Evaluating livestock farmers knowledge, beliefs, and management of arboviral diseases in Kenya: A multivariate fractional probit approach

Globally, arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) infections continue to pose substantial threats to public health and economic development, especially in developing countries. In Kenya, although arboviral diseases (ADs) are largely endemic, little is known about the factors influencing livestock farmers’ knowledge, beliefs, and management (KBM) of the three major ADs: Rift Valley fever (RVF), dengue fever and chikungunya fever. This study evaluates the drivers of livestock farmers’ KBM of ADs from a sample of 629 respondents selected using a three-stage sampling procedure in Kenya’s three hotspot counties of Baringo, Kwale, and Kilifi. A multivariate fractional probit model was used to assess the factors influencing the intensity of KBM. Only a quarter of the farmers had any knowledge of ADs while over four-fifths of them could not manage any of the three diseases. Access to information (experience and awareness), income, education, religion, and distance to a health facility considerably influenced the intensity of farmers’ KBM of ADs in Kenya. Thus, initiatives geared towards improving access to information through massive awareness campaigns are necessary to mitigate behavioral barriers in ADs management among rural communities in Kenya.

BCG vaccination and socioeconomic variables vs Covid-19 global features: clearing up a controversial issue

BackgroundThe Covid-19 pandemic is characterized by extreme variability in the outcome distribution and mortality rates across different countries. Some recent studies suggested an inverse correlation with BCG vaccination at population level, while others denied this hypothesis. In order to address this controversial issue, we performed a strict epidemiological study collecting data available on a global scale, considering additional variables such as cultural-political factors and adherence to other vaccination coverages.MethodsData on 121 countries, accounting for about 99% of Covid-19 cases and deaths globally, were from John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations, Human Freedom Report, and BCG Atlas. Statistical models used were Ordinary Least Squares, Tobit and Fractional Probit, implemented on Stata/MP16 software.ResultsBased on our results, countries where BCG vaccination is or has been mandated in the last decades have seen a drastic reduction in Covid-19 diffusion (−80% on average) and mortality (−50% on average), even controlling for relative wealth of countries and their governmental health expenditure. A significant contribution to this reduction (respectively −50% and −13% on average) was also associated to the outbreak onset during summer, suggesting a possible influence of seasonality. Other variables turned out to be associated, though to a lesser extent.ConclusionsRelying on a very large dataset and a wide array of control variables, our study confirms a strong and robust association between Covid-19 diffusion and mortality with BCG vaccination and a set socio-economic factors, opening new perspectives for clinical speculations and public health policies.

Presidential Influence and Competitive Grant Funding

How does partisan alignment with the president affect the distribution of federal competitive grant funding? This analysis contributes to the literature on distributive politics by reexamining the relationship between alignment with the president and competitive grant funding over the time period of 2001 to 2017. Furthermore, the analysis will test if the relationship between alignment and competitive grant funding changed after the enactment of the 2011 earmark moratorium. Fractional probit regression is used to model the relationship between a representative's partisan alignment with the president and the portion of annual competitive grant funding that their district receives. The results suggest that there is no relationship between alignment and competitive grant funding when looking at grant funding across all federal agencies. However, when only examining agencies that are susceptible to presidential influence a weak relationship emerges. Findings also suggest that this relationship developed after the enactment of the earmark moratorium.

FIRMS’ EXPORT PERFORMANCE: A FRACTIONAL ECONOMETRIC APPROACH

Export activities have become crucial to firms’ competitiveness, with determinants of export performance being a challenging field of research, since there is no consensus regarding the explained and explanatory variables or on the econometric methods to be used. Using a panel data of Portuguese wine firms, this paper aims to contribute to this debate, combining both resource- and institutional-based views of the firm. This paper tries to overcome the methodological hurdle, addressing sample selection issues and considering the fractional response nature of export performance. Given the pros and cons of each econometric approach, the Heckman selection model, the fractional probit model and the two-part fractional response model are estimated, and the results compared. From a public policy perspective, the results show that policies that promote wine firm size, labor productivity and wine promotion in third countries have a positive impact on export performance at firm-level. Age does not appear as a key factor on the internationalization of Portuguese wine firms

What determines the disclosure of managerial remuneration in India?

Purpose This study aims to analyse the impact of company performance, company size, ownership structure, board characteristics and other company characteristics on the disclosure of managerial remuneration in 134 listed companies in India from the year 2003 to 2012. Design/methodology/approach A disclosure and compliance index is developed on the basis of 14 statements prepared regarding the disclosure of managerial remuneration in corporate governance reports of companies. The Papke and Wooldridge (2008) approach is adopted to estimate fractional response models, and fractional probit model is estimated using the generalised estimating equation approach, with an independent working correlation matrix to determine the effect of various company attributes on managerial remuneration disclosure. Findings The study shows that company size and the presence of remuneration committee are significantly related with the disclosure and compliance index of managerial remuneration. Remuneration disclosure is found to be time-dependent as time dummies for all years are found to be significant. Research limitations/implications This study highlights the importance of the formation of remuneration committees on corporate boards. The findings of the present study can be used as inputs for promoting better compliance and comprehensive executive remuneration disclosure. Originality/value Nothing concrete in the field of managerial remuneration disclosure (to the best of researcher’s knowledge) has yet been done in an emerging economy such as India. This study aims to address this gap by deriving a disclosure and compliance index for managerial remuneration disclosure and examining the impact of various corporate attributes on it.

Labor Demand and Unequal Payments: Does Wage Dispersion Matter? Using German Employer-Employee Data to Analyze the Influence of Intra-Firm Wage Inequality on Labor Demand

A theoretical analysis examines the relationship between intra-firm wage dispersion and employment at establishments. The analysis relies on the absence of a theoretical consensus regarding the influence of wage dispersion on labor demand. To prove the theoretical considerations, regressions were conducted on German linked employer-employee data from the Institute for Employment Research (LIAB) for 1996 through 2008. More specifically, fractional probit models for the panel data and a fixed effects regression with a log-odds transformation of the dependent variable were used to estimate the share equations of a labor demand model, including different measures of wage dispersion. The results illustrate a negative influence of the residual wage inequality that takes into account the composition of the workforce in the establishment. In addition, an increasing wage dispersion at the lower end of the wage distribution decreases the labor demand of the establishment; however, this leads to the estimates of the overall wage dispersion becoming insignificant.

Total-factor energy efficiency in China’s sugar manufacturing industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the total-factor energy efficiency (TFEE) in China’s sugar manufacturing industry using firm-level data from 2002/2003 to 2012/2013 crushing seasons, and further explore the determinants of TFEE. Design/methodology/approach – Modified data envelopment analysis is used to measure the TFEE of each sugar mill during the crushing seasons. Then heteroskedastic fractional probit model is applied to estimate the determinants of TFEE because of the bounded nature of TFEE and heteroskedasticity of unbalanced panel. Findings – The results show that throughout the crushing seasons, the average TFEE is 0.57; there are spatial differences of TFEE in Guangxi sugar industry, highest in southern area; the TFEE of foreign-owned sugar mills is larger than that of private-owned and state-owned sugar mills; the larger the enterprise size, the higher the TFEE; private ownership, large size, raw material, safe productivity, total recovery rate as well as technical progress can improve TFEE significantly. Originality/value – This paper analyzes TFEE using a rich data set at firm level, allowing the existence of firm heterogeneity, as well as being complementary to the study of energy efficiency in China’s sugar industry. Moreover, ownership structure is involved in the determinants of TFEE, which is rarely done in literature. Lastly, heteroskedastic fractional probit model is employed to recognize the bounded nature of TFEE as well as selection bias of unbalanced panel to study the determinants of TFEE.