Marital status and full–time/part–time work status in child care choices

Using recent SIPP data, this study estimates two econometric models to study the differences in the effect of child care costs on employment status and differences in the mode of child care used controlling for employment status. For both married and single women, full–time employment is more elastic with respect to changes in the price of child care than part–time employment and employment elasticities are larger for single than married mothers. In the model of child care modal choice, we find that an increased probability of full–time employment is associated with an increase in the use of centre care for both married and single mothers, and that price elasticities of modal choice are larger for single than married mothers.     

Child care voucher and labour market behaviour: experimental evidence from Finland

This article provides experimental estimates of the impact of a voucher for private care on labour force participation and use of private and public child care within the Nordic system of universal provision of public care. In a market that was providing high-quality, low-cost public child care, a voucher is nevertheless found to have a significant, positive effect for the use of private child care with zero effects on either use of public care or labour force participation. The use of private increased by five percentage points in the whole country and by five to seven percentage points in areas that suffer from excess demand for child care as a result of the introduction of the private child care voucher.     

The excess demand for subsidized child care in Germany

The extension of publicly provided or subsidized child care is currently one of the priorities of the political agenda in many European countries. In this article, the excess demand for subsidized child care slots in Germany is estimated using a partial observability model. The results show that there is considerable excess demand for child care for children aged less than 3 years in East and West Germany, even among children with working mothers.     

The impact of patient choice and waiting time on the demand for health care: results from the London Patient Choice project

In a number of countries where health care is publicly funded, policies to introduce greater patient choice are being implemented. In most cases patient choice is seen as an instrument to reduce waiting times for elective (non-emergency) hospital services. An important issue is whether facilitating greater patient choice will increase the demand for health care and thereby undermine the achievement of reduced waiting times. A large scale pilot of choice in the London metropolitan area permits a test of the hypothesis that choice will affect demand. This paper estimates a model of the demand for elective surgery using a panel of 150 English acute hospitals over the period 1995 to 2004 for three surgical specialties. It examines whether demand shifted following the introduction of the London Patient Choice Project in 2002. The results suggest that the choice project only shifted NHS inpatient demand in orthopaedics and that this shift was inwards.     

Prenatal care: Mechanisms and impacts on infant health and health care utilization

We estimate that prenatal care has positive impacts on health measured at birth, shifts the distribution of future health care utilization away from inpatient care, and find that some of these impacts likely come from an informational mechanism. We also find well child visits are used in a complementary fashion with emergency department care in the production of infant health, suggesting that factors beyond barriers to access may drive the demand for emergency care. Finally, we find differential impacts of prenatal care across racial groups with evidence that the information mechanism may be particularly important for black mothers.     

Non-cognitive child outcomes and universal high quality child care

Exploiting a rich panel data child survey merged with administrative records along with a pseudo-experiment generating variation in the take-up of preschool across municipalities, we provide evidence of the effects on non-cognitive child outcomes of participating in large scale publicly provided universal preschool programs and family day care vis-à-vis home care. We find that, compared to home care, being enrolled in preschool at age three does not lead to significant differences in child outcomes at age seven no matter the gender or the mother's level of education. Family day care, on the other hand, seems to significantly deteriorate outcomes for boys whose mothers have a lower level of education. Finally, longer hours in non-parental care lead to poorer child outcomes.     

老年人养老方式选择的影响因素研究——基于CHARLS数据的实证分析

本研究在CHARLS调查所获得的微观数据的基础上进行,首先对老年人养老方式选择的结果和老年人人口特质、健康状况、经济状况等方面的6个变量进行关联分析,再通过二项Logistic回归模型,将是否选择机构养老作为被解释变量进行回归分析。结果表明非机构养老方式仍是老年人的主要选择,年龄、婚姻状况、慢性疾病情况、经济状况等因素与老年人养老方式的选择存在显著的关联并对选择结果产生影响。     

Does quality influence choice of general practitioner? An analysis of matched doctor–patient panel data

The impact of quality on the demand facing health care providers has important implications for the industrial organization of health care markets. In this paper we study the consumers' choice of general practitioner (GP), assuming they are unable to observe the true quality of GP services. A panel data set for 484 Norwegian GPs, with summary information on their patient stocks, renders the opportunity to identify and measure the impact of GP quality on the demand, accounting for patient health heterogeneity. We apply a multi-equation model in the LISREL format, with GP quality and patient health as latent determinants of demand for GP services. Patient excess mortality rate at the GP level is one indicator of quality. Our results indicate that GP quality has a clear positive effect on demand, even when patient heterogeneity is accounted for.     

面向大规模定制的供应链管理：基于“戴尔”的案例分析

戴尔公司的迅速成长一向为业界所称道，但是人们往往只看到了戴尔表面的直销模式，而忽视了其背后大规模定制的生产方式以及高效先进的供应链管理所起的巨大作用。对戴尔基于大规模定制的供应链管理的实施基础、总体模型、基本特点及弊端的分析表明，实行企业内部资源的有效整合，建立战略合作的外部协作关系，把握客户需求，才能使企业在竞争中得到先机并实现可持续发展。     

居住模式对老人福利的影响：基于代际关系的视角--来自我国老人膳食质量的证据

在我国老龄化程度不断加深的过程中,老人的居住模式选择及其福利问题变得越来越重要。我国传统的与子女合住的居住模式真的能改善老人福利吗？文章以我国老人的膳食质量为例,基于我国独特的“双向反馈”代际关系,从“亲代需求”和“子代需求”两个方面来讨论亲子合住居住模式对老人福利的影响,并利用2009年与2011年中国居民健康与营养调查(CH NS )的数据加以实证检验。研究表明：(1)与子女合住的居住模式非但没有改善反而降低了老人的平衡膳食得分,尤其在低龄老人、农村老人和女性老人中更为明显。(2)从影响渠道来看,亲子合住居住模式家庭中老人为满足子女的抚幼需求而无私地投入时间和精力,但老人的照料需求却没有得到很好的满足,代际关系重心向下偏移是造成老人膳食质量下降的主要原因。文章为不同居住模式下老人福利干预政策的制定和社会养老服务体系的建设提供了实证依据。     

Estate recovery and long‐term care insurance

Estate recovery is a policy under which the state recovers part of long‐term care (LTC) subsidies from the estates of deceased beneficiaries. This paper studies the effect of estate recovery on LTC insurance demand. This effect strongly relies on the bequest motive since the main purpose behind purchasing LTC insurance is to protect bequests from the financial costs of LTC. We find that the impact of estate recovery on LTC insurance depends on the level of parental bequests and on whether and how the parent anticipates the child's preferences with respect to informal care. More specifically, we show that estate recovery encourages the parent to purchase LTC insurance when his child is considered selfish or to like providing care. However, this policy could provide disincentives to LTC insurance purchase by the parent if his child is considered to dislike providing informal care. Our results also show that estate recovery reduces and may even eliminate public support crowding out of private LTC insurance demand. Finally, we characterize the welfare implications of financing LTC public support by estate recovery.     

中国老人医疗保障与医疗服务需求的实证分析

本文采用2005年中国老年健康长寿调查数据库(CLHLS)22省调查数据,建立了中国65岁以上老年人群的医疗服务需求模型,实证分析了医疗保障对老人医疗服务需求的影响。本文的主要结果如下:第一,医保制度对老人医疗服务的影响主要表现在提高就医程度,而非就医选择行为的改变,同时医保制度又明显地促进了老人及时就医率。第二,医保制度对减轻老人家庭医疗负担具有显著作用。第三,城镇医保和公费医疗所发挥的作用明显高于其他保险形式。本文的基本判断是,国家医保政策在改善中国老人医疗服务利用和减轻老人家庭医疗负担方面确实发挥了良好的积极作用,并且更多惠及了就医必要性更大的老年人群,从资源配置角度看是提高效率的。因此,进一步推进全民基本医疗保障制度的建设不仅是国家惠及全民的医改重任,也是中国医疗卫生应对老龄化挑战的有效选择。     

Women's Time Allocation to Child Care: Determinants and Consequences

The time women allocate to child care varies appreciably according to personal and labour market characteristics. Of particular note is the finding that better educated women spend more time in most forms of child care activities than their less well educated counterparts. This link between educational attainment and time devoted to child care is advanced as a possible justification for subsidising the education of women to a greater extent than the subsidy to men's education. It is also suggested that the stereotypes that appear to govern the household allocation of time will be difficult to break down, so that any changes in such time allocations will be slow and uncertain.     

More health care utilization with more insurance coverage? Evidence from a latent class model with German data

We analyse the impact of optional deductibles, private supplementary health insurance and income on the demand for health care utilization, measured as the number of physician visits with data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). With a set of newly available variables for the years 2002, 2004 and 2006 that measure individual health more accurately and including risk-attitudes towards health we find that possible endogeneity of the insurance choice is not a problem. A latent class approach that takes into account the panel structure of the data reveals that especially individuals who have few doctor visits, the low users, respond strongest to insurance status and income. In this group we find that more insurance increases the demand for physician visits and there is a pro-rich inequity in health care utilization. No such effects are found for the high users.     

Economics,Ethics and Thanatology: Lessons from the Ancients

The normative presuppositions motivating rational choice decision-making based on optimizing objectives amount to a thin account of ethical economic behavior. Ancient thought offers insights that can provide a firmer basis both for personal, individual choice as well as for public policy. After a brief review of Epicurean and Stoic ethical principles, a comparison is made of modern economic and Hellenistic conceptions of rationality and rational behavior. These competing conceptions are then applied to an examination of a contemporary public policy problem, namely health care, particularly as this applies to “end-of-life” issues. The argument concludes that decision-making based on a eudaimonic conception of the good has the potential to provide us with a more efficient health care system as well as one that more satisfactorily addresses the needs of the chronically ill and dying patients who account for a highly disproportionate share of health care expenditures.     

Capacity-contingent nonlinear pricing by regulated firms

Second-best Pareto optimal pricing by a regulated firm subject to demand and capacity shocks is examined. Nonlinear price schedules for the firm's customers are obtained that are contingent on capacity realizations. The second-best Pareto optimal mechanism also is implemented by an allocation mechanism based on the consumer's choice of a minimum demand or firm power level. The optimal mechanism is implemented as well by a general form of priority pricing.     

选择实验理论及其在食品需求研究中的应用:文献综述

概述了选择实验理论及其应用,在此基础上对利用选择实验方法研究食品需求的国内外文献进行综述。得出结论:美国的此类研究主要聚焦于消费者对食品质量和安全属性的偏好和支付意愿方面;欧洲的此类研究除了关注消费者的食品质量和安全需求外,还关注转基因、动物福利等问题。提出后续基于此类方法的研究应进一步关注食品特定属性的变化对消费者或社会福利的影响以及由此导致的市场效应的评价,而消费者需求行为与食品生产者行为、政府角色的结合可作为未来研究的切入点,同时应将选择实验方法更多地应用于中国食品需求研究。     

拉动式库存策略的闭环供应链回收模式研究

在制造商延伸责任制类环境制度的压力下,制造商要进行产品的回收再制造并构建闭环供应链,回收模式的选择是影响闭环供应链效率的关键。回收库存持有成本率对回收模式的选择影响不大,关键影响因素是产品市场需求价格参数,当参数大于2时制造商回收模式较优,当参数小于2时制造商联合回收模式较优。算例验证了研究的正确性和可行性。     

Measuring the Impact of Child Care Subsidies on the Incomes of Mothers Returning to Work

The cost of child care is one of the greatest financial barriers faced by mothers returning to work. In recognition of this cost, the federal government provides child care subsidies to assist families to meet the cost of child care.
This paper models the use of child care services and the provision of child care subsidies to determine how effective the Australian government child care support programs are in reducing the financial barriers that make returning to work difficult for many mothers. Both childcare assistance and the newer childcare cash rebate are modelled. The impact of these assistance measures is examined for couples and sole parents on different incomes with one or two children in child care.
It was found that child care subsidies are highly progressive and make a substantial contribution to vertical equity by offsetting child care costs related to employment. They also contribute to horizontal equity, by providing greater assistance in meeting child care costs for families with more than one child in care, in recognition of their greater need. Sole parents derived the greatest benefit from child care subsidies, particularly those on low incomes working full-time and with two children in care.     

居民消费需求影响因素分析

居民消费不足一直是困扰中国经济可持续发展的难题,本文采用排序选择模型分析方法,研究了影响居民消费需求的因素。得出的主要结论有:收入水平、子女教育状况、家庭人口规模是影响居民消费意愿的最主要因素;户主工作单位性质、受教育水平也影响消费意愿,由于居民消费观念保守,信用卡对居民消费意愿的提升没有明显的推动作用。本文还研究了居民储蓄的主要目的。根据这些结论提出了一系列针对性的措施。