Level Of Incentives Research Articles

Algorithm of innovative medical and economic standards as a basis for the transformation of hypothetical predictions of the launch of insurance medicine

Introduction: Based of tht author's doctoral dissertation of tht problems of insurance medicine, relevant monographs and scientific articles, an attempt is presented to substantiate tht option of transforming our purely governmental national system of insurance medicine. Purpose: Using more than thirty of our innovative organizational and medico-economic standards, criteria and regulations, in tht process of their "activation" in the conditions of a full-scale experiment under the pilot project program in the Health Care institutions of various levels of medical district, to determine the level of their effectiveness to justify the specified transformation during the launch of our system of insurance medicine. Materials and methods: The object of the study was all residents (up to 2000) of the family physician's area of responsibility. On the basis of structural-logical analysis and the use of medical-economic standards, doctors' labor costs, distribution of otolaryngological diseases into clinical-statistical groups (CSG) and diagnosticrelated groups (DRG), as well as the degree of their complexity and the complexity of possible surgical interventions, thanks to the formula for calculating the labor costs of doctors and treatment process we obtained evidencebased information about real "budget" cost of treatment of diseases of a certain CSG. Results and discussion: At the first in trade part mental stage of insurance medicine, the main tool should be a system of medical and economic standards, which include the price of labor costs, in particular doctors, wage fund, rates of increasing coefficients for the treatment of complex diseases, the level of financial incentives for doctors and the like. The tables present a mechanism for calculating the evidence-based cost of treating diseases of varying degrees of complexity and physician salaries, as well as the possibilities of forming both an adequate amount of funds that "follow the patient" and forecasting the health improvement budget for the family physician's area of responsibility. Conclusions: Presented an algorithm for the implementation of our medical and economic standards, the feasibility of which has been proven in the "field" conditions of the field experiment in the process of professional management, can constitute, under conditions of its continuous improvement, the medical and economic basis for the start of our system of budgetary and insurance medicine.

The comparative impact of solar policies on entrepreneurship in the U.S. solar photovoltaic installation industry

The relationship between energy policies and entrepreneurship has long been a keen interest of researchers and policymakers. This study seeks to understand whether and how public policies affect—promote or hinder—the founding of new firms by examining the impact of solar regulatory and financial incentive policies on two types of new firm formation (i.e., start-ups and new subsidiaries) in the U.S. solar photovoltaic (PV) installation industry. This study finds that favorable regulatory policies are associated with an increased number of 2.8 start-ups and 1.6 new subsidiaries, and restrictive regulations (i.e., licensing policies) are associated with 2 fewer start-ups and 0.5 fewer new subsidiaries in a state. This study also finds that third-party ownership policy seems to have no impact on new firm formation. Furthermore, the relationship between financial incentives and new firm formation is not robust. This study suggests that policies that create a favorable business environment (or increase the barriers to business entry) may benefit (or hinder) different types of firms to varying degrees, as firms may have different levels of motivations, incentives, resources, and capacity to leverage these policies. Therefore, the distributional implications of policies should be taken into account in policy designs.

How to effectively guide carbon reduction behavior of building owners under emission trading scheme? An evolutionary game-based study

The building sector accounts for the largest proportion of global carbon emissions. The implementation of a market-based emission trading scheme offers a wider range of strategic choices and greater flexibility for building owners to reduce carbon emissions, but few of them are enthusiastic and actively engaged. To address the problem, this study explores how governments can effectively guide the carbon mitigation actions of building owners under an emission trading scheme (ETS) by continually adjusting and optimizing their regulation strategies. First, an extended evolutionary game model is built, considering the synergistic effect of multiple regulation policies, to theoretically depict the long-term interactive, extensive correlative, and dynamic feedback relationship between the government and building owners. Second, taking advantage of system dynamics as a policy laboratory, a scenario cultivation and simulation analysis is conducted to fully investigate the implementation effects of different regulation strategies based on the behavioral responses of building owners under different scenarios. The city of Shenzhen is a pioneer in covering the building sector in its carbon trading scheme in China, and its hotels above four stars are selected as the realistic setting for the simulation analysis. The results demonstrate that under the emission trading scheme, compared with increasing levels of carbon monitoring and non-financial incentives for building owners, intervention measures, including penalties, subsidies, and public scrutiny, are more efficient and important for the government. These findings provide important theoretical guidance and practical implications for the government to further adjust and optimize its carbon regulation strategies for the building sector.

Assessment of the international competitiveness of the corporate profit tax in Ukraine

The article is devoted to assessing the international competitiveness of the corporate profit tax system based on the approach of the US Tax Foundation, which develops International Tax Competitiveness Index of the corporate profit tax (ICI) and takes into account the level of profit tax rates, cost recovery, tax incentives and complexity of tax law. According to the analysis of the international ranking of OECD countries, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Hungary had the highest ICIs in 2019-2020. The main factors that have had a positive effect on their competitiveness are the low top marginal income tax rate, unlimited loss carryback and carryforward, no restrictions on the list of assets subject to depreciation, as well as the use of accelerated depreciation, which allows companies to compensate for a larger share of the initial value of assets, LIFO inventory or at least inventory by the weighted average cost method, no Patent Box; no tax credit for R&D, and low corporate profit tax complexity. The calculation of the ICI for Ukraine, based on the approbation of the methodological approach of the Tax Foundation, found that in 2019-2020 Ukraine with a total score of 55.07 took 24th place out of 35 OECD countries. The author characterizes the main components of Ukrainian corporate profit taxation in terms of their impact on international competitiveness; in addition, ways to increase ICI are substantiated.

One Size Does Not Fit All: Financial Incentives Needed to Change Physical Exercise Levels for Different Groups.

This study estimated the distribution of willingness to accept (WTA) for a physical activity behavior change intervention entailing the completion of 10,000 steps/day to shed light on which levels of incentives trigger a change in behavior for different proportions of the population and for more at-risk subgroups. An online contingent valuation (CV) survey was administered to 1130 respondents in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. The survey queried respondents about their physical activity levels and intention to engage in physical activity before presenting the WTA questions. Nonparametric WTA values were estimated for the whole sample and for subsamples of active, inactive, and overweight and obese people. One-quarter of respondents would engage with the hypothetical program even without payment, but if a monetary incentive was offered them, they would take it. The median WTA for committing to complete 10,000 steps/day is €0.23 for the full sample, €0.21 for active, €0.25 for inactive, and €0.23 for overweight and obese people. The WTA at 75th percentile is €4 for the full sample, €1.70 for active, €10.80 for inactive, and €5 for overweight and obese respondents. WTA is positively affected by a person's lack of disposable time to increase their physical activity and, for inactive people, by their poor intention to become physically active.

The Incentive Mechanism of the Subject Librarians with Computer Information Retrieval Under Competition

Based on the H-M model, the optimal incentive model under competition was constructed, the best incentive system was constructed by solving the model, and its incentive characteristics are analyzed. Based on the theory of econometrics, an empirical model of incentive system was constructed, and the correlation and significance between the main core variables and incentive intensity are empirically tested. The results show that competition has a significant effect and positive effect on incentive level. Incentive level has a non-linear correlation with service cost and risk preference, within a certain range, the best incentive level is negatively related to them.

Analysis of technology diffusion policies for renewable energy. The case of the Italian solar photovoltaic sector

The scope of the work is to depict a solid framework to interpret the capacity development of solar PV in Italy. To this aim the pivotal roles of public incentives is addressed and a vis a vis analysis of the regulatory framework and corresponding quantitative data is provided. The Italian regulatory framework did not provide an adequate focus on operational requirements for developing solar PV and allowed the speculative behavior of many investors. This is demonstrated by the correlation index between installed capacity and level of incentive equal to 0.988. Additionally, LCOE is calculated and from 2009 onward it is half of the average incentive level. Furthermore, the role of “followers” assumed by large power generators in the first phase of the PV development determined the absence of an industrial leadership. Oppositely, in a second phase, large utilities became more active on the PV market since they realized the impact on power market price. The linear correlation index between market price and PV capacity is found to be equal to −0.68, therefore price decreases at the increase of PV installed capacity and this is detrimental for large power utilities, thus they were pushed to be active in the PV sector.

Stakeholders’ individual and organizational capacity to acquire, assess, adapt and apply evidence for maternal, neonatal and child health in policymaking in Burkina Faso

Introduction: In Burkina Faso, the systematic use of research evidence in maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) decision-making is not yet institutionalized despite previous initiatives to promote the evidence to policy link. This study aimed to assess individual and organizational capacities of MNCH stakeholders for evidence-to-policy link in Burkina Faso. Methods: The design was a cross-sectional study conducted during a national MNCH stakeholders’ engagement event organised in Ouagadougou in November 2015 by Burkina Faso Ministry of Health. A self-assessment survey using structured pre-tested questionnaire was administered to assess participants’ individual and organisational capacities to acquire, appraise, adapt and apply evidence in decision-making. Results: The mean rating (MNR) for individual knowledge about initiating/conducting research and ability to access and use existing research evidence ranged from 2.76-2.96 on the scale of 5. The MNR of the capacity to assess the authenticity, validity, reliability, quality and applicability of research evidence ranged from 2.72 to 3.08. Respondents rated their organizational level of research incentives including availability of research grants, in-service research training, and provision of research facilities very low (MNR=1.60). The MNR of organizational capacity to initiate research, source for research evidence, assess the validity and applicability of research evidence, and incentives to encourage the application of research evidence ranged from 2.16 to 2.76. Conclusion: The outcome of this study demonstrates the urgent need for capacity enhancement at individual level for MNCH stakeholders in Burkina Faso and the creation of enabling environment for promotion of evidence use at organizational level, through research incentives.

Can financial payments incentivize short-term smoking cessation in orthopaedic trauma patients? Evidence from a discrete choice experiment

BackgroundSmoking increases the risk of complications and related costs after an orthopaedic fracture. Research in other populations suggests that a one-time payment may incentivize smoking cessation. However, little is known on fracture patients’ willingness to accept financial incentives to stop smoking; and the level of incentive required to motivate smoking cessation in this population. This study aimed to estimate the financial threshold required to motivate fracture patients to stop smoking after injury.MethodsThis cross-sectional study utilized a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to elicit patient preferences towards financial incentives and reduced complications associated with smoking cessation. We presented participants with 12 hypothetical options with several attributes with varying levels. The respondents’ data was used to determine the utility of each attribute level and the relative importance associated with each attribute.ResultsOf the 130 enrolled patients, 79% reported an interest in quitting smoking. We estimated the financial incentive to be of greater relative importance (ri) (45%) than any of the included clinical benefits of smoking cessations (deep infection (ri: 24%), bone healing complications (ri: 19%), and superficial infections (ri: 12%)). A one-time payment of $800 provided the greatest utility to the respondents (0.64, 95% CI: 0.36 to 0.93), surpassing the utility associated with a single $1000 financial incentive (0.36, 95% CI: 0.18 to 0.55).ConclusionsFinancial incentives may be an effective tool to promote smoking cessation in the orthopaedic trauma population. The findings of this study define optimal payment thresholds for smoking cessation programs.

Оцінка міжнародної конкурентоспроможності системи оподаткування прибутку підприємств України

The article is devoted to assessing the international competitiveness of the corporate income tax system based on the approach of the US Tax Foundation, which develops International Tax Competitiveness Index of the corporate income tax (ICI) and takes into account the level of income tax rates, cost recovery, tax incentives and complexity of tax law. According to the analysis of the international ranking of OECD countries, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Hungary had the highest ICIs in 2019-2020. The main factors that have had a positive effect on their competitiveness are the low top marginal income tax rate, unlimited loss carryback and carryforward, no restrictions on the list of assets subject to depreciation, as well as the use of accelerated depreciation, which allows companies to compensate for a larger share of the initial value of assets, LIFO inventory or at least inventory by the weighted average cost method, no Patent Box; no tax credit for R&D, and low corporate income tax complexity. The calculation of the ICI for Ukraine, based on the approbation of the methodological approach of the Tax Foundation, found that in 2019-2020 Ukraine with a total score of 55.07 took 24th place out of 35 OECD countries. The author characterizes the main components of Ukrainian corporate income taxation in terms of their impact on international competitiveness; in addition, ways to increase ICI are substantiated.

The unending burden of high out-of-pocket expenditure on institutional deliveries in India

ObjectiveThis study aims to address the question that whether out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) on institutional deliveries remained high or reduced over time in India, in particular after the introduction of conditional cash transfer (CCT) incentive programmes such as Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) in 2005. Study designThe study presents the trends in average OOPE on institutional deliveries in India, in an effort to evaluate the impact of the JSY programme on it. MethodsFor the purpose, the study used recently released 75th round of National Sample Survey data, 2017/18 about household social consumption (Health) and two of its previous rounds in 2004 and 2014. ResultsThe results suggest that, except at rural public facilities, the average OOPE for institutional delivery has increased significantly in both rural and urban areas from 2004 to 2017/18, even after adjusting to inflation in the prices. In addition, the results have shown that overall 14 of 33 states for rural public facilities, 20 of 25 states in rural private facilities, 21 of 32 states in urban public facilities and 29 of 32 states in urban private facilities have experienced more than 50% raise in OOPE on institutional delivery during 2004–2017/18, despite JSY incentives. ConclusionThe findings suggest that the current level of JSY incentives will not be sufficient to avoid catastrophic spending on institutional deliveries for the households as the incentives in several states are much less than the state average OOPE per delivery. Thus, there is a need to consider a raise in the state or central contribution for CCT under the JSY programme to reduce the burden of OOPE on institutional deliveries through recently launched Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana.

المناخ التنظیمی فی المعاهد التابعة لجامعة الإمام محمد بن سعود الإسلامیة بالخارج وعلاقته بالاستغراق الوظیفی لدى العاملین بها

المناخ التنظیمی فی المعاهد التابعة لجامعة الإمام محمد بن سعود الإسلامیة بالخارج وعلاقته بالاستغراق الوظیفی لدى العاملین بها

Assessment of labor incentive policy in the agro-industrial complex

The article discusses certain areas of implementation of the national objective “Decent, effective work and successful entrepreneurship” in the agro-industrial complex. In the context of a decrease in the share of people employed in agriculture, ensuring food security in the country and the level of competitiveness of the industry in the world market is possible only by increasing labor efficiency. Decent work, the main criterion of which is the level of labor incentives, having a positive effect on the degree of labor motivation, ensures its efficiency. The author’s structural model of the labor stimulation policy in the agro-industrial complex and a system of indicators that allow assessing its effectiveness are proposed. An analysis of some of these indicators for 2015-2019 is carried out and the implementation of its labor incentive policy is assessed. This allowed the authors to propose a set of interrelated recommendations for the implementation of the national objective of ensuring decent work.

The impact of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) in tourism industry: evidence of Kosovo during Q1, Q2 and Q3 period of 2020

ABSTRACT Tourism is one of the sectors most affected by the non-arrival of our compatriots from the diaspora due to COVID-19. The tourism sector is experiencing a rapid and sharp decline in demand and an increase in job losses throughout our country in Kosovo, putting many businesses at risk. The pandemic (COVID-19) is, first of all, a crisis that is affecting the lives of citizens and has caused a global economic crisis, also in our country in Kosovo. COVID-19 has very tangible impacts on the tourism sector, which is vital for many people, and businesses. The data show that the tourism sector has had a decline in revenues compared to the same period last year, precisely due to the cessation of activities. According to the data, the most affected sector is tourism and therefore the government should use incentive level policies and provide financial support for this sector. The economy and the activity of the tourism sector has been further deteriorated by the non-arrival of our compatriots from the diaspora, due to the Pandemic, thus causing great losses in the tourism industry.

Screening for diabetic retinopathy with different levels of financial incentive in a randomized controlled trial.

Aims/IntroductionTo examine the impact of different levels of financial incentive in terms of fee subsidization on diabetic retinopathy screening in the private primary care setting in Hong Kong.Materials and MethodsAll general practitioners working in the private sector and registered in two electronic public databases were invited to participate. Consecutive patients with diabetes mellitus were then recruited by the participating practitioners. The recruited participants were randomly allocated to one of three screening groups with different fee levels (HK$0, HK$150 [US$19], HK$300 [US$39]) in a randomized controlled trial. Screening uptake and severity of diabetic retinopathy detected were compared.ResultsOut of 1,688 eligible practitioners, 105 participated and invited 402 patients, with 239 initially agreeing to participate (59.5%). After randomization, 78, 75 and 76 participants in the HK$0, HK$150 and HK$300 fee groups, respectively, reconfirmed their participation and were offered screening at the relevant fee. The uptake of screening was 79.5% (62/78), 81.3% (61/75) and 63.2% (48/76), in the HK$0, HK$150 and HK$300 groups, respectively (P < 0.018). Being in the HK$150 fee group was associated with higher uptake of screening than being in the HK$300 fee group (odds ratio 2.31, P = 0.039). No significant difference was found in the prevalence of any diabetic retinopathy (33.9%, 27.9% and 37.5%, P = 0.378) or sight‐threatening diabetic retinopathy (4.8%, 8.2% and 16.7%; P = 0.092) among the groups.ConclusionA screening fee of HK$150, representing approximately a half subsidy, appears to be as effective in maximizing uptake as a full subsidy (HK$0) and without deterring those at high risk of diabetic retinopathy from screening.

Roles of community health workers in advancing health security and resilient health systems

To enhance public health emergency preparedness, countries have strengthened core capacities required by the International Health Regulations (2005). In addition, recent major public health emergencies, including the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, have reiterated the critical importance of underlying health systems and their resilience, including the roles of community health workers (CHWs). The aim of this study was to summarize the situation of CHWs in the World Health Organization South-East Asia Region, including their roles and the challenges they have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic response. We reviewed journal articles, policy documents, national guidelines, reports and online publications from development agencies, governments and media houses. Our review results, including three identified case studies, suggest that CHWs in the region have expanded their usual roles to meet the need for both maintenance of regular health services and demand for COVID-19 response activities. During the response, the regular role of a CHW in health education and promotion focused on awareness-raising and the promotion of “new normal” behaviours; CHWs also played critical roles in assisting in surveillance and contact tracing, and in ensuring that people followed isolation and quarantine guidelines. Concurrently, CHWs ensured continuity of essential health services. However, there were challenges, such as stigma, a lack of adequate training or protective equipment, and limited levels of incentives and recognition. Based on these findings, we recommend the development and implementation of long-term plans across the region to strengthen and support CHWs and recognize CHWs as an integral component of resilient health systems. Planning for CHWs as part of the primary health care system will enable local authorities to ensure that an adequate level of resources (including capacity-building, incentives, necessary equipment and consumables) is allocated to CHWs.

Cognitive Biases: Mistakes or Missing Stakes?

Abstract Despite decades of research on heuristics and biases, evidence on the effect of large incentives on cognitive biases is scant. We test the effect of incentives on four widely documented biases: base-rate neglect, anchoring, failure of contingent thinking, and intuitive reasoning. In laboratory experiments with 1,236 college students in Nairobi, we implement three incentive levels: no incentives, standard lab payments, and very high incentives. We find that very high stakes increase response times by 40% but improve performance only very mildly or not at all. In none of the tasks do very high stakes come close to de-biasing participants.

Reward-Based Decision-Making Engages Distinct Modes of Cross-Frequency Coupling.

Prefrontal cortex exerts control over sensory and motor systems via cross-frequency coupling. However, it is unknown whether these signals play a role in reward-based decision-making and whether such dynamic network configuration is altered in a major depressive episode. We recruited men and women with and without depression to perform a streamlined version of the Expenditure of Effort for Reward Task during recording of electroencephalography. Goal-directed behavior was quantified as willingness to exert physical effort to obtain reward, and reward-evaluation was the degree to which the decision to exert effort was modulated by incentive level. We found that the amplitude of frontal-midline theta oscillations was greatest in participants with the greatest reward-evaluation. Furthermore, coupling between frontal theta phase and parieto-occipital gamma amplitude was positively correlated with reward-evaluation. In addition, goal-directed behavior was positively correlated with coupling between frontal delta phase to motor beta amplitude. Finally, we performed a factor analysis to derive 2 symptom dimensions and found that mood symptoms positively tracked with reward-evaluation and motivation symptoms negatively tracked with goal-directed behavior. Altogether, these results provide evidence that 2 aspects of reward-based decision-making are instantiated by different modes of prefrontal top-down control and are modulated in different symptom dimensions of depression.

Time Inconsistency in Stress Test Design

We show that central banks face a time inconsistency problem when publishing bank stress test results. Before a stress test, they want to appear tough as the threat of letting banks fail the stress test incentivizes prudent behaviour. After the stress test, they want to act soft by releasing only partial information in order to reassure financial markets about bank health. We characterize an institutional design solution to this commitment problem: a social planner sets the framework within which the central bank communicates. We find that a hurdle rate framework, where all banks are judged to pass or fail relative to a common threshold, is optimal in many settings as it generates intermediate levels of both incentives and reassurance. With a hurdle rate framework, stress tests become an informational contagion channel, as changes in the health of one bank affect beliefs about the health of other banks. Thus, informational contagion can be a feature of a socially optimal institutional design in the presence of a time inconsistency problem.

Перспективы взаимодействия полиции и народных дружин в регионе: опыт социологического анализа

Based on the results of quantitative and qualitative sociological surveys, the article outlines the prospects for interaction between the police and people's guards in the Khabarovsk territory. On the one hand, the estimates of increase in the number and effectiveness of these law enforcement associations are shown, on the other, the directions for improving their activities in the region are given. The study showed that the main measures to optimize interaction of the people's guards with the police should be aimed at increasing the motivation and involvement of different segments of the population in the work of people's guards. The key areas of such work should be information and explanatory work in relation to the volunteers and volunteers with the active civic position, youth, primarily students, pensioners of power structures, employees of budgetary institutions and organizations, an increase in the level of material incentives for vigilantes and financial support of the people's guards, improvement of legal security of vigilantes, as well as changes in the ideological and motivational aspects of their activities.