Negative Stereotypes and Willingness to Change Them: Testing Theories of Discrimination in South Africa

This paper proposes a new test to distinguish between the two leading theories of discrimination: preference versus information. Discrimination based on preferences occurs when people behave as if they refuse to change their stereotypes about the capabilities of discriminated individuals. Those who discriminate based on information are willing to alter their stereotypes. Using data from a quasi-experiment in South Africa, I test for discrimination against women and non-whites. The preliminary results show no discrimination against the former. In the case of racial discrimination, players' stereotypes benefit non-whites instead of white opponents, but they are reluctant to change their impression for the former. However, they are willing to change their initial impression about white opponents. This has severe implications about the permanency of affirmative action policies.

ASYMMETRIC PRICE ADJUSTMENTS AND BEHAVIOR UNDER RISK: EVIDENCE FROM PERUVIAN AGRICULTURAL MARKETS

Most studies measuring asymmetric adjustments in vertical price transmissions fail to provide empirical support to explain such behavior. The literature invokes theoretical models, which derive asymmetric behavior based on variables that are difficult to measure such as oligopolies' coordination policies, market imperfections or menu costs. Therefore, with no empirical support explaining the asymmetries, these studies leave no room for policy implementation. In this paper I relate asymmetric price responses to a theory of behavior under risk driven by the perishable rate of the goods. Retailers of a perishable good facing an increment in the wholesale price may decide not to increase their prices for fear of being left with a spoiled product. Using three agricultural products with different perishable rates I reject the null hypothesis of symmetric adjustments in the most perishable product but fail to reject for the less perishable goods. The nonlinear responses are consistent with the prediction of the model. The test for asymmetries uses a threshold cointegration technique where the threshold level and the cointegration vector are estimated from the data instead of being imposed by the econometrician.Risk and Uncertainty,

ARE INTRA-HOUSEHOLD ALLOCATIONS EFFICIENT?

This paper describes two problems when testing the efficiency of intra-household allocations. First, using Monte Carlo simulations I show that the test proposed for efficiency in consumption has a high type-II error, leading to a false acceptance of the hypothesis. Second, I show it is possible that even under asymmetric information the hypothesis of efficiency, incorrectly, cannot be rejected. Finally, I propose a test to account for asymmetric of information.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN U.S. CHEESE MANUFACTURING: A TRANSLOG COST ANALYSIS OF A PANEL OF CHEESE PLANTS

Over the last 20 years the cheese manufacturing sector has become the most important market for U.S. farm milk. Using a plant-level dataset encompassing the 1972-1997 period we examine the production characteristics of this industry. Using the results obtained from our cost function we estimate a series of measures of input substitutability and scale economies.Agribusiness,

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Immunoglobulin, glucocorticoid, or combination therapy for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a propensity-weighted cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a hyperinflammatory condition associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, has emerged as a serious illness in children worldwide. Immunoglobulin or glucocorticoids, or both, are currently recommended treatments. METHODS: The Best Available Treatment Study evaluated immunomodulatory treatments for MIS-C in an international observational cohort. Analysis of the first 614 patients was previously reported. In this propensity-weighted cohort study, clinical and outcome data from children with suspected or proven MIS-C were collected onto a web-based Research Electronic Data Capture database. After excluding neonates and incomplete or duplicate records, inverse probability weighting was used to compare primary treatments with intravenous immunoglobulin, intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, or glucocorticoids alone, using intravenous immunoglobulin as the reference treatment. Primary outcomes were a composite of inotropic or ventilator support from the second day after treatment initiation, or death, and time to improvement on an ordinal clinical severity scale. Secondary outcomes included treatment escalation, clinical deterioration, fever, and coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN69546370. FINDINGS: We enrolled 2101 children (aged 0 months to 19 years) with clinically diagnosed MIS-C from 39 countries between June 14, 2020, and April 25, 2022, and, following exclusions, 2009 patients were included for analysis (median age 8·0 years [IQR 4·2-11·4], 1191 [59·3%] male and 818 [40·7%] female, and 825 [41·1%] White). 680 (33·8%) patients received primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin, 698 (34·7%) with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, 487 (24·2%) with glucocorticoids alone; 59 (2·9%) patients received other combinations, including biologicals, and 85 (4·2%) patients received no immunomodulators. There were no significant differences between treatments for primary outcomes for the 1586 patients with complete baseline and outcome data that were considered for primary analysis. Adjusted odds ratios for ventilation, inotropic support, or death were 1·09 (95% CI 0·75-1·58; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids and 0·93 (0·58-1·47; corrected p value=1·00) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Adjusted average hazard ratios for time to improvement were 1·04 (95% CI 0·91-1·20; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, and 0·84 (0·70-1·00; corrected p value=0·22) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Treatment escalation was less frequent for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids (OR 0·15 [95% CI 0·11-0·20]; p<0·0001) and glucocorticoids alone (0·68 [0·50-0·93]; p=0·014) versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Persistent fever (from day 2 onward) was less common with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids compared with either intravenous immunoglobulin alone (OR 0·50 [95% CI 0·38-0·67]; p<0·0001) or glucocorticoids alone (0·63 [0·45-0·88]; p=0·0058). Coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution did not differ significantly between treatment groups. INTERPRETATION: Recovery rates, including occurrence and resolution of coronary artery aneurysms, were similar for primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin when compared to glucocorticoids or intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids. Initial treatment with glucocorticoids appears to be a safe alternative to immunoglobulin or combined therapy, and might be advantageous in view of the cost and limited availability of intravenous immunoglobulin in many countries. FUNDING: Imperial College London, the European Union's Horizon 2020, Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Foundation, UK National Institute for Health and Care Research, and National Institutes of Health

ASYMMETRIC PRICE ADJUSTMENTS AND BEHAVIOR UNDER RISK: EVIDENCE FROM PERUVIAN AGRICULTURAL MARKETS

Most studies measuring asymmetric adjustments in vertical price transmissions fail to provide empirical support to explain such behavior. The literature invokes theoretical models, which derive asymmetric behavior based on variables that are difficult to measure such as oligopolies' coordination policies, market imperfections or menu costs. Therefore, with no empirical support explaining the asymmetries, these studies leave no room for policy implementation. In this paper I relate asymmetric price responses to a theory of behavior under risk driven by the perishable rate of the goods. Retailers of a perishable good facing an increment in the wholesale price may decide not to increase their prices for fear of being left with a spoiled product. Using three agricultural products with different perishable rates I reject the null hypothesis of symmetric adjustments in the most perishable product but fail to reject for the less perishable goods. The nonlinear responses are consistent with the prediction of the model. The test for asymmetries uses a threshold cointegration technique where the threshold level and the cointegration vector are estimated from the data instead of being imposed by the econometrician

Negative Stereotypes and Willingness to Change Them: Testing Theories of Discrimination in South Africa

This paper proposes a new test to distinguish between the two leading theories of discrimination: preference versus information. Discrimination based on preferences occurs when people behave as if they refuse to change their stereotypes about the capabilities of discriminated individuals. Those who discriminate based on information are willing to alter their stereotypes. Using data from a quasi-experiment in South Africa, I test for discrimination against women and non-whites. The preliminary results show no discrimination against the former. In the case of racial discrimination, players' stereotypes benefit non-whites instead of white opponents, but they are reluctant to change their impression for the former. However, they are willing to change their initial impression about white opponents. This has severe implications about the permanency of affirmative action policies

ARE INTRA-HOUSEHOLD ALLOCATIONS EFFICIENT?

This paper describes two problems when testing the efficiency of intra-household allocations. First, using Monte Carlo simulations I show that the test proposed for efficiency in consumption has a high type-II error, leading to a false acceptance of the hypothesis. Second, I show it is possible that even under asymmetric information the hypothesis of efficiency, incorrectly, cannot be rejected. Finally, I propose a test to account for asymmetric of information

Long-term Effect of Climate Change on Health: Evidence from Heat Waves in Mexico

This paper uses year-to-year variation in temperature to estimate the long-term effects of climate change on health outcomes in Mexico. Combining temperature data at the district level and three rounds of nationally representative household surveys,an individual’s health as an adult is matched with the history of heat waves from birth to adulthood. A flexible econometric model is used to the identification of critical health periods with respect to temperature. It is shown that exposure to higher temperatures early in life has negative consequences on adult height. Most importantly,the effects are concentrated at the times where children experience growth spurts: infancy and adolescence. The robustness of these findings is confirmed when using health outcomes derived from accidents,which are uncorrelated to early exposure to high temperatures