Justice and Allocation in International Health Aid

Economic

Useful Datasets for Development Economics Research

Economic

The AIDS Epidemic and Its Economic Roots

Economic

Time Delay and Investment Decisions: Evidence from An Experiment in Tanzania

Attitudes toward risk underlie virtually every important economic decision an individual makes. In this experimental study, I examine how introducing a time delay into the execution of an investment plan influences individuals’ risk preferences. The field experiment proceeded in three stages: a decision stage, an execution stage and a payout stage. At the outset, in the Decision Stage (Stage 1), each subject was asked to make an investment plan by splitting a monetary investment amount between a risky asset and a safe asset. Subjects were informed that the investment plans they made in the Decision Stage are binding and will be executed during the Execution Stage (Stage 2). The Payout Stage (Stage 3) was the payout date. The timing of the Decision Stage and Payout Stage was the same for each subject, but the timing of the Execution Stage varied experimentally. I find that individuals who were assigned to execute their investment plans later (i.e., for whom there was a greater delay prior to the Execution Stage) invested a greater amount in the risky asset during the Decision Stage

Economic Costs of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2002

After adjusting for differences in demographics between the two populations, the study finds that people with diabetes incur healthcare costs approximately 2.4 times higher than people without diabetes. The authors also emphasize that because nearly one-third of the approximately 17 million people in the U.S. with diabetes remain undiagnosed, $132 billion represents a conservative estimate. Moreover, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes increases with age and is higher among certain racial and ethnic minority populations, which portends a substantial increase in incidence of the disease (and its associated costs) as the nation grows older and becomes more racially and ethnically diverse.diabetes economic costs U.S. public health

State Policies to promote marriage

This paper includes policies that have been enacted in the U.S., as well as those proposed. Also included are policies proposed or adopted prior to PRWORA and those suggested after the law's passage. This report inventories marriage policies in the 50 states and District of Columbia in the following ten areas: Campaigns, commissions and proclamations Divorce laws and procedures Marriage and relationship preparation and education State tax policies State cash assistance policies State Medicaid policies State vital statistics Marriage support and promotion Youth education and development Specialty programslewin group marriage economics welfare

One Step at a Time: Does Gradualism Build Coordination?

We study how gradualism -- increasing required levels (“thresholds”) of contributions slowly over time rather than requiring a high level of contribution immediately -- affects individuals’ decisions to contribute to a public project. Using a laboratory binary choice minimum-effort coordination game, we randomly assign participants to three treatments: starting and continuing at a high threshold, starting at a low threshold but jumping to a high threshold after a few periods, and starting at a low threshold and gradually increasing the threshold over time (the “gradualism” treatment). We find that individuals coordinate most successfully at the high threshold in the gradualism treatment relative to the other two groups. We propose a theory based on belief updating to explain why gradualism works. We also discuss alternative explanations such as reinforcement learning, conditional cooperation, inertia, preference for consistency, and limited attention. Our findings point to a simple, voluntary mechanism to promote successful coordination when the capacity to impose sanctions is limited.Gradualism; Coordination; Cooperation; Public Goods; Belief-based Learning; Laboratory Experiment

Short-Run Health Consequences of Retirement and Pension Benefits: Evidence from China

This paper examines the impact of the New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS) in China. Exploiting the staggered implementation of an NRPS policy expansion that began in 2009, we used a difference-in-difference approach to study the effects of the introduction of pension benefits on the health status, health behaviors, and healthcare utilization of rural Chinese adults age 60 and above. The results point to three main conclusions. First, in addition to improvements in self-reported health, older adults with access to the pension program experienced significant improvements in several important measures of health, including mobility, self-care, usual activities, and vision. Second, regarding the functional domains of mobility and self-care, we found that the females in the study group led in improvements over their male counterparts. Third, in our search for the mechanisms that drive positive retirement program results, we find evidence that changes in individual health behaviors, such as a reduction in drinking and smoking, and improved sleep habits, play an important role. Our findings point to the potential benefits of retirement programs resulting from social spillover effects. In addition, these programs may lessen the morbidity burden among the retired population. (JEL H55, H75, I10, I12, I19, J26