Separation often leads to worse economic consequences for women than for men. However, little is known about how economic consequences of separation play out for different groups of women. Women who ...are younger than their male partner are generally assumed to have lesser agency, but evidence mostly comes from contexts with low gender equality. Here, we examine women's benefit recipiency as a function of the partner age gap of their dissolved union. Using register data from Sweden, we examine whether women from man-older unions suffer greater economic disadvantage after separation, and whether patterns differ for ancestral Swedes and women with migrant background. Results from logistic regression models suggest that, post-separation, the uptake of social and housing benefits increases for nearly all groups of women. However, these data do not show any consistent disadvantages of women from man-older unions. Among ancestral Swedes, patterns differed by benefit type, and among women of African/Middle Eastern origin, benefit recipiency increases were inversely U-shaped to the age gap. Social norms do not appear to explain economic costs of separation, but may explain why the risk of separation itself differed between ancestral Swedish women and women with migrant background.
Environmental (E), social (S), and governance (G) concepts have become a global consensus. Therefore, exploring the motivation mechanism adopted by companies to carry out ESG practices to promote ...sustainable social and economic development is of far-reaching significance. This study investigated whether there was a peer effect in the ESG practices of A-share listed companies and explored its mechanism of action and economic consequences using the data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2021. The empirical results show that there is a significant regional and industry peer effect on the ESG practices of A-share listed companies, which still holds when the average stock trait return is used as the instrumental variable. Furthermore, the mechanism test indicates that the information learning motive and agency cost are potential reasons for the peer effect of ESG practices. On the one hand, followers with information disadvantages tend to imitate the ESG practices of leaders with information advantages, but the converse is invalid. On the other hand, a worse external information environment leads to a higher degree of uncertainty, while a higher agency cost leads to a stronger peer effect of ESG practices. Lastly, the peer effect of corporate ESG practices helps create corporate value and increases corporate risk-taking to some extent. This paper provides a new micro perspective for understanding the occurrence mechanism and economic consequences of ESG practices, as well as crucial empirical evidence for firms to make sustainable development investment decisions.
•A model of how investments in mastitis prevention impacts production is estimated.•The model can be used in practical counselling to assist farmers.•This is useful for more informed decision-making ...about mastitis prevention.
Disease in livestock is an undesirable factor in the production process. It lowers the profit margins of the producers and causes unnecessary suffering to the animals. For dairy production, mastitis is the most common disease, which negatively affects animal welfare, increases production costs, and reduces milk yield. The purpose of this study was to estimate the impact of animal health on dairy production and to introduce a model that can be generally used to assess the effect of animal health on production. Empirical data were obtained from farm-level accounting data of a sample of 99 Swedish dairy producers combined with biological information of the dairy herds. A multiple regression analysis, applying both a Cobb-Douglas and a Translog functional form, was used to investigate how animal health affects production. Animal health was proxied by the inverse of the bulk tank somatic cell count, which is taken to reflect higher levels of animal health. The results suggest that animal health plays a significant role in the production process of dairy farming. The study illustrates how the production output may change when animal health is improved, through its impact on production function. The model developed in this study can be a useful tool for evidence-based counselling in order to help dairy farms become more efficient in their mastitis management process. The model and the approach taken here can also be useful for other livestock production systems to investigate how animal health affects production.
The use of government incentives tied to market prices as means of boosting corporate social responsibility (CSR) has expanded notably in recent decades. Enhanced business tax deductions for ...charitable donations and credits for conservation easements are notable cases. While providing incentives for socially desirable behavior to achieve legislative goals has intuitive appeal, the broader economic consequences are not always fully understood. In this study, we examine such wider consequences for supply chains when subsidies for CSR are offered. One effect we identify is that since incentives are typically tied to market value, firms have not only an added incentive to achieve societal objectives (say by donating inventory) but also an incentive to raise output (retail) market prices. A second consequence is that since firms forgo potential revenues by engaging in socially desired behavior, they become increasingly sensitive to supplier pricing; in an uncoordinated supply chain this leads to input (wholesale) price concessions. Among other things, the results underscore that incentives put in place to meet broader societal objectives also have notable ramifications for suppliers, retailers, and consumers in primary markets.
This study uses Regulation Fair Disclosure (FD) as a plausibly exogenous shock to the information environment to identify the causal effect of information asymmetry on corporate financing behavior. ...Although Regulation FD prevents firms from selectively disclosing material information to market professionals in the equity market, firms can still do so to banks and rating agencies in the debt market. The standard׳s differential disclosure requirements lead to differential changes in the information environments between the two markets, providing a reasonably useful setting to examine the effect of information asymmetry on firms׳ capital structure. I find that firms with a high level of information asymmetry increase debt more than firms with a low level of information asymmetry post-Regulation FD. The results suggest that managers adjust the target leverage ratios to rely more on debt when facing higher costs of equity.
Abstract
Background
Evidence is needed to support local action to reduce the adverse health impacts of climate change and maximise the health co-benefits of climate action. Focused on England, the ...study identifies priority areas for research to inform local decision making.
Methods
Firstly, potential priority areas for research were identified from a brief review of UK policy documents, and feedback invited from public and policy stakeholders. This included a survey of Directors of Public Health (DsPH) in England, the local government officers responsible for public health. Secondly, rapid reviews of research evidence examined whether there was UK evidence relating to the priorities identified in the survey.
Results
The brief policy review pointed to the importance of evidence in two broad areas: (i) community engagement in local level action on the health impacts of climate change and (ii) the economic (cost) implications of such action. The DsPH survey (
n
= 57) confirmed these priorities. With respect to community engagement, public understanding of climate change’s health impacts and the public acceptability of local climate actions were identified as key evidence gaps. With respect to economic implications, the gaps related to evidence on the health and non-health-related costs and benefits of climate action and the short, medium and longer-term budgetary implications of such action, particularly with respect to investments in the built environment. Across both areas, the need for evidence relating to impacts across income groups was highlighted, a point also emphasised by the public involvement panel. The rapid reviews confirmed these evidence gaps (relating to public understanding, public acceptability, economic evaluation and social inequalities). In addition, public and policy stakeholders pointed to other barriers to action, including financial pressures, noting that better evidence is insufficient to enable effective local action.
Conclusions
There is limited evidence to inform health-centred local action on climate change. More evidence is required on public perspectives on, and the economic dimensions of, local climate action. Investment in locally focused research is urgently needed if local governments are to develop and implement evidence-based policies to protect public health from climate change and maximise the health co-benefits of local action.
•In Finland, the number of COVID-19 infections significantly increased in 2022, but the number of severe cases decreased. By 2023, COVID-19 epidemic had transitioned into an endemic phase.•During the ...endemic phase, society has been living without restrictions.•The implementation of the vaccination strategy generated diverse opinions among authorities and experts.•As time progresses, it becomes increasingly challenging to draw comprehensive conclusions about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on society or the healthcare system.•The figures regarding overall mortality are complex. A comprehensive study should be conducted to accurately demonstrate the true impact of COVID-19 on the overall mortality.
To analyze how the vaccines and various measures to control the pandemic affected epidemiological, health and socioeconomic outcomes of COVID-19 in Finland. The focus of the analysis is on the endemic phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The paper provides an overview of Finland's healthcare system, trends in COVID-19 morbidity, mortality and vaccination coverage data, political considerations, interventions to control the pandemic, as well as the economic impact of the pandemic in the endemic phase. Data were collected from various sources, including previous studies, government reports, national statistics and registers and general media.
In Finland, the total number of COVID-19 infections increased significantly during 2022, but the number of serious forms of the disease decreased. The implementation of the vaccination strategy caused a diversity of opinions among authorities and experts. The governing of the pandemic was fully decentralized. Overall, there is a good vaccination coverage of the population. In the endemic phase society returned to live without restrictions.
It seems clear that vaccines played an important role in controlling the pandemic. Overall mortality increased substantially in 2022 causing life expectancy to fall. Moreover, different “excess death” indicators show an increase in 2021 and 2022, but the timing and magnitude of the effect varies. It is relatively safe to conclude that at least part of increase can be attributed to the pandemic, but a more exact conclusion calls for a comprehensive study. Similarly, understanding long covid and designing required intervention calls for more research.
Power systems are prone to cascading outages leading to large-area blackouts with significant social and economic consequences. Intentional controlled islanding (i.e. the separation of the system ...into sustainable islands) is an effective strategy to mitigate these catastrophic events. To ensure a correct separation, nonetheless, it is crucial to define a suitable time to split the system (i.e. to answer the when to island question). To consider the probability of the event, the reliability of the system components, the reliability of the information and communication technologies, and the potential economic costs of the event, answering the above question within a risk-based framework becomes critical. To date, however, this has not been done. This study proposes a risk-based methodology to define, in an adaptive manner, a suitable time to split the system following an event. This methodology complements the well-studied where to island question, resulting in an integral solution of the islanding problem. To illustrate the approach, the IEEE 118-bus dynamic system is adopted considering realistic security criteria. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and flexibility of the methodology in identifying a suitable time for the creation of islands, which, in turn, results in the prevention of blackouts that would otherwise be obtained.
We write as experienced paediatric practitioners who have been involved in medico-legal proceedings where cases related to childhood cancer practice have featured frequently. We will use the service ...evaluation of Professor David A Walker’s last 35 cases, where all but seven concerned children with tumours of the brain or spine to illustrate the concerns that families raise. We refer to the evidence from the HeadSmart programme (www.headsmart.org.uk), which seeks to accelerate diagnosis by raising awareness of the disease and symptoms. We use the experience of Dr Jonathan AG Punt to illustrate the legal issues that apply and explain the way that significant quantum calculations are applied to cases of this type. The current move by NHS Resolution to explore the expanded role of mediation will be discussed and the need for research to explore the precise way that mediation could be developed to offer an alternative approach to conflict resolution.
This paper investigates the economic consequences of adoption of IFRS for reporting by New Zealand listed companies as indicated by the effect on the cost of equity capital. We analyse a sample of ...290 firm year observations on New Zealand listed companies over the periods 1998–2002 and 2009–2013. We find that there is a significant negative association between IFRS adoption and the cost of equity capital. These results are robust to several variations in model specification and sample composition. To the extent that higher quality accounting standards reduce the cost of equity capital, the result suggests that IFRS is a higher quality set of accounting standards than pre IFRS New Zealand GAAP. This is the first study to provide empirical evidence on the impact of adoption of IFRS on the cost of equity capital of New Zealand companies. The evidence supports the findings for European companies and thus points to the benefits potentially available to companies in countries that have yet to adopt IFRS, such as US and Japan.
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