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We conducted a search of the literature to identify case reports of neuraxial and peripheral nervous system misconnection events leading to wrong-route medication errors. This narrative review covers a 20-year period (1999–2019; English-language publications and abstracts) and included the published medical literature (PubMed and Embase) and public access documents. Seventy-two documents representing 133 case studies and 42 unique drugs were determined relevant. The most commonly reported event involved administering an epidural medication by an intravenous line (29.2% of events); a similar proportion of events (27.7%) involved administering an intravenous medication by an epidural line. Medication intended for intravenous administration, but delivered intrathecally, accounted for 25.4% of events. In the most serious cases, outcomes were directly related to the toxicity of the drug that was unintentionally administered. Patient deaths were reported due to the erroneous administration of chemotherapies (n=16), muscle relaxants (n=4), local anesthetics (n=4), opioids (n=1), and antifibrinolytics (n=1). Severe outcomes, including paraplegia, paraparesis, spinal cord injury, and seizures were reported with the following medications: vincristine, gadolinium, diatrizoate meglumine, doxorubicin, mercurochrome, paracetamol, and potassium chloride. These case reports confirm that misconnection events leading to wrong-route errors can occur and may cause serious injury. This comprehensive characterization of events was conducted to better inform clinicians and policymakers, and to describe an emergent strategy designed to mitigate patient risk.

The value of a statistical life (VSL) monetizes the expected loss in wellbeing associated with the risk of death. The utility loss resulting from a fatality is central to the empirical framework for estimating the VSL. The VSL trajectory over the life cycle exhibits an inverted-U shape, following a trajectory similar to that of lifetime patterns of consumption. The U-shaped pattern displayed by happiness measures over the life cycle is the opposite of the inverted-U shape pattern displayed by the VSL. It is consequently inappropriate to use happiness measures as ordinal ranking substitutes for the VSL for the purposes of estimating the benefits of mortality risk reduction. Compared to ordinal wellbeing scales, the VSL also offers a variety of additional capabilities by providing a cardinal index of the unit benefits for changes in mortality risks.

This article reviews economic evidence on health-dependent utility functions and presents new estimates of utility functions for cancer. Estimates of health-dependent utility functions have found that mild adverse health impacts can be treated as monetary equivalents. Severe health consequences also reduce utility levels but have an additional effect of altering the structure of utility functions by reducing the marginal utility of income. The implications of past studies are often misleading when they fail to account for income losses and medical expenses associated with serious ailments. This article’s estimates of the structure of utility functions for cancer indicate a substantially lower marginal utility of income at any given income level. This result is consistent with the welfare consequences of other severe health effects, which impose harms that are not tantamount to a monetary loss.

BackgroundThe past two decades have witnessed an epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD) in the USA, resulting in catastrophic loss of life secondary to opioid overdoses. Medication treatment of opioid use disorder (MOUD) is effective, yet barriers to care continue to result in a large proportion of untreated individuals. Optimal analgesia can be obtained in patients with MOUD within the perioperative period. Anesthesiologists and pain physicians can recommend and consider initiating MOUD in patients with suspected OUD at the point of care; this can serve as a bridge to comprehensive treatment and ultimately save lives.MethodsThe Board of Directors of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Academy of Pain Medicine, American Society of Addiction Medicine and American Society of Health System Pharmacists approved the creation of a Multisociety Working Group on Opioid Use Disorder, representing the fields of pain medicine, addiction, and pharmacy health sciences. An extensive literature search was performed by members of the working group. Multiple study types were included and reviewed for quality. A modified Delphi process was used to assess the literature and expert opinion for each topic, with 100% consensus being achieved on the statements and each recommendation. The consensus statements were then graded by the committee members using the United States Preventive Services Task Force grading of evidence guidelines. In addition to the consensus recommendations, a narrative overview of buprenorphine, including pharmacology and legal statutes, was performed.ResultsTwo core topics were identified for the development of recommendations with >75% consensus as the goal for consensus; however, the working group achieved 100% consensus on both topics. Specific topics included (1) providing recommendations to aid physicians in the management of patients receiving buprenorphine for MOUD in the perioperative setting and (2) providing recommendations to aid physicians in the initiation of buprenorphine in patients with suspected OUD in the perioperative setting.ConclusionsTo decrease the risk of OUD recurrence, buprenorphine should not be routinely discontinued in the perioperative setting. Buprenorphine can be initiated in untreated patients with OUD and acute pain in the perioperative setting to decrease the risk of opioid recurrence and death from overdose.

Metal foams are attracting interest in both aerospace and automotive industries due to their intriguing properties such as high stiffness coupled with low specific weight, good absorbing energy capabilities and flame resistance. To date, many researchers are trying to develop innovative solutions for the improvement of the mechanical properties of metal foams keeping the light-weight condition, with the scope to extend their potential application field. In this scenario, an advanced solution was here proposed; in particular, an innovative manufacturing process was presented for the production of steel grid–reinforced closed-cell aluminium foam cylinders in one single step by using the powder compact melting technique. The bending properties of plain, as well as reinforced, foam systems were experimentally tested and extensively discussed. An original finite element model was developed and validated for the analysis of the bending behaviour and the synergistic action of each component constituting the hybrid system, with a special focus on the failure mechanisms occurring under specified load conditions. The outcomes showed an increase of the mechanical properties of the reinforced systems due to the action of the light-weight mesh grid reinforcement that delays the failure of the structure. The solution proposed shows promises of being a useful method to expand the industrial applications of metal foams.

In this article, we consider the existing literature in business ecosystem design and business model design to propose a method called Bifocals. The method aims to align the two ecosystem and business perspectives. We illustrate how to use Bifocals by describing how we supported the creation of a new service, which adapts to recent evolution in the business ecosystem of nursing homes. The access to the field for the instantiation of the method is provided by an ongoing research project, which is mainly addressed to managers of nursing homes. Indeed, recent events have obliged nursing homes to redefine the interactions among stakeholders in their business ecosystem. In the end, we claim that our method (a) allows representing in greater details the niche ecosystem where the firm is located, (b) it offers a more structured way to respond to an ever-evolving ecosystem, and (c) it underlines a coherent way to build and test new business model features to restructure the firm, in response to its ecosystem.

In this paper it is reported the preparation of a food packaging based on isotactic polypropylene (PP) coated with layered double hydroxide (LDH) hosting sorbate as active molecule. The active nano-hybrid (LDH-sorbate) was dispersed into a food grade resin and used as coating. The release of the sorbate anchored to the LDH was compared to the release of the molecule free dispersed into the food grade resin and resulted much slower. It was evaluated the efficiency of the active packaging to inhibit Salmonella enterica subsp. arizonae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Campylobacter jejuni, and the global migration using two food simulant (i.e. poly (2,6-diphenyl-p-phenylene oxide) and vegetable oil). Experimental data, in compliance with the migration limits of the European Union regulation, demonstrated the suitability of the prepared material for food contact. White bread was packed into the active PP film and untreated PP, as control. Organoleptic characteristics, moisture analysis, peroxide evolution and mold count showed that the bread packaged in the active film retained its starting characteristics up to 12 days of storage at ambient temperature.

This article aims to provide an interpretive display of the strategic stance toward innovation enabled by Artificial Intelligence (AI) of different governments based in Europe. The analysis includes the European Union (EU), some of its members as well as a non-member country, which we argue presents interesting characteristics. Based on a comprehensive analysis of a corpus of documents, which includes national strategies, external reports as well as web resources, the different countries considered in this article are subsequently classified using as interpretive lens, among other frameworks, the strategic types identified by Miles and Snow (defender, prospector, analyzer, reactor). The results show a prevalence of a "prospector" stance, interested in differentiation and the search of novelty. However, the results also show that similar strategic types may be driven by different values as well as governance orientation among the considered countries, thus leading to different potential ways to implement the expected AI-enabled innovation.

With irreversible investments in safety, changes in workers’ compensation laws should affect employer incentives asymmetrically: increases in workers’ compensation generosity should cause employers to invest more in safety, but comparable decreases might not cause them to disinvest in existing precautionary programs or equipment. Although maximum weekly benefits caps have been fairly stable, state laws have expanded or restricted workers’ compensation on multiple other dimensions. State laws may impose new requirements regarding burdens of proof, access to medical care, and the duration of benefits. This article estimates the effect of changes in these more comprehensive measures of workers’ compensation laws on workplace safety. Using confidential, restricted data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, the article finds that increases in workers’ compensation generosity lead to a significant decrease in fatality rates, while decreases in workers’ compensation generosity do not significantly increase fatality rates.

Conventional opioids are widely used for acute pain management in the postoperative setting. However, a primary concern with conventional opioids is their therapeutic window—the range between doses that produce the desired therapeutic effect (analgesia) and doses that produce unwanted opioid-related adverse events (ORAEs). Conventional µ receptor opioids have a narrow therapeutic window in part because of their mechanism of action (MoA): they bind to µ receptors and non-selectively activate two intracellular signaling pathways, leading to analgesia and to ORAEs. This review explores the clinical potential of µ receptor ligands with differential signaling. Agents with a ‘differential signaling” MoA represent an innovative approach that may enhance the therapeutic window. These agents modulate µ receptor activity to selectively engage downstream signaling pathways associated with analgesia while limiting activity in downstream signaling pathways that lead to ORAEs. Differential signaling may fulfill an unmet need in the management of postoperative pain.

Uncertain future risks pose cognitive and analytical challenges to household decision makers. Risks with uncertain probabilities, coupled with potentially severe outcomes pose problems for decision-making and are prone to overreactions. Imprecision in risk estimates generates behavioral distortions such as ambiguity aversion. This article presents new empirical results indicating household overvaluations of uncertain threats posed by several drinking water risks: traces of prescription drugs in drinking water, plastic water bottles with bisphenol-A, and the weed killer atrazine in drinking water. Negative reactions reflect responses to ambiguous risks, but policies driven by these concerns may misallocate regulatory resources due to risk conservatism and “no-regrets” responses.

This article provides an experimental analysis of two-armed bandit problems that have a different structure in which the first unsuccessful outcome leads to termination of the game. It differs from a conventional two-armed bandit problem in that there is no opportunity to alter behavior after an unsuccessful outcome. Introducing the risk of death into a sequential decision problem alters the structure of the problem. Even though play ends after an unsuccessful outcome, Bayesian learning after successful outcomes has a potential function in this class of two-armed bandit problems. Increasing uncertainty boosts the chance of long-term survival since ambiguous probabilities of survival are increased more after each successful outcome. In the independent choice experiments, a slim majority of participants displayed a preference for greater risk ambiguity. Particularly in the interdependent choice experiments, participants were overly deterred by ambiguity. For both independent and interdependent choices, there were several dimensions on which participants displayed within session rationality. However, participants failed to learn and improve their strategy over a series of rounds, which is consistent with evidence of bounded rationality in other challenging games.

Social norms are strongly associated with pro-environmental behaviors, but the evolution and dynamic effects of norms are less well understood. This article builds on the distinction of norms being descriptive, characterizing what people actually do, or injunctive, characterizing what people should do. It identifies four categories of norms with the further distinction of whether the norms arise from the personal beliefs and actions or from the behaviors and judgments of others. The analysis uses five years of longitudinal US data that track household recycling and controls for household characteristics as well as differences in state recycling laws. The results extend previous research by showing that personal norms exhibit cascading dynamics in which norms encourage later changes in recycling, while recycling encourages later changes in personal norms. This mutual reinforcement implies that societal actions encouraging change in either personal norms or recycling will support growth in the other. Recognizing this interdependence can assist in the effective utilization of social norms as a behavioral policy instrument.

Examination of estimates of the income elasticity of the value of a statistical life based on international stated preference studies yields an average between 0.94 and 1.05 overall and 0.65 and 0.80 after controlling for covariates. Quantile regression estimates indicate that the income elasticity is about 0.55 for more affluent countries and 1.0 for lower income nations, i.e., those countries that have estimates of the value of a statistical life below $2 million or per capita income levels below $3212. The estimates distinguish the values of the income elasticity across country either by income level or by the value of a statistical life. These elasticities are similar to those found in revealed preference labor market studies. The estimates are robust, controlling for possible sample selection bias and the influence of covariates, such as the type of risk.

Selection of the best estimates of economic parameters frequently relies on the “best estimates” or a meta-analysis of the “best set” of parameter estimates from the literature. Using an all-set dataset consisting of all reported estimates of the value of a statistical life (VSL) as well as a best-set sample of the best estimates from these studies, this article estimates statistically significant publication selection biases in each case. Biases are much greater for the best-set sample, as one might expect, given the subjective nature of the best-set selection process. For the all-set sample, the mean bias-corrected estimate of the VSL for the preferred specification is $8.1 million for the whole sample and $11.4 million based on the CFOI data, while for the best-set results, the whole sample value is $3.5 million, and the CFOI data estimate is $4.4 million. Previous estimates of huge publication selection biases in the VSL estimates are attributable to these studies’ reliance on best-set samples.

State punitive damages reforms have altered how courts award punitive damages. We model the decision to award punitive damages as a two-step process involving the decision to award any punitive damages and the decision of what amount to award. Using samples of trial court verdicts from the Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, we find that punitive damages caps reduce the amount of damages awarded but do not affect whether they are initially awarded. Additionally, we find that maintaining lower evidentiary standards increases both the probability that punitive damages are awarded and the size of those awards.

Low probability risks create challenges for individual decisions and potential pressures for government regulation. This article reports original survey evidence regarding the public’s perception and valuation of water-related risks from plastic bottles with bisphenol A, residues in drinking water of the herbicide atrazine, and trace amounts of prescription drugs in water. People who believe that they face high water-related risks generally believe that the risks apply and, given that belief, are willing to pay more to limit the risk. However, the expressed willingness to pay for risk reductions is inordinately high even among those who are unsure of whether they are even exposed to the risk, and therefore may not be reliable as values for the actual benefits.

Recollection bias is the phenomenon whereby people who observe a highly unexpected event hold current risk beliefs about a similar event that are no higher than their recollection of their prior beliefs. This article replicates and extends the authors' previous study of recollection bias in relation to individuals' perceptions of the risks of terrorism attacks. Over 60% of respondents in a national U.S. sample of over 900 adults believe that the current risk of a future terrorist attack by either an airplane or in a public setting is no higher than they recall having believed, respectively, before the 9/11 attack and before the Boston Marathon bombing. By contrast, a rational Bayesian model would update to a higher currently assessed risk of these previously uncontemplated events. Recollection bias is a persistent trait: individuals who exhibited this bias for the 9/11 attack exhibited it for the Boston Marathon bombing. Only one-fifth of respondents are free of any type of recollection bias. Recollection bias is negatively correlated with absolute levels of risk belief. Recollection bias in relation to highly unexpected terrorist events-the belief that perceived risks did not increase after the surprise occurrence-dampens support for a variety of anti-terrorism measures, controlling for the level of risk beliefs and demographic factors. Persistent recollection bias for both 9/11 and the Boston Marathon bombing is especially influential in diminishing support for protective policy measures, such as surveillance cameras in public places. Given that public attitudes influence policy, educating the public about risk is critical.

This paper measures the effects of recycling and deposit laws based on the impact of changes in recycling environments for households that moved between states. Estimates from panel data on 3,902 households who moved provide a quasi-experimental test of effects of deposit laws and recycling laws that is otherwise not possible given the long-term stability of such laws. Moves to states with deposit policies or more stringent laws each increase the number of materials recycled by ten percent. However, consistent decreases in recycling only occurred for moves from states with deposit laws to states without deposits. The shift to environments with less stringent laws has less of a dampening effect on recycling than the diminished financial incentives from leaving a deposit law state.

This paper discusses the development of key features in European Union policy and service redesign, based on social innovative practices where co-creation and the related phenomenon of digital social innovation have a high potential impact. The idea underneath this claim is that Information and Communication Technologies are becoming increasingly pervasive in the design, development and delivery of social innovation and co-creation initiatives which should not be limited to service delivery, rather serve as the driver for opening-up governance systems and change the way public organizations are structured and policy designed and implemented. Consequently, the paper discusses the key elements identified for setting up open and collaborative governance systems,while, taking stock from the analysis of policy experiences and practices funded by the European Commission, an overview of main drivers and barriers are presented. The paper concludes outlining recommendations for future research, as well as implications and possible directions for policy.

In this article, we explore the use of hackathons and open data in corporations’ open innovation portfolios, addressing a new way for companies to tap into the creativity and innovation of early-stage startup culture, in this case applied to the food and nutrition sector. We study the first Open Food Data Hackdays, held on 10–11 February 2017 in Lausanne and Zurich. The aim of the overall project that the Hackdays event was part of was to use open food and nutrition data as a driver for business innovation. We see hackathons as a new tool in the innovation manager’s toolkit, a kind of live crowdsourcing exercise that goes beyond traditional ideation and develops a variety of prototypes and new ideas for business innovation. Companies then have the option of working with entrepreneurs and taking some the ideas forward.

Part 4: Social Innovation; International audience; This paper advances further the analysis of previous exploratory research conducted by the authors on how social innovation can foster resilience in a digital governance context. The process of innovation in social policy, as well as the building of resilience implies changes in the existing status quo. ICTs can drive and steer such change, while at the same time they can act as counterbalance for the negative consequence of the digital transformation of labour markets on social protection systems. Understanding the logics and principles behind the design and implementation processes of exemplary innovative initiatives is thus crucial from a policy learning perspective, in order to identify the drivers and processes making this change happen and determining its outcomes. Based on an extensive body of literature reviewed the framework proposed for interpreting the effects of social innovation in fostering resilience fare discussed through four case studies.

This paper is set out to establish the foundations for developing a framework to assess the potential impact of social policy innovation to contribute to the debate on the future of welfare systems. This calls in fact for monitoring the evolution of social innovations and the implications on the social protection systems that are due to the combined effect of the digital transformation and the emergence of innovative governance paradigms. Building on an extensive systematization of the state of the art and conceptualization work, the paper discusses findings from the review of the literature, linking the relevant theoretical debates on social innovation and resilience with the debate on welfare state reforms. Thus, it presents the interpretative framework proposed, which builds on key dimensions of ICT-enabled innovation and digital governance, discussing the applicability of the framework and outlining policy implications and future research directions.

In the European academic and institutional debate, interoperability is predominantly seen as a means to enable public administrations to collaborate within Members State and across borders. The article presents a conceptual framework for ICT-enabled governance and analyses the role of interoperability in this regard. The article makes a specific reference to the exploratory research project carried out by the Information Society Unit of the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) of the European Commission¿s Joint Research Centre on emerging ICT-enabled governance models in EU cities (EXPGOV). The aim of this project is to study the interplay between ICTs and governance processes at city level and formulate an interdisciplinary framework to assess the various dynamics emerging from the application of ICT-enabled service innovations in European cities. In this regard, the conceptual framework proposed in this article results from an action research perspective and investigation of e-governance experiences carried out in Europe. It aims to elicit the main value drivers that should orient how interoperable systems are implemented, considering the reciprocal influences that occur between these systems and different governance models in their specific context., JRC.DDG.J.4-Information Society

Hundreds of hazardous waste sites are on the Superfund National Priority List in the United States, and thousands more could become eligible. The Superfund has spent or ordered the spending of billions of dollars, with little apparent impact on human health risks. While public perception of the real or imagined hazardous nature of consumer and industrial substances has resulted in widespread attention to the issue, lawsuits have proliferated with liability aimed at "deep pockets" instead of individual agents who may be responsible. Contributors to "Cutting Green Tape" carefully examine the existence and severity of the toxic harms and liability problem, the erosion of a clear tort legal system to settle disputes, and whether a clearly defined system of property rights could be developed to reduce the dangers from toxic substances. "Cutting Green Tape" rethinks the nature and impact of today's environmental bureaucracy. Rather than continue unworkable, cumbersome, and often contradictory regulations, "Cutting Green Tape" prescribes a clearer tort legal system to settle disputes and demonstrates that clearly defined environmental property rights would reduce the threat of toxic substances. Among the many topics addressed are: air toxins policy; pollution, damages, and tort law; risk assessment, insurance, and public information; protecting groundwater; regulation of carcinogens; contracting for health and safety; and toxin torts by government. The book converges on a central theme: when common law remedies, with their burden of proof and standards of evidence, are replaced by the legislatively mandated regulatory regimes described, a problem emerges. The bureaucratic "tunnel vision" described by Justice Stephen Breyer, tends to take over. The police powers of the state are given to bureaucratic decision makers who are limited only by the blunt instrument of political influence, rather than by the need to show harm or wrongdoing in an unbiased court (as the police are), or by a budget on expenditures set by the Congress (as most bureaus are). The excesses described in the chapters thus result not from incompetence in the bureaus, but from the expansive powers granted to decision makers who are tightly focused on the narrow mission they see before them.

We present a multidisciplinary methodology for E-Government project planning. The set of expertise needed for the design of E-Government systems includes social, juridical, economic, organizational, and technological perspectives. To properly address such a broad range of influences requires a unique vision. Our long-term aim is to use an integrated approach to examine a number of issues which currently present challenges in many E-Government projects. This paper in particular focuses on social and technological aspects of E-Government. The methodology has four phases: (1) state reconstruction, (2) quality assessment, (3) new quality targets definition, and (4) preliminary operational planning. A case study provides evidence of the feasibility and effectiveness of the methodology. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Background: Oral anticoagulants are prescribed to millions of Americans, and consequently are among the medications most likely to contribute to emergency department visits and hospitalizations. Although guidelines and consensus statements promote systematic approaches to therapy, anticoagulation (AC) management is often suboptimal. Electronic health records (EHRs) have the potential to improve safety and quality but have not yet incorporated specialized features necessary to optimize therapy. Objective: To generate a comprehensive, consensus-based list of EHR features clinically necessary to deliver optimized AC management, provide a “language bridge” to accelerate incorporation of features into EHR systems, and suggest mechanisms for the objective evaluation of available EHRs. Methods: A multidisciplinary panel of AC specialists utilized the framework of a previously published consensus statement to map outpatient AC management and developed a comprehensive array of sequential computer logic steps using a restricted language scheme. Logic steps were then translated into narrative descriptions of potential EHR features, which were refined through multiple group evaluations. A finalized list of proposed features was ranked according to perceived clinical necessity by physician, pharmacist, and nurse panelists in a blinded manner using a 5-point Likert scale. Features receiving no more than 1 dissenting opinion were included in a finalized list of clinically necessary features. Results: The task force generated 78 recommended EHR features across 20 key discrete areas and 425 individual logic steps. All recommended features received Strongly Agree or Agree rankings regarding their perceived clinical necessity, and no feature received more than a single Disagree response. Conclusion: The incorporation of key AC-related features into existing EHRs or specialized AC management systems has the potential to systematize the delivery of optimal AC care by health care professionals at the point of care. Optimized AC management has the potential to reduce adverse drug events associated with anticoagulant therapy in the outpatient setting.

Direct experiences, we find, influence environmental risk beliefs more than the indirect experiences derived from outcomes to others. This disparity could have a rational basis. Or it could be based on behavioral proclivities in accord with the well-established availability heuristic or the vested-interest heuristic, which we introduce in this article. Using original data from a large, nationally representative sample, this article examines the perception of, and responses to, morbidity risks from tap water. Direct experiences have a stronger and more consistent effect on different measures of risk belief. Direct experiences also boost the precautionary response of drinking bottled water and drinking filtered water, while indirect experiences do not. These results are consistent with the hypothesized neglect of indirect experiences in other risk contexts, such as climate change.

Our research clarifies the conceptual linkages among willingness to pay for additional safety, willingness to accept less safety, and the value of a statistical life (VSL). We present econometric estimates using panel data to analyze the VSL levels associated with job changes that may affect the worker’s exposure to fatal injury risks. Our baseline VSL estimates are $7.7 million and $8.3 million (Y$2001). There is no statistically significant divergence between willingness-to-accept VSL estimates associated with wage increases for greater risks and willingness-to-pay VSL estimates as reflected in wage changes for decreases in risk. Our focal result contrasts with the literature documenting a considerable asymmetry in tradeoff rates for increases and decreases in risk. An important implication for policy is that it is reasonable to use labor market estimates of VSL as a measure of the willingness to pay for additional safety.

The regulatory labeling for apixaban outlines discontinuing apixaban 24 to 48 hours prior to surgery depending on the bleeding risk. This is based upon the known pharmacokinetics of the drug derived from controlled populations. Data evaluating these recommendations in a preoperative care clinic have

Estimates of the value of a statistical life (VSL) establish the price government agencies use to value fatality risks. Transferring these valuations to other populations often utilizes the income elasticity of the VSL, which typically draw on estimates from meta-analyses. Using a data set consisting of 101 estimates of the income elasticity of VSL from 14 previously reported meta-analyses, we find that after accounting for potential publication bias the income elasticity of value of a statistical life is clearly and robustly inelastic, with a value of approximately 0.25–0.63. There is also clear evidence of the importance of controlling for levels of risk, differential publication selection bias, and the greater income sensitivity of VSL from stated preference surveys.

Selection of the best estimates of economic parameters frequently relies on the best estimate or a meta-analysis of the “best-set” of parameter estimates from the literature. Using an all-set dataset consisting of all reported estimates of the value of a statistical life (VSL) as well as a best-set sample of the best estimates from these studies, this article estimates statistically significant publication selection biases in each case. Biases are much greater for the best-set sample, as one might expect, given the subjective nature of the best-set selection process. While “best estimate selection bias” potentially exacerbates the problems associated with existing publication selection biases, the mean and median best-set estimates of the VSL are similar to those in the all-set sample. The bias-corrected estimate of the VSL for the all-set USA sample is $9.5 million and $11.5 million based on the CFOI data.

International audience; Innovation is one of the many challenges raised by the digitalization of business and economy. In the current competitive environment, businesses are characterized by radical transformations through digitalization of services and products and their ability to innovate is increasingly linked to the exploration and exploitation of information and communication technologies (ICTs). This paper investigates the role of information systems (IS) as a key factor to innovation capacity. Starting from these issues, the paper explores through an interpretative study of the IS innovation practices as well as perceptions by managers within a sample of 7 French based companies from various industries. The interviews have been conducted on with a guide built based on a framework on IS innovation capacity maturity. Consistently with the framework, the interview guide addresses process areas and practices related to three core categories: management, innovation engineering, and support. The study reveals 7 fundamental contradictions that can explain the main tendencies observed across the companies, out of which the most striking is a generalized lack of maturity when it comes to exploiting their Information Systems to foster innovation.

Our research addresses fundamental long-standing concerns in the compensating wage differentials literature and its public policy implications: the econometric properties of estimates of the value of statistical life (VSL) and the wide range of such estimates from about $0 to almost $30 million. Here we address most of the prominent econometric issues by applying panel data, a new and more accurate fatality risk measure, and systematic application of panel data estimators. Controlling for measurement error, endogeneity, latent individual heterogeneity that may be correlated with the regressors, state dependence, and sample composition yields an estimated value of a statistical life of about $7 million–$12 million, which we show can clarify greatly the cost-effectiveness of regulatory decisions. We show that probably the most important econometric issue is controlling for latent heterogeneity; less important is how one does it.

This paper reports the stated preference values for reducing the morbidity risks from drinking water estimated using a nationally representative U.S. sample of 3,585 households. Based on the average annual gastrointestinal (GI) illness risk in the U.S. from drinking water of about 5 illnesses per 100 population, eliminating the GI risk has a median annual value per household of $219. The considerable heterogeneity in the values arises largely from differences in attitudes towards risk and price sensitivity. Using interval regressions, we find that valuations are greater for those who perceive a high personal risk, consume a large quantity of tap water, or are environmentalists. The paper explores several methodological issues pertaining to the iterative choice format involving a choice between two policies characterized by their cost and GI risk. The analysis adjusts for starting point effects by basing valuations on the tradeoffs that are estimated to prevail at the “equitable tradeoff rate,” which is the starting cost-water quality tradeoff rate that produces a 50-50 split in the initial policy choice between policies with greater tradeoff rates and policies with lower tradeoff rates. The heterogeneity in valuations is also explored by examining quantile regression results and the determinants of the unbounded valuation amounts at the low and high extremes.

Benefit-cost analysis (BCA) is frequently applied to decisions involving public safety which requires analyzing risk and assessing options to manage risks. Principles and standards may assist analysts, decision-makers, and the public in developing and interpreting such BCAs. Principles and standards at best represent commonly held views among a community of practice. Such views are continually evolving with advances in the field. This paper presents a modularized format towards principles and standards that may assist in focusing discussion and decisions about whether such proposals actually reflect principles and standards within the benefit-cost analysis community of practice. Among topics covered are welfare measures, benefit or cost transfer, and valuing uncertain outcomes.

This article is a reply to the critique by Black, Hyman, and Silver (BHS) of our 2007 Journal of Legal Studies article, “An Empirical Assessment of Early Offer Reform for Medical Malpractice.” The early offer reform gives insurers the option of making an early offer that will expedite payment of claimants' economic losses and reasonable attorney fees. Using data on closed medical malpractice claims from the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), our 2007 article estimates the financial impact of this proposal by comparing the expected payments to claimants under the early offer reform to the payments tinder current tort rules. A central component of our calculation of expected payments is unique information on insurers' reserves associated with the claim; actual payments are reported in the TDI data for all litigated and settled cases involving payments of at least $10,000. The BHS article misrepresents fundamental aspects of our empirical analysis, including the following. BHS set out to correct our purported “false assumption” that all claims have a 1.0 probability of success, which is a problem that arises because BHS omit the probability of claimant success from the formula that is presented in our paper. BHS's error is compounded as their discussion of our paper fails to recognize that our use of reserve amounts in the analysis incorporates the insurers’ estimates of the likelihood of claimant success, Indeed, they neither acknowledge our use of the insurer reserve data, nor do they use the insurer reserve information in their paper. BHS claim incorrectly that our analysis does not discount deferred payments whereas in fact it does. Our early offer analysis uses data for both litigated and settled claims, avoiding the selection bias and measurement error problems associated with BHS's extrapolation from the 2 percent of paid claims that are litigated to the universe of all settled and litigated claims. The BHS article also reflects a misunderstanding of the operation of the early offer reform.

Using data from the Current Population Survey and the New Immigrant Survey, this paper examines the common perception that immigrants are concentrated in high-risk jobs for which they receive little wage compensation. Compared to native U.S. workers, non-Mexican immigrants are not at higher risk and have substantial values of statistical life. However, Mexican immigrants incur much higher fatality risks than native U.S. workers and do not receive wage compensation for these risks. Mexican immigrants who do not understand English fare especially poorly. The evidence is consistent with Mexican immigrants facing different wage offer curves.

Economic research has developed estimates of the heterogeneity of the value of statistical life (VSL) on dimensions such as individual age, income, immigrant status, and the nature of the risk exposure. This paper examines the empirical evidence on the heterogeneity of VSL and explores the potential implications for the valuation of regulatory policies. EPA unsuccessfully sought to adopt age variations in VSL based on survey evidence. However, labor market estimates of VSL indicate a pattern that tracks lifetime consumption trajectories, as the VSL rises with age and eventually tapers off but does not plummet with age. The VSL has an income elasticity of at least 0.5. The analysis of age variations in VSL is accompanied by a review of the value of statistical life year (VSLY) approach. The U.S. Department of Transportation recognizes the influence of a positive income elasticity of VSL, and EPA has proposed adopting a 50% cancer premium. Recent studies suggest that the risk of death from terrorist attacks are of particular concern and may merit a substantial premium in benefit assessments. Whether and how such heterogeneity in VSL should be incorporated in regulatory policy evaluations depends in part on the source of the heterogeneity. Some prominent sources of heterogeneity arise from segmented labor markets in which disadvantaged groups face different labor market opportunities. Blacks and Mexican immigrants face quite different labor market offer curves. As a result, influences that are problematic from the standpoint of setting different benefit levels for policy purposes are differences in VSL by race and immigrant status. The paper also examines the EPA’s recent devaluation of life and the Posner-Sunstein proposal to use VSL estimates to set hedonic damages in tort liability cases. The Posner-Sunstein proposal would lead to excessive levels of compensatory damages and would greatly increase damages amounts.

The refinement in worker fatality risk data used in hedonic wage studies and evidence from new stated preference studies have facilitated the exploration of the heterogeneity of the value of statistical life (VSL). Although the median VSL estimate for workers is $7–$8 million, the VSL varies considerably within the worker population. New estimates of the income elasticity of VSL are 1.0 or above, which are consistent with theoretical models linking VSL to the coefficient of relative risk aversion. The specific relationship between VSL and risk aversion is, however, more complex than previously understood. Age differences in VSL are substantial, with young children being accorded especially high VSL amounts. The public’s willingness to pay to reduce risks is reduced if those being protected are perceived as being blameworthy due to their responsibility for contributing to the risk.

Individuals with higher personal rates of time preference will be more likely to smoke. Although previous studies have found no evidence of a relationship between smoking and rates of time preference, analysis of implicit rates of time preference associated with workers’ wage fatality risk trade-offs indicates that smokers have higher rates of time preference with respect to years of life. Current smokers have an implied rate of time preference of 13.8% as compared to 8.1% for nonsmokers. Current smokers who are blue-collar workers have rates of time preference with respect to years of life of 16.3% compared to 7.8% for nonsmoking blue-collar workers. (JEL I12, D81, D91) Smoking imposes substantial health risks, many of which are not immediate and will also have long-term effects on smokers’ well-being. Recent estimates of the lost life expectancy due to smoking are 2.4 years for women and 4.4 years for men, with some studies indicating even more substantial losses. 1 Given the latency period before many of the most severe smoking risks are manifested, people with greater individual rates of time preference will be less influenced by the discounted value of the health losses and will be more likely to be smokers. This paper examines whether this relationship between rates of time preference and smoking behavior is in fact borne out by developing empirical estimates of how smokers and nonsmokers discount years of life lost due to the fatality risks that they incur on the job. A variety of researchers have theorized that individuals with higher rates of time preference

This article examines the political economy of preferences with respect to the environment using a new stated preference survey that presents the first benefit values for national water quality levels. The mean valuation greatly exceeds the median value, as the distribution of valuations is highly skewed. The study couples the survey valuations with unique and extensive information on respondent voting patterns. Preferences of registered voters are similar to the preferences of the population at large, but median voters value water quality more than nonvoters. The strongest contrast related to voter-weighted preferences is among voters for different candidates, as those who voted for Gore in the 2000 presidential election have the highest environmental values. © 2009 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.

To resolve the theoretical ambiguity in the effect of age on the value of statistical life (VSL), this article uses a novel, age-dependent fatal risk measure to estimate age-specific hedonic wage regressions. VSL exhibits an inverted-U-shaped relationship with age. In the year 2000 cross section, workers' VSL rises from $3.7 million (ages 18-24) to $9.7 million (35-44), and declines to $3.4 million (55-62). Controlling for birth-year cohort effects in a minimum distance estimator yields a peak VSL of $7.8 million at age 46, and flattens the age-VSL relationship. The value of statistical life-year also follows an inverted-U shape with age. Copyright by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Open government is emerging as a core issue for increasing, on the one hand, participation of citizens, and, on the other hand, accountability, transparency, and the capability of delivering digital services by Public Administrations, with a consequent interest into public and social value as final outcomes. However, most of the open government initiatives actually concern the provision of public data under an open license and in an open and accessible format. From a policy as well as from a research point of view, open government raises a set of questions about how to manage and evaluate their quality, also considering the compliance with enforced legal frameworks, if any available focused specifically on open government issues. Thus, the paper discusses a quality-based framework for open government data compliance assessment, made up of quality dimensions and a set of criteria contributing to the measurement of a compliance index. The framework is then applied for the evaluation of the open government data initiatives of a sample of local public administrations in Italy.

[Figure][1] Cost-effective emissions controls depend on calculating the domestic and global social costs of carbon. PHOTO: © IMAGINECHINA/CORBIS The National Academies of Sciences have assembled a committee to review the economic aspects of climate change in order to better estimate the

This article investigates the changing role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at organizational level with regard to the rise of Big Data and Big Data analytics as a potential source of innovation and competitive advantage. The paper aims to provide a theoretical contribution to the research stream on the topic, by further exploring the emergent properties and understandings related to the role of CIO. As a consequence of the need to adopt advanced technologies, the CIO has been named to master the current unheard information growth for business innovation. To this end we present the results of a qualitative research based on grounded theory carried out on data concerning CIOs of medium and large companies from different industries in the Italian market. Finally, a substantive theory and categories are discussed, showing the role of generation gap and power of new entrants as well as of project and execution excellence on the making of identity and recognition of the CIO as relevant at the time of Big Data analytics.

State punitive damages reforms have altered how courts award punitive damages. We model the decision to award punitive damages as a two-step process involving the decision to award any punitive damages and the decision of what amount to award. For the Civil Justice Survey of State Courts samples of trial court verdicts, punitive damages caps reduce the amount of damages awarded but do not affect whether they are initially awarded. In contrast, the effect of punitive damages reforms on blockbuster punitive damages awards of at least $100 million is to reduce the incidence of these awards, but not their amount.

State apology laws offer a separate avenue from traditional damages-centric tort reforms to promote communication between physicians and patients and to address potential medical malpractice liability. These laws facilitate apologies from physicians by excluding statements of apology from malpractice trials. Using a unique dataset that includes all malpractice claims for 90% of physicians practicing in a single specialty across the country, this study examines whether apology laws limit malpractice risk. For physicians who do not regularly perform surgery, apology laws increase the probability of facing a lawsuit and increase the average payment made to resolve a claim. For surgeons, apology laws do not have a substantial effect on the probability of facing a claim or the average payment made to resolve a claim. Overall, the evidence suggests that apology laws do not effectively limit medical malpractice liability risk.

The early offer reform proposal for medical malpractice provides an option for claimants to receive prompt payment of all their net economic losses and reasonable attorney fees. Using a large sample of closed individual medical malpractice claims from Texas supplemented by data from Florida, this article provides an empirical assessment of the consequences of the early offer reform. Noneconomic damages make up about two‐thirds of paid claim amounts. The minimum payment amount for serious injuries will affect the magnitude of insurer savings and claimant compensation. Payments to claimants will be expedited by 2 years by the early offer reform, and litigation costs will be reduced by an average of $100,000–$200,000 per claim.