Local functional principal component analysis

Covariance operators of random functions are crucial tools to study the way random elements concentrate over their support. The principal component analysis of a random function X is well-known from a theoretical viewpoint and extensively used in practical situations. In this work we focus on local covariance operators. They provide some pieces of information about the distribution of X around a fixed point of the space x₀. A description of the asymptotic behaviour of the theoretical and empirical counterparts is carried out. Asymptotic developments are given under assumptions on the location of x₀ and on the distributions of projections of the data on the eigenspaces of the (non-local) covariance operator

Responding to financial pressures. The effect of managed care on hospitals' provision of charity care

The United States relies on charitable medical care to serve the uninsured, most of which is offered by hospitals that act as providers of last resort and that constitute the safety net. Traditionally, these hospitals have been able to finance their provision of unfunded care through a complex system of cross-subsidies. The objective of this paper is to analyze the effects that financial pressures have on the provision of charity care by hospitals. To do so we look at the effect of price pressures and at the cost-controlling mechanisms imposed by managed care. Our hypothesis is that price competition and other forms of financial pressures undermine hospitals' ability to cross-subsidize and so challenges their survival. Our results show that managed care has a disproportionately negative effect on the closure of safety net hospitals. Moreover, amongst those that remain open, in areas where managed care penetration increases the most, safety net hospitals react by closing the health services most commonly used by the uninsured (emergency rooms, obstetrics, and alcohol and drug treatments).medical; uninsured; hospitals; safety;