Strategic behavior at trial-The production, reporting, and evaluation of complex evidence

Recent game-theoretic analyses of the adversarial process have focused on the hability of courts to render accurate verdicts in light of selectivity reported evidence. This paper generalizes previous work by developing a game where the court´s decision to weigh evidence and litigants' information-gathering and reporting strategies are endogenously determined, and examines the effects on the players' equilibrium strategies of varying the informational endowments of the litigants concerning the true value of the parameter under dispute. We find that litigants' strategies are driven by their knowledge of the court's potential behavior and prior beliefs, which are non-neutral with respect to trial results.adversarial process, information provision, weighing of evidence

Achieving compliance with healthcare waste management regulations: empirical evidence from small European healthcare units

Healthcare units generate substantial amounts of hazardous or potentially hazardous wastes as by-products of their medical services. The inappropriate management of these wastes poses significant risks to people and the environment. In Portugal, as in other EU countries, the collection, storage, treatment and disposal of healthcare waste is regulated by law. Although legal provisions covering the safe management of healthcare waste date back to the 1990s, little is known about the compliance of Portuguese healthcare units with the relevant regulations. In this study we evaluate the extent of compliance by small private healthcare units with current waste management regulations, and its determinants. Recent estimates indicate that these units account for at least 20% of the healthcare waste produced at the national level. Their large numbers, however, make monitoring and government control of their compliance with legislative requirements problematic. Using data collected by a national survey of over 700 private healthcare units, we find that the majority of these units do not comply with current waste management regulations. An estimated generalized linear model uncovers a regional effect on the degree of compliance, which is also influenced by the type of healthcare delivered, use of service providers, implementation of regular internal audits, etc. The strongest factor influencing the degree of compliance is, however, education and training. This result is extremely important for policy because it shows empirically that providing education and training for all healthcare workers on medical waste issues is crucial in order to attain proper practices in healthcare waste management and compliance with regulations.Waste management; medical waste; legislation; compliance

Students' expectations of the economic returns to college education Results of a controlled experiment

This study reports the results of an experiment designed to elicit students' subjective beliefs about the economic returns to college education. An important feature of our experimental design is the inclusion of financial incentives for accurate reporting. We also consider the extent to which individuals' beliefs about their own returns differ from their beliefs about the returns for others. The evidence shows that students do have a self-enhancement tendency, and this finding cannot be attributed to previously uncontrolled order effects. The evidence also indicates that there is no significant difference between beliefs elicited using hypothetical surveys or real financial incentives in the elicitation procedure. This finding suggests that economists' reluctance to gather subjective data on earnings expectations may not be warrant.rate of return, human capital

An empirical analysis of the factors influencing compliance with healthcare waste management regulations

Healthcare units generate substantial amounts of hazardous or potentially hazardous wastes as by-products of their medical services. The inappropriate management of these wastes poses significant risks to people and the environment. Within the countries of the European Union (EU), the management of HCW is strictly regulated by law. Measures pertaining to the collection, storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous waste are construed to ensure that the waste management process takes place in conditions that protect the environment and human health. Despite the growing awareness by legislators that compliance with the applicable regulations is essential to achieve the best environmental protection, little is known about the compliance of the increasingly large numbers of private EU outpatient healthcare facilities with these measures. Using a large survey of over 700 private outpatient healthcare facilities in the EU, this study finds that overall compliance with the law is far from ideal, and identifies important sources of variability in compliance behavior with each of the measures comprising the HCW legislationFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Applied Microeconomics Research Unit (NIMA)University of CaliforniaUniversity of Arizon

Strategic behavior at trial : the production, reporting, and evaluation of complex evidence

Recent game-theoretic analyses of the adversarial process have focused on the ability of courts to render accurate verdicts in light of selectively reported evidence. This paper generalizes previous work by developing a game where the court’s decision to weigh evidence and litigants’ information-gathering and reporting strategies are endogenously determined, and examines the effects on the players’ equilibrium strategies of varying the informational endowments of the litigants concerning the true value of the parameter under dispute. We find that litigants’ strategies are driven by their knowledge of the court’s potential strategic behavior and prior beliefs, which are non-neutral with respect to trial results.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Achieving compliance with healthcare waste management regulations : empirical evidence from small European healthcare units

Healthcare units generate substantial amounts of hazardous or potentially hazardous wastes as by-products of their medical services. The inappropriate management of these wastes poses significant risks to people and the environment. In Portugal, as in other EU countries, the collection, storage, treatment and disposal of healthcare waste is regulated by law. Although legal provisions covering the safe management of healthcare waste date back to the 1990s, little is known about the compliance of Portuguese healthcare units with the relevant regulations. In this study we evaluate the extent of compliance by small private healthcare units with current waste management regulations, and its determinants. Recent estimates indicate that these units account for at least 20% of the healthcare waste produced at the national level. Their large numbers, however, make monitoring and government control of their compliance with legislative requirements problematic. Using data collected by a national survey of over 700 private healthcare units, we find that the majority of these units do not comply with current waste management regulations. An estimated generalized linear model uncovers a regional effect on the degree of compliance, which is also influenced by the type of healthcare delivered, use of service providers, implementation of regular internal audits, etc. The strongest factor influencing the degree of compliance is, however, education and training. This result is extremely important for policy because it shows empirically that providing education and training for all healthcare workers on medical waste issues is crucial in order to attain proper practices in healthcare waste management and compliance with regulations.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - PEst-OE/EGE/UI3181/201

Hypothetical, real, and predicted real willingness to pay in open-ended surveys: experimental results

This study reports the results of experiments designed to elicit, within a controlled laboratory environment, hypothetical and real willingness to pay for an environmental educational program using the open-ended question format. By maintaining both the good and the question format constant across the treatments, our experiments overcome the shortcomings of recently reported experimental results, providing a clean test for hypothetical bias in open-ended valuations. Having found a statistically significant difference between the hypothetical and real values, we turn into the question of whether hypothetical valuations may nonetheless provide useful statistical information concerning individuals’ real valuations. This question, which is perhaps the key question in the current state of the debate surrounding the contingent valuation method, is answered affirmatively in this study.experimental methods, contingent valuation methods, calibration methods

Has Portugal gone wireless? Looking back, Looking ahead

This paper analyses the pattern and rate of adoption of mobile telephones by the Portuguese population. It is shown that the pattern of diffusion is S-shaped and is consistent with a logistic function, which describes a symmetrical growth process. Furthermore, it is found that 67 percent of the population will likely adopt mobile phones, and that the levelling-off process in the diffusion of mobile phones has already begun. The analysis is intended to inform the larger discussion of managing the communications service, as well as to assist analysts concerned about assessing the impact of public policies in the evolution of communications sectors.technology diffusion, mobile telecommunications

How to comply with environmental regulations? The role of information

The effectiveness of environmental regulation can be viewed as conditioned by the action of at least two main agents: the regulated firms and the public agency (the regulator). The agency’s role is, on one hand, to enact environmental regulations and, on the other, to monitor firms’ environmental behavior and enforce environmental regulations. The regulated firms, on the other hand, must be informed about the legal limits imposed on them and subsequently they must be able to comply with those limits. Using a questionnaire on the pulp and paper industry in Portugal we found that firms decision to comply with environmental regulations is strongly influenced by firms’ information on its legal obligations and that this effect is stronger for smaller firms. Moreover larger and younger firms are less likely to comply with environmental regulations than smaller and older firms. With respect to the public agency’s behavior, we found that greater monitoring efforts are directed towards larger and younger firms, as well as towards those firms most likely to cause higher pollution levels.

Has Portugal gone wireless? : looking back, looking ahead

This paper analyses the pattern and rate of adoption of mobile telephones by the Portuguese population. It is shown that the pattern of diffusion is S-shaped and is consistent with a logistic function, which describes a symmetrical growth process. Furthermore, it is found that about 67 percent of the population will likely adopt mobile phones, and that the levelling-off process in the diffusion of mobile phones has already begun. The analysis is intended to inform the larger discussion of managing the communications service, as well as to assist analysts concerned about assessing the impact of public policies in the evolution of communications sectors.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT