Changes in Hospital Efficiency after Privatization

We investigated the effects of privatization on hospital efficiency in Germany. To do so, we obtained bootstrapped DEA efficiency scores in the first stage of our analysis and subsequently employed a difference-in-difference matching approach within a panel regression framework. Our findings show that conversions from public to private for-profit status were associated with an increase in efficiency of between 3.2 and 5.4%. We defined four alternative post- privatization periods and found that the increase in efficiency after a conversion to private for- profit status appeared to be permanent. We also observed an increase in efficiency one year after hospitals were converted to private non-profit status, but our estimations suggest that this effect was transitory. Our findings also show that the efficiency gains after a conversion to private for-profit status were achieved through substantial decreases in staffing ratios in all analyzed staff categories with the exception of physicians. It was also striking that the efficiency gains of hospitals converted to for-profit status were significantly lower in the DRG era than in the pre-DRG era. Altogether, our results suggest that converting hospitals to private for-profit status may be an effective way to ensure the scarce resources in the hospital sector are used more efficiently.Privatization, Performance measurement, Data envelopment analysis, Propensity score matching, Germany

Status of Three Species of Freshwater Snails (Gastropoda: Pleuroceridae) in the Lower Ohio River Basin, Illinois

Illinois Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Preservation Fund Grant/Contract No: RC08-L20WWe report on a status survey of Lithasiaspp. (Gastropoda:Pleuroceridae) we conducted in the Ohio River basin, Illinois. Prior to oursurvey, only three Lithasiaspecies were known to occur in Illinois; however,through our efforts, we found a fourth species (Lithasia geniculata). Thedistribution of L. armigeraand L. verrucosadoes not appear to have changedwithin Illinois, whereas the distribution of L. obovataappears to be declining inIllinois, which prompted us to nominate it for inclusion on the state list ofendangered and threatened species for Illinois by the Illinois Endangered SpeciesProtection Board.Lithasia geniculatahas been recorded only in one location, andwe feel it should be considered for state endangeredINHS Technical Report Prepared for Illinois Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Preservation Fun

The states 1^1\Sigma^+_u, 1^1\Pi_u and 2^1\Sigma^+_u of Sr_2 studied by Fourier-transform spectroscopy

A high resolution study of the electronic states 1^1\Sigma^+_u and 1^1\Pi_u which belong to the asymptote 4^1D + 5^1S and of the state 2(A)^1\Sigma^+_u, which correlates to the asymptote 5^1P + 5^1S, is performed by Fourier-transform spectroscopy of fluorescence progressions induced by single frequency laser excitation. Precise descriptions of the potentials up to 2000 cm^{-1} above the bottom are derived and compared to currently available ab initio calculations. Especially for the state 1^1\Sigma^+_u large deviations are found. Rather weak and local perturbations are observed for the states 1^1\Pi_u and 2^1\Sigma^+_u, while a strong coupling of the state 1^1\Sigma^+_u to the component \Omega=0^+_u of the state 1^3\Pi_u, which belongs to the asymptote 5^3P + 5^1S, is indicated.Comment: Typing errors corrected (including numbers in table IX), 12 pages, 9 figure

Not driving alone: Commuting in the Twenty-first century

This paper investigates recent commuting trends in American workers. Unlike most studies of commuting that rely on Census data, this study utilizes the unique American Time Use Survey to detail the complex commuting patterns of modern-day workers. The data confirm what has been suspected, that incidence of driving alone has decreased substantially in recent years while carpooling has rebounded. The results from the multi-nominal logistic estimation of workers' commuting choices yield support for both the traditional economic determinants as well as for the newer, socio-economic factors. In addition to the cost savings, many commuters appear to value the social aspect of carpooling. Surprisingly, there is little evidence that the need for autonomy plays much of a factor in explaining workerÕs choice of the journey to work. The estimated short-run elasticity of carpooling with respect to real gas prices appears to be quite high and largely accounts for the significant decline in the incidence of driving alone.Ride sharing, carpooling, commuting, gasoline process, social capital

On the Struggle To Attain Universal Competence in a Complex Skill: The Case of a Senior Capstone Experience

Seventeen years ago, a blue-ribbon committee of economists asserted that the “ideal” program for an economics major should include “a capstone experience, whereby students apply their knowledge and skills in creative and systematic ways through research and writing.” (Seigfried, Bartlett, Hansen, Kelley, McCloskey, and Tietenberg (1991)) Yet we are not aware of a data-driven assessment of an implemented senior capstone experience in the economics education literature. We have been experimenting with a senior capstone experience – based on research and writing – for more than a decade. In this paper we describe the history of our senior capstone experience, and provide a data-driven assessment of student performance in this experience. Our primary objective for this senior capstone has been to create a system that will result in all of our majors writing a competent senior thesis. In other words, we want to attain universal competence in a complex skill. This simple objective has, however, been very difficult to achieve. We will argue that undesired variation in student motivation has been our primary obstacle in attaining universal competence.

Red Cities, Blue Cities: Creativity, Growth and Politics

The 2006 Congressional elections seemed to be about change, as well as the war in Iraq. The 2008 Presidential election, though only at the primary stage, seems to be about change as well as the war in Iraq and the faltering economy. What is the force behind Americans wanting “change?” Is it simply frustration or is it because of important changes in the economy and the demography of the United States? In his 2002 book, Richard Florida looked at one of those changes and developed a “creativity index” measuring the existence of creative people, economic activity, and cultural tolerance for Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the U.S. This study looks at the connection between the rise of the creative class, economic growth and voting patterns. We find that more creative metropolitan areas grow faster on average and creative areas are more likely to have voted Democratic in the past. Even after controlling for union membership, the presence of creative people explains how metropolitan areas voted in the 2004 Presidential election, hinting at one force behind Americans’ desire for political change.

Non-specific binding of antibodies in immunohistochemistry: Fakes and facts

Protocols for blocking non-specific antibody (Ab) binding in immunohistochemistry are based on rather contradictory and outdated reports. This prompted us to prove, whether non-specific Ab binding may really lead to unwanted background staining in routinely processed cell and tissue probes. In this study, the probes were fixed and processed according to routine protocols with and without a blocking step (goat serum or BSA). Surprisingly, all Ab in probes processed without a blocking step did not show any propensity towards non-specific binding that might lead to background staining, thus implying that endogenous Fc receptors do not retain their ability to bind Fc portion of Ab after standard fixation. Likewise in routinely fixed probes, we did not find any non-specific Ab binding ascribed to a combination of ionic and hydrophobic interactions. The traditionally used protein blocking step is useless in immunostaining of routinely fixed tissues

The use of cost accounting methodologies to determine prices in German health care

In many sectors of the health care system, prices at which providers are reimbursed by payers are not determined by the market mechanism, but rather by a defined administrative process. Depending on the sector, prices are set politically and are negotiated between different actors or are calculated according to a defined procedure, considering cost data from a sample of providers. The selected approach for price setting determines decisively, to which extent prices for certain services reflect the actual costs incurred for these services. A lack of reflection of actual costs can lead to unintended incentives for providers and therefore have implications on the allocative efficiency. Our analysis shows that in Germanys inpatient and outpatient sector, cost data is increasingly considered for price setting while in other sectors such as long-term care and rehabilitation, the use of cost data is still very limited. However, DRG-cost-weights in the inpatient sector insufficiently reflect actual costs incurred. Thus, decision makers in the German health care system rely more on cost data for price setting and improving the accuracy of cost calculations in order to increase allocative efficiency. -- Die Preisbildung für die Erstattung von Leistungserbringern erfolgt in vielen Sektoren des Gesundheitswesens nicht durch den Marktmechanismus, sondern durch einen administrativ definierten Prozess. Je nach Sektor werden politische Preise vorgegeben, unter den Akteuren verhandelt oder nach einem festgelegten Verfahren, unter Berücksichtigung von Kostendaten aus einer Stichprobe von Leistungserbringern, berechnet. Das gewählte Verfahren der Preisbildung determiniert in entscheidendem Maße, inwieweit die Preise für die erbrachten Leistungen die realen Kosten der Leistungserbringer für diese abbilden. Eine mangelnde Reflektion der Kosten in den Preisen kann zu Fehlanreizen für die Leistungserbringer und mithin zu einer Fehlallokation von Ressourcen führen. Im Rahmen dieser Untersuchung zeigt sich, dass in Deutschland im stationären und ambulanten Bereich zunehmend detaillierte Kostendaten für die Preisberechnung herangezogen werden, während dies in anderen Sektoren wie Pflege und Rehabilitation bislang nur sehr bedingt erfolgt. Es zeigt sich jedoch, dass auch im stationären Sektor die DRG-Relativgewichte bislang nur unzureichend die Kosten für die entsprechenden Leistungen abbilden. Insgesamt muss in Deutschland für die Preisbildung im Gesundheitswesen mehr auf Kosteninformationen für die Preisberechnung zurückgegriffen und die Verursachungsgerechtigkeit der Kostenkalkulationen verbessert werden, um die Allokationseffizienz zu erhöhen.