Incentive-based Programs Research Articles

Local determinants of the Common Agricultural Policy rural development funds’ distribution in Poland and their spatial implications

Abstract We combine factor analysis and linear regression models to link local determinants of development of agriculture and rural areas with the frequency of applications for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) rural development measures. We use Poland as an example. Our analysis provides insights into spatial implications of incentive-based rural development programs. The results demonstrate that EU rural development policy in Poland remains farm-centric and favors regions of better agricultural structures, thus it tends to deepen the regional disparities in Polish agriculture and rural areas. The level of local agricultural potential is strongly related to the frequency of applying for funds under all analyzed measures, including those that were designed to diversify rural economies and increase the quality of life in rural areas.

Multi-Objective Dynamic Economic Emission Dispatch of Microgrid Using Novel Efficient Demand Response And Zero Energy Balance Approach

Energy management system (EMS) in microgrids (MGs) encompasses both dynamic economic dispatch (DED) and dynamic emission dispatch problems, known as dynamic economic emission dispatch (DEED). In this paper, this system is implemented for an MG with different distributed generations. The aim of 24-hour-cycle scheduling is to determine the generation level of diesel generators (DGs), participation rate of responsive loads and their incentives, charging/discharging status of the battery, and the amount of exchanged energy with the main grid. The scheduling task is performed with the objectives of minimizing operation costs and emissions and maximizing the benefit of MG operator (MGO) resulting from the demand response (DR). Due to their interactive operation, the customers’ behavioral model and the relevant cost functions have a significant impact on the optimal operation. In this paper, the cost function of customers is developed in the incentive-based DR program (DRP) with the aim of receiving a more realistic incentive and then it is combined with DEED. Finally, the zero energy balance (ZEB) interaction between the MG and the main grid is proposed as a solution. Regarding the multi-objective and nonlinear optimization problem, the proposed method, with the help of whale optimization algorithm (WOA), is implemented on a small-scale MG in MATLAB software, where electrical loads are also taken into account. Simulation results highlight the fact that the integration of DR into DEED along with import/export ZEB between the MG and the main grid leads to optimal operation and reduced power imported from the main grid, and helps maintain the load/generation balance.

Large-scale randomized control trials of incentive-based conservation: What have we learned?

Landscape-scale conservation programs are challenging to implement, and even more difficult to evaluate. Fundación Natura Bolivia and associated researchers have spent the last decade undertaking a series of randomized control trials (RCTs) of an incentive-based conservation program in Bolivia. Large RCTs are complex, perhaps more so in conservation, as they require measurement of multiple kinds of outcomes operating on different timescales. We have learned that successful RCTs of conservation interventions require that program implementers demonstrate seven characteristics, namely that they are able and willing to: replicate a proven intervention at scale, define and measure outcomes, risk their reputation, have patience, access world-class technical research support, inculcate a tight researcher/practitioner collaboration and adapt the intervention based on evaluation results. Importantly, we have shown that large-scale robust RCT-based evaluations are possible in conservation. Learning how to use such evaluation tools is critical if conservation practitioners are to demonstrate attributable impact of their interventions.

Impact of an incentive-based prenatal smoking cessation program for low-income women in Colorado.

To assess birth outcomes and cost-savings of an incentive-based prenatal smoking cessation program targeting low-income women in Colorado. Prospective observational cohort with nonequivalent population control groups. Program participants (n=2,231) linked to the birth certificate to ascertain birth outcomes compared to two reference populations from Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) and Colorado live births based on the birth certificate. Tobacco cessation metrics in the third trimester of pregnancy, neonatal low birth weight (<2,500g), preterm birth (birth at <37weeks gestation), neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission and maternal gestational hypertension. Cost-savings and return on investment (ROI) were projected using average Medicaid reimbursement. Infants of mothers enrolled in the program had a lower risk of low birthweight (RR=0.86; 95% CI=0.75, 0.97), preterm birth (PTB) (RR=0.76; 95% CI=0.65, 0.88) and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission (RR=0.76; 95% CI=0.66, 0.88) compared to the birth certificate population, corresponding to a ROI of $7.73 and an individual cost savings of $6,040. Compared to PRAMS, infants of enrolled mothers had a lower risk of PTB (RR=0.72; 95% CI=0.53, 0.99) and NICU admission (RR=0.45; 95% CI=0.32, 0.62), corresponding to an ROI of $2.79 and an individual cost savings of $2,182. We found a reduction of adverse birth outcomes, and cost savings.

A novel machine learning approach for evaluation of public policies: An application in relation to the performance of university researchers

Research has become the main reference point for academic life in modern universities. Research incentives have been a controversial issue, because of the difficulty of identifying who are the main beneficiaries and what are the long-term effects. Still, new policies including financial incentives have been adopted to increase the research output at all possible levels. Little literature has been devoted to the response to those incentives. To bridge this gap, we carry out our analysis with data of a six years program developed in Madrid (Spain). Instead of using a traditional econometric approach, we design a machine learning multilevel model to discover on whom, when, and for how long those policies have an effect. The empirical model consists of an automated nested longitudinal clustering (ANLC) performed in two stages. Firstly, it performs a stratification of academics, and secondly, it performs a longitudinal segmentation for each group. The second part considers the researchers’ sociodemographic, academic information and the evolution of their performance over time in the form of the annual percentage variation of their marks over the period. The new methodology, whose robustness is tested with a multilayer perceptron artificial neural network with a back-propagation learning algorithm, shows that tenure track researchers present a better response to incentives than tenured researches, and also that gender plays an important role in academia.These discoveries are relevant to administrations and universities for understanding the productivity of academics working under long-term incentive-based programs, the drawbacks and the inequalities for maximizing the generation of knowledge.

Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) Useful Australian Land Use Practice-Suitable for the World

Protection of the Environment and Sustainability goes hand in hand as one mechanism compliments the other. On the other hand, Sustainable Economic Growth can only be achieved if it is linked to Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD). Sustainability can best be described as "Living within the limit of what the environment can provide while safe guarding the environment for future generation, Understanding the many connections between environment, society and economy, and equitable distribution of resources and opportunities". Uncontrolled Green House Gas Emission has caused global warming, sea level rise, change of weather pattern (e.g severe untimely rainfall at unusual location), and alarming increase of natural disasters (Cyclone, Hurricane, Floods, Tsunamis and other natural phenomena). Third world countries are worst affected by the Green House Gas Emission and Global Warming Impact and Bangladesh is one of them. UN has taken a leading role and guiding the world to work together not only to reduce pollution but to make significant contribution in achieving pristine environmental conditions. Under the umbrella of UN, the world is now taking collective action to reduce Green House Gas Emission and Tackle Global Warming Impacts. Concerted efforts must be taken in an accelerated pace to educate at Global, Regional, National and Community level, about the benefits of the above-mentioned concepts and introduce incentive-based programs for mass participation. The environmental cleanup process should start from individual home and gradually extending to community, national and global level to achieve accelerated measurable success. An opportunity must be created to reform land use change, replacing pollution producing industries with environmentally sustainable practices. It is overdue to put through a series of EPA recommended processes to clean up the contaminated land, soil and water and secondly, introduce and adapt an Ecologically Sustainable Development program. The long-term goal should be to expedite and spread the land use change practices to relace the contaminated practices and introduce mandatory adaption of environment friendly technology for the ongoing industrial and business activities to reduce pollution while contributing improving the environment. With a global collective action this world can be transformed into a heaven on earth.

What role should randomized control trials play in providing the evidence base for conservation?

AbstractThe effectiveness of many widely used conservation interventions is poorly understood because of a lack of high-quality impact evaluations. Randomized control trials (RCTs), in which experimental units are randomly allocated to treatment or control groups, offer an intuitive way to calculate the impact of an intervention by establishing a reliable counterfactual scenario. As many conservation interventions depend on changing people's behaviour, conservation impact evaluation can learn a great deal from RCTs in fields such as development economics, where RCTs have become widely used but are controversial. We build on relevant literature from other fields to discuss how RCTs, despite their potential, are just one of a number of ways to evaluate impact, are not feasible in all circumstances, and how factors such as spillover between units and behavioural effects must be considered in their design. We offer guidance and a set of criteria for deciding when RCTs may be an appropriate approach for evaluating conservation interventions, and factors to consider to ensure an RCT is of high quality. We illustrate this with examples from one of the few concluded RCTs of a large-scale conservation intervention: an incentive-based conservation programme in the Bolivian Andes. We argue that conservation should aim to avoid a rerun of the polarized debate surrounding the use of RCTs in other fields. Randomized control trials will not be feasible or appropriate in many circumstances, but if used carefully they can be useful and could become a more widely used tool for the evaluation of conservation impact.

The cost-effectiveness of incentive-based active case finding for tuberculosis (TB) control in the private sector Karachi, Pakistan

BackgroundIn Asia, over 50% of patients with symptoms of tuberculosis (TB) access health care from private providers. These patients are usually not notified to the National TB Control Programs, which contributes to low notification rates in many countries.MethodsFrom January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2012, Karachi’s Indus Hospital - a private sector partner to the National TB Programme - engaged 80 private family clinics in its catchment area in active case finding using health worker incentives to increase notification of TB disease. The costs incurred were estimated from the perspective of patients, health facility and the program providing TB services. A Markov decision tree model was developed to calculate the cost-effectiveness of the active case finding as compared to case detection through the routine passive TB centers. Pakistan has a large private health sector, which can be mobilized for TB screening using an incentivized active case finding strategy. Currently, TB screening is largely performed in specialist public TB centers through passive case finding. Active and passive case finding strategies are assumed to operate independently from each other.ResultsThe incentive-based active case finding program costed USD 223 per patient treated. In contrast, the center based non-incentive arm was 23.4% cheaper, costing USD 171 per patient treated. Cost-effectiveness analysis showed that the incentive-based active case finding program was more effective and less expensive per DALY averted when compared to the baseline passive case finding as it averts an additional 0.01966 DALYs and saved 15.74 US$ per patient treated.ConclusionBoth screening strategies appear to be cost-effective in an urban Pakistan context. Incentive driven active case findings of TB in the private sector costs less and averts more DALYs per health seeker than passive case finding, when both alternatives are compared to a common baseline situation of no screening.

An incentive-based health program using MyPlate: a pilot study analyzing college students’ dietary intake behavior

Objective Is dietary education, incentivized by financial rewards, effective in achieving improved dietary intake behavior of college students? Participants: Fifty-seven undergraduates (18–24 years old), non-nutrition major students. Methods: The intervention group participated in weekly nutrition education meetings which focused on MyPlate for four weeks. Both the control and the intervention groups completed two online surveys that assessed the students’ knowledge and dietary behavior at the beginning and at the end of the 4-week education program. The respondents’ diet quality was determined by their compliance with MyPlate and their Healthy Eating Index’s recommendations. Results: Students who received education showed the most improvement regarding their knowledge and dietary behavior. These respondents tripled their average per capita consumption of whole grains and increased their fruit and vegetable intakes. Conclusions: Educating college students to work toward improving their diets with the assistance of incentives may have positive effect on their health behaviors.

Quantitative flexibility assessment of a comprehensive set of demand response programs

Providing additional required flexibility as a consequence of variable wind generation is an essential challenge in future power grids. Demand Response (DR) is a relatively economic tool which can create considerable flexibility by motivating the customers to change their typical consumption patterns. This paper aims at quantitative evaluation of flexibility level of a comprehensive set of DR programs in power grid with significant amounts of wind generation through an applicable metric. The employed metric determines the flexibility of different DR programs based on their impacts on releasing technical constraints of conventional generation units which are restricted flexibility amount including minimum stable generation level, operating range, minimum up/down times and ramp up/down capability. To this end, a comprehensive portfolio of DR programs consists of tariff-based, incentive-based, and combinational DR programs have been modeled considering the customer’s benefit function based on price elasticity concept. The paper concludes with applicable guidelines for power system operators to design and implement an appropriate DR program from both the flexibility and economic aspects in wind integrated power grids.

Assessing the benefits of capacity payment, feed‐in‐tariff and time‐of‐use programme on long‐term renewable energy sources integration

Recently, demand response programmes (DRPs) have captured great attention in electric power systems. DRPs such as time-of-use (ToU) programme can be efficiently employed in the power system planning to reform the long-term behaviour of the load demands. The composite generation expansion planning (GEP) and transmission expansion planning (TEP) known as composite GEP–TEP is of high significance in power systems to meet the future load demand of the system and also integrate renewable energy sources (RESs). In this regard, this study presents a dynamic optimisation framework for the composite GEP–TEP problem taking into consideration the ToU programme and also, the incentive-based and supportive programmes. Accordingly, the performances of the capacity payment and feed-in tariff mechanisms and the ToU programme in integrating RESs and reducing the total cost have been evaluated in this study. The problem has been formulated and solved as a standard two-stage mixed-integer linear programming model aimed at minimising the total costs. In this model, the ToU programme is applied and the results are fed into the expansion planning problem as the input. The proposed framework is simulated on the IEEE Reliability Test System to verify the effectiveness of the model and discuss the results obtained from implementing the mentioned mechanisms to support the RESs integration.

Does exclusion matter in conservation agreements? A case of mangrove users in the Ecuadorian coast using participatory choice experiments

Abstract Payments for environmental services (PES) constitute a growing approach to achieve the sustainability of ecosystems and the benefits they provide to people. However, informal tenure and lack of capacity to enforce property rights impede implementation of PES initiatives. Such challenges are common for local communities in coastal and marine areas who overexploit Common-Pool Resources (CPR) under open access. Assigning property rights to organized users has been implemented as a solution, transforming a public good into a club good. Nevertheless, the nature of CPR makes it difficult to define and enforce use rights based on territorial criteria, which might generate equity concerns between organized users and their peers who lose rights. This paper investigates, using a choice experiment, the willingness of Ecuadorian mangrove resource users to accept a conservation policy that combines a concession for sustainable extraction and an economic incentive. Given that a collective concession for the sustainable use and management of CPR implies exclusion of other communities, we specifically analyze two different access levels: i. total exclusion, where the agreement defines that no one other than the concessionaires can access and extract the resources, and ii. discretionary exclusion, where the concessionaires can establish their own rules and conditions for allowing access and use of the resources by third parties. Our interest is to identify how externally imposed rules around exclusion prevent or motivate organized users from participating in approaches to CPR management based on allocation of property rights. We find that having the discretion to choose the level of exclusion matters to resource users when deciding whether to accept the proposed mangrove management strategy. Moreover, we show that preferences for accepting the conservation policy exhibits heterogeneity among users. We contribute to the discussion on the determinants of participation in incentive-based conservation programs.

Health Uninsurance in rural America: a partial equilibrium analysis

BackgroundThe cost of rural health continues to be high in the United States despite an overall improvement in national health insurance enrolment. Stakeholder’s perception of adverse selection remains a paramount culprit in the challenges of rural insurance markets. Risk attitude has been revealed as an alternative for measuring this phenomenon, given the 2014 prohibition law on pre-existing conditions and a subsequent repeal in 2018 accompanied by extensive debate among congress. We examine the existence of adverse selection in rural insurance markets by comparing the effects of pre-existing or chronic health conditions and risk attitudes in a Principal-Agent model.ResultsUsing multinomial logit and complementary log-log binomial link models in a Principal-Agent framework, our results indicate that there is adverse selection in rural health insurance markets if pre-existing conditions are considered, but risk attitudes yield contrary effects.ConclusionsThe major policy implication from this study is that respondents who have pre-existing/chronic conditions tend to patronise health insurance with a higher probability than other counterparts and therefore insurers are likely to incur losses given the law on pre-existing conditions as private information. The 2018 law on the exclusion of individuals with pre-existing conditions may be beneficial to the insurance companies at the expense of the populace. Hence, we suggest that market incentive-based programs should be encouraged to minimize rural health uninsurance.

Degradation of Ecosystem Services and Deforestation in Landscapes With and Without Incentive-Based Forest Conservation in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Anthropogenic activities such as logging or forest conversion into agricultural lands are affecting Ecuadorian Amazon forests. To foster private and communal conservation activities an economic incentive-based conservation program (IFC) called Socio Bosque was established. Existing analyses related to conservation strategies are mainly focused on deforestation; while degradation and the role of IFC to safeguard ecosystem services are still scarce. Further on, there is a lack of landscape-level studies taking into account potential side effects of IFC on different forest types. Therefore we assessed ecosystem services (carbon stocks, timber volume) and species richness in landscapes with and without IFC. Additionally, we evaluated potential side-effects of IFC in adjacent forest types; hypothesizing potential leakage effects of IFC. Finally, we tested if deforestation rates decreased after IFC implementation. Forest inventories were conducted in 72 plots across eight landscapes in the Ecuadorian Central Amazon with and without IFC. Plots were randomly selected within three forest types (old-growth, logged and successional forests). In each plot all individuals with a diameter at breast height greater than 10 cm were measured. Old-growth forests in general showed higher carbon stocks, timber volume and species richness, and no significant differences between old-growth forests in IFC and non-IFC landscapes were found. Logged forests had 32% less above-ground carbon (AGC) and timber volume in comparison to old-growth forests. Surprisingly, logged forests near IFC presented higher AGC stocks than logged forests in non-IFC landscapes, indicating positive side-effects of IFC. Successional forests contain 56% to 64% of AGC, total carbon and timber volume, in comparison to old-growth forests, and 82% to 87% in comparison to logged forests. Therefore, successional forests could play an important role for restoration and should receive more attention in national climate change policies. Finally, after IFC implementation deforestation rate decreased on parish level. Our study presents scientific evidence of IFC contribution to conserving ecosystem services and species richness. In addition IFC could help indirectly to reduce degradation effects attributed to logging, indicating potential compatibility of conservation aims with forest activities at a landscape level.

Climate-based Management to Reduce Nitrate Leaching from Dairies in the Suwannee River Basin

Dairy farmers in the Suwannee River Basin are aware that environmental issues will be among the greatest challenges they face in the near future. Dairy waste is thought to be an important factor contributing to nitrogen pollution in local waters. Dairy farmers are now required to comply with stricter environmental regulations, either under permit or under voluntary incentive-based programs. Dairies face increased regulation because of social pressure, while larger herds attract the attention of neighbors and activists concerned with odors, flies, and especially, potential leaching of nutrients that might influence water quality (Giesy et al., 2003). his document is IFAS Circular 1464, one of a series of the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Sciences, University of Florida. Published January 2005.

Willingness to pay for forest conservation in Ecuador: Results from a nationwide contingent valuation survey in a combined “referendum” – “Consequential open-ended” design

Deforestation is a threatening pan-tropical problem. Net deforestation in Ecuador amounts to approximately 500 km2 per year for 2008–2014. It represents not only an environmental problem but also a threat to social welfare. As social welfare depends on individual preferences, we examined households´ preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for a proposed forest conservation program aiming to avoid deforestation in Ecuador. Our study presents results from a nationwide contingent valuation survey conducted in a geographically stratified random sample of 976 households across the three main geographical regions of Ecuador as well as urban and rural areas. About 98% of surveyed households consider the proposed program worth supporting. For forest conservation, the monthly mean WTP per household lies between $6.28 (dichotomous choice) - $3.17 (open-ended) depending on the method of analysis indicating a solid potential for supporting incentive-based conservation programs. Households also expressed their preferences by regions and types of forests but our results are inconclusive in this regard. Methodologically, our study sheds some new light on the causes for the well-known discrepancy between dichotomous-choice and open-ended WTP estimates. Our results may help improving social welfare by incorporating households´ preferences into the design of forest conservation programs (e.g., like Ecuador's Socio Bosque program). Currently realized payments for the Socio Bosque program are based on sound social support which opens doors to discuss amplifying the financial scope of the program by examining the role that households could play in funding forest conservation programs. Our WTP estimates provide aggregate information that could support the design of forest policy instruments.

Efficient Customer Selection Process for Various DR Objectives

For timely and effective dispatch of demand response (DR) events, utilities require an efficient customer selection process that considers multiple factors, such as customer energy consumption patterns, customer compliance, and DR event time intervals. Moreover, customer targeting strategies may be different depending on the priority of each DR program. Thus, this paper investigates how to efficiently select customers for certain types of incentive-based DR programs (e.g., direct load control and curtailable load control) with various objectives based on hourly energy consumption data. To cope with computation issues arising from big data, we propose a filtering process that reduces the number of eligible customers based on proper criteria and use a novel approximate algorithm to solve the proposed customer selection problems in the format of a stochastic knapsack problem. This paper also suggests how to consider a customer compliance factor in the customer selection process.

Understanding Participants' Perceptions of Access to and Satisfaction With Chronic Disease Prevention Programs.

Despite the promise of incentive-based chronic disease prevention programs, comprehensive evidence on their accessibility among low-income populations remains limited. We adapted Aday and Andersen's framework to examine accessibility and consumer satisfaction within the Medicaid Incentives for the Prevention of Chronic Disease (MIPCD) cross-site demonstration. MIPCD provided 10 states with 5-year grants to implement incentivized chronic disease prevention and management programs for low-income and/or disabled-Medicaid enrolled-Americans. We conducted 36 focus group discussions between July 2014 and December 2015 with Medicaid enrollees participating in the MIPCD programs. We assessed participants' satisfaction by program type (i.e., diabetes prevention, diabetes management, hypertension reduction, smoking cessation, and weight management) related to three components: program enrollment and participation, staff courtesy, and program convenience. Based on Aday and Andersen's framework, we conducted thematic analysis to determine similarities and differences across MIPCD programs by type. Participant feedback confirmed the importance of several features of the Aday and Andersen framework, particularly programs with easy enrollment and participation procedures, courteous and helpful staff, and those that are convenient and flexible for participants. Participants valued programming around the clock via telephone and flexible, in-person hours of operation as well as proximity of the program to reliable transportation. We observed that most participants, despite enrollment and participation barriers, perceived programs as accessible and were willing to engage and continue to participate. This finding may reflect behavior change theory's perspective on personal readiness to change. Individuals in the preparation stage of change can effectively change health habits despite barriers they may encounter. In some cases, personal readiness to change was more impactful than consumer satisfaction at encouraging ongoing participation and perceived access to the programs. Thus, program developers may want to consider individual participant readiness to change and its impact on consumer satisfaction when designing, implementing, and evaluating behavior change initiatives.

Examining the use of loyalty point incentives to encourage health and fitness centre participation.

A unique financial incentive intervention was conducted in Canada, where YMCA members were offered loyalty points (Air Miles Reward Miles) to encourage visits to YMCA Health and Fitness Centres. The purpose of this evaluation study was to determine if YMCA members would participate in a loyalty point incentive program and if the weekly YMCA visit rates differed between Air Miles collectors and non-collectors. YMCA swipe data were collected from 2012 to 2016, including 12 months pre-program (baseline data), 36 months during the intervention period, and 3 months post-program. The final analyses, conducted in 2017, included 459,146 participants from 13 YMCA locations. Quasi-Poisson regression models were used to compare the weekly visit rates between Air Miles collectors and non-collectors. Of the 459,146 participants, 6.4% (n = 29,449) registered their Air Miles card with their YMCA membership (Air Miles collectors). Average weekly visit rates over the entire study period were significantly higher (1.37 to 3.84 times) among the Air Miles collector group than those in the non-collector group, but there was no evidence that incentives were associated with increased YMCA visits when adjusting for the pre-program period. This research demonstrated that incentives are a practical and acceptable public health strategy in Canada. More research is needed into how to harness the reach of loyalty point providers such as Air Miles, and how incentive-based programs should be optimally designed and delivered (e.g., type, timing, and magnitude of incentive).

The University of Vermont Wellness Environment: Feasibility and Initial Results of a College Undergraduate Health-Promoting Program.

The University of Vermont Wellness Environment program is a neuroscience-inspired, incentive-based behavioral change program designed to improve health and academic outcomes in college-age students. The program uses health promotion and illness prevention delivered in classrooms, residential halls, and via a customized App that incentivizes healthy behaviors and monitors the use of health-promoting activities. This article presents feasibility data on participation of college students in ongoing data collection about key outcomes related to health and well-being. The data collection component were easily implemented in college students and yielded high-quality data.