Marginal Impact Research Articles

Impact of distal resection margin on locoregional recurrence for rectal cancer: neoadjuvant therapy vs upfront surgery Retrospective study

Impact of distal resection margin on locoregional recurrence for rectal cancer: neoadjuvant therapy vs upfront surgery Retrospective study

Should adjuvant therapy be considered for positive surgical margins in renal cell carcinoma: A stage-based analysis of impact of positive surgical margins on survival outcomes using the INMARC registry

Should adjuvant therapy be considered for positive surgical margins in renal cell carcinoma: A stage-based analysis of impact of positive surgical margins on survival outcomes using the INMARC registry

Does Public Spending Trigger Agricultural Productivity Growth in Africa?

ABSTRACT Enhancing agricultural productivity growth is a key step to improving competitiveness and eradicating poverty in rural areas in developing countries. While the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP) recommended increased public spending in agriculture to induce productivity growth, the extent to which expenditures affect food productivity remains an empirical question. To address this concern and provide policymakers with quantitative evidence, the authors assess the effect of two government-spending measures: agriculture budget share (BS) and research share (RS) of agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) on agriculture total factor productivity growth (TFPG) in Africa. They use a panel fixed-effect estimator to control for the country-specific characteristics in twenty-eight African economies from 1991 to 2012. They find marginal impact of approximately 6.77% of RS on TFPG after every seven years. However, the cumulative marginal impact of BS on TFPG is estimated at 7.21% over the seven years following budget allocation. These findings suggest that a BS of 14% and an RS of 15% are required for a country to double its TFPG in the following eight years. Therefore, an additional and continuous investment in research and development is required for significant productivity growth, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Distribution of Income among U.S. Self-Employed Farm Households: A Close Look Before and During COVID-19’s Recession

This paper examines the distribution of ‘money’ income of self-employed farm households in the U.S. using multiple inequality measures and multi-year data from Current Population Survey. Special emphasis is given to 2016 and 2020, which portray total household income before and during the onset of the COVID-19’s recession. The two selected years, respectively, characterize low and high farm income years, with their likely divergent impact on the well-being of self-employed farm households. Using the Gini index measure of inequality, findings show that money income was just as unequally distributed in 2020, the year of the COVID-19’s recession, as in 2016. Adopted decomposition method of the Gini index showed income from off-farm wages and/or salaries, in comparison to the other components of total income, with the strongest equalizing marginal impact on the overall distribution of money income in 2016 and with a much lesser impact in 2020. Considering that off-farm income from wages and/or salaries is the dominant income source of self-employed farm households, macroeconomic factors are likely to continue to influence the distribution of income among self-employed farm households.

Prognostic Impact of Surgical Margin Width in Hepatectomy for Colorectal Liver Metastasis.

As for resection for colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM), securing an adequate surgical margin is important for achieving a better prognosis. However, it is often difficult to achieve adequate margins for the resection of CRLM. So the current survival impact of sub-centi/millimeter surgical margins in hepatectomy for CRLM should be evaluated. In the current era of multidisciplinary treatment options, this review focused on the prognostic impact of a sub-centi/millimeter surgical margin width in hepatectomy for CRLM. We systematically reviewed retrospective studies that clearly described the surgical margin width for hepatectomy for CRLM. We selected studies conducted since 2000 that involved patients diagnosed as having CRLM. We focused on studies that investigated not only surgical margins, but also microscopic surgical curability such as R0 (microscopically complete resection) or R1 (microscopically incomplete resection), which clearly describe their definitions. Based on our literature review, 1, 2, or 5 mm was considered the minimum surgical margin width for hepatectomy for CRLM. Although a surgical margin width of 1 mm is acceptable for hepatectomy for CRLM, submillimeter margins, which are defined as R1 in many reports, are only acceptable for limited patients such as those who have undergone preoperative chemotherapy. Zero-mm margins are also acceptable in limited patients such as those who show a good response to preoperative chemotherapy. New chemotherapy agents have been reported to reduce the prognostic impact of a narrow surgical margin width. The incidence of margin recurrence, which is a major concern regarding R1 resection of CRLM, is about 20-30% according to the majority of earlier reports. As evaluations of the actual prognostic impact of the surgical margin remain difficult, further study is warranted.

Influence of technical efficiency and globalization on sustainable resources management: Evidence from South Asian countries

Sustainable resource management is the link between sustainable prosperity and the survival of the natural world. The social and environmental consequences of excessive resource consumption require sustainable resource management that turns the underlying drivers of material footprint into opportunities to achieve the sustainable development goals. The nexus between resource consumption and environmental degradation have extensively explored. However, little is known about the factors that enhance resource efficiency and sustainable resource management (SRM). Hence, this study investigates the influence of technical efficiency and globalization on trade-adjusted resource consumption (material footprints) in South Asian countries from 1990 to 2019. Initially, it constructs technical efficiency measure using Malmquist Productivity Index and subsequently applied second-generation econometric techniques. The preliminary outcomes of the study affirmed abnormal distribution of data, which motivates us to employ Method of Moments Quantile Regression. The outcomes reveal that technical efficiency significantly reduced the material footprint at lower to higher quantiles, while globalization and economic growth increased the material footprint. Nevertheless, the marginal impact of both variables is substantially varied at lower and higher quantiles. Moreover, the findings do not support the presence of environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in sample countries and offer valuable recommendations.

Organizational design for making a difference

We address organizations that rely on donors, when those donors are motivated by making a difference. We show that when donors care sufficiently about their marginal impact, firms use practices that would normally be deemed inefficient. These include prioritizing less valuable opportunities over better ones, investing most in their weakest initiatives, and benefiting from not identifying the quality of their projects. These all arise from a distinction between marginal and average returns generated by donor preferences.

The Well‐Being Cost of Inflation Inequalities

In terms of well‐being, how costly is inflation? To answer this question, empirical evaluations have typically studied average inflation rates at the national level, thus disregarding the role of inflation inequalities within a country. In this article, we relax the assumptions that heterogeneous consumers face homogeneous inflation rates, and study the correlation between price changes and self‐reported satisfaction with living standards. We use newly available data from France and adopt two approaches. First, we focus on individually perceived inflation and use the internationally harmonized Opinion Price Index as a proxy for experienced inflation. Variations in perceived inflation help predict well‐being differences among consumers, even when controlling for relevant sociodemographic factors, personality traits, and common method variance. We estimate their marginal impact to be higher than equivalent variations in nominal income. Second, we compare groups of consumers over time and find that changes in the price of a good disproportionately affect the relative well‐being of those who consume it. The study shows that the well‐being cost of the inflation crisis would be underestimated if looking at aggregate figures only.

Diurnally dynamic iron allocation promotes N2 fixation in marine dominant diazotroph Trichodesmium

Trichodesmium is the dominant photoautotrophic dinitrogen (N2) fixer (diazotroph) in the ocean. Iron is an important factor limiting growth of marine diazotrophs including Trichodesmium mainly because of high iron content of its N2-fixing enzyme, nitrogenase. However, it still lacks a quantitative understanding of how dynamic iron allocation among physiological processes acts to regulate growth and N2 fixation in Trichodesmium. Here, we constructed a model of Trichodesmium trichome in which intracellular iron could be dynamically re-allocated in photosystems and nitrogenase during the daytime. The results demonstrate that the dynamic iron allocation enhances modeled N2 fixation and growth rates of Trichodesmium, especially in iron-limited conditions, albeit having a marginal impact under high iron concentrations. Although the reuse of iron during a day is an apparent cause that dynamic iron allocation can benefit Trichodesmium under iron limitation, our model reveals two important mechanisms. First, the release of iron from photosystems downregulates the intracellular oxygen (O2) production and reduces the demand of respiratory protection, a process that Trichodesmium wastefully respires carbohydrates to create a lower O2 window for N2 fixation. Hence, more carbohydrates can be used in growth. Second, lower allocation of iron to nitrogenase during early daytime, a period when photosynthesis is active and intracellular O2 is high, reduces the amount of iron that is trapped in the inactivated nitrogenase induced by O2. This mechanism further increases the iron use efficiency in Trichodesmium. Overall, our study provides mechanistic and quantitative insight into the diurnal iron allocation that can alleviate iron limitation to Trichodesmium.

Effects of management practices for using the SaaS system on performance of hospitality firms in Norway

ABSTRACT The earlier literature either measured management practices in terms of the general management traits or did not account for the effects on firm performance. However, the transformation of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems from general to more specific practices, the counteractive managerial goals and standardization and measurement issues requires the measures with more specific goals in a specific setting. The current paper aims at filling the gaps in measuring management practices and its effects on production costs and technical efficiency using daily data of 92 hospitality firms, i.e. chain hotels, in Norway from 2012 to 2014. We measured management practices in an index constructed from multiple criteria that capture managers' user patterns of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) systems. The empirical model identified inefficiency using a translog stochastic frontier input distance function (IDF). The findings show, on average, a 10% improvement in management practices increases production costs by 1.2%, but it improves efficiency by 0.9%. However, the marginal effect of improved management practices on the production cost is found to be U-shaped, while the marginal impact on inefficiency gradually declines to zero. The study also provides managerial implications on how to effectively use the ERP system and improve firm performance.

Impact of social marginalization on oral health-related quality of life in older adults.

The aim of this study was to determine the association between oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and social marginalization in people aged 60 years and older enrolled in social security in Mexico. A cross-sectional and analytical study was carried out in older adults. To assess the OHRQoL, the OHIP-14 instrument was applied, and the degree of social marginalization and sociodemographic characteristics were analyzed. Measures of central tendency and dispersion, simple frequencies and proportions were estimated. Student's t-test was used for comparison of means, and prevalence ratio (PR) and logistic regression were used to assess associations, all with a significance value of 0.05 and 95% confidence intervals. Perceived OHRQoL in the population measured through the OHIP-14 reached an average value of 9.84 ± 8.91, with the highest value in the dimension of physical pain (2.06 ± 1.91). Perceived treatment need was higher among people with social marginality (p = 0.011). The multivariate analysis shows that marginalized people have a lower OHRQoL. Socially marginalized older adults showed a low a better perception of OHRQoL, independent of demographic and clinical factors.

Intensive and Extensive Margins of Export: Determinants of Economic Growth in Russian Regions under Sanctions

The impact of foreign trade on the Russian economy’s growth remains debatable. In 2014, the economy faced initial sanctions, leading to export restructuring and affecting growth. In 2022, a second unprecedented wave of sanctions necessitated export restructuring and intensified the challenge of sourcing economic growth. This study evaluates the impact of intensive and extensive export margins on Russian regions’ growth from 2015 to 2021 and discusses post-2022 implications. It is hypothesised that new export goods and markets are vital for economic growth in Russian regions. The study shows that both intensive and extensive margins are positively related to the level of development in Russian regions, and developed regions with diversified economic structures had higher values of export margins. The methodology uses panel regression with random and fixed effects. The empirical results show Russian regions’ market share in the products they export and in the countries where they export (i. e. intensive product and geographic margin) is important for the economic growth of Russian regions, while the results for extensive margin are ambiguous. The obtained findings have implications for industrial policy, which should prioritise the development of measures aimed at supporting existing exporting companies in expanding their presence in familiar markets. The task of export diversification should primarily be addressed through working with existing exporters and export products, while the export of innovative products should be viewed as a gradual evolutionary process within the framework of long-term planning.

Sustainable development of the impact of cultural marginality in information technology on student youth as a way of social adaptation

The article defines the main characteristics, functions of the media, the Internet environment presented by various authors, the team of authors and research schools. It is justified that the Internet environment has the greatest influence and sustainable development on the cultural marginality of student youth in the context of information technologies of communication as a way of social adaptation. Various processes and models affecting the marginalization of young people in modern Russia analyzed. This article also examined in the author's sociological study the sources of influence of cultural marginality in the media. The influence of the media on the marginalization of young people in the modern period of the development of Russian society is considered. The article concludes that the Internet as a means of social mass communication is a relevant and very popular media, which dictated by the conditions of the information society and the requirements of professional and socio-cultural activities of specialists in various fields and ordinary users for personal purposes; attracts with its interactivity. The results of the author's sociological study summarized. It established that the social process as sustainable development of cultural marginality through communication information technologies caused by the fact that through individual television programs it is possible to analyze the socially disapproving behavior of young people in modern Russia, to develop the necessary recommendations to reduce the scale of this phenomenon.

Effect of a hospital command centre on patient safety: an interrupted time series study

BackgroundCommand centres have been piloted in some hospitals across the developed world in the last few years. Their impact on patient safety, however, has not been systematically studied. Hence, we...

Improved latrines minimally impact Schistosoma mekongi transmission in Mekong islands

Schistosoma mekongi and other intestinal helminth infections remain public health concerns in Lao People's Democratic Republic, especially in remote areas where access to sanitation is limited.We performed an experimental study in four villages where latrine construction was coupled with two rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) with praziquantel and albendazole, and compared with two control villages that only received two rounds of MDA. The prevalence of helminth infections before (baseline) and after (follow-up) intervention were compared. Additionally, the prevalence in intervention and control villages were compared 12 months post-intervention. Kato–Katz, formalin-ethyl acetate concentration and Baermann techniques were employed to assess helminth infections.We found infection prevalence of S. mekongi in the intervention and control villages was 28.6% and 1.8%, respectively. The prevalences of other helminth infections were as follows: Opisthorchis viverrini, 79.5% and 71.8%; hookworm, 48.8% and 65.6%; and Strongyloides stercoralis, 43.1% and 38.3%. Other helminth species were detected in less than 5% of the study participants. Latrine intervention coupled with two rounds of MDA in the intervention villages reduced the prevalence of S. mekongi infection by 6.0% (from 28.6% to 22.6%; P < 0.001), O. viverrini infection by 11.3% (from 79.5% to 68.2%; P < 0.001), hookworm infection by 22.6% (from 48.8% to 26.2%; P < 0.001), and S. stercoralis infection by 12.0% (from 43.1% to 31.1%; P < 0.001). The observed reductions were not significantly different when compared to the control villages, where only two rounds of MDA were implemented (P > 0.05). Study participants in both groups commonly engaged in behaviours such as open defecation, bathing in the Mekong River, consuming raw or undercooked fish dishes and walking barefoot. These practices and behaviours are associated with helminth infections. Concluding, this study showed only a marginal impact associated with latrine use in intervention communities. There is a need for longer term studies with integrated interventions, such as effective health education to foster behavioural changes related to open defecation, raw or undercooked food consumption, wearing protected footwear outdoors, and personal hygiene.

An Examination of Household Size, Geographic Remoteness, and Population of First Nation Communities in Canada: The Impact on Selected Wellbeing Indicators

Those living in First Nation communities tend to experience a lower quality of life than non-Indigenous Canadians as evidenced by a broad array of indicators such as employment and residential overcrowding. This research focuses on the relationship between household size and wellbeing among First Nation communities in Canada with consideration of the impact of remoteness and population as well. The research objectives are addressed with empirical analysis consisting of three stepwise linear regressions with community level data from the 2016 Census and First Nation government financial statements. Wellbeing, the dependent variable, is assessed with selected wellbeing indices consisting of education, housing quality, and workforce participation. The explanatory variables consist of a set of demographic factors, which includes household size, and a set of financial indicators. Geographic remoteness and community population are each added to the regression models in a stepwise manner. The results reveal that household size has the largest marginal impact on all three measures of wellbeing, suggesting that communities with relatively larger households, often associated with residential overcrowding, are more likely to have lower levels of wellbeing. The stepwise regression results illustrate the significance of including geographical remoteness for all three measures of wellbeing, while the addition of community population is only significant for the workforce index. In regard to geographical remoteness, the empirical results reveal that both educational outcomes and housing quality are lower in more remote communities. Community size, as defined by population, is found to be negatively associated with the workforce index implying that communities with larger populations tend to have lower workforce participation and employment outcomes. Given the ongoing social, health and economic costs associated with residential crowding in First Nation communities, the results will be of interest to policy makers and First Nation leaders in Canada and other countries who seek strategies to raise the level of wellbeing for their Indigenous communities. Policy recommendations include an increase in housing supply coordinated through the creation of an Indigenous-led housing and infrastructure authority. Other recommendations include long-term approaches to supporting education and job training programs with community level initiatives.

Do Ethnic-Racial Identity Dimensions Moderate the Relations of Outgroup Discrimination and Ingroup Marginalization to Self-esteem in Black and Latinx Undergraduates?

Guided by social identity and intergroup theory, we tested how two facets of ethnic-racial identity—felt typicality (perceived similarity to other ingroup members) and ingroup ties (felt closeness to other ingroup members)—potentially buffer the negative effects of outgroup discrimination and ingroup marginalization on self-esteem. Participants included 407 Latinx (65%) and Black (35%) undergraduates (Mage = 24.72 years, 79% women, 21% men) who completed an online survey. Our analyses yielded three key findings. First, both outgroup discrimination and ingroup marginalization predicted lower self-esteem; however, this association was significantly stronger with ingroup marginalization than outgroup discrimination. Second, the association between ingroup marginalization and self-esteem was reduced when ethnic-racial identity variables were controlled. Felt ethnic-racial typicality additionally moderated the association between ingroup marginalization and self-esteem—whereby the negative association was stronger when individuals felt higher ethnic-racial typicality. Our findings expand understanding of the impact of marginalization and discrimination from those within and outside of one’s ethnic-racial group, respectively. We also discuss the differing roles of ethnic-racial identity when experiencing outgroup discrimination and ingroup marginalization.

Valuing urban trees: A hedonic investigation into tree canopy influence on property values across environmental and social contexts in Baltimore, Maryland

Urban tree canopy yields numerous environmental and social benefits. This study investigates whether the marginal contribution of tree canopy cover to home values depends on certain characteristics of a property and its location. We address this using a hedonic property analysis with data from Baltimore, Maryland. Both Ordinary Least Square and Spatial Lag models were conducted, all including interaction terms between tree canopy cover and various site factors. Our results indicated that, on average, the amount of tree canopy in the 100–400 zone around a single-family property is positively associated with home price. We also find that the marginal impact of canopy on property price increases for properties that are larger in lot size and closer to downtown Baltimore. Model results were mixed in terms of the interactive effects of crime and proximity to major roadway with tree canopy. We suggest that the benefits that tree canopy provides in the form of added privacy, reduced urban heat, noise and pollution may influence these price increases. These findings may signal concerns about the potential for urban greening to contribute to gentrification. In a competitive housing market, those with the capacity to afford to pay more for urban tree canopy and the benefits it provides such as a cooler downtown environment, privacy on larger lots, or reduced noise and pollution from a major roadway may price out those who are unable to pay this urban tree canopy premium. There is, therefore, the potential for unequal increases in home equity across neighborhoods following tree planting and urban greening in Baltimore.

Impact of the divestment of Spanish FDI on economic growth of Morocco: an econometric analysis of 13 country-of-origin

PurposeThis study aims to identify the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth in Morocco depending on each origin country, including Spain. This study uses a linear model to measure the marginal impact of FDI on the growth of Morocco. This marginal effect allows to compare the different effects of FDI among countries of origin. Also, the marginal effect helps to measure the rate of substitution between FDI in an easier way than the other specifications of the model. The second step determines the substitute for Spain in case he decides to divest its FDI from Morocco to maintain the economic growth.Design/methodology/approachUsing data of FDI from 13 countries of origin from 1995 to 2020 and two estimation methods (Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares and Autoregressive model), this study aims to measure the marginal impact of the divestment of FDI from Spain on growth. Then this study estimates how much Morocco should attract FDI from other countries when Spain divests. This study uses the differential calculus, assuming a perfect substitution between FDI from different countries. This calculus implies an indifference curve between FDI from Spain and FDI from another country where we deduct the substitution rates between FDI.FindingsThe results indicate that the FDI from Spain and France are the only ones to impact positively Moroccan economic growth. The FDI coming from Germany, Holland, China and Turkey have a negative impact, whereas those from the USA, Italy, UK, Switzerland and Gulf countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE have an insignificant effect. Second, using the differential calculus, the result indicates that when Spain divests 1m dirhams of its investments from Morocco, France would have to increase its own by 0.1509m dirhams so that Morocco could maintain its economic growth.Research limitations/implicationsThe research focuses only on economic growth, neglecting the impact on other aggregates, such as total factor productivity, technology transfer and employment. Also, this research marginalized the sectorial analysis of FDI by the source to better understand the divergent effects.Originality/valueThis paper fills a research gap when analyzing the effect of FDI on the host economy depending on country-of-origin. In addition, it contributes to the body of literature by constructing the rate of substitution between the different sources of FDI to adapt to divestment policy.

Distributive impacts of non-farm income on output and farm income of cassava farmers in Southwestern Nigeria

Non-farm income is a major source of income, along with farming for most rural households, that seems to offer a pathway out of poverty. It has gained prominence in recent times as an alternative strategy. However, it is often not clear how non-farm income can contribute to farm output and income because empirical results from existing literature remain somewhat ambiguous. Therefore, more robust research is needed to understand what conditions lead to what outcomes and to identify appropriate policy responses. We extend the previous literature in the direction of understanding more finely the potential impact of non-farm income on output and farm income distributions, applying a novel approach, IVQTEs, for the first time in this context. In this paper, we analyzed the drivers of non-farm income as an alternative strategy, and its distributive impacts on cassava farmers' output and farm income in Southwestern Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was employed to select 300 cassava farmers for the study. Data were analysed using the novel nehurdle estimation procedure of the double hurdle model. Our methodology of using an instrumental variable quantile treatment effect model (IVQTE) explicitly demonstrates the impact of non-farm income on farm output and income distribution at different levels. The first hurdle (Probit regression) of nehurdle results show that age, household size, years of education, years of experience, farm size, and access to credit may likely influence the decision to participate in non-farm income works; while, in the second hurdle, household size, age, years of education, farm size, gender, asset ownership, cooperative membership are the significant factors that may likely influence the amount realized from non-farm income works. Our results reveal a positive marginal impact of non-farm income at all quantiles of the conditional distribution of cassava farmers’ output and farm income, with the impact being the lowest at the lowest quantile (25th quantile) and increased across the other quantiles. In this regard, the study suggests that the creation of job opportunities outside farming will supplement on-farm works and enhance household's income. This study also suggests that measures such as education, extension services and cooperative societies, to enhance participation in non-farm income works, will spur the rural economy in Nigeria and other developing countries.