Integral-Value Models for Outcomes over Continuous Time

Models of preferences between outcomes over continuous time are important for individual, corporate, and social decision making, e.g., medical treatment, infrastructure development, and environmental regulation. This paper presents a foundation for such models. It shows that conditions on preferences between real- or vector-valued outcomes over continuous time are satisfied if and only if the preferences are represented by a value function having an integral form.continuous time; discounting; ordinal utility scale; value function; integral

Preferences Between Continuous Streams of Events

Cost-benefit and health policy studies often model a consequence occurring over time as a continuous stream of events. Such a consequence is measured by the rates at which events occur or by the states that occur, and the value of the consequence is measured by an integral. This paper presents a foundation for such models. It defines conditions on preferences between consequences that are equivalent to an integral value function having a discounting function and an intertemporal equity function.discounting; equity; continuous time; value function; evaluation

Cardinal Scales for Public Health Evaluation

Policy studies often evaluate health for a population by summing the individuals’ health as measured by a scale that is ordinal or that depends on risk attitudes. We develop a method using a different type of preferences, called preference intensity or cardinal preferences, to construct scales that measure changes in health. The method is based on a social welfare model that relates preferences between changes in an individual’s health to preferences between changes in health for a population.public health evaluation; social welfare; preference intensity; health state

Discounting Models for Outcomes over Continuous Time

Events that occur over a period of time can be described either as sequences of outcomes at discrete times or as functions of outcomes in an interval of time. This paper presents discounting models for events of the latter type. Conditions on preferences are shown to be satisfied if and only if the preferences are represented by a function that is an integral of a discounting function times a scale defined on outcomes at instants of time.continuous time; integral discounting; integral value or utility function

Preferences Between Continuous Streams of Events

Cost-benefit and health policy studies often model a consequence occurring over time as a continuous stream of events. Such a consequence is measured by the rates at which events occur or by the states that occur, and the value of the consequence is measured by an integral. This paper presents a foundation for such models. It defines conditions on preferences between consequences that are equivalent to an integral value function having a discounting function and an intertemporal equity function

Ordinal Welfare Comparisons with Multiple Discrete Indicators: A First Order Dominance Approach and Application to Child Poverty

We develop an ordinal method for making welfare comparisons between populations with multidimensional discrete well-being indicators observed at the micro level. The approach assumes that, for each well-being indicator, the levels can be ranked from worse to better; however, no assumptions are made about relative importance of any dimension nor about complementarity/substitutability relationships between dimensions. The method is based on the concept of multidimensional first order dominance. We introduce a rapid and reliable algorithm for empirically determining whether one population dominates another on the basis of available binary indicators by drawing upon linear programming theory. These approaches are applied to household survey data from Vietnam and Mozambique with a focus on child poverty comparisons over time and between regions.

Effects of food price shocks on child malnutrition:The Mozambican experience 2008/2009

AbstractA propitiously timed household survey carried out in Mozambique over the period 2008/2009 permits us to study the relationship between shifts in food prices and child nutrition status in a low income setting. We focus on weight-for-height and weight-for-age in different survey quarters characterized by very different food price inflation rates. Using propensity score matching techniques, we find that these nutrition measures, which are sensitive in the short run, improve significantly in the fourth quarter of the survey, when the inflation rate for basic food products is low, compared to the first semester or three quarters, when food price inflation was generally high. The prevalence of underweight, in particular, falls by about 40 percent. We conclude that the best available evidence points to food penury, driven by the food and fuel price crisis combined with a short agricultural production year, as substantially increasing malnutrition amongst under-five children in Mozambique

Ordinal Welfare Comparisons with Multiple Discrete Indicators:A First Order Dominance Approach and Application to Child Poverty

Abstract: We develop an ordinal method for making welfare comparisons between populations with multidimensional discrete well-being indicators observed at the micro level. The approach assumes that, for each well-being indicator, the levels can be ranked from worse to better; however, no assumptions are made about relative importance of any dimension nor about complementarity/substitutability relationships between dimensions. The method is based on the concept of multidimensional first order dominance. We introduce a rapid and reliable algorithm for empirically determining whether one population dominates another on the basis of available binary indicators by drawing upon linear programming theory. These approaches are applied to household survey data from Vietnam and Mozambique with a focus on child poverty comparisons over time and between regions