A HEDONIC ANALYSIS OF PRIVATE HUNTING LAND ATTRIBUTES USING AN ALTERNATIVE FUNCTIONAL FORM

A hedonic framework is used to analyze selected attributes of Louisiana deer hunting leases that are hypothesized to be significant contributors to lease value. The flexible Box-Cox functional form is used in contrast to the often utilized linear regression specification. Additionally, the hypothesis of regional differences in slope coefficients of lease attributes is addressed. Results indicate that hunters in the two analyzed regions value lease attributes and services differently.Land Economics/Use,

QUALITY AS A LATENT VARIABLE IN RECREATION ACCESS ANALYSIS

Recreation trends indicating an increasing demand for quality recreation experiences suggest the need for special consideration of quality in analysis of fee access recreation. By viewing quality as a subjective latent variable, this paper uses a simultaneous equation framework to consider the use of subjective versus objective appraisals of quality in fee-based recreation access analysis.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Use of a choice survey to identify adult, adolescent and parent preferences for vaccination in the United States

Abstract Background Adult and adolescent vaccination rates are far below coverage targets in the United States. Our objective was to identify the most influential factors related to vaccine uptake among adults, adolescents, and parents of adolescents (parents) in the United States. Methods We used a fractional factorial design to create a binary choice survey to evaluate preferences for vaccination. The national survey was fielded to a sample of adults, adolescents ages 13–17 years, and parents, using a national probability-based online research panel in November 2015. Respondents were presented with 5 profiles of a hypothetical vaccine and asked in a series of questions whether they would accept each vaccine. We analyzed the binary choice data using logistic regression in STATA v13 (College Station, TX) to calculate the odds that a participant would choose to accept the vaccine. Results We received completed responses from 334 (51%) of 652 adults, 316 (21%) of 1516 adolescents, and 339 (33%) of 1030 parents. Respondents were generally representative of the U.S. population. Vaccine effectiveness was the most influential factor in the choice to vaccinate for all groups. Other most influential factors were primary care provider (PCP) recommendation and the out-of-pocket cost of the vaccine. Other factors such as risk of illness, risk of vaccine side effects, vaccination location, and time for vaccination were not important in the decision to get vaccinated. Conclusions Adults, adolescents, and parents are most sensitive to vaccine effectiveness, PCP recommendation, and out-of-pocket cost for vaccination in their decision to get vaccinated. Strong PCP recommendations that focus on vaccine effectiveness and health care policies that minimize out-of-pocket costs for vaccinations may increase vaccine uptake by adults and adolescents.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152264/1/41687_2019_Article_135.pd

A HEDONIC ANALYSIS OF PRIVATE HUNTING LAND ATTRIBUTES USING AN ALTERNATIVE FUNCTIONAL FORM

A hedonic framework is used to analyze selected attributes of Louisiana deer hunting leases that are hypothesized to be significant contributors to lease value. The flexible Box-Cox functional form is used in contrast to the often utilized linear regression specification. Additionally, the hypothesis of regional differences in slope coefficients of lease attributes is addressed. Results indicate that hunters in the two analyzed regions value lease attributes and services differently

Cost-effectiveness analysis and health care resource allocation: decision rules under variable returns to scale

We argue that health programs are administered in settings that often violate the frequently stated assumption of constant returns to scale in the provision of health services. Three types of returns to scale are identified from the general economic literature: returns to scale with respect to population, effectiveness, and quality. We show that decision rules based on incremental cost-effectiveness ratios or cost-benefit tests are not optimal if returns to scale are not constant. We derive the optimal decision rules under variable returns to scale using optimization techniques, and employ several examples to illustrate the concepts and methods. Published in 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

QUALITY AS A LATENT VARIABLE IN RECREATION ACCESS ANALYSIS

Recreation trends indicating an increasing demand for quality recreation experiences suggest the need for special consideration of quality in analysis of fee access recreation. By viewing quality as a subjective latent variable, this paper uses a simultaneous equation framework to consider the use of subjective versus objective appraisals of quality in fee-based recreation access analysis

Hitting the Optimal Vaccination Percentage and the Risks of Error: Why to Miss Right.

To determine the optimal level of vaccination coverage defined as the level that minimizes total costs and explore how economic results change with marginal changes to this level of coverage.A susceptible-infected-recovered-vaccinated model designed to represent theoretical infectious diseases was created to simulate disease spread. Parameter inputs were defined to include ranges that could represent a variety of possible vaccine-preventable conditions. Costs included vaccine costs and disease costs. Health benefits were quantified as monetized quality adjusted life years lost from disease. Primary outcomes were the number of infected people and the total costs of vaccination. Optimization methods were used to determine population vaccination coverage that achieved a minimum cost given disease and vaccine characteristics. Sensitivity analyses explored the effects of changes in reproductive rates, costs and vaccine efficacies on primary outcomes. Further analysis examined the additional cost incurred if the optimal coverage levels were not achieved.Results indicate that the relationship between vaccine and disease cost is the main driver of the optimal vaccination level. Under a wide range of assumptions, vaccination beyond the optimal level is less expensive compared to vaccination below the optimal level. This observation did not hold when the cost of the vaccine cost becomes approximately equal to the cost of disease.These results suggest that vaccination below the optimal level of coverage is more costly than vaccinating beyond the optimal level. This work helps provide information for assessing the impact of changes in vaccination coverage at a societal level

Valuing health across the lifespan: Health state preferences for seasonal influenza illnesses in patients of different ages

AbstractObjectiveThis study sought to measure whether public values for health states vary with the age of the affected individual.MethodsHealth state preferences were measured via a 15-minute survey administered through the Internet in December 2007 using a probability sample of the adult population of the United States (N = 1012). Respondents were asked to value hypothetical descriptions of seasonal influenza illness (uncomplicated influenza illness, hospitalization) and possible vaccine-related adverse events (anaphylaxis, Guillain-Barré syndrome) using time trade-off or willingness-to-pay questions. Respondents were randomized to four different ages for an affected hypothetical individual: 1-year-old, 8-year-old, 35-year-old, 85-year-old. All other aspects of the health state description were held constant. Summary statistics for each health state and age were calculated. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to measure differences in responses across ages of affected individuals in the hypothetical scenarios. Regression analyses were used to evaluate the effect of age on time trade-off or willingness-to-pay amounts controlling for respondent characteristics.ResultsMedian values for time trade-off and willingness-to-pay were highest for young children. This pattern was generally consistent across responses and type of valuation.ConclusionsApproaches that assume health state values do not differ with the age of a patient may bias economic analyses that use these values. If patient age is likely to affect health state valuations, then age should be included as an attribute in the valuation exercise