A DISTRIBUTIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE COSTS OF FOODBORNE ILLNESS: WHO ULTIMATELY PAYS?

This paper traces the economic impact of the costs of foodborne illness on the U.S. economy using a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) framework. Previous estimates of the costs of seven foodborne pathogens are disaggregated by type, and distributed across the population using data from the National Health Interview Survey. Initial income losses resulting from premature death cause a decrease in economic activity. Medical costs, in contrast, result in economic growth, though this growth does not outweigh the total costs of premature death. A SAM accounting of how the costs of illness are diffused through the economy provides useful information for policy makers.Cost of illness, Foodborne illness, Social Accounting Matrix, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Deaths due to Unknown Foodborne Agents

The number of U.S. deaths by unknown foodborne agents warrants additional efforts to identify causal agent

Toward a theory of repeat purchase drivers for consumer services

The marketing discipline’s knowledge about the drivers of service customers’ repeat purchase behavior is highly fragmented. This research attempts to overcome that fragmented state of knowledge by making major advances toward a theory of repeat purchase drivers for consumer services. Drawing on means–end theory, the authors develop a hierarchical classification scheme that organizes repeat purchase drivers into an integrative and comprehensive framework. They then identify drivers on the basis of 188 face-to-face laddering interviews in two countries (USA and Germany) and assess the drivers’ importance and interrelations through a national probability sample survey of 618 service customers. In addition to presenting an exhaustive and coherent set of hierarchical repeat-purchase drivers, the authors provide theoretical explanations for how and why drivers relate to one another and to repeat purchase behavior. This research also tests the boundary conditions of the proposed framework by accounting for different service types. In addition to its theoretical contribution, the framework provides companies with specific information about how to manage long-term customer relationships successfully

Rural Areas Gained Doctors During the 1980's

The nonmetro physician supply grew by 18 percent during the 1980's, increasing from 83 to 97 physicians per 100,000 persons. Despite the rapid increase, nonmetro areas continued to have less than half as many physicians as metro areas have. Nonmetro physicians were also unevenly distributed, preferring to locate in counties with larger urban populations that were not adjacent to metro areas. By 1988, these urbanized remote counties had become major centers of primary and specialized medical care

How Will Measures to Control Medicare Spending Affect Rural Communities?

The Federal Medicare program provides subsidized health insurance for one in every seven Americans. Medicare covers a higher proportion of rural than urban residents because rural residents are more likely to be elderly or disabled persons entitled to benefits. The rapid growth of Medicare expenditures has prompted legislative proposals to control the increase in spending. This report finds that the proposals may have a greater effect on rural than urban communities due to the higher proportion of Medicare beneficiaries in rural areas

An Online Cost Calculator for Estimating the Economic Cost of Illness Due to Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli (STEC) 0157 Infections

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O157 is a significant cause of foodborne illness in the United States. ERS estimated the economic cost of illness due to this pathogen— $405.2 million (in 2003 dollars)—using the most recent estimate (1997) of the annual number of STEC O157 cases by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and medical and cost data from the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network. CDC is currently updating its estimate of annual cases. As new information becomes available, the ERS online Foodborne Illness Cost Calculator enables users to review and modify the assumptions underlying the STEC O157 cost estimate, such as the number of cases, and then recalculate the cost, adjusted for inflation for any year from 1997 to 2006. The potential utility of the calculator was demonstrated by assuming that the incidence of STEC O157 had declined and then estimating the cost for a smaller number of cases

The Medicare and Medicaid Programs in Rural America: A Profile of Program Beneficiaries and Health Care Providers

The Medicare and Medicaid programs cover a larger share of the population in nonmetropolitan than metropolitan areas because nonmetropolitan areas have relatively more elderly, disabled, and poor persons entitled to benefits. Nonmetropolitan health care providers are consequently more dependent on Medicare and Medicaid revenue than their metropolitan counterparts. The rapid growth of public expenditures on the Medicare and Medicaid programs has prompted legislative proposals to slow the growth of spending. The proposals are likely to have a greater impact on nonmetropolitan than metropolitan areas due to the geographic variations in program coverage and expenditures