Incentives for Blood Donation: A Discrete Choice Experiment to Analyze Extrinsic Motivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadler, Andrew; Shi, Ling; Bethge, Susanne; Mühlbacher, Axel

2018-04-01

Background: Demographic trends affect size and age structure of populations. One of the consequences will be an increasing need for blood products to treat age-related diseases. Donation services rely on voluntariness and charitable motivation. It might be questioned whether there will be sufficient blood supply with voluntary donation. The present study focused on elicitation of preferences for incentives and aimed to contribute to the discussion on how to increase donation rates. Methods: A self-administered discrete choice experiment (DCE) was applied. Respondents were repeatedly asked to choose between hypothetical blood donation centers. In case of reluctance to receiving incentives a none-option was included. Random parameter logit (RPL) and latent class models (LCM) were used for analysis. Results: The study sample included 416 college students from the US and Germany. Choice decisions were significantly influenced by the characteristics of the donation center in the DCE. Incentives most preferred were monetary compensation, paid leave, and blood screening test. LCM identified subgroups with preference heterogeneity. Small subgroups indicated moderate to strong aversion to incentives. Conclusion: The majority of the sample positively responded to incentives and indicated a willingness to accept incentives. In face of future challenges, the judicious use and appropriate utilization of incentives might be an option to motivate potential donors and should be open to discussion.

Variation in Incentive Effects across Neighbourhoods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark J Hanly

2014-03-01

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

Military physician recruitment and retention: a survey of students at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, Samuel L; Lee, Daniel J; Charny, Grigory; Guthrie, Jeff A; Knight, John G

2009-05-01

Recent strategies employed in response to military physician recruitment shortfalls have consisted of increasing financial incentives for students in the Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) while offering no increased incentive for attendance at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). To gauge the impact of these incentive increases on the decision of medical students to attend USUHS, a prospective e-mail survey of current USUHS medical students was conducted. The survey was distributed to 674 USUHS medical students from all four class years, of which 41% responded. Students were asked to prioritize incentives and disincentives for military service and USUHS, as well as respond to whether recent incentives applied solely to the HPSP would have affected their decision to attend USUHS. Data were assessed using a weighted scale with responses ranked highest receiving a score of 3, responses ranked second receiving a weighted score of 2, and those ranked third receiving a weighted score of 1. The total weighted sum for each question response across the respondent population was then tallied in aggregate and assigned a weighted score to identify factors consistently ranked highest among the students. Patriotic duty and serving uniformed personnel were ranked most appealing about military service. Combat and deployment considerations were ranked least appealing about military service. Also of note, numerous survey comment box responses highlighted the perceived advantages of pooling resources between the two programs to benefit military medical student recruitment and training. Survey results suggested that current enhanced financial incentives and shorter service obligation offered by the HPSP make attendance of USUHS less appealing for current USUHS students and may negatively impact recruitment and retention of USUHS medical officers. Commensurate incentives such as promotion and credit for time in service while attending USUHS were

The use of financial incentives in Australian general practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Kecmanovic, Milica; Hall, Jane P

2015-05-18

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

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

Financial incentives enhance adaptation to a sensorimotor transformation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gajda, Kathrin; Sülzenbrück, Sandra; Heuer, Herbert

2016-10-01

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

Wellness Programs With Financial Incentives Through Disparities Lens.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-02-01

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

`Membership Has Its Privileges': Status Incentives and Categorical Inequality in Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Domina, Thurston; Penner, Andrew M; Penner, Emily K

2016-05-01

Prizes - formal systems that publicly allocate rewards for exemplary behavior - play an increasingly important role in a wide array of social settings, including education. In this paper, we evaluate a prize system designed to boost achievement at two high schools by assigning students color-coded ID cards based on a previously low stakes test. Average student achievement on this test increased in the ID card schools beyond what one would expect from contemporaneous changes in neighboring schools. However, regression discontinuity analyses indicate that the program created new inequalities between students who received low-status and high-status ID cards. These findings indicate that status-based incentives create categorical inequalities between prize winners and others even as they reorient behavior toward the goals they reward.

University-Affiliated Alcohol Marketing Enhances the Incentive Salience of Alcohol Cues.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartholow, Bruce D; Loersch, Chris; Ito, Tiffany A; Levsen, Meredith P; Volpert-Esmond, Hannah I; Fleming, Kimberly A; Bolls, Paul; Carter, Brooke K

2018-01-01

We tested whether affiliating beer brands with universities enhances the incentive salience of those brands for underage drinkers. In Study 1, 128 undergraduates viewed beer cues while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Results showed that beer cues paired with in-group backgrounds (logos for students' universities) evoked an enhanced P3 ERP component, a neural index of incentive salience. This effect varied according to students' levels of identification with their university, and the amplitude of the P3 response prospectively predicted alcohol use over 1 month. In Study 2 ( N = 104), we used a naturalistic advertisement exposure to experimentally create in-group brand associations and found that this manipulation caused an increase in the incentive salience of the beer brand. These data provide the first evidence that marketing beer via affiliating it with students' universities enhances the incentive salience of the brand for underage students and that this effect has implications for their alcohol involvement.

The Relationship between Incentives to Learn and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Wenling

This paper empirically explores lots of students in college for their hierarchy of needs and incentives to learn, and finds the linear relationship between them. With the survey, it's be found that there are some kinds of factors influence the students needs order. The paper gives several diagrams to show these important factors which affect the college students' hierarchy of needs most. The paper also finds the change of the student' hierarchy of needs will affect the variety of incentives to learn. Then the paper develops a model for qualitative analyze this relationship. Numerical examples are used to demonstrate the performance of the model. With this model the correct and useful methods can be easily selected for students to incentive according to their types of hierarchy of needs.

‘Membership Has Its Privileges’: Status Incentives and Categorical Inequality in Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thurston Domina

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Prizes – formal systems that publicly allocate rewards for exemplary behavior – play an increasingly important role in a wide array of social settings, including education. In this paper, we evaluate a prize system designed to boost achievement at two high schools by assigning students color-coded ID cards based on a previously low stakes test. Average student achievement on this test increased in the ID card schools beyond what one would expect from contemporaneous changes in neighboring schools. However, regression discontinuity analyses indicate that the program created new inequalities between students who received low-status and high-status ID cards. These findings indicate that status-based incentives create categorical inequalities between prize winners and others even as they reorient behavior toward the goals they reward.

EHR Incentive Programs - Data and Reports

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — As of March 2013, more than 259,000 health care providers received payment for participating in the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive...

Evaluating Student-Teacher Linkage Data in Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) Sites: Acquisition, Verification, and System Development. The Harvesting Project

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Jeffery; Witham, Peter; St. Louis, Timothy

2010-01-01

The U.S. Department of Education Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) seeks to transform education compensation systems so that principal and teacher performance (measured through classroom productivity measures) connects to compensation. Classroom-level productivity measures require robust student-teacher linkage data. Organizations such as the…

STUDENT NURSES' EXPERIENCE OF A SYSTEM OF PEER ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

support

A system of peer group supervision and accompaniment for student nurses has been in place at a ... The themes that were identified indicated that certain elements motivated nursing stu- dents to ..... tutors receive a financial incentive.

Financial incentives and physician commitment to guideline-recommended hypertension management.

Science.gov (United States)

Hysong, Sylvia J; Simpson, Kate; Pietz, Kenneth; SoRelle, Richard; Broussard Smitham, Kristen; Petersen, Laura A

2012-10-01

To examine the impact of financial incentives on physician goal commitment to guideline-recommended hypertension care. Clinic-level cluster-randomized trial with 4 arms: individual, group, or combined incentives, and control. A total of 83 full-time primary care physicians at 12 Veterans Affairs medical centers completed web-based surveys measuring their goal commitment to guideline-recommended hypertension care every 4 months and telephone interviews at months 8 and 16. Intervention arm participants received performance-based incentives every 4 months for 5 periods. All participants received guideline education at baseline and audit and feedback every 4 months. Physician goal commitment did not vary over time or across arms. Participants reported patient nonadherence was a perceived barrier and consistent follow-up was a perceived facilitator to successful hypertension care, suggesting that providers may perceive hypertension management as more of a patient responsibility (external locus of control). Financial incentives may constitute an insufficiently strong intervention to influence goal commitment when providers attribute performance to external forces beyond their control.

Financial Recruitment Incentive Programs for Nursing Personnel in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathews, Maria; Ryan, Dana

2015-03-01

Financial incentives are increasingly offered to recruit nursing personnel to work in underserved communities. The authors describe and compare the characteristics of federal, provincial and territorial financial recruitment incentive programs for registered nurses (RNs), nurse practitioners (NPs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), registered practical nurses or registered psychiatric nurses. The authors identified incentive programs from government, health ministry and student aid websites and by contacting program officials. Only government-funded recruitment programs providing funding beyond the normal employee wages and benefits and requiring a service commitment were included. The authors excluded programs offered by hospitals, regional or private firms, and programs that rewarded retention. All provinces and territories except QC and NB offer financial recruitment incentive programs for RNs; six provinces (BC, AB, SK, ON, QC and NL) offer programs for NPs, and NL offers a program for LPNs. Programs include student loan forgiveness, tuition forgiveness, education bursaries, signing bonuses and relocation expenses. Programs target trainees, recent graduates and new hires. Funding and service requirements vary by program, and service requirements are not always commensurate with funding levels. This snapshot of government-funded recruitment incentives provides program managers with data to compare and improve nursing workforce recruitment initiatives. Copyright © 2015 Longwoods Publishing.

Burn and earn: a randomized controlled trial incentivizing exercise during fall semester for college first-year students.

Science.gov (United States)

Pope, Lizzy; Harvey-Berino, Jean

2013-03-01

To examine the viability of monetary incentives to increase fitness-center use and maintain/improve the Body Mass Indexes (BMIs) of first-year students over the fall semester. Randomized-controlled trial with no-treatment and incentive conditions involving 117 first-year students. For 12 weeks, students in the incentive condition received monetary payments ranging from $10 to $38.75 for meeting researcher-set fitness-center use goals that were identical across conditions. Fitness-center use was monitored through electronic ID-card check-in and check-out records at the campus fitness center. 63% of incentive-condition participants met the weekly fitness-center use goals on average compared to only 13% of control-condition participants, a significant difference, pstudents meeting weekly fitness-center use goals. However, the increased fitness-center use by the incentive condition did not prevent an increase in BMI during fall semester. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gotta Have It! Pepsi Challenges Students to Stay in School.

Science.gov (United States)

Punsalan, Carla M.

1993-01-01

A program sponsored by Pepsi-Cola Company is designed to provide students in inner-city school districts with reasons for staying in school. Incentives for students include scholarship credit of $250 for each semester in which they maintain a C average; mentor-teachers receive $1,000 for continuing education, classroom enhancement, or the…

Using a Mnemonic to Develop Effective Incentive Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Forbringer, Linda L.

2007-01-01

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

The Relative Effectiveness of Various Incentives and Deterrents as Judged by Pupils and Teachers.

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Robert B.

1978-01-01

Compares opinions of British teachers and students toward educational incentives and deterrents. Little change has occurred in the responses of teachers and students over the 24 years. Differences of opinion are evident between pupils and teachers, especially with regard to corporal punishment as a deterrent and adult approval as an incentive.…

25 CFR 39.215 - Can a school receive funding for any part-time students?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Can a school receive funding for any part-time students... Can a school receive funding for any part-time students? (a) A school can receive funding for the following part-time students: (1) Kindergarten students enrolled in a 2-hour program; and (2) Grade 7-12...

Reducing Food Insecurity and Improving Fruit and Vegetable Intake Among Farmers' Market Incentive Program Participants.

Science.gov (United States)

Savoie-Roskos, Mateja; Durward, Carrie; Jeweks, Melanie; LeBlanc, Heidi

2016-01-01

To determine whether participation in a farmers' market incentive pilot program had an impact on food security and fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake of participants. Participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program were eligible to receive a dollar-per-dollar match up to $10/wk in farmers' market incentives. The researchers used a pretest-posttest design to measure F&V intake and food security status of 54 adult participants before and after receiving farmers' market incentives. The 6-item Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System questionnaire and US Household Food Security Survey Module were used to measure F&V intake and food security, respectively. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare scores of F&V intake. After receiving incentives, fewer individuals reported experiencing food insecurity-related behaviors. A significantly increased intake (P market incentive program was positively related to greater food security and intake of select vegetables among participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Costs and results of federal incentives for commercial nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1991-01-01

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

Emotional responses to behavioral economic incentives for health behavior change.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-03-05

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

The effect of financial incentives on adherence to antipsychotic depot medication: does it change over time?

Science.gov (United States)

Pavlickova, Hana; Bremner, Stephen A; Priebe, Stefan

2015-08-01

A recent cluster-randomized controlled trial found that offering financial incentives improves adherence to long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs). The present study investigates whether the impact of incentives diminishes over time and whether the improvement in adherence is linked to the amount of incentives offered. Seventy-three teams with 141 patients with psychotic disorders (using ICD-10) were randomized to the intervention or control group. Over 1 year, patients in the intervention group received £15 (US $23) for each LAI, while control patients received treatment as usual. Adherence levels, ie, the percentage of prescribed LAIs that were received, were calculated for quarterly intervals. The amount of incentives offered was calculated from the treatment cycle at baseline. Multilevel models were used to examine the time course of the effect of incentives and the effect of the amount of incentives offered on adherence. Adherence increased in both the intervention and the control group over time by an average of 4.2% per quarterly interval (95% CI, 2.8%-5.6%; P time and treatment group. Further, a higher total amount of incentives was associated with poorer adherence (βbootstrapped = -0.11; 95% CIbootstrapped, -0.20 to -0.01; P = .023). A substantial effect of financial incentives on adherence to LAIs occurs within the first 3 months of the intervention and is sustained over 1 year. A higher total amount of incentives does not increase the effect. ISRCTN.com identifier: ISRCTN77769281 and UKCRN.org identifier: 7033. © Copyright 2015 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

Generic host state incentive report. Draft

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-01-01

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isamu Okada

2015-05-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-05-01

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

No Margin, no Mission? A Field Experiment on Incentives for public service delivery

OpenAIRE

Nava Ashraf; Oriana Bandiera; Kelsey Jack

2012-01-01

A substantial body of research investigates the design of incentives in firms, yet less is known about incentives in organizations that hire individuals to perform tasks with positive social spillovers. We conduct a field experiment in which agents hired by a public health organization are randomly allocated to four groups. Agents in the control group receive a standard volunteer contract often offered for this type of task, whereas agents in the three treatment groups receive small financial...

No margin, no mission? A Field Experiment on Incentives for Pro-Social Tasks

OpenAIRE

Ashraf, Nava; Bandiera, Oriana; Jack, Kelsey

2012-01-01

A substantial body of research investigates the design of incentives in firms, yet less is known about incentives in organizations that hire individuals to perform tasks with positive social spillovers. We conduct a field experiment in which agents hired by a public health organization are randomly allocated to four groups. Agents in the control group receive a standard volunteer contract often offered for this type of task, whereas agents in the three treatment groups receive small financial...

Motivation for Participating in a Weight Loss Program and Financial Incentives: An Analysis from a Randomized Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Crane, Melissa M.; Tate, Deborah F.; Finkelstein, Eric A.; Linnan, Laura A.

2012-01-01

This analysis investigated if changes in autonomous or controlled motivation for participation in a weight loss program differed between individuals offered a financial incentive for weight loss compared to individuals not offered an incentive. Additionally, the same relationships were tested among those who lost weight and either received or did not receive an incentive. This analysis used data from a year-long randomized worksite weight loss program that randomly assigned employees in each worksite to either a low-intensity weight loss program or the same program plus small financial incentives for weight loss ($5.00 per percentage of initial weight lost). There were no differences in changes between groups on motivation during the study, however, increases in autonomous motivation were consistently associated with greater weight losses. This suggests that the small incentives used in this program did not lead to increases in controlled motivation nor did they undermine autonomous motivation. Future studies are needed to evaluate the magnitude and timing of incentives to more fully understand the relationship between incentives and motivation. PMID:22577524

Predictors of Middle School Students’ Interest in Participating in an Incentive-Based Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program in Connecticut

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meghan E. Morean

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Behavioral incentives have been used to encourage smoking cessation in older adolescents, but the acceptability of incentives to promote a smoke-free lifestyle in younger adolescents is unknown. To inform the development of novel, effective, school-based interventions for youth, we assessed middle school students’ interest in participating in an incentive-based tobacco abstinence program. We surveyed 988 students (grades 6–8 attending three Connecticut middle schools to determine whether interest in program participation varied as a function of (1 intrapersonal factors (i.e., demographic characteristics (sex, age, race, smoking history, and trait impulsivity and/or (2 aspects of program design (i.e., prize type, value, and reward frequency. Primary analyses were conducted using multiple regression. A majority of students (61.8% reported interest in program participation. Interest did not vary by gender, smoking risk status, or offering cash prizes. However, younger students, non-Caucasian students, behaviorally impulsive students, and students with higher levels of self-regulation were more likely to report interest. Inexpensive awards (e.g., video games offered monthly motivated program interest. In sum, middle school students reported high levels of interest in an incentive-based program to encourage a tobacco-free lifestyle. These formative data can inform the design of effective, incentive-based smoking cessation and prevention programs in middle schools.

Impact of gender and professional education on attitudes towards financial incentives for organ donation: results of a survey among 755 students of medicine and economics in Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Inthorn, Julia; Wöhlke, Sabine; Schmidt, Fabian; Schicktanz, Silke

2014-07-05

There is an ongoing expert debate with regard to financial incentives in order to increase organ supply. However, there is a lacuna of empirical studies on whether citizens would actually support financial incentives for organ donation. Between October 2008 and February 2009 a quantitative survey was conducted among German students of medicine and economics to gain insights into their point of view regarding living and deceased organ donation and different forms of commercialization (n = 755). The average (passive) willingness to donate is 63.5% among medical students and 50.0% among students of economics (p = 0.001), while only 24.1% of the respondents were actually holding an organ donor card. 11.3% of students of economics had signed a donor card, however, the number is significantly higher among students of medicine (31.9%, p economics (p = 0.034). Despite a generally positive view on organ donation the respondents refuse to consent to commercialization, but are in favor of removing disincentives or are in favor of indirect models of reward.

The effectiveness of a monetary incentive offer on survey response rates and response completeness in a longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Shengchao; Alper, Howard E; Nguyen, Angela-Maithy; Brackbill, Robert M; Turner, Lennon; Walker, Deborah J; Maslow, Carey B; Zweig, Kimberly C

2017-04-26

Achieving adequate response rates is an ongoing challenge for longitudinal studies. The World Trade Center Health Registry is a longitudinal health study that periodically surveys a cohort of ~71,000 people exposed to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City. Since Wave 1, the Registry has conducted three follow-up surveys (Waves 2-4) every 3-4 years and utilized various strategies to increase survey participation. A promised monetary incentive was offered for the first time to survey non-respondents in the recent Wave 4 survey, conducted 13-14 years after 9/11. We evaluated the effectiveness of a monetary incentive in improving the response rate five months after survey launch, and assessed whether or not response completeness was compromised due to incentive use. The study compared the likelihood of returning a survey for those who received an incentive offer to those who did not, using logistic regression models. Among those who returned surveys, we also examined whether those receiving an incentive notification had higher rate of response completeness than those who did not, using negative binomial regression models and logistic regression models. We found that a $10 monetary incentive offer was effective in increasing Wave 4 response rates. Specifically, the $10 incentive offer was useful in encouraging initially reluctant participants to respond to the survey. The likelihood of returning a survey increased by 30% for those who received an incentive offer (AOR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.4), and the incentive increased the number of returned surveys by 18%. Moreover, our results did not reveal any significant differences on response completeness between those who received an incentive offer and those who did not. In the face of the growing challenge of maintaining a high response rate for the World Trade Center Health Registry follow-up surveys, this study showed the value of offering a monetary incentive as an additional refusal conversion strategy. Our

Incentive-Based Primary Care: Cost and Utilization Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hollander, Marcus J; Kadlec, Helena

2015-01-01

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

Simulation Pedagogy With Nurse Practitioner Students: Impact of Receiving Immediate Individualized Faculty Feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Grossman, Sheila; Conelius, Jaclyn

2015-01-01

Family nurse practitioner (FNP) students must achieve basic competency in managing patients' primary care needs across the lifespan. Students in the FNP program have simulations integrated throughout their clinical theory courses to increase practice time with various patient cases. Students who received individualized faculty feedback immediately after self-evaluation of simulation performance showed statistically significantly increased knowledge (as evidenced by higher grades in course examinations and preceptor evaluations) than a control group of students who received feedback in a group class via a rubric grading guide 2-4 weeks after all students completed their individual simulations.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arnav Agarwal

2016-08-01

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

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

OpenAIRE

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

2015-01-01

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

Irregular incentives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cicchetti, M.A.

1993-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-12-15

participants. Blinding of outcome assessors was adequate in one study, but was limited or not described in the remaining four studies. Risk of attrition was deemed to be low in all studies that contributed data to the review. Two of the studies reported or analyzed data in a manner that was not consistent with the predetermined protocol and thus were deemed to be at high risk. The other three studies were low risk for reporting bias. The largest two of the five studies comprising the majority of participants took place in rural, low-income, homogenously Hispanic communities in Central America. This setting introduces a number of confounding factors that may affect generalizability of these findings to ethnically and economically diverse urban communities in developed countries.The five included studies of incentive programs did not report any of this review's primary outcomes: preterm birth, small-for-gestational age, or perinatal death.In terms of this review's secondary outcomes, pregnant women receiving incentives were no more likely to initiate prenatal care (risk ratio (RR) 1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.78 to 1.38, one study, 104 pregnancies). Pregnant women receiving incentives were more likely to attend prenatal visits on a frequent basis (RR 1.18, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.38, one study, 606 pregnancies) and obtain adequate prenatal care defined by number of "procedures" such as testing blood sugar or blood pressure, vaccinations and counseling about breastfeeding and birth control (mean difference (MD) 5.84, 95% CI 1.88 to 9.80, one study, 892 pregnancies). In contrast, women who received incentives were more likely to deliver by cesarean section (RR 1.97, 95% CI 1.18 to 3.30, one study, 979 pregnancies) compared to those women who did not receive incentives.Women who received incentives were no more likely to return for postpartum care based on results of meta-analysis (average RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.21 to 2.64, two studies, 833 pregnancies, Tau² = 0.81, I² = 98

Grades and Incentives: Assessing Competing Grade Point Average Measures and Postgraduate Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Michael A.; Rosenthal, Jeffrey S.; Yoon, Albert H.

2016-01-01

In many educational settings, students may have an incentive to take courses where high grades are easier to achieve, potentially corroding student learning, evaluation of student achievement, and the fairness and efficiency of post-graduation labor outcomes. A grading system that takes into account heterogeneity of teacher standards and student…

A Trial of Financial and Social Incentives to Increase Older Adults' Walking.

Science.gov (United States)

Harkins, Kristin A; Kullgren, Jeffrey T; Bellamy, Scarlett L; Karlawish, Jason; Glanz, Karen

2017-05-01

Despite evidence that regular physical activity confers health benefits, physical activity rates among older adults remain low. Both personal and social goals may enhance older adults' motivation to become active. This study tested the effects of financial incentives, donations to charity, and the combined effects of both interventions on older adults' uptake and retention of increased levels of walking. RCT comparing three interventions to control. Data collection occurred from 2012 to 2013. Analyses were conducted in 2013-2016. Ninety-four adults aged ≥65 years from Philadelphia-area retirement communities. All participants received digital pedometers, walking goals of a 50% increase in daily steps, and weekly feedback on goal attainment. Participants were randomized to one of four groups: (1) Control: received weekly feedback only; (2) Financial Incentives: received payment of $20 each week walking goals were met; (3) Social Goals: received donation of $20 to a charity of choice each week walking goals were met; and (4) Combined: received $20 each week walking goals were met that could be received by participant, donated to a charity of choice, or divided between the participant and charity. Mean proportion of days walking goals were met during the 16-week intervention and 4-week follow-up period. After adjusting for baseline walking, the proportion of days step goals were met during the 16-week intervention period was higher in all intervention groups versus controls (relative risk, 3.71; 95% CI=1.37, 10.01). During the 4-week follow up period, the proportion of days step goals were met did not differ in intervention groups compared to control (relative risk, 2.91; 95% CI=0.62, 13.64). Incentive schemes that use donations to a charity of choice, personal financial incentives, or a combination of the two can each increase older adults' initial uptake of increased levels of walking. This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT01643538. Copyright �

Special Education Services Received by Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders from Preschool through High School.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Xin; Wagner, Mary; Christiano, Elizabeth R A; Shattuck, Paul; Yu, Jennifer W

2014-11-01

Little is known about how special education services received by students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) differ by age, disability severity, and demographic characteristics. Using three national datasets, the Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS), the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS), and the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2), this study examined the age trends in special education services received by students with ASDs from preschool through high school. Elementary-school students with ASDs had higher odds of receiving adaptive physical education, specialized computer software or hardware, and special transportation, but lower odds of receiving learning strategies/study skills support than their preschool peers. Secondary-school students had lower odds of receiving speech/language or occupational therapy and of having a behavior management program, but higher odds of receiving mental health or social work services than their elementary-school peers. Both disability severity and demographic characteristics were associated with differences in special education service receipt rates.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mt-Isa Shahrul

2009-06-01

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

Financial incentive increases CPAP acceptance in patients from low socioeconomic background.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarasiuk, Ariel; Reznor, Gally; Greenberg-Dotan, Sari; Reuveni, Haim

2012-01-01

We explored whether financial incentives have a role in patients' decisions to accept (purchase) a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device in a healthcare system that requires cost sharing. Longitudinal interventional study. The group receiving financial incentive (n = 137, 50.8±10.6 years, apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) 38.7±19.9 events/hr) and the control group (n = 121, 50.9±10.3 years, AHI 39.9±22) underwent attendant titration and a two-week adaptation to CPAP. Patients in the control group had a co-payment of $330-660; the financial incentive group paid a subsidized price of $55. CPAP acceptance was 43% greater (p = 0.02) in the financial incentive group. CPAP acceptance among the low socioeconomic strata (n = 113) (adjusting for age, gender, BMI, tobacco smoking) was enhanced by financial incentive (OR, 95% CI) (3.43, 1.09-10.85), age (1.1, 1.03-1.17), AHI (>30 vs. acceptance was affected by AHI (>30 vs. 30 vs. acceptance among low socioeconomic status patients. Thus, financial incentive should be applied as a policy to encourage CPAP treatment, especially among low socioeconomic strata patients.

On Supplementing “Foot in the Door” Incentives for eHealth Program Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Financial health incentives, such as paying people to lose weight, are being widely implemented by Western nations and large corporations. A growing number of studies have tested the impact of incentives on health behaviors, though few have evaluated the approach on a population-scale. In this issue of the Journal of Medical Internet Research, Liu et al add to the evidence-base by examining whether a single incentive can motivate enrollment and engagement in a preventive eHealth program in a sample of 142,726 Canadian adults. While the incentives increased enrollment significantly (by a factor of about 28), a very high level of program attrition was noted (90%). The “foot in the door” incentive technique employed was insufficient; enrollees received incentives for signing-up for, but not for engaging with, the eHealth program. To supplement this technique and drive sustained behavior change, several theoretically- and empirically-based strategies are proposed. Specifically, incentives indexed to behavioral achievements over time are highlighted as one approach to boost engagement in this population in the future. PMID:25092221

Accounting Conservatism and Managerial Incentives

OpenAIRE

Young K. Kwon

2005-01-01

There are two sources of agency costs under moral hazard: (1) distortions in incentive contracts and (2) implementation of suboptimal decisions. In the accounting literature, the relation between conservative accounting and agency costs of type (1) has received considerable attention (cf. Watts 2002). However, little appears to be known about the effects of accounting conservatism on agency costs of type (2) or trade-offs between agency costs of types (1) and (2). The purpose of this study is...

Incentive Compatibility

OpenAIRE

Ledyard, John O.

1987-01-01

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

Tax Incentives : Using Tax Incentives to Attract Foreign Direct Investment

OpenAIRE

Morisset, Jacques

2003-01-01

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

Incentives for students

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ostermaier, Andreas

2018-01-01

This study examines the effects of certificates and deadlines on student performance. It exploits time lags in reforms of two similar degree programs at a business school, which create quasi-experimental settings. Students’ performance is found to increase if certificates are awarded to them early...

Aligning ambition and incentives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koch, Alexander; Peyrache, Eloïc

2011-01-01

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

Aligning Ambition and Incentives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koch, Alexander; Peyrache, Eloïc

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

Incentives for preventing smoking in children and adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-06-06

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

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barbose, Galen; Wiser, Ryan; Bolinger, Mark

2007-06-01

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

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

OpenAIRE

Patrick Button

2015-01-01

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

48 CFR 731.205-70 - Overseas recruitment incentive.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Organizations 731.205-70 Overseas recruitment incentive. Note: the term employee as used in this section means... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Overseas recruitment... of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 911), such employee is eligible to receive an overseas...

Incentive salience attribution under reward uncertainty: A Pavlovian model.

Science.gov (United States)

Anselme, Patrick

2015-02-01

There is a vast literature on the behavioural effects of partial reinforcement in Pavlovian conditioning. Compared with animals receiving continuous reinforcement, partially rewarded animals typically show (a) a slower development of the conditioned response (CR) early in training and (b) a higher asymptotic level of the CR later in training. This phenomenon is known as the partial reinforcement acquisition effect (PRAE). Learning models of Pavlovian conditioning fail to account for it. In accordance with the incentive salience hypothesis, it is here argued that incentive motivation (or 'wanting') plays a more direct role in controlling behaviour than does learning, and reward uncertainty is shown to have an excitatory effect on incentive motivation. The psychological origin of that effect is discussed and a computational model integrating this new interpretation is developed. Many features of CRs under partial reinforcement emerge from this model. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Do Monetary Incentives Matter in Classroom Experiments? Effects on Course Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Rousu, Matthew C.; Corrigan, Jay R.; Harris, David; Hayter, Jill K.; Houser, Scott; Lafrancois, Becky A.; Onafowora, Olugbenga; Colson, Gregory; Hoffer, Adam

2015-01-01

Using 641 principles of economics students across four universities, the authors examine whether providing monetary incentives in a prisoner's dilemma game enhances student learning as measured by a set of common exam questions. Subjects either play a two-player prisoner's dilemma game for real money, play the same game with no money at stake…

Economic incentives to promote innovation in healthcare delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Luft, Harold S

2009-10-01

Economics influences how medical care is delivered, organized, and progresses. Fee-for-service payment encourages delivery of services. Fee-for-individual-service, however, offers no incentives for clinicians to efficiently organize the care their patients need. Global capitation provides such incentives; it works well in highly integrated practices but not for independent practitioners. The failures of utilization management in the 1990s demonstrated the need for a third alternative to better align incentives, such as bundling payment for an episode of care. Building on Medicare's approach to hospital payment, one can define expanded diagnosis-related groups that include all hospital, physician, and other costs during the stay and appropriate preadmission and postdischarge periods. Physicians and hospitals voluntarily forming a new entity (a care delivery team) would receive such bundled payments along with complete flexibility in allocating the funds. Modifications to gainsharing and antikickback rules, as well as reforms to malpractice liability laws, will facilitate the functioning of the care delivery teams. The implicit financial incentives encourage efficient care for the patient; the episode focus will facilitate measuring patient outcomes. Payment can be based on the resources used by those care delivery teams achieving superior outcomes, thereby fostering innovation improving outcomes and reducing waste.

The Effect of Choosing versus Receiving Feedback on College Students' Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Cutumisu, Maria; Schwartz, Daniel L.

2016-01-01

This study examines the effect of choosing versus receiving feedback on the learning performance of n = 98 post-secondary students from California on a digital poster design task. The study employs a yoked experimental design where college students are randomly assigned to play a choice-based assessment game, Posterlet, in one of two conditions,…

42 CFR 495.370 - Appeals process for a Medicaid provider receiving electronic health record incentive payments.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION STANDARDS FOR THE ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD TECHNOLOGY INCENTIVE PROGRAM Requirements Specific to the... provide that the provider (whether individual or entity) is also given any additional appeals rights that...

Financial incentive increases CPAP acceptance in patients from low socioeconomic background.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ariel Tarasiuk

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: We explored whether financial incentives have a role in patients' decisions to accept (purchase a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP device in a healthcare system that requires cost sharing. DESIGN: Longitudinal interventional study. PATIENTS: The group receiving financial incentive (n = 137, 50.8±10.6 years, apnea/hypopnea index (AHI 38.7±19.9 events/hr and the control group (n = 121, 50.9±10.3 years, AHI 39.9±22 underwent attendant titration and a two-week adaptation to CPAP. Patients in the control group had a co-payment of $330-660; the financial incentive group paid a subsidized price of $55. RESULTS: CPAP acceptance was 43% greater (p = 0.02 in the financial incentive group. CPAP acceptance among the low socioeconomic strata (n = 113 (adjusting for age, gender, BMI, tobacco smoking was enhanced by financial incentive (OR, 95% CI (3.43, 1.09-10.85, age (1.1, 1.03-1.17, AHI (>30 vs. 30 vs. 30 vs. <30 (5.25, 1.34-18.5. CONCLUSIONS: Minimizing cost sharing reduces a barrier for CPAP acceptance among low socioeconomic status patients. Thus, financial incentive should be applied as a policy to encourage CPAP treatment, especially among low socioeconomic strata patients.

20 CFR 670.620 - Are Job Corps students eligible to receive cash allowances and performance bonuses?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... Student Support § 670.620 Are Job Corps students eligible to receive cash allowances and performance... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Are Job Corps students eligible to receive cash allowances and performance bonuses? 670.620 Section 670.620 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND...

Impact of monetary incentives on cognitive performance and error monitoring following sleep deprivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Shulan; Li, Tzu-Hsien; Tsai, Ling-Ling

2010-04-01

To examine whether monetary incentives attenuate the negative effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance in a flanker task that requires higher-level cognitive-control processes, including error monitoring. Twenty-four healthy adults aged 18 to 23 years were randomly divided into 2 subject groups: one received and the other did not receive monetary incentives for performance accuracy. Both subject groups performed a flanker task and underwent electroencephalographic recordings for event-related brain potentials after normal sleep and after 1 night of total sleep deprivation in a within-subject, counterbalanced, repeated-measures study design. Monetary incentives significantly enhanced the response accuracy and reaction time variability under both normal sleep and sleep-deprived conditions, and they reduced the effects of sleep deprivation on the subjective effort level, the amplitude of the error-related negativity (an error-related event-related potential component), and the latency of the P300 (an event-related potential variable related to attention processes). However, monetary incentives could not attenuate the effects of sleep deprivation on any measures of behavior performance, such as the response accuracy, reaction time variability, or posterror accuracy adjustments; nor could they reduce the effects of sleep deprivation on the amplitude of the Pe, another error-related event-related potential component. This study shows that motivation incentives selectively reduce the effects of total sleep deprivation on some brain activities, but they cannot attenuate the effects of sleep deprivation on performance decrements in tasks that require high-level cognitive-control processes. Thus, monetary incentives and sleep deprivation may act through both common and different mechanisms to affect cognitive performance.

Incentives versus sorting in tournaments: evidence from a field experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leuven, E.; Oosterbeek, H.; Sonnemans, J.; van der Klaauw, B.

2011-01-01

Existing field evidence on rank-order tournaments typically does not allow disentangling incentive and sorting effects. We conduct a field experiment illustrating the confounding effect. Students in an introductory microeconomics course selected themselves into tournaments with low, medium, or high

Photovoltaic Incentive Design Handbook

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoff, T. E.

2006-12-01

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

Hedonic and incentive signals for body weight control.

Science.gov (United States)

Egecioglu, Emil; Skibicka, Karolina P; Hansson, Caroline; Alvarez-Crespo, Mayte; Friberg, P Anders; Jerlhag, Elisabet; Engel, Jörgen A; Dickson, Suzanne L

2011-09-01

Here we review the emerging neurobiological understanding of the role of the brain's reward system in the regulation of body weight in health and in disease. Common obesity is characterized by the over-consumption of palatable/rewarding foods, reflecting an imbalance in the relative importance of hedonic versus homeostatic signals. The popular 'incentive salience theory' of food reward recognises not only a hedonic/pleasure component ('liking') but also an incentive motivation component ('wanting' or 'reward-seeking'). Central to the neurobiology of the reward mechanism is the mesoaccumbal dopamine system that confers incentive motivation not only for natural rewards such as food but also by artificial rewards (eg. addictive drugs). Indeed, this mesoaccumbal dopamine system receives and integrates information about the incentive (rewarding) value of foods with information about metabolic status. Problematic over-eating likely reflects a changing balance in the control exerted by hypothalamic versus reward circuits and/or it could reflect an allostatic shift in the hedonic set point for food reward. Certainly, for obesity to prevail, metabolic satiety signals such as leptin and insulin fail to regain control of appetitive brain networks, including those involved in food reward. On the other hand, metabolic control could reflect increased signalling by the stomach-derived orexigenic hormone, ghrelin. We have shown that ghrelin activates the mesoaccumbal dopamine system and that central ghrelin signalling is required for reward from both chemical drugs (eg alcohol) and also from palatable food. Future therapies for problematic over-eating and obesity may include drugs that interfere with incentive motivation, such as ghrelin antagonists.

Incentives, health promotion and equality.

Science.gov (United States)

Voigt, Kristin

2012-07-01

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

Cooperation induced by wise incentive allocation in spontaneous institution

Science.gov (United States)

Cong, Rui; Li, Kun; Wang, Long; Zhao, Qianchuan

2016-08-01

Institutional incentives such as punishment and rewarding have recently received wide attention in resolving issues of public goods provision that requires collective cooperation. In this letter, we are interested in exploring the effect on cooperation of a spontaneous institution, which rewards its participants exclusively and also takes the social responsibility of punishing interior and exterior free-riders. Drawing support from evolutionary game theory, our results indicate that the splitting ratio of such institution funds plays a decisive role in determining the evolutionary outcome. Rewarding is essential in sustaining the institution, while a certain intensity of punishment ensures a high overall cooperation level. Our results may provide more insights into understanding the roles institutional incentives play in promoting social cooperation.

Exploring parent attitudes around using incentives to promote engagement in family-based weight management programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Jacob-Files

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Incentives can promote adult wellness. We sought to examine whether incentives might help overcome barriers to engagement in child weight management programs and the ideal value, type and recipient of incentives. In 2017, we conducted semi-structured phone interviews with parents of children ≤17 years old, formerly or currently affected by obesity, who had (n = 11 or had never (n = 12 participated in family-based behavioral treatment (FBT for obesity. Interviews explored the range and type of incentives families would be willing to accept. Interview transcripts were coded and data were analyzed using a thematic analysis. We found that some parents were skeptical about receiving cash incentives. However, once treatment-related costs were identified, some became more interested in reimbursement for out of pocket expenditures. Most parents felt up to $100/month would be adequate and that incentives should be tied to changing behaviors, not BMI. Some interviewees expressed preferences for non-cash incentives (e.g. a gift card over cash incentives. Parents were willing to share incentives with adolescents, up to $50/month, but there was concern about incentives affecting a child's intrinsic motivation for behavior change. All parents acknowledged that moderate incentives alone couldn't overcome the realities of structural and familial barriers to engaging in weight management programs. In summary, we identified aspects of an incentive program to promote engagement in FBT that would be desirable and feasible to implement. Future quantitative work can reveal the value and structure of incentives that are effective for improving obesogenic health behaviors and outcomes. Keywords: Behavioral economics, Family-based treatment, Financial incentives, Health incentives, Childhood obesity

Incentive delegation and collusion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mukherjee, A.

2000-01-01

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

Financial Incentive Increases CPAP Acceptance in Patients from Low Socioeconomic Background

Science.gov (United States)

Tarasiuk, Ariel; Reznor, Gally; Greenberg-Dotan, Sari; Reuveni, Haim

2012-01-01

Objective We explored whether financial incentives have a role in patients′ decisions to accept (purchase) a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device in a healthcare system that requires cost sharing. Design Longitudinal interventional study. Patients The group receiving financial incentive (n = 137, 50.8±10.6 years, apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) 38.7±19.9 events/hr) and the control group (n = 121, 50.9±10.3 years, AHI 39.9±22) underwent attendant titration and a two-week adaptation to CPAP. Patients in the control group had a co-payment of $330–660; the financial incentive group paid a subsidized price of $55. Results CPAP acceptance was 43% greater (p = 0.02) in the financial incentive group. CPAP acceptance among the low socioeconomic strata (n = 113) (adjusting for age, gender, BMI, tobacco smoking) was enhanced by financial incentive (OR, 95% CI) (3.43, 1.09–10.85), age (1.1, 1.03–1.17), AHI (>30 vs. CPAP (4.29, 1.05–17.51). Among average/high-income patients (n = 145) CPAP acceptance was affected by AHI (>30 vs. CPAP adherence was similar in the financial incentive and control groups, 35% and 39%, respectively (p = 0.82). Adherence rate was sensitive to education (+yr) (1.28, 1.06–1.55) and AHI (>30 vs. CPAP acceptance among low socioeconomic status patients. Thus, financial incentive should be applied as a policy to encourage CPAP treatment, especially among low socioeconomic strata patients. PMID:22479368

Public attitudes to financial incentive models for organs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoeyer, Klaus; Schicktanz, Silke; Deleuran, Ida

2013-01-01

Waiting lists for organs have stimulated interest in the use of financial incentives for organ donation (FIs), but the literature does not contain an adequate overview of studies of public attitudes toward this mode of procurement. We conducted a literature review of international peer......-reviewed research published between 2002 and 2012 on how members of the public position themselves toward FIs. We identified and analyzed 23 studies using MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts and cross-reference search. The search included whole organs, donation, quantitative and empirical qualitative social...... scientific studies on, public attitudes (excluding professionals and medical students). The review reveals a broad divergence of public opinions on financial incentives. However, quantitative studies showed a low overall level of acceptance of payment for organs in living donation (LD); only a slightly...

STS-29 crewmembers receive briefing on Student Experiment (SE) 83-9

Science.gov (United States)

1988-01-01

STS-29 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, crewmembers receive briefing on Student Experiment (SE) 83-9 Chicken Embryo Development in Space or 'Chix in Space' from student experimenter John C. Vellinger and sponsor Mark S. Deusser. Vellinger (right) explains operation of an incubator used in his experiment to crewmembers, seated around table, and other support personnel in audience. Clockwise from Mission Specialist (MS) Robert C. Springer (hands together at left) are MS James F. Buchli (glasses), Commander Michael L. Coats, Pilot John E. Blaha, MS James P. Bagian, Vellinger, and Deusser. The student's sponsor is Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).

Incentive Ratios of Fisher Markets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, Ning; Deng, Xuaitue; Zhang, Hongyang

2012-01-01

In a Fisher market, a market maker sells m items to n potential buyers. The buyers submit their utility functions and money endowments to the market maker, who, upon receiving submitted information, derives market equilibrium prices and allocations of its items. While agents may benefit...... by misreporting their private information, we show that the percentage of improvement by a unilateral strategic play, called incentive ratio, is rather limited—it is less than 2 for linear markets and at most $e^{1/e}\\thickapprox 1.445$ for Cobb-Douglas markets. We further prove that both ratios are tight....

Dynamic Incentives in Microfinance Group Lending

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Naveen Kumar K

2012-04-01

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

Aversive properties of negative incentive shifts in Fischer 344 and Lewis rats

Science.gov (United States)

Brewer, Adam; Johnson, Patrick; Stein, Jeff; Schlund, Michael; Williams, Dean C.

2018-01-01

Research on incentive contrast highlights that reward value is not absolute but rather is based upon comparisons we make to rewards we have received and expect to receive. Both human and nonhuman studies on incentive contrast show that shifting from a larger more-valued reward to a smaller less-valued reward is associated with long periods of nonresponding—a negative contrast effect. In this investigation, we used two different genetic rat strains, Fischer 344 and Lewis rats that putatively differ in their sensitivity to aversive stimulation, to assess the aversive properties of large-to-small reward shifts (negative incentive shifts). Additionally, we examined the extent to which increasing cost (fixed-ratio requirements) modulates negative contrast effects. In the presence of a cue that signaled the upcoming reward magnitude, lever pressing was reinforced with one of two different magnitudes of food (large or small). This design created two contrast shifts (small-to-large, large-to-small) and two shifts used as control conditions (small-to-small, large-to-large). Results showed a significant interaction between rat strain and cost requirements only during the negative incentive shift with the emotionally reactive Fischer 344 rats exhibiting significantly longer response latencies with increasing cost, highlighting greater negative contrast. These findings are more consistent with emotionality accounts of negative contrast and results of neurophysiological research that suggests shifting from a large to a small reward is aversive. Findings also highlight how subjective reward value and motivation is a product of gene-environment interactions. PMID:27864048

Better quality of life in patients offered financial incentives for taking anti-psychotic medication: Linked to improved adherence or more money?

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Katherine; Priebe, Stefan

2016-08-01

In a randomised controlled trial, patients were offered financial incentives to improve their adherence to anti-psychotic maintenance medication. Compared to a control group without the incentives, they had an improved adherence and also better subjective quality of life (SQOL) after 1 year. This paper explores the question as to whether this improvement in SQOL was associated with the amount of money received or with the improved adherence itself. A secondary analysis was performed using data of the experimental group in the trial. Adherence was assessed as the percentage of all prescribed long-acting anti-psychotic injections that were taken by the patient. In regression models, we tested whether changes in medication adherence and/or the amount of incentives received over the 12-month period was associated with SQOL, as rated on the DIALOG scale. Adherence changed from 68.49 % at baseline to 88.23 % (mean difference in adherence = 19.59 %, SD = 17.52 %). The total amount of incentives received within the 1-year study period varied between £75 and £735, depending on the treatment cycle and the number of long-acting injections taken. Improvement in adherence was found to be a significant predictor of better subjective quality of life (β = 0.014, 95 % CI 0.003-0.025, p = 0.014), whilst the amount of incentives received was not (β = 0.0002, 95 % CI -0.002 to 0.002, p = 0.818). Improved medication adherence is associated with a more favourable SQOL. This underlines the clinical relevance of improved adherence in response to financial incentives in this patient group.

Team incentives in relational contracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kvaloey, Ola

2003-01-01

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

Applying incentive sensitization models to behavioral addiction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rømer Thomsen, Kristine; Fjorback, Lone; Møller, Arne

2014-01-01

The incentive sensitization theory is a promising model for understanding the mechanisms underlying drug addiction, and has received support in animal and human studies. So far the theory has not been applied to the case of behavioral addictions like Gambling Disorder, despite sharing clinical...... symptoms and underlying neurobiology. We examine the relevance of this theory for Gambling Disorder and point to predictions for future studies. The theory promises a significant contribution to the understanding of behavioral addiction and opens new avenues for treatment....

The Influence of Different Kinds of Incentives on Decision-Making and Cognitive Control in Adolescent Development: A Review of Behavioral and Neuroscientific Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Kray, Jutta; Schmitt, Hannah; Lorenz, Corinna; Ferdinand, Nicola K.

2018-01-01

A number of recent hypothetical models on adolescent development take a dual-systems perspective and propose an imbalance in the maturation of neural systems underlying reward-driven and control-related behavior. In particular, such models suggest that the relative dominance of the early emerging subcortical reward system over the later emerging prefrontal-guided control system leads to higher risk-taking and sensation-seeking behavior in mid-adolescents. Here, we will review recent empirical evidence from behavioral and neuroscientific studies examining interactions between these systems and showing that empirical evidence in support for the view of a higher sensitivity to rewards in mid-adolescents is rather mixed. One possible explanation for this may be the use of different kinds and amounts of incentives across studies. We will therefore include developmental studies comparing the differential influence of primary and secondary incentives, as well as those investigating within the class of secondary incentives the effects of monetary, cognitive, or social incentives. We hypothesized that the value of receiving sweets or sours, winning or losing small or large amounts of money, and being accepted or rejected from a peer group may also changes across development, and thereby might modulate age differences in decision-making and cognitive control. Our review revealed that although developmental studies directly comparing different kinds of incentives are rather scarce, results of various studies rather consistently showed only minor age differences in the impact of incentives on the behavioral level. In tendency, adolescents were more sensitive to higher amounts of incentives and larger uncertainty of receiving them, as well as to social incentives such as the presence of peers observing them. Electrophysiological studies showed that processing efficiency was enhanced during anticipation of incentives and receiving them, irrespective of incentive type. Again, we

The Influence of Different Kinds of Incentives on Decision-Making and Cognitive Control in Adolescent Development: A Review of Behavioral and Neuroscientific Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jutta Kray

2018-05-01

Full Text Available A number of recent hypothetical models on adolescent development take a dual-systems perspective and propose an imbalance in the maturation of neural systems underlying reward-driven and control-related behavior. In particular, such models suggest that the relative dominance of the early emerging subcortical reward system over the later emerging prefrontal-guided control system leads to higher risk-taking and sensation-seeking behavior in mid-adolescents. Here, we will review recent empirical evidence from behavioral and neuroscientific studies examining interactions between these systems and showing that empirical evidence in support for the view of a higher sensitivity to rewards in mid-adolescents is rather mixed. One possible explanation for this may be the use of different kinds and amounts of incentives across studies. We will therefore include developmental studies comparing the differential influence of primary and secondary incentives, as well as those investigating within the class of secondary incentives the effects of monetary, cognitive, or social incentives. We hypothesized that the value of receiving sweets or sours, winning or losing small or large amounts of money, and being accepted or rejected from a peer group may also changes across development, and thereby might modulate age differences in decision-making and cognitive control. Our review revealed that although developmental studies directly comparing different kinds of incentives are rather scarce, results of various studies rather consistently showed only minor age differences in the impact of incentives on the behavioral level. In tendency, adolescents were more sensitive to higher amounts of incentives and larger uncertainty of receiving them, as well as to social incentives such as the presence of peers observing them. Electrophysiological studies showed that processing efficiency was enhanced during anticipation of incentives and receiving them, irrespective of

Mergers, managerial incentives, and efficiencies

OpenAIRE

Jovanovic, Dragan

2014-01-01

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

Teacher Incentive Fund: First Implementation Report, 2006 and 2007 Grantees

Science.gov (United States)

Humphrey, Daniel C.; Gallagher, H. Alix; Yee, Kaily M.; Goss, G. Kyle; Campbell, Ashley Z.; Cassidy, Lauren J.; Mitchell, Nyema M.

2012-01-01

The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) supports projects that are designed to reform teacher and principal compensation. Initially, the Department of Education (the Department) made two rounds of awards, in 2006 and 2007, to a total of 34 grantees. The specific goals of TIF were to reward teachers and principals for improving student achievement,…

The incentive effects of missions - Evidence from experiments with NGO employees and students

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gerhards, Leonie

2015-01-01

This paper studies the incentive effects of an organization׳s ‘mission’ on the effort provision of agents. Across treatments, I exogenously vary how much the agents׳ and their projects׳ missions match. In the first study, NGO employees are assigned the role of agents in an online, one-shot, princ......This paper studies the incentive effects of an organization׳s ‘mission’ on the effort provision of agents. Across treatments, I exogenously vary how much the agents׳ and their projects׳ missions match. In the first study, NGO employees are assigned the role of agents in an online, one......-agent game with random matching, I do not find a motivational effect of missions, unlike in my first two studies....

The Power and Pitfalls of Education Incentives. Discussion Paper 2011-07

Science.gov (United States)

Allan, Bradley M.; Fryer, Roland G., Jr.

2011-01-01

There is widespread agreement that America's school system is in desperate need of reform, but many educational interventions are ineffective, expensive, or difficult to implement. Recent incentive programs, however, demonstrate that well-designed rewards to students can improve achievement at relatively low costs. Fryer and Allan draw on…

Negativity bias and task motivation: testing the effectiveness of positively versus negatively framed incentives.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldsmith, Kelly; Dhar, Ravi

2013-12-01

People are frequently challenged by goals that demand effort and persistence. As a consequence, philosophers, psychologists, economists, and others have studied the factors that enhance task motivation. Using a sample of undergraduate students and a sample of working adults, we demonstrate that the manner in which an incentive is framed has implications for individuals' task motivation. In both samples we find that individuals are less motivated when an incentive is framed as a means to accrue a gain (positive framing) as compared with when the same incentive is framed as a means to avoid a loss (negative framing). Further, we provide evidence for the role of the negativity bias in this effect, and highlight specific populations for whom positive framing may be least motivating. Interestingly, we find that people's intuitions about when they will be more motivated show the opposite pattern, with people predicting that positively framed incentives will be more motivating than negatively framed incentives. We identify a lay belief in the positive correlation between enjoyment and task motivation as one possible factor contributing to the disparity between predicted and actual motivation as a result of the framing of the incentive. We conclude with a discussion of the managerial implications for these findings. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Marine Corps Pay Incentives

Science.gov (United States)

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2008-08-01

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

Reading Incentives that Work: No-Cost Strategies to Motivate Kids to Read and Love It!

Science.gov (United States)

Small, Ruth V.

2009-01-01

In education, it is possible to find dozens of examples of "forced" reading incentive programs that categorize student reading levels, provide limited reading lists coordinated with those reading levels, assess student reading through computer-based tests, and award tangible prizes when they pass the test. Those who perform best get the most…

Debt crisis ahead for Irish medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Haugh, C; Doyle, B; O'Flynn, S

2014-06-01

Internationally medical student debt is a cause of concern. A survey of medical students in UCC (response rate of 191 representing 35% of the EU student cohort) reveals that 34 (26%) of direct entry medicine (DEM) students and 36 (61%) graduate entrants (GEM) have a loan with an anticipated average debt of Euro17,300 and Euro80,000 on graduation respectively. Fifty-three (90%) graduate entrants and 75 (57%) direct entrants revealed that they often worry about their current financial situation. Fifty-three (28%) of students have a part-time job and many were concerned about the degree to which this conflicted with their academic workload. 118 (89%) of school leavers and 48 (81%) graduates received financial assistance from their families to fund their college expenses. Student responses recommended the introduction of a government supported low interest rate loan and other incentives to help service high levels of debt associated with medical education.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2011-01-01

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

Financial incentives for smoking cessation in low-income smokers: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

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Etter Jean-François

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Tobacco smoking is the leading avoidable cause of death in high-income countries. The smoking-related disease burden is borne primarily by the least educated and least affluent groups. Thus, there is a need for effective smoking cessation interventions that reach to, and are effective in this group. Research suggests that modest financial incentives are not very effective in helping smokers quit. What is not known is whether large financial incentives can enhance longer-term (1 year smoking cessation rates, outside clinical and workplace settings. Trial design A randomized, parallel groups, controlled trial. Methods Participants: Eight hundred low-income smokers in Switzerland (the less affluent third of the population, based on fiscal taxation. Intervention: A smoking cessation program including: (a financial incentives given during 6 months; and (b Internet-based counseling. Financial rewards will be offered for biochemically verified smoking abstinence after 1, 2, and 3 weeks and 1, 3, and 6 months, for a maximum of 1,500 CHF (1,250 EUR, 1,500 USD for those abstinent at all time-points. All participants, including controls, will receive Internet-based, individually-tailored, smoking cessation counseling and self-help booklets, but there will be no in-person or telephone counseling, and participants will not receive medications. The control group will not receive financial incentives. Objective: To increase smoking cessation rates. Outcome: Smoking abstinence after 6 and 18 months, not contradicted by biochemical tests. We will assess relapse after the end of the intervention, to test whether 6-month effects translate into sustained abstinence 12 months after the incentives are withdrawn. Randomization: Will be done using sealed envelopes drawn by participants. Blinding: Is not possible in this context. Discussion Smoking prevention policies and interventions have been least effective in the least educated, low

The effectiveness of financial incentives for smoking cessation during pregnancy: is it from being paid or from the extra aid?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mantzari Eleni

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Financial incentives appear to be effective in promoting smoking cessation in pregnancy. The mechanisms by which they might operate however, are poorly understood. The present study examines how financial incentives for smoking cessation during pregnancy may work, by exploring pregnant women's experiences of trying to stop smoking, within and outside of a financial incentives scheme. Methods Thirty-six (n = 36 UK-based pregnant smokers (n = 36, offered standard NHS Stop-Smoking Services, of whom twenty (n = 20 were enrolled in a financial incentives scheme for smoking cessation (n = 20 and sixteen (n = 16 were not, were interviewed about (i their motivation to stop smoking, and (ii the factors they perceived as influencing their quitting efforts. Framework Analysis was used to analyse the data. Results Women in the two groups reported similar reasons for wanting to stop smoking during pregnancy. However, they described dissimilar experiences of the Stop-Smoking Services, which they perceived to have differentially influenced their quit attempts. Women who were incentivised reported using the services more than women who were not incentivised. In addition, they described the motivating experience of being monitored and receiving feedback on their progress. Non-incentivised women reported problems receiving the appropriate Nicotine Replacement Therapy, which they described as having a detrimental effect on their quitting efforts. Conclusion Women participating in a financial incentives scheme to stop smoking reported greater engagement with the Stop-Smoking Services, from which they described receiving more help in quitting than women who were not part of the scheme. These results highlight the complexity of financial incentives schemes and the intricacies surrounding the ways in which they operate to affect smoking cessation. These might involve influencing individuals' motivation and self-regulation, changing engagement with

RECRUITING NEW TEACHERS TO URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS: WHAT INCENTIVES

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ANTHONY T. MILANOWSKI

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Many urban districts in the United States have difficulty attracting and retaining quality teachers, yet they are often themost in need of them. In response, U.S. states and districts are experimenting with financial incentives to attract andretain high-quality teachers in high-need, low-achieving, or hard-to-staff urban schools. However, relatively little isknown about how effective financial incentives are for recruiting new teachers to high-need urban schools. This researchexplores factors that are important to the job choices of teachers in training. Focus groups were held with students atthree universities, and a policy-capturing study was done using 64 job scenarios representing various levels of pay andworking conditions. Focus group results suggested that: a many pre-service teachers, even relatively late in their preparation,are not committed to a particular district and are willing to consider many possibilities, including high needschools; b although pay and benefits were attractive to the students, loan forgiveness and subsidies for further educationwere also attractive; and c small increments of additional salary did not appear as important or attractive as otherjob characteristics. The policy-capturing study showed that working conditions factors, especially principal support, hadmore influence on simulated job choice than pay level, implying that money might be better spent to attract, retain, ortrain better principals than to provide higher beginning salaries to teachers in schools with high-poverty or a high proportionof students of color.

Price signals and investment incentives in wholesale electricity spot markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vassilopoulos, Philippe

2007-01-01

We look at how prices from energy-only power markets can send the right signals and give the correct incentives for investments in production capacity. Through numerical simulations of spot prices over 2003-2005 we compare the investment signal sent by observed electricity prices in France and what would be competitive prices with an optimal mix and with the installed capacity. Observed prices tend to overestimate profitability for the base-load, making the signal too strong and underestimate profitability for the peak load, making the signal too weak. However, as a large share of consumers is still paying regulated tariffs, scarcity rents are capped. We simulate future prices for France for 2010 to 2020 to understand the incentives to invest. When the entry is free, the incentives to invest given by the future prices are consistent with the optimal mix including the interconnections and nuclear build is strong. With political or regulatory barriers to the construction of new power plants for new entrants (i.e. finding new sites), there are no incentives for the incumbent (that owns all existing base-load and peak load capacity) to add more nuclear capacity. In this situation, new entry would have to be coal or gas except if units are bid strategically to maintain profitability and market share. Moreover, it can also be profitable to limit prices and restrain entry in order to receive higher future revenues. When the base-load is less concentrated and instead of a dominant firm the nuclear capacity is divided into five (equal share) firms, the incentives to invest reappear and the threat of entry becomes more credible. (author) [fr

Provider and Patient Directed Financial Incentives to Improve Care and Outcomes for Patients with Diabetes

Science.gov (United States)

Lorincz, Ilona S.; Lawson, Brittany C. T.

2012-01-01

Incentive programs directed at both providers and patients have become increasingly widespread. Pay-for-performance (P4P) where providers receive financial incentives to carry out specific care or improve clinical outcomes has been widely implemented. The existing literature indicates they probably spur initial gains which then level off or partially revert if incentives are withdrawn. The literature also indicates that process measures are easier to influence through P4P programs but that intermediate outcomes such as glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol control are harder to influence, and the long term impact of P4P programs on health is largely unknown. Programs directed at patients show greater promise as a means to influence patient behavior and intermediate outcomes such as weight loss; however, the evidence for long term effects are lacking. In combination, both patient and provider incentives are potentially powerful tools but whether they are cost-effective has yet to be determined. PMID:23225214

An RCT protocol of varying financial incentive amounts for smoking cessation among pregnant women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lynagh Marita

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Smoking during pregnancy is harmful to the unborn child. Few smoking cessation interventions have been successfully incorporated into standard antenatal care. The main aim of this study is to determine the feasibility of a personal financial incentive scheme for encouraging smoking cessation among pregnant women. Design A pilot randomised control trial will be conducted to assess the feasibility and potential effectiveness of two varying financial incentives that increase incrementally in magnitude ($20 vs. $40AUD, compared to no incentive in reducing smoking in pregnant women attending an Australian public hospital antenatal clinic. Method Ninety (90 pregnant women who self-report smoking in the last 7 days and whose smoking status is biochemically verified, will be block randomised into one of three groups: a. No incentive control group (n=30, b. $20 incremental incentive group (n=30, and c. $40 incremental incentive group (n=30. Smoking status will be assessed via a self-report computer based survey in nine study sessions with saliva cotinine analysis used as biochemical validation. Women in the two incentive groups will be eligible to receive a cash reward at each of eight measurement points during pregnancy if 7-day smoking cessation is achieved. Cash rewards will increase incrementally for each period of smoking abstinence. Discussion Identifying strategies that are effective in reducing the number of women smoking during pregnancy and are easily adopted into standard antenatal practice is of utmost importance. A personal financial incentive scheme is a potential antenatal smoking cessation strategy that warrants further investigation. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR number: ACTRN12612000399897

Healthy Foods, Healthy Families: combining incentives and exposure interventions at urban farmers' markets to improve nutrition among recipients of US federal food assistance.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowling, April B; Moretti, Mikayla; Ringelheim, Kayla; Tran, Alvin; Davison, Kirsten

2016-01-01

Healthy Foods, Healthy Families (HFHF) is a fruit and vegetable (F&V) exposure/incentive program implemented at farmers' markets in low-income neighborhoods, targeting families receiving US federal food assistance. We examined program effects on participants' diet and associations between attendance, demographics and dietary change. Exposure activities included F&V tastings and cooking demonstrations. Incentives included 40% F&V bonus for electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card users and $20 for use purchasing F&V at every third market visit. Self-report surveys measuring nutritional behaviors/literacy were administered to participants upon enrollment (n = 425, 46.2% Hispanic, 94.8%female). Participants were sampled for follow-up at markets during mid-season (n = 186) and at season end (n = 146). Attendance was tracked over 16 weeks. Participants post-intervention reported significantly higher vegetable consumption(P = 0.005) and lower soda consumption (P = 0.005). Participants reporting largest F&V increases attended the market 6-8 times and received $40 in incentives. No change in food assistance spent on F&V (P = 0.94); 70% reported significant increases in family consumption of F&V,indicating subsidies increased overall F&V purchasing. Participants reported exposure activities and incentives similarly affected program attendance. Interventions combining exposure activities and modest financial incentives at farmers' markets in low-income neighborhoods show strong potential to improve diet quality of families receiving federal food assistance.

Michigan's Physician Group Incentive Program offers a regional model for incremental 'fee for value' payment reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Share, David A; Mason, Margaret H

2012-09-01

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan partnered with providers across the state to create an innovative, "fee for value" physician incentive program that would deliver high-quality, efficient care. The Physician Group Incentive Program rewards physician organizations-formal groups of physicians and practices that can accept incentive payments on behalf of their members-based on the number of quality and utilization measures they adopt, such as generic drug dispensing rates, and on their performance on these measures across their patient populations. Physicians also receive payments for implementing a range of patient-centered medical home capabilities, such as patient registries, and they receive higher fees for office visits for incorporating these capabilities into routine practice while also improving performance. Taken together, the incentive dollars, fee increases, and care management payments amount to a potential increase in reimbursement of 40 percent or more from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for practices designated as high-performing patient-centered medical homes. At the same time, we estimate that implementing the patient-centered medical home capabilities was associated with $155 million in lower medical costs in program year 2011 for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan members. We intend to devote a higher percentage of reimbursement over time to communities of caregivers that offer high-value, system-based care, and a lower percentage of reimbursement to individual physicians on a service-specific basis.

Many southwest hosptials will receive decreased CMS reimbursement

OpenAIRE

Robbins RA

2013-01-01

No abstract available. Article truncated at 150 words. More hospitals are receiving penalties than bonuses in the second year of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) quality incentive program, and the average penalty is steeper than last year according to a report from Jordan Rau in Kaiser Health News (1). Southwest hospitals reflect that trend with New Mexico and Arizona exceeding the US average both in percentage of hospitals receiving penalties and the average size of the ...

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

Science.gov (United States)

Goff, Peter; Goldring, Ellen; Canney, Melissa

2016-01-01

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

Insidious Incentives: A Critical Exercise to Explore Knowing, Context, and Multiple Views

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Stepanovich, Paul L.; Hopkins, Pamela J.; Stark, Ernest

2017-01-01

Critical thinking requires that we dig beneath the surface of organizational issues to explore multiple views, context, and aspects of knowing. In this exercise, students explore these deeper issues with the question: Are incentives effective? A hypothetical case unfolds to show how two consulting groups can arrive at very different…

Role of the ventrolateral orbital cortex and medial prefrontal cortex in incentive downshift situations.

Science.gov (United States)

Ortega, Leonardo A; Glueck, Amanda C; Uhelski, Megan; Fuchs, Perry N; Papini, Mauricio R

2013-05-01

The present research evaluated the role of two prefrontal cortex areas, the ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), on two situations involving incentive downshifts, consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) with sucrose solutions and Pavlovian autoshaping following continuous vs. partial reinforcement with food pellets. Animals received electrolytic lesions and then were tested on cSNC, autoshaping, open-field activity, and sucrose sensitivity. Lesions of the VLO reduced suppression of consummatory behavior after the incentive downshift, but only during the first downshift trial, and also eliminated the enhancement of anticipatory behavior during partial reinforcement, relative to continuous reinforcement, in autoshaping. There was no evidence of specific effects of mPFC lesions on incentive downshifts. Open-field activity was also reduced by VLO lesions, but only in the central area, whereas mPFC lesions had no observable effects on activity. Animals with mPFC lesions exhibited decreased consumption of the lowest sucrose concentration, whereas no effects were observed in animals with VLO lesions. These results suggest that the VLO may exert nonassociative (i.e., motivational, emotional) influences on behavior in situations involving incentive downshifts. No clear role on incentive downshift was revealed by mPFC lesions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Earnings progression, human capital and incentives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frederiksen, Anders

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

Relationship between Counseling Students' Childhood Memories and Current Negative Self-Evaluations When Receiving Corrective Feedback

Science.gov (United States)

Stroud, Daniel; Olguin, David; Marley, Scott

2016-01-01

This article entails a study focused on the relationship between counseling students' negative childhood memories of receiving corrective feedback and current negative self-evaluations when receiving similar feedback in counselor education programs. Participants (N = 186) completed the Corrective Feedback Instrument-Revised (CFI-R; Hulse-Killacky…

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2013-11-01

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

Tax incentives in emerging economies

OpenAIRE

Brodzka, Alicja

2013-01-01

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

INEQUALITY, INCENTIVES AND THE INTERPERSONAL TEST

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lippert-Rasmussen, Kasper

2008-01-01

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

Birth weight differences between those offered financial voucher incentives for verified smoking cessation and control participants enrolled in the Cessation in Pregnancy Incentives Trial (CPIT), employing an intuitive approach and a Complier Average Causal Effects (CACE) analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

McConnachie, Alex; Haig, Caroline; Sinclair, Lesley; Bauld, Linda; Tappin, David M

2017-07-20

The Cessation in Pregnancy Incentives Trial (CPIT), which offered financial incentives for smoking cessation during pregnancy showed a clinically and statistically significant improvement in cessation. However, infant birth weight was not seen to be affected. This study re-examines birth weight using an intuitive and a complier average causal effects (CACE) method to uncover important information missed by intention-to-treat analysis. CPIT offered financial incentives up to £400 to pregnant smokers to quit. With incentives, 68 women (23.1%) were confirmed non-smokers at primary outcome, compared to 25 (8.7%) without incentives, a difference of 14.3% (Fisher test, p financial incentives to quit. Viewed in this way, the overall birth weight gain with incentives is attributable only to potential quitters. We compared an intuitive approach to a CACE analysis. Mean birth weight of potential quitters in the incentives intervention group (who therefore quit) was 3338 g compared with potential quitters in the control group (who did not quit) 3193 g. The difference attributable to incentives, was 3338 - 3193 = 145 g (95% CI -617, +803). The mean difference in birth weight between the intervention and control groups was 21 g, and the difference in the proportion who managed to quit was 14.3%. Since the intervention consisted of the offer of incentives to quit smoking, the intervention was received by all women in the intervention group. However, "compliance" was successfully quitting with incentives, and the CACE analysis yielded an identical result, causal birth weight increase 21 g ÷ 0.143 = 145 g. Policy makers have great difficulty giving pregnant women money to stop smoking. This study indicates that a small clinically insignificant improvement in average birth weight is likely to hide an important clinically significant increase in infants born to pregnant smokers who want to stop but cannot achieve smoking cessation without the addition of financial

Financial disincentives? A three-armed randomised controlled trial of the effect of financial Incentives  in Diabetic Eye Assessment  by Screening (IDEAS) trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Judah, Gaby; Darzi, Ara; Vlaev, Ivo; Gunn, Laura; King, Derek; King, Dominic; Valabhji, Jonathan; Bicknell, Colin

2018-05-23

Conflicting evidence exists regarding the impact of financial incentives on encouraging attendance at medical screening appointments. The primary aim was to determine whether financial incentives increase attendance at diabetic eye screening in persistent non-attenders. A three-armed randomised controlled trial was conducted in London in 2015. 1051 participants aged over 16 years, who had not attended eye screening appointments for 2 years or more, were randomised (1.4:1:1 randomisation ratio) to receive the usual invitation letter (control), an offer of £10 cash for attending screening (fixed incentive) or a 1 in 100 chance of winning £1000 (lottery incentive) if they attend. The primary outcome was the proportion of invitees attending screening, and a comparative analysis was performed to assess group differences. Pairwise comparisons of attendance rates were performed, using a conservative Bonferroni correction for independent comparisons. 34/435 (7.8%) of control, 17/312 (5.5%) of fixed incentive and 10/304 (3.3%) of lottery incentive groups attended. Participants who received any incentive were significantly less likely to attend their appointment compared with controls (risk ratio (RR)=0.56; 95% CI 0.34 to 0.92). Those in the probabilistic incentive group (RR=0.42; 95% CI 0.18 to 0.98), but not the fixed incentive group (RR=1.66; 95% CI 0.65 to 4.21), were significantly less likely to attend than those in the control group. Financial incentives, particularly lottery-based incentives, attract fewer patients to diabetic eye screening than standard invites in this population. Financial incentives should not be used to promote screening unless tested in context, as they may negatively affect attendance rates. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

The Promise of Tailoring Incentives for Healthy Behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-01-01

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

Incentives and nuclear waste siting: Prospects and constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1983-01-01

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

The Importance of Intangible Incentives to Increasing the Motivation of Enterprise Staff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kuchumova Iryna Yu.

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The article is aimed at studying different motivation systems that are used by the staff managers and considering recommendations for building an effective system to stimulate the professional development of staff at today’s enterprises. Impact of both the material and the non-material incentive systems on the staff performance was analyzed. It has been noted that, in the rapid development of the modern world, material motivation is no longer sufficient for the constant interest of workers and for their effective stimulation to productive work. Therefore, the main components of the system of non-material motivation of staff have been determined and analyzed. The most common methods of the non-material motivation used by contemporary companies together with the intangible incentives that workers want to receive were analyzed. Efficiency of the management practices associated with the evaluation of performance of each employee has been substantiated, and it has been specified that the effective staff incentives are one of the most significant factors in the competitiveness of today’s enterprises.

Incentives and the siting of radioactive waste facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

1982-08-01

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

DSM shareholder incentives: Current designs and economic theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1995-01-01

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

Incentives and the siting of radioactive waste facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1982-08-01

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

77 FR 12041 - Applications for New Awards; Migrant Education Program (MEP) Consortium Incentive Grants Program

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-28

... involvement of migratory parents in the education of migratory students whose education is interrupted... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Applications for New Awards; Migrant Education Program (MEP) Consortium Incentive Grants Program AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of Education...

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

Science.gov (United States)

Springer, Matthew G.; Taylor, Lori L.

2016-01-01

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

Can Incentives Mitigate Student Overconfidence at Grade Forecasts?

Science.gov (United States)

Caplan, Dennis; Mortenson, Kristian G.; Lester, Marisa

2018-01-01

Research shows that college students exhibit bias in their forecasts of exam performance. Most students are overconfident in their forecasts, academically weaker students are the most overconfident, and top-performing students are underconfident. The literature identifies negative repercussions of these biases, including inadequate preparation for…

Small Cash Incentives Can Encourage Primary Care Visits By Low-Income People With New Health Care Coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

Bradley, Cathy J; Neumark, David

2017-08-01

In a randomized controlled trial, we studied low-income adults newly covered by a primary care program to determine whether a cash incentive could encourage them to make an initial visit to a primary care provider. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four groups: three groups whose members received $10 to complete a baseline survey during an interview and who were randomized to incentives of $50, $25, or $0 to visit their assigned primary care provider within six months after enrolling in the study; and a nonincentivized control group not contacted by the research team. Subjects in the $50 and $25 incentive groups were more likely to see a primary care provider (77 percent and 74 percent, respectively), compared to subjects in the $0 incentive group (68 percent). The effects of the intervention were about twice as large when we compared the proportions of subjects in the $50 and $25 incentive groups who visited their providers and the proportion in the nonincentivized group (61 percent). Cash incentive programs may steer newly covered low-income patients toward primary care, which could result in improved health outcomes and lower costs. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Tax Incentives for Education. Hearing before the Committee on Finance. United States Senate, One Hundredth Congress, Second Session.

Science.gov (United States)

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Committee on Finance.

The transcript of a hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance concerning tax incentives for education is presented. The statements of committee members and public witnesses testimony, both oral and written, are provided, as well as letters of support. Current tax expenditures for financial aid to college students, including student loan…

Incentives to promote family planning.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2012-11-01

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

Implementation of the principles of rational incentive system in modern conditions on an example of sectoral enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zotkina Natalia

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article is focused on studying of the problem of workers incentives on the example of one of Russian regions. The authors studied the characteristics of personnel matters in the Tyumen region enterprises. Workers incentive is the most important tool which influences the staff motivation and the mood of an individual worker. The rational incentive system provides a number of principles, implementation of which is relevant in formation of the system of values which are the foundation of the employee motivation system. In order to study the implementation of the principles of rational incentive system in modern conditions the authors conducted a survey. The managers of the industrial enterprises operating in the market of the city of Tyumen became the respondents of the survey. The respondents filled in the questionnaire developed by the authors. The processing of the received data revealed a number of interesting points, which are disclosed in this article.

Do rewards reinforce the growth mindset?: Joint effects of the growth mindset and incentive schemes in a field intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Melody Manchi; Visaria, Sujata; Mukhopadhyay, Anirban; Dehejia, Rajeev

2017-10-01

The current study draws on the motivational model of achievement which has been guiding research on the growth mindset intervention (Dweck & Leggett, 1988) and examines how this intervention interacts with incentive systems to differentially influence performance for high- and low-achieving students in Indian schools that serve low-SES communities. Although, as expected, the growth mindset intervention did interact with incentive systems and prior achievement to influence subsequent academic performance, the existing growth mindset framework cannot fully account for the observed effects. Specifically, we found that the growth mindset intervention did facilitate performance through persistence, but only when the incentive system imparted individuals with a sense of autonomy. Such a facilitation effect was only found among those students who had high prior achievement, but not among those who had underperformed. When the incentive did not impart a sense of autonomy, the growth mindset intervention undermined the performance of those who had high initial achievement. To reconcile these discrepancies and to advance understanding of the impacts of psychological interventions on achievement outcomes, we discuss how the existing theory can be extended and integrated with an identity-based motivation framework (Oyserman & Destin, 2010). We also discuss the implications of our work for future research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Enhancing the Efficacy of Teacher Incentives through Loss Aversion: A Field Experiment. NBER Working Paper No. 18237

Science.gov (United States)

Fryer, Roland G., Jr.; Levitt, Steven D.; List, John; Sadoff, Sally

2012-01-01

Domestic attempts to use financial incentives for teachers to increase student achievement have been ineffective. In this paper, we demonstrate that exploiting the power of loss aversion--teachers are paid in advance and asked to give back the money if their students do not improve sufficiently--increases math test scores between 0.201 (0.076) and…

Making User-Generated Content Communities Work in Higher Education - The Importance of Setting Incentives

Science.gov (United States)

Vom Brocke, Jan; White, Cynthia; Walker, Ute; Vom Brocke, Christina

The concept of User-Generated Content (UGC) offers impressive potential for innovative learning and teaching scenarios in higher education. Examples like Wikipedia and Facebook illustrate the enormous effects of multiple users world-wide contributing to a pool of shared resources, such as videos and pictures and also lexicographical descriptions. Apart from single examples, however, the systematic use of these virtual technologies in higher education still needs further exploration. Only few examples display the successful application of UGC Communities at university scenarios. We argue that a major reason for this can be seen in the fact that the organizational dimension of setting up UGC Communities has widely been neglected so far. In particular, we indicate the need for incentive setting to actively involve students and achieve specific pedagogical objectives. We base our study on organizational theories and derive strategies for incentive setting that have been applied in a practical e-Learning scenario involving students from Germany and New Zealand.

Financial incentives and coverage of child health interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bassani, Diego G; Arora, Paul; Wazny, Kerri; Gaffey, Michelle F; Lenters, Lindsey; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A

2013-01-01

Financial incentives are widely used strategies to alleviate poverty, foster development, and improve health. Cash transfer programs, microcredit, user fee removal policies and voucher schemes that provide direct or indirect monetary incentives to households have been used for decades in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and more recently in Southeast Asia. Until now, no systematic review of the impact of financial incentives on coverage and uptake of health interventions targeting children under 5 years of age has been conducted. The objective of this review is to provide estimates on the effect of six types of financial incentive programs: (i) Unconditional cash transfers (CT), (ii) Conditional cash transfers (CCT), (iii) Microcredit (MC), (iv) Conditional Microcredit (CMC), (v) Voucher schemes (VS) and (vi) User fee removal (UFR) on the uptake and coverage of health interventions targeting children under the age of five years. We conducted systematic searches of a series of databases until September 1st, 2012, to identify relevant studies reporting on the impact of financial incentives on coverage of health interventions and behaviors targeting children under 5 years of age. The quality of the studies was assessed using the CHERG criteria. Meta-analyses were undertaken to estimate the effect when multiple studies meeting our inclusion criteria were available. Our searches resulted in 1671 titles identified 25 studies reporting on the impact of financial incentive programs on 5 groups of coverage indicators: breastfeeding practices (breastfeeding incidence, proportion of children receiving colostrum and early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding for six months and duration of breastfeeding); vaccination (coverage of full immunization, partial immunization and specific antigens); health care use (seeking healthcare when child was ill, visits to health facilities for preventive reasons, visits to health facilities for any reason, visits for health

"It Makes You Feel Like Someone Cares" acceptability of a financial incentive intervention for HIV viral suppression in the HPTN 065 (TLC-Plus study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Greene

Full Text Available HPTN 065 (TLC-Plus evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of providing quarterly $70 gift card financial incentives to HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART to encourage ART adherence and viral suppression, and represents the largest study to-date of a financial incentive intervention for HIV viral suppression. A post-trial qualitative substudy was undertaken to examine acceptability of the financial incentives among those receiving and implementing the intervention.Between July and October 2013, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 72 patients and 12 investigators from 14 sites; three focus groups were conducted with 12 staff from 10 sites. Qualitative data collection elicited experiences with and attitudes about the intervention, including philosophical viewpoints and implementation experiences. Transcripts were analyzed in NVivo 10. Memos and matrices were developed to explore themes from different participant group perspectives.Patients, investigators, and staff found the intervention highly acceptable, primarily due to the emotional benefits gained through giving or receiving the incentive. Feeling rewarded or cared for was a main value perceived by patients; this was closely tied to the financial benefit for some. Other factors influencing acceptability for all included perceived effectiveness and health-related benefits, philosophical concerns about the use of incentives for health behavior change, and implementation issues. The termination of the incentive at the end of the study was disappointing to participants and unexpected by some, but generally accepted.Positive experiences with the financial incentive intervention and strategies used to facilitate implementation led to high acceptability of the intervention, despite some reluctance in principle to the use of incentives. The findings of this analysis provide encouraging evidence in support of the acceptability of a large-scale financial incentive

Incentives for partitioning, revisited

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cloninger, M.O.

1980-01-01

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

Are financial incentives cost-effective to support smoking cessation during pregnancy?

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, Kathleen A; Briggs, Andrew H; Bauld, Linda; Sinclair, Lesley; Tappin, David

2016-02-01

To investigate the cost-effectiveness of up to £400 worth of financial incentives for smoking cessation in pregnancy as an adjunct to routine health care. Cost-effectiveness analysis based on a Phase II randomized controlled trial (RCT) and a cost-utility analysis using a life-time Markov model. The RCT was undertaken in Glasgow, Scotland. The economic analysis was undertaken from the UK National Health Service (NHS) perspective. A total of 612 pregnant women randomized to receive usual cessation support plus or minus financial incentives of up to £400 vouchers (US $609), contingent upon smoking cessation. Comparison of usual support and incentive interventions in terms of cotinine-validated quitters, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and direct costs to the NHS. The incremental cost per quitter at 34-38 weeks pregnant was £1127 ($1716).This is similar to the standard look-up value derived from Stapleton & West's published ICER tables, £1390 per quitter, by looking up the Cessation in Pregnancy Incentives Trial (CIPT) incremental cost (£157) and incremental 6-month quit outcome (0.14). The life-time model resulted in an incremental cost of £17 [95% confidence interval (CI) = -£93, £107] and a gain of 0.04 QALYs (95% CI = -0.058, 0.145), giving an ICER of £482/QALY ($734/QALY). Probabilistic sensitivity analysis indicates uncertainty in these results, particularly regarding relapse after birth. The expected value of perfect information was £30 million (at a willingness to pay of £30 000/QALY), so given current uncertainty, additional research is potentially worthwhile. Financial incentives for smoking cessation in pregnancy are highly cost-effective, with an incremental cost per quality-adjusted life years of £482, which is well below recommended decision thresholds. © 2015 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Financial incentives to improve adherence to antipsychotic maintenance medication in non-adherent patients: a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Priebe, Stefan; Bremner, Stephen A; Lauber, Christoph; Henderson, Catherine; Burns, Tom

2016-09-01

Poor adherence to long-term antipsychotic injectable (LAI) medication in patients with psychotic disorders is associated with a range of negative outcomes. No psychosocial intervention has been found to be consistently effective in improving adherence. To test whether or not offering financial incentives is effective and cost-effective in improving adherence and to explore patient and clinician experiences with such incentives. A cluster randomised controlled trial with economic and nested qualitative evaluation. The intervention period lasted for 12 months with 24 months' follow-up. The unit of randomisation was mental health teams in the community. Community teams in secondary mental health care. Patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective psychosis or bipolar illness, receiving ≤ 75% of their prescribed LAI medication. In total, 73 teams with 141 patients (intervention n = 78 and control n = 63) were included. Participants in the intervention group received £15 for each LAI medication. Patients in the control group received treatment as usual. adherence to LAI medication (the percentage of received out of those prescribed). percentage of patients with at least 95% adherence; clinical global improvement; subjective quality of life; satisfaction with medication; hospitalisation; adverse events; and costs. Qualitative evaluation: semistructured interviews with patients in the intervention group and their clinicians. outcome data were available for 131 patients. Baseline adherence was 69% in the intervention group and 67% in the control group. During the intervention period, adherence was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (85% vs. 71%) [adjusted mean difference 11.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.9% to 19.0%; p = 0.003]. Secondary outcome: patients in the intervention group showed statistically significant improvement in adherence of at least 95% (adjusted odds ratio 8.21, 95% CI 2.00 to 33

48 CFR 1552.216-77 - Award term incentive.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

Merger incentives and the failing firm defense

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

2014-01-01

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

Tit-For-Tat Strategy for Increasing Medical Student Evaluation Response Rates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew G. Malone

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Introducation It is essential for faculty to receive feedback on their teaching for the purpose of improvement as well as promotion. It can be challenging to motivate students to provide feedback to preceptors and fill out evaluation forms when not a clerkship requirement. Furthermore, there is concern that making the evaluations a requirement can compromise the quality of the feedback. The objective of this study was to identify an increase in the number of faculty and resident evaluations completed by students rotating through their Emergency Medicine clerkship following the implementation of a tit-for-tat incentive strategy. Method Prior to the implementation of Tit-for-Tat, students rotating through their emergency medicine clerkship were asked to fill out evaluations of residents and faculty members with whom they worked. These were encouraged but voluntary. Beginning in the 2014–2015 academic year, a tit-for-tat strategy was employed whereby students had to complete a resident or faculty evaluation in order to view the student assessment completed by that resident or faculty preceptor. Results Students submitted 1101 evaluations in the control, with a mean of 3.60 evaluations completed per student and 3.77 evaluations received per preceptor. Following the implementation of tit-for-tat, students submitted 2736 evaluations, with a mean of 8.19 evaluations completed per student and 7.52 evaluations received per preceptor. Both the increase in evaluations completed per student and evaluations received per preceptor were statistically significant with p-value <0.001. Conclusion The tit-for-tat strategy significantly increased the number of evaluations submitted by students rotating through their emergency medicine clerkship. This has served as an effective tool to increase the overall number of evaluations completed, the number of evaluations each instructor received on average and the proportion of students that completed evaluations

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

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Starkey, Benjamin

1999-01-01

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

Drilling contracts and incentives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osmundsen, Petter; Sorenes, Terje; Toft, Anders

2008-01-01

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

The effective obove local development of the spanish regional policy applied through economic incentives during the period 1988-2003

OpenAIRE

Pedro Benito, Moyano Pesquera; Aleixandre Mendizábal, Guillermo; Ogando Canabal, Olga

2006-01-01

The objective of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of regional incentive policy applied in Spain during the period 1988-2001 at a municipal scale. Specifically, the relation between economic growth and the amount of incentives received by each Spanish municipality is analysed, taking into consideration the characteristics of the subsidised projects and the municipalities concerned. One of the main problems faced was the lack of economic information at a local scale. Therefore, it was ...

Countervailing incentives in value-based payment.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Daniel R

2017-09-01

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

Effort and Selection Effects of Incentive Contracts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

2003-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-01-01

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

WWC Quick Review of the Report "Teacher Pay for Performance: Experimental Evidence from the Project on Incentives in Teaching"

Science.gov (United States)

What Works Clearinghouse, 2011

2011-01-01

The study examined whether offering financial incentives to teachers of fifth- through eighth-grade math students improved their students' achievement on the math section of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program. The study took place in the Metropolitan Nashville Public School District during the 2006-07 through 2008-09 school years. It…

The IEP Meeting: Perceptions of Parents of Students Who Receive Special Education Services

Science.gov (United States)

Fish, Wade W.

2008-01-01

The author investigated parental perceptions of the individualized education program (IEP) meeting among 51 parents of students who were receiving special education services from 1 family support service agency. Survey questions pertained to the following areas: (a) IEP meeting experiences, (b) knowledge level of special education law, (c)…

Professional norms, public service motivation and economic incentives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Lotte Bøgh

2007-01-01

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

Incentives for reducing emissions in Krakow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1994-01-01

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

Effects of Individual Physician-Level and Practice-Level Financial Incentives on Hypertension Care: A Cluster Randomized Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, Laura A.; Simpson, Kate; Pietz, Kenneth; Urech, Tracy H.; Hysong, Sylvia J.; Profit, Jochen; Conrad, Douglas A.; Dudley, R. Adams; Woodard, LeChauncy D.

2014-01-01

Importance Pay for performance is intended to align incentives to promote high quality care, but results have been contradictory. Objective To test the effect of explicit financial incentives to reward guideline-recommended hypertension care. Design, Setting, and Participants Cluster randomized controlled trial of 12 Veterans Affairs hospital-based outpatient clinics with five performance periods and a 12-month washout. We enrolled 83 primary care physicians and 42 non-physician personnel (e.g., nurses, pharmacists) working with physicians to deliver hypertension care. Interventions Clinics randomized to one of four groups: physician-level (individual) incentives; practice-level incentives; individual- plus practice-level incentives (combined); or none. Intervention participants received up to five payments every four months; all participants could access feedback reports. Main outcome measures For each four-month period, the number of hypertensive patients among a random sample who achieved guideline-recommended blood pressure thresholds or received an appropriate response to uncontrolled blood pressure; and/or been prescribed guideline-recommended medications and the number who developed hypotension. Results Mean (standard deviation) total payments over the study were $4,270 ($459), $2,672 ($153), and $1,648 ($248) for the combined, individual, and practice-level interventions, respectively. The adjusted change over the study in patients meeting the combined blood pressure/appropriate response measure was 8.84 percentage points (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.20–11.80) for the individual-level, 3.70 (95% CI, 0.24–7.68) for the practice-level, 5.54 (95% CI, 1.92–9.52) for the combined, and 0.47 (95% CI, −3.12–4.04) for the control groups. For medications, the change was 9.07 (95% CI, 4.52–13.44), 4.98 (95% CI, 0.64–10.08), 7.26 (95% CI, 2.92–12.48), and 4.35 (95% CI, −0.28–9.28) percentage points, respectively. The adjusted estimated

Effect of prize draw incentive on the response rate to a postal survey of obstetricians and gynaecologists: A randomised controlled trial. [ISRCTN32823119

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clark T Justin

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Response rates to postal questionnaires are falling and this threatens the external validity of survey findings. We wanted to establish whether the incentive of being entered into a prize draw to win a personal digital assistant (PDA would increase the response rate for a national survey of consultant obstetricians and gynaecologists. Methods A randomised controlled trial was conducted. This involved sending a postal questionnaire to all Consultant Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the United Kingdom. Recipients were randomised to receiving a questionnaire offering a prize draw incentive (on response or no such incentive. Results The response rate for recipients offered the prize incentive was 64% (461/716 and 62% (429/694 in the no incentive group (relative rate of response 1.04, 95% CI 0.96 – 1.13 Conclusion The offer of a prize draw incentive to win a PDA did not significantly increase response rates to a national questionnaire survey of consultant obstetricians and gynaecologists.

Community Forestry Incentives and Challenges in Mozambique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Almeida A. Sitoe

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Although communities have been living within forests and dependent on forest resources, in Mozambique, their role was not formally recognized until the late 1990s. The forest law of 1997 was the first to refer to communities as stakeholders in the forest sector, in line with the national Policy and Strategy for the Development of the Forestry and Wildlife Sector. As a new element, several pilot projects were established during the late 1990s and early 2000s to produce lessons that would inform policy and technical aspects. Community forestry received most of the attention until the first decade of this century, however, it seems that while communities have gained a role in the management of the forest sector, there are still challenges to fully implementing and securing community forestry initiatives. In this study, we document the advent and evolution of community forestry in Mozambique, discuss the conditions for success in community forestry, and discuss two cases of community forestry that have survived over beyond the end of external support. We conclude that devolution and training are the basic incentives, but additional incentives, including diversification of sources of revenue from non-destructive forestry activities, are required to maintain the stability of community forestry over time.

Monetary Incentives Improve Recall of Research Consent Information: A Randomized Pilot Study

Science.gov (United States)

Festinger, David S.; Marlowe, Douglas B.; Croft, Jason R.; Dugosh, Karen L.; Arabia, Patricia L.; Benasutti, Kathleen M.

2011-01-01

Research participants often fail to recall substantial amounts of informed consent information after delays of only a few days. Numerous interventions have proven effective at improving consent recall; however, virtually all have focused on compensating for potential cognitive deficits and have ignored motivational factors. In this pilot study, we randomly assigned 31 drug court clients participating in a clinical research trial to a standard consent procedure or to the same procedure plus incentives for correctly recalling consent information. The incentive group was told they would receive $5 for each of the 15 consent items they could answer correctly 1-week later. At the follow-up, the incentive group recalled a significantly greater percentage of consent information overall than the standard group (65% vs. 42%; p < .01). Similar findings were observed for specific categories of consent information, including study purpose and design, risks and benefits, and human subject protections. Effect sizes were all large (d = 0.89 to 1.25). Findings suggest that motivation plays a key role in recall of consent information and should be considered in the development of future interventions. PMID:19331486

Evaluation of the role of incentive structure on student participation and performance in active learning strategies: A comparison of case-based and team-based learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrasco, Gonzalo A; Behling, Kathryn C; Lopez, Osvaldo J

2018-04-01

Student participation is important for the success of active learning strategies, but participation is often linked to the level of preparation. At our institution, we use two types of active learning activities, a modified case-based learning exercise called active learning groups (ALG) and team-based learning (TBL). These strategies have different assessment and incentive structures for participation. Non-cognitive skills are assessed in ALG using a subjective five-point Likert scale. In TBL, assessment of individual student preparation is based on a multiple choice quiz conducted at the beginning of each session. We studied first-year medical student participation and performance in ALG and TBL as well as performance on course final examinations. Student performance in TBL, but not in ALG, was strongly correlated with final examination scores. Additionally, in students who performed in the upper 33rd percentile on the final examination, there was a positive correlation between final examination performance and participation in TBL and ALG. This correlation was not seen in students who performed in the lower 33rd percentile on the final examinations. Our results suggest that assessments of medical knowledge during active learning exercises could supplement non-cognitive assessments and could be good predictors of performance on summative examinations.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-09-16

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

Optimal distribution of incentives for public cooperation in heterogeneous interaction environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaojie eChen

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In the framework of evolutionary games with institutional reciprocity, limited incentives are at disposal for rewarding cooperators and punishing defectors. In the simplest case, it can be assumed that, depending on their strategies, all players receive equal incentives from the common pool. The question arises, however, what is the optimal distribution of institutional incentives? How should we best reward and punish individuals for cooperation to thrive? We study this problem for the public goods game on a scale-free network. We show that if the synergetic effects of group interactions are weak, the level of cooperation in the population can be maximized simply by adopting the simplest ''equal distribution'' scheme. If synergetic effects are strong, however, it is best to reward high-degree nodes more than low-degree nodes. These distribution schemes for institutional rewards are independent of payoff normalization. For institutional punishment, however, the same optimization problem is more complex, and its solution depends on whether absolute or degree-normalized payoffs are used. We find that degree-normalized payoffs require high-degree nodes be punished more lenient than low-degree nodes. Conversely, if absolute payoffs count, then high-degree nodes should be punished stronger than low-degree nodes.

20 CFR 670.545 - How does Job Corps ensure that students receive due process in disciplinary actions?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... receive due process in disciplinary actions? 670.545 Section 670.545 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND... process in disciplinary actions? The center operator must ensure that all students receive due process in disciplinary proceedings according to procedures developed by the Secretary. These procedures must include, at...

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-11-01

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

Layoffs as part of an optimal incentive mix:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frederiksen, Anders; Takáts, Elöd

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

Incentive Mechanism of Micro-grid Project Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong Long

2018-01-01

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

The incentive sensitization theory of addiction: some current issues

OpenAIRE

Robinson, Terry E; Berridge, Kent C

2008-01-01

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

The rewarding value of good motor performance in the context of monetary incentives.

Science.gov (United States)

Lutz, Kai; Pedroni, Andreas; Nadig, Karin; Luechinger, Roger; Jäncke, Lutz

2012-07-01

Whether an agent receives positive task feedback or a monetary reward, neural activity in their striatum increases. In the latter case striatal activity reflects extrinsic reward processing, while in the former, striatal activity reflects the intrinsically rewarding effects of performing well. There can be a "hidden cost of reward", which is a detrimental effect of extrinsic on intrinsic reward value. This raises the question how these two types of reward interact. To address this, we applied a monetary incentive delay task: in all trials participants received feedback depending on their performance. In half of the trials they could additionally receive monetary reward if they performed well. This resulted in high performance trials, which were monetarily rewarded and high performance trials that were not. This made it possible to dissociate the neural correlates of performance feedback from the neural correlates of monetary reward that comes with high performance. Performance feedback alone elicits activation increases in the ventral striatum. This activation increases due to additional monetary reward. Neural response in the dorsal striatum on the other hand is only significantly increased by feedback when a monetary incentive is present. The quality of performance does not significantly influence dorsal striatum activity. In conclusion, our results indicate that the dorsal striatum is primarily sensitive to optional or actually received external rewards, whereas the ventral striatum may be coding intrinsic reward due to positive performance feedback. Thus the ventral striatum is suggested to be involved in the processing of intrinsically motivated behavior. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of financial incentives on top of behavioral support on quit rates in tobacco smoking employees: study protocol of a cluster-randomized trial.

Science.gov (United States)

van den Brand, F A; Nagelhout, G E; Winkens, B; Evers, S M A A; Kotz, D; Chavannes, N H; van Schayck, C P

2016-10-06

Stimulating successful tobacco cessation among employees has multiple benefits. Employees who quit tobacco are healthier, more productive, less absent from work, and longer employable than employees who continue to use tobacco. Despite the evidence for these benefits of tobacco cessation, a successful method to stimulate employees to quit tobacco is lacking. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether adding a financial incentive to behavioral support (compared with no additional incentive) is effective and cost-effective in increasing abstinence rates in tobacco smoking employees participating in a smoking cessation group training. In this cluster-randomized trial employees in the intervention and control group both participate in a smoking cessation group training consisting of seven weekly counseling sessions of ninety minutes each. In addition to the training, employees in the intervention group receive a voucher as an incentive for being abstinent from smoking at the end of the training (€50), after three months (€50), after six months (€50), and after one year (€200). The control group does not receive any incentive. The primary outcome is carbon monoxide validated 12-month continuous abstinence from smoking (Russel's standard). Additionally, an economic evaluation is performed from a societal and an employer perspective. The present paper describes the methods and design of this cluster-randomized trial in detail. We hypothesize that the financial incentive for abstinence in the form of vouchers increases abstinence rates over and above the group training. The results of this study can provide important recommendations for enhancement of employee tobacco cessation. Dutch Trial Register: NTR5657 . First received 27-01-2016.

Short-term incentive schemes for hospital managers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucas Malambe

2013-10-01

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fleetcroft Robert

2012-04-01

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

Pattern of the rational worker incentive system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kopytova A.V.

2017-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

Incentive schemes in development of socio-economic systems

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-05-01

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

Incentives and provider payment methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnum, H; Kutzin, J; Saxenian, H

1995-01-01

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

The effective use of property tax incentives for economic development

OpenAIRE

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

2013-01-01

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

The 'donations for decreased ALT (D4D)' prosocial behavior incentive scheme for NAFLD patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Sumida, Yoshio; Yoshikawa, Toshikazu; Tanaka, Saiyu; Taketani, Hiroyoshi; Kanemasa, Kazuyuki; Nishimura, Tekeshi; Yamaguchi, Kanji; Mitsuyoshi, Hironori; Yasui, Kohichiroh; Minami, Masahito; Naito, Yuji; Itoh, Yoshito

2014-12-01

Physicians often experience difficulties in motivating patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to undergo lifestyle changes. The aim of this study is to examine whether 'Donations for Decreased alanine aminotransferase (ALT)' (D4D) prosocial behavior incentive can serve as an effective intrinsic motivational factor in comparison with conventional dietary and exercise intervention alone for NAFLD patients. Twenty-five NAFLD patients with elevated ALT were randomly assigned to a control group that received conventional dietary and exercise intervention alone, or a donation group whereby, as an incentive, we would make a monetary donation to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) based on the decrease in their ALT levels achieved over 12 weeks, in addition to receiving control intervention. In a donation group, we would donate US$1 to the WFP for every 1 IU/l of decrease in their ALT levels. There were no differences of pre-treatment clinical characteristics between the two groups. Significant reductions of ALT levels were achieved only in a donation group, although post-treatment ALT levels were not different between the two groups. These patients raised a total of $316 for the WFP. Promoting patients' intrinsic motivation by incorporating 'D4D' prosocial behavior incentive into conventional dietary and exercise intervention may provide a means to improve NAFLD. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Teacher Pay for Performance: Experimental Evidence from the Project on Incentives in Teaching. [Executive Summary

Science.gov (United States)

Springer, Matthew G.; Hamilton, Laura; McCaffrey, Daniel F.; Ballou, Dale; Le, Vi-Nhuan; Pepper, Matthew; Lockwood, J. R.; Stecher, Brian M.

2013-01-01

The Project on Incentives in Teaching (POINT) was a three-year study conducted in the Metropolitan Nashville School System from 2006-07 through 2008-09, in which middle school mathematics teachers voluntarily participated in a controlled experiment to assess the effect of financial rewards for teachers whose students showed unusually large gains…

Stock-based Compensation Plans and Employee Incentives

OpenAIRE

Jan Zabojnik

2014-01-01

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

Incentives and cooperation in firms: Field evidence

OpenAIRE

Berger, Johannes; Herbertz, Claus; Sliwka, Dirk

2011-01-01

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

42 CFR 495.310 - Medicaid provider incentive payments.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

Behavioural economics: Cash incentives avert deforestation

Science.gov (United States)

Cárdenas, Juan Camilo

2017-10-01

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

24 CFR 599.507 - Tax incentives utilization plan.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

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

Using modern teaching strategies to teach upper abdominal sonography to medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Wei-Chun; Lin, Xi-Zhang; Chen, Chiung-Yu

2013-07-01

Upper abdominal sonography can help physicians to confirm the diagnosis of various hepatobiliary diseases. Teaching sonography skills to medical students is important because it may enhance their level of knowledge and overall development during their gastroenterology section rotation. Sonographic imaging is abstract and students can be easily confused when scanning the abdominal structures from different sites and directions. We used several modern teaching strategies to facilitate the learning of sonography skills. The year five medical students beginning a gastroenterology section rotation for their first-year clerkship were taught abdominal sonography skills. Abstract sonographic images were related to concrete objects and the surrounding structures were further indicated. Each of the images was given a specific name and was sorted according to the scanning site. A mnemonics system was designed to help students to memorize the names of these images. A badge was created to recognize the achievement of being able to complete a basic upper abdominal sonography. Students were free (i.e., not obligated) to request a demonstration opportunity to show their skills within 2 weeks after receiving tutelage. We recorded the number of students who received training and were able to successfully complete the task; these individuals then received a badge to be pinned onto their white coats. Sixty-three of 68 students (92.6%) requested evaluation and all of them passed. We have greatly simplified the process of learning about upper abdominal sonography by using andragogy to enhance learning, mnemonics to help memory, and a pin-badge reward system to stimulate incentives. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Using financial incentives to improve value in orthopaedics.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2012-04-01

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

Incentives and intrinsic motivation in healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

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

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

Incentives and Earnings Growth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frederiksen, Anders

2013-01-01

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

10 CFR 451.6 - Duration of incentive payments.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

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

Designing financial-incentive programmes for return of medical service in underserved areas: seven management functions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bärnighausen Till

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract In many countries worldwide, health worker shortages are one of the main constraints in achieving population health goals. Financial-incentive programmes for return of service, whereby participants receive payments in return for a commitment to practise for a period of time in a medically underserved area, can alleviate local and regional health worker shortages through a number of mechanisms. First, they can redirect the flow of those health workers who would have been educated without financial incentives from well-served to underserved areas. Second, they can add health workers to the pool of workers who would have been educated without financial incentives and place them in underserved areas. Third, financial-incentive programmes may improve the retention in underserved areas of those health workers who participate in a programme, but who would have worked in an underserved area without any financial incentives. Fourth, the programmes may increase the retention of all health workers in underserved areas by reducing the strength of some of the reasons why health workers leave such areas, including social isolation, lack of contact with colleagues, lack of support from medical specialists and heavy workload. We draw on studies of financial-incentive programmes and other initiatives with similar objectives to discuss seven management functions that are essential for the long-term success of financial-incentive programmes: financing (programmes may benefit from innovative donor financing schemes, such as endowment funds, international financing facilities or compensation payments; promotion (programmes should use tested communication channels in order to reach secondary school graduates and health workers; selection (programmes may use selection criteria to ensure programme success and to achieve supplementary policy goals; placement (programmes should match participants to areas in order to maximize participant satisfaction and

Designing financial-incentive programmes for return of medical service in underserved areas: seven management functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bärnighausen, Till; Bloom, David E

2009-06-26

In many countries worldwide, health worker shortages are one of the main constraints in achieving population health goals. Financial-incentive programmes for return of service, whereby participants receive payments in return for a commitment to practise for a period of time in a medically underserved area, can alleviate local and regional health worker shortages through a number of mechanisms. First, they can redirect the flow of those health workers who would have been educated without financial incentives from well-served to underserved areas. Second, they can add health workers to the pool of workers who would have been educated without financial incentives and place them in underserved areas. Third, financial-incentive programmes may improve the retention in underserved areas of those health workers who participate in a programme, but who would have worked in an underserved area without any financial incentives. Fourth, the programmes may increase the retention of all health workers in underserved areas by reducing the strength of some of the reasons why health workers leave such areas, including social isolation, lack of contact with colleagues, lack of support from medical specialists and heavy workload. We draw on studies of financial-incentive programmes and other initiatives with similar objectives to discuss seven management functions that are essential for the long-term success of financial-incentive programmes: financing (programmes may benefit from innovative donor financing schemes, such as endowment funds, international financing facilities or compensation payments); promotion (programmes should use tested communication channels in order to reach secondary school graduates and health workers); selection (programmes may use selection criteria to ensure programme success and to achieve supplementary policy goals); placement (programmes should match participants to areas in order to maximize participant satisfaction and retention); support (programmes

Ways to Evaluate the Success of Your Teacher Incentive Fund Project in Meeting TIF Goals

Science.gov (United States)

Milanowski, Anthony; Finster, Matthew

2016-01-01

This brief outlines some simple methods that Teacher Incentive Fund grants could add to their local evaluations to find out how well they are promoting attainment of the four overall TIF goals. The methods described in this brief can help grantees determine if they are moving toward improving effectiveness, student achievement, and equity.…

Peace Incentives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Emmanuel, Nikolas G.

2015-01-01

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

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1980-04-01

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

Non-organ donors' attitudes toward incentives.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2013-01-01

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

Linking performance incentives to ethical practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boudi FB

2018-02-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2013-07-30

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

Changes in Incentives, Rewards and Sanctions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lonsdale, Alan

1993-01-01

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

7 CFR 3560.656 - Incentives offers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

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

R&D Incentives for Neglected Diseases

Science.gov (United States)

Dimitri, Nicola

2012-01-01

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

R&D incentives for neglected diseases.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicola Dimitri

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

R&D incentives for neglected diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Dimitri, Nicola

2012-01-01

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

On incentives for assurance of petroleum supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osmundsen, Petter; Aven, Terje; Tomasgard, Asgeir

2010-01-01

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

R&D tax incentives for innovation and managerial decisions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monika Walicka

2016-09-01

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

Cost incentives for doctors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schottmüller, Christoph

2013-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-01-01

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

Financial Incentives for Chronic Disease Management: Results and Limitations of 2 Randomized Clinical Trials With New York Medicaid Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

VanEpps, Eric M; Troxel, Andrea B; Villamil, Elizabeth; Saulsgiver, Kathryn A; Zhu, Jingsan; Chin, Jo-Yu; Matson, Jacqueline; Anarella, Joseph; Roohan, Patrick; Gesten, Foster; Volpp, Kevin G

2018-01-01

To identify whether financial incentives promote improved disease management in Medicaid recipients diagnosed with hypertension or diabetes, respectively. Four-group, multicenter, randomized clinical trials. Between 2013 and 2016, New York State Medicaid managed care members diagnosed with hypertension (N = 920) or with diabetes (N = 959). Participants in each 6-month trial were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 arms: (1) process incentives-earned by attending primary care visits and/or receiving prescription medication refills, (2) outcome incentives-earned by reducing systolic blood pressure (hypertension) or hemoglobin A 1c (HbA 1c ; diabetes) levels, (3) combined process and outcome incentives, and (4) control (no incentives). Systolic blood pressure (hypertension) and HbA 1c (diabetes) levels, primary care visits, and medication prescription refills. Analysis and Results: At 6 months, there were no statistically significant differences between intervention arms and the control arm in the change in systolic blood pressure, P = .531. Similarly, there were no significant differences in blood glucose control (HbA 1c ) between the intervention arms and control after 6 months, P = .939. The majority of participants had acceptable systolic blood pressure (operational limitations, the majority of recipients had relatively well-controlled diseases at the time of enrollment.

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

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

Electricity generation: regulatory mechanisms to incentive renewable alternative energy sources in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cavaliero, Carla Kazue Nakao; Silva, E.P. da

2005-01-01

The dissemination of renewable alternative energy sources for electricity generation has always being done through regulatory mechanisms, created and managed by the government of each country. Since these sources are more costly to generate, they have received incentives in response to worldwide environmental concerns, above all with regard to the reduction of CO 2 emissions. In Brazil, the electricity generation from renewable alternative sources is experiencing a new phase of growth. Until a short time ago, environmental appeal was the strongest incentive to these sources in Brazil but it was insufficient to attain its objective. With the electricity crisis and the rationing imposed in 2001, another important factor gained awareness: the need to diversify energy sources. Within this context, this work has the objective of analyzing the regulatory mechanisms recently developed to stimulate electricity generation from renewable alternative energy sources in Brazil by following the experience of other countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Germany

Incentive regulation of nuclear power plants by state public utility commissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petersen, J.C.

1987-12-01

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

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

OpenAIRE

Patricia Crifo; Marc-Arthur Diaye

2004-01-01

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

Economic incentives to wind systems commercialization. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

1978-08-01

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

The effect of incentive spirometry on postoperative pulmonary function following laparotomy: a randomized clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Tyson, Anna F; Kendig, Claire E; Mabedi, Charles; Cairns, Bruce A; Charles, Anthony G

2015-03-01

Changes in pulmonary dynamics following laparotomy are well documented. Deep breathing exercises, with or without incentive spirometry, may help counteract postoperative decreased vital capacity; however, the evidence for the role of incentive spirometry in the prevention of postoperative atelectasis is inconclusive. Furthermore, data are scarce regarding the prevention of postoperative atelectasis in sub-Saharan Africa. To determine the effect of the use of incentive spirometry on pulmonary function following exploratory laparotomy as measured by forced vital capacity (FVC). This was a single-center, randomized clinical trial performed at Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi. Study participants were adult patients who underwent exploratory laparotomy and were randomized into the intervention or control groups (standard of care) from February 1 to November 30, 2013. All patients received routine postoperative care, including instructions for deep breathing and early ambulation. We used bivariate analysis to compare outcomes between the intervention and control groups. Adult patients who underwent exploratory laparotomy participated in postoperative deep breathing exercises. Patients in the intervention group received incentive spirometers. We assessed pulmonary function using a peak flow meter to measure FVC in both groups of patients. Secondary outcomes, such as hospital length of stay and mortality, were obtained from the medical records. A total of 150 patients were randomized (75 in each arm). The median age in the intervention and control groups was 35 years (interquartile range, 28-53 years) and 33 years (interquartile range, 23-46 years), respectively. Men predominated in both groups, and most patients underwent emergency procedures (78.7% in the intervention group and 84.0% in the control group). Mean initial FVC did not differ significantly between the intervention and control groups (0.92 and 0.90 L, respectively; P=.82 [95% CI, 0.52-2.29]). Although

Improving response rates using a monetary incentive for patient completion of questionnaires: an observational study

Science.gov (United States)

Brealey, Stephen D; Atwell, Christine; Bryan, Stirling; Coulton, Simon; Cox, Helen; Cross, Ben; Fylan, Fiona; Garratt, Andrew; Gilbert, Fiona J; Gillan, Maureen GC; Hendry, Maggie; Hood, Kerenza; Houston, Helen; King, David; Morton, Veronica; Orchard, Jo; Robling, Michael; Russell, Ian T; Torgerson, David; Wadsworth, Valerie; Wilkinson, Clare

2007-01-01

Background Poor response rates to postal questionnaires can introduce bias and reduce the statistical power of a study. To improve response rates in our trial in primary care we tested the effect of introducing an unconditional direct payment of £5 for the completion of postal questionnaires. Methods We recruited patients in general practice with knee problems from sites across the United Kingdom. An evidence-based strategy was used to follow-up patients at twelve months with postal questionnaires. This included an unconditional direct payment of £5 to patients for the completion and return of questionnaires. The first 105 patients did not receive the £5 incentive, but the subsequent 442 patients did. We used logistic regression to analyse the effect of introducing a monetary incentive to increase the response to postal questionnaires. Results The response rate following reminders for the historical controls was 78.1% (82 of 105) compared with 88.0% (389 of 442) for those patients who received the £5 payment (diff = 9.9%, 95% CI 2.3% to 19.1%). Direct payments significantly increased the odds of response (adjusted odds ratio = 2.2, 95% CI 1.2 to 4.0, P = 0.009) with only 12 of 442 patients declining the payment. The incentive did not save costs to the trial – the extra cost per additional respondent was almost £50. Conclusion The direct payment of £5 significantly increased the completion of postal questionnaires at negligible increase in cost for an adequately powered study. PMID:17326837

Improving response rates using a monetary incentive for patient completion of questionnaires: an observational study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Orchard Jo

2007-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Poor response rates to postal questionnaires can introduce bias and reduce the statistical power of a study. To improve response rates in our trial in primary care we tested the effect of introducing an unconditional direct payment of £5 for the completion of postal questionnaires. Methods We recruited patients in general practice with knee problems from sites across the United Kingdom. An evidence-based strategy was used to follow-up patients at twelve months with postal questionnaires. This included an unconditional direct payment of £5 to patients for the completion and return of questionnaires. The first 105 patients did not receive the £5 incentive, but the subsequent 442 patients did. We used logistic regression to analyse the effect of introducing a monetary incentive to increase the response to postal questionnaires. Results The response rate following reminders for the historical controls was 78.1% (82 of 105 compared with 88.0% (389 of 442 for those patients who received the £5 payment (diff = 9.9%, 95% CI 2.3% to 19.1%. Direct payments significantly increased the odds of response (adjusted odds ratio = 2.2, 95% CI 1.2 to 4.0, P = 0.009 with only 12 of 442 patients declining the payment. The incentive did not save costs to the trial – the extra cost per additional respondent was almost £50. Conclusion The direct payment of £5 significantly increased the completion of postal questionnaires at negligible increase in cost for an adequately powered study.

Paperless Transaction for Publication Incentive System

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-08-01

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

Pavlovian conditioning with ethanol: sign-tracking (autoshaping), conditioned incentive, and ethanol self-administration.

Science.gov (United States)

Krank, Marvin D

2003-10-01

Conditioned incentive theories of addictive behavior propose that cues signaling a drug's reinforcing effects activate a central motivational state. Incentive motivation enhances drug-taking and drug-seeking behavior. We investigated the behavioral response to cues associated with ethanol and their interaction with operant self-administration of ethanol. In two experiments, rats received operant training to press a lever for a sweetened ethanol solution. After operant training, the animals were given Pavlovian pairings of a brief and localized cue light with the sweetened ethanol solution (no lever present). Lever pressing for ethanol was then re-established, and the behavioral effects of the cue light were tested during an ethanol self-administration session. The conditioned responses resulting from pairing cue lights with the opportunity to ingest ethanol had three main effects: (1) induction of operant behavior reinforced by ethanol, (2) stimulation of ethanol-seeking behavior (magazine entries), and (3) signal-directed behavior (i.e., autoshaping, or sign-tracking). Signal-directed behavior interacted with the other two effects in a manner predicted by the location of the cue light. These conditioned responses interact with operant responding for ethanol reinforcement. These findings demonstrate the importance of Pavlovian conditioning effects on ethanol self-administration and are consistent with conditioned incentive theories of addictive behavior.

The Responsible Inclusion of Students Receiving Special Education Services for Emotional Disturbance: Unraveling the Practice to Research Gap.

Science.gov (United States)

McKenna, John William; Solis, Michael; Brigham, Frederick; Adamson, Reesha

2018-03-01

The majority of students receiving special education services for emotional disturbance (ED) receive a significant amount of instruction in general education classrooms, which emphasizes curriculums based on college and career readiness standards. In turn, those teachers who provide instruction to students with ED in inclusive settings are responsible for using evidence-based practices (EBPs) for those teaching situations in which they exist to meet free appropriate public education (FAPE) mandates. However, the identification of EBPs is a necessary pre-condition to eventual school adoption and teacher use of such practices. In this investigation, we completed a synthesis of syntheses to (a) determine the degree to which academic intervention research has focused on students with ED in general education classrooms and (b) identify practices that are effective at improving the academic performance of students with ED in these settings. Overall, few studies were identified. Of those studies identified, half did not disaggregate outcomes for students with ED. A quality indicator coding based on the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) design standards revealed that no studies with disaggregated outcomes permitted causal inferences. Implications for school practice and areas for future research are discussed.

Incentive contracts and time use

OpenAIRE

Tor Viking Eriksson; Jaime Ortega

2011-01-01

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

Incentive regulation of nuclear power plants by state Public Utility Commissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1989-12-01

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

Attitude and Incentives of Payam-e-Noor University Academics regarding e-learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mina Mousavi

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this study was to investigate attitude and incentives of academic staff on e-learning lecturing in all Payam-e-Noor Universities of Ardabil province, Iran. The target population of the study comprised of 600 lecturers out of which a sample of 160 participants was randomly selected. In this descriptive correlational research, a self-made questionnaire was administered after securing its validity and reliability. Data revealed that all participants had positive attitudes towards e-learning. Factor analysis explored four factors influencing instructors' attitude towards e-learning –i.e. improving educational effectiveness via e-learning; developing the instructor and student rapport; introducing legal and spiritual support for e-learning’s input and output; and finally incorporating traditional and electronic learning. Moreover, personal interest of the lecturers regarding information technology applications in educational settings, their continuous career development and participation in e-learning projects were proved to be the most important incentives of the respondents.

Incentive theory: IV. Magnitude of reward

OpenAIRE

Killeen, Peter R.

1985-01-01

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

Successive duopoly under moral hazard: Will incentive contracts persist?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marta Fernández-Olmos

2009-07-01

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

The Wisconsin experience with incentives for demand-side management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landgren, D.A.

1990-01-01

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

Numerical semigroups in a problem about economic incentives for consumers

OpenAIRE

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

2016-01-01

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

CROSS-CULTURAL INCENTIVES FOR THE FDI

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Dumitru ZAIȚ

2014-06-01

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

Incentive Pass-through for Residential Solar Systems in California

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

2014-10-01

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

The perils of altering incentive plans: A case study

OpenAIRE

Kauhanen, Antti

2011-01-01

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

Cost-benefit of tax incentives and performance indicators: a case study in the company GRENDENE S/A

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josiane Marostica

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to analyze the cost/benefit of tax incentives and performance indicators of Grendene S/A footwear company in the period of 2010 to 2014. The research is justified by the importance of companies seeking techniques and methodologies that are more advantageous corporately to achieve better performance. In this sense, the accounting is shown as an important tool, acting as a source of information for decision-making and wealth measurement of their investors. The methodology will be through case study in a company in the footwear sector, listed on the BM & FBovespa, with data in the periods of 2010 to 2014 available at the base of Economatica and the Financial Statements. Having the data has been identified, the modalities of tax incentives that the company benefited during the study, as well as the traditional performance indicators. To analyze the cost/benefit of tax incentives was used data from DVA and tax subsidies provided in the notes to DFPs. The results show that the company needs a constant and effective monitoring of the costs and benefits of tax waiver. Also identifies that the value of tax incentives received does not equal proportion the generation of net wealth. The results of this study confirm the theoretical basis that the benefits brought by tax incentives outnumber the costs of tax waiver, but may represent a dangerous dependence as to jeopardize the continuity of the company if they were removed.

Influence of Incentives on Performance in a Pre-College Biology MOOC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suhang Jiang

2014-11-01

Full Text Available There is concern that online education may widen the achievement gap between students from different socioeconomic classes. The recent discussion of integrating massive open online courses (MOOCs into formal higher education has added fuel to this debate. In this study, factors influencing enrollment and completion in a pre-college preparatory MOOC were explored. University of California at Irvine (UCI students of all preparation levels, defined by math Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT score, were invited to take a Bio Prep MOOC to help them prepare for introductory biology. Students with math SAT below 550 were offered the explicit incentive of an early change to the biology major upon successful completion of the MOOC and two additional onsite courses. Our results demonstrate that, among course registrants, a higher percentage of UCI students (>60% completed the course than non-UCI registrants from the general population (<9%. Female UCI students had a greater likelihood of enrolling in the MOOC, but were not different from male students in terms of performance. University students entering with low preparation outperformed students entering who already had the credentials to become biology majors. These findings suggest that MOOCs can reach students, even those entering college with less preparation, before they enter university and have the potential to prepare them for challenging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM courses.

Credit ratings and CEO risk-taking incentives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuang, Y.; Qin, B.

2013-01-01

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

A profile of students receiving counselling services at a university in post-apartheid South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowman, Brett; Payne, Jarrod

2011-12-01

The purpose of this study was to describe a profile of students seeking counselling at a racially diverse university in post-apartheid South Africa as a means to demonstrate the importance of routinely collecting and analysing student counselling data at university-based centres across the country. Student data were extracted from the only two counselling centres based at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg that provided services to 831 students during 2008. The 26 243 students that did not seek counselling during this period formed the comparison group. These data were analysed using logistic regression. Black, female and students within the 21-25 year age category were more likely to receive counselling, and presenting problems varied by population group. Given the country's past and continued levels of social asymmetry, we argue that the development of standardised university-based reporting systems able to describe the characteristics and presenting problems of students seeking counselling across South African universities should be prioritised by its higher education sector. Timely access to information of this kind is crucial to the generation of evidence-based mental health interventions in a population that is especially important to the country's development vision.

The Persistent Problems and Confounding Challenges of Educator Incentives: The Case of TIF in Prince George's County, Maryland

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, Jennifer King; Malen, Betty; Baumann, Paul; Chen, Elke; Dougherty, Amy; Hyde, Laura; Jackson, Cara; Jacobson, Reuben; McKithen, Clarissa

2012-01-01

While education accountability systems emphasize teacher quality as a prerequisite for student learning, education administrators have struggled to staff low-performing schools with effective teachers. Fueled in part by the federal Teacher Incentive Fund, compensation reforms have gained center stage status among strategies aimed at improving…

Conjoint Analysis of Farmers’ Response to Conservation Incentives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Conner

2016-07-01

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

Are Delegation and Incentives Complementary Instruments ?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lando, Henrik

2004-01-01

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

The safety-incentive theory of liability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marshall, J.M.

1977-11-01

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

Incentive mechanisms for Opportunistic Cloud Computing Services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuada, Eric; Olesen, Henning

2012-01-01

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

Investigating financial incentives for maternal health: an introduction.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2013-12-01

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

Rehospitalizations and Emergency Department Visits after Hospital Discharge in Patients Receiving Maintenance Hemodialysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Harel, Ziv; Wald, Ron; McArthur, Eric; Chertow, Glenn M; Harel, Shai; Gruneir, Andrea; Fischer, Hadas D; Garg, Amit X; Perl, Jeffrey; Nash, Danielle M; Silver, Samuel; Bell, Chaim M

2015-12-01

Clinical outcomes after a hospital discharge are poorly defined for patients receiving maintenance in-center (outpatient) hemodialysis. To describe the proportion and characteristics of these patients who are rehospitalized, visit an emergency department, or die within 30 days after discharge from an acute hospitalization, we conducted a population-based study of all adult patients receiving maintenance in-center hemodialysis who were discharged between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2011, from 157 acute care hospitals in Ontario, Canada. For patients with more than one hospitalization, we randomly selected a single hospitalization as the index hospitalization. Of the 11,177 patients included in the final cohort, 1926 (17%) were rehospitalized, 2971 (27%) were treated in the emergency department, and 840 (7.5%) died within 30 days of discharge. Complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus were the most common reason for rehospitalization, whereas heart failure was the most common reason for an emergency department visit. In multivariable analysis using a cause-specific Cox proportional hazards model, the following characteristics were associated with 30-day rehospitalization: older age, the number of hospital admissions in the preceding 6 months, the number of emergency department visits in the preceding 6 months, higher Charlson comorbidity index score, and the receipt of mechanical ventilation during the index hospitalization. Thus, a large proportion of patients receiving maintenance in-center hemodialysis will be readmitted or visit an emergency room within 30 days of an acute hospitalization. A focus on improving care transitions from the inpatient setting to the outpatient dialysis unit may improve outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Nephrology.

Design of economic incentive instruments in nutrition policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jørgen Dejgård

2011-01-01

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

Globalisation and National Incentives for Protecting Environmental Goods

OpenAIRE

Alkuin Kölliker

2004-01-01

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

Meeting the Challenges of Stakeholder Engagement and Communication: Lessons from Teacher Incentive Fund Grantees. The Harvesting Project

Science.gov (United States)

Koppich, Julia E.

2010-01-01

As of August 2010, a total of 33 states, school districts, charter school coalitions, and other education organizations had received Teacher Incentive Funds (TIF) to redesign compensation programs for teachers and principals. The U.S. Department of Education named a new cohort of TIF grantees on September 23, 2010. TIF grantees have faced a number…

Meeting the Challenges of Fiscal and Programmatic Sustainability: Lessons from Teacher Incentive Fund Grantees. The Harvesting Project

Science.gov (United States)

Schuermann, Patrick; Archibald, Sarah; Kluender, Ray; Ptak, Kirsten

2011-01-01

A total of 33 sites, including states, school districts, charter school coalitions, and other education organizations make up Cohorts 1 and 2 of the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF). These sites received funds beginning in the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007 to redesign compensation programs for teachers and principals. The U.S. Department of…

The roles of incentives and voluntary cooperation for contractual compliance

OpenAIRE

Gächter, Simon; Kessler, Esther; Königstein, Manfred

2011-01-01

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

The effect of explicit financial incentives on physician behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2001-05-28

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-03-21

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

Third-Party Incentive Strategies and Conflict Management in Africa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Emmanuel, Nikolas G.

2016-01-01

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

Financial Incentives to Promote Active Travel

OpenAIRE

Martin, Adam; Suhrcke, Marc; Ogilvie, David

2012-01-01

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

Premenarcheal Mexican Girls' and Their Teachers' Perceptions of Preparation Students Receive about Menstruation at School.

Science.gov (United States)

Marvan, Luisa; Bejarano, Janett

2005-01-01

This survey explored how fifth-grade Mexican premenarcheal girls (N = 80) and their teachers (N = 16) view the preparation students receive about menstruation at school. The most discussed topics in class included hygiene and body functions. The main discrepancies between girls and teachers were as follows: (a) more teachers than girls reported…

BSN completion barriers, challenges, incentives, and strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2014-04-01

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

Incentive regulation of nuclear power plants by state regulators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1991-02-01

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

48 CFR 416.405 - Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

MATLAB as an incentive for student learning of skills

Science.gov (United States)

Bank, C. G.; Ghent, R. R.

2016-12-01

Our course "Computational Geology" takes a holistic approach to student learning by using MATLAB as a focal point to increase students' computing, quantitative reasoning, data analysis, report writing, and teamwork skills. The course, taught since 2007 with recent enrollments around 35 and aimed at 2nd to 3rd-year students, is required for the Geology and Earth and Environmental Systems major programs, and can be chosen as elective in our other programs, including Geophysics. The course is divided into five projects: Pacific plate velocity from the Hawaiian hotspot track, predicting CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, volume of Earth's oceans and sea-level rise, comparing wind directions for Vancouver and Squamish, and groundwater flow. Each project is based on real data, focusses on a mathematical concept (linear interpolation, gradients, descriptive statistics, differential equations) and highlights a programming task (arrays, functions, text file input/output, curve fitting). Working in teams of three, students need to develop a conceptional model to explain the data, and write MATLAB code to visualize the data and match it to their conceptional model. The programming is guided, and students work individually on different aspects (for example: reading the data, fitting a function, unit conversion) which they need to put together to solve the problem. They then synthesize their thought process in a paper. Anecdotal evidence shows that students continue using MATLAB in other courses.

Managing risk selection incentives in health sector reforms.

Science.gov (United States)

Puig-Junoy, J

1999-01-01

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

Blood donor incentives: A step forward or backward

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abolghasemi Hassan

2010-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2006-04-13

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is typically considered to mediate aversive aspects of stress, fear and anxiety. However, CRF release in the brain is also elicited by natural rewards and incentive cues, raising the possibility that some CRF systems in the brain mediate an independent function of positive incentive motivation, such as amplifying incentive salience. Here we asked whether activation of a limbic CRF subsystem magnifies the increase in positive motivation for reward elicited by incentive cues previously associated with that reward, in a way that might exacerbate cue-triggered binge pursuit of food or other incentives? We assessed the impact of CRF microinjections into the medial shell of nucleus accumbens using a pure incentive version of Pavlovian-Instrumental transfer, a measure specifically sensitive to the incentive salience of reward cues (which it separates from influences of aversive stress, stress reduction, frustration and other traditional explanations for stress-increased behavior). Rats were first trained to press one of two levers to obtain sucrose pellets, and then separately conditioned to associate a Pavlovian cue with free sucrose pellets. On test days, rats received microinjections of vehicle, CRF (250 or 500 ng/0.2 microl) or amphetamine (20 microg/0.2 microl). Lever pressing was assessed in the presence or absence of the Pavlovian cues during a half-hour test. Microinjections of the highest dose of CRF (500 ng) or amphetamine (20 microg) selectively enhanced the ability of Pavlovian reward cues to trigger phasic peaks of increased instrumental performance for a sucrose reward, each peak lasting a minute or so before decaying after the cue. Lever pressing was not enhanced by CRF microinjections in the baseline absence of the Pavlovian cue or during the presentation without a cue, showing that the CRF enhancement could not be explained as a result of generalized motor arousal, frustration or stress, or by persistent attempts to

Acceptability and feasibility of a financial incentive intervention to improve retention in HIV care among pregnant women in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Clouse, Kate; Mongwenyana, Constance; Musina, Melda; Bokaba, Dorah; Long, Lawrence; Maskew, Mhairi; Ahonkhai, Aima; Fox, Matthew P

2018-04-01

Women initiating antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy are at high risk of dropping out of HIV care after delivery. We assessed the acceptability and feasibility of a financial incentive - a one-time R50 (∼USD4) supermarket voucher for completing one postpartum visit ≤10 weeks of delivery - to improve postpartum retention. We enrolled 100 pregnant, HIV-positive women at a primary health clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa. Participants were interviewed at enrollment and we reviewed files to assess retention ≥14 weeks postpartum. Median (IQR) respondent age was 28 years (24-31) and 31% were employed. Most (86%) said the incentive would motivate them to return and 76% supported clinics offering incentives. Among the 23% who found the intervention unacceptable, the most frequent reason was perceived personal responsibility for health. Feasibility was demonstrated, as 79.7% (51/64) of eligible participants received a voucher. When asked to rank preferred hypothetical incentive interventions, assistance with social services ranked first (29%), followed by infant formula (22%) and cash (21%); assistance with social services was the top-ranked choice by both those who found the voucher incentive intervention acceptable and unacceptable. To encourage HIV-positive women to remain in care, respondents most frequently suggested health education (34%), counseling (29%), financial incentives (25%), home visits (13%), and better service (6%). Our results suggest financial incentives are acceptable, but women frequently expressed preference for integrated services and improved education and counseling to improve retention. Interventions exploring the feasibility and efficacy of education and counseling interventions to improve postpartum HIV care are warranted.

A performance incentive contract that pays off for all parties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1995-01-01

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

Participatory development of incentives to coexist with jaguars and pumas.

Science.gov (United States)

Amit, Ronit; Jacobson, Susan K

2018-01-22

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

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reid, M.W.

1990-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Rachel J; Rothman, Alexander J

2018-04-19

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

Designing an Incentive Contract Menu for Sustaining the Electricity Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ying Yu

2015-12-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Terry E; Berridge, Kent C

2008-10-12

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

A Mixed-Methods Randomized Controlled Trial of Financial Incentives and Peer Networks to Promote Walking among Older Adults

Science.gov (United States)

Kullgren, Jeffrey T.; Harkins, Kristin A.; Bellamy, Scarlett L.; Gonzales, Amy; Tao, Yuanyuan; Zhu, Jingsan; Volpp, Kevin G.; Asch, David A.; Heisler, Michele; Karlawish, Jason

2014-01-01

Background: Financial incentives and peer networks could be delivered through eHealth technologies to encourage older adults to walk more. Methods: We conducted a 24-week randomized trial in which 92 older adults with a computer and Internet access received a pedometer, daily walking goals, and weekly feedback on goal achievement. Participants…

48 CFR 216.405 - Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

Financial Incentives to Promote Active Travel

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Adam; Suhrcke, Marc; Ogilvie, David

2012-01-01

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

Requesting a unique personal identifier or providing a souvenir incentive did not affect overall consent to health record linkage: evidence from an RCT nested within a cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, Michael Y; Li, Tom K; Hui, Rex W H; McDowell, Ian; Leung, Gabriel M

2017-04-01

It is unclear if unique personal identifiers should be requested from participants for health record linkage: this permits high-quality data linkage but at the potential cost of lower consent rates due to privacy concerns. Drawing from a sampling frame based on the FAMILY Cohort, using a 2 × 2 factorial design, we randomly assigned 1,200 participants to (1) request for Hong Kong Identity Card number (HKID) or no request and (2) receiving a souvenir incentive (valued at USD4) or no incentive. The primary outcome was consent to health record linkage. We also investigated associations between demographics, health status, and postal reminders with consent. Overall, we received signed consent forms from 33.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 30.6-36.0%) of respondents. We did not find an overall effect of requesting HKID (-4.3%, 95% CI -9.8% to 1.2%) or offering souvenir incentives (2.4%, 95% CI -3.1% to 7.9%) on consent to linkage. In subgroup analyses, requesting HKID significantly reduced consent among adults aged 18-44 years (odds ratio [OR] 0.53, 95% CI 0.30-0.94, compared to no request). Souvenir incentives increased consent among women (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.13-2.11, compared to no souvenirs). Requesting a unique personal identifier or providing a souvenir incentive did not affect overall consent to health record linkage. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Blondon, Katherine S

2015-06-10

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-07-26

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

Calculations of Financial Incentives for Providers in a Pay-for-Performance Program: Manual Review Versus Data From Structured Fields in Electronic Health Records.

Science.gov (United States)

Urech, Tracy H; Woodard, LeChauncy D; Virani, Salim S; Dudley, R Adams; Lutschg, Meghan Z; Petersen, Laura A

2015-10-01

Hospital report cards and financial incentives linked to performance require clinical data that are reliable, appropriate, timely, and cost-effective to process. Pay-for-performance plans are transitioning to automated electronic health record (EHR) data as an efficient method to generate data needed for these programs. To determine how well data from automated processing of structured fields in the electronic health record (AP-EHR) reflect data from manual chart review and the impact of these data on performance rewards. Cross-sectional analysis of performance measures used in a cluster randomized trial assessing the impact of financial incentives on guideline-recommended care for hypertension. A total of 2840 patients with hypertension assigned to participating physicians at 12 Veterans Affairs hospital-based outpatient clinics. Fifty-two physicians and 33 primary care personnel received incentive payments. Overall, positive and negative agreement indices and Cohen's kappa were calculated for assessments of guideline-recommended antihypertensive medication use, blood pressure (BP) control, and appropriate response to uncontrolled BP. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to assess how similar participants' calculated earnings were between the data sources. By manual chart review data, 72.3% of patients were considered to have received guideline-recommended antihypertensive medications compared with 65.0% by AP-EHR review (κ=0.51). Manual review indicated 69.5% of patients had controlled BP compared with 66.8% by AP-EHR review (κ=0.87). Compared with 52.2% of patients per the manual review, 39.8% received an appropriate response by AP-EHR review (κ=0.28). Participants' incentive payments calculated using the 2 methods were highly correlated (r≥0.98). Using the AP-EHR data to calculate earnings, participants' payment changes ranged from a decrease of $91.00 (-30.3%) to an increase of $18.20 (+7.4%) for medication use (interquartile range, -14.4% to 0

Analysis of Federal incentives used to stimulate energy production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-06-01

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

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

1980-06-01

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

Merit-Based Scholarships and Student Effort

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez-Julian, Rey

2010-01-01

Twenty-one states offer merit scholarships that require students to maintain a minimum grade point average (GPA). Using a comprehensive administrative database from Clemson University, this study estimates the relationship between the incentives created by a South Carolina merit scholarship (LIFE) and students' academic performance. I hypothesize…

Risk management versus incentives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2006-01-01

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

Social and cultural drivers of incentive effectiveness in infrastructure projects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rose, T.M.; Volker, L.

2013-01-01

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

Enhancing Incentive Programs with Proximal Goals and Immediate Feedback: Engineered Labor Standards and Technology Enhancements in Stocker Replenishment

Science.gov (United States)

Goomas, David T.; Ludwig, Timothy D.

2007-01-01

Under baseline conditions warehouse stockers (n = 23) could earn incentives if their team performed above the team quota of 18 cases stocked per hour. They were also subject to disciplinary action if they failed to regularly meet individual stocking quotas. In spite of these contingencies the stockers failed to receive bonus payments most of the…

Intermediaries in Trust: Indirect Reciprocity, Incentives, and Norms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giangiacomo Bravo

2015-01-01

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fakhradin Ghasemi

2015-09-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-01-01

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

Salary administration as part of employee incentive system at industrial enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sagandykov Michail

2017-01-01

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

The attribution of incentive salience to Pavlovian alcohol cues: a shift from goal-tracking to sign-tracking.

Science.gov (United States)

Srey, Chandra S; Maddux, Jean-Marie N; Chaudhri, Nadia

2015-01-01

Environmental stimuli that are reliably paired with alcohol may acquire incentive salience, a property that can operate in the use and abuse of alcohol. Here we investigated the incentive salience of Pavlovian alcohol cues using a preclinical animal model. Male, Long-Evans rats (Harlan) with unrestricted access to food and water were acclimated to drinking 15% ethanol (v/v) in their home-cages. Rats then received Pavlovian autoshaping training in which the 10 s presentation of a retractable lever served as the conditioned stimulus (CS) and 15% ethanol served as the unconditioned stimulus (US) (0.2 ml/CS; 12 CS presentations/session; 27 sessions). Next, in an operant test of conditioned reinforcement, nose pokes into an active aperture delivered presentations of the lever-CS, whereas nose pokes into an inactive aperture had no consequences. Across initial autoshaping sessions, goal-tracking behavior, as measured by entries into the fluid port where ethanol was delivered, developed rapidly. However, with extended training goal-tracking diminished, and sign-tracking responses, as measured by lever-CS activations, emerged. Control rats that received explicitly unpaired CS and US presentations did not show goal-tracking or sign-tracking responses. In the test for conditioned reinforcement, rats with CS-US pairings during autoshaping training made more active relative to inactive nose pokes, whereas rats in the unpaired control group did not. Moreover, active nose pokes were positively correlated with sign-tracking behavior during autoshaping. Extended training may produce a shift in the learned properties of Pavlovian alcohol cues, such that after initially predicting alcohol availability they acquire robust incentive salience.

Negative mood reverses devaluation of goal-directed drug-seeking favouring an incentive learning account of drug dependence.

Science.gov (United States)

Hogarth, Lee; He, Zhimin; Chase, Henry W; Wills, Andy J; Troisi, Joseph; Leventhal, Adam M; Mathew, Amanda R; Hitsman, Brian

2015-09-01

Two theories explain how negative mood primes smoking behaviour. The stimulus-response (S-R) account argues that in the negative mood state, smoking is experienced as more reinforcing, establishing a direct (automatic) association between the negative mood state and smoking behaviour. By contrast, the incentive learning account argues that in the negative mood state smoking is expected to be more reinforcing, which integrates with instrumental knowledge of the response required to produce that outcome. One differential prediction is that whereas the incentive learning account anticipates that negative mood induction could augment a novel tobacco-seeking response in an extinction test, the S-R account could not explain this effect because the extinction test prevents S-R learning by omitting experience of the reinforcer. To test this, overnight-deprived daily smokers (n = 44) acquired two instrumental responses for tobacco and chocolate points, respectively, before smoking to satiety. Half then received negative mood induction to raise the expected value of tobacco, opposing satiety, whilst the remainder received positive mood induction. Finally, a choice between tobacco and chocolate was measured in extinction to test whether negative mood could augment tobacco choice, opposing satiety, in the absence of direct experience of tobacco reinforcement. Negative mood induction not only abolished the devaluation of tobacco choice, but participants with a significant increase in negative mood increased their tobacco choice in extinction, despite satiety. These findings suggest that negative mood augments drug-seeking by raising the expected value of the drug through incentive learning, rather than through automatic S-R control.

Incentives and barriers to OER adoption: A qualitative analysis of faculty perceptions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga Maria Belikov

2016-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper, 218 U.S faculty responses regarding Open Educational Resources (OER were qualitatively analyzed. Ten categories emerged in the coding process. The top three categories that indicated barriers to the adoption of OER were need more information (faculty wanted more information before they would be willing to adopt OER, lack of discoverability (faculty wanted to be able to easily find repositories of OER, and confusing OER with digital resources (faculty were unaware of the difference between digital resources and OER. The top incentives identified in this analysis to overcome these barriers include student cost benefits (saving students money, student pedagogical benefits (faculty being able to make changes to OER to improve course content and instruction, and institutional support for the adoption of OER (whether in the form of course load reduction, curricular research assistance, or library support for finding and adopting OER. Future research is needed to better understand how to address and overcome these barriers to OER adoption.

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

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

Practical implications of incentive systems are utilized by dental franchises.

Science.gov (United States)

Yavner, S B

1989-01-01

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

Predicting incentives to change among adolescents with substance abuse disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Breda, Carolyn; Heflinger, Craig Anne

2004-05-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2013-11-01

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

48 CFR 48.105 - Relationship to other incentives.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

48 CFR 1316.405 - Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

48 CFR 916.405 - Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

48 CFR 16.405 - Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

Do Firms Replenish Executives’ Incentives After Equity Sales?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ladika, T.

2013-01-01

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

Safety, economic incentives and insurance in the Norwegian petroleum industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2008-01-01

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

A food-manufacturing manager’s experiences and perceptions of the implementation of an incentive scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Celita Begbie

2011-06-01

Research purpose: Identifying the contributors to negative feelings and demotivation, or conversely, excitement and motivation, will ultimately assist managers to implement an incentive scheme to motivate staff and improve performance. Motivation for the study: There is little research on how participants perceive incentive schemes and whether or not they motivate employees and improve overall performance. Research design, approach and method: The researcher used a modernistic qualitative research approach and, more specifically, a case study. Main findings: The participants in the research were unaware of the performance goals they needed to achieve. They felt that there was no link between their performance and their earnings. They felt that some objectives were demeaning and insulting, as was the payment they received. They felt that achieving their goals was outside their control and influence. Practical/managerial implications: Participants felt excited and motivated to perform when their managers presented the department’s overall goals to them and asked the participants to set their own goals based on the department’s objectives. Contribution/value-add: Although this study is explorative and descriptive, it suggests that it is how departments implement an incentive scheme, rather than merely having one, that will motivate or demotivate employees to perform.

Managerial strategies to make incentives meaningful and motivating.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-04-10

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

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarzynski, Andrea; Larrieu, Jeremy; Shrimali, Gireesh

2012-01-01

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

Incentive Use in Research: Protecting Vulnerable Populations from Exploitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haruna Muwonge

2013-06-01

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

An incentive-based architecture for social recommendations

KAUST Repository

Bhattacharjee, Rajat; Goel, Ashish; Kollias, Konstantinos

2009-01-01

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

Economic barriers and incentives for biodiversity restoration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia Frapolli, Eduardo; Lindigcisneros, Roberto

2011-01-01

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

Incentive Design and Mis-Allocated Effort

OpenAIRE

Schnedler, Wendelin

2013-01-01

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

48 CFR 1816.405 - Cost-reimbursement incentive contracts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

Incentives for cogeneration in Italy: Logic and implementation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tomassetti, G.

1992-01-01

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

Grid Computing BOINC Redesign Mindmap with incentive system (gamification)

OpenAIRE

Kitchen, Kris

2016-01-01

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

Incentive relativity in middle aged rats.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2014-01-24

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schulkin Jay

2006-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF is typically considered to mediate aversive aspects of stress, fear and anxiety. However, CRF release in the brain is also elicited by natural rewards and incentive cues, raising the possibility that some CRF systems in the brain mediate an independent function of positive incentive motivation, such as amplifying incentive salience. Here we asked whether activation of a limbic CRF subsystem magnifies the increase in positive motivation for reward elicited by incentive cues previously associated with that reward, in a way that might exacerbate cue-triggered binge pursuit of food or other incentives? We assessed the impact of CRF microinjections into the medial shell of nucleus accumbens using a pure incentive version of Pavlovian-Instrumental transfer, a measure specifically sensitive to the incentive salience of reward cues (which it separates from influences of aversive stress, stress reduction, frustration and other traditional explanations for stress-increased behavior. Rats were first trained to press one of two levers to obtain sucrose pellets, and then separately conditioned to associate a Pavlovian cue with free sucrose pellets. On test days, rats received microinjections of vehicle, CRF (250 or 500 ng/0.2 μl or amphetamine (20 μg/0.2 μl. Lever pressing was assessed in the presence or absence of the Pavlovian cues during a half-hour test. Results Microinjections of the highest dose of CRF (500 ng or amphetamine (20 μg selectively enhanced the ability of Pavlovian reward cues to trigger phasic peaks of increased instrumental performance for a sucrose reward, each peak lasting a minute or so before decaying after the cue. Lever pressing was not enhanced by CRF microinjections in the baseline absence of the Pavlovian cue or during the presentation without a cue, showing that the CRF enhancement could not be explained as a result of generalized motor arousal, frustration or stress

Hospital responses to pay-for-performance incentives.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2006-05-01

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

Issues in the Design of Saving and Investment Incentives

OpenAIRE

David F. Bradford

1981-01-01

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

A Proposed Incentive System for Jefferson County Teachers.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlechty, Phillip C.; Ingwerson, Donald W.

1987-01-01

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

Patent quality and incentives at the patent office

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schuett, F.

2013-01-01

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

The goose is (half) cooked: a consideration of the mechanisms and interpersonal context is needed to elucidate the effects of personal financial incentives on health behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Hagger, Martin S; Keatley, David A; Chan, Derwin C K; Chatzisarantis, Nikos L D; Dimmock, James A; Jackson, Ben; Ntoumanis, Nikos

2014-02-01

While we agree that personal financial incentives (PFIs) may have some utility in public health interventions to motivate people in the uptake and persistence of health behaviour, we disagree with some of the sentiments outlined by Lynagh et al. (Int J Behav Med 20:114-120, 2012). Specifically, we feel that the article gives a much stronger impression that PFIs will likely lead to long-term behaviour change once the incentive has been removed than is warranted by current research. This claim has not received strong empirical support nor is it grounded in psychological theory on the role of incentives and motivation. We also feel that the presentation of some of the tenets of self-determination theory by the authors is misleading. Based on self-determination theory, we propose that PFIs, without sufficient consideration of the mechanisms by which external incentives affect motivation and the interpersonal context in which they are presented, are unlikely to lead to persistence in health behaviour once the incentive is removed. We argue that interventions that adopt PFIs as a strategy to promote health-behaviour change should incorporate strategies in the interpersonal context to minimise the undermining effect of the incentives on intrinsic motivation. Interventions should present incentives as informational regarding individuals' competence rather than as purely contingent on behavioural engagement and emphasise self-determined reasons for pursuing the behaviour.

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

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-26

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

Hermann agreement updates IRS guidelines for incentives.

Science.gov (United States)

Broccolo, B M; Peregrine, M W

1995-01-01

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

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

OpenAIRE

Gao, Xirong; Shan, Lingling

2013-01-01

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

On the Effectiveness of Incentive Pay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

2015-01-01

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

Incentive structure in team-based learning: graded versus ungraded Group Application exercises.

Science.gov (United States)

Deardorff, Adam S; Moore, Jeremy A; McCormick, Colleen; Koles, Paul G; Borges, Nicole J

2014-04-21

Previous studies on team-based learning (TBL) in medical education demonstrated improved learner engagement, learner satisfaction, and academic performance; however, a paucity of information exists on modifications of the incentive structure of "traditional" TBL practices. The current study investigates the impact of modification to conventional Group Application exercises by examining student preference and student perceptions of TBL outcomes when Group Application exercises are excluded from TBL grades. During the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 academic years, 175 students (95.6% response rate) completed a 22-item multiple choice survey followed by 3 open response questions at the end of their second year of medical school. These students had participated in a TBL supplemented preclinical curriculum with graded Group Application exercises during year one and ungraded Group Application exercises during year two of medical school. Chi-square analyses showed significant differences between grading categories for general assessment of TBL, participation and communication, intra-team discussion, inter-team discussion, student perceptions of their own effort and development of teamwork skills. Furthermore, 83.8% of students polled prefer ungraded Group Application exercises with only 7.2% preferring graded and 9.0% indicating no preference. The use of ungraded Group Application exercises appears to be a successful modification of TBL, making it more "student-friendly" while maintaining the goals of active learning and development of teamwork skills.

Rewards and Performance Incentives.

Science.gov (United States)

Zigon, Jack

1994-01-01

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

Using Peer-Referral Chains with Incentives to Promote HIV Testing and Identify Undiagnosed HIV Infections Among Crack Users in San Salvador.

Science.gov (United States)

Glasman, Laura R; Dickson-Gomez, Julia; Lechuga, Julia; Tarima, Sergey; Bodnar, Gloria; de Mendoza, Lorena Rivas

2016-06-01

In El Salvador, crack users are at high risk for HIV but they are not targeted by efforts to promote early HIV diagnosis. We evaluated the promise of peer-referral chains with incentives to increase HIV testing and identify undiagnosed HIV infections among networks of crack users in San Salvador. For 14 months, we offered HIV testing in communities with a high prevalence of crack use. For the following 14 months, we promoted chains in which crack users from these communities referred their peers to HIV testing and received a small monetary incentive. We recorded the monthly numbers of HIV testers, and their crack use, sexual risk behaviors and test results. After launching the referral chains, the monthly numbers of HIV testers increased significantly (Z = 6.90, p < .001) and decayed more slowly (Z = 5.93, p < .001), and the total number of crack-using testers increased nearly fourfold. Testers in the peer-referral period reported fewer HIV risk behaviors, but a similar percentage (~5 %) tested HIV positive in both periods. More women than men received an HIV-positive diagnosis throughout the study (χ(2)(1, N = 799) = 4.23, p = .040). Peer-referral chains with incentives can potentially increase HIV testing among networks of crack users while retaining a focus on high-risk individuals.

Value affect of construction incentive payments on pavement performance.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-08-01

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Torsten Krause

2013-12-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-07-01

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

Geopressured-geothermal energy development: government incentives and institutional structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

1979-01-01

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

Incentives for Recruiters

Science.gov (United States)

1992-09-01

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

Perceived Self-Efficacy and Financial Incentives: Factors Affecting Health Behaviors and Weight Loss in a Workplace Weight Loss Intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Faghri, Pouran D; Simon, Julia; Huedo-Medina, Tania; Gorin, Amy

2017-05-01

To evaluate if self-efficacy (SE) and financial incentives (FI) mediate the effect of health behavior on weight loss in a group of overweight and obese nursing-home employees participating in a 16-week weight-loss intervention with 12-week follow-up. Ninety nine overweight/obese (body mass index [BMI] > 25) employees from four nursing-homes participated, with a mean age of 46.98 years and BMI of 35.33. Nursing-homes were randomized to receiving an incentive-based intervention (n = 51) and no incentive (n = 48). Participants' health behaviors and eating and exercise self-efficacy (Ex-SE) were assessed at week 1, 16, and 28 using a self-reported questionnaire. Mediation and moderated mediation analysis assessed relationships among these variables. Eating self-efficacy (Eat-SE) and Ex-SE were significant mediators between health behaviors and weight loss (P self-efficacy (P = 0.00) on weight loss. Self-efficacy and FI may affect weight loss and play a role in weight-loss interventions.

Essays on incentives and pro-environmental behaviour

OpenAIRE

De Martino, Samantha

2017-01-01

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

Anti-double dipping rules for federal tax incentives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

1997-12-31

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

The attribution of incentive salience to Pavlovian alcohol cues: a shift from goal-tracking to sign-tracking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chandra S. Srey

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Environmental stimuli that are reliably paired with alcohol may acquire incentive salience, a property that can operate in the use and abuse of alcohol. Here we investigated the incentive salience of Pavlovian alcohol cues using a preclinical animal model. Male, Long-Evans rats (Harlan with unrestricted access to food and water were acclimated to drinking 15% ethanol (v/v in their home-cages. Rats then received Pavlovian autoshaping training in which the 10 second presentation of a retractable lever served as the conditioned stimulus (CS and 15% ethanol served as the unconditioned stimulus (US (0.2 ml/CS; 12 CS presentations/session; 27 sessions. Next, in an operant test of conditioned reinforcement, nose pokes into an active aperture delivered presentations of the lever-CS, whereas nose pokes into an inactive aperture had no consequences. Across initial autoshaping sessions, goal-tracking behavior, as measured by entries into the fluid port where ethanol was delivered, developed rapidly. However, with extended training goal-tracking diminished, and sign-tracking responses, as measured by lever-CS activations, emerged. Control rats that received explicitly unpaired CS and US presentations did not show goal-tracking or sign-tracking responses. In the test for conditioned reinforcement, rats with CS-US pairings during autoshaping training made more active relative to inactive nose pokes, whereas rats in the unpaired control group did not. Moreover, active nose pokes were positively correlated with sign-tracking behavior during autoshaping. Extended training may produce a shift in the learned properties of Pavlovian alcohol cues, such that after initially predicting alcohol availability they acquire robust incentive salience.

"This is what you need to be learning": an analysis of messages received by first-year mathematics students during their transition to university

Science.gov (United States)

Kouvela, Eirini; Hernandez-Martinez, Paul; Croft, Tony

2017-10-01

This paper explores the messages that first-year mathematics students receive in the context of their academic studies during their transition from school to university mathematics. Through observations of lectures and discussions with first-year mathematics undergraduates in an English university, we identified and analysed the messages that two of their lecturers transmitted to them during this transitional phase. The results suggest that strongly framed messages are more easily perceived by students and affect them during their transition. Additionally, messages that have been received in the school context continue to have control over students' thinking and on many occasions can impede adjustment to the new setting.

"This is what you need to be learning": an analysis of messages received by first-year mathematics students during their transition to university

Science.gov (United States)

Kouvela, Eirini; Hernandez-Martinez, Paul; Croft, Tony

2018-06-01

This paper explores the messages that first-year mathematics students receive in the context of their academic studies during their transition from school to university mathematics. Through observations of lectures and discussions with first-year mathematics undergraduates in an English university, we identified and analysed the messages that two of their lecturers transmitted to them during this transitional phase. The results suggest that strongly framed messages are more easily perceived by students and affect them during their transition. Additionally, messages that have been received in the school context continue to have control over students' thinking and on many occasions can impede adjustment to the new setting.

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

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1979-05-01

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

10 CFR 212.78 - Tertiary incentive crude oil.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gaute Wangen

2015-07-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-01-19

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Latham, Lesley P; Marshall, Emily Gard

2015-02-01

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

[Factors Influencing Participation in Financial Incentive Programmes of Health Insurance Funds. Results of the Study 'German Health Update'].

Science.gov (United States)

Jordan, S; von der Lippe, E; Starker, A; Hoebel, J; Franke, A

2015-11-01

The statutory health insurance can offer their insured incentive programmes that will motivate for healthy behaviour through a financial or material reward. This study will show results about what factors influence financial incentive programme participation (BPT) including all sorts of statutory health insurance funds and taking into account gender differences. For the cross-sectional analysis, data were used from 15,858 participants in the study 'Germany Health Update' (GEDA) from 2009, who were insured in the statutory health insurance. The selection of potential influencing variables for a BPT is based on the "Behavioural Model for Health Service Use" of Andersen. Accordingly, various factors were included in logistic regression models, which were calculated separately by gender: predisposing factors (age, education, social support, and health awareness), enabling factors (income, statutory health insurance fund, and family physician), and need factors (smoking, fruit and vegetable consumption, sports, body mass index, and general health status). In consideration of all factors, for both sexes, BPT is associated with age, health awareness, education, use of a family physician, smoking, and sports activities. In addition, income, body mass index, and diet are significant in women and social support and kind of statutory health insurance fund in men. It is found that predisposing, enabling and need factors are relevant. Financial incentive programmes reach population groups with greatest need less than those groups who already have a health-conscious behaviour, who receive a reward for this. In longitudinal studies, further research on financial incentive programmes should investigate the existence of deadweight effects and whether incentive programmes can contribute to the reduction of the inequity in health. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Analysis of federal incentives used to stimulate energy consumption

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

1981-08-01

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

Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant Progress Report: Building a Sustainable Substance Abuse Prevention System, State of Hawai'i, 2006-2010

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, S.; Lai, M.C.; Heusel, K.

2011-01-01

In 2006, the Hawai'i State Department of Health (DOH) received the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF-SIG) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to establish a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustainable substance abuse prevention infrastructure in Hawai'i. The SPF-SIG Project is funded…

Using Effective Contractual Incentives to Obtain Superior Contractor Performance

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Venable, Timothy

2000-01-01

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

Motivating employees through incentives: productive or a counterproductive strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2014-05-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Eirea Eiras, Carlos; Ortún Rubio, Vicente

2012-03-01

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

Altruism, Conformism, and Incentives in the Workplace

OpenAIRE

Tichem, Jan

2014-01-01

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gill Thomson

Full Text Available Financial (positive or negative and non-financial incentives or rewards are increasingly used in attempts to influence health behaviours. While unintended consequences of incentive provision are discussed in the literature, evidence syntheses did not identify any primary research with the aim of investigating unintended consequences of incentive interventions for lifestyle behaviour change. Our objective was to investigate perceived positive and negative unintended consequences of incentive provision for a shortlist of seven promising incentive strategies for smoking cessation in pregnancy and breastfeeding. A multi-disciplinary, mixed-methods approach included involving two service-user mother and baby groups from disadvantaged areas with experience of the target behaviours as study co-investigators. Systematic reviews informed the shortlist of incentive strategies. Qualitative semi-structured interviews and a web-based survey of health professionals asked open questions on positive and negative consequences of incentives. The participants from three UK regions were a diverse sample with and without direct experience of incentive interventions: 88 pregnant women/recent mothers/partners/family members; 53 service providers; 24 experts/decision makers and interactive discussions with 63 conference attendees. Maternity and early years health professionals (n = 497 including doctors, midwives, health visitors, public health and related staff participated in the survey. Qualitative analysis identified ethical, political, cultural, social and psychological implications of incentive delivery at population and individual levels. Four key themes emerged: how incentives can address or create inequalities; enhance or diminish intrinsic motivation and wellbeing; have a positive or negative effect on relationships with others within personal networks or health providers; and can impact on health systems and resources by raising awareness and directing

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2014-01-01

Financial (positive or negative) and non-financial incentives or rewards are increasingly used in attempts to influence health behaviours. While unintended consequences of incentive provision are discussed in the literature, evidence syntheses did not identify any primary research with the aim of investigating unintended consequences of incentive interventions for lifestyle behaviour change. Our objective was to investigate perceived positive and negative unintended consequences of incentive provision for a shortlist of seven promising incentive strategies for smoking cessation in pregnancy and breastfeeding. A multi-disciplinary, mixed-methods approach included involving two service-user mother and baby groups from disadvantaged areas with experience of the target behaviours as study co-investigators. Systematic reviews informed the shortlist of incentive strategies. Qualitative semi-structured interviews and a web-based survey of health professionals asked open questions on positive and negative consequences of incentives. The participants from three UK regions were a diverse sample with and without direct experience of incentive interventions: 88 pregnant women/recent mothers/partners/family members; 53 service providers; 24 experts/decision makers and interactive discussions with 63 conference attendees. Maternity and early years health professionals (n = 497) including doctors, midwives, health visitors, public health and related staff participated in the survey. Qualitative analysis identified ethical, political, cultural, social and psychological implications of incentive delivery at population and individual levels. Four key themes emerged: how incentives can address or create inequalities; enhance or diminish intrinsic motivation and wellbeing; have a positive or negative effect on relationships with others within personal networks or health providers; and can impact on health systems and resources by raising awareness and directing service delivery

Cost Conscious: Incentive and Discount Programs Help Students Meet the Rising Cost of a Community College Education

Science.gov (United States)

Ullman, Ellen

2013-01-01

Aware that rising costs could force some community colleges to compromise their long-standing open-door policies, administrators have put in place programs and incentives to offset the higher price of the average community college education. This article features ideas and programs to help struggling community colleges cope with rising costs such…

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

2016-02-24

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

Incentive schemes and female leadership in financial firms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Björn Lantz

2013-01-01

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

Empirical studies of regulatory restructuring and incentives

Science.gov (United States)

Knittel, Christopher Roland

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Lunze, Karsten; Paasche-Orlow, Michael K

2013-06-01

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

Tax Incentives as Viewed by Economists and Lawyers

OpenAIRE

Fiekowsky, Seymour

1991-01-01

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

Neural effects of positive and negative incentives during marijuana withdrawal.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesca M Filbey

Full Text Available In spite of evidence suggesting two possible mechanisms related to drug-seeking behavior, namely reward-seeking and harm avoidance, much of the addiction literature has focused largely on positive incentivization mechanisms associated with addiction. In this study, we examined the contributing neural mechanisms of avoidance of an aversive state to drug-seeking behavior during marijuana withdrawal. To that end, marijuana users were scanned while performing the monetary incentive delay task in order to assess positive and negative incentive processes. The results showed a group x incentive interaction, such that marijuana users had greater response in areas that underlie reward processes during positive incentives while controls showed greater response in the same areas, but to negative incentives. Furthermore, a negative correlation between withdrawal symptoms and response in the amygdala during negative incentives was found in the marijuana users. These findings suggest that although marijuana users have greater reward sensitivity and less harm avoidance than controls, that attenuated amygdala response, an area that underlies fear and avoidance, was present in marijuana users with greater marijuana withdrawal symptoms. This is concordant with models of drug addiction that involve multiple sources of reinforcement in substance use disorders, and suggests the importance of strategies that focus on respective mechanisms.

Asymmetrically dominated choice problems, the isolation hypothesis and random incentive mechanisms.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James C Cox

Full Text Available This paper presents an experimental study of the random incentive mechanisms which are a standard procedure in economic and psychological experiments. Random incentive mechanisms have several advantages but are incentive-compatible only if responses to the single tasks are independent. This is true if either the independence axiom of expected utility theory or the isolation hypothesis of prospect theory holds. We present a simple test of this in the context of choice under risk. In the baseline (one task treatment we observe risk behavior in a given choice problem. We show that by integrating a second, asymmetrically dominated choice problem in a random incentive mechanism risk behavior can be manipulated systematically. This implies that the isolation hypothesis is violated and the random incentive mechanism does not elicit true preferences in our example.

Asymmetrically dominated choice problems, the isolation hypothesis and random incentive mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, James C; Sadiraj, Vjollca; Schmidt, Ulrich

2014-01-01

This paper presents an experimental study of the random incentive mechanisms which are a standard procedure in economic and psychological experiments. Random incentive mechanisms have several advantages but are incentive-compatible only if responses to the single tasks are independent. This is true if either the independence axiom of expected utility theory or the isolation hypothesis of prospect theory holds. We present a simple test of this in the context of choice under risk. In the baseline (one task) treatment we observe risk behavior in a given choice problem. We show that by integrating a second, asymmetrically dominated choice problem in a random incentive mechanism risk behavior can be manipulated systematically. This implies that the isolation hypothesis is violated and the random incentive mechanism does not elicit true preferences in our example.

Incentives – Effectiveness and efficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Björn Hinderlich

2014-03-01

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

The Evolution Of Cooperation In Business: Individual Vs. Group Incentives

OpenAIRE

Daniel Ladley; Ian Wilkinson; Louise Young

2013-01-01

Cooperative relations, within and between firms, play important roles in business. How to produce such relations, however, is less well understood. Building on work in evolutionary biology we examine the conditions under which group based incentives result in better performance than individual based incentives. We find that when individual and group interests are not aligned, group incentive systems lead to both higher group and individual performance. Hybrid reward systems, with both group a...

Incentives for smoking cessation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cahill, Kate; Hartmann-Boyce, Jamie; Perera, Rafael

2015-05-18

Material or financial incentives are widely used in an attempt to precipitate or reinforce behaviour change, including smoking cessation. They operate in workplaces, in clinics and hospitals, and to a lesser extent within community programmes. In this third update of our review we now include trials conducted in pregnant women, to reflect the increasing activity and resources now targeting this high-risk group of smokers. To determine whether incentives and contingency management programmes lead to higher long-term quit rates. We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group Specialised Register, with additional searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsycINFO. The most recent searches were in December 2014, although we also include two trials published in 2015. We considered randomised controlled trials, allocating individuals, workplaces, groups within workplaces, or communities to experimental or control conditions. We also considered controlled studies with baseline and post-intervention measures. We include studies in a mixed-population setting (e.g. community-, work-, institution-based), and also, for this update, trials in pregnant smokers. One author (KC) extracted data and a second (JH-B) checked them. We contacted study authors for additional data where necessary. The main outcome measure in the mixed-population studies was abstinence from smoking at longest follow-up, and at least six months from the start of the intervention. In the trials of pregnant smokers abstinence was measured at the longest follow-up, and at least to the end of the pregnancy. Twenty-one mixed-population studies met our inclusion criteria, covering more than 8400 participants. Ten studies were set in clinics or health centres, one in Thai villages served by community health workers, two in academic institutions, and the rest in worksites. All but six of the trials were run in the USA. The incentives included lottery tickets or prize draws, cash payments, vouchers for goods and

Incentive motivation deficits in schizophrenia reflect effort computation impairments during cost-benefit decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Fervaha, Gagan; Graff-Guerrero, Ariel; Zakzanis, Konstantine K; Foussias, George; Agid, Ofer; Remington, Gary

2013-11-01

Motivational impairments are a core feature of schizophrenia and although there are numerous reports studying this feature using clinical rating scales, objective behavioural assessments are lacking. Here, we use a translational paradigm to measure incentive motivation in individuals with schizophrenia. Sixteen stable outpatients with schizophrenia and sixteen matched healthy controls completed a modified version of the Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task that accounts for differences in motoric ability. Briefly, subjects were presented with a series of trials where they may choose to expend a greater amount of effort for a larger monetary reward versus less effort for a smaller reward. Additionally, the probability of receiving money for a given trial was varied at 12%, 50% and 88%. Clinical and other reward-related variables were also evaluated. Patients opted to expend greater effort significantly less than controls for trials of high, but uncertain (i.e. 50% and 88% probability) incentive value, which was related to amotivation and neurocognitive deficits. Other abnormalities were also noted but were related to different clinical variables such as impulsivity (low reward and 12% probability). These motivational deficits were not due to group differences in reward learning, reward valuation or hedonic capacity. Our findings offer novel support for incentive motivation deficits in schizophrenia. Clinical amotivation is associated with impairments in the computation of effort during cost-benefit decision-making. This objective translational paradigm may guide future investigations of the neural circuitry underlying these motivational impairments. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What incentives influence employers to engage in workplace health interventions?

Science.gov (United States)

Martinsson, Camilla; Lohela-Karlsson, Malin; Kwak, Lydia; Bergström, Gunnar; Hellman, Therese

2016-08-23

To achieve a sustainable working life it is important to know more about what could encourage employers to increase the use of preventive and health promotive interventions. The objective of the study is to explore and describe the employer perspective regarding what incentives influence their use of preventive and health promotive workplace interventions. Semi-structured focus group interviews were carried out with 20 representatives from 19 employers across Sweden. The economic sectors represented were municipalities, government agencies, defence, educational, research, and development institutions, health care, manufacturing, agriculture and commercial services. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and the data were analysed using latent content analysis. Various incentives were identified in the analysis, namely: "law and provisions", "consequences for the workplace", "knowledge of worker health and workplace health interventions", "characteristics of the intervention", "communication and collaboration with the provider". The incentives seemed to influence the decision-making in parallel with each other and were not only related to positive incentives for engaging in workplace health interventions, but also to disincentives. This study suggests that the decision to engage in workplace health interventions was influenced by several incentives. There are those incentives that lead to a desire to engage in a workplace health intervention, others pertain to aspects more related to the intervention use, such as the characteristics of the employer, the provider and the intervention. It is important to take all incentives into consideration when trying to understand the decision-making process for workplace health interventions and to bridge the gap between what is produced through research and what is used in practice.

Marketable Incentive Contracts and Capital Structure Relevance.

OpenAIRE

Garvey, Gerald T

1997-01-01

This article investigates the claim that debt finance can increase firm value by curtailing managers' access to 'free cash flow.' The author first shows that incentive contracts that tie the managers' pay to stockholder wealth are often a superior solution to the free cash flow problem. He then considers the possibility that the manager can trade on secondary capital markets. Liquid secondary markets are shown to undermine management incentive schemes and, in many cases, to restore the value ...

Study of the utility of incentive systems for nuclear licenses. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, A.; Bodde, D.; Spiro, H.; Rueter, F.

1978-08-01

The objective of the study was to identify and analyze systems of incentives for use by the NRC Office of Inspection and Enforcement (IE) that will encourage proper performance by NRC licensees. The study was complete in two phases, each phase addressing a distinct segment of the work statement. Phase I covered identification and evaluation of the effectiveness of current incentives for licensees, discussions with NRC and licensee personnel and review of NRC documentation, definition of evaluation criteria, evaluation of the effectiveness of current incentives, and identification of alternative incentive systems. Phase II included evaluation of the effectiveness of alternative incentive systems for use by NRC and recommendation of incentive systems for adoption by IE. In the course of the study, as greater clarity and content was developed in the meaning of ''proper performance,'' the concept of ''systems of incentives'' was broadened to include such elements as causes of licensee performance shortcomings other than motivational ones and the motivational effects of NRC controlled processes such as inspection and the imposition of enforcement actions

Smartphone app uses loyalty point incentives and push notifications to encourage influenza vaccine uptake.

Science.gov (United States)

Dale, Leila Pfaeffli; White, Lauren; Mitchell, Marc; Faulkner, Guy

2018-04-23

Carrot Rewards is a free, incentive-based, smartphone health app available in participating provinces in Canada. One feature of Carrot was designed to incentivize influenza vaccine education messages and encourage vaccine uptake for users in the province of British Columbia. This study aimed to evaluate the uptake of the Carrot Flu Campaign educational quiz and to determine if mobile "push" notifications, plus loyalty point incentives, resulted in users visiting a sponsored pharmacy to discuss and receive the influenza vaccine. The Carrot Flu Campaign delivered an in-app quiz, educating users on the importance of the influenza vaccine. Push notifications were then sent to users when they came within 200 m of a sponsored pharmacy. Those who visited the pharmacy collected bonus points and completed a follow up quiz tracking influenza vaccine behaviour. A sub-sample of users completed the Flu Campaign between their baseline and follow up Health Risk Assessment (HRA), a survey which asked about influenza vaccine uptake behaviour. Descriptive statistics were summarized. A total of 38.1% (30,538/80,228) registered Carrot users completed the Flu Campaign quiz. Of those in participating cities (n = 21,469), 41% clicked on the map to show the nearest sponsored pharmacy and 78% enabled their smartphone's "locations" feature, allowing them to receive the push notifications. A small number of users spoke to a pharmacist (n = 96) and less than half reported receiving the influenza vaccine (38/96; 39.6%). From the HRA sub-sample (n = 3693), approximately 5% more users reported receiving the influenza vaccine during the 2017 influenza season compared to the previous year. Carrot Rewards used a novel delivery method to educate the general population and showed geolocation could be used to facilitate influenza vaccine uptake. Future iterations could tailor content to target those most at risk and should consider more robust evaluation methods to determine the app

Willingness-to-accept reductions in HIV risks: conditional economic incentives in Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Galárraga, Omar; Sosa-Rubí, Sandra G.; Infante, César; Gertler, Paul J.; Bertozzi, Stefano M.

2014-01-01

The objective of this study was to measure willingness-to-accept (WTA) reductions in risks for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI) using conditional economic incentives (CEI) among men who have sex with men (MSM), including male sex workers (MSW) in Mexico City. A survey experiment was conducted with 1,745 MSM and MSW (18-25 years of age) who received incentive offers to decide first whether to accept monthly prevention talks and STI testing; and then a second set of offers to accept to stay free of STIs (verified by quarterly biological testing). The survey used random-starting-point and iterative offers. WTA was estimated with a maximum likelihood double-bounded dichotomous choice model. The average acceptance probabilities were: 73.9% for the monthly model, and 80.4% for the quarterly model. The incentive-elasticity of participation in the monthly model was 0.222, and it was 0.515 in the quarterly model. For a combination program with monthly prevention talks, and staying free of curable STI, the implied WTA was USD$288 per person per year, but it was lower for MSW: USD$156 per person per year. Thus, some of the populations at highest risk of HIV infection (MSM & MSW) seem well disposed to participate in a CEI program for HIV and STI prevention in Mexico. The average willingness-to-accept estimate is within the range of feasible allocations for prevention in the local context. Given the potential impact, Mexico, a leader in conditional cash transfers for human development and poverty reduction, could extend that successful model for targeted HIV/STI prevention. PMID:23377757

Incentives and moral hazard

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wendimu, Mengistu Assefa; Henningsen, Arne; Czekaj, Tomasz Gerard

2017-01-01

system and thus, the incentives to the workers. We compare the productivity of these two production schemes using a cross-sectional plot-level data set. As sugarcane production depends on various exogenous factors that are measured as categorical variables (e.g., soil type, cane variety, etc.), we...

Design of incentive programs for accelerating penetration of energy-efficient appliances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rue du Can de la, Stephane; Leventis, Greg; Phadke, Amol; Gopal, Anand

2014-01-01

Incentives are policy tools that sway purchase, retail stocking, and production decisions toward energy-efficient products. Incentives complement mandatory standards and labeling policies by accelerating market penetration of products that are more energy efficient than required by existing standards and by preparing the market for more stringent future mandatory requirements. Incentives can be directed at different points in the appliance's supply chain; one point may be more effective than another depending on the technology's maturity and market penetration. This paper seeks to inform future policy and program design by categorizing the main elements of incentive programs from around the world. We identify advantages and disadvantages of program designs through a qualitative overview of incentive programs worldwide. We find that financial incentive programs have greater impact when they target highly efficient technologies with a small market share, and that program designs depend on the market barriers addressed, the target equipment, and the local market context. No program design is inherently superior to another. The key to successful program design and implementation is a thorough understanding of the market and identification of the most important local obstacles to the penetration of energy-efficient technologies. - Highlights: • We researched incentive programs design and implementation worldwide. • This paper seeks to inform future policy and program design. • We identify design and identify advantages and disadvantages. • We find that incentive programs have greater impact when they target highly efficient products. • Program designs depend on the market barriers addressed and the local market context

Handover Incentives for Self-Interested WLANs with Overlapping Coverage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fafoutis, Xenofon; Siris, Vasilios A.

2012-01-01

We consider an environment where self-interested IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) have overlapping coverage, and investigate the incentives that can trigger handovers between the WLANs. Our focus is on the incentives for supporting handovers due solely to the improved performance...

Why are financial incentives not effective at influencing some smokers to quit? Results of a process evaluation of a worksite trial assessing the efficacy of financial incentives for smoking cessation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Annice; Kamyab, Kian; Zhu, Jingsan; Volpp, Kevin

2011-01-01

Process evaluation of a worksite intervention in which employees were offered $750 to complete a cessation program and to quit smoking. Awareness and attitudes about financial incentives were assessed following a randomized controlled trial of 878 smokers at a US-based company. Cessation program attendance was higher in incentive group versus control (20.2% vs 7.1%, P motivated to quit and reported that they would have quit for less money, said incentives were "not at all" or only "somewhat" important. Most nonquitters in the incentive group reported that even $1500 would not have motivated them to quit. Financial incentives are ineffective at motivating some smokers to quit. Internal motivation and readiness to quit need to be sufficiently high for relatively modest incentives to be effective.

Nudging for health: do we need financial incentives?

Science.gov (United States)

Goel, Vivek

2012-01-01

Nudges, creating simple processes or structures that guide people toward a particular behaviour choice, are potentially a powerful tool for health promotion. User financial incentives could be a monetary form of such nudges. Given the challenges of chronic disease prevention, interventions such as nudges should be explored further. However, there would appear to be limited rationale for pursuing financial incentives as nudges.

Nudge or not: can incentives change health behaviours?

Science.gov (United States)

Ries, Nola M

2012-01-01

The approach of "nudging" people toward healthier behaviours is currently in vogue, and user financial incentives (UFIs) are one possible nudge tool. Interesting debates arise as to the criteria UFIs must meet to qualify as a nudge. The more pressing issue, however, is to determine how UFIs can be structured and implemented to motivate and sustain health behaviour change. To date, Canadian public health strategies to promote physical activity and balanced nutrition focus mainly on information provision, with some product regulation measures and indirect financial incentives. Governments cannot afford direct UFI programs to incent all 60% of overweight and obese Canadians to reduce their body mass, but governments could consider UFIs targeted to specific risk groups where a shorter-term intervention could have long-term payoffs.

Quality-Aware Incentive Mechanism for Mobile Crowd Sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ling-Yun Jiang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Mobile crowd sensing (MCS is a novel sensing paradigm which can sense human-centered daily activities and the surrounding environment. The impact of mobility and selfishness of participants on the data reliability cannot be ignored in most mobile crowd sensing systems. To address this issue, we present a universal system model based on the reverse auction framework and formulate the problem as the Multiple Quality Multiple User Selection (MQMUS problem. The quality-aware incentive mechanism (QAIM is proposed to meet the quality requirement of data reliability. We demonstrate that the proposed incentive mechanism achieves the properties of computational efficiency, individual rationality, and truthfulness. And meanwhile, we evaluate the performance and validate the theoretical properties of our incentive mechanism through extensive simulation experiments.

Framework for evaluating the utility of incentive systems for radioactive waste repository siting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1982-01-01

The importance of social and institutional issues in siting radioactive waste repositories has been recognized in recent years. Within this set of issues, the siting of repositories over the objections of members of potential host communities is viewed as especially problematic. Incentives to potential host communities have been suggested as a means of increasing local support for and offsetting local opposition to such facilities. Incentives are classified according to their function as mitigation, compensation or reward. Our analysis of results of a 1980 survey (conducted by John Kelly, Complex Systems Group, University of New Hampshire) of 420 rural Wisconsin residents indicates that incentives may achieve the purpose of increasing support for and decreasing opposition to accepting a repository. Criteria for evaluating the utility of incentives are identified. They respond to four basic questions: (1) What is absolutely necessary. (2) Will the incentive work. (3) Can the incentive be understood. and (4) What are the consequences of implementing the incentive. It is suggested that meaningful evaluations of incentives can only be performed by members of potential host communities

Behavioral implications of providing real incentives in stated choice experiments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mørkbak, Morten Raun; Olsen, Søren Bøye; Campbell, Danny

2014-01-01

the scope of research to other behavioral aspects where consumers in CE are often found to deviate from homo economicus. We develop a theoretical model where not only Willingness to pay (WTP) measures but also decision processing can be affected by the introduction of an economic incentive. Specifically...... incentive, we find marked benefits in relation to a number of behavioral aspects that together would favor the use of an economic incentive regardless of hypothetical bias being present or not....

Policy options for the split incentive: Increasing energy efficiency for low-income renters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bird, Stephen; Hernández, Diana

2012-01-01

The split incentive problem concerns the lack of appropriate incentives to implement energy efficiency measures. In particular, low income tenants face a phenomenon of energy poverty in which they allocate significantly more of their household income to energy expenditures than other renters. This problem is substantial, affecting 1.89% of all United States' energy use. If effectively addressed, it would create a range of savings between 4 and 11 billion dollars per year for many of the nation's poorest residents. We argue that a carefully designed program of incentives for participants (including landlords) in conjunction with a unique type of utility-managed on-bill financing mechanism has significant potential to solve many of the complications. We focus on three kinds of split incentives, five concerns inherent to addressing split incentive problems (scale, endurance, incentives, savings, political disfavor), and provide a detailed policy proposal designed to surpass those problems, with a particular focus on low-income tenants in a U.S. context. - Highlights: ► We demonstrate the significant impact of the split incentive on low-income tenants. ► We discuss split incentive characteristics, and policy failures. ► We described an on-bill financing model with unique features. ► This policy has protections and incentives for tenants and landlords.

Humans Integrate Monetary and Liquid Incentives to Motivate Cognitive Task Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Debbie Marianne Yee

2016-01-01

Full Text Available It is unequivocal that a wide variety of incentives can motivate behavior. However, few studies have explicitly examined whether and how different incentives are integrated in terms of their motivational influence. The current study examines the combined effects of monetary and liquid incentives on cognitive processing, and whether appetitive and aversive incentives have distinct influences. We introduce a novel task paradigm, in which participants perform cued task-switching for monetary rewards that vary parametrically across trials, with liquid incentives serving as post-trial performance feedback. Critically, the symbolic meaning of the liquid was held constant (indicating successful reward attainment, while liquid valence was blocked. In the first experiment, monetary rewards combined additively with appetitive liquid feedback to improve subject task performance. Aversive liquid feedback counteracted monetary reward effects in low monetary reward trials, particularly in a subset of participants who tended to avoid responding under these conditions. Self-report motivation ratings predicted behavioral performance above and beyond experimental effects. A follow-up experiment replicated the predictive power of motivation ratings even when only appetitive liquids were used, suggesting that ratings reflect idiosyncratic subjective values of, rather than categorical differences between, the liquid incentives. Together, the findings indicate an integrative relationship between primary and secondary incentives and potentially dissociable influences in modulating motivational value, while informing hypotheses regarding candidate neural mechanisms.

Humans Integrate Monetary and Liquid Incentives to Motivate Cognitive Task Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Yee, Debbie M.; Krug, Marie K.; Allen, Ariel Z.; Braver, Todd S.

2016-01-01

It is unequivocal that a wide variety of incentives can motivate behavior. However, few studies have explicitly examined whether and how different incentives are integrated in terms of their motivational influence. The current study examines the combined effects of monetary and liquid incentives on cognitive processing, and whether appetitive and aversive incentives have distinct influences. We introduce a novel task paradigm, in which participants perform cued task-switching for monetary rewards that vary parametrically across trials, with liquid incentives serving as post-trial performance feedback. Critically, the symbolic meaning of the liquid was held constant (indicating successful reward attainment), while liquid valence was blocked. In the first experiment, monetary rewards combined additively with appetitive liquid feedback to improve subject task performance. Aversive liquid feedback counteracted monetary reward effects in low monetary reward trials, particularly in a subset of participants who tended to avoid responding under these conditions. Self-report motivation ratings predicted behavioral performance above and beyond experimental effects. A follow-up experiment replicated the predictive power of motivation ratings even when only appetitive liquids were used, suggesting that ratings reflect idiosyncratic subjective values of, rather than categorical differences between, the liquid incentives. Together, the findings indicate an integrative relationship between primary and secondary incentives and potentially dissociable influences in modulating motivational value, while informing hypotheses regarding candidate neural mechanisms. PMID:26834668

Incentive Effects of Peer Pressure in Organizations

OpenAIRE

Kohei Daido

2006-01-01

This paper studies the effects of peer pressure on incentives. We assume that, in addition to the material payoff, each agent's utility includes the psychological payoff from peer pressure generated by a comparison of effort costs. We show that the optimal incentive schemes depend mainly on the degree of peer pressure and of the heterogeneity of agents. Furthermore, we examine the optimal organizational forms in terms of the principal''s intention to make use of the effects of peer pressure.

MARKET AND GOVERNMENT FAILURES RELATED TO THE INTRODUCTION OF TAX INCENTIVES REGIME

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olena SOKOLOVSKA

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with problem of effectiveness of tax incentive regimes. The main purpose of this paper is to define causes, factors and measures aimed to prevent and neutralize failures of introduction of tax incentives. In order to examine the behavior of economic agents we used game theory tools, notably the “principal-agent” model, similar to the Allingham-Sandmo model. To solve a problem of inefficient interaction, when investors unreasonably pretend on tax incentives and government ignore that by granting them incentives, we proposed to use Nash-equilibrium in pure strategies. Finally we defined factors of improvement of efficiency of tax incentive regimes, particularly mechanisms of their implementation and termination.

Ethical acceptability of offering financial incentives for taking antipsychotic depot medication: patients' and clinicians' perspectives after a 12-month randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Noordraven, Ernst L; Schermer, Maartje H N; Blanken, Peter; Mulder, Cornelis L; Wierdsma, André I

2017-08-29

A randomized controlled trial 'Money for Medication'(M4M) was conducted in which patients were offered financial incentives for taking antipsychotic depot medication. This study assessed the attitudes and ethical considerations of patients and clinicians who participated in this trial. Three mental healthcare institutions in secondary psychiatric care in the Netherlands participated in this study. Patients (n = 169), 18-65 years, diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or another psychotic disorder who had been prescribed antipsychotic depot medication, were randomly assigned to receive 12 months of either treatment as usual plus a financial reward for each depot of medication received (intervention group) or treatment as usual alone (control group). Structured questionnaires were administered after the 12-month intervention period. Data were available for 133 patients (69 control and 64 intervention) and for 97 clinicians. Patients (88%) and clinicians (81%) indicated that financial incentives were a good approach to improve medication adherence. Ethical concerns were categorized according to the four-principles approach (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice). Patients and clinicians alike mentioned various advantages of M4M in clinical practice, such as increased medication adherence and improved illness insight; but also disadvantages such as reduced intrinsic motivation, loss of autonomy and feelings of dependence. Overall, patients evaluated financial incentives as an effective method of improving medication adherence and were willing to accept this reward during clinical treatment. Clinicians were also positive about the use of this intervention in daily practice. Ethical concerns are discussed in terms of patient autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. We conclude that this intervention is ethically acceptable under certain conditions, and that further research is necessary to clarify issues of benefit

What incentives influence employers to engage in workplace health interventions?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camilla Martinsson

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background To achieve a sustainable working life it is important to know more about what could encourage employers to increase the use of preventive and health promotive interventions. The objective of the study is to explore and describe the employer perspective regarding what incentives influence their use of preventive and health promotive workplace interventions. Method Semi-structured focus group interviews were carried out with 20 representatives from 19 employers across Sweden. The economic sectors represented were municipalities, government agencies, defence, educational, research, and development institutions, health care, manufacturing, agriculture and commercial services. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and the data were analysed using latent content analysis. Results Various incentives were identified in the analysis, namely: “law and provisions”, “consequences for the workplace”, “knowledge of worker health and workplace health interventions”, “characteristics of the intervention”, “communication and collaboration with the provider”. The incentives seemed to influence the decision-making in parallel with each other and were not only related to positive incentives for engaging in workplace health interventions, but also to disincentives. Conclusions This study suggests that the decision to engage in workplace health interventions was influenced by several incentives. There are those incentives that lead to a desire to engage in a workplace health intervention, others pertain to aspects more related to the intervention use, such as the characteristics of the employer, the provider and the intervention. It is important to take all incentives into consideration when trying to understand the decision-making process for workplace health interventions and to bridge the gap between what is produced through research and what is used in practice.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-01-01

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

Influential Effects of Intrinsic-Extrinsic Incentive Factors on Management Performance in New Energy Enterprises.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ping; Lu, Zhengnan; Sun, Jihong

2018-02-08

Background : New energy has become a key trend for global energy industry development. Talent plays a very critical role in the enhancement of new energy enterprise competitiveness. As a key component of talent, managers have been attracting more and more attention. The increase in job performance relies on, to a certain extent, incentive mechanism. Based on the Two-factor Theory, differences in influences and effects of different incentives on management performance have been checked in this paper from an empirical perspective. Methods : This paper selects the middle and low level managers in new energy enterprises as research samples and classifies the managers' performance into task performance, contextual performance and innovation performance. It uses manager performance questionnaires and intrinsic-extrinsic incentive factor questionnaires to investigate and study the effects and then uses Amos software to analyze the inner link between the intrinsic-extrinsic incentives and job performance. Results : Extrinsic incentives affect task performance and innovation performance positively. Intrinsic incentives impose active significant effects on task performance, contextual performance, and innovation performance. The intrinsic incentive plays a more important role than the extrinsic incentive. Conclusions : Both the intrinsic-extrinsic incentives affect manager performance positively and the intrinsic incentive plays a more important role than the extrinsic incentive. Several suggestions to management should be given based on these results.

Influential Effects of Intrinsic-Extrinsic Incentive Factors on Management Performance in New Energy Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ping Wang

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Background: New energy has become a key trend for global energy industry development. Talent plays a very critical role in the enhancement of new energy enterprise competitiveness. As a key component of talent, managers have been attracting more and more attention. The increase in job performance relies on, to a certain extent, incentive mechanism. Based on the Two-factor Theory, differences in influences and effects of different incentives on management performance have been checked in this paper from an empirical perspective. Methods: This paper selects the middle and low level managers in new energy enterprises as research samples and classifies the managers’ performance into task performance, contextual performance and innovation performance. It uses manager performance questionnaires and intrinsic-extrinsic incentive factor questionnaires to investigate and study the effects and then uses Amos software to analyze the inner link between the intrinsic-extrinsic incentives and job performance. Results: Extrinsic incentives affect task performance and innovation performance positively. Intrinsic incentives impose active significant effects on task performance, contextual performance, and innovation performance. The intrinsic incentive plays a more important role than the extrinsic incentive. Conclusions: Both the intrinsic-extrinsic incentives affect manager performance positively and the intrinsic incentive plays a more important role than the extrinsic incentive. Several suggestions to management should be given based on these results.

Incentive, sustainable and fair pricing, a trilogy out of reach?

OpenAIRE

Maria Salvetti

2005-01-01

The Water Framework Directive requires Member-States to implement by 2010 an incentive tariffication policy in order to ensure efficient use of water resources and compliance with environmental goals (good ecological status). But working out an incentive pricing system, that is both sustainable and fair, is not an easy task. 1) Can an incentive pricing be a sustainable pricing? a) Water & wastewater services are very capitalistic: fixed costs can represent up to 2/3 or 3/4 of the service cost...

Financial incentives for return of service in underserved areas: a systematic review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bärnighausen Till

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In many geographic regions, both in developing and in developed countries, the number of health workers is insufficient to achieve population health goals. Financial incentives for return of service are intended to alleviate health worker shortages: A (future health worker enters into a contract to work for a number of years in an underserved area in exchange for a financial pay-off. Methods We carried out systematic literature searches of PubMed, the Excerpta Medica database, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and the National Health Services Economic Evaluation Database for studies evaluating outcomes of financial-incentive programs published up to February 2009. To identify articles for review, we combined three search themes (health workers or students, underserved areas, and financial incentives. In the initial search, we identified 10,495 unique articles, 10,302 of which were excluded based on their titles or abstracts. We conducted full-text reviews of the remaining 193 articles and of 26 additional articles identified in reference lists or by colleagues. Forty-three articles were included in the final review. We extracted from these articles information on the financial-incentive programs (name, location, period of operation, objectives, target groups, definition of underserved area, financial incentives and obligation and information on the individual studies (authors, publication dates, types of study outcomes, study design, sample criteria and sample size, data sources, outcome measures and study findings, conclusions, and methodological limitations. We reviewed program results (descriptions of recruitment, retention, and participant satisfaction, program effects (effectiveness in influencing health workers to provide care, to remain, and to be satisfied with work and personal life in underserved areas, and program impacts (effectiveness in influencing health systems and health outcomes

The effect of policy incentives on electric vehicle adoption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2016-01-01

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

Premier Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — CMS is pursuing a vision to improve the quality of health care by expanding the information available about quality of care and through direct incentives to reward...

Dynamic Incentives in Organizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ruckes, Martin; Rønde, Thomas

2015-01-01

to this inertial tendency is either to increase the financial incentives to encourage searching or to accept no searching. The former response increases search efforts and total profits; the latter response has the opposite results. Inertia can be removed by restructuring the firm in period 2, but this may create...

Incentive regulation of electricity distribution networks: Lessons of experience from Britain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamasb, Tooraj; Pollitt, Michael

2007-01-01

This paper reviews the recent experience of the UK electricity distribution sector under incentive regulation. The UK has a significant and transparent history in implementing incentive regulation in the period since 1990. We demonstrate the successes of this period in reducing costs, prices, and energy losses while maintaining quality of service. We also draw out the lessons for other countries in implementing distribution sector reform. We conclude by discussing the place of incentive regulation of networks within the wider reform context, the required legislative framework, the need for appropriate unbundling, the importance of quality of service incentives, the regulatory information requirements, and the role of sector rationalisation. (author)

Distributed Solar Incentive Programs: Recent Experience and Best Practices for Design and Implementation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bird, L.; Reger, A.; Heeter, J.

2012-12-01

Based on lessons from recent program experience, this report explores best practices for designing and implementing incentives for small and mid-sized residential and commercial distributed solar energy projects. The findings of this paper are relevant to both new incentive programs as well as those undergoing modifications. The report covers factors to consider in setting and modifying incentive levels over time, differentiating incentives to encourage various market segments, administrative issues such as providing equitable access to incentives and customer protection. It also explores how incentive programs can be designed to respond to changing market conditions while attempting to provide a longer-term and stable environment for the solar industry. The findings are based on interviews with program administrators, regulators, and industry representatives as well as data from numerous incentive programs nationally, particularly the largest and longest-running programs. These best practices consider the perspectives of various stakeholders and the broad objectives of reducing solar costs, encouraging long-term market viability, minimizing ratepayer costs, and protecting consumers.

Sellers' hedging incentives at EPA's emission trading auction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dijkstra, B.R.; Haan, M

1999-01-01

Cason (1993) argued that the auction the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency in the USA) used in order to start the market for sulfur allowances, is not efficient. The set-up of the auction gives both buyers and sellers an incentive to understate their valuation of an allowance. In this paper, we show that the sellers' incentives are even more perverse than Cason suggested. In particular, we show that sellers have an incentive to set their ask price equal to zero, while simultaneously hedging their bets by submitting a positive bid. It is not possible to derive the Nash equilibrium for this set-up. If such an equilibrium exists, sellers either set only a positive ask price, or an ask price equal to zero, and a positive bid as well. 14 refs

Financial versus Non-Financial Incentives for Improving Patient Experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Thomas H

2015-05-01

Delivering compassionate and coordinated care is a goal for all health care providers. Humans are not always consistent, though, both individually and collectively, and this is why everyone needs incentives to be at their best and to try to always be improving. The endlessly interesting question in patient experience is, what should those incentives look like? Should they be financial or nonfinancial? Dr. Thomas H. Lee explores what is most effective in regard to engaging and motivating physicians. While different approaches will work in different organizational cultures, financial incentives have their role in performance improvement. Compassionate coordinated care should be a social norm and be pursued by all health care organizations.

Private long-term care insurance and state tax incentives.

Science.gov (United States)

Stevenson, David G; Frank, Richard G; Tau, Jocelyn

2009-01-01

To increase the role of private insurance in financing long-term care, tax incentives for long-term care insurance have been implemented at both the federal and state levels. To date, there has been surprisingly little study of these initiatives. Using a panel of national data, we find that market take-up for long-term care insurance increased over the last decade, but state tax incentives were responsible for only a small portion of this growth. Ultimately, the modest ability of state tax incentives to lower premiums implies that they should be viewed as a small piece of the long-term care financing puzzle.

Equity Incentives: Aligning The Interests Of Employees And Owners ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper reviews how to align the interests of employees and of owners of businesses and directs attention to policy issues that are critical to the attainment of this noble objective. It demonstrates that Tax Incentives and Reforms are necessary and offers recommendations on how to promote equity incentives in Nigeria.

Fundamental Characteristics of Incentive Streams Created by Legal Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dari Mattiacci, G.

2002-01-01

The law shapes people’s behaviour by creating incentives. For example, tort law induces motorists to drive carefully by making them pay compensation for the accidents they may cause. This study analyses the way the law can create incentives in those cases in which the courts or the administrative

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, T.P.; Jaffe, M.

1984-09-01

In discussing the use of compensation and incentives in siting low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities, chapters are devoted to: compensation and incentives in disposal facility siting (definitions and effects of compensation and incentives and siting decisions involving the use of compensation and incentives); the impacts of regional and state low-level radioactive waste facilities; the legal framework of compensation; and recommendations regarding the use of compensation

OBJECTIVES AND INCENTIVES AT THE EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friebel, Guido; Koch, Alexander; Seabright, Paul

This report examines the effectiveness of the current system of incentives within the European Patent Office (EPO) and considers the possible consequences of placing greater emphasis on quantitative measures of productivity in rewarding EPO staff.......This report examines the effectiveness of the current system of incentives within the European Patent Office (EPO) and considers the possible consequences of placing greater emphasis on quantitative measures of productivity in rewarding EPO staff....

The response of maize production in Kenya to economic incentives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Onono, P.A.,

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Agricultural development policy in Kenya has emphasised the use of incentives towards increased production and therefore self-sufficiency in maize which is a basic staple for most households. The channels used to provide incentives to maize farmers over the years include setting higher producer prices; subsidisation of inputs; provision of agricultural credit, research and extension services; construction and maintenance of roads, development of irrigation and water systems; legislative, institutional and macroeconomic reforms. Despite these efforts outputof maize has remained below domestic requirements in most years and the country continues to rely on imports to meet the deficits. Studies have assessed the responsiveness of maize to output price and reported inelastic responses and have recommended policies targeting non-price incentives to complement prices for the required increased production of maize. The studies, however, did not analyse the influence of the non-price incentives on the production of the crop. The findings of those studies are therefore deficient in explaining the relative importance of different non-price incentives and how they complement prices in influencing maize production in Kenya. This study investigated the response of maize production to both price and non-price incentives. The aim of this study was to ascertain the relative importance of non-price factors in influencing production of the crops as well as complementarity between price and non-price incentives. The findings show that maize production responds positively to its output price, development expenditures in agriculture, maize sales to marketing boards, growth in per capita GDP, liberalisation and governance reforms. However, maize production responds negatively to fertiliser price and unfavourable weather conditions. The response of maize output to its price is lower with rising inflation and grain market liberalisation.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-03-01

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

Satisfaction of Polish Bank Employees with Incentive Systems: An Empirical Approach

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Kaźmierczyk J.

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This article considers employee satisfaction with incentive systems. Strict requirements for the efficiency of human resource management (HRM and internal public relations make it a major management problem. The importance of this study lies in the fact that incentives affect all stages of HRM. This work reports the results of an empirical survey of Polish bank employees, which was aimed to establish to what degree incentive systems met employees’ expectations, and to analyse the impact of such incentives on employee satisfaction. The authors advance the thesis that male bank employees are more satisfied with existing incentive systems than their female counterparts. The discussion is supported by empirical research based on a sample of 1, 920 Polish bank employees. The article is divided into five sections. The introductory section is followed by Section Two, which reviews employee motivation and analyses the above thesis. Section Three describes data sources and research methods, and Section Four presents findings and conclusions.

Incentives for reporting disease outbreaks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramanan Laxminarayan

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Countries face conflicting incentives to report infectious disease outbreaks. Reports of outbreaks can prompt other countries to impose trade and travel restrictions, which has the potential to discourage reporting. However, reports can also bring medical assistance to contain the outbreak, including access to vaccines. METHODS: We compiled data on reports of meningococcal meningitis to the World Health Organization (WHO from 54 African countries between 1966 and 2002, a period is marked by two events: first, a large outbreak reported from many countries in 1987 associated with the Hajj that resulted in more stringent requirements for meningitis vaccination among pilgrims; and second, another large outbreak in Sub-Saharan Africa in 1996 that led to a new international mechanism to supply vaccines to countries reporting a meningitis outbreak. We used fixed-effects regression modeling to statistically estimate the effect of external forcing events on the number of countries reporting cases of meningitis to WHO. FINDINGS: We find that the Hajj vaccination requirements started in 1988 were associated with reduced reporting, especially among countries with relatively fewer cases reported between 1966 and 1979. After the vaccine provision mechanism was in place in 1996, reporting among countries that had previously not reported meningitis outbreaks increased. INTERPRETATION: These results indicate that countries may respond to changing incentives to report outbreaks when they can do so. In the long term, these incentives are likely to be more important than surveillance assistance in prompt reporting of outbreaks.

Incentive and insurance effects of income taxation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Torben M.

2015-01-01

the sensitivity of labour supply to taxes, which tends to reduce tax distortions and lower the marginal costs of public funds. The relation between incentives and insurance and thus efficiency and equity is flattened by the insurance effect and it may even be non-monotone. However, the optimal utilitarian policy......Tax distortions cause a trade-off between efficiency and equity. However, taxes not only affect incentives; they also provide implicit insurance, and this may critically affect the efficiency–equity relationship. For a standard labour supply problem it is shown that the insurance effect mutes...

Tax incentives to promote green electricity. An overview of EU-27 countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cansino, Jose M.; Pablo-Romero, Maria del P.; Roman, Rocio; Yniguez, Rocio

2010-01-01

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the main tax incentives used in the EU-27 member states (MSs) to promote green electricity. Sixteen MSs use tax incentives to promote green electricity simultaneously with other promotion measures, especially quota obligations and price regulation. However, not all available technologies are promoted. For example, six MSs (Germany, Romania, Slovak Republic, Denmark, Sweden and Poland) have included an exemption on the payments of excise duties for electricity when the electricity is generated from renewable energy sources (RES). This tax incentive is the most widely used. Limited tax incentives in personal income tax are available in Belgium, France, Czech Republic and Luxembourg. In corporate tax, tax incentives consist mainly of a deduction in the taxable profit (Belgium, Greece, Czech Republic and Spain). Lower tax rates in VAT are applied in three MSs, France, Italy and Portugal. Only Spain and Italy use effective tax incentives in property tax. As a great diversity of tax incentives has been used to promote green electricity, this adds another difficulty to the EU objective of providing a renewable energy policy framework, but also it offers a useful set of case studies which can be used to inform EU policy development. (author)

Incentives to participate in an international environmental agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoel, M.; Schneider, K.

1997-01-01

For international environmental problems involving many countries, such as the climate problem, it is unlikely that all countries will participate in an international environmental agreement. If some countries commit themselves to cooperate, while the remaining countries act independently and in pure self-interest, it appears to be possible to achieve a Pareto improvement if the non-signatory countries reduce their emissions, in exchange for transfers from the countries which sign an agreement. However, the paper shows that the prospect of receiving a transfer for reducing one's emissions provided the country does not commit itself to cooperation, tends to reduce the incentive a country might have to commit itself to cooperation. Moreover, if the disincentive effect of such side payments is strong, total emissions will be higher in a situation with side payments than in a situation in which the signatory countries commit themselves to not give transfers to free riding countries. 4 figs., 2 tabs., 2 appendices, 13 refs

Case Studies on the Effectiveness of State Financial Incentives for Renewable Energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gouchoe, S.; Everette, V.; Haynes, R.

2002-09-01

The North Carolina Solar Center at NC State University, in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, examined 10 state financial-incentive programs in six states using a case-study approach in order to clarify the key factors-both internal and external to the program-that influence their effectiveness at stimulating deployment of renewable energy technologies. While existing information resources such as the National Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE, www.dsireusa.org) have documented what incentive programs are available, the effectiveness of such programs is not well understood. Understanding the impact of current financial incentives on the deployment of renewables and the factors that influence their effectiveness is critical to a variety of stakeholders, particularly in states considering new incentives or interested in improving or discarding existing ones.

Economic incentives as a policy tool to promote safety and health at work.

Science.gov (United States)

Kankaanpää, Eila

2010-06-01

Incentives are regarded as a promising policy tool for promoting occupational safety and health (OSH). This article discusses the potential of different kinds of incentives in light of economic theory and evidence from research. When incentives are used as a policy tool, it implies the existance of an institution that has both the interest and the power to apply incentives to stakeholders, usually to employers. Governments can subsidize employers' investments in OSH with subsidies and tax structures. These incentives are successful only if the demand for OSH responds to the change in the price of OSH investments and if the suppliers of OSH are able to increase their production smoothly. Otherwise, the subsidy will only lead to higher prices for OSH goods. Both public and private insurance companies can differentiate insurance premiums according to claim behavior in the past (experience rating). There is evidence that this can effectively lower the frequency of claims, but not the severity of cases. This papers concludes that incentives do not directly lead to improvement. When incentives are introduced, their objective(s) should be clear and the end result (ie what the incentive aims to promote) should be known to be effective in achieving healthy and safe workplaces.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Viitamaa, Timo; Haapalinna, Antti; Agmo, Anders

2006-03-01

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

Differences in Mathematics Scores Between Students Who Receive Traditional Montessori Instruction and Students Who Receive Music Enriched Montessori Instruction

OpenAIRE

Harris, Maureen Ann

2007-01-01

While a growing body of research reveals the beneficial effects of music on education performance the value of music in educating the young child is not being recognized. If research of students in the school system indicates that learning through the arts can benefit the ‘whole’ child, that math achievement scores are significantly higher for those students studying music, and if Montessori education produces a more academically accomplished child, then what is the potential for the child wh...

Analyzing Musical Self-Esteem and Performance Anxiety Levels of Students Receiving Professional Music Education at Different Institutions in Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Otacioglu, Sena Gürsen

2016-01-01

The study was conducted to establish which variables cause the interrelations between musical self-esteem and performance-anxiety levels of students receiving professional music education at different institutions to vary. In relation to this framework, "musical self-esteem" and "performance anxiety" scores of students…

Incentive Problems in Banking Supervision: The European Case

OpenAIRE

Schüler, Martin

2003-01-01

This paper discusses the incentive conflicts that arise in banking supervision in the EU in a principal-agent framework, where the regulator is the agent and the taxpayers is the principal. The regulatory agent in addition to maintaining financial stability (the objective of the principal) may pursue private interests. Incomplete information, insufficient accountability of the agent and lack of enforceability of compliance result in an incentive problem. A reform of the European supervisory s...

Incentives for industrial R&D: The Australian experience

OpenAIRE

Peter Hall

1996-01-01

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

Incentives and intrinsic motivation in healthcare

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mikel Berdud

2016-11-01

Conclusions: The conclusions could act as a guide to support the optimal design of incentive policies and schemes within health organisations when healthcare professionals are intrinsically motivated.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-01-31

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

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barbose, Galen; Wiser, Ryan; Bolinger, Mark

2006-11-12

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

A model of strategic product quality and process improvement incentives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veldman, Jasper; Gaalman, G.

2013-01-01

In many production firms it is common practice to financially reward managers for firm performance improvement. The use of financial incentives for improvement has been widely researched in several analytical and empirical studies. Literature has also addressed the strategic effect of incentives, in

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-01-01

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

Investigation of existing financial incentive policies for solar photovoltaic systems in U.S. regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian Zhang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes some of the existing incentives for solar photovoltaic (PV energy generation in the U.S. Four types of buildings (e.g., hospitals, large offices, large hotels, and secondary schools located in five different U.S. states, each having their own incentives, are selected and analyzed for the PV incentive policies. The payback period of the PV system is chosen as an indicator to analyze and critique the effectiveness of each incentive by comparing the payback periods before and after taking the incentive into consideration. Then a parametric analysis is conducted to determine the influence of the variation in key parameters, such as PV system capacity, capital cost of PV, sell back ratio and the performance-based incentive rate, on the performance of the PV system. The results show how the existing incentives can be effectively used to promote the PV systems in the U.S. and how variations of the parameters can impact the payback period of the PV systems. Through the evaluation of the existing incentive policies and the parametric study, this paper demonstrates that the type and level of incentives should be carefully determined in policy-making processes to effectively promote the PV systems.

Assessing the Efficiency of Tax Incentives in the System for Managing Regional Finances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Igonina Lyudmila Lazarevna

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The paper analyzes existing techniques for assessing the effectiveness of tax incentives in the system for managing regional finances and reveals their advantages and disadvantages. It points out major conditions that determine the effectiveness of tax incentives at the regional level. The authors prove that assessing the effectiveness of tax incentives should focus, first, on identifying the relationship between the amounts of falling-out incomes and real economic benefits to the state and taxpayers that they entail; second, on determining the degree of correlation for this relationship; third, on adopting the decisions proceeding from the analysis of decisions concerning the extension of the incentive and its adjustment or possible abolition. The paper substantiates the conclusion that the effectiveness of tax incentives should be evaluated on the basis of three criteria: fiscal, economic and social. At that, the effectiveness of tax incentives at the regional level should be analyzed in several stages: calculation of budgetary, economic and social efficiency ratios; definition of the integral coefficient reflecting the total assessment of tax incentives efficiency; adoption of the decision about the appropriateness of introducing or further using the incentive, the decision being based on the calculations carried out previously. On the basis of the research the authors put forward a methodology for assessing the effectiveness of tax incentives based on the systematization of the totality of indicators in the context of structural determinants and calculation of the integral coefficient, which in contrast to existing techniques helps give an integrated assessment of the effectiveness of tax incentives at the subnational level, the assessment being structured by key blocks; the authors’ methodology also helps identify budgetary, economic and social implications of providing tax incentives. Moreover, the proposed methodology helps evaluate the

Defining appropriate incentive levels: A review of theory and practice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1990-01-01

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

Privatized Returns and Socialized Risks: CEO Incentives, Securitization Accounting and the Financial Crisis

OpenAIRE

Fabrizi, M.; Parbonetti, A.

2013-01-01

The paper investigates the role of CEO’s equity and risk incentives in boosting securitization in the financial industry and in motivating executives to reduce the perceived risk while betting on it. Using a sample of US financial institutions over the period 2003-2009 we document that CEOs with high equity incentives have systematically engaged in securitization transactions to a larger extent than CEOs with low incentives. We also show that CEOs with high equity and risk-related incentives ...

Asymmetrically Dominated Choice Problems, the Isolation Hypothesis and Random Incentive Mechanisms

OpenAIRE

Cox, James C.; Sadiraj, Vjollca; Schmidt, Ulrich

2014-01-01

This paper presents an experimental study of the random incentive mechanisms which are a standard procedure in economic and psychological experiments. Random incentive mechanisms have several advantages but are incentive-compatible only if responses to the single tasks are independent. This is true if either the independence axiom of expected utility theory or the isolation hypothesis of prospect theory holds. We present a simple test of this in the context of choice under risk. In the baseli...

Unpaid overtime in the Netherlands : forward- or backward-looking incentives?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van der Meer, Peter H.; Wielers, Rudi

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to test forward-looking incentives against backward-looking incentives. Design/methodology/approach ? Wage growth model to estimate forward-looking effects of unpaid overtime and a probit model of participation in unpaid overtime controlling for excessive pay to estimate

A healthy trend: less food used in fundraising and as rewards and incentives in Minnesota middle and high schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Kubik, Martha Y; Farbakhsh, Kian; Lytle, Leslie A

2013-04-01

To assess change in the 4-year prevalence (2006-2009) of the use of food in school fundraising and as rewards and incentives for students, following implementation of federal legislation in the USA in 2006. Serial cross-sectional design using trend analysis to assess school-level data collected over four consecutive years from 2006/2007 to 2009/2010. Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. Convenience sample of middle and high schools participating in two longitudinal, aetiological studies that examined youth, their environment and obesity-related factors. A significant and sustained decrease was demonstrated in the use of low-nutrient, energy-dense foods in school fundraising activities and the use of food and food coupons as rewards and incentives by teachers and school staff. Results support the utility of policy and legislative action as a tool for creating healthy, sustainable environmental change.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Rebecca C H

2017-03-01

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

Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives jointly predict performance: a 40-year meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Cerasoli, Christopher P; Nicklin, Jessica M; Ford, Michael T

2014-07-01

More than 4 decades of research and 9 meta-analyses have focused on the undermining effect: namely, the debate over whether the provision of extrinsic incentives erodes intrinsic motivation. This review and meta-analysis builds on such previous reviews by focusing on the interrelationship among intrinsic motivation, extrinsic incentives, and performance, with reference to 2 moderators: performance type (quality vs. quantity) and incentive contingency (directly performance-salient vs. indirectly performance-salient), which have not been systematically reviewed to date. Based on random-effects meta-analytic methods, findings from school, work, and physical domains (k = 183, N = 212,468) indicate that intrinsic motivation is a medium to strong predictor of performance (ρ = .21-45). The importance of intrinsic motivation to performance remained in place whether incentives were presented. In addition, incentive salience influenced the predictive validity of intrinsic motivation for performance: In a "crowding out" fashion, intrinsic motivation was less important to performance when incentives were directly tied to performance and was more important when incentives were indirectly tied to performance. Considered simultaneously through meta-analytic regression, intrinsic motivation predicted more unique variance in quality of performance, whereas incentives were a better predictor of quantity of performance. With respect to performance, incentives and intrinsic motivation are not necessarily antagonistic and are best considered simultaneously. Future research should consider using nonperformance criteria (e.g., well-being, job satisfaction) as well as applying the percent-of-maximum-possible (POMP) method in meta-analyses. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Optimal Incentives in a Principal–Agent Model with Endogenous Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco A. Marini

2018-02-01

Full Text Available One of the standard predictions of the agency theory is that more incentives can be given to agents with lower risk aversion. In this paper, we show that this relationship may be absent or reversed when the technology is endogenous and projects with a higher efficiency are also riskier. Using a modified version of the Holmstrom and Milgrom’s framework, we obtain that lower agent’s risk aversion unambiguously leads to higher incentives when the technology function linking efficiency and riskiness is elastic, while the risk aversion–incentive relationship can be positive when this function is rigid.

Economic Incentives for Sex-Selective Abortion in India

OpenAIRE

Daniel Rosenblum

2014-01-01

In order to understand the economic incentives behind sex selection in India, I provide the first estimates of the magnitude of the economic benefits of having a son instead of a daughter. I estimate large gains to per capita income and expenditure, household assets, and a reduction in the probability the household is below the poverty line. The observed pattern of incentives are compared to observed patterns in sex selection. Estimates show that sex selection may provide economic advantages ...

Quantifying individual variation in the propensity to attribute incentive salience to reward cues.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Paul J; Lovic, Vedran; Saunders, Benjamin T; Yager, Lindsay M; Flagel, Shelly B; Morrow, Jonathan D; Robinson, Terry E

2012-01-01

If reward-associated cues acquire the properties of incentive stimuli they can come to powerfully control behavior, and potentially promote maladaptive behavior. Pavlovian incentive stimuli are defined as stimuli that have three fundamental properties: they are attractive, they are themselves desired, and they can spur instrumental actions. We have found, however, that there is considerable individual variation in the extent to which animals attribute Pavlovian incentive motivational properties ("incentive salience") to reward cues. The purpose of this paper was to develop criteria for identifying and classifying individuals based on their propensity to attribute incentive salience to reward cues. To do this, we conducted a meta-analysis of a large sample of rats (N = 1,878) subjected to a classic Pavlovian conditioning procedure. We then used the propensity of animals to approach a cue predictive of reward (one index of the extent to which the cue was attributed with incentive salience), to characterize two behavioral phenotypes in this population: animals that approached the cue ("sign-trackers") vs. others that approached the location of reward delivery ("goal-trackers"). This variation in Pavlovian approach behavior predicted other behavioral indices of the propensity to attribute incentive salience to reward cues. Thus, the procedures reported here should be useful for making comparisons across studies and for assessing individual variation in incentive salience attribution in small samples of the population, or even for classifying single animals.

Effects of incentives on psychosocial performances in simulated space-dwelling groups

Science.gov (United States)

Hienz, Robert D.; Brady, Joseph V.; Hursh, Steven R.; Gasior, Eric D.; Spence, Kevin R.; Emurian, Henry H.

Prior research with individually isolated 3-person crews in a distributed, interactive, planetary exploration simulation examined the effects of communication constraints and crew configuration changes on crew performance and psychosocial self-report measures. The present report extends these findings to a model of performance maintenance that operationalizes conditions under which disruptive affective responses by crew participants might be anticipated to emerge. Experiments evaluated the effects of changes in incentive conditions on crew performance and self-report measures in simulated space-dwelling groups. Crews participated in a simulated planetary exploration mission that required identification, collection, and analysis of geologic samples. Results showed that crew performance effectiveness was unaffected by either positive or negative incentive conditions, while self-report measures were differentially affected—negative incentive conditions produced pronounced increases in negative self-report ratings and decreases in positive self-report ratings, while positive incentive conditions produced increased positive self-report ratings only. Thus, incentive conditions associated with simulated spaceflight missions can significantly affect psychosocial adaptation without compromising task performance effectiveness in trained and experienced crews.

Contract-Based Incentive Mechanism for Mobile Crowdsourcing Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nan Zhao

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Mobile crowdsourcing networks (MCNs are a promising method of data collecting and processing by leveraging the mobile devices’ sensing and computing capabilities. However, because of the selfish characteristics of the service provider (SP and mobile users (MUs, crowdsourcing participants only aim to maximize their own benefits. This paper investigates the incentive mechanism between the above two parties to create mutual benefits. By modeling MCNs as a labor market, a contract-based crowdsourcing model with moral hazard is proposed under the asymmetric information scenario. In order to incentivize the potential MUs to participate in crowdsourcing tasks, the optimization problem is formulated to maximize the SP’s utility by jointly examining the crowdsourcing participants’ risk preferences. The impact of crowdsourcing participants’ attitudes of risks on the incentive mechanism has been studied analytically and experimentally. Numerical simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed contract design scheme for the crowdsourcing incentive.

Incentive-Compatible Robust Line Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Bessas, Apostolos; Kontogiannis, Spyros; Zaroliagis, Christos

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

How Incentives Affect the Adoption of Anaerobic Digesters in the United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anh Sam

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Various government incentives support the adoption of anaerobic digester systems to manage farm waste and serve as a source of renewable energy in the United States. We examine the effectiveness of US state-level incentives promoting the adoption of anaerobic digester systems. We find that performance-based incentives and adoption of renewable portfolio standards best promote anaerobic digester system adoption.

Incentives and performance governance of research organizations

CERN Document Server

Wollersheim, Jutta; Ringelhan, Stefanie; Osterloh, Margit

2015-01-01

​This book contributes to the current discussion in society, politics and higher education on innovation capacity and the financial and non-financial incentives for researchers. The expert contributions in the book deal with implementation of incentive systems at higher education institutions in order to foster innovation. On the other hand, the book also discusses the extent to which governance structures from economy can be transferred to universities and how scientific performance can be measured and evaluated. This book is essential for decision-makers in knowledge-intensive organizations and higher-educational institutions dealing with the topic of performance management.

Human capital and risk aversion in relational incentive contracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kvaloey, Ola

2003-01-01

This paper examines a self-enforced relational incentive contract between a risk neutral principal and a risk averse agent where the agent's human capital is essential in ex post realization of values. I analyse the effect of outside options on the optimal bonus level, showing how the presence of ex post outside options may impede desirable degrees of performance pay. The effect of risk aversion and incentive responsiveness is analysed by allowing for linear contracts. I show that the first order effect of these parameters are the same as in verifiable contracts, but second order effects show that the optimal bonus level's sensitivity to risk aversion and incentive responsiveness increases with the discount factor. The analysis has interesting implications on firm boundaries and specificity choices. (author)

A lesson in business: cost-effectiveness analysis of a novel financial incentive intervention for increasing physical activity in the workplace.

Science.gov (United States)

Dallat, Mary Anne T; Hunter, Ruth F; Tully, Mark A; Cairns, Karen J; Kee, Frank

2013-10-10

Recently both the UK and US governments have advocated the use of financial incentives to encourage healthier lifestyle choices but evidence for the cost-effectiveness of such interventions is lacking. Our aim was to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) of a quasi-experimental trial, exploring the use of financial incentives to increase employee physical activity levels, from a healthcare and employer's perspective. Employees used a 'loyalty card' to objectively monitor their physical activity at work over 12 weeks. The Incentive Group (n=199) collected points and received rewards for minutes of physical activity completed. The No Incentive Group (n=207) self-monitored their physical activity only. Quality of life (QOL) and absenteeism were assessed at baseline and 6 months follow-up. QOL scores were also converted into productivity estimates using a validated algorithm. The additional costs of the Incentive Group were divided by the additional quality adjusted life years (QALYs) or productivity gained to calculate incremental cost effectiveness ratios (ICERs). Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEACs) and population expected value of perfect information (EVPI) was used to characterize and value the uncertainty in our estimates. The Incentive Group performed more physical activity over 12 weeks and by 6 months had achieved greater gains in QOL and productivity, although these mean differences were not statistically significant. The ICERs were £2,900/QALY and £2,700 per percentage increase in overall employee productivity. Whilst the confidence intervals surrounding these ICERs were wide, CEACs showed a high chance of the intervention being cost-effective at low willingness-to-pay (WTP) thresholds. The Physical Activity Loyalty card (PAL) scheme is potentially cost-effective from both a healthcare and employer's perspective but further research is warranted to reduce uncertainty in our results. It is based on a sustainable "business model" which

Governing by carrot and stick: A genealogy of the incentive

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dix, G.

2014-01-01

Managers, politicians and scientists frequently use the term ‘incentive’ in their explanations of human action. At the same time, individuals in the public and private sectors are now governed with the help of incentives. In this thesis, I study the incentive from a theoretical and normative

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

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

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

Tax incentive as a catalyst for economic development in Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An empirical study using a well structured questionnaire survey, the work assesses the relationship that exists between tax incentive and economic development in Nigeria. This study was undertaken primarily to evaluate the effectiveness of tax incentive in developing the Nigerian economy. One hundred and twenty ...

Incentives for improving human resource outcomes in health care: overview of reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Misfeldt, Renee; Linder, Jordana; Lait, Jana; Hepp, Shelanne; Armitage, Gail; Jackson, Karen; Suter, Esther

2014-01-01

To review the effectiveness of financial and nonfinancial incentives for improving the benefits (recruitment, retention, job satisfaction, absenteeism, turnover, intent to leave) of human resource strategies in health care. Overview of 33 reviews published from 2000 to 2012 summarized the effectiveness of incentives for improving human resource outcomes in health care (such as job satisfaction, turnover rates, recruitment, and retention) that met the inclusion criteria and were assessed by at least two research members using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews quality assessment tool. Of those, 13 reviews met the quality criteria and were included in the overview. Information was extracted on a description of the review, the incentives considered, and their impact on human resource outcomes. The information on the relationship between incentives and outcomes was assessed and synthesized. While financial compensation is the best-recognized approach within an incentives package, there is evidence that health care practitioners respond positively to incentives linked to the quality of the working environments including opportunities for professional development, improved work life balance, interprofessional collaboration, and professional autonomy. There is less evidence that workload factors such as job demand, restructured staffing models, re-engineered work designs, ward practices, employment status, or staff skill mix have an impact on human resource outcomes. Overall, evidence of effective strategies for improving outcomes is mixed. While financial incentives play a key role in enhancing outcomes, they need to be considered as only one strategy within an incentives package. There is stronger evidence that improving the work place environment and instituting mechanisms for work-life balance need to be part of an overall strategy to improve outcomes for health care practitioners.

Incentives for subcontractors to adopt CO2 emission reporting and reduction techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scholtens, Bert; Kleinsmann, Renske

2011-01-01

We investigate the incentives for subcontractors (couriers) of a transport and logistics company to report about their CO 2 emissions and to implement CO 2 reducing technologies. Furthermore, we try to find out whether these incentives differ between British and Dutch couriers. We find that several incentives play a significant role. Subcontractors in the Netherlands predominantly are extrinsically motivated to engage in CO 2 reporting and reduction techniques. This is because they are mainly driven by regulatory compliance, energy costs and implementation costs. In contrast, British subcontractors are much more intrinsically motivated to comply. They are predominantly driven by energy costs, environmental awareness, relationship building and reputation building. The contractor will have to account for these differences in making its policies work. - Research highlights: → We investigate incentives for couriers to report CO 2 emissions and to implement CO 2 reduction techniques. → We compare couriers in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. → Several incentives are significant for the adoption of CO 2 reporting and reduction measures. → There are significant differences in the sensitivity for incentives in the Netherlands and the UK.

Teachers' Teaching Experience and Students' Learning Outcomes ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

cce

Items 1 - 6 ... Keywords: teaching experience, students' learning outcomes, teacher incentives ... revealed that experienced teachers' perception of their teaching objectives were ... African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Vol. .... Years. English language. Mathematics Physics. Chemistry. Biology. %.

Offering Incentives from the Outside

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Emmanuel, Nikolas G.

2017-01-01

Incentives offer a good deal of underexplored opportunities to help manage conflict by encouraging political bargaining. This study has two primary objectives. First, it furthers the discussion of how external third parties can help manage conflicts. Second, it offers a typology of the available ...

Incentives in Supply Function Equilibrium

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vetter, Henrik

2015-01-01

The author analyses delegation in homogenous duopoly under the assumption that firm-managers compete in supply functions. He reverses earlier findings in that owners give managers incentives to act in an accommodating way. That is, optimal delegation reduces per-firm output and increases profits ...

The dark side of monetary incentive: how does extrinsic reward crowd out intrinsic motivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Qingguo; Jin, Jia; Meng, Liang; Shen, Qiang

2014-02-12

It was widely believed that incentives could effectively enhance the motivation of both students and employees. However, psychologists reported that extrinsic reward actually could undermine individuals' intrinsic motivation to a given interesting task, which challenged viewpoints from traditional incentive theories. Numerous studies have been carried out to test and explain the undermining effect; however, the neural basis of this effect is still elusive. Here, we carried out an electrophysiological study with a simple but interesting stopwatch task to explore to what extent the performance-based monetary reward undermines individuals' intrinsic motivation toward the task. The electrophysiological data showed that the differentiated feedback-related negativity amplitude toward intrinsic success failure divergence was prominently reduced once the extrinsic reward was imposed beforehand. However, such a difference was not observed in the control group, in which no extrinsic reward was provided throughout the experiment. Furthermore, such a pattern was not observed for P300 amplitude. Therefore, the current results indicate that extrinsic reward demotivates the intrinsic response of individuals toward success-failure outcome, which was reflected in the corresponding reduced motivational-related differentiated feedback-related negativity, but not in amplitude of P300.

Chocolate bar as an incentive did not increase response rate among physiotherapists: a randomised controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dahm Kristin

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim of this study was to assess the effect of a small incentive, a bar of dark chocolate, on response rate in a study of physiotherapy performance in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Findings Norwegian physiotherapists from private practice were randomised in blocks to an intervention group (n = 1027 receiving a bar of dark chocolate together with a data-collection form, and a control group (n = 1027 that received the data-collection form only. The physiotherapists were asked to prospectively complete the data-collection form by reporting treatments provided to one patient with knee osteoarthritis through 12 treatment sessions. The outcome measure was response rate of completed forms. Out of the 510 physiotherapists that responded, 280 had completed the data-collection form by the end of the study period. There was no difference between the chocolate and no-chocolate group in response rate of those who sent in completed forms. In the chocolate group, 142 (13.8% returned completed forms compared to 138 (13.4% in the control group, ARR = 0.4 (95% CI: -3.44 to 2.6. Conclusion A bar of dark chocolate did not increase response rate in a prospective study of physiotherapy performance. Stronger incentives than chocolate seem to be necessary to increase the response rate among professionals who are asked to report about their practice. Trial Registration Current Controlled Trials register: ISRCTN02397855

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

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

The impact of government incentives for hybrid-electric vehicles: Evidence from US states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diamond, David

2009-01-01

This paper examines the impact of government incentives policies designed to promote the adoption of hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs). As a primary methodology, it employs cross-sectional analysis of hybrid registration data over time from US states to test the relationship between hybrid adoption and a variety of socioeconomic and policy variables. It also compares hybrid adoption patterns over time to the US average for specific states that have changed incentive policies, to examine how differences in incentive schemes influence their efficacy. The results of these analyses suggest a strong relationship between gasoline prices and hybrid adoption, but a much weaker relationship between incentive policies and hybrid adoption. Incentives that provide payments upfront also appear to be the most effective

Organizational Concealment: An Incentive of Reducing the Responsibility

OpenAIRE

Tajika, Tomoya

2017-01-01

We studyworkers’ incentives of reporting problems within an OLG organization consisting of a subordinate and a manager. The subordinate is responsible for reporting a problem, and the manager is responsible for solving the reported problem. The subordinate has an incentive to conceal a detected problem since if he reports it but the manager is too lazy to solve the problem, the responsibility is transferred to the subordinate since he becomes a manager in the next period. We show that conceal...

Exit Options in Corporate Finance: Liquidity versus Incentives

OpenAIRE

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

2004-01-01

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

Implementation and Impacts of Pay-for-Performance: The 2010 Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) Grantees after Three Years. NCEE Study Snapshot. NCEE 2016-2006

Science.gov (United States)

Wellington, Alison; Chiang, Hanley; Hallgren, Kristin; Speroni, Cecilia; Herrmann, Mariesa; Burkander, Paul

2016-01-01

The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) provides grants to support performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals in high-need schools. The goal of the grants is to increase the number of high-performing teachers in high-need schools by rewarding educators for improving students' achievement. The report on which this snapshot is based…

Quantifying individual variation in the propensity to attribute incentive salience to reward cues.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul J Meyer

Full Text Available If reward-associated cues acquire the properties of incentive stimuli they can come to powerfully control behavior, and potentially promote maladaptive behavior. Pavlovian incentive stimuli are defined as stimuli that have three fundamental properties: they are attractive, they are themselves desired, and they can spur instrumental actions. We have found, however, that there is considerable individual variation in the extent to which animals attribute Pavlovian incentive motivational properties ("incentive salience" to reward cues. The purpose of this paper was to develop criteria for identifying and classifying individuals based on their propensity to attribute incentive salience to reward cues. To do this, we conducted a meta-analysis of a large sample of rats (N = 1,878 subjected to a classic Pavlovian conditioning procedure. We then used the propensity of animals to approach a cue predictive of reward (one index of the extent to which the cue was attributed with incentive salience, to characterize two behavioral phenotypes in this population: animals that approached the cue ("sign-trackers" vs. others that approached the location of reward delivery ("goal-trackers". This variation in Pavlovian approach behavior predicted other behavioral indices of the propensity to attribute incentive salience to reward cues. Thus, the procedures reported here should be useful for making comparisons across studies and for assessing individual variation in incentive salience attribution in small samples of the population, or even for classifying single animals.

Objectives and Incentives at the European Patent Office

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friebel, Guido; Koch, Alexander Karl; Prady, Delphine

of incentives for speedy, efficient processing of applications by the EPO. These are most likely to be achieved, however, by an appropriate balance between a system of “implicit” incentives – those that function via performance appraisal, the esteem of peers and the criteria for promotion – and “explicit......-dimensional nature of the Office’s objectives and criteria of excellence. Any proposal to strengthen the explicit component of such a system needs to take care not to undermine the implicit components. In particular, it will be important to re-establish a greater degree of consensus about what the goals...... they believe is achieved by the current system of incentives within the Office. While this divergence is not in itself an argument in favor of one or the other point of view, it is a matter of concern for the future functioning of the Office. 4. There is also a risk of adverse feedback effects to the Office...

Small Business Taxation: Revamping Incentives to Encourage Growth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duanjie Chen

2011-05-01

Full Text Available This study adopts a new approach in assessing the impact of taxes on small business growth and suggests the need to consider new incentives that would be more effective in encouraging small business growth and would also improve the neutrality of the existing tax system. In recent years, federal and provincial governments have provided various corporate tax incentives to small businesses with the aim of helping them grow. While it is commonly believed that small businesses are responsible for most job creation, unfortunately the only study available has shown that while many small businesses are created, few grow. Yet many governments believe that the incentives are important even though little evidence supports the effectiveness of small business corporate concessions. Some provinces have actually eliminated corporate taxes on small businesses or reduced such taxes to a symbolic level (e.g., one to two percent without there being any empirical support in favour of the effectiveness of such actions. In contradiction to the widely held view that small business tax concessions encourage growth, such small business tax relief could actually be antithetical to growth by creating a “taxation wall.” First, it could result in the breakup of companies into smaller, less efficient-sized units in order to take advantage of tax benefits even if there are economic gains to growing in size. Second, it could encourage individuals to create small corporations in order to reduce their personal tax liabilities rather than grow companies. And third, it could lead to a “threshold effect” that holds back small business from growing beyond the official definition of “smallness,” regardless of the criteria for measuring size (e.g., the size of revenue or assets, or the number of employees. In this paper, we evaluate the impact of both corporate and personal taxes on the growth of small business and we focus in particular on the likely consequences of the

Coordination Incentives, Performance Measurement and Resource Allocation in Public Sector Organizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dietrichson, Jens

Why are coordination problems common when public sector organizations share responsibilities, and what can be done to mitigate such problems? This paper uses a multi-task principal-agent model to examine two related reasons: the incentives to coordinate resource allocation and the difficulties...... of measuring performance. The analysis shows that when targets are set individually for each organization, the resulting incentives normally induce inefficient resource allocations. If the principal impose shared targets, this may improve the incentives to coordinate but the success of this instrument depends...