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The U.S. Census Bureau is investigating nonrespondent subsampling strategies for use in the 2017 Economic Census. In previous research, we developed an optimized allocation procedure for subsampling nonrespondents that selects larger systematic samples in domains with lower initial response. This article expands on our previous research by exploring improvements to the optimal allocation method; we investigate refinements to the previous procedure that incorporate measures of respondent balance with respect to the original sample. The revised allocation procedures have simultaneous objectives of allocating high proportions of sample in domains that indicate potential nonresponse bias and of equalizing response rates across domains. We examine the effects of the alternative allocation approaches on Horvitz-Thompson estimates via a simulation study using data from the 2014 Annual Survey of Manufactures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty is a big threat to prosperity in developing countries like Pakistan. Alleviating poverty needs concerted efforts including how to measure and analyze poverty. Therefore, this paper employs synthetic panel technique and uses repeated cross-sections household survey dataset (Household Integrated and Economic Survey (HIES)) of Pakistan for 2010–11 and 2015–16, to derive poverty bounds for Pakistan. The findings of the paper suggest that 17% of population still remains in poverty in 2015–16 as they were in 2010–11. They don't move in or out of poverty. In the same periods 19% population affected by poverty. The 2.5% poor's of 2010–11 moves out of poverty in 2015–16. This constitutes the first attempt to provide an insight into poverty dynamics in Pakistan using the available survey data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent global financial crisis has also been widely characterized as a massive crisis of confidence. This article examines how economic surveys of well-being are deployed to maintain confidence in market institutions and activities. It argues that these economic surveys, which are ostensibly designed to measure confidence, happiness and other states of subjective well-being, are in fact responsible for enacting confidence among its respondents and the general public. The article employs a framework of ‘marketization’, connecting this framework to broader cultural studies of economics and economies that focus on the ways in which markets and the context in which they are received are ‘made’. Economic surveys work to create confidence in the current economic system by positing that positive social and cultural attitudes toward market activity are not merely related to but are actually responsible for market growth. As such, these surveys accomplish a double objective: they maintain economic expertise, infrastructures and devices as legitimate and necessary; and they maintain the notion that economic growth is central to the maintenance of social welfare and progress. The article concludes that the inculcation of confidence among individuals and institutions precludes the task of reflecting on and recognizing the inadequacy of the current economic situation and diminishes the seeming necessity for political action and reform. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study investigates how and to what extent mechanization in land preparation (MLP) can help improve irrigation water productivity (IWP) (measured as rice yield per unit volume of irrigation water). We employed an endogenous treatment regression model to estimate the 2021 China Land Economic Survey (CLES) data collected from Jiangsu province, China. The results reveal that MLP adoption increases IWP significantly; a higher IWP is determined by whether or not farmers adopt MLP rather than through which channel they access their farm machines; the effects of MLP adoption on IWP are monotonically increasing across the selected quantiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of an empirical economic data-based survey of the costs and revenues of geographical data and Web services across public administration in Czechia. The survey was composed of questionnaires and interviews. The data was collected from the 19 biggest public producers of geographical information and 25 organizations that use geographical information. The results focus on the economic consequences of data opening, splitting finances within public administration bodies, the prioritization of activities related to geographical information, licensing issues and life cycle planning etc. We also consider user opinions on the restrictions on the (re)use of geographical information of public administration, including open data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the Australian Twins Economic Preferences Survey (ATEPS). The data set comprises a wide variety of preference and behavioral measures (risk aversion, impatience, ambiguity aversion, trust, confidence) elicited using incentivized decision tasks. One-thousand one-hundred twenty Australian adult twins (560 pairs) completed the survey, making it one of the largest data sets containing incentivized preference measures of twins. As the survey was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, we also collected information on experiences related to the pandemic, along with a variety of questions on political attitudes and mental wellbeing. We hope that ATEPS can make a valuable contribution to social science and genetics research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the development and application of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Statistical Business Register (SBR) guidelines at Statistics Mauritius and the Central Statistics Agency of Ethiopia. A novel approach was implemented to induce the adoption of the guidelines by first operationalising it in the form of a generic SBR system designed to be readily adapted to the context and needs of African National Statistics Offices (NSO). This generic system was based on an earlier SBR system developed at Statistics Mauritius which was redesigned to increase its adaptability and conform to the guidelines. This redesigned system was then adapted to the specificities of Statistics Mauritius, during which it underwent further changes and is currently being adapted to Ethiopia and Swaziland. This approach was instrumental in the swift and successful adoption of the guidelines at Statistics Mauritius and in enticing other African NSOs into adoption and conformance. Several challenges encountered during the application of the guidelines through this approach required various enhancements to be made to the generic SBR system which could eventually be of value in informing the elaboration of the next version of the AfDB guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research on the use of M-estimation methodology for detecting and treating verified influential values in economic surveys found that initial parameter settings affect effectiveness. In this article, we explore the basic question of how to develop initial settings for the M-estimation parameters. The economic populations that we studied are highly skewed and are consequently highly stratified. While we investigated settings for several parameters, the most challenging problem was to develop an "automatic" data-driven method for setting the initial value of the tuning constant φ, the parameter with the greatest influence on performance of the algorithm. Of all the methods that we considered, we found that methods defined in terms of the accuracy of published estimates can be implemented on a large scale and yielded the best performance. We illustrate the methodology with an empirical analysis of 36 consecutive months of data from 19 industries in the Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Timor‐Leste nears the end of its petroleum‐exporting era, the transition to a sustainable economy has become even more challenging due to partisan political competition, disastrous flooding and the pandemic. This article describes the current economic context, and deteriorating trends. After a brief discussion of the political situation and the impacts of COVID‐19, it explores expenditure and income trends in recent state budgets, with a particular focus on dependency on oil and gas revenues and their investments, which pay for 80% of state spending and may run out within a decade. It then assesses in detail revenue prospects from current and future oil and gas activities, including Greater Sunrise and the planned Tasi Mane petroleum infrastructure project. The analysis shows that it is highly likely that resource revenue will continue to decline. Diversification is not an option; it is the only way forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the performance of the Fijian economy from 2015 to 2019. After several years of decent growth (around 5%), GDP growth fell to as low as 0.5% in 2019. Earlier hopes that a 'new normal' of GDP growth of around 5% per annum had been established have faded. The principle reason for this, it is argued, is a lack of business confidence, which is associated with the 2018 elections, but more fundamentally with a lack of faith in Fiji's political system. At the same time, the government has also been forced to embark on a course of fiscal consolidation, as announced in the 2019–2020 National Budget, due to disappointing revenue collections and undisciplined expenditure in earlier years. The banking sector is hamstrung by a lack of liquidity. This article is written to understand the Fijian economy pre‐COVID‐19, but with the sharp downturn in economic growth in particular due to the impact of the COVID‐19 virus on tourism—Fiji's most important sector—and no room for fiscal expansion, growth prospects in Fiji are currently not bright. An improved medium‐term outlook will require greater confidence (both political and economic) to increase investment, both foreign and domestic. Reforms to reduce the costs of doing business will also help. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A preliminary survey of the economic seaweed exploitation in Madagascar was published in 1998. The present study is an update of the situation after the large scale development of Eucheumatoid cultivation in this country. It represents a floristic survey and it includes more seaweed species than previously described. The economic impact of this new and promising source of income on the local population is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kiribati is one of the poorest and most remote Pacific nations but has the largest productive tuna fishery. The Vessel Day Scheme implemented in 2012 led to unprecedented growth in fishing revenue between 2012 and 2015, with similarly unprecedented expansion of government expenditure from 2016 to 2019. For the first time in its history, the Kiribati Government, rather than any foreign development partner, is the single largest financier of public investment. Whereas the general economy and government finances have benefited greatly from the fisheries boom, questions have been raised around recent government spending and how long there will be the fiscal space to support such discretionary decisions in the context of rapidly increasing operating costs. Fishing revenue alone will not be enough to fundamentally shift the development trajectory of the Kiribati people. A new period of reform is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although official statistics show that an economic recovery is underway in Papua New Guinea, the country's new Prime Minister has stated that the economy is "bleeding and struggling." Disappointing 2019 first‐half‐year revenue results and the reintensification of foreign exchange shortages suggest that last year's (nonresource) recovery, which was based on unsustainable fiscal expansion, has not endured; that this year's growth statistics may need to be further revised downwards; and that the government's growth and fiscal challenges are once again intensifying. The new government's governance reforms are promising; but they are no substitute for reviewing exchange rate and fiscal policy, perhaps by turning to the International Monetary Fund for advice and support to address the problems it has inherited, including in relation to arrears, guarantees, and state‐owned enterprise debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] I compare three different measures of risk attitudes collected in a general survey. [•] External validity, data quality and predictive validity of the measures are compared. [•] Lottery choice tasks can be implemented in non-incentivized surveys. [•] Domain specific risk measures are more appropriate to predict behaviour. [•] Short form of popular psychometric questions work well in general surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a continued need to monitor the environmental impacts of agricultural systems while also ensuring sufficient agricultural production. However, it can be difficult to collect relevant environmental data on a large enough number of farms and studies that do so often neglect to consider the financial drivers that ultimately determine many aspects of farm management and performance. This paper outlines a methodology for generating environmental indicators from the Farm Business Survey (FBS), an extensive annual economic survey of representative farms in England and Wales. Data were extracted from the FBS for a sample of East Anglian cereal farms and south western dairy farms and converted where necessary to use as inputs in ‘Farmscoper’; farm-level estimates of nitrate, phosphorus and sediment loadings and ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions were generated using the Farmscoper model. Nitrate losses to water, ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions were positively correlated with food energy production per unit area for both farm types; phosphorus loading was also correlated with food energy on the dairy farms. Environmental efficiency indicators, as measured by either total food energy or financial output per unit of negative environmental effect, were calculated; greenhouse gas emission efficiency (using either measure of agricultural output) and nitrate loading efficiency (using financial output) were positively correlated with profitability on cereal farms. No other environmental efficiency measures were significantly associated with farm profitability and none were significant on the dairy farms. These findings suggest that an improvement in economic performance can also improve environmental efficiency, but that this depends on the farm type and negative environmental externality in question. In a wider context, the augmentation of FBS-type data to generate additional environmental indicators can provide useful insights into ongoing research and policy issues around sustainable agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is very likely that electronic means of data collection will become a standard for socio-economic surveys in the near future. As surveys move from paper form to personal digital assistants (PDAs) or tablets, there is a need to evaluate if such a shift will affect the quality of the data. To explore the potential biases that data collection through PDAs may generate, we use the third wave of Young Lives-Peru to randomly assign survey respondents between PDA-based questionnaires and paper-based questionnaires. The study shows that data collected through PDAs has a higher level of agreement when compared to paper-based responses. However, there are a number of situations where paper-based questionnaires do not easily translate to PDA-based questionnaires. In addition, the study highlights the need to improve training as different surveyor’s characteristics (age, gender, education, etc.) may also be correlated with some observed differences between PDA and paper-based questionnaires. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose Using the 2010 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey data, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the contributing factors of entrepreneurial propensity among males and females in Ghana.Design/methodology/approach Using a measure of entrepreneurial propensity that takes into account individuals who are involved in starting a new business (nascent entrepreneurs) as a dependent variable and socio-demographic characteristics, and perceptual variables as explanatory variables, the study adopts robust empirical estimation techniques to examine how these variables influence the probability of starting a new business among men and women in Ghana.Findings The probability of being a male nascent entrepreneur is significantly dependent upon a wide range of factors including demographic, economic, perceptual and contextual elements, albeit with important variations across gender. An individuals’ subjective assessment of fear of failure in starting a business and of having the requisite entrepreneurial capabilities; the age of the individual; gender of the individual; work status and contextual factors matters for entrepreneurial propensity in Ghana. However, important differences exist in the drivers of entrepreneurial propensity for males and females with females’ entrepreneurship attributed largely to conditions of necessity relative to their male counterparts.Originality/value The main value of this paper is to use the GEM survey (which is nationally representative) for Ghana to analyze the contributing factors of the entrepreneurial propensity among men and women in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section offers news briefs of interest to members of the Missouri Bar as of January 1, 2022. The bar association has released the 2021 version of its "Economic Survey." Members can sign up for a no-cost standard membership with Affinity Insight. A calendar of events of interest to lawyers is presented which include a webinar on preparing demonstrative evidence.

Justice Brennan's exhortation-now forty years old-for lawyers and judges to rediscover protections for individual rights in state constitutions was a timely reminder of the importance of state constitutions in our system of federalism. Justice Brennan issued this call at a time when he believed the U.S. Supreme Court was retreating from the protection of individual rights under the U.S. Constitution. It is doubtful that Justice Brennan meant to include economic liberty-the right to earn a living free from oppressive government regulation-in his "new federalism." But economic liberty is a nearly textbook example of an individual right that the U.S. Supreme Court had once vigorously protected but had retreated from by the late 1970s. The pattern of meaningful protection for economic liberty fading into nonprotection was repeated at the Arizona Supreme Court. The change in Arizona jurisprudence, however, happened at a different time than in the federal courts and has never been adequately explored or explained-either by the courts or commenters. Neither have the "early" Arizona economic liberty cases-which actually span the decades between the 1920s and 1970s-been given credit for their consistency and sophisticated understanding of the police power, individual rights, and the threat of government-created monopoly. A comprehensive survey of these early cases demonstrates a tradition under the Arizona Constitution of providing more meaningful judicial protection for economic liberty than under the U.S. Constitution. This tradition was seemingly abandoned as the Arizona Supreme Court embraced-without explanation-a "lockstep"approach to economic liberty by adopting federal jurisprudence to interpret the relevant provisions of the Arizona Constitution. But this lockstep approach cannot be squared with the original cases, ignores unique aspects of the Arizona Constitution, and leads to incorrect results. As other states have begun to explore the greater protections for economic liberty in their constitutions, Arizona courts need to rediscover the same in our Constitution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the Longitudinal Annual Survey of Manufacturers for Canada, this paper aims to better understand the productivity dynamics of entrants and exits as well as the factors associated with their productivity performance. It shows that entrants and exits are lower in labour productivity relative to continuing plants partly because they are smaller in size, less capital intensive, and less associated with exporting, being foreign-controlled and belonging to multi-plant firm structure. It also finds that after controlling for those factors, surviving entrants are less productive when they enter and that they improve their productivity over time to become as productive as continuing plants by around year five after entry. Exits, on the other hand, are found to be less productive than continuing plants after controlling for those factors, and the gap becomes larger as they get closer to exit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper is designed to estimate the income inequality of rural region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province, Pakistan. This study utilized cross sectional data of House Hold Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) collected by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics to obtain the income and expenditure level of sampled House Hold. The HIES data set of year 2011-12 for KP Province was comprised of the total of 1352 sampled House Hold. However, the sampled rural House Hold was 926. The statistical framework comprised of Lorenz curve and Gini Coefficient to gauge the income inequality in the study area. To assess the income inequality both income and expenditure approaches are employed to construct the Lorenz Curve and Gini Coefficient values. The major finding of this study divulge that the Gini Coefficient value through income approach of rural region of KP province is 0.35 which illustrates that there is 35% of income inequality in rural region of KP. While, the Gini Coefficient value through expenditure approach was observed as 0.30. These results confirm the expected statistical discrepancies between income and expenditure approach. The results were further elaborated through deciles under both income and expenditure approaches. The lower poorest category estimated through deciles contributes 2.78% to the overall rural region's income. However, the upper richest category shares 30.06% to the aforementioned income. The deciles measured through expenditure approach revealed that the lower poorest category and upper richest category contributes 3.13 and 25.59, respectively. The study concludes that the contribution of poorest category is pretty less in overall income and expenditure of KP Province. This study recommends that the Government of KP province may provide more employment opportunities to the poorest category of KP so that their contribution to overall income and expenditure can be escalated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We estimate the relative importance of ethnicity and individual characteristics, such as personality and cognitive skills, in determining social connections by using survey data on seven-year-old children from multi-ethnic schools (N = 453). We find that friendships are based mainly on common play, and are independent of the need to find help for school activity and homework. Friendship networks among children arise on the basis of their sex, but also according to affinity of personality and cognitive skills, as much as on ethnic background. These findings are worth considering when multiculturalism is chosen as the foundation of the immigration policies. Rather than emphasizing what makes the individuals in an ethnic group different, a farsighted policy could try to point to the elective affinity among individuals. However, since differences in individual characteristics may be systematically associated with ethnic background, this finding may point to a lasting reason for a lack of cohesion in multiethnic societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We chart the moral space of Earth measurement with the aim to develop practical tools to evaluate and improve Earth measurement frameworks (including environmental-economic accounting and ecosystem services). Based on a survey of environmental ethics, we develop four concepts that are fundamentally important to fostering agreement in debates over Earth measurement frameworks among stakeholders with diverging belief systems. The four concepts can thus be used as criteria to evaluate the completeness and defensibility of existing measurement frameworks. The first two concepts, the consideration of broad human values and long time frames follow the landmark work by Bryan Norton. We further propose the adoption of the capital approach and precaution as the third and fourth concept, respectively. We conclude with suggestions for how current frameworks could be rendered more complete, defensible and internationally acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across a range of disciplines and issues, experimentalism has emerged as a prominent approach for addressing environmental problems. Yet the meaning of “experiment” varies markedly across these domains. We survey the diversity of experimentation, identifying three distinct experimental logics—controlled, Darwinian, and generative. Building on Pragmatist philosophy, we argue that each of these logics has different strengths and weaknesses, but taken together they offer a valuable experimentalist approach to environmental problem-solving. However, from a transdisciplinary perspective, it is important to recognize the different values, purposes, and stances toward knowledge that they entail. Controlled experiments primarily aim to isolate causality, while Darwinian experimentation endeavors to enhance systemic innovation and generative experimentation seeks to generate new solution concepts. Appreciating these differences allows us to be more reflexive about an experimentalist agenda, illuminating the appropriate role of these logics and suggesting possibilities for fruitfully combining them. To advance this reflexive agenda, we also distinguish between epistemic and political learning and argue that experimental approaches to environmental problem-solving may benefit from being more sensitive to this distinction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the Micro-Economic Platform Programme, we are transforming how micro-economic surveys are processed at Statistics New Zealand. This is part of our organisation-wide business transformation programme, Statistics 2020 Te Kāpehu Whetū (Stats 2020), which aims to increase our relevance to government and public data users, and reduce the cost of producing statistical outputs. I report on insights into this programme and outline what the platform team has learned during the projects included in the Micro-Economic Platform. In particular, I report on the challenges involved in using standard methods and tools, increasing the level of automation in the system, introducing survey teams to the platform, and collaborating to achieve the migration of each survey to the platform. I also discuss what we learned from these challenges as part of achieving Statistics New Zealand's statistical system of the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of selective editing is to identify observations affected by influential errors. A score function based on the impact of the potential error on target estimates is useful to prioritize observations for accurate reviewing. We assume a Gaussian model for true data and an 'intermittent' error mechanism such that a proportion of data is contaminated by an additive Gaussian error. In this setting, scores can be related to the expected value of errors affecting data. Consequently, a set of units can be selected such that the expected residual error in data is below a prefixed threshold. In the context of economic surveys when positive variables are analyzed, the method is more realistically applied to logarithms of data instead of data in their original scale. The method is illustrated through an experimental study on real business survey data where contamination is simulated according to error mechanisms frequently encountered in the practical context of economic surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we investigate the trend and pattern of nutritional status of women and children in North East India and explore the factors that perhaps explain the same. The analysis is based on secondary data available from various rounds of NFHS survey, Economic survey of India and other supporting secondary literature portrait the dichotomy between growth and development through the lenses of nutritional parameter. Apparently different NER states have flared differently in nutritional parameter and thereby urge to have states specific approach in identifying and targeting factors contribute the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using self-determination theory (SDT; Deci and Ryan ), we conducted a cross-sectional survey to test the relationship among competence, intrinsic motivation, job satisfaction, and intention to continue volunteering. A total of 180 Special Olympics volunteers from China participated in this study. The results showed that competence positively predicted intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction. Intrinsic motivation was a partial mediator for the relationship between competence and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction positively influenced intention and it acted as a full mediator in the relationship between intrinsic motivation and intention. It was concluded that SDT is a useful theoretical framework in understanding intention to continue volunteering. Theoretical and practical implications are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accountability to political principals, stakeholders and citizens is a major issue in the literature on structurally disaggregated autonomous agencies. There are numerous accounts in the literature which claim that the need for independence of agencies reduces the ability of political principals to hold it and its leadership accountable for actions. However, next to traditional vertical accountability instruments (e.g., monitoring and evaluation of the organization or senior management), 'alternatives' such as horizontal ways of holding agencies accountable exist. Using multi-country survey data, this article explores how managerial autonomy affects the existence and use of such accountability mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Grounded in an emergent recognition that those people in formal employment conduct the vast majority of work in the shadow economy, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate for the first time the degree to which shadow work is conducted by those in formal jobs and the characteristics of those in formal employment who participate in the shadow economy. Design/methodology/approach – To do this, the authors report a 2007 survey of participation in the shadow economy involving 26,659 face-to-face interviews conducted in 27 European Union (EU) member states. Findings – The finding is that in the EU, the formally employed undertake a disproportionate share of work in the shadow economy. Analysing the characteristics of the employed most likely to work in the shadow economy, however, it is those who benefit least from the formal economy, namely, younger unmarried men and on lower incomes living in rural areas, working in the construction sector and in small firms. Research limitations/implications – The outcome is a tentative call for recognition that although people in formal employment conduct the vast majority of work in the shadow economy, these are mostly particular vulnerable and weaker groups of the formally employed. Whether similar findings prevail at other spatial scales and in other global regions now needs investigating. Practical implications – This survey displays the need for policy not to target the unemployed but particular groups of the formally employed. Originality/value – The first extensive evaluation of the extent to which shadow work is conducted by those in formal jobs and the characteristics of those in formal employment who participate in the shadow economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of studies on taxpayer interaction, from large-scale surveys to field experiments, reveal that people's tax compliance attitudes and behavior change after they discuss tax with other taxpayers. However, we know very little about the content of these communications and the processes by which they produce changes in tax compliance. To address this knowledge gap, we employed an in-depth analysis of naturally-occurring online discussions about income tax among software developers. Using a discourse analytic framework, we report an empirical analysis of 120 online interactions between taxpayers, providing a categorization of these interactions. Interactions ranged from asking for information about tax regulations and receiving such information, to a variety of interactions aimed at persuading defiant individuals to comply with tax laws. These persuasion techniques varied from stating the benefits of compliance, to threats of severe economic and reputational consequences. Overall, this study is the first in-depth empirical investigation of social influence processes in taxpayer communication. We discuss how the results inform research into social norms and tax compliance, tax communication in social networks, and persuasive messaging in tax compliance campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a survey of US capacity market experts with the purpose of drawing lessons for the EU. Of the respondents, 41% advised EU member states against implementing capacity markets, while the remaining were neutral or provided suggestions for improving capacity markets. Cross-border effects are currently not a concern but may become so in the future. Imports may dampen prices in a capacity market, but neighbouring markets may also experience pressure to implement a capacity market. The capacity markets in the USA were believed to have achieved their goals with respect to reliability, but in an economically inefficient manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National System of Innovation (NSI) is an important construct in South Africa's policy discourse as illustrated in key national planning initiatives, such as the National Development Plan. The country's capacity to innovate is linked to the prospects for industrial development leading to social and economic growth. Proper measurement of innovation activity is therefore crucial for policymaking. In this study, a constructive analytical critique of the innovation surveys that are conducted in South Africa is presented, the case for broadening current perspectives of innovation in the national policy discourse is reinforced, the significance of a broad perspective of innovation is demonstrated and new metrics for use in the measurement of the performance of the NSI are proposed. Current NSI survey instruments lack definition of non-technological innovation. They emphasise inputs rather than outputs, lack regional and sectoral analyses, give limited attention to innovation diffusion and are susceptible to respondent interpretation. Furthermore, there are gaps regarding the wider conditions of innovation and system linkages and learning. In order to obtain a comprehensive assessment of innovation in South Africa, there is a need to sharpen the metrics for measuring non-technological innovation and to define, account for and accurately measure the 'hidden' innovations that drive the realisation of value in management, the arts, public service and society in general. The new proposed indicators, which are mostly focused on innovation outputs, can be used as a basis for plugging the gaps identified in the existing surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five months after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Statistics without Borders conducted a nationally representative sample survey to examine economic impact using a random digit dial sample of mobile phone numbers. We analyzed the anonymized survey data and the questionnaire that they made available for public use. Radical changes in household members occurred among post-earthquake Haitian households. Similar changes of household members that are caused by natural disasters have been associated with long-term psychological well-being in the literature. The survey also provides a rare look at gender discrepancy in employment retention following a natural disaster from a nationally representative survey. While the overall employment rate was down by 50% five months after the earthquake, our findings indicate that households with female heads are at a significantly greater risk of losing employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there has been much discussion in the literature about the impacts of farmland loss (due to urbanization) on household livelihoods, no econometric evidence of these effects has been provided thus far. This paper, hence, is the first to quantify the effects of farmland loss on household livelihood outcomes in peri-urban areas of Hanoi, Vietnam. Our study found no econometric evidence for negative effects of farmland loss on either income or expenditure per adult equivalent. In addition, the results show that farmland loss has an indirect positive impact on household welfare, via its positive impact on the choice of nonfarm-based livelihoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Response rates, data quality and data confidentiality were identified as the critical success factors in Malaysia's short-term economic survey. According to the facts, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) has outlined a few initiatives in its strategic plan (2011–2015) and transformation plan (2016–2020) over the past ten years to improve and modernise data collection, processing and dissemination methods. This paper presents the practices of two DOSM short-term economic surveys i.e the monthly manufacturing survey (MM) and the quarterly construction survey (QCS) to raise the response rate, enhance data quality and manage data confidentiality by e-survey. The factors influences the participation of the MM and QCS e-survey are discussed. This empirical study shows that the response rates of the both short-term surveys have improved through the e-survey. Comparison of data received by various survey modes also indicated that the e-survey provides the best prospects for reducing non-sampling error and protecting data against unintentional disclosure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The IMPACT survey aimed to elucidate the humanistic, clinical and economic burden of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) on individuals with OI, their families, caregivers and wider society. Research methodology, demographics and initial insights from the survey have been previously reported. The cost of illness (healthcare resource use, productivity loss, out-of-pocket spending) and drivers of the economic impact of OI are reported here. Methods: IMPACT was an international mixed-methods online survey in eight languages (fielded July–September 2021) targeting adults (aged ≥ 18 years) or adolescents (aged ≥ 12–17 years) with OI, caregivers with or without OI and other close relatives. Survey domains included demographics, socioeconomic factors, clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, quality of life and health economics. The health economic domain for adults, which included questions on healthcare resource use, productivity loss and out-of-pocket spending, was summarised. Regression and pairwise analyses were conducted to identify independent drivers and associations with respondent characteristics. Results: Overall, 1,440 adults with OI responded to the survey. Respondents were mostly female (70%) and from Europe (63%) with a median age of 43 years. Within a 12-month period, adults with OI reported visiting a wide range of healthcare professionals. Two-thirds (66%) of adults visited a hospital, and one-third (33%) visited the emergency department. The mean total number of diagnostic tests undergone by adults within these 12 months was 8.0. Adults had undergone a mean total of 11.8 surgeries up to the time point of the survey. The proportions of adults using queried consumables or services over 12 months ranged from 18–82%, depending on the type of consumable or service. Most adults (58%) were in paid employment, of which nearly one-third (29%) reported missing a workday. Of the queried expenses, the mean total out-of-pocket spending in 4 weeks was €191. Respondent characteristics such as female sex, more severe self-reported OI and the experience of fractures were often associated with increased economic burden. Conclusion: IMPACT provides novel insights into the substantial cost of illness associated with OI on individuals, healthcare systems and society at large. Future analyses will provide insights into country-specific economic impact, humanistic impact and the healthcare journey of individuals with OI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analysed gender disparities in Pakistan focusing on access to primary education and women's education in light of National Education policies from 1947 to 2017 to achieve universal primary education. This study aimed to trace the evolution of National Education policies (1947–2017) in the attainment of universal primary education and gender disparities in Primary education in Pakistan. A qualitative document analysis technique was employed to extract relevant data related to policy objectives, strategies, and targets of primary education, gender disparities, and women's education. The quantitative data was extracted from the Pakistan Economic Survey 2022–2023, Pakistan Education Statistics 2020–2021, and all National Census 1951, 1961, 1972, 1981, 1998, and 2017. The study found that education policies highlighted the importance of primary education but did not dedicate larger sections to women's education in the first 40 years. The recent education policies addressed the importance of women's education for achieving gender parity. These findings, which stem from a review of national education policies' documents, are in line with the findings drawn from the quantitative data extracted from authoritative reports which stated that significant gender disparities existed in the numbers of primary schools, access to primary education, and students' enrolments throughout the history of Pakistan. The study also found significant gender disparities in the number of primary schools per 100,000 children, with male students comparatively attending schools more than female students. The study found consistent gender disparities in primary education enrolment in Pakistan with notable progress in recent years but have not been able to eliminate these disparities. Gender disparity is evident in literacy rate, gross enrolment rate (GER), and net enrolment rate (NER). The study recommended that the revision of existing policies and formulation of new education policies should be based on comprehensive documentation on women's education and its impact on the economy, literacy rate, and universal primary education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the use of economic surveys to combat economic inequality in the U.S. and how it influenced the New Deal policy. Labor activists and union leaders campaigned for higher wages, claiming they were necessary to meet American standards of living in a consumption-based economy. The national survey the Study of Consumer Purchases was intended to aid in implementing the New Deal but found more use by advertisers. Economists proposed projects to research consumer behavior but were hindered by budget limitations. Increasing wages to strengthen consuming power was promoted as a solution to the Great Depression.

This paper discusses several key issues regarding the current European economic and financial Great Crisis, which essentially is a twin sovereign debt and banking crisis. The shift of the recent world financial crisis into a European sovereign debt crisis is tackled by analyzing how via the banking system the financial contagion was extended from the US to Europe. The explanation focuses on the imbalances of European Monetary Union (EMU) countries balance-of-payments. The European crisis has shown that it can spread quickly among closely integrated economies, either through the trade channel or the financial channel, or both. In this context, TARGET2 payment system of EMU countries became crucial, reflecting funding stress in the banking systems of crisis-hit European countries. The paper concludes that, in the medium term, a successful crisis resolution requires more political integration, which should include a fiscal union and a banking union. However, in the short run, a prompt recovery is essential to get out of trouble, and this requires that surplus countries (particularly Germany) expand aggregate demand and let domestic wages and the ensuing inflation rate increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although interviewer observations have potential as auxiliary sources of information on key survey variables, questions about their quality temper enthusiasm for their use in survey estimation and responsive survey design. This study considers the utility of two interviewer observations (household income and household receipt of unemployment benefits) collected in a panel survey: the German Labor Market and Social Security (PASS) study. We find that the ability of the interviewer observations to accurately identify these household features is not as high as that of prior-wave survey reports on these features, but the observations do tend to capture accurate information for households with changing socioeconomic status over time (where prior-wave reports may be inconsistent with current-wave reports). The observations add modest predictive power to models for key survey variables that also include survey reports on related variables in prior waves, but this predictive power may be limited by relatively high error rates and variance in observation quality among interviewers. Finally, estimates based on panel households only improve slightly when including the observations in nonresponse adjustments, which is likely due to the inability of the observations to predict response propensity (given a relatively low attrition rate for the panel households). Implications for practice and directions for future research in this area are discussed in conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]