Estimating debt capacity of New York State health facilities

A measure of the capacity to take on new debt is developed for health facilities. This measure is a function of the current financial position of the facility, future financial market conditions (interest rates and bond/loan maturities), and a policy variable (the debt service coverage ratio) to be set by state health policy makers. The quality of this measure was shown to depend on the quality of current health facility financial accounting data, on the quality of forecasts of interest rates and future cashflow, and on the appropriateness of the criterion debt service coverage ratio. Some of the limitations of the estimate are discussed. Consideration of the debt capacity estimate serves to highlight some crucial issues in imposing capital expenditure limits, namely the interrelationships between financial viability, interest rates and access to capital markets.     

Socioeconomic Impacts of high-speed rail: A bibliometric analysis

High-speed rail (HSR), as an efficient and environmentally sustainable mode of transportation mode, has received increasing attention in many countries over the past decades. While the literature on HSR's technology development and the assessment of the socioeconomic impact of the system has increased substantially in recent years, it remains unclear how the understanding of the socioeconomic impact system has evolved, and what the characteristics of various research focuses are. The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive examination of the evolution of the high-speed rail literature, with a focus on socioeconomic impact analysis. Specifically, the following research questions are addressed: what is the global trend of scientific publication on the socioeconomic impact analysis of HSR? What specific focuses are uncovered from this trend? And what are the future directions of research in this field? A thorough understanding of the literature helps scholars better identify the research gaps, needs and directions for future research endeavors. In addition, it may also facilitate the decision-making for future investment in HSR through a better understanding of the potential impacts of the system.     

The income redistribution effects of Medicaid: Application in New York State

The efficacy of Medicaid as an income redistribution mechanism among New York State counties was examined to determine tthe degree of income shifting from higher to lower income counties. A sample of 21 counties, grouped into four discrete income classes according to 1970 per capita income was taken.Costs and expenditures (attributed to Medicaid) were allocated over all counties, adjusting for federal and state aid transfers. The data were tabulated for each of the 21 counties and six key ratios (including: Medicaid expenditures per authorized recipient, etc.) were developed as measures of income distribution.The impact of Medicaid was tested using two independent statistical techniques, goodness of fit and pooled comparisons between each pair of means for each ratio. Results indicated that no appreciable shift in income from high to low counties existed. Medicaid failed 45 of 72 mean difference tests, and the true distribution of costs and expenditures across income classes did not differ significantly from a uniform distribution in 77.7% of the cases.The results indicate that the mandated funding structure of Medicaid impinges more severely on poorer counties. Lack of an adequate health care infra-structure may seriously limit the ability of lower income counties to provide care even with Medicaid covering a large share of medical costs.     

技术进步对就业状态的影响

所谓技术进步,在生产函数理论中表现为非因成本增加而对产出作出的贡献,技术进步是经济增长的关键推动力,它不仅包括新的生产技术,还包括新的管理方法和新的企业（社会）组织形式,一般 情况下技术进步与新知识的发现紧密联系,这些新知识使得企业能够利用新的方法来组合一定数量的资源,以实现更大规模的产出,在很多情况下,技术进步和资本形成（投资）密切相关,技术进步通常要求投资于新的,更强劲有力的机器设备,但是也有并不要求采用新的或者更多的资本设备的情况,例如现代轮作和边耕技术就是在并不需要更多投资的情况下促进了产出的增加,如果结合当前中国经济改革的具体情况来看,体制的变化和管理概念的创新这一类的技术进步,对于促进产出增加似乎具有更大的作用。     

纽约州立大学阿尔巴尼分校图书馆的元素养教学研究

本文介绍了纽约州立大学阿尔巴尼分校图书馆制定的元素养协作学习目标;从认知、行为、元认知与情感四个角度对元素养协作学习目标指导下的阿尔巴尼元素养教学内容进行分析。认为阿尔巴尼分校图书馆的元素养教学新颖独特,为元素养在高校领域的应用具有很高的借鉴价值。     

HIV prevalence for New York State using Newborn Seroprevalence and AIDS Surveillance Data

The objective of this work is to estimate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence in the adult populations of New York City, and of New York State (NYS) excluding New York City. Evidence is presented that not all HIV-infected persons live long enough to satisfy an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) diagnosis. The term preAIDS mortality refers to the mortality of HIV-infected persons, due to any cause, before they can be diagnosed with AIDS. The effect of preAIDS mortality on the estimate of HIV incidence, using back calculation of AIDS Surveillance Data, is to produce low-biased estimates of HIV incidence and prevalence.Estimates of HIV prevalence in women of childbearing age were obtained from the Newborn Seroprevalence Survey [Lessner L. The estimation of HIV prevalence for women of childbearing age in New York City, presently under review]. HIV-positive women in this population typically do not have an opportunistic infection. Thus estimates of HIV prevalence in this population occurred earlier in the spectrum of HIV disease then when they finally satisfied the definition of AIDS that depends on incidence of an opportunistic disease. These earlier estimates of HIV prevalence in women were found to be substantially larger then those obtained from back calculation using female AIDS Surveillance Data. This comparison was used to obtain a quantitative measure R of the effect of preAIDS mortality on HIV prevalence: where 1/R equals the proportion of HIV-infected intravenous drug users that become AIDS cases The preAIDS mortality adjustment factor R was used in the estimation of HIV prevalence and incidence for NYS. We believe that the use of the adjustment factor resulted in more accurate estimates. Using this factor, our estimated HIV incidence for New York City in 1991 was nearly 26% larger than without the adjustment while projected HIV prevalence for 1996 was nearly 27% larger. The paper estimates HIV prevalence. The AIDS Surveillance operation uses AIDS cases to back calculate HIV incidence and prevalence. Since many HIV-infected intravenous drug using (IDU) population die before they become an AIDS case, the estimates from the back calculation are low biased. Low biased because there were many HIV-infected people who died before they ever satisfied the AIDS protocol. The totals presented here adjust for preAIDS mortality and are necessarily larger than what was recorded by the NYS Dept. of Health. After the change in the definition of AIDS to simply HIV prevalence and the change to electronic reporting, the totals were mostly HIV cases reported in the given year and not AIDS. Thus there is no comparison. This paper represents the last best look at the natural history of AIDS in NYS.     

Seasonal Homes and the Local Property Tax: Evidence from New York State

This study examines the growth of seasonal (i.e., second or vacation) homes and their impact on local property tax rates using evidence from towns and villages in New York State between 1990 and 2000. We find that a greater concentration of seasonal homes in a municipality is associated with a lower effective property tax rate in towns, and a higher rate in small and rural villages. An alternative measure of tax burden, property taxes as a percentage of median household income, is not related to the presence of seasonal homes in towns but is positively related in small and rural villages. Our findings for towns contradict the findings of an earlier study by Fritz (1982 ) that found that an increase in town property allocated to vacation homes was significantly associated with an increasing property tax rate, although our findings for villages supports his findings.     

Forecasting the New York State economy: The coincident and leading indicators approach

Currently there are no reliable summary indicators of the economic and fiscal condition of states and localities. This deficiency has hampered the efforts of policy makers at the sub-national level to monitor changes in the economic environment and predict how those changes will impact the fiscal health of governments. This paper attempts to fill this analytical vacuum by providing summary indicators of economic and fiscal health for New York State. The models developed are based on the single-index methodology developed by Stock and Watson [(1991). A probability model of the coincident economic indicators. In K. Lahiri and G. H. Moore (eds.), Leading economic indicators: new approaches and forecasting records (pp. 63–85). New York: Cambridge University Press]. This approach allows us to date New York business cycles and compare local cyclical behavior with the nation as a whole. We develop a leading index of economic indicators which predicts future movements in the coincident indicator. The Stock and Watson approach is used to create a fiscal indicator which acts as a summary indicator of revenue performance for New York. In addition, we explore the ability of our economic indicator series to predict future changes in state revenues. We find that changes in the leading indicator series have significant predictive power in forecasting changes in our revenue index.     

纽约的城市雕塑

当人们联想到一座没有去过的城市时 ,首先浮现在脑海的是早己被媒介宣传的代表这座城市的建筑以及介乎于建筑与艺术之间的那种被称之为“公共视觉艺术”的城市街头雕塑。在你倘佯在异国他乡的陌生街道上 ,带给你无比温馨与亲切的也是那些多姿多彩不期而遇的街头雕塑。在现代化的大都会城市 ,在线条与方块构成的“钢筋水泥森林”中 ,在人流和物欲互相拥挤的狭小的生活空间 ,如果缺少了街头雕塑 ,你会觉得这座城市是多么的索然寡味。因此在一座城市里 ,除了高楼大厦、车辆、道路以外 ,还必须注入更多的人文因素。街头雕塑 ,就是最能体现城市生…     

An analysis of the cost of providing ancillary services to skilled nursing facility patients in New York State

Currently, nursing homes can arrange for the provision of ancillary services either by providing the services directly, purchasing the services through contracts and fees, or by outside billings, in which the services are supplied by other providers who then bill Medicaid directly. Frequently, some combination of these three modes of provision is used for each ancillary service. The purpose of this study is to explore ancillary costs in a sample of nursing homes and to determine, to the extent possible, the most cost-efficient means of providing selected ancillary services (physical therapy, radiology and medical staff services). Prior to examining the impact of the mode of provision on cost levels, other facility and patient characteristics that might justifiably affect costs are identified and adjusted for. The results demonstrate that outside billing or purchasing services can be much less expensive than providing the services directly. It is suggested that all ancillary services (outside billings as well as services provided directly through contracts and fees) be included when facility-to-facility cost comparisons are made. This approach should serve as an incentive for nursing homes to seek the most cost-efficient means of providing ancillary services.     

The Ascendance of New York Fashion

This article examines the evolution of New York City from a low‐end, high‐volume apparel manufacturing hub to an international fashion capital. Drawing on evolutionary economic theories of path‐dependence, it argues that New York City's initial specialization in ready‐to‐wear apparel has shaped its subsequent development as a mass‐market oriented industry. At the same time, however, it shows how key institutional actors were able to alter the industry's course of development at critical historical junctures by nurturing and promoting their own local design talent. As such, the article's investigation into New York's ascendance as an international fashion center challenges the dominant interpretation of path‐dependence in regional development theory and practice. It contends that industries are not held captive to past choices and illustrates how an industry's origins can shape but not over‐determine its economic development trajectory. L'article examine l'évolution de la ville de New York, laquelle est passée d'un centre de manufacture industrielle de vêtements bas de gamme à une capitale internationale de la mode. En se basant sur les théories économiques évolutionnaires de path‐dependence, il affirme que la spécialisation initiale de New York dans le prêt‐à‐porter a modelé son évolution ultérieure vers une industrie de masse. Parallèlement, il montre toutefois comment des acteurs institutionnels clés ont modifié le cap de l'expansion industrielle à des moments historiques cruciaux en encourageant leurs talents de création locaux. Ce faisant, l'étude de la suprématie new‐yorkaise en tant que centre international de la mode défie l'interprétation dominante de la ‘dépendance de sentier’ dans la théorie et la pratique du développement régional. En effet, elle soutient que les secteurs d'activité ne sont pas prisonniers des choix passés, et illustre comment les origines d'une industrie peuvent influencer sa trajectoire d'expansion économique sans la déterminer irrésistiblement.     

“新农合”对农村居民耐用品消费的影响

本文利用中国营养健康调查（CHNS）数据,基于改进的Probit模型检验了新型农村合作医疗保险对农村居民耐用品消费的影响。研究发现：“新农合”能有效提高农村家庭的耐用品消费水平,且农村家庭上一期参保行为对耐用品消费的刺激作用更显著。另外,“新农合”对存在中、高健康风险居民的耐用品消费刺激作用明显,且上期参保行为对健康高风险居民的耐用品消费促进作用更强。