Capita Consumption Research Articles

Estimation of the spatial pattern of gout prevalence across China by wastewater-based epidemiology

Gout is a metabolic arthritis caused by hyperuricemia. In recent years, the prevalence of gout has been increased significantly in China due to the improvement of the living standards, and gout has become another common metabolic disease following diabetes mellitus. Gout severely affects the health status and life quality of human. In order to monitor the near real-time prevalence of gout, a wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) approach was carried out in 257 Chinese cities using febuxostat as the biomarker. Febuxostat in wastewater was measured by a LC-MS/MS method with satisfactory results of method validation. The average concentration of febuxostat in wastewater was 53.05 ± 31.76 ng/L, with the estimated per capita consumption of 124.40 ± 73.37 mg/day/1000 inhabitant. The calculated prevalence of febuxostat was 0.41 % ± 0.24 %, and the prevalence of gout was finally estimated to be 1.30 % ± 0.77 % (0.60 % to 2.11 %), which was nearly consistent with value of 1.10 % obtained from the Guideline for the diagnosis and management of hyperuricemia and gout in China (2019). The results indicated that the febuxostat-based WBE approach might be reasonable to assess the near real-time gout prevalence in China.

Analysis of the evolution and drivers of carbon inequality based on a human well-being equity perspective

Regional development imbalances lead to the geographic separation of producers and consumers in interregional trade, thus resulting in an unequal distribution of carbon emissions (CE) and human well-being (HWB). Few studies have analyzed the long-term dynamic evolution and driving factors of interregional carbon inequality from the perspective of HWB equity. This study calculates the changes in embodied CE and HWB and their interregional flows and changes in carbon inequality in 2007, 2012, and 2017 using a multiregional input‒output (MRIO) model, and analyzes the drivers of interregional CE/HWB transfer, and then makes policy implications. The results indicate that carbon inequality in China shows a worsening trend because of the mismatch between the change in CE transfers in carbon-intensive sectors and the change in HWB transfers in economic and social capital. At the national level, CE intensity, HWB intensity, production structure, and per capita consumption have the most significant effects on embodied CE and embodied HWB. The direction of the factor drivers affecting interregional net carbon emissions (NCE) and net human well-being (NWB) transfer depends largely on the resource endowment and the extent of the effects of the different drivers and development status of two regions. This study provides a new perspective for analyzing the evolution of carbon inequality in China and provides important insights for reducing carbon inequality and realizing carbon equity.

Strategi Pengembangan Usaha Pisang Cavendish Pada UD Istana Banana di Desa Pilanggede Kecamatan Balen Kabupaten Bojonegoro

Demand for banana commodities in Indonesia is relatively high, especially as an ingredient for food diversification. Judging from per capita consumption, bananas are consumed the most, with an average consumption of 24.71 grams/capita/day. Besides high domestic demand, bananas have high potential and competitiveness in the international market. The value of banana exports in Indonesia has increased by 42.81% from 2021. Throughout 2022, Indonesia has exported 22,112.98 tonnes of bananas to several countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore, and China. However, requests from these countries have not been met by Indonesia (Coordinating Ministry for the Economy of the Republic of Indonesia, 2020). Demand for exports of horticultural commodities, especially bananas, is relatively high but cannot yet be met. This means that the amount of banana production available is still insufficient to meet the community's needs and export of banana commodities. This research aims to determine internal and external factors, appropriate business development strategies, and priority strategies to be implemented at UD Istana Banana. The study was conducted at UD Istana Banana in Bojonegoro Regency in December 2023. Based on the results of the data analysis, the IFE Matrix (Internal Factor Evaluation) got a total score of 3.25, and the EFE Matrix (External Factor Evaluation) got a total score of 2.85. So, in the Internal External (IE) matrix, the company's position is in quadrant IV, which means the company's position is in growth and development. Furthermore, in the SWOT analysis, ten alternative strategies were obtained, and based on the QSPM analysis, it showed that the alternative strategy to develop the business by expanding partnerships and establishing good relationships with work partners and consumers received the highest score with a value of 5.89 which was the priority strategy at UD Istana Banana.

Household carbon footprints of age groups in China and socioeconomic influencing factors

China has a large fastest-aging population, which would reshape household consumption patterns and influence global CO2 emissions. This study examines global CO2 emissions driven by household consumption (i.e., household carbon footprints, HCFs) of 34 age groups in China's 30 provinces and uncovers relevant socioeconomic influencing factors. Results show that China's population aging (i.e., the proportion of the elderly population) is conducive to global CO2 emission reduction during 2011–2014. This trend is mainly due to the relatively lower per capita HCFs of the elderly (1.7 t in 2014). In contrast, the per capita HCFs of the youth group are higher (3.3 t in 2014), mainly affected by the large expenditure on residence and transportation & communication. In addition, the HCFs of all age groups have increased during 2011–2014. Per capita expenditure is the most significant driver of this increase. The decline in CO2 emission intensity makes the largest contribution to reducing the HCFs of the youth group. For the aged group, expenditure structure change is the largest contributor to HCFs reduction. These findings reveal the differentiated impacts of China's household consumption by age on global CO2 emissions. This study lays the scientific foundation for deriving amelioration policies and achieving emission reduction targets in the process of population aging.

SMALL AREA ESTIMATION WITH HIERARCHICAL BAYES FOR CROSS-SECTIONAL AND TIME SERIES SKEWED DATA

Small Area Estimation (SAE) is a method based on modeling for estimating small area parameters, that applies Linear Mixed Model (LMM) as its basic. It is conventionally solved with Empirical Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (EBLUP). The main requirement for LMM to produce high precision estimates is normally distributed. The observation unit is food crop farmer households from Sulawesi Tenggara Province to estimate food and non-food per capita expenditure at the district/city level using SAE that has been positively skewed. Applying EBLUP for positively skewed data will result less accurate estimates. Meanwhile, transformation will be potentially result biased estimates. Therefore, the problem of skewed data and small area level in this research was completed by Hierarchical Bayes (HB) on combination cross-sectional and time series under skew-normal distribution assumption. The results obtained were skew-normal SAE HB model was significantly reducing Relative Root Mean Squared Error (RRMSE) than the direct estimation. It indicates that SAE modeling is able to provide a shrinkage effect on the direct estimation results. But, there is slightly different interpretating between direct estimation and skew-normal SAE HB. It is possible because the modeling used assumption that the autocorrelation coefficient is equal to 1 or known as the random walk effect. However, in reality, Susenas is not a panel data, so unit of observation for each time period may be different. Therefore, further research should be compared it with the skew-normal or another skewed distribution that assumes the autocorrelation coefficient is unknown and should be estimated in the model.

The Greek economic crisis and its impact on the national health system

Abstract The Greek economic crisis produced severe economic and social outcomes. A massive rescue package was conditional on implementing a Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies agreed upon between the Greek government and the EU, European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. The extremely austere fiscal consolidation and the structural reforms accompanying the Greek Economic Adjustment Programmes reduced the country’s GDP. Implementing the austerity policies on the Greek National Health System, which was already facing structural problems, reduced the quality and availability of public health care services. This paper investigates the impact of the GDP change on public healthcare expenditures (HCE) from 2000 to 2018. The empirical analysis reveals a statistically significant positive correlation between the GDP per capita and public healthcare expenditure (HCE) from 2000 to 2014 while the effect of GDP on HCE after the 2015 remains unchanged. This paper contributes to the field’s literature since it determines the impact of GDP on public HCE, specifically matched with empirical results to derive conclusive answers.

Developments, bottlenecks, and opportunities in seed markets for improved forages in East Africa: The case of Kenya

AbstractBackgroundCattle farming plays a pivotal role in Africa's agricultural and livestock sector, poised for growth due to population expansion and rising per capita consumption of animal‐sourced food. Forages are a primary source of feed for dairy cattle, significantly impacting production costs. While local forage varieties are preferred by dairy farmers, there has been an increase in the adoption of improved forages in recent years. However, the overall adoption rate is still low, for example, due to underdeveloped forage seed markets.MethodsThis study describes the dynamics, challenges, and potential of these markets in Kenya and selected East African countries, focusing on (i) market evolution over the past decade, (ii) forthcoming market prospects, and (iii) bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement. Data were gathered in 2022 through qualitative interviews with stakeholders representing six segments of the forage seed sector across six countries.ResultsWe found a sustained growth of the improved forage seed market in recent years. The main challenges for further growth are high seed prices, regulatory difficulties, and limited producer knowledge.ConclusionsThe findings unveil positive dynamics in the region's forage seed market, fueled by the engagement and determination of stakeholders who recognize the manifold benefits that it holds for both the dairy industry and economic growth. The realization of this market's potential requires addressing prevailing challenges, including elevated seed costs, intricate variety registration processes, and a pervasive lack of awareness among farmers.

Does Wagner’s Hypothesis Explain the Dynamics of Health Expenditures in Transition Countries?

The purpose of this study is to analyze the short and long run causal relationship between public health expenditure and GDP per capita in transition economies within the context of the Wagner hypothesis. For the period 2000-2020, the empirical analysis was conducted using a dataset covering 22 transition countries: Latvia, Belarus, Czechia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Estonia, Croatia, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Ukraine, Armenia, Lithuania, Russian Federation, Slovak Republic, Romania, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic, and Kazakhstan. Wagner emphasizes that increases in government expenditure, considered an endogenous variable, do not drive GDP growth. In essence, Wagner argues that a rise in GDP leads to an increase in government expenditures. The study assessed the validity of Wagner’s hypothesis by applying the Panel Cross-Sectionally Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag model (CS-ARDL), developed by Chudik et al. (2016), using annual data. For the empirical analysis, panel data from selected transition countries underwent causality tests proposed by Juodis, Karavias and Sarafidis (2021) and Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012). The stationarity of the series was assessed using a panel unit root test. Subsequently, the panel cointegration test developed by Westerlund (2007) was employed to ascertain the long run cointegration of the variables in the subsequent phase. The results suggest that the Wagner hypothesis holds true within the context of transition countries, as indicated by the outcomes of the CS-ARDL model. The causality test revealed a one-way causal linkage between GDP per capita and health expenditure. Recommendations for those who make policy decisions were made in light of the findings.

Seçilmiş Değişkenlerin Dış Borç Stoku Üzerine Etkisi: Türkiye Örneği

The aim of this study is to examine the long-term relationship between trade openness, fixed capital formation, GDP per capita and general government final consumption expenditures on external debt stock, using annual data for the period 1994-2021 in Türkiye, with Johansen cointegration analysis. In this context, FMOLS and CCR coefficient estimators were used to determine the long-term relationships of the variables. According to the findings obtained from the FMOLS and CCR coefficient estimators, the general government final consumption expenditures affected the external debt stock the most among the variables examined in Türkiye in the 1994-2021 period. It was followed by GDP per capita, fixed capital formation and trade openness. In summary, while fixed capital formation, trade openness and general government final consumption expenditures increase Türkiye's external debt stock, GDP per capita decreases the external debt stock in the same economy.

Comparative analysis of hydro energy determinants for European Economies using Golden Cut-oriented Quantum Spherical fuzzy modelling and causality analysis

This article presents a comparative analysis of the determinants of hydropower for European economies using Golden Cut oriented Quantum Spherical fuzzy modelling and causality analysis in 24 European countries over the period 2001–2020. The indicators chosen for the analysis are inflation, population, GDP per capita, CO2 and hydropower consumption. The analysis shows that the selected groups of countries are characterised by an inverse relationship between GDP per capita and hydropower consumption, suggesting a bi-directional causal relationship, which also confirms the novelty of this paper. Furthermore, another analysis is carried out using the fuzzy decision-making methodology. In this framework, the directions of influence of the five selected indicators are constructed: GDP per capita (criterion 1, D = 88.656, E = 88.083), hydropower consumption (criterion 2, D = 89.471, E = 88.677), population (criterion 3, D = 87.705, E = 89.228), CO2 emissions (criterion 4, D = 88.578, E = 89.186) and inflation (criterion 5, D = 88.943, E = 88.180). The Quantum Spherical fuzzy methodology is used for this purpose. The values of D and E are measures of the sum of the rows and columns of the overall relationship matrix. Hydropower consumption is the main criterion. It is understood that two different analyses give similar results, namely the bidirectional causal relationship between criteria 1 and 2.

A Comprehensive Study from Cradle-to-Grave on the Environmental Profile of Malted Legumes.

Three representative pulses from the Latium region of Italy (namely, Solco Dritto chickpeas, SDC, Gradoli Purgatory beans, GPB, and Onano lentils, OL) underwent malting to reduce their anti-nutrient content, such as phytic acid and flatulence-inducing oligosaccharides. This initiative targets the current low per capita consumption of pulses. Employing Life Cycle Analysis, their environmental impact was assessed, revealing an overall carbon footprint of 2.8 or 3.0 kg CO2e per kg of malted (M) and decorticated (D) SDCs or GPBs and OLs, respectively. The Overall Weighted Sustainability scores (OWSS) complying with the Product Environmental Footprint method ranged from 298 ± 30 to 410 ± 40 or 731 ± 113 µPt/kg for malted and decorticated SDCs, OLs, or GPBs, indicating an increase from 13% to 17% compared to untreated dry seeds. Land use impact (LU) was a dominant factor, contributing 31% or 42% to the OWSS for MDSDCs or MDOLs, respectively. In MDGPBs, LU constituted 18% of the OWSS, but it was overshadowed by the impact of water use arising from bean irrigation, accounting for approximately 52% of the OWSS. This underscores the agricultural phase's pivotal role in evaluating environmental impact. The climate change impact category (CC) was the second-largest contributor, ranging from 28% (MDSDCs) to 22% (MDOLs), and ranking as the third contributor with 12% of the OWSS for MDGPBs. Mitigation should prioritize the primary impact from the agricultural phase, emphasizing land and water utilization. Selecting drought-tolerant bean varieties could significantly reduce OWSSs. To mitigate climate change impact, actions include optimizing electricity consumption during malting, transitioning to photovoltaic electricity, upgrading transport vehicles, and optimizing pulse cooking with energy-efficient appliances. These efforts, aligning with sustainability goals, may encourage the use of malted and decorticated pulses in gluten-free, low fat, α-oligosaccharide, and phytate-specific food products for celiac, diabetic, and hyperlipidemic patients. Overall, this comprehensive approach addresses environmental concerns, supports sustainable practices, and fosters innovation in pulse utilization for improved dietary choices.

Effect of trade on global aquatic food consumption patterns

Globalization of fishery products is playing a significant role in shaping the harvesting and use of aquatic foods, but a vigorous debate has focused on whether the trade is a driver of the inequitable distribution of aquatic foods. Here, we develop species-level mass balance and trophic level identification datasets for 174 countries and territories to analyze global aquatic food consumption patterns, trade characteristics, and impacts from 1976 to 2019. We find that per capita consumption of aquatic foods has increased significantly at the global scale, but the human aquatic food trophic level (HATL), i.e., the average trophic level of aquatic food items in the human diet, is declining (from 3.42 to 3.18) because of the considerable increase in low-trophic level aquaculture species output relative to that of capture fisheries since 1976. Moreover, our study finds that trade has contributed to increasing the availability and trophic level of aquatic foods in >60% of the world’s countries. Trade has also reduced geographic differences in the HATL among countries over recent decades. We suggest that there are important opportunities to widen the current focus on productivity gains and economic outputs to a more equitable global distribution of aquatic foods.

Does size matter? Evidence from municipal splits

AbstractWe contribute to the limited knowledge of the consequences of municipal splits by estimating how break‐ups of seven Swedish municipalities affected per capita expenditures. To predict what would have happened had the break‐ups not taken place, we apply the matrix completion method with nuclear norm minimization. We find that smaller municipalities not necessarily imply higher per capita expenditures. Instead, expenditures increase in some cases, are unaffected in others, and in others, decrease. The results point to the complex nature of territorial reforms and underscore the perils of policy recommendations that take uniform outcomes of either amalgamations or break‐ups for granted.

Sensory properties of selected biofortified common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) varieties grown in Burundi.

The dry common bean is an important grain legume used for human consumption worldwide. In Eastern Africa, Burundi has a significantly high per capita consumption of the crop. There has been significant research on the underlying agronomic traits of dry biofortified common beans, such as disease resistance. However, there is limited systematic information describing the sensory properties of these bean varieties, particularly in Burundi. This study evaluated the sensory properties of eight cooked dry biofortified common bean varieties using a panel of fifty-four (fourteen plus forty) persons for descriptive sensory evaluation and consumer acceptability tests. Kinure, a traditional non-biofortified common bean variety, was the control. Based on differences in the attributes of the bean varieties, two-dimensional principal component analysis (PCA) explained 58.94% of the variation. The attributes of astringency, consistency, color, juiciness, beany aroma, stickiness, and bean size contributed mostly to the differentiation of the bean varieties. A 95% PCA prediction ellipse displayed stronger congruity in the descriptive attributes of NUV130, NUV91, RWV1129, RWV1272, and RWR2245. In contrast, a deviation in the descriptive attributes of MAC44, MAC70, and RWR2154 was discerned. Regarding consumer acceptability tests, the varieties RWR2245 and MAC44 garnered significantly higher (p < .05) sensory scores on color, aroma, taste, texture, and overall acceptability. Therefore, the physical traits of cooked biofortified common bean varieties are a major contributor to varietal disparities in consumer acceptance studies. These parameters can greatly impact the adoption of dry biofortified common beans and could be of concern to common bean breeders.

Determinants of Life Insurance Consumption in OECD Countries Using FMOLS and DOLS Techniques

This paper aims to examine the determinants of life insurance consumption in 30 OECD countries using panel data from 1996 to 2020. This study uses GDP per capita, Life expectancy, Urbanization, School education, and Health expenditure as the determinants to measure the OECD countries’ life insurance consumption. Insurance density is used as a proxy for life insurance consumption. Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS), Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS), and causality tests are applied in this study. Our empirical results revealed that the variables urbanization, school education, and GDP per capita significantly impact life insurance consumption, whereas life expectancy and health expenditure were found to have an insignificant relationship in estimating life insurance consumption. These findings will help all insurance industry stakeholders in OECD countries in policy formulation and decision making.

Factors affecting Chinese consumers' beef purchase frequency

AbstractChina is an emerging beef market and per capita consumption of beef increased by 48% in the past decade. Given the importance of the Chinese beef market to domestic beef producers as well as foreign beef exporters, we evaluated the factors associated with how often Chinese consumers purchase beef. Using a 2021 survey of 560 beef consumers in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, we found that nearly 50% purchased beef at least two to three times a week. Results of an ordered probit regression suggest that respondents who purchase steak, flank, shank, and brisket are more likely to purchase beef more frequently than those who do not purchase those cuts of beef. Similarly, those who purchase beef more from wet markets and supermarkets, younger shoppers, and those with higher incomes were more likely to purchase beef more frequently. Respondents who considered country of origin and hormone‐free production to be important factors purchased beef more frequently. Consumers who thought price and premium quality grades were more important purchased beef less frequently. These findings provide insights for domestic and foreign beef producers regarding the factors associated with consumer preferences and their frequency of beef purchasing in China. [EconLit Citations: EconLit Citation: Q130, Q170].

Use of malted pulses to formulate gluten-free fresh-egg pasta

In spite of the fact that legumes are rich in proteins, dietary fibers, and micronutrients, their average per capita consumption is limited because of their lengthy cooking period, unpleasant flavor, low-digestible proteins, and gastrointestinal problems. This study was aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the malting process of three typical pulse seeds of the Italian Latium region (i.e. Gradoli Purgatory beans [GPB]; Onano lentils [OL]; and Solco Dritto chickpeas [SDC]) to minimize their anti-nutrient content and test their use as ingredient in the preparation of gluten-free fresh egg pastas. All these fresh egg pastas were devoid of flatulence-inducing oligosaccharides with low phytate content (0.6–0.80 g/100 g of dry matter, dm), a crude protein content of around 20 g/100 g dm and in vitro glycemic index ranging from 28% to 38%. However, the only fresh egg pasta, including malted GPB flour, exhibited not only a significantly smaller glycemic index (28%±3%) but also a resistant starch–total starch ratio by far greater than the threshold value (14%) specified by the European Commission Regulation 432/2012 to label foods with the health claim indicating improvement in postprandial glucose metabolism.

A Taguchi-STIRPAT input-output model for unveiling the pathways of reducing household carbon emissions under dual-carbon target-A case study of Fujian province.

This study develops a novel Taguchi-STIRPAT input-output (TSIO) model for exploring pathways to reduce carbon emission from the perspective of household consumption, through incorporating input-output model (IOM), Taguchi design (TD), and STIRPAT model. TSIO can not only identify the main factors (carbon emission intensity, consumption structure, per capita consumption, and population) and evaluate their effects on indirect household carbon emissions (IHC), but also predict IHC from a long-term perspective to achieve the dual-carbon target. TSIO is then applied to Fujian province (China), where multiple scenarios related to multiple factors with multiple levels are examined. Results reveal that (i) among all sectors, the highest contributors to IHC are residence (RES), followed by food, cigarettes, and drinks (FCD), and transport and communication (TC); it is suggested that the government can consider market mechanism to control these high-carbon emission consumption behaviors; (ii) the decline in the share of RES consumption has the largest effect on rural and urban IHC; the share of RES consumption is considered to be a key factor in predicting carbon emissions; (iii) under the optimal scenario, IHC would peak in 2025 and decrease to 10.07 × 106 ton in 2060; this scenario can effectively mitigate household carbon emissions by reducing carbon emission intensity and the share of RES consumption; at the same time, it can ensure a sustained increase in per capita consumption. The results unveil the pathways of household carbon reduction under the dual-carbon target in Fujian province and suggest the local government should adopt policies (such as taxation and financial incentives) to limit residential consumptions with high carbon emission intensity.

Economic feasibility study for the expansion of the Cyprus aquaculture sector: A roadmap for transition to offshore in the Mediterranean Sea

Global demand for seafood is constantly increasing, driven by population growth and rising per capita consumption. While wild-capture fisheries are facing limitations in meeting this demand, the expansion of aquaculture emerges as the only solution. This paper investigates the potential for increasing the aquaculture production in the Republic of Cyprus by transitioning towards offshore aquaculture farms. The model developed provides a valuable roadmap for offshore transitions in Mediterranean near-coast areas. The study includes a detailed economic analysis coupled with sensitivity analysis to assess the feasibility of this transition considering various expansion scenarios. The results provide valuable insights into the viability and implications of this process, highlighting economic and operational issues.

Validation of an analytical technique for the dosage of ethanol in biological fluids

The widespread consumption of alcoholic beverages in modern society has impelled forensic toxicology laboratories to improve on the already high standards of the analytical techniques routinely employed by optimizing how judicially relevant samples are managed, given that it is essential to expedite the delivery time of results. According to the World Health Organization (WHO): “Total alcohol per capita consumption in the world’s population over 15 years of age rose from 5.5 litres of pure alcohol in 2005 to 6.4 litres in 2010 and was still at the level of 6.4 litres in 2016”. To that effect, the dosage of ethanol in biological fluids allows judges, through retrospective calculations, to assess the level of impairment of an individual at the time of the event, which is fundamental for its elucidation. This study proposes the validation of an analytical method that makes it possible to obtain reliable results with a brief analysis.