Disability Retirement in a Welfare State

The increasing number of disability pensioners may put a strain on the welfare state. In this paper, we try to assess the effect of financial incentives on disability entrance. A sample of Norwegians on long-term sick leave at the beginning of 1989 is examined as of the end of 1989, and the exit routes are studied in a multinomial logit model. The results indicate that the incentive effects of wages are larger than the disincentive effects of benefits. Furthermore, there is no evidence that having a subjective diagnosis affects the probability of becoming a disability pensioner.
JEL Classification : H 55; I 18; J 26     

中等城市绿色交通系统分类评定模型建构

根据以往我国城市绿色交通的调查结论,设计调查问卷,调查之后进行分析。运用Logit回归模型,建立一个专门针对二元因变量的Binary Logit模型,得出以下结论:收入水平、交通拥堵状况、对小汽车的态度和低碳环保意识4个变量因为统计检验不显著而未能进入最终模型。同时,油价、停车费、居所附近的直达公交线路、居所附近的轨道交通、公共交通乘坐舒适度、工作日平均出行距离与居民绿色出行方式的选择具有显著相关关系。     

Deterministic heterogeneity in tastes and product differentiation in the K-logit model

In this paper we use the K-deformed multinomial logit model to study product differentiation. The focus is on the economic interpretation of the deformation parameter which is the key parameter of this model. Then we establish the relationship between this parameter and probability choice, price elasticity and markup.     

Valuing the Arsenic Contamination of Groundwater in Bangladesh

The use of groundwater in Bangladesh has in the past been promoted as a means of avoiding waterborne diseases associated with the consumption of untreated surface water. Unfortunately, the recent discovery of high levels of naturally occurring arsenic in groundwater in Bangladesh used for drinking purposes has led one international agency to describe the situation as a major public health emergency. Arsenic ingestion is associated with an elevated risk of various cancers. Epidemiological dose–response functions combined with survey estimates of arsenic concentrations in groundwater, and the number of households in Bangladesh relying on groundwater for drinking are used to derive an estimate of annual mortality and morbidity cases attributable to arsenic contamination. The estimated health impacts include 6500 fatal cancers and 2000 non-fatal cancers. Aggregate willingness to pay to avoid these health impacts is estimated to be $2.7 billion annually using purchasing power parity exchange rates. The methodology and results presented in this paper may have application to other countries.     

Economic determinants of deregulation in the gas distribution market

Many state public commissions have deregulated their utility markets. However, evidence of welfare or efficiency improvements under deregulation is ambiguous. It is also unclear why different states adopt consumer choice, price caps, sliding-scale plans, or retain rate-of-return regulation. This study evaluates several economic factors behind deregulation in gas distribution markets using a survey of state commissions. Logistic and hazard models show that utilities’ prices and capacity, and states’ stock of own gas wells, prices of competing fuels and the regulatory climate, help explain the pattern of deregulation. Demonstration effects from surrounding markets also contribute. These factors make the propensity to use price caps versus restructuring vary regionally.     

The welfare impact of policy interventions in the foodgrain markets in Bangladesh

The paper attempts to estimate the welfare impact of different policy interventions in the foodgrain markets in Bangladesh using an economic surplus approach. Over the period of analysis, 1980–2003, the loss in consumer surplus exceeded the gain in producer surplus plus the gain in government revenue. Therefore, the interventions resulted in a deadweight welfare loss for society. In contrast, in the policy of liberalization, the gain in consumer surplus and in government revenue is larger than the loss in producer surplus, producing a net welfare gain to society.     

The Value of Changes in Deer Season Length: An Application of the Nested Multinomial Logit Model

Increasing deer populations can be controlled through manipulatingharvest limits or season length. While such actions often result in benefitsto hunters, both motorists and the agricultural sector also benefit as alower deer population leads to fewer incidences of harmful human-deerencounters. Traditional recreation demand models are often employed toexamine the welfare implications of changes in daily hunting bag limits.Studies measuring the effects of changes in season length, however, arenoticeably absent from the literature. This study uses a nested randomutility model to examine hunter choice over site and season selection toderive the values of changes in season length.     

Job preferences of students and new graduates in nursing

This article investigates the preferences of student and newly graduated nurses for pecuniary and nonpecuniary aspects of nursing jobs. It is the first study applying methods based on discrete choice experiments to a developed country nursing workforce. It is also the first to focus on the transition through university training and into work. This is particularly important as junior nurses have the lowest retention levels in the profession. We sample 526 individuals from nursing programmes in two Australian universities. Flexible and newly developed models combining heteroscedasticity with unobserved heterogeneity in scale and preference weights are estimated. Overall, salary remains the most important feature in increasing the probability that a job will be selected. ‘Supportive management/staff’ and ‘quality of care’ follow as the most important attributes from a list of 11 nonpecuniary characteristics. However, the subset of new graduates rank ‘supportive management/staff’ above salary increases, emphasizing the importance of a supportive workplace in the transition from university to the workplace. We find substantial preference heterogeneity and some attributes, such as the opportunity for clinical rotations, are found to be attractive to some nurses while seen as negative by others. Nursing retention could be improved by designing different employment packages to appeal to these different tastes.     

Assessing fishers' empowerment in inland openwater fisheries in Bangladesh

The Community Based Fisheries Management (CBFM) approach has made a significant contribution towards improvement of fishers' empowerment of inland openwater fisheries in Bangladesh aiming to manage their resources efficiently. This arrangement introduced CBFM approaches named fisher-led, community-led and women-led approach. A wider range of local institutional arrangements as community based organizations (CBOs) have been established through participatory process with legal entity. Now, the CBOs as local institutions and fishers are more empowered in participation of fishery management under co-management arrangement. The study reveals that there is still lack of institutional arrangement to be achieved at optimum level. This paper presents and assesses the empowerment status of the fisher communities in inland openwater fisheries under co-management arrangement in Bangladesh through Factor analysis and regression model. This study might have policy implication to replicate the community based fishery management approach to promote empowerment for better management.     

Biotechnology as a Technological Paradigm in the Global Knowledge Structure

The aim of this study is to analyse whether the receipt of public R&D funding determines firm's R&D strategy selection. This issue is crucial, as previous studies have shown that each R&D strategy is associated to a higher, or lower, innovation performance. We consider three R&D strategies – make, buy, make–buy – and three different sources of public funding – regional, state and other (such as EU). The model estimation is performed through a multinomial logit model with random effects with a sample of 457 large firms for the period 1992–2005, taken from the Spanish Survey of Business Strategies. The main finding is that the source of the funding influences whether firms select the make, buy or make–buy strategy. Additionally, because of the panel structure of the sample, we observe that the effect of public funding on the R&D strategy selection lasts longer for state and regional funds than for other funds.     

非正规金融与正规金融:互补还是替代?——基于DSGE模型的相互作用机制研究

文章通过建立四部门动态随机一般均衡模型,分析了二元金融体系下正规金融与非正规金融部门之间的作用机制,并对模型进行数值模拟。研究发现,在居民消费偏好冲击和技术冲击两种情况下,正规金融与非正规金融部门之间主要是互补关系,表现为两部门贷款利率和贷款规模的同向变动;而在货币政策冲击下,两部门短期内呈现相互替代的关系。     

Modeling Overnight Recreation Trip Choice: Application of a Repeated Nested Multinomial Logit Model

In this paper we apply the repeated nested multinomial logit model, a version of a random utility model (RUM), to estimate the choice of an overnight versus single day recreation trip, along with the other usual choice of which of the sites to visit, and less typically, the choice of whether to participate (in our application – to fish) at all. We also find statistically significant income effects in the empirical results. The application is to Atlantic Salmon fishing and the data set is for Maine resident angler's fishing trips to rivers in Maine and Canada.     

孟加拉国国乡村银行运作模式对中国农村金融体制改革的启示

随着中国现代农业发展及新农村建设的稳步推进，农村金融市场多元化竞争格局已经形成。然而，农村领域金融资源的流失，金融服务难以适应新形势的要求等问题已成为制约中国农村经济、社会发展的瓶颈。盂加拉国银行家穆罕默德。尤努斯及其创办的乡村银行因为其帮助穷人摆脱贫困和创造社会发展机会方面的贡献而荣获2006年度诺贝尔和平奖。本文结合中国农村金融服务现状，借鉴盂加拉国国乡村银行运行的经验，提出了新时期深化农村金融体制改革，积极推追现代农业与新农村建设的若干启示与建议。     

The Socioeconomic Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi: As an Origin of Alternative Development

This paper tries to present the overall socioeconomic thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi as an origin of alternative development. The first section of the paper provides Gandhi's criticism of modern civilization, that of economics and that of Marxist socialism and communism. The second section analyzes his ideas for a "post-modern" construction of India, where his views on Swadeshi (self-reliance), his theory of trusteeship (theory of class and distribution) and his images of an ideal village economy are examined. The paper, referring to the works of E. F. Schumacher and the Other Economic Summit as well, concludes that Gandhian style of development theories have persistently furnished a critique of "modern" ways of thinking and presented alternative visions of socioeconomic development.