scholarly journals The Unintended Consequences of Employer Credit Check Bans for Labor Markets

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-45
Author(s):  
Kristle R. Cortés ◽  
Andrew Glover ◽  
Murat Tasci
Keyword(s):  
Labor Markets ◽  
National Level ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Job Applicants ◽  
County Level ◽  
Large Share ◽  
Routine Tasks ◽  
Types Of Jobs ◽  
Credit Check

Over the last 15 years, 11 states have restricted employers’ access to the credit reports of job applicants. We estimate that county-level job vacancies have fallen by 5.5 percent in occupations affected by these laws relative to exempt occupations in the same counties and national-level vacancies for the same occupations. Crosssectional heterogeneity suggests that employers use credit reports as signals of a worker's ability to perform the job: vacancies fall more in counties with a large share of subprime residents, while they fall less for occupations with other commonly available signals. Vacancies fall most for occupations involving routine tasks, suggesting that credit reports contain information relevant for these types of jobs.

The Price Effect of Drug Price Ceilings: Intended and Unintended Consequences

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Li ◽  
Di (Andrew) Wu
Keyword(s):  
Drug Price ◽  
National Level ◽  
Healthcare Management ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Price Effect ◽  
Price Inflation ◽  
Price Ceiling ◽  
Controlled Drugs

Policy makers in many developing countries use maximum price or markup policies to control pharmaceutical costs, which represent 20%–60% of their overall healthcare expenditure. We study the price effect of price ceiling policies by exploiting a major policy shift in China: the elimination of longstanding ceilings on retail drug prices. We collect weekly price and characteristics data on more than 4,500 drug stock keeping units (SKUs) from a leading pharmacy chain. By comparing the rate of discontinuous price jumps across drugs with and without price ceilings during the years before and after the policy change, we find that while price ceilings are effective in containing the prices of some drugs, they can lead to higher prices for others, particularly if the ceilings are set at the national level irrespective of local economic conditions. About 5% of nationally controlled drugs (or more than 125 drugs) had inflated prices because of price ceilings, with an average price inflation of 10%. We attribute this perverse price effect to focal point pricing and asymmetric information about production costs. Further supporting this view, we find the perverse price effect most prominent in lower-income regions where the centrally set price ceilings are arbitrarily high considering their poorer economic conditions. Moreover, drugs with highly concentrated production and less elastic demand face heightened risks of inflated prices under price ceilings. Finally, based on a sample of drugs with available price ceiling data, we find that drugs with manufacturer-specific ceilings are 100% more likely to be priced at or near their ceilings and 70% more likely to experience price drops once the ceilings are removed compared with other drugs with regular ceilings. Overall, this paper documents the unintended perverse effect of price ceilings in pharmaceutical markets and sheds lights on the ongoing debate of drug price regulation. This paper was accepted by Stefan Scholtes, healthcare management.

scholarly journals Confusion Reigns: An Analysis of Responses to U.S. Soccer Age Cut-Off Date Policy Change

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristy L. Smith ◽  
Sara Scarfone ◽  
Laura Chittle ◽  
Sean Horton ◽  
Jess C. Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
National Level ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Youth Soccer ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Stakeholder Input ◽  
The U.S

Relative age effects (RAEs) have been associated with the common practice of grouping athletes by chronological age. Development and selection advantages are often awarded to those who are born closer to, but following, the cut-off date employed by sport systems. In 2015, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced that it would be changing its birth-year registration cut-off date from August 1st to January 1st. This change was introduced to align the U.S. youth soccer calendar with international standards, and simultaneously provide clearer information on player birthdates to “lessen” RAEs. The magnitude of this policy change has led to considerable controversy, with members of the soccer community taking to social media and website blogs, as well as the U.S. Youth Soccer's website, to voice their opinions and general unhappiness with this decision. Thus, the purpose of this study was to provide a summary of online reactions to the policy change, with attention to the manner in which the U.S. Soccer Federation framed (i.e., the underlying rationale for the decision) and publicly communicated its decision to change the annual cut-off date. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze data collected from 63 social media sites (websites, n = 43; forums, n = 16; blogs, n = 4). From the 3,851 pages of text derived from these sources, a total of 404 unique passages of text were identified within 262 stakeholder posts. Four categories emerged from the data: stakeholder discussion, outcomes identified by stakeholders, recommended courses of action, and communication regarding the policy change. In general, the actions of the U.S. Soccer Federation and related outcomes were negatively perceived by stakeholders at various levels of the sport. Resistance to the change may have been reduced through enhanced communication from the national level and opportunities for stakeholder input. While one objective of this policy change was to combat RAEs, previous research suggests this organizational change will only shift which group of athletes experience relative age (dis)advantages. There appears to be a disconnect between the academic literature and sport policy with respect to solutions for RAEs, which can lead to unintended consequences for various sport stakeholders.

scholarly journals The Effect of Stay-at-Home Orders on COVID-19 Infections in the United States

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
James H. Fowler ◽  
Seth J. Hill ◽  
Remy Levin ◽  
Nick Obradovich
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Temporal Variation ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
National Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
County Level ◽  
Fixed Effects Model ◽  
At Home

SummaryBackgroundIn March and April 2020, public health authorities in the United States acted to mitigate transmission of and hospitalizations from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These actions were not coordinated at the national level, which raises the question of what might have happened if they were. It also creates an opportunity to use spatial and temporal variation to measure their effect with greater accuracy.MethodsWe combine publicly available data sources on the timing of stay-at-home orders and daily confirmed COVID-19 cases at the county level in the United States (N = 124,027). We then derive from the classic SIR model a two-way fixed-effects model and apply it to the data with controls for unmeasured differences between counties and over time. This enables us to estimate the effect of stay-at-home orders while accounting for local variation in factors like health systems and demographics, and temporal variation in national mitigation actions, access to tests, or exposure to media reports that could influence the course of the disease.FindingsMean county-level daily growth in COVID-19 infections peaked at 17.2% just before stay-at-home orders were issued. Two way fixed-effects regression estimates suggest that orders were associated with a 3.9 percentage point (95% CI 1.2 to 6.6) reduction in the growth rate after one week and a 6.9 percentage point (2.4 to 11.5) reduction after two weeks. By day 27 the reduction (22.6 percentage points, 14.8 to 30.5) had surpassed the growth at the peak, indicating that growth had turned negative and the number of new daily infections was beginning to decline. A hypothetical national stay-at-home order issued on March 13, 2020 when a national emergency was declared might have reduced cumulative infections by 63.3%, and might have helped to reverse exponential growth in the disease by April 10.InterpretationAlthough stay-at-home orders impose great costs to society, delayed responses and piecemeal application of these orders generate similar costs without obtaining the full potential benefits suggested by this analysis. The results here suggest that a coordinated nationwide stay-at-home order might have reduced by hundreds of thousands the current number of infections and by tens of thousands the total number of deaths from COVID-19. Future efforts in the United States and elsewhere to control pandemics should coordinate stay-at-home orders at the national level, especially for diseases for which local spread has already occurred and testing availability is delayed. Since stay-at-home orders reduce infection growth rates, early implementation when infection counts are still low would be most beneficial.FundingNone.

scholarly journals Social determinants of COVID-19 mortality at the county level

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca K. Fielding-Miller ◽  
Maria E. Sundaram ◽  
Kimberly Brouwer
Keyword(s):  
Social Determinants ◽  
National Level ◽  
Poverty Line ◽  
The United States ◽  
Farm Workers ◽  
County Level ◽  
Farm Work ◽  
Spatial Autoregressive ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Spatial Autoregressive Models

AbstractThe United States is currently the global epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Emerging data suggests that social determinants of health may be key drivers of the epidemic, and that minorities, migrants, and essential workers may bear a disproportionate degree of risk. We used publicly accessible datasets to build a series of spatial autoregressive models assessing county level associations between COVID- 19 mortality and (1) Percentage of Non-English speaking households, (2) percentage of individuals engaged in hired farm work, (3) percentage of uninsured individuals under the age of 65, and (3) percentage of individuals living at or below the poverty line. Across all counties (n=2940), counties with more farmworkers, more residents living in poverty, higher density, and more residents over the age of 65 had significantly higher levels of mortality. In urban counties (n=114), only county density was significantly associated with mortality. In non-urban counties (n=2826), counties with more non- English speaking households and more farm workers had significantly higher levels of mortality, as did counties with higher levels of poverty and more residents over the age of 65. More uninsured residents was significantly associated with decreased reported COVID-19 mortality. Individuals who do not speak English, individuals engaged in farm work, and individuals living in poverty may be at heightened risk for COVID-19 mortality in non-urban counties. Mortality among the uninsured may be being systematically undercounted in county and national level surveillance.

scholarly journals A Novel Evaluation Approach of County-Level City Disaster Resilience and Urban Environmental Cleanliness Based on SDG11 and Deqing County’s Situation

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 5713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yani Wang ◽  
Mingyi Du ◽  
Lei Zhou ◽  
Guoyin Cai ◽  
Yongliang Bai
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Time Series Prediction ◽  
National Level ◽  
Disaster Resilience ◽  
County Level ◽  
Local Data ◽  
Human Settlements ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
Urban Disaster ◽  
Per Capita

City disaster resilience and urban environmental cleanliness are two representative indicators used to assess the safety of human settlements in China’s Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs). Traditional research on SDGs mainly concentrated at large-scale spatial level, such as global level or national level. It brings unclear significance to the implementation of SDGs in the county-level. The goal of this paper is to find a new calculation method to apply the index of urban disaster resilience and urban environmental cleanliness to the evaluation of county-level areas. A localization of county-level city disaster resilience and urban environmental cleanliness based on Deqing County’s situation was carried out. With quantification and projections of local data, the assessments of city disaster resilience and urban environmental cleanliness have completed. The evaluation showed that city disaster resilience is maintained at a low level, while indicators of urban cleanliness are lower than standards. The prediction of urban per capita environmental impact index based on Grey Time-Series Prediction Model was finished. The forecast showed that the urban per capita impact indicators in the next three years have not exceeded the standard line. The two indicators used to assess the safety of human settlements were consistent with the sustainable development of urban settlement. Partial results of this research were reported as a “county sample” at the first UN Geographic Information Conference held in Deqing in 2018.

scholarly journals Study on Population Distribution Pattern at the County Level of China

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minmin Li ◽  
Biao He ◽  
Renzhong Guo ◽  
You Li ◽  
Yu Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Distribution Pattern ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Population Distribution ◽  
National Level ◽  
County Level ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Structure Of Population ◽  
Distribution Structure

With the accelerating urbanization process, the population increasingly concentrates in urban areas. In view of the huge population in China and a series of problems in the process of rapid urbanization, there are no unified measures for characterizing the population pattern. This study explores the distribution pattern of the Chinese population and proposes a spatial distribution structure of population using GIS (Geographic Information System) analysis. The main findings are as follows: (1) In 2015, the distribution of population density in China presents a pattern of high in the southeast and low in the northwest based on the county-level administrative regions. The population main lives in the southeast of China based on the “Hu Huanyong Line”. (2) There is a great difference of the spatial correlation between land area, population and GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in China. The economic concentration in China is higher than the population concentration. In the areas where population and GDP are aggregated, per capita GDP is higher. (3) Based on the areas with highly aggregated population and GDP, the spatial distribution structure of population of “1 + 4 + 11” for China’s urbanization is put forward, namely, one national-level aggregated area of population and GDP, 4 regional-level aggregated areas of population and GDP, and 11 local regionally aggregated areas of population and GDP. This spatial structure represents an attempt to explore the direction of China’s urbanization, and it can be used to optimize the spatial development pattern and provide scientific guidance for the future urbanization plan.

scholarly journals Spatial Variability of Health Inequalities of Older People in China and Related Health Factors

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 1739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengqi Yang ◽  
Mark W. Rosenberg ◽  
Jie Li
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
National Level ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Child Policy ◽  
The One

China is facing serious population aging issues because of many unintended consequences of the economic reforms that began in the 1980s and with social policies such as the “one child” policy. Understanding the spatial distribution of the health status of older people has attracted more and more attention in many countries, including China. By employing descriptive analysis, this study uses data from the Chinese Population Censusand Statistical Year Bookto explore the health inequalities of older people at the national level. Based on the Getis-Ord Gi*, this study finds that the uneven spatial distribution of socio-economic status results in health inequalities for older people at the national level. The geographic distribution of life expectancy was correlated with a number of important demographic, socio-economic, and environmental variables. For further research, investigations should be conducted among individuals at micro-geographic scales.

scholarly journals Inquiring for truth and the re-engineering of the corporate contract

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32
Author(s):  
Justin O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
External Validation ◽  
National Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Securities Law ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis

The British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has called for a global re-negotiation of a social contract between investment banking and wider society. Given the scale of the losses now borne by the taxpayer as a consequence of the global financial crisis in jurisdictions as diverse as Iceland, the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States, the proposal has undoubted rhetorical strength. It is also exceptionally difficult to render operational, not least because of (purposive) ambiguity over what constitutes and who should decide terms of reference. Moreover, piecemeal change may not only not secure legitimacy but may also have enormous if unintended consequences for the conceptual underpinning of corporate and securities law and the resulting regulatory framework. At a national level, one mechanism proposed to address this issue is through the establishment of a 'truth commission' an option chosen by Iceland. A second option is to convene an independent commission, a mechanism used throughout the Commonwealth, or an independent tribunal of inquiry, as used with increased frequency in the Republic of Ireland throughout the 1990s but rejected in relation to the global financial crisis. A third option is to convene a bi-partisan political commission, as deployed in the United States. Each option is exceptionally problematic within the domestic context, not least because of contention over remit and degree to which the findings translate into policy changes. The difficulties are compounded when applied to multi-faceted multi-jurisdictional problems such as the global financial crisis. This article examines whether – and if so how – independent commissions can provide a mechanism to re-negotiate a social and corporate contract capable of external validation and replication, critical factors for the maintenance of legitimacy, or whether official discourse simply reinforces the politics of illusion, privileging symbolic posturing over substantive change.

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