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Sample records for lessen economic hardship

  1. Chronic Family Economic Hardship, Family Processes and Progression of Mental and Physical Health Symptoms in Adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Tae Kyoung; Wickrama, K. A. S.; Simons, Leslie Gordon

    2013-01-01

    Research has documented the relationship between family stressors such as family economic hardship and marital conflict and adolescents' mental health symptoms, especially depressive symptoms. Few studies, however, have examined the processes whereby supportive parenting lessens this effect and the progression of mental health and physical health…

  2. Economic hardship and Mexican-origin adolescents' adjustment: examining adolescents' perceptions of hardship and parent-adolescent relationship quality.

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    Delgado, Melissa Y; Killoren, Sarah E; Updegraff, Kimberly A

    2013-10-01

    Studies examining economic hardship consistently have linked family economic hardship to adolescent adjustment via parent and family functioning, but limited attention has been given to adolescents' perceptions of these processes. To address this, the authors investigated the intervening effects of adolescents' perceptions of economic hardship and of parent-adolescent warmth and conflict on the associations between parental economic hardship and adolescent adjustment (i.e., depressive symptoms, risky behaviors, and school performance) in a sample of 246 Mexican-origin families. Findings revealed that both mothers' and fathers' reports of economic hardship were positively related to adolescents' reports of economic hardship, which in turn, were negatively related to parent-adolescent warmth and positively related to parent-adolescent conflict with both mothers and fathers. Adolescents' perceptions of economic hardship were indirectly related to (a) depressive symptoms through warmth with mothers and conflict with mothers and fathers, (b) involvement in risky behaviors through conflict with mothers and fathers, and (c) GPA through conflict with fathers. Our findings highlight the importance of adolescents' perceptions of family economic hardship and relationships with mothers and fathers in predicting adolescent adjustment.

  3. Economic Hardship and Mexican-Origin Adolescents’ Adjustment: Examining Adolescents’ Perceptions of Hardship and Parent-Adolescent Relationship Quality

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    Delgado, Melissa Y.; Killoren, Sarah E.; Updegraff, Kimberly A.

    2016-01-01

    Studies examining economic hardship consistently have linked family economic hardship to adolescent adjustment via parent and family functioning, but limited attention has been given to adolescents’ perceptions of these processes. To address this, the authors investigated the intervening effects of adolescents’ perceptions of economic hardship and of parent-adolescent warmth and conflict on the associations between parental economic hardship and adolescent adjustment (i.e., depressive symptoms, risky behaviors, and school performance) in a sample of 246 Mexican-origin families. Findings revealed that both mothers’ and fathers’ reports of economic hardship were positively related to adolescents’ reports of economic hardship, which in turn, were negatively related to parent-adolescent warmth and positively related to parent-adolescent conflict with both mothers and fathers. Adolescents’ perceptions of economic hardship were indirectly related to a) depressive symptoms through warmth with mothers and conflict with mothers and fathers, b) involvement in risky behaviors through conflict with mothers and fathers, and c) GPA through conflict with fathers. Our findings highlight the importance of adolescents’ perceptions of family economic hardship and relationships with mothers and fathers in predicting adolescent adjustment. PMID:23937419

  4. Return to work, economic hardship, and women's postpartum health.

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    Tucker, Jenna N; Grzywacz, Joseph G; Leng, Iris; Clinch, C Randall; Arcury, Thomas A

    2010-10-01

    This study followed a sample of 217 new mothers in a North Carolina county as they returned to work full-time, measuring their mental and physical health-related quality of life through 16 months postpartum. In general, working mothers of infants had mental health scores that were comparable to the general population of U.S. women, and physical health that was slightly better than women in general. Using ANCOVA and controlling for important demographic characteristics, health-related quality of life was compared between mothers experiencing low and high levels of economic hardship. Across the study period, women with high economic hardship, who constituted 30.7% of the sample, had levels of mental and physical health below those of women with low economic hardship. Mothers with high economic hardship also had less stable health trajectories than mothers with low economic hardship. The findings highlight the importance of reconsidering the traditionally accepted postpartum recovery period of six weeks and extending benefits, such as paid maternity and sick leave, as well as stable yet flexible work schedules.

  5. Economic Hardship in Childhood: A Neglected Issue in ACE Studies?

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    Braveman, Paula; Heck, Katherine; Egerter, Susan; Rinki, Christine; Marchi, Kristen; Curtis, Mike

    2018-03-01

    Objectives Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked with ill-health in adulthood, but ACE literature has focused on family disruption or dysfunction (e.g., child abuse, parental separation), with less attention to economic adversity. We examined whether a mother's economic hardship in childhood (EHC) was associated with women's hardships and health-risk behaviors during/just before pregnancy. Methods We analyzed population-based survey data on 27,102 postpartum California women. EHC included respondents' reports that during childhood they/their families experienced hunger because of inability to afford food or moved because of problems paying rent/mortgage and the frequency of difficulty paying for basic needs. We examined six maternal hardships/behaviors during/just before pregnancy, including four hardships (poverty, food insecurity, homelessness/no regular place to sleep, intimate partner violence) and two behaviors (smoking, binge drinking). Prevalence ratios (PRs) were calculated from sequential logistic regression models estimating associations between EHC (categorized by level of hardship) and each maternal hardship/behavior, first without adjustment, then adjusting for other childhood and current maternal factors, and finally adding family disruption/dysfunction. Results Before adjustment for family disruption/dysfunction, the highest and intermediate EHC levels were associated with each maternal hardship/behavior; after full adjustment, those associations persisted except with smoking. Higher EHC levels generally appeared associated with larger PRs, although confidence intervals overlapped. Conclusions for Policy/Practice These findings link childhood economic hardship with women's hardships, binge drinking, and possibly smoking around the time of pregnancy. Without establishing causality, they support previous research indicating that childhood economic adversity should be considered an ACE.

  6. Economic hardship associated with managing chronic illness: a qualitative inquiry

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    Jan Stephen

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Chronic illness and disability can have damaging, even catastrophic, socioeconomic effects on individuals and their households. We examined the experiences of people affected by chronic heart failure, complicated diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to inform patient centred policy development. This paper provides a first level, qualitative understanding of the economic impact of chronic illness. Methods Interviews were conducted with patients aged between 45 and 85 years who had one or more of the index conditions and family carers from the Australian Capital Territory and Western Sydney, Australia (n = 66. Content analysis guided the interpretation of data. Results The affordability of medical treatments and care required to manage illness were identified as the key aspects of economic hardship, which compromised patients' capacity to proactively engage in self-management and risk reduction behaviours. Factors exacerbating hardship included ineligibility for government support, co-morbidity, health service flexibility, and health literacy. Participants who were on multiple medications, from culturally and linguistically diverse or Indigenous backgrounds, and/or not in paid employment, experienced economic hardship more harshly and their management of chronic illness was jeopardised as a consequence. Economic hardship was felt among not only those ineligible for government financial supports but also those receiving subsidies that were insufficient to meet the costs of managing long-term illness over and above necessary daily living expenses. Conclusion This research provides insights into the economic stressors associated with managing chronic illness, demonstrating that economic hardship requires households to make difficult decisions between care and basic living expenses. These decisions may cause less than optimal health outcomes and increased costs to the health system. The findings support the necessity

  7. The role of hardship in the association between socio-economic position and depression.

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    Butterworth, Peter; Olesen, Sarah C; Leach, Liana S

    2012-04-01

    It is well established that socio-economic position is associated with depression. The experience of financial hardship, having to go without the essentials of daily living due to limited financial resources, may explain the effect. However, there are few studies examining the link between financial hardship and diagnosable depression at a population level. The current paper addresses this gap and also evaluates the moderating effect of age. Data were from 8841 participants aged 16-85 years in Australia's 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. The 12-month prevalence of depressive episode was assessed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Measures of socio-economic position included: financial hardship, education, labour-force status, occupational skill, household income, main source of income, and area-level disadvantage. Financial hardship was more strongly associated with depression than other socio-economic variables. Hardship was more strongly associated with current depression than with prior history of depression. The relative effect of hardship was strongest in late adulthood but the absolute effect of hardship was greatest in middle age. The results demonstrate the critical role of financial hardship in the association between socio-economic disadvantage and 12-month depressive episode, and suggest that social and economic policies that address inequalities in living standards may be an appropriate way to reduce the burden attributable to depression.

  8. Economic Hardship and Depression Among Women in Latino Farmworker Families.

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    Pulgar, Camila A; Trejo, Grisel; Suerken, Cynthia; Ip, Edward H; Arcury, Thomas A; Quandt, Sara A

    2016-06-01

    Farmworker family members risk poor mental health due to stressors including poverty, relocation, and documentation status. This paper explores the relationship between farm-work related stressors and depressive symptoms in women of Latino farmworker families. 248 mothers of young children completed fixed-response interviews in Spanish. Measures included the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, Migrant Farmworker Stress Inventory, and USDA Household Food Security Survey Module. Bivariate analyses indicated greater depressive symptoms with more economic hardship, more farm work-related stressors, greater age, and being unmarried. In multivariable logistic regression, economic hardship remained the only factor associated with depressive symptoms. Greater economic hardship, but not general farm work-related stress, is a main factor associated with depression in women of Latino farmworker families. Maternal depression can have consequences for both mothers and families. Mental health services for women in farmworker families should be targeted to those with the greatest economic challenges.

  9. Impact of Economic Hardship and Financial Threat on Suicide Ideation and Confusion.

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    Fiksenbaum, Lisa; Marjanovic, Zdravko; Greenglass, Esther; Garcia-Santos, Francisco

    2017-07-04

    The present study tested the extent to which perceived economic hardship is associated with psychological distress (suicide ideation and confusion) after controlling for personal characteristics. It also explored whether perceived financial threat (i.e., fearful anxious-uncertainty about the stability and security of one's personal financial situation) mediates the relationship between economic hardship and psychological distress outcomes. The theoretical model was tested in a sample of Canadian students (n = 211) and was validated in a community sample of employed Portuguese adults (n = 161). In both samples, the fit of the model was good. Parameter estimates indicated that greater experience of economic hardship increased with financial threat, which in turn increased with levels of suicide ideation and confusion. We discuss the practical implications of these results, such as for programs aimed at alleviating the burden of financial hardship, in our concluding remarks.

  10. Economic hardships in adulthood and mental health in Sweden. The Swedish National Public Health Survey 2009.

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    Ahnquist, Johanna; Wamala, Sarah P

    2011-10-11

    Possible accumulative effects of a combined economic hardship's measure, including both income and non-income related economic hardships measures, on mental health has not been well investigated. The aim of this paper was to investigate; (i) independent associations between multiple measures of economic hardships and mental health problems, and (ii) associations between a combined economic hardships measure and mental health problems. We analysed data from the 2009 Swedish National Survey of Public Health comprising a randomly selected representative national sample combined with a randomly selected supplementary sample from four county councils and three municipalities consisting of 23,153 men and 28,261 women aged 16-84 years. Mental health problems included; psychological distress (GHQ-12), severe anxiety and use of antidepressant medication. Economic hardship was measured by a combined economic hardships measure including low household income, inability to meet expenses and lacking cash reserves. The results from multivariate adjusted (age, country of birth, educational level, occupational status, employment status, family status and long term illness) logistic regression analysis indicate that self-reported current economic difficulties (inability to pay for ordinary bills and lack of cash reserves), were significantly associated with both women's and men's mental health problems (all indicators), while low income was not. In addition, we found a statistically significant graded association between mental health problems and levels of economic hardships. The findings indicate that indicators of self-reported current economic difficulties seem to be more strongly associated with poor mental health outcomes than the more conventional measure low income. Furthermore, the likelihood of mental health problems differed significantly in a graded fashion in relation to levels of economic hardships.

  11. Economic hardships in adulthood and mental health in Sweden. the Swedish National Public Health Survey 2009

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahnquist Johanna

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Possible accumulative effects of a combined economic hardship's measure, including both income and non-income related economic hardships measures, on mental health has not been well investigated. The aim of this paper was to investigate; (i independent associations between multiple measures of economic hardships and mental health problems, and (ii associations between a combined economic hardships measure and mental health problems. Methods We analysed data from the 2009 Swedish National Survey of Public Health comprising a randomly selected representative national sample combined with a randomly selected supplementary sample from four county councils and three municipalities consisting of 23,153 men and 28,261 women aged 16-84 years. Mental health problems included; psychological distress (GHQ-12, severe anxiety and use of antidepressant medication. Economic hardship was measured by a combined economic hardships measure including low household income, inability to meet expenses and lacking cash reserves. Results The results from multivariate adjusted (age, country of birth, educational level, occupational status, employment status, family status and long term illness logistic regression analysis indicate that self-reported current economic difficulties (inability to pay for ordinary bills and lack of cash reserves, were significantly associated with both women's and men's mental health problems (all indicators, while low income was not. In addition, we found a statistically significant graded association between mental health problems and levels of economic hardships. Conclusions The findings indicate that indicators of self-reported current economic difficulties seem to be more strongly associated with poor mental health outcomes than the more conventional measure low income. Furthermore, the likelihood of mental health problems differed significantly in a graded fashion in relation to levels of economic hardships.

  12. Association of Childhood Economic Hardship with Adult Height and Adult Adiposity among Hispanics/Latinos. The HCHS/SOL Socio-Cultural Ancillary Study.

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    Isasi, Carmen R; Jung, Molly; Parrinello, Christina M; Kaplan, Robert C; Kim, Ryung; Crespo, Noe C; Gonzalez, Patricia; Gouskova, Natalia A; Penedo, Frank J; Perreira, Krista M; Perrino, Tatiana; Sotres-Alvarez, Daniela; Van Horn, Linda; Gallo, Linda C

    2016-01-01

    The study examined the association of childhood and current economic hardship with anthropometric indices in Hispanic/Latino adults, using data from the HCHS/SOL Socio-cultural ancillary study (N = 5,084), a community-based study of Hispanic/Latinos living in four urban areas (Bronx, NY, Chicago, IL, Miami, FL, and San Diego, CA). Childhood economic hardship was defined as having experienced a period of time when one's family had trouble paying for basic needs (e.g., food, housing), and when this economic hardship occurred: between 0-12, 13-18 years old, or throughout both of those times. Current economic hardship was defined as experiencing trouble paying for basic needs during the past 12 months. Anthropometry included height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and percentage body fat (%BF). Complex survey linear regression models were used to test the associations of childhood economic hardship with adult anthropometric indices, adjusting for potential confounders (e.g., age, sex, Hispanic background). Childhood economic hardship varied by Hispanic background, place of birth, and adult socio-economic status. Childhood economic hardship during both periods, childhood and adolescence, was associated with shorter height. Childhood economic hardship was associated with greater adiposity among US born individuals only. Current economic hardship was significantly associated with all three measures of adiposity (BMI, WC, %BF). These findings suggest that previous periods of childhood economic hardship appear to influence adult height more than adiposity, whereas current economic hardship may be a better determinant of adult adiposity in Hispanics.

  13. Financial hardship, socio-economic position and depression: results from the PATH Through Life Survey.

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    Butterworth, Peter; Rodgers, Bryan; Windsor, Tim D

    2009-07-01

    There is a strong association between financial hardship and the experience of depression. Previous longitudinal research differs in whether this association is viewed as a contemporaneous relationship between depression and hardship or whether hardship has a role in the maintenance of existing depression. In this study we investigate the association between depression and hardship over time and seek to resolve these contradictory perspectives. We also investigate the consistency of the association across the lifecourse. This study reports analysis of two waves of data from a large community survey conducted in the city of Canberra and the surrounding region in south-east Australia. The PATH Through Life Study used a narrow-cohort design, with 6715 respondents representing three birth cohorts (1975-1979; 1956-1960; and 1937-1941) assessed on the two measurement occasions (4 years apart). Depression was measured using the Goldberg Depression Scale and hardship assessed by items measuring aspects of deprivation due to lack of resources. A range of measures of socio-economic circumstance and demographic characteristics were included in logistic regression models to predict wave 2 depression. The results showed that current financial hardship was strongly and independently associated with depression, above the effects of other measures of socio-economic position and demographic characteristics. In contrast, the effect of prior financial difficulty was explained by baseline depression symptoms. There were no reliable cohort differences in the association between hardship and depression having controlled for socio-demographic characteristics. There was some evidence that current hardship was more strongly associated with depression for those who were not classified as depressed at baseline than for those identified with depression at baseline. The evidence of the contemporaneous association between hardship and depression suggests that addressing deprivation may be an

  14. Association of Childhood Economic Hardship with Adult Height and Adult Adiposity among Hispanics/Latinos. The HCHS/SOL Socio-Cultural Ancillary Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carmen R Isasi

    Full Text Available The study examined the association of childhood and current economic hardship with anthropometric indices in Hispanic/Latino adults, using data from the HCHS/SOL Socio-cultural ancillary study (N = 5,084, a community-based study of Hispanic/Latinos living in four urban areas (Bronx, NY, Chicago, IL, Miami, FL, and San Diego, CA. Childhood economic hardship was defined as having experienced a period of time when one's family had trouble paying for basic needs (e.g., food, housing, and when this economic hardship occurred: between 0-12, 13-18 years old, or throughout both of those times. Current economic hardship was defined as experiencing trouble paying for basic needs during the past 12 months. Anthropometry included height, body mass index (BMI, waist circumference (WC, and percentage body fat (%BF. Complex survey linear regression models were used to test the associations of childhood economic hardship with adult anthropometric indices, adjusting for potential confounders (e.g., age, sex, Hispanic background. Childhood economic hardship varied by Hispanic background, place of birth, and adult socio-economic status. Childhood economic hardship during both periods, childhood and adolescence, was associated with shorter height. Childhood economic hardship was associated with greater adiposity among US born individuals only. Current economic hardship was significantly associated with all three measures of adiposity (BMI, WC, %BF. These findings suggest that previous periods of childhood economic hardship appear to influence adult height more than adiposity, whereas current economic hardship may be a better determinant of adult adiposity in Hispanics.

  15. Economic hardship and suicide mortality in Finland, 1875-2010.

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    Korhonen, Marko; Puhakka, Mikko; Viren, Matti

    2016-03-01

    We investigate the determinants of suicide in Finland using annual data for consumption and suicides from 1860 to 2010. Instead of using some ad hoc measures of cyclical movements of the economy, we build our analysis on a more solid economic theory. A key feature is the habit persistence in preferences, which provides a way to measure individual well-being and predict suicide. We estimate time series of habit levels and develop an indicator (the hardship index) to describe the economic hardship of consumers. The higher the level of the index, the worse off consumers are. As a rational response to such a bad situation, some consumers might commit suicide. We employ the autoregressive distributed lags cointegration method and find that our index works well in explaining the long-term behavior of people committing suicide in Finland.

  16. When hard times take a toll: the distressing consequences of economic hardship and life events within the family-work interface.

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    Young, Marisa; Schieman, Scott

    2012-03-01

    Using two waves of data from a national survey of working Americans (N = 1,122), we examine the associations among economic hardship, negative life events, and psychological distress in the context of the family-work interface. Our findings demonstrate that family-to-work conflict mediates the effects of economic hardship and negative events to significant others on distress (net of baseline distress and hardship). Moreover, economic hardship and negative events to significant others moderate the association between family-to-work conflict and distress. While negative events to others exacerbate the positive effect of family-to-work conflict on distress, we find the opposite for economic hardship: The positive association between hardship and distress is weaker at higher levels of family-to-work conflict. These patterns hold across an array of family, work, and sociodemographic conditions. We discuss how these findings refine and extend ideas of the stress process model, including complex predictions related to processes of stress-buffering, resource substitution, and role multiplication.

  17. Economic hardship of minority and non-minority cancer survivors 1 year after diagnosis: another long-term effect of cancer?

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    Pisu, Maria; Kenzik, Kelly M; Oster, Robert A; Drentea, Patricia; Ashing, Kimlin T; Fouad, Mona; Martin, Michelle Y

    2015-04-15

    Current literature suggests that racial/ethnic minority survivors may be more likely than whites to experience economic hardship after a cancer diagnosis; however, little is known about such hardship. Patients with lung cancer (LC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) participating in the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance (CanCORS) Consortium were surveyed approximately 4 months (baseline) and 12 months (follow-up) after diagnosis. Economic hardship at follow-up was present if participants 1) indicated difficulty living on household income; and/or 2) for the following 2 months, anticipated experiencing hardships (inadequate housing, food, or medical attention) or reducing living standards to the bare necessities of life. The authors tested whether African Americans (AAs) and Hispanics were more likely than whites to experience economic hardship controlling for sex, age, education, marital status, cancer stage, treatment, and economic status at baseline (income, prescription drug coverage). Of 3432 survivors (39.7% with LC, 60.3% with CRC), 14% were AA, 7% were Hispanic, and 79% were white. AAs and Hispanics had lower education and income than whites. Approximately 68% of AAs, 58% of Hispanics, and 44.5% of whites reported economic hardship. In LC survivors, the Hispanic-white disparity was not significant in unadjusted or adjusted analyses, and the AA-white disparity was explained by baseline economic status. In CRC survivors, the Hispanic-white disparity was explained by baseline economic status, and the AA-white disparity was not explained by the variables that were included in the model. Economic hardship was evident in almost 1 in 2 cancer survivors 1 year after diagnosis, especially AAs. Research should evaluate and address risk factors and their impact on survival and survivorship outcomes. © 2015 American Cancer Society.

  18. Economic Hardship in the Family of Origin and Children's Psychological Well-Being in Adulthood

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    Sobolewski, Juliana M.; Amato, Paul R.

    2005-01-01

    Past research consistently indicates that poverty and economic hardship have negative consequences for children. Few studies, however, have examined whether these consequences persist into adulthood. This study addresses this gap by assessing whether economic resources in the family of origin have long-term effects on psychological well-being in…

  19. The association between neighborhood economic hardship, the retail food environment, fast food intake, and obesity: findings from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin.

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    Laxy, Michael; Malecki, Kristen C; Givens, Marjory L; Walsh, Matthew C; Nieto, F Javier

    2015-03-13

    Neighborhood-level characteristics such as economic hardship and the retail food environment are assumed to be correlated and to influence consumers' dietary behavior and health status, but few studies have investigated these different relationships comprehensively in a single study. This work aims to investigate the association between neighborhood-level economic hardship, the retail food environment, fast food consumption, and obesity prevalence. Linking data from the population-based Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW, n = 1,570, 2008-10) and a commercially available business database, the Wisconsin Retail Food Environment Index (WRFEI) was defined as the mean distance from each participating household to the three closest supermarkets divided by the mean distance to the three closest convenience stores or fast food restaurants. Based on US census data, neighborhood-level economic hardship was defined by the Economic Hardship Index (EHI). Relationships were analyzed using multivariate linear and logistic regression models. SHOW residents living in neighborhoods with the highest economic hardship faced a less favorable retail food environment (WRFEI = 2.53) than residents from neighborhoods with the lowest economic hardship (WRFEI = 1.77; p-trend associations between the WRFEI and obesity and only a weak borderline-significant association between access to fast food restaurants and self-reported fast food consumption (≥ 2 times/week, OR = 0.59-0.62, p = 0.05-0.09) in urban residents. Participants reporting higher frequency of fast food consumption (≥ 2 times vs. obese (OR = 1.35, p = 0.06). This study indicates that neighborhood-level economic hardship is associated with an unfavorable retail food environment. However inconsistent or non-significant relationships between the retail food environment, fast food consumption, and obesity were observed. More research is needed to enhance methodological approaches to assess the retail food environment and

  20. Understanding vulnerability to self-harm in times of economic hardship and austerity: a qualitative study.

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    Barnes, M C; Gunnell, D; Davies, R; Hawton, K; Kapur, N; Potokar, J; Donovan, J L

    2016-02-17

    Self-harm and suicide increase in times of economic recession, but little is known about why people self-harm when in financial difficulty, and in what circumstances self-harm occurs. This study aimed to understand events and experiences leading to the episode of self-harm and to identify opportunities for prevention or mitigation of distress. Participants' homes or university rooms. 19 people who had attended hospital following self-harm in two UK cities and who specifically cited job loss, economic hardship or the impact of austerity measures as a causal or contributory factor. Semistructured, in-depth interviews. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed cross-sectionally and as case studies. Study participants described experiences of severe economic hardship; being unable to find employment or losing jobs, debt, housing problems and benefit sanctions. In many cases problems accumulated and felt unresolvable. For others an event, such as a call from a debt collector or benefit change triggered the self-harm. Participants also reported other current or past difficulties, including abuse, neglect, bullying, domestic violence, mental health problems, relationship difficulties, bereavements and low self-esteem. These contributed to their sense of despair and worthlessness and increased their vulnerability to self-harm. Participants struggled to gain the practical help they felt they needed for their economic difficulties or therapeutic support that might have helped with their other co-existing or historically damaging experiences. Economic hardships resulting from the recession and austerity measures accumulated or acted as a 'final straw' to trigger self-harm, often in the context of co-existing or historically damaging life-experiences. Interventions to mitigate these effects should include providing practical advice about economic issues before difficulties become insurmountable and providing appropriate psychosocial support for vulnerable

  1. Constructing and Validating a Multiple-Indicator Construct of Economic Hardship in a National Sample of Adolescents with Disabilities

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    Murray, Christopher; Doren, Bonnie; Gau, Jeff M.; Zvoch, Keith; Seeley, John R.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of the current study was to develop a multi-indicator construct of economic hardship among adolescents with disabilities (N = 9,230) participating in the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2, the largest, most comprehensive investigation of adolescents with disabilities ever conducted. Five theoretically relevant indicators (i.e.,…

  2. Hardships of the Great Recession and health: Understanding varieties of vulnerability

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    Julie A Kirsch

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The Great Recession of 2007–2009 is regarded as the most severe economic downturn since World War II. This study examined relationships between reported recession hardships and physical health in a national survey of American adults ( N  = 1275. Furthermore, education and psychological resources (perceived control, purpose in life, and conscientiousness were tested as moderators of the health impacts of the recession. A greater number of hardships predicted poorer health, especially among the less educated. Psychological resources interacted with education and hardships to predict health outcomes. Although typically viewed as protective factors, such resources became vulnerabilities among educationally disadvantaged adults experiencing greater recession hardships.

  3. Hardships of the Great Recession and health: Understanding varieties of vulnerability.

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    Kirsch, Julie A; Ryff, Carol D

    2016-01-01

    The Great Recession of 2007-2009 is regarded as the most severe economic downturn since World War II. This study examined relationships between reported recession hardships and physical health in a national survey of American adults ( N  = 1275). Furthermore, education and psychological resources (perceived control, purpose in life, and conscientiousness) were tested as moderators of the health impacts of the recession. A greater number of hardships predicted poorer health, especially among the less educated. Psychological resources interacted with education and hardships to predict health outcomes. Although typically viewed as protective factors, such resources became vulnerabilities among educationally disadvantaged adults experiencing greater recession hardships.

  4. Influence of living environment and subjective economic hardship on new-onset of low back pain for survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

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    Yabe, Yutaka; Hagiwara, Yoshihiro; Sekiguchi, Takuya; Sugawara, Yumi; Sato, Mari; Kanazawa, Kenji; Koide, Masashi; Itaya, Nobuyuki; Tsuchiya, Masahiro; Tsuji, Ichiro; Itoi, Eiji

    2017-01-01

    The Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated the northeastern part of Japan. Low back pain is thought to increase after a natural disaster and is related to various factors. The aim of this study was to examine the influencing factors of "Living environment" and "Subjective economic hardship" on new-onset of low back pain in the chronic phase for the survivors of the earthquake evaluated by a self-report questionnaire. A panel study was conducted with the Great East Japan Earthquake survivors at 2 and 3 years after the disaster. New-onset of low back pain was defined as low back pain absent at the 1st period (2 years after the earthquake) and present at the 2nd period (3 years after the earthquake). Living environment was divided into 4 categories (1. Living in the same house as before the earthquake, 2. Living in a prefabricated house, 3. Living in a new house, 4. Others: Living in an apartment, house of relatives or acquaintance). Subjective economic hardship was obtained using the following self-report question: "How do you feel about the current economic situation of your household?" The response alternatives were "Normal", "A little bit hard", "Hard", and "Very hard". A univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used. 1357 survivors consented to join this study. There was no significant association between new-onset of low back pain and living environment. There was significant association between new-onset of low back pain and "A little hard" (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.07-2.40), "Hard" (OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.56-3.74), and "Very hard" (OR = 3.19, 95% CI = 1.84-5.53) in subjective economic hardship. Subjective economic hardship was significantly associated with new-onset of low back pain in the chronic phase for survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  5. Economic, Legal, and Social Hardships Associated with HIV Risk among Black Men who have Sex with Men in Six US Cities.

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    Nelson, LaRon E; Wilton, Leo; Moineddin, Rahim; Zhang, Nanhua; Siddiqi, Arjumand; Sa, Ting; Harawa, Nina; Regan, Rotrease; Dyer, Typhanye Penniman; Watson, Christopher C; Koblin, Beryl; Del Rio, Carlos; Buchbinder, Susan; Wheeler, Darrell P; Mayer, Kenneth H

    2016-02-01

    We assessed whether economic, legal, and social hardships were associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk among a sample of Black men who have sex with men (MSM) and whether associations were moderated by city of residence. The study analyzed baseline and follow-up data from HIV Prevention Trials Network 061 (N = 1553). Binary logistic regression assessed associations between hardships and HIV risk indicators. Multivariate regressions were used to test if city of residence had a moderating effect for hardships and HIV risks. Adjusted analyses showed that Black MSM with recent job loss were more likely to engage in condomless insertive anal intercourse (adjusted odds ratios (AOR) = 1.37, 95% CI 1.01-1.87) and that those with recent financial crisis were more likely to have had two or more male sexual partners in the past 6 months (AOR = 1.65; 95% CI 1.18-2.29). Black MSM with recent convictions were more likely to have a sexually transmitted infection at 6 months (AOR = 3.97; 95% CI 1.58-9.94), while those who were unstably housed were more likely to have a sexually transmitted infection at 12 months (AOR = 1.71; 95%CI 1.02 = 2.86). There were no city of residence and hardship interaction effects on HIV risks. Hardships are important factors that influence HIV risk for Black MSM. Integrating strategies that address structural factors that influence HIV risk may enhance HIV prevention interventions implementation efforts.

  6. Individual and contextual factors for the child abuse potential of Croatian mothers: The role of social support in times of economic hardship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ajduković, Marina; Rajter, Miroslav; Rezo, Ines

    2018-04-01

    The study assessed mothers' risk for abusing their children in middle adolescence in relation to individual and contextual factors during the economic crisis in Croatia. Socioeconomic status of mothers, family economic pressure, and mothers' exposure to stress were measured. Special attention was given to the perceived availability of social support as one of protective factors potentially buffering the negative impact of risks of child abuse. The community sample included 746 mothers (Mage = 42.85; SDage = 5.319). The results showed that the risk of child abuse is higher for mothers with lower education, those who perceive themselves as suffering greater family economic hardship, those who have experienced a higher number of stressful events, and those with lower social support. When the mothers perceive a lower availability of social support, the effects of exposure to cumulative risk, namely the combination of socioeconomic status, economic pressure, and exposure to stress, are stronger. Since social support proved to be one of the key protective factors in the relationship between adverse life circumstances and parenting, the development of effective and non-stigmatized interventions aiming to increase social support, positive social relationships, and adequate parenting practices for parents facing economic hardship is an important direction for future family policy measures. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Twenty years on: Poverty and hardship in urban Fiji

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenny Bryant-Tokalau

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Through ‘official statistics’, academic and donor interpretations as well as the eyes of Suva residents, this paper presents an overview and case study of twenty years of growing poverty and hardship in the contemporary Pacific. Focusing on the past two decades, the paper notes how much, and yet so little, has changed for those attempting to make a living in the rapidly developing towns and cities. Changing interpretations of poverty and hardship are presented, moving from the ‘no such thing’ view, to simplification, and finally to an understanding that Pacific island countries, especially Fiji, are no longer an ‘extension’ of Australia and New Zealand, but independent nations actively trying to find solutions to their issues of economic, social and political hardship whilst facing challenges to traditional institutions and networks. Fiji is in some respects a very particular case as almost half of the population has limited access to secure land, but the very nature of that vulnerability to hardship and poverty holds useful lessons for wider analysis.

  8. Credit Card Debt Hardship Letter Samples

    OpenAIRE

    lissa coffey

    2016-01-01

    Having trouble with your credit card debt? Below you will find examples of hardship letters. There are several things to consider when writing a credit card hardship letter. A hardship letter is the first step to letting the credit card company know that things are bad. This free credit card hardship letter sample is only a guide in order to start the negotiation. Credit card debt hardship letter example, hardship letter to credit card. If you are having trouble paying off your debt and need ...

  9. Economic Hardship and Educational Differentials in Disability in 26 European Countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cambois, Emmanuelle; Solé-Auró, Aïda; Robine, Jean-Marie

    2016-10-01

    The objective of this article is to study to what extent European variations in differentials in disability by education level are associated to variation in poverty. Using the European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) for 26 countries, we measure the prevalence of activity limitation (AL) and the rate of economic hardship (EH) by level of education. We measure the increased AL prevalence (disadvantage) of the low-educated relative to the middle-educated and the reduced AL prevalence (advantage) of the high-educated groups, controlling or not for EH. The rate of EH and the extent of the AL-advantage/disadvantage vary substantially across Europe. EH contributes to the AL-advantage/disadvantage but to different extent depending on its level across educational groups. Associations between poverty, education, and disability are complex. In general, large EH goes along with increased disability differentials. Actions to reduce poverty are needed in Europe to reduce the levels and differentials in disability. © The Author(s) 2016.

  10. Hardship in Bulgarian Law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silviya TSONEVA

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the legal treatment of hardship(change of circumstances in Bulgarian law trying to show where it stands in comparison with other legislations (Germany, England, USA and international legal instruments (Unidroit Principles on International Commercial Contracts and Principles of European Contract Law. An overall picture of the different approaches to hardship is concisely presented. Hardship prerequisites and effects are analyzed with a stress on specific problems identified in some recent Bulgarian court decisions. Attention is drawn to certain. concepts and reasoning in other legal systems that may be helpful to Bulgarian theory and practice when dealing with hardship cases.

  11. 5 CFR 845.304 - Financial hardship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ...) Considerations. Some pertinent considerations in determining whether recovery would cause financial hardship are... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Financial hardship. 845.304 Section 845....304 Financial hardship. Financial hardship may be deemed to exist in, but not limited to, those...

  12. 5 CFR 831.1404 - Financial hardship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Financial hardship. 831.1404 Section 831... (CONTINUED) RETIREMENT Standards for Waiver of Overpayments § 831.1404 Financial hardship. Financial hardship... ordinary and necessary living expenses and liabilities. (a) Considerations. Some pertinent considerations...

  13. 12 CFR 313.97 - Financial hardship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... CORPORATE DEBT COLLECTION Administrative Wage Garnishment § 313.97 Financial hardship. (a) A debtor whose... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Financial hardship. 313.97 Section 313.97 Banks..., divorce, or catastrophic illness which result in financial hardship. (b) A debtor requesting a review...

  14. 22 CFR 17.5 - Financial hardship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ...) Considerations. Some pertinent considerations in determining whether recovery would cause financial hardship are... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Financial hardship. 17.5 Section 17.5 Foreign... SYSTEM (FSPS) § 17.5 Financial hardship. (a) Waiver of overpayment will not be allowed in any case prior...

  15. Income, Poverty, and Material Hardship Among Older Americans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helen Levy

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Using data from the 2008 and 2010 waves of the Health and Retirement Study to analyze the determinants of material hardship among individuals ages sixty-five and older, I look at five self-reported hardships: food insecurity, skipped meals, medication cutbacks, difficulty paying bills, and dissatisfaction with one's financial situation. One-fifth of the elderly report one or more of these hardships. Although hardship is more likely for those with low incomes, most older Americans experiencing hardship are not poor. I analyze whether alternative measures of resources do a better job of predicting hardship than does income relative to the federal poverty threshold. I find that spending relative to the poverty threshold does a worse job predicting hardship than does income relative to poverty. Subtracting out-of-pocket medical spending from income yields a measure that is an even better predictor of hardship. In multivariate models, I find that self-reported health, activity limitations, and disability are significant predictors of hardship. Having reliable children (as assessed by the respondent or an able-bodied spouse reduces the likelihood of hardship. Poor health increases hardship through three channels: by lowering income, by increasing out-of-pocket medical spending, and through its direct effect on hardship. The first two of these—lower income and higher medical spending—are much less quantitatively important than the third; in a nutshell, poor health makes it harder to get by with less.

  16. Combined effects of prenatal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and material hardship on child IQ.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vishnevetsky, Julia; Tang, Deliang; Chang, Hsin-Wen; Roen, Emily L; Wang, Ya; Rauh, Virginia; Wang, Shuang; Miller, Rachel L; Herbstman, Julie; Perera, Frederica P

    2015-01-01

    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are common carcinogenic and neurotoxic urban air pollutants. Toxic exposures, including air pollution, are disproportionately high in communities of color and frequently co-occur with chronic economic deprivation. We examined whether the association between child IQ and prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons differed between groups of children whose mothers reported high vs. low material hardship during their pregnancy and through child age 5. We tested statistical interactions between hardships and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, as measured by DNA adducts in cord blood, to determine whether material hardship exacerbated the association between adducts and IQ scores. Prospective cohort. Participants were recruited from 1998 to 2006 and followed from gestation through age 7 years. Urban community (New York City) A community-based sample of 276 minority urban youth EXPOSURE MEASURE: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-DNA adducts in cord blood as an individual biomarker of prenatal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure. Maternal material hardship self-reported prenatally and at multiple timepoints through early childhood. Child IQ at 7 years assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Significant inverse effects of high cord PAH-DNA adducts on full scale IQ, perceptual reasoning and working memory scores were observed in the groups whose mothers reported a high level of material hardship during pregnancy or recurring high hardship into the child's early years, and not in those without reported high hardship. Significant interactions were observed between high cord adducts and prenatal hardship on working memory scores (β = -8.07, 95% CI (-14.48, -1.66)) and between high cord adducts and recurrent material hardship (β = -9.82, 95% CI (-16.22, -3.42)). The findings add to other evidence that socioeconomic disadvantage can increase the adverse effects of toxic physical "stressors" like air pollutants

  17. Examining the Relationship between Economic Hardship and Child Maltreatment Using Data from the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2013 (OIS-2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachael Lefebvre

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available There is strong evidence that poverty and economic disadvantage are associated with child maltreatment; however, research in this area is underdeveloped in Canada. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between economic hardship and maltreatment for families and children identified to the Ontario child protection system for a maltreatment concern. Secondary analyses of the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2013 (OIS-2013 were conducted. The OIS-2013 examines the incidence of reported maltreatment and the characteristics of children and families investigated by child welfare authorities in Ontario in 2013. Descriptive and bivariate chi-square analyses were conducted in addition to a logistic regression predicting the substantiation of maltreatment. In 9% of investigations, the household had run out of money for food, housing, and/or utilities in the past 6 months. Children in these households were more likely to have developmental concerns, academic difficulties, and caregivers with mental health concerns and substance use issues. Controlling for key clinical and case characteristics, children living in families facing economic hardship were almost 2 times more likely to be involved in a substantiated maltreatment investigation (OR = 1.91, p < 0.001. The implications in regard to future research and promoting resilience are discussed.

  18. Hardships and personal strategies of Vietnam War nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scannell-Desch, E A

    2000-08-01

    This study describes hardships faced in Vietnam and personal strategies used to deal with these hardships as defined by 24 female military nurses who served during the war. Purposive sampling was used, and data were generated using four core questions and in-depth interviews. The research methodology was phenomenology, incorporating data analysis procedures of Colaizzi, Lincoln and Guba, and Van Manen. Eight hardship and nine personal strategy themes were identified. This study found that caring for young, severely injured, and disfigured soldiers was a significant hardship and that nurses struggled with the moral dilemmas inherent in mass casualty situations, triage policies, and the practice of returning recovered soldiers to combat. Most nurses relied on personally proven and familiar strategies to reduce or buffer the effects of emotional hardships, whereas some discovered and used new strategies.

  19. The Application of the Hardship Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aniela Suditu

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an analytical view of the concept of hardship as described in Art.79 CISG, Art.8:108 PECL and Art. 7.1.7 UNIDROIT Principles, in contrast with certain legal systems. The purpose of the article is to analyze the possibility of applying the provisions on hardship from the UNIDROIT Principles in order to release a party from its contractual obligations although the CISG is the governing law of the contract. The paper begins with the demarcation of the principle of pacta sunt servanda, or sanctity of the contract, in connection with the concept of hardship, thus being avoided the burden bearing of such a change of circumstances only by the party on which it falls. The paper goes on to describe the requirements and the consequences of the application of hardship according to the above mentioned international instruments, pointing out certain differences between four important legal systems.

  20. Cultural repertoires and food-related household technology within colonia households under conditions of material hardship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dean Wesley R

    2012-05-01

    inexpensive staple foods and dishes, and conventional and innovative technological practices. These repertoires expressed the creative agency of women colonia residents. Food-related practices were constrained by climate, animal and insect pests, women’s gender roles, limitations in neighborhood and household infrastructure, and economic and material resources. Conclusions This research points to the importance of socioeconomic and structural factors such as gender roles, economic poverty and material hardship as constraints on food choice and food-related behavior. In turn, it emphasizes the innovative practices employed by women residents of colonias to prepare meals under these constraints.

  1. Cultural repertoires and food-related household technology within colonia households under conditions of material hardship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Wesley R; Sharkey, Joseph R; Johnson, Cassandra M; St John, Julie

    2012-05-15

    conventional and innovative technological practices. These repertoires expressed the creative agency of women colonia residents. Food-related practices were constrained by climate, animal and insect pests, women's gender roles, limitations in neighborhood and household infrastructure, and economic and material resources. This research points to the importance of socioeconomic and structural factors such as gender roles, economic poverty and material hardship as constraints on food choice and food-related behavior. In turn, it emphasizes the innovative practices employed by women residents of colonias to prepare meals under these constraints.

  2. Food Hardship and Obesity in a Sample of Low-Income Immigrants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caspi, Caitlin E; Tucker-Seeley, Reginald D; Adamkiewicz, Gary; Roberto, Christina A; Stoddard, Anne M; Sorensen, Glorian C

    2017-02-01

    Very little work has examined the relationship between food hardship (having inconsistent financial resources to buy food) and obesity among immigrant groups. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a low-income, multi-racial/ethnic adult sample in greater Boston, MA (n = 828). Modified Poisson regression models estimated the association between food hardship obesity (BMI ≥ 30) among adults reporting food hardship; interactions were tested by place of birth. Body mass index (BMI) was based on anthropometric height and weight. In adjusted models, those experiencing food hardship were more likely to be obese (RR 1.17, CI 1.07, 1.29) than those not experiencing food hardship. Participants from Haiti reporting food hardship were more likely to be obese than those not reporting hardship (RR 1.58, CI 1.23, 2.04); this was not the case among other groups (US born, Puerto Rican, Latin American, Other). The relationship between food hardship and weight may vary among immigrant subgroups.

  3. Beyond Income Poverty: Measuring Disadvantage in Terms of Material Hardship and Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neckerman, Kathryn M; Garfinkel, Irwin; Teitler, Julien O; Waldfogel, Jane; Wimer, Christopher

    2016-04-01

    The New York City (NYC) Longitudinal Study of Wellbeing, or "Poverty Tracker," is a survey of approximately 2300 NYC residents. Its purpose is to provide a multidimensional and dynamic understanding of economic disadvantage in NYC. Measures of disadvantage were collected at baseline and a 12-month follow-up, and include 3 types of disadvantage: 1) income poverty, using a measure on the basis of the new Supplemental Poverty Measure; 2) material hardship, including indicators of food insecurity, housing hardship, unmet medical needs, utility cutoffs, and financial insecurity; and 3) adult health problems, which can drain family time and resources. In this article initial results for NYC families with children younger than the age of 18 years are presented. At baseline, 56% of families with children had 1 or more type of disadvantage, including 28% with income poverty, 39% with material hardship, and 17% with an adult health problem. Even among nonpoor families, 33% experienced material hardship and 14% reported an adult health problem. Two-thirds of all families faced disadvantage at either baseline or follow-up, with 46% experiencing some kind of disadvantage at both time points. Respondents with a college education were much less likely to face disadvantage. Even after adjusting for educational attainment and family characteristics, the families of black and Hispanic respondents had increased rates of disadvantage. Considering income poverty alone the extent of disadvantage among families with children in NYC is greatly understated. These results suggest that in addition to addressing income poverty, policymakers should give priority to efforts to reduce material hardship and help families cope with chronic physical or mental illness. The need for these resources extends far above the poverty line. Copyright © 2016 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Financial Hardship and Patient-Reported Outcomes after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abel, Gregory A; Albelda, Randy; Khera, Nandita; Hahn, Theresa; Salas Coronado, Diana Y; Odejide, Oreofe O; Bona, Kira; Tucker-Seeley, Reginald; Soiffer, Robert

    2016-08-01

    Although hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is the only curative therapy for many advanced hematologic cancers, little is known about the financial hardship experienced by HCT patients nor the association of hardship with patient-reported outcomes. We mailed a 43-item survey to adult patients approximately 180 days after their first autologous or allogeneic HCT at 3 high-volume centers. We assessed decreases in household income; difficulty with HCT-related costs, such as need to relocate or travel; and 2 types of hardship: hardship_1 (reporting 1 or 2 of the following: dissatisfaction with present finances, difficulty meeting monthly bill payments, or not having enough money at the end of the month) and "hardship_2" (reporting all 3). Patient-reported stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale-4, and 7-point scales were provided for perceptions of overall quality of life (QOL) and health. In total, 325 of 499 surveys (65.1%) were received. The median days since HCT was 173; 47% underwent an allogeneic HCT, 60% were male, 51% were > 60 years old, and 92% were white. Overall, 46% reported income decline after HCT, 56% reported hardship_1, and 15% reported hardship_2. In multivariable models controlling for income, those reporting difficulty paying for HCT-related costs were more likely to report financial hardship (odds ratio, 6.9; 95% confidence interval, 3.8 to 12.3). Hardship_1 was associated with QOL below the median (odds ratio, 2.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.7 to 4.9), health status below the median (odds ratio, 2.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 3.6), and stress above the median (odds ratio, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 3.5). In this sizable cohort of HCT patients, financial hardship was prevalent and associated with worse QOL and higher levels of perceived stress. Interventions to address patient financial hardship-especially those that ameliorate HCT-specific costs-are likely to improve patient-reported outcomes. Copyright © 2016

  5. Hardship financing of healthcare among rural poor in Orissa, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Binnendijk, Erika; Koren, Ruth; Dror, David M

    2012-01-27

    This study examines health-related "hardship financing" in order to get better insights on how poor households finance their out-of-pocket healthcare costs. We define hardship financing as having to borrow money with interest or to sell assets to pay out-of-pocket healthcare costs. Using survey data of 5,383 low-income households in Orissa, one of the poorest states of India, we investigate factors influencing the risk of hardship financing with the use of a logistic regression. Overall, about 25% of the households (that had any healthcare cost) reported hardship financing during the year preceding the survey. Among households that experienced a hospitalization, this percentage was nearly 40%, but even among households with outpatient or maternity-related care around 25% experienced hardship financing.Hardship financing is explained not merely by the wealth of the household (measured by assets) or how much is spent out-of-pocket on healthcare costs, but also by when the payment occurs, its frequency and its duration (e.g. more severe in cases of chronic illnesses). The location where a household resides remains a major predictor of the likelihood to have hardship financing despite all other household features included in the model. Rural poor households are subjected to considerable and protracted financial hardship due to the indirect and longer-term deleterious effects of how they cope with out-of-pocket healthcare costs. The social network that households can access influences exposure to hardship financing. Our findings point to the need to develop a policy solution that would limit that exposure both in quantum and in time. We therefore conclude that policy interventions aiming to ensure health-related financial protection would have to demonstrate that they have reduced the frequency and the volume of hardship financing.

  6. Hardship financing of healthcare among rural poor in Orissa, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Binnendijk Erika

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This study examines health-related "hardship financing" in order to get better insights on how poor households finance their out-of-pocket healthcare costs. We define hardship financing as having to borrow money with interest or to sell assets to pay out-of-pocket healthcare costs. Methods Using survey data of 5,383 low-income households in Orissa, one of the poorest states of India, we investigate factors influencing the risk of hardship financing with the use of a logistic regression. Results Overall, about 25% of the households (that had any healthcare cost reported hardship financing during the year preceding the survey. Among households that experienced a hospitalization, this percentage was nearly 40%, but even among households with outpatient or maternity-related care around 25% experienced hardship financing. Hardship financing is explained not merely by the wealth of the household (measured by assets or how much is spent out-of-pocket on healthcare costs, but also by when the payment occurs, its frequency and its duration (e.g. more severe in cases of chronic illnesses. The location where a household resides remains a major predictor of the likelihood to have hardship financing despite all other household features included in the model. Conclusions Rural poor households are subjected to considerable and protracted financial hardship due to the indirect and longer-term deleterious effects of how they cope with out-of-pocket healthcare costs. The social network that households can access influences exposure to hardship financing. Our findings point to the need to develop a policy solution that would limit that exposure both in quantum and in time. We therefore conclude that policy interventions aiming to ensure health-related financial protection would have to demonstrate that they have reduced the frequency and the volume of hardship financing.

  7. Financial Hardship and Patient-Reported Outcomes after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abel, Gregory A.; Albelda, Randy; Khera, Nandita; Hahn, Theresa; Salas Coronado, Diana Y.; Odejide, Oreofe O.; Bona, Kira; Tucker-Seeley, Reginald; Soiffer, Robert

    2016-01-01

    Although hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is the only curative therapy for many advanced hematologic cancers, little is known about the financial hardship experienced by HCT patients, nor the association of hardship with patient-reported outcomes. We mailed a 43-item survey to adult patients approximately 180 days post first autologous or allogeneic HCT at three high-volume centers. We assessed decreases in household income, difficulty with HCT-related costs such as need to relocate or travel, and two types of hardship: “hardship_1” (reporting one or two of the following: dissatisfaction with present finances, difficulty meeting monthly bill payments, or not having enough money at the end of the month), and “hardship_2” (reporting all three). Patient-reported stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4), and seven-point scales were provided for perceptions of overall quality of life (QOL) and health. 325 of 499 surveys (65.1%) were received. The median days since HCT was 173; 47% underwent an allogeneic HCT, 60% were male, 51% were > 60 years old, and 92% were white. Overall, 46% reported income decline post-HCT, 56% reported “hardship_1” and 15% “hardship 2.” In multivariable models controlling for income, those reporting difficulty paying for HCT-related costs were more likely to report financial hardship (OR 6.9 [3.8, 12.3]). “Hardship_1” was associated with QOL below the median (OR 2.9 [1.7, 4.9]), health status below the median (OR 2.2 [1.3, 3.6]), and stress above the median (OR 2.1 [1.3, 3.5]). In this sizable cohort of HCT patients, financial hardship was prevalent, and associated with worse QOL and higher levels of perceived stress. Interventions to address patient financial hardship—especially those that ameliorate HCT-specific costs—are likely to improve patient-reported outcomes. PMID:27184627

  8. Poverty, near-poverty, and hardship around the time of pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braveman, Paula; Marchi, Kristen; Egerter, Susan; Kim, Soowon; Metzler, Marilyn; Stancil, Tonya; Libet, Moreen

    2010-01-01

    To describe income levels and the prevalence of major hardships among women during or just before pregnancy. We separately analyzed 2002-2006 population-based postpartum survey data from California's Maternal and Infant Health Assessment (n = 18,332) and 19 states participating in CDC's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (n = 143,452) to examine income and several hardships (divorce/separation, domestic violence, homelessness, financial difficulties, spouse/partner's or respondent's involuntary job loss or incarceration, and, in California only, food insecurity and no social support) during/just before pregnancy. In both samples, over 30% of women were poor (income poverty level [FPL]) and 20% near-poor (101-200% FPL); and around 60% of low-income (poor or near-poor) women experienced at least one hardship. While hardship prevalence decreased significantly as income increased, many non-low-income women also experienced hardships; e.g., in California, 43% of all women and 13% with incomes >400% FPL experienced one or more hardships. These findings paint a disturbing picture of experiences around the time of pregnancy in the United States for many women giving birth and their children, particularly because 60% had previous births. The high prevalence of low income and of serious hardships during pregnancy is of concern, given previous research documenting the adverse health consequences of these experiences and recognition of pregnancy as a critical period for health throughout the life course. Low income and major hardships around the time of pregnancy should be addressed as mainstream U.S. maternal-infant health and social policy issues.

  9. Financial Hardship Before and After Social Security's Early Eligibility Age

    OpenAIRE

    Richard W. Johnson; Gordon B.T. Mermin

    2009-01-01

    Although poverty rates for Americans ages 65 and older have plunged over the past half century, many people continue to fall into poverty in their late fifties and early sixties. This study examines financial hardship rates in the years before qualifying for Social Security retirement benefits at age 62 and investigates how the availability of Social Security improves economic well-being at later ages. The analysis follows a sample of adults from the 1937-39 birth cohort for 14 years, trackin...

  10. Full of hardship: On the hardship clause in the renewable energies act

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heller, W.

    2003-01-01

    The German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) on June 11, 2003 ruled on cases in which operators of wind power plants had demanded that an electricity utility buy their wind power generated electricity. In line with earlier decisions, the BGH ruled that the legal requirement to buy this electricity was constitutional under the Renewable Energies Act (EEG) and the Electricity Feeding Act. This ruling further cements the principle of private parties subsidizing third parties under the EEG. The legal minimum prices for wind power generated electricity under the EEG are considerably above the market price of conventional electricity and, thus, have caused a boom in the construction of more wind power plants. The volume of payments for feeding into the public grid electricity from wind power plants reached the amount of Euro 1.530 billion in 2002, which is an average extra cost of, at present, Euro cent 0.46 per kWh. Given a 20-year period of subsidizing individual plants, double-digit billions are expected to arise as financial burdens over the next few decades. The German federal government introduced a proposal of an EEG hardship clause. This is unlikely to relieve industries of EEG burdens on a broad basis. Besides present economic burdens, also the sustainability of this kind of energy policy is doubtful, both from economic and social points of view. (orig.)

  11. Financial hardship and self-rated health among low-income housing residents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tucker-Seeley, Reginald D; Harley, Amy E; Stoddard, Anne M; Sorensen, Glorian G

    2013-08-01

    Self-rated health (SRH) has been shown to be predictive of morbidity and mortality. Evidence also shows that SRH is socioeconomically patterned, although this association differs depending on the indicator of socioeconomic status used. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between SRH and financial hardship among residents of low-income housing. We analyzed cross-sectional data from the Health in Common Study (N = 828), an observational study to investigate social and physical determinants of cancer risk-related behaviors among residents of low-income housing in three cities in the Boston metropolitan area. Modified Poisson regression models were used to obtain the relative risk of low SRH (fair or poor), adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Unadjusted models revealed that the respondents reporting financial hardship were 53% more likely to report low SRH compared with those not reporting financial hardship. After controlling for demographic characteristics, socioeconomic characteristics, and psychological distress, the results showed that those reporting financial hardship were 44% more likely to report low SRH. Our results suggest that financial hardship is a robust predictor of SRH; and over and above the influence of demographic and traditional socioeconomic indicators, and even psychological distress, financial hardship remains strongly associated with low SRH. Additional research needs to be conducted to further elucidate this pathway and to better understand the determinants of variability in financial hardship among low-income housing residents to ensure the most appropriate policy levers (e.g., housing-related policy, food-related policy) are chosen to improve health outcomes in this population.

  12. Hardship financing of healthcare among rural poor in Orissa, India

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    E. Binnendijk (Erica); R. Koren (Ruth); D.M. Dror (David)

    2012-01-01

    textabstractBackground: This study examines health-related "hardship financing" in order to get better insights on how poor households finance their out-of-pocket healthcare costs. We define hardship financing as having to borrow money with interest or to sell assets to pay out-of-pocket healthcare

  13. The mental health consequences of the recession: economic hardship and employment of people with mental health problems in 27 European countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans-Lacko, Sara; Knapp, Martin; McCrone, Paul; Thornicroft, Graham; Mojtabai, Ramin

    2013-01-01

    A period of economic recession may be particularly difficult for people with mental health problems as they may be at higher risk of losing their jobs, and more competitive labour markets can also make it more difficult to find a new job. This study assesses unemployment rates among individuals with mental health problems before and during the current economic recession. Using individual and aggregate level data collected from 27 EU countries in the Eurobarometer surveys of 2006 and 2010, we examined changes in unemployment rates over this period among individuals with and without mental health problems. Following the onset of the recession, the gap in unemployment rates between individuals with and without mental health problems significantly widened (odds ratio: 1.12, 95% confidence interval: 1.03, 1.34). This disparity became even greater for males, and individuals with low levels of education. Individuals with mental health problems living in countries with higher levels of stigmatizing attitudes regarding dangerousness of people with mental illness were more vulnerable to unemployment in 2010, but not 2006. Greater agreement that people with mental health problems have themselves to blame, was associated with lower likelihood of unemployment for individuals with and without mental health problems. These findings study suggest that times of economic hardship may intensify social exclusion of people with mental health problems, especially males and individuals with lower education. Interventions to combat economic exclusion and to promote social participation of individuals with mental health problems are even more important during times of economic crisis, and these efforts should target support to the most vulnerable groups.

  14. How are household economic circumstances affected after a stroke? The Psychosocial Outcomes In StrokE (POISE) Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Essue, Beverley M; Hackett, Maree L; Li, Qiang; Glozier, Nick; Lindley, Richard; Jan, Stephen

    2012-11-01

    Stroke is associated with severe economic consequences. This is the first study to investigate in younger survivors the household economic burden of stroke. A multicenter, 3-year prospective cohort study was conducted of younger (18-65 years) survivors in Australia. Pre- and poststroke patterns of income and hardship were evaluated and multivariable logistic regression identified the predictors of economic hardship after stroke. Four hundred fourteen participants were followed up over 12 months after stroke. The variables that independently predicted economic hardship after stroke were: female (OR, 2.94; 95% CI, 1.52-5.70), hazardous alcohol consumption (OR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.00-5.20), manual occupation (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.07-3.30), lack of health insurance (OR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.12-3.60), and prior hardship (OR, 3.93; 95% CI, 2.12-7.29), whereas concessional status (OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.26-0.95) and more social contacts per week (OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.98-1.00) reduced hardship likelihood. Higher prestroke income did not buffer hardship after stroke nor did clinical, health service, or disability factors. Policies to reduce inequalities after stroke would be best aimed at socioeconomic targets.

  15. The mental health consequences of the recession: economic hardship and employment of people with mental health problems in 27 European countries.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Evans-Lacko

    Full Text Available A period of economic recession may be particularly difficult for people with mental health problems as they may be at higher risk of losing their jobs, and more competitive labour markets can also make it more difficult to find a new job. This study assesses unemployment rates among individuals with mental health problems before and during the current economic recession.Using individual and aggregate level data collected from 27 EU countries in the Eurobarometer surveys of 2006 and 2010, we examined changes in unemployment rates over this period among individuals with and without mental health problems.Following the onset of the recession, the gap in unemployment rates between individuals with and without mental health problems significantly widened (odds ratio: 1.12, 95% confidence interval: 1.03, 1.34. This disparity became even greater for males, and individuals with low levels of education. Individuals with mental health problems living in countries with higher levels of stigmatizing attitudes regarding dangerousness of people with mental illness were more vulnerable to unemployment in 2010, but not 2006. Greater agreement that people with mental health problems have themselves to blame, was associated with lower likelihood of unemployment for individuals with and without mental health problems.These findings study suggest that times of economic hardship may intensify social exclusion of people with mental health problems, especially males and individuals with lower education. Interventions to combat economic exclusion and to promote social participation of individuals with mental health problems are even more important during times of economic crisis, and these efforts should target support to the most vulnerable groups.

  16. The Mental Health Consequences of the Recession: Economic Hardship and Employment of People with Mental Health Problems in 27 European Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans-Lacko, Sara; Knapp, Martin; McCrone, Paul

    2013-01-01

    Objectives A period of economic recession may be particularly difficult for people with mental health problems as they may be at higher risk of losing their jobs, and more competitive labour markets can also make it more difficult to find a new job. This study assesses unemployment rates among individuals with mental health problems before and during the current economic recession. Methods Using individual and aggregate level data collected from 27 EU countries in the Eurobarometer surveys of 2006 and 2010, we examined changes in unemployment rates over this period among individuals with and without mental health problems. Results Following the onset of the recession, the gap in unemployment rates between individuals with and without mental health problems significantly widened (odds ratio: 1.12, 95% confidence interval: 1.03, 1.34). This disparity became even greater for males, and individuals with low levels of education. Individuals with mental health problems living in countries with higher levels of stigmatizing attitudes regarding dangerousness of people with mental illness were more vulnerable to unemployment in 2010, but not 2006. Greater agreement that people with mental health problems have themselves to blame, was associated with lower likelihood of unemployment for individuals with and without mental health problems. Conclusion These findings study suggest that times of economic hardship may intensify social exclusion of people with mental health problems, especially males and individuals with lower education. Interventions to combat economic exclusion and to promote social participation of individuals with mental health problems are even more important during times of economic crisis, and these efforts should target support to the most vulnerable groups. PMID:23922801

  17. The Temporal Impact of Economic Insecurity on Child Maltreatment: A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conrad-Hiebner, Aislinn; Byram, Elizabeth

    2018-01-01

    Economically insecure children experience 3-9 times more maltreatment than economically secure children. Although economic insecurity is associated with child physical abuse, neglect, and psychological maltreatment, there have been no systematic reviews dedicated to the relation between familial economic insecurity and child maltreatment. This is problematic because multiple forms of familial economic insecurity-including debt, material hardship, income, unemployment, and income transfers-are related to child maltreatment. These findings, however, are not causal or reliably replicated across studies. Until we identify the state of the evidence concerning the temporal association between economic insecurity and child maltreatment, our ability to reduce child maltreatment may be limited. In this systematic review (PROSPERO registration # CRD42017081445), we searched PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations, and the gray literature for English-language, peer-reviewed articles and dissertations published between 1970 and 2016. We synthesized evidence from 26 longitudinal studies on the temporal relation between economic insecurity and child maltreatment. Income losses, cumulative material hardship, and housing hardship were the most reliable predictors of child maltreatment. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.

  18. Economic Stress, Emotional Quality of Life, and Problem Behavior in Chinese Adolescents with and without Economic Disadvantage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shek, Daniel T. L.

    2005-01-01

    The relationships between perceived economic stress (current economic hardship and future economic worry) and emotional quality of life (existential well-being, life satisfaction, self-esteem, sense of mastery, psychological morbidity) as well as problem behavior (substance abuse and delinquency) were examined in 1519 Chinese adolescents with and…

  19. Midlife Family Economic Hardship and Later Life Cardiometabolic Health: The Protective Role of Marital Integration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wickrama, Kandauda A S; O'Neal, Catherine Walker; Neppl, Tricia K

    2018-05-25

    The current study assesses the unique influences of family economic hardship (FEH) in early and late midlife on husbands' and wives' body mass index (BMI) and the influence of BMI on the onset of cardiometabolic (CM) disease in later adulthood. The protective role of marital integration is also considered in relation to the stress-response link between FEH and BMI. Analyses were performed using structural equation modeling with prospective data from 257 husbands and wives in enduring marriages over a period of 25 years beginning when they were approximately 40 years old. A multigroup analysis tested the moderating role of marital integration. The distal influence of FEH in early midlife on BMI in later adulthood remained statistically significant even after controlling for proximal FEH. Proximal FEH in later midlife was influential for wives', but not husbands', BMI. BMI in later midlife was related to the onset of CM disease in their later life. Moderation analysis showed that FEH and subsequent BMI were associated for couples with below average levels of behavioral integration but not for couples with above average levels of integration. Taken together, these findings suggest a family-health process stemming from early FEH and operating cumulatively over the life course. FEH in early midlife is a persistent determinant of physiological dysregulation as reflected by BMI. Findings identify BMI as a modifiable leverage point for the long-term reduction of CM disease risk and highlight the role of spouses as a buffer against the detrimental stress-health association.

  20. The household economic burden for acute coronary syndrome survivors in Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karice K. Hyun

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Studies of chronic diseases are associated with a financial burden on households. We aimed to determine if survivors of acute coronary syndrome (ACS experience household economic burden and to quantify any potential burden by examining level of economic hardship and factors associated with hardship. Methods Australian patients admitted to hospital with ACS during 2-week period in May 2012, enrolled in SNAPSHOT ACS audit and who were alive at 18 months after index admission were followed-up via telephone/paper survey. Regression models were used to explore factors related to out-of-pocket expenses and economic hardship. Results Of 1833 eligible patients at baseline, 180 died within 18 months, and 702 patients completed the survey. Mean out-of-pocket expenditure (n = 614 in Australian dollars was A$258.06 (median: A$126.50 per month. The average spending for medical services was A$120.18 (SD: A$310.35 and medications was A$66.25 (SD: A$80.78. In total, 350 (51 % of patients reported experiencing economic hardship, 78 (12 % were unable to pay for medical services and 81 (12 % could not pay for medication. Younger age (18–59 vs ≥80 years (OR: 1.89, no private health insurance (OR: 2.04, pensioner concession card (OR: 1.80, residing in more disadvantaged area (group 1 vs 5 (OR: 1.77, history of CVD (OR: 1.47 and higher out-of-pocket expenses (group 4 vs 1 (OR: 4.57 were more likely to experience hardship. Conclusion Subgroups of ACS patients are experiencing considerable economic burden in Australia. These findings provide important considerations for future policy development in terms of the cost of recommended management for patients.

  1. Financial hardship, unmet medical need, and health self-efficacy among African American men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tucker-Seeley, Reginald D; Mitchell, Jamie A; Shires, Deirdre A; Modlin, Charles S

    2015-06-01

    Health self-efficacy (the confidence to take care of one's health) is a key component in ensuring that individuals are active partners in their health and health care. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between financial hardship and health self-efficacy among African American men and to determine if unmet medical need due to cost potentially mediates this association. Cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from a convenience sample of African American men who attended a 1-day annual community health fair in Northeast Ohio (N = 279). Modified Poisson regression models were estimated to obtain the relative risk of reporting low health self-efficacy. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, those reporting financial hardship were 2.91 times, RR = 2.91 (confidence interval [1.24, 6.83]; p financial hardship and low health self-efficacy was no longer statistically significant. Our results suggest that the association between financial hardship and health self-efficacy can be explained by unmet medical need due to cost. Possible intervention efforts among African American men with low financial resources should consider expanding clinical and community-based health assessments to capture financial hardship and unmet medical need due to cost as potential contributors to low health self-efficacy. © 2014 Society for Public Health Education.

  2. 34 CFR 34.24 - Claim of financial hardship by debtor subject to garnishment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... notice of garnishment would cause financial hardship to you and your dependents. (See § 34.7) (b) You may... employer must withhold causes financial hardship. (c)(1) We consider an objection to an outstanding... changed after the notice of proposed garnishment because of an event such as injury, divorce, or...

  3. Rural Disparities in Treatment-Related Financial Hardship and Adherence to Surveillance Colonoscopy in Diverse Colorectal Cancer Survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDougall, Jean A; Banegas, Matthew P; Wiggins, Charles L; Chiu, Vi K; Rajput, Ashwani; Kinney, Anita Y

    2018-03-28

    Cancer survivors increasingly report financial hardship as a consequence of the high cost of cancer care, yet the financial experience of rural cancer survivors remains largely unstudied. The purpose of this study was to investigate potential rural disparities in the likelihood of financial hardship and nonadherence to surveillance colonoscopy. Individuals diagnosed with localized or regional colorectal cancer (CRC) between 2004-2012 were ascertained by the population-based New Mexico Tumor Registry. Participants completed a mailed questionnaire or telephone survey about their CRC survivorship experience, including treatment-related financial hardship and receipt of surveillance colonoscopy. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Compared to urban CRC survivors (n=168), rural CRC survivors (n=109) were slightly older, more likely to be married (65% v. 59%) and have an annual income financial hardship (OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.06-3.28) and nonadherence to surveillance colonoscopy guidelines (OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.07-4.85). In addition, financial hardship was independently associated with nonadherence to surveillance colonoscopy (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.01-4.85). Substantial rural disparities in the likelihood of financial hardship and nonadherence to surveillance colonoscopy exist. Treatment-related financial hardship among rural CRC survivors may negatively impact adherence to guideline recommended follow-up care. Copyright ©2018, American Association for Cancer Research.

  4. Does misery love company? Civic engagement in economic hard times.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Chaeyoon; Sander, Thomas

    2013-01-01

    We examine how economic hardship affects civic engagement. Using the Roper Political and Social Trends data, we show that the unemployed were less civically engaged throughout the period covered in the data (1973-1994). The gap in civic engagement between the employed and the unemployed is stable throughout the period. We find little evidence that national economic recession affects the overall level of civic engagement. We do find that higher state unemployment is positively related to political participation for both employed and unemployed residents, especially for political partisans. Finally, we find a strong and negative relationship between state-level income inequality and civic engagement. Our findings suggest that in terms of civic engagement: (1) the state-level economic context matters more than the national context; (2) economic recession may affect political and non-political civic participation differently; (3) economic inequality, rather than economic hardship, appears more negatively to impact civic engagement. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Association of financial hardship with poor sleep health outcomes among men who have sex with men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duncan, Dustin T; Hyun Park, Su; Al-Ajlouni, Yazan A; Hale, Lauren; Jean-Louis, Girardin; Goedel, William C; Chaix, Basile; Elbel, Brian

    2017-12-01

    Previous studies have identified an association between socioeconomic status and sleep health. While some research has studied this association among sexual minority groups, including men who have sex with men (MSM), they exclusively focused on US-based populations. The interplay between the two in shaping sleep health has not been previously examined on populations residing outside the US. This study considers both determinants, by investigating whether financial hardship is associated with sleep health among a sample of MSM in Paris, France. Broadcast advertisements were placed on a popular geosocial-networking smartphone application for MSM to direct users in Paris to a web-based survey measuring financial hardship and five dimensions of sleep health as well as socio-demographic characteristics. Modified Poisson models with robust error variance were computed to estimate risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between financial hardship and the following self-reported outcomes: 1) poor sleep quality, 2) short sleep duration; and 3) sleep problems. In total, 580 respondents completed the survey. In this sample, both financial hardship and poor sleep health were common - 45.5% reported that it was extremely, very, or somewhat difficult for them to meet their monthly payments on bills (referred to as "high financial hardship") and 30.1% rated their sleep as fairly bad or very bad (referred to as "poor sleep quality"). Multivariate models revealed that, compared to participants who reported low financial hardship, those who reported high financial hardship were more likely to report poor sleep quality (aRR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.77), to report problems falling asleep (aRR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.49), and to report problems staying awake in the daytime (aRR: 3.12, 95% CI: 1.83, 5.31). Future research should investigate whether this relationship is causal and determine whether interventions to reduce financial hardships could promote

  6. Family Financial Hardship and Adolescent Girls' Adjustment: The Role of Maternal Disclosure of Financial Concerns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehman, Stephanie Jacobs; Koerner, Susan Silverberg

    2002-01-01

    A study of 62 adolescent girls and their recently divorced mothers examined the relationship between maternal disclosure of financial concerns and difficulties in adolescent daughters' adjustment. Findings revealed a positive direct relationship between family financial hardship and girls' psychological distress, and that financial hardship was…

  7. Coping with hardship through friendship: the importance of peer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Coping with hardship through friendship: the importance of peer social capital among children affected by HIV in Kenya. ... The children were found to strategically establish formalised friendship groups that ... AJOL African Journals Online.

  8. Troubled times, troubled relationships: how economic resources, gender beliefs, and neighborhood disadvantage influence intimate partner violence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golden, Shelley D; Perreira, Krista M; Durrance, Christine Piette

    2013-07-01

    We evaluate race/ethnicity and nativity-based disparities in three different types of intimate partner violence (IPV) and examine how economic hardship, maternal economic dependency, maternal gender beliefs, and neighborhood disadvantage influence these disparities. Using nationally representative data from urban mothers of young children who are living with their intimate partners (N = 1,886), we estimate a series of unadjusted and adjusted logit models on mothers' reports of physical assault, emotional abuse, and coercion. When their children were age 3, more than one in five mothers were living with a partner who abused them. The prevalence of any IPV was highest among Hispanic (26%) and foreign-born (35%) mothers. Economic hardship, economic dependency on a romantic partner, and traditional gender beliefs each increased women's risk for exposure to one or more types of IPV, whereas neighborhood conditions were not significantly related to IPV in adjusted models. These factors also explained most of the racial/ethnic and nativity disparities in IPV. Policies and programs that reduce economic hardship among women with young children, promote women's economic independence, and foster gender equity in romantic partnerships can potentially reduce multiple forms of IPV.

  9. Reduced employment and financial hardship among middle-aged individuals with colorectal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, Louisa G; Beesley, Vanessa L; Mihala, Gabor; Koczwara, Bogda; Lynch, Brigid M

    2017-09-01

    Financial hardship may affect up to 30% of cancer survivors, however, little research has addressed the effect of employment change on financial hardship. This study compared the self-reported financial hardship of middle-aged (45-64 years) colorectal cancer survivors (n = 187) at 6 and 12 months following diagnosis with that of a matched general population group (n = 355). Colorectal cancer survivors were recruited through the Queensland Cancer Registry, Australia; data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey were used for the general population group. Pearson chi-square tests were used to assess the differences in proportions between the two groups and McNemar tests to assess differences across time among the same group. Generalised linear modelling was performed to produce prevalence ratios. A higher proportion of workers with colorectal cancer reported financial strain (money shortage for living essentials) at 6 months (15%) but eased and was comparable to the comparison group at 12 months (7%). Middle-aged working cancer survivors who ceased or reduced work were more likely to report not being financially comfortable, compared with those who had continued work (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.66, 95%CI: 1.12, 2.44) at 12 months. Health professionals, employers and government services should address the impact of impaired employment on financial hardship among cancer survivors. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Financial Hardship and Subjective Norms as Predictors of Job ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... counsellors and personnel psychologists should develop intervention programmes aimed at helping the unemployed in coping with long-lasting unemployment, social isolation and financial deprivation. Counselling implications were also highlighted. Keywords: financial hardship, subjective norms, job seeking behaviour ...

  11. Risk factors for financial hardship in patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer: a population-based exploratory analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shankaran, Veena; Jolly, Sanjay; Blough, David; Ramsey, Scott D

    2012-05-10

    Characteristics that predispose patients to financial hardship during cancer treatment are poorly understood. We therefore conducted a population-based exploratory analysis of potential factors associated with financial hardship and treatment nonadherence during and following adjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer. Patients diagnosed with stage III colon cancer between 2008 and 2010 were identified from a population-based cancer registry representing 13 counties in Washington state. Patients were asked to complete a comprehensive survey on treatment-related costs. Patients were considered to have experienced financial hardship if they accrued debt, sold or refinanced their home, borrowed money from friends or family, or experienced a 20% or greater decline in their annual income as a result of treatment-related expenses. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate factors associated with financial hardship and treatment nonadherence. A total of 284 responses were obtained from 555 eligible patients (response rate, 51.2%). Nearly all patients in the final sample were insured during treatment. In this sample, 38% of patients reported one or more financial hardships as a result of treatment. The factors most closely associated with treatment-related financial hardship were younger age and lower annual household income. Younger age, lower income, and unemployment or disability (which occurred in most instances following diagnosis) were most closely associated with treatment nonadherence. A significant proportion of patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer may experience financial hardship, despite having health insurance coverage. Interventions to help at-risk patients early on during therapy may prevent long-term financial adverse effects.

  12. Association of financial hardship with poor sleep health outcomes among men who have sex with men

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dustin T. Duncan

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Previous studies have identified an association between socioeconomic status and sleep health. While some research has studied this association among sexual minority groups, including men who have sex with men (MSM, they exclusively focused on US-based populations. The interplay between the two in shaping sleep health has not been previously examined on populations residing outside the US. This study considers both determinants, by investigating whether financial hardship is associated with sleep health among a sample of MSM in Paris, France. Broadcast advertisements were placed on a popular geosocial-networking smartphone application for MSM to direct users in Paris to a web-based survey measuring financial hardship and five dimensions of sleep health as well as socio-demographic characteristics. Modified Poisson models with robust error variance were computed to estimate risk ratios (RRs and 95% confidence intervals (CI for the associations between financial hardship and the following self-reported outcomes: 1 poor sleep quality, 2 short sleep duration; and 3 sleep problems. In total, 580 respondents completed the survey. In this sample, both financial hardship and poor sleep health were common - 45.5% reported that it was extremely, very, or somewhat difficult for them to meet their monthly payments on bills (referred to as “high financial hardship” and 30.1% rated their sleep as fairly bad or very bad (referred to as “poor sleep quality”. Multivariate models revealed that, compared to participants who reported low financial hardship, those who reported high financial hardship were more likely to report poor sleep quality (aRR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.77, to report problems falling asleep (aRR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.49, and to report problems staying awake in the daytime (aRR: 3.12, 95% CI: 1.83, 5.31. Future research should investigate whether this relationship is causal and determine whether interventions to reduce financial hardships

  13. “FORCE MAJEUR CLAUSE” ATAU “HARDSHIP CLAUSE” PROBLEMATIKA DALAM PERANCANGAN KONTRAK BISNIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agus Yudha Hernoko

    2006-07-01

    Full Text Available The significance of contract is to secure a fair transaction of rights and obligations of the party to the contract, by which it creates a safely properly and beneficially contractual relation. Under no circumstances is the contract made to harm one or both of the parties. Despite fair formation, due to breach of contract or force majeure the contract is not performed as supposed to be. The stipulation of force majeur clause, in some cases, are not accomodative to the business activity because the dispute settlement is usually put in the court. Therefore, there is a new way to apply hardship doctrine which in the perspective of business is seen more flexible and accomodative to solve the dispute. The hardship characteristic, as mention above, is appropriate to the business character which needs both dynamic activity and the business continuity among parties. The implementation of hardship doctrine is a "win-win solution" model which benefits both parties.

  14. Sibling Caregivers of People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Sociodemographic Characteristics and Material Hardship Prevalence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sonik, Rajan A; Parish, Susan L; Rosenthal, Eliana S

    2016-10-01

    In growing numbers, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are outliving their parents, or at least their parents' ability to care for them. Consequently, adult siblings without intellectual and developmental disabilities are increasingly taking on primary caregiving responsibilities. However, adult siblings have received little study generally, and sibling caregivers have received even less. We used nationally representative data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to describe the social characteristics and material hardship levels of sibling caregivers, in comparison to the general working age adult population. This study finds moderate material hardship to be pervasive among sibling caregivers, though extreme levels of hardship are possibly being abated somewhat through public benefit programs. Implications for greater service needs are discussed.

  15. Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS1) Polymorphisms Interact with Financial Hardship to Affect Depression Risk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarginson, Jane E; Deakin, JF William; Anderson, Ian M; Downey, Darragh; Thomas, Emma; Elliott, Rebecca; Juhasz, Gabriella

    2014-01-01

    There is increasing evidence that genetic factors have a role in differential susceptibility to depression in response to severe or chronic adversity. Studies in animals suggest that nitric oxide (NO) signalling has a key role in depression-like behavioural responses to stress. This study investigated whether genetic variation in the brain-expressed nitric oxide synthase gene NOS1 modifies the relationship between psychosocial stress and current depression score. We recruited a population sample of 1222 individuals who provided DNA and questionnaire data on symptoms and stress. Scores on the List of Life-Threatening Experiences (LTE) questionnaire for the last year and self-rated current financial hardship were used as measures of recent/ongoing psychosocial stress. Twenty SNPs were genotyped. Significant associations between eight NOS1 SNPs, comprising two regional haplotypes, and current depression score were identified that survived correction for multiple testing when current financial hardship was used as the interaction term. A smaller three-SNP haplotypes (rs10507279, rs1004356 and rs3782218) located in a regulatory region of NOS1 showed one of the strongest effects, with the A-C-T haplotype associating with higher depression scores at low adversity levels but lower depression scores at higher adversity levels (p=2.3E-05). These results suggest that NOS1 SNPs interact with exposure to economic and psychosocial stressors to alter individual's susceptibility to depression. PMID:24917196

  16. Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS1) polymorphisms interact with financial hardship to affect depression risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarginson, Jane E; Deakin, J F William; Anderson, Ian M; Downey, Darragh; Thomas, Emma; Elliott, Rebecca; Juhasz, Gabriella

    2014-11-01

    There is increasing evidence that genetic factors have a role in differential susceptibility to depression in response to severe or chronic adversity. Studies in animals suggest that nitric oxide (NO) signalling has a key role in depression-like behavioural responses to stress. This study investigated whether genetic variation in the brain-expressed nitric oxide synthase gene NOS1 modifies the relationship between psychosocial stress and current depression score. We recruited a population sample of 1222 individuals who provided DNA and questionnaire data on symptoms and stress. Scores on the List of Life-Threatening Experiences (LTE) questionnaire for the last year and self-rated current financial hardship were used as measures of recent/ongoing psychosocial stress. Twenty SNPs were genotyped. Significant associations between eight NOS1 SNPs, comprising two regional haplotypes, and current depression score were identified that survived correction for multiple testing when current financial hardship was used as the interaction term. A smaller three-SNP haplotypes (rs10507279, rs1004356 and rs3782218) located in a regulatory region of NOS1 showed one of the strongest effects, with the A-C-T haplotype associating with higher depression scores at low adversity levels but lower depression scores at higher adversity levels (p=2.3E-05). These results suggest that NOS1 SNPs interact with exposure to economic and psychosocial stressors to alter individual's susceptibility to depression.

  17. 23 CFR 710.503 - Protective buying and hardship acquisition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 23 Highways 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Protective buying and hardship acquisition. 710.503 Section 710.503 Highways FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RIGHT-OF-WAY AND ENVIRONMENT RIGHT-OF-WAY AND REAL ESTATE Property Acquisition Alternatives § 710.503 Protective buying and...

  18. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the 2008 Meetings in Lima, Peru

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-03-31

    imminent bombing of Iraq. Economic recession continues for several APEC members, with varying levels of hardship. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir...incidences of avian flu in both birds and humans. 2006 - Hanoi, Vietnam APEC initiates a study of regional economic integration to include

  19. Material Hardship and Internal Locus of Control Over the Prevention of Child Obesity in Low-Income Hispanic Pregnant Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gross, Rachel S; Mendelsohn, Alan L; Gross, Michelle B; Scheinmann, Roberta; Messito, Mary Jo

    2016-07-01

    To determine the relations between household material hardships and having a low internal locus of control over the prevention of child obesity in low-income Hispanic pregnant women. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data collected during a third trimester prenatal visit from women participating in the Starting Early Study, a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of a primary care-based family-centered early child obesity prevention intervention. Using multiple logistic regression analyses, we determined whether 4 domains of material hardship (food insecurity, difficulty paying bills, housing disrepair, neighborhood stress), considered individually and also cumulatively, were associated with having a low internal locus of control over the prevention of child obesity. The sample included 559 low-income Hispanic pregnant women, with 60% having experienced at least 1 hardship. Food insecurity was independently associated with a low internal locus of control over the prevention of child obesity (adjusted odds ratio, 2.38; 95% confidence interval, 1.50-3.77), controlling for other hardships and confounders. Experiencing a greater number of material hardships was associated in a dose-dependent relationship with an increased odds of having a low internal locus of control. Prenatal material hardships, in particular food insecurity, were associated with having a lower prenatal internal locus of control over the prevention of child obesity. Longitudinal follow-up of this cohort is needed to determine how relations between material hardships and having a low internal locus of control will ultimately affect infant feeding practices and child weight trajectories. Copyright © 2016 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Economic Crisis and Marital Problems in Turkey: Testing the Family Stress Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aytac, Isik A.; Rankin, Bruce H.

    2009-01-01

    This paper applied the family stress model to the case of Turkey in the wake of the 2001 economic crisis. Using structural equation modeling and a nationally representative urban sample of 711 married women and 490 married men, we tested whether economic hardship and the associated family economic strain on families resulted in greater marital…

  1. Development of the scale of economic abuse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Adrienne E; Sullivan, Cris M; Bybee, Deborah; Greeson, Megan R

    2008-05-01

    Economic abuse is part of the pattern of behaviors used by batterers to maintain power and control over their partners. However, no measure of economic abuse exists. This study describes the development of the Scale of Economic Abuse, which was designed to fill this gap. Interviews were conducted with 103 survivors of domestic abuse, each of whom responded to measures of economic, physical, and psychological abuse as well as economic hardship. Results provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the scale. This study is an important first step toward understanding the extent and impact of economic abuse experienced by survivors.

  2. The Economic Implications of Korean Unification

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Schmitz, Jonathan

    2002-01-01

    .... To lessen this burden, South Korea will need to initiate policy reforms that can ease the financial stress and repercussions of unification and create an integrated economic community with North Korea...

  3. Family material hardship and chinese adolescents' problem behaviors: a moderated mediation analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Wenqiang; Li, Dongping; Zhang, Wei; Bao, Zhenzhou; Wang, Yanhui

    2015-01-01

    In the current study, we examined a moderated mediation model using the risk and resilience framework. Specifically, the impact of family material hardship on adolescent problem behaviors was examined in a Chinese sample; we used the family stress model framework to investigate parental depression and negative parenting as potential mediators of the relation between family material hardship and adolescents' problem behaviors. In addition, based on resilience theory, we investigated adolescents' resilience as a potential protective factor in the development of their internalizing and externalizing problems. Participants included 1,419 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 15.38 years, SD = 1.79) and their primary caregivers. After controlling for covariates (age, gender, location of family residence, and primary caregiver), we found that parental depression and negative parenting mediated the association between family material hardship and adolescents' problem behaviors. Furthermore, the adolescent resilience moderated the relationship between negative parenting and internalizing problems in a protective-stabilizing pattern; in addition, a protective-reactive pattern also emerged when adolescent resilience was examined as a moderator of the relationship between negative parenting and externalizing problems. These findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of risk and resilience in youth development. Moreover, the findings have important implications for the prevention of adolescent problem behaviors.

  4. Family material hardship and chinese adolescents' problem behaviors: a moderated mediation analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenqiang Sun

    Full Text Available In the current study, we examined a moderated mediation model using the risk and resilience framework. Specifically, the impact of family material hardship on adolescent problem behaviors was examined in a Chinese sample; we used the family stress model framework to investigate parental depression and negative parenting as potential mediators of the relation between family material hardship and adolescents' problem behaviors. In addition, based on resilience theory, we investigated adolescents' resilience as a potential protective factor in the development of their internalizing and externalizing problems. Participants included 1,419 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 15.38 years, SD = 1.79 and their primary caregivers. After controlling for covariates (age, gender, location of family residence, and primary caregiver, we found that parental depression and negative parenting mediated the association between family material hardship and adolescents' problem behaviors. Furthermore, the adolescent resilience moderated the relationship between negative parenting and internalizing problems in a protective-stabilizing pattern; in addition, a protective-reactive pattern also emerged when adolescent resilience was examined as a moderator of the relationship between negative parenting and externalizing problems. These findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of risk and resilience in youth development. Moreover, the findings have important implications for the prevention of adolescent problem behaviors.

  5. Family Material Hardship and Chinese Adolescents’ Problem Behaviors: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Wenqiang; Li, Dongping; Zhang, Wei; Bao, Zhenzhou; Wang, Yanhui

    2015-01-01

    In the current study, we examined a moderated mediation model using the risk and resilience framework. Specifically, the impact of family material hardship on adolescent problem behaviors was examined in a Chinese sample; we used the family stress model framework to investigate parental depression and negative parenting as potential mediators of the relation between family material hardship and adolescents’ problem behaviors. In addition, based on resilience theory, we investigated adolescents’ resilience as a potential protective factor in the development of their internalizing and externalizing problems. Participants included 1,419 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 15.38 years, SD = 1.79) and their primary caregivers. After controlling for covariates (age, gender, location of family residence, and primary caregiver), we found that parental depression and negative parenting mediated the association between family material hardship and adolescents’ problem behaviors. Furthermore, the adolescent resilience moderated the relationship between negative parenting and internalizing problems in a protective-stabilizing pattern; in addition, a protective-reactive pattern also emerged when adolescent resilience was examined as a moderator of the relationship between negative parenting and externalizing problems. These findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of risk and resilience in youth development. Moreover, the findings have important implications for the prevention of adolescent problem behaviors. PMID:26010256

  6. Economic Stress, Quality of Life, and Mortality for the Oldest-Old in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeung, W. Jean; Xu, Zhenhua

    2012-01-01

    China's oldest old population is estimated to quadruple by 2050. Yet, poverty rate for the oldest old has been the highest among all age groups in China. This paper investigates the relationship between economic stress, quality of life, and mortality among the oldest-old in China. Both objective economic hardships and perceived economic strain are…

  7. Doing good when times are bad: volunteering behaviour in economic hard times.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Chaeyoon; Laurence, James

    2015-06-01

    This paper examines how the 2008-9 recession has affected volunteering behaviours in the UK. Using a large survey dataset, we assess the recession effects on both formal volunteering and informal helping behaviours. Whilst both formal volunteering and informal helping have been in decline in the UK since 2008, the size of the decline is significantly larger for informal helping than for formal volunteering. The decline is more salient in regions that experienced a higher level of unemployment during the recession and also in socially and economically disadvantaged communities. However, we find that a growing number of people who personally experienced financial insecurity and hardship do not explain the decline. We argue that the decline has more to do with community-level factors such as civic organizational infrastructure and cultural norms of trust and engagement than personal experiences of economic hardship. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2015.

  8. Does financial hardship account for elevated psychological distress in lone mothers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hope, S; Power, C; Rodgers, B

    1999-12-01

    Lone mothers have been shown to have higher levels of psychological distress than married mothers, but it is not clear how this difference arises. Using data from the 1958 British birth cohort followed to age 33, we investigated alternative explanations for the excess distress of lone mothers. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios for distress (measured using the Malaise Inventory) in lone vs married mothers. Odds ratios were adjusted to assess the contribution of explanatory factors. At age 33, psychological distress was greater among lone than married mothers (OR 2.59, 95% CI 1.97, 3.41). The odds ratio decreased to 1.43 (95% CI 1.02, 2.01) after adjustment for all explanatory factors (prior psychological distress, age of youngest child and number of children in the household, and contemporary measures of financial hardship, employment, and social support). Attenuation of the odds ratio was most marked after taking account of financial hardship. Psychological distress was greater among divorced mothers than never married mothers, though not significantly (OR = 1.70, 95% CI 0.88, 3.28). This difference was not explained by the factors examined, and was not due to the immediate distress associated with a recent divorce. Elevated psychological distress of lone mothers appears to be related to financial hardship, while other explanations, including social support and selection, have a more modest impact. Not all of the elevated psychological distress among lone mothers was accounted for, particularly among divorced lone mothers.

  9. The existence and persistence of household financial hardship

    OpenAIRE

    Brown, S.; Ghosh, P.; Taylor, K.

    2012-01-01

    We investigate the existence and persistence of financial hardship at the household level using data from the British Household Panel Survey. Our modelling strategy makes three important contributions to the existing literature on household finances. Firstly, we model nine different types of household financial problems within a joint framework, allowing for correlation in the random effects across the nine equations. Secondly, we develop a dynamic framework in order to model the persistence ...

  10. Softening the Blow : Company Self-Disclosure of Negative Information Lessens Damaging Effects on Consumer Judgment and Decision Making

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fennis, Bob M.; Stroebe, Wolfgang

    Is self-disclosure of negative information a viable strategy for a company to lessen the damage done to consumer responses? Three experiments assessed whether self-disclosing negative information in itself lessened the damaging impact of this information compared to third-party disclosure of the

  11. Softening the blow : Company self-disclosure of negative information lessens the damaging effects on consumer judgment and decision making

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fennis, Bob M.; Stroebe, Wolfgang

    Is self-disclosure of negative information a viable strategy for a company to lessen the damage done to consumer responses? Three experiments assessed whether self-disclosing negative information in itself lessened the damaging impact of this information compared to third-party disclosure of the

  12. The Consequences of Parental Separation and Divorce for the Economic, Social and Emotional Circumstances of Children in Botswana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maundeni, Tapologo

    2000-01-01

    Analyzes children's and mothers' accounts of the economic consequences of divorce for children in Botswana. Notes that most mothers and children reported economic hardship following divorce, although a few reported improvement or no change in economic circumstances. Traces the implications for the social and psychological well-being of children.…

  13. Financial Hardship and Self-Rated Health among Low-Income Housing Residents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tucker-Seeley, Reginald D.; Harley, Amy E.; Stoddard, Anne M.; Sorensen, Glorian G.

    2013-01-01

    Background: Self-rated health (SRH) has been shown to be predictive of morbidity and mortality. Evidence also shows that SRH is socioeconomically patterned, although this association differs depending on the indicator of socioeconomic status used. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between SRH and financial hardship among…

  14. Neoliberalism, Grievances, and Democratization: An Exploration of the Role of Material Hardships in Shaping Mexico’s Democratic Transition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jon Shefner

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available This article explores the relationship between neoliberalism and democratization in Mexico. For decades the Mexican state maintained the one-party rule of the PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional through a complex arrangement involving corporatist and clientelist practices. The onset of neoliberalism – including the 1982 peso crisis and the imposition of structural adjustment policies – realigned state policies with the result that the Mexican state transformed from a populist provider for many Mexicans to the instrument of their severe hardships. The state did little to protect people from nation-wide declines in wages and increases in unemployment, while withdrawing a range of subsidies necessary for daily survival. The size, scope and density of the resulting hardships, in turn, united a multi-class coalition that for the first time was able to work together to demand political change. Multiple demands emerged, corresponding to different sectors of society and different hardships, but in the end the demand for democracy became the unifying strategy. A decade after the end of one-party rule in Mexico, we can evaluate how hardships united people to demand change, even as that change has been more procedural than substantive.

  15. Spawning Economic Development through Enforcement of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    conscious planning to eradicate or lessen poverty by ensuring that minimum ... good programming practice such as extending and deepening participation; ensuring local ... instrument of engendering economic development in South Africa; and .... The contractual water right is linked to the third contractarian theory which ...

  16. Losing ground, losing sleep: Local economic conditions, economic vulnerability, and sleep.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perales, Francisco; Plage, Stefanie

    2017-02-01

    Medical research shows that healthy sleep has benefits for human wellbeing. We contribute to the emerging social-epidemiological literature on the social determinants of sleep by considering how living in an area with poor economic circumstances can result in sleep loss through financial worry, uncertainty and stress. We use multilevel regression models and nationally-representative data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (n = 9181) and find that individuals who live in areas with high unemployment rates or experience individual-level economic vulnerability sleep less than comparable individuals in areas with low unemployment rates, or who do not experience financial hardships. The negative association between local economic conditions and sleep duration is substantially stronger amongst economically vulnerable individuals. This highlights the importance of considering multiple levels in the analysis of health inequalities, as status and location can intersect to produce and reproduce disadvantage systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. War experiences and psychotic symptoms among former child soldiers in Northern Uganda: the mediating role of post-war hardships – the WAYS Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amone-P’Olak, Kennedy; Otim, Balaam Nyeko; Opio, George; Ovuga, Emilio; Meiser-Stedman, Richard

    2014-01-01

    Psychotic symptoms have been associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and war experiences. However, the relationships between types of war experiences, the onset and course of psychotic symptoms, and post-war hardships in child soldiers have not been investigated. This study assessed whether various types of war experiences contribute to psychotic symptoms differently and whether post-war hardships mediated the relationship between war experiences and later psychotic symptoms. In an ongoing longitudinal cohort study (the War-Affected Youths Survey), 539 (61% male) former child soldiers were assessed for psychotic symptoms, post-war hardships, and previous war experiences. Regression analyses were used to assess the contribution of different types of war experiences on psychotic symptoms and the mediating role of post-war hardships in the relations between previous war experiences and psychotic symptoms. The findings yielded ‘witnessing violence’, ‘deaths and bereavement’, ‘involvement in hostilities’, and ‘sexual abuse’ as types of war experiences that significantly and independently predict psychotic symptoms. Exposure to war experiences was related to psychotic symptoms through post-war hardships (β = .18, 95% confidence interval = [0.10, 0.25]) accounting for 50% of the variance in their relationship. The direct relation between previous war experiences and psychotic symptoms attenuated but remained significant (β = .18, 95% confidence interval = [0.12, 0.26]). Types of war experiences should be considered when evaluating risks for psychotic symptoms in the course of providing emergency humanitarian services in post-conflict settings. Interventions should consider post-war hardships as key determinants of psychotic symptoms among war-affected youths. PMID:24718435

  18. Financial hardship associated with colorectal cancer survivorship: the role of asset depletion and debt accumulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanly, Paul; Maguire, Rebecca; Ceilleachair, Alan O; Sharp, Linda

    2018-05-31

    To estimate the prevalence of financial objective stress and subjective strain among colorectal cancer survivors and assess associated financial coping factors in Ireland which has a mixed public-private healthcare system. Colorectal cancer survivors were identified from the National Cancer Registry and a sample of 496 respondents were included in the analysis. A postal survey collected information on survivor demographics, socio-economic background, medical characteristics, cancer-related financial hardship, debt accumulation and asset depletion. Cancer-related financial objective stress and subjective strain were employed as dependent variables in logistic regression analysis. Approximately two in five survivors experienced objective stress (40.9%) or subjective strain (39.4%). Depletion of savings (49.1%) was the most prevalent form of financial coping strategy. Factors significantly associated with increased objective stress were having a stoma (OR=2.1, 95% CI 1.1-3.9), using savings (OR=9.4, 95% CI 4.9-18.0), formally borrowing money (OR=3.1, 95% CI 1.0-9.6) and loans from family members/friends (OR=3.8, 95% CI 1.9-7.8). Not working (excluding retirees) (OR=0.44, 95% CI 0.20-0.96) was associated with decreased objective stress. Significant predictors of subjective strain included having dependents, a stoma, using savings (OR=5.3 95% CI 2.9-9.5) and loans from family members/friends (OR=2.0, 95% CI 1.1-3.9), but excluded borrowing money. Cancer-related financial objective stress and subjective strain are common in colorectal cancer survivors, even where all citizens are entitled to publicly-funded care, but the financial coping strategies significantly associated with these two measures differed. These findings will help inform targeted measures across disparate health care systems, and survivor groups, to alleviate financial hardship. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  19. The economic implications of Korean unification

    OpenAIRE

    Schmitz, Jonathan L.

    2002-01-01

    Approved for public release; distribution unlimited A major area of concern for Korean unification is the immense cost it will impose on South Korea. To lessen this burden, South Korea will need to initiate policy reforms that can ease the financial stress and repercussions of unification and create an integrated economic community with North Korea. At the same time, North Korea will need to create an environment that is conducive to economic integration by accepting and adopting reform me...

  20. 17 CFR 274.404 - Form TH-Notification of reliance on temporary hardship exemption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Form TH-Notification of... Forms for Electronic Filing § 274.404 Form TH—Notification of reliance on temporary hardship exemption. Form TH shall be filed by any electronic filer who submits to the Commission, pursuant to a temporary...

  1. 17 CFR 239.65 - Form TH-Notification of reliance on temporary hardship exemption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Form TH-Notification of... Statements § 239.65 Form TH—Notification of reliance on temporary hardship exemption. Form TH shall be filed... Note: For Federal Register citations affecting Form TH, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which...

  2. 17 CFR 249.447 - Form TH-Notification of reliance on temporary hardship exemption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Form TH-Notification of... § 249.447 Form TH—Notification of reliance on temporary hardship exemption. Form TH shall be filed by... Note: For Federal Register citations affecting Form TH, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which...

  3. 17 CFR 269.10 - Form TH-Notification of reliance on temporary hardship exemption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Form TH-Notification of....10 Form TH—Notification of reliance on temporary hardship exemption. Form TH shall be filed by any...: For Federal Register citations affecting Form TH, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears...

  4. Prostitution in times of economic crisis: effects, human agency and societal responses

    OpenAIRE

    Persak, Nina

    2012-01-01

    In times of economic hardship both formal and informal economy are affected. The paper begins by inspecting the characteristics of the informal economy, some of which may act as disadvantages as well as advantages, addressing prostitution as one type of informal economic activity. Looking at the available data, we then observe in which way and to what extent the current global financial crisis has affected the informal economy, in general, and prostitution, in particular. Next, we examine the...

  5. 17 CFR 259.604 - Form TH-Notification of reliance on temporary hardship exemption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Form TH-Notification of... OF 1935 Forms for Electronic Filing § 259.604 Form TH—Notification of reliance on temporary hardship exemption. Form TH shall be filed by any electronic filer who submits to the Commission, pursuant to a...

  6. Status threat, not economic hardship, explains the 2016 presidential vote.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mutz, Diana C

    2018-05-08

    This study evaluates evidence pertaining to popular narratives explaining the American public's support for Donald J. Trump in the 2016 presidential election. First, using unique representative probability samples of the American public, tracking the same individuals from 2012 to 2016, I examine the "left behind" thesis (that is, the theory that those who lost jobs or experienced stagnant wages due to the loss of manufacturing jobs punished the incumbent party for their economic misfortunes). Second, I consider the possibility that status threat felt by the dwindling proportion of traditionally high-status Americans (i.e., whites, Christians, and men) as well as by those who perceive America's global dominance as threatened combined to increase support for the candidate who emphasized reestablishing status hierarchies of the past. Results do not support an interpretation of the election based on pocketbook economic concerns. Instead, the shorter relative distance of people's own views from the Republican candidate on trade and China corresponded to greater mass support for Trump in 2016 relative to Mitt Romney in 2012. Candidate preferences in 2016 reflected increasing anxiety among high-status groups rather than complaints about past treatment among low-status groups. Both growing domestic racial diversity and globalization contributed to a sense that white Americans are under siege by these engines of change. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  7. Financial Hardship, Unmet Medical Need, and Health Self-Efficacy among African American Men

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tucker-Seeley, Reginald D.; Mitchell, Jamie A.; Shires, Deirdre A.; Modlin, Charles S., Jr.

    2015-01-01

    Background: Health self-efficacy (the confidence to take care of one's health) is a key component in ensuring that individuals are active partners in their health and health care. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between financial hardship and health self-efficacy among African American men and to determine if unmet…

  8. Financial hardship, mastery and social support: Explaining poor mental health amongst the inadequately employed using data from the HILDA survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Crowe

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective: This study analysed data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA Survey to examine the relationship between employment status and mental health, and the mediating effects of financial hardship, mastery and social support. In addition, the study sought to explore the effects of duration of unemployment on mental health. Methods: The primary analysis used three waves of data from the HILDA Survey with 4965 young adult respondents. Longitudinal population-averaged logistic regression models assessed the association of employment status and mental health, including the contribution of mastery, financial hardship and social support in explaining this association between employment groups (unemployed vs. employed; under employed vs. employed. Sensitivity analyses utilised a fixed-effects approach and also considered the full-range of working-age respondents. Regression analysis was used to explore the effect of duration of unemployment on mental health. Results: Respondents’ who identified as unemployed or underemployed were at higher risk of poor mental health outcomes when compared to their employed counterparts. This association was ameliorated when accounting for mastery, financial hardship and social support for the unemployed, and was fully mediated for the underemployed. The fixed-effects models showed the transition to unemployment was associated with a decline in mental health and that mastery in particular contributed to that change. The same results were found with a broader age range of respondents. Finally, the relationship between duration of unemployment and mental health was not linear, with mental health showing marked decline across the first 9 weeks of unemployment. Conclusions and implications: Mastery, social support and financial hardship are important factors in understanding the association of poor mental health with both unemployment and underemployment. Furthermore, the results suggest

  9. ECONOMIC STATUS OF THE RUSSIAN MINORITY IN TAJIKISTAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aijaz A. Bandey

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available From the 1980s onwards, there was a sharp economic decline in the entire Soviet Union including Central Asia. People in general were affected due to this economic decline; however, in case of the Slav minority in Central Asia including Tajikistan the outmigration of Russian, which started from the 1980s, affected them more than that of their Central Asian counterparts. After the disintegration of Soviet Union, the condition of the leftovers was further accentuated by the language policy, ethnicisation while recruitment in the public offices, etc. Besides this Tajikistan has been the poorest country in the post Soviet space, which in turn is adding to the economic hardships of the people in general and ethnic Russians of the country in particular.

  10. Intellectual enrichment lessens the effect of brain atrophy on learning and memory in multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumowski, James F; Wylie, Glenn R; Chiaravalloti, Nancy; DeLuca, John

    2010-06-15

    Learning and memory impairments are prevalent among persons with multiple sclerosis (MS); however, such deficits are only weakly associated with MS disease severity (brain atrophy). The cognitive reserve hypothesis states that greater lifetime intellectual enrichment lessens the negative impact of brain disease on cognition, thereby helping to explain the incomplete relationship between brain disease and cognitive status in neurologic populations. The literature on cognitive reserve has focused mainly on Alzheimer disease. The current research examines whether greater intellectual enrichment lessens the negative effect of brain atrophy on learning and memory in patients with MS. Forty-four persons with MS completed neuropsychological measures of verbal learning and memory, and a vocabulary-based estimate of lifetime intellectual enrichment. Brain atrophy was estimated with third ventricle width measured from 3-T magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo MRIs. Hierarchical regression was used to predict learning and memory with brain atrophy, intellectual enrichment, and the interaction between brain atrophy and intellectual enrichment. Brain atrophy predicted worse learning and memory, and intellectual enrichment predicted better learning; however, these effects were moderated by interactions between brain atrophy and intellectual enrichment. Specifically, higher intellectual enrichment lessened the negative impact of brain atrophy on both learning and memory. These findings help to explain the incomplete relationship between multiple sclerosis disease severity and cognition, as the effect of disease on cognition is attenuated among patients with higher intellectual enrichment. As such, intellectual enrichment is supported as a protective factor against disease-related cognitive impairment in persons with multiple sclerosis.

  11. Diagnosis, prevalence estimation and burden measurement in population surveys of headache: presenting the HARDSHIP questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steiner, Timothy J; Gururaj, Gopalakrishna; Andrée, Colette; Katsarava, Zaza; Ayzenberg, Ilya; Yu, Sheng-Yuan; Al Jumah, Mohammed; Tekle-Haimanot, Redda; Birbeck, Gretchen L; Herekar, Arif; Linde, Mattias; Mbewe, Edouard; Manandhar, Kedar; Risal, Ajay; Jensen, Rigmor; Queiroz, Luiz Paulo; Scher, Ann I; Wang, Shuu-Jiun; Stovner, Lars Jacob

    2014-01-08

    The global burden of headache is very large, but knowledge of it is far from complete and needs still to be gathered. Published population-based studies have used variable methodology, which has influenced findings and made comparisons difficult. The Global Campaign against Headache is undertaking initiatives to improve and standardize methods in use for cross-sectional studies. One requirement is for a survey instrument with proven cross-cultural validity. This report describes the development of such an instrument. Two of the authors developed the initial version, which was used with adaptations in population-based studies in China, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Zambia and 10 countries in the European Union. The resultant evolution of this instrument was reviewed by an expert consensus group drawn from all world regions. The final output was the Headache-Attributed Restriction, Disability, Social Handicap and Impaired Participation (HARDSHIP) questionnaire, designed for application by trained lay interviewers. HARDSHIP is a modular instrument incorporating demographic enquiry, diagnostic questions based on ICHD-3 beta criteria, and enquiries into each of the following as components of headache-attributed burden: symptom burden; health-care utilization; disability and productive time losses; impact on education, career and earnings; perception of control; interictal burden; overall individual burden; effects on relationships and family dynamics; effects on others, including household partner and children; quality of life; wellbeing; obesity as a comorbidity. HARDSHIP already has demonstrated validity and acceptability in multiple languages and cultures. Modules may be included or not, and others (e.g., on additional comorbidities) added, according to the purpose of the study and resources (especially time) available.

  12. The Impact of the Economic Downturn on Libraries: With Special Reference to University Libraries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholas, David; Rowlands, Ian; Jubb, Michael; Jamali, Hamid R.

    2010-01-01

    Evidence is presented of the extent to which libraries from around the world are experiencing financial hardship as a result of the world-wide economic downturn. Comparative analyses are provides on the grounds of country, sector and size of institution. The article concentrates on the situation of UK and US university libraries and is based on…

  13. Introductory statistics for business and economics theory, exercises and solutions

    CERN Document Server

    Ubøe, Jan

    2017-01-01

    This textbook discusses central statistical concepts and their use in business and economics. To endure the hardship of abstract statistical thinking, business and economics students need to see interesting applications at an early stage. Accordingly, the book predominantly focuses on exercises, several of which draw on simple applications of non-linear theory. The main body presents central ideas in a simple, straightforward manner; the exposition is concise, without sacrificing rigor.  The book bridges the gap between theory and applications, with most exercises formulated in an economic context. Its simplicity of style makes the book suitable for students at any level, and every chapter starts out with simple problems. Several exercises, however, are more challenging, as they are devoted to the discussion of non-trivial economic problems where statistics plays a central part.

  14. Unemployment and household food hardship in the economic recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jin; Kim, Youngmi; Birkenmaier, Julie

    2016-02-01

    The present study examined the association between unemployment and household food insecurity during the 2007-2009 economic recession in the USA. Longitudinal survey of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP; 2008-2011). Food insecurity was measured by five questions excerpted from an eighteen-item Food Security Scale. Unemployment was measured by a dichotomous indicator, the number of job losses and the total duration of all episodes in the observation period. As nationally representative data, the SIPP interviewed respondents in multiple waves with a time interval of four months. The study created two analytic samples including working-age household heads employed at the beginning of the observation period. The size of the two samples was 14,417 and 13,080. Unemployment was positively associated with food insecurity (OR=1.55; 95% CI 1.32, 1.83; Punemployment (OR=1.54; 95% CI 1.27, 1.88; Punemployment, one more episode of unemployment increased the odds of food insecurity by 8% (OR=1.08; 95% CI 1.00, 1.18; Punemployment and food insecurity is useful to better identify and serve the at-risk population. Connecting unemployment assistance closely to nutrition assistance could lower the prevalence of food insecurity among unemployed households. Public policy should better account for both episodes and duration of unemployment to reduce food insecurity.

  15. Variety more than quantity of fruit and vegetable intake varies by socioeconomic status and financial hardship. Findings from older adults in the EPIC cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conklin, Annalijn I; Forouhi, Nita G; Suhrcke, Marc; Surtees, Paul; Wareham, Nicholas J; Monsivais, Pablo

    2014-12-01

    Beyond quantity, variety of fruit and vegetable (FV) intake prevents chronic conditions and is widely recommended as critical to healthful eating. FV consumption is socially patterned, especially for women, but little is known about multiple economic determinants of variety or whether they differ from those of quantity. To examine socioeconomic status and financial hardships in relation to variety and quantity of FV intakes among older British women and men. Cross-sectional study of 9580 adults (50-79 years) in the nationally representative EPIC cohort who responded to a postal Health and Life Experiences Questionnaire (1996-2000) and Food Frequency Questionnaire (1998-2002). Variety counted unique items consumed (items/month) and quantity measured total intake (g/day). No consistent differences by any economic factor were observed for quantity of fruits or vegetables, except education in men. Lower education, lower social class and renting were independently associated with lower fruit variety and vegetable variety (p-trend consumption of diverse FV. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  16. Globalization, Inequality & International Economic Law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frank J. Garcia

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available International law in general, and international economic law in particular, to the extent that either has focused on the issue of inequality, has done so in terms of inequality between states. Largely overlooked has been the topic of inequality within states and how international law has influenced that reality. From the perspective of international economic law, the inequality issue is closely entwined with the topics of colonialism and post-colonialism, the proper meaning of development, and globalization. While international economic law has undoubtedly contributed to the rise of inequality, it is now vital that the subject of international economic law be examined for how it may contribute to the lessening of inequality. To do so will require a shift in the way that we think, in order to address inequality as a problem of an emerging global market society, and how best to regulate that society and its institutions.

  17. An Assessment of Economic Stability under the New European Economic Governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gheorghe HURDUZEU

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The economic crisis, followed by the sovereign debt crisis, resulted in high unemployment, unsustainable public finances and deepening disparities between Euro Area member states, and underlined the necessity of strengthening economic coordination. In order to lessen the effects of the crises, to prevent further deepening of the economic context and the appearance of new similar situations, the European framework was improved by the provisions of the new economic governance. The aim of this paper is to assess the effects regarding macroeconomic stability within Euro Area member states, achieved under the new economic governance framework. In this respect, the first part of the paper consists in an overview of the provisions imposed through the European Semester, the reformed Stability and Growth Pact and the other elements of the new European governance. In order to assess the achievement of economic stability we analyzed data for Southern Euro Area member states, during 2009-2013, as this group of countries registered most issues during 2013. We took into consideration five important indicators, essential in any economy that form the macroeconomic stability pentagon: economic growth rate, unemployment rate, inflation rate, budgetary balance and current account balance. By comparing the area obtained through the macroeconomic stability pentagon, we conclude on meeting one of the main objectives of the new European governance: economic stability.

  18. Serial Migration and the Assessment of "Extreme and Unusual Psychological Hardship" with Undocumented Latina/o Families

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cervantes, Joseph M.; Mejia, Olga L.; Mena, Amalia Guerrero

    2010-01-01

    There has been a significant trend among families from Mexico and Central America to immigrate to the United States due to difficult living conditions, financial hardship, and the lack of opportunity. This article addresses the role of serial migration, where one family member immigrates first and then brings the rest of the family at a later…

  19. Financial hardship, mastery and social support: Explaining poor mental health amongst the inadequately employed using data from the HILDA survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crowe, Laura; Butterworth, Peter; Leach, Liana

    2016-12-01

    This study analysed data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey to examine the relationship between employment status and mental health, and the mediating effects of financial hardship, mastery and social support. In addition, the study sought to explore the effects of duration of unemployment on mental health. The primary analysis used three waves of data from the HILDA Survey with 4965 young adult respondents. Longitudinal population-averaged logistic regression models assessed the association of employment status and mental health, including the contribution of mastery, financial hardship and social support in explaining this association between employment groups (unemployed vs. employed; under employed vs. employed). Sensitivity analyses utilised a fixed-effects approach and also considered the full-range of working-age respondents. Regression analysis was used to explore the effect of duration of unemployment on mental health. Respondents' who identified as unemployed or underemployed were at higher risk of poor mental health outcomes when compared to their employed counterparts. This association was ameliorated when accounting for mastery, financial hardship and social support for the unemployed, and was fully mediated for the underemployed. The fixed-effects models showed the transition to unemployment was associated with a decline in mental health and that mastery in particular contributed to that change. The same results were found with a broader age range of respondents. Finally, the relationship between duration of unemployment and mental health was not linear, with mental health showing marked decline across the first 9 weeks of unemployment. Mastery, social support and financial hardship are important factors in understanding the association of poor mental health with both unemployment and underemployment. Furthermore, the results suggest that the most deleterious effects on mental health may occur in the first two

  20. Inequalities in child mortality in Mozambique: differentials by parental socio-economic position

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Macassa, Gloria; Ghilagaber, Gebrenegus; Bernhardt, Eva

    2003-01-01

    This study investigates the relation between socio-economic parental position (education and occupation) and child death in Mozambique using data from the Mozambican Demographic and Health Survey carried out between March and July 1997. The analysis included 9142 children born within 10 years...... before the survey. In spite of the Western system of classification used in the study, the results partly showed a parental socio-economic gradient of infant and child mortality in Mozambique. Father's education seemed to reflect the family's social standing in the Mozambique context, showing a strong...... statistical association with postneonatal and child mortality. However, maternal education as a measure of socio-economic position was not statistically significantly associated with child mortality. This finding may partly be explained by the extreme hardships experienced by the country (civil war...

  1. Factors associated with the health and nutritional status of children under 5 years of age in Afghanistan: family behaviour related to women and past experience of war-related hardships

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hemat Shafiqullah

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The present study was performed to assess, beyond socio-economic factors, independent associations between the health and nutritional status of children under 5 years old and (1 family behavioural factors related to women with regard to child care and (2 war-related experience by the household of hardships in Afghanistan. Methods The subjects were all children born during the previous 5 years from 1400 households in Kabul Province, Afghanistan and were selected by multistage sampling in March 2006. Height and weight measurements of the children and culturally sensitive interviews with their mothers were conducted by household visits. Child mortality, morbidity and nutritional status were evaluated. Four areas were assessed as variables for family behavioural factors related to women: education of mothers, child marriage of the mothers, maternal autonomy in obtaining healthcare for children and preference for a female physician. Hardships experienced by the family were examined by determining their satisfaction of basic material needs and by any experience of being forced to leave a preferred residence. Results A total of 2474 children from 1327 households completed the examinations and interviews; among them, 101 children were deceased by the time of the interview visits. Diarrhoea (32.5% and acute respiratory infection (41.0% were common child health problems and both emaciation (12.4% and linear growth retardation (39.9% were prevalent. Regardless of the influence of economic, demographic, family behavioural or hardships experience factors, a lack of maternal autonomy (79.1% was associated with the occurrence of acute respiratory infection (odds-ratio = 1.72; 95% confidence interval = 1.23, 2.40, and linear growth retardation of children (odds-ratio = 1.38; 95% confidence interval = 1.01, 1.90; a lack of education of the mother (71.7% and child marriage of the mothers (18.3% were associated with diarrhoea (odds-ratio = 1

  2. Factors associated with the health and nutritional status of children under 5 years of age in Afghanistan: family behaviour related to women and past experience of war-related hardships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mashal, Taufiq; Takano, Takehito; Nakamura, Keiko; Kizuki, Masashi; Hemat, Shafiqullah; Watanabe, Masafumi; Seino, Kaoruko

    2008-08-29

    The present study was performed to assess, beyond socio-economic factors, independent associations between the health and nutritional status of children under 5 years old and (1) family behavioural factors related to women with regard to child care and (2) war-related experience by the household of hardships in Afghanistan. The subjects were all children born during the previous 5 years from 1400 households in Kabul Province, Afghanistan and were selected by multistage sampling in March 2006. Height and weight measurements of the children and culturally sensitive interviews with their mothers were conducted by household visits. Child mortality, morbidity and nutritional status were evaluated. Four areas were assessed as variables for family behavioural factors related to women: education of mothers, child marriage of the mothers, maternal autonomy in obtaining healthcare for children and preference for a female physician. Hardships experienced by the family were examined by determining their satisfaction of basic material needs and by any experience of being forced to leave a preferred residence. A total of 2474 children from 1327 households completed the examinations and interviews; among them, 101 children were deceased by the time of the interview visits. Diarrhoea (32.5%) and acute respiratory infection (41.0%) were common child health problems and both emaciation (12.4%) and linear growth retardation (39.9%) were prevalent. Regardless of the influence of economic, demographic, family behavioural or hardships experience factors, a lack of maternal autonomy (79.1%) was associated with the occurrence of acute respiratory infection (odds-ratio = 1.72; 95% confidence interval = 1.23, 2.40), and linear growth retardation of children (odds-ratio = 1.38; 95% confidence interval = 1.01, 1.90); a lack of education of the mother (71.7%) and child marriage of the mothers (18.3%) were associated with diarrhoea (odds-ratio = 1.84; 95% confidence interval = 1.40, 2.41; odds

  3. Determinants of hardship financing in coping with out of pocket payment for care seeking of under five children in selected rural areas of Bangladesh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Nazia Binte; Siddique, Md. Abu Bakkar; Ahmed, Sameen; Rahman, Mubashshira; Islam, Sajia; Rahman, Md. Mezanur; Amena, Bushra; Hoque, D. M. Emdadul; Huda, Tanvir M.; Arifeen, Shams El

    2018-01-01

    Background Around 63% of total health care expenditure in Bangladesh is mitigated through out of pocket payment (OOP). Heavy reliance on OOP at the time of care seeking poses great threat for financial impoverishment of the households. Households employ different strategies to cope with the associated financial hardship. Objective The aim of this paper is to understand the determinants of hardship financing in coping with OOP adopted for health care seeking of under five childhood illnesses in rural setting of Bangladesh. Methods A community based cross sectional survey was conducted during August to October, 2014 in 15 low performing sub-districts of northern and north-east regions of Bangladesh. Of the 7039 mothers of under five children surveyed, 1895 children who suffered from illness and sought care for their illness episodes were reported in this study. Descriptive statistics and ordinal regression analysis were conducted. Results A total number of 7,039 under five children reported to have suffered illness by their mothers. Among these children 37% suffered from priority illness. Care was sought for 88% children suffering from illnesses. Among them 26% went to a public or private sector medically trained provider. 5% of households incurred illness cost more than 10% of the household’s monthly expenditure. The need for assistance was higher among those compared to others (31% vs 13%). Different financing mechanisms adopted to meet OOP are loan with interest (6%), loan without interest (9%) and financial help from relatives (6%) Need for financial assistance varied from 19% among households in the lowest quintile to 9% in the highest wealth. Ordinal regression analysis revealed that burden of hardship financing increases by 2.17 times when care is sought from a private trained provider compared to care seeking from untrained provider (CI: 1.49, 3.17). Similarly, for families that incur a health care expenditure that is more than 10% of their total monthly

  4. Determinants of hardship financing in coping with out of pocket payment for care seeking of under five children in selected rural areas of Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tahsina, Tazeen; Ali, Nazia Binte; Siddique, Md Abu Bakkar; Ahmed, Sameen; Rahman, Mubashshira; Islam, Sajia; Rahman, Md Mezanur; Amena, Bushra; Hoque, D M Emdadul; Huda, Tanvir M; Arifeen, Shams El

    2018-01-01

    Around 63% of total health care expenditure in Bangladesh is mitigated through out of pocket payment (OOP). Heavy reliance on OOP at the time of care seeking poses great threat for financial impoverishment of the households. Households employ different strategies to cope with the associated financial hardship. The aim of this paper is to understand the determinants of hardship financing in coping with OOP adopted for health care seeking of under five childhood illnesses in rural setting of Bangladesh. A community based cross sectional survey was conducted during August to October, 2014 in 15 low performing sub-districts of northern and north-east regions of Bangladesh. Of the 7039 mothers of under five children surveyed, 1895 children who suffered from illness and sought care for their illness episodes were reported in this study. Descriptive statistics and ordinal regression analysis were conducted. A total number of 7,039 under five children reported to have suffered illness by their mothers. Among these children 37% suffered from priority illness. Care was sought for 88% children suffering from illnesses. Among them 26% went to a public or private sector medically trained provider. 5% of households incurred illness cost more than 10% of the household's monthly expenditure. The need for assistance was higher among those compared to others (31% vs 13%). Different financing mechanisms adopted to meet OOP are loan with interest (6%), loan without interest (9%) and financial help from relatives (6%) Need for financial assistance varied from 19% among households in the lowest quintile to 9% in the highest wealth. Ordinal regression analysis revealed that burden of hardship financing increases by 2.17 times when care is sought from a private trained provider compared to care seeking from untrained provider (CI: 1.49, 3.17). Similarly, for families that incur a health care expenditure that is more than 10% of their total monthly expenditure (CI:1.46, 3.88), the

  5. Picturing Policy in Addressing Water and Sanitation: The Voices of Girls Living in Abject Intergenerational Hardship in Mozambique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sajan Virgi, Zainul; Mitchell, Claudia

    2011-01-01

    Abject generational hardship is a systemic phenomenon which denies people a higher quality of life by limiting their access to basic life necessities. The article focuses on a group of ten girls between the ages of 10 and 14 living in a peri-urban community outside of Maputo. The first part outlines the importance of engaging girls through…

  6. Does Financial Hardship Explain Differences Between Belgian and South African Unemployed Regarding Experiences of Unemployment, Employment Commitment, and Job Search Behaviour?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wouter Vleugels

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Belgian and South African unemployed differed regarding three psychological dimensions of unemployment: affect (experiences of unemployment, attitudes (employment commitment, and behaviour (job search intensity. Moreover, we expected country of residence to indirectly influence unemployed people's experiences, employment commitment, and job search intensity via financial hardship. A cross-sectional survey design was used to test our hypotheses. Data were sampled from unemployed people in the Brussels area in Belgium ('N' = 305, and the Potchefstroom area in South Africa ('N' = 381. The results indicated that, compared to the Belgian unemployed, the South African unemployed experienced their unemployment as more negative, were more committed towards employment and more intensively searched for work. Moreover, country of residence indirectly influenced unemployed people's experiences, employment commitment, and job search intensity via financial hardship. Some policy recommendations are suggested.

  7. Youth prospects in a time of economic recession

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Cottini

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: The paper gives an update to earlier analysis considering youth poverty and transition to adulthood, which is timely given the economic crisis engulfing many countries in Europe. Whereas the crisis is affecting young people in particular, there is also a certain degree of variation across Europe. Objective: We document the short-term consequences of the current recession on the transition to adulthood of young Europeans, focusing on two main cornerstones in the transition to adulthood: economic independence and residential autonomy. Methods: We use a combination of OECD Employment Statistics for 2012 and micro-level data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC for the period 2005-2011 for 24 countries. Results: We document an increase in economic hardship experienced by young adults in several European countries during the recession, which is starting to translate into higher rates of co-residence with parents, hence delaying the process of leaving home and gaining economic independence. Conclusions: The way countries are reacting to the recession is not yet clear-cut, but economic uncertainty and deprivation is on the rise in those countries hardest hit, which is likely to delay the key markers of transition to adulthood.

  8. Hardships of end-of-life care with court-appointed guardians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hastings, Kylie B

    2014-02-01

    In the United States, the court-appointed guardians do not have the ability to make decisions regarding end-of-life (EOL) care for their clients. Additionally, the process of initiating EOL care measures can be slow and cumbersome, despite an existing process of getting approval for such care. This process has the potential to prolong suffering and delay imperative decisions. This article reviews the hardships that patients, court-appointed guardians, and health care staff endure while moving through the oppressive process of obtaining EOL care orders through the court. This article also proposes ways of tuning up the laws, regulations, and communications to make it easier and faster to obtain orders regarding EOL care to preserve the dignity of our patients and loved ones. "A guardianship is a legal relationship created when a person or institution named in a will or assigned by the court to take care of minor children or incompetent adults."

  9. Does economic burden influence quality of life in breast cancer survivors?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meneses, Karen; Azuero, Andres; Hassey, Lauren; McNees, Patrick; Pisu, Maria

    2012-03-01

    Economic burden is emerging as a crucial dimension in our understanding of adjustment to cancer during treatment. Yet, economic burden is rarely examined in cancer survivorship. The goal of this paper is to describe the effect of economic hardship and burden among women with breast cancer. We examined baseline and follow-up (3 and 6 month) data reported by 132 stage I and II breast cancer survivors assigned to the Wait Control arm of the Breast Cancer Education Intervention (BCEI), a clinical trial of education and support interventions. Repeated measures models fitted with linear mixed models were used to examine relationships between aspects of economic burden and overall quality of life (QOL) scores. Structural equation models (SEM) were used to examine the relationship between overall economic burden and QOL. Nineteen economic events were reported. The proportion of survivors who reported increase in insurance premiums increased in the 6-month study period (p=.022). The proportion of survivors reporting change in motivation (p=.016), productivity (p=.002), quality of work (p=.01), days missed from work (pincrease in economic events was significantly associated with poorer quality of life at each of the study time points. Economic burden of breast cancer extends into post-treatment survivorship. Better understanding of economic impact and managing economic burden may help maintain QOL. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Socio-economic factors as causes and remedies for conflict of the San community in Platfontein

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H G Beyene

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The study examines the role of socio-economic factors in conflict in the San community of Platfontein. This article’s analysis is based on the primary data collected from individual interviews and focused group discussions conducted in 2013 and 2014. It reveals that socioeconomic factors are both the cause of the conflict and serve as remedies for the conflict. The causes date back to the historical displacement and dispossession of land the community faced. The San community is highly dependent on the limited income of a few veterans while the vast majority is unemployed. The lack of skills and limited command of the dominant language in the community makes them less able to compete for jobs. The community’s economic hardships are increased by the dependency syndrome shown by the adults, who tend towards job-seeking rather than job creation and self-reliance. The economic hardship has become one formidable cause of conflict in the community. A concerted effort is needed to change the attitude of the community so that it becomes entrepreneurial and independent. One factor that erodes unity within the San community is that the leadership does not work closely with the people – a situation that increases the likelihood of conflict. The efforts undertaken to empower the San community and lift them out of poverty are very limited. The conflict between !Xun and Khwe is attributed to the divisive political rule adopted during the apartheid regime in South Africa. Comparative economic asymmetries between !Xun and Khwe are also causes of conflict. Furthermore, the widening of social distance, along with competition for jobs and housing, increases the tensions and divisions between the !Xun and Khwe communities. The cause of conflict between the San community and other communities is also associated with unemployment and unfair treatment. Socio-economic factors are valuable ingredients in the process of conflict resolution and healing the emotional

  11. Predicting the probability of recession in Croatia:Is economic sentiment the missing link?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nataša Erjavec

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to assess the possibility of predicting Croatian recessionary episodes using probit models. The authors first estimate a baseline static model using four leading indicators of recession (monetary base, unemployment, industrial production, and CROBEX stock market index. Lag lengths of up to 6 months are examined for each of the observed variables in the probit specification, and several important conclusions arise from the estimated models. First, the stock market and money supply exhibit the most pronounced leading characteristics in the Croatian economy (a 3-month lag length is selected by the information criteria. Second, the dynamic model (including a lagged dependent dummy variable significantly outperforms the baseline static model. Third, the authors augment the probit model by the Economic Sentiment Indicator, which significantly contributes to the model accuracy. The latter confirms the main hypothesis of the paper, going in line with the assertion that psychological factors largely govern the economic cycles, growing in significance in times of economic hardship.

  12. Translation and validation of the Child and the Adolescent HARDSHIP (Headache-attributed restriction, disability, social handicap and impaired participation questionnaire into Danish language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jens Erik Jorgensen

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Background. The prevalence of headaches among children and adolescents varies considerably between countries. This may be due to a lack of appropriate instruments to capture the prevalence. The purpose of this study was to translate the Child and Adolescent HARDSHIP questionnaires from English into Danish language, conduct cross-cultural adaptation, face validation by cognitive interviewing and conduct a pilot study exploring time requirements. Methods. The questionnaire was translated using the guidelines proposed by “The Global Campaign to Reduce the Burden of Headache.” A total of 25 children from 6 to 12 years of age completed the questionnaire with 24 h between test and retest to assess reliability. A total of 169 children and adolescents from 6 to 17 years of age completed the translated questionnaire to assess time requirements for completing it. Results. Only minor discrepancies were observed in the translation process. Test-retest reliability of the translated questionnaire showed substantial agreement (kappa: 0.65–0.78. The questionnaires were completed within 30 min (age 6–11 years of age and within 15 min (age 12–17 years of age respectively. Discussion. No major problems were observed in the forward translations of the questionnaires. The face validation prompted no major changes in the questionnaire. The face-to-face interviews showed that pupils of different ethnic backgrounds than Danish and pupils in the age group of 6–11 had more difficulty in understanding a minority of the questions. The Danish Child and Adolescent HARDSHIP questionnaire therefore complies with the intentions of the originators, aiming at a maximal completion time of 45 min and in comparison with actual completion time. The test-retest study showed substantial agreement between test and retest in the headache, migraine and MOH domains and questions referring to time.The Child and Adolescent HARDSHIP questionnaire, includes a section specifically

  13. Cost and economic burden of illness over 15 years in Nepal: A comparative analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swe, Khin Thet; Rahman, Md Mizanur; Rahman, Md Shafiur; Saito, Eiko; Abe, Sarah K; Gilmour, Stuart; Shibuya, Kenji

    2018-01-01

    With an increasing burden of non-communicable disease in Nepal and limited progress towards universal health coverage, country- and disease-specific estimates of financial hardship related to healthcare costs need to be evaluated to protect the population effectively from healthcare-related financial burden. To estimate the cost and economic burden of illness and to assess the inequality in the financial burden due to catastrophic health expenditure from 1995 to 2010 in Nepal. This study used nationally representative Nepal Living Standards Surveys conducted in 1995 and 2010. A Bayesian two-stage hurdle model was used to estimate average cost of illness and Bayesian logistic regression models were used to estimate the disease-specific incidence of catastrophic health payment and impoverishment. The concentration curve and index were estimated by disease category to examine inequality in healthcare-related financial hardship. Inflation-adjusted mean out-of-pocket (OOP) payments for chronic illness and injury increased by 4.6% and 7.3%, respectively, while the cost of recent acute illness declined by 1.5% between 1995 and 2010. Injury showed the highest incidence of catastrophic expenditure (30.7% in 1995 and 22.4% in 2010) followed by chronic illness (12.0% in 1995 and 9.6% in 2010) and recent acute illness (21.1% in 1995 and 7.8% in 2010). Asthma, diabetes, heart conditions, malaria, jaundice and parasitic illnesses showed increased catastrophic health expenditure over time. Impoverishment due to injury declined most (by 12% change in average annual rate) followed by recent acute illness (9.7%) and chronic illness (9.6%) in 15 years. Inequality analysis indicated that poorer populations with recent acute illness suffered more catastrophic health expenditure in both sample years, while wealthier households with injury and chronic illnesses suffered more catastrophic health expenditure in 2010. To minimize the economic burden of illness, several approaches need to be

  14. APPROACHES TO EUROPEAN UNION MILITARY COLLABORATION IN THE CURRENT ECONOMIC AUSTERITY ENVIRONMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria CONSTANTINESCU

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The effects of the economic crisis on European countries has led to serious cuts of the defense budgets and a perceived reduction in the EU’s ability to provide capabilities required by other allies, especially the US. Cooperation, in the form of pooling and sharing may not be an easy and “ready to use” solution to Europe’s defense issues generated by the budget austerity and economic downturn, but it may provide ways to lessen the defense cuts impact on the military capabilities. Nonetheless, the success of the initiative is strongly related to the degree of political and military commitment of the EU countries to put into practice the concept.

  15. Explaining Protest in the Aftermath of the Great Recession in Europe: The Relevance of Different Economic Indicators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesca Vassallo

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The European economic crisis has brought economic hardship and prolonged instability to many countries in the European Union. While economies are struggling to recover, citizens have opted to become more vocal unconventionally. Mass protest, public occupations and demonstrations have dominated Europe. Yet, numbers of people choosing to protest need to be assessed to verify whether the economic recession is indeed responsible for a surge in protest activism on the continent. With the use of multiple rounds from the European Social Survey (2006-2012, this article tests the hypothesis linking unconventional political behavior in Europe to the economy. Findings suggest that overall European protest levels are not higher after the crisis, although confrontational activism has spiked in few countries. Economic variables retain instead an important role in the explanation of protest in the post-recession era, with both objective and subjective economic measures supporting a grievance theory explanation of why Europeans protest. Economic decline matters in the selection of protest as a mode of political participation.

  16. PERAN KONTROL DIRI DALAM MEMEDIASI PENGARUH MOTIVASI BERPRESTASI, PERFEKSIONISME, DAN KESULITAN EKONOMI TERHADAP PROKRASTINASI AKADEMIK (Studi Kasus pada Mahasiswa yang Sedang Mengerjakan Skripsi FE UNNES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Della Arny Novera

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this research is to analyze the theoretical influence and case study related to achievement motivation, perfectionism and economic hardship towards academic procrastination and self control as intervening variable. It causes the decrease of productivity and individual work ethic so that it makes the quality of human resources are low. The population of the study was the final-year students (2010,2011,2012doing final project more than 4 years in Economic Faculty, Semarang State University. Data is collected using questionnaires. Sampling using convenience sampling technique. In addition, the data is analyzed using descriptive analysis, regression analysis and path analysis. Hypothesis test results indicate that (1 there is simultaneous effect for each variables (31,2%; (2 partially achievement motivation (18,8%, perfectionism (11,8% and economic hardship (4,29% have positive and significant effect on self control; (3 partially self control (5,29% and perfectionism (13% have positive and significant impact on academic procrastination; (4 partially there isn’t influence of achievement motivation and economic hardship toward academic procrastination; (5 self control is able to mediate the effect achievement motivation and perfectionism on academic procrastination; (6 self control isn’t able to mediate the effect of economic hardship on academic procrastination.

  17. National Economic Conditions and Patient Insurance Status Predict Prostate Cancer Diagnosis Rates and Management Decisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiner, Adam B; Conti, Rena M; Eggener, Scott E

    2016-05-01

    The recent Great Recession from December 2007 to June 2009 presents a unique opportunity to examine whether the incidence of nonpalpable prostate cancer decreases while conservative management for nonpalpable prostate cancer increases during periods of national economic hardship. We derived rates of national monthly diagnosis and conservative management for screen detected, nonpalpable prostate cancer and patient level insurance status from the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results) database from 2004 to 2011. We derived monthly statistics on national unemployment rates, inflation, median household income and S&P 500® closing values from government sources. Using linear and logistic multivariable regression we measured the correlation of national macroeconomic conditions with prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment patterns. We evaluated patient level predictors of conservative management to determine whether being insured by Medicaid or uninsured increased the use of conservative management. Diagnosis rates correlated positively with the S&P 500 monthly close (coefficient 24.90, 95% CI 6.29-43.50, p = 0.009). Conservative management correlated negatively with median household income (coefficient -49.13, 95% CI -69.29--28.98, p management compared to that in men with private insurance. As indicated by a significant interaction term being diagnosed during the Great Recession increased the Medicaid insurance predictive value of conservative management (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.02-1.68, p = 0.037). National economic hardship was associated with decreased diagnosis rates of nonpalpable prostate cancer and increased conservative management. Copyright © 2016 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Developing and Validating the Scale of Economic Self-Efficacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoge, Gretchen L; Stylianou, Amanda M; Hetling, Andrea; Postmus, Judy L

    2017-05-01

    Experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) and financial hardship are often intertwined. The dynamics of an abusive relationship may include economic abuse tactics that compromise a survivor's ability to work, pursue education, have access to financial resources, and establish financial skills, knowledge, and security. An increasingly common goal among programs serving IPV survivors is increasing financial empowerment through financial literacy. However, providing financial education alone may not be enough to improve financial behaviors. Psychological factors also play a role when individuals make financial choices. Economic self-efficacy focuses on the individual's perceived ability to perform economic or financial tasks, and may be considered a primary influence on one's ability to improve financial decisions and behaviors. The current study tests the reliability and validity of a Scale of Economic Self-Efficacy with a sample of female survivors of IPV. This study uses a calibration and validation analysis model including full and split-sample exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, assesses for internal consistency, and examines correlation coefficients between economic self-efficacy, economic self-sufficiency, financial strain, and difficulty living with income. Findings indicate that the 10-item, unidimensional Scale of Economic Self-Efficacy demonstrates strong reliability and validity among this sample of IPV survivors. An ability to understand economic self-efficacy could facilitate individualized service approaches and allow practitioners to better support IPV survivors on their journey toward financial empowerment. Given the increase in programs focused on assets, financial empowerment, and economic well-being, the Scale of Economic Self-Efficacy has potential as a very timely and relevant tool in the design, implementation, and evaluation of such programs, and specifically for programs created for IPV survivors.

  19. Unemployment as a source of mental distress to individuals and their family: Unemployed parents' perceptions during the economic recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frasquilho, Diana; de Matos, Margarida Gaspar; Santos, Teresa; Gaspar, Tânia; Caldas de Almeida, J M

    2016-08-01

    Due to the economic recession, several people in Europe became unemployed. This situation may risk their mental health. This study explored parents' perceptions about their unemployment's effects in daily life during the recession. A total of 59 unemployed parents (40.7% fathers and 59.3% mothers), ageing 44.4 years (±6.2), answer a question on how the unemployment affected their family lives. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. The findings suggest that unemployment is a source of adult and youth mental distress and of economic hardship and changes in family relations. Support to unemployed individuals and their families could benefit from these insights when granting the needed financial and socioemotional assistance. © The Author(s) 2016.

  20. Population Estimates, Health Care Characteristics, and Material Hardship Experiences of U.S. Children with Parent-Reported Speech-Language Difficulties: Evidence from Three Nationally Representative Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sonik, Rajan A.; Parish, Susan L.; Akorbirshoev, Ilhom; Son, Esther; Rosenthal, Eliana

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: To provide estimates for the prevalence of parent-reported speech-language difficulties in U.S. children, and to describe the levels of health care access and material hardship in this population. Method: We tabulated descriptive and bivariate statistics using cross-sectional data from the 2007 and 2011/2012 iterations of the National…

  1. Hardships and health impacts on women due to traditional cooking fuels: A case study of Himachal Pradesh, India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parikh, Jyoti

    2011-01-01

    This paper explores the inter-linkages of gender, energy use, health and hardships in the Himalayan State of Himachal Pradesh in India. It brings out a gender-differentiated and age-differentiated picture of hardships and health impact on the use of traditional biofuels. The study is based on survey with questionnaires covering 4296 individuals, 729 households, 84 villages and 9 districts where biomass fuels meet 70% of household fuel needs. On an average, women walk 30 km each month taking 2.7 h per trip for fuel wood collection over hilly terrain, often at high altitudes and undergo stress like stiff-neck, backache, headache and loss of work days. Girls below 5 and females in 30–60 age-groups have higher proportion of respiratory symptoms than males of similar age-groups. While many studies are done on the health impact of cooking fuels, very little quantitative work is done on the other aspects of the fuel chain viz. collection, transportation and processing of fuels. Such studies would guide energy policy and health policy to improve the lives of women. - Highlights: ► Inter-linkages of gender, energy and health due to wood in Himachal Pradesh. ► Survey of 4296 individuals, 729 households, 84 villages and 9 districts. ► Women walk 30 km per month for fuel wood collection that supply 70% of energy needs. ► Women gather inferior fuels—dung, wood and waste, and men purchase LPG and kerosene. ► More than 50% suffer from neck ache, backache, headache or bruises from gathering fuels.

  2. Role of forest conservation in lessening land degradation in a temperate region: the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manzo-Delgado, Lilia; López-García, José; Alcántara-Ayala, Irasema

    2014-06-01

    With international concern about the rates of deforestation worldwide, particular attention has been paid to Latin America. Forest conservation programmes in Mexico include Payment for Environmental Services (PES), a scheme that has been successfully introduced in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. To seek further evidence of the role of PES in lessening land degradation processes in a temperate region, the conservation state of the Cerro Prieto ejido within the Reserve was assessed by an analysis of changes in vegetation cover and land-use between 1971 and 2013. There were no changes in the total forest surface area, but the relative proportions of the different classes of cover density had changed. In 1971, closed and semi-closed forest occupied 247.81 ha and 5.38 ha, 82.33% and 1.79% of the total area of the ejido, respectively. By 2013, closed forest had decreased to 230.38 ha (76.54% of the ejido), and semi-closed cover was 17.23 ha (5.72% of the ejido), suggesting that some semi-closed forest had achieved closed status. The final balance between forest losses and recovery was: 29.63 ha were lost, whereas 13.72 ha were recovered. Losses were mainly linked to a sanitation harvest programme to control the bark beetle Scolytus mundus. Ecotourism associated with forest conservation in the Cerro Prieto ejido has been considered by inhabitants as a focal alternative for economic development. Consequently, it is essential to develop a well-planned and solidly structured approach based on social cohesion to foster a community-led sustainable development at local level. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. The effects of local government investment on economic growth and employment: evidence from transitional China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Zhang Weiguo; Hou Yongjian

    2009-01-01

    Based on the panel data of 28 provinces in the year of 1987-2001,this paper examines the effects of the local government investment on economic growth and employment.The empirical result shows that the local government investment plays a significant positive role in economic growth and emplovment.However,while the proportion of local government investment to GDP had a remarkable rise after 1998.the elasticity of local government investment on economic growth declined,which shows that there is a hig room for raising the efficiency of local government mvestment.Moreover,the empirical examination shows that although local government investment had positive effect on employment,the elasticity had a decrease after 1994 when the tax-sharing system reform was put into practice.This shows that the positive role of local government investment on emplovment is also limited.This paper argues that the role of local governments as investors must be weakened,and local governments of different levels should lessen direct economic intervention and concentrate on public regulation.

  4. 1,3,5,8-tetrahydroxyxanthone regulates ANGPTL3-LPL pathway to lessen the ketosis in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Hong-Bo; Sun, Zhi-Liang; Zhou, Nan

    2012-05-12

    Ketosis is a metabolic disorder closely associated with both lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. Recent studies show that angiopoietin-like protein 3 (ANGPTL3) contributes to the development of metabolic disorder. The objective of this study was to explore the inhibitory effect of 1,3,5,8-tetrahydroxyxanthone (Xan), a naturally occurring flavonoid compound, on ketosis and the mechanisms involved in this regulation. After 4weeks, Xan (10 or 30mg/kg, intragastrically) treatment decreased plasma total ketone bodies, malondialdehyde, 8-isoprostane, triglyceride, total cholesterol levels, and hepatic ANGPTL3 expression concomitantly with increased plasma glucose concentration and adipose lipoprotein lipase (LPL) expression in ketosis murine. The present results suggest that Xan regulates ANGPTL3-LPL pathway to lessen the ketosis in mice. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Economic impact of eradicating the New World screw-worm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) from Jamaica

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vo, Trang T.

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of the study is to assess the economic feasibility of eradicating the New World screw-worm (NWS), Cochliomyia hominivorax Coquerel, from Jamaica. The endemic presence of the NWS in Jamaica has caused the livestock sector to incur recurrent economic costs and losses. Eradication of the pest utilising the environmentally-benign sterile insect technique (SIT) has proved technologically feasible on other islands and other parts of the world. Based on these successful experiences, the proposed project to eradicate the NWS from Jamaica is expected to be similarly effective in eliminating the pest from Jamaica in a relatively short period of time. The elimination of the pest from the Caribbean would lessen the significant risk of re-infestation of eradicated areas and pest-free countries in the region

  6. The Great Recession and health risks in African American youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Edith; Miller, Gregory E; Yu, Tianyi; Brody, Gene H

    2016-03-01

    In the present study, we investigated associations of macro-economic conditions - the Great Recession - with cellular epigenetic aging, allostatic load, and self-reported health, in a group that experiences significant health disparities, African Americans. A sample of 330 African American adolescents in Georgia was followed from pre-recession (2007, M age=16.6) to post-recession (2010, M age=19.3). Economic data were collected in both 2007 and 2010. Three groups were formed to represent economic trajectories across the period of the Great Recession (stable low economic hardship, downward mobility, and stable high economic hardship). At age 19, measures of cellular epigenetic aging (derived from leukocyte DNA methylation profiles, reflecting the disparity between a person's biological and chronological age), allostatic load (composite of blood pressure, C reactive protein, cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and body mass index), and adolescent self-report of health were obtained. Linear trend analyses documented significant differences across all outcomes. The more time adolescents spent under economic hardship, the higher their epigenetic aging [estimate=1.421, SE=0.466, p=.002] and allostatic load [estimate=1.151, SE=0.375, p=.002] scores, and the worse their self-report of health [estimate=4.957, SE=1.800, p=.006]. Specific group comparisons revealed that adolescents in the downward mobility group had higher levels of allostatic load than adolescents in the stable low hardship group [p<.05]. Overall, these findings suggest that the health profiles of African American youth may in part be shaped by environmental macro-economic societal conditions, and that effects on biological markers can be detected relatively early in life. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Attack on N-power may shift to economic ground

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perl, L.J.

    1977-01-01

    Opponents to nuclear power who have based their opposition on safety issues may turn to economic arguments. Large increases in construction and fuel costs are undercutting some of the economic advantage of nuclear energy. The author evaluates the pressures that have caused these large increases (focusing on the period between 1966-1969) and concludes that the problems come from more areas than environmental concerns and while serious, will not destroy the nuclear industry. A model was designed to apportion responsibility for the increase among various factors. Licensing time was found to be responsible for 79 percent of cost increases, followed by a decline in the proportion of first units designed for a specific site. Environmental controversies are involved in about 20 percent of the increase and increased construction time was not found to be significant. There are indications that licensing and construction difficulties may have lessened somewhat since the late 1960s and early 1970s. Results from another model indicate that nuclear fuel prices will increase more sharply after the year 2000 because uranium and plutonium recycling is forbidden. The total cost, however, is not found to erode the economic viability relative to coal

  8. 76 FR 47641 - Pagani Automobili SpA; Denial of Application for Temporary Exemption From Advanced Air Bag...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-05

    ... petitioner avers compliance would cause substantial economic hardship and that it has tried in good faith to... has tried in good faith to comply with the standard. In recognition of the more limited resources and... hardship and good faith efforts was added to the Vehicle Safety Act in 1972 to enable the agency to give...

  9. Effectiveness and costeffectiveness of screening immigrants ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Economic analysis: One cost ... countries compounded by economic hardship, econom- ic migration to the .... to minimise bias and errors in the conduct and analysis of primary ..... settled home and passive screening might had detected.

  10. The economic impact of the insured patients with severe chronic and acute illnesses: a qualitative approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Budi Aji

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Little research has focused on the economic hardship among the insured with severe illnesses and high treatment costs, in particular, the consequence of poorer insurance coverage for high-cost illnesses. Therefore, we presented the case for identifying the experiences of insured patients with severe chronic and acute illnesses. This study identified a qualitative understanding of the economic impact of severe chronic and acute illnesses and household strategies to deal with high treatment costs. Design: Interviews were conducted with 19 insured households of three different health insurance programs with a family member that had been hospitalized for severe chronic or acute illnesses in either Banyumas or Margono Sukarjo hospitals in Banyumas, Central Java, Indonesia. A thematic analysis was applied to guide the interpretation of the data. Results: Insured households with a family member that had been hospitalized for severe chronic and acute illnesses were greatly affected by the high treatment costs. Four major issues emerged from this qualitative study: insured patients are still burdened with high out-of-pocket payments, households adopt various strategies to cope with the high cost of treatments, households experience financial hardships, and positive and negative perceptions of the insured regarding their health insurance coverage for acute and chronic illnesses. Conclusions: Askes and Jamsostek patients faced financial burdens from high cost sharing for hospital amenities, non-covered drugs, and treatments and other indirect costs. Meanwhile, Jamkesmas beneficiaries faced no financial burden for related medical services but were rather burdened with indirect costs for the carers. Households relied on internal resources to cover hospital bills as the first strategy, which included the mobilization of savings, sale of assets, and borrowing of money. External support was tapped secondarily and included financial support from

  11. Does tax-based health financing offer protection from financial catastrophe? Findings from a household economic impact survey of ischaemic heart disease in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sukeri, Surianti; Mirzaei, Masoud; Jan, Stephen

    2017-01-01

    Malaysia is an upper-middle income country with a tax-based health financing system. Health care is relatively affordable, and safety nets are provided for the needy. The objectives of this study were to determine the out-of-pocket health spending, proportion of catastrophic health spending (out-of-pocket spending >40% of non-food expenditure), economic hardship and financial coping strategies among patients with ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in Malaysia under the present health financing system. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the National Heart Institute of Malaysia involving 503 patients who were hospitalized during the year prior to the survey. The mean annual out-of-pocket health spending for IHD was MYR3045 (at the time US$761). Almost 16% (79/503) suffered from catastrophic health spending (out-of-pocket health spending ≥40% of household non-food expenditures), 29.2% (147/503) were unable to pay for medical bills, 25.0% (126/503) withdrew savings to help meet living expenses, 16.5% (83/503) reduced their monthly food consumption, 12.5% (63/503) were unable to pay utility bills and 9.0% (45/503) borrowed money to help meet living expenses. Overall, the economic impact of IHD on patients in Malaysia was considerable and the prospect of economic hardship likely to persist over the years due to the long-standing nature of IHD. The findings highlight the need to evaluate the present health financing system in Malaysia and to expand its safety net coverage for vulnerable patients. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Clinical and Economic Burden of Revision Knee Arthroplasty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohit Bhandari

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Surgery is indicated for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA when conservative measures are unsuccessful. High tibial osteotomy (HTO, unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA, and total knee arthroplasty (TKA are surgical options intended to relieve knee OA pain and dysfunction. The choice of surgical intervention is dependent on several factors such as disease location, patient age, comorbidities, and activity levels. Regardless of surgical treatment, complications such as infection, loosening or lysis, periprosthetic fracture, and postoperative pain are known risks and are indications for revision surgery. The clinical and economic implications for revision surgery are underappreciated. Over 55,000 revision surgeries were performed in 2010 in the US, with 48% of these revisions in patients under 65 years. Total costs associated with each revision TKA surgery have been estimated to be in excess of $49,000. The current annual economic burden of revision knee OA surgery is $2.7 billion for hospital charges alone. By 2030, assuming a 5-fold increase in the number of revision procedures, this economic burden will exceed $13 billion annually. It is appealing to envision a therapy that could delay or obviate the need for arthroplasty. From an actuarial standpoint, this would have the theoretical downstream effect of substantially reducing the number of revision procedures. Although no known therapies currently meet these criteria, such a breakthrough would have a tremendous impact in lessening the clinical and economic burden of knee OA revision surgery.

  13. Economic stress and well-being: Does population health context matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Probst, Tahira M; Sinclair, Robert R; Sears, Lindsay E; Gailey, Nicholas J; Black, Kristen Jennings; Cheung, Janelle H

    2018-05-07

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of county-level population health determinants in predicting individual employee reactions to economic stress. Using multilevel modeling and a population health perspective, we tested a model linking nationally representative individual-level data (N = 100,968) on exposure to economic stressors and county-level population health determinants (N = 3,026) to responses on a composite measure of individual well-being that included the facets of purpose, community, physical, and social well-being, as well as life satisfaction. Results indicate that higher income- and employment-related economic stress were significantly related to poorer well-being. Additionally, living in a county with more positive population health determinants was significantly predictive of individual well-being. Finally, the Level-1 relationship between income-related stress and well-being was significantly attenuated for individuals living in counties with more positive population health determinants. In contrast, employment-related stress had a stronger negative relationship with well-being for individuals who lived in counties with more positive population health determinants. We discuss these findings in light of conservation of resources and relative deprivation theories, as well as how they may extend the scientific foundation for evidence-based social policy and evidence-based intervention programs aimed at lessening the effects of economic stress on individual well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  14. Rapid land use change after socio-economic disturbances: the collapse of the Soviet Union versus Chernobyl

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hostert, Patrick; Kuemmerle, Tobias; Sieber, Anika; Prishchepov, Alexander; Lambin, Eric F; Radeloff, Volker C

    2011-01-01

    Land use change is a principal force and inherent element of global environmental change, threatening biodiversity, natural ecosystems, and their services. However, our ability to anticipate future land use change is severely limited by a lack of understanding of how major socio-economic disturbances (e.g., wars, revolutions, policy changes, and economic crises) affect land use. Here we explored to what extent socio-economic disturbances can shift land use systems onto a different trajectory, and whether this can result in less intensive land use. Our results show that the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 caused a major reorganization in land use systems. The effects of this socio-economic disturbance were at least as drastic as those of the nuclear disaster in the Chernobyl region in 1986. While the magnitudes of land abandonment were similar in Ukraine and Belarus in the case of the nuclear disaster (28% and 36% of previously farmed land, respectively), the rates of land abandonment after the collapse of the Soviet Union in Ukraine were twice as high as those in Belarus. This highlights that national policies and institutions play an important role in mediating effects of socio-economic disturbances. The socio-economic disturbance that we studied caused major hardship for local populations, yet also presents opportunities for conservation, as natural ecosystems are recovering on large areas of former farmland. Our results illustrate the potential of socio-economic disturbances to revert land use intensification and the important role institutions and policies play in determining land use systems' resilience against such socio-economic disturbances.

  15. Rapid land use change after socio-economic disturbances: the collapse of the Soviet Union versus Chernobyl

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hostert, Patrick; Kuemmerle, Tobias; Prishchepov, Alexander; Sieber, Anika; Lambin, Eric F.; Radeloff, Volker C.

    2011-10-01

    Land use change is a principal force and inherent element of global environmental change, threatening biodiversity, natural ecosystems, and their services. However, our ability to anticipate future land use change is severely limited by a lack of understanding of how major socio-economic disturbances (e.g., wars, revolutions, policy changes, and economic crises) affect land use. Here we explored to what extent socio-economic disturbances can shift land use systems onto a different trajectory, and whether this can result in less intensive land use. Our results show that the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 caused a major reorganization in land use systems. The effects of this socio-economic disturbance were at least as drastic as those of the nuclear disaster in the Chernobyl region in 1986. While the magnitudes of land abandonment were similar in Ukraine and Belarus in the case of the nuclear disaster (28% and 36% of previously farmed land, respectively), the rates of land abandonment after the collapse of the Soviet Union in Ukraine were twice as high as those in Belarus. This highlights that national policies and institutions play an important role in mediating effects of socio-economic disturbances. The socio-economic disturbance that we studied caused major hardship for local populations, yet also presents opportunities for conservation, as natural ecosystems are recovering on large areas of former farmland. Our results illustrate the potential of socio-economic disturbances to revert land use intensification and the important role institutions and policies play in determining land use systems' resilience against such socio-economic disturbances.

  16. Rapid land use change after socio-economic disturbances: the collapse of the Soviet Union versus Chernobyl

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hostert, Patrick; Kuemmerle, Tobias; Sieber, Anika [Geography Department, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin (Germany); Prishchepov, Alexander [Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (IAMO), Department of Structural Development of Farms and Rural Areas, Theodor-Lieser-Strasse 2, 06120 Halle (Germany); Lambin, Eric F [Earth and Life Institute, Universite catholique de Louvain, place L. Pasteur 3, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium); Radeloff, Volker C, E-mail: patrick.hostert@geo.hu-berlin.de [Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706-1598 (United States)

    2011-10-15

    Land use change is a principal force and inherent element of global environmental change, threatening biodiversity, natural ecosystems, and their services. However, our ability to anticipate future land use change is severely limited by a lack of understanding of how major socio-economic disturbances (e.g., wars, revolutions, policy changes, and economic crises) affect land use. Here we explored to what extent socio-economic disturbances can shift land use systems onto a different trajectory, and whether this can result in less intensive land use. Our results show that the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 caused a major reorganization in land use systems. The effects of this socio-economic disturbance were at least as drastic as those of the nuclear disaster in the Chernobyl region in 1986. While the magnitudes of land abandonment were similar in Ukraine and Belarus in the case of the nuclear disaster (28% and 36% of previously farmed land, respectively), the rates of land abandonment after the collapse of the Soviet Union in Ukraine were twice as high as those in Belarus. This highlights that national policies and institutions play an important role in mediating effects of socio-economic disturbances. The socio-economic disturbance that we studied caused major hardship for local populations, yet also presents opportunities for conservation, as natural ecosystems are recovering on large areas of former farmland. Our results illustrate the potential of socio-economic disturbances to revert land use intensification and the important role institutions and policies play in determining land use systems' resilience against such socio-economic disturbances.

  17. Estimates of the economic contributions of the bidi manufacturing industry in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nandi, Arindam; Ashok, Ashvin; Guindon, G Emmanuel; Chaloupka, Frank J; Jha, Prabhat

    2015-07-01

    Bidis, the most common smoking tobacco product in India, remain largely untaxed and are subject to very few regulations to discourage their use. A major argument against tax increases is the large potential loss of economic activity and employment in the bidi industry from reduced consumption. We used a nationally representative survey of unorganised bidi manufacturing firms (n=2841) in India to estimate the economic contribution of the industry. We find that of the 35 states and union territories of India, the bidi industry operated across 17 states, with over 95% of its production concentrated in 10 states. Bidi manufacturing firms contributed 0.50% of total sales and 0.6% of the gross value added by the manufacturing economy in 2005-2006. The industry employed approximately 3.4 million full-time workers, which comprise about 0.7% of employment in all sectors. A further 0.7 million were part-time workers. Bidi workers were also among the lowest paid employees in India. The industry offered only 0.09% of all compensation provided in the manufacturing sector (organised and unorganised). Considering the relatively small economic footprint of the bidi industry in India, higher excise taxes and regulations on bidis are unlikely to disrupt economic growth at an aggregate level, or lead to mass unemployment and economic hardship among small bidi workers. On average, the economic annual output per bidi worker is about US$143, which is an order of magnitude smaller than the large economic losses from the several hundred thousand deaths due to bidi smoking per year. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  18. Impact of socio-economic growth on desalination in the US.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziolkowska, Jadwiga R; Reyes, Reuben

    2016-02-01

    In 2013, around 1336 desalination plants in the United States (US) provided purified water mainly to municipalities, the industry sector and for power generation. In 2013 alone, ∼200 million m(3) of water were desalinated; the amount that could satisfy annual municipal water consumption of more than 1.5 million people in the US. Desalination has proven to be a reliable water supply source in many countries around the world, with the total global desalination capacity of ∼60 million m(3)/day in 2013. Desalination has been used to mitigate water scarcity and lessen the pressure on water resources. Currently, data and information about desalination are still limited, while extensive socio-economic analyses are missing. This paper presents an econometric model to fill this gap. It evaluates the impact of selected socio-economic variables on desalination development in the US in the time span 1970-2013. The results show that the GDP and population growth have significantly impacted the desalination sector over the analyzed time period. The insights into the economics of desalination provided with this paper can be used to further evaluate cost-effectiveness of desalination both in the US and in other countries around the world. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Economic sovereignty. An agenda for Militant Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvana Malle

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper argues that Russia has embarked on a difficult path to economic sovereignty and heightened security to withstand rising antagonism from the West that culminated with the application of punitive sanctions against Russia's positioning on Ukraine. With the aim of lessening economic dependence on trade with the EU, its major trade partner for decades, Russia tries to work out a patriotic model of growth based on two vectors: import and trade partner substitution. The pursuit of self-sufficiency in foodstuffs adds an important pillar to security concerns as reflected earlier in the 2010 Doctrine on Food Security. But import substitution will be costly and difficult to manage. Fiscal balances and exchange rates will need to adjust to the new challenges. Finding new partners eastwards is also complicated. Trade with China, in hydrocarbons or other commodities, requires massive infrastructural work that neither the government nor private investors can afford in a situation of financial stringency. Investment from China is slow to materialize as the economic slowdown also impinges on China's projects. Nonetheless important deals on gas and infrastructure have been agreed and are pursued despite difficulties. A favourable institutional framework aimed at attracting investors to the Far East is in place. It will be up to the local administrations to make the best of it and venture capital to run the risk. The outlook is long-term, but both Russia and China have learnt from history to be patient.

  20. Effect of the 2008 economic crisis on the cardiovascular mortality of the Irish population: an ecological 12-year study of a heart-broken Celtic Tiger.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osman, M; Osman, A

    2017-08-08

    Ireland has endured a substantial financial crisis in 2008 and we sought to explore the effect of economic recession on Irish cardiovascular mortality. We found an increase by 17.2% in CVA-deaths during the financial crisis years (95% CI 11.1% to 23.6%). In males, we found a notable rise in the annual IHD rate by 7.56% (95% CI 4.73% to 10.46%), in annual MI rate by 2.96% (95% CI 0.16% to 5.84%), and in annual CVA death rate by 20.07% (95% CI 16.13% to 24.14%). In females our findings indicated an increased rate of CVA-related deaths during the economic crisis by 15.54% (95% CI 6.67% to 25.16%). Irish CVA-related deaths increased during the economic crisis for males and females alike. Male IHD-related deaths have also risen indicating a potential differential effect for financial hardships on male gender mortality.

  1. Productivity costs in economic evaluations: past, present, future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krol, Marieke; Brouwer, Werner; Rutten, Frans

    2013-07-01

    Productivity costs occur when the productivity of individuals is affected by illness, treatment, disability or premature death. The objective of this paper was to review past and current developments related to the inclusion, identification, measurement and valuation of productivity costs in economic evaluations. The main debates in the theory and practice of economic evaluations of health technologies described in this review have centred on the questions of whether and how to include productivity costs, especially productivity costs related to paid work. The past few decades have seen important progress in this area. There are important sources of productivity costs other than absenteeism (e.g. presenteeism and multiplier effects in co-workers), but their exact influence on costs remains unclear. Different measurement instruments have been developed over the years, but which instrument provides the most accurate estimates has not been established. Several valuation approaches have been proposed. While empirical research suggests that productivity costs are best included in the cost side of the cost-effectiveness ratio, the jury is still out regarding whether the human capital approach or the friction cost approach is the most appropriate valuation method to do so. Despite the progress and the substantial amount of scientific research, a consensus has not been reached on either the inclusion of productivity costs in economic evaluations or the methods used to produce productivity cost estimates. Such a lack of consensus has likely contributed to ignoring productivity costs in actual economic evaluations and is reflected in variations in national health economic guidelines. Further research is needed to lessen the controversy regarding the estimation of health-related productivity costs. More standardization would increase the comparability and credibility of economic evaluations taking a societal perspective.

  2. Becoming disabled: The association between disability onset in younger adults and subsequent changes in productive engagement, social support, financial hardship and subjective wellbeing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emerson, Eric; Kariuki, Maina; Honey, Anne; Llewellyn, Gwynnyth

    2014-10-01

    Very few population-based studies have investigated the association between the onset of health conditions/impairments associated with disability and subsequent well-being. To examine the association between the onset of disability and four indicators of well-being (full-time engagement in employment or education, financial hardship, social support, subjective well-being) among a nationally representative sample of Australian adolescents and young adults. Secondary analysis of the first eight waves (2001-2008) of the survey of Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia. For financial hardship and subjective well-being, the majority of participants belonged to trajectory classes for which there was no evidence that the onset of disability was associated with a subsequent lowering of well-being. For participation in employment and education, the majority of participants belonged to trajectory classes for which there was evidence of a modest immediate reduction in participation rates followed by subsequent stability. For social support, the majority of participants belonged to trajectory classes for which there was evidence of a modest temporary reduction in support followed by rebound back to initial levels. Membership of classes associated with poorer outcomes was associated with a number of covariates including: male gender; younger age of disability onset; being born overseas; not living with both parents at age 14; lower proficiency in the English language; and parental education being year 12 or below. The results of our analyses illustrate the existence of clear empirically defined trajectory classes following the onset of disability across a range of indicators of well-being. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Raising Resilient Children during Tough Economic Times

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tom, A.; Yuen, S.; Fong, G.; Nemoto, M.; Hisatake, T.; Choy, A.; Chang, W.

    2009-01-01

    Financial hardship can result from many different circumstances--a poor economy, the loss of a job, underemployment, the prolonged illness of a family member, divorce, poor money management, or a combination of several factors. Whatever the cause, the resulting impact on a family can be stressful for all members, including children. Stress from…

  4. Kaempferol modulates Angiopoietin-like protein 2 expression to lessen the mastitis in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Hong-Bo; Sui, Guo-Guang; Lu, Xiang-Yang; Sun, Zhi-Liang

    2017-11-22

    Mastitis is inflammation of a breast (or udder). Angiopoietin-like protein 2 (ANGPTL2) has been found as a key inflammatory mediator in mastitis. Purpose of this research was to investigate the mechanisms about repressing effect of kaempferol on mastitis. Forty mice were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 10): C57BL/6J control mice, untreated murine mastitis, 10 mg/kg kaempferol treated murine mastitis (ip), and 30 mg/kg kaempferol treated murine mastitis (ip). Primary cultured mouse mammary epithelial cells (MMEC) were indiscriminately divided into seven groups including control group, 10 mmol/L vehicle of kaempferol group, 10 μmol/L kaempferol treated group, 20 μg/mL LPS treated group, 1 μmol/L kaempferol plus LPS treated group, 3 μmol/L kaempferol plus LPS treated group, and 10 μmol/L kaempferol plus LPS treated group. In murine mastitis, kaempferol (10 or 30 mg/kg) treatment prevented mastitis development, decreased myeloperoxidase (MPO) production, interleukin (IL)-6 level, tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) concentration, and ANGPTL2 expression. In MMEC, kaempferol (1, 3, or 10 μM) reduced MPO production, TNF-α concentration, IL-6 level, and ANGPTL2 expression. The results in present study show that kaempferol modulates the expression of ANGPTL2 to lessen the mastitis in mice. Copyright © 2018 Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Determining the Real Causes of Financial Crisis in Islamic Economic Perspective: ANP Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    . Ascarya

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective – The purpose of this study is to determine the real causes of financial crisis from Islamic economic perspective.Methods - This study applies Analytic Network Process (ANP to determine the real causes of financial crisis from Islamic economic perspective to be able to formulate the real solutions to end financial crisis.Results - The ANP results show that the real causes of financial crisis from Islamic economic perspective are Social Instability (EXTERNAL FACTOR, Speculation (MISBEHAVIOR, Ineffective Fiscal System (UNSUSTAINABLE FISCAL SYSTEM, Hedonism (MISBEHAVIOR, Fractional Reserve Banking System (UNSTABLE MONETARY SYSTEM, Political Instability (EXTERNAL FACTOR, Corruption (POOR GOVERNANCE, Interest Rate (UNSTABLE MONETARY SYSTEM, Fiat Money (UNSTABLE MONETARY SYSTEM, and the Wrong Man in the Wrong Place (POOR GOVERNANCE. These main real causes should be removed gradually in order to systematically and gradually improve the stability of financial system so that financial crisis will not reappear again and again in the future.Conclusions - Financial crisis would not happen under Islamic economic system if all Allah’s laws in financial dealings were followed. Financial crisis in conventional economic system could be prevented or lessened by gradually adopting Islamic economic and finance laws and regulations, partly or fully, especially the main pillars of Islamic financial system, namely the prohibition of ribā (usury or interest, prohibition of maysir (gambling and game of chance or speculation and prohibition of gharar (excessive uncertainty, in their many forms.

  6. Hard times and European youth. The effect of economic insecurity on human values, social attitudes and well-being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeskens, Tim; Vandecasteele, Leen

    2017-02-01

    While economic downturns have adverse effects on young people's life chances, empirical studies examining whether and to what extent human values, social attitudes and well-being indicators respond to sudden economic shocks are scarce. To assess the claim that human values are less affected by economic shocks than social attitudes and well-being, two distinct yet related studies based on the European Social Survey (ESS) are conducted. The first employs a fixed effects pseudo-panel analysis of the 2008-2014 ESS-waves to detect whether changes over time in the socio-demographic group's unemployment risk and national youth unemployment affect individual dispositions to varying degrees. The second study captures micro- and cross-national effects in the 2010 ESS cross-section. Unique for this set-up is that we can test whether the findings hold for over-time changes in youth unemployment within countries (pseudo-panel), as well as for cross-country differences in youth unemployment (multilevel). Both studies indicate that political trust, satisfaction with the economy and subjective well-being are lowered by economic risk and hardship, while social trust and self-rated health are less affected by changes in youth unemployment. Secondly, human values are immune to economic risk, underscoring that values transcend specific situations and are therefore resistant against sudden economic shocks. © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Union of Psychological Science.

  7. Reconstructing Iraq

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2004-01-01

    .... Economic hardship and violence (political and criminal) feed on each other: heightened popular dissatisfaction and unemployment swell insurgent ranks and the growing insurgency further hampers development...

  8. Access to water provides economic relief through enhanced relationships in Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zolnikov, Tara Rava; Blodgett-Salafia, Elizabeth

    2017-03-01

    Sub-Saharan Africa is comprised of low- and middle-income countries subject to the residual effects of chronic poverty. Poverty contributes to health disparities and social inequities. Public health strategies and solutions seek to remedy the effects of poverty. Providing access to quality water is one priority public health project that alleviates adverse health effects, but may have additional outcomes. Previous research has not thoroughly reviewed the economic relief and relationship changes from implemented water interventions. A qualitative phenomenological approach used 52 semi-structured interviews to understand relationship experiences among primary water gatherers and their families after implemented water interventions in a community. This study took place throughout the historically semi-arid eastern region in Kitui, Kenya, where community members have been beneficiaries of various water interventions. Prior to the water intervention, relationships were strained because of economic hardships. Households experienced economic difficulties in paying for children's school fees, buying bricks for housing structures, having water for house gardens, trees for shade in the compound, crops and providing water for their animals. After receiving access to water, relationships improved, because families were able to discuss and address economic challenges. Additional financial revenue was gained and used to pay for water to make bricks to sell or use on housing structures, expand on house gardens and agricultural crops, build new businesses, purchase water for animals, and construct local water spouts near the household. Access to water improved relationships, which encouraged economic growth. This information provides a critical component in understanding the interconnected nature between access to water, poverty and family relationships. Ultimately, this research suggests an increased need for access to quality water worldwide to improve both economic situations

  9. Factors that lessen the burden of treatment in complex patients with chronic conditions: a qualitative study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ridgeway JL

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Jennifer L Ridgeway,1,2 Jason S Egginton,1,2 Kristina Tiedje,3 Mark Linzer,4,5 Deborah Boehm,4 Sara Poplau,6 Djenane Ramalho de Oliveira,7 Laura Odell,8 Victor M Montori,2,9 David T Eton1,2 1The Mayo Clinic Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, 2Division of Health Care Policy and Research, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA; 3Department of Anthropology, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon, France; 4Division of General Internal Medicine, Hennepin County Medical Center, 5University of Minnesota Medical School, 6Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation, Minneapolis, MN, USA; 7Department of Social Pharmacy, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil; 8Pharmacy Services, 9Knowledge and Evaluation Research Unit, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA Purpose: Patients with multiple chronic conditions (multimorbidity often require ongoing treatment and complex self-care. This workload and its impact on patient functioning and well-being are, together, known as treatment burden. This study reports on factors that patients with multimorbidity draw on to lessen perceptions of treatment burden. Patients and methods: Interviews (n=50 and focus groups (n=4 groups, five to eight participants per group were conducted with patients receiving care in a large academic medical center or an urban safety-net hospital. Interview data were analyzed using qualitative framework analysis methods, and themes and subthemes were used to identify factors that mitigate burden. Focus groups were held to confirm these findings and clarify any new issues. This study was part of a larger program to develop a patient-reported measure of treatment burden. Results: Five major themes emerged from the interview data. These included: 1 problem-focused strategies, like routinizing self-care, enlisting support of others, planning for the future, and using technology; 2 emotion-focused coping strategies, like

  10. «Dying of hunger»: autarky, hardship and disease in the early years of the Franco regime | «Morir de hambre»: autarquía, escasez y enfermedad en la España del primer franquismo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available The 1940s, together with the civil war years, may be regarded as one of the most difficult and challenging periods for Spanish society in the whole of the twentieth century. Not only because it was a divided society, marked by the deep rift occasioned by war, exile and repression, but also because of the poverty in which a large part of the population lived. The long years of the 1940s have remained ingrained in the collective memory as a time of shortage, hardship and generalized poverty. But just how dire was this tragic period? This article examines the socio-economic conditions of the period of autarky, using an alternative source of information from that offered by the Franco regime: reports by British diplomats referring to the 1940s. In this way, we seek to present a more accurate picture of the socio-economic reality of the early years of the Franco regime. After describing and analysing the economic policy of autarky, we focus on two aspects of the tragic living conditions: hunger and disease. Through reliable and disturbingly vivid accounts, we discover that the hardships experienced by the poorer classes were more extreme than previously believed. Precisely because of this desperate situation, such people would be constrained to pursue their own survival rather than attempt to oppose the regime. In short, the critical economic situation, socio-economic repression and political demobilization arising from the effects of the autarkic economy, were ultimately to become determining factors in the solidity and continuity of the Franco regime. | La década de los cuarenta, con la guerra civil, es uno de los momentos más comprometidos y difíciles para la sociedad española de todo el siglo XX. No sólo por ser una sociedad dividida, marcada por la dramática brecha del conflicto bélico, el exilio y la represión; también por la situación de miseria en que vivió sumida gran parte de la población. Los largos años cuarenta han quedado

  11. REAC neuromodulation treatments in subjects with severe socioeconomic and cultural hardship in the Brazilian state of Pará: a family observational pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coelho Pereira, José Alfredo; Rinaldi, Arianna; Fontani, Vania; Rinaldi, Salvatore

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this preliminary observational study was to evaluate the usefulness of a humanitarian initiative, aimed at improving the neuropsychological and behavioral attitude of children with severe socioeconomic and cultural hardship, in the Brazilian state of Pará. This humanitarian initiative was realized through the administration of two neuromodulation protocols, with radioelectric asymmetric conveyor (REAC) technology. During several years of clinical use, the REAC neuromodulation protocols have already proved to be effective in countering the effects of environmental stress on neuropsycho-physical functions. After the preliminary medical examination, all subjects were investigated with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), including the impact supplement with teacher's report. After the SDQ, they received the neuromodulation treatment with REAC technology named neuro postural optimization (NPO), to evaluate their responsiveness. Subsequently, every 3 months all subjects underwent a treatment cycle of neuropsycho-physical optimization (NPPO) with REAC technology, for a total of three cycles. At the end of the last REAC-NPPO treatment cycle, all subjects were investigated once again with the SDQ. For the adequacy of the data, the Wilcoxon and the Signs tests were used. For the subdivision into clusters, the Kruskal-Wallis test was applied for the adequacy of the procedure. For all the applied tests, a statistical significance of p <0.5 was found. The results showed that the REAC-NPO and REAC-NPPO neuromodulation protocols are able to improve the quality of life, the scholastic and socialization skills, and the overall state of physical and mental health in children of a family with severe socioeconomic and cultural hardship. The REAC-NPO and REAC-NPPO neuromodulation protocols, due to their non-invasive characteristics, painlessness, and speed of administration, can be hypothesized as a treatment to improve the overall state of physical and

  12. The Paradoxical Relationship between Renewable Energy and Economic Growth: A Cross-National Panel Study, 1990-2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryan P Thombs

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available This cross-national study employs a time-series cross-sectional Prais-Winsten regression model with panel-corrected standard errors to examine the relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth, and its impact on total carbon dioxide emissions and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP. Findings indicate that renewable energy consumption has its largest negative effect on total carbon emissions and carbon emissions per unit of GDP in low-income countries. Contrary to conventional wisdom, renewable energy has little influence on total carbon dioxide emissions or carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP at high levels of GDP per capita. The findings of this study indicate the presence of a “renewable energy paradox,” where economic growth becomes increasingly coupled with carbon emissions at high levels of renewable energy, and the negative effect of economic growth on carbon emissions per unit of GDP lessens as renewable energy increases. These findings suggest that public policy should be directed at deploying renewable energy in developing countries, while focusing on non-or-de-growth strategies accompanied with renewable energy in developed nations.

  13. Sedation as an alternative method to lessen patient discomfort due to transrectal ultrasonography-guided prostate biopsy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turgut, A.T.; Ergun, E.; Kosar, U.; Kosar, P.; Ozcan, A.

    2006-01-01

    Background: Despite being highly efficient for the relief of patient discomfort due to transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided prostate biopsy, periprostatic anesthesia is occasionally reported to be of limited use. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of conscious sedation, an accepted method for lessening patient discomfort due to interventional radiological procedures and compare it with periprostatic anesthesia. Methods: 93 candidates for biopsy were randomised to three groups: group 1 (n = 31) received intravenous midazolam, group 2 (n = 31) received periprostatic lidocaine injection, whereas group 3 (n = 31) received no anesthetic before the procedure. After the biopsy patients were asked to express discomfort by visual anologue scale (VAS). Results: The mean scores for groups 1 and 2 were significantly lower than that of group 3 (1.4 ± 1.1 and 2.0 ± 1.5 versus 4.7 ± 1.6, respectively; p < 0.05 for both). For patients with VAS scores exceeding 4 (moderate to severe discomfort), a significant difference was calculated between groups 1 and 2 (3% versus 29%, p < 0.05) and between each and group 3 (3% and 29% versus 80%, respectively; p < 0.05 for each). Conclusions: Sedation is an alternative for increasing patient comfort during TRUS-guided prostate biopsy, especially in clinical situations like patient anxiety, young age, repeat biopsies or inflammatory anal diseases

  14. Punching loan sharks on the nose: effective interventions to reduce financial hardship in New Zealand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Signal, Louise; Lanumata, Tolotea; Bowers, Sharron

    2012-08-01

    Growth in the high-cost, unregulated fringe lender market (with these lenders commonly referred to as loan sharks) has occurred both internationally and in New Zealand in recent years. The credit practices of loan sharks create financial hardship for many people including Māori, Pacific and low-income New Zealanders. This paper reports on research that explored strategies for reducing the impact of the fringe lender market on Māori, Pacific and low-income New Zealanders. A narrative literature review and 10 key informant interviews were conducted to provide information on how best to intervene to reduce the impact of the fringe lender market for these people. The main interventions identified were: two regulatory approaches, one for capping interest rates and another to create codes of responsible lending; access to safe affordable micro-finance options; financial literacy education; and Pacific cultural change around fa'alavelave, which are the 'obligations' of giving. Protecting consumers from the unsafe practices of fringe lenders requires a combined approach of discouraging the undesirable practices of fringe lenders through regulation and encouraging the growth of safe, affordable micro-finance options. Financial literacy education is a valuable activity for directing consumer attention to the safest options, but in isolation will have limited effect if options are limited. Health promoters have a valuable role to play in implementing these interventions.

  15. Kyoto Protocol implementation in Serbia as precognition of sustainable energetic and economic development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golusin, Mirjana; Munitlak Ivanovic, Olja

    2011-01-01

    The paper gives reasons for low energy efficiency typical of the Serbian economy, which is based on outdated and dirty technologies. The comparison of selected economic indicators and indicators of energy efficiency in both Serbia and the European Union points out the benefits of the Kyoto Protocol implementation due to the growth of competitiveness in the global market. Serbia has no obligation to reduce GHG emissions, the authors point to the proposals whose implementation along with the mechanisms of the Protocol can enable Serbia the access to markets that trade GHG emissions and the access to dedicated funds, self-financing or attracting foreign investments to raise energy efficiency, which will be accompanied by adequate economic benefits. A similar principle can be applied in all countries that are not obliged to reduce GHG emissions. The application of different mechanisms aiming to increase energy efficiency in Serbia, could contribute to the increase of GDP annual growth rate from 5% to 7%, which cannot be achieved by any other economic instrument. Energy efficiency, which is actually a question of competitiveness of each economy, can finance itself through the mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol by selling excess emissions resulting from improved energy efficiency. - Research highlights: → Serbia is a country with the outdated technology and low energy efficiency values. → Sustainable economic and energetic growth can be stirred by inserting Kyoto Protocol. → By investing in modern technology Serbia could lessen emission into the atmosphere. → Cut of emission in the atmosphere could help reaching certain carbon credit values. → By selling the carbon credit Serbia could do economic growth of 5-7% on a year level.

  16. The new economics of labour migration and the role of remittances in the migration process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, J E

    1999-01-01

    This analysis considers international migration remittances and their impact on development in migrant-sending areas. The new economics of labor migration (NELM) posit that remittances lessen production and market constraints faced by households in poor developing countries. The article states that remittances may be a positive factor in economic development, which should be nurtured by economic policies. The impact of remittances and migration on development varies across locales and is influenced by migrants' remittance behavior and by economic contexts. Criteria for measuring development gains may include assessments of income growth, inequity, and poverty alleviation. It is hard to gauge the level of remittances, especially when remittances may not flow through formal banking systems. The International Monetary Fund distinguishes between worker remittances sent home for over 1 year; employee compensation including the value of in-kind benefits for under 1 year; and the net worth of migrants who move between countries. This sum amounted to under $2 billion in 1970 and $70 billion in 1995. The cumulative sum of remittances, employee compensation, and transfers was almost $1 trillion, of which almost 66% was worker remittances, 25% was employee compensation, and almost 10% was transfers during 1980-95. Total world remittances surpass overseas development assistance. Remittances are unequally distributed across and between countries. Migration research does not adequately reveal the range and complexity of impacts. Push factors can limit options for use of remittances to stimulate development.

  17. Cognitive social capital and mental illness during economic crisis: a nationwide population-based study in Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Economou, Marina; Madianos, Michael; Peppou, Lily Evangelia; Souliotis, Kyriakos; Patelakis, Athanasios; Stefanis, Costas

    2014-01-01

    The ongoing financial crisis in Greece has yielded adverse effects on the mental health of the population. In this context, the particular study investigates the link between two indices of cognitive social capital; namely interpersonal and institutional trust, and the presence of major depression and generalized anxiety disorder. A random and representative sample of 2256 respondents took part in a cross-sectional nationwide telephone survey the time period February-April 2011 (Response Rate = 80.5%), after being recruited from the national phone number databank. Major depression and generalized anxiety disorder were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview, while for interpersonal and institutional trust the pertinent questions of the European Social Survey were utilized. Socio-demographic variables were also encompassed in the research instrument, while participants' degree of financial strain was assessed through the Index of Personal Economic Distress. Both interpersonal and institutional trust were found to constitute protective factors against the presence of major depression, but not against generalized anxiety disorder for people experiencing low economic hardship. Nonetheless, in people experiencing high financial strain, interpersonal and institutional trust were not found to bear any association with the presence of the two disorders. Consistent with these, the present study shows that the effect of social capital on mental health is not uniform, as evident by the different pattern of results for the two disorders. Furthermore, cognitive social capital no longer exerts its protective influence on mental health if individuals experience high economic distress. As a corollary of this, interventions aiming at mitigating the mental health effects of economic downturns cannot rely solely on the enhancement of social capital, but also on alleviating economic burden. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Offshore: Economic Deterrent or Necessity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor B. Turuev

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The downside of investment's addition rate in Russia, lack of capital investments result from "poor investment attractiveness". As a result, the companies' financial imbalance together with high investments risks lead to capital outflow from the country by virtue of offshores. Along with negative aspects connected with "financial oases" many advantages are given to the business community: lessening of tax payments, monetary privacy and confidentiality of operations. Taking in consideration the above and also the existence of specific international agreements concerning the avoidance of double taxation and offshore zones, the banner of the latter appears to be quite difficult and would divest the global economy of an important segment of global economic growth. The author performed a SWOT analysis of the role and the importance of offshores in international economy. Tolerant coexistence of local and global economic interests seems to be achievable by implementing a distinct circumspect and complex plan of measures aimed at the raise of the investment attractiveness of a country, for which the creation of "Skolkovo" and new Institutes for market development would not be sufficient. Transparent and oriented on business stability and safety provision of monitor and regulatory system, data interflow, improvement of prudential control on financial markets operations - are parts of measures that have to be accomplished in order to solve and exclude the problems associated with offshores. But the author also appeals to not forgetting that besides the offshores exists a number of such issues directly related to the outflow of capital as lowering of inflationary pace, enlargement of direct investment flow-in, support of social peace, which have to be handled for the purposes of improvement of domestic investment climate of countries with developing economy.

  19. 76 FR 33406 - Lotus Cars Ltd. Receipt of Petition for Renewal of Temporary Exemption From the Advanced Air Bag...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-08

    ... substantial economic hardship and that it has tried in good faith to comply with the standard. In recognition... market share of its entry-level model to other brands. Lotus also alleges that it has made a good faith...

  20. Intimate Partner Violence in the Great Recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Daniel; Harknett, Kristen; McLanahan, Sara

    2016-04-01

    In the United States, the Great Recession was marked by severe negative shocks to labor market conditions. In this study, we combine longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study with U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data on local area unemployment rates to examine the relationship between adverse labor market conditions and mothers' experiences of abusive behavior between 2001 and 2010. Unemployment and economic hardship at the household level were positively related to abusive behavior. Further, rapid increases in the unemployment rate increased men's controlling behavior toward romantic partners even after we adjust for unemployment and economic distress at the household level. We interpret these findings as demonstrating that the uncertainty and anticipatory anxiety that go along with sudden macroeconomic downturns have negative effects on relationship quality, above and beyond the effects of job loss and material hardship.

  1. Top stories of 2013 on IDRC.ca | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2014-01-02

    Jan 2, 2014 ... Making the economy work for youth ... on "Food Security for South Asian Regional Stability," in its Asia Regional Office in New Delhi. ... Pakistan has faced political instability and increased economic hardship over the last few ...

  2. Economic support to patients in HIV and TB grants in rounds 7 and 10 from the global fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda M Richter

    Full Text Available People with TB and/or HIV frequently experience severe economic barriers to health care, including out-of-pocket expenses related to diagnosis and treatment, as well as indirect costs due to loss of income. These barriers can both aggravate economic hardship and prevent or delay diagnosis, treatment and successful outcome, leading to increased transmission, morbidity and mortality. WHO, UNAIDS and the ILO argue that economic support of various kinds is essential to enable vulnerable people to protect themselves from infection, avoid delayed diagnosis and treatment, overcome barriers to adherence, and avert destitution. This paper analyses successful country proposals to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria that include economic support in Rounds 7 and 10; 36 and 20 HIV and TB grants in Round 7 and 32 and 26, respectively, in Round 10. Of these, up to 84 percent included direct or indirect economic support for beneficiaries, although the amount constituted a very small proportion of the total grant. In TB grants, the objectives of economic support were generally clearly stated, and focused on mechanisms to improve treatment uptake and adherence, and the case was most clearly made for MDR-TB patients. In HIV grants, the objectives were much broader in scope, including mitigation of adverse economic and social effects of HIV and its treatment on both patients and families. The analysis shows that economic support is on the radar for countries developing Global Fund proposals, and a wide range of economic support activities are in place. In order to move forward in this area, the wealth of country experience that exists needs to be collated, assessed and disseminated. In addition to trials, operational research and programme evaluations, more precise guidance to countries is needed to inform evidence-based decision about activities that are cost-effective, affordable and feasible.

  3. Food insecurity and social protection in Europe: Quasi-natural experiment of Europe's great recessions 2004-2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loopstra, Rachel; Reeves, Aaron; McKee, Martin; Stuckler, David

    2016-08-01

    Food insecurity rose sharply in Europe after 2009, but marked variation exists across countries and over time. We test whether social protection programs protected people from food insecurity arising from economic hardship across Europe. Data on household food insecurity covering 21 EU countries from 2004 to 2012 were taken from Eurostat 2015 edition and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Cross-national first difference models were used to evaluate how rising unemployment and declining wages related to changes in the prevalence of food insecurity and the role of social protection expenditure in modifying observed effects. Economic hardship was strongly associated with greater food insecurity. Each 1 percentage point rise in unemployment rates was associated with an estimated 0.29 percentage point rise in food insecurity (95% CI: 0.10 to 0.49). Similarly, each $1000 decreases in annual average wages was associated with a 0.62 percentage point increase in food insecurity (95% CI: 0.27 to 0.97). Greater social protection spending mitigated these risks. Each $1000 spent per capita reduced the associations of rising unemployment and declining wages with food insecurity by 0.05 percentage points (95% CI: -0.10 to -0.0007) and 0.10 (95% CI: -0.18 to -0.006), respectively. The estimated effects of economic hardship on food insecurity became insignificant when countries spent more than $10,000 per capita on social protection. Rising unemployment and falling wages are strong statistical determinants of increasing food insecurity, but at high levels of social protection, these associations could be prevented. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Targeting the Parasite's DNA with Methyltriazenyl Purine Analogs Is a Safe, Selective, and Efficacious Antitrypanosomal Strategy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rodenko, B.; Wanner, M.J.; Alkhaldi, A.A.M.; Ebiloma, G.U.; Barnes, R.L.; Kaiser, M.; Brun, R.; McCulloch, R.; Koomen, G.J.; de Koning, H.P.

    2015-01-01

    The human and veterinary disease complex known as African trypanosomiasis continues to inflict significant global morbidity, mortality, and economic hardship. Drug resistance and toxic side effects of old drugs call for novel and unorthodox strategies for new and safe treatment options. We designed

  5. 9 CFR 317.4 - Labeling approval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... undue economic hardship; and (iv) An unfair competitive advantage would not result from the granting of... Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AGENCY... approval to the Food Labeling Division, Regulatory Programs, Food Safety and Inspection Service, and...

  6. Consumer credit as a novel marker for economic burden and health after cancer in a diverse population of breast cancer survivors in the USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Lorraine T; Schmitz, Kathryn H; Frick, Kevin D; Nicholas, Lauren H; Zhang, Yuehan; Subramanian, S V; Visvanathan, Kala

    2018-06-01

    Consumer credit may reflect financial hardship that patients face due to cancer treatment, which in turn may impact ability to manage health after cancer; however, credit's relationship to economic burden and health after cancer has not been evaluated. From May to September 2015, 123 women with a history of breast cancer residing in Pennsylvania or New Jersey completed a cross-sectional survey of demographics, socioeconomic position, comorbidities, SF-12 self-rated health, economic burden since cancer diagnosis, psychosocial stress, and self-reported (poor to excellent) credit quality. Ordinal logistic regression evaluated credit's contribution to economic burden and self-rated health. Mean respondent age was 64 years. Mean year from diagnosis was 11.5. Forty percent of respondents were Black or Other and 60% were White. Twenty-four percent self-reported poor credit, and 76% reported good to excellent credit quality. In adjusted models, changing income, using savings, borrowing money, and being unable to purchase a health need since cancer were associated with poorer credit. Better credit was associated with 7.72 ([1.22, 14.20], p = 0.02) higher physical health t-score, and a - 2.00 ([- 3.92, - 0.09], p = 0.04) point change in psychosocial stress. This exploratory analysis establishes the premise for consumer credit as a marker of economic burden and health for breast cancer survivors. Future work should validate these findings in larger samples and for other health conditions. Stabilizing and monitoring consumer credit may be a potential intervention point for mitigating economic burden after breast cancer.

  7. Psychosocial risk factors, weight changes and risk of obesity: the Copenhagen City Heart Study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iversen, Louise Bagger; Strandberg-Larsen, Katrine; Prescott, Eva

    2012-01-01

    The aim of the study was to establish the effects of a range of psychosocial factors on weight changes and risk of obesity. The study population consisted of the 4,753 participants in the third (1991-1994) and fourth wave (2001-2003) of the Copenhagen City Heart Study, Denmark. At baseline...... the participants were asked comprehensive questions on major life events, work stress, vital exhaustion, social network, economic hardship, and intake of sleep medication. Weight and height were measured by health professionals. Weight changes and incident obesity was used as outcome measures. The participants...... in the associations between social network, economic hardship and weight gain or obesity. The number of psychosocial risk factors, as an indicator for clustering, was not associated with weight gain or obesity. In conclusion, major life events and vital exhaustion seem to play a role for weight gain and risk...

  8. Economic and social impacts of converting to tenant metering in multi-family housing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palermini, D.; Hewitt, D.

    1990-01-01

    A current trend in the multifamily housing industry is to convert heating (gas and oil) systems to tenant-metered heating systems (electric zonal heat, individual gas furnaces, secondary metering systems for boilers). Moving responsibility for heating costs directly to tenants has been shown to save energy (on the order of 15%). However, there are social and economic aspects of this type of 'energy investment' such as the impact on vacancy rates, rent levels and comfort of tenants. This paper presents the findings from a research project that surveyed the owners and tenants of 37 multifamily buildings (a total of 741 units) that had been converted from central to individual metering. In addition to the behavioral analysis, the authors gathered utility billing data which they analyzed using the Princeton Scorekeeping Method. Survey findings indicate that energy use was decreased substantially by conversion to separate heating systems. Increases in tenant-paid utility bills after conversion were not sufficient to cause hardship for most tenants, even those with modest incomes. Rent and vacancy levels remained stable after the heating system changes were made or an allocation system was installed

  9. Unemployment and work interruption among African American single mothers: effects on parenting and adolescent socioemotional functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLoyd, V C; Jayaratne, T E; Ceballo, R; Borquez, J

    1994-04-01

    Using interview data from a sample of 241 single African American mothers and their seventh- and eighth-grade children, this study tests a model of how 2 economic stressors, maternal unemployment and work interruption, influence adolescent socioemotional functioning. In general, these economic stressors affected adolescent socioemotional functioning indirectly, rather than directly, through their impact on mothers' psychological functioning and, in turn, parenting behavior and mother-child relations. Current unemployment, but not past work interruption, had a direct effect on depressive symptomatology in mothers. As expected, depressive symptomatology in mothers predicted more frequent maternal punishment of adolescents, and this relation was fully mediated by mothers' negative perceptions of the maternal role. More frequent maternal punishment was associated with increased cognitive distress and depressive symptoms in adolescents, and consistent with predictions, these relations were partially mediated by adolescents' perceptions of the quality of relations with their mothers. Increased availability of instrumental support, as perceived by mothers, predicted fewer depressive symptoms in mothers, less punishment of adolescents, and less negativity about the maternal role. Both economic stressors were associated with higher levels of perceived financial strain in mothers, which in turn predicted adolescents' perceptions of economic hardship. Adolescents who perceived their families as experiencing more severe economic hardship reported higher anxiety, more cognitive distress, and lower self-esteem.

  10. Two food-assisted maternal and child health nutrition programs helped mitigate the impact of economic hardship on child stunting in Haiti.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donegan, Shannon; Maluccio, John A; Myers, Caitlin K; Menon, Purnima; Ruel, Marie T; Habicht, Jean-Pierre

    2010-06-01

    Rigorous evaluations of food-assisted maternal and child health and nutrition programs are stymied by the ethics of randomizing recipients to a control treatment. Using nonexperimental matching methods, we evaluated the effect of 2 such programs on child linear growth in Haiti. The 2 well-implemented programs offered the same services (food assistance, behavior change communication, and preventive health services) to pregnant and lactating women and young children. They differed in that one (the preventive program) used blanket targeting of all children 6-23 mo, whereas the other (the recuperative program) targeted underweight (weight-for-age Z score effects on height-for-age Z scores (HAZ) and stunting (HAZ growth in a time of deteriorating economic circumstances.

  11. Family Income Loss and Economic Hardship: Antecedents of Adolescents' Problem Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silbereisen, Rainer K.; And Others

    1990-01-01

    Results suggest that income loss leads to low family integration, which in turn increases adolescents' sensitivity to evaluation by peers. This can result in decreased self-esteem and an inclination to act against common rules and norms. (PCB)

  12. Poverty, Inequality, and Discrimination as Sources of Depression among U.S. Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belle, Deborah; Doucet, Joanne

    2003-01-01

    Poverty, inequality, and discrimination endanger women's well-being. Poverty is a consistent predictor of depression in women. Economic inequalities relate to reduced life expectancy and various negative physical health consequences. Discrimination maintains inequalities, lessens economic security, and exposes women to unmerited contempt.…

  13. The Contribution of Community and Family Contexts to African American Young Adults' Romantic Relationship Health: A Prospective Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kogan, Steven M.; Lei, Man-Kit; Grange, Christina R.; Simons, Ronald L.; Brody, Gene H.; Gibbons, Frederick X.; Chen, Yi-fu

    2013-01-01

    Accumulating evidence suggests that African American men and women experience unique challenges in developing and maintaining stable, satisfying romantic relationships. Extant studies have linked relationship quality among African American couples to contemporaneous risk factors such as economic hardship and racial discrimination. Little research,…

  14. Child-Centered Group Play Therapy with African American Boys at the Elementary School Level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baggerly, Jennifer; Parker, Max

    2005-01-01

    African American boys face numerous challenges in society within the United States, including prejudice, discrimination, racism, economic hardship, limited access to support services, educational biases, and community violence. According to Pierce (1988), the psychic assault of subtle racism against African American boys erode their…

  15. Adlerian Marital Therapy Strategies with Middle Income Couples Facing Financial Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freeman, Criswell; And Others

    1993-01-01

    Describes the impact of economic stressors on marriage. Discusses how Adlerian marital therapy strategies can be tailored to help middle-income couples deal with such stressors. Identifies problems facing middle income families experiencing financial hardship, describes Adlerian counseling for financial conflict in marriage, and delineates…

  16. Biodiversity impact of host interferon-stimulated-gene-product 15 on the coronavirus Papain-like protease deISGylase functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coronaviruses are single-stranded, positive sense RNA viruses whose members have severe impact on human health and cause significant economic hardships. Some pertinent examples include severe acute and Middle East respiratory syndromes (SARS-CoV; MERS-CoV), porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), an...

  17. Explaining Racial Disparities in Child Asthma Readmission Using a Causal Inference Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, Andrew F; Huang, Bin; Auger, Katherine A; Ryan, Patrick H; Chen, Chen; Kahn, Robert S

    2016-07-01

    difference between African American and white children with respect to readmission hazard no longer reached the level of significance (hazard ratio, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.87-1.60; Cox P = .30 and log-rank P = .39). A total of 80% of the observed readmission disparity between African American and white children could be explained after statistically balancing available biologic, environmental, disease management, access to care, and socioeconomic and hardship variables across racial groups. Such a comprehensive, well-framed approach to exposures that are associated with morbidity is critical as we attempt to better understand and lessen persistent child asthma disparities.

  18. Investigating the Factors of Resiliency among Exceptional Youth Living in Rural Underserved Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtin, Kevin A.; Schweitzer, Ashley; Tuxbury, Kristen; D'Aoust, Janelle A.

    2016-01-01

    Resilience is an important social justice concept that has important implications for educators working with exceptional youth in rural underserved communities who may suffer from the consequences associated with economic hardships. This multi-school qualitative study examined resilience among exceptional youth living in rural poverty through the…

  19. Increasing the Complexity of Young Adolescents' Beliefs about Poverty and Inequality: Results of an 8th Grade Social Studies Curriculum Intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mistry, Rashmita S.; Brown, Christia Spears; Chow, Kirby A.; Collins, Geri S.

    2012-01-01

    Poverty and economic hardship remain a reality for many of America's children. Although the causes of poverty are varied, Americans strongly endorse individual responsibility as a primary cause. Because beliefs about poverty originate in childhood and adolescence, intervention efforts targeting young people may be particularly effective in…

  20. 78 FR 17290 - Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Airplanes

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-21

    ... FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebel Nichols, Aerospace Engineer, Propulsion Branch, ANM-140S, Seattle...; fax: 425-917-6590; email: rebel[email protected] . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Discussion We issued a... rule will cause undue economic hardship on operators. UAL also noted that similar ADs do not contain a...

  1. Of volcanoes, saints, trash, and frogs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Astrid Oberborbeck

    , at the same time as political elections and economic hardship. During one year of ethnographic fieldwork volcanoes, saints, trash and frogs were among the nonhuman entities referred to in conversations and engaged with when responding to the changes that trouble the world and everyday life of Arequipans...

  2. The Effect of Foreclosure on Boston Public School Student Academic Performance. Working Paper No. 13-12

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradbury, Katharine; Burke, Mary A.; Triest, Robert K.

    2013-01-01

    Although the recent wave of mortgage foreclosures has clearly been accompanied by economic hardship, relatively little research has examined how foreclosures affect the academic performance of students. This paper investigates the relationship between mortgage foreclosures and the academic performance of students using a unique dataset that…

  3. Descendants of Hardship: Prevalence, Drivers and Scarring Effects of Social Exclusion in Childhood

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Cok Vrooman

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The social exclusion of children is problematic for two reasons. Young people typically inherit their marginal position from their family, and therefore cannot be held responsible for their hardship themselves; and social exclusion in childhood may affect their wellbeing and subsequent development, possibly leading to a “scarring effect” in later life. In this contribution we develop an instrument for measuring social exclusion among children. Social exclusion is regarded as a theoretical construct with four sub-dimensions: material deprivation, limited social participation, inadequate access to social rights, and a lack of normative integration. First we analyse data from a survey of 2,200 Dutch children, which contains a large set of social exclusion items. We applied nonlinear principal components analysis in order to construct a multidimensional scale. Measured in this way, the prevalence of social exclusion among children is 4.5%. Boys and children living in large families are more likely to experience social exclusion than girls and children with few siblings. The parental level of education and dependency on social security benefits are also important driving factors of childhood social exclusion. Subsequently we investigate the scarring effect. Longitudinal administrative income and household data covering 25 years were combined with a new survey of just under 1,000 Dutch adults, a third of whom were poor as a child. The survey assessed their past and current degree of social exclusion, and their health and psychosocial development, educational career, past family circumstances, etc. In an absolute sense scarring turns out to have been limited during this period: a very large majority of those who were poor or excluded as a child are above the threshold values in adult life. However, the “descendants of hardship” are still more likely to be socially excluded as adults than people who grew up in more favourable conditions. A

  4. Marital Instability: Past, Present and Future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norton, Arthur J.; Glick, Paul C.

    1976-01-01

    The discussion includes analyses of the probable causative impact of several types of changes on the stability of marriage: socio-economic variables generally associated with divorce; overall social acceptability of divorce as reflected by lessened negative economic and social sanctions; and the roles of women. (Author/AM)

  5. the limits of postfigurative technique in ignazio silone's pane e vino

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    were familiar with the rudimentary lineaments of the story of Jesus or that they were not; ... American postfigurative examples.2 ... Fascism and undergird his vision of social and economic justice. It .... Catholicism, as the official public religion, is omnipresent in Silone's ..... Enduring a crescendo of hardship, she repeatedly.

  6. 40 CFR 51.360 - Waivers and compliance via diagnostic inspection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... to qualify for a waiver. These model year cutoffs and the associated dollar limits shall be in full... case of economic hardship when waiver requirements have not been met. After having received a time... efforts include a comprehensive review of waiver issuance. (2) The program shall include methods of...

  7. Parenting and Adolescent Self-Regulation Mediate between Family Socioeconomic Status and Adolescent Adjustment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farley, Julee P.; Kim-Spoon, Jungmeen

    2017-01-01

    Using two waves of longitudinal data, we utilized the family stress model of economic hardship to test whether family socioeconomic status is related to adolescent adjustment (substance use and academic achievement) through parental knowledge and adolescent self-regulation (behavioral self-control and delay discounting). Participants included 220…

  8. 76 FR 38352 - Notice of Funding Availability: Rural Development Voucher Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-30

    ... available to low income tenants of Rural Development-financed multifamily properties where the Section 515... Development's Section 515 Rural Rental Housing Program (515 property) who may be subject to economic hardship through prepayment of the Rural Development mortgage. When the owner of a 515 property pays off the loan...

  9. Teaching the Importance and Use of Web-Based Services to Assist Clients in Obtaining Public Benefits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eamon, Mary Keegan; Wu, Chi-Fang; Moroney, Gabriela; Cundari, Melissa

    2013-01-01

    Research suggests that social work students and practitioners are not particularly sensitive to assessing clients' economic hardship, nor when needed to assist clients in accessing relevant resources such as public benefits. To enhance students' understanding of the importance of engaging in these activities, this article provides…

  10. Area Handbook Series. Liberia: A Country Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-09-01

    ompienisation for’-righits over a woman’s sexual - its’, her children, her prodtictive work and, in general terms, her Another mechanism for establishling...plight of ordinary people, especially the rural poor. Economic hardship and outrage over corruption in the Tolbert administra- tion were transmuted into

  11. Impact of fire wood collection on trees species diversity in Bauchi ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Firewood as a source of energy plays a vital role in house hold energy requirements. Due to increasing economic hardship in Nigeria, many people are finding it increasingly difficult to afford conventional fuels. Hence, profit-energy supply pattern compels firewood suppliers to cut trees indiscriminately from marginal forests, ...

  12. Health Inequalities and Active Aging: What Can Social Workers Do?

    OpenAIRE

    Won Min, Jong

    2013-01-01

    The ongoing Eurozone crisis brought Spain harsh austerity measures of higher tax and cuts in medical care and social services. The growing economic hardship may lead to greater economic inequality. Income inequality, in turn, could cause inequitable health differences in population, called “health inequalities.” All of the events pose great challenges and risk to older adults, and threatens their efforts toward achieving healthy and active aging in Spain. This paper provides an ov...

  13. Attitudes of policy makers in Hawaii towards public health and related issues before and after an economic recession in the United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jay E Maddock

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Legislation and regulation at the state and local level can often have a greater impact on the public’s health than individual-based approaches. Elected and appointed officials have an essential role in protecting and improving public health. Despite this important role, little systematic research has been done to assess the relative importance of public health issues compared to other policy issues in times of economic hardship. This study assessed attitudes of elected and appointed decision makers in Hawaii in 2007 and 2013 to determine if priorities differed before and after the economic recession. Methods: Elected and appointed state and county officials were mailed surveys at both time points. Respondents rated the importance of 23 specified problems, of which 9 asked about specific public health issues. Results: The survey was completed by 126 (70.4% respondents in 2007 and 117(60.9% in 2013. Among the public health issues, five saw significant mean decreases. These variables included: climate change, pedestrian safety, government response to natural disasters, access to healthcare, and pandemic influenza. Obesity was the only public health issue to increase in importance across the two time points. In terms of relative ranking across the time points, only drug abuse and obesity were among the top ten priorities. Lack of public health training, pandemic influenza, and government response to natural disasters were among the bottom five priorities. Conclusions: After the economic recession, many public health issues have a lower priority among Hawaii’s policy makers than before the downturn. Additional education and advocacy is needed to keep public health issues on the minds of decision makers during tough economic times.

  14. Elementary Schools, Teaching, and Social Studies in Texas: Facing the Great Depression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellows, M. Elizabeth; Baumi, Michelle; Field, Sherry L.

    2013-01-01

    Across the United States, the Great Depression was a period of tremendous upheaval. Economic, family, political, and educational institutions shook mightily as the tremors of widespread financial downturn were felt. Public schools faced increasing hardships, which included financial problems such as a weakened tax base due to the non-payment of…

  15. Role Stress, Interrole Conflict, and Job Satisfaction among University Employees: The Creation and Test of a Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Love, Keisha M.; Tatman, Anthony W.; Chapman, Benjamin P.

    2010-01-01

    Many universities have experienced financial hardships during the recent economic downturn. To save money, several have resorted to laying off employees, which has often resulted in increased work and stress for the remaining employees. Such an increase has the potential to adversely affect employees' sense of job satisfaction. This study created…

  16. 78 FR 48661 - Notice of Petition for Waiver of Whirlpool Corporation From the Department of Energy Residential...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-09

    ... lapse between the start of cycles to avoid a ``drain out'' event. Cycles include preconditioning cycles... waiver in its entirety pursuant to 10 CFR 431.401(b)(1)(iv). Confidential business information has been... Interim Waiver if economic hardship and/or competitive disadvantage is likely to result absent a favorable...

  17. Keeping "Every Catholic Child in a Catholic School" during the Great Depression, 1933-1939

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Ann Marie

    2007-01-01

    The quest for state and federal aid for Catholic schools is not new. Concerns regarding excessive entanglement, mission dilution, and external control have been voiced for decades. A particularly instructive historical period on this issue is the era of the Great Depression. Because of widespread economic hardship across sectors, Catholic leaders…

  18. Journal of Language, Technology & Entrepreneurship in Africa Vol ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    represented that tranche of age between childhood and adulthood. ... empowering Kenya's street children for integration in national development In Journal of .... In the 1960/70ss, the mini-skirt, the ripples of Black Power movement, the Afro hair ... music recounts social and economic hardships that the Youth face every day.

  19. Making the School Uniform Decision: Is It Right for "Your" School?

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDaniel, Thomas R.

    2013-01-01

    Do school uniforms make a difference in student academic performance, school spirit, discipline, and safety? What are the legal restrictions that bear on the school uniform decision in public schools? Do uniform policies lead to less school violence? Do they impose an economic hardship, outweighing the advantages, on low-income families? The…

  20. Access to Food for Homeless and Highly Mobile Students. Best Practices in Interagency Collaboration Brief Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Center for Homeless Education at SERVE, 2012

    2012-01-01

    Homelessness is a lack of fixed, regular, and adequate housing often resulting from extreme poverty; economic hardship due to job loss, illness, or a similar reason; or devastation following a natural disaster. According to the Urban Institute, the mean income of families experiencing homelessness is less than half the federal poverty line. This…

  1. Child Abuse And The Educational Attainment Of Secondary School ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    From the analysis, it is clear that child abuse has very strong psychological effects on the abused child and thus reduces his or her chances of active ... Among other factors, it was also observed that divorce, separation among spouses, infidelity, economic hardship and poverty leading to child labour, and illiteracy are ...

  2. AUTOMATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    SCHMIDT, EMERSON P.; STEWART, CHARLES T.

    HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RESULTS IN ECONOMIC LOSSES TO THE ECONOMY AND IMPOSES SUFFERING ON MILLIONS OF INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES. OF THE MANY TYPES, LONG-TERM STRUCTURAL UNEMPLOYMENT AFFECTS MORE THAN ONE MILLION WORKERS AND IS MOST INTRACTABLE TO TREATMENT AND DISTURBING IN TERMS OF HUMAN HARDSHIP. MOST OF THE WORKERS CLASSIFIED AS STRUCTURALLY…

  3. Raising Cash under Duress and the Role of Cash Value Life Insurance: An Educational Example

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, David T.; Chong, James T.; Phillips, G. Michael

    2018-01-01

    Consumers face hard choices when they need cash quickly. Hard choices can lead to emotional or economically unsound decisions. Traditional classroom discussions of raising funds to pay for expenses usually focus on generating income, borrowing, or the sale of real and financial assets, if hardship is discussed at all. However, many families have…

  4. 75 FR 30900 - Fisker Automotive; Receipt of Application for Temporary Exemption From Advanced Air Bag...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-02

    ... good faith to comply with the standard.\\1\\ \\1\\ To view the application, go to http://www.regulations... economic hardship to a manufacturer that has tried in good faith to comply with the standard. NHTSA has... to a manufacturer that has tried in good faith to comply with the standard. According to the petition...

  5. Child Trafficking: A Hindrance to the Girl-Child Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aibangbe, Mary O.

    2015-01-01

    Child trafficking continues to pose a major hindrance to the freedom and educational development of the girl-child in Nigeria. Most of the girls trafficked are forced into prostitution, forced labour and in some cases as human sacrifice. Some families support this trend because they see it as a means to break the yoke of economic hardship. The…

  6. Mental health symptoms in relation to socio-economic conditions and lifestyle factors--a population-based study in Sweden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molarius, Anu; Berglund, Kenneth; Eriksson, Charli; Eriksson, Hans G; Lindén-Boström, Margareta; Nordström, Eva; Persson, Carina; Sahlqvist, Lotta; Starrin, Bengt; Ydreborg, Berit

    2009-08-20

    Poor mental health has large social and economic consequences both for the individual and society. In Sweden, the prevalence of mental health symptoms has increased since the beginning of the 1990 s. There is a need for a better understanding of the area for planning preventive activities and health care. The study is based on a postal survey questionnaire sent to a random sample of men and women aged 18-84 years in 2004. The overall response rate was 64%. The area investigated covers 55 municipalities with about one million inhabitants in central part of Sweden. The study population includes 42,448 respondents. Mental health was measured with self-reported symptoms of anxiety/depression (EQ-5D, 5th question). The association between socio-economic conditions, lifestyle factors and mental health symptoms was investigated using multivariate multinomial logistic regression models. About 40% of women and 30% of men reported that they were moderately or extremely anxious or depressed. Younger subjects reported poorer mental health than older subjects, the best mental health was found at ages 65-74 years. Factors that were strongly and independently related to mental health symptoms were poor social support, experiences of being belittled, employment status (receiving a disability pension and unemployment), economic hardship, critical life events, and functional disability. A strong association was also found between how burdensome domestic work was experienced and anxiety/depression. This was true for both men and women. Educational level was not associated with mental health symptoms. Of lifestyle factors, physical inactivity, underweight and risk consumption of alcohol were independently associated with mental health symptoms. Our results support the notion that a ground for good mental health includes balance in social relations, in domestic work and in employment as well as in personal economy both among men and women. In addition, physical inactivity, underweight

  7. Trajectory of Material Hardship and Income Poverty in Families of Children Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Prospective Cohort Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bona, Kira; London, Wendy B; Guo, Dongjing; Frank, Deborah A; Wolfe, Joanne

    2016-01-01

    Poverty is correlated with negative health outcomes in pediatric primary care, and is emerging as a negative prognostic indicator in pediatric oncology. However, measures of poverty amenable to targeted intervention, such as household material hardship (HMH)--including food, energy, and housing insecurity--have not been described in pediatric oncology. We describe the trajectory of family reported HMH and income poverty at a pediatric oncology referral center in New England with high psychosocial supports. Single site, prospective cohort study including 99 English-speaking families of children receiving chemotherapy for primary cancer. Families completed face-to-face surveys at two time-points: (1) Within 30 days of child's diagnosis (T1) (N = 99, response rate 88%); (2) 6-months following diagnosis (T2) (N = 93, response rate 94%). HMH was assessed in three domains: food, energy, and housing insecurity. Twenty percent of families reported low-income (≤200% Federal Poverty Level) and at least one HMH prior to their child's diagnosis. At T2, 25% of families lost >40% annual household income secondary to treatment-related work disruptions, and 29% of families reported HMH despite utilization of psychosocial supports. Low-income and HMH are prevalent in a significant proportion of newly diagnosed pediatric oncology families at a large referral center. Despite psychosocial supports, the proportion of families experiencing unmet basic needs increases during chemotherapy to nearly one in three families. HMH provides a quantifiable and remediable measure of poverty in pediatric oncology. Interventions to ameliorate this concrete component of poverty could benefit a significant proportion of pediatric oncology families. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Distribution of Economic Benefits from Ecotourism: A Case Study of Wolong Nature Reserve for Giant Pandas in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Guangming; Chen, Xiaodong; Liu, Wei; Bearer, Scott; Zhou, Shiqiang; Cheng, Lily Yeqing; Zhang, Hemin; Ouyang, Zhiyun; Liu, Jianguo

    2008-12-01

    Ecotourism is widely promoted as a conservation tool and actively practiced in protected areas worldwide. Theoretically, support for conservation from the various types of stakeholder inside and outside protected areas is maximized if stakeholders benefit proportionally to the opportunity costs they bear. The disproportional benefit distribution among stakeholders can erode their support for or lead to the failure of ecotourism and conservation. Using Wolong Nature Reserve for Giant Pandas (China) as an example, we demonstrate two types of uneven distribution of economic benefits among four major groups of stakeholders. First, a significant inequality exists between the local rural residents and the other types of stakeholder. The rural residents are the primary bearers of the cost of conservation, but the majority of economic benefits (investment, employment, and goods) in three key ecotourism sectors (infrastructural construction, hotels/restaurants, and souvenir sales) go to other stakeholders. Second, results show that the distribution of economic benefits is unequal among the rural residents inside the reserve. Most rural households that benefit from ecotourism are located near the main road and potentially have less impact on panda habitat than households far from the road and closer to panda habitats. This distribution gap is likely to discourage conservation support from the latter households, whose activities are the main forces degrading panda habitats. We suggest that the unequal distribution of the benefits from ecotourism can be lessened by enhancing local participation, increasing the use of local goods, and encouraging relocation of rural households closer to ecotourism facilities.

  9. Risk factors for work-related stress and subjective hardship in health-care staff in nursing homes for the elderly: A cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pélissier, Carole; Vohito, Michel; Fort, Emmanuel; Sellier, Brigitte; Agard, Jean Pierre; Fontana, Luc; Charbotel, Barbara

    2015-01-01

    This study aimed to explore potential risk factors for work-related stress by, detailing working conditions and subjective hardship according to occupational category in health-care staff working with elderly patients. A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted in 105 nursing homes for the elderly in France. Data on nursing home working conditions were collected by occupational physicians. The study population was limited to those in direct contact with the elderly, who were divided into 3 occupational groups defined by qualifications and tasks: housekeepers (HKs), nursing assistants (NAs) and nurses (Ns). Employees answered a questionnaire on their perceived working conditions and vocational training courses. Psychosocial stress was assessed with the Siegrist questionnaire. The subjects included 706 HKs, 1,565 NAs and 378 Ns, and the findings showed confusion of tasks and responsibilities in the study population. Verbal abuse by residents was reported by 60.9% of HKs (versus 76.2% of NAs and 76.7% of Ns, pstress related to insufficient ability, nursing home workers should be encouraged to attend job training courses, which should cover knowledge of the specific care needs of elderly patients and of the authority/responsibility required to do their job.

  10. SAFRR Tsunami Scenario: Economic Impacts and Resilience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wein, A. M.; Rose, A.; Sue Wing, I.; Wei, D.

    2013-12-01

    were not closely examined to assess the impacts. Extensive damages to marinas along the California coast could result in 30 million BI losses in terms of GDP. Interestingly, the service sectors including and relating to marinas (recreation, food services, and retail) indicate possible gains (of .02-1%) from price increases greater than the losses from quantity decreases. Sectors associated with development (residential construction, water and sewage, and health care) could suffer the most with losses of .03% or less. However, these sectors will likely also be bolstered by reconstruction. Economic hardships would be localized and the resilience of the marina sector would depend on alternative moorings and excess capacity elsewhere. Inundated coastal property damages could generate 1.7 billion of BI losses. Application of sector recapture factors (e.g., using overtime) alone could reduce these losses by 80%. For the overall set of loss categories, BI losses amount to 6 billion, and resilience strategies indicate the potential to reduce these economic impacts by 80-90%.

  11. Mental health symptoms in relation to socio-economic conditions and lifestyle factors – a population-based study in Sweden

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Persson Carina

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Poor mental health has large social and economic consequences both for the individual and society. In Sweden, the prevalence of mental health symptoms has increased since the beginning of the 1990s. There is a need for a better understanding of the area for planning preventive activities and health care. Methods The study is based on a postal survey questionnaire sent to a random sample of men and women aged 18–84 years in 2004. The overall response rate was 64%. The area investigated covers 55 municipalities with about one million inhabitants in central part of Sweden. The study population includes 42,448 respondents. Mental health was measured with self-reported symptoms of anxiety/depression (EQ-5D, 5th question. The association between socio-economic conditions, lifestyle factors and mental health symptoms was investigated using multivariate multinomial logistic regression models. Results About 40% of women and 30% of men reported that they were moderately or extremely anxious or depressed. Younger subjects reported poorer mental health than older subjects, the best mental health was found at ages 65–74 years. Factors that were strongly and independently related to mental health symptoms were poor social support, experiences of being belittled, employment status (receiving a disability pension and unemployment, economic hardship, critical life events, and functional disability. A strong association was also found between how burdensome domestic work was experienced and anxiety/depression. This was true for both men and women. Educational level was not associated with mental health symptoms. Of lifestyle factors, physical inactivity, underweight and risk consumption of alcohol were independently associated with mental health symptoms. Conclusion Our results support the notion that a ground for good mental health includes balance in social relations, in domestic work and in employment as well as in personal economy both

  12. Multi-objective synthesis of work and heat exchange networks: Optimal balance between economic and environmental performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Onishi, Viviani C.; Ravagnani, Mauro A.S.S.; Jiménez, Laureano; Caballero, José A.

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • New multi-objective optimization model for the simultaneous WHEN synthesis. • A multistage superstructure allows power and thermal integration of process streams. • Simultaneous minimization of environmental impacts and total annualized cost. • Alternative set of Pareto solutions is presented to support decision-makers. - Abstract: Sustainable and efficient energy use is crucial for lessening carbon dioxide emissions in industrial plants. This paper introduces a new multi-objective optimization model for the synthesis of work and heat exchange networks (WHENs), aiming to obtain the optimal balance between economic and environmental performance. The proposed multistage superstructure allows power and thermal integration of process gaseous streams, through the simultaneous minimization of total annualized cost (TAC) and environmental impacts (EI). The latter objective is determined by environmental indicators that follow the life cycle assessment (LCA) principles. The WHEN superstructure is optimized as a multi-objective mixed-integer nonlinear programming (moMINLP) model and solved with the GAMS software. Results show a decrease of ∼79% in the heat transfer area and ∼32% in the capital cost between the solutions found for single problem optimizations. These results represent a diminution of ∼23.5% in the TAC, while EI is increased in ∼99.2%. As these solutions can be impractical for economic or environmental reasons, we present a set of alternative Pareto-optimal solutions to support decision-makers towards the implementation of more environment-friendly and cost-effective WHENs.

  13. 'I just ended up here, no job and no health...'--men's outlook on life in the context of economic hardship and HIV/AIDS in Namibia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tersbøl, B.P.

    2006-01-01

    to loss of meaning and identity. The article brings men's experiences into context by exploring the socio-economic and historical transitions which in powerful ways contribute to shaping men's lives. It argues that HIV/AIDS is but one of many pressing concerns, and therefore information campaigns...... to promote safe sexual practices have limited meaning and impact. It further argues that men, like women, but in different ways than women, are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. To counter this situation, it is crucial that HIV/AIDS prevention efforts work with men specifically. If prevention programmes are to have...

  14. Rebuilding the Arab Economies: New Regional and Global Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura - Ramona BENCHEA

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The Arab countries are facing one of their most difficult periods of the modern history. The popular uprisings which broke out at the beginning of 2011 in Tunisia and then spread to Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Jordan, Bahrain and Syria, reflect profound economic and social hardships, but also major uncertainties regarding the political perspectives of these countries. The political transition carried out by several Arab countries could represent an incentive for profound economic reorganization and structural change all over the region. The aim of this paper is to assess the structural economic challenges the Arab countries had been confronted with over many decades and to identify possible regional and global strategies for economic development.

  15. The Shock Routine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van Hooren, Franca; Kaasch, Alexandra; Starke, Peter

    2014-01-01

    in Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden over the course of four global economic shocks, we ask whether the notion of critical junctures is useful in understanding the nature of change triggered by crisis. The main empirical finding is that fundamental change in the aftermath of an exogenous shock...... is the exception rather than the rule. Instead, incremental ‘crisis routines’ based on existing policy instruments are overwhelmingly used to deal with economic hardship. We discuss these findings in the light of the psychological ‘threat-rigidity’ effect and reflect on their consequences for theories...

  16. Social exclusion, personal control, self-regulation, and stress among substance abuse treatment clients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, Jennifer; Logan, T K; Walker, Robert

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of social exclusion, personal control, and self-regulation to perceived stress among individuals who participated in publicly funded substance abuse treatment. Participants entered treatment between June 2006 and July 2007 and completed a 12-month follow-up survey by telephone (n=787). The results of the OLS regression analysis indicate that individuals with greater social exclusion factors (e.g. greater economic hardship, lower subjective social standing, greater perceived discrimination), lower perceived control of one's life, and lower self-regulation had higher perceived stress. Furthermore, a significant interaction was found suggesting a stress-buffering effect of personal control between subjective social standing and perceived stress. Interestingly, income status was not significantly related to perceived stress, while economic hardship, which assesses participants' inability to meet basic expenses, was significantly associated with perceived stress. Future research should examine how to integrate the AA/NA teaching about powerlessness and its role in recovery with the importance of increased personal control and self-control in decreasing perceived stress. Implications for future research and substance abuse treatment are discussed. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. [Economic hardship and fallout on households of the management of hydrocephalus in Benin].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gandaho, Hugues Jean-Thierry; Hounton, Sennen Houesse; Kelani, Amina; Darga, Christian; Hoinsou-Hans, Isaac; Agbani, Florence; Lalya, Francis; Koumakpayi, Sikiratou; Ayivi, Blaise

    2017-04-27

    Objectives: The socioeconomic profile of households and families of children attending hospital for hydrocephalus were documented and analysed. Main costs related to diagnosis and care were reviewed. The emotional fallout and social well-being of families were also analysed. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study (January 2006 to January 2015) was based on costs borne by households and families for neurosurgical care of children with hydrocephalus. Results: Sixty children (1 day to 12 years old) had been hospitalized for hydrocephalus in Cotonou-Benin. In 19 cases, the families were single-parent families. In 44 cases, the parents were self-employed workers or private company employees. Public servants, eligible for national health system assistance, accounted for a mere 16 cases. Twenty six children did not receive any financial support, whereas the total average care-related out-of-pocket expenditure for families during the hospital stay was approximately €1,777 (1,117,500 FCFA), i.e. almost 14 times the average monthly income reported by the parents (82,600 FCFA – approximately €120). After hospitalization, 31 mothers had lost their jobs and 21 couples experienced marital issues and their plans to have children. Twelve recent separations were recorded, as well as one indirect maternal death related to depression. Conclusion: In Benin Republic, surgical care for paediatric hydrocephalus represents catastrophic out-of-pocket expenditures for households and families and other living expenses. Families experience significant emotional fallout with effects on couple relationships and survival.

  18. United States public policy and the elderly: the disproportionate risk to the well-being of women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burkhauser, R V; Duncan, G J

    1991-01-01

    "Cross-sectional comparisons show that poverty among the aged in the United States has dropped dramatically over the last two decades. We use longitudinal data to identify economic events associated with unfavorable economic outcomes and to trace the influence of these events on women and men at different ages. We find that while social insurance programs appear to prevent severe financial hardship from the most frequent work-related events, they are far less effective in cushioning the economic impact of widowhood and divorce, especially for women. We suggest a number of policy changes that would provide some measure of social insurance against adverse family-related events." excerpt

  19. Malaga Comun

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barinaga, Ester

    2017-01-01

    The case is about the choice of governance structures for a community currency in the impoverished South of Spain that aims to alleviate the economic hardships brought by the economic crisis. The reader gets an insight into the economic contexts of these currencies, the functioning of one of its...... most common designs (mutual credit systems or LETS), as well as the governance structures of community currencies. The reader is then presented with the challenges the initiative faces due to lack of enough products and services offered within the community currency. The case ends at the moment when...... currency users have to decide on a governance structure that can energise the currency....

  20. Socio-economic and Demographic Determinants of Antenatal Care Services Utilization in Central Nepal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Srijana Pandey, PhD

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Background/Objective: The importance of maternal health services in lessening maternal mortality and morbidity as well as neonatal deaths has received substantial recognition in the past decade. The lack of antenatal care has been identified as a risk factor for maternal mortality and other adverse pregnancy outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors affecting attendance of antenatal care services in Nepal. Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out in Central Nepal. Using semi-structured questionnaire, interviews were conducted with married women aged between 15-49 years, who had delivered their babies within one year. Systematic random sampling method was used to select the sample. Results were obtained by frequency distribution and cross-tabulation of the variables. Results: More than half of the women were not aware of the consequences of lack of antenatal care. Age, education, income, type of family were strongly associated with the attendance at antenatal care service. Conclusions and Public Health Implications: In Nepal and in other developing countries, maternal mortality and morbidity continue to pose challenges to the health care delivery system. Variety of factors including socio-demographic, socio-economic, cultural and service availability as well as accessibility influences the use of maternal health services.

  1. Economic Theory, Economic Reality And Economic Policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dmitry Evgenievich Sorokin

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the opposition between the «liberals» and «statists» in the Russian political and economic thought. It demonstrates that the economic liberalization is an absolute prerequisite for the transition to sustainable socio-economic development. Such development must rely on investment activities of the state, which in the current circumstances is a necessary but not sufficient measure for reversing the negative trends. The negative developments can be prevented only through implementation, along with the institutional changes in the economic area that form a strata of economically independent entrepreneurs-innovators, of no less profound transformation in political institutions aimed at democratization of public life

  2. [Socioeconomic differentials in health and health related behaviors: findings from the Korea Youth Panel Survey].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khang, Young-Ho; Cho, Sung-Il; Yang, Seungmi; Lee, Moo-Song

    2005-11-01

    This study examined the socioeconomic differentials for the health and health related behaviors among South Korean middle school students. A nationwide cross-sectional interview survey of 3,449 middle school second-grade students and their parents was conducted using a stratified multi-stage cluster sampling method. The response rate was 93.3%. The socioeconomic position indicators were based on self-reported information from the students and their parents: parental education, father's occupational class, monthly family income, out-of-pocket expenditure for education, housing ownership, educational expectations, educational performance and the perceived economic hardships. The outcome variables that were measured were also based on the self-reported information from the students. The health measures included self-rated health conditions, psychological or mental problems, the feelings of loneliness at school, the overall satisfaction of life and the perceived level of stress. The health related behaviors included were smoking, alcohol drinking, sexual intercourse, violence, bullying and verbal and physical abuse by parents. Socioeconomic differences for the health and health related behaviors were found among the eighth grade boys and girls of South Korea. However, the pattern varied with gender, the socioeconomic position indicators and the outcome measures. The prevalence rates of the overall dissatisfaction with life for both genders differed according to most of the eight socioeconomic position indicators. All the health measures were significantly different according to the perceived economic hardship. However, the socioeconomic differences in the self-rated health conditions and the psychosocial or mental problems were not clear. The students having higher socioeconomic position tended to be a perpetrator of bullying while those students with lower socioeconomic position were more likely to be a victim. The perceived economic hardships predicted the health

  3. 76 FR 69225 - Migratory Bird Permits; Double-Crested Cormorant Management in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-08

    ... communities. By the mid 1990s, DCCO populations were perceived to have a negative impact on the aquaculture... grounds and during migration to alleviate damage and lessen economic, social, and ecological conflicts... interaction occurs under the AQDO. However, aquaculture producers may operate under the AQDO only in...

  4. Preventing disasters: public health vulnerability reduction as a sustainable adaptation to climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keim, Mark E

    2011-06-01

    Global warming could increase the number and severity of extreme weather events. These events are often known to result in public health disasters, but we can lessen the effects of these disasters. By addressing the factors that cause changes in climate, we can mitigate the effects of climate change. By addressing the factors that make society vulnerable to the effects of climate, we can adapt to climate change. To adapt to climate change, a comprehensive approach to disaster risk reduction has been proposed. By reducing human vulnerability to disasters, we can lessen--and at times even prevent--their impact. Human vulnerability is a complex phenomenon that comprises social, economic, health, and cultural factors. Because public health is uniquely placed at the community level, it has the opportunity to lessen human vulnerability to climate-related disasters. At the national and international level, a supportive policy environment can enable local adaptation to disaster events. The purpose of this article is to introduce the basic concept of disaster risk reduction so that it can be applied to preventing and mitigating the negative effects of climate change and to examine the role of community-focused public health as a means for lessening human vulnerability and, as a result, the overall risk of climate-related disasters.

  5. Towards Reengineering the United States Department of Defense: A Financial Case for a Functionally-Aligned, Unified Military Structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-03-01

    market share, especially in mainframe computing, IBM was not immune to hardship. In the early 1990s, IBM began losing market shares to upstart...healthy and beneficial for the wellbeing of the US Military. The principles of free market economics dictate that competition between firms provides...a better product or service at a better price over monopolistic or socialistic settings. The argument could be made of competition between the

  6. An anthropologist in parallel structure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noelle Molé Liston

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The essay examines the parallels between Molé Liston’s studies on labor and precarity in Italy and the United States’ anthropology job market. Probing the way economic shift reshaped the field of anthropology of Europe in the late 2000s, the piece explores how the neoliberalization of the American academy increased the value in studying the hardships and daily lives of non-western populations in Europe.

  7. Economical multiparty simultaneous quantum identity authentication based on Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu-Guang, Yang; Qiao-Yan, Wen

    2009-01-01

    A multiparty simultaneous quantum identity authentication protocol based on Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger (GHZ) states is proposed. The multi-user can be authenticated by a trusted third party (TTP) simultaneously. Compared with the scheme proposed recently (Wang et al 2006 Chin. Phys. Lett. 23(9) 2360), the proposed scheme has the advantages of consuming fewer quantum and classical resources and lessening the difficulty and intensity of necessary operations. (general)

  8. The legacy of gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS in the postgenocide era: Stories from women in Rwanda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, Susan Garnett; Lim, Sanaya; Kim, Paul; Morse, Sophie

    2016-07-01

    Drawing on qualitative interviews with 22 Rwandan women, we describe the lived experiences of women survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) more than a decade and a half after the 1994 Genocide. We argue that the intersection between GBV and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has long-term implications: the majority of women interviewed continue to endure trauma, stigma, social isolation, and economic hardship in the postgenocide era and are in need of expanded economic and mental health support. Our findings have implications for the importance of providing integrated psychosocial support to survivors of GBV postconflict contexts.

  9. 77 FR 16991 - Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Snapper-Grouper Fishery off the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-23

    ... economic, vessel safety, and social perspectives. Derby-style harvesting, also termed ``the race for fish... biomass of the stock is above the minimum stock size threshold (MSST), which is the level that triggers an... less interaction with protected species, future restrictions imposed on the fishery may also lessen...

  10. Ecological economics and economic growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Victor, Peter A

    2010-01-01

    Boulding's 1966 paper on the economics of spaceship Earth established the framework for ecological economics and an understanding of economic growth. In ecological economics, economies are conceptualized as open subsystems of the closed biosphere and are subject to biophysical laws and constraints. Economic growth measured as an increase in real gross domestic product (GDP) has generally been associated with increases in the use of energy and materials and the generation of wastes. Scale, composition, and technology are the proximate determinants of environmental impacts. They are often reduced to two: scale (GDP) and intensity (impact per unit GDP). New work described in this paper defines "green" growth as intensity that declines faster than scale increases. Similarly, "brown" growth occurs when intensity declines more slowly than increases in scale, and "black" growth happens when both scale and intensity increase. These concepts are then related to the environmental Kuznets curve, which can be understood as a transition from brown to green growth. Ecological economics provides a macroperspective on economic growth. It offers broad policy principles, and it challenges the primacy of economic growth as a policy objective, but many important questions remain.

  11. Unmeasured costs of a child's death: perceived financial burden, work disruptions, and economic coping strategies used by American and Australian families who lost children to cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dussel, Veronica; Bona, Kira; Heath, John A; Hilden, Joanne M; Weeks, Jane C; Wolfe, Joanne

    2011-03-10

    Financial concerns represent a major stressor for families of children with cancer but remain poorly understood among those with terminally ill children. We describe the financial hardship, work disruptions, income loss, and coping strategies of families who lost children to cancer. Retrospective cross-sectional survey of 141 American and 89 Australian bereaved parents whose children died between 1990 and 1999 and 1996 to 2004, respectively, at three tertiary-care pediatric hospitals (two American, one Australian). Response rate: 63%. Thirty-four (24%) of 141 families from US centers and 34 (39%) of 88 families from the Australian center reported a great deal of financial hardship resulting from their children's illness. Work disruptions were substantial (84% in the United States, 88% in Australia). Australian families were more likely to report quitting a job (49% in Australia v 35% in the United States; P = .037). Sixty percent of families lost more than 10% of their annual income as a result of work disruptions. Australians were more likely to lose more than 40% of their income (34% in Australia v 19% in the United States; P = .035). Poor families experienced the greatest income loss. After accounting for income loss, 16% of American and 22% of Australian families dropped below the poverty line. Financial hardship was associated with poverty and income loss in all centers. Fundraising was the most common financial coping strategy (52% in the United States v 33% in Australia), followed by reduced spending. In these US and Australian centers, significant household-level financial effects of a child's death as a result of cancer were observed, especially for poor families. Interventions aimed at reducing the effects of income loss may ease financial distress.

  12. Economics of Convention and New Economic Sociology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jagd, Søren

    2007-01-01

    The aim of the article is to explore potential common themes in economic sociology and economics of conventions. The article explores two issues raised by economics of conventions that may be of particular importance to economic sociology. First, the explicit exploration of the consequences...... of a plurality of forms of justification, as elaborated in économie de la grandeur. This perspective was recently taken up in economic sociology by David Stark's introduction of the notion ‘sociology of worth'. The second issue, recently suggested by André Orléan, is the need to denaturalize economic theory...... and economic action to demonstrate the social constructed nature of economic action. It is argued that these two issues demonstrate that a fruitful dialogue is indeed possible between economic sociology and economics of convention and should be encouraged....

  13. Finding the economics in economic entomology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onstad, David W; Knolhoff, Lisa M

    2009-02-01

    To recommend new pest management tactics and strategies to farmers and policy makers, economic entomologists must evaluate the economics of biologically reasonable approaches. We collected data to determine how frequently these economic evaluations occur. We discovered from our survey of entomological journals representing the discipline of economic entomology that papers published since 1972 include economic evaluations of pest management tactics. At least 85% of these analyses were performed by entomologists and not economists. Much of the research on economic evaluations is performed without special funds granted by agencies separate from the authors' institutions. In the United States, USDA competitive grants supported 20% of the economic evaluations published since 2000. However, only approximately 12% of the projects funded since 2000 by three sections of the USDA (Crops at Risk, Risk Avoidance and Mitigation Program, and Pest Management Alternatives Program) resulted in publications concerning economic evaluations. If the purpose of economic entomology is to ultimately determine the value of different kinds of tactics, the discipline may need to take steps to enhance the research that supports these evaluations.

  14. Economic Citizenship and Socio-Economic Rationality as Foundations of an Appropriate Economic Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christoph Schank

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available In this article we argue that social science education needs to convey more than operational mechanisms of society. Especially in socio-economic education, questions of business ethics, i.e. phenomena of economics and society need to be integrated and reflected, decidedly focusing on the moral content of economics. With the introduction of economic citizenship as the ideal economic actor to be the purpose of economic education, this paper proposes that economic education needs to connect economic expertise and moral judgment and should also allude to the necessity of every market action’s conditional legitimization by society. We propose to discuss different ‘sites’ of morality as a heuristic approach to the different areas of economic responsibility. The individual, organizational and political level of responsibility helps to categorize the different moral issues of economic activity and serves as a great pattern to explain economic relations to scholars and students.

  15. Waste a necessary evil for economically impoverished communities in least developed countries (LCDc): a case study

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Mvuma, G

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available hours. Similarly, in terms of days, these waste harvesters spent days searching for their commodities: 62% spent 5 days per week, 25% spent 6 days, 9% spent 7 days, 2% spent 4 days and 2% spent 3 days (Figure 6). Worse still, these waste harvesters... that some of the waste harvesters worked abnormally long hours (between 8 and 12 hours) per day and laboured 6 or 7 days per week on end, this also signifies hardship. Working under such conditions may lead to serious negative impacts on human health...

  16. Economic Sociology and Economics of Convention

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jagd, Søren

    This paper is part of a larger exploration of the French Economics of Convention tradition. The aim of the paper is to explore potential themes of common interest to economic sociology and Economics of Conventions. The paper is in two parts. First, I summarise the main theoretical features of EC...... the institutional framework of social action. Second, I explore two issues raised by economics of conventions that may be particularly important to consider for economic sociology. The first issue is the explicit exploration of the consequences of a plurality of forms of justification suggested by Luc Boltanski...... and Laurent Thévenot in ‘économie de la grandeur’. This perspective has already been taken up in economic sociology in David Stark’s notion of a ‘Sociology of Worth’. The second issue, recently suggested by André Orléan, is the need to denaturalise economic theory and economic action to demonstrate the social...

  17. Wildlife Hunting in Eastern Mongolia: Economic and Demographic Factors Influencing Hunting Behavior of Herding Households

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirk A. Olson

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Much of Mongolia’s rangelands are under state control and managed via traditional land use practices and are habitat for numerous wildlife species harvested for their meat and fur. Political and economic transformations that have been occurring since the early 1990’s continues to affect all aspects of Mongolian society. To cope during periods of economic hardship, many turned to harvesting wildlife resources for income and subsistence and this resulted in precipitous declines of some populations, marmots for example. Interviews with herding households in Mongolia’s eastern steppe region were conducted to better determine how wildlife resources (Mongolian gazelle, Siberian marmot, red foxes, corsac foxes, and gray wolf are utilized and valued by herding families. Hunting, carried out by 65% of interviewees, returned an average of $103±172 dollars per household. The number of individuals hunted of any particular species during the previous year ranged widely - 46% of households hunted an average of 8±9 Mongolian gazelles (the equivalent of a small cow, 31% hunted 5±5 corsac foxes, 29% hunted 42±47 marmots, 22% hunted 3±3 red foxes, and 17% hunted 3±2 gray wolves. Differences in mean annual income between hunting and non-hunting households were similar ($1,292±1,132 vs. $1,080±1,196 however the median difference was greater ($1,009 vs $749. However, non-hunting households owned significantly more livestock than hunting households (168±183 vs. 93±92 Livestock Units, and the proportion of hunting households living below the poverty line was higher. Households that were larger or had few numbers of livestock were more likely to engage in hunting than smaller households with more livestock. Household and livestock variables were also significant predictors of a households likelihood of hunting Mongolian gazelle, Siberian marmot, and corsac fox, but not for red fox or gray wolf. Wildlife management policies will likely receive greater

  18. French Economics of Convention and Economic Sociology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jagd, Søren

    foundation of markets and of money may be an occasion for economic sociology to focus even more on elaborating on the institutional void created by traditional economic theory. A second point is that economic sociology could benefit from the perspective of a plurality of forms of coordination involved......The French Economics of convention tradition has developed to be an influential research tradition situated in the area between economics and sociology. The aim of the paper is to explore some of the themes that may be common to economics of conventions and economic sociology by looking more...... closely into three recent texts from the economics of convention tradition discussing, in slightly different ways, differences and similarities between economics of convention and economic sociology. It is argued that André Orléan’s point that a common aim could be to ‘denaturalise’ the institutional...

  19. ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS VS ECONOMIC(AL ECOLOGY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Kharlamova

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Currently world faces the dilemma – ecological economy or economic(al ecology. The researchers produce hundreds of surveys on the topic. However the analyses of recent most cited simulations had shown the diversity of results. Thus, for some states the Kuznets environmental curve has place, for others – no. Same could be said about different years for the same state. It provokes the necessity of drawing new group analyses to reveal the tendencies and relationships between economic and environmental factors. Most flexible and mirror factor of environmental sustainability is the volume of CO2 emissions. The econometric analysis was used for detecting the economic impact on this indicator at the global level and in the spectra of group of states depending on their income. The hypothesis of the existence of environmental Kuznets curve for the analysed data is rejected. Real GDP per capita impact on carbon dioxide emissions is considered only at the global level. The impact of openness of the economy is weak. Rejection happened also to the hypothesis that for the developed countries there is a reverse dependence between the environmental pollution and economic openness. Indicator “energy consumption per capita” impacts on greenhouse gas emissions only in countries with high income. Whereby it should be noted that the more developed a country is, the more elastic is this influence. These results have a potential usage for environmental policy regulation and climate strategy.

  20. USING A KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT MODEL AS A FRAMEWORK FOR ADVANCEMENT OF SMALL-SCALE ECOTOURISM ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN JAMAICA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dawn H. PEARCY

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The Caribbean island of Jamaica relies heavily upon tourism to support its economy. Despite the influx of significant tourism revenue, large numbers of Jamaica's indigenous people still face substantial economic hardships. This paper examines the potential for Jamaica to expand small-scale ecotourism entrepreneurship in order to improve the economic situation of larger numbers of its people. This analysis is conducted within a knowledge management framework, with particular emphasis placed upon the involvement of a wide array of stakeholders. The overall premise is that successful small-scale ecotourism entrepreneurship will rely on Jamaica's effective use of both its natural surroundings and its knowledge base as key assets.

  1. The Building Wealth and Health Network: methods and baseline characteristics from a randomized controlled trial for families with young children participating in temporary assistance for needy families (TANF).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jing; Patel, Falguni; Kirzner, Rachel; Newton-Famous, Nijah; Owens, Constance; Welles, Seth L; Chilton, Mariana

    2016-07-16

    Families with children under age six participating in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) must participate in work-related activities for 20 h per week. However, due to financial hardship, poor health, and exposure to violence and adversity, families may experience great difficulty in reaching self-sufficiency. The purpose of this report is to describe study design and baseline findings of a trauma-informed financial empowerment and peer support intervention meant to mitigate these hardships. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of a 28-week intervention called Building Wealth and Health Network to improve financial security and maternal and child health among caregivers participating in TANF. Participants, recruited from County Assistance offices in Philadelphia, PA, were randomized into two intervention groups (partial and full) and one control group. Participants completed questionnaires at baseline to assess career readiness, economic hardship, health and wellbeing, exposure to adversity and violence, and interaction with criminal justice systems. Baseline characteristics demonstrate that among 103 participants, there were no significant differences by group. Mean age of participants was 25 years, and youngest child was 30 months. The majority of participants were women (94.2 %), never married (83.5 %), unemployed (94.2 %), and without a bank account (66.0 %). Many reported economic hardship (32.0 % very low household food secure, 65.0 % housing insecure, and 31.1 % severe energy insecure), and depression (57.3 %). Exposure to adversity was prevalent, where 38.8 % reported four or more Adverse Childhood Experiences including abuse, neglect and household dysfunction. In terms of community violence, 64.7 % saw a seriously wounded person after an incident of violence, and 27.2 % had seen someone killed. Finally, 14.6 % spent time in an adult correctional institution, and 48.5 % of the fathers of the youngest child spent

  2. The Crime-Conflict Nexus and the Civil War in Syria

    OpenAIRE

    Christina Steenkamp

    2017-01-01

    There is a strong relationship between organised crime and civil war. This article contributes to the crime-conflict nexus literature by providing a consideration of the role of organised crime in the Syrian conflict. It provides an overview of pre- and post-war organised crime in Syria. The article then builds the argument that war provides opportunities for organised crime through the state’s diminished law enforcement ability; the economic hardship which civilians face during war; and the ...

  3. Applied evolutionary economics and economic geography

    OpenAIRE

    Peter Sunley

    2008-01-01

    Applied Evolutionary Economics and Economic Geography aims to further advance empirical methodologies in evolutionary economics, with a special emphasis on geography and firm location. It does so by bringing together a select group of leading scholars including economists, geographers and sociologists, all of whom share an interest in explaining the uneven distribution of economic activities in space and the historical processes that have produced these patterns.

  4. Soil bioengineering measures for disaster mitigation and environmental restoration in Central America: authochtonal cuttings suitability and economic efficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrone, A.; Preti, F.

    2009-04-01

    performed on a basin scale and through naturalistic techniques: not only are they technically attainable, even in hardship areas (by maximizing the contribution of the local labor force and minimizing the use of mechanical equipment), but they are also economically sustainable.

  5. Growing up in wartime: Evidence from the era of two world wars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Havari, Enkelejda; Peracchi, Franco

    2017-05-01

    We document the association between war-related shocks in childhood and adult outcomes for Europeans born during the first half of the twentieth century. Using a variety of data, at both the macro- and the micro-level, we address the following questions: What are the patterns of mortality among Europeans born during this period? Do war-related shocks in childhood and adolescence help predict adult health, human capital and wellbeing of the survivors? Are there differences by sex, socio-economic status in childhood, and age when the shocks occurred? At the macro-level, we show that the secular trend towards lower mortality was interrupted by dramatic increases in mortality during World War I, the Spanish Flu, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II, and we quantify the size of these mortality shocks. Different patterns characterize these high-mortality episodes, with substantial variation by country, sex and age group. At the micro-level, we show that war-related hardship in childhood or adolescence, in particular exposure to war events and experience of hunger, is associated with worse physical and mental health, education, cognitive ability and subjective wellbeing at older ages. The strength of the association differs by sex and type of hardship, with war exposure being more important for females and experience of hunger for males. We also show that hardships matter more if experienced in childhood, and have stronger consequences if they last longer. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Single mothers' self-assessment of health: a systematic exploration of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rousou, E; Kouta, C; Middleton, N; Karanikola, M

    2013-12-01

    This study aimed to explore single mothers' self-assessed level of health status compared to partnered mothers and the relevant factors associated with it. The number of single-mother families is increasing worldwide. A large body of international research reveals that single mothers experience poorer physical and mental health than their married counterparts. An important contributory factor for this health disparity appears to be socio-economic disadvantage. A systematic search of the literature was conducted using the keywords 'lone' or 'single' and 'mother*' or 'parent*' or 'family structure' in combination with 'health'. EMBASE, CINAHL, COCHRANE and PUBMED databases were searched for quantitative research studies published in the past decade. Eleven quantitative research articles with self-assessment of health status in single mothers were identified. Single mothers report lower levels of health status compared to partnered mothers. These inequalities appear to be associated with financial hardship and lack of social support. Both these factors increase single mothers' susceptibility to stress and illness. Despite the study limitations (e.g. results based mainly on secondary data from household surveys), it provides evidence that single motherhood places women in an adverse social position that is associated with prolonged stress mainly due to unemployment, economic hardship and social exclusion, which affects negatively their health status. These findings can be seen as a challenge for health professionals, especially those working in the community sector and policy makers too, to establish supportive measures for this vulnerable group focused on socio-economic factors. © 2013 International Council of Nurses.

  7. Economic Growth, Economic Freedom, and Governance

    OpenAIRE

    Cebula, Richard; Ekstrom, Marcus

    2008-01-01

    This exploratory study examines the impact of various forms of economic freedom and various dimensions of governance, as well as a number of economic factors, on economic growth among OECD nations. Empirical estimation finds that the natural log of per capita purchasing-power-parity adjusted real GDP in OECD nations is positively impacted by business freedom, monetary freedom, trade freedom, and property rights security. Economic growth is found to be negatively affected by perceived governme...

  8. Applied evolutionary economics and economic geography

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Frenken, K.

    2007-01-01

    Applied Evolutionary Economics and Economic Geography" aims to further advance empirical methodologies in evolutionary economics, with a special emphasis on geography and firm location. It does so by bringing together a select group of leading scholars including economists, geographers and

  9. Regional Economic Growth; Socio-Economic Disparities among Counties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Salih Özgür SARICA

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available State level economy has always been relying on its major metropolitan area’s economic success. So, such metropolitan agglomerations have been considered the only agents that can foster the state’s economic standing as if other economic places do (or may not have significant contribution to the regional economy. In contrast, as some major cities enhance their economic well-being and agglomerate in specialized sector, the rest of the region lose their economic grounds or stay constant by widening the economic gap among cities. Therefore, an institutional approach can help to establish new regional arrangements to substitute all economic places to coordinate each other and succeed the economic growth as part of state government by reducing the disparities. In this sense, this study builds upon the inquiry that seeks the impacts of some economic disparities among economic places (counties on the performances of state level regional economy.

  10. Research on Lessening of Bonding Effects Between the Metallic and Non-Metallic Surfaces Through the Graphite Films Deposited with Pulsed Electrical Discharges Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marin, L.; Topala, P.

    2017-06-01

    The paper presents the results of experimental research on the physics of natural graphite film formation, the establishment of chemical composition and functional properties of the graphite films, formed on metal surfaces, as a result of the action of plasma in the air environment, at a normal pressure, under the electrical discharge in impulse conditions (EDI). The researchings were performed in the frame of doctoral thesis “Research on lessening of the bonding effects between the metallic and nonmetallic surfaces through the graphite films” and aimed to identify the phenomena that occur at the interface metal/ film of graphite, and to identify also the technological applications that it may have the surface treatment for submitting the films of graphite on metallic surfaces achieved through an innovative process of electrical pulsed discharges. After the research works from the PhD theme above mentioned, a number of interesting properties of graphite pellicle have been identified ie reducing of metal surface polarity. This led to drastic decreases for the values of adhesion when bonding of metal surfaces was performed using a structural polyurethane adhesive designed by ICECHIM. Following the thermo-gravimetric analysis, performed of the graphite film obtained by process of electrical pulsed discharges, have been also discovered other interesting properties for this, ie reversible mass additions at specific values of the working temperature Chemical and scanning electron microscopy analysis have revealed that on the metallic surface subjected to electrical pulsed discharges process, outside the graphite film, it is also obtained a series of spatial formation composed of carbon atoms fullerenes type which are responsible for the phenomenon of addition of mass.

  11. Economic growth, ecological economics, and wilderness preservation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brian Czech

    2000-01-01

    Economic growth is a perennial national goal. Perpetual economic growth and wilderness preservation are mutually exclusive. Wilderness scholarship has not addressed this conflict. The economics profession is unlikely to contribute to resolution, because the neoclassical paradigm holds that there is no limit to economic growth. A corollary of the paradigm is that...

  12. Addressing Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Pan-Japan Sea Region. An Overview of Economic Instruments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boyle, G.; Kambu, A.

    2005-11-01

    The health and environmental impacts of fossil fuel consumption are of increasing concern to countries in the Pan-Japan Sea region, where economic growth has led to increased energy consumption in recent years. Economic instruments like green taxes and emissions-trading schemes represent important tools to help reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in China, Japan, South Korea and Russia. Over the past several years, OECD countries have made progress in the use of economic instruments to reduce atmospheric air pollution. In Europe, new environmental taxes have been used most extensively, while in the United States market creation and emissions-trading schemes are more common. In the Pan-Japan Sea region, there has been considerable experience with pollution charge and levy systems, including the longstanding Japanese sulfur levy and the Russian and Chinese pollution charge systems. Generally, tax and emissions-trading systems are only beginning to emerge in the region although China has been experimenting with SOx emissions-trading schemes for several years now and South Korea and Japan have already begun experimenting with CO2 emissions-trading schemes. Only Japan has seriously looked at a carbon tax to curb GHG emissions among the four countries while direct subsidies for cleaner technologies have been adopted in the different Pan-Japan Sea countries. The costs and benefits of different economic instruments like taxes, charges, emissions-trading schemes and subsidies vary from case to case because they all have to be financially feasible, rest on informed and competent public institutions and perform effectively in local market and economic conditions. On top of all these is the fact that their overall success depends on their political acceptability. Given the experience of Pan-Japan Sea countries with economic instruments so far vis-a-vis the lessons learned in OECD countries and the nature of current and emerging pollution problems in Pan

  13. Mejor accesibilidad a los seguros de salud para jubilados estadunidenses residentes en México

    OpenAIRE

    Warner, David C.; Jahnke, Lauren R.

    2001-01-01

    Many retirees from the United States of America have limited health insurance coverage while living in Mexico. Medicare and Medicaid benefits are not portable to other countries and Medigap (private insurance that supplements Medicare) is very limited. This causes economic and medical hardships and serves as a barrier to retirement to Mexico. Increasing numbers of U.S. retirees will be interested in moving to Mexico in the future because of the climate, the culture, and the lower cost of livi...

  14. Toward Better Access to Health Insurance Coverage for U.S. Retirees in Mexico

    OpenAIRE

    Warner David C.; Jahnke Lauren R.

    2001-01-01

    Many retirees from the United States of America have limited health insurance coverage while living in Mexico. Medicare and Medicaid benefits are not portable to other countries and Medigap (private insurance that supplements Medicare) is very limited. This causes economic and medical hardships and serves as a barrier to retirement to Mexico. Increasing numbers of U.S. retirees will be interested in moving to Mexico in the future because of the climate, the culture, and the lower cost of livi...

  15. Community Economics

    OpenAIRE

    武藤, 宣道; Nobumichi, MUTOH

    2000-01-01

    This paper examines the new field of community economics with respect to Japan. A number of studies in community economics have already been produced in OECD countries including the United States. Although these are of great interest, each country has its own historical, socioeconomic context and must therefore develop its own approach to community economics. Community-oriented economics is neither macro-nor micro-economics in the standard economics textbook sense. Most community economics st...

  16. Quantum economics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vukotić Veselin

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The globalization is breaking-down the idea of national state, which was the base for the development of economic theory which is dominant today. Global economic crisis puts emphasis on limited possibilities of national governments in solving economic problems and general problems of society. Does it also mean that globalization and global economic crisis points out the need to think about new economic theory and new understanding of economics? In this paper I will argue that globalization reveals the need to change dominant economic paradigm - from traditional economic theory (mainstream with macroeconomic stability as the goal of economic policy, to the “quantum economics“, which is based on “economic quantum” and immanent to the increase of wealth (material and non-material of every individual in society and promoting set of values immanent to the wealth increase as the goal of economic policy. Practically the question is how we can use global market for our development!

  17. Non-economic determinants of economic development: methodology and influence

    OpenAIRE

    Barashov, N.

    2011-01-01

    The paper deals with research methodology of non-economic determinants of economic development. The author considers various theoretical approaches to definition of economic growth factors. Considerable attention is given to studying possible influence of non-economic determinants on quality of economic development.

  18. The Greatest Challenge Ever for Mankind, Requiring Policies of Accelerating Hardship and Implementation Difficulty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, John

    2015-04-01

    Providing energy for the contemporary world has resulted in a multi-variable problem in which a confluence of historical anomalies and economic, psychological, political, and demographic factors thwart efforts to prevent significant harm from increasing atmospheric CO2. This unlikely combination has created the perfect storm in which the warnings by scientists are ineffective. Global warming is occurring simultaneously with increased population, some dysfunctional political institutions, ascendency of oversimplified economic theory, campaigns to discredit scientists, misinterpretation of the meaning of noise in the Milankovitch climate cycles, and substantially improved hydrocarbon extraction methods. These factors are compounded by traits of human nature, such as greed and resistance to changing the familiar and discontinuing profitable endeavors. The idea that future people are equal with us may not be widely supported, yet this value is the foundation of climate change action. History shows that most people and nations will not take appropriate measures until forced, yet the cost increases as action is delayed. This makes appropriate policies even more extreme and difficult to accomplish as more wealth is consumed in treating global warming symptoms.

  19. Economic analysis model for total energy and economic systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shoji, Katsuhiko; Yasukawa, Shigeru; Sato, Osamu

    1980-09-01

    This report describes framing an economic analysis model developed as a tool of total energy systems. To prospect and analyze future energy systems, it is important to analyze the relation between energy system and economic structure. We prepared an economic analysis model which was suited for this purpose. Our model marks that we can analyze in more detail energy related matters than other economic ones, and can forecast long-term economic progress rather than short-term economic fluctuation. From view point of economics, our model is longterm multi-sectoral economic analysis model of open Leontief type. Our model gave us appropriate results for fitting test and forecasting estimation. (author)

  20. Income Inequality: Does it Matter?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alfred Wong

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Income inequality has gained considerable prominence worldwide in recent years. The growing discontent among the lower-income segment of industrialized societies is limited largely to resentment because of economic wealth being perceived to be steadily concentrating among fewer people. Quantified economic inequality does not necessarily mean the extreme deprivation of people, especially in Europe and North America. There will be no revolutionary-scale social unrest among the middle class if their expectation of satisfactory wellbeing is continually met. The connection between income inequality and poverty is uncertain because of the variable definition of poverty. The classical characterization of poverty is largely deficient as the actual economic hardships encountered by the lowest-income segment of society are never fully described in the socio-geographic context. What is deprivation in Europe and North America may be considered to be “luxurious” in economically poorer countries.

  1. Eurasian Economic Union: A Regional Economic Hegemony Initiative

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Serdar YILMAZ

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available It can be assumed that international relations terminology has not mentioned enough about the significance of the Eurasian Economic Union in territorial as well as in economic terms during a period of growing geopolitical risks and high interdependence between the member countries and the rest. According to Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, it is truly difficult for states to overcome economic, political and security issues and therefore, states need to act together against the problems in a globalizing world by establishing regional and international organisations. This article thus examines the Eurasian Economic Union integration proces, which is driven by political and economic factors that consolidate regional security and create an effective economic system, whether it in the long term will become successful or not. The author also analyses the Kazakh economic and strategic interests in the region as well as the motivation, power and influence of other members in deepening the cooperation with international arena and the limits in the economic-security integration.

  2. Economics of Sustainable Development. Competitiveness and Economic Growth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorel AILENEI

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Economic growth is one of the most important issues of humanity. Both in national economies and world economy, recession and prosperity periods are regularly succeeding with different amplitudes. But beyond these fluctuations and their effects, the results are important: performance and economic growth. Because of the problematical issue of economic growth, the authors are trying to critically reflect on the economic growth concept and on its implications on the praxis area. Although there is a large literature about economic growth modeling, it is intriguing that there still are some serious obstacles for conceptualization and praxis. Only the simple fact that the economic growth process needs serious thinking on the time dimension is sufficient for understanding the real difficulties of this problematical issue. As for the economic growth praxis, a clear analysis of the interests system within an economy is needed. Without trying to find miraculous solutions for the economic growth issue, the authors suggest a clear and correct analysis of this important subject.

  3. Economic institutions and economic growth: Empirical evidence from the Economic Community of West African States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lazarus Z. Wanjuu

    2017-12-01

    Background: Economic institutions are considered as the fundamental cause of economic growth. Economic institutions affect economic growth through allocation of resources like physical and human capital. Unfortunately, there is dearth of empirical studies showing the impact of economic institutions on growth of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS. Aim: This study investigates the impact of economic institutions on economic growth of the ECOWAS. Setting and method: The study applied cause and effect relationship. The study used econometric research techniques of unit root and co-integration tests to establish the time series properties of the data; the vector error correction and co-integration regression models to estimate the population parameters. The research data comprised data obtained from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD, the Transparency International (TI and Heritage Foundation databases. The variables employed were the real gross domestic product (GDP per capita (RGDPPC, corruption perception index (CPI, property rights protection (PROPRGT, private investment per capita (INVESPC, government expenditure per capita (GOEXPPC and trade openness (TRAOPN. Results: The results of the data analysed showed that economic institutions represented by the property rights index engender RGDPPC growth in ECOWAS. The CPI could not stimulate RGDPPC growth in ECOWAS. The results also show that all the other variables stimulated growth except trade openness. Conclusion: The study concludes that good economic institutions, private investments, and government intervention by providing security, economic and social infrastructural facilities are conducive for economic growth in the ECOWAS region. The study recommended that more efforts be made at curbing corruption in the region

  4. From Psycho-Economics to Neuro-Economics

    OpenAIRE

    Bernard WALLISER

    2012-01-01

    In economics, three nested organizational levels, namely behavioural, mental and neural, can be distinguished. They introduce specific theoretical or observable concepts and suggest their own models for choice making. If psycho-economics relates implemented actions to declared mental states, neuro-economics relates mental states to brain areas. Bridge principles can be defined which link concepts with similar interpretations at two successive levels. Thanks to these principles, relations or e...

  5. Economic Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. V. Kholopov

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The establishment of the School of Economic Science at MGIMO was due to the necessity of the world economy research, and the need to prepare highly skilled specialists in international economics. The school is developing a number of areas, which reflect the Faculty structure. - Economic theory is one of the most important research areas, a kind of foundation of the School of Economic Science at MGIMO. Economic theory studies are carried out at the chair of Economic theory. "The course of economic theory" textbook was published in 1991, and later it was reprinted seven times. Over the past few years other textbooks and manuals have been published, including "Economics for Managers" by Professor S.N. Ivashkovskaya, which survived through five editions; "International Economics" - four editions and "History of Economic Thought" - three editions. - International Economic Relations are carried out by the Department of International Economic Relations and Foreign Economic Activity. Its establishment is associated with the prominent economist N.N. Lyubimov. In 1957 he with his colleagues published the first textbook on the subject which went through multiple republications. The editorial team of the textbook subsequently formed the pride of Soviet economic science - S.M. Menshikov, E.P. Pletnev, V.D. Schetinin. Since 2007, the chair of Foreign Economic Activities led by Doctor of Economics, Professor I. Platonova has been investigating the problems of improving the architecture of foreign economic network and the international competitiveness of Russia; - The history of the study of problems of the world economy at MGIMO begins in 1958 at the chair baring the same name. Since 1998, the department has been headed by Professor A. Bulatov; - The study of international monetary relations is based on the chair of International Finance, and is focused on addressing the fundamental scientific and practical problems; - The chair "Banks, monetary circulation

  6. "To be taken seriously" : women's reflections on how migration and resettlement experiences influence their healthcare needs during childbearing in Sweden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robertson, Eva K

    2015-06-01

    To use an intersectional approach to analyze women's reflections on how their migration and resettlement experiences to Sweden influenced their health and healthcare needs during childbearing. Focus-group discussions, pair interviews and individual interviews were conducted in southern Sweden between 2006 and 2009, with 25 women originating from 17 different countries with heterogeneous backgrounds that had experienced childbirth in Sweden. Qualitative content analysis was used with an intersectional approach, taking into consideration intersections of ethnicity, socio-economic status (SES) and gender. The hardships of migration, resettlement, and constraints in the daily life made the women feel overstrained, tense, and disembodied. Being treated as a stranger and ignored or rejected in healthcare encounters was devaluing and discriminating. The women stressed that they felt stronger and had fewer complications during pregnancy and labor when they were "taken seriously" and felt that they had a confident, caring relationship with caregivers/midwives. This, therefore, enabled the women to boost their sense of self, and to recognize their capabilities, as well as their "embodied knowledge". Caregivers/midwives should be aware of the hardships the women face. Hardships stem from experiences of migration and resettlement as well as from structural constraints such as the "triple jeopardy" of ethnicity, SES and gender, which increase women's needs of support in childbearing. Such awareness is necessary when promoting health and reducing the unnecessary suffering and victimization of women, their children, and their families. It is a matter of patient safety and equity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Qualitative Economics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fast, Michael; Clark II, Woodrow W

                         This book is about science -- specifically, the science of economics. Or lack thereof is more accurate. The building of any science, let alone economics, is grounded in the understanding of what is beneath the "surface" of economics. Science, and hence economics, should...... be concerned with formulating ideas that express theories which produce descriptions of how to understand phenomenon and real world experiences.                       Economics must become a science, because the essence of economics in terms of human actions, group interactions and communities are in need...... of scientific inquiry. Academics and scholars need a scientific perspective that can hypothesize, theorize document, understand and analyze human dynamics from the individual to more societal interactions. And that is what qualitative economics does; it can make economics into becoming a science. The economic...

  8. The Building Wealth and Health Network: methods and baseline characteristics from a randomized controlled trial for families with young children participating in temporary assistance for needy families (TANF

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Sun

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Families with children under age six participating in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF must participate in work-related activities for 20 h per week. However, due to financial hardship, poor health, and exposure to violence and adversity, families may experience great difficulty in reaching self-sufficiency. The purpose of this report is to describe study design and baseline findings of a trauma-informed financial empowerment and peer support intervention meant to mitigate these hardships. Methods We conducted a randomized controlled trial of a 28-week intervention called Building Wealth and Health Network to improve financial security and maternal and child health among caregivers participating in TANF. Participants, recruited from County Assistance offices in Philadelphia, PA, were randomized into two intervention groups (partial and full and one control group. Participants completed questionnaires at baseline to assess career readiness, economic hardship, health and wellbeing, exposure to adversity and violence, and interaction with criminal justice systems. Results Baseline characteristics demonstrate that among 103 participants, there were no significant differences by group. Mean age of participants was 25 years, and youngest child was 30 months. The majority of participants were women (94.2 %, never married (83.5 %, unemployed (94.2 %, and without a bank account (66.0 %. Many reported economic hardship (32.0 % very low household food secure, 65.0 % housing insecure, and 31.1 % severe energy insecure, and depression (57.3 %. Exposure to adversity was prevalent, where 38.8 % reported four or more Adverse Childhood Experiences including abuse, neglect and household dysfunction. In terms of community violence, 64.7 % saw a seriously wounded person after an incident of violence, and 27.2 % had seen someone killed. Finally, 14.6 % spent time in an adult correctional institution, and 48

  9. The ecological economics: An ecological economics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castiblanco R, Carmenza

    2007-01-01

    Ecological Economics arise as a scientific discipline aimed to integrate concepts of economics, ecology, thermodynamics, ethic and other natural and social sciences in order to incorporate a biophysical and integrated perspective of the inter dependences between economies and environment, from a plural conception and a methodology beyond disciplines. Ecological Economics studies the black box of economic processes usually excluded of the traditional economics: thermodynamics and ecology. Although it is relatively a new field of study, it has been strengthening its theoretical framework with scientific basis and analytic principles that lead to its identification as a new discipline that show a whole new paradigm. The scope of this article is to show the conceptual and methodological bases, the main founders, approaches and central debates of this new discipline. This brief introduction is a preamble to the papers of the meeting Ecological Economics: a perspective for Colombia included in this number, that took place on September 22 - 27 of 2007, at the National University of Colombia at Bogota. During tree days national and international experts, professors, researchers, workers of environmental sector and people interested on environmental issues joined together to know the conceptual and methodological achievements reached of this discipline; as well as to analyse and evaluate the environmental problems of the country, from the systemic, interdisciplinary and general perspective that it promotes

  10. The contention within health economics: a micro-economic foundation using a macro-economic analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaxley, I L

    1998-03-01

    Health economists claim to use market economics combined with the micro-economic concepts of opportunity cost and the margin to advise on priority setting. However, they are advising on setting priorities through a macro-economic analysis using the costs of the supplier, thus prioritising the producer and not the consumer as the dynamic of economic activity. For health economists any contention within priority setting is due to lack of data not their confusion over fundamental concepts.

  11. Adverse childhood experiences of low-income urban youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wade, Roy; Shea, Judy A; Rubin, David; Wood, Joanne

    2014-07-01

    Current assessments of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may not adequately encompass the breadth of adversity to which low-income urban children are exposed. The purpose of this study was to identify and characterize the range of adverse childhood experiences faced by young adults who grew up in a low-income urban area. Focus groups were conducted with young adults who grew up in low-income Philadelphia neighborhoods. Using the nominal group technique, participants generated a list of adverse childhood experiences and then identified the 5 most stressful experiences on the group list. The most stressful experiences identified by participants were grouped into a ranked list of domains and subdomains. Participants identified a range of experiences, grouped into 10 domains: family relationships, community stressors, personal victimization, economic hardship, peer relationships, discrimination, school, health, child welfare/juvenile justice, and media/technology. Included in these domains were many but not all of the experiences from the initial ACEs studies; parental divorce/separation and mental illness were absent. Additional experiences not included in the initial ACEs but endorsed by our participants included single-parent homes; exposure to violence, adult themes, and criminal behavior; personal victimization; bullying; economic hardship; and discrimination. Gathering youth perspectives on childhood adversity broadens our understanding of the experience of stress and trauma in childhood. Future work is needed to determine the significance of this broader set of adverse experiences in predisposing children to poor health outcomes as adults. Copyright © 2014 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  12. Using Electronic Health Records to Examine Disease Risk in Small Populations: Obesity Among American Indian Children, Wisconsin, 2007-2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomayko, Emily J; Weinert, Bethany A; Godfrey, Liz; Adams, Alexandra K; Hanrahan, Lawrence P

    2016-02-25

    Tribe-based or reservation-based data consistently show disproportionately high obesity rates among American Indian children, but little is known about the approximately 75% of American Indian children living off-reservation. We examined obesity among American Indian children seeking care off-reservation by using a database of de-identified electronic health records linked to community-level census variables. Data from electronic health records from American Indian children and a reference sample of non-Hispanic white children collected from 2007 through 2012 were abstracted to determine obesity prevalence. Related community-level and individual-level risk factors (eg, economic hardship, demographics) were examined using logistic regression. The obesity rate for American Indian children (n = 1,482) was double the rate among non-Hispanic white children (n = 81,042) (20.0% vs 10.6%, P American Indian children were less likely to have had a well-child visit (55.9% vs 67.1%, P American Indian records (18.3% vs 14.6%, P obesity risk among American Indian children (odds ratio, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.6-2.1) independent of age, sex, economic hardship, insurance status, and geographic designation. An electronic health record data set demonstrated high obesity rates for nonreservation-based American Indian children, rates that had not been previously assessed. This low-cost method may be used for assessing health risk for other understudied populations and to plan and evaluate targeted interventions.

  13. 78 FR 76183 - Request for Information for the 2014; Trafficking in Persons Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-16

    ... retribution or hardship, and ensures that victims are not inappropriately incarcerated, fined, or otherwise... analysis of whether victims may face retribution or hardship upon repatriation to their country of origin...

  14. 77 FR 74045 - Request for Information for the 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-12

    ... face retribution or hardship, and ensures that victims are not inappropriately incarcerated, fined, or... any analysis of whether victims may face retribution or hardship upon repatriation to their country of...

  15. 76 FR 1660 - Request for Information for the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-11

    ... they would face retribution or hardship, and ensures that victims are not inappropriately incarcerated... whether victims may face retribution or hardship upon repatriation to their country of origin? Are victims...

  16. Fostering resilience: Empowering rural communities in the face of hardship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darryl Maybery

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Australian rural communities are experiencing some of the worst climactic and economic conditions in decades. Unfortunately, the multiple government and non-government agency responses have reportedly been uncoordinated, sometimes losing sight of their consumers. This article describes a program designed to strengthen and empower resilience in small rural communities and summarises the outcomes, including needs and action planning undertaken. The 97 participants were from eight outer regional or remote towns and communities in the northern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. As groups representing their communities, they attended meetings and responded to a series of questions regarding issues arising from the drought, community needs, and actions their community could take to address these issues and needs. The study findings highlight the stress and strain of the climatic conditions and the insecurity of rural incomes, as well as problems with the high cost of transport. The communities recognised a degree of social disintegration but also expressed considerable hope that, by working together and better utilising social agencies, they could develop a social connectedness that would make their communities more resilient. Approaches that empower and facilitate community resilience are suggested as an effective model that governments and non-government agencies can use to encourage social groups that are struggling to build resilience.

  17. The oil market in the 1980s -- a decade of decline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shojai, S.; Katz, B.S.

    1992-01-01

    Part 1 of this volume presents a profile of the economic dislocations and hardships that resulted from the breakup of OPEC and non-OPEC nation oil exporters. The economies and economic plans of these nations were buffeted by the oil price decline. Slowed foreign exchange receipts, declining terms of trade, and fluctuating exchange rates all mitigated against oil suppliers. Part 2 investigates a range of oil importer responses to the economic ramifications of rising (1970s) and declining (1980s) oil prices. While the oil-importing Western nations adjusted to and benefited from the declining oil prices and oil suppliers bore the cost, there were also disparate economic effects on the developing world. Part 3 investigates the oil price decline fallout. The experiences of the 1980s permit an extended analysis of market conditions resulting from changes in the price of oil. Part 4 attempts to come to grips with the impact of price changes and future developments in the international world oil market

  18. Voodoo Economics:Voodoo Economics

    OpenAIRE

    Briones Alonso, Elena

    2017-01-01

    This dissertation collects three essays that aim to contribute to the field of cultural economics. There is growing recognition among economists and policy makers that culture matters for economic development, but in many cases this trend has not resulted in a thorough understanding of the role of culture, or a proper integration of existing knowledge in policy. This is particularly true for the area of food security. The second chapter addresses this issue by reviewing existing cross-discipl...

  19. 76 FR 82028 - Request for Information for the 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-29

    ... to countries in which they would face retribution or hardship, and ensures that victims are not... retribution or hardship upon repatriation to their country of origin? Are victims awaiting repatriation or...

  20. Energy and environment in the ASEAN: challenges and opportunities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karki, S.K.; Mann, M.D.; Salehfar, Hossein

    2005-01-01

    The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is one of the most dynamic economic regions of the world. Its economy is linked with its diverse energy resources, high-level urbanization, and rapid industrialization. ASEAN's growing economy in the last two decades has increased the concern of sustainable development in the face of deteriorating energy security, environmental pollution, and economic hardship in energy investment. However, opportunities exist to tackle these issues. Increasing energy efficiency (both supply and demand side), exploitation of renewable energy resources (mostly hydro), and an integrated approach on energy resource management are some of the important approaches toward the sustainable energy path. Because the options are capital-intensive, cooperation and development of appropriate institutional structures and decision mechanism across the region are urgently needed

  1. ECONOMIC CRISIS AND ECONOMIC DISPARITIES IN EUROPEAN UNION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodica CRUDU

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The impact of the economic and financial crisis is still being felt. It started as an acute crisis of the banking system, but then quickly affected the real economy, causing a substantial slump in business investment, household demand and output. The current economic crisis has affected almost all European countries but the countries of the European south and the former eastern socialist republics have suffered the most. The objective in this paper is to quantify economic disparities as expressed by several growth indicators, such as GDP per capita, employment/unemployment rates, labour productivity rates and use them to compare the economic performances before and after the crisis. EU took several measures to recover from the economic crisis. Nevertheless, its ability to adjust to widely diverse national and local contexts that have been impacted differently by the effects of the crisis, and to support the different patterns of economic growth that will result from it, is yet to be seen.

  2. Space and economics : An introduction to regional economics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heijman, W.J.M.; Schipper, R.A.

    2010-01-01

    The subject area Regional Economics is becoming more and more topical. This means that in economic analyses the production factor 'space' is of increasing importance. This study book aims to integrate space in the area of General Economics in an analytical way. Models and their applications play a

  3. National Identity and Economic Nationalism: Can an Economic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Since the demise of economic Marxism, the global environment has sought to uphold economic liberalism as the only successful theoretical position. The theoretical position of economic nationalism was relegated to obscurity on the basis that it was considered protectionist, stifled international trade and led to the creation ...

  4. BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS AND THE NEED OF PSYCHOLOGY IN ECONOMIC RESEARCH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreea GRADINARU

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The turning point in economic science has now come, marked especially by triggering the biggest crisis since the Great Depression of '29-'33, has called into question the need to reconsider the status of economic science and finding ways in which it can increase its practical foundations. In the elaboration of this study I’ve took into account the fact that beyond any abstract, formal and mathematical model, economics is a science, having the man in its center. Furthermore, every economic process is based on the human being. But the way individuals behave does not follow precisely the pattern predicted by classical and neoclassical models, but most of the time they are making decisions under the influence of psychological factors. Starting from these assumptions I considered important to highlight a real need for psychology in economic research. Therefore, the aim of this work is exclusively theoretical meant to show that the study of psychological factors is necessary in economic research, because it allows a better explanation of the economic problems and lead to obtaining results closer to reality than those who only take into consideration economic factors. In this way I appealed to behavioral economics. This represents a new trend of economic thinking that reunites psychology with economy. The thing that I observed after finishing the study is that behavioral economics can increase the explanatory power of economics by providing more realistic psychological bases, because human behavior is not only the subject matter of economics but psychology too.

  5. The economic metabolism

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heijman, W.J.M.

    1998-01-01

    Students in Technical and Agricultural faculties spend only a limited amount of time on general economics, environmental economics and resource economics. However, while their knowledge of economics may be limited, they often have adequate mathematical skills. The objective of The Economic

  6. Perspectives of economics – behavioural economics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paula-Elena DIACON

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The present turning point, accentuated by the crisis, has revitalized the interdisciplinary study of economics and determined the reconsideration of its fundamental bases as a social science. The economists have abandoned the traditional neoclassical sphere and have directed towards understanding the behaviour resorting to psychology and developing in this manner a new field - behavioural economics. This article examines whether this economic sub-discipline is a viable research direction and the extent to which it may increase the explanatory power of science by providing a realistic database for analysis, taking into account the complexity of the human factor.

  7. Economics of population versus economic demography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Tkachenko

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The article specifies the correlation between economic demography and the economy of population as the most important scientific areas of modern research. It is concluded that the Russian scientific community lags in the development of these sciences from the world scientific thought. Special attention is paid to the works and ideas of S. Kuznets and Amartya Sen as outstanding researchers of the interrelationships between the population and the economy. It is emphasized that their contribution was not only theoretical but also of practical importance. The importance of G. Myrdal’s works for modern studies of the consequences of population aging is considered. The article examines foreign training courses on “Population Economics”, presented at the Universities of Wisconsin and McMaster, their analysis led to the conclusion that the preparation of textbooks on courses is less productive than the use of scientific articles in journals, containing more recent ideas and achievements of science. The author considers the system, proposed in the course Michel Grignon and Byron G. Spencer «The Economics of Population» more preferable. The article substantiates the opinion that the economic theory of well-being should be the core of the population economy. It is concluded that the differences between economic demography and the economy of population are not just differences between the micro- and macro levels, as some authors write, but the transition to large scales and entropy.The author identifies three most important areas of demo-economic research, which include research in the field of human capital, international economic migration, especially remittance, analysis of the stratification of the population and society by the income in the global and national economies. One can single out the general area of interests of the population economy and economic demography in which these sciences are almost impossible to divide and in which only

  8. Economic Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Recruitment Events Community Commitment Giving Campaigns, Drives Economic Development Employee Funded : Environmental Documents, Reports LANL Home Calendar Search Contacts Community » Economic Development LANL 75th logo Economic Development Los Alamos National Laboratory is committed to investing and partnering in

  9. Market economic systems

    OpenAIRE

    Pryor, Frederic L.

    2004-01-01

    The new comparative economics has focused on individual institutions, rather than the economic system as a whole. This essay argues that economic systems should be defined in terms of clusters of complementary or covarying institutions. A cluster analysis of OECD countries using data on forty different economic institutions shows that four economic systems characterize these nations. Further, these systems have no significant impact on economic growth or inflation, but they do have an importa...

  10. Economic Developments on Perceived Safety, Violence, and Economic Benefits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anthony Fabio

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Emerging research highlights the promise of community- and policy-level strategies in preventing youth violence. Large-scale economic developments, such as sports and entertainment arenas and casinos, may improve the living conditions, economics, public health, and overall wellbeing of area residents and may influence rates of violence within communities. Objective. To assess the effect of community economic development efforts on neighborhood residents’ perceptions on violence, safety, and economic benefits. Methods. Telephone survey in 2011 using a listed sample of randomly selected numbers in six Pittsburgh neighborhoods. Descriptive analyses examined measures of perceived violence and safety and economic benefit. Responses were compared across neighborhoods using chi-square tests for multiple comparisons. Survey results were compared to census and police data. Results. Residents in neighborhoods with the large-scale economic developments reported more casino-specific and arena-specific economic benefits. However, 42% of participants in the neighborhood with the entertainment arena felt there was an increase in crime, and 29% of respondents from the neighborhood with the casino felt there was an increase. In contrast, crime decreased in both neighborhoods. Conclusions. Large-scale economic developments have a direct influence on the perception of violence, despite actual violence rates.

  11. Prosperous pacifists: The effects of development on initiators and targets of territorial conflict

    OpenAIRE

    Erik Gartzke; Dominic Rohner

    2010-01-01

    Scholars have suggested several ways in which economic development could affect interstate conflict. Supply side arguments view modern economies as more difficult to subdue or exploit through force (i.e., development creates states that are 'bitter pills'). The demand side perspective argues in contrast that development lessens the appeal of conquest among potential aggressors (i.e., development creates 'prosperous pacifists'). We offer a formal model that isolates contrasting consequences of...

  12. Factors Affecting the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Stay Duration in Very Low Birth Weight Premature Infants

    OpenAIRE

    Niknajad, Akram; Ghojazadeh, Morteza; Sattarzadeh, Niloufar; Bashar Hashemi, Fazileh; Dezham Khoy Shahgholi, Farid

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: Improved survival of very low birth weight (VLBW) premature infants requires urgent intensive care, professional nursing and medical care. On the other hand, long hospital stay period imposes emotional and economic burdens on the family and society. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the most important factors affecting their hospitalization duration to lessen unwanted outcomes of premature birth and to eliminate or relieve the problems. Methods: In a descri...

  13. Testing the adaptation to poverty-related stress model: predicting psychopathology symptoms in families facing economic hardship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wadsworth, Martha E; Raviv, Tali; Santiago, Catherine Decarlo; Etter, Erica M

    2011-01-01

    This study tested the Adaptation to Poverty-related Stress Model and its proposed relations between poverty-related stress, effortful and involuntary stress responses, and symptoms of psychopathology in an ethnically diverse sample of low-income children and their parents. Prospective Hierarchical Linear Modeling analyses conducted with 98 families (300 family members: 136 adults, 82 adolescents and preadolescents, 82 school-age children) revealed that, consistent with the model, primary and secondary control coping were protective against poverty-related stress primarily for internalizing symptoms. Conversely, disengagement coping exacerbated externalizing symptoms over time. In addition, involuntary engagement stress responses exacerbated the effects of poverty-related stress for internalizing symptoms, whereas involuntary disengagement responses exacerbated externalizing symptoms. Age and gender effects were found in most models, reflecting more symptoms of both types for parents than children and higher levels of internalizing symptoms for girls.

  14. Walter Isard's Contributions to Environmental Economics and Ecological Economics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rose, Adam; Folmer, Henk; Nijkamp, Peter

    This article summarizes Walter Isard's important contributions to environmental economics and ecological economics. The former is the traditional field that incorporates some limited aspects of the environment into neoclassical economic theory, while the latter is a more comprehensive integration of

  15. Economic Creativity Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nasseroddin Kazemi Haghighi

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available As a new concept in the literature, the authors discuss the conception of “Economic Creativ-ity” (EC. The authors explain psychological characteristics of “Economic Creativity”: atti-tudes, motivation, personality traits, and abili-ties. They propose a design based on Emotion of Thought Theory (Kazemi, 2007 for Economic Creativity Development (ECD. This theory is an affective-cognitive approach that tries to ex-plain creativity. Emotion of Thought involves “Poyaei” and “Bitabi” (in Persian meaning Dy-namism and Restlessness. According to this theory, ECD relates to connections between emotion and thought. The ECD includes pro-moting individual readiness, utilization of eco-nomic resources, attitude towards economic af-fairs development, enhancing the utilization of economic experiences, conducting economic ac-tivity education, development of economic thinking and development of emotion of thought.

  16. Institutional economics and economic organisation theory: An integrated approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Slangen, L.H.G.; Loucks, L.A.; Slangen, A.H.L.

    2008-01-01

    This publication presents one of the first attempts to integrate two emerging bodies of economic research: institutional economics and organizational theory. It begins within the framework of neoclassical economics, and then extends the boundaries of this framework to offer answers to questions that

  17. Institutional economics and economic organisation theory : an integrated approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Slangen, L.H.G.; Loucks, L.; Slangen, A.H.L.

    2008-01-01

    This publication presents one of the first attempts to integrate two emerging bodies of economic research: institutional economics and organizational theory. It begins within the framework of neoclassical economics, and then extends the boundaries of this framework to offer answers to questions that

  18. Policy and priorities for national cancer control planning in low- and middle-income countries: Lessons from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Costs in Oncology prospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-03-01

    Evidence to guide policymakers in developing affordable and equitable cancer control plans are scarce in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). The 2012-2014 ASEAN Costs in Oncology Study prospectively followed-up 9513 newly diagnosed cancer patients from eight LMIC in Southeast Asia for 12 months. Overall and country-specific incidence of financial catastrophe (out-of-pocket health costs ≥ 30% of annual household income), economic hardship (inability to make necessary household payments), poverty (living below national poverty line), and all-cause mortality were determined. Stepwise multinomial regression was used to estimate the extent to which health insurance, cancer stage and treatment explained these outcomes. The one-year incidence of mortality (12% in Malaysia to 45% in Myanmar) and financial catastrophe (24% in Thailand to 68% in Vietnam) were high. Economic hardship was reported by a third of families, including inability to pay for medicines (45%), mortgages (18%) and utilities (12%), with 28% taking personal loans, and 20% selling assets (not mutually exclusive). Out of households that initially reported incomes above the national poverty levels, 4·9% were pushed into poverty at one year. The adverse economic outcomes in this study were mainly attributed to medical costs for inpatient/outpatient care, and purchase of drugs and medical supplies. In all the countries, cancer stage largely explained the risk of adverse outcomes. Stage-stratified analysis however showed that low-income patients remained vulnerable to adverse outcomes even when diagnosed with earlier cancer stages. The LMIC need to realign their focus on early detection of cancer and provision of affordable cancer care, while ensuring adequate financial risk protection, particularly for the poor. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Economic Modelling in Institutional Economic Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wadim Strielkowski

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Our paper is centered around the formation of theory of institutional modelling that includes principles and ideas reflecting the laws of societal development within the framework of institutional economic theory. We scrutinize and discuss the scientific principles of this institutional modelling that are increasingly postulated by the classics of institutional theory and find their way into the basics of the institutional economics. We propose scientific ideas concerning the new innovative approaches to institutional modelling. These ideas have been devised and developed on the basis of the results of our own original design, as well as on the formalisation and measurements of economic institutions, their functioning and evolution. Moreover, we consider the applied aspects of the institutional theory of modelling and employ them in our research for formalizing our results and maximising the practical outcome of our paper. Our results and findings might be useful for the researchers and stakeholders searching for the systematic and comprehensive description of institutional level modelling, the principles involved in this process and the main provisions of the institutional theory of economic modelling.

  20. On the relationship between economic freedom and economic growth

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haan, Jakob de; Sturm, Jan-Egbert

    1999-01-01

    Often it is maintained that economic freedom may further high levels of economic growth. This paper compares various indicators for economic freedom. It is concluded that although these measures differ somewhat in their coverage, they show similar rankings for the countries covered. Some elements in

  1. [The economic consequences of AIDS in Africa].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ilinigumugabo, A

    1996-12-01

    The economic and social consequences of the AIDS epidemic in Africa are enormous because of the prevalence of the disease and the age structure of patients. AIDS has caused a rise in early childhood and adult mortality, leading to a younger age distribution and a less favorable dependency ratio. All epidemiological studies have shown a strong seroprevalence in urban areas, and some show higher infection rates among the educated. The consequences of AIDS at the household level begin with the appearance of symptoms and often continue past the death of the patient. Expenditures for medical care, treatment of opportunistic infections, loss of income of the patient (who frequently is the main breadwinner), depletion of savings, funeral expenses, and care for others who may have become infected create an enormous burden for most households. Widows with no inheritance rights are left destitute with their children, who may be taken out of school to reduce expenses. UNICEF estimates that some 5.5 million children in East and Central Africa will be orphaned by AIDS by the year 2000. Many such children end up in the streets, prime targets for prostitution and HIV infection. The coping mechanisms of poor communities with high prevalence rates are soon overwhelmed by demands for assistance. Businesses are affected by health care costs, lessened productivity, and absenteeism. Costs of training increase for jobs requiring skilled workers. AIDS tends to reduce agricultural productivity, especially in areas with little rainfall and high seasonal manpower needs. Cash crops, which frequently depend on advanced technology, are more vulnerable than is subsistence agriculture. Agronomists may be hard to replace, and large unskilled migratory labor forces living apart from families may develop habits of promiscuity that allow HIV to spread rapidly. The few studies done on direct health costs of AIDS show that they vary tremendously depending on the country's level of development and

  2. Lifecourse socioeconomic circumstances and multimorbidity among older adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Yi

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Many older adults manage multiple chronic conditions (i.e. multimorbidity; and many of these chronic conditions share common risk factors such as low socioeconomic status (SES in adulthood and low SES across the lifecourse. To better capture socioeconomic condition in childhood, recent research in lifecourse epidemiology has broadened the notion of SES to include the experience of specific hardships. In this study we investigate the association among childhood financial hardship, lifetime earnings, and multimorbidity. Methods Cross-sectional analysis of 7,305 participants age 50 and older from the 2004 Health and Retirement Study (HRS who also gave permission for their HRS records to be linked to their Social Security Records in the United States. Zero-inflated Poisson regression models were used to simultaneously model the likelihood of the absence of morbidity and the expected number of chronic conditions. Results Childhood financial hardship and lifetime earnings were not associated with the absence of morbidity. However, childhood financial hardship was associated with an 8% higher number of chronic conditions; and, an increase in lifetime earnings, operationalized as average annual earnings during young and middle adulthood, was associated with a 5% lower number of chronic conditions reported. We also found a significant interaction between childhood financial hardship and lifetime earnings on multimorbidity. Conclusions This study shows that childhood financial hardship and lifetime earnings are associated with multimorbidity, but not associated with the absence of morbidity. Lifetime earnings modified the association between childhood financial hardship and multimorbidity suggesting that this association is differentially influential depending on earnings across young and middle adulthood. Further research is needed to elucidate lifecourse socioeconomic pathways associated with the absence of morbidity and the presence

  3. MEZZO ECONOMICS ANALITYCAL APPROACH AS THE PROPULSIVE PART OF MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS IN TOURISM

    OpenAIRE

    Kozuharov, Saso

    2011-01-01

    Mezzo Economics covers the area between the Micro and Macro Economics and the organizational approach of the economics of the integral economic communities, which are made of microeconomic entities. Mezzo Economics represents an organizational loop between the Macro economic system and Micro Economics. Tourism industry is a typical represent of Mezzo Economics. Mezzo Economics Analytical Approach represents a compositional and methodological approach that make constitution of the basic and de...

  4. Economism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Simons

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Modern society is characterised not only by a fascination with scientific technology as a means of solving all problems, especially those that stand in the way of material progress (technicism, but also by an obsessive interest in everything that has to do with money (economism or mammonism. The article discusses the relationship between technicism and economism, on the basis of their relationship to utilitarian thinking: the quest for the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Recent major studies of neo-liberalism (seen as an intensification of utilitarianism by Laval and Dardot are used as reference to the development of utilitarianism. It is suggested that the western view of the world, as expressed in economism and technicism, with a utilitarian ethics, features three absolutisations: those of theoretical thinking, technology and economics. In a second part, the article draws on the framework of reformational philosophy to suggest an approach that, in principle, is not marred by such absolutisations.

  5. Il vichismo economico (Vico, Galiani, Croce-Economia, liberalismo economico (Economic Vichism (Vico, Galiani, Croce – economics, economic liberalism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. TAGLIACOZZO

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available As every reader of Giambattista Vico’s New Science knows, the book contains a section on “poetic economy” - the economy of the “age of heroes”. This was the first study of such a topic ever conceived. Vico also dealt with some socio-economic problems of later stages of social evolution. In none of his works, however, did he pay specific attention to problems of economics stricto sensu. The present work provides a study of the set of direct and indirect inferences that can be drawn from the principles of the New Science in the economic field - what we might call “Economic Vichism” - and the relationship or analogy, if any, of “Economic Vichism” to later economic theories or viewpoints, and its place in the history of economics.JEL: B11, B31

  6. Economic Equilibrium and Soviet Economic Reform

    OpenAIRE

    Herbert E. Scarf

    1991-01-01

    The paper, prepared for a Roundtable on Major Economic Problems in the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., discusses some aspects of price theory ñ in particular, the theory of general equilibrium -ñ which may offer some theoretical insights about the economic problems to be encountered during the transition from Socialism to private markets in the Soviet Union.

  7. Eurasian Economic Union: A Regional Economic Hegemony Initiative

    OpenAIRE

    Serdar YILMAZ

    2017-01-01

    It can be assumed that international relations terminology has not mentioned enough about the significance of the Eurasian Economic Union in territorial as well as in economic terms during a period of growing geopolitical risks and high interdependence between the member countries and the rest. According to Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, it is truly difficult for states to overcome economic, political and security issues and therefore, states need to act together against the pro...

  8. How robust is the relationship between economic freedom and economic growth?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sturm, JE; De Haan, J

    Using various indicators for economic freedom, it is shown that increases in economic freedom are robustly related to economic growth. This conclusion holds even if the impact of outlying observations is taken into account. The level of economic freedom is not related to growth.

  9. Yarsagumba Fungus: Health Problems in the Himalayan Gold Rush.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koirala, Pranawa; Pandit, Bidur; Phuyal, Pratibha; Zafren, Ken

    2017-09-01

    Seasonal migration of people in search of Yarsagumba fungus creates a population of collectors that faces hardship and health risks in austere high-altitude settings. In 2016, our 4-person team performed a 2-day health-needs survey of people collecting Yarsagumba fungus near the village of Yak Kharka (4020 m) in the Manang District of Nepal. There were approximately 800 people, both male and female, from age 10 to over 60, collecting Yarsagumba fungus. They had paid high prices for permits, hoping to recoup the cost and make a profit by selling specimens of Yarsagumba, but the fungus seemed scarce in 2016, resulting in a bleak economic forecast. Most collectors were living in austere conditions, walking long hours to the collection areas early in the morning and returning in the late afternoon. Most were subsisting on 1 daily meal. Health problems, including acute mountain sickness as well as respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses, were common. Yarsagumba has become harder to find in recent years, increasing hardships and risk of injury. Medical care was almost nonexistent. As abundance decreases and demand increases, there is increasing pressure on collectors to find Yarsagumba. The collectors are an economically disadvantaged population who live in austere conditions at high altitude with poor shelter and sanitation, strenuous work, and limited availability of food. Health care resources are very limited. There are significant risks of illness, injury, and death. Targeted efforts by government entities and nongovernmental organizations might be beneficial in meeting the health needs. Copyright © 2017 Wilderness Medical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Energic, Exergic, Exergo‐economic investigation and optimization of auxiliary cooling system (ACS equipped with compression refrigerating system (CRS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Omid Karimi Sadaghiyani

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Heller main cooling tower as air-cooled heat exchanger is used in the combined cycle power plants (CCPP to reduce the temperature of condenser. In extreme summer heat, the efficiency of the cooling tower is reduced and it lessens performance of Steam Turbine Generation (STG unit of Combined Cycle Power Plant (CCPP. Thus, the auxiliary cooling system (ACS is equipped with compression refrigerating system (CRS. This auxiliary system is linked with the Heller main cooling tower and improves the performance of power plant. In other words, this auxiliary system increases the generated power of STG unit of CCPP by decreasing the temperature of returning water from cooling tower Therefore, in the first step, the mentioned auxiliary cooling system (ACS as a heat exchanger and compression refrigerating system (CRS have been designed via ASPEN HTFS and EES code respectively. In order to validate their results, these two systems have been built and theirs experimentally obtained data have been compared with ASPEN and EES results. There are good agreements between results. After that, exergic and exergo-economic analysis of designed systems have been carried out. Finally, the compression refrigerating system (CRS has been optimized via Genetic Algorithm (GA. Increasing in exergy efficiency (ε from 14.23% up to 36.12% and decreasing the total cost rate (ĊSystem from 378.2 ($/h to 308.2 ($/h are as results of multi-objective optimization.

  11. Plural economics and territorial development from the perspective of sustainable development: theoretical elements of an economic sociology and a socio-economics.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benoît Lévesque

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available This text focuses on the contribution that the concept of plural economics is able to make today toward the advancement of research on the viability of territorial dynamics for sustainable development. The first part of our line of argumentation is centered on clarifying the concept of plural economics, based on studies on economic and social solidarity and on proposals emerging from the New Economic Sociology and the socio-economics of territories. In the second part, the concept of sustainable development is characterized from the angle of the so-called societal paradigm and its interactions with territory and with a plural and social economics. Aligned with the critique of the premises of neo-classical economics, the author accepts the need to re-connect the economy to a broader social and ecological perspective and to seek more effective answers to the challenges raised by the planetary socio-environmental crisis.. Keywords: Sustainable territorial development, plural economics, New Economic Sociology, economics of solidarity, ecological economics.

  12. Nutrition economics - characterising the economic and health impact of nutrition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lenoir-Wijnkoop, I; Dapoigny, M; Dubois, D; van Ganse, E; Gutiérrez-Ibarluzea, I; Hutton, J; Jones, P; Mittendorf, T; Poley, M J; Salminen, S; Nuijten, M J C

    2011-01-01

    There is a new merging of health economics and nutrition disciplines to assess the impact of diet on health and disease prevention and to characterise the health and economic aspects of specific changes in nutritional behaviour and nutrition recommendations. A rationale exists for developing the field of nutrition economics which could offer a better understanding of both nutrition, in the context of having a significant influence on health outcomes, and economics, in order to estimate the absolute and relative monetary impact of health measures. For this purpose, an expert meeting assessed questions aimed at clarifying the scope and identifying the key issues that should be taken into consideration in developing nutrition economics as a discipline that could potentially address important questions. We propose a first multidisciplinary outline for understanding the principles and particular characteristics of this emerging field. We summarise here the concepts and the observations of workshop participants and propose a basic setting for nutrition economics and health outcomes research as a novel discipline to support nutrition, health economics and health policy development in an evidence and health-benefit-based manner.

  13. Economics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palley, Paul D; Parcero, Miriam E

    2016-10-01

    A review of literature in the calendar year 2015 dedicated to environmental policies and sustainable development, and economic policies. This review is divided into these sections: sustainable development, irrigation, ecosystems and water management, climate change and disaster risk management, economic growth, water supply policies, water consumption, water price regulation, and water price valuation.

  14. Nuclear power economic database

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ding Xiaoming; Li Lin; Zhao Shiping

    1996-01-01

    Nuclear power economic database (NPEDB), based on ORACLE V6.0, consists of three parts, i.e., economic data base of nuclear power station, economic data base of nuclear fuel cycle and economic database of nuclear power planning and nuclear environment. Economic database of nuclear power station includes data of general economics, technique, capital cost and benefit, etc. Economic database of nuclear fuel cycle includes data of technique and nuclear fuel price. Economic database of nuclear power planning and nuclear environment includes data of energy history, forecast, energy balance, electric power and energy facilities

  15. Economic Darwinism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sloth, Birgitte; Whitta-Jacobsen, Hans Jørgen

    2011-01-01

    We define an evolutionary process of "economic Darwinism" for playing the field, symmetric games. The process captures two forces. One is "economic selection": if current behavior leads to payoff differences, behavior yielding lowest payoff has strictly positive probability of being replaced...... in the literature. Using this result, we demonstrate that generally under positive (negative) externalities, economic Darwinism implies even more under- (over-)activity than does Nash equilibrium....

  16. Qualitative Economics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fast, Michael; Clark, Woodrow

    2012-01-01

    the everyday economic life is the central issue and is discussed from the perspective of interactionism. It is a perspective developed from the Lifeworld philosophical traditions, such as symbolic interactionism and phenomenology, seeking to develop the thinking of economics. The argument is that economics...... and the process of thinking, e.g. the ontology and the epistemology. Keywords: qualitative, interaction, process, organizing, thinking, perspective, epistemology....

  17. The economic aspect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacKerron, G.

    1984-01-01

    The subject is covered in sections: introduction (indicating the importance of 'back end' operations in the economics of nuclear power production); irradiated fuel transport costs in the UK (the Sizewell PWR; existing UK reactors); economic appraisal; past nuclear economics; future nuclear economics; (electricity demand; technological maturity; social and political factors; competition to nuclear power). (U.K.)

  18. ECONOMIC THEORY OF LOBBYING: EVALUATION OF ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tolstyh Pavel Aleksandrovich

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In this article the author continues to analyze lobbying with regards to economic paradigm. [The author has started discussing lobbying in terms of economic theory in the article Politico-economic theory of lobbying / / Historical, philosophical, political and legal sciences, culture and art. Theory and practice. Tambov: Gramota, 2013. No 1. Part 2. p. 177-189.] Researcher evaluates the cost effectiveness of the lobbying function. Lobbying is understood as activity of specifically authorized employees of corporations and lobbying firms representing their interests, trade associations. This activity is aimed at improving the profitability of integrated and sustainable business development by representing long-term, comfortable, predictable system of relationships with the relevant field-specific political stakeholders of the federal and regional levels. The article presents an in-depth analysis of economic concepts of lobbying function.

  19. ASEAN: perspectives on economic integration: ASEAN in Asia economic integration

    OpenAIRE

    Shaobang Kang

    2009-01-01

    Asia is one continent which has the most dynamic and the fastest developing economies in the world. But Asia’s economic integration is developing too slowly and stands at the lowest level in the world. Many factors have affected Asia’s economic integration but, in the current global financial and economic crisis, it is necessary to strengthen Asian countries’ cooperation in finance, investment and trade to promote Asia’s economic integration. As the healthiest and most integrated regional org...

  20. Childhood disadvantages and the timing of the onset of natural menopause in Latin America and the Caribbean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novak, Beatriz; Lozano-Keymolen, Daniel

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study is to investigate the association of early life factors with the timing of the onset of natural menopause in Costa Rica and Puerto Rico. We use Cox proportional hazard models to estimate the risk of the onset of menopause. Our results suggest that socioeconomic disadvantages, as expressed by difficulties attending school due to economic hardships or parents never living together, increase the risk of the onset of natural menopause among Puerto Rican women. Among Costa Rican women, early life nutrition, estimated using anthropometric measures, is related to the timing of the onset of natural menopause.

  1. Non-equilibrium Economics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katalin Martinás

    2007-02-01

    Full Text Available A microeconomic, agent based framework to dynamic economics is formulated in a materialist approach. An axiomatic foundation of a non-equilibrium microeconomics is outlined. Economic activity is modelled as transformation and transport of commodities (materials owned by the agents. Rate of transformations (production intensity, and the rate of transport (trade are defined by the agents. Economic decision rules are derived from the observed economic behaviour. The non-linear equations are solved numerically for a model economy. Numerical solutions for simple model economies suggest that the some of the results of general equilibrium economics are consequences only of the equilibrium hypothesis. We show that perfect competition of selfish agents does not guarantee the stability of economic equilibrium, but cooperativity is needed, too.

  2. Economic Darwinism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sloth, Birgitte; Whitta-Jacobsen, Hans Jørgen

    We define an evolutionary process of “economic Darwinism” for playing-the-field, symmetric games. The process captures two forces. One is “economic selection”: if current behavior leads to payoff differences, behavior yielding lowest payoff has strictly positive probability of being replaced...... in the literature. Using this result, we demonstrate that generally under positive (negative) externalities, economic Darwinism implies even more under- (over-) activity than does Nash equilibrium...

  3. "New Economics"?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jørgen Ulff-Møller

    1999-01-01

    The United States, the United Kingdom and Denmark have all enjoyed a long period of high stable growth and low inflation in the 1990s. Attempts to determine the implications of this have led to the so-called "New Economics", whose advocates claim that the relationship between economic growth and ...... and inflation has fundamentally changes. The following article tests this thesis against current data for the USA.......The United States, the United Kingdom and Denmark have all enjoyed a long period of high stable growth and low inflation in the 1990s. Attempts to determine the implications of this have led to the so-called "New Economics", whose advocates claim that the relationship between economic growth...

  4. Exploration economics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mcgill, R.E.

    1992-01-01

    This paper deals with determining the economic viability of the play or prospect. At the outset, one point is important. Preexploration economists are important because they enable geologists to see if their assumptions will prove profitable. Their assumptions must consider the full range of possible outcomes, even if only some portion of that range may contain prospects or plays that are estimated to be profitable. Play economics are preferable to prospect economics because, being the sum of several prospects, they give a broader view of the investment opportunity. Finally, remember that play and prospect economics are always slightly optimistic. They seldom include all of the exploration and overhead changes that must ultimately be borne by the successful prospects

  5. Ranking economic history journals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Di Vaio, Gianfranco; Weisdorf, Jacob Louis

    2010-01-01

    This study ranks-for the first time-12 international academic journals that have economic history as their main topic. The ranking is based on data collected for the year 2007. Journals are ranked using standard citation analysis where we adjust for age, size and self-citation of journals. We also...... compare the leading economic history journals with the leading journals in economics in order to measure the influence on economics of economic history, and vice versa. With a few exceptions, our results confirm the general idea about what economic history journals are the most influential for economic...... history, and that, although economic history is quite independent from economics as a whole, knowledge exchange between the two fields is indeed going on....

  6. Ranking Economic History Journals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Di Vaio, Gianfranco; Weisdorf, Jacob Louis

    This study ranks - for the first time - 12 international academic journals that have economic history as their main topic. The ranking is based on data collected for the year 2007. Journals are ranked using standard citation analysis where we adjust for age, size and self-citation of journals. We...... also compare the leading economic history journals with the leading journals in economics in order to measure the influence on economics of economic history, and vice versa. With a few exceptions, our results confirm the general idea about what economic history journals are the most influential...... for economic history, and that, although economic history is quite independent from economics as a whole, knowledge exchange between the two fields is indeed going on....

  7. Economic inequality and economic crisis: a challenge for social workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, Gertrude Schaffner

    2012-07-01

    To social workers, extreme economic inequality is primarily a violation of social justice, but this article shows how growing economic inequality since the mid-1970s was not only unjust, but also dysfunctional to the U.S. economy and linked to the recent economic crisis with its devastating effects, particularly on the social work clientele. The article identifies interrelated changes in ideology, the market economy, and government policies since the mid-1970s; contrasts the political economy of this period with the preceding post-World War II decades when the trend was toward a "shared prosperity"; and shows how increased economic inequality and political consequences that undermined democracy itself contributed to the economic meltdown. The analysis has implications for the direction of social reform and for broadening the constituency of social movements in pursuit of the social work mission of social justice. How social workers can contribute to such movements and to a reduction of economic and political inequality is explored.

  8. 78 FR 79315 - Copayments for Medications in 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-30

    ... financial hardship for some veterans and may decrease patient adherence to medical plans and have other... financial hardship for some veterans and may decrease patient adherence to medical plans and have other... devices, Medical research, Mental health programs, Nursing homes, Philippines, Reporting and recordkeeping...

  9. Ecological Economics: Themes, Approaches, and Differences with Environmental Economics

    OpenAIRE

    Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh

    2000-01-01

    This provides a short overview of the main themes of ecological economics (EE). It isargued that EE provides a platform that fosters multidisciplinary environmental research bybringing together the core contributing disciplines economics and ecology. In addition, EE isregarded as a pluralistic approach to environmental research that can be set opposite to, and hasindeed developed as a response to, traditional environmental and resource economics. Acomparison of the two fields is presented to ...

  10. Real Estate Investment as a Panacea for Economic Instability in Nigeria: Evidence from Northeastern States of Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Umar Bello

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Real estate investment is an emerging business in many countries of the world. Real estate investment was thoroughly investigated to come up with solution faced by the transaction of land and building. Real estate investment is strictly related to the housing price. It has been pointed out by many researchers that the housing price is affected by many factors, such as interest rate, land supply, government policies and inflation rate. The research highlighted most important aspects of the outcomes. An increase in international real estate capital flows could foster increasing demand for stronger institutions across a global real estate market. The method adopted in this research was quantitative through which 100 questionnaires were developed and distributed within the study area (Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa and Yobe States. The simple percentage was used to analyzed the data collected. The research is exploratory in nature; hence, a non-probability purposive sampling technique was used for the study. The finding of the research vindicated that real estate investment has a significant role in sharpening the economy of the region, and also the findings revealed that real estate investment opportunity is huge. And again for suggested that housing provision cannot be realized only by private individual excerpts through government intervention. The study concludes that real estate investment, if explore it will create a reliable return to the investment owners, the benefits that can be derived from real estate investment, has been revealed by this study. The study also highlighted that private developers are key important for real estate investment in Nigeria. The conclusion drawn by this research shows that real estate investment has a capacity of transforming economic hardship in the country.

  11. Consequences of infertility in developing countries: results of a questionnaire and interview survey in the South of Vietnam

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nhu Nguyen

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This study explores the psychological, socio-cultural and economic consequences of infertility on couples' life. The purpose of this research is to improve knowledge about the potentially serious implications of infertility in the South of Vietnam. Methods This study included 118 infertile couples who filled in questionnaires and 28 men and women who were interviewed. Results Data of the questionnaire show men and women do not differ in their responses and attitudes towards infertility. Almost one-third of the participants require psychological support. Interviewees experience secrecy, social pressure and economic hardship. Conclusion Offspring are very important to Vietnamese couples. Their future depends on children. Family plays an important role in the experiences of the infertile couple. Economic consequences are a particular distressing factor. There is a need for psychological counselling in the treatment of infertile couples in the South of Vietnam. It should be realised that in developing countries, despite overpopulation, unwanted childlessness is an important social and economical burden that needs attention.

  12. Ethiopian Journal of Economics

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Ethiopian Economic Journal of Economics is a publication of the Ethiopian Economic Association. It is a bi annual publication devoted to the advancement of economics as a scientific discipline in Ethiopia. However, contributions of articles by non-Ethiopian and on economic experience of other countries are ...

  13. ECONOMIC THEORY OF LOBBYING: EVALUATION OF ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Павел Александрович Толстых

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available In this article the author continues to analyze lobbying with regards to economic paradigm. [The author has started discussing lobbying in terms of economic theory in the article Politico-economic theory of lobbying / / Historical, philosophical, political and legal sciences, culture and art. Theory and practice. Tambov: Gramota, 2013. No 1. Part 2. p. 177-189.] Researcher evaluates the cost effectiveness of the lobbying function. Lobbying is understood as activity of specifically authorized employees of corporations and lobbying firms representing their interests, trade associations. This activity is aimed at improving the profitability of integrated and sustainable business development by representing  long-term, comfortable, predictable system of relationships with the relevant field-specific political stakeholders of the federal and regional levels. The article presents an in-depth analysis of economic concepts of lobbying function.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-1-3

  14. The Opinions of Economics Majors before and after Learning Economics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammock, Michael R.; Routon, P. Wesley; Walker, Jay K.

    2016-01-01

    Using longitudinal data on undergraduates from 463 American colleges and universities from 1994-99, the authors examine how majoring in economics affects student opinions on 13 social, political, and economic issues. Economics majors were found to begin and end their college tenure with differing opinions on several issues when compared to other…

  15. Economic integration and cross-border economic organizations: The case of San Diego-Tijuana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Eduardo Mendoza Cota

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The economic integration between the United States and Mexico has affected the economic, political and social relations in the border region. The paper seeks to relate the increasing economic integration and business cycles of the economies of San Diego and Tijuana to the development of both national and binational economic organizations in the border region. The methodology of analysis uses both statistical estimations of the economic integration of San Diego and Tijuana and semi-structured interviews of economic organizations to analyze the increasing economic integration and the role and achievements of the cross-border economic organizations. The results showed that cross-border cooperation is predominately controlled by federal and state governments on both sides of the border. However, the main achievements of cross-border economic cooperation have been accomplished by local private organizations. The perspective of further local economic development greatly depends on both the possibility of increased involvement of federal governments and the growing encouragement of regional organizations.

  16. Regional Economic Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    ; Sponsored Work Regional Economic Development Technology Opportunities User Facilities About Us Metrics In the News Publications Policies Feynman Center » Deploying Innovation » Regional Economic Development Regional Economic Development Supporting companies in every stage of development through access to

  17. Economic Recovery: Sustaining U.S. Economic Growth in a Post-Crisis Economy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-22

    Mankiw , Principles of Economics (Ft. Worth, Dryden Press, 1998), p556, and Robert J. Barro, “Are Government Bonds Net Wealth?” Journal of Political...CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Economic Recovery: Sustaining U.S. Economic Growth in a Post...2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2010 to 00-00-2010 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Economic Recovery: Sustaining U.S. Economic Growth in a Post

  18. Essays on economics of language and family economics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yao, Yuxin

    2017-01-01

    The thesis consists of four chapters in economics of language and family economics. Chapter 2 studies how language problems in Dutch affect labor market performance on immigrants. Chapter 3 investigates the effect of dialect-speaking on native Dutch residents. Chapter 4 studies the effects of

  19. Does High Educational Attainment Limit the Availability of Romantic Partners?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burt, Isaac; Lewis, Sally V.; Beverly, Monifa G.; Patel, Samir H.

    2010-01-01

    Research indicates that highly educated individuals endure hardships in finding suitable romantic partners. Romantic hardships affect social and emotional adjustment levels, leading to low self-efficacy in relationship decision making. To address the need for research pertaining to this topic, the authors explored the experiences of eight…

  20. 7 CFR 1721.105 - Application documents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... and Interest § 1721.105 Application documents. (a) Deferments for financial hardship. A Borrower requesting a section 12 deferment because of financial hardship must submit the following: (1) A summary of the financial position of the Borrower, based on the latest information available (usually less than...

  1. The Great Recession and inequalities in access to health care: a study of unemployment and unmet medical need in Europe in the economic crisis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madureira-Lima, Joana; Reeves, Aaron; Clair, Amy; Stuckler, David

    2018-02-01

    Unmet medical need (UMN) had been declining steadily across Europe until the 2008 Recession, a period characterized by rising unemployment. We examined whether becoming unemployed increased the risk of UMN during the Great Recession and whether the extent of out-of-pocket payments (OOP) for health care and income replacement for the unemployed (IRU) moderated this relationship. We used the European Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) to construct a pseudo-panel (n = 135 529) across 25 countries to estimate the relationship between unemployment and UMN. We estimated linear probability models, using a baseline of employed people with no UMN, to test whether this relationship is mediated by financial hardship and moderated by levels of OOP and IRU. Job loss increased the risk of UMN [β = 0.027, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.022-0.033] and financial hardship exacerbated this effect. Fewer people experiencing job loss lost access to health care in countries where OOPs were low or in countries where IRU is high. The results are robust to different model specifications. Unemployment does not necessarily compromise access to health care. Rather, access is jeopardized by diminishing financial resources that accompany job loss. Lower OOPs or higher IRU protect against loss of access, but they cannot guarantee it. Policy solutions should secure financial protection for the unemployed so that resources do not have to be diverted from health. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association

  2. The Hardship of Software

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ernst, Erik

    2005-01-01

    This paper argues that being flexible (soft) or predictable (hard) is the most fundamental dimension in the design of programming languages including aspect-oriented ones, giving rise to myriads of derived trade-offs, and emerging in many different forms and variants. Based on a presentation of s...

  3. Economic Inequality and Economic Crisis: A Challenge for Social Workers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, Gertrude Schaffner

    2012-01-01

    To social workers, extreme economic inequality is primarily a violation of social justice, but this article shows how growing economic inequality since the mid-1970s was not only unjust, but also dysfunctional to the U.S. economy and linked to the recent economic crisis with its devastating effects, particularly on the social work clientele. The…

  4. Italian energy economics in an integrated Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zorzoli, G.B.

    1992-01-01

    Whereas the comparison of 1973-1990 statistical data representing national dependency on foreign energy supplies reflects the overall successful effort by the major Common Market countries to reduce their dependencies, it also evidences that Italy has in fact increased its dependency on foreign energy supplies by 1% to a worrisome 83% European high. Further analysis of the Italian energy situation reveals that, although in recent years energy strategies have been implemented to diversify the mix of energy sources and suppliers, the only diversification Italy has made is the substitution of a portion of its petroleum imports, used predominantly to meet rapidly rising power demand, with natural gas imports. Thus, the degree of vulnerability of this nation's energy supply base has not been altered significantly. It is now hoped that greater cooperation between Italy and its more energy self-sufficient European neighbours, as called for in the new European free trade marketing strategies, as well as, attempts to create and enforce new European environmental standards, will help and induce Italy to lessen its energy supply vulnerability

  5. USING GEM - GLOBAL ECONOMIC MODEL IN ACHIEVING A GLOBAL ECONOMIC FORECAST

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camelia Madalina Orac

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The global economic development model has proved to be insufficiently reliable under the new economic crisis. As a result, the entire theoretical construction about the global economy needs rethinking and reorientation. In this context, it is quite clear that only through effective use of specific techniques and tools of economic-mathematical modeling, statistics, regional analysis and economic forecasting it is possible to obtain an overview of the future economy.

  6. Comparing Economic Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolken, Lawrence C.

    1984-01-01

    Defines the predominate classifications of economic systems: traditional, command, market, capitalism, socialism, and communism. Considers property rights, role of government, economic freedom, incentives, market structure, economic goals and means of achieving those goals for each classification. Identifies 26 print and audio-visual sources for…

  7. Internet economics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henten, Anders; Skouby, Knud Erik; Øst, Alexander Gorm

    1997-01-01

    A paper on the economics of the Internet with respect to end user pricing and pricing og interconnect.......A paper on the economics of the Internet with respect to end user pricing and pricing og interconnect....

  8. Theories of International Economic Development (Case Study: Economic Development in Kosovo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MSc. Bardhok Bashota

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Karl Popper rightly says that “real starting point for each research is set based on assumptions of reality, not only based on the real facts”. The text below was prepared In accordance with this logic, where the Theories of International Development are treated especially focusing on International Economic Development. Therefore, theoretical reflections present assumption side, and study of many empirically measured data will correspond with real facts, because with ought these facts assumption would be useless. Technically this writing consists of two parts: in the first part are elaborated all theoretical and practical characteristics of overall international development, while in a second part as a case study will be Economic Development i Kosovo. From methodological point of view this is a comparative study and based on statistical data, while problem treating approach is critical and explanatory. As it will be understood later, development theories have been decisively influenced by economic thinking, and the focus on this dimension responds best to the nature of the term development. On the other hand the fact of unfolding economical development will reflect interference and the nature of it’s inter politics. Today economic development becomes a worldwide goal, having a considerable place in most of the literature with economic content. Also, here are presented as well examples from different practices that reflect economic development in different periods and places. Here is presented international economic development starting with a brief description of a genealogy of this development and ways of economic development back that time. It is of a special importance elaboration through theoretical approach on the creation of capital and economic development, as  mercantilist theory, classic and neo classic theory, than capitalization and Socialism-Marxism. To better understand the nature of economic development, the focus falls on

  9. Space and economics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klijs, Jeroen; Heijman, Wim J.M.; Peerlings, Jack H.M.; Rouwendal, Jan; Schipper, Rob A.

    2017-01-01

    The subject area Regional Economics has become topical. This means that in economic analyses the production factor 'space' is of increasing importance. This study book aims to integrate space in the area of General Economics in an analytical way. Models and their applications play a major role in

  10. Economic assessment of the construction industry: A construction-economics nexus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barber, Herbert Marion, Jr.

    The purpose of this study was to conduct an economic assessment of the construction industry. More specifically, this study addresses ambiguities within the literature that are associated with the construction-economics nexus. The researcher 1) investigated the relationships between economic indicators and stock prices of U.S. construction equipment manufacturers, 2) investigated the relationships between energy production, consumption, and corruption, and 3) determined the economic effect electricity generation and electricity consumption has on economies of scale. The researcher used descriptive and inferential statistics in this study and determined that economists, researchers, policy-makers, and others should have predicted the 2007-08 world economic collapse 5-6 years prior to realization of the event given that construction indices and GDP grossly regressed from statistically acceptable trends as early as 2002 and perhaps 2000. Substantiating this claim, the effect of the cost of construction materials and labor, i.e. construction index, on GDP was significant for years leading up to the collapse (1970-2007). Additionally, it was determined that energy production and consumption are predictors of governmental corruption in some countries. In the Republic of Botswana, for example, the researcher determined that energy production and consumption statistically jointly effected governmental corruption. In addition to determining statistical effect, a model for predicting governmental corruption was developed based on energy production and consumption volumes. Also, the researcher found that electricity generation in the 25 largest world economies had a statistically significant effect on GDP. Electricity consumption also had an effect on GDP, as well, but not on other economic indicators. More importantly than the quantitative findings, the researcher concluded that the construction-economics nexus is far more complex than most policy-makers realize. As such

  11. Does Introductory Economic Course Venue Affect Economic Understanding?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baehler, Karen

    2013-01-01

    This study examines the level of a student's performance based on incoming knowledge in an intermediate macroeconomic and microeconomic course at a major mid-western university. Analysis of student understanding of specific economic concepts was accessed through the Test of Understanding College Economics, 4th Edition (TUCE) (Walstad,Watts &…

  12. Development economics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roebuck, F.

    1992-01-01

    This paper discusses term development economics which refers to the economic evaluation of investment opportunities that occur after the discovery well is drilled and completed. with specific regard to the techniques used and the economic yardsticks available for investment decisions. Three potential situations are considered in this paper: the incorporation of development wells into the outcomes of the original exploration project, mutually exclusive or alternative investment opportunities, and the installation of improved or enhanced recovery projects during or at the end of the primary producing life of a property

  13. Further evidence on the relationship between economic freedom and economic growth

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Haan, J; Siermann, CLJ

    Often it is maintained that economic freedom may further high levels of economic growth. Using various measures of economic freedom constructed by Scully and Slottje, the robustness of this relationship is examined. Both direct and indirect effects of lack of liberties are analysed. Our main

  14. Economic Thinking for Strategic Leaders

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-24

    unprepared to analyze certain complex, ambiguous issues and craft informed decisions. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Behavioral Economics, Public Choice Theory ...COUNT: 7,668 PAGES: 38 KEY TERMS: Behavioral Economics, Public Choice Theory , Army Profession CLASSIFICATION: Unclassified Military senior...various economic fields, including Identity Economics, Neoclassical Economics, Behavioral Economics, and Public Choice Economics. Finally, it

  15. Nutrition economics – characterising the economic and health impact of nutrition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lenoir-Wijnkoop, I.; Dapoigny, M.; Dubois, D.; van Ganse, E.; Gutiérrez-Ibarluzea, I.; Hutton, J.; Jones, P.; Mittendorf, T.; Poley, M. J.; Salminen, S.; Nuijten, M. J. C.

    2011-01-01

    There is a new merging of health economics and nutrition disciplines to assess the impact of diet on health and disease prevention and to characterise the health and economic aspects of specific changes in nutritional behaviour and nutrition recommendations. A rationale exists for developing the field of nutrition economics which could offer a better understanding of both nutrition, in the context of having a significant influence on health outcomes, and economics, in order to estimate the absolute and relative monetary impact of health measures. For this purpose, an expert meeting assessed questions aimed at clarifying the scope and identifying the key issues that should be taken into consideration in developing nutrition economics as a discipline that could potentially address important questions. We propose a first multidisciplinary outline for understanding the principles and particular characteristics of this emerging field. We summarise here the concepts and the observations of workshop participants and propose a basic setting for nutrition economics and health outcomes research as a novel discipline to support nutrition, health economics and health policy development in an evidence and health-benefit-based manner. PMID:20797310

  16. Economic growth and poverty alleviation in Africa - linking hard and soft economics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kuada, John

    2014-01-01

    soft and hard economics, arguing that economic growth must be converted into social change that benefits poor for it to be described as development-oriented. It provides a direction for future research into issues of economic growth and poverty alleviation in Sub-Sahara Africa......This paper provides a quick glance at the dominant issues that have characterized the development economics debate during the past five decades. It is based on a review of a selection of literature that highlights the dominant perspectives in development economics. It draws a distinction between...

  17. Chenjiagou: The History of the Taiji Village

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Gaffney

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available This article explores how various political, social, and environmental factors helped to shape the face of taijiquan in the art's birthplace, Chenjiagou. By looking at the impact of the some of the major historical Chen taijiquan figures and examining the social context within which they operated, we can better understand the system's evolution. Research included a number of visits to Chenjiagou, where the author interviewed some of the leading Chen Style teachers, as well as an examination of published literature in the fields of both taijiquan and wider political and economic commentaries.  Literature included both historical records and up-to-date studies. In spite of outside intrusion, great social and economic hardship, and inevitably changing lifestyles, Chenjiagou has managed to hold onto its martial traditions and looks set for a bright future in the twenty-first century.  

  18. Costs of hospitalization with respiratory syncytial virus illness among children aged <5 years and the financial impact on households in Bangladesh, 2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhuiyan, Mejbah Uddin; Luby, Stephen P; Alamgir, Nadia Ishrat; Homaira, Nusrat; Sturm-Ramirez, Katharine; Gurley, Emily S; Abedin, Jaynal; Zaman, Rashid Uz; Alamgir, Asm; Rahman, Mahmudur; Ortega-Sanchez, Ismael R; Azziz-Baumgartner, Eduardo

    2017-06-01

    Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of acute respiratory illness in young children and results in significant economic burden. There is no vaccine to prevent RSV illness but a number of vaccines are in development. We conducted this study to estimate the costs of severe RSV illness requiring hospitalization among children 50% families borrowed money to meet treatment cost. We estimated that the median direct cost of RSV-associated hospitalization in children aged <5 years in Bangladesh was US$ 10 million (IQR: US$ 7-16 million), the median indirect cost was US$ 3.0 million (IQR: 2-5 million) in 2010. RSV-associated hospitalization among children aged <5 years represents a substantial economic burden in Bangladesh. Affected families frequently incurred considerable out of pocket and indirect costs for treatment that resulted in financial hardship.

  19. Mental health and illness in Vietnamese refugees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gold, S J

    1992-09-01

    Despite their impressive progress in adapting to American life, many Vietnamese still suffer from wartime experiences, culture shock, the loss of loved ones, and economic hardship. Although this trauma creates substantial mental health needs, culture, experience, and the complexity of the American resettlement system often block obtaining assistance. Vietnamese mental health needs are best understood in terms of the family unit, which is extended, collectivistic, and patriarchal. Many refugees suffer from broken family status. They also experience role reversals wherein the increased social and economic power of women and children (versus men and adults) disrupts the traditional family ethos. Finally, cultural conflicts often make communication between practitioners and clients difficult and obscure central issues in mental health treatment. Rather than treating symptoms alone, mental health workers should acknowledge the cultural, familial, and historical context of Vietnamese refugees.

  20. Politico-economic equivalence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gonzalez Eiras, Martin; Niepelt, Dirk

    2015-01-01

    Traditional "economic equivalence'' results, like the Ricardian equivalence proposition, define equivalence classes over exogenous policies. We derive "politico-economic equivalence" conditions that apply in environments where policy is endogenous and chosen sequentially. A policy regime and a st......Traditional "economic equivalence'' results, like the Ricardian equivalence proposition, define equivalence classes over exogenous policies. We derive "politico-economic equivalence" conditions that apply in environments where policy is endogenous and chosen sequentially. A policy regime...... their use in the context of several applications, relating to social security reform, tax-smoothing policies and measures to correct externalities....

  1. Positive and Negative Factors of Economic Development in Economic History of South Korea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Park Jong Min

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: the aim of the article is to analyze the Korean economic strategy from the beginning of its development until modern stage. Examination of how this strategy has changed depending on changes within domestic and international economic environment, assumptions, set goals, their effectiveness and significance of all the taken measures. It will demonstrate waypoints for the future economic development and will become a trigger towards recognition of the successful development of the Korean economy by other countries. Methods: the methodological bases of this article are the economic and statistical methods of analysis of the Korean economys, graphical methods displaying economic indicators. Results: economic history of South Korea over the past century shows the positive and negative factors of the development from an economically weak country into a developing country. The history of the Japanese occupation of Korea, lasting from 1910 to 1945, showed that for a country which has lost its national sovereignty, expropriated the state's economy has no effect after the restoration of independence, and that the economy cannot develop in conditions of chaos within the political, economic and social spheres. Even after the establishment of a military dictatorship, it is possible to note that despite limitations of citizens’ rights, the economy can still grow if the people want it. In addition to the development of internal political system, unstable factors in the process of promotion of social reforms and hastily adopted policy of "open doors" in order to enhance the international status are unreasonable political, economic and social changes. In turn, the inability to control currency exchange in Asian countries, which is a policy of economic development, has shown the existence of a risk of national bankruptcy. Moreover, the adoption of policies of excessive decrease of interest rates in order to revive the recession may be counterproductive

  2. Economic development and environmental protection: an ecological economics perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rees, William E

    2003-01-01

    This paper argues on both theoretical and empirical grounds that, beyond a certain point, there is an unavoidable conflict between economic development (generally taken to mean 'material economic growth') and environmental protection. Think for a moment of natural forests, grasslands, marine estuaries, salt marshes, and coral reefs; and of arable soils, aquifers, mineral deposits, petroleum, and coal. These are all forms of 'natural capital' that represent highly-ordered self-producing ecosystems or rich accumulations of energy/matter with high use potential (low entropy). Now contemplate despoiled landscapes, eroding farmlands, depleted fisheries, anthropogenic greenhouse gases, acid rain, poisonous mine tailings and toxic synthetic compounds. These all represent disordered systems or degraded forms of energy and matter with little use potential (high entropy). The main thing connecting these two states is human economic activity. Ecological economics interprets the environment-economy relationship in terms of the second law of thermodynamics. The second law sees economic activity as a dissipative process. From this perspective, the production of economic goods and services invariably requires the consumption of available energy and matter. To grow and develop, the economy necessarily 'feeds' on sources of high-quality energy/matter first produced by nature. This tends to disorder and homogenize the ecosphere, The ascendance of humankind has consistently been accompanied by an accelerating rate of ecological degradation, particularly biodiversity loss, the simplification of natural systems and pollution. In short, contemporary political rhetoric to the contrary, the prevailing growth-oriented global development paradigm is fundamentally incompatible with long-term ecological and social sustainability. Unsustainability is not a technical nor economic problem as usually conceived, but rather a state of systemic incompatibility between a economy that is a fully

  3. Earthquakes and economic growth

    OpenAIRE

    Fisker, Peter Simonsen

    2012-01-01

    This study explores the economic consequences of earthquakes. In particular, it is investigated how exposure to earthquakes affects economic growth both across and within countries. The key result of the empirical analysis is that while there are no observable effects at the country level, earthquake exposure significantly decreases 5-year economic growth at the local level. Areas at lower stages of economic development suffer harder in terms of economic growth than richer areas. In addition,...

  4. Economic Constitution, social democracy, innovation and economic culture of Basque Cooperativism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Santiago Larrazabal Basañez

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available In the study of Constitutional Law, the author calls for more attention to be paid to the part in which almost all Constitutions set down economic models, the guiding principles of social and economic policy and economic and social rights. He makes this suggestion with a view to going beyond a formal democracy and moving towards a material democracy. For this purpose, he focuses on the values and economic culture of the cooperative movement and advocates inspiration in these values to innovate and search for a fairer economic and social model which will enable us to overcome the present crisis. Lastly, he poses some issues related to innovation in the specific contextof Basque cooperativism.Received: 06.07.2009Accepted: 08.07.2009

  5. Engaging Undergraduates in Economics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gajwani, Kiran; Miron, Jeffrey

    2015-01-01

    Siegfried and Stock (2007) explore the undergraduate training of PhD economists. Their findings show that among U.S. undergraduate economics programs, the Harvard University Economics Department produces many eventual economics PhD recipients. In this article, the authors discuss Harvard's undergraduate economics program and highlight some key…

  6. Economic and Policy Review

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The NESG Economic and Policy Review (EPR) is a quarterly publication of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), established to serve as an avenue for constructive analysis of economic policies and their impacts on different aspects of the business and economic environment. The EPR aims to provide unbiased, ...

  7. Economic Design of Things

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Can, Burak

    2017-01-01

    Economics is a social science, so is economic design as a field. This short article discusses, in particular, the future of economic design, and of economic theory in general. By suggesting some examples, I hope to convince the readers that the recent technological advances in science and technology

  8. Thermo-economic analysis of combined power plants with changing economic parameters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bidini, G.; Desideri, U.; Facchini, B.

    1991-01-01

    A method of thermo-economic analysis for the choice of optimal thermodynamic parameters of steam bottoming cycles in combined cycle power plants is presented. By keeping the thermodynamic aspects separated from the economic aspects, this method allows designers to easily perform a sensitivity analysis of the change in the economic parameters

  9. Economics-driven software architecture

    CERN Document Server

    Mistrik, Ivan; Kazman, Rick; Zhang, Yuanyuan

    2014-01-01

    Economics-driven Software Architecture presents a guide for engineers and architects who need to understand the economic impact of architecture design decisions: the long term and strategic viability, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability of applications and systems. Economics-driven software development can increase quality, productivity, and profitability, but comprehensive knowledge is needed to understand the architectural challenges involved in dealing with the development of large, architecturally challenging systems in an economic way. This book covers how to apply economic consider

  10. Skill-based immigration, economic integration, and economic performance

    OpenAIRE

    Aydemir, Abdurrahman

    2014-01-01

    Studies for major immigrant-receiving countries provide evidence on the comparative economic performance of immigrant classes (skill-, kinship-, and humanitarian-based). Developed countries are increasingly competing for high-skilled immigrants, who perform better in the labor market. However, there are serious challenges to their economic integration, which highlights a need for complementary immigration and integration policies.

  11. Exploring economic structure and drivers of economic growth in Botswana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Lindelwa Makoni

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This article set out to analyse the economic structure and main economic drivers in Botswana. Botswana, a country in sub-Saharan Africa, is a relatively small economy, hugely dependent on its diamond mineral wealth. Concerns have arisen in recent years that the diamond deposits will soon be depleted and the country therefore needs to embark on a diversification programme to broaden its economic base. In order to understand the Botswana economy, its economic structure and current domestic sectorial performance were evaluated, as well as its trends in imports and exports. An analysis of the data shows that, regardless of the awareness of the sensitivity to external shocks of commodity prices, as well as the obvious future depletion of diamond reserves, the Botswana economy continues to rely on diamonds, at the expense of attracting international capital flows to enhance and maintain sustainable economic growth, through investments in agriculture, manufacturing and tourism. It is therefore recommended that the Government of Botswana becomes proactive and implements recommended policies to diversify its economy, so that it can sustain or improve its economic growth by becoming a prime destination of international capital and domestic private sector investment, thereby increasing employment and trade opportunities.

  12. Economic crisis, economic methodology and the scientific ideal of physics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stavros A. Drakopoulos

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The methodological foundations of mainstream economics have been cited as one of the main reasons for its failure to account for the economic crisis of 2008. In spite of this, the status of economic methodology has not been elevated. This is due to the persistent aversion towards methodological discourse by most mainstream economists. The anti-methodology stance has a long presence as exemplified in Frank Hahn’s (1992 work. After focusing on the debate originating after the publication of Hahn’s arguments, the paper offers a categorization of the main explanations for mainstream methodological aversion. Subsequently, it suggests an explanation based on the role of the physics scientific ideal, arguing that the endeavor to achieve the high scientific status of physics by following the methods of physics, contributed to the negative mainstream attitude towards economic methodology. The relevant writings of the extremely influential mainstream economists Irving Fisher and Milton Friedman, reinforce the assertion that the alleged hard science status of economics renders methodological discussions and especially methodological criticism, rather pointless. The paper also calls for a more systematic discussion of this issue, especially in the wake of the line of argument that links the recent failings of mainstream economics to its methodological basis

  13. Asia-Pacific Economic Update. Volume 2. Connecting Economics to Security

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2002-01-01

    The three decades of economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region demonstrated to the world that economic prosperity through international trade and investment improves the domestic and international...

  14. Network versus Economic Incentives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Christian Albrekt

    The article supplements the traditional economic line of reasoning with an economic sociological account of the transition from unemployment to employment. The lack of full information is recognised by economic theory while the focus on network within the tradition of economic sociology has...... not been adopted. The article argues that the importance of network actually might be very well understood within recent economic theories that emphasise the lack of full information. The empirical evidence for the importance of network both for employed and unemployed is provided by analysing a best case...... might be an important part of the vicious circles of unemployment. Finally, the article analyse the importance of network versus the importance of economic incentives. The result supports the thesis that economic sociology provides a better account of the transition from unemployment to employment than...

  15. History of Economic Rationalities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    This book concentrates upon how economic rationalities have been embedded into particular historical practices, cultures, and moral systems. Through multiple case-studies, situated in different historical contexts of the modern West, the book shows that the development of economic rationalities...... takes place in the meeting with other regimes of thought, values, and moral discourses. The book offers new and refreshing insights, ranging from the development of early economic thinking to economic aspects and concepts in the works of classical thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Karl Marx......, to the role of economic reasoning in contemporary policies of art and health care. With economic rationalities as the read thread, the reader is offered a unique chance of historical self-awareness and recollection of how economic rationality became the powerful ideological and moral force that it is today....

  16. 13 CFR 140.11 - What type of debt is subject to administrative wage garnishment, and how can SBA administratively...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... material change in circumstances that causes you financial hardship, such as disability, divorce, or... schedule are unlawful, would cause you a financial hardship, or that collection of the debt may not be...) Failure to appear. In the absence of good cause shown, a debtor who fails to appear at an oral hearing...

  17. Life cycle and economic assessment of source-separated MSW collection with regard to greenhouse gas emissions: a case study in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Jun; Ni, Mingjiang; Chi, Yong; Zou, Daoan; Fu, Chao

    2013-08-01

    In China, the continuously increasing amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) has resulted in an urgent need for changing the current municipal solid waste management (MSWM) system based on mixed collection. A pilot program focusing on source-separated MSW collection was thus launched (2010) in Hangzhou, China, to lessen the related environmental loads. And greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Kyoto Protocol) are singled out in particular. This paper uses life cycle assessment modeling to evaluate the potential environmental improvement with regard to GHG emissions. The pre-existing MSWM system is assessed as baseline, while the source separation scenario is compared internally. Results show that 23 % GHG emissions can be decreased by source-separated collection compared with the base scenario. In addition, the use of composting and anaerobic digestion (AD) is suggested for further optimizing the management of food waste. 260.79, 82.21, and -86.21 thousand tonnes of GHG emissions are emitted from food waste landfill, composting, and AD, respectively, proving the emission reduction potential brought by advanced food waste treatment technologies. Realizing the fact, a modified MSWM system is proposed by taking AD as food waste substitution option, with additional 44 % GHG emissions saved than current source separation scenario. Moreover, a preliminary economic assessment is implemented. It is demonstrated that both source separation scenarios have a good cost reduction potential than mixed collection, with the proposed new system the most cost-effective one.

  18. "New Economics"?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jørgen Ulff-Møller

    1999-01-01

    The United States, the United Kingdom and Denmark have all enjoyed a long period of high stable growth and low inflation in the 1990s. Attempts to determine the implications of this have led to the so-called "New Economics", whose advocates claim that the relationship between economic growth...

  19. Werken aan inclusie : Lessen uit zeven proeftuinen

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jeroen Knevel; Prof. dr. Jean Pierre Wilken

    2016-01-01

    Inclusie is een begrip met een hoog ideëel gehalte, waaraan verschillende interpretaties gegeven worden. Een van de meest concrete omschrijvingen vinden we bij Schuurman en Nass (2015) die onder inclusie verstaan: ‘De situatie waarin iemand geen obstakels ervaart om mee te kunnen doen aan de

  20. Werken aan inclusie: Lessen uit zeven proeftuinen

    OpenAIRE

    Knevel, Jeroen; Wilken, Jean Pierre

    2016-01-01

    Inclusie is een begrip met een hoog ideëel gehalte, waaraan verschillende interpretaties gegeven worden. Een van de meest concrete omschrijvingen vinden we bij Schuurman en Nass (2015) die onder inclusie verstaan: ‘De situatie waarin iemand geen obstakels ervaart om mee te kunnen doen aan de samenleving en specifieke maatregelen voor mensen met een beperking vrijwel niet nodig zijn. Het betekent dat iedereen ongeacht zijn achtergrond of huidige situatie er als vanzelfsprekend bij hoort, ervaa...

  1. De wereld in 18 lessen: Christopher Williams

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Berrebi, S.

    2011-01-01

    Hij is een echte artist’s artist, de conceptuele fotograaf Christopher Williams. Sinds hij in Duitsland woont en werkt, vindt zijn afgewogen werk, dat de fotografie tegelijk eert en ondervraagt, steeds makkelijker onderdak in Europese kunstinstituten, zoals dit voorjaar bij Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens in

  2. Doctrines and Contemporary Economic Theories in the Economic Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gheorghe Stefan

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Contemporary economic theories justify economic polarization, both before and after thesecond world war, through enhanced differences between the rich countries and those in course ofdevelopment. The instrument quantifying this economic gap is represented by the high price forindustrial products and a very low one for essentials thus maintaining at minimal level the purchasingpower of the agrarian countries (of the under-developed states. Through the agency of someinstitutions and specialized organizations like U.N., U.N.E.S.C.O. or the E.U., there are conductedinternational programs for the sectorial support mainly aiming the resolution of all kinds of problems.

  3. Thermodynamics and economics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mansson, B.A.

    1990-01-01

    Economics, as the social science most concerned with the use and distribution of natural resources, must start to make use of the knowledge at hand in the natural sciences about such resources. In this, thermodynamics is an essential part. In a physicists terminology, human economic activity may be described as a dissipative system which flourishes by transforming and exchanging resources, goods and services. All this involves complex networks of flows of energy and materials. This implies that thermodynamics, the physical theory of energy and materials flows, must have implications for economics. On another level, thermodynamics has been recognized as a physical theory of value, with value concepts similar to those of economic theory. This paper discusses some general aspects of the significance of non-equilibrium thermodynamics for economics. The role of exergy, probably the most important of the physical measures of value, is elucidated. Two examples of integration of thermodynamics with economic theory are reviewed. First, a simple model of a steady-state production system is sued to illustrate the effects of thermodynamic process constraints. Second, the framework of a simple macroeconomic growth model is used to illustrate how some thermodynamic limitations may be integrated in macroeconomic theory

  4. Purposeful engineering economics

    CERN Document Server

    Chadderton, Ronald A

    2015-01-01

    This textbook/course supplement stands as a unique and highly original complement to the traditional engineering economics curriculum. Its primarily narrative approach conveys the essence of an “Austrian" economic perspective on cash flow analysis and decision making in engineering, without extensive tables and graphs, and requires very little mathematics. The book’s objective is to add a new perspective to the usual study of cash flow analysis and solely econometric engineering decision making. The author draws on the methodology of the Austrian Economists—a school of economic thought that bases its study of economic phenomena on the interpretation and analysis of the purposeful actions of individuals. The book includes an array of illustrative case studies examined in detail by the author and emphasizes the importance of market processes and price signals to coordinate engineering plans. Purposeful Engineering Economics is an ideal resource for students, teaching faculty, and practicing professional ...

  5. Judaism and Economics: The Link between Judaism and Economic Life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanisław Fel

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This article deals with the relationship of Judaism to economic activity. The subject is the typical approach of Jewish ethical thought, concerning the understanding of money, wealth, jobs and economic initiatives. Issues related to fundamental economic life are shown to be covered in the books that the Jewish community considers sacred. Particularly important are the Old Testament and the Talmud. Also important are references to the cultural interpretation of Judaism, including the classical works on the subject – Jacques Attali and Werner Sombart. The key concept is the subject of “wealth,” the meaning of which is derived from the Bible’s Book of Exodus and the Talmud. Finally, the foundations for Jewish economic thought can be expressed as the product of an embedded culture, which is founded on religion, in which property acquires ethical legitimacy. The argument is crowned with historical examples of the noble economic activity of the Jewish people, which also give evidence of the interrelatedness of religion and the proper use of wealth.

  6. Y2K

    OpenAIRE

    Stephanie Schmitt-Grohe; Martin Uribe

    1999-01-01

    This paper studies, within a general equilibrium model, the dynamics of Y2K-type shocks: anticipated, permanent losses in output whose magnitude can be lessened by investing resources in advance. The implied dynamics replicate three observed characteristics of those triggered by the Y2K bug: (1) Precautionary investment: investment in solving the Y2K problem begins before the year 2000; (2) Investment delay: although economic agents have been aware of the Y2K problem since the 1960s, investme...

  7. China Report, Economic Affairs

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    1987-01-01

    .... This report from China contains the topics: NATIONAL POLICY AND ISSUES, PROVINCIAL AFFAIRS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ZONES, ECONOMIC PLANNING, ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT, FINANCE AND BANKING, INDUSTRY, SMALL- SCALE ENTERPRISES, CONSTRUCTION, DOMESTIC...

  8. Contemporary engineering economics

    CERN Document Server

    Park, Chan S

    2011-01-01

    Contemporary Engineering Economics, 5/e, is intended for undergraduate engineering students taking introductory engineering economics while appealing to the full range of engineering disciplines for which this course is often required: industrial, civil, mechanical, electrical, computer, aerospace, chemical, and manufacturing engineering, as well as engineering technology. This edition has been thoroughly revised and updated while continuing to adopt a contemporary approach to the subject, and teaching, of engineering economics. This text aims not only to build a sound and comprehensive coverage of engineering economics, but also to address key educational challenges, such as student difficulty in developing the analytical skills required to make informed financial decisions.

  9. Extension of the COSYMA-ECONOMICS module - cost calculations based on different economic sectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faude, D.

    1994-12-01

    The COSYMA program system for evaluating the off-site consequences of accidental releases of radioactive material to the atmosphere includes an ECONOMICS module for assessing economic consequences. The aim of this module is to convert various consequences (radiation-induced health effects and impacts resulting from countermeasures) caused by an accident into the common framework of economic costs; this allows different effects to be expressed in the same terms and thus to make these effects comparable. With respect to the countermeasure 'movement of people', the dominant cost categories are 'loss-of-income costs' and 'costs of lost capital services'. In the original version of the ECONOMICS module these costs are calculated on the basis of the total number of people moved. In order to take into account also regional or local economic peculiarities of a nuclear site, the ECONOMICS module has been extended: Calculation of the above mentioned cost categories is now based on the number of employees in different economic sectors in the affected area. This extension of the COSYMA ECONOMICS module is described in more detail. (orig.)

  10. El Chichón's "surprise" eruption in 1982: lessons for reducing volcano risk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tilling, R.I.

    2009-01-01

    During one week (28 March–4 April 1982), three powerful explosive eruptions (VEI 5) of El Chichón Volcano caused the worst volcanic disaster in Mexico's recorded history. Pyroclastic flows and surges obliterated nine villages, killing about 2,000 people, and ashfalls downwind posed socio–economic hardships for many thousands of inhabitants of the States of Chiapas and Tabasco. The unexpected and vigorous eruption of 28 caused a hasty, confused evacuation of most villagers in the area. Activity was greatly diminished the next five days, and then the most powerful and lethal eruptions occurred 3–4 April—tragically, after many evacuees were allowed by authorities to return home.

  11. Was there an ‘Industrious Revolution' before the Industrial Revolution?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Allen, Robert C.; Weisdorf, Jacob Louis

    It is conventionally assumed that the pre-modern working year was fixed and that consumption varied with changes in wages and prices. This is challenged by the twin theories of the ‘industrious' revolution and the consumer revolution, positing a longer working year as people earned surplus money...... estimates of the actual working year, we find two ‘industrious' revolutions among rural workers; both, however, are attributable to economic hardship, and we detect no signs of a consumer revolution. For urban labourers, by contrast, a growing gap between their actual working year and the work  required...... to buy the basket provides great scope for a consumer revolution....

  12. The future of health economics: The potential of behavioral and experimental economics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fredrik Hansen

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Health care systems around the globe are facing great challenges. The demand for health care is increasing due to the continuous development of new medical technologies, changing demographics, increasing income levels, and greater expectations from patients. The possibilities and willingness to expand health care resources, however, are limited. Consequently, health care organizations are increasingly required to take economic restrictions into account, and there is an urgent need for improved efficiency. It is reasonable to ask whether the health economics field of today is prepared and equipped to help us meet these challenges. Our aim with this article is twofold: to introduce the fields of behavioral and experimental economics and to then identify and characterize health economics areas where these two fields have a promising potential. We also discuss the advantages of a pluralistic view in health economics research, and we anticipate a dynamic future for health economics.

  13. The Economics of Minorities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coles, Flournoy A., Jr.

    1973-01-01

    This article discusses some of the more important economic problems of minorities in the United States, identifying the economics of minorities with the economics of poverty, discrimination, exploitation, urban life, and alienation. (JM)

  14. Antithetic Foundations of Economics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marin Dinu

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims at decrypting the manner in which the foundations of Economics as a science and the meanings of the relevant explanatory formulas are being shaped. My analytical endeavor focuses on understanding the peculiarities of what is referred to as the object of study of the science known as Economics, an academic synthesis of concept-related breakthroughs regarding economicity. The explicit purpose of this analysis is to identify perennial benchmarks in economic cognition whereby this ensures its consistency. The implicit purpose is to shape a cognitive model in line with the specifics of the conceptual universe of Economics, as well as with the sources of the economic realities that are subject to a sui-generis relativism. The primary benefit of this endeavor consists in systemizing the conceptual prospects with an antithetic nature that allow for the explanations of the state of economic rationality and generate the understanding of what the source of economicity is and how it behaves. As such, the conclusions are marked by the stringent need of more precisely defining economic knowledge in order to match the changing nature of economic reality, as an expression that embraces the meeting point of two ontological vistas that are methodologically separated by some theories: human nature and human condition. Economics as a science thus features, apart from a conceptual substrate that needs to be spotted, an ontological background that needs to be revealed. The role played by this background appears to be most frequently ignored. The joint identification of both direct and contextual determinants for a sensitive area of humankind, i.e. the economy, is a direction to be followed by the royal path of rational knowledge.

  15. Macro-economic environmental models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wier, M.

    1993-01-01

    In the present report, an introduction to macro-economic environmental models is given. The role of the models as a tool for policy analysis is discussed. Future applications, as well as the limitations given by the data, are brought into focus. The economic-ecological system is described. A set of guidelines for implementation of the system in a traditional economic macro-model is proposed. The characteristics of empirical national and international environmental macro-economic models so far are highlighted. Special attention is paid to main economic causalities and their consequences for the environmental policy recommendations sat by the models. (au) (41 refs.)

  16. Foreign Direct Investment, Economic Freedom and Economic Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kazeem Bello Ajide

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The controversies that trailed whether direct impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI on growth are conditional on a certain intermediating links or not, has made an inquiry into the likely mediating links in the FDI growth space a recurring subject of discourse.While the importance of institution has prominently featured as playing a vital role on the one hand, economic freedom (a key institutional component has consistently been elected, as a good candidate surrogate on the other hand. It is against this backdrop this study examines the effect of FDI inflow on economic performance in the SSA region giving prominence to economic freedom. The results support the view that economic freedom is germane in influencing the economic-wide performance in the region but have insignificant effects on the different sector performances. It is recommended that economic freedom be given priority in the region and FDI should be attracted to other sectors other than the primary sector, as it is the case.

  17. Environmentally Sustainable Economic Growth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stelian Brad

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Economic growth and sustainable development are important issues for social prosperity. Sustainable development strives for moderate and responsible use within the economic activity of the limited resources of our planet, whereas economic growth does not limit the resource exploitation and energy, being mainly focused on productivity increase. From this perspective, both conceptual and operational contradictions occur between the two pillars of prosperity. This paper looks to these contradictions and proposes some streams of intervention such as economic growth and environmental sustainability to operate in harmony. A structured framework for innovative problem solving is considered in this respect. Results of this research show that it is possible to induce smart measures in the economic system for directing businesses towards new paradigms where economic growth is possible without negative effects on environmental sustainability.

  18. Curriculum for the Twenty-First Century: Recent Advances in Economic Theory and Undergraduate Economics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferguson, William D.

    2011-01-01

    Undergraduate economics lags behind cutting-edge economic theory. The author briefly reviews six related advances that profoundly extend and deepen economic analysis: game-theoretic modeling, collective-action problems, information economics and contracting, social preference theory, conceptualizing rationality, and institutional theory. He offers…

  19. Homo Oeconomicus and Behavioral Economics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Justyna Brzezicka

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in behavioral trends in both economic theory and practical applications. As a science with vast potential for explaining complex market behaviors, behavioral economics is drifting away from the classical model of homo oeconomicus deployed by mainstream economics. This paper discusses the significance and role of the homo oeconomicus model in light of behavioral economics. It analyzes the direction of changes affecting homo oeconomicus, examines the definition of anomalies within the context of behavioral economics and discusses the anomalous status of homo oeconomicus. The paper proposes a hypothesis that the attitude characterizing homo oeconomicus is unique and incidental. The presented interdisciplinary analysis relies on economics, behavioral economics, economic psychology, behavioral finance and the methodology of science to discuss the homo oeconomicus model. The paper reviews change trends in economics, which are largely propelled by advancements in behavioral economics. The key methodological tools deployed in this paper are theoretical analysis and a compilation of extensive research findings. The results were used to formulate new theories advocating the development of a modern approach to the homo oeconomicus model, recognizing its significance and the growing importance of behavioral economics.

  20. The prevalence of self-reported underuse of medications due to cost for the elderly: results from seven European urban communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stankuniene, Aurima; Stankunas, Mindaugas; Avery, Mark; Lindert, Jutta; Mikalauskiene, Rita; Melchiorre, Maria Gabriella; Torres-Gonzalez, Francisco; Ioannidi-Kapolou, Elisabeth; Barros, Henrique; Savickas, Arūnas; Radziunas, Raimondas; Soares, Joaquim J F

    2015-09-26

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of self-reported underuse of medications due to procurement costs amongst older persons from seven European urban communities. The data were collected in a cross-sectional study ("ABUEL, Elder abuse: A multinational prevalence survey") in 2009. Randomly selected people aged 60-84 years (n = 4,467) from seven urban communities: Stuttgart (Germany), Athens (Greece), Ancona (Italy), Kaunas (Lithuania), Porto (Portugal), Granada (Spain) and Stockholm (Sweden) were interviewed. Response rate - 45.2%. Ethical permission was received in each country. The results indicate that 3.6% (n = 162) of the respondents self-reported refraining from buying prescribed medications due to cost. The highest prevalence of this problem was identified in Lithuania (15.7%, n = 99) and Portugal (4.3%, n = 28). Other countries reported lower percentages of refraining from buying medications (Germany - 2.0%, Italy - 1.6%, Sweden - 1.0%, Greece - 0.6%, Spain - 0.3%). Females refrained more often from buying medications than males (2.6% vs. 4.4%, p < 0.0001). The prevalence of this refraining tended to increase with economic hardship. These differences between countries can be only partly described by the financing of health-care systems. In spite of the presence of cost reimbursement mechanisms, patients need to make co-payments (or in some cases to pay the full price) for prescribed medications. This indicates that the purchasing power of people in 10.1186/s12913-015-1089-4 the particular country can play a major role and be related with the economic situation in the country. Lithuania, which has reported the highest refrain rates, had the lowest gross domestic product (at the time of conducting this study) of all participating countries in the study. Refraining from buying the prescribed medications due to cost is a problem for women and men in respect to ageing people in Europe. Prevalence varies by country, sex, and

  1. Economic Holobiont: Influence of Parasites, Microbiota and Chemosignals on Economic Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petr Houdek

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The article is a perspective on utilization of microorganisms and chemosignals in studying human economic behavior. Research in biological roots of economic development has already confirmed that parasitic pressure influenced the creation and development of cultural norms and institutions. However, other effects of microorganisms on human groups and individual decision-making and behavior are heavily understudied. The perspective discusses how parasitic infections, sexually transmitted organisms and microbiota (i.e., “human holobiont” could causally influence risk-seeking behavior, impulsivity, social dominance, empathy, political views and gender differences. As a case study, the parasite Toxoplasma gondii and its influence on economic preferences, personal characteristics and human appearance are examined. I also briefly review how chemosignals influence decision-making, particularly in the social preferences domain. I mention some predictions that arise from the paradigm of economic holobiont for the economic science. The conclusion summarizes limitations of the discussed findings and the stated speculations.

  2. Health economics education in undergraduate medical training: introducing the health economics education (HEe) website

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    In the UK, the General Medical Council clearly stipulates that upon completion of training, medical students should be able to discuss the principles underlying the development of health and health service policy, including issues relating to health economics. In response, researchers from the UK and other countries have called for a need to incorporate health economics training into the undergraduate medical curricula. The Health Economics education website was developed to encourage and support teaching and learning in health economics for medical students. It was designed to function both as a forum for teachers of health economics to communicate and to share resources and also to provide instantaneous access to supporting literature and teaching materials on health economics. The website provides a range of free online material that can be used by both health economists and non-health economists to teach the basic principles of the discipline. The Health Economics education website is the only online education resource that exists for teaching health economics to medical undergraduate students and it provides teachers of health economics with a range of comprehensive basic and advanced teaching materials that are freely available. This article presents the website as a tool to encourage the incorporation of health economics training into the undergraduate medical curricula. PMID:24034906

  3. Health economics education in undergraduate medical training: introducing the health economics education (HEe) website.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oppong, Raymond; Mistry, Hema; Frew, Emma

    2013-09-13

    In the UK, the General Medical Council clearly stipulates that upon completion of training, medical students should be able to discuss the principles underlying the development of health and health service policy, including issues relating to health economics. In response, researchers from the UK and other countries have called for a need to incorporate health economics training into the undergraduate medical curricula. The Health Economics education website was developed to encourage and support teaching and learning in health economics for medical students. It was designed to function both as a forum for teachers of health economics to communicate and to share resources and also to provide instantaneous access to supporting literature and teaching materials on health economics. The website provides a range of free online material that can be used by both health economists and non-health economists to teach the basic principles of the discipline. The Health Economics education website is the only online education resource that exists for teaching health economics to medical undergraduate students and it provides teachers of health economics with a range of comprehensive basic and advanced teaching materials that are freely available. This article presents the website as a tool to encourage the incorporation of health economics training into the undergraduate medical curricula.

  4. INTERRELATIONSHIP S BETWEEN HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT QUALITY AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY: WHAT CONSEQUENCES FOR ECONOMIC CONVERGENCE?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alassane Drabo

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the link between health indicators, environmental variables and economic development, and th e consequences of this relationship on economic convergence for a large sample of rich and poor countries. While in economic literature income and environment are seen to have an inverted-U shaped relationship (Environment Kuznets Curve hypothesis, it is also well established that an improvement in environmental quality is positively related to health. Our study focuses on the implications of this relationship for economic convergence. In the early stage of economic development, the gain from income growth could be cancelled or mitigated by environmental degradation through populations' health (and other channels and create a vicious circle in economic activity unlike in developed countries. This in turn could slow down economic convergence. To empirically assess these issues, we proceeded to an econometric analysis through three equations: a growth equation, a health equation and an environment equation. We found that health is a channel through which environment impacts economic growth. When we take into account the effect of environment quality on economic growth, the speed of convergence tends to increase slightly. This shows that environmental quality could be considered as a constraint for economic convergence.

  5. Economic theories of dictatorship

    OpenAIRE

    Alexandre Debs

    2010-01-01

    This article reviews recent advances in economic theories of dictatorships and their lessons for the political stability and economic performance of dictatorships. It reflects on the general usefulness of economic theories of dictatorship, with an application to foreign relations.

  6. Antithetic Foundations of Economics

    OpenAIRE

    Marin DINU

    2011-01-01

    This paper aims at decrypting the manner in which the foundations of Economics as a science and the meanings of the relevant explanatory formulas are being shaped. My analytical endeavor focuses on understanding the peculiarities of what is referred to as the object of study of the science known as Economics, an academic synthesis of concept-related breakthroughs regarding economicity. The explicit purpose of this analysis is to identify perennial benchmarks in economic c...

  7. The Economics of Networking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Olav Jull

    The literature on business networks is often oversocialized. The economic side of business is implicitly assumed. This paper analyses the economics of network behavior by loking at each of the key concepts in the Network Theory.......The literature on business networks is often oversocialized. The economic side of business is implicitly assumed. This paper analyses the economics of network behavior by loking at each of the key concepts in the Network Theory....

  8. Economic analysis of nuclear power generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, Ki Dong; Choi, Young Myung; Kim, Hwa Sup; Lee, Man Ki; Moon, Kee Hwan; Kim, Seung Su; Lim, Chae Young

    1998-12-01

    An energy security index was developed to measure how the introduction of nuclear power generation improved the national security of energy supply in Korea. Using the developed index, a quantitative effort was made to analyze the relationship between the nuclear power generation and the national energy security. Environmental impacts were evaluated and a simplified external cost of a specific coal-fired power plant in Korea was estimated using the QUERI program, which was developed by IAEA. In doing so, efforts were made to quantify the health impacts such as mortality, morbidity, and respiratory hospital admissions due to particulates, SOx, and Nox. The effects of CO 2 emission regulation on the national economy were evaluated. In doing so, the introduction of carbon tax was assumed. Several scenarios were established about the share of nuclear power generation and an effort was made to see how much contribution nuclear energy could make to lessen the burden of the regulation on the national economy. This study re-evaluated the methods for estimating and distributing decommissioning cost of nuclear power plant over lifetime. It was resulted out that the annual decommissioning deposit and consequently, the annual decommissioning cost could vary significantly depending on estimating and distributing methods. (author). 24 refs., 44 tabs., 9 figs

  9. Conceptual model of management steadfast economic development production-economic systems

    OpenAIRE

    Prokhorova, V.

    2010-01-01

    The article is devoted developments of conceptual model of management proof economic development of the industrialeconomy systems. Features are certain, the algorithm of impulse is offered and intercommunication of contours of management proof economic development of the industrialeconomy systems is investigational

  10. SmartGrids, Effectiveness for Everybody. State of the art and lessons learned from the past (Work package 1); Smart Grids. Rendement voor Iedereen. Stand van zaken en geleerde lessen uit het verleden (Werkpakket 1)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Melle, T.; Haaksma, V.; Van Breevoort, P.; Graveland, M.; Slingerland, E.; Winkel, T.; Hoen, V.; Noach, C. [Ecofys, Utrecht (Netherlands); Boerakker, Y.; Karatay, E.; Sanberg, T.; Faasen, C.; Mulder, W.; Huibers, M.; Maandag, M. [DNV KEMA, Arnhem (Netherlands); Milovanovic, M.; Bolderdijk, J.W.; Steg, L. [Rijksuniversiteit Groningen RUG, Groningen (Netherlands); Kapitein, A. [Cap Gemini Consulting, Utrecht (Netherlands); Bruning, F.; Berg, R. [LomboXnet, Utrecht (Netherlands); Boumans, F. [Hogeschool Utrecht, Utrecht (Netherlands)

    2012-09-15

    The aim of the title Smart Grids project is to improve accessibility of attractiveness of renewable energy for the Utrecht region for everyone. The project aims to develop, test and implement new business cases and service concepts for medium-sized smart grids in Utrecht and Amersfoort (both in the Netherlands). The project covers a total of two hundred houses and businesses. This report presents the results of Work Package 1: technical aspects of smart grids. Attention is also paid to consumer behavior with respect to smart grids and financial concepts for smart grids. Finally, an overview is given of the lessons learned from other similar pilots in the Netherlands and outside the Utrecht region [Dutch] Het Smart Grids project wil duurzame energie in de regio Utrecht bereikbaar en aantrekkelijk maken voor iedereen. Het project heeft tot doel nieuwe business cases en dienstverleningsconcepten te ontwikkelen, te testen en te realiseren voor middelgrote smart grids in Utrecht en Amersfoort. Het betreft in totaal tweehonderd woningen en bedrijven. In dit rapport worden de resultaten van Work Package 1 besproken: technische aspecten van smart grids. Daarnaast wordt aandacht besteed aan het consumentengedrag met betrekking tot smart grids, financieringsconstructies voor smart grids. Tenslotte wordt een overzicht gegeven van de lessen uit andere pilots in Nederland en daarbuiten op het gebied van smart grids.

  11. EXPERIMENT IN ECONOMICS

    OpenAIRE

    Basilgan, Müslüm

    2011-01-01

    In contrast to sciences such as physics, chemistry and psychology, using experimental methods in economics has encountered significant resistance reaching as far back as Mill. The basic reason for the resistance is the widely accepted view that experiment is not suited to analyzing complex human activity including economic behaviors. However, experimental studies, which started to test economics theories from the 1940s, have now reached an important point. The purpose of this study is to show...

  12. China's Economic Conditions

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Morrison, Wayne M

    2008-01-01

    .... The Chinese government has indicated that it intends, over time, to create a "harmonious society" that would promote more balanced economic growth and address a number of economic and social issues...

  13. Modeling the Economic Behavior of Households within the Context of Development of Economic Thought

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivanov Roman V.

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The main purpose of the publication is to study formation of the household economic behavior modeling in the context of development of economic thought and methods of the economic-mathematical modeling. The study was carried out under the assumption that, when studying the development of theoretical and methodological foundations of the economic behavior of households one must take into account not only the history of development of economic theory, but also the transformation of attitudes in other areas of human knowledge, in particular the paradigm shift in scientific thinking. It has been specified that the massive use of mathematical methods in economics is associated with formation of the marginal theory and at the same time – with the proliferation of the marginal analysis. At the present stage, the economic behavior of households is being analyzed in the terms of concepts such as neoclassicism, institutionalism and behaviorism. But by dividing the concepts of «individual» and «household», it can be argued that precisely the institutionalism in conjunction with synergistic approach provide the basis for elaboration of strategies for the economic behavior of households, ensuring their economic security.

  14. Introduction to health economics and decision-making: Is economics relevant for the frontline clinician?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goeree, Ron; Diaby, Vakaramoko

    2013-12-01

    In a climate of escalating demands for new health care services and significant constraints on new resources, the disciplines of health economics and health technology assessment (HTA) have increasingly been turned to as explicit evidence-based frameworks to help make tough health care access and reimbursement decisions. Health economics is the discipline of economics concerned with the efficient allocation of health care resources, essentially trying to maximize health benefits to society contingent upon available resources. HTA is a broader field drawing upon several disciplines, but which relies heavily upon the tools of health economics and economic evaluation. Traditionally, health economics and economic evaluation have been widely used at the political (macro) and local (meso) decision-making levels, and have progressively had an important role even at informing individual clinical decisions (micro level). The aim of this paper is to introduce readers to health economics and discuss its relevance to frontline clinicians. Particularly, the content of the paper will facilitate clinicians' understanding of the link between economics and their medical practice, and how clinical decision-making reflects on health care resource allocation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Essays on economic cycles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Groot, de E.A. (Bert)

    2006-01-01

    Schumpeter’s line of thought of multiple economic cycles is further investigated. The existence of multiple cycles in economic variables is demonstrated. In basic innovations five different cycles are found. Multiple cycle structures are shown in various macro-economic variables from the United

  16. Behavioral Economics and Consumption

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reisch, Lucia A.; Sunstein, Cass R.

    2015-01-01

    Behavioral economics explores why people sometimes fail to make rational decisions, and how their behavior departs from the predictions of standard economic models. Insights gained from studies in behavioral economics are used in consumer research and consumer policy to understand and improve ind...

  17. Advances in mathematical economics

    CERN Document Server

    Maruyama, Toru

    2015-01-01

    The series is designed to bring together those mathematicians who are seriously interested in getting new challenging stimuli from economic theories with those economists who are seeking effective mathematical tools for their research. A lot of economic problems can be formulated as constrained optimizations and equilibration of their solutions. Various mathematical theories have been supplying economists with indispensable machineries for these problems arising in economic theory. Conversely, mathematicians have been stimulated by various mathematical difficulties raised by economic theories.

  18. Advances in mathematical economics

    CERN Document Server

    Maruyama, Toru

    2014-01-01

    A lot of economic problems can be formulated as constrained optimizations and equilibration of their solutions. Various mathematical theories have been supplying economists with indispensable machineries for these problems arising in economic theory. Conversely, mathematicians have been stimulated by various mathematical difficulties raised by economic theories. The series is designed to bring together those mathematicians who are seriously interested in getting new challenging stimuli from economic theories with those economists who are seeking effective mathematical tools for their research.

  19. Advances in mathematical economics

    CERN Document Server

    Yamazaki, Akira

    2006-01-01

    A lot of economic problems can formulated as constrained optimizations and equilibration of their solutions. Various mathematical theories have been supplying economists with indispensable machineries for these problems arising in economic theory. Conversely, mathematicians have been stimulated by various mathematical difficulties raised by economic theories. The series is designed to bring together those mathematicians who were seriously interested in getting new challenging stimuli from economic theories with those economists who are seeking for effective mathematical tools for their researchers.

  20. Advances in mathematical economics

    CERN Document Server

    Yamazaki, Akira

    2006-01-01

    A lot of economic problems can formulated as constrained optimizations and equilibration of their solutions.Various mathematical theories have been supplying economists with indispensable machineries for these problems arising in economic theory. Conversely, mathematicians have been stimulated by various mathematical difficulties raised by economic theories. The series is designed to bring together those mathematicians who were seriously interested in getting new challenging stimuli from economic theories with those economists who are seeking for effective mathematical tools for their researchers.

  1. Advances in mathematical economics

    CERN Document Server

    Maruyama, Toru

    2017-01-01

    The series is designed to bring together those mathematicians who are seriously interested in getting new challenging stimuli from economic theories with those economists who are seeking effective mathematical tools for their research. A lot of economic problems can be formulated as constrained optimizations and equilibration of their solutions. Various mathematical theories have been supplying economists with indispensable machineries for these problems arising in economic theory. Conversely, mathematicians have been stimulated by various mathematical difficulties raised by economic theories.

  2. Advances in mathematical economics

    CERN Document Server

    Maruyama, Toru

    2016-01-01

    The series is designed to bring together those mathematicians who are seriously interested in getting new challenging stimuli from economic theories with those economists who are seeking effective mathematical tools for their research. A lot of economic problems can be formulated as constrained optimizations and equilibration of their solutions. Various mathematical theories have been supplying economists with indispensable machineries for these problems arising in economic theory. Conversely, mathematicians have been stimulated by various mathematical difficulties raised by economic theories.

  3. Psychology and Economics rather than Psychology versus Economics: Cultural differences but no barriers!

    OpenAIRE

    Hermann Brandstätter; Werner Güth; Hartmut Kliemt

    2009-01-01

    During the last three decades the ascent of behavioral economics clearly helped to bring down artificial disciplinary boundaries between psychology and economics. Noting that behavioral economics seems still under the spell of the rational choice tradition - and, indirectly, of behaviorism - we scrutinize in an exemplary manner how the development of some kind of "cognitive economics" might mirror the rise of "cognitive psychology" without endangering the advantages of the division of labor a...

  4. What is sustainability economics?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baumgaertner, Stefan [Department of Sustainability Sciences, Leuphana University of Lueneburg (Germany); Department of Economics, Leuphana University of Lueneburg (Germany); Quaas, Martin [Department of Economics, University of Kiel (Germany)

    2010-01-15

    While economists have been contributing to the discussion of various aspects of sustainability for decades, it is just recently that the term 'sustainability economics' was used explicitly in the ecological, environmental, and resource economics community. Yet, the contributions that use the term 'sustainability economics' do not refer to any explicit definition of the term, and are not obviously joined by common or unifying characteristics, such as subject focus, methodology, or institutional background. The question thus arises: what is 'sustainability economics'? In this essay, we systematically define and delineate 'sustainability economics' in terms of its normative foundation, aims, subject matter, ontology, and genuine research agenda. (author)

  5. Assessment of primary impacts of a hydrogen economy in New Zealand using UniSyD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leaver, Jonathan D.; Gillingham, Kenneth T.; Leaver, Luke H.T.

    2009-01-01

    Small economies such as New Zealand risk significant economic hardship without careful evaluation of alternatives to petroleum-based transportation due to the adverse effects of climate change and depleting international oil reserves. This paper uses an integrated multi-regional multi-fleet system dynamics model of New Zealand's energy economy to assess the primary impacts of alternative vehicle fleet technologies. Results suggest that hydrogen fuelled HICEs and FCVs may offer significantly greater economic savings than BEVs due to a much lower capital cost. Under our Base Case, 65% of the light fleet are HICEs and FCVs and 5% BEVs. Excluding hydrogen vehicles from the vehicle fleet can result in an average annual cost of US$562 per vehicle between 2015 and 2050. Co-production of hydrogen and electricity using coal gasification with carbon capture and storage is the dominant long term hydrogen production technology. (author)

  6. Economic and demographic outlook

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Darby, P.M.

    1995-01-01

    Economic forecasts were produced and past trends were examined. Information was presented as a series of figures only, without accompanying text. Information provided included current exchange rates, economic growth, interest rates, housing starts, unemployment rates, personal savings rates and other economic indicators. 40 figs

  7. The Impact of the Economic Transition on the Development of Economic Freedom – Case of Poland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Stepniak-Kucharska

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The changes in the Polish socio-economic system, initiated at the turn of 1989 and 1990, led to a systematic increase in the liberalization of economy and thereby the rise of the level of economic freedom. The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of the economic transition on the development of economic freedom in Poland. The analysis, carried out in the period 1995-2015, was conducted on the basis of the chain-linked Economic Freedom Index by the Fraser Institute and the Index of Economic Freedom of the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal. The analysis indicates that: (1 Poland cannot be considered as a country that is fully free economically, but the transition of its economic system has resulted in a rapid growth of economic freedom. (2 The impact of transition varies for different areas (sub-indices of the economy. (3 The European economic integration stimulated the increase of EFI, but the economic crisis did not decrease the level of economic freedom.

  8. Local impact of renewables on employment: Assessment methodology and case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Llera Sastresa, Eva; Uson, Alfonso Aranda; Bribian, Ignacio Zabalza; Scarpellini, Sabina

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents an integrated method that assesses the socio-economic impact of establishing renewable energy on a regional scale, in particular on the creation of jobs. The method proposed is based on the collection, critical analysis and presentation of the results obtained using primary information sources considering the jobs created as the most direct measure of the socio-economic potential of renewable energy sources. Its design includes contributions extracted from a prior analysis of the existing assessment methods, to lessen the uncertainty of the job ratios often used in these types of analysis. The integrated method implemented has been applied to the autonomous community of Aragon (Spain) as a pilot case, through which the method has been tested and the indicators selected to analyse the socio-economic impact of renewable energy sources on the jobs created, the quality of the jobs and other factors related to the socio-economic development of a territory: technological development, per capita income, territorial development and human capital. (author)

  9. THE IMPORTANCE OF LAW AND ECONOMICS IN THE CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC REALITY

    OpenAIRE

    Pomaskow, Joanna

    2015-01-01

    The law and economics movement can improve the functioning of companies doing business in the contemporary, rapidly changing, reality. The tensions between the idea of efficiency and the idea of justice cause difficulties in the application of tools which are proposed by the representatives of the law and economics movement in legal solutions. Economics proposes a new, fresh look at the law, which makes it easier to assess and influence the growth of its transparency. Perspective can therefor...

  10. Applications of evolutionary economic geography

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boschma, R.A.; Frenken, K.; Puranam, Krishna Kishore; Ravi Kumar Jain B., xx

    2008-01-01

    This paper is written as the first chapter of an edited volume on evolutionary economics and economic geography (Frenken, K., editor, Applied Evolutionary Economics and Economic Geography, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, expected publication date February 2007). The paper reviews empirical applications of

  11. Towards a Deeper Understanding of the Meaning of Male Beach Worker-Female Tourist Relationships on the Kenyan Coast

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Njeri Chege

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Knowledge and research on sexual-economic relationships between local men and Western female tourists in different touristic locations around the world has grown, as has public interest and awareness of the phenomenon. However, the direct perspectives of the men whose lives constitute the focus of such studies remain scarce. This has resulted in the phenomenon being understood mainly and inadequately through the concepts of 'romance tourism' and 'female sex tourism'. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Kenya's South Coast region, this article foregrounds the voices of male beach workers and the meanings they assign to these relationships, against a backdrop of the historical, social, economic and political dynamics within which these relationships are pursued. The men attest to socio-economic hardships and marginalization, against which they seek to establish long-term intimate relationships with foreign female tourists, as well as non-sexual economically motivated friendships with foreign tourists, termed family friends. The narratives and analyses show that the pursuit of these relationships as livelihood strategies also flows from the men's struggles to fulfil traditional and contemporary ethno-societal gender expectations, through which men are generally construed as the expected breadwinners and providers.

  12. Teaching About Economics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paine, Carolyn; Arnold, Anne Jurmu

    1983-01-01

    A teaching unit on economics discusses basic background information, suggests classroom activities, and lists sources of instructional resources. Reproducible masters for two instructional levels are included and introduce economics law and basic financial management. (FG)

  13. Economic openness and economic growth: A cointegration analysis for ASEAN-5 countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Klimis Vogiatzoglou

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The paper considers three channels of economic openness, namely FDI, imports, and exports, and examines their short-run and long-run effects on the economic growth in the five founding member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN over the period from 1980 to 2014. Besides the impact on the economic growth, the authors analyze all possible causal interrelationships to discern patterns and directions of causality among FDI, imports, exports, and GDP. The quantitative analysis, which is based on the vector error correction co-integration framework, is conducted separately for each country in order to assess their individual experiences and allow for a comparative view. Although the precise details differ across countries, the findings indicate that there is a long-run equilibrium relationship between economic openness and GDP in all ASEAN-5 economies. FDI, imports and exports have a significantly positive short-run and long-run impact on the economic growth. Our results also show that export-led growth is the most important economic growth factor in most countries, followed by FDI-led growth. Another crucial finding is the bi-directional causality between exports and FDI across the ASEAN-5 countries. This indicates the presence of direct and indirect effects on GDP and a self-reinforcing process of causality between those two variables, which strengthens their impact on the economic growth.

  14. Health, "illth," and economic growth: medicine, environment, and economics at the crossroads.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egger, Garry

    2009-07-01

    Economic growth has been the single biggest contributor to population health since the Industrial Revolution. The growth paradigm, by definition, is dynamic, implying similar diminishing returns on investment at both the macro- and the micro-economic levels. Changes in patterns of health in developing countries, from predominantly microbial-related infectious diseases to lifestyle-related chronic diseases (e.g., obesity, type 2 diabetes) beyond a point of economic growth described as the epidemiologic transition, suggest the start of certain declining benefits from further investment in the growth model. These changes are reflected in slowing improvements in some health indices (e.g., mortality, infant mortality) and deterioration in others (e.g., disability-associated life years, obesity, chronic diseases). Adverse environmental consequences, such as climate change from economic development, are also related to disease outcomes through the development of inflammatory processes due to an immune reaction to new environmental and lifestyle-related inducers. Both increases in chronic disease and climate change can be seen as growth problems with a similar economic cause and potential economic and public health-rather than personal health-solutions. Some common approaches for dealing with both are discussed, with a plea for greater involvement by health scientists in the economic and environmental debates in order to deal effectively with issues like obesity and chronic disease.

  15. Effects of economic classroom experiments on economic knowledge and reasoning in secondary education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Grol, R.F.; Sent, E.-M.; Vries, B. de

    2016-01-01

    This study explored whether and how economic classroom experiments may enhance the economic knowledge and the reasoning ability of 108 secondary school students. Economic classroom experiments are controlled interactive learning exercises by means of which students can learn to think as economists.

  16. Behavioral Effects in Forming the Preferences of the Economic Selection of the Economic Subject

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Svetlana, V. Belikova

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available An attempt has been made to substantiate the behavioral features of the economic choice of an economic entity in the context of the decision-making environment transformation, and also to study their influence on the forming subjective preferences. At the same time, the behavioral paradigm is identified as a basic theoretical construct, which makes it possible to identify the main irrationalizing factors. Based on the study of the conceptual provisions of the behavioral paradigm, it was concluded that the preferences of the economic entity in the process of implementing the economic choice are formed under the influence of motivational and cognitive predictors, which limit the rationality of the economic entity. Deviating from rational criteria towards irrational, the economic entity shapes its preferences on the basis of economic and non-economic criteria, systematically making mistakes in the context of the influence of cognitive distortions manifested in decision-making under modern conditions. Based on the findings, the author constructs a model of economic choice, taking into account behavioral predictors. Among the most important cognitive distortions are herd instinct, professional deformation, "curse of knowledge", bias toward information retrieval, error of substantiation of assessment, bias of confirmation, neglect of formalized methods of cognition, conservatism, preferences of personified trust and heuristics of asymmetric perception.

  17. Whatever Happened to Economic Geography?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fagan, Robert

    1985-01-01

    Maintains that economic geography is alive and well. Describes some of the challenges facing research in economic geography and highlights the changing approaches being applied to economic geography. Includes sections on structural change, economic reorganization, and internationalization of manufacturing and finances. (JDH)

  18. Economic Impacts and Business Opportunities | NREL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Economic Impacts and Business Opportunities Economic Impacts and Business Opportunities NREL corporations alike. Colorado flag Economic Impact The economic impact of NREL operations on the nation totaled Jefferson County where the economic benefit totaled $275 million in 2014. Growth chart Economic Benefit NREL

  19. Is Teaching Neoclassical Economics as "the" Science of Economics Moral?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parvin, Manoucher

    1992-01-01

    Discusses the morality of teaching neoclassical theory as the only science of economics. Argues that the teaching of neoclassical theory violates moral principles unless each and every attribute of neoclassical theory is proven superior to corresponding attributes of competing theories. Criticizes neoclassical economics for teaching what rather…

  20. Foundations of economic change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cantner, Uwe

    2016-01-01

    This paper employs the Schumpeterian approach to the development of economies in order to identify the core building blocks of a theory of endogenous economic change. Borders and insights are widened by combining concepts and findings from behavioral economics, from evolutionary economics, and from...... complexity economics. Actor heterogeneity, on the one hand, and mechanisms of actors’ interaction, on the other, are suggested to be fundamental elements of that theory. Theoretical analyses and empirical accounts are presented, achievements are discussed, and further avenues of research are suggested....

  1. Agglomeration Economies, Economic Growth and the New Economic Geography in Mexico

    OpenAIRE

    Alejandro Diaz-Bautista

    2005-01-01

    The present study of regional economic growth in Mexico is based on the new economic geography, where distance plays an important role in explaining urban regional economic growth. The results show that distance to the northern border of Mexico and labor migration between states of Mexico, after the passage of NAFTA are important factors that explain the regional state growth and agglomerations in Mexico between 1994 and 2000. The results also indicate that job growth and FDI are not signific...

  2. Determinants of economic freedom of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation economic community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen Debbie C. Magallon

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the determinants of the well-being of people across the world is economic freedom. It is the freedom to choose the ways to produce, sell, and use your private resources, while respecting rights of the other to practice the same. The primordial intention of the study was to investigate the factors affecting economic freedom in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN Economic Community. Human Development Index (HDI, Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI and GDP per capita are dimensions considered to characterize the level of a country’s economic freedom. Trend performance of AEC in these indexes was also determined. The empirical estimate was based on a panel dataset covering 6 member-countries of the ASEAN Economic Community from 2001 to 2010. The model was estimated through Ordinary Least Squares (OLS multiple linear regression analysis. For the trend performance of the indexes, Singapore found to have a remarkable performance. The empirical result strongly suggests that CPI and GDP per capita foster economic freedom. For every 1% decrease in CPI would lead to an increase in economic freedom index by.121 % and for every 1% increase in GDP per capita, EFI will increase by .019%.

  3. Evolution of the global economic science as a factor of forming the expectations of economic agents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valeriy Vladimirovich Shlychkov

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Objective to reveal the correlation between the level of economic system development and the adequacy of economic ideas and conceptions at particular historic periods to define the role of economic theory in generating economic knowledge and the degree of its influence on economic subjects39 behavior under permanent changes in technology setups and evolutionary development of economic systems. Methods the research methodology was based on ensuring the uniformity of logical and historical approaches the research methods were widely used descriptive analysis and synthesis deduction and induction generalization observation prediction scientific abstraction statistical analysis system analysis and techniques of grouping and classification methods of comparative historical and interdisciplinary analysis expert judgment the combination of these methods allowed to ensure the accuracy of the research and the validity of conclusions. Results the correlation was revealed between the level of economic system development and the adequacy of economic ideas and concepts at certain historical periods the significant role of economic theory in shaping the optimal behavior of economic entitieswas identified the purpose of the economic theory was statedass providing the evolutionary development of our civilization through the process of scientifictheoretical support of business activities of the society. Scientific novelty the main theoretical and methodological approaches were identified to the formation of economic agents expectations to obtain economic knowledge the trends are revealed of expansion and qualitative change of the range of issues facing economistsresearchers in the development of postindustrial society the authorsrsquo interpretation is proposed of the notion ldquoeconomic agentsrsquoexpectationrdquo in which public expectations of economic science are viewed as quotthe formed society need for scientifically grounded economic knowledgequot it

  4. Economic Components of Grief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corden, Anne; Hirst, Michael

    2013-01-01

    This article investigates the nature, context, and impact of economic stressors associated with loss, drawing on a mixed-methods study of changes in financial circumstances and economic roles following death of a life partner. Findings show how economic changes, and the practicalities of dealing with such transitions, shaped individual responses…

  5. Ukraine’s trade and economic priorities in the Black sea economic cooperation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andriy Goncharuk

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the substantiation of trade and economic priorities of Ukraine’s integration into the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC. The country’s integration options have been analyzed including the Western European vs. pro-Russian integration vector, the bidirectional gravity model, and an alte — native subregional cooperation direction. Ukraine’s sectoral priorities for deepening economic cooperation with the BSEC member countries in the context of implementation of the national interests have been identified, in particular in the field of goods, transport and tourism services, and energy trading. The ways of and instruments for improving Ukraine’s trade activities within the framework of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation have been offered for the various working groups of the Organization that are focused on such areas of cooperation as macroeconomics, policy and law, finance and economics, science and technology, culture and society, infrastructure, and institutional renewal.

  6. The Impact of High School Economics on the College Principles of Economics Course.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brasfield, David W.

    1993-01-01

    Reports on a study of 1,119 students in introductory college economics courses to determine the impact of high school economics on student achievement. Finds that prior high school economics was positively and significantly related to students grades in both introductory microeconomics and macroeconomics courses. (CFR)

  7. Conservation through the economics lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farley, Joshua

    2010-01-01

    Although conservation is an inherently transdisciplinary issue, there is much to be gained from examining the problem through an economics lens. Three benefits of such an approach are laid out in this paper. First, many of the drivers of environmental degradation are economic in origin, and the better we understand them, the better we can conserve ecosystems by reducing degradation. Second, economics offers us a when-to-stop rule, which is equivalent to a when-to-conserve rule. All economic production is based on the transformation of raw materials provided by nature. As the economic system grows in physical size, it necessarily displaces and degrades ecosystems. The marginal benefits of economic growth are diminishing, and the marginal costs of ecological degradation are increasing. Conceptually, we should stop economic growth and focus on conservation when the two are equal. Third, economics can help us understand how to efficiently and justly allocate resources toward conservation, and this paper lays out some basic principles for doing so. Unfortunately, the field of economics is dominated by neoclassical economics, which builds an analytical framework based on questionable assumptions and takes an excessively disciplinary and formalistic approach. Conservation is a complex problem, and analysis from individual disciplinary lenses can make important contributions to conservation only when the resulting insights are synthesized into a coherent vision of the whole. Fortunately, there are a number of emerging transdisciplines, such as ecological economics and environmental management, that are dedicated to this task.

  8. Behavioral economics

    OpenAIRE

    Camerer, Colin F.

    2014-01-01

    Economics, like behavioral psychology, is a science of behavior, albeit highly organized human behavior. The value of economic concepts for behavioral psychology rests on (1) their empirical validity when tested in the laboratory with individual subjects and (2) their uniqueness when compared to established behavioral concepts. Several fundamental concepts are introduced and illustrated by reference to experimental data: open and closed economies, elastic and inelastic demand, and substitutio...

  9. Industrial Economics in Scandinavia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Foss, Nicolai Juul; Møllgaard, Peter

    2004-01-01

    Based on diverse research methods, we trace and map industrial economics research in Denmark, Norway and Sweden in the periode of 1880 to 1908. After describing this research in terms of key contributors, we argue that industrial economics developed rather unevenly in the Scandinavian countries....... Danish research was mainly theoretical and strongly oriented towards the international context, whereas Norwegian research was largely industry analysis with a strong leaning towards managerial economics. Swedish research in industrial economics is very scant until the end of the 1960s.JEL Code: B1, B2...

  10. Economic Selection Theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, Thorbjørn

    2003-01-01

    principles of variation, continuity and selection, it is argued that economic selection theory should mimic the causal structure of neo-Darwinian theory. Two of the most influential explanations of economic evolution, Alchian's and Nelson and Winter's, are used to illustrate how this could be achieved.......The present article provides a minimal description of the causal structure of economic selection theory and outlines how the internal selection dynamics of business organisations can be reconciled with selection in competitive markets. In addition to generic similarity in terms of the Darwinian...

  11. Economic bid evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bode, T.

    1975-01-01

    When it is intended to install a new nuclear power station, the usual procedure is to invite for tenders. In due course, bids will be received from various manufacturers, out of which the most favourable one is then to be selected. Appraisal is concluded in the Economic Bid Evaluation, the purpose of which is to define the economically most favourable bid by comparing overall costs and benefits of the various alternatives. Thus, Economic Bid Evaluation is a most important instrument for deciding on award of contract. (orig.) [de

  12. The Economics of Online Dating: A Course in Economic Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monaco, Andrew J.

    2018-01-01

    The author discusses the development of a unique course, The Economics of Online Dating. The course is an upper-level undergraduate course that combines intensive discussion, peer review, and economic theory to teach modeling skills to undergraduates. The course uses the framework of "online dating," interpreted broadly, as a point of…

  13. Spreading the Word: Transaction Cost Economics in the Conversation of Economics: Spreading the Word

    OpenAIRE

    Pessali, Huascar; Fernández, Ramón

    2012-01-01

    Transaction cost economics is a key topic in many conversations in business and economics related disciplines, much as a result of Oliver Williamson's intellectual crusade. By claiming a "distinct worldview," he develops arguments of association and differentiation to established worldviews, like traditional microeconomics, earlier institutionalism, Austrian and radical economics, and also within the new institutional economics itself, in order to advance his theory. His resourcefulness defie...

  14. GENDER AND POVERTY: SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF FEMALE ROLE MODELS AND VULNERABILITY PROFILES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonella RISSOTTO

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available The contribution regards an analysis of gender-related role models and their relevance for poverty. Data were gathered using a semi-structured questionnaire. Poverty as a function of gender is interpreted in the present case in the light of the interrelation between economic disadvantages, inherent in the sy stems of integration, an d social exclusion, with special reference to the family and the labour market. From this point of view, the concept of dependence represents a strategic concept that may be broken down into the dimensions of: - economic (income source; - material (non economic help in the management of the family. It will be shown how gender models have a statistically significant weight in the distribution of a greater or lesser degree of dependence. Economic dependence and material dependence may be related back to two empirical typological indexes, wh ich summarize a set of semantically relevant indicators. Also an additional index of economic hardship has been constructed, which also summarizes specific indicators. In addition to gender profiles, the analysis takes into account specific categories of women, focusing attention on subjects that are potentially vulnerable to poverty (elderly women, women with precarious jobs and divorcees defining their specific profiles.

  15. Comparative Economics as a Science and Educational Discipline: To the Outlook of "Comparative Economics"

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nina O. Voskresenskaya

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Comparative economics, a young interdisciplinary science, which proper formation belongs to the twentieth century only, has been recently attracting more attention of the scientific community. This quite predictable interest is based on the very subject of the comparative economics which is socioeconomic systems in the mankind history. Researchers want to know what factors make systems come into being, transform, achieve prosperity, stop to develop; they need to understand how systems are functioning and which of their institutions should be attributed to as being fundamental – difficult or not transformed at all, and which of them are not so stable and therefore can be easily changed. This knowledge is crucially needed to elaborate an appropriate economic policy in order to meet national interests and cope with possible crises. Attention to the science is also based on its methodological possibilities: comparative analysis can provide complete and compact socio-economic panorama of mankind evolution versus traditional historical studies. This possible-to-embrace picture of global human history viewed as a set of different economic systems might be a good ground to conclude which of them possesses such attractive features as capacity for development, flexibility, readiness for self-improvement, ability to achieve and maintain reasonable socio-economic balance under negative internal and external influence, openness to interaction with other peoples and states, i.e. what system can provide the best sufficient infrastructure for growth and development focusing on ensuring a high standard of living for the people. Comparative analysis allows to predict, to some extent, the further evolution of economic systems, and chose the most attractive one as a desirable benchmark for national development. Thus, comparative economics is both of academic and practical value for society. Professor R. M. Nureev in his fundamental work "Comparative Economics

  16. Teaching Economics. Second Edition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Norman, Ed.

    The purpose of this book is to review the place of economics education in the curriculum and to investigate the significance of developments in educational theory and practice for the teaching of economics. It consists of a collection of studies on different aspects of economics education, prepared by 24 contributors from British and North…

  17. The economics of climate change and the change of climate in economics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marechal, Kevin

    2007-01-01

    Economics is an unavoidable decision-making tool in the field of climate policy. At the same time, traditional economics is being challenged both empirically and theoretically by scholars in different fields. Its non-neutrality in dealing with climate-related issues-which is illustrated by the controversy over the 'no-regret potential'-would thus call for an opening of economics to insights from other disciplines. Within that context, we show that an evolutionary-inspired line of thought coupled with a systemic and historical perspective of technological change provides a very insightful alternative to traditional economics. More particularly, it follows from that framework that the picture of the climate challenge ahead looks very different from what traditional economic analyses would suggest. For instance, the lock-in process makes it unlikely that traditional cost-efficient measures (such as carbon taxation or tradable emission rights) will be sufficient to bring about the required radical changes in the field of energy as they fail to address structural barriers highlighted in our approach

  18. The unity of science and economics a new foundation of economic theory

    CERN Document Server

    Chen, Jing

    2016-01-01

    This book presents a new economic theory developed from physical and biological principles. It explains how technology, social systems and economic values are intimately related to resources. Many people have recognized that mainstream (neoclassical) economic theories are not consistent with physical laws and often not consistent with empirical patterns, but most feel that economic activities are too complex to be described by a simple and coherent mathematical theory. While social systems are indeed complex, all life systems, including social systems, satisfy two principles. First, all systems need to extract resources from the external environment to compensate for their consumption. Second, for a system to be viable, the amount of resource extraction has to be no less than the level of consumption. From these two principles, we derive a quantitative theory of major factors in economic activities, such as fixed cost, variable cost, discount rate, uncertainty and duration. The mathematical theory enables us ...

  19. Effects of Problem Based Economics on High School Economics Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finkelstein, Neal; Hanson, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    The primary purpose of this study is to assess student-level impacts of a problem-based instructional approach to high school economics. The curriculum approach examined here was designed to increase class participation and content knowledge for high school students who are learning economics. This study tests the effectiveness of Problem Based…

  20. Real analysis with economic applications

    CERN Document Server

    Ok, Efe A

    2011-01-01

    There are many mathematics textbooks on real analysis, but they focus on topics not readily helpful for studying economic theory or they are inaccessible to most graduate students of economics. Real Analysis with Economic Applications aims to fill this gap by providing an ideal textbook and reference on real analysis tailored specifically to the concerns of such students. The emphasis throughout is on topics directly relevant to economic theory. In addition to addressing the usual topics of real analysis, this book discusses the elements of order theory, convex analysis, optimization, correspondences, linear and nonlinear functional analysis, fixed-point theory, dynamic programming, and calculus of variations. Efe Ok complements the mathematical development with applications that provide concise introductions to various topics from economic theory, including individual decision theory and games, welfare economics, information theory, general equilibrium and finance, and intertemporal economics. Moreover, a...

  1. Riforme monetarie e Mercato Comune Europeo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. BALASSA

    1977-06-01

    Full Text Available The Jamaica Agreement essentially grants every country the freedom to determine its own exchange rate system, thus confirming a situation characterised by a wide variety of national arrangements. This situation has given rise to considerable uncertainty as regards trade and capital movements. The present work argues that greater stability in financial arrangements among the EEC countries would reduce uncertainty and contribute to harmonious economic development in the European area. Specifically, the author makes proposals for the adoption of a three-pronged approach to lessening uncertainty in trade and payments and to strengthening the European integration process. The proposals include establishing rules for exchange rate adjustments, harmonising national economic policies and creating a parallel currency, the Europa. JEL: E42, F36, F33

  2. Behavioral Economics

    OpenAIRE

    Sendhil Mullainathan; Richard H. Thaler

    2000-01-01

    Behavioral Economics is the combination of psychology and economics that investigates what happens in markets in which some of the agents display human limitations and complications. We begin with a preliminary question about relevance. Does some combination of market forces, learning and evolution render these human qualities irrelevant? No. Because of limits of arbitrage less than perfect agents survive and influence market outcomes. We then discuss three important ways in which humans devi...

  3. Building economics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, D.O.(red.)

    Publikationen er på engelsk. Den omfatter alle indlæg på det fjerde internationale symposium om byggeøkonomi, der blev arrangeret af SBI for det internationale byggeforskningsråd CIB. De fem bind omhandler: Methods of Economic Evaluation, Design Optimization, Ressource Utilization, The Building...... Market og Economics and Technological Forecasting in Construction. Et indledende bind bringer statusrapporter for de fem forskningsområder, og det sidste bind sammenfatter debatten på symposiet....

  4. Predictors of public support for nutrition-focused policy, systems and environmental change strategies in Los Angeles County, 2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robles, Brenda; Kuo, Tony

    2017-01-13

    Since 2010, federal and local agencies have invested broadly in a variety of nutrition-focused policy, systems and environmental change (PSE) initiatives in Los Angeles County (LAC). To date, little is known about whether the public supports such efforts. We address this gap in the literature by examining predictors of support for a variety of PSEs. Voters residing in LAC (n=1007) were randomly selected to participate in a cross-sectional telephone survey commissioned by the LAC Department of Public Health. The survey asked questions about attitudes towards the obesity epidemic, nutrition knowledge and behaviours, public opinions about changing business practices/government policies related to nutrition, and sociodemographics. A factor analysis informed outcome variable selection (ie, type of PSEs). Multivariable regression analyses were performed to examine predictors of public support. Predictors in the regression models included (primary regressor) community economic hardship; (control variables) political affiliation, sex, age, race and income; and (independent variables) perceptions about obesity, perceived health and weight status, frequency reading nutrition labels, ease of finding healthy and unhealthy foods, and food consumption behaviours (ie, fruit and vegetables, non-diet soda, fast-food and sit-down restaurant meals). 3 types of PSE outcome variables were identified: promotional/incentivising, limiting/restrictive and business practices. Community economic hardship was not found to be a significant predictor of public support for any of the 3 PSE types. However, Republican party affiliation, being female and perceiving obesity as a serious health problem were. These findings have implications for public health practice and community planning in local health jurisdictions. 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/.

  5. An Analysis of Economic Learning among Undergraduates in Introductory Economics Courses in Germany

    Science.gov (United States)

    Happ, Roland; Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, Olga; Schmidt, Susanne

    2016-01-01

    In this article, the authors present the findings of a pretest-posttest measurement of the economic knowledge of students in introductory economics courses in undergraduate study programs in Germany. The responses of 403 students to 14 items selected from the "Test of Economic Literacy" (Soper and Walstad 1987) were analyzed to identify…

  6. Incorporating understanding of informal economic activity in natural resource and economic development policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rebecca J. McLain; Susan J. Alexander; Eric T. Jones

    2008-01-01

    This report synthesizes the literature on the role of informal economic activity in the United States postindustrial economy. Informal economic activity is expanding in the United States and is likely to continue in the foreseeable future. The formal and informal economic sectors are inextricably intertwined, with individuals and households combining elements of both...

  7. Modelling management process of key drivers for economic sustainability in the modern conditions of economic development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pishchulina E.S.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The text is about issues concerning the management of driver for manufacturing enterprise economic sustainability and manufacturing enterprise sustainability assessment as the key aspect of the management of enterprise economic sustainability. The given issues become topical as new requirements for the methods of manufacturing enterprise management in the modern conditions of market economy occur. An economic sustainability model that is considered in the article is an integration of enterprise economic growth, economic balance of external and internal environment and economic sustainability. The method of assessment of economic sustainability of a manufacturing enterprise proposed in the study allows to reveal some weaknesses in the enterprise performance, and untapped reserves, which can be further used to improve the economic sustainability and efficiency of the enterprise. The management of manufacturing enterprise economic sustainability is one of the most important factors of business functioning and development in modern market economy. The relevance of this trend is increasing in accordance with the objective requirements of the growing volumes of production and sale, the increasing complexity of economic relations, changing external environment of an enterprise.

  8. Globalization and Economic Freedom

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjørnskov, Christian

    2006-01-01

    This paper employs a panel data set to estimate the effect of globalization on four measures of economic freedom. Contrary to previous studies, the paper distinguishes between three separate types of globalization: economic, social and political. It also separates effects for poor and rich...... countries, and autocracies and democracies. The results show that economic globalization is negatively associated with government size and positively with regulatory freedom in rich countries; social globalization is positively associated with legal quality in autocracies and with the access to sound money...... in democracies. Political globalization is not associated with economic freedom...

  9. [Fostering of health economics in Germany].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ulrich, V

    2012-05-01

    Health economics is now well established in Germany with the aim to apply economic tools to answer problems in health and health care. After a short review of the international development of health economics and the development in Germany in particular, the article looks at selected recent topics of health economic analysis in Germany (economic evaluation, industrial economics, health and education).

  10. Bank Portfolio Structure and Economic Absorption Theory of Economic Development: A Theoretical Proposition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uduak B. UBOM

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The focus of this article was on theoretical proposition of Bank Portfolio Structure and Economic Absorption Theory of economic development. Specifically, the work sought to establish the basis of bank portfolio rigidity and to identify the causes of economic absorption problems and their implications on economic development. The theoretical and conceptual research designs were used. Existing literatures were reviewed using archival retrieval approach, library search and internet exploration. The information obtained was judgmentally, logically and qualitatively analyzed. It was discovered among others, that, bank portfolio rigidity stems from regulatory policy defects using inconsistent monetary policy tools such as high liquidity ratio and cash ratio, etc. and compelling the banks to adhere to the regulatory requirement, as well as lack of adequate and quality stock of infrastructure and technology as the basic causes of economic absorption problems. Above all, low level of economic absorption has been discovered to hinder effective contributions of banks to economic development. Following from above, it was therefore recommended that regulatory tools used by Central Banks should be aligned with the development needs of the economy and the direction of governments. The monetary policy tools such as liquidity and cash ratios should also be moderated and stabilized for stable bank portfolio performance as well as aggressive improvement in the stock and quality of infrastructure and technology within an economy. With the new theory, it is expected that policy formulations and adjustments concerning bank portfolio structure and management would be designed with adequate flexibility and focus on long term loans and investments coupled with improved stock and quality of infrastructure to enhance economic development. This theory therefore provides another frontier of research on bank portfolio structure and contributions to economic development.

  11. Nuclear power economics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moynet, G.

    1987-01-01

    The economical comparison of nuclear power plants with coal-fired plants in some countries or areas are analyzed. It is not difficult to show that nuclear power will have a significant and expanding role to play in providing economic electricity in the coming decades. (Liu)

  12. Technology in the Aid of Delivering Economic Content to Teachers: Virtual Economics v. 3

    OpenAIRE

    John R. Swinton; Benjamin Scafidi

    2012-01-01

    We examine the impact on student achievement of a face-to-face teacher workshop that also provides economics instructors with access to an electronic library of instructional and reference material for their economics classroom—Virtual Economics v. 3 (VE3), offered by the Council for Economic Education. Based on evidence using student and teacher-level administrative data from the Georgia Department of Education and controlling for students’ prior achievement in mathematics, we find evidence ...

  13. Economics: It's Your Business.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Billings, Henry

    This document is a text for teaching economics. The book is divided into seven units. Unit 1 is called "What is Economics?" Its seven chapters discuss economics and scarcity, money, the role of the consumer, the role of the producer, capitalism and the free enterprise system, and the circular flow of the economy. The second unit is "How the United…

  14. Micro-enterprise predicament in township economic development: Evidence from Ivory Park and Tembisa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Charman

    2017-05-01

    Aim: In response to the developmental need to stimulate micro-enterprise growth in South African townships, the paper poses the question: what approaches are most likely to have a positive impact on township businesses, given current micro-enterprise dynamics? Setting: Primary research was undertaken in two neighbouring townships in Gauteng province, in Ivory Park and Tembisa. Methods: The data comprises a geospatial census of enterprise activities, a survey of select firms and qualitative interviews with business owners. The research utilised a small-area census approach to obtain data on business activities within an area of approximately 2km2 in each site. The census enumerated 2509 micro-enterprises in Ivory Park and 1722 micro-enterprises in Tembisa. Firm interviews were conducted with business owners in four sectors: grocery retail, liquor retail, hair care and early childhood development centres. Results: The business census identifies a strong similarity in the structure of the townships’ informal micro-entrepreneurship despite the considerable differences in the socio-economic status of the respective case sites. The enterprise survey highlights the resource constraints of township businesses and thinness of local markets. Interviews with entrepreneurs reveal four main pathways through which individuals enter into self-employment with the most dynamic enterprises established by inward investing entrepreneurs. Spatial considerations exert an influence on the position of enterprise sectors, whilst access to land and business infrastructure are notable constraints. Conclusion: Reflecting on the evidence, the paper concludes with making a call for a more low-geared development approach, focusing on lessening the legal, institutional and regulatory obstacles to enterprise growth as a first step. Municipalities have an important role in liberalising the spaces and places where township informal enterprises can and should be permitted to trade as well as

  15. Economics of Agroforestry

    Science.gov (United States)

    D. Evan Mercer; Frederick W. Cubbage; Gregory E. Frey

    2014-01-01

    This chapter provides principles, literature and a case study about the economics of agroforestry. We examine necessary conditions for achieving efficiency in agroforestry system design and economic analysis tools for assessing efficiency and adoptability of agroforestry. The tools presented here (capital budgeting, linear progranuning, production frontier analysis...

  16. Sustainable economic structures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dellink, R.B.; Bennis, M.; Verbruggen, H.

    1999-01-01

    The paper introduces four scenarios for sustainable economic structures in the Netherlands for 2030. The aim of this paper is to provide possible answers to what a sustainable future might look like in terms of alternative economic structures. To this end, an empirical economy-ecology model is

  17. Economic policy uncertainty index and economic activity: what causes what?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivana Lolić

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper is a follow-up on the Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU index, developed in 2011 by Baker, Bloom, and Davis. The principal idea of the EPU index is to quantify the level of uncertainty in an economic system, based on three separate pillars: news media, number of federal tax code provisions expiring in the following years, and disagreement amongst professional forecasters on future tendencies of relevant macroeconomic variables. Although the original EPU index was designed and published for the US economy, it had instantly caught the attention of numerous academics and was rapidly introduced in 15 countries worldwide. Extensive academic debate has been triggered on the importance of economic uncertainty relating to the intensity and persistence of the recent crisis. Despite the intensive (mostly politically-motivated debate, formal scientific confirmation of causality running from the EPU index to economic activity has not followed. Moreover, empirical literature has completely failed to conduct formal econometric testing of the Granger causality between the two mentioned phenomena. This paper provides an estimation of the Toda-Yamamoto causality test between the EPU index and economic activity in the USA and several European countries. The results do not provide a general conclusion: causality seems to run in both directions only for the USA, while only in one direction for France and Germany. Having taken into account the Great Recession of 2008, the main result does not change, therefore casting doubt on the index methodology and overall media bias.

  18. Neoclassical economic orthodoxy and the need for a new post-crisis economic paradigm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrei JOSAN

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Capitalism is a social adaptive system that evolve, change and grow in response to the challenges of a rapidly changing economic environment. When capitalism is seriously threatened by a systemic crisis, a new version much better adapted to existing conditions appears. Critical analysis of the fundamental ideas underlying neoclassical economic theory shows that the capitalist system is fundamentally a dynamic and therefore static neoclassical models proved to be unsuitable for studying it. Contrary to neoclassical economic vision, the capitalist economy is not governed by immutable economic laws. Global systemic crisis of capitalism that began in 2007 has highlighted the need for a new economic paradigm on which to be built and to be performed a new version of capitalism, in line with the increasingly complex realities of a globalized and quick changing world.

  19. 15. Basic economic indicators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carless, J.; Dow, B.; Farivari, R.; O'Connor, J.; Fox, T.; Tunstall, D.; Mentzingen, M.

    1992-01-01

    The clear value of economic data and analysis to decisionmakers has motivated them to mandate the creation of extensive global economic data sets. This chapter contains a set of these basic economic data, which provides the context for understanding the causes and the consequences of many of the decisions that affect the world's resources. Many traditional economic indicators fail to account for the depletion or deterioration of natural resources, the long-term consequences of such depletion, the equitable distribution of income within a country, or the sustainability of current economic practices. The type of measurement shown here, however, is still useful in showing the great differences between the wealthiest and the poorest countries. Tables are given on the following: Gross national product and official development assistance 1969-89; External debt indicators 1979-89; Central government expenditures; and World commodity indexes and prices 1975-89

  20. Contours of New Economic Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garry Jacobs

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The need for a paradigm change in economic thought has been well established, but the contours and fundamental characteristics of a new paradigm in economic theory are yet to be worked out. This article views this transition as an inevitable expression of the maturation of the social sciences into an integrated trans-disciplinary science of society founded on common underlying principles, premises and processes. It calls for evolution of human-centered, value-based economic theory whose objective is to maximize human economic security, welfare and well-being rather than economic growth. It emphasizes the determinative role of fundamental creative social processes expressing in all fields of human endeavor. It argues for extending the boundaries of economics to encompass the entire gamut of political, legal, social, psychological, intellectual, organizational and ecological factors that directly and indirectly contribute to economic security, welfare and well-being. The article concludes with a list of anticipated practical implications.