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This study investigates individuals’ preference towards autonomous vehicle (AV) as a privately-owned vehicle and as a vehicle in shared services. One of the key features of this study is to examine the effects of historical changes and experiences over the life course towards the adoption of AVs. A joint bivariate ordered probit model is developed using data from a retrospective survey conducted in the Okanagan region of British Columbia, Canada. The model captures unobserved error correlation between the response variables: preference towards AV ownership and using AV as a vehicle in shared services. The model confirms the existence of a significant error correlation between preferences for AV ownership and sharing. The model results suggest that AV adoption is significantly affected by individuals’ historical experiences over the life course, such as exposure to technology, household characteristics, vehicle ownership, and accessibility and built-environment attributes of the residential location. For example, individuals with historical exposure to technologies including average smartphone ownership/person in the household over the life course and availability of advanced vehicle technology such as lane assist, parking assist, and autonomous emergency stop in the current and previously owned vehicles are more likely to adopt AVs. Individuals historically living in suburban areas have a higher likelihood of owning AVs whereas historically urban dwellers living in higher mixed land use neighbourhoods over the lifetime are more likely to prefer AV sharing. Ownership of technology devices such as smartphones and google home may lead to owning as well as sharing AVs. In addition, the model retains the effects of attitudinal factors, and socio-demographics. For instance, pro-environment individuals are likely to own and share AVs. Pro-shared-mobility individuals are more likely to share AVs whereas they are less interested in owning.

PurposeImproving milling quality is expected to improve the quality of domestic rice and hence the competitiveness of Uganda's rice industry. Therefore, this study aims to assess the determinants of four aspects of milling, namely, choice of milling technology, millers' perceptions of the importance of paddy quality attributes, milling return and milling capacity.Design/methodology/approachMultinomial logit, semi-nonparametric extended ordered probit, linear regression and additive nonparametric models are applied to cross-sectional data obtained from a sample of 196 rice millers.FindingsPhysical, economic, institutional, technological and sociodemographic factors are found to be important determinants of the four aspects of milling. Physical factors include the distance of the mill from major town and availability of storage space at the milling premises, while economic factors include milling charge and backward integration of miller into paddy production. Contracting and use of a single-pass mill are important institutional and technological factors, respectively, and miller's household size, age, gender and education are the key sociodemographic variables.Originality/valueThe study's originality lies in its scope, especially in terms of its breadth. Without compromising the needed analytical rigor, it focuses on four aspects of milling that are critical to improving the marketing of Uganda's rice. In doing so, it provides a holistic understanding of this segment of the value chain and offers specific recommendations for improving the marketing of Uganda's rice.

The world has been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak recently, affecting the economy worldwide. Due to the booming of online activities, especially online shopping, this study is interested in finding the relationship between factors affecting consumers’ buying behavior on online shopping in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The least studies related to this issue is needed in Malaysia to further understand the behavior of the consumers on online shopping. Based on available literatures, the factors of interest were trust, convenience, price, product variety and promotion on consumers’ buying behavior in Malaysia. The study employed survey procedures to collect the data, whereby online questionnaires were disseminated and recorded from a total of 335 respondents. The data was then analysed using several statistical analyses, namely pilot test, descriptive statistics and an ordered probit model. The result from an ordered probit model indicated that convenience, product variety, trust and promotion affected the Malaysian consumers’ buying behavior during the pandemic. Only price showed an insignificant impact on online shopping. This gave the sellers insight into understanding the consumers’ buying behavior on the online platform by planning marketing strategies to fascinate more customers.

Different theories seek to substantiate the main determinants of companies’ capital structure. For the trade-off theory, there may be an optimal capital structure in which companies seek a balance between bankruptcy risk and tax benefits generated by the deduction of debt interest. Despite the relevance of both aspects, their joint analysis is not sufficiently studied. Thus, this study seeks to understand whether companies show conservative behavior in relation to their low leverage level. In addition, whether a possible non-optimizing of tax benefits, arising from indebtedness, is due to a higher ex-ante bankruptcy cost for the company or due to the existence of other non-debt tax benefits is intended to verify. For this purpose, tests are performed with simultaneous equations - generalized method of moments and ordered probit - and Tobit regression. The sample comprises non-financial publicly held Brazilian companies. Data are analyzed during the period from 2009 to 2018. As a result, both hypotheses are confirmed - H1 - Increased leverage results from higher debt tax benefits than ex-ante bankruptcy costs and H2 - Companies do not optimize debt tax benefits due to factors other than debt.

The study explores the influence of internal factors on the level of exports of products of the agro-industrial complex of the Russian Federation (AIC RF). The subject of the research is the competitiveness of export-oriented companies in the agro-industrial complex of the Russian Federation. The relevance of the study is due to the growth of exports of agricultural products, which is gradually becoming one of the most important sources of foreign exchange earnings in the country. The aim of the paper is to form a rating model for Russian companies focused on the export of agricultural products, on the basis of which to propose the most effective measures to support agricultural enterprises. The authors apply the following methods : systematization and classification of information, statistical, coefficient, and regression analysis. Such tools as linear regression models, logistic regression (logit, probit), ordered probit model are considered The authors use the Ginny coefficient (area under the curve Roc) for binomial models and an adjusted R 2 for the linear model as a quality criterion for the model. As a result , the study identified the key internal and external factors affecting the competitiveness of agricultural exporting companies. Internal factors include stocks, net assets, short-term borrowings, equity capital, fixed assets turnover, long-term liabilities, accounts payable. Among the external factors for both ordinal and binomial models, the most significant were the increase in imports, the logarithm of GDP, and the logarithm of GDP per capita. A model of rating assessment of companies has been developed. Proposals are formulated for using the developed system as a simulation model when making decisions on the development and support of food exports in Russia. The authors propose a combined mechanism for supporting enterprises, depending on the rating determined by the model. It is concluded that the implementation of this approach will significantly increase the level of economic efficiency of budget support funds aimed at stimulating exports. The prospect for further research on this topic is to study the influence of qualitative factors that were not included in the model: the drought index, sanctions, and other macroeconomic events and parameters.

Background This study investigates the socio-demographic factors associated with smoking status in five Southeast Asian countries: Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Philippines. Methods This cross-sectional study utilizes data of adults ≥15 years who completed the Global Adult Tobacco Surveys. Ordered probit analysis is used to account for the smoking statuses of non-smokers, occasional smokers, and daily smokers. Results Malaysian and Vietnamese households with more family members face lower smoking likelihoods than otherwise. Urbanites in Philippines and rural residents in Thailand and Indonesia are more likely to smoke on occasional and daily basis than others. Males are consistently more likely to smoke occasionally or daily and less likely to be non-smokers than females across all countries. Younger middle-age (retiree) individuals aged 30-35 (≥60) years in Malaysia and Thailand exhibit higher (lower) likelihoods to smoke occasionally or daily than their younger cohorts aged 15-29 years. Individuals aged 30 years and above in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Philippines display higher daily smoking propensities than others. Higher education levels dampens smoking likelihoods and increases non-smoking propensities in all countries. Non-government or self-employed workers in all countries are more likely to smoke occasionally or daily than unemployed persons. Being married is associated with higher non-smoking likelihoods in Thailand although this association is not evident in Malaysia. Conclusion These findings suggest that a portfolio of targeted interventions is necessary to meet the needs of specific subpopulations within the various countries. .

Financial constraints have been a significant obstacle to firms operating in developing countries. Prior studies show that foreign direct investment (FDI) helps to ease credit constraints for domestic firms. However, they only account for horizontal FDI spillovers. This paper therefore investigates both horizontal and vertical FDI spillovers using firm-level data from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar (CLM). The key findings of this paper are threefold. First, FDI inflows lessen the financial constraints faced by local firms through partnership or joint venture. Second, an increasing share of FDI in horizontally and vertically related industries raises higher credit constraints for domestic firms. Third, the crowding-out effect of FDI is not uniform across domestic firms of different sizes. Therefore, policymakers should be aware of these possible negative spillovers and formulate policy to maintain FDI inflows while also ensuring the growth and survival of domestic firms.

The main purpose is to check the impact of social capital on households’ objective well-being in the context of a developing country like Pakistan. The primary data is collected from 250 households of eight towns in district Faisalabad, the third-largest most populous city of Pakistan. Ordered probit models are used for analysis. The results show that objective well-being is positively and significantly affected by social capital except for social participation and neighborhood cohesion. For subjective well-being, life satisfaction and well-being are positively and significantly associated with all dimensions of social capital except the perception of trust and safety, and education. In the case of self-perceived health, civic participation, voting behavior, and collecting actions (CVC), reciprocity and social support are insignificant. Our results may help in devising social policies related to improvement in life quality and well-being of people. It gives insight into the role of social capital for the reduction of poverty, ameliorating individuals' health status and the well-being of the people. It is suggested that society's well-being may be achieved with higher social capital. The government may devise strategies to increase social capital for improving the well-being of the targeted society.

Despite the important roles of Sustainable Agricultural Practices (SAPs) in improving productivity, welfare, and food security of farming households, the adoption rates of SAPs have been perceived to be generally low, especially in developing countries. Using cross-sectional data collected from the 2015 Nigeria General Household Survey, this study examines the factors influencing the adoption of multiple SAPs, while also considering the drivers of the intensity of adoption of these practices. The methods of data analysis are based on the Multivariate probit and the Ordered probit models. The SAPs considered include improved seeds, inorganic fertilizer, mixed-cropping techniques, and organic manure. The empirical results show that farmers’ adoption of different SAPs and their intensity of use depend significantly on factors such as the age of household head, gender, education, household size, access to extension services, and household wealth status. Our findings imply that policymakers and agricultural development agencies should seek to maintain or increase household asset bases, and encourage both formal and informal training programme among farming households to facilitate the adoption of SAPs.

PurposeHow to determine the appropriate contractual structure for an outsourcing relationship has been a major theme in the business process outsourcing (BPO) literature. Drawing on transaction cost economics, this study aims to examine how anticipated coordination and adaptation costs in a BPO relationship affect the choice of contract types. Specifically, this research categorizes contracts types (fixed-price, time and materials and hybrid contracts) based on levels of contract design comprehensiveness and flexibility to change.Design/methodology/approachThe research setting is the BPO for a focal firm, involving a contractor. Data from 153 US companies are collected using a structured questionnaire on senior executives of functional areas of marketing, IT and finance. Hypotheses were tested using ordered probit model.FindingsThe results show that maturity is negatively associated with anticipated adaptation costs, while modularity and IT detachability are negatively related to anticipated coordination costs. Furthermore, adaptation costs have a direct impact on the choice, whereas the anticipated coordination costs do not have a significant direct impact on contract choice. The strength of adaptation costs' impact, however, is significantly reduced when coordination costs are high.Originality/valueThis study explicitly examines the role of anticipated coordination and adaptation costs in shaping the strategic choice of contract types in the BPO market. By differentiating the two types of anticipated transaction costs, this research enables a better understanding of the dynamics between transaction characteristics, anticipated transaction costs and contract types in complicated relationships such as BPO relationships.

This study investigates the firm- and country-specific factors that affect SMEs’ access to finance and the relationship between financial constraint and firm growth in emerging economies of Central Asia. To address the research questions, a two-stage empirical analysis including ordered probit, probit, and feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) specifications were conducted. Firm-level data used in the analysis is obtained from the fifth round of the Business Environment and Enterprise Survey (BEEPS V) and country-level data acquired from national and international datasets. The study's findings implied that in the Central Asian economies, country-specific factors are more likely to affect access to external finance of SMEs than firm-specific determinants. Among firm-specific factors, only foreign ownership is significantly related to financing constraint perception of SMEs; where, the interest rate is positively, and domestic credit market, inflation, and log of GDP per capita are negatively related to financing constraint level. In Central Asia, an insignificant relationship between growth and financing constraints was found. The determinants of financing constraints and access to finance–growth relations, which address the issue of great significance for SME growth in the selected countries, were interpreted with region-specific factors.

Background: a growing and broadly discussed literature has shown that the relationship between sleep duration and health is not linear. Not only are insomnia and insufficient sleep harmful to one’s health, but excessive sleep too is also not beneficial. This study tests the association between selfrated state of health and the duration and pattern of sleep: we discuss the losses and costs in terms of quality of life deriving from excessive sleep time.Methods: we use an ordered probit specification, applied to the Italian Survey on the Use of Time (sample of Italians aged fifteen and over who keep a diary for a working day).Results: we show that greater sleep duration is negatively correlated both with self-reported state of health and with self-reported health satisfaction, while respondents’ subjective perceptions of too much and too little sleep are associated with health conditions in the usual u-shaped way.Conclusions: the negative impact of long sleep on self-reported health is confirmed. However, the effect of short sleep on health conditions is positive, while a measure of decreasing sleep quality - comprising number of interruptions of sleep, insomnia and napping - is correlated to some extent with decreasing health. The public health consequences are still to be explored: the potential gains from sleep restriction are substantial, but little is known about the causal link or the risks. Further research is needed before taking policy decisions.

Identifying the determinants of farm mechanization can play a crucial role in the agriculture sector’s development. The present study identifies the determinants of potato farm mechanization employing the ordered probit model. A total of 150 potato farmers were interviewed to achieve the objectives. The findings indicate that only around 13% of the respondents were high adopters. The adoption of potato farm mechanization was influenced by education, spouse education, farm size, and training. Marginal effect analysis suggested that farm size and training decrease the likelihood of being in the low adopter’s category, respectively, by 13.2% and 10%, while increases the likelihood of being in the high adopter’s category by 7.5% and 5.7%. Policy implications included more investment in extension facilities such as training from public agencies to sustain and increase adoption. Modifying the existing extension strategy by targeting not only primary farmers but also members of their families would help with the widespread adoption of farm mechanization.

Despite Rwanda's impressive economic success over the last decade, household food insecurity persists, particularly in rural areas. Empirical evidence is therefore deemed necessary to inform policies addressing food insecurity, hunger and poverty in general. This study examines household food security and its determinants in the rural areas of Southern and Northern provinces of Rwanda. Using cross-sectional data collected from 534 farming households, we estimated household food security status by Food Consumption Score (FCS) and Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) and applied ordered Probit model to identify drivers of household food security. The results indicate that a significant proportion (74.4%) of households had an acceptable FCS, but 36.52% of the farming households experienced moderate and severe food insecurity when assessed with FIES. Ownership of livestock was identified as a key determinant of food security using both metrics, which affirms the importance of combating hunger and food insecurity in Rwanda through their 'one cow per household policy' and recommends that this policy be strengthened.

This paper assesses the preferences of yogurt attributes among urban consumers in Nairobi, Kenya. Data were collected through a survey of 190 urban consumers and analyzed using descriptive statisti...

The aim of this paper is to clarify factors that promote innovation upgrading of regional SMEs and to analyze why and how policy programs implemented by local government affect their upgrading. This study is based on a firm-level questionnaire survey conducted in 2014 that targeted 1324 SMEs in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Innovation upgrading was classified into four stages depending on the novelty of the technology used and products; the novelty is classified according to whether they were existing or new. Measures of upgrading include the ratio of research and development (R&D) investment to sales, open innovation, sources of ideas, problem solving ability, human resource development (HRD), and business development strategies. An ordered probit model was employed. Six policy programs of Hyogo Prefectural Government were analyzed. The Manufacturing Academy was seen to be significant, and how this policy program affects upgrading through factors inside SMEs was examined by introducing cross-terms of policy programs and measures. Estimation results demonstrated that this policy program enhanced upgrading through HRD in SMEs, and it is considered that this was due to the policy programs meeting the necessity that SMEs have to develop the skills and abilities of their engineers and workers.

This paper investigates the potential impacts of congestion pricing and reward policies on migrant and resident millennial car travelers’ morning commute mode shift responses in China. A stated-preference survey developed for this study was conducted in 2017 among millennial car travelers living or working in Beijing’s inner district, from which approximately 2000 responses were collected. Separate random parameters bivariate ordered probit models were estimated for migrant and resident millennial car travelers to capture the differences between their mode shift responses, unobserved heterogeneity, and correlation between their mode shift responses to congestion pricing and reward policies. Sociodemographic characteristics, travel behavior and needs, residential location accessibility to and by transit, attitudes towards travel and congestion pricing and reward policies were found to affect millennial car travelers’ mode shift responses. In addition, the impacts of the contributing factors on the mode shift responses were very different between the congestion pricing and reward policies and between the migrant and resident millennial car travelers. The findings from the model estimation and descriptive statistics suggest that the implementation of pricing and reward policies, along with other unique regional (e.g., rapid increase in residential property price) and institutional (e.g., household registration system) characteristics, may potentially bring new challenges to migrant car travelers that may add to their economic burden and reduce their quality of life, particularly under congestion pricing policies. This study also provided insights for the design of future congestion pricing and reward policies and complementary measures that could address the travel needs of all travelers.

Public Relations (PR) practitioners are cited as being among the top three sources that perpetuate brown envelope journalism (Soli) in their dealings with journalists. The practice, thus, appears to have become a norm among PR practitioners and journalists (reporters) without recourse to the ethical implications of the practice. This study investigates the factors PR practitioners in Ghana consider when they engage in the phenomenon of Soli. The paper adopted the quantitative research approach and the survey design to investigate this phenomenon. Findings of the study were tested using the Binary and Ordered Probit regression models. The results showed no significant relationship between PR practitioners’ knowledge of IPR (Ghana) code of ethics and the payment of Soli by PR practitioners. The results also showed a positive significant relationship between PR practitioners desire to obtain positive media coverage and payment of Soli by PR practitioners. The study recommended the promotion and enforcement of professional and organisational policies on inducement and a redefinition of the media relations function of PR practitioners.

This study examines survey data on the views of editors of economics journals on common critiques of the discipline, ethics and editorial practices, and the role of prestige and status in publishing. We utilize an ordered probit model to investigate whether editor or journal characteristics are systematically related to editors’ views, controlling for gender and editorial position. Regression results show that editors from top-ranked journals are less likely to agree with common disciplinary critiques, more likely to support market solutions, and less likely to agree with concerns about editorial practices.

This study aims to understand the impacts of Pokémon GO, a popular location-based augmented reality (AR) mobile gaming app, on route and mode choices. Pokémon GO leverages AR to introduce virtual objects at fixed and dynamic locations that translate through the app interface to incentives in the real world that potentially influence users’ route and mode choices. Its gaming nature and social components can possibly enhance long-term user engagement through applying the characteristics of game elements and providing opportunities for competition, collaboration, companionship, and social reinforcement. An online survey is conducted to collect the self-reported behavior of a group of Pokémon GO users to explore its impacts on the following aspects of travel behavior: (1) the frequency of changing the route to interact with virtual objects; (2) the likelihood of carpooling more instead of driving alone for more in-app collaboration; and (3) the likelihood of shifting mode from drive alone to public transit, walking, and cycling if provided with additional incentives. The ordered survey responses including frequency and likelihood are analyzed using random parameters ordered probit models to account for the unobserved heterogeneity across users and identify subpopulations of travelers who are more susceptible to the influence of Pokémon GO. The modeling results identify four types of variables (attitude and perceptions related to Pokémon GO, app engagement, play style, and sociodemographic characteristics) that affect users’ travel behavior. The results illustrate that such apps with integrated AR, gamification, and social components can be used by policymakers to influence various aspects of travel behavior. The study findings and insights can provide valuable feedback to system operators for designing such apps to dynamically manage traffic in real-time and promote long-term sustainable mode shifts.

PurposeAfter the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, its devastating effects began to be closely monitored all over the world. The new order that emerged due to the fight against the virus soon began to affect all our habits and behaviours. The fact that food consumption is vital for human well-being makes this an important area to investigate in terms of the impact of COVID-19. This research was carried out to investigate the changes in consumers' food consumption behaviour and habits during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors that explain these changes.Design/methodology/approachIn line with the recommendations for social distancing under pandemic conditions, the empirical data were collected via computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). The participants were 1,023 individuals living in the major cities of the seven regions of Turkey. An ordered probit regression model was used to estimate the attitudes related to the changes in food consumption behaviour and habits, and descriptive statistics are provided to show the current food consumption and purchase situation.FindingsThe results showed that the changes in food consumption behaviour and habits due to the pandemic were related to price increase concerns, stockpiling, awareness of food waste, safety and excessive, food access concerns, natural/organic food preferences and packaging of foods. Moreover, the participants tended to prepare food at home and preferred food that was popular with other consumers. Consumers mainly bought food from discount stores and local grocery stores and consumed fresh vegetables and fruits, animal-based products, cereals and pulses.Originality/valueThe current study contributes to knowledge regarding the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on food consumption behaviour by using a predictive model and provides behavioural estimations by using a countrywide questionnaire. The results show that the pandemic affects food consumption routines and food perspective of consumers in various ways.

Yilin Ning,1,2 Peh Joo Ho,3,4 Nathalie C Støer,5,6 Ka Keat Lim,7,8 Hwee-Lin Wee,3,9 Mikael Hartman,1– 3,10 Marie Reilly,11 Chuen Seng Tan3 1NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; 2Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore; 3Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore; 4Genome Institute of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; 5Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Women’s Health, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; 6Department of Research, Cancer Registry of Norway, Oslo, Norway; 7Department of Population Health Sciences, School of Population Health & Environmental Sciences (SPHES), Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK; 8Programme in Health Services & Systems Research, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore; 9Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; 10Department of Surgery, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore; 11Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SwedenCorrespondence: Chuen Seng TanSaw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Tahir Foundation Building, 12 Science Drive 2, #10-01, Singapore, 117549, SingaporeTel +65-66013206Email ephtcs@nus.edu.sgPurpose: Assessing the clinical importance of an exposure effect on a quality of life (QoL) score often requires quantifying the effect in terms of a difference in scores. Using the linear regression model (LRM) for this purpose assumes the ordinal score is a proxy for an underlying continuous variable, but the analysis offers no assessment for the validity of the assumption. We propose an approach that assesses the proxy assumption and estimates the exposure effect by using the cumulative link model (CLM).Patients and methods: CLM is a well-established regression model that assumes an ordinal score is an ordered category generated from applying thresholds to a latent continuous variable. Our approach assesses the proxy assumption by testing whether these thresholds are equidistant. We compared the performance of CLM and LRM using simulated ordinal data and illustrated their application to the effect of time since diagnosis on five subscales of fatigue among breast cancer survivors measured using the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory.Results: CLM had good performance in estimating the difference in means with simulated ordinal data satisfying the proxy assumption, even when the outcome had only a few categories. When the proxy assumption was inadequate, both the CLM and LRM had biased estimates with poor coverage. The proxy assumption was appropriate for four ofthe five subscales in our real data application to fatigue scores, which highlighted the importance of assessing the proxy assumption to avoid reporting invalid estimates in terms of the difference in scores.Conclusion: The proxy assumption is critical to the interpretation of the exposure effect on the difference in mean QoL scores. CLM offers a valid test for the presence of an association, a method for assessing the proxy assumption, and when the assumption is adequate, an assessment for clinical significance using the difference in means.Keywords: cumulative link model, ordered probit model, ordinal outcome, ordinal regression, probit link, quality of life

Introduction Trust and satisfaction play vital roles in how smokers react to smoking cessation treatment delivered by physicians. This paper aims to ascertain whether smoking status and pack-years of smoking affect trust in physicians and satisfaction with the health system in China. Methods The current study used the ordered probit model to evaluate how smoking status affects trust in physicians and satisfaction with the health system in China. Data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) 2018 were used for the analysis, and the final sample consisted of 29500 adults. The CFPS is a nationally representative, comprehensive, high-quality, biennial longitudinal survey of Chinese communities, families, and individuals. The survey was conducted in 25 provinces and their administrative equivalents. The population of 25 provinces represents 95% of the total population in Mainland China. Results According to the ordered probit model, the results showed that current smokers were significantly negatively associated with trust in physicians, and more cigarette smoking was associated with decreased trust in physicians. Moreover, current smokers were also significantly negatively related to satisfaction with the health system. Conclusions The present study found that current smokers would be more likely to rate trust in physicians lower, and less likely to rate greater satisfaction with the health system, than never smokers. These results may have important implications for regaining trust in physicians from smokers and supporting health-system reform for tobacco treatment.

This paper sought to investigate the valuation of rice farmers’ preferences and willingness to pay for climate-smart agricultural technologies in Southeast Nigeria. Two objectives and one hypothesis guided the conduct of the study. The examination of rice farmers’ willingness-To-Pay (WTP) for improved CSA technology services revealed greater proportion of the respondents to be strongly not willing to pay for over 77.8% of the CSA technologies while barely 7.4% were mildly willing to pay. Rice farmers were strongly not willing to pay for the following CSA technologies: rainwater harvesting, cover crops method, directed seeded rice, systems of rice intensification, use of solar pumps, etc, while the CSA technologies they were mildly willing to pay for are drip irrigation and drainage management. The major reason for respondent’s unwillingness to pay were: poverty (2.0%) and CSA technologies as the responsibility of the Government to farmers within the state (5.0%). For the estimated willingness to pay value, the mean monthly minimum WTP in South-East was estimated at ₦5176.7123 while the mean monthly maximum WTP for rice farmers was estimated as ₦10,926.95. Water-smart technologies (76.8%) was mostly preferred CSA technology. Based on the ordered probit regression analysis of factors influencing willingness to pay for CSA technology, primary occupation (X5), access to credit (X8) and distance to market (X12) were found to be significant. The study recommended that rice farmers should adapt to climate change, natural resource pressure and contribute to mitigating climate change.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the impacts of genetic, behavioral, and socio-economic factors on the prevalence of overweight and obesity among urban adults. Methods: The primary data of this study was derived from 384 adult individuals using the non-grouped one stage random likelihood sampling procedure in the urban area of Samsun province of Turkey. The ordered probit model was used to estimate factors affecting overweight and obesity among urban adults. Results: The research results show that the prevalence of overweight and obesity among urban adults were 30.7% and 21.1, respectively. The ordered probit model result revealed that age, number of siblings, marital status, employment, number of obese family member, BMI of mother and breastfeeding duration had statistically significant positive effects on the likelihood of overweight and obesity among the urban adults, while paying attention toward fat, sugar and salt contents in foods and dieting behavior had statistically significant negative effects on the likelihood of overweight and obesity. Conclusions: In order to decrease the prevalence of overweight and obesity among the urban adults, they should be eating healthy foods and do enough physical activities, and these should be a part of their lifestyle forever.

This study investigates the link between state capacity and deaths from Covid-19. We examine the effects on the Covid-19 case fatality rate of state capacity of countries with an ordered probit estimation controlling for the level of democracy, government policy responses, the share of the elderly population, and health system resource capacity indicators. The study presents strong evidence for the critical role of state capacity in achieving positive policy outcomes. The effect of government effectiveness on the Covid-19 death level is consistently negative and statistically significant, suggesting that increased government effectiveness is significantly associated with decreased Covid-19 fatality rates. The findings show that in the models controlling for government effectiveness and the testing and stay at home requirements policies, non-free countries are more likely to have lower death levels than free countries. The effects of the testing and stay at home requirements policies have expected negative signs. Higher health system capacity represented by higher numbers of hospital beds and doctors is more likely to lower a country’s case fatality rate. A higher proportion of the elderly population is associated with higher death levels from Covid-19.

This paper investigates the effect of ownership on sustainable development and environmental policy in Italian municipally owned corporations (MOCs) dealing with urban waste management, trying to understand if multiple ownership can generate better performance compared to single ownership and if the presence of private partners could be crucial in this. The research question is answered by analyzing 41 MOCs of the largest Italian cities operating in urban waste management. In this specific sector, public administrations have tried to improve their offer in terms of sustainable development, environmental policy, and efficiency. The paper covers the Italian case study, where urban waste production per capita is higher than the European average figure. The waste cycle management service is operated in Italy at local level through totally publicly owned companies (monoadministration or multiadministration), mixed (public–private) companies, or via a full externalization achieved by means of public tenders. Through a multinomial ordered probit panel, we show that MOCs with multiple owners perform better than those having a single owner and perform much better with the presence of a private partner, confirming those academic findings according to which collaborative arrangements can increase efficiency, do better than public sector bureaucracy, and lower the costs of service provision. The results of this paper can be used by academics, practitioners, and policy makers alike. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only study that applies this perspective to the analysis of the current international waste management scenario with relation to MOCs having multiple ownerships.

South Korea is pursuing an energy transition policy (ETP) of expanding the use of renewable energy and natural gas and decreasing that of nuclear energy and coal in total generation. An investigation of whether the public is for or against the ETP is needed by the government. This article explores the public preference toward the ETP employing the data collected through a survey of 1000 individuals. They were asked to reveal their preference for the ETP on a five-point scale in the survey. Overall, there are more advocates of the ETP than those who opposed it. For the purpose of analyzing the determinants of advocacy and opposition of the ETP, an ordered probit model is employed. The results suggest that people living in the Seoul Metropolitan area think that the environment is more important than new jobs, or know the renewable energy 100% campaign before the survey is more favorable to the ETP than others. However, people who use electricity for heating tend to be negative about the ETP. As the age increases, people approve of the ETP, but when age goes beyond a certain level, they oppose it.

Since global warming between 2 and 4.9 °C by 2100 is unlikely to be avoided, humans will have to live with and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Migration has long been touted as a strategy for adapting to climate change, but there is limited understanding of which aspects of climate change will have greatest influence on peoples’ decision to move somewhere they consider safer or stay somewhere safe. Here, we present results from two online surveys about mobility decisions from one low (Philippines) and one high (Australia) income country within the Asia-Pacific region with similar vulnerabilities to natural hazards. Online surveys with about 1100 respondents each were conducted in both countries. Results showed that natural hazards played a strong role in the mix of reasons for mobility, particularly in the Philippines. Sudden onset hazards had the greatest influence. Results of ordered probit models showed that the perception of personal damage from hazards was strongly positively associated with mobility decisions of respondents in both countries. Mobility decisions of people in Australia were further influenced by their experience with the specific hazards: those with greater experience of slow onset hazards were more likely, and those who had experience with sudden hazards less likely, to consider these when moving or staying somewhere. People in Australia might only react to sudden onset hazards with temporary relocation since experience had shown that they can adapt to them. This suggests that slow onset climate change related impacts such as heat waves and sea level rise, as well as environmental degradation and pollution, may have more sustained effects on long-term mobility than sudden events. In the Philippines, personal characteristics such as gender, income, and health had the greatest impact while experience with hazards had almost none.

PurposeThe regulations for qualitative genetically modified (GM) food labeling do not effectively eliminate the information asymmetries pertaining to the consumption of GM products. China's GM food labeling law requires the presentation of certain categories of GM products on GMO labels on packages. Such information is invaluable for understanding whether the disclosure of more information on GM foods can help alleviate information asymmetry while reducing consumer fear and risk perceptions of GM foods, and thus cause changes in their behaviors. The purpose of this paper is to explore the heterogeneity of consumer preferences for enhanced GM food labeling, how consumer preferences are influenced by labeling information, and how these preferences vary in different consumers.Design/methodology/approachBoth descriptive statistics and econometric techniques, including the multivariate ordered Probit model, were applied to a sample of 566 urban consumers in the Yangtze River Delta region of China. All respondents were divided into two groups: people who would definitely not buy GM foods before selecting enhanced labeling information (“consumer group 1”, sample size 282) and people who would definitely not object to buying GM foods before selecting enhanced labeling information (“consumer group 2”, sample size 274).FindingsThe findings suggest that urban consumers have a preference for different types of enhanced labeling information about GM foods, that such a preference significantly influences their willingness to pay for GM foods, that there exists a large difference in the preferences of different consumer groups, and that enhanced GM food labeling information has a greater impact on those consumers who would not accept GM foods.Originality/valueThis research identifies the GM information disclosures that most affect consumer preferences and how these preferences vary across different segments of consumers, which is a current gap in the literature. The study has demonstrated that enhanced labels of GM foods with diverse information would not alter a consumer's WTP for GM foods who does not perceive the value of information from the enhanced labels, but change positively consumers with uncertainty willingness to pay before disclosure.

Identifying determinants of integrated pest management (IPM) adoption is crucial for promoting the use of more ecologically benign pest control tactics in the agricultural sector. The present study...

Purpose This study aims to analyze the impact of different governance characteristics on the ratings of both Islamic and conventional mutual funds. Design/methodology/approach This study used panel data ordered probit regression model. Furthermore, to capture the mutual funds rating persistence effect and address the issue of endogeneity dynamic panel model is used and the results are estimated using the generalized method of the moment (GMM) technique. Findings The results indicated that amongst the corporate governance characteristics, board size, the board independence, directors and institutional ownership, and overall governance quality positively affect the ratings of both Islamic and conventional funds. However, chief executive officer (CEO) duality and board gender diversity did not show a significant impact on the ratings of these funds. Practical implications The current research provides input to the asset management firms as to how they can increase the fund ratings by implementing strong governance practises. Furthermore, the study also provides input to the rating agencies to account for governance characteristics along with financial indicators, when issuing the rating of any fund. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first attempt to analyze the impact of corporate governance characteristics on the rating of both Islamic and conventional mutual funds and hence provides a significant contribution to the literature.

Aims To examine the association between alcohol prices and age of initiation of alcohol use and the association between age of alcohol use initiation and heavy episodic drinking (HED) among adolescents in Chile. Design We estimated discrete-time hazard models using retrospective data and generalized ordered probit models with repeated cross-sectional data. Setting Chile. Participants A total of 248 336 urban youth who attended secondary school between 2003 and 2015 and self-reported ever having tried alcohol. Measurements We created drinking histories from self-reported responses of age, age of alcohol use initiation and year/month of survey. From two self-reported responses, we created a four-category ordinal variable of heavy episodic drinking: none, one to two, three to nine and more than 10 HED episodes in the past 30 days. We constructed a monthly measure of real alcohol prices using the all-items and alcohol component of the Consumer Price Index compiled by Chile's statistical agency, the Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas. Findings First, we found negative, statistically significant and policy-meaningful associations between alcohol prices and the age of alcohol use initiation. The estimated price elasticity of delay was -0.99 [95% confidence interval (CI) = -1.30, -0.69]. A 10% increase in real alcohol prices was associated with delayed alcohol use initiation of approximately 6.6 months. Secondly, we found that youth who had started drinking alcohol at a later age had statistically significant and substantially lower probabilities of having reported HED during the previous month. For example, youth who started drinking at 16 were 4.9 (95% CI = 4.2-5.6) percentage points more likely to have reported no HED in the previous month relative to youth who started drinking alcohol when aged 12 years or younger. Conclusions Increasing the price of alcohol products may delay alcohol initiation among young people in Chile. Chilean youth who start drinking alcohol later may engage in less harmful drinking practices.

This paper analyzes market participation gaps among male, female, and joint decision-making households, and the factors influencing that gap, using data collected from 560 maize farm households in the Dawuro zone, southern Ethiopia. The results from the ordered probit analysis reveal that female and joint decision-making households were negatively associated with the probability of being a net seller, while being positively associated with being autarchic and net buyers. The decomposition results indicate clear market participation gaps in the net seller and net buyer positions between male and female decision-makers. The mean quantity gaps between males and females are more apparent in the net seller and net buyer positions. Between male and joint decision-makers, the mean quantity gaps are significant in the net seller and autarchic positions, while between female and joint decision-makers, it is significant in the net seller positions. In each market position, the quantity of gaps is unevenly distributed across the quantities of distribution, but the values increase as we approach higher levels of distribution. The gaps in the net seller and autarchic positions indicate that males are better positioned than females and that females are better positioned than joint decision-makers. Both endowment and return effects account for the quantity gaps. Thus, there is a need for policies to secure more equal access to productive resources for female and joint decision-making households and build their capacity to increase their resource returns.

PurposeSME funding gaps in developing economies are substantial. Crowdfunding is an innovative way to raise funds that may be part of the solution for closing such gaps. The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of crowdfunding contribution intentions in the context of a developing country –Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collect data by using a structured questionnaire distributed through Facebook. The analysis is based on data collected from 252 valid responses and uses the ordered probit regression for estimation. For robustness, the authors also estimate the hypothesized model using ordered logistic regression and OLS regression finding identical results.FindingsThe authors find that liking the campaign idea and positive media coverage of a crowdfunding campaign have a positive association with crowdfunding contribution intention. Surprisingly, personal relations, others' recommendation and the location of the campaign's owner were not significantly associated with crowdfunding contribution intention in our study. Moreover, respondents' location in Bangladesh (vs. abroad) and their age are positively associated with contribution intention, while education is negatively associated with intention.Originality/valueEarlier studies focused on the determinants of ex post crowdfunding intentions in developed and more mature crowdfunding markets. The authors contribute by examiningex antecrowdfunding contribution intentions in the developing economy of Bangladesh, which is at the market's inception stage.

Consumer willingness to pay is a dynamic phenomenon that depends heavily on consumers’ perceptions and attitudes. Organic rice purchasing behavior has been increased in recent years due to the perception that such products are safer, healthier and more environmentally friendly than conventionally produced alternatives. This study was focused to examine: consumers’ willingness to pay for organic rice, consumers’ perceptions on willingness to pay organic rice, and effect of socio demographic characteristics on willingness to pay for organic rice in Sri Lanka. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 100 consumers selected by multi-stage sampling technique in Kurunegala district which is highly vulnerable for agro chemical based diseases in Sri Lanka. Data analysis was done by using Contingent Valuation Method and Ordered Probit Regression analysis. The study found that 100 percent of consumers have selected organic rice at the same bid price and 96 percent of consumers agreed to pay an additional payment on organic rice. Monthly income, education level, and positive perceptions on organic rice increase willingness to pay for organic rice and price premiums. Consumers who perceive to have low residues of pesticide, higher nutrient and higher quality of organic rice than non-organic rice hold a probability of paying high premium. Consumers’ main motivation for buying organic rice is the health concern. Policy makers can identify the range of price increase of such organic rice without damaging the existing demand for organic rice and it is a timely need to introduce new marketing strategies to expand the market segment in organic rice in Sri Lanka.

In spite of numerous efforts to quantitatively identify the factors contributing to the injury severity of different crash types in rural and urban settings, the distinction between rural and urban areas regarding the injury severity of run-off-road (ROR) crashes involving large trucks is still not clearly understood. As such, the objective of this study is to investigate the effect of area type (i.e., urban vs. rural) on injury severity outcomes sustained by drivers in ROR crashes involving large trucks while accounting for unobserved heterogeneity. To do this, the latent class ordered probit models with two classes are developed. The crash data pertaining to ROR crashes involving large trucks in Oregon between 2007 and 2014 were utilized. The estimation results reveal that the developed latent class ordered probit models (for urban and rural areas) are substantially distinct in terms of the contributing factors affect urban and rural ROR crash severities. The results indicate that female drivers and speed limit of 55 mph were associated with moderate injuries (non-incapacitating) in rural roadway ROR crashes while no injury outcome is most likely for crashes occurred in urban roadways with raised medians and on areas with a population density between 10,001 and 25,000. Also, the findings show that some factors increase the risk propensity of sustaining higher injury levels regardless of the land use setting such as crashes on horizontal curves, not wearing seatbelt, and driver fatigue. The findings of this study could benefit trucking industry, transportation agencies, and safety practitioners to prevent or alleviate the injury severity of ROR crashes involving large trucks by developing appropriate and cost-effective countermeasures.

The virtual (online) and physical (in-person) worlds are increasingly inter-connected. Although there is considerable research into the effects of information and communication technologies (ICT) on activity-travel choices, there is little understanding of the inter-relationships between online and in-person activity participation and the extent to which the two worlds complement one another or substitute for one another. Shopping is one of the activity realms in which the virtual and physical spaces are increasingly interacting. This paper aims to unravel the relationships between online and in-person activity engagement in the shopping domain, while explicitly distinguishing between shopping for non-grocery goods, grocery products, and ready-to-eat meals. Data from the 2017 Puget Sound household travel survey is used to estimate a multivariate ordered probit model of the number of days in a week that a sample of households engages in in-person activity engagement and online activity engagement for each of these shopping activity types – leading to a model of six endogenous outcomes. Model results show that there are intricate complementary and substitution effects between in-person and online shopping activities, that these activities are considered as a single packaged bundle, and that the frequencies of these activities are significantly affected by income, built environment attributes, and household structure. The findings suggest that travel forecasting models should incorporate model components that capture the interplay between in-person and online shopping engagement and explicitly distinguish between non-grocery and grocery shopping activities. Policies that help bridge the digital divide so that households of all socio-economic strata can access goods and services in the virtual world would help improve quality of life for all. Finally, the paper highlights the need to bring passenger and freight demand modeling, at least within urban contexts, into a single integrated structure.

This study introduces a Conditional Fuzzy inference (CF)approach in forecasting. The proposed approach is able to deduct FuzzyRules (FRs) conditional on a set of restrictions. This conditional ruleselection discards weak rules and the generated forecasts are based onlyon the most powerful ones. Through this process, it is capable ofachieving higher forecasting performance and improving theinterpretability of the underlying system. The CF concept is applied in aseries of forecasting exercises on stocks and football games datasets.Its performance is benchmarked against a Relevance Vector Machine (RVM),an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), an Ordered Probit (OP),a Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network (MLP), a k-Nearest Neighbour (kNN), a Decision Tree (DT) and a Support Vector Machine (SVM) model. Theresults demonstrate that the CF is providing higher statistical accuracythan its benchmarks.

PurposeDigital finance is a promising way to realize inclusive finance. However, the determinants of digital finance participation are largely unknown. This study aims to analyze the interface between social interaction and the digital finance participation of rural households and explore potential channels of social interaction to help them access digital finance.Design/methodology/approachUsing rural household survey data from China in 2017, employing the probit, ordered probit and count model, this study assesses the relationship between social interaction and digital finance.FindingsThe authors find that active online social interaction of rural households promotes digital finance participation, which also increases the depth and breadth of digital finance usage. Meanwhile, the role of traditional offline social interaction is insignificant. Contextual interaction is the channel through which online social interaction influences digital finance participation. Moreover, word-of-mouth, common topic pleasure and social norms in endogenous interactions are irrelevant. In addition, the role of online social interaction complements offline social interaction at promoting digital finance participation.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the understanding of digital finance by investigating the possible channels by which social interaction influences digital finance participation and highlight an important channel–contextual interaction, especially for online social interaction. This study expands the content of social interaction from traditional offline social interaction to online social interaction to evaluate the interface between social interaction and financial behavior more comprehensively.

Growth in the worldwide consumption of poultry meat, especially in developing countries, has resulted in increasing trade, raising concerns and criticisms about imports. Such concerns and criticism...

PurposeAlternative food networks (AFNs) have recently emerged in the food landscape as new ways of food production, distribution and consumption which are alternatives to the traditional food system. Drawing on the tragedy of the commons, this paper aims to test the role played by social capital and transparency in reducing customer's lethargy and thus enhancing AFN performance in terms of frequency and quantity of purchases made by customers.Design/methodology/approachAn ordered probit model was used to analyse data from a strong database of 2,115 Italian AFN customers. Given the novelty of the topic, the quantitative survey was anticipated by a preliminary qualitative study based on in-depth interviews, focus groups and participant observation.FindingsCustomers play an active role in AFN communities, co-creating value together with the other actors of the network. The two independent variables tested in this model, social capital and transparency, positively and significantly affect customers' quantity and frequency of purchases within AFNs, reducing the occurrence of the tragedy of commons.Originality/valueTo the authors' knowledge, this study represents one of the first attempts to measure, through a quantitative method, the effect of performance drivers (i.e. social capital and transparency) on AFN performance. Theoretical, managerial and policy implications will be thoroughly presented and discussed along the paper.

Objectives To document the prevalence of overweight and obesity and examine associated risk factors. Study design A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 16 primary public schools in eight districts of Ho Chi Minh City in 2016. A multistage clustering sampling method was used to collect a sample of 1806 pupils attending the first, second, and third grades (7–9 years). Methods Age- and sex-adjusted body mass index (BMI) status was defined using International Obesity Taskforce cut-offs. Ordered probit regression models were used to assess the association between child BMI and its socio-economic and demographic risk factors. The model was estimated separately for boys and girls to assess the extent to which the socio-economic gradients in BMI vary by gender. Results The prevalence of obesity among boys was twice the rate for girls (24.7 vs 12.3%). The prevalence of overweight and obesity were also higher among pupils attending schools located in urban districts than in semi-rural districts. Gender, household wealth, the frequency of having breakfast at home, parental body weight, and school location were strong predictors of child BMI status. The protective effect of having breakfast more frequently at home against the risk of overweight/obesity was more pronounced in girls than in boys. Father's body weight and child BMI were more strongly associated with boys from poorer households than boys from wealthier households, while the differences were not significant for girls. Conclusions The high prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity indicates an urgent need for more gender-specific, effective intervention, and prevention programs.

Small and medium enterprises are key factors of economic development developing countries. It is crucial to identify the major constraints they face. This paper is interested in the constraints experienced by small and medium enterprises in Cote d’Ivoire from a collection of original data. An ordered probit analysis coupled with a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) show that the constraints on sales growth, as perceived by managers, differ according to the characteristics of the company. Also, improved water supply and a user friendly building licensing policy would allow companies to increase their profitability. Furthermore, a deterioration of access to finance entails a significant drop in business sales. Our analysis confirmed the interrelationship between various constraints. Thus, a business climate marked by political instability and insecurity inevitably affects corruption. Also, political stability, reform in tax policy and absence of corruption are likely to improve the financial conditions of companies and promote the growth of business sales. Thus, all the reforms undertaken by the government of Cote d'Ivoire to improve the business climate must take into account the characteristics of companies as well as the interrelationship between the various obstacles they encounter.