The use of income information of census enumeration area as a proxy for the household income in a household survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Some of the Census Enumeration Areas' (CEA) information may help planning the sample of population studies but it can also be used for some analyses that require information that is more difficult to obtain at the individual or household level, such as income. This paper verifies if the income information of CEA can be used as a proxy for household income in a household survey.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A population-based survey conducted from January to December 2003 obtained data from a probabilistic sample of 1,734 households of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Uniform semi-association models were adjusted in order to obtain information about the agreement/disagreement structure of data. The distribution of nutritional status categories of the population of Niterói according to income quintiles was performed using both CEA- and household-level income measures and then compared using Wald statistics for homogeneity. Body mass index was calculated using body mass and stature data measured in the households and then used to define nutritional status categories according to the World Health Organization. All estimates and statistics were calculated accounting for the structural information of the sample design and a significance level lower than 5% was adopted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The classification of households in the quintiles of household income was associated with the classification of these households in the quintiles of CEA income. The distribution of the nutritional status categories in all income quintiles did not differ significantly according to the source of income information (household or CEA) used in the definition of quintiles.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The structure of agreement/disagreement between quintiles of the household's monthly per capita income and quintiles of the head-of-household's mean nominal monthly income of the CEA, as well as the results produced by these measures when they were associated with the nutritional status of the population, showed that the CEA's income information can be used when income information at the individual or household levels is not available.</p

Agent-Based Modeling of a Non-tâtonnement Process for the Scarf Economy: The Role of Learning

In this paper, we propose a meta-learning model to hierarchically integrate individual learning and social learning schemes. This meta-learning model is incorporated into an agent-based model to show that Herbert Scarf’s famous counterexample on Walrasian stability can become stable in some cases under a non-tâtonnement process when both learning schemes are involved, a result previously obtained by Herbert Gintis. However, we find that the stability of the competitive equilibrium depends on how individuals learn—whether they are innovators (individual learners) or imitators (social learners), and their switching frequency (mobility) between the two. We show that this endogenous behavior, apart from the initial population of innovators, is mainly determined by the agents’ intensity of choice. This study grounds the Walrasian competitive equilibrium based on the view of a balanced resource allocation between exploitation and exploration. This balance, achieved through a meta-learning model, is shown to be underpinned by a behavioral/psychological characteristic

Associação entre o estado nutricional antropométrico e a situação sócio-econômica de adolescentes em Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil Association between anthropometric nutritional status and socioeconomic conditions among adolescents in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Investigou-se a relação entre o estado nutricional e a situação sócio-econômica familiar de adolescentes moradores de Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Os dados de 523 adolescentes, pertencentes a uma amostra probabilística de 1.734 domicílios, foram coletados entre janeiro e dezembro de 2003 e representam os 71.922 jovens residentes em Niterói. As análises incluíram a estimação de intervalos de confiança de razões de prevalência e testes de distribuições proporcionais e de independência entre classes de estado nutricional e classes de renda familiar per capita e as faixas de número de moradores do domicílio. Foi encontrada uma associação positiva significativa entre baixo peso/magreza e o número de moradores do domicílio (sexo masculino: p < 0,05; sexo feminino: p < 0,001). O número de moradores do domicílio encontra-se diretamente associado ao baixo peso/magreza em adolescentes. Foi evidenciada uma tendência positiva de aumento na proporção de adolescentes com sobrepeso/obesidade segundo os quintos de renda familiar per capita.<br>This study focused on the relationship between nutritional and socioeconomic status among adolescents in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Data from 523 adolescents living in 1,734 households were collected from January to December 2003, from a total of 71,922 adolescents living in Niterói. Subjects were selected through a probabilistic household sample. The analyses included the estimation of confidence intervals for prevalence ratios and proportional distributions and independence tests between categories of nutritional status and per capita family income and number of residents per household. There was a significant positive association between underweight/thinness and number of residents in the same household (male: p < 0.05; female: p < 0.001). Number of residents in the same household was positively associated with prevalence of underweight/thinness in adolescents. Overweight/obesity was positively associated with per capita family income

Influence of different body mass index cut-off values in assessing the nutritional status of adolescents in a household survey Influência de distintos valores críticos do índice de massa corporal na avaliação do estado nutricional de adolescentes em inquérito domiciliar

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anthropometric nutritional status of the adolescent population of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, and the influence of changes in the adopted body mass index (BMI) cut-offs in the nutritional status assessment of the adolescent population. A population-based survey conducted in 2003 obtained data from a probabilistic sample of 1,734 households and 523 adolescents. The multiple proportions test and prevalence ratios were used to analyze differences between estimates obtained from different BMI cut-offs. Changes in cut-off values from the old to the new recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) resulted in a significant increase in overweight prevalence among total, male and female adolescent population (25%, 27% and 23%, respectively) (p < 0.05). There were significant increases in the prevalence of low-BMI-for-age among the total (29% increase) and male (39%) adolescent populations when the proposal of the International Obesity Task Force was compared to current WHO BMI-for-age cut-offs (p < 0.05). It is shown that a simple change in cut-off values used to define the anthropometric nutritional status can significantly modify the nutritional profile of an adolescent population.<br>Este artigo tem por objetivo avaliar o estado nutricional antropométrico da população adolescente residente em Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, bem como a influência das mudanças nos valores críticos de índice de massa corporal (IMC) na avaliação do estado nutricional dessa população. Uma pesquisa amostral probabilística de base populacional conduzida em 2003 obteve dados de 1.734 domicílios e 523 adolescentes. Testes para múltiplas proporções e razões de prevalência foram utilizados para analisar as diferenças entre estimativas obtidas segundo distintos valores críticos de IMC. Mudanças nos pontos de corte da antiga para a atual recomendação da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) resultaram em aumentos significativos nas prevalências de sobrepeso entre o total de adolescentes, meninos e meninas (25%, 27% e 23%, respectivamente) (p < 0,05). A proposta da International Obesity Task Force resultou em uma redução significativa de 29% e 39% na prevalência de baixo-IMC-para-idade entre o total de adolescentes e meninos, respectivamente, quando comparada à recomendação atual da OMS (p < 0,05). Foi evidenciado que uma simples mudança nos valores de corte empregados na definição do estado nutricional pode alterar significativamente o perfil nutricional de uma população adolescente