Ishrat Hossain

Using discrete choice experiments to investigate subject preferences for preventive asthma medication

Background and objective:  Long‐term adherence to inhaled corticosteroids is poor despite the crucial role of preventer medications in achieving good asthma outcomes. This study was undertaken to explore patient preferences in relation to their current inhaled corticosteroid medication, a hypothetical preventer or no medication.

Winter wheat fall-winter forage yield and grain yield response to planting date in a dual-purpose system

Abstract Previous published research suggests that if fall–winter grazing of winter wheat is properly managed, it will not reduce grain yield. However, highly aggregated state average data suggest that fall–winter grazing is associated with lower grain yields. This study was undertaken to determine the trade-off, or substitution in production, between winter wheat fall–winter forage yield and grain yield across planting dates. Data from experiment station trials were used to estimate response functions and to determine optimal planting dates. The estimated response functions suggest relatively large differences in expected fall–winter forage yield and expected grain yield across planting date. Optimal planting date is sensitive to the value of fall–winter forage relative to the value of wheat grain. Producers will optimally plant wheat intended for dual-purpose use earlier than wheat intended for grain-only. The expected yield from the earlier planted dual-purpose wheat is lower than the expected yield of the later planted grain-only wheat as a result of the earlier planting date.

Providing Informal Care in Terminal Illness: An Analysis of Preferences for Support Using a Discrete Choice Experiment

Background: The trend for terminally ill patients to receive much of their end-of-life care at home necessitates the design of services to facilitate this. Care at home also requires that informal care be provided by family members and friends. This study investigated informal carers’ preferences for support services to aid the development of end-of-life health care services. Methods: This cross-sectional study used 2 discrete choice experiments to ascertain the preferences of carers supporting patients with different levels of care need, determined by the assistance needed with personal care and labeled High Care (HC) and Low Care (LC). The sample included 168 informal carers of people receiving palliative care at home from 2 palliative care services in Sydney, Australia. Data were collected in face-to-face interviews; carers chose between 2 hypothetical plans of support services and their current services. Data were analyzed with generalized multinomial logit models that were used to calculate the impact of each attribute on the probability of a carer choosing a service plan. Results: Preferred support included nursing services; the probability of choosing a plan increased significantly if it included nurse home visits and phone advice (P < 0.001). HC carers also wanted doctor home visits, home respite, and help with personal care (P < 0.05), and LC carers wanted help with household tasks, transport, and a case coordinator (P < 0.001). On average, both groups of carers preferred their current services, but this varied with characteristics of the carer and the caregiving situation. Conclusions:The most valued services are those that support carers in their caregiving role; however, supportive care preferences vary with the different circumstances of patients and carers.

Contract Duration and the Division of Labor in Agricultural Land Leases

Short-term contracts provide weak incentives for durable input investment if post-contract asset transfer is difficult. Our model shows that when both agents provide inputs, optimal contract length balances weak incentives of one agent against the other. This perspective broadens the existing contract duration literature, which emphasizes the tradeoff between risk sharing and contract costs. We develop hypotheses and test them based on private grazing contracts from the Southern Great Plains. We find broad support for the implications of our model. For example, landowners provide durable land-specific inputs more often under annual versus multiyear contracts.

Understanding Challenges to Food Security in Dry Arab Micro-States: Evidence from Qatari Micro-Data

Abstract Using Qatar as a case study, we exploit a novel micro-data set for 102 raw agricultural imported commodities on a shipment-by-shipment basis over the period January 1, 2005 to June 30, 2010. The data comprise over half a million individual observations, with a very rich set of characteristic specifications. Several interesting initial results emerge from the analysis. First, we find evidence of import-price volatility far in excess of world price volatility across a wide spectrum of commodities. Second, supply origins for virtually all commodities are highly concentrated. In many cases, commodities are sole sourced. Third, although less so, concentration is evidenced among Qatari importing companies for certain commodities. Fourth, we notice anomalies that lead to inefficient shipping methodologies and associated increased costs. The paper concludes by providing an empirical illustration of hedonic price modeling for barley followed by guidance for future empirical research.

More Efficient Production Subsidies for Emerging Agriculture in Arab Micro-States: A Conceptual Model

Abstract Import-dependent arid Arab micro-states such as those in the Persian Gulf are particularly vulnerable to food-security risk. Among the many remedial policy suggestions, some initiation or increase in domestic production is to insulate these countries from supply disruption, import price volatility, and high import prices. This article does not address the efficacy of domestic production but notes that such production will require government intervention in the form of production subsidies to mitigate market risk. The narrow focus of this article is to provide a conceptual structure of subsidies that avoids many previous problems in established subsidy systems. The model has two components: a calculation of the true economic cost of a unit of an agricultural product and a deficit payment that is calculated to bridge the gap between true economic cost and market remuneration. The structure of the deficit payment is crucial to the establishment of a beneficial incentive system but the article is limited to a few of many possible options. The deficit-payment option we suggest makes the most use of market signals, avoids perverse incentives, and provides a structure to encourage efficiency, quality enhancement, and product differentiation in agricultural products. The system is designed to be WTO compliant. A detailed numerical example is used for the economic price and simple analytics, and numeric examples are used to illustrate the incentive effects of deficit payments.