Peasants and risk : a study of risk, market imperfections and farm household behaviour in Northern Zambia

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ; Norwegian Research Counci

Drivers behind energy consumption by rural households in Shanxi

Biomass is widely used by households for cooking and heating in rural China. Along with rapid economic growth over the last three decades, increasing rural households tend to use less biomass and more commercial energy such as coal and electricity. In this paper, we analyzed the key drivers behind energy consumption and switching by rural households based on survey data of energy consumption by rural households in ten villages of Shanxi province in China. Our econometric results show that income growth can induce less use of biomass and more use of coal and modern fuels. However, no evidence shows that even wealthy households has abandoned biomass use in Shanxi, mainly due to the “free” access to land and agricultural resources in these villages. Previous wealth of a household represented by house value can lead to more time spent on biomass collection. Access to land resources has positive effects on biomass use and collection. Other key variables include education, household size, the number of elderly members, and coal price. We also find huge differences between villages, indicating the importance of access to agricultural resources and markets

Economic Shocks, Diversification, and Forest Use in Uganda

We investigate household outcomes arising from economic shocks in rural Uganda, focusing on patterns of income diversification and forest use, and the role of assets in shaping ex post response to shocks. Income-poor households and those with below-average landholdings are observed to have more diversified income portfolios than their cohorts. Households encountering above-average losses tend to have more diversified income portfolios subsequent to the losses. Larger negative shocks are associated with greater use of the forest in subsequent periods, especially among asset-poor households. Findings suggest that development of better safety nets would reduce both vulnerability and forest pressure.

Kunnskapsoversikt over forskningsfunn om læring hos barn og unge med hørselshemming

Forskning om hvordan hørselshemmede barn og unge med store og små hørselstap har det på skolen og i barnehagen, tegner et bilde av at hørselshemmede barn og unge jevnt over strever mer i skolen enn vanlige elever. Dette prosjektet er primært begrenset til det å gi en oversikt over forskning som sier noe om opplæringspraksiser som fungerer godt for hørselshemmede barn og unge, det vil si praksiser som sikrer at opplæringsmålene i skolens fag- og rammeplaner blir oppfylt

Preoperative versus postoperative survival in patients with univentricular heart: a nationwide, retrospective study of patients born in 1990–2015

Objectives Few data exist on mortality among patients with univentricular heart (UVH) before surgery. Our aim was to explore the results of intention to perform surgery by estimating preoperative vs postoperative survival in different UVH subgroups.Design Retrospective.Setting Tertiary centre for congenital cardiology and congenital heart surgery.Participants All 595 Norwegian children with UVH born alive from 1990 to 2015, followed until 31 December 2020.Results One quarter (151/595; 25.4%) were not operated. Among these, only two survived, and 125/149 (83.9%) died within 1 month. Reasons for not operating were that surgery was not feasible in 31.1%, preoperative complications in 25.2%, general health issues in 23.2% and parental decision in 20.5%. In total, 327/595 (55.0%) died; 283/327 (86.5%) already died during the first 2 years of life. Preoperative survival varied widely among the UVH subgroups, ranging from 40/65 (61.5%) among patients with unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect to 39/42 (92.9%) among patients with double inlet left ventricle. Postoperative survival followed a similar pattern. Postoperative survival among patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) improved significantly (5-year survival, 42.5% vs 75.3% among patients born in 1990–2002 vs 2003–2015; p<0.0001), but not among non-HLHS patients (65.7% vs 72.6%; p=0.22)—among whom several subgroups had a poor prognosis similar to HLHS. A total of 291/595 patients (48.9%) had Fontan surgeryConclusions Surgery was refrained in one quarter of the patients, among whom almost all died shortly after birth. Long-term prognosis was largely determined during the first 2 years. There was a strong concordance between preoperative and postoperative survival. HLHS survival was improved, but non-HLHS survival did not change significantly. This study demonstrates the complications and outcomes encountering newborns with UVH at all major stages of preoperative and operative treatment

On the measurement of risk aversion from experimental data

Attitudes towards risk are measured for households in Northern Zambia using an experimental gambling approach with real payoffs that at maximum were equal to 30% of average total annual income per capita. The results of the experiment show decreasing absolute risk aversion and increasing partial risk aversion. Determinants of risk aversion are investigated using random effects interval regression model exploiting the panel data structure of the repeated experiments. Wealth indicator variables are found to be significant, and partial relative risk aversion decreases as wealth increases. Females are found to be more risk averse than males.