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The need to ensure the economic wellbeing and quality of life of those who reach the official retirement age is a matter of concern in the world of social services and in social policy making. Since some working older adults may be forced to retire when they reach the official retirement age while others retire voluntarily, the study is based on a dedicated survey among 508 persons who retired both willingly and unwillingly for good after reaching the official retirement age and 437 persons who continued working uninterruptedly. The findings show that the odds of staying on the job after retirement age are contingent on the socio-demographic and health-related characteristics of the older adult. Furthermore, the economic predictors of remaining in the labour force after retirement age depend on how strongly the older adult wishes to retire. Those who continue working after retirement age and those who retire willingly are undifferentiated in the level of financial support that they give others. Comparing older adults who continue working uninterruptedly with those who retire unwillingly, the chances of being among the former are higher among those who are better off before reaching retirement age. These results emphasise the need to extend welfare and financial-support policies to older adults who are forced to retire, in order to minimise the economic blow that this path to retirement causes.

Achieving high vaccination rates is important for overcoming an epidemic. This study investigates the association between religious faith and intentions to become vaccinated against COVID-19 in Israel and Japan. Most of Israel’s population is monotheistic, whereas most Japanese are unaffiliated with any religion. Therefore, our findings might be applicable to various countries that differ in their religions and levels of religiosity. We conducted almost identical large-scale surveys four times in Israel and five times in Japan from March to June 2020 to obtain panel data. We found that intentions of getting vaccinated depend on people’s level of religiosity in a non-linear way. Those who have strong religious beliefs are less likely to become vaccinated than those who say they are less religious. Two other factors that play a role in this relationship are religious denomination in Israel and identifying with a religion in Japan. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10198-021-01389-8.

Using data from a field study conducted among soldiers during the 2014 Protective-Edge military operation (OPE) in the Gaza Strip, this article examines the effect of exposure to war on soldiers’ e...

For young women, mammography has limited effectiveness and entails exposure to radiation, discomfort, and additional expense. This study identifies factors associated with women's willingness to undergo mammography despite official guidelines to the contrary. Using the Health Belief Model, we surveyed Israeli women aged 40-51 who are not at high risk of breast cancer and who had or had never undergone mammography. The results show that sociodemographic characteristics, private insurance coverage, out-of-pocket payments to physicians, and three Health Belief Model categories - lower perceived barriers to mammography, higher expectations of benefits, and stronger health motivation - are associated with the decision to undergo mammography. In addition, higher levels of perceived susceptibility to illness and experience with mammography are significant predictors of intentions to undergo early mammography. Understanding the determinants of women's tendency to undergo mammography contrary to recommendations may help nurses and healthcare policymakers to create health promotion programs targeting this group of women. Preventing unnecessary mammograms may reduce costs to households and health maintenance organizations, mitigate ineffective use of medical facilities, and alleviate the burden on the healthcare system.

Military service in general and combat service in particular can be physically and psychologically stressful. Previous studies have focused on risk propensity and risky behavior among soldiers. Yet knowledge is still lacking regarding the impact of type of army service on soldiers’ risk perceptions. The current study examines how type of army service and negative incidental emotions affect risk perceptions. Results of a survey conducted among 153 combat and non-combat Israeli soldiers indicate that respondents serving in combat units on average have more pessimistic risk perceptions than non-combat soldiers. Yet no significant differences emerged between combat and non-combat respondents with respect to their levels of negative incidental emotions. Regression analyses suggest that higher levels of negative incidental emotions are correlated with pessimistic risk perceptions among all respondents, while higher levels of risk attitude are correlated with pessimistic risk perceptions among combat soldiers but not among non-combat soldiers.

(1) Background: Medical teams are at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic. Decision making among medical staff is important for promoting and maintaining the health of patients and staff. This study examines factors associated with physicians’ decision making and preventive behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel. (2) Methods: An online survey was conducted among 187 Israeli physicians in April and May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire included the levels of physicians’ perceived threat and perceived risk during the epidemic, trust in the health system, emotions, and the degree of compliance with hygiene rules and mandated behaviors. (3) Results: Most physicians reported complying with the rules of hygiene at work (73%) and full compliance with Ministry of Health guidelines (61%). The findings show that higher levels of trust, positive emotions, and threat and risk perceptions were associated with a higher degree of compliance with Ministry of Health guidelines and more careful decision making among physicians. (4) Conclusions: Levels of trust in the health system and positive emotions among healthcare staff during the pandemic are related to careful adherence to guidelines. Taking steps to maintain physical and mental health among healthcare staff is important for their functioning and for maintaining public health.

Objective: The current study uses the unique setting created by the coronavirus crisis in China during the peak period of the pandemic to examine the behavioral factors affecting the decision of the Chinese people to adopt the precautionary actions recommended by the government. Methods: Using the social app WeChat, we conducted a cross sectional study of the Chinese people in mid-February 2020. Results: Our results show that higher levels of dispositional optimism and support for the government's actions for managing the epidemic were positively correlated with the compliance level. In addition, women and married participants were more likely to comply with the recommendations. Conclusions: Optimism and support for government actions should be considered when promoting policies related to health behavior such as social distancing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a sustained state of emergency, causing uncertainty and risk taking. Israeli nurses were required to follow new regulations and safety measures issued by the Israeli Ministry of Health (MOH). This study aimed to examine nurses’ compliance with MOH regulations and its association with their risk and threat perceptions and their positive and negative emotions. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 346 Israeli nurses. The study model was examined with path analysis. Most nurses reported complying with MOH regulations either fully (49%) or very often (30%). Negative emotions were positively associated with perceptions of both threat and risk, yet only risk perception was positively associated with nurses’ compliance. A significant mediated relationship was found between negative emotions and nurses’ compliance, with the possible mediator being risk perception. Hence, higher negative emotions were associated with a greater risk perception, which was associated with higher compliance. Health systems leaders must strategize to deal with the wave-like character of the pandemic. Solutions to nursing teams’ negative emotions must be provided to keep the balance between feelings of complacency and a situation of high-level, intense negative feelings, which might lead to abstention, burnout, or emotional injury.

This study investigates how people in Japan perceived the severity of and probability of infection from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and how their willingness to purchase a hypothetical vaccine depends on these perceptions and their risk attitudes. We conducted a large-scale panel survey three times between 13 March to 13 April 2020 in Japan. By analyzing the data, we found that the perception of COVID-19 became more serious. The estimation of the fixed effect model reveals that a person becomes more willing to pay for a vaccine as the person evaluates COVID-19 as a more severe disease, considers a higher probability of infection, and becomes more risk averse. Since the sensitivity of willingness to pay for the vaccine on risk aversion increased during the period, the change in risk attitude contributed to an increase in willingness through the sensitivity channel, while it decreased through the magnitude channel.

Purpose Due to recent international media reports of terrorist attacks in airports, people are more aware of the risk terrorism poses to flying and the need for security measures in the airline industry. This study aims to examine factors affecting willingness to pay (WTP) for airline security and safety flights after terror attacks incident. Design/methodology/approach A polling company distributed an internet survey among 415 Israelis in July 2014, after thousands of missiles had been fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip, threatening the population and disrupting aviation traffic to and from Israel. The results show that individuals who attributed higher importance to airline security and exhibited more fear and less optimism were willing to pay more for airline security and safety. Findings The results show that individuals who attributed higher perceived importance to airline security and exhibited more fear and less optimism were willing to pay more for the security and safety of flying. Research limitations/implications The implications of the study are important for understanding how terrorist attacks and negative aviation events affect people’s feelings, pessimism/optimism and general attitudes toward airline security. Originality/value Due to the increase in the number of terror attack involving airlines, it is important for understanding the demand for tickets on secure airlines. Such an understanding is essential for evaluating the perceived benefit of safety and security improvements in the aviation industry and for developing marketing strategies for different tickets.

In recent years, more and more Israeli women are serving in combat units in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The current study is based on 24 in-depth retrospective interviews with women who served in mixed-gender combat units in the IDF and examines the impact of military service on their self-efficacy and risk attitude. The results indicate that perceived self-efficacy among women was strengthened as a result of this service, thus empowering them and causing them to make more calculated decisions after their discharge from the military. Moreover, increased self-efficacy was reported even among women who experienced negative attitudes from their male colleagues. The results also show that combat experience, even including life-threatening situations, makes interviewees more willing to take risks in general, and physical risks in particular, after their discharge from the army. Yet this tendency seems to be moderated over time. Hence, combat service offers important benefits for women since it provides them with new opportunities to acquire significant experience at a young age, which forms the basis for making wise decisions in life after their discharge. Understanding the implications of mixed-gender combat army service may help in designing the content of military training courses for men and women that will prepare them for the challenges of their joint service.

Despite its acclaimed role in democratic theory, social protest is not a common occurrence in most states where widespread political participation is typically limited to voting, and mass participa...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of tourists’ perceptions of political and economic instability and risks of terrorism on their intentions to travel to countries associated with various risks. Design/methodology/approach A total of 648 Greek, Israeli and Portuguese students completed a questionnaire focusing on their perceptions concerning factors that shape their travel decisions. Findings The findings showed that among tourists from Greece and Portugal, the experience of economic crisis and the salience of economic and political hardships mitigated their intentions to travel to destinations with similar problems. These factors had no effect on Israelis, who have not experienced such problems in their country. Frequent terrorist incidents diminished the intentions of Greek tourists to travel to destinations marked by terrorism, such as Israel. Thus, different factors affect tourists’ travel-related decisions in each of the three countries. Originality/value The study sheds light on how potential tourists construe the risks of traveling to specific destination countries based on hazards in their home countries, a topic that to date has received little research attention.

Background Routine dental examinations are important for early diagnosis and treatment of dental problems among older adults in order to improve their quality of life and avoid costly future treatments. In Israel, a significant percentage of adults do not seek dental care. Methods The study is based on a 2017 telephone survey conducted among people aged 50–75 from different population groups in Israel to examine their health beliefs and attitudes toward dental treatments. Results The results show that among older adults the decision to undergo routine dental checkups is affected by socio-demographic status and health beliefs regarding dental health. Lower age, higher income levels, and Jewish religion predicted higher chances of frequent checkups. In addition, those who saw the benefits of routine checkups, believed that dentists were readily available, and had higher levels of health motivation were more likely to seek out routine dental care. Conclusions According to the recent dental reform in Israel, people aged 75 and over are eligible for subsidized dental treatments. To enhance the frequency of dental checkups among older adults, it is recommended to provide this subsidized coverage for adults under age 75. In addition, planning dental health services for individuals in this age group should be based upon their accepted beliefs and values. Moreover, systematic health education through the media and health maintenance organizations should specifically target this population group to encourage them to undergo dental checkups more frequently.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the evaluations of various risks by young Israelis living in conflict area and their Polish counterparts, who do not live in conflict area and how these perceptions affect their traveling intentions to destinations with different types of risks – Egypt, Turkey, India and Japan. Design/methodology/approach – The research participants were 713 Israeli and Polish students who responded to a structured questionnaire. Findings – The findings validate the assumption that contextual distinctions shape differently factors affecting traveling risk estimation and the intention of young people to travel abroad. The results indicated that the priming effect is substantial, reflected in Israelis’ significantly higher assessments of risks concerning destinations with terror, health and natural disasters hazards in comparison to Poles’ evaluations. As predicted, Israeli students exhibit lesser intentions to travel to Turkey, Egypt and India than their Polish counterparts. The study also showed similarities between Israeli and Polish students. Young tourists’ with strong aversion to health hazards exhibit low intention to travel to India and those refraining from economic crisis are reluctant to travel to Egypt. The intention to travel to Japan and India decreased with high perception of destination risks. Originality/value – The current study constitutes a new departure in studying the contextual effects on travel-related decision making. It focusses on the impact of conflict ridden environment on intentions, attitudes and risks perception of young tourists with respect to traveling to risky destinations, previously hardly studied.

This study examines the factors that affect an individual's decision to take an active part in social justice protests. We use data collected after the 2011 Israeli social justice protests against the continuing rise in the cost of living, the social order and power-structure in Israel. Our main hypotheses are based on the expressive behavior model, and suggest that active participation in protests produces expressive utility that changes the cost-benefit calculation in the decision to be active in social protests. The results show that individuals who decided to participate actively in the non-violent protest had low general confidence in the future of the Israeli society. The findings also suggest that active participants are less present-oriented, less risk averse, and have a higher interest in politics, compared to those who did not participate actively. In addition, the more active participants tend to live in rented homes, meaning that their self-interest in housing-related issues is high. Finally, we find that women and those who support a non-aggressive military policy were more likely to participate in protests. These results shed light on behavioral and sociological factors affecting the decision to protest, specifically in Israeli society.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) disorder has a deleterious impact on health. Using the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device effectively lessens OSA. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors affecting patients’ intention and actual decision to get treatment. Questionnaires were distributed at three sleep laboratories in Israel among 633 participants suspected of having OSA. Six months later, 194 OSA patients were contacted to verify whether they had purchased a CPAP device. Factors affecting intention to use the device included Health Belief Model variables, income level, and sleep laboratory location. The decision to get treatment was positively affected by the intention to use CPAP, the number of CPAP trial days, age, and number of years in the country. Patients’ attitudes and health beliefs prior to diagnosis may predict their intention to be treated for OSA, and in turn, affect their actual decision to get treatment. Awareness of behavioral intention can enable decision makers developing targeted interventions to promote treatment.

This field study compares emotions and perceived risks of people from the northern region of Israel who were close to the Carmel forest fire and people from other regions who were far from the event. The results show that while the level of fear was higher in the impacted group close to the fire than the group of people who were far from the fire, the level of anger was the same in both groups. In addition, we found that fearful people (especially women) had higher perceived self-risk including risks unrelated to fire (e.g., the risk of being hurt in a car accident). Women showed higher perceived risk and higher fear levels than men in both groups. These results may have implications for social or economic consequences that extend far beyond direct harm to humans or the environment.

In this study, responses of 574 students from two colleges in Israel were used to examine three issues: (a) financial literacy (FL) among Israeli college students, (b) gaps in FL between Jews and Arabs, and (c) factors affecting students’ FL. The results showed that Israeli students exhibit a low level of FL and that FL is affected by gender, nationality, class rank, work experience, and college major. In addition, the study revealed large gaps in FL between Jews and Arabs.

Background The use of online health services (henceforth, OHS) among middle-aged to older adults can make health-related actions more accessible to this population group as well as help reduce the burden on the health system and avoid unnecessary costs. The study’s objectives were to examine the responsiveness and willingness of individuals aged 45+ to use different OHS and to characterize the attitudes and main factors influencing that responsiveness. Methods We conducted a telephone survey among a sample of 703 individuals constituting a representative sample of the Israeli population of individuals aged 45+. The research questionnaire integrates the principles of the Adopting Medical Information Technologies model and includes socio-demographic attributes. Results The results indicate that 78 % of internet users claimed to use at least one OHS (79 % of the Jewish sector and 66 % of the non-Jewish sector). Nevertheless, 22 % of internet users do not use OHS. Most online use is on Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) websites to obtain administrative information. Frequency of OHS use increases as the following factors increase: perceived ease of online use; extent of encouragement for online use; perceived reliability of online health services; and extent of advertisement exposure. The study found that OHS use is much more prevalent among wealthy populations. In addition, individuals’ attitudes and the extent of their exposure to advertisement influence their use and intention to use OHS. Conclusions A number of recommendations emerge from the study: 1) For OHS use to increase online health websites should be made more accessible to middle aged-older adults individuals and those of different languages and cultures. 2) Programs should be developed to teach HMO staff to encourage patients to use OHS. 3) Media advertising that encourages the use of OHS should be expanded.

In this paper, we investigate what people in Japan consider when deciding to take the influenza vaccination. We develop an economic model to explain the mechanism by which people decide to take the influenza vaccination. Using our model and the data obtained from a large-scale survey we conducted in Japan, we demonstrated that people make rational decisions about vaccinations after considering its cost and benefits. People consider the probability of infection, severity of the disease, and the vaccination fs effectiveness and side effects. The time discount rate is another consideration because the timing of costs and benefits of the vaccination differ. Risk aversion (fearing the contraction of the flu and vaccination fs side effects) also affects the decision. People also deviate from rationality-altruism and status quo bias play important roles in the decision-making. Overconfidence indirectly affects the decision via perception variables such as the subjective probability of infection and assessment of influenza fs severity. The decision also depends on attributes such as gender, age, and marital status. If the general perception of flu and vaccination is inaccurate, supplying accurate information regarding those may increase or decrease the vaccination rate, depending on whether this perception is, respectively, higher or lower than the objective rates. Thus, we examine whether the general perception is biased. Our survey suggests that disseminating information on the vaccination fs effectiveness may increase the rate of vaccination, whereas that on the probability of infection may have the opposite effect.

This study examines the impact of past experience with influenza and the influenza vaccine on four categories of the Health Belief Model: beliefs about susceptibility to contracting influenza, severity of illness, perceived benefits of the vaccine in preventing influenza, and perceived barriers to getting vaccinated. The study population comprised employees at different workplaces in Israel. The results indicate that individuals who took flu shots in the past perceived higher levels of benefits from the vaccine and lower barriers to getting the vaccine than those who had not been vaccinated. In addition, those who had influenza over the last 2 years exhibited higher levels of perceived susceptibility and lower levels of perceived benefits from the vaccine. These results imply that an individual’s health beliefs regarding the flu vaccine can be changed as a result of accumulated experience with the illness and the vaccine. Therefore, recommendations for first-time vaccination may have implications on decisions to be vaccinated over the long run.

In the current study, several experiments re-examine the uncertainty effect using lotteries that include real products, monetary outcomes and electronic gift cards in a between-subjects design. The study also takes the selling position into consideration, in addition to the buying position considered by all previous works on the uncertainty effect. The results indicate that for all types of lotteries, the bids are higher than the bids for the worst possible realization. These findings are consistent with the internality axiom and do not support the uncertainty effect.

The current field study examines emotions, evoked by a fire disaster, and economic expectations of people who were exposed to a fire disaster in Israel. We find that negative emotions are correlated with expectations regarding the economic self-improvement, as well as expectations for national economic improvement

The current study uses the unique data from a natural experiment conducted in a college located in southern Israel that was exposed to rocket attacks in 2008. The study examines the relationships between the negative emotions, the perceptions of risk to oneself, the precautionary actions, and the intentions of 290 students who were exposed to terror attacks while on campus. In addition, we compared the emotions, the risk perceptions, and the precautionary behavior between the two groups: those who lived within the range of the rockets and were also exposed to rocket attacks at home and those who lived outside the range of the rockets. The results show that the risk perceptions were affected mainly by the emotion of fear while the students were on campus. In particular, fearful people became more pessimistic about their general and personal risks from terror but not about routine risks. The results also reveal that those who lived outside the rocket area (and had less or no experience with terror attacks) were more likely to take precautionary actions during their stay in the campus and were more pessimistic about continuing their studies in college in the coming year than those living in the area, who had more experience with terror attacks. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Stock options are usually sold in bundles of 100 units, and their price can be quoted either per unit or per bundle. In this article, the effect of different methods of quoting financial asset prices on the subjective value of a contract was examined experimentally. In particular, we examined differences in participants' Willingness-To-Pay and Willingness-To-Accept for financial assets depending upon whether prices are quoted per unit or per bundle. We found that participants bid (ask) a higher price when prices are quoted per unit than when they are quoted per bundle. The results indicated that different quoting methods affect the bidding price for risky assets. These results can have important implications for trading on financial markets.

Many studies have examined the bid price (Willingness to Pay or WTP) and the Ask price (Willingness to Accept or WTA) for ordinary real products, such as coffee mugs, candy bars, and pens, or for lotteries. This study analyzes the determinants of bid-and-ask prices in lotteries. Using a second-price auction, we elicit participants' WTP and WTA for lotteries. Participants are divided into groups according to their risk attitude and win-loving behavior. Our results indicate that greater risk-seeking and higher win-loving increase the WTP, while higher risk-seeking and lower win-loving increase the WTA. Therefore, experimental studies should separate participants into different risk-seeking and win-loving groups to explain WTP and WTA disparities for risky assets. Moreover win-loving behavior should be taken into consideration in the decision-making process with respect to asset pricing.

The study examined the impact of preferences for an item on the Willingness to Pay (WTP) and Willingness to Accept (WTA). The results show that the differences between biddings for preferred and less preferred items are smaller in the selling position than in the buying position. This result can be explained by the existence of the ownership effect in the selling position for both preferred and less preferred items.

The objective of this study was to identify factors that influence the decision whether or not to get the influenza (flu) vaccine among nurses in Israel by using the health belief model (HBM). A questionnaire distributed among 299 nurses in Israel in winter 2005/2006 included (1) socio-demographic information; (2) variables based on the HBM, including susceptibility, seriousness, benefits, barriers and cues to action; and (3) knowledge about influenza and the vaccine, and health motivation. A probit model was used to analyze the data. In Israel, the significant HBM categories affecting nurses' decision to get a flu shot are the perceived benefits from vaccination and cues to action. In addition, nurses who are vaccinated have higher levels of (1) knowledge regarding the vaccine and influenza, (2) perceived seriousness of the illness, (3) perceived susceptibility, and (4) health motivation than do those who do not get the vaccine. Immunization of healthcare workers may reduce the risk of flu outbreaks in all types of healthcare facilities and reduce morbidity and mortality among high-risk patients. In order to increase vaccination rates among nurses, efforts should be made to educate them regarding the benefits of vaccination and the potential health consequences of influenza for their patients, and themselves.

The current study aims to examine how the intense emotions experienced by different Israeli groups during the 2006 Second Lebanon War affected their perceptions of risk. Two weeks after the end of the war, a questionnaire was distributed among 205 people. Some were from the north and had been directly affected by the rocket attacks; others were from the center of Israel. The questionnaires, based on Lerner et al. (2003), measured emotions and perceived risk. The results show significant differences between those living in the north and those in the center of Israel. As expected, people living in the north reported more emotional difficulties during the war, greater perceived risk, and more pessimism in comparison to the center group. Moreover, the results point to significant differences between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs regarding emotions and perceived risk. In addition, the study results show a positive relation between anger and perceived risk.

The paper presents an economic model to analyze an individual's decision about whether or not to be vaccinated against influenza. It shows that based upon objective parameters, the vaccination rate should be high. Yet, empirical findings indicate low vaccination rates. Therefore, we use the behavioral approach and subjective variables to explain the empirical findings. The subjective variables in the model include perceived infection probability, time preference, subjective costs of vaccination, perceived severity of illness and perceived vaccination effectiveness. A low vaccination rate has a negative externality on society. The paper discusses potential policies that can be applied to changing the situation.