Are Metro Manila households willing to pay for cleaner public transport?

To address the problem of air pollution in Metro Manila, the study proposes a jeepney buy-back program through which the current fleet of diesel jeepneys would be replaced with zero-emission electric vehicles. Households are made to pay for the program through a surcharge on top of their monthly electricity bill. A single-bound dichotomous choice contingent valuation approach using the referendum format is employed to estimate willingness to pay (WTP). The study arrives at WTP estimates for the program aimed at providing cleaner public transportation ranging from PHP 173.10 (USD 3.85) to PHP 259.75 (USD 5.77) per month. However, a simple cost-benefit comparison shows that the program remains economically unfeasible without government support, particularly due to the high cost associated with replacing the diesel fleet. Nonetheless, substantial aggregated benefits show that Metro Manila households are indeed willing to pay for improved air quality from cleaner public transport. Income, education and bid level are found to be significant determinants of WTP. The study also investigates the impact of using secret ballots for eliciting WTP responses to reduce yea-saying bias. Results show that the method of WTP elicitation influences WTP responses. WTP estimates from data gathered using the secret ballot technique were significantly lower than estimates from data gathered using the conventional face-to-face method

Fear of Crime and Saving Behavior

Fear of crime, on top of crime victimization itself, is an important social concern because the literature suggests that it can affect behavior and decision-making. Some studies argue that negative emotions can induce present consumption; thus, one behavior that crime can potentially influence is saving. Applying Logit model and the Heckman Probit model to a household survey dataset of 1,200 respondents, this paper tested for the relationship between fear of crime and saving behavior. We found evidence that fear of crimes involving physical violence has a negative relationship with the likelihood of saving but has a positive relationship with the likelihood of saving through formal channels. Fear of crimes against property, on the other hand, shows no such relationship. Moreover, overall fear of crime in the immediate community has no relationship with saving, but fear of crime in the larger region where the individual lives has

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities(.)(1,2) This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity(3-6). Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017-and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions-was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing-and in some countries reversal-of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories.Peer reviewe

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions

ASEAN Champions: Emerging Stalwarts in Regional Integration

With a population of about six hundred million people, and a combined GNP of more than US$ 2.4 trillion, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is set to become the seventh largest economy in the world. Launched in December 2015, the AEC unveiled initiatives to create a single market and production zone, a competitive and equitable region, and integrated links to the global economy. ASEAN Champions seeks to address the role of the strong local firms in regional integration, how these 'champions' succeeded and endured, despite facing adverse circumstances, and the factors that facilitated or impeded their participation in regional integration. The book provides insights for future firm and government-led strategies to enhance the integration process. By complementing current narratives that focus on macroeconomic, socio-political, and trade considerations, Park, Ungson and Francisco offer an enlightening and engaging read, ideally suited to academics and professionals alike

Broad insecurity and perceived victimization risk

Appealing to fear of crime and perceived risk of victimization is a known political strategy for gaining popular support. While fear of crime and perceived risk may stem from vulnerability and past experiences of victimization, high levels of fear and perceived risk, despite declining crime rates, had prompted researchers to investigate other sources of fear of crime and perceived victimization risk. We used survey data from 1,200 households in Metro Manila to test the hypothesis that perceived risk of victimization may be predicted by broad insecurity, which encompasses insecurities in finances, employment, education, health, disaster preparedness and rights protection. Multivariate regression is used to measure variable effects. Our results showed that broad insecurity significantly influences perceived risk of victimization. Other reliable predictors included past victimization, local government spending and social identifiers such as age and gender, but none was as strong as broad insecurity. These findings suggest that perceptions of public safety depend not only on tough policing, but also economic opportunities, human capital development and overall wellbeing. This article corroborates budding research on the diffuse sources of fear of crime and victimization. It informs political and economic prioritization in pursuit of social harmony and development amidst a rapidly changing socioeconomic and political landscape. JEL: Z13, Z18. © 2020 Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd