Insurance and the Utilization of Medical Services Among the Self-Employed

There has been substantial public policy concern over the relatively low rates of health insurance coverage among the self-employed in the United States. We use data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey conducted in 1996 to analyze how the self-employed and wage-earners differ both with respect to insurance coverage and utilization of a variety of health care services. Our results suggest that for the self-employed, the link between insurance and utilization of health care services is not as strong as assumed in the policy debate. For a number of medical care services, the self-employed have the same rates of utilization as wage-earners, despite the fact that they are substantially less likely to be insured. And when the self-employed are less likely than wage-earners to utilize a particular medical service, the differences generally do not seem very large. The self-employed thus appear to be able to finance access to health care from sources other than insurance. Further, analysis of out-of-pocket expenditures on health care suggests that doing so does not lead to substantial reductions in their ability to consume other goods and services. Finally, there is no evidence that children of the self-employed have less access to health care than the children of wage-earners. Hence, the public policy concerns that the relative lack of health insurance among the self-employed substantially reduces utilization of health care services or creates economic hardship appear to be misplaced.

Why do Nigerian manufacturing firms take action on AIDS?

This repository item contains a single issue of the Health and Development Discussion Papers, an informal working paper series that began publishing in 2002 by the Boston University Center for Global Health and Development. It is intended to help the Center and individual authors to disseminate work that is being prepared for journal publication or that is not appropriate for journal publication but might still have value to readers.OBJECTIVE: To identify differences between manufacturing firms in Nigeria that have undertaken HIV/AIDS prevention activities and those that have not as a step toward improving the targeting of HIV policies and interventions. METHODS: A survey of a representative sample of registered manufacturing firms in Nigeria, stratified by location, workforce size, and industrial sector. The survey was administered to managers of 232 firms representing most major industrial areas and sectors in March-April 2001. RESULTS: 45.3 percent of the firms’ managers received information about HIV/AIDS from a source outside the firm in 2000; 7.7 percent knew of an employee who was HIV-positive at the time of the survey; and 13.6 percent knew of an employee who had left the firm and/or died in service due to AIDS. Only 31.7 percent of firms took any action to prevent HIV among employees in 2000, and 23.9 percent had discussed the epidemic as a potential business concern. The best correlates of having taken action on HIV were knowledge of an HIV-positive employee or having lost an employee to AIDS (odds ratio [OR] 6.36, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.30, 17.57) and receiving information about the disease from an outside source (OR 7.83, 95% CI: 3.46, 17.69). CONCLUSIONS: Despite a nationwide HIV seroprevalence of 5.8 percent, as of 2001 most Nigerian manufacturing firm managers did not regard HIV/AIDS as a serious problem and had neither taken any action on it nor discussed it as a business issue. Providing managers with accurate, relevant information about the epidemic and practical prevention interventions might strengthen the business response to AIDS in countries like Nigeria

A Design Method to Exploit Synergies Between Fiber-Reinforce Composites and Additive Manufactured Processes

This paper proposes a design method for devices composed of long fiber-reinforced composites (FRC) and additive manufactured (AM) parts. Both FRC and AM processes have similar application characteristics: suitable for small production volumes, additive in nature, and capable of being highly automated. On the other hand, the classes have distinct characteristics. FRCcomponents tend to be large and of simple shapes, while AM components tend to be small with highly complex geometry. Their combination has the potential for significant synergies, while mitigating their individual limitations. A decision guide is proposed, in the form of a series of questions, to guide the designer to determine if their application is a good candidate for FRC+AM. The decision guide is reformulated into a proposed design process that guides the designer to advantageously benefit from AM and FRC characteristics. The tools are illustrated with an example of a composite pressure vessel with integrated pressure reducer

Why do Nigerian manufacturing firms take action on AIDS?

Objective: To identify differences between manufacturing firms in Nigeria that have undertaken HIV/AIDS prevention activities and those that have not as a step toward improving the targeting of HIV policies and interventions. Methods: A survey of a representative sample of registered manufacturing firms in Nigeria, stratified by location, workforce size, and industrial sector. The survey was administered to managers of 232 firms representing most major industrial areas and sectors in March-April 2001. Results: 45.3 percent of the firms’ managers received information about HIV/AIDS from a source outside the firm in 2000; 7.7 percent knew of an employee who was HIV-positive at the time of the survey; and 13.6 percent knew of an employee who had left the firm and/or died in service due to AIDS. Only 31.7 percent of firms took any action to prevent HIV among employees in 2000, and 23.9 percent had discussed the epidemic as a potential business concern. The best correlates of having taken action on HIV were knowledge of an HIV-positive employee or having lost an employee to AIDS (odds ratio [OR] 6.36, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.30, 17.57) and receiving information about the disease from an outside source (OR 7.83, 95% CI: 3.46, 17.69). Conclusions: Despite a nationwide HIV seroprevalence of 5.8 percent, as of 2001 most Nigerian manufacturing firm managers did not regard HIV/AIDS as a serious problem and had neither taken any action on it nor discussed it as a business issue. Providing managers with accurate, relevant information about the epidemic and practical prevention interventions might strengthen the business response to AIDS in countries like Nigeria

Equilibrium Moisture Content of Wood At High Temperatures

In answer to increased interest in using high-temperature (above 212 F) drying of wood, a method is described to extrapolate low-temperature equilibrium moisture content (EMC) data to high temperatures. The results are compared with data in the literature, and EMC data from 212 F to 300 F are presented in a form useful for kiln control as well as for other uses

Evaluating Humidity At Dry Bulb Temperatures Above The Normal Boiling Point of Water A Research Note

Several methods were compared for evaluating relative humidities at temperatures between 210 and 300 F from psychrometric relations. An explicit method of calculating relative humidity, assuming that the wet bulb temperature is equivalent to the adiabatic saturation temperature, is shown to predict relative humidities with a maximum deviation of only 1% from those values predicted by more theoretically rigorous equations

The Economics of Regulations on Hen Housing in California

Beginning January 1, 2015, conventional cage housing for egg-laying hens is scheduled to be prohibited in California. We consider the economic implications of the new hen housing regulations on the California shell egg industry. Our data show that egg production is more costly using noncage systems than conventional cages. The main result of the new regulations will be a drastic reduction in the number of eggs produced in California, a large increase in egg shipments from out of state, little if any change in hen housing for eggs consumed in California, and little change in egg prices in California.animal welfare regulation, hen housing, egg supply, egg prices, egg costs of production, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Consumer/Household Economics, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Q11, Q18,