Walking the Dog: The Effect of Pet Ownership on Human Health and Health Behaviors

This analysis explores whether pet owners have better physical health outcomes, and if so, whether the positive physical health benefits are explained by better health behaviors that result from having to take care of the pet’s physical needs. Data come from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a representative sample of the non-institutionalized United States population. Analyses were limited to persons living alone (n = 2,474) in order to isolate primary pet caretakers from those merely living in a pet household. Results showed that pet owners, particularly dog and cat owners, had more positive physical health outcomes when compared to non pet owners or those owning other types of pets. Surprisingly, the effect of pet ownership was not mediated by health behaviors such as recreational walking. However, the health benefits of pet ownership were largely reduced once sociodemographic variables such as age, socioeconomic status, and residential location were controlled. The positive health effects of pet ownership appear to be primarily the result of selection, not increased physical activity associated with the active caretaking of pets.     

Pets and Human Health in Germany and Australia: National Longitudinal Results

The German and Australian longitudinal surveys analysed here are the first national representative surveys to show that (1) people who continuously own a pet are the healthiest group and (2) people who cease to have a pet or never had one are less healthy. Most previous studies which have claimed that pets confer health benefits were cross-sectional. So they were open to the objection that owners may have been healthier in the first place, rather than becoming healthier due to owning a pet. In both countries the data show that pet owners make about 15% fewer annual doctor visits than non-owners. The relationship remains statistically significant after controlling for gender, age, marital status, income and other variables associated with health. The German data come from the German Socio-Economic Panel in which respondents have been interviewed every year since 1984 (N  = 9723). Australian data come from the Australian National Social Science Survey 2001 (N  = 1246).     

政府支出对医疗服务健康公平影响的比较和启示

医疗服务公平和人民的健康是各国卫生系统向其国家居民提供医疗服务所应实现的两个重要目标。但以英美日为例的发达国家根据世界卫生统计年鉴中的医疗服务公平性排名确有明显差距,因此,高收入和高政府医疗卫生支出与医疗卫生服务公平和健康公平性并没有必然关系。本文通过比较分析美日英国的政府间医疗卫生支出责任划分的结构发现高政府医疗卫生支出比例是提高医疗服务筹资公平性的前提,中央承担社会医疗保险责任是实现医疗服务筹资公平性的保证,政府特别是中央政府出资的长期护理有助于提高国民健康水平,地方政府的参与更有助于提高一国医疗系统机构数量特别是医院的数量。     

Light Rail Transit in Hamilton: Health, Environmental and Economic Impact Analysis

Hamilton??s historical roots as an electric, industrial and transportation-oriented city provide it with a high potential for rapid transit, especially when combined with its growing population, developing economy, redeveloping downtown core and its plans for sustainable growth. This paper explores the health, environmental, social and economic impacts of light rail transit, a component of the City of Hamilton??s rapid transit initiative. It performs a comparative analysis with other major North American cities that have successfully implemented this form of mass transit. The analysis concentrates on three main areas: urban development and land values, health and environmental impact and socio-economic factors. The results of the research on light rail transit (LRT) and its possible benefits indicate overwhelming support for the economic, health, environmental and social benefits of LRT, especially when compared to other forms of transit, including rapid bus and local transit schemes. According to the results, LRT in a medium sized, growing city such as Hamilton should be considered a viable and desirable transit option; a catalyst for transit oriented, high density, mixed use development; an economically sound investment opportunity, providing a return on investment to property owners, businesses and the municipality; and a catalyst for social change, improving the health, environment and connectivity of the community.     

About Cats and Dogs … Reconsidering the Relationship Between Pet Ownership and Health Related Outcomes in Community-Dwelling Elderly

Having a pet has been claimed to have beneficial health effects, but methodologically sound empirical studies are scarce. Small sample sizes and a lack of information about the specific type of pets involved make it difficult to draw unambiguous conclusions. We aimed to shed light on the relationship between pet ownership and several health related outcomes by conducting a survey among a large national sample of community-dwelling elderly in The Netherlands, all suffering from chronic illness or disability. We distinguished several types of pets, focusing on cats and dogs. Pet ownership was associated with a greater chance of using ambulatory mental healthcare, whereas it was not related to self-reported general or mental health. Considering possible mechanisms, associations between pet ownership and the frequency of social contacts or feelings of loneliness were not found. Having a dog increased the likelihood of being healthy active, whereas having a cat showed the opposite. Future research should pay more attention to pet related characteristics, in addition to characteristics of the human sample.     

我国城市贫困家庭的灾难性卫生支出研究

本文用社会分层、社会风险理论探讨了灾难性卫生支出新的测量方法,通过对四城市800户属于当地贫困人口医疗救助制度救助对象的家庭进行问卷调查,了解他们的医药费用负担情况,从中发现卫生支出加深了调研家庭的贫困程度。多元回归表明影响灾难性卫生支出发生的因素有医疗保障、家庭收入、人口、家庭健康状况及是否有成员住院。在调研结果的基础上,对如何通过完善医疗救助减少灾难性卫生支出提出了政策建议。     

The impact of family policy expenditure on fertility in western Europe

This article analyzes the impact on fertility of changes in national expenditure for family allowances, maternity- and parental-leave benefits, and childcare subsidies. To do so, I estimate a model for the timing of births using individual-level data from 16 western European countries, supplemented with data on national social expenditure for different family policy programs. The latter allow approximation of the subsidies that households with children receive from such programs. The results show that increased expenditure on family policy programs that help women to combine family and employment-and thus reduce the opportunity cost of children—generates positive fertility responses.     

老龄化对储蓄和社会养老保障的影响研究

本文从一个两期的世代交叠模型入手,分析了人口老龄化对储蓄和社会养老保障支出的影响。在此基础上运用动态GMM模型对我国2000～2008年地区面板数据进行实证分析。研究结果表明:第一,人均居民储蓄滞后项对基期储蓄的影响作用较大且高度显著;当期老年人口抚养比对人均居民储蓄的影响为负,上期老年人口抚养比对居民储蓄并没有显著影响。第二,人均养老保障支出滞后项对当期人均养老保障支出影响作用较大且高度显著;当期老年人口抚养比对人均养老保障支出有促进作用,而上期老年人口抚养比抑制了人均养老保障支出的增加。     

我国老年人健康自评影响因素分析

健康自评是研究对象对自身健康的主观感受,是调查中经常运用的变量。健康自评能够反映健康状态的主观和客观两个方面,因此健康自评可以作为评价老年人健康状况的一个重要指标。采用2002年全国老年调查数据,做不同老年人群体的健康自评的差异性分析并进一步探究影响因素。旨在回答我国老年人健康自评的影响因素,对老年人自身和政策制定者提供参考依据。健康的生活方式对健康自评有积极的影响,身体的健康和健康自评有很强的相关性,老年人的社会人口学特征对健康自评影响十分有限。     

社会医疗保险中的道德风险与费用控制

有效地规避道德风险、控制医疗费用以满足国民的基本医疗需求,是一个难度甚大的课题。本文分析了社会医疗保险、道德风险与医疗费用不合理增长三者之间的关系,认为社会医疗保险制度的特殊性决定了道德风险具有巨大的活动空间,道德风险的肆虐又直接导致了医疗费用的不合理增长甚至失控;而防范道德风险、控制医疗费用,则需要从宏观和微观两个层面构建相应的制度约束机制。     

中老年家庭灾难性医疗支出的测度及影响因素 ——基于CHARLS数据的实证

基于2011-2015年三期平衡面板数据,对中老年家庭的灾难性医疗支出进行测度并分析其影响因素。研究发现:我国中老年家庭灾难性医疗支出发生率在考察期内进一步扩大,差距也进一步上升。以家庭可支付能力的40%为灾难性医疗支出的界定标准,则在2015年其发生率依然高达25.4%,平均差距为0.069,相对差距为0.272。引入安德森医疗服务利用模型对影响因素进行分析,结果显示家中有住院、门诊及残障人员更容易发生灾难性医疗支出,经济状况对灾难性性医疗支出发生起着显著作用,总体而言灾难性医疗支出具有"亲贫"效应,越是贫困的家庭越容易发生灾难性医疗支出。据此,文章提出应该采取分类管理的措施,通过发放免费医疗服务券、强化医疗费用控制等政策建议来切实降低灾难性医疗支出的发生。     

我国老年人健康自评的差异性分析——基于2002年和2005年全国老年跟踪调查数据

健康自评能反映健康状态的主观和客观的两个方面,是评价老年人健康状况的一个重要指标.本文旨在回答我国老年人健康自评的变化,从而为改善老年人的健康状况提供参考.采用2002年和2005年两次全国老年调查数据,对不同老年人群体的健康自评的差异性进行分析并进一步探究影响因素.     

Financing rural health services in Kenya

The paper analyzes household expenditure on medical care and the willingness to contribute towards service improvements at government health facilities. The analysis is based on survey data from two rural districts in Kenya situated approximately four hundred miles apart. The main finding is that medical care expenditure rises as household income increases, but the probability of willingness to pay fees for service improvement at government clinics declines with income. Income is an important determinant of the willingness to participate in a hypothetical government insurance scheme, with the probability of participation falling as income rises. These results should be interpreted with caution because of the potential for incorrect reporting of the willingness to pay for services that have an element of a social good. The policy implications of the results are briefly discussed.     

Restrictive rental practices and their impact on families

This article presents the results of a national survey about exclusionary rental policies concerning children. Based on a national sample of renters and the owners or managers of their rental units, the data document the nature, extent and magnitude of exclusionary policies, the attitudes of managers about renting to families with children, the attitudes of renters toward living near children, and the effects that these policies have had on American families. The study shows that exclusionary practices against children have increased in the past decade. The data suggest that exclusionary practices pose a real problem for many American families.     

Demography and cross-country differences in savings rates: a new approach and evidence

This paper includes both dependency thesis and pension motive for savings to explain the large differences in cross-country savings rates. The two demographic factors are incorporated into an overlapping generation model, and the steady-state savings rates for a sample of 109 countries are computed. Both demographic factors can explain up to 68% of the dispersion in the cross-country savings rates. Furthermore, if the expenditure burden is sufficiently high, fertility has a greater impact on cross-country savings rate differences than longevity does. This study also satisfactorily explains the large gap in savings rates between the high- and low-income countries.     

Life Satisfaction of Middle-Aged and Older Chinese: The Role of Health and Health Insurance

The Chinese government has launched a series of health reforms to establish universal health insurance coverage, particularly for vulnerable groups, including middle-aged and older adults. However, the current public health insurance system is highly fragmented, consisting of different programs with different levels of premiums and benefits. We analyse whether the universal health insurance system increases the life satisfaction of middle-aged and older Chinese people and to what extent the type of health insurance affects the life satisfaction of this group. Our study is based on data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative longitudinal survey of Chinese aged 45 and above, in 2011, 2013, and 2015. We find that the life satisfaction of middle-aged and older adults does not depend on having any health insurance coverage but varies with the type of health insurance coverage, controlling for potential confounding variables such as health status, occupation, hukou status, and other demographic variables. Individuals covered by the most generous program, the Government Medical Insurance, reported a higher life satisfaction. In comparison, individuals covered by the Urban Employee Medical Insurance, the Urban Resident Medical Insurance, and the New Rural Cooperative Scheme reported a lower life satisfaction by 0.155, 0.106, and 0.112 standard deviations, respectively. Our results suggest that establishing a more equitable health insurance system should be the next step in health reforms in China.

     

农民工参与城镇医疗保障的行为研究

文章利用农民工调查数据,研究了农民工参与城镇医疗保障的影响因素以及城镇医疗保障对农民工医疗支出决策和医疗费用的影响,考察城镇医疗保障制度是否解决了农民工的医疗保障问题。研究结果发现,自评健康状况很好和很不好的农民工都不愿意参与城镇医疗保障,城镇医疗保障既存在逆向选择,也没有有效分散农民工的医疗风险。农民工是否有医疗支出和医疗费用的多少主要取决于疾病严重程度,农民工参与城镇医疗保障对此没有显著性影响。因此,现行农民工城镇医疗保障制度还没有起到为农民工提供足够的医疗保障作用。     

Capability and Health Functioning in Ethiopian Households

From a recent Ethiopian representative household survey this paper empirically operationalizes concepts from the capability approach to shed light on the relationship between conversion factors, capability inputs and health functionings. The subjects of the study are women in partnership. The results suggest their health functionings are responsive to specific household bargaining power conversion factors and capability inputs. The paper also tests the extent to which women who take more decisions achieve better health functioning. The model offers evidence that decision-making and health functionings follow a complex pattern as women who took more decisions were not always better off. The conclusion of the paper is that health functioning may be improved by inducing changes to household decision-making patterns.     

健康状况和健康冲击对工作时间的影响

使用中国健康与养老追踪关于浙江和甘肃两省的预调查数据,估计居民健康存量状况和健康冲击对劳动工作时间的影响。研究采用三种健康状况指标:自评健康状况、四种常见慢性病和日常生活自理能力(ADL),其中自评健康状况还使用了15岁之前的健康状况做工具变量估计。基于Tob it模型的估计结果显示:只要健康状况不是太差,劳动者一般不会选择完全退出劳动力市场,健康状况较差的劳动者会适当减少工作时间。慢性病中,只有关节类的疾病对劳动时间的影响显著,其他疾病对劳动时间没有显著影响。日常生活自理能力强的人工作时间明显要长。健康冲击会显著减少劳动者的工作时间,进而减少收入。尽管男性和女性在工作小时上存在很大差异,但是估计结果显示健康存量状况和健康冲击对工作小时的影响不存在很大的性别差异。