O cerne dos programas de auxílio-alimentação no Brasil foi a necessidade de combater a desnutrição que acometia uma considerável parte da população brasileira. A desnutrição foi superada no país, que atualmente enfrenta um outro problema relacionado à alimentação, que é o crescente número de pessoas com sobrepeso e obesidade. As transformações nos padrões nutricionais e alimentares, influenciadas pelas mudanças sociais, econômicas e demográficas que ocorreram ao longo das últimas décadas, contribuíram com o aumento do número de casos de pessoas com excesso de peso e de doenças associadas. Trata-se de problemas de saúde pública que geram perdas econômicas e de bem-estar. Diante desse cenário e da escassa literatura que avaliou os efeitos dos programas de auxílio-alimentação ao longo dos anos, esta pesquisa buscou analisar os impactos desses programas nos índices antropométricos, especificamente no excesso de peso e na obesidade, e também no consumo de grupos de alimentos e componentes alimentares dos trabalhadores beneficiados. Para tanto, utilizou-se os dados da Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares 2008/2009 e o método Propensity Score Matching. Os resultados apontaram que receber auxílio-alimentação aumenta as chances de obesidade entre as mulheres e de sobrepeso entre os homens. A análise por estratos de renda evidenciou que as chances de excesso de peso e obesidade são maiores entre os homens mais pobres, do primeiro estrato, e de obesidade para as mulheres do segundo estrato. Em relação aos impactos nos grupos de alimentos, foi observado um aumento no consumo de alimentos pertencentes ao grupo de Frutas; Farinhas e massas, Bebidas e Preparações Mistas e uma redução no consumo de Grãos e Legumes, entre as mulheres beneficiárias. Já para os homens que recebem o benefício, foi observado aumento no consumo de alimentos dos grupos das Farinhas e massas, Óleos e gorduras, Bebidas, Pizzas e salgados e de Oleaginosas, em comparação aos não beneficiários. Os resultados referentes à ingestão de nutrientes revelaram que as beneficiárias consumiram mais: Energia, Proteína; Carboidrato, Colesterol; Cálcio; Magnésio, Fósforo; Ferro; Selênio; Retinol; Vitaminas: A, B1, B2, B3, Equivalente a B3, B6; B12 e Folato; Açúcar total e de adição. Já os homens beneficiários ingeriram maiores quantidades de: Energia; Carboidrato; Magnésio, Selênio, Vitaminas: B1, B3, B6, E e Folato; Ácidos graxos: poliinsaturados, poliinsaturado 18:2 e trans total; e Açúcar total e de adição. Conclui-se, portanto, que os programas de alimentação dos trabalhadores estão contribuindo, muitas vezes, com a piora da saúde dos assistidos, em especial os mais pobres. Em partes, os programas de auxílio-alimentação reduzem a qualidade alimentar dos beneficiários e beneficiárias, pois eles consomem maior quantidade de alimentos e de componentes alimentares nocivos ao equilíbrio nutricional, ao mesmo tempo que também ingerem mais nutrientes benéficos ao correto funcionamento do organismo. / Food assistance programs in Brazil used to have as its main goal the control of malnutrition that affected large part of the population. However, malnutrition is today much reduced in Brazil, and the country is facing another problem - the increasing of overweight and obese people. Changes in nutritional and food preferences, affected by social, economic and demographic evolution in the last decades, have been collaborating to increase the number of overweight people and related diseases in the population. These problems cause economic and welfare losses. Nevertheless, the literature still lacks deep studies in this topic. In this context, this research aims to analyse the impact of a food assistance program for employees in weight and obesity indices as well as in the consumption of food and nutrients by Brazilian workers. For that, we use the database from Brazilian Expenditure Survey 2008/09 and apply the Propensity Score Matching method. Our results show that be a participant of food assistance program increases the probability of obesity between women and of overweight among men. Our results point out that the probability to be overweight is greater for poor men and the probability to be obese is greater for both poor men and women. Regarding the impact on food consumption, the results evidence, for women, an increase in the consumption of fruits, flours and pastas, drinks and regional preparations and a reduction of grains and vegetables. For men, the results point out an increase in the consumption of flours and pastas; fat food, drinks; pizzas and oilseeds. About nutrients, women participants raise their consumption of energy, carbohydrate, proteins, cholesterol, calcium, phosphor, iron, selenium, magnesium, retinol, total and additional sugar, folate and vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, and B3 equivalent. On the other hand, men participants increase their consumption of energy, carbohydrate, selenium, magnesium, total and additional sugar, vitamins B1, B3, B6, E and folate; and fatty acids: polyunsaturated, polyunsaturated 18: 2 and trans fats total. In summary, our results support the conclusion that this Brazilian food assistance program has contributed, in many cases, to deteriorate their participants health, specially the poor\'s, and the main channel for that is the reduction of the quality of consumption of food and nutrients by their participants. But the program also contributes to increase the consumption of some important nutrients.

A diversidade é uma característica central dos modos de vida rurais campesinos. As explicações para tal são principalmente duas. Por um lado, porque a diversificação de produtos e atividades pode promover ganhos econômicos e, por outro, porque reduz os riscos. A teoria de escolha racional prediz que unidades domésticas semiautárquicas buscariam maximizar uma função utilidade e, para isso, ao se integrarem ao mercado, tenderiam a se especializar nos produtos e nas atividades com maior retorno econômico. Contudo, em contextos de incerteza, como aqueles rurais remotos, estas unidades tenderiam a diversificar os produtos e as atividades de que dependem para tamponar eventuais flutuações no consumo e na renda. A esse respeito, resultados de estudos prévios que avaliaram o efeito da introdução de novas fontes de renda monetária sobre a diversidade de produtos e atividades baseados em recursos naturais que unidades domésticas rurais dependem são inconclusivos. Parte mostra que incrementos nas fontes de renda estão associados à redução na diversidade de atividades e produtos que as unidades domésticas dependem, enquanto outros indicam manutenção ou mesmo aumento da diversidade. Há, contudo, poucas evidências sobre os efeitos das transferências condicionadas de renda sobre o uso de recursos naturais por unidades domésticas rurais. Portanto, este estudo teve por objetivo investigar se as transferências de renda do Programa Bolsa Família (PBF) estavam associadas à diversidade de produtos e fontes de renda baseados em recursos naturais que os domicílios rurais do Vale do Ribeira dependem. Para isso, o estudo baseou-se em um survey por entrevistas presenciais aos chefes (homem ou mulher) de 123 domicílios rurais. Os domicílios foram amostrados em oito setores censitários com concentração de pobreza e variabilidade no nível de cobertura florestal. Para a análise dos dados, foram adotados procedimentos descritivos, testes não paramétricos de Wilcoxon e o método de Pareamento por Escore de Propensão. Os resultados indicaram que o PBF não teve efeitos significativos na diversidade de produtos agropecuários ou ambientais que os domicílios dependeram no último mês, ou no número de fontes de renda baseadas em recursos naturais. Possíveis explicações da ausência de efeitos passam por motivadores na base de tomada de decisão, limitações do delineamento adotado ou particularidades da localidade. A conclusão é que o PBF não afeta as decisões quanto à diversificação do uso de recursos naturais que dependem os domicílios rurais nos locais do estudo. / Diversity is a central feature of peasant rural livelihoods. The enlightenments for this are mainly two. On the one hand, the diversification of products and activities can promote economic improvements and, on the other hand, it can reduce risks. The theory of rational choice predicts that semi-autonomous domestic units would aim to maximize a utility function and, in order to do so, once market-integrated, would tend to specialize in the products and activities with the highest economic return. However, in contexts of uncertainty, such as in remote rural areas, these units would lean towards the diversification of products and activities they rely on, in order to overcome possible fluctuations in consumption and income. In this regard, results from previous studies that have evaluated the effect of introducing new sources of monetary income on the diversity of products and activities based on natural resources, which rural households depend on, are inconclusive. Part shows that increases in sources of income are associated with a reduction in the diversity of activities and products that households rely on, while others indicate maintenance or even an increase in diversity. There is, however, little evidence on the effects of conditional cash transfers on the usage of natural resources by rural households. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether income transfers from the Bolsa Família Program (PBF) were associated to the diversity of products and sources of income based on natural resources that rural households in the Ribeira Valley depend on. In order to do so, the study was based on a survey, applied by interviews held personally to family leaders (man or woman) of 123 rural households. Households were sampled within eight census tracts according to poverty concentration and variability at the level of forest cover. For the data analysis, were applied descriptive procedures, non-parametric Wilcoxon tests and the Method of Propensity Score. The results indicated that the PBF had no significant effect on the diversity of agricultural or environmental products that households relied on in the last month or on the number of natural resource-based sources of income. Possible explanations to this absence of effects go through motivators based on decision-making, limitations on the adopted proposal design, or particularities of the locality. The conclusion is that the PBF does not affect decisions regarding the diversification of the usage of natural resources that rural households at these study sites depend on.

No description available.

Objective: The study assesses the impact of dual enrollment participation on remediation and completion for traditional first time, full-time freshmen at a community college in Northeast Tennessee. Method: This study began with the full population of 1,232 students who enrolled between 2008 and 2012 at a community college in northeast Tennessee the fall semester after finishing high school. The population was required to have American College Testing (ACT) scores, completely fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), enroll full-time as a degree-seeking student, and complete the first fall semester. Propensity score matching was utilized to eliminate self-selection bias and enable parametric comparisons using optimal matching of dual enrollment participants and non-participants while controlling for a range of covariates. Results: The analyses showed that community college students who participated in dual enrollment were (a) 9% or nearly 3.4 times less likely to take remediation, (b) 26% or nearly 2.5 times more likely to graduate in 2 years, and (c) 28% or nearly 1.5 times more likely to graduate in 3 years. Contributions: This study contributes to the literature showing that dual enrollment reduces remediation rates and assists in timely completions for community college students. Policy recommendations are to increase equitable participation, normalize dual enrollment for students academically able to do college coursework, align state terminology with the nation, and improve data for future research.

Enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the U.S. is increasing, as are the numbers of students entering academically underprepared. Students in remedial mathematics represent the largest percentage of total enrollment in remedial courses, and national statistics indicate that less than half of these students pass all of the remedial math courses in which they enroll. In response to the low pass rates, numerous studies have been conducted into the use of alternative modes of instruction to increase passing rates. Despite myriad studies into course redesign, passing rates have seen no large-scale improvement. Lacking is a thorough investigation into preexisting differences between students who do and do not take remedial math. My study examined the effect of taking remedial math courses in college on degree attainment and college GPA using a subsample of the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002. This nonexperimental study examined preexisting differences between students who did and did not take remedial math. The study incorporated propensity score matching, a statistical analysis not commonly used in educational research, to create comparison groups of matched students using multiple covariate measures. Missing value analyses and multiple imputation procedures were also incorporated as methods for identifying and handling missing data. Analyses were conducted on both matched and unmatched groups, as well as on 12 multiply imputed data sets. Binary logistic regression analyses showed that preexisting differences between students on academic, nonacademic, and non-cognitive measures significantly predicted remedial math-taking in college. Binary logistic regression analyses also indicated that students who did not take remedial math courses in college were 1.5 times more likely to earn a degree than students who took remedial math. Linear regression analyses showed that taking remedial math had a significant negative effect on mean college GPA. Students who did not take remedial math had a higher mean GPA than students who did take remedial math. These results were consistent across unmatched groups, matched groups, and all 12 multiply imputed data sets.

<p>This thesis consists of a summary and four papers. The first two concerns health care and sickness absence, and the last two pharmaceutical costs and prices.</p><p>Paper [I] presents an economic federation model which resembles the situation in, for example, Sweden. In the model the state governments provide health care, the fed-eral government provides a sickness benefit and both levels tax labor income. The re-sults show that the states can have either an incentive to under- or over-provide health care. The federal government can, by introducing an intergovernmental transfer, in-duce the state governments to provide the socially optimal amount of health care.</p><p>In Paper [II] the effect of aggregated public health care expenditure on absence from work due to sickness or disability was estimated. The analysis was based on data from a panel of the Swedish municipalities for the period 1993-2004. Public health care expenditure was found to have no statistically significant effect on absence and the standard errors were small enough to rule out all but a minimal effect. The result held when separate estimations were conducted for women and men, and for absence due to sickness and disability.</p><p>The purpose of Paper [III] was to study the effects of the introduction of fixed pharmaceutical budgets for two health centers in Västerbotten, Sweden. Estimation results using propensity score matching methods show that there are no systematic differences for either price or quantity per prescription between health centers using fixed and open-ended budgets. The analysis was based on individual prescription data from the two health centers and a control group both before and after the introduction of fixed budgets.</p><p>In Paper [IV] the introduction of the Swedish substitution reform in October 2002 was used as a natural experiment to examine the effects of increased consumer infor-mation on pharmaceutical prices. Using monthly data on individual pharmaceutical prices, the average reduction of prices due to the reform was estimated to four percent for both brand name and generic pharmaceuticals during the first four years after the reform. The results also show that the price adjustment was not instant.</p>

In this thesis, we explore two different approaches to causal inferences. The traditional approach models the theoretical relationship between the outcome variables and their explanatory variables, i.e., the science, at the same time as the systematic differences between treated and control subjects are modeled, i.e., the assignment mechanism. The alternative approach, based on Rubin's Causal Model (RCM), makes it possible to model the science and the assignment mechanism separately in a two-step procedure. In the first step, no outcome variables are used when the assignment mechanism is modeled, the treated students are matched with similar control students using this mechanism, and the models for the science are determined. Outcome variables are only used in the second step when these pre-specified models for the science are fitted. In the first paper, we use the traditional approach to evaluate whether a husband is more prone to quit smoking when his wife quits smoking than he would have been had his wife not quit. We find evidence that this is the case, but that our analysis must rely on restrictive assumptions. In the subsequent two papers, we use the alternative RCM approach to evaluate if a Harvard freshman who does not smoke (observed potential outcome) is more prone to start smoking when he shares a suite with at least one smoker, than he would have been had he shared a suite with only smokers (missing potential outcomes). We do not find evidence that this is the case, and the small and insignificant treatment effect is robust against various assumptions that we make regarding covariate adjustments and missing potential outcomes. In contrast, we do find such evidence when we use the traditional approach previously used in the literature to evaluate peer effects relating to smoking, but the treatment effect is not robust against the assumptions that we make regarding covariate adjustments. These contrasting results in the two latter papers allow us to conclude that there are a number of advantages with the alternative RCM approach over the traditional approaches previously used to evaluate peer effects relating to smoking. Because the RCM does not use the outcome variables when the assignment mechanism is modeled, it can be re-fit repeatedly without biasing the models for the science. The assignment mechanism can then often be modeled to fit the data better and, because the models for the science can consequently better control for the assignment mechanism, they can be fit with less restrictive assumptions. Moreover, because the RCM models two distinct processes separately, the implications of the assumptions that are made on these processes become more transparent. Finally, the RCM can derive the two potential outcomes needed for drawing causal inferences explicitly, which enhances the transparency of the assumptions made with regard to the missing potential outcomes. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2006 S. 1-13: sammanfattning, s. [15]-161: 4 uppsatser

This thesis consists of a summary and four papers. The first two concerns health care and sickness absence, and the last two pharmaceutical costs and prices. Paper [I] presents an economic federation model which resembles the situation in, for example, Sweden. In the model the state governments provide health care, the fed-eral government provides a sickness benefit and both levels tax labor income. The re-sults show that the states can have either an incentive to under- or over-provide health care. The federal government can, by introducing an intergovernmental transfer, in-duce the state governments to provide the socially optimal amount of health care. In Paper [II] the effect of aggregated public health care expenditure on absence from work due to sickness or disability was estimated. The analysis was based on data from a panel of the Swedish municipalities for the period 1993-2004. Public health care expenditure was found to have no statistically significant effect on absence and the standard errors were small enough to rule out all but a minimal effect. The result held when separate estimations were conducted for women and men, and for absence due to sickness and disability. The purpose of Paper [III] was to study the effects of the introduction of fixed pharmaceutical budgets for two health centers in Västerbotten, Sweden. Estimation results using propensity score matching methods show that there are no systematic differences for either price or quantity per prescription between health centers using fixed and open-ended budgets. The analysis was based on individual prescription data from the two health centers and a control group both before and after the introduction of fixed budgets. In Paper [IV] the introduction of the Swedish substitution reform in October 2002 was used as a natural experiment to examine the effects of increased consumer infor-mation on pharmaceutical prices. Using monthly data on individual pharmaceutical prices, the average reduction of prices due to the reform was estimated to four percent for both brand name and generic pharmaceuticals during the first four years after the reform. The results also show that the price adjustment was not instant.

This thesis consists of an introductory part and four papers. Paper [I] estimates jointly the choice of whether to enroll in education and the choice of location among young people. Being a particularly mobile group, the location choices of young individuals shape much of the regional distribution of human capital, growth, and local public sector budgets. Applying Swedish register data on nest leavers, we seek to determine factors deciding the education and location choice of young people. The results indicate a systematic selection higher education based on school grades and preferences for locations with higher per capita tax bases and with lower shares of elderly people. The importance of family networks for the choice of location is confirmed.              Paper [II] examines how individual ability, reflected by the grade point average (GPA) from comprehensive school affects the probability of migration among university graduates. The econometric analysis applies detailed micro-data of two entire cohorts of young individuals retrieved from the Swedish population registers. The results indicate that individual abilities are strongly influential both concerning completion of a university degree and for the migration decision. In addition, we find a positive relationship between the GPA and migrating from regions with lower per capita tax bases and/or a relatively small share of highly educated individuals. Analogously, individuals with a high GPA tend to stay in more densely populated regions, suggesting a clustering of human capital vis-à-vis school grades.  Paper [III] estimates the relationship between migration across labour market regions and the subsequent changes in earnings by using the GPA from the final year of comprehensive school as a proxy for ability. This measure aims to capture heterogeneity in the returns to migration for individuals conditional on education attainment. Using Swedish register data on young adults, a difference-in-difference propensity score matching estimator is applied to estimate income differences measured up to seven years after migration. The results show variation between different ability groups regarding the returns to regional migration. There are indications of larger gains for individuals holding top grades, while the bottom half seems to benefit less, or face slightly negative effects. Paper [IV] examines whether power couple formation and the location choice of such couples are driven by factors already inherent in young people during their formative school years. The paper also extends the analysis by modeling location choice among different sizes of labor market areas, given different power statuses of the couples. Based on analysis of Swedish register data, we produce evidence that power spouses evolve from the population of high achieving school age individuals; the latter is identified by high academic performance during their years of compulsory school. Regarding location choice, the results indicate that power couples display a relatively high tendency to migrate from their regions of origin to large cities.

This paper analyzes how remittance receipts affect labor force participation and daily time allocation of individuals residing in remittance-receiving households of rural Pakistan. In particular, I use the first Time-Use Survey of Pakistan (2007) to assess how members of remittance-receiving households distribute time over market production and its complements, namely, home production, leisure consumption and educational investment. I employ the statistical technique of propensity score matching to find a comparison group for individuals residing in remittance-receiving households. My results indicate that impact of remittances on daily activity sets cannot be analogously identified across genders. Men residing in remittance-receiving households devote less time to market production and consume more leisure. Women, on the other hand, invest more time in home production while maintaining the same level of market production.