In this study, a panel data set of flights made by employees at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden is analyzed using generalized linear modeling approaches, with the aim to create a model with high predictive capability of the quarterly CO2 emission and the number of flights, for a year not included in the model estimation. A Zero-inflated Gamma regression model is fitted to the CO2 emission variable and a Zero-inflated Negative Binomial regression model is used for the number of flights. To build the models, cross-validation is performed with the observations from 2018 as the training set and the observations from the next year, 2019, as the test set. One at a time, the variable that best improves the prediction of the test set data (either as included in the count model or the zero-inflation model) is selected until an additional variable turns out insignificant on a 5% significance level in the estimated model. In addition to the variables in the data, three lags of the dependent variables (CO2 emission and flights) were included, as well as transformed versions of the continuous variables, and a random intercept each for the categorical variables indicating quarter and department at KTH, respectively. Neither model selected through the cross-validation process turned out to be particularly good at predicting the values for the upcoming year, but a number of variables were proven to have a statistically significant association with the respective dependent variable.

The determinants of health care use among rural, low-income mothers and their children were assessed using a multi-state, longitudinal data set, Rural Families Speak. The results indicate that rural mothers’ decisions regarding health care utilization for themselves and for their child can be best modeled using a simultaneous systems approach to negative binomial regression. Mothers’ visits to a health care provider increased with higher self-assessed depression scores, increased number of child’s doctor visits, greater numbers of total children in the household, greater numbers of chronic conditions, need for prenatal or post-partum care, development of a new medical condition, and having health insurance (Medicaid/equivalent and HMO/private). Child’s visits to a health care provider, on the other hand, increased with greater numbers of chronic conditions, development of a new medical condition, and increased mothers’ visits to a doctor. Child’s utilization of pediatric health care services decreased with higher levels of maternal depression, greater numbers of total children in the household, if the mother had HMO/private health care coverage, if the mother was pregnant, and if the mother was Latina/African American. Mother’s use of health care services decreased with her age, increased number of child’s chronic conditions, income as a percent of the federal poverty line, and if child had HMO/private health care insurance. The study expands the econometric techniques available for assessing maternal and pediatric health care use and the results contribute to an understanding of how rural, low-income mothers choose the level of health care services use for themselves and for their child. Additionally, the results would assist in formulating policies to reorient the type of health care services provided to this vulnerable population.