Distribution Of Payments Research Articles

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF TRANSFORMATION OF NATURAL RENT DISTRIBUTION ACCORDING TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT

The urgency of the research consists in the imperfection of the mechanism of allocation and redistribution of natural rent, which significantly slows down the process of implementation of the sustainable development concept in Ukraine, both at the macroeconomic and microeconomic levels. The purpose and the objective of the research are to identify causes of unfair withdrawal and distribution of rental payments and the search for approaches to solve them considering the interests of the state, business entities that carry out economic activities using natural resources generating rent, and citizens of the country. To solve the research tasks and achieve the set purpose, the dialectical approach was used to assess the level of development of the formation, distribution and redistribution of natural rent; the system analysis was used to identify problems and substantiate measures of the state regulatory policy as to the redistribution of natural rent among entities of rental relations, as well as to determine areas for further use of rental income by business entities; the comparative analysis was applied to study the experience of using instruments, methods and levers of distribution and redistribution of rent; the statistical methods was used to analyse the main indicators of distribution and redistribution of natural rent in the national economy; the abstract-logical method was applied to substantiate the basic theoretical provisions, formulation of conclusions. It is proved that the existing distribution of natural rent in Ukraine is imperfect due to the existence of a number of legal and fiscal-distributive issues. The model of the regulation mechanism of rental relations, which considers all entities of such relations, as well as requirements, the implementation of which brings the national economy essentially closer to the desired parameters of sustainable development, is proposed. The primary measures for transformation of the regulation mechanism of rental relations and directions of use of rental income by the business entity are determined. The practical significance of the research is to determine the necessary conditions and limitations of functioning of implementation mechanism of rental relations, as well as to determine the priorities of development of economic entities receiving natural rent. The obtained results will form the prospects for further research, which will consist of recommendations for practical implementation of the proposed regulation mechanism of rental relations.

Gender Gap in Industry Relationships and Scholarly Impact Among Academic Urologists in the United States

ObjectivesTo examine the distribution of industry payments to male and female academic urologists and the relationship between industry funding, academic rank, and scholarly impact. Material and MethodsAcademic urologists from 131 programs with publicly available websites were compiled. Gender, rank, fellowship training, and scholarly impact metrics were recorded. Data from the 2016 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Open Payments database were paired with faculty names. Comparisons were made using Fisher's Exact, Wilcoxon Rank Sum, and Spearman's Rank-Order tests. Multivariable logistic regression modeling identified predictors of receiving payments in the top quintile. ResultsAmong 1,657 academic urologists, males comprised 84%. While there were no gender differences in the number of urologists listed in the Open Payments Database, males received more total funding (P < .001) and higher median general payments per capita (P < .03). Males also received higher proportions of research funding (P = .002), speaker fees (P = .03), education fees (P = .03) and higher median consulting fees (P = .003). Overall, males had higher scholarly impact (P < .001), which correlated with total industry payments (rho = 0.27, P < .001). Predictors of accepting the top quintile payments include male gender, associate professorship and H-index score ≥10. ConclusionMost academic urologists accepted at least one industry payment in 2016, but males received more funding than females. There is a positive correlation between total industry payments, H-index, and total publications. More research is needed to understand why gender and scholarly productivity are associated with higher payouts. This is another important area that may influence career advancement and compensation for female urologists.

Disparity of health services in patients with knee osteoarthritis before total knee arthroplasty.

BackgroundRecent evidence describes which interventions are driving insurance payments in the management of osteoarthritis (OA) before total knee arthroplasty (TKA); however, relatively little is known about how these costs are distributed among patients.MethodsWe reviewed the Humana claims database for patients who underwent primary TKA from 2009 to 2016. Insurance payments for treatment, imaging, and evaluation and management were calculated from OA diagnosis to TKA, the distribution of payments was determined, and a high-payment group was identified by determining the point at which patients began to account for a disproportionate percentage of payments. This group of high-payment patients was compared with remaining patients (low-payment patients) based on demographic factors and nonarthroplasty payments and utilization.ResultsThe top 30% of patients accounted for more than 70% of nonarthroplasty payments. High-payment patients were more likely to be younger, female, and more comorbid. Median time from diagnosis to TKA for high-payment patients was 3 times longer than that for low-payment patients (654 days [320-1191] vs 204 days [68-582], P < .001), and median payment per patient was more than 5 times higher ($1891 [1405-2782] vs $362 [198-613], P < .001).ConclusionsIdentification of high-payment patients in the management of knee OA may allow for targeted care pathways and cost-reduction strategies in the nonarthroplasty period, although additional studies are necessary to further characterize this population and efficiently recognize appropriate TKA candidates and timing.

Fair regression for health care spending.

The distribution of health care payments to insurance plans has substantial consequences for social policy. Risk adjustment formulas predict spending in health insurance markets in order to provide fair benefits and health care coverage for all enrollees, regardless of their health status. Unfortunately, current risk adjustment formulas are known to underpredict spending for specific groups of enrollees leading to undercompensated payments to health insurers. This incentivizes insurers to design their plans such that individuals in undercompensated groups will be less likely to enroll, impacting access to health care for these groups. To improve risk adjustment formulas for undercompensated groups, we expand on concepts from the statistics, computer science, and health economics literature to develop new fair regression methods for continuous outcomes by building fairness considerations directly into the objective function. We additionally propose a novel measure of fairness while asserting that a suite of metrics is necessary in order to evaluate risk adjustment formulas more fully. Our data application using the IBM MarketScan Research Databases and simulation studies demonstrates that these new fair regression methods may lead to massive improvements in group fairness (eg, 98%) with only small reductions in overall fit (eg, 4%).

Institutional Support of Internalization of Negative external Effects of Old Industrial Production Models

The article substantiates the conceptual provisions for the institutional support of the internalization of the negative externalities of old industrial production models. To internalize negative externalities, it is necessary to create institutional conditions under which all parts of the internalization process (waste producers, central regulators, local communities, recipients of negative impacts) will be interested in conscientious performance of their functions. It is suggested that a unique regulatory system should be established within each individual industry sector. It is determined that the threat of opportunistic behavior on the part of agents is a potential negative factor in the centralized collection of information and distribution of payments for public benefit. The effectiveness of formal institutions should be viewed through the prism of informal rules that have developed in society. Informal rules are the quintessence of natural motives for human behavior. Psychological features of motives of human behavior determine the expediency of appropriate adaptation of the institutional system. That is, the complex of institutions must be built in such a way that the individual has the opportunity to meet their needs through socially useful actions. It is substantiated that the recipients of institutional transformations should be authorized persons (or groups of persons) who will be responsible for collecting information and distributing internalization payments.

Institutional Support of Internalization of Negative external Effects of Old Industrial Production Models

The article substantiates the conceptual provisions for the institutional support of the internalization of the negative externalities of old industrial production models. To internalize negative externalities, it is necessary to create institutional conditions under which all parts of the internalization process (waste producers, central regulators, local communities, recipients of negative impacts) will be interested in conscientious performance of their functions. It is suggested that a unique regulatory system should be established within each individual industry sector. It is determined that the threat of opportunistic behavior on the part of agents is a potential negative factor in the centralized collection of information and distribution of payments for public benefit. The effectiveness of formal institutions should be viewed through the prism of informal rules that have developed in society. Informal rules are the quintessence of natural motives for human behavior. Psychological features of motives of human behavior determine the expediency of appropriate adaptation of the institutional system. That is, the complex of institutions must be built in such a way that the individual has the opportunity to meet their needs through socially useful actions. It is substantiated that the recipients of institutional transformations should be authorized persons (or groups of persons) who will be responsible for collecting information and distributing internalization payments.

Nova arhitektura i rizici u poslovanju sa platnim karticama

Digitalization in all spheres of social life, widespread distribution and numerous possibilities of smart phones as well as increasing amounts and scope of electronic contents and services lead to the emergence of new expectations and new requirements of banks, buyers and sellers, which refer to contemporary architecture of payment card operations. Payments make integral part of business operations regardless of whether we talk about traditional or on-line business operations, and this is why it is necessary to find the best manner to pay for goods or services using new technological and communications solutions. The subject of research in this paper is the analysis of characteristics of contemporary risks, development factors, economic effects and distribution of payment cards within the system of e-money, e-payment and e-banking, with a view to indicating the possible positive economic consequences and necessity to innovate and complete legal regulations in this area. The paper uses both general and specific scientific methods and procedures of logical conclusion, statistical, as well as positivist legal method. The manner of research includes the selection and application of scientific methods, the selection of data and the scope of research.

Effects of redistributing policy support on farmers’ technical efficiency

AbstractThe objective of this article is twofold: first, investigating the relationship between technical efficiency and decoupled direct payments of a sample of Italian farms prior to the application of the 2014–2020 Common Agricultural Policy reform; second, evaluating possible implications of alternative scenarios about distribution of direct payments on technical efficiency. To these aims, a stochastic frontier analysis is adopted. Results indicate that direct payments produce significant effects on technical efficiency in specialized farms, which received higher levels of support. However, effects are contrasting. Moreover, results show that redistribution of policy subsidies may negatively impact on technical efficiency to an extent depending upon the criterion of redistribution applied. Finally, some policy suggestions are given.

Gender differences in industry payments among cardiologists

There is a wage gap among men and women practicing cardiology. Differences in industry funding can be both a consequence of and a contributor to gender differences in salaries. We sought to determine whether gender differences exist in the distribution, types, and amounts of industry payments among men and women in cardiology. In this cross-sectional analysis, we used the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Open Payment program database to obtain 2016 industry payment data for US cardiologists. We also used UK Disclosure data to obtain 2016 industry payments to UK cardiologists. Outcomes included the proportions of male and female cardiologists receiving industry funding and the mean industry payment amounts received by male and female cardiologists. Where possible, we also assessed 2014 and 2015 data in both locations. Of the 22,848 practicing Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services US cardiologists in 2016, 20,037 (88%) were men and 2,811 (12%) were women. Proportionally more men than women received industry payments in 2016 (78.0% vs 68.5%, respectively; P < .001). Men received higher overall mean industry payments than women ($6,193.25 vs. $2,501.55, P < .001). Results were similar in 2014 and 2015. Among UK cardiologists, more men (24.4%) than women (13.5%) received industry payments in 2016 (P < .001). However, although the difference in overall industry payments was numerically larger among men compared to women, this did not achieve statistical significance (£2,348.31 vs £1,501.37, respectively, P = .35). Industry payments to cardiologists are common, and there are gender differences in these payments on both sides of the Atlantic.

SenseChain: A blockchain-based crowdsensing framework for multiple requesters and multiple workers

In this paper, we propose a decentralized crowdsensing framework for multiple requesters with multiple workers built on Ethereum blockchain- SenseChain. Crowdsensing frameworks utilize workers’ sensing capabilities to fulfill requesters’ sensing tasks. While crowdsensing is typically managed by a centralized platform, the centralized management entails various challenges such as reliability in workers’ selection, fair evaluation for payment distribution, potential breach of users’ privacy, and high deployment cost. The proposed solution, SenseChain, is a decentralized crowdsensing framework developed to run on Ethereum blockchain to mitigate said challenges while increasing users’ engagement, with reasonable cost. SenseChain is developed around three smart contracts: (1) User Manager Contract (UMC), (2) Task Manager Contract (TMC), and (3) Task Detailed Contract (TDC). These contracts implement the platform features such as maintaining users’ information, publishing tasks from multiple requesters, accepting reservations and solutions from multiple workers, and evaluating solutions to calculate proportional payments. The framework is implemented using Solidity and Web3.js, where a real publicly available dataset is used. The framework performance is compared to a centralized greedy selection framework to demonstrate its comparability while mitigating tackled challenges. The results in terms of solutions quality, time cost, and workers traveled distance confirm its viability as a solution for crowdsensing.

MARKET OF PAYMENT CARDS: STATE, PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE

The purpose of the research work is to conduct a scientific analysis of the payment cards market in Ukraine, as well as to find ways to improve it using foreign experience. The urgency of the research topic is conditioned by the significant growth of the role of cashless payments at the present stage of the formation and development of the Ukrainian economy. Formation of a market economy, improvement of technical means of payments, growth of volumes of domestic and foreign economic operations of Ukraine with other countries, cause a large distribution of cashless payments, replacement of traditional payment instruments with new ones, rapid development and improvement of the payment card market.Using non-cash payments leads to acceleration of settlement operations and cash flow. Also, formation of a market economy, improvement of technical means of payments, growth of volumes of domestic and foreign economic operations of Ukraine with other countries, cause a large distribution of cashless payments, replacement of traditional payment instruments with new, rapid development and improvement of the payment cards market. Therefore, the use of technologies encourages banks to expand the range of services provided by them, improve their quality, increase the level of accessibility, reliability and convenience for customers, and, accordingly, is one of the strategic factors for strengthening the competitive position in the market of banking services of the country.

Impact of the Chicago Earned Income Tax Periodic Payment intervention on food security.

This article examines the Earned Income Tax Credit Periodic Payment Pilot and its effectiveness in reducing food insecurity for low-income households. Low-income families in Chicago who were eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit provided data over four waves of data collection between 2014 and 2015. We utilize longitudinal random effects logit models to test the likelihood of experiencing food insecurity. The sample was composed mostly by women with low educational levels. The intervention significantly decreased the likelihood of experiencing food insecurity over time (T2: β = −0.23, p = .581; T3: β = −0.89, p < .10; T4: β = −2.21, p < .01). The Periodic Payment Pilot seems effective at reducing food insecurity in low-income families. Further research should examine how changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit payment distribution could improve the lives of low-income families, specifically concerning food insecurity.

EU‐Wide Impacts of the 2013 CAP Direct Payments Reform: A Farm‐Level Analysis

AbstractThis paper analyzes the microeconomic effects of the 2013 reform of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This is done using the EU‐wide individual farm model (IFM‐CAP). Simulation results show that although the reform succeeded to partially harmonize direct payments (DP) among farms and Member States, relatively strong differences in the distribution still remain in place. Around 62% of the farms increase their income, whereas the remaining 38% lose from the reform. The reform benefits small farms, while large farms lose out. As measured by the Gini coefficient, the 2013‐CAP reform only partially reduces the disparity in the distribution of DP and farm income among farms. The Gini decomposition shows that subsidies (in particular decoupled payments) contribute to a decrease in the inequality of total farm income. The future CAP reform needs to have a stronger overhaul of the DP system in order to achieve a substantial reduction in inequality in the distribution of payments among farms and regions in EU.

Optimal spatial budget distribution of forest carbon payments that balances the returns and risks associated with conservation costs

We determine the optimal spatial budget distribution of forest carbon payments that balances the returns and risks associated with conservation costs (opportunity cost of forestland) affected by future economic growth scenarios using a case study of the central and southern Appalachian region of the USA. A further focus is to evaluate the county-level tradeoffs between the returns and risks of future economic growth that affect the expected benefits and variance of forest carbon storage by constructing a mean–variance tradeoff frontier. Because of concavity of the mean–variance tradeoff frontier, mitigating risk by dispersing budget allocations among counties is advisable, particularly if conservation agencies focus on the returns with little or no regard for the risks associated with future growth at the initial policy-making stage. The different dispersions of the budget among counties for different weights placed on risk minimization provide clear evidence that spatial targeting for conservation and restoration investments such as forest carbon payments needs to consider the risk preferences of conservation agencies regarding conservation costs. Our findings suggest that failing to anticipate the potential risks will lead to suboptimal conservation targets and budget allocations, if conservation agencies are risk averse with little or no regard for the return-maximizing objective.

Evolution of catastrophic health expenditure in a high income country: incidence versus inequalities

BackgroundCatastrophic health expenditure (CHE) is well established as an indicator of financial protection on which there is extensive literature. However, most works analyse mainly low to middle income countries and do not address the different distributional dimensions of CHE. We argue that, besides incidence, the latter are crucial to better grasp the scope and nature of financial protection problems. Our objectives are therefore to analyse the evolution of CHE in a high income country, considering both its incidence and distribution.MethodsData are taken from the last three waves of the Portuguese Household Budget Survey conducted in 2005/2006, 2010/2011 and 2015/2016. To identify CHE, the approach adopted is capacity to pay/normative food spending, at the 40% threshold. To analyse distribution, concentration curves and indices (CI) are used and adjusted odds ratios are calculated.ResultsThe incidence of CHE was 2.57, 1.79 and 0.46%, in 2005, 2010 and 2015, respectively. CHE became highly concentrated among the poorest (the respective CI evolved from − 0.390 in 2005 to − 0.758 in 2015) and among families with elderly people (the absolute CI evolved from 0.520 in 2005 to 0.740 in 2015). Absolute CI in geographical context also increased over time (0.354 in 2015, 0.019 in 2005). Medicines represented by far the largest share of catastrophic payments, although, in this case concentration decreased (the median share of medicines diminished from 93 to 43% over the period analysed). Contrarily, the weight of expenses incurred with consultation fees has been growing (even for General Practitioners, despite the NHS coverage of primary care).ConclusionsThe incidence of CHE and inequality in its distribution might progress in the same direction or not, but most importantly policy makers should pay attention to the distributional dimensions of CHE as these might provide useful insight to target households at risk. Greater concentration of CHE can actually be regarded as an opportunity for policy making, because interventions to tackle CHE become more confined. Monitoring the distribution of payments across services can also contribute to early detection of emerging (and even, unexpected) drivers of catastrophic payments.

Financial recovery schemes in Austria: how planned relocation is used as an answer to future flood events

ABSTRACTDamages due to extreme hydro-metrological events request for additional efforts to enhance the implementation of property level flood risk adaptation (PLFRA) measures. Although a highly effective long-term measure, the planned relocation of individuals from areas at risk is rarely considered as an adaptive response. We evaluate how financial recovery schemes are actually linked to planned relocation option in two study sites in Austria. In both areas, more than 500 households were offered a voluntary planned relocation directly after extreme flood events. We conducted a semi-structured qualitative approach with 16 key respondents in order to identify how current financial recovery schemes are linked to ongoing and past relocation processes. The results show that there exists a missing link between disaster-aid payments and compensation for planned relocation. Participants gained from the programmes and used disaster-aid compensation schemes to increase the economic value of their houses. In addition, the financial schemes were not used to encourage further sustainability transition processes at local level. These data demonstrate the uneven distribution of payments with strong socio-economic implications for those who take part in planned relocation process. We recommend a better link between financial disaster-aid compensation and voluntary payout programmes, especially to reduce the uneven socio-economic distribution during the recovery phase.

Which Factors Are Associated with Conflicts of Interest in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery?

Industry payments are often critical to the advancement of medical research, given the limited amount and competitive nature of federal grant support. Financial conflicts of interest (COIs) between health care providers and industry have been historically controversial, and now in the 21st century, they are better understood by licensed providers, trainees, and patients (1, 2). Within oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS), very little evidence exists that describes the nature and distribution of industry payments, as well as how trainees and patients perceive them. The purpose of this study was to determine whether statistically significant relationships exist between COIs and study design, study topic, and trainee contribution in the OMS literature.

Rurality and Income Inequality in the United States, 1975–2015

AbstractRecent events have focused attention on the perceived widening of the economic divide between urban and rural areas, and on the continued rise of national income inequality. We demonstrate that, in fact, the average income gap between urban (metropolitan) and rural (nonmetropolitan) households has not risen over the past 40 years, and makes virtually no contribution to national income inequality. Rising national inequality is driven by rising inequality within both urban and rural America, not by an urban/rural divergence. As is well known, the growing dispersion of household money income is partly driven by rising wage inequality, particularly in urban areas. Less well recognized is the role played by other income sources. We show that a decline in the progressivity of the distribution of social security payments and cash transfers, and an increase in the regressivity of the distribution of retirement incomes, have jointly made a comparably large contribution to rising income inequality. At the same time, the share of income from self‐employment has declined, particularly in rural America, and because self‐employment income is very unequally distributed, its diminution has retarded the growth of rural inequality. In 2014–15, however, rural inequality increased, cutting the urban/rural inequality gap in half.

Characteristics of Industry Payments to Ophthalmologists in the Open Payments Database

An increased awareness of the interactions between the medical industry and health care professionals may lead to lower health care costs and more effective health care practices. To assess the characteristics of industry payments made to ophthalmologists between 2013 and 2017. This analysis included data reported in the June 29, 2018, update of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Open Payments Database (OPD). The OPD contains public records of industry payments made to physicians and teaching hospitals from August 1, 2013, to December 31, 2017, as reported by the medical industry. All general or research payments distributed to US ophthalmologists and contained in the OPD were included in this study. Data are summarized by practitioner, manufacturer, payment category, and geographic location. Main outcomes were the distribution, quantity, and value of payments made to ophthalmologists practicing in the United States or US territories. The financial characteristics of payment category, manufacturer, product, and location were also assessed. This analysis revealed that the OPD showed industry reporting a total of 20 943 ophthalmologists receiving 736 517 payments worth $543 679 603.53 (1.67% of all industry-reported funds in the OPD). The median payment value was $22.44. Most payments were for food and beverages (581 588 [78.96%]), whereas most funds were allocated toward research ($310 142 151.88 [57.05%]) and consulting fees ($73 565 327.71 [13.51%]). The median payout to each ophthalmologist was $637.75 (interquartile range, $167.33-$2065.54). California was the highest-grossing state, receiving $101 135 980.34 (18.60%) of all payments. Fifteen companies were responsible for 87.68% of all funds distributed ($476 719 470.11) and were mostly involved in the production of pharmaceutical agents (anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents, glaucoma eyedrops, and ocular lubricants) and surgical devices (cataract and glaucoma). Although there is no way to know the veracity of these reports, the findings suggest the financial ophthalmologist-industry relationship is substantial. These relationships may be adding to health care costs and affecting the quality of care, although those associations were not evaluated in this study.

Socioeconomic deprivation scores as predictors of variations in NHS practice payments: a longitudinal study of English general practices 2013-2017.

A previous study found that variables related to population health needs were poor predictors of cross-sectional variations in practice payments. To investigate whether deprivation scores predicted variations in the increase over time of total payments to general practices per patient, after adjustment for potential confounders. Longitudinal multilevel model for 2013-2017; 6900 practices (84.4% of English practices). Practices were excluded if total adjusted payments per patient were <£10 or >£500 per patient or if deprivation scores were missing. Main outcome measures were adjusted total NHS payments; calculated by dividing total NHS payments, after deductions and premises payments, by the number of registered patients in each practice. A total of 17 independent variables relating to practice population and organisational factors were included in the model after checking for collinearity. After adjustment for confounders and the logarithmic transformation of the dependent and main independent variables (due to extremely skewed [positive] distribution of payments), practice deprivation scores predicted very weakly longitudinal variations in total payments' slopes. For each 10% increase in the Index of Multiple Deprivation score, practice payments increased by only 0.06%. The large sample size probably explains why eight of the 17 confounders were significant predictors, but with very small coefficients. Most of the variability was at practice level (intraclass correlation = 0.81). The existing NHS practice payment formula has demonstrated very little redistributive potential and is unlikely to substantially narrow funding gaps between practices with differing workloads caused by the impact of deprivation.