102 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
The Impact of Industry Collaboration on Academic Research Output: A Dynamic Panel Data Analysis
The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of university knowledge and technology transfer activities on academic research output. Specifically, we study whether researchers with collaborative links with the private sector publish less than their peers without such links, once controlling for other sources of heterogeneity. We report findings from a longitudinal dataset on researchers from two engineering departments in the UK between 1985 until 2006. Our results indicate that researchers with industrial links publish significantly more than their peers. Academic productivity, though, is higher for low levels of industry involvement as
compared to high levels
Recommended from our members
The Double-Edged Sword of Industry Collaboration: Evidence from Engineering Academics in the UK
This paper studies the impact of university-industry collaboration on academic research output. We report findings from a unique longitudinal dataset on all the researchers in all the engineering departments of 40 major universities in the UK for the last 20 years. We introduce a new measure of industry collaboration based on the fraction of research grants that include industry partners. Our results show that productivity increases with the intensity of industry collaboration, but only up to a certain point. Above a certain threshold, research productivity declines. Our results are robust to several econometric estimation methods, measures of research output, and for various subsamples of academics
Recommended from our members
Optimal sequential auctions
Sequential sealed first-price and open descending-price procurement-auctions are studied. We examine which procurement-auction rule achieves the low procurement cost. We show that the answer to this policy question depends on whether the items are complements or substitutes. With substitutes, the first-price procurement-auction is preferred, while with complements, the open descending-price procurement-auction is preferred. We also illustrate the procurement cost minimizing auction and the auction rule preferred by the bidders. With substitutes, bidders prefer the open descending-price procurement-auction, while with complements bidders prefer the first-price procurement-auction
Recommended from our members
Adaptation to Health States: A Micro-Econometric Approach
Health care funding decisions in the UK are based on valuations of the general public. However, it has been shown that there is a disparity between a hypothetical valuation of the impact of a specific condition on health and the effect of that health state by someone who experiences it. This paper examines the issue of adaptation to health states, which partially may explain the discrepancy between hypothetical and experienced health state valuations. We use the British Cohort Study (BCS70) which is a longitudinal dataset that tracks a sample of British individuals since their birth in 1970. We use four BCS70 waves containing information on self-assessed health (SAH), morbidity as well as a number of socio-economic characteristics. To estimate the issue of adaptation, we implement a dynamic ordered probit model that controls for (health) state dependence. The empirical specification controls for morbidity and also includes a variable for the duration of the illness. We find that, for most chronic conditions, duration has a positive impact on self-assessed health, while for some conditions-such as diabetes- this does not occur. We interpret our results as evidence in support of the hypothesis that adaptation to chronic diseases exists and may explain at least in part the differences between general public and patients’ health state valuations
Recommended from our members
Willingness to Pay for Health Insurance in the Informal Sector of Sierra Leone
Purpose: The objective of this project is to study the willingness to pay (WTP) for health insurance (HI) of individuals working in the informal sector in Sierra Leone, using a purposely-designed survey of a representative sample of this sector.
Methods: We elicit the WTP using the Double-Bounded Dichotomous Choice with Follow Up method. We also examine the factors that are positively and negatively associated with the likelihood of the respondents to answer affirmatively to joining a HI scheme and to paying three different possible premiums, to join the HI scheme. We additionally analyze the individual and household characteristics associated with the maximum amount the household is willing to pay to join the HI scheme.
Results: The results indicate that the average WTP for the HI is 20,237.16 SLL (3.6 USD) per adult but it ranges from about 14,000 SLL (2.5 USD) to about 35,000 SLL (6.2 USD) depending on region, occupation, household and respondent characteristics. The analysis of the maximum WTP indicates that living outside the Western region and working in farming instead of petty trade are associated with a decrease in the maximum premium respondents are WTP for the HI scheme. Instead, the maximum WTP is positively associated to being a driver or a biker; having secondary or tertiary education (as opposed to not having any); the number of pregnant women in the household; having a TV; and, having paid for the last medical requirement.
Conclusions: In summary, the various analyses show that a premium for the HI package could be set at approximately 20,000 SLL (3.54 USD) but also that establishing a single premium for all individuals in the informal sector could be risky. The efficient functioning of a HI scheme relies on covering as much of the population as possible, in order to spread risks and make the scheme viable. The impact of the various population characteristics raises the issue of how to rate premiums. In other words, setting a premium that may be too high for a big proportion of the population could mean losing many potential enrollees and might have viability consequences for the operation of the scheme
Recommended from our members
Anorexia, Body Image and Peer Effects: Evidence from a Sample of European Women
Excessive preoccupation with self-image (or identity) is regarded as a factor contributing to the proliferation of food disorders, especially among young women. This paper models how self-image and peer effects influence health-related behaviours, specifically food disorders. We empirically test this claim using data from the European survey. Our findings suggest that the larger the peers‟ body-mass, the lower the likelihood of being anorexic. Self-image is correlated with body weight. We use several definitions of peers‟ body mass and we find that all are negatively associated with the likelihood of women being thin or extremely thin
Recommended from our members
Consequences of Biomarker Analysis on the Cost-Effectiveness of Cetuximab in Combination with FOLFIRI as a First-Line Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Personalised Medicine at Work
Background
Therapies may be more efficacious when targeting a patient subpopulation with specific attributes, thereby enhancing the cost-effectiveness of treatment. In the CRYSTAL study, patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) were treated with cetuximab plus FOLFIRI or FOLFIRI alone until disease progression, unacceptable toxic effects or withdrawal of consent.
Objective
To determine if stratified use of cetuximab based on genetic biomarker detection improves cost-effectiveness.
Methods
We used individual patient data from CRYSTAL to compare the cost-effectiveness, cost per life-year (LY) and cost per quality-adjusted LY (QALY) gained of cetuximab plus FOLFIRI versus FOLFIRI alone in three cohorts of patients with mCRC: all randomised patients (intent-to-treat; ITT), tumours with no detectable mutations in codons 12 and 13 of exon 2 of the KRAS protein (‘KRAS wt’) and no detectable mutations in exons 2, 3 and 4 of KRAS and exons 2, 3 and 4 of NRAS (‘RAS wt’). Survival analysis was conducted using RStudio, and a cost-utility model was modified to allow comparison of the three cohorts.
Results
The deterministic base-case ICER (cost per QALY gained) was £130,929 in the ITT, £72,053 in the KRAS wt and £44,185 in the RAS wt cohorts for cetuximab plus FOLFIRI compared with FOLFIRI alone. At a £50,000 willingness-to-pay threshold, cetuximab plus FOLFIRI has a 2.8, 20 and 63% probability of being cost-effective for the ITT, KRAS wt and RAS wt cohorts, respectively, versus FOLFIRI alone.
Conclusion
Screening for mutations in both KRAS and NRAS may provide the most cost-effective approach to patient selection
Recommended from our members
A Discrete Choice Experiment to Elicit the Willingness to Pay for Health Insurance by the Informal Sector Workers in Sierra Leone
The current health care financing system in Sierra Leone is unsustainable and poses challenges ranging from increased in out of pocket health care expenditure to accessibility problems, particularly in rural areas where living standards are low and health care facilities are scarce. This paper investigates whether privately financed health Insurance can improve the accessibility to formal health care in Sierra Leone and mitigate the effects of OOPs on poor households. To do so, we estimate the Willingness To Pay (WTP) for health insurance among informal sector workers in Sierra Leone using a Discrete Choice Experiment approach. Eight informal sector activities were selected namely – petty trading, subsistence farming, commercial bike riding, cattle rearing, fishing, tailoring, mining and quarrying. A random effect logit model is used to estimate households’ WTP for an improvement in coverage, choice of health care provider and a reduction in waiting time. Our study reveals that households were WTP more to have better attributes (better coverage, less waiting time) and to go to a faith - based provider. Our findings also suggest that location – rural versus urban – matters in determining the WTP since urban households were WTP more for health insurance than their rural counterparts, (SLL 54,348 or 5.03), respectively
Recommended from our members
Better Health in Times of Hardship?
This paper examines the impact that the Great Recession had on individuals’ health behaviours and risk factors such as diet choices, smoking, alcohol consumption, and Body Mass Index, as well as on intermediate health outcomes in England. We exploit data from the Health Survey for England for the period 2001-2013 and capture the change in macroeconomic conditions using regional Unemployment Rates (URs) and an indicator variable for the onset of the recession. We observe an overall tendency towards moderation in smoking and alcohol intake. Interestingly, the recession indicator itself is associated to a decrease in fruit intake, a shift of the BMI distribution towards obesity, an increase in medicines consumption, and the likelihood of suffering diabetes, heart and mental health problems. These associations are more intense for the less educated and for women. When it exists, the association with UR tends to weaken after 2008. Our findings indicate that some of the health risks and intermediate health outcomes changes are associated with mechanisms not captured solely by worsened URs. We hypothesize that the uncertainty and the negative expectations generated by the recession may have influenced individual health outcomes and behaviours beyond the adjustments induced by the worsened macroeconomic conditions. The net effect translated in the erosion of the propensity to undertake several health risky behaviours but an exacerbation of some morbidity indicators
Recommended from our members
The impact of the Great Recession on health-related risk factors, behaviour and outcomes in England
This paper examines the impact that the Great Recession had on individuals' health behaviours and risk factors such as diet choices, smoking, alcohol consumption, and Body Mass Index, as well as on intermediate health outcomes in England. We exploit data on about 9000 households from the Health Survey for England for the period 2001-2013 and capture the change in macroeconomic conditions using regional unemployment rates and an indicator variable for the onset of the recession. Our findings indicate that the recession is associated with a decrease in the number of cigarettes smoked - which translated into a moderation in smoking intensity - and a reduction in alcohol intake. The recession indicator itself is associated with a decrease in fruit intake, a shift of the BMI distribution towards obesity, an increase in medicines consumption, and the likelihood of suffering from diabetes and mental health problems. These associations are often stronger for the less educated and for women. When they exist, the associations with the unemployment rate (UR) are nevertheless similar before and after 2008. Our results suggest that some of the health risks and intermediate health outcomes changes may be due to mechanisms not captured by worsened URs. We hypothesize that the uncertainty and the negative expectations generated by the recession may have influenced individual health outcomes and behaviours beyond the adjustments induced by the worsened macroeconomic conditions. The net effect translated into the erosion of the propensity to undertake several health risky behaviours but an exacerbation of some morbidity indicators. Overall, we find that the recession led to a moderation in risky behaviours but also to worsening of some risk factors and health outcomes
- …