Ceteris Paribus Conditions Research Articles

Does gender affect medical decisions?

It is rarely the case in medical practice that differences between female and male physicians can be described under ceteris paribus conditions. Physicians self-select their type of practice, patients self-select physicians, and physicians are expected to account for both the context and the characteristics of their patients when providing medical treatment. As a result, reported gender differences in medical practice can have several alternative interpretations. A key question, therefore, is whetherthe treatment of a given patient is expected to depend on the gender of the physician. To address this question, we quantify gender effects using data from an incentivized laboratory experiment, in which Chinese medical doctors and Chinese medical students choose medical treatment under different payment schemes. We estimate preference parameters of females and males assuming decision makers have patient-regarding preferences. We cannot reject the hypothesis that gender differencesin treatment choices are absent. The differences between preference parameters of females and males are not statistically significant, and there is no evidence that the degree of randomness in choices differs between genders. The absence of gender effects in the laboratory, where choice context is fixed, provides nuance to previous findings on gender differences, and highlights the general difficulty of separating individuals’ behavior from their context.

Exploration of poverty and social exclusion of Slovak population via contrast analysis associated with logit models.

The aim of the paper is to assess the impact of socio-economic and socio-demographic factors on the risk of poverty or social exclusion. The paper focuses on the analysis of the probability of social exclusion of the Slovak population from 4 perspectives, from being at risk of poverty or social exclusion, at risk of poverty, severely materially deprived, and living in a (quasi-)jobless household. The least-square means analysis and contrast analysis linked to logit models were used to identify risk groups, and to estimate the social exclusion probabilities. Based on the EU-SILC 2020 database, unemployed persons with low education and persons from single-parent and multi-child households had the greatest risk of social exclusion in Slovakia. Under ceteris paribus conditions, the risk decreased with increasing age and improving health status. The riskiest marital status was divorced. Analyses revealed regional disparities from the point of view of all 4 perspectives, with people living in South-Center and Eastern Slovakia and people living in sparsely and moderately populated areas having the greatest risk. Since economic activity status, household type, and educational attainment level showed as the most relevant factors, the article pays special attention to the assessment of the mutual influence of these factors. Although the pattern of the risk of social exclusion of persons broken down by household type and education for the unemployed and employed is similar, the riskiness of the most vulnerable groups of people is more pronounced for employed persons.

Rebound Effects in Irrigated Agriculture in Uzbekistan: A Stakeholder-Based Assessment

There is wide consensus among scholars and practitioners that improved irrigation technologies increase farm productivity and improve resource use efficiency. However, there is also growing empirical evidence that efficiency improvements in irrigation water use may create rebound effects, i.e., they may trigger changes in farmers’ behavior that partly or fully offset the technical water savings expected under ceteris paribus conditions. In extreme cases, total water consumption may even increase. We studied the impacts of introducing water-saving irrigation technologies in Uzbekistan and used structured stakeholder interviews for an expert-based assessment of potential rebound effects. Our findings contribute to the understanding of impacts of technological and institutional responses to environmental and economic pressures in sustaining water resources. The study demonstrates that although the objective of increasing irrigation efficiency may be achieved, the actual water savings under Uzbek conditions are likely to be reduced due to rebound effects. Unless there are effective policy interventions, we expect rebound effects through an increase in water supply for crops that compensates for current shortages of irrigation water availability, an increase in irrigated area, a switch to more water-intensive crops, and overall economic growth. The findings of this paper provide a reference point for estimating the water-saving potential and for evaluating and adapting policies.

Relational values help explain green infrastructure preferences: The case of managing crane habitat in Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract The initial purpose of our study was to understand preferences of stakeholders on green infrastructure for flood control using a discrete choice experiment. However, the results of our study included unexpected findings. According to the utility theory of economics, an inexpensive green infrastructure scenario should have been chosen under ceteris paribus conditions, but our results differed from this expectation. Inconsistent results like ours are often interpreted as indicating bias and/or questionnaire design issues. However, our results can be interpreted using relational values. We studied green infrastructure in a large‐scale flood control basin in Naganuma, a town in the Hokkaido prefecture in Northern Japan. We conducted a discrete choice experiment with town residents as stakeholders of the green infrastructure. Through the examination of choice and membership parameters of our results, we interpreted that individual identity and place attachment, which are types of relational values, are taken into consideration in the choice situation of the discrete choice experiment. We also found that a notion of social responsibility, which is also a relational value, can help us to understand unexpected findings that cannot be interpreted in terms of economic theory alone. Relational values contribute to our interpretation of preferences related to managing ecosystem services with implications for green infrastructure, culturally significant wildlife, wildlife‐related recreation and flood control. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Organizational forms and technical efficiency of the dairy processing industry in Southern Brazil

The objective of this article is to assess the determinants of the technical efficiency of dairy processing firms in Southern Brazil while accounting for their different organizational forms, namely cooperatives and investor-owned firms. The data from 243 milk processors in southern Brazil, including firm structure, management capacity, and organizational choice of dairies, were analyzed. A production frontier is specified to estimate technical efficiency and identify its potential driving sources. Bayesian techniques are used to estimate the model. An average efficiency of 77% indicates that the actual output is 23% below its potential, which implies that output could, on average, be increased by approximately 31.6%, under ceteris paribus conditions. Economies of scale were also detected. The analysis reveals that the management capacity within companies is the main determinant of efficiency. Idle capacities of processing plants are an important source of inefficiencies and cooperatives are more efficient than investor-owned firms, despite their transaction costs potentially being higher and the five vaguely defined property rights inherent to the traditional cooperatives which they must overcome. Knowledge about the cooperatives’ objectives other than profit maximization would provide a more realistic comparison against investor-owned firms. This study assessed the determinants of the efficiency levels of dairy processing companies in an emerging economy using a unique own dataset with data collected at a plant level. Based on the results, manifold managerial and political implications have been derived that can benefit the dairy industry of developing and emerging economies.

The use of an impeller mowing conditioner during haymaking had no effects on feeding behavior, feed intake or performance of organic dairy cows

AbstractImpeller mowing conditioners are commonly used to speed up the drying process on the field, making forage preservation (haying, ensiling) less dependent on weather conditions. However, the effects of this technique on the nutritive value of the forage and dairy cows' responses have not been investigated yet. Each half of two fields of grass-dominated swards, first regrowth, was cut either with or without the use of an impeller mowing conditioner (experimental hay and control hay, respectively).Ceteris paribusconditions were guaranteed by the same cutting and wilting times (roughly 48 h), number of teddings, field pickup technique and barn-drying method. At the beginning of the feeding trial, 19 lactating Holstein cows were allocated to one of two groups, one control (nine cows) and one experimental group (10 cows) and were fed the respective forage plus a fixed amount of concentrate [3.6 kg d−1; dry matter (DM) basis]. After a 14-d adaptation period, data were collected over 21 consecutive days. Covariate data of cows were collected prior to the experimental feeding period, over a time span of 9 d, and included in the statistical model. Results revealed that control and experimental hay showed significant (P< 0.05) differences in the nutrient profile. However, the magnitude of these differences was not enough to affect intakes of hay (18.4 ± 0.29 kg DM d−1), total dietary energy or chewing activity, but did lead to a decreased intake of water-soluble carbohydrates and an increased crude protein intake, thus affecting ruminal nitrogen balance (P< 0.01). This resulted in a higher milk urea content [23.3vs17.9 mg (100 mL)−1;P< 0.01] in cows fed the experimental hay, whereas other milk performance parameters remained unaffected. In conclusion, the use of the impeller mowing conditioner did not affect the overall forage utilization by cows when the diet contained about 16% concentrate (DM basis). As this is the first study dealing with the effects of an impeller mowing conditioner on cows' responses, future research should consider investigating the effects of mowing conditioners when cows are fed only forage or diets with lower concentrate amounts.

Comparative life cycle assessment of bio‐based insulation materials: Environmental and economic performances

AbstractInsulation materials decrease the final energy consumption of buildings. In Germany, fossil and mineral insulations dominate the market despite numerous life cycle assessments (LCAs) showing that bio‐based insulations can offer environmental benefits. Evaluating the results of such LCAs is, however, complex due to a lack of comparability or costs considered. The objective of this study is comparing bio‐based insulations under equal conditions to identify the most environmentally friendly and cost‐efficient material. For this purpose, a comparative LCA and life cycle costing (LCC) were conducted from “cradle to grave” for four bio‐based and two nonrenewable insulations. The bio‐based insulation materials evaluated were wood fiber, hemp fiber, flax, and miscanthus. The nonrenewable insulations were expanded polystyrene (EPS) and stone wool. Key data for the LCA of the bio‐based insulations were obtained from preceding thermal conductivity measurements under ceteris paribus conditions. Eighteen environmental impact categories were assessed, and direct costs were cumulated along the life cycle. Results show that the most environmentally friendly bio‐based insulation materials were wood fiber and miscanthus. A hotspot analysis found that, for agriculturally sourced insulations, cultivation had the largest environmental impact, and for wood fiber insulation, it was manufacturing. The use phase (including installation) constituted a cost hotspot. The environmental impacts of end‐of‐life incineration were strongly influenced by the fossil components of the materials. Overall, bio‐based insulations were more environmentally friendly than EPS and stone wool in 11 impact categories. The LCC found EPS and miscanthus insulation to be most cost‐efficient, yet market integration of the latter is still limited. It can be concluded that miscanthus biomass is an environmentally and economically promising bio‐based insulation material. Comparability of the environmental performance of the bio‐based insulations was increased by applying the same system boundary and functional unit, the same impact assessment methodology, and the preceding ceteris paribus thermal conductivity measurements.

Results of a Pilot Study of Judicial Processing of Debt Collection Cases under Ceteris Paribus Conditions

This research note reports initial results of a pilot study based on a sample of 100 collection cases filed in 2017 by a single bank (WFBNA) against consumers who defaulted on credit card accounts. All collection lawsuits were prosecuted by the same law firm using the same litigation templates, including the same form affidavits, but the cases were randomly assigned to multiple district courts within a major urban jurisdiction in Texas. This research design allows for (1) a description of general patters in the processing of garden-variety consumer collection cases, and (2) for a systematic assessment of variability among multiple courts faced with cases that are alike in terms of all relevant attributes: facts, law, and modus of litigation employed by a single law firm. In terms of outcomes, the breakdown for the first 100 cases filed in 2017 that were closed as of May 20, 2019 is as follows: 37 default judgments, 24 nonsuits without prejudice, 5 nonsuits with prejudice, 21 Agreed Judgment, 7 summary judgment, 6 dismissals for want of prosecution, and not a single judgment resulting from a bench or jury trial. As for variability among the courts (26 different judges), the examined data suggests that judges affect the speed with which cases proceed to judgment, and that some judges perform at least a limited amount of quality control regardless of whether the defendant was represented by attorney or pro se. Judges routinely grant judgment for the Bank in the amounts requested, provided that proof of service is on file. In a few cases, a trial court judge modified the judgment submitted by the bank with regard to interest and contingent appellate attorney’s fees, but none of the judges altered the amount of debt claimed by the bank as owing and due, or the amount of the attorney fees claimed by the Bank’s counsel as reasonable. Not a single case resulted in a take-nothing judgment in the defendant's favor. Two cases in which defendants filed counterclaims ended in dismissal of all claims, presumably by agreement, but on terms not revealed by the public record. Agreed judgments are for the full amount alleged as owed in the Bank's pleadings, with no discount on attorney’s fees. The insights gained from this limited-scope pilot study are consistent with other empirical studies concluding that contemporary debt collection litigation against consumers does not comport with the concept of an adversarial legal system, with occasional exceptions only. Even when defendants were represented by counsel, there is no clear evidence that the ultimate outcome is any different. At best, a settlement or adverse disposition may be delayed. But this may also happen when the defendants file a general denial or a narrative pro se answer. In several instances attorneys for defendants did not respond to the Bank’s motion for summary judgment when such a motion was filed. None of the attorneys for defendants in the sample challenged the reasonableness of the attorney’s fees sworn to by the Bank’s lawyers with a counter-affidavit. Pro se litigants are not qualified to do so. Based solely on the data in the sample, the outcome was predictably in the Bank’s favor. If pro se parties or attorneys were more pro-active, however, the pattern of outcomes might be less uniform.

Assets and Liabilities: When Do They Exist?

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we investigate whether the current references to probability in standard setters' conceptual definitions of assets and liabilities cause individuals to believe that the probability of a future transfer of economic benefits must be above some meaningful threshold for an asset or a liability to exist—a belief that is contrary to standard setters' intent. Results of multiple experiments indicate that the majority of individuals do use a high probability threshold to determine asset existence, whereas for liabilities the majority use a very low threshold. Thus, even under ceteris paribus conditions, liabilities are more frequently judged to exist than assets—a phenomenon analogous to accounting conservatism, as has been discussed in terms of the performance statement. These findings are robust to variation in formal training and in type of liability, and cannot be explained by alternative approaches to judging existence. Consistent with standard setters' intentions, results also suggest that their proposed changes to the definitions of assets and liabilities—changes that attempt to clarify the intended role of probability—do cause a greater proportion of participants to indicate that the relevant financial statement element (asset or liability) exists, relative to participants with no definition. Our study provides important insights for standard setters as they continue work on their missions to update their Conceptual Frameworks and for researchers regarding the role of conservatism on the balance sheet.

Agronomic benefits of long-term trials

Long-term trials are established in order to explore and observe plant and soil interrelationships in situ. Long-term trials can be described as live instruments providing ceteris paribus conditions in temporal sequences. This review provides an introduction to major long-term trials in Hungary and in other parts of the world. It gives a brief summary of the origins of plant nutritional research, beginning with some data from Homer and the willow tree experiment of van Helmont, as well as the discovery of physiological processes by von Liebig, Lawes and Boussingault. The most profound long-term trials, like the Orto Botanico in Padova, the Linné Garden in Uppsala and the Broadbalk in Rothamsted are presented in the paper. The agronomic, educational and scientific benefits of the major Hungarian long-term trials are also discussed, from Westsik (1929) to Martonvásár and the National Plant Nutrition Trials (OMTK) set up in 1963. There is a list of experimental sites giving information on the most important recent long-term trial locations and their activities.

Agronomic benefits of long term trials

Long term trials have been established in favour of exploring and observing plant and soil interrelations on site. We may determine long term trials as live instruments providing ceteris paribus conditions in temporal sequences. This review is dealing with the introduction to major long term trials in the World and in Hungary. Giving a brief summary on plant nutritional research roots beginning with some data from Homer, and the fabulous initial willow tree experiment of van Helmont, as well as the basic inventions of physiological processes by von Liebig, Lawes and Boussingault. The most profound long term trials like Padova’s Orto Botanico, the Linné Garden of Uppsala and the Broadbalk of Rothamsted are presented in the lecture. Agronomic, educational and scientific benefits of the major Hungarian long term trials are also discussed from Westsik 1929 via Maronvásár and the National Plant Nutrition Trials (OMTK) founded in 1963. There is a list of experimental sites giving information on the most important recent long term trial locations and the activities.

Are financial retirement incentives more effective if pension knowledge is high?

AbstractWe study the combined effects of financial incentives and information provision on retirement behavior. To elicit preferences for retirement timing in the laboratory, we ask subjects to make retirement choices under different payoff schemes that introduce variation in financial incentives. Testing ceteris paribus conditions of the financial incentive alone shows a considerable delay of retirement once early retirement becomes financially less attractive. However, varying available information as another treatment parameter reveals considerable heterogeneity in the functioning of these incentives. Subjects who are explicitly informed about the expected pension wealth respond more strongly to financial incentives compared with those who only know their pension annuity. Being informed about a forward-looking measure of pension benefits makes the financial consequences of retirement choices more salient to the decision maker.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN RURAL AREAS OF THE EASTERN POLAND – TRENDS AND PROSPECTS

The aim of the paper is assessment the dynamics and directions of development of entrepreneurship in rural areas of Eastern Polish in the years 2009-2015. Based on the survey it can be concluded that the number of enterprises in rural areas of Eastern Poland systematically increasing, and forecasts of ceteris paribus conditions indicates for further development. However you should comply, that the average increase of the net number of enterprises in rural areas for 10,000 people is becoming lower which can prove with a slowing in growth trend and market saturation of enterprises. The reason for this are the barriers that exist in rural areas, which strongly determine the development of entrepreneurship.Assessment of directions and the dynamics of the development of entrepreneurship based on the number of enterprises by selected sections of PKD in the years 2009-2015 indicated no significant difference in the trend in all regions – the trends are similar. Highest dynamics of growth are services related to communications and information, real estate market service, and rental services and lease of buildings, structures, machinery or equipment, the labour market agency, tourist services, detective or security, maintenance of cleanliness and order, development of green areas, office administration. On the other hand, sectors such as agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing, wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, financial and insurance activities were characterized by a reverse trend - a systematic decrease of the number of enterprises. Other PKD sections remained constant, unchanging level.

Dietary quality among the elderly in Germany: a retirement-nutrition puzzle?

We test the hypothesis of a retirement-nutrition puzzle with data from the German National Nutrition Survey II, starting from the economic debate on whether a retirement-consumption puzzle actually exists. The major question is whether unexpected income changes following retirement cause a reduced consumption of nutrients and/or a lower dietary quality. Three indices of dietary quality are computed for 6,504 individuals in the 50+ generation. Descriptive and inductive statistics are used first to compare retired and working people with regard to the consumption of foods and nutrients as well as their dietary quality. Then, multiple regression models are utilized in order to analyse the influence of retirement on dietary quality under ceteris-paribus conditions. The empirical findings do not support the hypothesis of a retirement-nutrition puzzle. Although retired people consume fewer nutrients than their working counterparts, their dietary quality is not worse. When income and age effects are controlled in a multivariate analysis, none of the three dietary quality indicators is significantly affected by retirement. The multivariate analysis reveals highly significant influences of other sociodemographic and personal characteristics on dietary quality within the 50+ generation. The analysis suggests there is no general need to target nutrition policy at a retirement-nutrition puzzle. However, pensioners are a very diverse group, and it remains a task for future research to disaggregate the findings for different clusters of retired persons.

On the Definition of Ecology

In this article I discuss the proposition that ecologists may place restrictions on the kinds of plants and animals and on the kinds of systems they consider relevant to assessing the resiliency of ecological generalizations. I argue that to restrict the extension of ecological science and its concepts in order to exclude cultivated plants, captive animals, and domesticated environments ecologists must appeal either (1) to the boundaries of their discipline; (2) to the idea that the effects of human activity are rare and unusual enough to count as ceteris paribus conditions; or (3) to the nature/culture divide. The boundaries of their discipline, however, are practical, not epistemological. The effects of human activity are ubiquitous and profound. And the nature/culture divide, as far as I know, has been infra dignitatem in the natural sciences at least since Charles Darwin and John Stuart Mill. Ecologists may reason, moreover, that organisms and systems that have the kind of history that interests them must as a result possess a kind of organization or some other general biological property that distinguishes them from those that do not. This is to commit a genetic fallacy.

Assessing the Impact of Air Pollution on Grain Yield of Winter Wheat - A Case Study in the North China Plain.

The major wheat production region of China the North China Plain (NCP) is seriously affected by air pollution. In this study, yield of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was analyzed with respect to the potential impact of air pollution index under conditions of optimal crop management in the NCP from 2001 to 2012. Results showed that air pollution was especially serious at the early phase of winter wheat growth significantly influencing various weather factors. However, no significant correlations were found between final grain yield and the weather factors during the early growth phase. In contrast, significant correlations were found between grain yield and total solar radiation gap, sunshine hour gap, diurnal temperature range and relative humidity during the late growing phase. To disentangle the confounding effects of various weather factors, and test the isolated effect of air pollution induced changes in incoming global solar radiation on yield under ceteris paribus conditions, crop model based scenario-analysis was conducted. The simulation results of the calibrated Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) model indicated that a reduction in radiation by 10% might cause a yield reduction by more than 10%. Increasing incident radiation by 10% would lead to yield increases of (only) 7%, with the effects being much stronger during the late growing phase compared to the early growing phase. However, there is evidence that APSIM overestimates the effect of air pollution induced changes on radiation, as it does not consider the changes in radiative properties of solar insulation, i.e. the relative increase of diffuse over direct radiation, which may partly alleviate the negative effects of reduced total radiation by air pollution. Concluding, the present study could not detect a significantly negative effect of air pollution on wheat yields in the NCP.

Assessing the role of futures position substitutability in a monthly slaughtered pork factor demand by US processors: a cointegrated VAR model approach

ABSTRACTThis article combines cointegrated VAR modelling with basic neoclassical production microeconomics in a new way that tests for, and illuminates the empirical nature of, the monthly US pork processing sector’s factor demand for slaughtered pork. Statistical evidence strongly suggests that the US pork processing sector has a Hicksian Cobb–Douglas slaughtered pork demand that arises from applying Shephard’s lemma to the sector’s cost function and that US pork processors treat slaughtered pork and related futures positions as close factor substitutes. In the wake of major and ongoing futures market events and trends, this study establishes and statistically tests a theoretical link between futures price movements and impacts on the underlying slaughtered pork market through monthly formation of US pork processors’ factor demand for slaughtered pork. Evidence suggests that demand agents shift between demands for the two substitutes based on movements in the slaughter/futures price ratio that results in a market-stabilizing cushion against sharp pork price movements such as those observed in the late-1990s. Statistical and diagnostic evidence suggests that our modelled non-experimental data and estimated Hicksian demand that arose from the cointegrated VAR model’s cointegration space met Haavelmo’s setting of passive variables and associated ceteris paribus conditions.

The Possibility of Coherentism and the Stringency of Ceteris Paribus Conditions

Schupbach (2008) puts forward a "possibility result" for Bayesian Coherentism, showing that there exist plausible sets of ceteris paribus conditions that imply that coherence is truth-conducive. Against this result, Schubert (2012) has argued that Schupbach's considered ceteris paribus conditions are "jointly inconsistent". In this article, I first show that Schubert's attempted proof of this claim is fallacious, and hence that the possibility result still stands. Next, I consider a related criticism of Schupbach's result, inspired by Olsson's (2005) constraints on ceteris paribus conditions. This leads to a general discussion of the principle(s) that should guide one in choosing such conditions.

Ceteris paribus conditions and the interventionist account of causality

The paper uses a de-relativized (or objectified) variant of Woodward’s definition of direct type-level causation to develop an account of causal ceteris paribus (cp) laws. It argues that the relation between X and Y needs to satisfy three conditions in order to qualify as one of direct type-level causation, that satisfaction of these conditions guarantees the applicability of claims of direct type-level causation, that the context of applicability motivates referring to these conditions as cp conditions, and that claims of direct type-level causation qualify as laws if they are explanatorily deep. The account of causal cp laws defended by the paper derives from a de-relativized variant of Woodward’s definition of direct type-level causation but can be shown not to conflict with Woodward’s thesis that there is no such thing as a cp law.

Do Statistical Laws Solve the ‘Problem of Provisos’?

In their influential paper “Ceteris Paribus, There is No Problem of Provisos”, Earman and Roberts (Synthese 118:439–478, 1999) propose to interpret the non-strict generalizations of the special sciences as statistical generalizations about correlations. I call this view the “statistical account”. Earman and Roberts claim that statistical generalizations are not qualified by “non-lazy” ceteris paribus conditions. The statistical account is an attractive view, since it looks exactly like what everybody wants: it is a simple and intelligible theory of special science laws without the need for mysterious ceteris paribus conditions. I present two challenges to the statistical account. According to the first challenge, the statistical account does not get rid of so-called “non-lazy” ceteris paribus conditions. This result undermines one of the alleged and central advantages of the statistical account. The second challenge is that the statistical account, qua general theory of special science laws, is weakened by the fact that idealized law statements resist a purely statistical interpretation.