easiest physical activity incentive (by demonstrating 100 mins physical activity/week or 100 mins reduced sitting time/week), only one third qualified for the most challenging incentive. Goals to reduce sitting appeared more challenging, with 43% of participants qualifying for the first incentive, but only 20% for the last incentive. More men than women qualified for most incentives. Mean leisure-time physical activity increased by 252

  18. Financial incentives and purchase restrictions in a food benefit program affect the types of foods and beverages purchased: results from a randomized trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    French, Simone A; Rydell, Sarah A; Mitchell, Nathan R; Michael Oakes, J; Elbel, Brian; Harnack, Lisa

    2017-09-16

    This research evaluated the effects of financial incentives and purchase restrictions on food purchasing in a food benefit program for low income people. Participants (n=279) were randomized to groups: 1) Incentive- 30% financial incentive for fruits and vegetables purchased with food benefits; 2) Restriction- no purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages, sweet baked goods, or candies with food benefits; 3) Incentive plus Restriction; or 4) Control- no incentive or restrictions. Participants received a study-specific debit card where funds were added monthly for 12-weeks. Food purchase receipts were collected over 16 weeks. Total dollars spent on grocery purchases and by targeted food categories were computed from receipts. Group differences were examined using general linear models. Weekly purchases of fruit significantly increased in the Incentive plus Restriction ($4.8) compared to the Restriction ($1.7) and Control ($2.1) groups (p beverage purchases significantly decreased in the Incentive plus Restriction (-$0.8 per week) and Restriction ($-1.4 per week) groups compared to the Control group (+$1.5; pfoods and beverages purchased with food program funds may support more healthful food purchases compared to no incentives or restrictions. Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02643576 .

  19. 77 FR 59100 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Alabama: General and Transportation Conformity...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-26

    ... Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Alabama: General and Transportation Conformity & New Source Review... (SMC) Rule. The SIP revision also changes the State's general and transportation conformity regulations... federal general and transportation conformity regulations into the SIP. Alabama's May 2, 2011, SIP...

  20. Decision Utility, Incentive Salience, and Cue-Triggered "Wanting"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berridge, Kent C; Aldridge, J Wayne

    2009-01-01

    This chapter examines brain mechanisms of reward utility operating at particular decision moments in life-moments such as when one encounters an image, sound, scent, or other cue associated in the past with a particular reward or perhaps just when one vividly imagines that cue. Such a cue can often trigger a sudden motivational urge to pursue its reward and sometimes a decision to do so. Drawing on a utility taxonomy that distinguishes among subtypes of reward utility-predicted utility, decision utility, experienced utility, and remembered utility-it is shown how cue-triggered cravings, such as an addict's surrender to relapse, can hang on special transformations by brain mesolimbic systems of one utility subtype, namely, decision utility. The chapter focuses on a particular form of decision utility called incentive salience, a type of "wanting" for rewards that is amplified by brain mesolimbic systems. Sudden peaks of intensity of incentive salience, caused by neurobiological mechanisms, can elevate the decision utility of a particular reward at the moment its cue occurs. An understanding of what happens at such moments leads to a better understanding of the mechanisms at work in decision making in general.

  1. Third-Party Incentive Strategies and Conflict Management in Africa

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Emmanuel, Nikolas G.

    2016-01-01

    Dr. Nikolas Emmanuel's examines the use of an incentives approach in managing intrastate conflict in Africa because in many cases, risks and costs make applications of hard power alone unfeasible. Furthermore, simply ignoring episodes of civil conflict in the hope that they will "burn themselves...... out"� does not appear to be a viable alternative. That said, both noncoercive and coercive incentive strategies exist and have been deployed by third parties in a variety of conflict situations. Such incentives seek to manage conflict by encouraging political bargaining. The clear intention...... parties can help manage conflicts. Second, it offers a typology of the available incentive strategies, classifying them along noncoercive and coercive lines. Thus, the article outlines the possibilities offered by an incentives approach, focusing on examples drawn from recent African cases....

  2. Financial Incentives to Promote Active Travel

    OpenAIRE

    Martin, Adam; Suhrcke, Marc; Ogilvie, David

    2012-01-01

    Context Financial incentives, including taxes and subsidies, can be used to encourage behavior change. They are common in transport policy for tackling externalities associated with use of motor vehicles, and in public health for influencing alcohol consumption and smoking behaviors. Financial incentives also offer policymakers a compromise between ?nudging,? which may be insufficient for changing habitual behavior, and regulations that restrict individual choice. Evidence acquisition The lit...

  3. Recorded quality of primary care for patients with diabetes in England before and after the introduction of a financial incentive scheme: a longitudinal observational study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kontopantelis, Evangelos; Reeves, David; Valderas, Jose M; Campbell, Stephen; Doran, Tim

    2013-01-01

    The UK's Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) was introduced in 2004/5, linking remuneration for general practices to recorded quality of care for chronic conditions, including diabetes mellitus. We assessed the effect of the incentives on recorded quality of care for diabetes patients and its variation by patient and practice characteristics. Using the General Practice Research Database we selected a stratified sample of 148 English general practices in England, contributing data from 2000/1 to 2006/7, and obtained a random sample of 653,500 patients in which 23,920 diabetes patients identified. We quantified annually recorded quality of care at the patient-level, as measured by the 17 QOF diabetes indicators, in a composite score and analysed it longitudinally using an Interrupted Time Series design. Recorded quality of care improved for all subgroups in the pre-incentive period. In the first year of the incentives, composite quality improved over-and-above this pre-incentive trend by 14.2% (13.7-14.6%). By the third year the improvement above trend was smaller, but still statistically significant, at 7.3% (6.7-8.0%). After 3 years of the incentives, recorded levels of care varied significantly for patient gender, age, years of previous care, number of co-morbid conditions and practice diabetes prevalence. The introduction of financial incentives was associated with improvements in the recorded quality of diabetes care in the first year. These improvements included some measures of disease control, but most captured only documentation of recommended aspects of clinical assessment, not patient management or outcomes of care. Improvements in subsequent years were more modest. Variation in care between population groups diminished under the incentives, but remained substantial in some cases.

  4. Del Plan General de 1902 a la planificación hidrológica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Gil Olcina

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available El Avance de un Plan General de Pantanos y Canales de Riego de 1899, el Plan Generalde Canales de Riego y Pantanos de 1902, con sus aditamentos de 1909, 1916, 1919 y 1922,la actuación de las Confederaciones Sindicales Hidrográficas a partir de 1926, el I PlanNacional de Obras Hidráulicas (1933 y el Plan General de Obras Hidráulicas, incluido en elNacional de Obras Públicas de 1940, tienen en común, además de su carácter hidráulico, laimpronta regeneracionista y su elaboración en el marco de la Ley de Aguas de 13 de juniode 1879, vigente por más de un siglo.Naturaleza hidráulica era también, a pesar de su calificativo, la del Anteproyecto del PlanHidrológico de 1993, que, ampliamente deudor del legado regeneracionista, pretendía, a tra-vés del SIEHNA, una sustancial reestructuración hidrográfica del territorio español peninsu-lar. Desechado este planteamiento, el 5 de septiembre pasado fue remitido al ConsejoNacional del Agua un nuevo Anteproyecto del Plan Hidrológico Nacional, con procedi-miento de elaboración y contenido novedosos

  5. BSN completion barriers, challenges, incentives, and strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duffy, Marie T; Friesen, Mary Ann; Speroni, Karen Gabel; Swengros, Diane; Shanks, Laura A; Waiter, Pamela A; Sheridan, Michael J

    2014-04-01

    The objectives of this study were to explore RN perceptions regarding barriers/challenges and incentives/supports for BSN completion and identify recommendations to increase RN BSN completion. The Institute of Medicine's 2011 The Future of Nursing report recommended the proportion of RNs with a BSN increase to 80% by 2020. This qualitative study included 41 RNs who participated in 1 of 6 focus groups based on their BSN completion status. Primary themes were sacrifices, barriers/challenges, incentives/supports, value, how to begin, and pressure. Primary BSN completion barriers/challenges were work-life balance and economic issues. Incentives/supports identified were financial compensation, assistance from employer and academic institution, and encouragement from family. Institutional strategies recommended for increasing BSN completion rates were improved access to education and financial support facilitated by collaboration between hospitals and academic institutions. Exploring RN barriers/challenges and incentives/supports for BSN completion can lead to implementation of institutional strategies, such as tuition reimbursement and academic collaboration.

  6. Incentive regulation of nuclear power plants by state regulators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, R.L.; Baker, K.; Olson, J.

    1991-02-01

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) monitors incentive programs established by state regulators in order to obtain current information and to consider the potential safety effects of the incentive programs as applied to nuclear units. The current report is an update of NUREG/CR-5509, Incentive Regulation of Nuclear Power Plants by State Public Utility Commissions, published in December 1989. The information in this report was obtained from interviews conducted with each state regulator and each utility with a minimum entitlement of 10%. The agreements, orders, and settlements from which each incentive program was implemented were reviewed as required. The interviews and supporting documentation form the basis for the individual state reports describing the structure and financial impact of each incentive program. The programs currently in effect represent the adoption of an existing nuclear performance incentive program proposal and one new program. In addition, since 1989 a number of nuclear units have been included in one existing program; while one program was discontinued and another one concluded. 6 refs., 27 tabs

  7. Tax planning strategies for physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pope, Thomas R; Schwartz, Richard W

    2002-07-01

    The development of tax reduction strategies is a critical aspect of both corporate and personal financial planning because taxes represent the largest annual expenditure for the majority of Americans. The categories of tax reduction strategies discussed include charitable-giving techniques, ways to maximize business deductions, shifting income to family members, education tax incentives, retirement planning, and small business tax considerations. One use for these tax savings is the enhancement of a corporation's capabilities to provide services to patients.

  8. 48 CFR 416.405 - Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts. 416.405 Section 416.405 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF...-reimbursement incentive contracts. ...

  9. 76 FR 77150 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Virginia; General Conformity...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-12

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Virginia; General Conformity Requirements for Federal... incorporate revisions to Federal general conformity requirements promulgated in July of 2006 and in April of 2010. EPA is approving this Virginia SIP revision to update its state general conformity requirements...

  10. Study protocol: incentives for increased access to comprehensive family planning for urban youth using a benefits card in Uganda. A quasi-experimental study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nuwasiima, Afra; Nuwamanya, Elly; Navvuga, Patricia; Babigumira, Janet U; Asiimwe, Francis T; Lubinga, Solomon J; Babigumira, Joseph B

    2017-10-27

    The use of contraception is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions and has the potential to prevent about 30% of maternal and 10% of child deaths in developing countries. Voucher-based initiatives for family planning are an effective and viable means of increasing contraceptive use. In this paper, we present a protocol for a pilot study of a novel incentive, a family planning benefits card (FPBC) program to increase uptake of family planning services among urban poor youth in Uganda while leveraging private sector funding. The study employs both impact and health economic evaluation methods to assess the effect of the FPBC program. We propose a quasi-experimental study design with two separate pre- and post-samples to measure program effectiveness. The main outcome of the impact evaluation is the percentage change in the prevalence of modern contraceptive use and unmet need for contraception. We will also conduct model-based incremental cost-effectiveness and budget impact analyses. The main outcomes of the economic evaluation are the cost per enrolled youth and cost per pregnancy averted, and cost per disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) averted. We will also pilot a corporate social responsibility model of sponsorship for the FPBC program in partnership with local corporations. Budget impact analysis will examine the potential affordability of scaling up the FPBC program and the fiscal implications of this scale up to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) budgets of partner corporations, the government, and the individual taxpayer. In this study, we propose an impact and economic evaluation to establish the proof concept of using a FPBC program to increase uptake of family planning services among urban poor youth in Uganda. The results of this study will present stakeholders in Uganda and internationally with a potentially viable option for corporate-sponsored access to family planning in urban poor communities. MUREC1/7 No. 10

  11. Managing risk selection incentives in health sector reforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puig-Junoy, J

    1999-01-01

    The object of the paper is to review theoretical and empirical contributions to the optimal management of risk selection incentives ('cream skimming') in health sector reforms. The trade-off between efficiency and risk selection is fostered in health sector reforms by the introduction of competitive mechanisms such as price competition or prospective payment systems. The effects of two main forms of competition in health sector reforms are observed when health insurance is mandatory: competition in the market for health insurance, and in the market for health services. Market and government failures contribute to the assessment of the different forms of risk selection employed by insurers and providers, as the effects of selection incentives on efficiency and their proposed remedies to reduce the impact of these perverse incentives. Two European (Netherlands and Spain) and two Latin American (Chile and Colombia) case studies of health sector reforms are examined in order to observe selection incentives, their effects on efficiency and costs in the health system, and regulation policies implemented in each country to mitigate incentives to 'cream skim' good risks.

  12. Blood donor incentives: A step forward or backward

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abolghasemi Hassan

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Dramatic increase in blood usage and critical seasonal blood shortages are faced by various countries. Countries which previously reached 100% voluntary nonremunerated donation have been led to offer different kinds of incentives to recruit blood donors and meet their blood demands. In some cases, these incentives are considered monetary and are in complete contrast with International standards like World Health Organization (WHO. It seems that attitudes toward sole dependency on nonremunerated voluntary blood donation have been changed in recent years and experts in some developed countries are reevaluating partial reliance on paid donation. On the other hand, besides the effects of such incentives on blood safety, several economic and psychological studies have shown that incentives have discouraging effects on pro-social behaviors like blood donation and will reduce the number of blood donors in long term. With regard to the results of such studies, it seems that implementing incentive-based blood donor recruitment programs to meet blood requirements by some countries is becoming a challenge for blood banks.

  13. Incentives for energy efficiency in the EU emission trading scheme

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schleich, Joachim [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Systemtechnik und Innovationsforschung (ISI), Karlsruhe (Germany); Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA (United States); Rogge, Karoline [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Systemtechnik und Innovationsforschung (ISI), Karlsruhe (Germany); ETH Zurich (Switzerland). Group for Sustainability and Technology; Betz, Regina [New South Wales Univ. (Australia). Centre for Energy and Environmental Markets

    2008-07-01

    This paper explores the incentives for energy efficiency induced by the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) for installations in the energy and industry sectors. Our analysis of the National Allocation Plans for 27 EU Member States for phase 2 of the EU ETS (2008-2012) suggests that the price and cost effects for improvements in carbon and energy efficiency in the energy and industry sectors will be stronger than in phase 1 (2005-2007), but only because the European Commission has substantially reduced the number of allowances to be allocated by the Member States. To the extent that companies from these sectors (notably power producers) pass through the extra costs for carbon, higher prices for allowances translate into stronger incentives for demand- side energy efficiency. With the cuts in allocation to energy and industry sectors these will be forced to greater reductions, thus the non-ET sectors like household, tertiary and transport will have to reduce less, which is more in line with the cost-efficient share of emission reductions. The findings also imply that domestic efficiency improvements in the energy and industry sectors may remain limited since companies can make substantial use of credits from the Kyoto mechanisms. The analysis of the rules for existing installations, new projects and closures suggests that incentives for energy efficiency are higher in phase 2 than in phase 1 because of the increased application of benchmarking to new and existing installations and because a lower share of allowances will be allocated for free. Nevertheless, there is still ample scope to further improve the EU ETS so that the full potential for energy efficiency can be realized. (orig.)

  14. Financial incentives for DSM [demand-side management]: Theory and practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reid, M.W.

    1990-01-01

    Recent efforts to provide incentives for electric utilities in the USA to undertake demand-side management (DSM) programs are reviewed. The major need for incentives is seen as the overcoming of disincentives inherent in traditional regulation that affect utilities' interest in, and motivation for, DSM programs. These disincentives include the failure to recover all program costs, loss of revenues, and loss of financial opportunity. In addition, utilities seldom perceive DSM as a low-risk proposition; principal areas of concern include regulatory risk, competitive risk, and balance sheet risk. In view of these disincentives and risks, any DSM program therefore should provide for full and timely recovery of all program costs; adjust for DSM-induced revenue losses; and counterbalance risk and loss of financial opportunity by providing a bonus above cost. Three utility-specific incentive proposals are presented for the case of utilities in New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Each of these programs meets the goal of overcoming the disincentives that surround utility DSM programs. The most significant differences across the mechanisms are found in the bonus component. Mechanisms that reduce the utility's uncertainty about the receipt of a bonus by providing it in a lump sum will likely prove more powerful motivators than those that spread the bonus out over a period of years. Use of preapproved per-unit or per-customer impact measurements reduces uncertainty and thus increases the apparent value of the bonus. Annual review of program plans and assumed impacts, supported by continuing evaluation activities, minimizes the risk that the utilities will gamble with the system or receive excessive awards. 6 refs

  15. A performance incentive contract that pays off for all parties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krummrich, C.R.; Johnston, R.E.; Crist, T.W.

    1995-01-01

    The Western Business Unit Bakersfield drilling department of Chevron, U.S.A. Production Company developed a drilling performance incentive contract that was implemented during 1994 in the Lost Hills field of California. The performance incentive contract (PIC) financially rewarded all of the drilling contractor's rig employees for outperforming pre-established drilling performance goals. The key elements of the performance incentive program are: (1) Goals that rigger incentives are based on cost categories that are controllable by the drilling team; (2) Goals were established using a database of past years performance; (3) Goals that are not achieved negatively impact the incentive earned in an effort to deter repeated errors; (4) Accidents that occur on the job negatively impact the incentive earned; (5) Administration of the program is not time consuming. The results of using an incentive contract in the Lost Hills drilling program are: (1) Time and cost of operations are reduced; (2) The results are measurable and repeatable; (3) A team environment develops in which ideas are shared and acted upon by crew members and supervisory personnel

  16. Costs and results of federal incentives for commercial nuclear energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bezdek, R.H.; Wendling, R.M.

    1991-01-01

    This paper (1) estimates the total costs of federal expenditures in support of incentives for the development of commercial nuclear energy through 1988, and (2) analyzes the results and benefits to the nation of this federal investment. The federal incentives analyzed include research and development, regulation of commercial nuclear energy, tax incentives, waste management and disposal, enrichment plants, liability insurance, the uranium mining industry, and all other federal support activities. The authors estimate that net federal incentives totaled about $45-50 billion (1988 dollars). They estimate the results of the federal incentives, focusing on six categories, namely, electric energy produced, the total (direct plus indirect) economic benefits of the industry created, R and D program benefits, value of energy imports displaced, environmental effects, and health, safety, and risk effects. The results total $1.9 trillion, with approximately $250-300 billion identified as net benefits. The authors conclude that the high return on the investment justified federal incentives for nuclear energy development over the past four decades and that the federal government and the nation have received a significant return on the incentives investment

  17. Comparing Types of Financial Incentives to Promote Walking: An Experimental Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burns, Rachel J; Rothman, Alexander J

    2018-04-19

    Offering people financial incentives to increase their physical activity is an increasingly prevalent intervention strategy. However, little is known about the relative effectiveness of different types of incentives. This study tested whether incentives based on specified reinforcement types and schedules differentially affected the likelihood of meeting a walking goal and explored if observed behavioural changes may have been attributable to the perceived value of the incentive. A 2 (reinforcement type: cash reward, deposit contract) × 2 (schedule: fixed, variable) between-subjects experiment with a hanging control condition was conducted over 8 weeks (n = 153). Although walking was greater in the incentive conditions relative to the control condition, walking did not differ across incentive conditions. Exploratory analyses indicated that the perceived value of the incentive was associated with the likelihood of meeting the walking goal, but was not affected by reinforcement type or schedule. The reinforcement type and schedule manipulations tested in this study did not differentially affect walking. Given that walking behaviour was associated with perceived value, designing incentive strategies that optimise the perceived value of the incentive may be a promising avenue for future research. © 2018 The International Association of Applied Psychology.

  18. Designing an Incentive Contract Menu for Sustaining the Electricity Market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying Yu

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper designs an incentive contract menu to achieve long-term stability for electricity prices in a day-ahead electricity market. A bi-level Stackelberg game model is proposed to search for the optimal incentive mechanism under a one-leader and multi-followers gaming framework. A multi-agent simulation platform was developed to investigate the effectiveness of the incentive mechanism using an independent system operator (ISO and multiple power generating companies (GenCos. Further, a Q-learning approach was implemented to analyze and assess the response of GenCos to the incentive menu. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the incentive contract.

  19. Review. The incentive sensitization theory of addiction: some current issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Terry E; Berridge, Kent C

    2008-10-12

    We present a brief overview of the incentive sensitization theory of addiction. This posits that addiction is caused primarily by drug-induced sensitization in the brain mesocorticolimbic systems that attribute incentive salience to reward-associated stimuli. If rendered hypersensitive, these systems cause pathological incentive motivation ('wanting') for drugs. We address some current questions including: what is the role of learning in incentive sensitization and addiction? Does incentive sensitization occur in human addicts? Is the development of addiction-like behaviour in animals associated with sensitization? What is the best way to model addiction symptoms using animal models? And, finally, what are the roles of affective pleasure or withdrawal in addiction?

  20. The Impact of Lottery Incentives on Student Survey Response Rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porter, Stephen R.; Whitcomb, Michael E.

    2003-01-01

    A controlled experiment tested the effects of lottery incentives using a prospective college applicant Web survey, with emails sent to more than 9,000 high school students. Found minimal effect of postpaid incentives for increasing levels of incentive. (EV)

  1. Tooth wear risk assessment and care-planning in general dental practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Toole, S; Khan, M; Patel, A; Patel, N J; Shah, N; Bartlett, D; Movahedi, S

    2018-03-09

    Objective To assess charting, risk assessment and treatment-planning of tooth wear between recently qualified and experienced dentists in general dental practice.Design Service evaluation.Setting Multi-setting evaluation of three mixed NHS/Private general dental practices in North-East London.Methods The clinical notes of new patient examinations on dentate adults presenting from the 1 October 2016 to 31 December 2016 were audited collecting data on tooth wear charting, risk assessment and treatment planning. Data were analysed using descriptives, chi square and logistic regressions in SPSS. Significance was inferred at p charted for 48% of those attending foundation dentists and 5% of those attending experienced dentists. Diet was assessed in 50.6% of patients examined by foundation dentists and 1.0% of patients examined by experienced dentists. Foundation dentists were more likely to chart tooth wear, risk assess and preventively manage tooth wear compared to experienced dentists (p <0.001).Conclusion This service evaluation highlights that improvements are required in recording, risk assessing and preventive treatment planning of erosive tooth wear. Experienced dentists were less likely to risk assess tooth wear and less likely to provide preventive treatment. Experienced GDPs may benefit from re-training in this area.

  2. Special Education and General Education--Coordinated or Separated? A Study of Curriculum Planning for Pupils with Special Educational Needs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nilsen, Sven

    2017-01-01

    The central issue of this article is the coordination between special and general education in curriculum planning for pupils with special educational needs. The focus is on individual education plans (IEPs) in special education and work plans in general education. This is also viewed in relation to how special and general education teachers…

  3. Adoption, Transfers, and Incentives in a Franchise Network with Positive Externalities

    OpenAIRE

    Barrie R. Nault; Albert S. Dexter

    1994-01-01

    We study franchise arrangements that allow franchisees with exclusive territories to own their customers. This permits franchisees to benefit from positive externalities in the franchise network through interfranchise transfers based on the purchases by their customers at other franchises on the network. Using the structure of a single franchisor and many franchisees, we show that, in general, interfranchise transfers between franchisees and incentives for franchisee investment in the expansi...

  4. Dynamic Incentives in Microfinance Group Lending

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naveen Kumar K

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available One of the most essential tools of poverty reduction would be the viable expansion of institutional credit facilities to large sections of the people who neither have adequate collateral nor credit history to secure a loan. In this backdrop, social collateral is popularized through the group lending programs to address the credit market problems. Microfinance through group lending is acting as a screening device; the joint liability mechanism creates incentives for internal monitoring. Hence, it has received a lot of attention from policy makers as well as academicians. It is playing an important role in delivering financial services to the “socially and economically excluded” poor, in general, and women, in particular. The group lending works with various dynamic incentives. One such kind is principle of progressive lending and it plays a vital role in sustaining the groups for the persistent delivery of microfinance services to its members. In progressive lending, a typical borrower receives very small amounts at first, which increases with good repayment conduct or it links new, larger loans to past repayment. This article explores possible theoretical and empirical relationship between progressive lending and its determinants in group lending approach. The primary survey was conducted in 10 villages covering 106 self-help groups and 318 members in Karnataka, India. The empirical results show the progressive lending amount rising up to 698% of the initial loan of the self-help groups.

  5. 77 FR 16558 - General Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement, Hampton National Historic Site...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-21

    ... Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement, Hampton National Historic Site, Maryland AGENCY...) announces the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the General Management Plan.../Baltimore County Library, 320 York Avenue, Towson, Maryland 21204. Baltimore County Tourism Office and...

  6. 48 CFR 216.405 - Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts. 216.405 Section 216.405 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION... Contracts 216.405 Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts. ...

  7. Leadership and management curriculum planning for Iranian general practitioners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khosravan, Shahla; Karimi Moonaghi, Hossein; Yazdani, Shahram; Ahmadi, Soleiman; Mansoorian, Mohammad Reza

    2015-10-01

    Leadership and management are two expected features and competencies for general practitioners (GPs). The purpose of this study was leadership and management curriculum planning for GPs which was performed based on Kern's curriculum planning cycle. This study was conducted in 2011- 2012 in Iran using an explanatory mixed-methods approach. It was conducted through an initial qualitative phase using two focus group discussions and 28 semi-structured interviews with key informants to capture their experiences and viewpoints about the necessity of management courses for undergraduate medical students, goals, objectives, and educational strategies according to Kern's curriculum planning cycle. The data was used to develop a questionnaire to be used in a quantitative written survey. Results of these two phases and that of the review of medical curriculum in other countries and management curriculum of other medical disciplines in Iran were used in management and leadership curriculum planning. In the qualitative phase, purposeful sampling and content analysis with constant comparison based on Strauss and Corbin's method were used; descriptive and analytic tests were used for quantitative data by SPSS version 14. In the qualitatively stage of  this research, 6 main categories including the necessity of management course, features and objectives of management curriculum, proper educational setting, educational methods and strategies, evolutionary method and feedback result were determined. In the quantitatively stage of the research, from the viewpoints of 51.6% of 126 units of research who filled out the questionnaire, ranked high necessary of management courses. The coordination of care and clinical leadership was determined as the most important role for GPs with a mean of 6.2 from sample viewpoint. Also, team working and group dynamics had the first priority related to the principles and basics of management with a mean of 3.59. Other results were shown in the paper

  8. Patient attitudes about financial incentives for diabetes self-management: A survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blondon, Katherine S

    2015-06-10

    To study the acceptability of incentives for behavior changes in individuals with diabetes, comparing financial incentives to self-rewards and non-financial incentives. A national online survey of United States adults with diabetes was conducted in March 2013 (n = 153). This survey was designed for this study, with iterative testing and modifications in a pilot population. We measured the demographics of individuals, their interest in incentives, as well as the perceived challenge of diabetes self-management tasks, and expectations of incentives to improve diabetes self-management (financial, non-financial and self-rewards). Using an ordered logistic regression model, we assessed the association between a 32-point score of the perceived challenge of the self-management tasks and the three types of rewards. Ninety-six percent of individuals were interested in financial incentives, 60% in non-financial incentives and 72% in self-rewards. Patients were less likely to use financial incentives when they perceived the behavior to be more challenging (odds ratio of using financial incentives of 0.82 (95%CI: 0.72-0.93) for each point of the behavior score). While the effectiveness of incentives may vary according to the perceived level of challenge of each behavior, participants did not expect to need large amounts to motivate them to modify their behavior. The expected average amounts needed to motivate a 5 lb weight loss in our population and to maintain this weight change for a year was $258 (interquartile range of $10-100) and $713 (interquartile range of $25-250) for a 15 lb weight loss. The difference in mean amount estimates for 5 lb and 15 lb weight loss was significant (P < 0.001). Individuals with diabetes are willing to consider financial incentives to improve diabetes self-management. Future studies are needed to explore incentive programs and their effectiveness for diabetes.

  9. Financial Incentives and Physician Practice Participation in Medicare's Value-Based Reforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markovitz, Adam A; Ramsay, Patricia P; Shortell, Stephen M; Ryan, Andrew M

    2017-07-26

    To evaluate whether greater experience and success with performance incentives among physician practices are related to increased participation in Medicare's voluntary value-based payment reforms. Publicly available data from Medicare's Physician Compare (n = 1,278; January 2012 to November 2013) and nationally representative physician practice data from the National Survey of Physician Organizations 3 (NSPO3; n = 907,538; 2013). We used regression analysis to examine practice-level relationships between prior exposure to performance incentives and participation in key Medicare value-based payment reforms: accountable care organization (ACO) programs, the Physician Quality Reporting System ("Physician Compare"), and the Meaningful Use of Health Information Technology program ("Meaningful Use"). Prior experience and success with financial incentives were measured as (1) the percentage of practices' revenue from financial incentives for quality or efficiency; and (2) practices' exposure to public reporting of quality measures. We linked physician participation data from Medicare's Physician Compare to the NSPO3 survey. There was wide variation in practices' exposure to performance incentives, with 64 percent exposed to financial incentives, 45 percent exposed to public reporting, and 2.2 percent of practice revenue coming from financial incentives. For each percentage-point increase in financial incentives, there was a 0.9 percentage-point increase in the probability of participating in ACOs (standard error [SE], 0.1, p Financial incentives were not associated with participation in Physician Compare. Among ACO participants, a 1 percentage-point increase in incentives was associated with a 0.7 percentage-point increase in the probability of being "very well" prepared to utilize cost and quality data (SE, 0.1, p financial incentives with additional efforts to address the needs of practices with less experience with such incentives to promote value-based payment

  10. 75 FR 1806 - Draft General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, New River Gorge National River, WV

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-13

    ... visitor experiences. Management actions would build upon the cultural resource, interpretive, and... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Draft General Management Plan and Environmental... Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability of the Draft General Management Plan and Environmental Impact...

  11. Analysis of Federal incentives used to stimulate energy production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1978-06-01

    Federal incentives for the development of solar energy are examined. A Federal incentive is any action that can be taken by the government to expand residential and commercial use of solar energy. The development of solar energy policy could be enhanced by identification, quantification, and analysis of Federal incentives that have been used to simulate the development of other forms of energy. The text of this report identifies, quantifies, and analyzes such incentives and relates them to current thought about solar energy. Four viewpoints used in this discussion come from 4 types of analysis: economic, political, organizational, and legal. The next chapter identifies actions (primarily domestic) that the Federal government has taken concerning energy. This analysis uses the typology of actions described in the previous chapter to identify actions, and the four viewpoints described there to determine whether an action concerns energy. Once identified, the actions are described and then quantified by an estimate of the 1976 cost of accomplishing them. Then incentives, investments, liabilities, regulations, and other factors are analyzed in detail for nuclear energy, hydroelectric power, coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Incentives of all energy sources are then discussed with respect to solar energy policy. (MCW)

  12. Analysis of the results of Federal incentives used to stimulate energy production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cone, B.W.; Emery, J.C.; Fassbender, A.G.

    1980-06-01

    The research program analyzed the Federal incentives used to stimulate nuclear, hydro, coal, gas, oil, and electricity production in order to supply what was learned to the selection of an incentives strategy to induce new energy production from renewable resources. Following the introductory chapter, Chapter 2 examines the problem of estimating effects from a theoretical perspective. Methods of quantifying and identifying the many interactive effects of government actions are discussed. Chapter 3 presents a generic analysis of the result of Federal incentives. Chapters 4 through 9 deal with incentives to energy forms - nuclear, hydro, coal, oil, gas, and electricity. Chapter 10 summarizes the estimated results of the incentives, which are presented in terms of their quantity and price impacts. The incentive costs per million Btu of induced energy production is also discussed. Chapter 11 discusses the parity issue, that is an equivalence between Federal incentives to renewable resources and to traditional energy resources. Any analysis of incentives for solar needs will profit from an analysis of the costs of solar incentives per million Btu compared with those for traditional energy forms. Chapter 12 concludes the analysis, discussing the history of traditional energy incentives as a guide to solar-energy incentives. 216 references, 38 figures, 91 tables.

  13. Risk management versus incentives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aven, E.; Lovas, K.; Osmundsen, P.

    2006-01-01

    Portfolio theory indicates that risk management should take place at the group level. Hedging at the project level or in the individual business areas may lead to suboptimal results. However, the efficiency of a profit centre depends on its management's being able to influence factors that are crucial to the unit's financial results. Price hedging could be one such factor. In the wider perspective, this constitutes part of the balancing between centralisation and decentralisation. This article covers important elements of risk management and incentive design. It goes on to discuss the balancing of overall risk management at the group level and incentive design in profit centres and corporate units. Throughout the article, the oil industry serves as a case. (author)

  14. Social and cultural drivers of incentive effectiveness in infrastructure projects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rose, T.M.; Volker, L.

    2013-01-01

    Formal incentives systems aim to encourage improved performance by offering a reward for the achievement of project-specific goals. Despite argued benefits of incentive systems on project delivery outcomes, there remains debate over how incentive systems can be designed to encourage the formation of

  15. Intermediaries in Trust: Indirect Reciprocity, Incentives, and Norms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giangiacomo Bravo

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Any trust situation involves a certain amount of risk for trustors that trustees could abuse. In some cases, intermediaries exist who play a crucial role in the exchange by providing reputational information. To examine under what conditions intermediary opinion could have a positive impact on cooperation, we designed two experiments based on a modified version of the investment game where intermediaries rated the behaviour of trustees under various incentive schemes and different role structures. We found that intermediaries can increase trust if there is room for indirect reciprocity between the involved parties. We also found that the effect of monetary incentives and social norms cannot be clearly separable in these situations. If properly designed, monetary incentives for intermediaries can have a positive effect. On the one hand, when intermediary rewards are aligned with the trustor’s interest, investments and returns tend to increase. On the other hand, fixed monetary incentives perform less than any other incentive schemes and endogenous social norms in ensuring trust and fairness. These findings should make us reconsider the mantra of incentivization of social and public conventional policy.

  16. Incentives for Energy Saving and Renewable Energy in the Netherlands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cace, J.

    2008-01-01

    Energy saving and renewable energy are again on the Dutch political agenda. Based on the governmental energy report, market parties have developed the action plan for the realisation of national renewable energy targets. The evaluation of recently closed subsidy programmes and development of new incentives take place in close cooperation among governmental organisations and market parties. For the financing of the action plan the government has reserved the budget up to 2011. The government believes that the implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy will strengthen the national economy and that the benefits of these measures will exceed the costs. The main obstacles related to the implementation of a large scale wind power generation are: spatial integration, permits and connection to the grid. Also, the large scale biomass plants meet problems because of the lack of clear environmental and sustainability criteria. The Dutch targets for 2020 are: increasing of energy efficiency with 20%, 20% renewable energy and decreasing of CO 2 -emissions with 30%.(author)

  17. Surprising Incentive: An Instrument for Promoting Safety Performance of Construction Employees

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fakhradin Ghasemi

    2015-09-01

    Conclusion: The results of this study proved that the surprising incentive would improve the employees' safety performance just in the short term because the surprising value of the incentives dwindle over time. For this reason and to maintain the surprising value of the incentive system, the amount and types of incentives need to be evaluated and modified annually or biannually.

  18. Salary administration as part of employee incentive system at industrial enterprises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sagandykov Michail

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The article analyses the financial staff incentives at industrial enterprises. The paper concludes that the incentive system should be developed taking into account the developed staff motivation. The only efficient target of influence is the existing staff motivation components. A 3-element employee incentive framework for industrial enterprises is suggested. The article presents the critical analysis of the existing payroll systems of several industrial enterprises, elicits the common flaws of the incentive payments, and develops requirements for such systems. The paper also provides an industrial enterprise needs matrix and an incentive payment types matrix required to build up a rational monetary staff incentive system. These matrices can be adapted for any industrial enterprise with regard to its long-term objectives.

  19. 48 CFR 216.405-1 - Cost-plus-incentive-fee contracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cost-plus-incentive-fee... Contracts 216.405-1 Cost-plus-incentive-fee contracts. See PGI 216.405-1 for guidance on the use of cost-plus-incentive-fee contracts. [71 FR 39007, July 11, 2006] ...

  20. Practical implications of incentive systems are utilized by dental franchises.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yavner, S B

    1989-01-01

    The success of any dental practice depends, among other factors, on the critical role of staff employees. In order to encourage desired staff behaviors, incentive systems can be designed for employee dentists, assistants/hygienists and managers. A survey of dental franchises was conducted in 1987 for the purpose of examining their incentive control systems. The specific incentives employed by these dental franchises for their employees are analyzed. The implications of these incentive systems used by dental franchise organizations for all dental practices are then discussed.

  1. Social Norms and Financial Incentives to Promote Employees’ Healthy Food Choices: A Randomized Controlled Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thorndike, Anne N.; Riis, Jason; Levy, Douglas E.

    2016-01-01

    Population-level strategies to improve healthy food choices are needed for obesity prevention. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of 2,672 employees at Massachusetts General Hospital who were regular customers of the hospital cafeteria with all items labeled green (healthy), yellow (less healthy), or red (unhealthy) to determine if social norm (peer-comparison) feedback with or without financial incentives increased employees’ healthy food choices. Participants were randomized in 2012 to three arms: 1) monthly letter with social norm feedback about healthy food purchases, comparing employee to “all” and to “healthiest” customers (feedback-only); 2) monthly letter with social norm feedback plus small financial incentive for increasing green purchases (feedback-incentive); or 3) no contact (control). The main outcome was change in proportion of green-labeled purchases at end of 3-month intervention. Post-hoc analyses examined linear trends. At baseline, the proportion of green-labeled purchases (50%) did not differ between arms. At end of the 3-month intervention, the percentage increase in green-labeled purchases was larger in the feedback-incentive arm compared to control (2.2% vs. 0.1%, P=0.03), but the two intervention arms were not different. The rate of increase in green-labeled purchases was higher in both feedback-only (P=0.04) and feedback-incentive arms (P=0.004) compared to control. At end of a 3-month wash-out, there were no differences between control and intervention arms. Social norms plus small financial incentives increased employees’ healthy food choices over the short-term. Future research will be needed to assess the impact of this relatively low-cost intervention on employees’ food choices and weight over the long-term. Trial Registration: Clinical Trials.gov NCT01604499 PMID:26827617

  2. 78 FR 33799 - National Poultry Improvement Plan; General Conference Committee Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-05

    ... Washington, DC, this 3rd day of June 2013. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0032] National Poultry Improvement Plan; General Conference Committee Meeting AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health...

  3. 76 FR 31359 - Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on a General Management Plan...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-31

    ... management activities, visitor activities, and developments that would be appropriate in the park in the future. In addition, the plan will generally address visitor-use related issues and provide management... Environmental Impact Statement on a General Management Plan Amendment/Wilderness Study for Lake Clark National...

  4. Incentive payments are not related to expected health gain in the pay for performance scheme for UK primary care: cross-sectional analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fleetcroft Robert

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The General Medical Services primary care contract for the United Kingdom financially rewards performance in 19 clinical areas, through the Quality and Outcomes Framework. Little is known about how best to determine the size of financial incentives in pay for performance schemes. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that performance indicators with larger population health benefits receive larger financial incentives. Methods We performed cross sectional analyses to quantify associations between the size of financial incentives and expected health gain in the 2004 and 2006 versions of the Quality and Outcomes Framework. We used non-parametric two-sided Spearman rank correlation tests. Health gain was measured in expected lives saved in one year and in quality adjusted life years. For each quality indicator in an average sized general practice we tested for associations first, between the marginal increase in payment and the health gain resulting from a one percent point improvement in performance and second, between total payment and the health gain at the performance threshold for maximum payment. Results Evidence for lives saved or quality adjusted life years gained was found for 28 indicators accounting for 41% of the total incentive payments. No statistically significant associations were found between the expected health gain and incentive gained from a marginal 1% increase in performance in either the 2004 or 2006 version of the Quality and Outcomes Framework. In addition no associations were found between the size of financial payment for achievement of an indicator and the expected health gain at the performance threshold for maximum payment measured in lives saved or quality adjusted life years. Conclusions In this subgroup of indicators the financial incentives were not aligned to maximise health gain. This disconnection between incentive and expected health gain risks supporting clinical activities that are only

  5. Financial incentives for exercise adherence in adults: systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Marc S; Goodman, Jack M; Alter, David A; John, Leslie K; Oh, Paul I; Pakosh, Maureen T; Faulkner, Guy E

    2013-11-01

    Less than 5% of U.S. adults accumulate the required dose of exercise to maintain health. Behavioral economics has stimulated renewed interest in economic-based, population-level health interventions to address this issue. Despite widespread implementation of financial incentive-based public health and workplace wellness policies, the effects of financial incentives on exercise initiation and maintenance in adults remain unclear. A systematic search of 15 electronic databases for RCTs reporting the impact of financial incentives on exercise-related behaviors and outcomes was conducted in June 2012. A meta-analysis of exercise session attendance among included studies was conducted in April 2013. A qualitative analysis was conducted in February 2013 and structured along eight features of financial incentive design. Eleven studies were included (N=1453; ages 18-85 years and 50% female). Pooled results favored the incentive condition (z=3.81, p1 year), and two studies found exercise adherence persisted after the incentive was withdrawn. Promising incentive design feature attributes were noted. Assured, or "sure thing," incentives and objective behavioral assessment in particular appear to moderate incentive effectiveness. Previously sedentary adults responded favorably to incentives 100% of the time (n=4). The effect estimate from the meta-analysis suggests that financial incentives increase exercise session attendance for interventions up to 6 months in duration. Similarly, a simple count of positive (n=8) and null (n=3) effect studies suggests that financial incentives can increase exercise adherence in adults in the short term (<6 months). © 2013 American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

  6. Evolution and early evidence of the impact of consumer-driven health plans: from e-commerce venture to health savings accounts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parente, Stephen T; Feldman, Roger

    2008-08-01

    Using results from peer-reviewed empirical analyses we describe the development and impact of the consumer-driven health plan market over the last 5 years. The results of these analyses show that consumers are responding to the financial incentives of these new health insurance benefits. Although the results may not always be what the consumer-driven health plan developers intended, there is clear evidence of 'consumerism', where individuals act in a way that generally increases their access to healthcare or investments, if the opportunity is present. Just as Medicare Part D enrollment demonstrated consumers could identify differences in prescription drug plans and make rational choices, so too are prospective patients able to function as consumers in the medical marketplace when give the opportunity.

  7. 48 CFR 48.105 - Relationship to other incentives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... incentives. 48.105 Section 48.105 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION CONTRACT MANAGEMENT VALUE ENGINEERING Policies and Procedures 48.105 Relationship to other incentives... should not be rewarded both as value engineering shares and under performance, design-to-cost, or similar...

  8. 48 CFR 1316.405 - Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts. 1316.405 Section 1316.405 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES TYPES OF CONTRACTS Incentive Contracts 1316.405 Cost-reimbursement...

  9. 48 CFR 916.405 - Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts. 916.405 Section 916.405 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES TYPES OF CONTRACTS Incentive Contracts 916.405 Cost-reimbursement...

  10. 48 CFR 16.405 - Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts. 16.405 Section 16.405 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION...-reimbursement incentive contracts. See 16.301 for requirements applicable to all cost-reimbursement contracts...

  11. Do Firms Replenish Executives’ Incentives After Equity Sales?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ladika, T.

    2013-01-01

    After selling firm equity, executives' incentives to maximize shareholder value may decrease. How do boards respond? Theory shows boards can restore executives' incentives by shifting subsequent pay from cash toward equity. Unobservable firm-level changes that cause executives to sell equity and

  12. Safety, economic incentives and insurance in the Norwegian petroleum industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osmundsen, Petter; Aven, Terje; Erik Vinnem, Jan

    2008-01-01

    There is an increased use of key performance indicators and incentive schemes in the petroleum industry. Applying modern incentive theory, we explore what implications this management trend has for injury and major accident prevention efforts and safety. Can economic incentives be designed for accident prevention activities? In cases where this is not possible, what are the challenges for the safety efforts? In particular, how are safety efforts affected by enhanced economic incentives for other performance dimensions like production and rate of return? Can safety be neglected? What remedies are available?

  13. Public acceptability of financial incentives for smoking cessation in pregnancy and breast feeding: a survey of the British public

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoddinott, Pat; Morgan, Heather; MacLennan, Graeme; Sewel, Kate; Thomson, Gill; Bauld, Linda; Yi, Deokhee; Ludbrook, Anne; Campbell, Marion K

    2014-01-01

    Objective To survey public attitudes about incentives for smoking cessation in pregnancy and for breast feeding to inform trial design. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting and participants British general public. Methods Seven promising incentive strategies had been identified from evidence syntheses and qualitative interview data from service users and providers. These were shopping vouchers for: (1) validated smoking cessation in pregnancy and (2) after birth; (3) for a smoke-free home; (4) for proven breast feeding; (5) a free breast pump; (6) payments to health services for reaching smoking cessation in pregnancy targets and (7) breastfeeding targets. Ipsos MORI used area quota sampling and home-administered computer-assisted questionnaires, with randomised question order to assess agreement with different incentives (measured on a five-point scale). Demographic data and target behaviour experience were recorded. Analysis used multivariable ordered logit models. Results Agreement with incentives was mixed (ranging from 34% to 46%) among a representative sample of 1144 British adults. Mean agreement score was highest for a free breast pump, and lowest for incentives for smoking abstinence after birth. More women disagreed with shopping vouchers than men. Those with lower levels of education disagreed more with smoking cessation incentives and a breast pump. Those aged 44 or under agreed more with all incentive strategies compared with those aged 65 and over, particularly provider targets for smoking cessation. Non-white ethnic groups agreed particularly with breastfeeding incentives. Current smokers with previous stop attempts and respondents who had breast fed children agreed with providing vouchers for the respective behaviours. Up to £40/month vouchers for behaviour change were acceptable (>85%). Conclusions Women and the less educated were more likely to disagree, but men and women of childbearing age to agree, with incentives designed for their benefit

  14. Public acceptability of financial incentives for smoking cessation in pregnancy and breast feeding: a survey of the British public.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoddinott, Pat; Morgan, Heather; MacLennan, Graeme; Sewel, Kate; Thomson, Gill; Bauld, Linda; Yi, Deokhee; Ludbrook, Anne; Campbell, Marion K

    2014-07-18

    To survey public attitudes about incentives for smoking cessation in pregnancy and for breast feeding to inform trial design. Cross-sectional survey. British general public. Seven promising incentive strategies had been identified from evidence syntheses and qualitative interview data from service users and providers. These were shopping vouchers for: (1) validated smoking cessation in pregnancy and (2) after birth; (3) for a smoke-free home; (4) for proven breast feeding; (5) a free breast pump; (6) payments to health services for reaching smoking cessation in pregnancy targets and (7) breastfeeding targets. Ipsos MORI used area quota sampling and home-administered computer-assisted questionnaires, with randomised question order to assess agreement with different incentives (measured on a five-point scale). Demographic data and target behaviour experience were recorded. Analysis used multivariable ordered logit models. Agreement with incentives was mixed (ranging from 34% to 46%) among a representative sample of 1144 British adults. Mean agreement score was highest for a free breast pump, and lowest for incentives for smoking abstinence after birth. More women disagreed with shopping vouchers than men. Those with lower levels of education disagreed more with smoking cessation incentives and a breast pump. Those aged 44 or under agreed more with all incentive strategies compared with those aged 65 and over, particularly provider targets for smoking cessation. Non-white ethnic groups agreed particularly with breastfeeding incentives. Current smokers with previous stop attempts and respondents who had breast fed children agreed with providing vouchers for the respective behaviours. Up to £40/month vouchers for behaviour change were acceptable (>85%). Women and the less educated were more likely to disagree, but men and women of childbearing age to agree, with incentives designed for their benefit. Trials evaluating reach, impact on health inequalities and ethnic

  15. El Plan General de Amsterdam. A.U.P (I

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helma Hellinga

    1997-07-01

    Full Text Available El siguiente texto fue publicado en el volumen Het Nieuwe Bouwen, Amsterdam 1920-1960, Stedelijk Museum-Delft University Press, 1983, pp. 52-111 con el título original "Het Algemeen Uitbreidinsplan van Amsterdam" y es una exposición ampliamente documentada de los antecedentes inmediatos y el desarrollo del Plan General de 1935. La traducción que aquí se ofrece de este largo artículo es solamente parcial, incluyendo exclusivamente lo que corresponde hasta la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Por consiguiente, no se recoge su parte final relativa a la realización efectiva del Plan en los años de posguerra y en las décadas siguientes. Aparte de esta exclusión principal, se han eliminado algunos pasajes intermedios de cierta redundancia a fin de adaptarlo a un formato más reducido.

  16. A CRITICAL NEEDS PLAN FOR GENERAL MOTORS: A CULTURAL PLURALISM APPROACH

    OpenAIRE

    Gregory W. Goussak; Jon K. Webber; Elliot M. Ser

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to create a critical needs plan for General Motors Corporation in the 21st century. General Motors (GM), once the most dominant manufacturer in the automotive industry, finds itself in financial crisis with a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and a necessary government infusion of capital. The foundation of this paper applies the Supportive Model as an effective strategy for creating a new corporate culture and focusing GM as a competitive manufacturer in the global automotiv...

  17. Tax Incentives for Retirement Savings: Macro and Welfare Effects in an OLG-GE Model with Liquidity Constraints and Heterogeneous Consumers.

    OpenAIRE

    Rodrigo Cifuentes

    2003-01-01

    This paper uses an Overlapping Generations-General Equilibrium model to study the impact of the introduction of tax incentives to voluntary savings for retirement in Chile. The paper analyzes the macro impact of the reform, driven mainly by its effect on savings and capital accumulation, and its effect on welfare. A setting with heterogeneous consumers is considered where agents differ in their income levels, and therefore on the relevance that tax-incentives have for them. Both the transitio...

  18. Managerial strategies to make incentives meaningful and motivating.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korlén, Sara; Essén, Anna; Lindgren, Peter; Amer-Wahlin, Isis; von Thiele Schwarz, Ulrica

    2017-04-10

    Purpose Policy makers are applying market-inspired competition and financial incentives to drive efficiency in healthcare. However, a lack of knowledge exists about the process whereby incentives are filtered through organizations to influence staff motivation, and the key role of managers is often overlooked. The purpose of this paper is to explore the strategies managers use as intermediaries between financial incentives and the individual motivation of staff. The authors use empirical data from a local case in Swedish specialized care. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted an exploratory qualitative case study of a patient-choice reform, including financial incentives, in specialized orthopedics in Sweden. In total, 17 interviews were conducted with professionals in managerial positions, representing six healthcare providers. A hypo-deductive, thematic approach was used to analyze the data. Findings The results show that managers applied alignment strategies to make the incentive model motivating for staff. The managers' strategies are characterized by attempts to align external rewards with professional values based on their contextual and practical knowledge. Managers occasionally overruled the financial logic of the model to safeguard patient needs and expressed an interest in having a closer dialogue with policy makers about improvements. Originality/value Externally imposed incentives do not automatically motivate healthcare staff. Managers in healthcare play key roles as intermediaries by aligning external rewards with professional values. Managers' multiple perspectives on healthcare practices and professional culture can also be utilized to improve policy and as a source of knowledge in partnership with policy makers.

  19. The impact of state financial incentives on market deployment of solar technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarzynski, Andrea; Larrieu, Jeremy; Shrimali, Gireesh

    2012-01-01

    Many states have adopted financial incentives to encourage market deployment of solar energy technology. This paper employs a cross-sectional time-series approach to evaluate the extent to which state solar financial incentives systematically encouraged market deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology from 1997 to 2009. The results demonstrate that states offering cash incentives such as rebates and grants experienced more extensive and rapid deployment of grid-tied PV technology than states without cash incentives over the study period. The analysis also finds that the presence of state renewable energy portfolio standards and specific solar carve-out provisions within them heavily influenced the market deployment of grid-tied solar PV technology through 2009. - Highlights: ► We evaluate the impact of state financial incentives on solar technology adoption. ► Cash incentives and renewable portfolio standards strongly influenced deployment. ► The impact of cash incentives and RPS grew significantly over time. ► Tax incentives had little systematic effect on solar market deployment.

  20. Incentive Use in Research: Protecting Vulnerable Populations from Exploitation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haruna Muwonge

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Global investment in Medical Research and Development has markedly increased in the last few decades. However, due to the decreasing public altruism, researchers have come under increased pressures from the funding bodies to produce results. Out of desperation, some researchers have resorted to using incentives as a means of sourcing for volunteers. Consequently, the research burden has disproportionately been shared among the most vulnerable populations in the society. Incentives especially monetary ones present an ethical dilemma because of the uncertainties’ surrounding the morality, amount and type of payment, vulnerability of volunteers and possible threats to voluntary participation. Several studies done on the use of incentives in medical research have noted that financial motivation was the number one reason for subjects to volunteer in Medical research. Mutual benefit and freedom of choice by participants were given as reasons to support their use. However, scientists who are against the use of incentives believe that they are coercive or undue inducements, and may influence a subjects’ ability to give an informed consent. Guidelines exist that protect vulnerable groups from exploitation, although none sheds light into the use of incentives. Nonetheless, in the face of the waning public altruism, the benefits of using incentives far outweigh the dangers, although researchers should avoid situations where their use may become problematic. As a mode of payment to research subjects, researchers should adopt a combination of the Dickerts’ Wage and re-imbursement models as guides in quantifying the incentive. [Archives Medical Review Journal 2013; 22(3.000: 408-417

  1. An incentive-based architecture for social recommendations

    KAUST Repository

    Bhattacharjee, Rajat; Goel, Ashish; Kollias, Konstantinos

    2009-01-01

    We present an incentive-based architecture for providing recommendations in a social network. We maintain a distinct reputation system for each individual and we rely on users to identify appropriate correlations and rate the items using a system-provided recommendation language. The key idea is to design an incentive structure and a ranking system such that any inaccuracy in the recommendations implies the existence of a profitable arbitrage opportunity, hence making the system resistant to malicious spam and presentation bias. We also show that, under mild assumptions, our architecture provides users with incentive to minimize the Kullback-Leibler divergence between the ratings and the actual item qualities, quickly driving the system to an equilibrium state with accurate recommendations. Copyright 2009 ACM.

  2. Economic barriers and incentives for biodiversity restoration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia Frapolli, Eduardo; Lindigcisneros, Roberto

    2011-01-01

    Costs related with restoration efforts, as well as the economic incentives, are fundamental issues that have not been fully considered from a formal standpoint. Through the analysis of restoration trials in collaboration with an indigenous community in western Mexico, we analyzed economic issues related with the restoration trials themselves, and with the economic context that gives incentives for ecological restoration. We reach to the conclusion that the cost-benefit relationship of the restoration process by itself can be straightforward calculated in some cases, calculating economic benefits accrued from the diversity restored to ecosystem is more difficult. In terms of the incentives for biodiversity restoration, we concluded that in many cases, economic variables out of the control of those involved in restoration are determinant.

  3. Incentive Design and Mis-Allocated Effort

    OpenAIRE

    Schnedler, Wendelin

    2013-01-01

    Incentives often distort behavior: they induce agents to exert effort but this effort is not employed optimally. This paper proposes a theory of incentive design allowing for such distorted behavior. At the heart of the theory is a trade-off between getting the agent to exert effort and ensuring that this effort is used well. The theory covers various moral-hazard models, ranging from traditional single-task to multi-task models. It also provides -for the first time- a formalization and proof...

  4. 48 CFR 1816.405 - Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts. 1816.405 Section 1816.405 Federal Acquisition Regulations System NATIONAL AERONAUTICS... 1816.405 Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts. [62 FR 3478, Jan. 23, 1997. Redesignated at 62 FR...

  5. Grid Computing BOINC Redesign Mindmap with incentive system (gamification)

    OpenAIRE

    Kitchen, Kris

    2016-01-01

    Grid Computing BOINC Redesign Mindmap with incentive system (gamification) this is a PDF viewable of https://figshare.com/articles/Grid_Computing_BOINC_Redesign_Mindmap_with_incentive_system_gamification_/1265350

  6. Effects of Decreasing External Incentives on Higher Education--Reflections from the Case of Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yung-feng

    2016-01-01

    Widened participation in post-compulsory and higher education is generally regarded as a result of the growing recognition of the internal and external benefits of higher education, which are categorised either as a private or public good. However, a question can be raised: once these incentives become less promising or less evident, will a strong…

  7. Generic host state incentive report. Draft

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1985-01-01

    Even the most carefully designed and operated low-level radioactive waste management facility will present potential risks and costs to nearby residents. Individuals who live near these facilities may receive some benefits, but they also bear the brunt of any adverse impacts. It is with this in mind that various siting techniques have been developed. Before any ''extra'' compensation or incentive can be discussed, however, it must first be clearly demonstrated that these facilities protect public health and the environment. This report addresses five distinct areas as follows: mitigation measure to prevent or reduce the impact of the facility; incentives and compensation techniques that might make a facility more acceptable; the use of agreement building in order to develop an arrangement between the host community and a facility proponent; the importance of economics resulting from a typical regional low-level radioactive waste facility; and the role of state government in promoting and legitimizing the use of incentives. 6 tabs

  8. Incentive relativity in middle aged rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Justel, N; Mustaca, A; Boccia, M; Ruetti, E

    2014-01-24

    Response to a reinforcer is affected by prior experience with different reward values of that reward, a phenomenon known as incentive relativity. Two different procedures to study this phenomenon are the incentive downshift (ID) and the consummatory anticipatory negative contrast (cANC), the former is an emotional-cognitive protocol and the latter cognitive one. Aged rodents, as also well described in aged humans, exhibit alterations in cognitive functions. The main goal of this work was to evaluate the effect of age in the incentive' assessment using these two procedures. The results indicated that aged rats had an adequate assessment of the rewards but their performance is not completely comparable to that of young subjects. They recover faster from the ID and they had a cognitive impairment in the cANC. The results are discussed in relation to age-related changes in memory and emotion. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Hospital responses to pay-for-performance incentives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiter, Kristin L; Nahra, Tammie A; Alexander, Jeffrey A; Wheeler, John R C

    2006-05-01

    Not-for-profit hospitals are complex organizations and, therefore, may face unique challenges in responding to financial incentives for quality. In this research, we explore the types of behavioural changes made by not-for-profit Michigan hospitals in response to a pay-for-performance system for quality. We also identify factors that motivate or facilitate changes in effort. We apply a conceptual framework based on agency theory to motivate our research questions. Using data derived from structured interviews and surveys administered to 86 hospitals participating in a pay-for-performance system, we compare hospitals reporting and not reporting behavioural changes. Separate analyses are performed for hospitals reporting structure-related changes and hospitals reporting process-related changes. Our findings confirm that hospitals respond to incentive payments; however, our findings also reveal that hospital responses are not universal. Rather, involvement by boards of trustees, willingness to exert leverage with physicians, and financial and competitive motivations are all associated with hospitals' behavioural responses to incentives. Results of this research will help inform payers and hospital managers considering the use of incentives about the nature of hospitals' responses.

  10. 42 CFR 488.303 - State plan requirement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... recognition, incentive payments, or both, nursing facilities that provide the highest quality care to Medicaid... Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... against a non-State operated NF: (1) Directed plan of correction. (2) Directed in-service training. (3...

  11. Issues in the Design of Saving and Investment Incentives

    OpenAIRE

    David F. Bradford

    1981-01-01

    This paper examines the characteristics of and interactions among measures to effect saving and investment incentives ("S-I incentives")in the context of an income tax system that is inadequately indexed for inflation. Examples are proposals for more rapid depreciation of buildings and equipment and proposals to exempt larger amounts of interest income. SI incentives are classified into "consumption tax" and "direct grant" types, and it is shown that these differ in their influence on portfol...

  12. Patent quality and incentives at the patent office

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schuett, F.

    2013-01-01

    Patent examination is a problem of moral hazard followed by adverse selection: examiners must have incentives to exert effort, but also to truthfully reveal the evidence they find. I develop a theoretical model to study the design of incentives for examiners. The model can explain the puzzling

  13. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TAX INCENTIVES ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florian Marcel NUTǍ

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The economic integration trend has freed the capital movement and many new locations became available for investment. That is why the policy makers had to think for new and more efficient ways to lure the capital owners. One of the most used and dynamic method is the fiscal policy. The fiscal incentives were in many cases the main reason for choosing a country and stay away from another. The main reason for this situation is that the fiscal policy is one of the most flexible public tools to manipulate the market and the decisions on it. Public administrations can encourage or block different kinds of investment decisions according to its policy and long term plans.

  14. 76 FR 30539 - Historic Preservation Certifications for Federal Income Tax Incentives

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-26

    ... Preservation Certifications for Federal Income Tax Incentives AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION... historic structures'' or ``certified rehabilitations'' for Federal income tax incentives. (3) This rule... changes proposed in the rule are purely technical. Moreover, the tax incentives program involves purely...

  15. Hermann agreement updates IRS guidelines for incentives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broccolo, B M; Peregrine, M W

    1995-01-01

    The October 1994 agreement between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Hermann Hospital of Houston, Texas, elucidates current IRS policy on physician recruitment incentives. The IRS distinguishes between the recruiting and the retention of physicians and perimts incentives beyond reasonable compensation in the former but not the latter circumstance. This new agreement, while not legally precedential, nevertheless provides guidance for healthcare organizations seeking safe harbor protection.

  16. Incentive Mechanism Model Design for Sharing of Information Resources in Rural Areas

    OpenAIRE

    Gao, Xirong; Shan, Lingling

    2013-01-01

    In order to solve the issues concerning the cross-unit sharing of information resources in rural areas, we analyze the incentive problem of the sharing of information resources in rural areas using the incentive theory method; establish corresponding incentive mechanism model (It is divided into positive incentive model and negative incentive model, and only when the two models guarantee each other and are used at the same time can they be effective). Based on this, we put forward the institu...

  17. Financial Analysis of Incentive Mechanisms to Promote Energy Efficiency: Case Study of a Prototypical Southwest Utility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cappers, Peter; Goldman, Charles; Chait, Michele; Edgar, George; Schlegel, Jeff; Shirley, Wayne

    2009-03-04

    Many state regulatory commissions and policymakers want utilities to aggressively pursue energy efficiency as a strategy to mitigate demand and energy growth, diversify the resource mix, and provide an alternative to building new, costly generation. However, as the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency (NAPEE 2007) points out, many utilities continue to shy away from aggressively expanding their energy efficiency efforts when their shareholder's fundamental financial interests are placed at risk by doing so. Thus, there is increased interest in developing effective ratemaking and policy approaches that address utility disincentives to pursue energy efficiency or lack of incentives for more aggressive energy efficiency efforts. New regulatory initiatives to promote increased utility energy efficiency efforts also affect the interests of consumers. Ratepayers and their advocates are concerned with issues of fairness, impacts on rates, and total consumer costs. From the perspective of energy efficiency advocates, the quid pro quo for utility shareholder incentives is the obligation to acquire all, or nearly all, achievable cost-effective energy efficiency. A key issue for state regulators and policymakers is how to maximize the cost-effective energy efficiency savings attained while achieving an equitable sharing of benefits, costs and risks among the various stakeholders. In this study, we modeled a prototypical vertically-integrated electric investor-owned utility in the southwestern US that is considering implementing several energy efficiency portfolios. We analyze the impact of these energy efficiency portfolios on utility shareholders and ratepayers as well as the incremental effect on each party when lost fixed cost recovery and/or utility shareholder incentive mechanisms are implemented. A primary goal of our quantitative modeling is to provide regulators and policymakers with an analytic framework and tools that assess the financial impacts of

  18. On the Effectiveness of Incentive Pay

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friis, Ivar; Hansen, Allan; Vámosi, Tamás S.

    2015-01-01

    research addressing the need to better understand how interdependencies arise among management control system elements and how they affect organisational effectiveness. Based on an in-depth case study on the implementation of a new incentive system in a manufacturing firm, we seek to provide more research...... and insight into how incentive pay features in complementary and substitutional relationships in an individual organisational setting. Greater insight can help illustrate how complementary and substitutional relationships unfold in even more complex ways than current research indicates, as well as how...

  19. Evaluating Safeguards in a Conservation Incentive Program: Participation, Consent, and Benefit Sharing in Indigenous Communities of the Ecuadorian Amazon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Torsten Krause

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Critics suggest that Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+ may not generate improvements in well-being for participating stakeholders, and may in fact undermine indigenous rights. To ensure positive social benefits from REDD+ projects, the United Nations REDD Programme has proposed core safeguards, including local stakeholder participation; free, prior, and informed consent; and equitable distribution of benefits. However, there is little experience to date in implementing and evaluating these safeguards. We apply these core safeguards as a framework to study how people in indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon perceive and benefit from Programa Socio Bosque, a conservation incentive program in Ecuador's national REDD+ Programme portfolio. We interviewed 101 individuals in five communities that had participated in the Programa Socio Bosque for at least 18 months. Close to 80% of respondents reported that the decision to join Socio Bosque was made democratically, that they were familiar with the conservation goals of Socio Bosque, and that they were aware which area their community had selected for conservation. However, only 17% were familiar with the overall terms of the conservation agreement, implying that they were either not fully informed of or did not fully understand what they were consenting to in joining the program. Although the terms of the program require a community investment plan to be democratically developed by community members, less than half of respondents were aware of the existence of the investment plan, and fewer than 20% had participated in its development. The majority of respondents (61% reported that they did not know the amount of incentives that their community currently receives, and only 44% stated that incentives were managed democratically in communal assemblies. Moreover, although a slight majority (53% said they had noticed benefits to the community from participating in

  20. Rewards and Performance Incentives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zigon, Jack

    1994-01-01

    Discusses rewards and performance incentives for employees, including types of rewards; how rewards help in managing; dysfunctional awards; selecting the right reward; how to find rewards that fit; and delivering rewards effectively. Examples are included. (three references) (LRW)

  1. Designing PV Incentive Programs to Promote System Performance: AReview of Current Practice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barbose, Galen; Wiser, Ryan; Bolinger, Mark

    2006-11-12

    Some stakeholders continue to voice concerns about the performance of customer-sited photovoltaic (PV) systems, particularly because these systems typically receive financial support through ratepayer- or publicly-funded programs. Although much remains to be understood about the extent and specific causes of poor PV system performance, several studies of the larger programs and markets have shed some light on the issue. An evaluation of the California Energy Commission (CEC)'s Emerging Renewables Program, for example, found that 7% of systems, in a sample of 95, had lower-than-expected power output due to shading or soiling (KEMA 2005). About 3% of a larger sample of 140 systems were not operating at all or were operating well below expected output, due to failed equipment, faulty installation workmanship, and/or a lack of basic maintenance. In a recent evaluation of the other statewide PV incentive program in California, the Self-Generation Incentive Program, 9 of 52 projects sampled were found to have annual capacity factors less than 14.5%, although reasons for these low capacity factors generally were not identified (Itron 2005). Studies of PV systems in Germany and Japan, the two largest PV markets worldwide, have also revealed some performance problems associated with issues such as shading, equipment and installation defects, inverter failure, and deviations from module manufacturers' specifications (Otani et al. 2004, Jahn & Nasse 2004). Although owners of PV systems have an inherent incentive to ensure that their systems perform well, many homeowners and building operators may lack the necessary information and expertise to carry out this task effectively. Given this barrier, and the responsibility of PV incentive programs to ensure that public funds are prudently spent, these programs should (and often do) play a critical role in promoting PV system performance. Performance-based incentives (PBIs), which are based on actual energy production

  2. Value affect of construction incentive payments on pavement performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-08-01

    The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has been using monetary incentive payments : for many years to improve contractors conformance with specifications and their overall : workmanship. It was envisioned that incentive/disincentive (I/D...

  3. Incentives in Rheumatology: the Potential Contribution of Physician Responses to Financial Incentives, Public Reporting, and Treatment Guidelines to Health Care Sustainability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Mark; Milbers, Katherine; Mihic, Tamara; Anis, Aslam H

    2016-07-01

    Concerns about the sustainability of current health care expenditure are focusing attention on the cost, quality and value of health care provision. Financial incentives, for example pay-for-performance (P4P), seek to reward quality and value in health care provision. There has long been an expectation that P4P schemes are coming to rheumatology. We review the available evidence about the use of incentives in this setting and provide two emerging examples of P4P schemes which may shape the future of service provision in rheumatology. Currently, there is limited and equivocal evidence in rheumatology about the impact of incentive schemes. However, reporting variation in the quality and provision of rheumatology services has highlighted examples of inefficiencies in the delivery of care. If financial incentives can improve the delivery of timely and appropriate care for rheumatology patients, then they may have an important role to play in the sustainability of health care provision.

  4. Geopressured-geothermal energy development: government incentives and institutional structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frederick, D.O.; Prestwood, D.C.L.; Roberts, K.; Vanston, J.H. Jr.

    1979-01-01

    The following subjects are included: a geothermal resource overview, the evolution of the current Texas geopressured-geothermal institutional structure, project evaluation with uncertainty and the structure of incentives, the natural gas industry, the electric utility industry, potential governmental participants in resource development, industrial users of thermal energy, current government incentives bearing on geopressured-geothermal development, six profiles for utilization of the geopressured-geothermal resources in the mid-term, and probable impacts of new government incentives on mid-term resource utilization profiles. (MHR)

  5. Incentives for Recruiters

    Science.gov (United States)

    1992-09-01

    promotions, with prizes for the kids: anything from football ti’kets to trips to Disneyland ." [Ref. 10:p. 68] Any publisher who wants a successful...such as a trip to Disneyland . The latter focuses more on providing an 29 incentive to the carrier to get a certain number of new customers in a short

  6. What are GPs' preferences for financial and non-financial incentives in cancer screening? Evidence for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sicsic, Jonathan; Krucien, Nicolas; Franc, Carine

    2016-10-01

    General practitioners (GPs) play a key role in the delivery of preventive and screening services for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers. In practice, GPs' involvement varies considerably across types of cancer and among GPs, raising important questions about the determinants of GPs' implication in screening activities: what is the relative impact of financial and non-financial incentives? Are GPs' preferences for financial and non-financial incentives cancer-specific? Is there preference heterogeneity and how much does it differ according to the screening context? This study investigates the determinants of GPs' involvement in cancer screening activities using the discrete choice experiment (DCE) methodology. A representative sample of 402 GPs' was recruited in France between March and April 2014. Marginal rates of substitution were used to compare GPs' preferences for being involved in screening activities across three types of cancers: breast, cervical, and colorectal. Variability of preferences was investigated using Hierarchical Bayes mixed logit models. The results indicate that GPs are sensitive to both financial and non-financial incentives, such as a compensated training and systematic transmission of information about screened patients, aimed to facilitate communication between doctors and patients. There is also evidence that the level and variability of preferences differ across screening contexts, although the variations are not statistically significant on average. GPs appear to be relatively more sensitive to financial incentives for being involved in colorectal cancer screening, whereas they have higher and more heterogeneous preferences for non-financial incentives in breast and cervical cancers. Our study provides new findings for policymakers interested in prioritizing levers to increase the supply of cancer screening services in general practice. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. How Accountable Care Organizations Responded to Pediatric Incentives in the Alternative Quality Contract.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chien, Alyna T; Schiavoni, Katherine H; Sprecher, Eli; Landon, Bruce E; McNeil, Barbara J; Chernew, Michael E; Schuster, Mark A

    2016-03-01

    From 2009 to 2010, 12 accountable care organizations (ACOs) entered into the alternative quality contract (AQC), BlueCross BlueShield of Massachusetts's global payment arrangement. The AQC included 6 outpatient pediatric quality measures among 64 total measures tied to pay-for-performance bonuses and incorporated pediatric populations in their global budgets. We characterized the pediatric infrastructure of these adult-oriented ACOs and obtained leaders' perspectives on their ACOs' response to pediatric incentives. We used Massachusetts Health Quality Partners and American Hospital Association Survey data to characterize ACOs' pediatric infrastructure as extremely limited, basic, and substantial on the basis of the extent of pediatric primary care, outpatient specialist, and inpatient services. After ACOs had 16 to 43 months of experience with the AQC, we interviewed 22 leaders to gain insight into how organizations made changes to improve pediatric care quality, tried to reduce pediatric spending, and addressed care for children with special health care needs. ACOs' pediatric infrastructure ranged from extremely limited (eg, no general pediatricians in their primary care workforce) to substantial (eg, 42% of workforce was general pediatricians). Most leaders reported intensifying their pediatric quality improvement efforts and witnessing changes in quality metrics; most also investigated pediatric spending patterns but struggled to change patients' utilization patterns. All reported that the AQC did little to incentivize care for children with special health care needs and that future incentive programs should include this population. Although ACOs involved in the AQC were adult-oriented, most augmented their pediatric quality improvement and spending reduction efforts when faced with pediatric incentives. Copyright © 2016 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. The effect of financial incentives on the quality of health care provided by primary care physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Anthony; Sivey, Peter; Ait Ouakrim, Driss; Willenberg, Lisa; Naccarella, Lucio; Furler, John; Young, Doris

    2011-09-07

    The use of blended payment schemes in primary care, including the use of financial incentives to directly reward 'performance' and 'quality' is increasing in a number of countries. There are many examples in the US, and the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QoF) for general practitioners (GPs) in the UK is an example of a major system-wide reform. Despite the popularity of these schemes, there is currently little rigorous evidence of their success in improving the quality of primary health care, or of whether such an approach is cost-effective relative to other ways to improve the quality of care. The aim of this review is to examine the effect of changes in the method and level of payment on the quality of care provided by primary care physicians (PCPs) and to identify:i) the different types of financial incentives that have improved quality;ii) the characteristics of patient populations for whom quality of care has been improved by financial incentives; andiii) the characteristics of PCPs who have responded to financial incentives. We searched the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Trials Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) (The Cochrane Library), MEDLINE, HealthSTAR, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychLIT, and ECONLIT. Searches of Internet-based economics and health economics working paper collections were also conducted. Finally, studies were identified through the reference lists of retrieved articles, websites of key organisations, and from direct contact with key authors in the field. Articles were included if they were published from 2000 to August 2009. Randomised controlled trials (RCT), controlled before and after studies (CBA), and interrupted time series analyses (ITS) evaluating the impact of different financial interventions on the quality of care delivered by primary healthcare physicians (PCPs). Quality of care was defined as patient reported outcome

  9. Essays on incentives and pro-environmental behaviour

    OpenAIRE

    De Martino, Samantha

    2017-01-01

    This thesis consists of four self-contained essays at the nexus of applied microeconomics, behavioural economics, and environmental economics. In the essays of the thesis, I use field experiments and econometric tools to examine the impact of monetary and non monetary incentives for behavioural change during resource scarcity. I use methods of eliciting intrinsic motivations and then empirically test theories on the interaction of intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives. Specifically I ...

  10. Anti-double dipping rules for federal tax incentives

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ing, E.T.C. [Law Office of Edwin T.C. Ing, Washington, DC (United States)

    1997-12-31

    Political as well as technological changes are now reshaping the electric utility industry. While accommodating these changes, state legislative and regulatory agencies have the opportunity to promote public policies. In this regard, various state entities are evaluating appropriate incentives for renewable energy development so as to introduce greater competition in electric generation. For example, the California legislature is considering a supplemental production payment and the State of Iowa has instituted a low-interest loan program for wind and other alternative energy generation. By complementing the existing federal tax incentives, state incentives can spur the wind industry`s growth. If structured in the wrong way, however, state assistance programs will undercut the value of the federal tax incentives. The federal anti-double dipping rules apply to certain state programs. If a developer utilizes the wrong type of state assistance for a wind project, the anti-double dipping rules will reduce the federal tax incentives and this in turn will decrease the project`s profitability. Rather than suffer these results, very few if any developer will use the state program. Despite the time and effort a state may expend to enact a program for alternative energy development, the state assistance will be ineffectual. This paper reviews the counterproductive results which state assistance can have on a wind project because of the federal anti-double dipping rules.

  11. Internet plan and planning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kahriman Emina

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Paper discuss specific features of internet plan as well as planning as management process in general in the contemporary environment. No need to stress out that marketing plan and marketing planning is core activity in approaching to market. At the same time, there are a lot specific c request in preparing marketing plan comparing to business planning due to marketing plan is an essential part. The importance of internet plan and planning rely on specific features of the internet network but as a part of general corporate as well as marketing strategy.

  12. 48 CFR 16.403-1 - Fixed-price incentive (firm target) contracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... (firm target) contracts. 16.403-1 Section 16.403-1 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL... Fixed-price incentive (firm target) contracts. (a) Description. A fixed-price incentive (firm target... incentive (firm target) contract is appropriate when the parties can negotiate at the outset a firm target...

  13. 10 CFR 212.78 - Tertiary incentive crude oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Tertiary incentive crude oil. 212.78 Section 212.78 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OIL MANDATORY PETROLEUM PRICE REGULATIONS Producers of Crude Oil § 212.78 Tertiary incentive crude oil. Annual prepaid expenses report. By January 31 of each year after 1980, the project...

  14. 76 FR 77182 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Virginia; General Conformity...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-12

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Virginia; General Conformity Requirements for Federal... purpose of incorporating Federal general conformity requirements revisions promulgated in July of 2006 and... conformity SIP revision and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as...

  15. Conflicting Incentives Risk Analysis: A Case Study of the Normative Peer Review Process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gaute Wangen

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an approach to conduct risk assessments of complex incentive systems, using a case study of the normative Peer Review Process (PRP. This research centers on appliances and adaptations of the Conflicting Incentives Risk Analysis (CIRA. First as an approach to Root Cause Analysis of a known incident, and then for a full assessment of the incentives in the PRP together with possible risk treatments. CIRA uses an alternative notion of risk, where risk modeling is in terms of conflicting incentives between the risk owner and the stakeholders concerning the execution of actions. Compared to traditional risk assessment approaches, CIRA provides an insight into the underlying incentives behind a risk, and not just the technical vulnerability, likelihood and consequence. The main contributions of this work are an approach to obtain insight into incentives as root causes, and an approach to detecting and analyzing risks from incentives in the normative PRP. This paper also discusses risk treatments in terms of incentives to make the PRP more robust, together with a discussion of how to approach risk analysis of incentives.

  16. Performance-based financial incentives for diabetes care: an effective strategy?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latham, Lesley P; Marshall, Emily Gard

    2015-02-01

    The use of financial incentives provided to primary care physicians who achieve target management or clinical outcomes has been advocated to support the fulfillment of care recommendations for patients with diabetes. This article explores the characteristics of incentive models implemented in the context of universal healthcare systems in the United Kingdom, Australia, Taiwan and Canada; the extent to which these interventions have been successful in improving diabetes outcomes; and the key challenges and concerns around implementing incentive models. Research in the effect of incentives in the United Kingdom demonstrates some improvements in process outcomes and achievement of cholesterol, blood pressure and glycated hemoglobin (A1C) targets. Evidence of the efficacy of programs implemented outside of the United Kingdom is very limited but suggests that physicians participating in these enhanced billing incentive programs were already completing the guideline-recommended care prior to the introduction of the incentive. A shift to pay-for-performance programs may have important implications for professionalism and patient-centred care. In the absence of definitive evidence that financial incentives drive the quality of diabetes management at the level of primary care, policy makers should proceed with caution. It is important to look beyond simply modifying physicians' behaviours and address the factors and systemic barriers that make it challenging for patients and physicians to manage diabetes in partnership. Copyright © 2015 Canadian Diabetes Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Small financial incentives increase smoking cessation in homeless smokers: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Businelle, Michael S; Kendzor, Darla E; Kesh, Anshula; Cuate, Erica L; Poonawalla, Insiya B; Reitzel, Lorraine R; Okuyemi, Kolawole S; Wetter, David W

    2014-03-01

    Although over 70% of homeless individuals smoke, few studies have examined the effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions in this vulnerable population. The purpose of this pilot study was to compare the effectiveness of shelter-based smoking cessation clinic usual care (UC) to an adjunctive contingency management (CM) treatment that offered UC plus small financial incentives for smoking abstinence. Sixty-eight homeless individuals in Dallas, Texas (recruited in 2012) were assigned to UC (n=58) or UC plus financial incentives (CM; n=10) groups and were followed for 5 consecutive weeks (1 week pre-quit through 4 weeks post-quit). A generalized linear mixed model regression analysis was conducted to compare biochemically-verified abstinence rates between groups. An additional model examined the interaction between time and treatment group. The participants were primarily male (61.8%) and African American (58.8%), and were 49 years of age on average. There was a significant effect of treatment group on abstinence overall, and effects varied over time. Follow-up logistic regression analyses indicated that CM participants were significantly more likely than UC participants to be abstinent on the quit date (50% vs. 19% abstinent) and at 4 weeks post-quit (30% vs. 1.7% abstinent). Offering small financial incentives for smoking abstinence may be an effective way to facilitate smoking cessation in homeless individuals. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Analysis of federal incentives used to stimulate energy consumption

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cole, R.J.; Cone, B.W.; Emery, J.C.; Huelshoff, M.; Lenerz, D.E.; Marcus, A.; Morris, F.A.; Sheppard, W.J.; Sommers, P.

    1981-08-01

    The purpose of the analysis is to identify and quantify Federal incentives that have increased the consumption of coal, oil, natural gas, and electricity. The introductory chapter is intended as a device for presenting the policy questions about the incentives that can be used to stimulate desired levels of energy development. In the theoretical chapter federal incentives were identified for the consumption of energy as Federal government actions whose major intent or result is to stimulate energy consumption. The stimulus comes through changing values of variables included in energy demand functions, thereby inducing energy consumers to move along the function in the direction of greater quantity of energy demanded, or through inducing a shift of the function to a position where more energy will be demanded at a given price. The demand variables fall into one of six categories: price of the energy form, price of complements, price of substitutes, preferences, income, and technology. The government can provide such incentives using six different policy instruments: taxation, disbursements, requirements, nontraditional services, traditional services, and market activity. The four major energy forms were examined. Six energy-consuming sectors were examined: residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, transportation, and public. Two types of analyses of incentive actions are presented in this volume. The generic chapter focused on actions taken in 1978 across all energy forms. The subsequent chapters traced the patterns of incentive actions, energy form by energy form, from the beginning of the 20th century, to the present. The summary chapter includes the results of the previous chapters presented by energy form, incentive type, and user group. Finally, the implications of these results for solar policy are presented in the last chapter. (MCW)

  19. Identifying Computer-Generated Portraits: The Importance of Training and Incentives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mader, Brandon; Banks, Martin S; Farid, Hany

    2017-09-01

    The past two decades have seen remarkable advances in photo-realistic rendering of everything from inanimate objects to landscapes, animals, and humans. We previously showed that despite these tremendous advances, human observers remain fairly good at distinguishing computer-generated from photographic images. Building on these results, we describe a series of follow-up experiments that reveal how to improve observer performance. Of general interest to anyone performing psychophysical studies on Mechanical Turk or similar platforms, we find that observer performance can be significantly improved with the proper incentives.

  20. Using Effective Contractual Incentives to Obtain Superior Contractor Performance

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Venable, Timothy

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of this thesis is to provide the reader with the ability to analyze the effectiveness of incentives and to document innovative approaches to incentive contracting that can be applied to Cost-Plus-Award-Fee (CPAF) contracts...

  1. Motivating employees through incentives: productive or a counterproductive strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qayum, Mehran; Sawal, Shefa Haider; Khan, Hassan Mehmood

    2014-05-01

    The disparity between human resource in health and provision of health services is a growing concern worldwide. Many developing countries are facing this crisis and therefore human resource in health is considered a high priority on their agenda.This imbalance between supplies of human resource is exacerbated by migration of health workers in many countries. Understanding the motivational factor is an important aspect to retain the migrating health workforce. This paper analyses the role of financial and non financial incentives in motivating the health work force. A review of available literature was conducted to understand the role of motivational factor in retaining health workforce. A review of current literature found that an incentive plays a key role in motivating a health worker. Financial incentives are useful in improving the compliance to standard policies and procedures. Comprehensive integrated incentive system approach should be established to develop a sustainable health workforce with required skill. Likewise monetary incentives should be linked to adherence to provincial and national guidelines and procedures. Sustainability could be ensured by commitment of government, political will and involvement of key stakeholders and decision makers.

  2. Sustainable Groundwater Management Using Economic Incentive Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, T.; Shih, J.; Sanchirico, J. N.

    2006-12-01

    Although groundwater accounts for about 20% of the water consumption in the US, recent urban development, land use changes and agricultural activities in many regions (for example, Chesapeake Bay and eastern shore of Maryland) have resulted in deleterious impacts on groundwater quality. These impacts have dramatically increased potential human health and ecological system risks. One example is nitrogen pollution delivered to local waterways from septic systems via groundwater. Conventional approaches for nitrogen removal, such as pumping and treatment (nitrification-denitrification) process, tend to be expensive. On the other hand, economic incentive approaches (such as marketable permits) have the potential to increase the efficiency of environmental policy by reducing compliance costs for regulated entities and individuals and/or achieving otherwise uneconomical pollution reduction. The success of the sulfur dioxide trading market has led to the creation of trading markets for other pollutants, especially at the regional, state, and smaller (e.g. watershed) scales. In this paper, we develop an integrated framework, which includes a groundwater flow and transport model, and a conceptual management model. We apply this framework to a synthetic set up which includes one farm and two development areas in order to investigate the potential of using economic incentive approaches for groundwater quality management. The policy analysis is carried out by setting up the objective of the modeling framework to minimize the total cost of achieving groundwater quality goals at specific observation point using either a transferable development right (TDR) system between development areas and/or using a tax for fertilizer usage in the farm area. The TDR system consists of a planning agency delineating a region into restricted-use (e.g., agriculture, open space) and high intensity zones (e.g., residential, commercial uses). The agency then endows landowners in the restricted area

  3. [Financial incentives in improving healthcare quality. SESPAS Report 2012].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eirea Eiras, Carlos; Ortún Rubio, Vicente

    2012-03-01

    We address the contribution of financial incentives linked to pay for performance (P4P) to improving the quality of care. The situation of P4P is analyzed internationally and in the distinct health services in Spain. The participation of P4P in wage compensation and the effects of the current economic crisis on these incentives is discussed. We review the results of recent studies to clarify the role of these incentive models and assess possible orientations and new proposals. Copyright © 2011 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  4. Altruism, Conformism, and Incentives in the Workplace

    OpenAIRE

    Tichem, Jan

    2014-01-01

    markdownabstractPerformance pay can motivate employees, but money is not the only motivation in the workplace. Altruism, which means that someone enjoys the well-being of someone else, can also provide a powerful motivation. The first part of this thesis studies theoretically how altruism between an employee and his superior affects the optimal use of monetary incentives. Among others, the analysis reveals how altruism influences the credibility of monetary incentive schemes, and how altruist...

  5. Financial incentives enhance adaptation to a sensorimotor transformation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gajda, Kathrin; Sülzenbrück, Sandra; Heuer, Herbert

    2016-10-01

    Adaptation to sensorimotor transformations has received much attention in recent years. However, the role of motivation and its relation to the implicit and explicit processes underlying adaptation has been neglected thus far. Here, we examine the influence of extrinsic motivation on adaptation to a visuomotor rotation by way of providing financial incentives for accurate movements. Participants in the experimental group "bonus" received a defined amount of money for high end-point accuracy in a visuomotor rotation task; participants in the control group "no bonus" did not receive a financial incentive. Results showed better overall adaptation to the visuomotor transformation in participants who were extrinsically motivated. However, there was no beneficial effect of financial incentives on the implicit component, as assessed by the after-effects, and on separately assessed explicit knowledge. These findings suggest that the positive influence of financial incentives on adaptation is due to a component which cannot be measured by after-effects or by our test of explicit knowledge. A likely candidate is model-free learning based on reward-prediction errors, which could be enhanced by the financial bonuses.

  6. Review of financial incentive, low-income, elderly and multifamily residential conservation programs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berry, L.; Hubbard, M.; White, D.

    1986-09-01

    This report describes thirty-nine utility-sponsored residential conservation programs for four types of markets. The program types considered are: (1) financial incentive programs for the general residential market, (2) programs for low-income households, (3) programs for the elderly, and (4) programs for the multifamily market. Each program description contains information on incentive terms, eligibility, conservation measures, program history, design and marketing, and the utility/agency motivation for operating the program. The names, addresses and phone numbers of contact persons also are included. Two methods were used to select the programs to be described. First, nominations of successful programs of each type were solicited from experts on residential energy conservation. Second, managers of the programs on this initial list were asked to describe their programs and to suggest other successful programs that should be included in the sample. Because of the selection process used, this report covers mainly the best known and most frequently studied programs that are aimed at the four market types.

  7. Performance-based ratemaking for electric utilities: Review of plans and analysis of economic and resource-planning issues. Volume 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Comnes, G.A.; Stoft, S.; Greene, N. [Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States). Energy and Environment Div.; Hill, L.J. [Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States). Energy and Environment Div.]|[Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States). Energy Div.

    1995-11-01

    Performance-Based Ratemaking (PBR) is a form of utility regulation that strengthens the financial incentives to lower rates, lower costs, or improve nonprice performance relative traditional regulation, which the authors call cost-of-service, rate-of-return (COS/ROR) regulation. Although the electric utility industry has considerable experience with incentive mechanisms that target specific areas of performance, implementation of mechanisms that cover a comprehensive set of utility costs or services is relatively rare. In recent years, interest in PBR has increased as a result of growing dissatisfaction with COS/ROR and as a result of economic and technological trends that are leading to more competition in certain segments of the electricity industry. In addition, incentive regulation has been used with some success in other public utility industries, most notably telecommunications in the US and telecommunications, energy, and water in the United Kingdom. In this report, the authors analyze comprehensive PBR mechanisms for electric utilities in four ways: (1) they describe different types of PBR mechanisms, (2) they review a sample of actual PBR plans, (3) they consider the interaction of PBR and utility-funded energy efficiency programs, and (4) they examine how PBR interacts with electric utility resource planning and industry restructuring. The report should be of interest to technical staff of utilities and regulatory commissions that are actively considering or designing PBR mechanisms. 16 figs., 17 tabs.

  8. Empirical studies of regulatory restructuring and incentives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knittel, Christopher Roland

    This dissertation examines the actions of firms when faced with regulatory restructuring. Chapter I examines the equilibrium pricing behavior of local exchange telephone companies under a variety of market structures. In particular, the pricing behavior of three services are analyzed: residential local service, business local service, and intraLATA toll service. Beginning in 1984, a variety of market structure changes have taken place in the local telecommunications industry. I analyze differences in the method of price-setting regulation and the restrictions on entry. Specifically, the relative pricing behavior under rate of return and price cap regulation is analyzed, as well as the impact of entry in the local exchange and intraLATA toll service markets. In doing so, I estimate an empirical model that accounts for the stickiness of rates in regulated industries that is based on firm and regulator decision processes in the presence of adjustment costs. I find that, faced with competitive pressures that reduce rates in one service, incumbent firm rates increase in other services, thereby reducing the benefits from competition. In addition, the findings suggest that price cap regulation leads to higher rates relative to rate-of-return regulation. Chapter 2 analyzes the pricing and investment behavior of electricity firms. Electricity and natural gas markets have traditionally been serviced by one of two market structures. In some markets, electricity and natural gas are sold by a dual-product regulated monopolist, while in other markets, electricity and natural gas are sold by separate single-product regulated monopolies. This paper analyzes the relative pricing and investment decisions of electricity firms operating in the two market structures. The unique relationship between these two products imply that the relative incentives of single and dual-product firms are likely to differ. Namely electricity and natural gas are substitutes in consumption while natural

  9. Financial incentives for healthy behavior: ethical safeguards for behavioral economics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lunze, Karsten; Paasche-Orlow, Michael K

    2013-06-01

    Economic incentives to promote healthy behavior are becoming increasingly common and have been suggested as an approach to decreasing healthcare costs. Ethical concerns about programs with such incentives are that they may contribute to inequities, be coercive, interfere with therapeutic relationships, undermine personal responsibility for health, and decrease social solidarity. Additionally, they may be a source of stigma or discrimination, promote dependence, and be unfair for those already engaged in targeted health behaviors or those who cannot fulfill the incentivized behaviors. Incentive programs need to incorporate appropriate safeguards to monitor these risks and support fairness in offering economic incentives to promote healthy behavior. Copyright © 2013 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Tax Incentives as Viewed by Economists and Lawyers

    OpenAIRE

    Fiekowsky, Seymour

    1991-01-01

    States that tax economists' and lawyers' views on tax incentives are flawed in ways that have contributed to their assent to unnecessary and counterproductive complication of the tax laws in the name of tax reform and to their complicity in growth of the fiscal burden in the form of inefficient tax incentives that are either unaccounted for or understated.

  11. A dynamic simulation model for assessing the overall impact of incentive policies on power system reliability, costs and environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibanez-Lopez, A.S.; Martinez-Val, J.M.; Moratilla-Soria, B.Y.

    2017-01-01

    The liberalization of power markets has entailed dramatic changes in power system planning worldwide. The inception of new alternative technologies, smart grids and distributed generation and storage is expected to make system planning even more challenging. Government policies still play a major role in the evolution of a country's power generation mix, even in those countries with liberalized markets. This paper presents a System Dynamics model aimed at assessing the overall technical, economic and environmental impact of renewable energy incentives and capacity payment policies. The model has been used to simulate Spain's power industry in order to assess the impact of electric power policies with the goal of getting insights regarding how to achieve an optimum power generation mix. The main conclusions of the present paper are (i) the necessity of specific regulatory actions in Spain in order to keep adequate reliability levels, avoid price spikes and boom and bust investment cycles as well as to deploy specific technologies, (ii) the fact that capacity payments are a better instrument for keeping adequate reserve margins and avoiding power price spikes than renewable energy incentives and (iii) the evidence that both instruments entail additional system costs over the base case scenario. - Highlights: • A System Dynamics model of Spain's power generation mix is proposed. • The overall policy impact on system costs, environment and reliability is assessed. • Current policies are not enough to keep adequate reliability levels. • Capacity payments are an adequate instrument for guaranteeing system reliability. • RES incentives do not solve reliability issues and entail greater system costs.

  12. Nucleus accumbens corticotropin-releasing factor increases cue-triggered motivation for sucrose reward: paradoxical positive incentive effects in stress?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peciña, Susana; Schulkin, Jay; Berridge, Kent C

    2006-04-13

    Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is typically considered to mediate aversive aspects of stress, fear and anxiety. However, CRF release in the brain is also elicited by natural rewards and incentive cues, raising the possibility that some CRF systems in the brain mediate an independent function of positive incentive motivation, such as amplifying incentive salience. Here we asked whether activation of a limbic CRF subsystem magnifies the increase in positive motivation for reward elicited by incentive cues previously associated with that reward, in a way that might exacerbate cue-triggered binge pursuit of food or other incentives? We assessed the impact of CRF microinjections into the medial shell of nucleus accumbens using a pure incentive version of Pavlovian-Instrumental transfer, a measure specifically sensitive to the incentive salience of reward cues (which it separates from influences of aversive stress, stress reduction, frustration and other traditional explanations for stress-increased behavior). Rats were first trained to press one of two levers to obtain sucrose pellets, and then separately conditioned to associate a Pavlovian cue with free sucrose pellets. On test days, rats received microinjections of vehicle, CRF (250 or 500 ng/0.2 microl) or amphetamine (20 microg/0.2 microl). Lever pressing was assessed in the presence or absence of the Pavlovian cues during a half-hour test. Microinjections of the highest dose of CRF (500 ng) or amphetamine (20 microg) selectively enhanced the ability of Pavlovian reward cues to trigger phasic peaks of increased instrumental performance for a sucrose reward, each peak lasting a minute or so before decaying after the cue. Lever pressing was not enhanced by CRF microinjections in the baseline absence of the Pavlovian cue or during the presentation without a cue, showing that the CRF enhancement could not be explained as a result of generalized motor arousal, frustration or stress, or by persistent attempts to

  13. Policy implementation and financial incentives for nurses in South Africa: a case study on the occupation-specific dispensation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duane Blaauw

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: In 2007, the South African government introduced the occupation-specific dispensation (OSD, a financial incentive strategy, to attract, motivate, and retain health professionals in the public sector. Implementation commenced with the nursing sector, but there have been unintended negative consequences. Objective: First, to examine implementation of the OSD for nurses using Hogwood and Gunn's framework that outlines ‘perfect implementation’ pre-conditions. Second, to highlight the conditions for the successful implementation of financial incentives. Methods: A qualitative case study design using a combination of a document review and in-depth interviews with 42 key informants. Results: The study found that there were several implementation weaknesses. Only a few of the pre-conditions were met for OSD policy implementation. The information systems required for successful policy implementation, such as the public sector human resource data base and the South African Nursing Council register of specialised nurses were incomplete and inaccurate, thus undermining the process. Insufficient attention was paid to time and resources, dependency relationships, task specification, and communication and coordination. Conclusion: The implementation of financial incentives requires careful planning and management in order to avoid loss of morale and staff grievances.

  14. Neural effects of positive and negative incentives during marijuana withdrawal.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesca M Filbey

    Full Text Available In spite of evidence suggesting two possible mechanisms related to drug-seeking behavior, namely reward-seeking and harm avoidance, much of the addiction literature has focused largely on positive incentivization mechanisms associated with addiction. In this study, we examined the contributing neural mechanisms of avoidance of an aversive state to drug-seeking behavior during marijuana withdrawal. To that end, marijuana users were scanned while performing the monetary incentive delay task in order to assess positive and negative incentive processes. The results showed a group x incentive interaction, such that marijuana users had greater response in areas that underlie reward processes during positive incentives while controls showed greater response in the same areas, but to negative incentives. Furthermore, a negative correlation between withdrawal symptoms and response in the amygdala during negative incentives was found in the marijuana users. These findings suggest that although marijuana users have greater reward sensitivity and less harm avoidance than controls, that attenuated amygdala response, an area that underlies fear and avoidance, was present in marijuana users with greater marijuana withdrawal symptoms. This is concordant with models of drug addiction that involve multiple sources of reinforcement in substance use disorders, and suggests the importance of strategies that focus on respective mechanisms.

  15. Asymmetrically dominated choice problems, the isolation hypothesis and random incentive mechanisms.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James C Cox

    Full Text Available This paper presents an experimental study of the random incentive mechanisms which are a standard procedure in economic and psychological experiments. Random incentive mechanisms have several advantages but are incentive-compatible only if responses to the single tasks are independent. This is true if either the independence axiom of expected utility theory or the isolation hypothesis of prospect theory holds. We present a simple test of this in the context of choice under risk. In the baseline (one task treatment we observe risk behavior in a given choice problem. We show that by integrating a second, asymmetrically dominated choice problem in a random incentive mechanism risk behavior can be manipulated systematically. This implies that the isolation hypothesis is violated and the random incentive mechanism does not elicit true preferences in our example.

  16. Asymmetrically dominated choice problems, the isolation hypothesis and random incentive mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, James C; Sadiraj, Vjollca; Schmidt, Ulrich

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents an experimental study of the random incentive mechanisms which are a standard procedure in economic and psychological experiments. Random incentive mechanisms have several advantages but are incentive-compatible only if responses to the single tasks are independent. This is true if either the independence axiom of expected utility theory or the isolation hypothesis of prospect theory holds. We present a simple test of this in the context of choice under risk. In the baseline (one task) treatment we observe risk behavior in a given choice problem. We show that by integrating a second, asymmetrically dominated choice problem in a random incentive mechanism risk behavior can be manipulated systematically. This implies that the isolation hypothesis is violated and the random incentive mechanism does not elicit true preferences in our example.

  17. The Evolution Of Cooperation In Business: Individual Vs. Group Incentives

    OpenAIRE

    Daniel Ladley; Ian Wilkinson; Louise Young

    2013-01-01

    Cooperative relations, within and between firms, play important roles in business. How to produce such relations, however, is less well understood. Building on work in evolutionary biology we examine the conditions under which group based incentives result in better performance than individual based incentives. We find that when individual and group interests are not aligned, group incentive systems lead to both higher group and individual performance. Hybrid reward systems, with both group a...

  18. A Study on Project Duration Incentives in a Retail Apparel Franchise

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yichen Peng

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies the impact on project duration of different forms of over-confidence among general contractors executing such projects, in the context of retail apparel franchises. It goes on to consider the design of relevant incentives and, in particular, a compensation mechanism included in the initial contract that covers the event of contractor dismissal. This mechanism is examined as a means of hedging risk arising from the behavior of the principal. This includes a study of a two-way risk avoidance strategy, which is intended to make up for a shortfall in this regard in the existing literature. Outcomes derived from this research include the conclusion that different levels of confidence can have various impacts on optimal incentive coefficients and the effort level extracted from agents, thereby affecting the ultimate configuration of an optimal contract. Introducing a compensation mechanism covering the event of dismissal can serve to diminish the risk of an agent breaching their contract. This paper applies the concept of bounded rationality to a principal-agent model, ensuring conclusions that are attuned to reality.

  19. Tackling non-point source water pollution in British Columbia: An action plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1998-01-01

    Efforts to protect British Columbia water quality by regulating point discharges from municipal and industrial sources have generally been successful, and it is recognized that the major remaining cause of water pollution in the province is from non-point sources. These sources are largely unregulated and associated with urbanization, agriculture, and other forms of land development. The first part of this report reviews the provincial commitment to clean water, the effects of non-point-source (NPS) pollution, and the management of NPS in the province. Part 2 describes the main causes of NPS in British Columbia: Land development, agriculture, stormwater runoff, on-site sewage systems, forestry and range activities, atmospheric deposition, and boating/marine activities. Finally, it presents key components of the province's NPS action plan: Education and training, prevention at site, land use planning and co-ordination, assessment and reporting, economic incentives, legislation and regulation, and implementation.

  20. Incentives for smoking cessation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cahill, Kate; Hartmann-Boyce, Jamie; Perera, Rafael

    2015-05-18

    Material or financial incentives are widely used in an attempt to precipitate or reinforce behaviour change, including smoking cessation. They operate in workplaces, in clinics and hospitals, and to a lesser extent within community programmes. In this third update of our review we now include trials conducted in pregnant women, to reflect the increasing activity and resources now targeting this high-risk group of smokers. To determine whether incentives and contingency management programmes lead to higher long-term quit rates. We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group Specialised Register, with additional searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsycINFO. The most recent searches were in December 2014, although we also include two trials published in 2015. We considered randomised controlled trials, allocating individuals, workplaces, groups within workplaces, or communities to experimental or control conditions. We also considered controlled studies with baseline and post-intervention measures. We include studies in a mixed-population setting (e.g. community-, work-, institution-based), and also, for this update, trials in pregnant smokers. One author (KC) extracted data and a second (JH-B) checked them. We contacted study authors for additional data where necessary. The main outcome measure in the mixed-population studies was abstinence from smoking at longest follow-up, and at least six months from the start of the intervention. In the trials of pregnant smokers abstinence was measured at the longest follow-up, and at least to the end of the pregnancy. Twenty-one mixed-population studies met our inclusion criteria, covering more than 8400 participants. Ten studies were set in clinics or health centres, one in Thai villages served by community health workers, two in academic institutions, and the rest in worksites. All but six of the trials were run in the USA. The incentives included lottery tickets or prize draws, cash payments, vouchers for goods and

  1. What incentives influence employers to engage in workplace health interventions?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinsson, Camilla; Lohela-Karlsson, Malin; Kwak, Lydia; Bergström, Gunnar; Hellman, Therese

    2016-08-23

    To achieve a sustainable working life it is important to know more about what could encourage employers to increase the use of preventive and health promotive interventions. The objective of the study is to explore and describe the employer perspective regarding what incentives influence their use of preventive and health promotive workplace interventions. Semi-structured focus group interviews were carried out with 20 representatives from 19 employers across Sweden. The economic sectors represented were municipalities, government agencies, defence, educational, research, and development institutions, health care, manufacturing, agriculture and commercial services. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and the data were analysed using latent content analysis. Various incentives were identified in the analysis, namely: "law and provisions", "consequences for the workplace", "knowledge of worker health and workplace health interventions", "characteristics of the intervention", "communication and collaboration with the provider". The incentives seemed to influence the decision-making in parallel with each other and were not only related to positive incentives for engaging in workplace health interventions, but also to disincentives. This study suggests that the decision to engage in workplace health interventions was influenced by several incentives. There are those incentives that lead to a desire to engage in a workplace health intervention, others pertain to aspects more related to the intervention use, such as the characteristics of the employer, the provider and the intervention. It is important to take all incentives into consideration when trying to understand the decision-making process for workplace health interventions and to bridge the gap between what is produced through research and what is used in practice.

  2. Marketable Incentive Contracts and Capital Structure Relevance.

    OpenAIRE

    Garvey, Gerald T

    1997-01-01

    This article investigates the claim that debt finance can increase firm value by curtailing managers' access to 'free cash flow.' The author first shows that incentive contracts that tie the managers' pay to stockholder wealth are often a superior solution to the free cash flow problem. He then considers the possibility that the manager can trade on secondary capital markets. Liquid secondary markets are shown to undermine management incentive schemes and, in many cases, to restore the value ...

  3. Study of the utility of incentive systems for nuclear licenses. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wood, A.; Bodde, D.; Spiro, H.; Rueter, F.

    1978-08-01

    The objective of the study was to identify and analyze systems of incentives for use by the NRC Office of Inspection and Enforcement (IE) that will encourage proper performance by NRC licensees. The study was complete in two phases, each phase addressing a distinct segment of the work statement. Phase I covered identification and evaluation of the effectiveness of current incentives for licensees, discussions with NRC and licensee personnel and review of NRC documentation, definition of evaluation criteria, evaluation of the effectiveness of current incentives, and identification of alternative incentive systems. Phase II included evaluation of the effectiveness of alternative incentive systems for use by NRC and recommendation of incentive systems for adoption by IE. In the course of the study, as greater clarity and content was developed in the meaning of ''proper performance,'' the concept of ''systems of incentives'' was broadened to include such elements as causes of licensee performance shortcomings other than motivational ones and the motivational effects of NRC controlled processes such as inspection and the imposition of enforcement actions

  4. Incentives and moral hazard

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wendimu, Mengistu Assefa; Henningsen, Arne; Czekaj, Tomasz Gerard

    2017-01-01

    system and thus, the incentives to the workers. We compare the productivity of these two production schemes using a cross-sectional plot-level data set. As sugarcane production depends on various exogenous factors that are measured as categorical variables (e.g., soil type, cane variety, etc.), we...

  5. Design of incentive programs for accelerating penetration of energy-efficient appliances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rue du Can de la, Stephane; Leventis, Greg; Phadke, Amol; Gopal, Anand

    2014-01-01

    Incentives are policy tools that sway purchase, retail stocking, and production decisions toward energy-efficient products. Incentives complement mandatory standards and labeling policies by accelerating market penetration of products that are more energy efficient than required by existing standards and by preparing the market for more stringent future mandatory requirements. Incentives can be directed at different points in the appliance's supply chain; one point may be more effective than another depending on the technology's maturity and market penetration. This paper seeks to inform future policy and program design by categorizing the main elements of incentive programs from around the world. We identify advantages and disadvantages of program designs through a qualitative overview of incentive programs worldwide. We find that financial incentive programs have greater impact when they target highly efficient technologies with a small market share, and that program designs depend on the market barriers addressed, the target equipment, and the local market context. No program design is inherently superior to another. The key to successful program design and implementation is a thorough understanding of the market and identification of the most important local obstacles to the penetration of energy-efficient technologies. - Highlights: • We researched incentive programs design and implementation worldwide. • This paper seeks to inform future policy and program design. • We identify design and identify advantages and disadvantages. • We find that incentive programs have greater impact when they target highly efficient products. • Program designs depend on the market barriers addressed and the local market context

  6. Handover Incentives for Self-Interested WLANs with Overlapping Coverage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fafoutis, Xenofon; Siris, Vasilios A.

    2012-01-01

    We consider an environment where self-interested IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) have overlapping coverage, and investigate the incentives that can trigger handovers between the WLANs. Our focus is on the incentives for supporting handovers due solely to the improved performance...

  7. Why are financial incentives not effective at influencing some smokers to quit? Results of a process evaluation of a worksite trial assessing the efficacy of financial incentives for smoking cessation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Annice; Kamyab, Kian; Zhu, Jingsan; Volpp, Kevin

    2011-01-01

    Process evaluation of a worksite intervention in which employees were offered $750 to complete a cessation program and to quit smoking. Awareness and attitudes about financial incentives were assessed following a randomized controlled trial of 878 smokers at a US-based company. Cessation program attendance was higher in incentive group versus control (20.2% vs 7.1%, P motivated to quit and reported that they would have quit for less money, said incentives were "not at all" or only "somewhat" important. Most nonquitters in the incentive group reported that even $1500 would not have motivated them to quit. Financial incentives are ineffective at motivating some smokers to quit. Internal motivation and readiness to quit need to be sufficiently high for relatively modest incentives to be effective.

  8. Nudging for health: do we need financial incentives?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goel, Vivek

    2012-01-01

    Nudges, creating simple processes or structures that guide people toward a particular behaviour choice, are potentially a powerful tool for health promotion. User financial incentives could be a monetary form of such nudges. Given the challenges of chronic disease prevention, interventions such as nudges should be explored further. However, there would appear to be limited rationale for pursuing financial incentives as nudges.

  9. Study On Safeguard Measures for Implementing Overall Planning of Land Use

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2011-01-01

    Based on minutely analysing the main problems existing in safeguard measures for implementing a new round of overall planning of land use,this paper constructs implementation security system of overall planning of land use,and puts forward the principles and basis of formulating safeguard measures for implementing overall planning of land use.Finally,this paper establishes the content system of safeguard measures:effectively strengthen social supervision;strengthen administrative management of land use planning;strengthen economic management of land use planning;reinforce the legal status of planning;establish incentive and constraint mechanism for reinforcing implementation;improve support system of planning.

  10. Financial Recruitment Incentive Programs for Nursing Personnel in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathews, Maria; Ryan, Dana

    2015-03-01

    Financial incentives are increasingly offered to recruit nursing personnel to work in underserved communities. The authors describe and compare the characteristics of federal, provincial and territorial financial recruitment incentive programs for registered nurses (RNs), nurse practitioners (NPs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), registered practical nurses or registered psychiatric nurses. The authors identified incentive programs from government, health ministry and student aid websites and by contacting program officials. Only government-funded recruitment programs providing funding beyond the normal employee wages and benefits and requiring a service commitment were included. The authors excluded programs offered by hospitals, regional or private firms, and programs that rewarded retention. All provinces and territories except QC and NB offer financial recruitment incentive programs for RNs; six provinces (BC, AB, SK, ON, QC and NL) offer programs for NPs, and NL offers a program for LPNs. Programs include student loan forgiveness, tuition forgiveness, education bursaries, signing bonuses and relocation expenses. Programs target trainees, recent graduates and new hires. Funding and service requirements vary by program, and service requirements are not always commensurate with funding levels. This snapshot of government-funded recruitment incentives provides program managers with data to compare and improve nursing workforce recruitment initiatives. Copyright © 2015 Longwoods Publishing.

  11. Nudge or not: can incentives change health behaviours?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ries, Nola M

    2012-01-01

    The approach of "nudging" people toward healthier behaviours is currently in vogue, and user financial incentives (UFIs) are one possible nudge tool. Interesting debates arise as to the criteria UFIs must meet to qualify as a nudge. The more pressing issue, however, is to determine how UFIs can be structured and implemented to motivate and sustain health behaviour change. To date, Canadian public health strategies to promote physical activity and balanced nutrition focus mainly on information provision, with some product regulation measures and indirect financial incentives. Governments cannot afford direct UFI programs to incent all 60% of overweight and obese Canadians to reduce their body mass, but governments could consider UFIs targeted to specific risk groups where a shorter-term intervention could have long-term payoffs.

  12. Quality-Aware Incentive Mechanism for Mobile Crowd Sensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ling-Yun Jiang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Mobile crowd sensing (MCS is a novel sensing paradigm which can sense human-centered daily activities and the surrounding environment. The impact of mobility and selfishness of participants on the data reliability cannot be ignored in most mobile crowd sensing systems. To address this issue, we present a universal system model based on the reverse auction framework and formulate the problem as the Multiple Quality Multiple User Selection (MQMUS problem. The quality-aware incentive mechanism (QAIM is proposed to meet the quality requirement of data reliability. We demonstrate that the proposed incentive mechanism achieves the properties of computational efficiency, individual rationality, and truthfulness. And meanwhile, we evaluate the performance and validate the theoretical properties of our incentive mechanism through extensive simulation experiments.

  13. Framework for evaluating the utility of incentive systems for radioactive waste repository siting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carnes, S.A.; Soderstrom, E.J.; Sorensen, J.; Peelle, E.; Reed, J.H.; Bjornstad, D.J.; Copenhaver, E.D.

    1982-01-01

    The importance of social and institutional issues in siting radioactive waste repositories has been recognized in recent years. Within this set of issues, the siting of repositories over the objections of members of potential host communities is viewed as especially problematic. Incentives to potential host communities have been suggested as a means of increasing local support for and offsetting local opposition to such facilities. Incentives are classified according to their function as mitigation, compensation or reward. Our analysis of results of a 1980 survey (conducted by John Kelly, Complex Systems Group, University of New Hampshire) of 420 rural Wisconsin residents indicates that incentives may achieve the purpose of increasing support for and decreasing opposition to accepting a repository. Criteria for evaluating the utility of incentives are identified. They respond to four basic questions: (1) What is absolutely necessary. (2) Will the incentive work. (3) Can the incentive be understood. and (4) What are the consequences of implementing the incentive. It is suggested that meaningful evaluations of incentives can only be performed by members of potential host communities

  14. Split incentives and energy efficiency in Canadian multi-family dwellings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maruejols, Lucie; Young, Denise

    2011-01-01

    This paper examines the energy-related behaviour of owners and occupants of multi-family dwellings in Canada, some of whom do not pay directly for electricity or heat, but instead have these costs included in their rent or condo fees. Using data from the 2003 Survey of Household Energy Use, we look at the extent to which split incentives that result from bill-paying arrangements affect a variety of activities including the setting of temperatures at various times of the day and the use of eco-friendly options in basic household tasks. Findings suggest that these split incentives do indeed impact some aspects of occupant behaviour, with households who do not pay directly for their heat opting for increased thermal comfort and being less sensitive to whether or not somebody is at home and the severity of the climate when deciding on temperature settings. Regardless of who pays for utilities, Canadian households who live in multi-family dwellings are generally unresponsive to fuel prices. Our empirical results suggest the possibility of environmental benefits from policies aimed at improving energy-efficiency in this sector, especially if targeted at reducing the impacts of the behaviour of those who do not pay directly for energy use. - Highlights: → Many occupants of multi-family dwellings do not pay directly for electricity or heat. → The resulting 'split incentives' impact the efficiency of energy use. → Canadian survey data from 2003 suggest that these impacts are often significant. → Households who do not directly pay for heat opt for increased thermal comfort. → Policy designers should consider especially targeting these households.

  15. Behavioral implications of providing real incentives in stated choice experiments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mørkbak, Morten Raun; Olsen, Søren Bøye; Campbell, Danny

    2014-01-01

    the scope of research to other behavioral aspects where consumers in CE are often found to deviate from homo economicus. We develop a theoretical model where not only Willingness to pay (WTP) measures but also decision processing can be affected by the introduction of an economic incentive. Specifically...... incentive, we find marked benefits in relation to a number of behavioral aspects that together would favor the use of an economic incentive regardless of hypothetical bias being present or not....

  16. Wind and solar energy incentives in Iran

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taleghani, G.; Kazemi Karegar, H.

    2006-01-01

    Incentive have yet been viewed as a means of supporting technological developments until a new technology becomes cost competitive wind based electricity is not jet generally competitive with alternate sources of electricity such as fossil fuels. This paper presents the potential for wind and solar in Iran and shows how much electric energy is now produced by renewable power plants compared to steam and gas. The importance of renewable energy effects on Iran environment and economy is also discussed and the issue of the contribution of renewable energy for producing electricity in the future will be shown. Also this paper highlights the ability of Iran to manufacture the components of the wind turbine and solar system locally, and its effect on the price of wind turbine and solar energy

  17. Policy options for the split incentive: Increasing energy efficiency for low-income renters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bird, Stephen; Hernández, Diana

    2012-01-01

    The split incentive problem concerns the lack of appropriate incentives to implement energy efficiency measures. In particular, low income tenants face a phenomenon of energy poverty in which they allocate significantly more of their household income to energy expenditures than other renters. This problem is substantial, affecting 1.89% of all United States' energy use. If effectively addressed, it would create a range of savings between 4 and 11 billion dollars per year for many of the nation's poorest residents. We argue that a carefully designed program of incentives for participants (including landlords) in conjunction with a unique type of utility-managed on-bill financing mechanism has significant potential to solve many of the complications. We focus on three kinds of split incentives, five concerns inherent to addressing split incentive problems (scale, endurance, incentives, savings, political disfavor), and provide a detailed policy proposal designed to surpass those problems, with a particular focus on low-income tenants in a U.S. context. - Highlights: ► We demonstrate the significant impact of the split incentive on low-income tenants. ► We discuss split incentive characteristics, and policy failures. ► We described an on-bill financing model with unique features. ► This policy has protections and incentives for tenants and landlords.

  18. Humans Integrate Monetary and Liquid Incentives to Motivate Cognitive Task Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Debbie Marianne Yee

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available It is unequivocal that a wide variety of incentives can motivate behavior. However, few studies have explicitly examined whether and how different incentives are integrated in terms of their motivational influence. The current study examines the combined effects of monetary and liquid incentives on cognitive processing, and whether appetitive and aversive incentives have distinct influences. We introduce a novel task paradigm, in which participants perform cued task-switching for monetary rewards that vary parametrically across trials, with liquid incentives serving as post-trial performance feedback. Critically, the symbolic meaning of the liquid was held constant (indicating successful reward attainment, while liquid valence was blocked. In the first experiment, monetary rewards combined additively with appetitive liquid feedback to improve subject task performance. Aversive liquid feedback counteracted monetary reward effects in low monetary reward trials, particularly in a subset of participants who tended to avoid responding under these conditions. Self-report motivation ratings predicted behavioral performance above and beyond experimental effects. A follow-up experiment replicated the predictive power of motivation ratings even when only appetitive liquids were used, suggesting that ratings reflect idiosyncratic subjective values of, rather than categorical differences between, the liquid incentives. Together, the findings indicate an integrative relationship between primary and secondary incentives and potentially dissociable influences in modulating motivational value, while informing hypotheses regarding candidate neural mechanisms.

  19. Humans Integrate Monetary and Liquid Incentives to Motivate Cognitive Task Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yee, Debbie M.; Krug, Marie K.; Allen, Ariel Z.; Braver, Todd S.

    2016-01-01

    It is unequivocal that a wide variety of incentives can motivate behavior. However, few studies have explicitly examined whether and how different incentives are integrated in terms of their motivational influence. The current study examines the combined effects of monetary and liquid incentives on cognitive processing, and whether appetitive and aversive incentives have distinct influences. We introduce a novel task paradigm, in which participants perform cued task-switching for monetary rewards that vary parametrically across trials, with liquid incentives serving as post-trial performance feedback. Critically, the symbolic meaning of the liquid was held constant (indicating successful reward attainment), while liquid valence was blocked. In the first experiment, monetary rewards combined additively with appetitive liquid feedback to improve subject task performance. Aversive liquid feedback counteracted monetary reward effects in low monetary reward trials, particularly in a subset of participants who tended to avoid responding under these conditions. Self-report motivation ratings predicted behavioral performance above and beyond experimental effects. A follow-up experiment replicated the predictive power of motivation ratings even when only appetitive liquids were used, suggesting that ratings reflect idiosyncratic subjective values of, rather than categorical differences between, the liquid incentives. Together, the findings indicate an integrative relationship between primary and secondary incentives and potentially dissociable influences in modulating motivational value, while informing hypotheses regarding candidate neural mechanisms. PMID:26834668

  20. Incentive Effects of Peer Pressure in Organizations

    OpenAIRE

    Kohei Daido

    2006-01-01

    This paper studies the effects of peer pressure on incentives. We assume that, in addition to the material payoff, each agent's utility includes the psychological payoff from peer pressure generated by a comparison of effort costs. We show that the optimal incentive schemes depend mainly on the degree of peer pressure and of the heterogeneity of agents. Furthermore, we examine the optimal organizational forms in terms of the principal''s intention to make use of the effects of peer pressure.

  1. MARKET AND GOVERNMENT FAILURES RELATED TO THE INTRODUCTION OF TAX INCENTIVES REGIME

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olena SOKOLOVSKA

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with problem of effectiveness of tax incentive regimes. The main purpose of this paper is to define causes, factors and measures aimed to prevent and neutralize failures of introduction of tax incentives. In order to examine the behavior of economic agents we used game theory tools, notably the “principal-agent” model, similar to the Allingham-Sandmo model. To solve a problem of inefficient interaction, when investors unreasonably pretend on tax incentives and government ignore that by granting them incentives, we proposed to use Nash-equilibrium in pure strategies. Finally we defined factors of improvement of efficiency of tax incentive regimes, particularly mechanisms of their implementation and termination.

  2. What incentives influence employers to engage in workplace health interventions?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camilla Martinsson

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background To achieve a sustainable working life it is important to know more about what could encourage employers to increase the use of preventive and health promotive interventions. The objective of the study is to explore and describe the employer perspective regarding what incentives influence their use of preventive and health promotive workplace interventions. Method Semi-structured focus group interviews were carried out with 20 representatives from 19 employers across Sweden. The economic sectors represented were municipalities, government agencies, defence, educational, research, and development institutions, health care, manufacturing, agriculture and commercial services. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and the data were analysed using latent content analysis. Results Various incentives were identified in the analysis, namely: “law and provisions”, “consequences for the workplace”, “knowledge of worker health and workplace health interventions”, “characteristics of the intervention”, “communication and collaboration with the provider”. The incentives seemed to influence the decision-making in parallel with each other and were not only related to positive incentives for engaging in workplace health interventions, but also to disincentives. Conclusions This study suggests that the decision to engage in workplace health interventions was influenced by several incentives. There are those incentives that lead to a desire to engage in a workplace health intervention, others pertain to aspects more related to the intervention use, such as the characteristics of the employer, the provider and the intervention. It is important to take all incentives into consideration when trying to understand the decision-making process for workplace health interventions and to bridge the gap between what is produced through research and what is used in practice.

  3. Influential Effects of Intrinsic-Extrinsic Incentive Factors on Management Performance in New Energy Enterprises.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ping; Lu, Zhengnan; Sun, Jihong

    2018-02-08

    Background : New energy has become a key trend for global energy industry development. Talent plays a very critical role in the enhancement of new energy enterprise competitiveness. As a key component of talent, managers have been attracting more and more attention. The increase in job performance relies on, to a certain extent, incentive mechanism. Based on the Two-factor Theory, differences in influences and effects of different incentives on management performance have been checked in this paper from an empirical perspective. Methods : This paper selects the middle and low level managers in new energy enterprises as research samples and classifies the managers' performance into task performance, contextual performance and innovation performance. It uses manager performance questionnaires and intrinsic-extrinsic incentive factor questionnaires to investigate and study the effects and then uses Amos software to analyze the inner link between the intrinsic-extrinsic incentives and job performance. Results : Extrinsic incentives affect task performance and innovation performance positively. Intrinsic incentives impose active significant effects on task performance, contextual performance, and innovation performance. The intrinsic incentive plays a more important role than the extrinsic incentive. Conclusions : Both the intrinsic-extrinsic incentives affect manager performance positively and the intrinsic incentive plays a more important role than the extrinsic incentive. Several suggestions to management should be given based on these results.

  4. Influential Effects of Intrinsic-Extrinsic Incentive Factors on Management Performance in New Energy Enterprises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ping Wang

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: New energy has become a key trend for global energy industry development. Talent plays a very critical role in the enhancement of new energy enterprise competitiveness. As a key component of talent, managers have been attracting more and more attention. The increase in job performance relies on, to a certain extent, incentive mechanism. Based on the Two-factor Theory, differences in influences and effects of different incentives on management performance have been checked in this paper from an empirical perspective. Methods: This paper selects the middle and low level managers in new energy enterprises as research samples and classifies the managers’ performance into task performance, contextual performance and innovation performance. It uses manager performance questionnaires and intrinsic-extrinsic incentive factor questionnaires to investigate and study the effects and then uses Amos software to analyze the inner link between the intrinsic-extrinsic incentives and job performance. Results: Extrinsic incentives affect task performance and innovation performance positively. Intrinsic incentives impose active significant effects on task performance, contextual performance, and innovation performance. The intrinsic incentive plays a more important role than the extrinsic incentive. Conclusions: Both the intrinsic-extrinsic incentives affect manager performance positively and the intrinsic incentive plays a more important role than the extrinsic incentive. Several suggestions to management should be given based on these results.

  5. Least cost planning within the service concept of power supply companies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lueschen, H.; Sonntag, J.; Werner, R.

    1995-01-01

    In discussing the implementation of energy service concepts, German power supply companies are gradually adopting categories originating from the USA, namely integrated resources planning (IRP), least cost planning (LCP), and demand-side management (DSM). While the activities of German power supply companies are more encompassing than those of their US counterparts in the traditional features of DSM such as load management, information, and consulting, further-going measures such as direct investment and financial incentive programmes for exploiting energy-saving potentials play a less important role and are controversial in the energy-political debate. The article presents the concept of power supply companies for implementing IRP/LCP and makes a concrete assessment of the worth and efficiency of consulting compared with the newer type of financial incentive programmes. (orig.) [de

  6. Energy Efficiency Under Alternative Carbon Policies. Incentives, Measurement, and Interregional Effects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steinberg, Daniel C. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Boyd, Erin [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2015-08-28

    In this report, we examine and compare how tradable mass-based polices and tradable rate-based policies create different incentives for energy efficiency investments. Through a generalized demonstration and set of examples, we show that as a result of the output subsidy they create, traditional rate-based policies, those that do not credit energy savings from efficiency measures, reduce the incentive for investment in energy efficiency measures relative to an optimally designed mass-based policy or equivalent carbon tax. We then show that this reduced incentive can be partially addressed by modifying the rate-based policy such that electricity savings from energy efficiency measures are treated as a source of zero-carbon generation within the framework of the standard, or equivalently, by assigning avoided emissions credit to the electricity savings at the rate of the intensity target. These approaches result in an extension of the output subsidy to efficiency measures and eliminate the distortion between supply-side and demand-side options for GHG emissions reduction. However, these approaches do not address electricity price distortions resulting from the output subsidy that also impact the value of efficiency measures. Next, we assess alternative approaches for crediting energy efficiency savings within the framework of a rate-based policy. Finally, we identify a number of challenges that arise in implementing a rate-based policy with efficiency crediting, including the requirement to develop robust estimates of electricity savings in order to assess compliance, and the requirement to track the regionality of the generation impacts of efficiency measures to account for their interstate effects.

  7. Incentive, sustainable and fair pricing, a trilogy out of reach?

    OpenAIRE

    Maria Salvetti

    2005-01-01

    The Water Framework Directive requires Member-States to implement by 2010 an incentive tariffication policy in order to ensure efficient use of water resources and compliance with environmental goals (good ecological status). But working out an incentive pricing system, that is both sustainable and fair, is not an easy task. 1) Can an incentive pricing be a sustainable pricing? a) Water & wastewater services are very capitalistic: fixed costs can represent up to 2/3 or 3/4 of the service cost...

  8. Hedonic and incentive signals for body weight control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egecioglu, Emil; Skibicka, Karolina P; Hansson, Caroline; Alvarez-Crespo, Mayte; Friberg, P Anders; Jerlhag, Elisabet; Engel, Jörgen A; Dickson, Suzanne L

    2011-09-01

    Here we review the emerging neurobiological understanding of the role of the brain's reward system in the regulation of body weight in health and in disease. Common obesity is characterized by the over-consumption of palatable/rewarding foods, reflecting an imbalance in the relative importance of hedonic versus homeostatic signals. The popular 'incentive salience theory' of food reward recognises not only a hedonic/pleasure component ('liking') but also an incentive motivation component ('wanting' or 'reward-seeking'). Central to the neurobiology of the reward mechanism is the mesoaccumbal dopamine system that confers incentive motivation not only for natural rewards such as food but also by artificial rewards (eg. addictive drugs). Indeed, this mesoaccumbal dopamine system receives and integrates information about the incentive (rewarding) value of foods with information about metabolic status. Problematic over-eating likely reflects a changing balance in the control exerted by hypothalamic versus reward circuits and/or it could reflect an allostatic shift in the hedonic set point for food reward. Certainly, for obesity to prevail, metabolic satiety signals such as leptin and insulin fail to regain control of appetitive brain networks, including those involved in food reward. On the other hand, metabolic control could reflect increased signalling by the stomach-derived orexigenic hormone, ghrelin. We have shown that ghrelin activates the mesoaccumbal dopamine system and that central ghrelin signalling is required for reward from both chemical drugs (eg alcohol) and also from palatable food. Future therapies for problematic over-eating and obesity may include drugs that interfere with incentive motivation, such as ghrelin antagonists.

  9. Financial incentive increases CPAP acceptance in patients from low socioeconomic background.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarasiuk, Ariel; Reznor, Gally; Greenberg-Dotan, Sari; Reuveni, Haim

    2012-01-01

    We explored whether financial incentives have a role in patients' decisions to accept (purchase) a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device in a healthcare system that requires cost sharing. Longitudinal interventional study. The group receiving financial incentive (n = 137, 50.8±10.6 years, apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) 38.7±19.9 events/hr) and the control group (n = 121, 50.9±10.3 years, AHI 39.9±22) underwent attendant titration and a two-week adaptation to CPAP. Patients in the control group had a co-payment of $330-660; the financial incentive group paid a subsidized price of $55. CPAP acceptance was 43% greater (p = 0.02) in the financial incentive group. CPAP acceptance among the low socioeconomic strata (n = 113) (adjusting for age, gender, BMI, tobacco smoking) was enhanced by financial incentive (OR, 95% CI) (3.43, 1.09-10.85), age (1.1, 1.03-1.17), AHI (>30 vs. acceptance was affected by AHI (>30 vs. 30 vs. acceptance among low socioeconomic status patients. Thus, financial incentive should be applied as a policy to encourage CPAP treatment, especially among low socioeconomic strata patients.

  10. Premier Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — CMS is pursuing a vision to improve the quality of health care by expanding the information available about quality of care and through direct incentives to reward...

  11. Dynamic Incentives in Organizations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ruckes, Martin; Rønde, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    to this inertial tendency is either to increase the financial incentives to encourage searching or to accept no searching. The former response increases search efforts and total profits; the latter response has the opposite results. Inertia can be removed by restructuring the firm in period 2, but this may create...

  12. Incentive regulation of electricity distribution networks: Lessons of experience from Britain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jamasb, Tooraj; Pollitt, Michael

    2007-01-01

    This paper reviews the recent experience of the UK electricity distribution sector under incentive regulation. The UK has a significant and transparent history in implementing incentive regulation in the period since 1990. We demonstrate the successes of this period in reducing costs, prices, and energy losses while maintaining quality of service. We also draw out the lessons for other countries in implementing distribution sector reform. We conclude by discussing the place of incentive regulation of networks within the wider reform context, the required legislative framework, the need for appropriate unbundling, the importance of quality of service incentives, the regulatory information requirements, and the role of sector rationalisation. (author)

  13. Distributed Solar Incentive Programs: Recent Experience and Best Practices for Design and Implementation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bird, L.; Reger, A.; Heeter, J.

    2012-12-01

    Based on lessons from recent program experience, this report explores best practices for designing and implementing incentives for small and mid-sized residential and commercial distributed solar energy projects. The findings of this paper are relevant to both new incentive programs as well as those undergoing modifications. The report covers factors to consider in setting and modifying incentive levels over time, differentiating incentives to encourage various market segments, administrative issues such as providing equitable access to incentives and customer protection. It also explores how incentive programs can be designed to respond to changing market conditions while attempting to provide a longer-term and stable environment for the solar industry. The findings are based on interviews with program administrators, regulators, and industry representatives as well as data from numerous incentive programs nationally, particularly the largest and longest-running programs. These best practices consider the perspectives of various stakeholders and the broad objectives of reducing solar costs, encouraging long-term market viability, minimizing ratepayer costs, and protecting consumers.

  14. Exploring parent attitudes around using incentives to promote engagement in family-based weight management programs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Jacob-Files

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Incentives can promote adult wellness. We sought to examine whether incentives might help overcome barriers to engagement in child weight management programs and the ideal value, type and recipient of incentives. In 2017, we conducted semi-structured phone interviews with parents of children ≤17 years old, formerly or currently affected by obesity, who had (n = 11 or had never (n = 12 participated in family-based behavioral treatment (FBT for obesity. Interviews explored the range and type of incentives families would be willing to accept. Interview transcripts were coded and data were analyzed using a thematic analysis. We found that some parents were skeptical about receiving cash incentives. However, once treatment-related costs were identified, some became more interested in reimbursement for out of pocket expenditures. Most parents felt up to $100/month would be adequate and that incentives should be tied to changing behaviors, not BMI. Some interviewees expressed preferences for non-cash incentives (e.g. a gift card over cash incentives. Parents were willing to share incentives with adolescents, up to $50/month, but there was concern about incentives affecting a child's intrinsic motivation for behavior change. All parents acknowledged that moderate incentives alone couldn't overcome the realities of structural and familial barriers to engaging in weight management programs. In summary, we identified aspects of an incentive program to promote engagement in FBT that would be desirable and feasible to implement. Future quantitative work can reveal the value and structure of incentives that are effective for improving obesogenic health behaviors and outcomes. Keywords: Behavioral economics, Family-based treatment, Financial incentives, Health incentives, Childhood obesity

  15. Sellers' hedging incentives at EPA's emission trading auction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dijkstra, B.R.; Haan, M

    1999-01-01

    Cason (1993) argued that the auction the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency in the USA) used in order to start the market for sulfur allowances, is not efficient. The set-up of the auction gives both buyers and sellers an incentive to understate their valuation of an allowance. In this paper, we show that the sellers' incentives are even more perverse than Cason suggested. In particular, we show that sellers have an incentive to set their ask price equal to zero, while simultaneously hedging their bets by submitting a positive bid. It is not possible to derive the Nash equilibrium for this set-up. If such an equilibrium exists, sellers either set only a positive ask price, or an ask price equal to zero, and a positive bid as well. 14 refs

  16. Financial versus Non-Financial Incentives for Improving Patient Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Thomas H

    2015-05-01

    Delivering compassionate and coordinated care is a goal for all health care providers. Humans are not always consistent, though, both individually and collectively, and this is why everyone needs incentives to be at their best and to try to always be improving. The endlessly interesting question in patient experience is, what should those incentives look like? Should they be financial or nonfinancial? Dr. Thomas H. Lee explores what is most effective in regard to engaging and motivating physicians. While different approaches will work in different organizational cultures, financial incentives have their role in performance improvement. Compassionate coordinated care should be a social norm and be pursued by all health care organizations.

  17. Private long-term care insurance and state tax incentives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevenson, David G; Frank, Richard G; Tau, Jocelyn

    2009-01-01

    To increase the role of private insurance in financing long-term care, tax incentives for long-term care insurance have been implemented at both the federal and state levels. To date, there has been surprisingly little study of these initiatives. Using a panel of national data, we find that market take-up for long-term care insurance increased over the last decade, but state tax incentives were responsible for only a small portion of this growth. Ultimately, the modest ability of state tax incentives to lower premiums implies that they should be viewed as a small piece of the long-term care financing puzzle.

  18. Equity Incentives: Aligning The Interests Of Employees And Owners ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper reviews how to align the interests of employees and of owners of businesses and directs attention to policy issues that are critical to the attainment of this noble objective. It demonstrates that Tax Incentives and Reforms are necessary and offers recommendations on how to promote equity incentives in Nigeria.

  19. Fundamental Characteristics of Incentive Streams Created by Legal Systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dari Mattiacci, G.

    2002-01-01

    The law shapes people’s behaviour by creating incentives. For example, tort law induces motorists to drive carefully by making them pay compensation for the accidents they may cause. This study analyses the way the law can create incentives in those cases in which the courts or the administrative

  20. Additional cash incentive within a conditional cash transfer scheme: a 'controlled before and during' design evaluation study from India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lahariya, Chandrakant; Mishra, Ashok; Nandan, Deoki; Gautam, Praveen; Gupta, Sanjay

    2011-01-01

    Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) schemes have shown largely favorable changes in the health seeking behavior. This evaluation study assesses the process and performance of an Additional Cash Incentive (ACI) scheme within an ongoing CCT scheme in India, and document lessons. A controlled before and during design study was conducted in Madhya Pradesh state of India, from August 2007 to March 2008, with increased in institutional deliveries as a primary outcome. In depth interviews, focus group discussions and household surveys were done for data collection. Lack of awareness about ACI scheme amongst general population and beneficiaries, cumbersome cash disbursement procedure, intricate eligibility criteria, extensive paper work, and insufficient focus on community involvement were the major implementation challenges. There were anecdotal reports of political interference and possible scope for corruption. At the end of implementation period, overall rate of institutional deliveries had increased in both target and control populations; however, the differences were not statistically significant. No cause and effect association could be proven by this study. Poor planning and coordination, and lack of public awareness about the scheme resulted in low utilization. Thus, proper IEC and training, detailed implementation plan, orientation training for implementer, sufficient budgetary allocation, and community participation should be an integral part for successful implementation of any such scheme. The lesson learned this evaluation study may be useful in any developing country setting and may be utilized for planning and implementation of any ACI scheme in future.

  1. Use of compensation and incentives in siting low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, T.P.; Jaffe, M.

    1984-09-01

    In discussing the use of compensation and incentives in siting low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities, chapters are devoted to: compensation and incentives in disposal facility siting (definitions and effects of compensation and incentives and siting decisions involving the use of compensation and incentives); the impacts of regional and state low-level radioactive waste facilities; the legal framework of compensation; and recommendations regarding the use of compensation

  2. Motivational readiness for active commuting by university students: incentives and barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, Rachel; Leslie, Eva; Donald, Maria; Cerin, Ester; Neller, Anne; Owen, Neville

    2008-12-01

    Walking for transport can contribute significantly to health-enhancing physical activity. We examined the associations of stages of motivational readiness for active transport with perceived barriers and incentives to walking to and from university among students. Mail-back surveys were completed by 781 students in a regional university in south-east Queensland. They identified one of eight options on motivational readiness for active commuting, which were then classified as: pre-contemplation; contemplation-preparation; or, action-maintenance. Open-ended questions were used to identify relevant barriers and incentives. Logistic regressions were used to examine the barriers and incentives that distinguished between those at different stages of motivational readiness. Barriers most frequently reported were long travel distances, inconvenience and time constraints. Incentives most frequently reported were shorter travel distance, having more time, supportive infrastructure and better security. Those not considering active commuting (pre-contemplation) were significantly more likely to report shorter travel distance as an incentive compared to those in contemplation-preparation. Those in contemplation-preparation were significantly more likely to report lack of motivation, inadequate infrastructure, shorter travel distance and inconvenience as barriers; and, having more time, supportive infrastructure, social support and incentive programs as encouragement. Different barriers and incentives to walking to or from university exist for students in the different stages of motivational readiness for active commuting. Interventions targeted specifically to stage of motivational readiness may be potentially helpful in increasing activity levels, through active transport.

  3. 78 FR 67187 - Notice of Availability of the Draft General Management Plan/Wilderness Study/Environmental Impact...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-08

    ... focus on protecting natural resources and systems. Under this alternative, most of the Big Spring... Availability of the Draft General Management Plan/ Wilderness Study/Environmental Impact Statement for the... Management Plan/Wilderness Study/Environmental Impact Statement (GMP/WS/EIS) for the Ozark National Scenic...

  4. OBJECTIVES AND INCENTIVES AT THE EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friebel, Guido; Koch, Alexander; Seabright, Paul

    This report examines the effectiveness of the current system of incentives within the European Patent Office (EPO) and considers the possible consequences of placing greater emphasis on quantitative measures of productivity in rewarding EPO staff.......This report examines the effectiveness of the current system of incentives within the European Patent Office (EPO) and considers the possible consequences of placing greater emphasis on quantitative measures of productivity in rewarding EPO staff....

  5. The response of maize production in Kenya to economic incentives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Onono, P.A.,

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Agricultural development policy in Kenya has emphasised the use of incentives towards increased production and therefore self-sufficiency in maize which is a basic staple for most households. The channels used to provide incentives to maize farmers over the years include setting higher producer prices; subsidisation of inputs; provision of agricultural credit, research and extension services; construction and maintenance of roads, development of irrigation and water systems; legislative, institutional and macroeconomic reforms. Despite these efforts outputof maize has remained below domestic requirements in most years and the country continues to rely on imports to meet the deficits. Studies have assessed the responsiveness of maize to output price and reported inelastic responses and have recommended policies targeting non-price incentives to complement prices for the required increased production of maize. The studies, however, did not analyse the influence of the non-price incentives on the production of the crop. The findings of those studies are therefore deficient in explaining the relative importance of different non-price incentives and how they complement prices in influencing maize production in Kenya. This study investigated the response of maize production to both price and non-price incentives. The aim of this study was to ascertain the relative importance of non-price factors in influencing production of the crops as well as complementarity between price and non-price incentives. The findings show that maize production responds positively to its output price, development expenditures in agriculture, maize sales to marketing boards, growth in per capita GDP, liberalisation and governance reforms. However, maize production responds negatively to fertiliser price and unfavourable weather conditions. The response of maize output to its price is lower with rising inflation and grain market liberalisation.

  6. Impact of a pay-for-performance incentive on support for smoking cessation and on smoking prevalence among people with diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millett, Christopher; Gray, Jeremy; Saxena, Sonia; Netuveli, Gopalakrishnan; Majeed, Azeem

    2007-06-05

    Many people with diabetes continue to smoke despite being at high risk of cardiovascular disease. We examined the impact of a pay-for-performance incentive in the United Kingdom introduced in 2004 as part of the new general practitioner contract to improve support for smoking cessation and to reduce the prevalence of smoking among people with chronic diseases such as diabetes. We performed a population-based longitudinal study of the recorded delivery of cessation advice and the prevalence of smoking using electronic records of patients with diabetes obtained from participating general practices. The survey was carried out in an ethnically diverse part of southwest London before (June-October 2003) and after (November 2005-January 2006) the introduction of a pay-for-performance incentive. Significantly more patients with diabetes had their smoking status ever recorded in 2005 than in 2003 (98.8% v. 90.0%, p lower among women (adjusted odds ratio 0.71, 95% confidence interval 0.53-0.95) but was not significantly different in the most and least affluent groups. In 2005, smoking rates continued to differ significantly with age (10.6%-25.1%), sex (women, 11.5%; men, 20.6%) and ethnic background (4.9%-24.9%). The introduction of a pay-for-performance incentive in the United Kingdom increased the provision of support for smoking cessation and was associated with a reduction in smoking prevalence among patients with diabetes in primary health care settings. Health care planners in other countries may wish to consider introducing similar incentive schemes for primary care physicians.

  7. Satisfaction of Polish Bank Employees with Incentive Systems: An Empirical Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaźmierczyk J.

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This article considers employee satisfaction with incentive systems. Strict requirements for the efficiency of human resource management (HRM and internal public relations make it a major management problem. The importance of this study lies in the fact that incentives affect all stages of HRM. This work reports the results of an empirical survey of Polish bank employees, which was aimed to establish to what degree incentive systems met employees’ expectations, and to analyse the impact of such incentives on employee satisfaction. The authors advance the thesis that male bank employees are more satisfied with existing incentive systems than their female counterparts. The discussion is supported by empirical research based on a sample of 1, 920 Polish bank employees. The article is divided into five sections. The introductory section is followed by Section Two, which reviews employee motivation and analyses the above thesis. Section Three describes data sources and research methods, and Section Four presents findings and conclusions.

  8. Motivation and incentives of rural maternal and neonatal health care providers: a comparison of qualitative findings from Burkina Faso, Ghana and Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prytherch, Helen; Kagoné, Moubassira; Aninanya, Gifty A; Williams, John E; Kakoko, Deodatus C V; Leshabari, Melkidezek T; Yé, Maurice; Marx, Michael; Sauerborn, Rainer

    2013-04-25

    In Burkina Faso, Ghana and Tanzania strong efforts are being made to improve the quality of maternal and neonatal health (MNH) care. However, progress is impeded by challenges, especially in the area of human resources. All three countries are striving not only to scale up the number of available health staff, but also to improve performance by raising skill levels and enhancing provider motivation. In-depth interviews were used to explore MNH provider views about motivation and incentives at primary care level in rural Burkina Faso, Ghana and Tanzania. Interviews were held with 25 MNH providers, 8 facility and district managers, and 2 policy-makers in each country. Across the three countries some differences were found in the reasons why people became health workers. Commitment to remaining a health worker was generally high. The readiness to remain at a rural facility was far less, although in all settings there were some providers that were willing to stay. In Burkina Faso it appeared to be particularly difficult to recruit female MNH providers to rural areas. There were indications that MNH providers in all the settings sometimes failed to treat their patients well. This was shown to be interlinked with differences in how the term 'motivation' was understood, and in the views held about remuneration and the status of rural health work. Job satisfaction was shown to be quite high, and was particularly linked to community appreciation. With some important exceptions, there was a strong level of agreement regarding the financial and non-financial incentives that were suggested by these providers, but there were clear country preferences as to whether incentives should be for individuals or teams. Understandings of the terms and concepts pertaining to motivation differed between the three countries. The findings from Burkina Faso underline the importance of gender-sensitive health workforce planning. The training that all levels of MNH providers receive in

  9. Nucleus accumbens corticotropin-releasing factor increases cue-triggered motivation for sucrose reward: paradoxical positive incentive effects in stress?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schulkin Jay

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF is typically considered to mediate aversive aspects of stress, fear and anxiety. However, CRF release in the brain is also elicited by natural rewards and incentive cues, raising the possibility that some CRF systems in the brain mediate an independent function of positive incentive motivation, such as amplifying incentive salience. Here we asked whether activation of a limbic CRF subsystem magnifies the increase in positive motivation for reward elicited by incentive cues previously associated with that reward, in a way that might exacerbate cue-triggered binge pursuit of food or other incentives? We assessed the impact of CRF microinjections into the medial shell of nucleus accumbens using a pure incentive version of Pavlovian-Instrumental transfer, a measure specifically sensitive to the incentive salience of reward cues (which it separates from influences of aversive stress, stress reduction, frustration and other traditional explanations for stress-increased behavior. Rats were first trained to press one of two levers to obtain sucrose pellets, and then separately conditioned to associate a Pavlovian cue with free sucrose pellets. On test days, rats received microinjections of vehicle, CRF (250 or 500 ng/0.2 μl or amphetamine (20 μg/0.2 μl. Lever pressing was assessed in the presence or absence of the Pavlovian cues during a half-hour test. Results Microinjections of the highest dose of CRF (500 ng or amphetamine (20 μg selectively enhanced the ability of Pavlovian reward cues to trigger phasic peaks of increased instrumental performance for a sucrose reward, each peak lasting a minute or so before decaying after the cue. Lever pressing was not enhanced by CRF microinjections in the baseline absence of the Pavlovian cue or during the presentation without a cue, showing that the CRF enhancement could not be explained as a result of generalized motor arousal, frustration or stress

  10. Incentives for reporting disease outbreaks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramanan Laxminarayan

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Countries face conflicting incentives to report infectious disease outbreaks. Reports of outbreaks can prompt other countries to impose trade and travel restrictions, which has the potential to discourage reporting. However, reports can also bring medical assistance to contain the outbreak, including access to vaccines. METHODS: We compiled data on reports of meningococcal meningitis to the World Health Organization (WHO from 54 African countries between 1966 and 2002, a period is marked by two events: first, a large outbreak reported from many countries in 1987 associated with the Hajj that resulted in more stringent requirements for meningitis vaccination among pilgrims; and second, another large outbreak in Sub-Saharan Africa in 1996 that led to a new international mechanism to supply vaccines to countries reporting a meningitis outbreak. We used fixed-effects regression modeling to statistically estimate the effect of external forcing events on the number of countries reporting cases of meningitis to WHO. FINDINGS: We find that the Hajj vaccination requirements started in 1988 were associated with reduced reporting, especially among countries with relatively fewer cases reported between 1966 and 1979. After the vaccine provision mechanism was in place in 1996, reporting among countries that had previously not reported meningitis outbreaks increased. INTERPRETATION: These results indicate that countries may respond to changing incentives to report outbreaks when they can do so. In the long term, these incentives are likely to be more important than surveillance assistance in prompt reporting of outbreaks.

  11. The impact of facility audits, evaluation reports and incentives on motivation and supply management among family planning service providers: an interventional study in two districts in Maputo Province, Mozambique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vermandere, Heleen; Galle, Anna; Griffin, Sally; de Melo, Málica; Machaieie, Lino; Van Braeckel, Dirk; Degomme, Olivier

    2017-05-02

    only a monthly audit. During this study, more stock-outs occurred for family planning methods with lower demand, but the number of stock-outs per family planning method in the intervention groups was only significantly lower, compared with the control group, for female condoms. While a rise in motivation was not measurable, stock management was enhanced possibly as a result of the monthly audits. This activity was primarily for data collection, but was described as motivating and supportive, indicating the importance of feedback on health workers' accomplishments. More research is needed to quantify the additional impact of the interventions (distribution of evaluation reports and material incentives) on staff motivation and supply management. Special attention should be paid to supply management of less frequently used contraceptive methods.

  12. Incentive and insurance effects of income taxation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Torben M.

    2015-01-01

    the sensitivity of labour supply to taxes, which tends to reduce tax distortions and lower the marginal costs of public funds. The relation between incentives and insurance and thus efficiency and equity is flattened by the insurance effect and it may even be non-monotone. However, the optimal utilitarian policy......Tax distortions cause a trade-off between efficiency and equity. However, taxes not only affect incentives; they also provide implicit insurance, and this may critically affect the efficiency–equity relationship. For a standard labour supply problem it is shown that the insurance effect mutes...

  13. Tax incentives to promote green electricity. An overview of EU-27 countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cansino, Jose M.; Pablo-Romero, Maria del P.; Roman, Rocio; Yniguez, Rocio

    2010-01-01

    This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the main tax incentives used in the EU-27 member states (MSs) to promote green electricity. Sixteen MSs use tax incentives to promote green electricity simultaneously with other promotion measures, especially quota obligations and price regulation. However, not all available technologies are promoted. For example, six MSs (Germany, Romania, Slovak Republic, Denmark, Sweden and Poland) have included an exemption on the payments of excise duties for electricity when the electricity is generated from renewable energy sources (RES). This tax incentive is the most widely used. Limited tax incentives in personal income tax are available in Belgium, France, Czech Republic and Luxembourg. In corporate tax, tax incentives consist mainly of a deduction in the taxable profit (Belgium, Greece, Czech Republic and Spain). Lower tax rates in VAT are applied in three MSs, France, Italy and Portugal. Only Spain and Italy use effective tax incentives in property tax. As a great diversity of tax incentives has been used to promote green electricity, this adds another difficulty to the EU objective of providing a renewable energy policy framework, but also it offers a useful set of case studies which can be used to inform EU policy development. (author)

  14. Providing general and preconception health care to low income women in family planning settings: perception of providers and clients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bronstein, Janet M; Felix, Holly C; Bursac, Zoran; Stewart, M Kathryn; Foushee, H Russell; Klapow, Joshua

    2012-02-01

    This study examines both provider and client perceptions of the extent to which general health concerns are addressed in the context of publicly supported family planning care. A mail survey of family planning providers (n = 459) accepting Medicaid-covered clients in Arkansas and Alabama gathered data on reported actions and resource referral availability for ten categories of non-contraceptive health concerns. A telephone survey of recent family planning clients of these providers (n = 1991) gathered data on the presence of 16 health concerns and whether and how they were addressed by the family planning provider. Data were collected in 2006-2007. More than half (56%) of clients reported having one or more general health concerns. While 43% of those concerns had been discussed with the family planning providers, only 8% had been originally identified by these providers. Women with higher trust in physicians and usual sources of general health care were more likely to discuss their concerns. Of those concerns discussed, 39% were reportedly treated by the family planning provider. Similarly, over half of responding providers reported providing treatment for acute and chronic health conditions and counseling on health behaviors during family planning visits. Lack of familiarity with referral resources for uninsured clients was identified as a significant concern in the provision of care to these clients. Greater engagement by providers in identifying client health concerns and better integration of publicly supported family planning with other sources of health care for low income women could expand the existing potential for delivering preconception or general health care in these settings.

  15. Economic incentives to promote innovation in healthcare delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luft, Harold S

    2009-10-01

    Economics influences how medical care is delivered, organized, and progresses. Fee-for-service payment encourages delivery of services. Fee-for-individual-service, however, offers no incentives for clinicians to efficiently organize the care their patients need. Global capitation provides such incentives; it works well in highly integrated practices but not for independent practitioners. The failures of utilization management in the 1990s demonstrated the need for a third alternative to better align incentives, such as bundling payment for an episode of care. Building on Medicare's approach to hospital payment, one can define expanded diagnosis-related groups that include all hospital, physician, and other costs during the stay and appropriate preadmission and postdischarge periods. Physicians and hospitals voluntarily forming a new entity (a care delivery team) would receive such bundled payments along with complete flexibility in allocating the funds. Modifications to gainsharing and antikickback rules, as well as reforms to malpractice liability laws, will facilitate the functioning of the care delivery teams. The implicit financial incentives encourage efficient care for the patient; the episode focus will facilitate measuring patient outcomes. Payment can be based on the resources used by those care delivery teams achieving superior outcomes, thereby fostering innovation improving outcomes and reducing waste.

  16. Case Studies on the Effectiveness of State Financial Incentives for Renewable Energy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gouchoe, S.; Everette, V.; Haynes, R.

    2002-09-01

    The North Carolina Solar Center at NC State University, in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, examined 10 state financial-incentive programs in six states using a case-study approach in order to clarify the key factors-both internal and external to the program-that influence their effectiveness at stimulating deployment of renewable energy technologies. While existing information resources such as the National Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE, www.dsireusa.org) have documented what incentive programs are available, the effectiveness of such programs is not well understood. Understanding the impact of current financial incentives on the deployment of renewables and the factors that influence their effectiveness is critical to a variety of stakeholders, particularly in states considering new incentives or interested in improving or discarding existing ones.

  17. Financial incentive increases CPAP acceptance in patients from low socioeconomic background.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ariel Tarasiuk

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: We explored whether financial incentives have a role in patients' decisions to accept (purchase a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP device in a healthcare system that requires cost sharing. DESIGN: Longitudinal interventional study. PATIENTS: The group receiving financial incentive (n = 137, 50.8±10.6 years, apnea/hypopnea index (AHI 38.7±19.9 events/hr and the control group (n = 121, 50.9±10.3 years, AHI 39.9±22 underwent attendant titration and a two-week adaptation to CPAP. Patients in the control group had a co-payment of $330-660; the financial incentive group paid a subsidized price of $55. RESULTS: CPAP acceptance was 43% greater (p = 0.02 in the financial incentive group. CPAP acceptance among the low socioeconomic strata (n = 113 (adjusting for age, gender, BMI, tobacco smoking was enhanced by financial incentive (OR, 95% CI (3.43, 1.09-10.85, age (1.1, 1.03-1.17, AHI (>30 vs. 30 vs. 30 vs. <30 (5.25, 1.34-18.5. CONCLUSIONS: Minimizing cost sharing reduces a barrier for CPAP acceptance among low socioeconomic status patients. Thus, financial incentive should be applied as a policy to encourage CPAP treatment, especially among low socioeconomic strata patients.

  18. Economic incentives as a policy tool to promote safety and health at work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kankaanpää, Eila

    2010-06-01

    Incentives are regarded as a promising policy tool for promoting occupational safety and health (OSH). This article discusses the potential of different kinds of incentives in light of economic theory and evidence from research. When incentives are used as a policy tool, it implies the existance of an institution that has both the interest and the power to apply incentives to stakeholders, usually to employers. Governments can subsidize employers' investments in OSH with subsidies and tax structures. These incentives are successful only if the demand for OSH responds to the change in the price of OSH investments and if the suppliers of OSH are able to increase their production smoothly. Otherwise, the subsidy will only lead to higher prices for OSH goods. Both public and private insurance companies can differentiate insurance premiums according to claim behavior in the past (experience rating). There is evidence that this can effectively lower the frequency of claims, but not the severity of cases. This papers concludes that incentives do not directly lead to improvement. When incentives are introduced, their objective(s) should be clear and the end result (ie what the incentive aims to promote) should be known to be effective in achieving healthy and safe workplaces.

  19. On Supplementing “Foot in the Door” Incentives for eHealth Program Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Financial health incentives, such as paying people to lose weight, are being widely implemented by Western nations and large corporations. A growing number of studies have tested the impact of incentives on health behaviors, though few have evaluated the approach on a population-scale. In this issue of the Journal of Medical Internet Research, Liu et al add to the evidence-base by examining whether a single incentive can motivate enrollment and engagement in a preventive eHealth program in a sample of 142,726 Canadian adults. While the incentives increased enrollment significantly (by a factor of about 28), a very high level of program attrition was noted (90%). The “foot in the door” incentive technique employed was insufficient; enrollees received incentives for signing-up for, but not for engaging with, the eHealth program. To supplement this technique and drive sustained behavior change, several theoretically- and empirically-based strategies are proposed. Specifically, incentives indexed to behavioral achievements over time are highlighted as one approach to boost engagement in this population in the future. PMID:25092221

  20. Diminished neural responses predict enhanced intrinsic motivation and sensitivity to external incentive.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsden, Karen E; Ma, Wei Ji; Deci, Edward L; Ryan, Richard M; Chiu, Pearl H

    2015-06-01

    The duration and quality of human performance depend on both intrinsic motivation and external incentives. However, little is known about the neuroscientific basis of this interplay between internal and external motivators. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural substrates of intrinsic motivation, operationalized as the free-choice time spent on a task when this was not required, and tested the neural and behavioral effects of external reward on intrinsic motivation. We found that increased duration of free-choice time was predicted by generally diminished neural responses in regions associated with cognitive and affective regulation. By comparison, the possibility of additional reward improved task accuracy, and specifically increased neural and behavioral responses following errors. Those individuals with the smallest neural responses associated with intrinsic motivation exhibited the greatest error-related neural enhancement under the external contingency of possible reward. Together, these data suggest that human performance is guided by a "tonic" and "phasic" relationship between the neural substrates of intrinsic motivation (tonic) and the impact of external incentives (phasic).

  1. Environmental Assessment for the General Plan and Maintenance of Patrick Air Force Base, Florida

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-05-01

    considered viable. P A F B G e n e r a l P l a n E A 2 Environmental Effects The General Plan EA evaluated the environmental impacts of...year cycle. The potential environmental effects were assessed for the following environmental resource areas: air quality, water quality, geology...ADP Area Development Plan AF Air Force AFB Air Force Base AFETR Air Force Eastern Test Range AFI Air Force Instruction AFMAN Air Force Manual

  2. Calculations of Financial Incentives for Providers in a Pay-for-Performance Program: Manual Review Versus Data From Structured Fields in Electronic Health Records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urech, Tracy H; Woodard, LeChauncy D; Virani, Salim S; Dudley, R Adams; Lutschg, Meghan Z; Petersen, Laura A

    2015-10-01

    Hospital report cards and financial incentives linked to performance require clinical data that are reliable, appropriate, timely, and cost-effective to process. Pay-for-performance plans are transitioning to automated electronic health record (EHR) data as an efficient method to generate data needed for these programs. To determine how well data from automated processing of structured fields in the electronic health record (AP-EHR) reflect data from manual chart review and the impact of these data on performance rewards. Cross-sectional analysis of performance measures used in a cluster randomized trial assessing the impact of financial incentives on guideline-recommended care for hypertension. A total of 2840 patients with hypertension assigned to participating physicians at 12 Veterans Affairs hospital-based outpatient clinics. Fifty-two physicians and 33 primary care personnel received incentive payments. Overall, positive and negative agreement indices and Cohen's kappa were calculated for assessments of guideline-recommended antihypertensive medication use, blood pressure (BP) control, and appropriate response to uncontrolled BP. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to assess how similar participants' calculated earnings were between the data sources. By manual chart review data, 72.3% of patients were considered to have received guideline-recommended antihypertensive medications compared with 65.0% by AP-EHR review (κ=0.51). Manual review indicated 69.5% of patients had controlled BP compared with 66.8% by AP-EHR review (κ=0.87). Compared with 52.2% of patients per the manual review, 39.8% received an appropriate response by AP-EHR review (κ=0.28). Participants' incentive payments calculated using the 2 methods were highly correlated (r≥0.98). Using the AP-EHR data to calculate earnings, participants' payment changes ranged from a decrease of $91.00 (-30.3%) to an increase of $18.20 (+7.4%) for medication use (interquartile range, -14.4% to 0

  3. Incentive Problems in Banking Supervision: The European Case

    OpenAIRE

    Schüler, Martin

    2003-01-01

    This paper discusses the incentive conflicts that arise in banking supervision in the EU in a principal-agent framework, where the regulator is the agent and the taxpayers is the principal. The regulatory agent in addition to maintaining financial stability (the objective of the principal) may pursue private interests. Incomplete information, insufficient accountability of the agent and lack of enforceability of compliance result in an incentive problem. A reform of the European supervisory s...

  4. Incentives and intrinsic motivation in healthcare

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mikel Berdud

    2016-11-01

    Conclusions: The conclusions could act as a guide to support the optimal design of incentive policies and schemes within health organisations when healthcare professionals are intrinsically motivated.

  5. Financial Incentive Increases CPAP Acceptance in Patients from Low Socioeconomic Background

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarasiuk, Ariel; Reznor, Gally; Greenberg-Dotan, Sari; Reuveni, Haim

    2012-01-01

    Objective We explored whether financial incentives have a role in patients′ decisions to accept (purchase) a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device in a healthcare system that requires cost sharing. Design Longitudinal interventional study. Patients The group receiving financial incentive (n = 137, 50.8±10.6 years, apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) 38.7±19.9 events/hr) and the control group (n = 121, 50.9±10.3 years, AHI 39.9±22) underwent attendant titration and a two-week adaptation to CPAP. Patients in the control group had a co-payment of $330–660; the financial incentive group paid a subsidized price of $55. Results CPAP acceptance was 43% greater (p = 0.02) in the financial incentive group. CPAP acceptance among the low socioeconomic strata (n = 113) (adjusting for age, gender, BMI, tobacco smoking) was enhanced by financial incentive (OR, 95% CI) (3.43, 1.09–10.85), age (1.1, 1.03–1.17), AHI (>30 vs. CPAP (4.29, 1.05–17.51). Among average/high-income patients (n = 145) CPAP acceptance was affected by AHI (>30 vs. CPAP adherence was similar in the financial incentive and control groups, 35% and 39%, respectively (p = 0.82). Adherence rate was sensitive to education (+yr) (1.28, 1.06–1.55) and AHI (>30 vs. CPAP acceptance among low socioeconomic status patients. Thus, financial incentive should be applied as a policy to encourage CPAP treatment, especially among low socioeconomic strata patients. PMID:22479368

  6. Value-based insurance design: aligning incentives and evidence in pulmonary medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fendrick, A Mark; Zank, Daniel C

    2013-11-01

    When consumers are required to pay the same out-of-pocket amount for pulmonary services for which clinical benefits depend on patient characteristics, clinical indication, and provider choice, there is an enormous potential for both underutilization and overutilization. Unlike most current one-size-fits-all health plan designs, value-based insurance design (V-BID) explicitly acknowledges clinical heterogeneity across the continuum of care. By adding clinical nuance to benefit design, V-BID seeks to align consumer and provider incentives with value, encouraging the use of high-value services and discouraging the use of low-value interventions. This article describes the concept of V-BID; creates a framework for its development in pulmonary medicine; and outlines how this concept aligns with research, care delivery, and payment reform initiatives.

  7. Attitudes toward strategies to increase organ donation: views of the general public and health professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnieh, Lianne; Klarenbach, Scott; Gill, John S; Caulfield, Tim; Manns, Braden

    2012-12-01

    The acceptability of financial incentives for organ donation is contentious. This study sought to determine (1) the acceptability of expense reimbursement or financial incentives by the general public, health professionals involved with organ donation and transplantation, and those with or affected by kidney disease and (2) for the public, whether financial incentives would alter their willingness to consider donation. Web-based survey administered to members of the Canadian public, health professionals, and people with or affected by kidney disease asking questions regarding acceptability of strategies to increase living and deceased kidney donation and willingness to donate a kidney under various financial incentives. Responses were collected from 2004 members of the Canadian public October 11-18, 2011; responses from health professionals (n=339) and people with or affected by kidney disease (n=268) were collected during a 4-week period commencing October 11, 2011. Acceptability of one or more financial incentives to increase deceased and living donation was noted in >70% and 40% of all groups, respectively. Support for monetary payment for living donors was 45%, 14%, and 27% for the public, health professionals, and people with or affected by kidney disease, respectively. Overall, reimbursement of funeral expenses for deceased donors and a tax break for living donors were the most acceptable. The general public views regulated financial incentives for living and deceased donation to be acceptable. Future research needs to examine the impact of financial incentives on rates of deceased and living donors.

  8. A model of strategic product quality and process improvement incentives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Veldman, Jasper; Gaalman, G.

    2013-01-01

    In many production firms it is common practice to financially reward managers for firm performance improvement. The use of financial incentives for improvement has been widely researched in several analytical and empirical studies. Literature has also addressed the strategic effect of incentives, in

  9. A General Overview of Electric Road Vehicles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lamblin, Veronique

    2018-01-01

    In July 2017 Nicolas Hulot, the French Minister of Ecological and Inclusive Transition, presented a climate plan featuring an end to electricity generation from coal by 2022, a reduction in the nuclear component of electricity supply by one third, a total ban on the sale of petrol or diesel cars by 2040 and an incentive scheme designed gradually to remove polluting vehicles from the roads. Other European partners are following suit and promoting the spread of electric vehicles (Norway, Germany, Netherlands etc.). Yet is this the panacea that will meet the targets for greenhouse gas reduction in the battle against climate change? Futuribles examines the question in this issue with two articles: the first of these by Pierre Bonnaure, above, assesses the forces driving the spread of electric cars and the impediments to that process; this second article by Veronique Lamblin offers a general over - view of electric road vehicles (passenger cars, heavy good vehicles, bicycles etc.) throughout the world. (author)

  10. Investigation of existing financial incentive policies for solar photovoltaic systems in U.S. regions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian Zhang

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes some of the existing incentives for solar photovoltaic (PV energy generation in the U.S. Four types of buildings (e.g., hospitals, large offices, large hotels, and secondary schools located in five different U.S. states, each having their own incentives, are selected and analyzed for the PV incentive policies. The payback period of the PV system is chosen as an indicator to analyze and critique the effectiveness of each incentive by comparing the payback periods before and after taking the incentive into consideration. Then a parametric analysis is conducted to determine the influence of the variation in key parameters, such as PV system capacity, capital cost of PV, sell back ratio and the performance-based incentive rate, on the performance of the PV system. The results show how the existing incentives can be effectively used to promote the PV systems in the U.S. and how variations of the parameters can impact the payback period of the PV systems. Through the evaluation of the existing incentive policies and the parametric study, this paper demonstrates that the type and level of incentives should be carefully determined in policy-making processes to effectively promote the PV systems.

  11. Assessing the Efficiency of Tax Incentives in the System for Managing Regional Finances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igonina Lyudmila Lazarevna

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyzes existing techniques for assessing the effectiveness of tax incentives in the system for managing regional finances and reveals their advantages and disadvantages. It points out major conditions that determine the effectiveness of tax incentives at the regional level. The authors prove that assessing the effectiveness of tax incentives should focus, first, on identifying the relationship between the amounts of falling-out incomes and real economic benefits to the state and taxpayers that they entail; second, on determining the degree of correlation for this relationship; third, on adopting the decisions proceeding from the analysis of decisions concerning the extension of the incentive and its adjustment or possible abolition. The paper substantiates the conclusion that the effectiveness of tax incentives should be evaluated on the basis of three criteria: fiscal, economic and social. At that, the effectiveness of tax incentives at the regional level should be analyzed in several stages: calculation of budgetary, economic and social efficiency ratios; definition of the integral coefficient reflecting the total assessment of tax incentives efficiency; adoption of the decision about the appropriateness of introducing or further using the incentive, the decision being based on the calculations carried out previously. On the basis of the research the authors put forward a methodology for assessing the effectiveness of tax incentives based on the systematization of the totality of indicators in the context of structural determinants and calculation of the integral coefficient, which in contrast to existing techniques helps give an integrated assessment of the effectiveness of tax incentives at the subnational level, the assessment being structured by key blocks; the authors’ methodology also helps identify budgetary, economic and social implications of providing tax incentives. Moreover, the proposed methodology helps evaluate the

  12. Privatized Returns and Socialized Risks: CEO Incentives, Securitization Accounting and the Financial Crisis

    OpenAIRE

    Fabrizi, M.; Parbonetti, A.

    2013-01-01

    The paper investigates the role of CEO’s equity and risk incentives in boosting securitization in the financial industry and in motivating executives to reduce the perceived risk while betting on it. Using a sample of US financial institutions over the period 2003-2009 we document that CEOs with high equity incentives have systematically engaged in securitization transactions to a larger extent than CEOs with low incentives. We also show that CEOs with high equity and risk-related incentives ...

  13. Asymmetrically Dominated Choice Problems, the Isolation Hypothesis and Random Incentive Mechanisms

    OpenAIRE

    Cox, James C.; Sadiraj, Vjollca; Schmidt, Ulrich

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents an experimental study of the random incentive mechanisms which are a standard procedure in economic and psychological experiments. Random incentive mechanisms have several advantages but are incentive-compatible only if responses to the single tasks are independent. This is true if either the independence axiom of expected utility theory or the isolation hypothesis of prospect theory holds. We present a simple test of this in the context of choice under risk. In the baseli...

  14. Unpaid overtime in the Netherlands : forward- or backward-looking incentives?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van der Meer, Peter H.; Wielers, Rudi

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to test forward-looking incentives against backward-looking incentives. Design/methodology/approach ? Wage growth model to estimate forward-looking effects of unpaid overtime and a probit model of participation in unpaid overtime controlling for excessive pay to estimate

  15. Incentives for Blood Donation: A Discrete Choice Experiment to Analyze Extrinsic Motivation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadler, Andrew; Shi, Ling; Bethge, Susanne; Mühlbacher, Axel

    2018-04-01

    Background: Demographic trends affect size and age structure of populations. One of the consequences will be an increasing need for blood products to treat age-related diseases. Donation services rely on voluntariness and charitable motivation. It might be questioned whether there will be sufficient blood supply with voluntary donation. The present study focused on elicitation of preferences for incentives and aimed to contribute to the discussion on how to increase donation rates. Methods: A self-administered discrete choice experiment (DCE) was applied. Respondents were repeatedly asked to choose between hypothetical blood donation centers. In case of reluctance to receiving incentives a none-option was included. Random parameter logit (RPL) and latent class models (LCM) were used for analysis. Results: The study sample included 416 college students from the US and Germany. Choice decisions were significantly influenced by the characteristics of the donation center in the DCE. Incentives most preferred were monetary compensation, paid leave, and blood screening test. LCM identified subgroups with preference heterogeneity. Small subgroups indicated moderate to strong aversion to incentives. Conclusion: The majority of the sample positively responded to incentives and indicated a willingness to accept incentives. In face of future challenges, the judicious use and appropriate utilization of incentives might be an option to motivate potential donors and should be open to discussion.

  16. Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives jointly predict performance: a 40-year meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerasoli, Christopher P; Nicklin, Jessica M; Ford, Michael T

    2014-07-01

    More than 4 decades of research and 9 meta-analyses have focused on the undermining effect: namely, the debate over whether the provision of extrinsic incentives erodes intrinsic motivation. This review and meta-analysis builds on such previous reviews by focusing on the interrelationship among intrinsic motivation, extrinsic incentives, and performance, with reference to 2 moderators: performance type (quality vs. quantity) and incentive contingency (directly performance-salient vs. indirectly performance-salient), which have not been systematically reviewed to date. Based on random-effects meta-analytic methods, findings from school, work, and physical domains (k = 183, N = 212,468) indicate that intrinsic motivation is a medium to strong predictor of performance (ρ = .21-45). The importance of intrinsic motivation to performance remained in place whether incentives were presented. In addition, incentive salience influenced the predictive validity of intrinsic motivation for performance: In a "crowding out" fashion, intrinsic motivation was less important to performance when incentives were directly tied to performance and was more important when incentives were indirectly tied to performance. Considered simultaneously through meta-analytic regression, intrinsic motivation predicted more unique variance in quality of performance, whereas incentives were a better predictor of quantity of performance. With respect to performance, incentives and intrinsic motivation are not necessarily antagonistic and are best considered simultaneously. Future research should consider using nonperformance criteria (e.g., well-being, job satisfaction) as well as applying the percent-of-maximum-possible (POMP) method in meta-analyses. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  17. Optimal Incentives in a Principal–Agent Model with Endogenous Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco A. Marini

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available One of the standard predictions of the agency theory is that more incentives can be given to agents with lower risk aversion. In this paper, we show that this relationship may be absent or reversed when the technology is endogenous and projects with a higher efficiency are also riskier. Using a modified version of the Holmstrom and Milgrom’s framework, we obtain that lower agent’s risk aversion unambiguously leads to higher incentives when the technology function linking efficiency and riskiness is elastic, while the risk aversion–incentive relationship can be positive when this function is rigid.

  18. Economic Incentives for Sex-Selective Abortion in India

    OpenAIRE

    Daniel Rosenblum

    2014-01-01

    In order to understand the economic incentives behind sex selection in India, I provide the first estimates of the magnitude of the economic benefits of having a son instead of a daughter. I estimate large gains to per capita income and expenditure, household assets, and a reduction in the probability the household is below the poverty line. The observed pattern of incentives are compared to observed patterns in sex selection. Estimates show that sex selection may provide economic advantages ...

  19. Quantifying individual variation in the propensity to attribute incentive salience to reward cues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Paul J; Lovic, Vedran; Saunders, Benjamin T; Yager, Lindsay M; Flagel, Shelly B; Morrow, Jonathan D; Robinson, Terry E

    2012-01-01

    If reward-associated cues acquire the properties of incentive stimuli they can come to powerfully control behavior, and potentially promote maladaptive behavior. Pavlovian incentive stimuli are defined as stimuli that have three fundamental properties: they are attractive, they are themselves desired, and they can spur instrumental actions. We have found, however, that there is considerable individual variation in the extent to which animals attribute Pavlovian incentive motivational properties ("incentive salience") to reward cues. The purpose of this paper was to develop criteria for identifying and classifying individuals based on their propensity to attribute incentive salience to reward cues. To do this, we conducted a meta-analysis of a large sample of rats (N = 1,878) subjected to a classic Pavlovian conditioning procedure. We then used the propensity of animals to approach a cue predictive of reward (one index of the extent to which the cue was attributed with incentive salience), to characterize two behavioral phenotypes in this population: animals that approached the cue ("sign-trackers") vs. others that approached the location of reward delivery ("goal-trackers"). This variation in Pavlovian approach behavior predicted other behavioral indices of the propensity to attribute incentive salience to reward cues. Thus, the procedures reported here should be useful for making comparisons across studies and for assessing individual variation in incentive salience attribution in small samples of the population, or even for classifying single animals.

  20. Effects of incentives on psychosocial performances in simulated space-dwelling groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hienz, Robert D.; Brady, Joseph V.; Hursh, Steven R.; Gasior, Eric D.; Spence, Kevin R.; Emurian, Henry H.

    Prior research with individually isolated 3-person crews in a distributed, interactive, planetary exploration simulation examined the effects of communication constraints and crew configuration changes on crew performance and psychosocial self-report measures. The present report extends these findings to a model of performance maintenance that operationalizes conditions under which disruptive affective responses by crew participants might be anticipated to emerge. Experiments evaluated the effects of changes in incentive conditions on crew performance and self-report measures in simulated space-dwelling groups. Crews participated in a simulated planetary exploration mission that required identification, collection, and analysis of geologic samples. Results showed that crew performance effectiveness was unaffected by either positive or negative incentive conditions, while self-report measures were differentially affected—negative incentive conditions produced pronounced increases in negative self-report ratings and decreases in positive self-report ratings, while positive incentive conditions produced increased positive self-report ratings only. Thus, incentive conditions associated with simulated spaceflight missions can significantly affect psychosocial adaptation without compromising task performance effectiveness in trained and experienced crews.