Is vaping a low-risk substitute for cigarettes or an emerging epidemic?

In deciding how to regulate vaping and its advertising, policymakers face a conundrum due to the competing priorities of attracting long-term smokers to less harmful products and of preventing children and young people from taking up vaping. George Gaskell and Francisco Lupianez-Villanueva look at research findings that seek to determine the broader impact of vaping in the future

E-strategias en la introducción y uso de las TIC en la universidad

Las tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación (TIC) se han asentado plenamente en las universidades españolas a lo largo de la última década. Sin duda, esto está comportando un cambio significativo en la dinámica interna de las instituciones: en la forma de planificar y desarrollar la docencia universitaria, en la administración académica y en los servicios a los estudiantes y, de forma relevante, en la actividad de investigación y difusión. Para llegar al uso habitual de las TIC en la universidad los equipos de gobierno han tomado, a lo largo de los últimos años, decisiones estratégicas que han condicionado y determinado la situación actual. En este artículo presentamos los resultados del análisis de esas decisiones estratégicas en el marco de un estudio financiado por el Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia. Podemos concluir de forma genérica que la introducción de las TIC en la universidad española se ha realizado sin planificación estratégica y que ha sido el resultado de la demanda externa lo que ha propiciado su uso. Asimismo, podemos afirmar que el uso de las TIC, especialmente de Internet, está transformando de manera sustancial la dinámica institucional de las universidades, desde su estructura hasta la forma de planificar e impartir clases, pasando por la gestión y administración académica, así como por la investigación y la difusión del conocimiento

Towards a comparative and integrative framework for regulatory oversight of online advertising: Challenges, mitigation strategies, outcomes, and areas of intervention

As the online advertising market has grown, issues such as high volume of ads, highly personalised and targeted ads, the role of algorithmic biases, lack of transparency of ad placement, and complex financial flows in the ad tech supply chain have received increased attention in academic and popular literature. Despite concerted efforts within the industry and legislative action at national and international levels, available measures to monitor and detect these challenges are often perceived to lag behind increasing layers of intermediation and ever-increasing footprint of the online platforms. The aim of this paper is to discuss how a comparative and integrative framework for regulatory oversight of online advertising could be assembled. For this purpose, the paper draws on a literature review of peer-reviewed articles and grey literature to identify the challenges in online advertising, known mitigation strategies, and possible outcomes of the strategies. As part of the initial specification of the framework developed, the paper covers broad categories of market players, type of challenges, mitigation strategies, and intended outcomes for regulatory oversight of online advertising. Additional areas for investigation and potential improvement of the draft framework are also identified. The ideas discussed in this paper are expected to be of interest to digital economy researchers, policy researchers and policy makers, various players in the online advertising supply chain, public and private sector stakeholders monitoring and investigating the online advertising ecosystem, and anyone interested in balancing the economic gains of online advertising against the challenges it poses to the platform end-users and the wider online platform economy

Unfair Commercial Practices in a Pit Market: Evidence from an Artefactual Field Experiment

Commercial practices such as drip pricing, reference pricing and best-price guarantee can be used to set higher prices and mislead consumers, but protective measures can restore efficiency. In a placebo-controlled market experiment, we examined a treatment allowing for the use and misuse of commercial practices. Three additional treatments tested the effects of formal sanctions, informal sanctions and a regret nudge. We found that commercial practices led to higher prices, cheating was systematic and regret nudging was ineffective. Furthermore, formal and informal sanctions reduced both the likelihood of using commercial practices and the likelihood of cheating, leading to welfare increases

Maximizing opportunities and minimizing risks for children online: the role of digital skills in emerging strategies of parental mediation

As internet use becomes widespread at home, parents are trying to maximize their children’s online opportunities while also minimizing online risks. We surveyed parents of 6- to 14-year-olds in eight European countries (N=6,400). A factor analysis revealed two strategies. Enabling mediation is associated with increased online opportunities but also risks. This strategy incorporates safety efforts, responds to child agency and is employed when parent or child is relatively digitally skilled, so may not support harm. Restrictive mediation is associated with fewer online risks but at the cost of opportunities, reflecting policy advice that regards media use as primarily problematic. It is favoured when parent or child digital skills are lower, potentially keeping vulnerable children safe yet undermining their digital inclusion

Labels as nudges? An experimental study of car eco-labels

This article presents the results of a laboratory experiment and an online multi-country experiment testing the effect of motor vehicle eco-labels on consumers. The laboratory study featured a discrete choice task and questions on comprehension, while the ten countries online experiment included measures of willingness to pay and comprehension. Labels focusing on fuel economy or running costs are better understood, and influence choice about money-related eco-friendly behaviour. We suggest that this effect comes through mental accounting of fuel economy. In the absence of a cost saving frame, we do not find a similar effect of information on CO2 emissions and eco-friendliness. Labels do not perform as well as promotional materials. By virtue of being embedded into a setting designed to capture the attention, the latter are more effective. We found also that large and expensive cars tend to be undervalued once fuel economy is highlighted

Does a ‘protective’ message reduce the impact of an advergame promoting unhealthy foods to children? an experimental study in Spain and The Netherlands

The weight of evidence points to the advertising of food affecting food consumption, especially among children. Such advertising often promotes unhealthy foods. Current policy deliberations focus on developing effective ‘protective’ messages to increase advertising literacy and consequent scepticism about advertising targeting children. This study examined whether incorporating a ‘protective’ message in an advergame promoting energy-dense snacks would reduce children's snack intake. A randomized between-subject design was conducted in the Netherlands (N = 215) and Spain (N = 382) with an advergame promoting either energy-dense snacks or nonfood products. The results showed that playing an advergame promoting energy-dense snacks increased caloric intake in both countries, irrespective of whether the ‘protective’ message was present or not. These results point to the limitations of ‘protective’ messages and advertising literacy and provide policy makers with a rationale for extending the current prohibition of food advertising to young children in the terrestrial media to online environments

International health IT benchmarking:learning from cross-country comparisons

Objective, to pilot benchmark measures of health information and communication technology (ICT) availability and use to facilitate cross-country learning. Materials and Methods, a prior Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-led effort involving 30 countries selected and defined functionality-based measures for availability and use of electronic health records, health information exchange, personal health records, and telehealth. In this pilot, an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Working Group compiled results for 38 countries for a subset of measures with broad coverage using new and/or adapted country-specific or multinational surveys and other sources from 2012 to 2015. We also synthesized country learnings to inform future benchmarking. Results, while electronic records are widely used to store and manage patient information at the point of care- all but 2 pilot countries reported use by at least half of primary care physicians; many had rates above 75%- patient information exchange across organizations/settings is less common. Large variations in the availability and use of telehealth and personal health records also exist. Discussion, pilot participation demonstrated interest in cross-national benchmarking. Using the most comparable measures available to date, it showed substantial diversity in health ICT availability and use in all domains. The project also identified methodological considerations (e.g., structural and health systems issues that can affect measurement) important for future comparisons. Conclusion, while health policies and priorities differ, many nations aim to increase access, quality, and/or efficiency of care through effective ICT use. By identifying variations and describing key contextual factors, benchmarking offers the potential to facilitate cross-national learning and accelerate the progress of individual countries

Negative Shocks Predict Change in Cognitive Function and Preferences: Assessing the Negative Affect and Stress Hypothesis

In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, households throughout the world have to cope with negative shocks. Previous research has shown that negative shocks impair cognitive function and change risk, time and social preferences. In this study, we analyze the results of a longitudinal multi-country survey conducted in Italy (N = 1652), Spain (N = 1660) and the United Kingdom (N = 1578). We measure cognitive function using the Cognitive Reflection Test and preferences traits (risk, time and social preferences) using an experimentally validated set of questions to assess the differences between people exposed to a shock compared to the rest of the sample. We measure four possible types of shocks: labor market shock, health shock, occurrence of stressful events, and mental health shock. Additionally, we randomly assign participants to groups with either a recall of negative events (more specifically, a mild reinforcement of stress or of fear/anxiety), or to a control group (to recall neutral or joyful memories), in order to assess whether or not stress and negative emotions drive a change in preferences. Results show that people affected by shocks performed worse in terms of cognitive functioning, are more risk loving, and are more prone to punish others (negative reciprocity). Data do not support the hypotheses that the result is driven by stress or by negative emotions

Pathos & ethos: emotions and willingness to pay for tobacco products

In this article we use data from a multi-country Randomized Control Trial study on the effect of anti-tobacco pictorial warnings on an individual’s emotions and behavior. By exploiting the exogenous variations of images as an instrument, we are able to identify the effect of emotional responses. We use a range of outcome variables, from cognitive (risk perception and depth of processing) to behavioural (willingness to buy and willingness to pay). Our findings suggest that the odds of buying a tobacco product can be reduced by 80% if the negative affect elicited by the images increases by one standard deviation. More importantly from a public policy perspective, not all emotions behave alike, as eliciting shame, anger, or distress proves more effective in reducing smoking than fear and disgust