Exploring the Structure of the Illegal Market for Cannabis

Summary This paper explores the middle and retail levels of the illegal market for cannabis in New Zealand using national household drug survey data. Those who reported purchasing half or full ounces of cannabis were defined as middle level market participants, while those who purchased smaller weights or merely used cannabis were defined as retail level participants. Those who had purchased cannabis were then further categorised as either cannabis ‘buyers’ (i.e. those who only purchased sufficient cannabis for their own consumption needs) or cannabis ‘dealers’ based on whether the surplus of cannabis they had, after their own personal consumption was deducted, exceeded the legal definition of cannabis dealing (i.e. possession of 28 g of cannabis or more). Nine per cent of those who had purchased cannabis in the previous year were categorised as middle level participants with 69% of these defined as middle level dealers and 31% as middle level buyers. Middle level cannabis dealers were projected to earn, on average, $2927 (NZD) net annual profit from selling surplus (rate of return of 34%). There was a wide variation in the projected net earnings of the middle level cannabis dealers with the majority earning only modest incomes (bottom 50% – $260 per year, top 10% – $25000 per year). Participants at all levels of the market commonly reported receiving cannabis for ‘free’ and this is likely to reflect the social sharing of cannabis during group consumption and non-cash payments for cannabis. This barter and gift giving tradition may provide cannabis users with a degree of insulation from any price increases for cannabis brought about by law enforcement activity. Cannabis selling creates a convenient source of income for heavy cannabis users to finance their own personal cannabis consumption, which may also dampen the impact of any rise in price brought about by law enforcement success.The 2003 HBS-Drug Use was funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Health and carried out as part of the Public Health Intelligence (PHI) Health Behaviours Survey Monitor. The statistical design for the 2003 survey was completed by Dr. Megan Pledger at SHORE, and by James L. Reilly from Statistical-Insights. The questionnaire was adapted and extended from the National Drug Survey questionnaire for the Health Behaviours programme by Dr. Chris Wilkins. Data collection was managed by Dr. Chris Wilkins, Rachael Lane, Joe Morley and Mary Blade. The statistical analysis of 2003 HBS-Drug Use was completed by Paul Sweetsur. The analysis in this paper was partly funded by the New Zealand Police.     

浅析发展身体素质对人体健康的影响

随着社会经济的发展,人们对健康、体质、体能、身体素质的关注越来越多,对健康、体质、体能各自的内涵及其相互关系和身体素质与民族未来的相互关系的分析也越来越多。在体育实践中,研究如何有针对性地进行锻炼,以发展身体素质,获得健康身体,是非常重要的。     

Measuring the Impact of Microfinance on Child Health Outcomes in Indonesia

Microfinance has become a staple of modern development policy as a means to facilitate anything from gender equality to growth. It can facilitate the sharing of health-related information among parents, promote the bargaining power of women in the household, aid in the development of important health-related infrastructure, and help households smooth consumption in the wake of unexpected economic shocks. Using data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (1993–2000), we find that the presence of microfinance institutions in communities significantly improves the health of children.     

The Impact of Computers on Productivity in the Trade Sector: Explorations with Dutch Microdata

The impact of computers on productivity in the Dutch trade sector during the period 1988-1994 is examined. The analysis is based on a panel data set derived from the Production Survey of Statistics Netherlands, which includes data on output, employment, wages, and various types of investment. A new method is developed to estimate IT- and non-IT capital stocks for each firm based on investment flows and booked depreciation figures by firm. A Cobb-Douglas production function setting is used to study the effect of computer capital stock on productivity. We find that computers contributed positively to productivity, even when firm-specific effects such as labour quality are accounted for. In retail trade computers yielded returns above their relatively high rental price. For wholesaling, no evidence for excessive returns is found. The rates of return were not subject to a decline in the period studied, in contrast to findings for the US. This suggests that the Netherlands has been lagging in the application of IT compared to the US and that further productivity boosting effects can be expected.     

健康风险对最优消费-证券组合的影响

本文在一个代表性消费者的偏好中引入了健康,而健康水平受一个随机冲击的影响,在这一假定下我们得到了消费者最优消费以及投资组合问题闭形式的解。模型的解表明,在最优消费路径上边际消费倾向随健康水平期望增长率提高而提高,而随健康水平波动率提高而下降;同时消费者对健康关注程度的提高对于边际消费倾向的影响取决于预期健康水平增长率和波动率的相对大小,这些结果对于解释我国经济转轨时期的消费、储蓄以及财富积累现象具有一定的价值,尤其是对于我国实现经济增长转向依赖于以内部消费需求为主的政策提供了有益的启示。     

老年养生健康的新理念

健康的新内涵及其发展引起了老年人养生理念的变化。如今,老年人健康不仅指身体健康,还包括心理、道德等方面,能适应社会的发展。老年人应该从多个方面调理、修养,才能保持健康。     

The Role of Health Insurance Membership in Health Service Utilisation in Indonesia

In 2014, Indonesia implemented a new, nationwide, subsidised universal-coverage health insurance program, under which poor Indonesians do not pay to become members and others pay a relatively low fee. This program has created a national debate about the effectiveness of the ownership of health insurance in increasing the use of health services—particularly among the poor—given the limitations in their quantity and quality. Using membership data on different health insurance programs from the 2007 rounds of Susenas and Riskesdas, this article researches the impact of having health insurance on health service utilisation, by controlling the levels of quality and quantity of health services in the area. We argue that having health insurance increases health service utilisation by approximately eight percentage points when people feel sick (or by approximately five percentage points if we include those who do not feel sick).     

消费升级对劳动生产率的影响研究——基于VAR模型的实证分析

本文从促进"消费-生产"经济循环更加顺畅的角度出发,使用中国1992-2017年的数据,运用VAR模型研究中国消费升级对劳动生产率的影响效应。研究结果显示:消费升级对劳动生产率存在显著且稳健的促进效应;农村的消费升级对劳动生产率的带动作用暂时要弱于城市,但未来会强于城市。由此提出建议:持续推动消费升级,以消费升级带动劳动生产率的提升;刺激农村居民消费升级,助力脱贫攻坚工作。     

农户土地流转行为对土地利用变化的影响——以浙江省龙游县为例

本文从农户的角度出发,在理论分析和基层调研基础上,建立了反映影响农户土地流转行为的各个相关因素和土地利用变化之间关系的计量回归模型,发现农户现有农用地面积、农地流转率、农产品销售率和农户家庭非农收入占总收入的比例这四个因素显著影响着土地利用变化,从而提出了相应的建议。     

政府卫生支出的有效性、地区差异及其人口健康改善

利用健康生产模型.运用我国1997～2005年各省面板数据,说明我国政府卫生支出与改善人口健康状况之间的关系.为即将推行的卫生医疗改革各项公共管理政策的制定和实施。提供理论支持以及实证分析的证据。我国政府卫生支出是决定人口健康水平的一个关键因素,但政策制定者需要兼顾"投入的规模和管理的有效",同时,卫生医疗改革政策需要因地制宜,中央财政部门急需建立一套考核各级政府卫生支出管理绩效水平的系统指标体系。     

社区医疗卫生服务体系建设中的政府角色

在我国医疗卫生体制中,初级和二级医疗服务缺乏制度性的分工,导致民众大量的初级医疗卫生服务主要由医院承担,一方面造成医疗资源的浪费,另一方面也对医疗费用升高推波助澜。这一问题的症结在于,政府医疗资源大多流向各类医院。不同政府部门之间缺乏协调.社区医疗卫生服务体系有欠发达。政府增加投入以及各政府部门加强协调,引入医疗服务的守门人制度,是促进社区卫生服务发展的关键。     

上海市利用外商直接投资的变化与影响

１９８１年以来的近２０年中,进入上海的外商直搂投资在来源地、产业分布以及经营方式等方面都发生了显著的变化。随着数量的累计,外商投资企业在上海经济中的作用进渐突出。特别９０年代中期后,积极面和消极面明显化。在促进上海经济发展的同时,外商投资企业也在不断吞噬本地企业的市场和利润。因此,加大对外商直接投资的调控已是当务之急。     

Analysis on Chinese Inequity in Health between the Urban and the Rural

Firstly the paper introduces the concept of the inequity in health, the method of measurement of inequity in health which is usually used to measure the inequity of income. Then we statistically describe the inequity in health between the urban and the rural in China, and analyze the correlative of the variety of income allocation and the variety of inequity in health.     

影响少儿读者心理健康的因素及对策

消极复杂的社会环境给少儿读者心理健康带来不良影响，应该充分重视这一社会问题，采取有效措施提高少儿读者的心理素质，加强道德建设，保证未成年人健康成长。     

The Impact of Housing Stressors on the Mental Health of a Low-Income African-American Population

Health and disease reflect broad social conditions including economic, environmental, and cultural components. The impact of challenging housing conditions experienced by low-income African American households on their mental health is an example of this principle. Do physical housing conditions, the presence of roaches and rodents, plumbing defects, and heating/cooling problems contribute to mental health dysfunction such as being depressed, feeling worried, feeling sad, feeling helpless, and feeling emotionally upset? To address this research question, a sample of 128 households that originally lived in public housing in Washington, D.C. were surveyed. These households had been relocated to other low-income housing during the demolition and reconstruction phase of a HOPE VI project, some to alternative public housing developments and others to private units based on vouchers. The survey included self-reports by heads of household on their housing conditions and mental health status using Likert scales. The survey also asked participants for demographic, socio-economic, and physical health data and for information on neighborhood characteristics. Correlation and regression analyses were used to estimate the impact of building structure, building systems, neighborhood characteristics, physical health, and socio-economic/demographic variables on mental health stresses. Specific housing issues included the number of bedrooms, plumbing, heating, cooling, rodents, roaches, and building security (the independent variables). Mental health stresses (the dependent variables) included feeling depressed, nervous, anxious, sad, helpless, and having trouble concentrating. Several alternative specifications and models were used and estimated. They generally demonstrated strong overall explanatory value. The findings from these models suggested that challenging housing conditions significantly contributed to many mental health disorders. For example, in the 2SLS model of “problem being depressed”, the condition of the apartment (β?=?0.278, t?=?2.022) and plumbing (β?=?0.182, t?=?2.145) were significant and the model’s explanatory power was reasonable with an adjusted R²?=?0.221. Many non-housing control variables were also significantly associated with mental health challenges.