Sources of IRA Saving

To address the question of whether IRA5 contribute to capital formation, we use the IRS/University of Michigan taxpayer sample for income tax returns during 1980-84. By matching families across a five-year period, we can estimate the dynamic interactions of IRA purchases and other types of saving, correct for individual differences, and test whether IRA purchases are in part offset by other (net) asset sales. The "reshuffling" hypothesis implies that taxpayers who enroll in IRAs should, over time, experience a drop in net taxable interest and dividend income as their taxable assets (or new loans) are used to purchase IRAs. Conversely, the "new saving" view of IRAs implies that taxable interest and dividend income should be unaffected by IRA purchases. We find little or no evidence which favors the view that IRAs are funded by cashing out existing taxable assets. In fact, individuals who purchased IRAs in each year between 1982-84 increased their asset holdings by more than those who did not purchase IRAs. In one sense, our results strongly confirm the studies by Venti and Wise and Hubbard that IRA saving represents new saving. But shuffling could still occur, albeit on a secondary level: families who are accumulating both taxable assets and IRAs might have accumulated even more taxable assets had IRA5 not been available

The Politics of Ohio Medicaid Expansion

Dr. Daniel Skinner\u27s poster unravels the politics of Medicaid expansion in Ohio. Through graphic representations of key political, ethical, and policy dynamics, I show why Governor John Kasich has come to see the Medicaid expansion issue differently than most of the members of his Republican caucus, going so far as to call it “a matter of life and death.” This position, I show, owes in part to the different responsibilities that governors have within health care policy-making, as well as the unique politics of the state of Ohio. Medicaid expansion is likely to happen in particular because it promises to have a net positive impact on Ohio’s budget, bring billions of federal dollars into Ohio, and create thousands of jobs. After explaining why Kasich has positioned himself in support of Medicaid expansion, I suggest that Kasich and Ohio Republican’s resistance to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act more generally is likely to follow suit over coming months and years. This change of heart, I argue, is likely to occur for the same basic reasons that Medicaid expansion is all but assured.https://fuse.franklin.edu/forum-2013/1013/thumbnail.jp

Where do uncertainties reside within environmental risk assessments? Expert opinion on uncertainty distributions for pesticide risks to surface water organisms

A reliable characterisation of uncertainties can aid uncertainty identification during environmental risk assessments (ERAs). However, typologies can be implemented inconsistently, causing uncertainties to go unidentified. We present an approach based on nine structured elicitations, in which subject-matter experts, for pesticide risks to surface water organisms, validate and assess three dimensions of uncertainty: its level (the severity of uncertainty, ranging from determinism to ignorance); nature (whether the uncertainty is epistemic or aleatory); and location (the data source or area in which the uncertainty arises). Risk characterisation contains the highest median levels of uncertainty, associated with estimating, aggregating and evaluating the magnitude of risks. Regarding the locations in which uncertainty is manifest, data uncertainty is dominant in problem formulation, exposure assessment and effects assessment. The comprehensive description of uncertainty described will enable risk analysts to prioritise the required phases, groups of tasks, or individual tasks within a risk analysis according to the highest levels of uncertainty, the potential for uncertainty to be reduced or quantified, or the types of location-based uncertainty, thus aiding uncertainty prioritisation during environmental risk assessments. In turn, it is expected to inform investment in uncertainty reduction or targeted risk management action

Effectiveness of a community-directed ‘healthy lifestyle’ program in a remote Australian Aboriginal community

Objective: To assess the sustainability and effectiveness of a community-directed program for primary and secondary prevention of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease in an Aboriginal community in north-west Western Australia. Method: Evaluation of health outcomes (body mass index, glucose tolerance, and plasma insulin and triglyceride concentrations) in a cohort of high-risk individuals (n=49, followed over two years) and cross-sectional community samples (n=200 at baseline, 185 at two-year and 132 at four-year follow-ups), process (interventions and their implementation) and impact (diet and exercise behaviour). Results: For the high-risk cohort, involvement in diet and/or exercise strategies was associated with protection from increases in plasma glucose and triglycerides seen in a comparison group; however, sustained weight loss was not achieved. At the community level, significant reductions were observed in fasting insulin concentration but no change in prevalence of diabetes, overweight or obesity. Weight gain remained a problem among younger people. Sustainable improvements were observed for dietary intake and level of physical activity. These changes were related to supportive policies implemented by the community council and store management. Conclusions: Community control and ownership enabled embedding and sustainability of program, in association with social environmental policy changes and long-term improvements in important risk factors for chronic disease. Implications: Developmental initiatives facilitating planning, implementation and ownership of interventions by community members and organisations can be a feasible and effective way to achieve sustainable improvements in health behaviours and selected health outcomes among Aboriginal people

The challenges of harmonising anti-doping policy implementation

The policy-implementation gap conceptualises how policy intentions and outcomes often differ due to a failure to consider the realities of implementation. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) directs Olympic anti-doping policy, seeking to harmonise anti-doping policy globally; however, the realisation of consistent implementation has proven challenging. A major cause of inconsistent policy implementation is inter-signatory variation, but the mechanisms of variation are poorly understood. WADA provides an excellent example to explore why policy gaps occur in international sport governance. Consequently, we aimed to analyse the different types of inter-signatory variation in anti-doping policy and identify practical solutions to address inter-signatory variation in anti-doping. Data were collected from the Regional Anti-Doping Programme (RADO), a group of organisations tasked with increasing the capacity of NADOs globally. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 RADO staff and board members who were sampled as key informants to discuss how inter-signatory variation affects anti-doping policy compliance. Following reflexive thematic analysis, we identified four thematic categories explaining inter-signatory variation in anti-doping implementation: (1) socio-geographic, (2) political, (3) organisational, and (4) human resources. Based on our analysis, we theorise why the policy-implementation gap occurs and provide recommendations to improve anti-doping policy implementation.</p

The development of a framework to capture perceptions of sport organizations legitimacy

In this manuscript, we use Bitektine’s (2011) theory of organizational social judgments to develop a framework to Capture Perceptions of Organizational Legitimacy (CPOL). We outline a three-stage framework as a method to measure the perceived dimensions on which constituents scrutinize a sport organization’s legitimacy. In stage one of the framework, we defined the organizational context of a nonprofit sport organization in Sydney, Australia to establish the classification, purpose, and relationship of the focal entity to its constituents. In stage two, we distributed a qualitative questionnaire (N = 279) to identify the perceived dimensions on which constituents scrutinized organizational action. In stage 3 we distributed a quantitative questionnaire (N = 860) to test six perceived dimensions, which emerged during stage two of the CPOL framework. The six dimensions explained 63% of respondents’ overall organizational judgment, providing support for the CPOL framework as a context-driven process to measure constituent perceptions of the legitimacy of sport organizations

SUPPLY RESPONSE UNDER THE 1996 FARM ACT AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE U.S. FIELD CROPS SECTOR

The 1996 Farm Act gives farmers almost complete planting flexibility, allowing producers to respond to price changes to a greater extent than they had under previous legislation. This study measures supply responsiveness for major field crops to changes in their own prices and in prices for competing crops and indicates significant increases in responsiveness. Relative to 1986-90, the percentage increases in the responsiveness of U.S. plantings of major field crops to a 1-percent change in their own prices are wheat (1.2 percent), corn (41.6 percent), soybeans (13.5 percent), and cotton (7.9 percent). In percentage terms, the increases in the responsiveness generally become greater with respect to competing crops' price changes. The 1996 legislation has the least effect on U.S. wheat acreage, whereas the law may lead to an average increase of 2 million acres during 1996-2005 in soybean acreage, a decline of 1-2 million acres in corn acreage, and an increase of 0.7 million acres in cotton acreage. Overall, the effect of the farm legislation on regional production patterns of major field crops appears to be modest. Corn acreage expansion in the Central and Northern Plains, a long-term trend in this important wheat production region, will slow under the 1996 legislation, while soybean acreage expansion in this region will accelerate. The authors used the Policy Analysis System-Economic Research Service (POLYSYS-ERS) model that was jointly developed by USDA's Economic Research Service and the University of Tennessee's Agricultural Policy Analysis Center to estimate the effects of the 1996 legislation.Supply response, major field crops, acreage price elasticities, normal flex acreage (NFA), 1996 farm legislation., Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,