Sources of successful cost recovery for water: Evidence from a national survey of South African municipalities

This article analyses variation in municipal cost recovery for water services in South Africa. It uses original data from a national survey of municipalities, conducted in late 2000. A multivariate causal model is estimated to measure the effects of social and institutional context, service infrastructure, and billing and payment practices. The analysis shows that cost-recovery outcomes vary widely and are quite sensitive to factors that can be influenced by municipal decision-makers. Substantive implications for a typical South African municipality are clarified through simulations of the effects of upgrading infrastructure, introducing various cost-recovery measures, and extending basic services to poor households. As profound changes in the institutional and policy environment--including municipal restructuring (demarcation) and the 'free basic water' policy--force municipalities to review their cost-recovery strategies, the article offers insights into how to achieve the best possible outcomes.     

Unintended Consequences of Forecast Disaggregation: A Multi‐Period Perspective

Prior research finds that investors respond more favorably to a disaggregated earnings forecast than to an aggregated one. The present study examines whether this initial favorable effect on investors’ decisions leads to investors giving management the benefit of the doubt, or backfires in the event of a subsequent earnings surprise announcement. The results of our experiment indicate a “backfire effect” consistent with Expectation Violation Theory. We find that investors’ negative reactions to an earnings surprise are stronger if they first observed a disaggregated forecast than if they first saw an aggregated forecast. The largest downward adjustment in investment interest occurs when the disaggregated forecast is later found to be overstated. This study provides evidence of the complexity of the effect of disaggregated earnings forecast and adds to the literature concerning the costs and benefits of accounting information disaggregation.     

The phenomenon of summer diarrhea and its waning, 1910-1930

During the first two decades of the 20^th century, diarrheal deaths among American infants and children surged every summer. Although we still do not know what pathogen (or pathogens) caused this phenomenon, the consensus view is that it was eventually controlled through public health efforts at the municipal level. Using data from 26 major American cities for the period 1910-1930, we document the phenomenon of summer diarrhea and explore its dissipation. We find that water filtration is associated with a 15 percent reduction in diarrheal mortality among children under the age of two during the non-summer months, but does not seem to have had an effect on diarrheal mortality during the summer. In general, we find little evidence to suggest that public health interventions undertaken at the municipal level contributed to the dissipation of summer diarrhea.     

The Localized Geography of Foreign Aid: A New Dataset and Application to Violent Armed Conflict

Existing foreign aid databases – the OECD’s CRS data and now AidData – are project-based. And yet nearly all empirical analyses using these data aggregate to the country-year level, thereby losing project-specific information. In this paper, we introduce new data on the geographic location of aid projects that have been committed to many African countries between 1989 and 2008. The data enable an examination of project-level information in a wider variety of systematic research contexts. To demonstrate the utility of the new data, we discuss how geographically disaggregated foreign aid and armed conflict data are needed to capture the theoretical mechanisms in the aid-conflict literature. We then map the disaggregated aid and conflict data in Sierra Leone, Angola, and Mozambique as specific examples of how these data could help disentangle competing causal mechanisms linking aid to conflict onset and dynamics. The research provides an important new perspective on the connections between aid and conflict. More generally, it is a crucial first step in geo-referencing and comparing foreign aid projects to various localized development outcomes.     

Does Rising Income Inequality Reduce Life Expectancy? New Evidence for 26 European Countries (1995–2014)

An open debate these days is about how national income inequality could affect individuals’ health outcomes. Therefore, the present study aims to provide new evidence regarding life expectancy determinants and how they are related to the income inequality hypothesis. Precisely, it is provided new evidence on this relationship for 26 European countries during the period 1995–2014. The analysis is based on panel data techniques, with the latest data from both Eurostat and the OECD Health Statistics. Furthermore, data from the World Bank is also applied. Besides, we have tested the sensitivity of the estimates in our empirical analysis using three clusters of countries. Our results suggest that income inequality does not significantly reduce health in developed societies, like the European ones. Notwithstanding, as income inequality can be sometimes harmful for population health, these issues must be taken into account in order to improve health care policies.     

HEALTH CARE PROVIDER CHOICE

In order to achieve an ‘optimal health system’, health policies should not only be focused on the supply of health care, but also take cognisance of the demand for health care. Studies of health care demand in South Africa are scarce due to considerable data limitations. This analysis attempts to fill this gap by combining two data sets (specifically, the GHS 2004 and IES/LFS 2000) in order to be able to utilize the wealth of information regarding health care utilization in the General Household Survey. The aim is to inform and encourage debate on how to incorporate demand side considerations in order to arrive at improved public health care in South Africa.     

The socio-economic differences between landfill and street waste pickers in the Free State province of South Africa

Waste picking is an important survival strategy of many people throughout the developing world. South Africa has a sizeable waste picker population who ply their trade on municipal landfill sites as well as on the streets of cities and towns. This study lifts the lid on this neglected area of research by analysing and comparing landfill and street waste pickers side by side in a socio-economic context. Samples of waste pickers were drawn from the three main municipalities of Mangaung, Matjhabeng and Metsimaholo in the Free State province of South Africa and a questionnaire-based survey was conducted. Among the findings was that waste picking offers a financial lifeline when, due to inadequate schooling and grinding poverty, individuals would be hard pressed to find employment in the formal economy. The study lays an important foundation for further comparative and qualitative research into this important segment of South Africa’s informal economy.     

ARV Treatment and Time Allocation to Household Tasks: Evidence from Kenya

Using longitudinal survey data collected over a period of two years, this paper examines the impact of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment on the time allocated to various household tasks by treated HIV-positive patients and their household members. We study outcomes such as time devoted to housework, firewood and water collection, as well as care-giving and care-seeking. As treatment improves the health and productivity of patients, we find that female patients in particular are able to increase the amount of time they devote to water and firewood collection. This increased productivity of patients coupled with large decreases in the amount of time they spend seeking medical care leads to a reduced burden on children and other household members. We find evidence that boys and girls in treated patients' households devote less time to housework and other chores. These results suggest that the provision of ARV treatment generates a wide variety of benefits to households in resource-poor settings.     

Innovation, product quality, variety, and trade performance: an empirical analysis of Germany and the UK

Using the framework of the new trade and endogenous growth theories,this paper finds that factors such as innovation and productquality-proxied by variables such as relative R&D and patentingactivity-help to explain the determination of import volumesfor both Germany and the UK. The econometric work makes an originalcontribution to this area of research by using bilateral importvolume data disaggregated to the four-digit ISIC level.     

An Examination of the Government Spending and Economic Growth Nexus for Malaysia Using the Leveraged Bootstrap Simulation Approach

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to re-examine the government spending-growth nexus for Malaysia from the perspective of disaggregated government spending. The yearly data from 1960 to 2007 is used in this study. This study applied the bounds testing for co-integration and the leveraged bootstrap simulation approaches to examine the relationship between three different categories of government spending and national income in Malaysia. It is found that government spending on education and defence are co-integrated with national income. Nevertheless, there is no evidence of co-integrating relation between government spending on health and national income. The MWALD causality test shows strong evidence of unidirectional causal relationship running from national income to the three major government spending in Malaysia. However, bilateral causality evident exists only between government spending on health and national income.     

Health Expenditures and Health Outcomes in Africa*

Abstract: This paper provides econometric evidence linking African countries’ per capita total as well as government health expenditures and per capita income to two health outcomes: infant mortality and under‐five mortality. This relationship is examined using data from 47 African countries between 1999 and 2004. Health expenditures have a statistically significant negative effect on infant and under‐five mortality rates. The magnitude of our elasticity estimates are in consonance to those reported in the literature. For African countries, our results imply that total health expenditures (as well as the public component) are certainly important contributors to health outcomes. In addition, we find that both infant and under‐five mortality are positively and significantly associated with sub‐Saharan Africa. The reverse is true for North Africa. While ethnolinguistic fractionalization and HIV prevalence positively and significantly affect the health outcomes, higher numbers of physicians and female literacy significantly reduce these health outcomes. These results have important implications for attaining the targets envisioned by the Millennium Development Goals. The data implications are also discussed.     

Are people in the SADC region willing to pay more tax to fund public healthcare?

ABSTRACT

For Africa to develop and achieve sustainable development, African governments have to prioritise spending on public health. However, the current spending data shows that health spending is a continuing struggle for African countries. Many researchers have the view that African governments have to collect more tax to spend enough on public healthcare. The question here is what extent people are willing to pay more tax to increase spending on public healthcare? Employing a multilevel regression model on Afrobarometer survey data, this paper examined to what extent individual and country level factors influence people’s willingness to pay more tax to increase spending on public healthcare in 12 Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states. This study found that peoples’ trust in their government is an important determinant of willingness to pay more tax, while factors such as the country’s quality of democracy, economic condition, and current per capita health expenditure have no influence.     

A state‐level analysis of the economic impacts of medical tourism in Malaysia

In Malaysia, a country that ranks among the world's most recognised medical tourism destinations, medical tourism is identified as a potential economic growth engine for both medical and non‐medical sectors. A state‐level analysis of economic impacts is important, given differences between states in economic profiles and numbers, origins, and expenditure of medical tourists. We applied input–output (I–O) analysis, based on state‐specific I–O data and disaggregated foreign patient data. The analysis includes nine of Malaysia's states. In 2007, these states were visited by 341,288 foreign patients, who generated MYR1,313.4 m ($372.3 m) output, MYR468.6 m ($132.8 m) in value added, and over 19,000 jobs. Impacts related to non‐medical expenditure are more substantial than impacts related to medical expenditure, and indirect impacts are a substantial part of total impacts. We discuss management and policy responses and formulate recommendations for data collection.     

晋升激励、专业搭配与公共卫生服务满意度

提供高质量的公共卫生服务不但是现代政府的重要职责，也是国家治理能力的重要体现。随着中国经济发展进入新常态，干部考核评价机制不断完善，地方政府官员开始重视公共卫生等民生服务，同时，官员间专业搭配也成为影响民生服务质量的重要因素。文章将2013年中国综合社会调查数据与81个地级以上城市官员的相关信息进行匹配，将上任时年龄小于55岁的官员定义为"强晋升激励"官员，而将上任时年龄大于等于55岁的官员定义为"弱晋升激励"官员。研究发现：第一，具有"强晋升激励"的市委书记和市长都有助于改善城市公共卫生服务满意度。第二，在经济较发达、政府财力较雄厚和东部地区城市，官员晋升激励的积极效应更为明显。第三，在本研究样本中，市委书记和市长"经管—理工"的专业搭配模式是提高城市公共卫生服务满意度的积极因素。在考虑了测量偏误、地区异质性、遗漏变量、样本代表性问题，并经过安慰剂检验后，文章的主要结论依然保持稳健。本研究不但有助于我们更深入地理解中国城市间公共卫生服务质量的差距及其决定因素，而且也启发我们从改善官员治理的角度来提高公共卫生服务质量，以及应对突发性公共卫生事件的能力，从而有效推进中国经济健康可持续发展。     

Health outcomes,health inequality and Mandarin proficiency in urban China

We examine the health returns to proficiency in Mandarin in urban China using longitudinal data from the China Family Panel Studies. We find that greater proficiency in Mandarin improves self-reported health, mental health and capacity to perform activities of daily living. We also examine the relationship between Mandarin proficiency and health inequality and the decomposition results show that differences in Mandarin proficiency account for between 2% and 20% of health inequality in urban China, depending on the health indicator. Our results suggest that promoting ‘standard Mandarin’ can serve as a vehicle to improve health outcomes and reduce health inequality.     

Entering new country and product markets: does export promotion help?

Entering new export markets is primarily a discrete choice. Even though several empirical papers have used modeling strategies consistent with this fact, no study has examined the effects of public policies aimed at affecting this decision within this setting. In this paper we assess the impact of trade promotion activities on export outcomes using trade support and highly disaggregated export data for the entire population of exporters of Uruguay, a small developing country, over the period 2000–2007 to estimate a binary outcome model that allows for unobserved heterogeneity. We find that trade supporting activities have helped firms reach new destination countries and introduce new differentiated products.     

地方官员变更对企业投资影响的空间范围——基于政企联盟重建的逻辑分析

文章运用政企联盟重建这一理论对政企双方行为进行分析，完整的解释了我国官员变更对企业投资影响所呈现出的区域、层级及所有制特征，利用2003-2012年沪深两市上市企业面板数据进行了实证研究。结果表明：（1）官员变更对企业投资的影响呈现区域性、层级性特征。省委书记变更省委书记变更不会对全省的企业投资产生显著影响，但导致省会城市的企业投资明显减少，对省会城市影响高于非省会城市影响；市委书记变更对市区企业投资影响显著高于对县区企业影响。（2）省委书记与国有企业建立的紧密联盟会突破本地性特征，延伸到外地，而省委书记与民营企业建立的默契联盟则具有明显的本地性。文章研究丰富了官员变更对企业投资影响的相关文献。     

Exchange rates and European countries’ export prices: An empirical test for asymmetries in pricing to market behavior

Exchange Rates and European Countries’ Export Prices: An Empirical Test for Asymmetries in Pricing to Market Behavior. — This paper uses forward instead of spot exchange rates to test for the presence of asymmetries in the response of export prices to exchange rate movements on a wide sample of European Union exporter countries and highly disaggregated product categories. In most cases, the data give support to the hypothesis of a symmetric pricing to market behavior during periods of depreciation and appreciation of the exporter’s currency.     

Japanese foreign exchange intervention: A tale of pattern,size, or frequency

This paper contributes to the debate of the efficacy of different patterns of foreign exchange intervention (FXI). Daily data on the Japanese foreign exchange intervention and the Yen/Dollar exchange rates among other macroeconomic variables over the period 1992–2004, in an EGARCH time series model is used to measure the impact of intervention on both the level and volatility of the exchange rate. This paper offers two important results in regard to the effectiveness of the Japanese FXI. First, this study tests whether the pattern of FXI leads to conflicting outcomes with respect to the desired level and volatility of the exchange rates. Second, this study examines the asymmetric impact of the frequency and size of the Japanese FXI on the level and volatility of the exchange rate. This paper finds that successful depreciation of the yen has always been achieved at the expense of higher volatility, a result that supports the conflicting outcomes of the Japanese FXI. In addition, the frequency of intervention is found to be a crucial factor in affecting the level of the exchange rate while the size of intervention is more influential in affecting its volatility.     

Post-crisis China impact on trade integration and manufacturing competitiveness between Argentina and Brazil

Considering the short-term and long-term global financial crisis effects on industrial and trade policies implemented in China, Argentina, and Brazil, this article empirically analyzes China’s impact on trade integration and manufacturing competitiveness between Argentina and Brazil during the post-crisis period. Under a trilateral trade framework, this paper conducts both standard and modified Constant Market Share analyses, using trade data disaggregated at HS 6-digit level between the 2009–2014 period provided by BACI database. The quantitative estimation of relative gains and losses of Argentina and Brazil facing China’s evolving import demand and export supply provides evidence for three main findings. First, it shows the persistence of China’s asymmetric trade pattern with Argentina and Brazil, but a decline in China’s weight in explaining the decreasing bilateral trade intensity between Argentina and Brazil; second, the divergent export performance between Argentina and Brazil to China, mainly attributed to the competitiveness shift in the soybean sector; and finally the enlargement of a competitiveness gap between Mercosur countries and China in the upstream of manufacturing supply chain.