Search

In this study, we develop and apply a new methodology for obtaining accurate and equitable property value assessments. This methodology adds a time dimension to the Geographically Weighted Regressions (GWR) framework, which we call Time-Geographically Weighted Regressions (TGWR). That is, when generating assessed values, we consider sales that are close in time and space to the designated unit. We think this is an important improvement of GWR since this increases the number of comparable sales that can be used to generate assessed values. Furthermore, it is likely that units that sold at an earlier time but are spatially near the designated unit are likely to be closer in value than units that are sold at a similar time but farther away geographically. This is because location is such an important determinant of house value. We apply this new methodology to sales data for residential properties in 50 municipalities in Connecticut for 1994–2013 and 145 municipalities in Massachusetts for 1987–2012. This allows us to compare results over a long time period and across municipalities in two states. We find that TGWR performs better than OLS with fixed effects and leads to less regressive assessed values than OLS. In many cases, TGWR performs better than GWR that ignores the time dimension. In at least one specification, several suburban and rural towns meet the IAAO Coefficient of Dispersion cutoffs for acceptable accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess optimal activity size/mix of Connecticut local public health jurisdictions, through estimating economies of scale/scope/specialization for environmental inspections/services.Data Sources/study Setting: Connecticut's 74 local health jurisdictions (LHJs) must provide environmental health services, but their efficiency or reasons for wide cost variation are unknown. The public health system is decentralized, with variation in organizational structure/size. We develop/compile a longitudinal dataset covering all 74 LHJs, annually from 2005 to 2012.Study Design: We estimate a public health services/inspections cost function, where inputs are translated into outputs. We consider separate estimates of economies of scale/scope/specialization for four mandated inspection types.Data Collection/extraction Methods: We obtain data from Connecticut Department of Public Health databases, reports, and other publicly available sources. There has been no known previous utilization of this combined dataset.Principal Findings: On average, regional districts, municipal departments, and part-time LHJs are performing fewer than the efficient number of inspections. The full-time municipal departments and regional districts are more efficient but still not at the minimum efficient scale. The regional districts' elasticities of scale are larger, implying they are more efficient than municipal health departments.Conclusions: Local health jurisdictions may enhance efficiency by increasing inspections and/or sharing some services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land value taxation or split-rate taxation (SRT) in Connecticut is close to reality with Public Act 15-184. We simulate short-run tax burdens for property owners in two Connecticut cities when moving from a uniform property tax to SRT. We examine whether higher valued property owners face higher tax increases when moving to SRT. A major contribution is our examination of horizontal equity with revenue-neutral SRT in a city's sub-sections, which this Connecticut legislation allows. We find the shift in tax burden among property classes is unique to individual neighborhoods. This highlights the importance of considering city sub-sections for implementing SRT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proximity to wetlands and water bodies can be considered an amenity (for open space and recreation value), as well as a possible nuisance (with the potential for flooding or development restrictions), although the overall effect may be different depending on location. Studies of the impacts of wetlands and water on housing prices can also be prone to spatial autocorrelation problems arising from omitted unobservables. Mc Millen and Redfearn explain that locally weighted regressions ( LWRs) can address spatial autocorrelation. In addition to ordinary least squares ( OLS), we use LWR to control for spatial effects and analyze how proximity to water bodies and wetland areas impact real sales prices of homes in one Connecticut town in 2000-2009. With OLS regressions, proximity to wetland areas and water bodies are insignificant determinants of the real sale price of homes. When we control for spatial effects with a nonparametric (i.e., LWR) approach, the significance of the water variable is different than from OLS-while greater distance from wetlands leads to an insignificant relationship with housing price, the water distance effect becomes negative and significant. These results imply that incorporating potential spatial heterogeneity in the data is crucial for accurately estimating the direction, magnitudes, and statistical significance of the relationships between environmental variables and housing prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aim To determine the impact of standard care and contingency management treatments on the utilization of general health-care services by substance abusers. Participants, design and measurements This secondary analysis pooled 1028 treatment-seeking substance abusers from five randomized clinical trials that compared the effects of standard care (SC, n = 362) to standard care plus contingency management (CM, n = 666). In each trial, subjects in the CM condition showed significantly greater reductions in substance use than their SC counterparts. For each subject, utilization of 15 general health-care services was measured 1 year prior to treatment intake and up to 9 months following treatment intake. Post-intake utilization data were prorated to be comparable to the 1-year pre-intake data. Paired t-tests evaluated changes in service utilization pre- and post-intake, and difference-in-differences regression models were used to estimate the impact of CM, compared to SC, on changes in the utilization of each of the 15 health services. Setting Out-patient community substance abuse clinics in Connecticut and Massachusetts, USA. Findings Utilization of several types of out-patient services increased significantly between the pre- and post-intake periods [e.g. dental visits (0.47, P < 0.001), community health center visits (0.50, P < 0.001), visits to a mental health professional office (1.03, P = 0.001)], while in-patient hospital care for mental health problems decreased significantly (−3.50 nights, P < 0.001). A substantial portion of these changes occurred during the treatment period. No significant differences were found between the two treatment conditions. Conclusions Initiating out-patient substance abuse treatment is associated with changes in general health-care service utilization, independent of the type of treatment offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Test hypotheses that proximity to new transit improves substance use disorder treatment provider cost efficiency (i.e., economies of scale and scope)., Data Sources and Study Setting: Connecticut substance uses disorder treatment providers/programs. A 2015 rapid transit line opening with 10 stations, near some providers/programs. Providers' annual operating costs from publicly available federal tax forms (2013-2018). Annual client counts, service-type (including substance use disorder and/or mental health, among others), and location data, for 50 providers and their programs, from Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, with an unbalanced panel of 285 provider-years., Study Design: Economies of scale occur when the percent change in operating costs is less than the percentage change in clients. Economies of scope occur when operating costs fall as providers treat clients with multiple service needs. With our quasi-experimental, multivariate regressions approach, we test hypotheses that proximity to a new transit line enhances economies of scale and scope (i.e., lowers unit operating costs)., Data Collection/extraction Methods: Annual provider-level operating costs merged with new transit station locations and Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services program/provider-level secondary data (locations, client counts/completions/dates, service types, and average demographics)., Principal Findings: For providers with programs within 1-mile of new transit (compared with a "control" sample beyond 1-mile of new transit), (i) a 10% increase in clients leads to a 0.12% lower operating costs per client; (ii) a 10% increase in clients completing treatment results in a 1.5% decrease in operating costs per client; (iii) a 10% increase in clients receiving treatment for multiple services causes a 0.81% lower operating costs per client; (iv) offering multiple services leads to 6.3% lower operating costs., Conclusions: New transit proximity causes operating cost savings for substance use disorder/mental health treatment providers. System alignment may benefit transit and health care sectors., (© 2023 The Authors. Health Services Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Health Research and Educational Trust.)

The recent federal Health Care Reform Act signed into law by President Obama is expected to lead to greater patient volumes at non-profit hospitals in Connecticut (and throughout the country). The financial implications for these hospitals depend on how the costs per patient are expected to change in response to the anticipated higher patient volumes. Using a regression analysis of costs with annual data on 30 Connecticut hospitals over the period 2006 to 2008, we find that there are considerable differences between outpatient and inpatient unit cost structures at these hospitals. Based on the results of our analysis, and assuming health care reform leads to an overall increase in the number of outpatients, we would expect Connecticut hospitals to experience lower costs per outpatient treated (economies of scale). On the other hand, an influx of additional inpatients would be expected to raise unit costs (diseconomies of scale). After controlling for other cost determinants, we find that the marginal cost of an inpatient is about $8,000 while the marginal cost of an outpatient is about $44. This disparity may provide an explanation for our finding that the effect of additional patient volumes overall (combining inpatient and outpatient) is an increase in hospitals' unit costs.