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During the COVID‐19 pandemic, consumers are found to be more impulsive to purchase fitness products online. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to investigate a moderated mediation model of consumers' perception of COVID‐19 and impulse buying behavior through fear moderated by income. A total of 608 responses were collected from consumers in the United States, and this study employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) to examine the hypothesized relationships in the research model. The results showed that the perception of COVID‐19 had a positive influence on fear, which in turn led to impulse buying behavior of fitness products. Moreover, consumers' income levels negatively moderated the positive relationship between fear and impulse buying behavior. The findings contribute to a better understanding of consumers' behavior and offer practical implications that enable marketers and retailers to predict consumers' behavior during the COVID‐19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND Skincare products and cosmetic procedures are used as an adjunct or complementary to conventional drug therapy for acne vulgaris (AV). OBJECTIVE To evaluate the use of skincare products and the frequency of cosmetic procedures in AV treatment. METHODS A total of 1,755 patients with AV completed the survey prepared by the researchers and the Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI) questionnaire. The clinical findings and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) severity scores were recorded by the dermatologists. RESULTS For AV, 66.7% of the patients stated that they used skincare products and 26.7% had undergone cosmetic procedures. The use of skincare products was statistically significantly higher in women (female: 74.5%, male: 57.7%, p

Background Acne vulgaris (AV) may affect external appearance and significantly deteriorate the quality of life of patients. Therefore, patients make various inquiries about their disease and seek treatment options. Aims To investigate the social media usage habits of patients with AV concerning their diseases, and their recommendations for dermatologists related to social media use. Methods A total of 1609 patients with AV completed the survey prepared by the authors and the Cardiff Acne Disability Index questionnaire. The Food and Drug Administration severity scores and clinical information of the patients were noted by their physicians. Results Of the 1,489 patients who stated that they used social media, 46.31% regularly and 28.77% sometimes referred to these sources to make inquiries about AV. Social media usage for AV was statistically significantly higher in women, participants with short term and severe disease, those with a moderate income level, and those using topical treatment and cosmetics. They mostly used Google (67%), Instagram (54%), and YouTube (49%). While 76% of the participants stated that they did not share what they saw on the Internet with their doctor. Of the respondents, 18.5% were trying to contact their dermatologists through the Internet, and 69.73% would prefer experts such as dermatologists to post-AV-related content. Conclusions Our study shows that patients frequently resort to social media to seek information about AV. In the changing digital world order, it is observed that there is a need for dermatologists to use social media more actively to share accurate information about AV.

BACKGROUND The early years of life play a significant role in the lifelong health of humans and parents have an important role in healthcare decision making. Thus, it seems necessary for policymakers and clinicians to be aware of how parents value pediatric health services. Willingness to pay (WTP) is a recommended method for measuring the stated utility of health services/goods or health states. AIM This study aimed to elicit and compare parents' WTP for health services such as fissure sealant and composite filling. DESIGN An originally developed questionnaire was used to guide interviews with a sample of 290 parents attending a public pediatric healthcare center. Related-samples Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed for comparing the difference in absolute WTP amounts between the two services, and linear regression was used to assess the association between WTP and relevant variables using SPSS version 21. RESULTS Mean WTP for fissure sealant and filling was 269 724 and 555 327 Tomans, respectively, and the difference between them was statistically significant (P

Several studies have estimated effects of body mass index (BMI) on labour market outcomes, and these studies have mixed findings. A significant challenge has been to adequately control for omitted variables, selection, reverse causality, and measurement error. We examine the impact of BMI on income using genetic variants as instrumental variables for BMI. Individual-level pre-tax income from tax records was merged with health survey data containing measured height and weight, and data on genetic variants. The analyses were stratified by sex and a variety of methods were used to explore the sensitivity and validity of the instrumental variable (IV) strategy. For females we found that BMI had a negative effect on the logarithm of income. The effect estimated from the IV models (-0.02) was larger than the effect estimated from naïve ordinary least squares regressions (-0.01). For males, the coefficients for the effect of BMI on income were imprecise, and both positive and negative coefficients were estimated depending on the estimation method. Our results suggest that females are susceptible to reduced income levels following increased BMI.

Import demand has been a major research topic in international economics for the past 80 years because of its importance for analyzing trade and evaluating trade policies. The goal of this paper is to survey the literature and conduct a meta-analysis of empirical studies on import demand with the intention of clarifying the effect of economic development on income elasticity. In particular, we test the hypothesis that higher income levels are associated with a more elastic import demand. We apply a combination of parametric and non-parametric methods on estimates from a sample of 152 papers published over the period 1975-2014 and find that this relationship is significant and robust. Specifically, kernel densities of income elasticity estimates for high-income countries in North America and Europe are shown to exceed those for poorer parts of the world. The results from quartile regressions confirm this pattern and establish its robustness when controlling for the effect of model specifications.

Comparing income levels across families with different household compositions and sizes is not easy and has been a long‐term focus in welfare and policy analysis. This paper evaluates the extent childless two‐person households in the U.S. reduce their costs by living together relative to living alone. Using a structural collective household model and household scanner data, we find women, on average, consume 48% of total household expenditures, and a woman (man) living alone would need approximately 65% (63%) of the two‐person household's income to reach the same living standard as attained as a member of a two‐person household. Our results suggest the poverty line for two‐person childless households may need to be increased, whereas other federal benefit calculations are overly generous.

Total Factor Productivity (TFP) explains the bulk of the differences in income level across territories A major policy issue refers to the ability of place-based policy to promote TFP growth in backward areas We investigate the effect of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) on local TFP growth in Southern Italy between 2007 and 2015 By using different empirical models (LASSO cross-section, panel fixed-effect regressions and a spatial regression discontinuity design), we show that, on average, local TFP seems to be rather unresponsive to EU programs Some suggestive evidence of a positive effect is found for ERDF infrastructure investments and for the areas characterized by higher institutional quality and population density

The objective of this study was to gain a better understanding of how consumers' interpret the term "natural" by assessing food choice based on labels describing attributes of a product associated with the term "natural"; to assess food intake of chosen food, and; to determine factors that influence food choice and intake. A randomized, single-visit pilot study was conducted where participants (n = 105) were presented with seven identical bowls of granola each bearing a different descriptive label. Participants were asked to choose and eat the granola (ad libitum) that coincided with what was closest to their view of "natural." Food choice, intake amount, demographics, self-health perception, label use, dietary restraint, and mindfulness were measured. "Organic" (31%), "Made with real grains" (17%), and "No preservatives" (15%) were the top three chosen labels. These choices related to concerns about environment and processing, personal health, and additives and preservatives, respectively (P = 0.049). Income level and age were significantly associated with choice (P = 0.003). Defining the term "natural" for use on food labels will require follow-up researchacrosseconomically diverse populations and age groups to understand expectations of food products bearing the term "natural."

We evaluate the usefulness of satellite‐based data on night‐time lights for forecasting GDP growth across a global sample of countries, proposing innovative location‐based indicators to extract new predictive information from the lights data. Our findings are generally favourable to the use of night lights data to improve the accuracy of model‐based forecasts. We also find a substantial degree of heterogeneity across countries in the relationship between lights and economic activity: individually estimated models tend to outperform panel specifications. Key factors underlying the night lights performance include the country's size and income level, logistics infrastructure, and the quality of national statistics.

Within the fundamental determinants of cross‐country income inequality, political institutions represent a hallmark factor that societies can influence. Focusing on the portion of inequality explainable by differences in political institutions, we decompose annual cross‐country Gini coefficients from 1960–2012. Although inequality has marginally decreased since 1988, the portion that cannot be explained by political institutions has increased markedly, with the explanatory power of institutions falling rapidly from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. This result prevails when using alternative variables, weightings, samples, and controls, and appears to be unlikely to be driven by contemporary regional events alone. However, we find that the link between institutions and income levels has become increasingly nonlinear as countries with the most inclusive political institutions enjoy even higher incomes than before. Our results imply that, if we hold societies responsible for their political institutions, cross‐country inequality has become notably less fair since the late 1980s.

Employees often experience ethical dilemmas throughout their service in an organization. This study utilized a multilevel standpoint to address employees’ differences in ethical reasoning. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze responses from 40,485 full‐time employees across 54 countries. Drawing from Durkheim's concepts of the homo duplex, socialization process, and social conditions, this study found a positive relationship between employees’ income level and unethical reasoning. Furthermore, the results indicate that modern social regulation, technological advancement, economic development, and economic change moderate the relationship between income and ethical judgment. The study findings contribute to the Durkheimian model by validating the effects of individual‐ and country‐level factors on employees’ ethicality. Considering that the results contradict Durkheim's initial propositions, another concept and theory are proposed, which may complement Durkheim's arguments. Practical implications for organizations and society are further discussed to reinforce employees’ ethics.

The “Belt and Road” (B&R) initiative not only promotes international economic prosperity but also inflicts enormous pressure on natural resources and create severe environmental problems. Therefore, to achieve a sustainable development, B&R countries should analyse their environmental efficiency and improve such efficiency by adopting effective measures. This study estimates and compares the environmental efficiency of B&R and non‐B&R countries from 1990 to 2014, analyses their environmental efficiency based on their income levels and geographical locations, and identifies some paths that these countries should take to achieve an optimal environmental efficiency. This paper applies the Super‐slack‐based measure model that considers undesirable outputs. The empirical results reveal that the current performance and future prospects of these B&R countries in terms of environmental efficiency are generally poor, with only 30% of these countries exceeding the optimal efficiency. Some significant differences have also been reported amongst these countries in terms of their industrial development at the geographical and income levels. These findings provide a valuable reference for B&R countries to identify unique strategies that can promote their environmental efficiency.

The use of private schools in Australia has increased greatly since the 1970s. This article shows that most of the growth has been concentrated in attendance at low‐fee schools, while the growth in using high‐fee schools has been modest. Furthermore, the increase has occurred for households at all income levels, for both single‐parent and two‐parent households, for households of all sizes, and irrespective of whether the household reference person is born in Australia or elsewhere. However, increasing income and changes in household composition can account only for a small part of the trend.

Significant difference in the emission–renewables nexus across countries with different income levels is frequently ignored in previous studies. To empirically investigate whether the effect of renewable energy consumption on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions differs across countries with different income levels, the emission–growth–renewables nexus for a global panel of 120 countries and four income‐based subpanels over the period 1995–2015 is examined. Fully considering the potential cross‐sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity, a series of econometric techniques allowing for cross‐sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity is utilised. Cross‐sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity are confirmed for the global panel as well as for all four subpanels. Only for the global panel, high‐income subpanel and upper‐middle‐income subpanel is the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis valid. Renewable energy consumption has a negative effect on CO2 emissions, but its effect is not significant; the mitigation effect may be obscured by higher economic growth and increasing non‐renewable energy consumption. The global panel and four subpanels provide mixed directionality of causality among the variables, suggesting that for various income‐based subpanels, significant differences exist in the effect of renewable energy consumption on CO2 emissions, especially highlighting in various direct and indirect influencing paths between renewable energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

To explore the factors associated with utilization of oral health services among Chinese adults and older adults according to the Andersen Behavior Model.Data from the 4th National Oral Health Survey (2015-2016) in China were used. A total of 7206 people (3669 adults aged 35-44 years and 3537 older adults aged 65-74 years) were included in our analysis. Oral health service utilization in the past 12 months was the outcome variable. Explanatory variables were selected according to the Andersen Behavior Model. Descriptive statistics and bivariate associations (chi-square tests) were analysed, followed by hierarchical Poisson regression models, which were conducted to determine the factors associated with oral health service utilization.In total, 21.4% (95% CI: 19.4%-23.7%) of adults (35-44 years old) and 20.7% (95% CI: 18.6%-22.9%) of older adults (65-74 years old) utilized oral health services in the past 12 months. Nearly 80% of adults (78.7%, 95% CI: 74.0%-82.7%) and more than 90% of older adults (93.7%, 95% CI: 91.0%-95.6%) visited a dentist for treatment. Adults aged 35-44 years old who were female (IRR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.00-1.33, P = .047), had good oral health knowledge and attitudes (IRR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.06-1.59, P = .011), perceived their oral health status as fair (IRR:1.51, 95% CI:1.24-1.85, P .001) or poor/very poor (IRR:2.52, 95% CI:2.01-3.18, P .001) and had a decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index0 (IRR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.11-2.09, P = .009) were more likely to report dental visits in the past 12 months. Older adults who utilized oral health services tended to be female (IRR: 1.32, 95% CI: 1.09-1.59, P = .004); to be covered by Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI) (IRR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.18-2.05, P = .002), Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) (IRR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.32-2.16, P .001) or government medical insurance (GMI) (IRR: 1.03, 95% CI:1.01-2.16, P = .044); to have a high education level (IRR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.08-1.74, P = .010); to have an income level in the 2nd tertile (IRR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.13-1.84, P = .003) or 3rd tertile (IRR:1.52, 95% CI:1.18-1.95, P = .001); and to perceive their oral health status as poor or very poor (IRR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.21-1.95, P = .001).Sex and self-perceived oral health status were associated with oral health utilization among Chinese population. Additionally, for older adults, education level, household income and insurance coverage were determinants of dental service use. These findings can aid in creating more targeted policies to increase the use of dental services by Chinese adults.

The study aims at examining possible impacts of the changes in oil prices and income on crude oil import demand in Turkey using monthly data between 1996:1 and 2017:9. To this end, the study uses a recently introduced Fourier Shin cointegration test of Tsong et al. (2016) and Fourier Toda–Yamamoto approach of Nazlioglu et al. (2016). The study also constructs error correction model to estimate the short‐run parameters. Our empirical findings detect that oil imports are more sensitive to changes in income relative to changes in oil price in the long‐run. Furthermore, 81.4 per cent of the disequilibrium of the shocks converges back to the equilibrium level within the next month. Also, the causality test results provide an evidence for conservation hypothesis in Turkey. Thus, energy conservative policies do not have adverse effects on real economic activity. These results include policy implications for future prospects.

In this paper, we propose the use of a multidimensional approach to the measurement of economic insecurity in three European countries. We combine six different unidimensional indicators proxying the subjective and objective determinants of economic insecurity into a single index based on a counting approach method, which allows us to measure the incidence and the intensity of the phenomenon. Using longitudinal data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU‐SILC) from 2008 to 2016, we find that the incidence of insecurity falls as income grows, being significantly present in middle‐income households both in Spain and France but not in Sweden. Interestingly, in all three countries, the contribution of different dimensions to insecurity changes as household income grows, while for all income levels a higher education and being employed in a non‐fixed term contract are strongly related to a lower probability of being economically insecure.

This paper contributes to the understanding of the other neglected effects of foreign direct investment by analysing how foreign direct investment affects financial development in the short-run and long-run for a panel of 49 African countries over the period 1990-2016. The empirical evidence is based on Pooled Mean Group (PMG) approach. With three panels differentiated by income level, the following findings are established: first, while there is a positive and significant long-run relationship between foreign direct investment and financial development in Africa, in the short-run the effect of foreign direct investment on financial development is negative. Second, the effect of foreign direct investment is positive and significant in the long-run in the three sub-samples. However, in the short-run, the effect of foreign direct investment is negative and significant in lower-income countries and non-significant in lower-middle-income and upper-middle-income countries. Overall we find a strong evidence supporting the view that foreign direct investment promotes financial development in African countries in the long-run.

The trilogy among economic growth, social capital (SC), and financial development is examined based on three hypotheses: first, SC is important in the finance-growth nexus. Second, there is a threshold effect of SC in the finance-growth nexus. Third, the SC-finance-growth trilogy depends on the countries' income level. Building dataset for 70 countries,someinteresting results were obtained: (i) the marginal effects of both SC and finance promotes economic growth at higher levels; (ii)there is evidence of a threshold effect of SC, as finance enhances more growth when SC is below the threshold level; (iii) higher-income countries tend not to benefit from the SC-finance-growth trilogy. These results suggest that the influence of SC on growth trajectory is exaggerated in the literature. The study recommends that policymakers should pursue other sources of economic growth aside SC, while ensuring that the level of SC does not deteriorate.

Utilizing waste-to-energy (WtE) technologies is becoming crucial in today's world where energy sources are scarce. Despite the fact that WtE technologies (incineration, gasification, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, and landfill gas recovery) have been analyzed thoroughly in the literature regarding their efficiency rates in treating waste, the applicability of each method to different waste compositions and in various economic environments has not been considered before. In this study, this issue is investigated by modeling and solving a mixed integer programming model. The model is illustrated in three settings, namely Turkey, Brazil, and Germany, each of which is an example of a lower middle income, upper middle income, and a high income country, respectively. The findings of the optimization model suggest that plasma-arc gasification and advanced incineration stand out as the most efficient technologies to create the WtE conversion, provided that there are sufficient funds to build and run these facilities. If there are economic restraints, anaerobic digestion could be a more cost-effective way to create energy from waste. However, the solutions can be highly dependent on the parameters of the problem, as indicated in the results of the sensitivity analysis performed. In particular, if CO2 emissions are a big concern, the optimization model favors more of plasma-arc and pyrolysis technologies. Novelty Statement Despite a wide range of previous studies involving technical analysis of WtE technologies, an economic perspective involving facility building decisions comparing different income level countries has not been performed before. This study examines all waste-to-energy methods in the literature not only regarding their efficiency rates in treating waste but also selecting the most appropriate methodology in different settings. In this manner, considering different income level countries brings a proper perspective and novelty to the study.

Introduction Poverty is characterized by a scarcity of resources and a threat of certain stereotypes. However, the effects of stereotype threat are largely dependent on various factors, both negative and positive. Few psychophysiological studies have studied the effects of poverty stereotype threats on inhibition ability in wealth and impoverished individuals. Methods To fill this gap in the literature, this study used the event‐related potential (ERP) technique to explore the brain mechanisms associated with stereotype threat in 135 participants. Results Behavioral results showed that the rich group (participants from higher‐income families) had better inhibition ability than the impoverished group (participants from lower‐income families), with significantly shorter reaction time and significantly greater accuracy for poverty‐related stimuli when in the nonthreat condition. Additionally, poverty stereotype threat could improve performance of the impoverished group for poverty‐related stimuli. The electrophysiological results showed significantly larger P3 mean amplitude and significantly longer P3 latency in the rich group than the impoverished group in the nonthreat condition. Although no significant between‐group differences were found in the threat condition, the results show that the effect of poverty stereotype threat varies with different income‐level persons, for both behavioral and P3 data. Conclusion These findings suggest that impoverished people have worse inhibition abilities. Further, poverty stereotype threat has different effects on people according to their income level and could help to explain irrational consumption behaviors in people., This study measured the effect of stereotyping threat on inhibition and attention abilities in impoverished and rich people using behavioral and ERP measures. We believe that our study makes a significant contribution to the literature because it is among the first to use behavioral and electrophysiological approaches to explore the underlying neural mechanisms of inhibitory differences to poverty‐related stimuli.

Within the context of a transition economy, this article estimates how improved access to employment centers is capitalized into house price. We conduct an event study for the opening of subway Line 6 in Pudong district, Shanghai, China. The new line significantly reduces the commuting time to major employment centers. Other things being equal, easier commutes to the central business district center result in an average house price appreciation of 3.75%, with the most distant residential zone enjoying the largest appreciation. When taking into account multiple employment centers, we find that the largest source of appreciation is from an improved access to a suburb center with poor initial accessibility and attractive job opportunities. Finally, the total appreciation caused by time savings to major employment centers decreases with neighborhood income level and increases with the distance from Line 6 stations.

Using a newly compiled dataset, we measure the effects of participatory budgeting on the allocation of capital funding among areas of different income levels within New York City council districts. A difference‐in‐differences design compares changes in the allocation of funding in adopting districts before and after the adoption of participatory budgeting to changes over the same period among a control group consisting of later adopters. On average, adopting districts increase funding in the next to the lowest income census tracts more than the control group, but participatory budgeting does not redirect funds to the lowest income census tracts.

In spite of fast growth and increasing average income levels, China’s development has been uneven across various sectors and regions. This uneven development has reduced the life satisfaction of many people and has caused social tensions. Using four rounds of the Chinese Household Income Project data, this paper investigates social tensions caused by inequality, poverty and polarization across rural and urban areas, and across the Eastern, Central and Western regions, and between the emerging super provinces/megacities and the rest. It shows that although tensions have been significantly alleviated by fast economic growth, the impact of growth imbalances is still very severe. China should focus on more balanced growth in addition to a high rate of growth.

We look at the growth experience of 25 transition countries over the 25 years since the dissolution of the USSR. The initial collapse in income was much more severe in 12 former Soviet Union countries (FSU12) than in the 10 transition countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 (EU10). In 2015, FSU12 income levels were further behind EU10 than they were at the start of transition, despite more rapid growth in the last 15 years. Compared to predictions from a parsimonious growth model, the region as a whole is ‘normal’ in terms of growth performance since the 2000s. However, the FSU12 over‐perform and the EU10 under‐perform relative to model predictions for the last 15 years.

Poor countries with high levels of social trust are shown to experience a hump‐shaped pattern of long‐run growth. With social trust modelled as a human capital externality, a calibrated two‐sector model replicates the observed hump‐shaped growth path. The simulation results imply that a hypothetical poor economy with a high level of social trust, when beginning at a relative income level of 16 per cent, may need about 160 years to reach 50 per cent of the income level of the leading countries. For a hypothetical poor country with a low level of social trust, the process of catching up may only begin after more than 150 years of relative stagnation. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper employs Hansen's (1999) panel threshold regression model [Journal of Econometrics 39 (1999) 345–68] based on a time series dataset of 109 countries from 1960 to 2007 to investigate the threshold relationship between the change in real GDP per capita and the consumption size (consumption‐income ratio, APC). The results show that the consumption level should not exceed the 49.68% threshold of real GDP per capita for each country regardless of the income level. Also, the relationship between the change in real GDP per capita and the consumption size seems to have ‘Armey curve’ or ‘inverted‐U shape’ characteristic. In order to promote real GDP growth, our results suggest that the high‐income, low‐APC countries should encourage more consumption while the low‐income, high‐APC countries should encourage more saving.

Aim Depression among older adults has serious implications, especially because suicide rates are higher in this group than in younger adults. Research has identified biological and social risk factors. However, studies addressing cultural and psychosocial factors associated with specific ethnic groups, such as Spanish Romani, are lacking. The objective of the present study was to establish the differential prevalence of depression among Romany and non-Romany people older than 55 years of age. It also aimed to explore how cultural, sociodemographic, and psychosocial factors predispose individuals to depression. Methods A total of 181 people were interviewed. The sample consisted of 95 self-adscribed Romany individuals and 86 non-Romany individuals over the age of 55; the latter group served as the control group. We performed bifactorial univariate anova, epidemiological analysis using Epi Info software, and analysis of correlations between Geriatric Depression Scale scores and the different factors analyzed. Results Significant differences in Geriatric Depression Scale score related to ethnicity and sex were found. Probable depression or depression in Romany men was four times higher than in non-Romany men. In Romany women, the risk was more than twice as high as in non-Romany women. Among the factors analyzed, income level, activity at home, and perception of being valued by family members showed significant differences between the groups. Conclusions In short, we can state that Romany people develop symptoms of depression to a greater extent than non-Romany people, and although Romany women have a higher risk of depression, the differential effect of ethnicity is greater among Romany men. Income level, activity at home, and perception of being valued by family members are unambiguously related to ethnicity.

In this study, we conducted a survey among a large sample of U.S. adults to assess attitudes and beliefs about the causes of homelessness, policies to address homelessness, and programs for homeless individuals. In 2016, we surveyed a national sample of 541 adults from 47 different U.S. states using Amazon Mechanical Turk. Of the total sample, 78% reported that homelessness was a problem in their communities and 60% believed homelessness would increase in the next 5 years. The majority expressed compassion for homeless individuals and endorsed structural, intrinsic, and health factors as causes of homelessness. Most participants (73%-88%) believed the federal government should dedicate more funds and policies for homeless individuals. These attitudes were substantially more likely to be reported by participants who were female, lower income, Democrat, and personally exposed to homelessness. Most Americans care about homelessness as a major problem but there are divergent perspectives on solutions to address homelessness based on gender, income level, and political affiliation.

A panel of 134 countries over the period 1985–2010 is used to evaluate the effect of intellectual property rights (IPRs) on field crop seed imports from the United States. Based on estimating a gravity equation using the Heckman selection and Poisson fixed‐effects panel econometric methods, the results indicate that membership of countries in both the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants and the Trade‐Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement of the World Trade Organization have a positive and statistically significant effect on their imports of U.S. field crop seeds. These results, however, are also sensitive to both income level of importing countries and better enforcement of IPRs by those countries.

OBJECTIVE The study investigates the macroeconomic determinants of co-residing arrangement between generations in selected developing countries with a focus on examining the effect of changing income level of the working generation. METHODS A reduced form model is specified for co-residence between the older generation and altruistic working generation. The fixed- and random-effects models are applied in two waves of data for 22 countries. RESULTS Estimated results indicate that the income of the altruistic working generation has a negative effect on co-residence, suggesting that if the income of the working generation increases, co-residence decreases. This decrease is greater for older men compared with their female counterparts. Life expectancy, literacy and culture also have significant influences on co-residence. CONCLUSION Co-residence is expected to fall in developing countries with economic growth over time. Consequently, a higher proportion of older citizens will be vulnerable in the future. Hence, governments of developing countries will face increasing pressure from their older people to provide appropriate planning and strategy to face this challenge.

This article empirically investigates whether cultural, genetic, and linguistic similarities between countries explain marriage migration. The empirical evidence supported by marriage migration data from South Korea shows that the bilateral similarities between Korea and spouse-sending countries are important pull factors of marriage migration. Furthermore, the pull effects vary across different income levels of sending countries and between the genders of marriage migrants. The positive effects of cultural and genetic similarities are mainly driven by female marriage migrants from middle- and low-income countries in Asia. A female deficit in the marital age group in South Korea may contribute to pulling this type of migration into the country.

AIMS Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) are increasingly frequent in Asia and commonly coexist in patients. However, the prevalence of COPD among Asian patients with HF and its impact on HF treatment are unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS We compared clinical characteristics and treatment approaches between patients with or without a history of COPD, before and after 1:2 propensity matching (for age, sex, geographical region, income level, and ethnic group) in 5232 prospectively recruited patients with HF and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF

SummaryObjective This systematic examination and meta-analysis examined the scope and variation of the worldwide double burden of diseases and identified related socio-demographic factors. Design We searched PubMed for studies published in English from January 1, 2000, through September 28, 2016, that reported on double disease burden. Twenty-nine studies from 18 high-income, middle-income and low-income countries met inclusion criteria and provided 71 obesity–undernutrition ratios, which were included in meta-regression analysis. Results All high-income countries had a much higher prevalence of obesity than undernutrition (i.e. all the obesity/undernutrition ratios >1); 55% of the ratios in lower middle-income and low-income countries were

Weber (The Manchester School, Vol. 69 (2001), No. 6, pp. 616–622) has asserted that if we treat the production function of Epstein and Spiegel (The Manchester School, Vol. 68 (2000), No. 5, pp. 503–515) as a utility function, then an inferior good exhibits Giffen behavior at certain prices and income levels. This paper shows that it is not correct. Furthermore, we develop a geometrical method (i) to identify a region in a consumption set where Giffen behavior appears, (ii) to show that Giffen behavior can be categorized into two types: ‘subsistence‐driven’ and ‘satiation‐driven’, and (iii) to present a new class of Giffen utility functions.

This study draws on a survey of migrants in 12 cities across four major urbanizing areas in China and investigates the structure of migrant worker families' urban and rural consumption. The results show that the structure of migrant worker families' consumption has been dominated by survival consumption. These families tend to live frugally in cities while engaging in conspicuous consumption in their rural hometowns. The structure of migrant worker families' consumption is mainly shaped by their income stability and wealth levels rather than their current income level. Moreover, migrant worker families with high educational levels and those who intend to settle permanently in cities are likely to allocate substantial expenditure to status and hedonic consumption and to upgrade their urban consumption structure.

Road traffic safety initiatives are gaining momentum worldwide as more governments and international organizations recognize the implications of traffic accidents on economic and human development. In 2015, as part of its Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Development Programme set a global target (3.6) to halve the number of traffic deaths and injuries by 2020. This article uses the International Futures integrated forecasting system to explore the plausibility of achieving that goal and the potential forward linkages of such an intervention. We find that halving annual deaths caused by road traffic accidents is likely to be overly ambitious, and examine more reasonable road traffic death-rate targets using an approach derived from road traffic death rates relative to income level.

Unacceptable forms of work (UFW) have been identified as an Area of Critical Importance for the ILO as it approaches its centenary. Yet there is presently no comprehensive elaboration of the dimensions, causes or manifestations of UFW. This article reports on a research project that has proposed such a framework. The article first investigates and reconceptualises a set of key discourses on contemporary work to identify their contribution to an analytically rigorous conception of UFW. It then outlines a novel Multidimensional Model that has been designed for use by local policy actors in identifying and targeting UFW in countries across a range of income levels.

We test the hypotheses that fundamental characteristics in regional proximity, landlockedness, religious-domination, legal origin, and income levels affect cross-country differences in the persistence in political terror and political instability in 163 countries for the period 2010 to 2015. The empirical evidence is based on Generalised Method of Moments. The hypotheses are that the following are associated with comparatively higher levels of persistence in political terror and political instability: regions with predominantly low income countries (Hypothesis 1); landlockedness (Hypothesis 2); Christian-orientation (Hypothesis 3); French civil law (Hypothesis 4) and Low income (Hypothesis 5). The tested hypotheses are largely invalid. Only Hypothesis 5 and Hypothesis 2 are robustly investigated in the light of concerns about instrument proliferation. Hypothesis 2 is valid for political terror but not for political instability while Hypothesis 5 is neither valid for political instability nor for political terror.

Participation in global value chains (GVCs) is a key element in the industrialization strategies of many developing nations. This paper investigates the role of services liberalization in promoting participation in GVCs. Using the gravity framework, I examine the impact of services trade agreements on gross trade and GVC trade (backward and forward participation) in goods. I find that services trade agreements promote both, but especially GVC trade, although the effects are heterogeneous: the impact is bigger for developing nation exporters. Moreover, services agreements that allow the export of services without local presence (nonestablishment rights) are particularly important in fostering GVC participation.

Are the marriages of lower-income couples less satisfying than the marriages of more affluent couples? To address this question, we compared trajectories of marital satisfaction among couples with a wide range of household incomes. The marital satisfaction of 862 Black, White, and Latino newlywed spouses (N=431 couples) was assessed five times, each nine months apart, over the first four years of marriage. Lower-income couples did not have less satisfying marriages on average, nor did their satisfaction decline more steeply on average. However, they did experience (1) significantly greater fluctuations in marital satisfaction across assessments, and (2) significantly more variability between husbands and wives. If efforts to support the marriages of low-income couples are to address the unique characteristics of their marital development, these findings suggest that efforts to stabilize their marriages may be more effective than efforts to improve their satisfaction alone.