No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

While there is great concern about the potential impact of aging populations on health care systems in the developed world, evidence from recent decades has shown at best a weak relationship between population aging and health expenditures at the aggregate level. This thesis explores the literature that frames the relationship between age and health care utilization in the context of reduced mortality and shorter periods of morbidity at the end of life. We add to this literature with an empirical study of individual health expenditures of the British Columbia senior population in the years 1991-2001 in the categories of hospital services, continuing care, doctor billings, and pharmaceutical prescriptions. Expenditures for decedent and survivors of the same age are compared and are fitted to a model using age and time-to-death as explanatory factors. The partial derivative of the model with respect to age is analyzed for empirical estimates of the effect of age after controlling for time-to-death. Results show that decedent costs rose over the study period while costs for survivors fell, particularly in continuing care, so that the relative cost of dying increased. The effect of age, after controlling for time to death, was muted or negative for hospitals, doctors, and drugs, but strongly positive for continuing care and, as a result, for all services combined. Overall, these results suggest that age is not a ‘red herring’, as some researchers have suggested, with respect to forecasting future demands on health systems. While future reductions in mortality and morbidity could mitigate pressures on hospitals, aging populations will put increased pressure on long-term residential care and other forms of social care.

Background: Economic evaluations of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) have been limited to ≤18 months. A decision model was developed; quantifying the lifetime cost-of-illness (COI) of GAD. Methods: An incidence-based Markov-model was developed using TreeAge® software, reflecting 9 health-states (HS): physician-assessed patients (3HS), maintenance therapies(4HS), discontinuation(1HS) and death(1HS). Onset probability (ages 18-80) determined model entry. Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA) guidelines determined pharmaco-therapy, with revisions/validation by an expert panel. Response, remission based on pooled-analysis of CPA-cited evidence. Remaining clinical rates, absenteeism and hospitalization retrieved from literature. Direct (clinician, pharmacotherapy, hospitalization) and indirect costs (wage rate) retrieved from government publications. Results discounted at 5%. Results: The mean COI was 2008 Canadian $31,213(SD=$9,100)/patient; 96% attributed to absenteeism. Mean age=31years, discontinued treatment=85% by 2nd year, treatment discontinuation duration, 14(SD=9) years. CONCLUSION: GAD is a costly disease with a lifetime COI<$32k/patient; absenteeism exerts a significant impact. Limited prospective data contributes to uncertainty of estimate.

I conducted two studies to explore cultural differences between Chinese and European Canadians in considering opportunity cost while making purchase decisions. In Study 1, participants (121 Euro-Canadians and 119 Chinese) read a scenario in which they would decide whether to buy a single product (e.g., a backpack) or not. Participants were randomly assigned to either a condition in which opportunity cost information was made salient or a control condition in which opportunity cost was not mentioned. I found that participants in the opportunity cost salient condition displayed a higher level of opportunity cost consideration than did participants in the control condition. When individual differences in the habit of considering opportunity cost and spending habits were controlled for, Chinese participants’ purchase decisions revealed a higher degree of opportunity cost consideration than those of European Canadians. Chinese were also more likely to mention opportunity cost thoughts than did European Canadians while making the decision. In Study 2, participants chose one of two laptops to buy (one was cheaper but had less memory than the other). The results demonstrated that Chinese living in Canada displayed a higher degree of opportunity cost consideration by opting more often for the cheaper laptop, than did European Canadians. However, the culture main effect was confounded by cultural differences in family income. Study 2 also replicated the results of Study 1 that Chinese were also more likely to mention opportunity cost thoughts than European Canadians while making the decision. Although inconclusive, these results suggest that opportunity cost consideration varies, at least to some extent, across cultures. Implications of the current research for consumer behavior and directions for future research are discussed. / Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2013-08-01 15:22:09.816

Since the reform in the 1980s, the Chinese electric power industry has experienced rapid expansion in both capacity and outputs, which is surprising since the industry is still under a plan control. The shortage of supply is a common problem in a plan economy according to the conventional wisdom. But China provides very different experience that challenges the wisdom. Why? This thesis attempts to understand why the plan-controlled industry can achieve such rapid growth over a short period of time. The study pursues its investigation through exploring three issues: the price and cost structures, the pricing setting and the capacity expansion with reference to OECD experience. By comparing power prices of China with the West, we find that China has successfully kept its household prices as lower as its industrial prices, while the OECD economies are reverse, a lower power price for the industry but higher for the household users. The finding shows that the plan increases consumers‟ welfare more than the market does. With further investigation to the cost structure of Chinese power plants with reference to the UK experience, we find that the Chinese power producers have lower variable costs than the Western plants, but similar overheads costs. To further explain such finding, we studied a sample of 100 coal-fired power plants from 2003 to 2005 for their pricing behaviour. We find that the firms adopt a high cost strategy to bargain with the state for higher plan prices, because of the one-firm-with-one-plan-price policy. This causes a soft price constraint on costs, which inevitably protects high cost firms, driving up the total costs of the firm, and providing a lower incentive to the firm to improve their cost efficiency. The firms are planned by the state for their outputs. Will the state plan affect the capacity of power supply in favour? The study argues yes, because (1) entry is free and capacity investment is under firm‟s autonomy, (2) the firms are very responsive to capacity utilization and demand in choosing their capacity investment, and (3) the firms seek more profits through seeking more plan outputs that are linked with capacity. Therefore, the firms do not compete in prices but the capacity of power generation. These explain why the reformed plan system works in stimulating capacity growth.

Bonuses serve as a valuable tool in attracting and retaining Naval officers. This thesis analyzes the way officer bonuses are currently distributed in the Navy and provides recommended changes based on analysis of scholarly publications. Combining the information gained from current policies and research already conducted in the academic arena, the author proposes a workable bonus structure to meet the recruitment and retention goals while providing the Navy flexibility, quality personnel, and cost effectiveness. Combining auction theory and signaling theory into a new program has great potential to provide flexibility to the Navy, maintain the appropriate quantity and quality of officers, and provide cost savings to the Navy, while providing continued servicemember satisfaction. By offering bonus programs of different rates and time commitments, effectiveness and personnel quality can be increased by allowing officers to signal their intentions to the Navy. Auctions can be used to determine the appropriate monetary values to offer under each contract. By implementing an auction for bonus amounts, the Navy helps to ensure that bonuses will be competitive with the overall job market. This approach provides the Navy with a flexible, effective officer bonus program that is responsive to existing job market conditions. / US Navy (USN) author.

This thesis analyzed costs and benefits between the recruiting of active duty dentists and the proposed alternative of contracting them instead. Despite aggressive efforts to improve Dental Corps recruitment and retention, the annual loss rate has steadily increased. This has forced the Dental Corps into using alternative programs such as the Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) and the Financial Assistance Program (FAP) in addition to the accession programs already being funded. Also, there are various recruiting costs along with the accession bonus that costs the Navy over $90,000 per dentist recruited. The scope of this thesis included, but was not be limited to: (1) a review of the current structure of pay for active duty Endodontists by referencing Additional Special Pay (ASP), Variable Special Pay (VSP), Dental Officer Multiyear Retention Bonus (DOMRB) and the Board Certification Pay (BCP) that dentists receive while serving on active duty (2) and a summary of private sector pay and incentives for dentists in private practice. The thesis also analyzed the differences between the two with a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) model. The completed research found savings in cost for contracting already licensed and trained Endodontists in place of recruiting a general dentist and training them to become an Endodontist over the 10 year period as composed in the analysis. In addition, a steady-state model verified the CBA and showed savings in cost per year as well. Each model shows significant savings when contracting Endodontists in our shore based MTFs. Furthermore, to mitigate shortages, this research proposes to concentrate resources on military essential competencies and contracting workload for nonmilitary essential functions, such as Endodontists. Note that Endodontists were chosen because they are one of the larger nonessential specialties with billet inventories above the Operational Support Algorithm (OSA).

This research examines how the Targeted Separation Incentive Program, currently underway by the Navy, is being administered to bring about the voluntary separations of junior officers to meet the requirements of the Navyâ s most recent force reduction. This study evaluates the effects of past separation incentive programs as well as the current compensation package that the service-member may receive which is outlined in the Fiscal Year 2006 National Defense Authorization Act. In addition, an analysis was conducted of the costs associated with retaining the service-member versus the personal costs of that individual of leaving. The objective of this thesis is to evaluate the Department of the Navyâ s (DoN) Targeted Separation Incentive Program in order to see if this program can adequately meet the goals of the current force reduction and whether or not savings can be realized through alternative separation programs.