Extent Of Mechanisms Research Articles

Linkage of Electricity with Agricultural Growth and Technology Factors: An Illustration of India’s Case

Understanding the relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth is crucial for formulating efficient energy policies for all sectors in general, and for agriculture in particular. To study this, an empirical examination of the long-run co-movement and the causal relationship between electricity consumption and real gross state domestic product (GSDP) from agriculture and its allied sectors is attempted. The agricultural sector involves the use of different input technologies that are further influenced by electricity consumption. To account for this technology-enabling effect of electricity, we further take up an analysis of the relationship between electricity consumption and agricultural technology factors: fertilizer consumption, the share of irrigation, area under cereal, and the extent of mechanization. We use both state (data from 17 states for the period 1993–2017 for the electricity–GSDP relationship) and country-level data (for the period 1980–2018 for the electricity–technology factors relationship) in the analysis. Since short-period time series datasets analysis may yield unreliable and inconsistent results, we employed modern heterogeneous panel co-integration and panel-based error correction model techniques for analyzing the energy–growth linkage. When the heterogeneous states effect is taken into account, the empirical results fully support a positive long-run co-integrated connection between GSDP and electricity consumption. We could detect both long-run and short-run unidirectional causality running from electricity consumption to agricultural growth. Further electricity consumption was also found to augment the use of technology factors in agriculture. This calls for implementing policies and strategies for achieving higher electricity use in agriculture and improved efficiency in its utilization simultaneously.

Insights on ownership pattern and demand for machinery in Indian agriculture

As the wage rate for labour escalates in agriculture, farmers opt for other power alternatives. Mechanization of farms provides an opportunity to overcome the issue of labour scarcity and rising cost of production besides facilitating timely farm operations thereby increasing yield and farmer’s income. An examination of existing level of mechanization across the states in different crops is computed during 2018 using mechanization index for 2001–02 and 2013–14. The study concludes that the extent of mechanization is not uniform across crops and states. Wheat is the most mechanized crop and Punjab shows highest level of mechanization in the farms. The factor demand elasticity estimates confirm that change in market prices of inputs significantly affect the machinery usage in paddy and wheat. Substitution elasticities also indicate substitution between machine labour and human labour in major crops during 1996–2013.

An expert-based mapping of healthcare system strategies to support rational drug prescribing in primary care across 13 European countries

BackgroundIrrational prescribing has received increasing attention among policy-makers to improve drug safety and effectiveness while avoiding economic waste. The policies intended to rationalise prescribing have been grouped by WHO under a taxonomy, classifying them into two types of strategies – (1) targeted approaches (micro level) and (2) system-oriented approaches (macro level). The extent to which countries implement strategies and the existing types is currently unknown. This paper explores the following research question via expert opinions: to what extent have European countries implemented strategies to support rational prescribing (targeted and system oriented) and what are the types implemented?MethodsWe assessed the available information on policies intended to promote rational prescribing. We used the WHO taxonomy to explore our research question as the basis for a standardised questionnaire. The data were collected between August 2018 and April 2019. The questionnaire consisted of questions that solicited the opinion of experts on the implementation of prescribing control mechanisms in primary care in their respective countries. Experts were identified through the literature and relevant networks. The questionnaire was sent to 17 identified country experts from 17 different countries; 15 responded and 13 were used in our analysis. Answers were validated through follow-up correspondence, interviews and presentation at an OECD meeting.ResultsExpert-reported data shows that all 13 countries included in our study have several mechanisms in place for enhancing rational prescribing in primary care. All approaches were reported to have been implemented in at least two countries. We identified two groups of countries, namely a small group of countries (n = 3) with fewer mechanisms in place and a larger group of countries (n = 10) with a large number of strategies with accompanying instruments at both the micro and macro levels.ConclusionsThe data reported by the experts suggests that all 13 countries included in our study have several mechanisms in place for enhancing rational prescribing in primary care on both the micro and macro levels. With respect to the extent of mechanisms being in place, two groups of countries were identified. This initial mapping of strategies forms a basis for more in-depth research to be able to assess the impact of bundles of strategies on system and targeted level on rational drug prescribing in primary care in Europe.

APPLICATION OF THE TIMING MODEL IN REENGINEERING OF THE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN METALLURGY

The problem of creation of the timing model for difficult production systems and their application in reengineering of ferrous metallurgical enterprises are considered. The classification of timing models was carried out by their appointment, scale of the research object, degree of continuity of a material stream, quantity of simultaneously processed semi-products, number of production operations, importance of the equipment, statistical characteristics of a time step, extent of mechanization and automation of the equipment, by an entrance and an exit of a material stream. The leading role of the indicator “productivity” and its connection with other technical and economic indicators of a production system was shown. The factorial model of system capacity is given and the fundamental factor, namely a time step of system, is allocated. The basic formula for the estimation of productivity was offered on the basis of a time step. The technique of identification of “bottlenecks” of a production system on the basis of a timing approach and an assessment of actions efficiency of reengineering is shown. The example of the application of timing models for the analysis of “bottlenecks” in rolling production is given. Possibility of timing models application is noted for planning, forecasting and operational management of production.

Changing Trends in US Injury Profiles: Revisiting Non-Fatal Occupational Injury Statistics

The purpose of this paper is to review the current trends in non-fatal injury profiles of workers in the United States. It is generally accepted that occupational injury and illness rates are affected by many factors, such as the amount and quality of training, employee turnover rates, work experience, extent of mechanization and automation, job-related parameters, and worker gender. In the last decade, not only have the technologies used in the workplace changed significantly, there has been a greater awareness among employers and employees as to the importance of containing work injuries. Additionally, the extent of outsourcing for labor-intensive jobs has increased dramatically owing to cheaper labor costs in places such as China and Mexico. These changes have affected the manufacturing sector of US industry more than any other sector. How these changes have influenced the injury and illness profiles of the American worker is of considerable interest given the increased attention paid to work-workplace design, injury hazard control, and ergonomics in general. In this paper, we compare the injury and illness profiles of US workers separated by nearly a decade. The trends from early 1990s are compared to those from early 2000s. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics were used to compile the injury statistics. The results of our comparison show that while the absolute numbers of work-related injuries and illnesses have declined over the last 10 years, the basic trends associated with different factors remain almost unchanged. The reasons for this decline are discussed in this paper.