Redistributive effects of different pension systems when longevity varies by socioeconomic status.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Sanchez-Romero M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7351074 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Background The American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 (LE8) are 8 risk factors for cardiovascular disease, with poor attainment across all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. Attainment is lowest among Americans of low socioeconomic status (SES). Evidence suggests the association of SES with LE8 may vary by race and ethnicity. Methods and Results The association of 4 SES categories (education, income-to-poverty line ratio, employment, insurance) with LE8 was computed in age-adjusted linear regression models, with an interaction term for race and ethnicity, using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, years 2011 to 2018. The sample (n=13 529) had a median age of 48 years (51% female) with weighting to be representative of the US population. The magnitude of positive association of college education (relative to ≤high school) with LE8 was greater among non-Hispanic White Americans (NHWA) compared with non-Hispanic Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and non-Hispanic Asian Americans (all interactions P<0.001). NHWA had a greater magnitude of positive association of income-to-poverty line ratio with LE8, compared with non-Hispanic Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and non-Hispanic Asian Americans (all interactions P<0.001). NHWA with Medicaid compared with private insurance had a greater magnitude of negative association with LE8 compared with non-Hispanic Black Americans, non-Hispanic Asian Americans, or Hispanic Americans (all interactions P<0.01). NHWA unemployed due to disability or health condition (compared with employed) had a greater magnitude of negative association with LE8 than non-Hispanic Black Americans, non-Hispanic Asian Americans, or Hispanic Americans (all interactions P<0.05). Conclusions The magnitude of association of SES with LE8 is greatest among NHWA. More research is needed on SES's role in LE8 attainment in minority group populations.
| S-EPMC10547287 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Which are the effects of pandemics on the returns to factors of production? Are these effects persistent over time? These questions have received renewed interest after the out-burst of deaths caused by Covid-19. The Spanish Flu is the closest pandemic to Covid-19. In this paper, we analyze the impact of the Spanish Flu on the returns to labor and capital in Spain. Spain is an ideal country to perform this exercise. First, the "excess death rate" was one of the largest in Western Europe and it varied substantially across regions. Second, Spain was transitioning towards industrialization, with regions in different stages of development. Third, Spain was developed enough to have reliable data. We identify the effect of the Spanish Flu by exploiting within-country variation in "excess death rate". Our main result is that the effect of the Spanish Flu on daily real wages was large, negative, and broadly short-lived. The effects are heterogeneous across occupations and regions. The negative effects are exacerbated in (i) occupations producing non-essential goods like shoemakers and (ii) more urbanized provinces. Quantitatively, relative to pre-1918, the decline for the average region ranges from null to around 30 percent. In addition, we fail to find significant negative effects of the flu on returns to capital. Whereas the results for dividends are imprecisely estimated (we cannot reject a null effect), the effect on real estate prices (houses and land), driven by the post-1918 recovery, is positive. Experts on inequality have argued that pandemics have equalizing effects especially in a Malthusian setting, due to real wage increases. Our findings suggest that, at least, for a developing economy like Spain in the early 20th century, this result does not apply. Indeed, we document that the flu pandemic was conducive to a (short-run) reduction in real wages. In addition, we interpret our heterogeneous results as suggestive evidence that pandemics represent a demand shock.
| S-EPMC9758399 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In many states, local school districts are responsible for setting the earnings that determines the size of pensions, but are not required to make contributions to cover the resulting state pension fund liabilities. In this paper, I document evidence that this intergovernmental incentive inherent in public sector defined benefit pension systems distorts the amount and timing of income for public school teachers. I use the introduction of a policy that required experience-rating on earnings increases above a certain limit in a differences-in-differences framework to identify whether districts are willing to pay the full costs of their earnings promises. Because of the design of the policy, overall earnings of teachers near retirement did not change. Instead, districts that previously provided one-time pay increases shifted to smaller increments spread out over several years. In addition, some districts that did not practice pension-spiking prior to the reform appear to begin providing payments up to the new, lower limit, perhaps due to increased salience of the fiscal incentive. Therefore, the policy was ineffective at decreasing pension costs.
| S-EPMC5624730 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundSubjective "ladder" measurements of socio-economic status (SES) are easy-to-administer tools that ask respondents to rate their own SES, allowing them to evaluate their own material resources and determine where it places them relative to their community. Here, we sought to compare the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social status to the WAMI, an objective measure of SES that includes data on water and sanitation, asset ownership, education, and income.MethodsLeveraging a study of 595 tuberculosis patients in Lima, Peru, we compared the MacArthur ladder score to the WAMI score using weighted Kappa scores and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. We identified outliers that fell outside the 95th percentile and assessed the durability of the inconsistencies between scores by re-testing a subset of participants. We then used Akaike information criterion (AIC) to compare the predictability of logistic regression models evaluating the association between the two SES scoring systems and history of asthma.ResultsThe correlation coefficient between the MacArthur ladder and WAMI scores was 0.37 and the weighted Kappa was 0.26. The correlation coefficients differed by less than 0.04 and the Kappa ranged from 0.26 to 0.34, indicating fair agreement. When we replaced the initial MacArthur ladder scores with retest scores, the number of individuals with disagreements between the two scores decreased from 21 to 10 and the correlation coefficient and weighted Kappa both increased by at least 0.03. Lastly, we found that when we categorized WAMI and MacArthur ladder scores into three groups, both had a linear trend association with history of asthma with effect sizes and AICs that differed by less than 15% and 2 points, respectively.ConclusionOur findings demonstrated fair agreement between the MacArthur ladder and WAMI scores. The agreement between the two SES measurements increased when they were further categorized into 3-5 categories, the form in which SES is often used in epidemiologic studies. The MacArthur score also performed similarly to WAMI in predicting a socio-economically sensitive health outcome. Researchers should consider subjective SES tools as an alternative method for measuring SES, particularly in large health studies where data collection is a burden.
| S-EPMC10044732 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Human-environment interactions within and across borders are now more influential than ever, posing unprecedented sustainability challenges. The framework of metacoupling (interactions within and across adjacent and distant coupled human-environment systems) provides a useful tool to evaluate them at diverse temporal and spatial scales. While most metacoupling studies have so far addressed the impacts of distant interactions (telecouplings), few have addressed the complementary and interdependent effects of the interactions within coupled systems (intracouplings) and between adjacent systems (pericouplings). Using the production and trade of a major commodity (soybean) as a demonstration, this paper empirically evaluates the complex effects on deforestation and economic growth across a globally important soybean producing region (Mato Grosso in Brazil). Although this region is influenced by a strong telecoupling process (i.e., soybean trade with national and international markets), intracouplings pose significant effects on deforestation and economic growth within focal municipalities. Furthermore, it generates pericoupling effects (e.g., deforestation) on adjacent municipalities, which precede economic benefits on adjacent systems, and may occur during and after the soybean production takes place. These results show that while economic benefits of the production of agricultural commodities for global markets tend to be localized, their environmental costs tend to be spatially widespread. As deforestation also occurred in adjacent areas beyond focal areas with economic development, this study has significant implications for sustainability in an increasingly metacoupled world.
| S-EPMC8452730 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe purpose of this paper is to systematically review the literature on the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and influenza immunization and to examine how certain measures of SES may influence interpretations of this relationship.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review of existing peer-reviewed literature to evaluate the above relationship in the general population. Electronic databases (MEDLINE and EMBASE) were searched from January 2012 to May 2017 to identify English-language studies relevant to this review. Studies were included where influenza vaccination was explicitly reported as the dependent variable and SES as the independent variable. We limited our review to measures of SES that focus on education, income, social class, occupation, and deprivation. Studies that measured SES using other variables (e.g., race, ethnicity, geographic location, rural or urban status, or insurance status) were excluded. Studies were also excluded if they did not report on the human population or did not analyze original data. The population of interest included all age groups, levels of health status, and sociodemographic backgrounds. The review was also limited to World Bank high-income countries. Two authors independently screened full-text articles after obtaining a Kappa score of K?= 0.867. The methodological quality of manuscripts was assessed using the appraisal tools developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Results were qualitatively reported and synthesized.ResultsOf the 42 articles included in this review, 52.4% (n?=?22) found that higher levels of SES resulted in higher levels of influenza vaccination; 4.5% (n?=?2) reported a negative association; and 14.3% (n?=?6) found no association. Just over a quarter (26.2%, n?=?12) of articles reported mixed results.ConclusionsThere was consistently a relationship between SES and influenza immunization, which varied according to how SES was measured. It is recommended that authors be explicit in defining the SES concept they are trying to capture and that they utilize multiple measures of SES (e.g., education, income, class).
| S-EPMC6637551 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundExisting evidence indicates household income as a predictor of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) following a colorectal cancer diagnosis. This association likely varies with neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES), but evidence is limited.MethodsWe included data from 1,355 colorectal cancer survivors participating in the population-based Puget Sound Colorectal Cancer Cohort (PSCCC). Survivors reported current annual household income; we measured HRQoL via the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Colorectal (FACT-C) tool. Using neighborhood data summarized within a 1-km radial buffer of Census block group centroids, we constructed a multidimensional nSES index measure. We employed survivors' geocoded residential addresses to append nSES score for Census block group of residence. With linear generalized estimating equations clustered on survivor location, we evaluated associations of household income with differences in FACT-C mean score, overall and stratified by nSES. We used separate models to explore relationships for wellbeing subscales.ResultsWe found lower household income to be associated with clinically meaningful differences in overall FACT-C scores [<$30K: -13.6; 95% confidence interval (CI): -16.8 to -10.4] and subscale wellbeing after a recent colorectal cancer diagnosis. Relationships were slightly greater in magnitude for survivors living in lower SES neighborhoods.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that recently diagnosed lower income colorectal cancer survivors are likely to report lower HRQoL, and modestly more so in lower SES neighborhoods.ImpactThe findings from this work will aid future investigators' ability to further consider the contexts in which the income of survivors can be leveraged as a means of improving HRQoL.
| S-EPMC8254776 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Public pension insurance has become a major form of social protection around the world. However, little is known about the association between public pension expansion and individuals' fertility in developing economies. In this paper, we examine the effects of the New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS) on the fertility of married women in rural China. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), the difference-in-differences approach is employed to estimate the impact of NRPS expansion on fertility outcomes. The robustness of results is checked through additional estimations, including difference-in-differences with propensity score matching, fixed-effects model, and instrumental variable approach. Results show that the NRPS expansion has a significantly negative effect on the number of children, and it reduces the likelihood of having a second child. The fertility-reducing effect of the NRPS is larger for the younger, well-educated women and those in high-income families. Considerations of the fertility effects and their population differences are needed in the impact evaluations of relevant public pension reform.
| S-EPMC7292397 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This article assesses the redistributive effects of fiscal instruments in Mexico in 2010-2014, correcting for top-income measurement problems. Two correction methods are applied-survey-sample reweighting for households' nonresponse probability and replacing of top incomes using smooth Pareto distributions-to reestimate the effects of pensions, transfers, taxes, and subsidies. These corrections yield higher inequality measures, consistent between the reweighting and replacing methods. Taxable income shows the highest inequality and undergoes the highest upward correction for top-income problems, whereas nontaxable income is strongly equalizing. Contributory pensions are inequality-neutral, while transfers, taxes, and subsidies are equalizing. In-kind transfers, cash-like transfers, and direct taxes have the strongest equalizing effects. Top-income measurement challenges retain their magnitude across years 2010, 2012, and 2014, but household nonresponse becomes more positively selected, causing greater biases in later years.
| S-EPMC8362083 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundResearch in high-income countries has identified low socioeconomic status as a risk factor for disability pension (DP) due to common mental disorders (CMDs). Psychotherapy is an evidence-based treatment for the majority of CMDs along with medication and it is often targeted to prevent work disability. This study examines socioeconomic differences in the use of rehabilitative psychotherapy in Finland, where citizens have universal health coverage, but psychotherapy is partly dependent on personal finance.MethodsThe study subjects (N = 22,501) were all the Finnish citizens granted a DP due to CMD between 2010 and 2015 and a comparison group (N = 57,732) matched based on age, gender, and hospital district. Socioeconomic differences in psychotherapy use were studied using logistic regression models. Socioeconomic status was defined by education, income, and occupation. Age, gender, and family status were also examined.ResultsA lower level of education, lower occupational status (blue-collar worker), male gender, and older age, were associated with less frequent psychotherapy use, in both groups. Education was the strongest component of socioeconomic status associated with psychotherapy use, but the role of income was not straightforward. Unemployment when approaching DP, but not otherwise, was a risk factor for not receiving rehabilitative psychotherapy. Socioeconomic disparities were not any smaller among CMD patients approaching DP than in the comparison group.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the disparity in the provision of psychotherapy for CMD patients, even on the verge of DP with an acute need for services. This disparity is partly related to a complex interplay of socioeconomic factors and the service system characteristics. Factors predisposing to unequal access to mental health services are presumably diverse and should be studied further.
| S-EPMC9344663 | biostudies-literature