An assessment of the impact of EU funds through productivity boosts using CES functions

The economic effects of European Funds on recipient countries are not without controversy. We propose to study this issue focusing on the productivity coefficients of CES production functions in a multisectoral, interdependent general equilibrium model. We adopt the calibration techniques typically used in computational general equilibrium modelling to estimate a numerical improvement in the productivity coefficients of the CES functions. The array of different funds belongs to two broad categories associated with the two types of primary factors, labour and capital, that determine the output. Once we estimate the change in productivity coefficients in labour and in capital, we introduce them into a computable general equilibrium model and simulate their effects, all else being equal, in order to quantify their likely economy-wide effects.     

The economic burden of uncontrolled gout: how controlling gout reduces cost

Aim: To evaluate the burden of uncontrolled gout by examining estimated costs and cost drivers.

Materials and methods: Data from the 2012 and 2013?US National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS; 2012 NHWS, n?=?71,157 and 2013 NHWS, n?=?75,000) were utilized in this study. Based on self-reported gout diagnosis and gout symptoms, respondents were categorized into three groups: controlled gout (n?=?344), uncontrolled gout (n?=?2,215), and non-gout controls (n?=?126,360). Chi-square tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVAs) were used to assess group differences on work productivity loss, healthcare resource utilization, and costs. Zero-inflated negative binomial regressions were used to assess the burden of uncontrolled gout on total costs after controlling for covariates.

Results: Patients with uncontrolled gout had higher presenteeism, overall work impairment, activity impairment, and number of emergency department visits than those with controlled gout or controls. Overall, uncontrolled gout patients had both higher indirect and total costs compared to patients with controlled gout. After controlling for confounders, those with uncontrolled gout had higher total costs than controlled gout respondents and non-gout controls; there was no significant difference in total costs between patients with controlled gout and non-gout controls.

Limitations: Results were based on cross-sectional, self-reported data, making causal inferences more uncertain. Additionally, sample size was small for controlled-gout respondents. Lastly, sampling weights were not used, thus potentially limiting generalizability.

Conclusion: Gout can be an expensive condition, particularly if it is not properly controlled. This study provides support that controlling symptoms (e.g. flares) can reduce the economic and societal burden of gout. Therefore, more attention needs to be paid to effective management of gout symptoms.     

Health-related quality-of-life,work productivity,and economic burden among patients with Parkinson’s disease in Japan

Abstract

Aims: This study aimed to characterize the burden of Parkinson’s disease (PD) by examining health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL), impairments to work productivity and daily activities, healthcare resource use, and associated costs among Japanese patients with PD.

Materials and methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study used data from the 2009–2014 Japan National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS) (n?=?144,692). HRQoL (Short Form 36-Item Health Survey version 2), impairments to work productivity and daily activities (Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire), healthcare resource utilization, and annual costs were compared between respondents with PD (n?=?133) and controls without PD (n?=?144,559). The effect of PD on outcomes was estimated using propensity score weighting and multivariable regression models.

Results: HRQoL was lower in patients with PD compared to the control group, with reduced physical (41.3 vs 51.3) and mental (35.7 vs 45.4) component summary scores and health state utility scores (0.62 vs 0.77; p?<?.001 for all). Patients with PD also reported higher levels of absenteeism (19.3% vs 3.3%), presenteeism (45.2% vs 18.5%), overall work impairment (52.8% vs 20.3%), and activity impairment (49.6% vs 20.8%) than controls without PD (p?<?.001 for all). In addition, patients with PD had higher healthcare resource utilization, direct (¥3,856,921/$37,994 vs ¥715,289/$7,046), and indirect (¥2,573,938/$25,356 vs ¥902,534/$8,891) costs compared with controls without PD (p?<?.001 for both).

Limitations: Data were cross-sectional and did not allow for causal inferences. Although the NHWS demographically represents the Japanese adult population, it is unclear whether it adequately represents the adult population with PD in Japan.

Conclusions: PD was associated with poorer HRQoL, greater work productivity loss, and higher direct and indirect costs. The findings suggest that an unmet need exists among patients with PD in Japan. Improving PD treatment and management could benefit both patients and society.     

THE ROLE OF SUPPLY CONSTRAINTS IN MULTIPLIER ANALYSIS

Multiplier analysis based upon the information contained in Leontief's inverse is undoubtedly part of the core of the input–output methodology and numerous applications and extensions have been developed that exploit its informational content, both at the national and regional levels. Nonetheless there are some implicit theoretical assumptions whose policy implications need to be assessed. This is the case for the ‘excess capacity’ assumption, which implies that resources are available as needed to adjust production to new equilibrium states. In an actual economy, however, new resources are often scarce and always costly. When supply constraints intervene, the assessment of the effects of government demand policies may be substantially different from that of the standard Leontief multiplier matrix. Using a closed general equilibrium model that incorporates supply constraints, we perform some simple numerical exercises and proceed to derive two ‘constrained’ multiplier matrices, based upon the implicit Jacobian matrix, that can be compared with the standard ‘unconstrained’ Leontief matrix.     

Power sharing and electoral equilibrium

This paper considers a model of (consensual) democracy where political parties engage first in electoral competition, and they share policy-making power afterward according with the votes gathered in the election. The paper uncovers the difficulties to guarantee stability in this institutional setting; and it provides a condition of symmetry on parties’ political motivations that ensures the existence of pure strategy equilibrium under a broad family of power sharing rules, ranging from fully proportional to winner-take-all. The equilibrium analysis shows that power sharing and ideology exert a centrifugal force on policy platforms that increases party polarization, with the paradoxical result that consensual democracies can actually lead to more radical electoral campaigns than winner-take-all.     

Examining the association of smoking with work productivity and associated costs in Japan

Aims: Smoking is associated with significant health and economic burden globally, including an increased risk of many leading causes of mortality and significant impairments in work productivity. This burden is attenuated by successful tobacco cessation, including reduced risk of disease and improved productivity. The current study aimed to show the benefits of smoking cessation for workplace productivity and decreased costs associated with loss of work impairment.

Materials and methods: The data source was the 2011 Japan National Health and Wellness Survey (n?=?30,000). Respondents aged 20–64 were used in the analyses (n?=?23,738) and were categorized into: current smokers, former smokers, and never smokers. Generalized linear models controlling for demographics and health characteristics examined the relationship of smoking status with the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire (WPAI-GH) endpoints, as well as estimated indirect costs.

Results: Current smokers reported the greatest overall work impairment, including absenteeism (i.e. work time missed) and presenteeism (i.e. impairment while at work); however, after controlling for covariates, there were no significant differences between former smokers and never smokers on overall work impairment. Current smokers and former smokers had greater activity impairment (i.e. impairment in daily activities) than never smokers. Current smokers reported the highest indirect costs (i.e. costs associated with work impairment); however, after controlling for covariates, there were no significant differences between former smokers and never smokers on indirect costs.

Limitations and conclusions: Smoking exerts a large health and economic burden; however, smoking cessation attenuates this burden. The current study provides important further evidence of this association, with former smokers appearing statistically indistinguishable from never smokers in terms of work productivity loss and associated indirect costs among a large representative sample of Japanese workers. This report highlights the workplace benefits of smoking cessation across productivity markers and cost-savings.     

Determinants of website traffic: the case of European fashion apparel retailers

The globalization process together with the extraordinary growth in the use of Internet offer firms new growth opportunities. Retail firms are using a multichannel approach, involving the Internet, in their internationalization strategies. Website traffic as measured by unique users and online awareness is among the measures for assessing the success of the online channel. There is little evidence, however, linking website traffic and the characteristics of the retail multichannel internationalization process. In order to fill this gap, this paper analyses the factors explaining the retailer's international website traffic. Website traffic data for a sample of European fashion apparel retailers are modelled as dependent on characteristics of the organization and of its physical and virtual internationalization strategy. Following the results of several linear regression models, we infer the complementarity of online and offline channels in the international operation, as well as the contribution of social networks as traffic generators.     

University spillovers and new business location in high-technology sectors: Spanish evidence

This paper examines the relationship between knowledge spillovers from universities and new business location in high-technology sectors. We focus on the contribution to new business formation through spillovers stemming from three main university outputs: knowledge-based graduates, research activities, and technological knowledge. We construct a new dataset with information on 604 companies and 63 universities in Spain and group the data across 36 geographical areas from 2001 to 2004 (144 observations). After controlling for several traditional cost factors and agglomeration characteristics, we find that university spillovers are relevant in explaining the location of new businesses in high-technology sectors in Spain. Further, our analysis draws attention to the relevance of graduates as the main source of spillovers, while research activities and university technology do not have significant effects.     

Antecedents and consequences of external risk perception in franchising: evidence from the hospitality industry

In this article, we contribute to the understanding of the role that external risk perceptions play in decisions regarding the combination of company-owned and franchised units in the hospitality industry, and to knowledge of the impact of specific CEO characteristics on perceptions of environmental uncertainty. We examine the effects of tenure, an entrepreneurial nature and the innovative attitude of the CEO on the perception of external risk, and address the direct and indirect consequences of such perceptions of external risk on the configuration of the network of outlets. Our results show a significant relationship between the characteristics of the CEO and the perception of risk but, contrary to expectations, risk perception is associated with a lower degree of franchised outlets within the ownership mix.