A More Generalizable Method to Evaluate Changes in Health Care Costs with Changes in Health Risks Among Employers of All Sizes

The objective of this study was to estimate the association between changes in health care expenditures relative to changes in health risk status for employers of all sizes. Repeat health risk assessments (HRAs) were obtained from 50,005 employees and spouses with 2 years of health plan enrollment, and from 37,559 employees and spouses with 3 years of enrollment in employer-sponsored medical coverage. Changes in health care expenditures were measured from the year before completion of the first HRA to the years before and after the completion of the second HRA. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for those who did not repeat the HRA so results could be extrapolated to the larger population. Propensity score weighted multiple regression analyses were used to estimate the relationship between changes in health care expenditures with changes in risk status for 9 risk categories. Significantly higher health care expenditures were associated with those who moved from low risk to medium or high risk, compared to those who remained low risk. Expenditure reductions estimated for those who improved their health status from high risk to medium or low risk were not statistically significant. This study is unique because of its large sample size, its use of data from a wide range of employer sizes, and its efforts to extend generalizability to those who did not complete both HRAs. These results demonstrate that the potential for short-term health care savings may be greater for programs that help maintain low risk than for programs focused on risk reduction. (Population Health Management 2014;17:297?305)Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140183/1/pop.2013.0103.pd

Empirical model based on meteorological parameters to estimate the global solar radiation in Nepal

Solar radiation is the best option and cost effective energy resources of this globe. Only a few stations are there in developing and under developed countries including Nepal to monitor solar radiation and sunshine hours to generate a rational and accurate solar energy database. In this study, daily global solar radiation, and ubiquitous meteorological data (temperature and relative humidity) rather than rarely available sunshine hours have been used for Biratnagar, Kathmandu, Pokhara and Jumla to derive regression constants and hence to develop an empirical model. The model estimated global solar radiation is found to be in close agreement with measured values of respective sites. The estimated values were compared with Angstrom-Prescott model and examined using the statistical tools. Thus, the linear regression technique can be used to develop model at any location in the world. The resultant model may then be used to estimate the missing data of solar radiation for the respective sites and also can be used to estimate global solar radiation for the locations of similar geographic and meteorological characteristic. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/bibechana.v11i0.10376   BIBECHANA 11(1) (2014) 25-3

Gender Perspectives on Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in India: Study across SAT Villages

This policy brief presents the key findings and policy suggestions on gender aspects of implementation of MGNREGS in dryland region of India. This is based on the recent study across 10 villages in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Nearly 30% of the total 490 women respondents surveyed indicated that they used the wage income from MGNREGS towards meeting daily consumption needs, while 20% reported using the wage income for meeting the expenses towards education of children and meeting health needs of the household. By and large, about 70% of the respondents also observed that their status in the household and the community had increased after working in MGNRGS and securing equal wage payments

Gender Impact of MGNREGA: Evidence from 10 Selected Semi-Arid Tropics (SAT) Villages in India

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarrentee Act (MGNREGA) aims to provide 100 days of work to a household in rural area who is willing to do manual work and deamdns for such work from the local government. The programme involves flexible working hour and payment on ‘piece rate’ basis which will further help women to particpate, after attending their routine household chores. Not suprisingly, the extent of participation of women in MGNREGA rose to 50% during 2011, with many states showing an overwhelming response of more than 90% for women. The present study is based on the filed work of 10 villages in semi-arid areas from Gujarat, Mahrashtra and Madhya Pradesh states of India, which involves in total of 484 women from 326 households, who had particpated in MGNREGA work at least once between 2006-13, spread across the three states. The results shows the women acknowledges positive impact of the programme on themselves and their households in various aspects. Many also opened their bank account first time after involving in the MGNREGA work. Women reported that the aditional income has helped them and their household to increase food consumption, improvement in social standing for their household, as well as their own status in the household. It helped them to support education of their children and meet health care needs of their own and their households. The benefits from the assets created under the programme were also helpful in improving ground water level and increasing the greeney in the villages they live, which also positively impacted both women and men and also to non-partiipatory households, as well. However concerns were raised over declinging oppartunity for work under the programme in many of the villages surveyed, lack of measures to ensure particpation of women in gramsabhas to decide about the projects to be undertaken, low wage rate than the statutory fixed minnimim wage rate, and increasing additonal burden of work on women as they have to take care of their household chrous, as well. Many women are hardly aware about their share in the amount received by the household from the programme and many of them do not own the money. Still, many of the women respondents who we interviewed want the programme to be strenthened and expanded. They want the duration of work to be increased with better wages, similar to what prevails in agriculture in their respective villages

Empirical model based on meteorological parameters to estimate the global solar radiation in Nepal

Solar radiation is the best option and cost effective energy resources of this globe. Only a few stations are there in developing and under developed countries including Nepal to monitor solar radiation and sunshine hours to generate a rational and accurate solar energy database. In this study, daily global solar radiation, and ubiquitous meteorological data (temperature and relative humidity) rather than rarely available sunshine hours have been used for Biratnagar, Kathmandu, Pokhara and Jumla to derive regression constants and hence to develop an empirical model. The model estimated global solar radiation is found to be in close agreement with measured values of respective sites. The estimated values were compared with Angstrom-Prescott model and examined using the statistical tools. Thus, the linear regression technique can be used to develop model at any location in the world. The resultant model may then be used to estimate the missing data of solar radiation for the respective sites and also can be used to estimate global solar radiation for the locations of similar geographic and meteorological characteristic. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/bibechana.v11i0.10376   BIBECHANA 11(1) (2014) 25-3

Weather Risk and Cropping Intensity: A Non-Stationary and Dynamic Panel Modeling Approach

Climatic conditions and weather play an important role in production agriculture. Using district level panels for 42 years from India and dynamic panel estimation procedure we estimate the impact of weather risk on cropping intensity. Our non-stationary and dynamic panel model results suggest that the impact of weather risk on cropping intensity, in rural India, is negative on short run, while it is positive on long run. Additionally, we found a negative effect of education on cropping intensity. Finally, in the long run, our results indicate positive effects of high yielding variety production and share of irrigated land on cropping intensity

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) Programme in India - A Review of Studies on Performance Outcomes and Implications on Sustainable Livelihoods across States

This report is a detailed compilation of the status of implementation and performance outcomes of MGNREGA in India, as emerge from a critical review of the selected relevant literature (from the number of existing literature on the same brought out by researchers from different disciplines, policy makers and civil society organizations working at the grass root level. The dynamism cast by the implementation of MGNREGA in India, as argued by majority of stakeholders has been quite encouraging as evident from the burgeoning size of empirical studies examining the status and outcomes of implementation and performance of the programme, both at micro and meso level. The programme is now implemented for past eight years and become integral part of social safety net for the large part of the population living in rural areas. Though over the years budgetary provision for the programme is increasing in monetary terms; many of the performance parameters of the programme has shown either stagnation or decline in recent years; of course with varying experience from across the states and districts within it. It is not surprising the questions are asked about the continuing of the programme itself in it’s present form with such a huge fiscal commitment..

MGNREGS in the Context of Recent Changes in Rural India: Learning from Selected States

Despite growing double digit level of annual growth for the last one and half decades, the lack of regular employment and mass prevalence of under employment is still a major factor of persistent rural poverty and vulnerability in India, especially among certain ethnic communities and in rural hinterlands. In 2006, the Government of India implemented the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) to address the growing rural distress and vulnerabilities. Based on synthesis of research findings and several case studies across the states of India that were presented at the national workshop on MGNREGS organized in Ahmadabad on 10-11 December 2013, this policy brief summarizes the key messages and policy level challenges emerge while improvingthe performances of the MGNREGS program. The employment guarantee schemes like MGNREGS have provided meaningful employment to the poor and vulnerable sections of the society. In many respect, the scheme is successful in bringing marginalized sections and women to mainstream labour force, reducing vulnerability in rural areas, and in integrating a vast section of neglected rural population to formal financial institutions like banks and postal offices saving schemes, especially of rural agricultural labor forces of women and backward communities. The implementation of MGNREGS in areas with higher agricultural wage seems a problem due to better opportunities for labor in other sectors of the economy than the MGNREGS work activities. Therefore, better targeting of the schemes to backward districts and in those rural areas where seasonal unemployment is rampant, and where overall agricultural wage rate is at staggering low level for a long time. Likewise, better convergence of the MGNREGS activities at the community level with the other on-going rural development and livelihood improvement activities will provide better synergy effects of the programs and high impact on the ground in terms of long term livelihood improvement, and long-run sustainability of the program activitie

Employment Guarantee Programme and Dynamics of Rural Transformation in India: Challenges and Opportunities

This book offers an assessment of the performance, impact, and welfare implications of the world’s largest employment guarantee programme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Launched by the Indian government, the programme covers entire rural area of the country. The book presents various micro-level analyses of the programme and its heterogeneous impacts at different scales, almost a decade after its implementation. While there are some doubts over the future of the scheme as well as its magnitude, nature and content, the central government appears committed to it, as a ‘convergence scheme’ of various other welfare and rural development programmes being implemented at both national and state level. The book discusses the outcomes of the programme and offers critical insights into the lessons learnt, not only in the context of India, but also for similar schemes in countries in South and South-East Asia as well as in Africa, and Latin America. Adopting inter-disciplinary perspectives in analysing these issues, this unique book uses a judicious mix of methods---integrating quantitative and qualitative tools---and will be an invaluable resource for analysts, NGOs, policymakers and academics alike

Nitrous oxide emissions from a commercial cornfield (Zea mays) measured using the eddy covariance technique

Increases in observed atmospheric concentrations of the long-lived greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) have been well documented. However, information on event-related instantaneous emissions during fertilizer applications is lacking. With the development of fast-response N2O analyzers, the eddy covariance (EC) technique can be used to gather instantaneous measurements of N2O concentrations to quantify the exchange of nitrogen between the soil and atmosphere. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the performance of a new EC system, to measure the N2O flux with the system, and finally to examine relationships of the N2O flux with soil temperature, soil moisture, precipitation, and fertilization events. An EC system was assembled with a sonic anemometer and a fast-response N2O analyzer (quantum cascade laser spectrometer) and applied in a cornfield in Nolensville, Tennessee during the 2012 corn growing season (4 April–8 August). Fertilizer amounts totaling 217 kg N ha−1 were applied to the experimental site. Results showed that this N2O EC system provided reliable N2O flux measurements. The cumulative emitted N2O amount for the entire growing season was 6.87 kg N2O-N ha−1. Seasonal fluxes were highly dependent on soil moisture rather than soil temperature. This study was one of the few experiments that continuously measured instantaneous, high-frequency N2O emissions in crop fields over a growing season of more than 100 days