Average Disposable Income Research Articles

Educational inequalities in mortality are larger at low levels of income: A register-based study on premature mortality among 2.3 million Swedes, 2006–2009

Education develops skills that help individuals use available material resources more efficiently. When material resources are scarce, each decision becomes comparatively more important. Education may also protect from health-related income decline, since the highly educated tend to work in occupations with lower physical demands. Educational inequalities in health may, therefore, be more pronounced at lower levels of income. The aim of this study is to assess whether the shape of the income gradient in premature mortality depends on the level of education.Total population data on education, income and mortality was obtained by linking several Swedish registers. Income was defined as five-year average disposable household income for ages 35–64 and mortality follow-up covered the period 2006–2009. The final population comprised 2.3 million individuals, 6.2 million person-years and 14,362 deaths. Income was modeled using splines in order to allow variation in the functional form of the association across educational categories. Poisson regression with robust standard errors was used.The curvilinear shape of the association between income and mortality was more pronounced among those with a low education. Both absolute and relative educational inequalities in premature mortality tended to be larger at low levels of income. The greatest income differences in mortality were observed for those with a low education and the smallest for the highly educated.Education and income interact as predictors of mortality. Education is a more important factor for health when access to material resources is limited.

Hospitalisation cost analysis on hip fracture in China: a multicentre study among 73 tertiary hospitals

ObjectiveTo describe and analyse the hospitalisation cost of patients with hip fracture under the influence of various factors and to provide references for Chinese national medical insurance policy.Materials and methodsAll...

REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN LITHUANIA

The aim of this study is to identify current pattern specific to the development of the Lithuanian counties by using a comparison approach. The research was based on annual data covering the period 2011–2016. Various aspects of the environmental, social and economic differences between the regions in Lithuania are analysed and discussed. The article focuses on regional disparities but also considers changes over time. In this research there have been applied nonparametric statistical methods and graphical presentation. The results have indicated that there is a clear predominance of three regions – Kaunas, Klaipėda and Vilnius counties. The conducted analysis showed, that there were statistically significant differences in the activity rate, the average disposable income and the number of households that have an internet access comparing by the years.

Marginalization risks of remittance dependant population of the Republic of Moldova

This article emphasizes the importance of remittances on Moldovan income and economic growth. As a result of the increase in the flow of migrants, remittances have become an important factor in the country‘s GDP (in 2017, 20.6% of GDP). According to the Household Budget Survey the income from remittances directly affects the welfare of Moldovan households. In this study, the dependency of marginalized categories of the population (families with many children, elderly people and rural population) on the remittances of Moldovan migrants is analyzed. In rural areas, remittances account for more than 20% of the average disposable income.

Hospitalisation cost analysis of hip fracture in China: a cross-sectional, multicenter study

BackgroundHip fracture is common, with high morbidity and expense, which becomes a major health-care problem. Very few multicenter studies of the cost of care for hip fracture in China have been done. The aim of this study was to describe and analyse the hospitalisation cost associated with hip fractures, to compare the hospitalisation cost with the local income level, and to provide rational proposals for Chinese national medical insurance policy. MethodsIn this multicenter, cross-sectional study, we collected and analysed data from Chinese National Medical Data Center Database. The inclusion criteria were based on the main diagnosis of femoral neck or intertrochanteric fracture and a discharge date between Dec 30, 2013, and Dec 31, 2015. Hospitalisation costs, age, diagnosis, treating methods, hospitalisation provinces, and hospitalisation length of stay were collected and analysed using SPSS 23.0. We excluded any datasets that did not have the full complement of information listed above. The gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and average annual disposable income were obtained from National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. The effect of various factors on the cost of hospitalisation was investigated using ANOVA analysis and multivariable linear regression analysis. The level of significance was set at p<0·05. The choropleth maps of the hospitalisation cost, GDP per capita, and average annual disposable income was made using Excel 2007 to compare the distribution characteristics. Findings27 205 cases from 73 central hospitals in 24 provinces were included in the study. The average cost of all patients was ¥53 440 (median ¥51158, SD ¥35 238), which was more than the GDP per capita in 2014 (¥46 629) and 2·65 times the average annual disposable income of 2014 (¥20 167). According to the multiple linear regression analysis, the diagnosis, treatment methods, and length of hospital stay had a statistically significant effect on hospitalisation costs. Furthermore, some age groups (0–19 years, 60–69 years) also had significant effects. The average cost of care for patients with femoral neck fractures was ¥12 284·22 less than for the care of patients with intertrochanteric fractures, with the standardised coefficient of 0·263; the average cost of hip replacement was ¥18560·65 higher than that of internal fixation, with the standardised coefficient of 0·263, which indicated a strong effect of the surgical approach to cost. The length of hospital stay was the most important factor, and the hospitalisation cost increased with increasing number of days spent at hospitals. The distribution of average hospitalisation cost of hip fracture patients varied a lot across different provinces, presenting a multicenter, radicalised distribution pattern, which did not match with the local income level. InterpretationThe regional economic and medical development is highly inconsistent, and the hospitalisation cost of hip fracture has become a great burden to many patients' families, especially those living in economically underdeveloped regions with high medical expense. However, the medical insurance now only covers the hospitalisation cost to a limited extent. Thus, we call for further enhancement of the Chinese medical insurance policy, which should be implemented according to the distribution characteristics of hospitalisation cost and local income levels. FundingChinese National Ministry of Science and Technology 973 Project (2014CB542201) and 863 project (SS2015AA020501), the National Natural Science Fund (31571235, 31571236, 31271284).

Influence of medical insurance schemes and charity assistance projects on regular prophylaxis treatment of the boys with severe haemophilia A in China.

To explore the influence of medical insurance policy and charity assistance projects on the uptake and discontinuation of regular prophylaxis treatment in Chinese severe haemophilia A children. This retrospective study was conducted on children with severe haemophilia A, who received FVIII prophylaxis treatment at 12 haemophilia centres in China from 1 November 2007 to 31 May 2013. The average duration of prophylaxis treatment received by haemophilia children significantly increased from 16.7weeks in 2008 to 32.8weeks in 2012 (P<.001). The main reason for prophylaxis acceptance included dissatisfaction with previous "on-demand" regimens, availability of improved local medical insurance policies and patient/family awareness of haemophilia. The main reason for subsequent discontinuation of prophylaxis was economic instability. The upper limit of insurance was up to RMB 150000/y (~USD: 22000/y) for 80.1% of the insured patients and would be sufficient to cover the continuous low-dose prophylaxis regimen. However, for many patients the burden of out-of-pocket copayment cost represented a risk for poor adherence to regular prophylaxis. In about two third of the patients, the annual out-of-pocket copayment cost amounted to >50% of their average annual disposable income. Many patients therefore required assistance from the charity assistance projects, but nonadherence remained prevalent. Medical insurance policy and charity assistance projects helped haemophilia children to accept and continue prophylaxis regimens. It was the proportion of the out-of-pocket copayment cost rather than the upper limit of insurance reimbursement that restricted long-term regular low-dose prophylaxis in China.

Advanced Neonatal Medicine in China: A National Baseline Database.

Previous surveys of neonatal medicine in China have not collected comprehensive information on workforce, investment, health care practice, and disease expenditure. The goal of the present study was to develop a national database of neonatal care units and compare present outcomes data in conjunction with health care practices and costs. We summarized the above components by extracting data from the databases of the national key clinical subspecialty proposals issued by national health authority in China, as well as publicly accessible databases. Sixty-one newborn clinical units from provincial or ministerial hospitals at the highest level within local areas in mainland China, were included for the study. Data were gathered for three consecutive years (2008–2010) in 28 of 31 provincial districts in mainland China. Of the 61 newborn units in 2010, there were 4,948 beds (median = 62 [IQR 43–110]), 1,369 physicians (median = 22 [IQR 15–29]), 3,443 nurses (median = 52 [IQR 33–81]), and 170,159 inpatient discharges (median = 2,612 [IQR 1,436–3,804]). During 2008–2010, the median yearly investment for a single newborn unit was US$344,700 (IQR 166,100–585,800), median length of hospital stay for overall inpatient newborns 9.5 (IQR 8.2–10.8) days, median inpatient antimicrobial drug use rate 68.7% (IQR 49.8–87.0), and median nosocomial infection rate 3.2% (IQR1.7–5.4). For the common newborn diseases of pneumonia, sepsis, respiratory distress syndrome, and very low birth weight (<1,500 grams) infants, their lengths of hospital stay, daily costs, hospital costs, ratios of hospital cost to per-capita disposable income, and ratios of hospital cost to per-capita health expenditure, were all significantly different across regions (North China, Northeast China, East China, South Central China, Southwest China, and Northwest China). The survival rate of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants (Birth weight <1,000 grams) was 76.0% during 2008–2010 in the five hospitals where each unit had more than 20 admissions of ELBW infants in 2010; and the median hospital cost for a single hospital stay in ELBW infants was US$8,613 (IQR 8,153–9,216), which was 3.0 times (IQR 2.0–3.2) the average per-capita disposable income, or 63 times (IQR 40.3–72.1) the average per-capita health expenditure of local urban residents in 2011. Our national database provides baseline data on the status of advanced neonatal medicine in China, gathering valuable information for quality improvement, decision making, longitudinal studies and horizontal comparisons.

The Impact of Poverty Alleviation Policy on Urban Household Demand

Many policies and measures for poverty alleviation have been undertaken by the Chinese government, but few researchers have explored its experience and lessons. This research focuses on household needs like food, clothing, housing, household equipment and supplies, transportation and communication, education and entertainment, healthcare; and also focuses on food items such as grains, meat, eggs, milk, vegetables, fruits and others in urban China. In poor households, the average disposable income per capita is less than or near per capita expenditure; and the Engels coefficient is often over 40%. The data from 1997-2012 in this research is in the provincial level from the Information Website of Development Research Center of the State Council (or “DRCnet”). The authors used the two stage ELES-AIDS (Almost Ideal Demand System) to estimate the price elasticity and expenditure elasticity of the household’s expenditures. According to the results, it is recommended that the government should follow economic law and improves policy efficiency, especially its food policy to alleviate the poverty of low income residents.

Association between individual-level and community-level socio-economic status and blood pressure among Inuit in Greenland

BackgroundDespite abundant evidence that socio-economic status (SES) is a fundamental determinant of health, there is a dearth of research examining association between SES, measured at the individual and community levels, and cardiovascular risk factors and morbidity among indigenous populations.ObjectivesTo examine the influence of individual-level and community-level SES on systolic and diastolic blood pressure among Greenlandic Inuit.MethodsMultilevel analysis of cross-sectional data from the Inuit Health in Transition – Greenland Survey, to which 3,108 Greenlandic Inuit aged 18 years and older participated. Blood pressure is measured using an automatic device, according to standardized protocol. Individual SES is measured by education. Community socio-economic conditions are measured using combined information on average disposable household income and settlement type.ResultsEducation was not significantly associated with blood pressure. There was an inverse U-shape association between community socio-economic conditions and blood pressure with significantly lower SBP and DBP among participants living in remote traditional villages characterized by lower average disposable household income and in affluent more urbanized towns. Sex-stratified analyses demonstrate the salience of community conditions for men.ConclusionsThe association observed between blood pressure and community-level socio-economic conditions suggests that public health and social policies, programmes and interventions aiming to improve living conditions might improve cardiovascular health in Greenland. Studies are required to further examine social gradients in cardiovascular risk factors and morbidity among indigenous populations using different measures of SES.

Demographic Profile of Online Shoppers: An Overview

This review starts with a premise that numerous previous studies have used demographic profile of the online shopper to comprehend difference in their online buying behavior. Taking above reason in account an exhaustive literature review of the relevant studies has been undertaken to understand the effect of demographic variables on online buying behavior. It was observed that online shoppers are mostly male, well educated, young, professionals and have an above average disposable household income. However, marital status had no significant effect, except in categories like hardware and technology. The results from this study will be useful for researchers and marketers to appropriately segment, target and position their business for maximum output.

Theoretical Modeling of Influence of Children on Family Purchase Decision Making

Children traditionally were not considered important consumer segment. However, with changing economic, social and demographic scenario, the situation has undergone a change. Substantial research has found that children have influence in family purchase decisions. McNeal (1987) categorized children as three markets in one: they are current market that spends money on their desires, they are a future market for most goods and services and they are markets of influential that cause billions of dollars of purchase among their parents. A study by Nickelodeon (2013) states that power of kids influence over purchasing decisions has increased significantly over the years and decision making among families is collaborative. McNeal (1998) reported that children's indirect purchase through influencing parents decisions soared from USD 5 billion in 1960s to USD 188 billion in 1997. Today children are not passive users but influential buyers and are socialized in this role from an early age. The topic gains special relevance from Indian context due to various reasons. The influence of children in decision making is still an unexplored topic in India. The study specially gains relevance as India has witnessed huge cultural, social and economic changes in the past decade. With compounded annual growth rate of 5.36% predicted for average household disposable income between 2005-2025 (McKinsey Global Institute, 2007) the financial position of families is much stronger. As per Census 2010 of India, demographically India is a young nation with 30% of the population below the age group of 15 years. According to consumer socialization theory family, peers, media are important socialization agents. Also according to research, child's influence is effected by product category, age of child, family communication pattern (Ahuja and Stinson, 1993, Caruana and Vassallo, 2003, Haynes et al., 1993; Ozgen, 2003). The model integrates these two different areas of research to develop a conceptual model to explore the relation of influence of children with respect to different factors. The model introduces the concept of “parent's re-socialization”.

Discussion based on analysis of the suicide rate and the average disposable income per household in Japan.

Suicide is one of the major social issues in Japan. According to a report of the National Policy Agency, there were approximately 22 000 to 24 000 annual suicides between 1994 and 1997 and there have been over 30 000 annual suicides in Japan since 1998. For these reasons, we think it is important to discuss the economic factor related to suicides in recent years. In this study, we examined suicide rates and the average disposable income per household in Japan in the last 15 years (ie 1994-2008) and discuss the statistical analysis of the average disposable income per household and the associated suicide rates. During the research period, annual suicide rates per 100 000 population in Japan ranged from 16.9 to 25.5 among the total population, from 23.1 to 38.0 among men, and from 10.9 to 14.7 among women. The annual average disposable income per household (ten thousand yen) ranged from 424.0 to 549.9. The average disposable income per household was related to the suicide rate among the total population and among men. The average disposable income per household was not related to the suicide rate among women. We believe that this discussion will be useful in developing specific suicide preventive measures.

Why is There No Income Gap between the Hui Muslim Minority and the Han Majority in Rural Ningxia, China?

Using a household sample survey for 2006 we show that the Hui population in the rural part of Ningxia autonomous region of China is disadvantaged compared to the Han majority as regards length of education and household per capita wealth. Yet there is no gap in average disposable income between the two ethnic groups and poverty rates are very similar. This paradox is due to members of Hui households earning more income outside the farm than members of Han households. Particularly young male Hui living in poor villages have a remarkably high likelihood of migrating, thereby bringing home income to their households.

The impact of consumer affordability on access to assisted reproductive technologies and embryo transfer practices: an international analysis

To systematically quantify the impact of consumer cost on assisted reproduction technology (ART) utilization and numbers of embryos transferred. Ordinary least squared (OLS) regression models were constructed to measure the independent impact of ART affordability-measured as consumer cost relative to average disposable income-on ART utilization and embryo transfer practices. Not applicable. Women undergoing ART treatment. None. OLS regression coefficient for ART affordability, which estimates the independent effect of consumer cost relative to income on utilization and number of embryos transferred. ART affordability was independently and positively associated with ART utilization with a mean OLS coefficient of 0.032. This indicates that, on average, a decrease in the cost of a cycle of 1 percentage point of disposable income predicts a 3.2% increase in utilization. ART affordability was independently and negatively associated with the number of embryos transferred, indicating that a decrease in the cost of a cycle of 10 percentage points of disposable income predicts a 5.1% increase in single-embryo transfer cycles. The relative cost that consumers pay for ART treatment predicts the level of access and number of embryos transferred. Policies that affect ART funding should be informed by these findings to ensure equitable access to treatment and clinically responsible embryo transfer practices.

Pattern of Retail Marketing

This paper attempts to present the retail trends in India's economic growth which has accelerated significantly over the past two decades and so, too, has the spending power of its citizens. Real average household disposable income has roughly doubled since 1985. With rising incomes, household consumption has soared and a new Indian middle class has emerged. The Indian consumer is changing rapidly. The average consumer today is richer, younger and more aspirational in his/her needs than ever before. Consumers now value convenience and choice at par with getting value for their hardearned money. Retailing is the world's largest private industry with total sales of $6.6 trillion. In India, the industry is large, accounting for around 10% of GDP which is the second largest after agriculture. India has one of the highest densities of retail outlets in the entire world. This paper used spss statistical tools to analysis and reviles the data.

Returns to scale in the production of taxi services: an empirical analysis

This paper applies a log-linear simultaneous equation model to estimate the returns to scale in a Cobb–Douglas-type bilateral searching and meeting function which characterises the search frictions between taxis and customers. Number of taxis, taxi fare, population, average occupied taxi journey time and disposable income are used as exogenous variables; customer demand, average customer waiting time and average taxi waiting and cruising time in search of each customer are used as endogenous variables. These variables are coupled together through the simultaneous equation model whose parameters are estimated from the Hong Kong Annual Taxi Survey data as well as data from Traffic and Transport Digest and Annual Digest of Statistics. Our calibration results show that urban taxi services in Hong Kong exhibit an increasing return to scale. The established simultaneous equation model can be used to obtain regulatory information useful for decision-making, such as the impact of the restriction over the number of taxi licenses and the fixing of taxi fare structure.

Income aspects of Czech farmers' living conditions

The paper analyses the income and living conditions of farm households in the Czech Republic. The period under review ware the years of 2005&amp;ndash;2010 since more recent data was not available when this paper was being prepared. The primary source of data is the results of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU SILC) survey. The structure of farm households is established by the household type, education, and economic activity. Households have been assigned to particular groups based on the situation of the household leader. The primary indicator is the average disposable income per 1 equivalent member. Other indicators under review include poverty, poverty depth, and material deprivation. The national poverty line has been defined as 60% of the median average equivalent income. Another important aspect also includes the households&amp;rsquo; subjective views of the selected matters. &amp;nbsp;

Evolution of Middle-Class Chinese Outbound Travel Preferences: An International Perspective

This study explores the outbound travel behaviour of middle-class Chinese, based on in-depth interviews at travel agencies and Chinese government institutions, to gain an understanding of outbound travel preferences. The results indicate that the size of China's middle-class outbound business travel segment has remained relatively unchanged while increased purchasing power has enabled well-educated, high-income workers aged 20–35 to enter the market for leisure travel. A noticeable shift in consumer preference is observed in flows from Western European to Eastern European destinations that joined the Schengen Agreement and from Southeast Asian to East Asian destinations, while immigration requirements constrain flows to the USA. The paper provides a framework for a systematic review to assess the average disposable income growth of China's middle class in relation to Chinese outbound tourist flows relevant for researchers, tourism and hospitality decision makers.

A Study of the Relationship between Environment Protection and Increase of Foreign Exchange Reserves

Tremendous FER not only heightened China’s credit level and payment capability, but also is a reflection of unbalanced economic development. Frequent trade frictions are accompanied by European sovereignty debt crisis &amp; serious US government financial deficit, which increased the risk of China’ FER. Domestic environment worsened. Longtime incentive for export &amp; FDI attraction at any cost generated domestic inflation, sacrificed our natural resources and the rights &amp; benefits of the working class, and polluted the natural environment. Based on econometrics software and data from year 1991 to 2011, this paper studies the relationship between environmental protection and China’s FER, regression of which reveals an overly high trade dependence. Both trade surplus and CPI are significantly and positively related with the rapid growth of China’ FER. Nevertheless, FER contributed little to the increase of average township disposable income. Furthermore, the generating mechanism as well as the drawbacks of the rapid growth of China’ FER are analyzed.

Total and per capita value of food loss in the United States

There are few peer-reviewed or major published studies that estimate the total amount of food loss in developed countries and even fewer attempt to estimate the monetary value. We compiled estimates of the amount and value of food loss for more than 200 individual foods in the United States using the US Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service’s Loss-Adjusted Food Availability data and then aggregated these values to estimate the total value of food loss and the value by food group. The results indicate that in 2008, the estimated total value of food loss at the retail and consumer levels in the United States as purchased at retail prices was $165.6billion. The top three food groups in terms of the value of food loss at these levels are: meat, poultry, and fish (41%); vegetables (17%); and dairy products (14%). Looking more closely at the estimates for the consumer level, this level of loss translates into almost 124kg (273lb) of food lost from human consumption, per capita, in 2008 at an estimated retail price of $390/capita/year. Food loss represents a significant share of household food expenditures: our estimates suggest that the annual value of food loss is almost 10% of the average amount spent on food per consumer in 2008 and over 1% of the average disposable income. This consumer level loss translates into over .3kg (0.7lb) of food per capita per day valued at $1.07/day. Our estimates of the total value of food loss in the United States and loss estimates by food group are useful in that they can generate awareness of the issue among the food industry members, governments, and consumers. Potential large-scale approaches and economic incentives to mitigate food loss in developed countries are also discussed.