The Impact of Sovereign Credit Ratings on Corporations: A Literature Review and Research Recommendations

During the financial crisis, sovereign ratings have come under increased public scrutiny due to their strong impact on sovereign borrowing costs and hence financial stability of countries. However, their influence on corporations within and outside the respective nations has so far attracted only limited attention, although several academics have provided intriguing insights in this regard. In order to obtain a structured overview of this relatively young strand of research, this paper reviews key insights and conclusions that the extant literature offers on the role of sovereign creditworthiness for corporations. Herein, it focuses on the effects that have been observed for the corporate business environment, access to capital, and foreign investment activities. Different research issues providing fertile ground for future studies are identified.     

Consumer Religiosity: Consequences for Consumer Activism in the United States

In recent times, organizations have experienced consumer backlash as a result of decisions to support controversial causes. To date, little research has attempted to explain consumers’ negative response as a function of religion. This study addresses that gap in the literature and examines consumer religious commitment and Christian consumers’ conservative beliefs in the United States as motivating factors for consumer activist behavior and boycott participation. Findings from a national sample of 531 consumers suggest that consumers evaluate seller’s actions and form ethical judgments. These judgments are a major explanatory variable in consumers’ voice complaints, third-party complaint intentions, and boycott intentions.     

A comparison of treatment patterns,healthcare resource utilization,and costs among young adult Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia treated with paliperidone palmitate or oral atypical antipsychotics in the US

Abstract

Background: Much of the burden associated with schizophrenia is attributed to its early onset and chronic nature. Treatment with once monthly paliperidone palmitate (PP1M) is associated with lower healthcare utilization and better adherence as compared to oral atypical antipsychotics (OAAs). This study aimed to evaluate real-world effectiveness of PP1M and OAA therapies among US-based adult Medicaid patients with schizophrenia, overall and among young adults aged 18–35 years.

Methods: Adult patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and at least two claims for PP1M or OAA between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2014 were selected from the IBM Watson Health MarketScan Medicaid Database. Treatment patterns and healthcare resource utilization and costs were compared between PP1M and OAA treatment groups following inverse probability of treatment (IPT) weighting to adjust for potential differences. Utilization and cost outcomes were estimated using OLS and weighted Poisson regression models.

Results: After IPT weighting, the young adult PP1M and OAA cohorts were comprised of 3,095 and 3,155 patients, respectively. PP1M patients had a higher duration of continuous treatment exposure (168.2 vs 132.5 days, p?=?.004) and better adherence on the index medication (proportion of days covered ≥80%: 19.0% vs 17.1%, p?<?.049). Young adults treated with PP1M were 37% less likely to have an all-cause inpatient admission (odds ratio [OR]?=?0.63, 95% confidence interval [CI]?=?0.53–0.74) and 33% less likely to have an ER visit (OR?=?0.67, 95% CI?=?0.55–0.81) compared to OAA young adult patients, but 27% more likely to have an all-cause outpatient office visit (OR?=?1.27, 95% CI?=?1.02–1.56). PP1M patients incurred significantly lower medical costs as compared to OAA patients.

Conclusions: Medicaid patients with schizophrenia treated with PP1M have higher medication adherence and have fewer hospitalizations as compared to patients treated with OAAs. PP1M may lead to reduced healthcare utilization and improved clinical outcomes.     

Rent-seeking under a weak institutional environment

This paper investigates the role of the institutional environment on economic performance when the state intervenes to correct market failure. Results demonstrate that in the presence of weak institutions rent-seeking plays a crucial role for achieving second best resources allocation.