Louis G. Pol

Segmenting industrial markets

Abstract This paper investigates the use of demographic data as a basis for segmenting industrial markets. Current literature on industrial market segmentation is explored to ascertain what demography means in an industrial context. A demographic-based segmentation scheme is applied to the market for an industrial product sold to retail store chains in an effort to measure a manufacturers penetration across market segments. The information generated from this application has provided the impetus for changes in marketing strategy.

Demographic contributions to marketing: An assessment

The use of demographics in marketing studies has a relatively long history. Given the proliferation of demographic data, and some of the concern over the shortcomings of demographic contributions to marketing, it is appropriate to assess the use of demographics in the marketing literature. This study examines the contribution of population data, methods, and models in six marketing journals from 1980 through 1988. The results show that even though demographics appear in over 15 percent of the studies, methodological and theoretical shortcomings limit their value. The findings are discussed with respect to application improvements that should be made.

The influence of rural-urban migration on migrants' fertility in Korea, Mexico and Cameroon

The paper presents a comparative analysis of the relationship between rural-urban migration and fertility in Korea, Mexico, and Cameroon. Using an autoregressive model, the results show a significant rural-urban migration adaptation effect in Korea and Mexico, a reduction of 2.57 and 1.45 children during the entire childbearing period, respectively, when compared to a rural stayer, even after the effect of selection has been controlled. Rural-urban migration has a very small impact on fertility in Cameroon. The unexpected result for Cameroon is due to the fact that the fertility-increasing effect of urban residency on the improved supply conditions of births, such as reduced infertility, offsets the fertility-depressing effect of urban residency on the demand for births. As a result of the adaptation to urban fertility norms, the number of country-wide births was reduced significantly in Mexico and Korea over the time periods studied.

Discrimination in mortgage lending: The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act

There exists a long history of legislation at the national and state levels in the United States designed to have an impact on the home mortgage lending market. The present research makes use of data available through one national legislative act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, to ascertain if some census tracts in Memphis, Tennessee are experiencing lower than expected rates of mortgage lending from conventional and governmental sources due to the percent of their population which is black. The data indicate that even after instituting objective controls, i.e., income, neighborhood conditions, and two dimensions of demand, the percent of the population which is black significantly affects (negatively) lending rates. These results are discussed in regard to (1) the implications for patterns of city growth and development, and (2) further legislative action required to make the study of such dis-crimination easier for a public charged with that responsibility.

Health Insurance Status of the Adult, Nonelderly Foreign-Born Population

The last two decades have been marked by substantial immigration to the United States. As a result of this movement, the foreign-born population is growing rapidly. Previous studies have shown that the foreign-born population is much more likely than the native-born one to be without health insurance. The present analysis focuses on factors that distinguish the insured from the uninsured, utilizing nativity status (foreign born versus native born) as one of the independent variables in a set of logistic regression models. Results show that even after controlling for income, employment status, and other variables known to be associated with health insurance status, the foreign born are twice as likely to be without health insurance than are their native-born counterparts. Among the foreign born, recency of arrival emerges as an important factor in distinguishing the insured from the uninsured. Public policies intended to address the problem of health insurance in the foreign-born population must go beyond being based only on economic considerations and take into account factors such as cultural background and health-related attitudes to be effective.

Migration expectancy revisited: Results for the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s

Planners in a variety of situations require an improved understanding of migration trends if services and products that adequately meet constituent needs are to be provided. This note focuses on changes in migration expectancy over three decades in the context of the planning function. Using the CPS one-year migration question for the periods 1975–1976, 1980–1981, and 1987–1991, and the work of Wilber (1963) and Long (1973) as historical benchmarks, migration expectancy is found to have fallen since the earlier studies. Longer-distance migration (between counties and between states) has remained relatively constant over the same period so that these types of moves now account for a larger proportion of total residential mobility. The results are discussed in the context of their value to individuals and organizations who seek a better understanding of demographically-driven demand from services and products.

Correlating pharmaceutical data with a national health survey as a proxy for estimating rural population health

BackgroundChronic disease accounts for nearly three-quarters of US deaths, yet prevalence rates are not consistently reported at the state level and are not available at the sub-state level. This makes it difficult to assess trends in prevalence and impossible to measure sub-state differences. Such county-level differences could inform and direct the delivery of health services to those with the greatest need.MethodsWe used a database of prescription drugs filled in the US as a proxy for nationwide, county-level prevalence of three top causes of death: heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. We tested whether prescription data are statistically valid proxy measures for prevalence, using the correlation between prescriptions filled at the state level and comparable Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. We further tested for statistically significant national geographic patterns.ResultsFourteen correlations were tested for years in which the BRFSS questions were asked (1999-2003), and all were statistically significant. The correlations at the state level ranged from a low of 0.41 (stroke, 1999) to a high of 0.73 (heart disease, 2003). We also mapped self-reported chronic illnesses along with prescription rates associated with those illnesses.ConclusionsCounty prescription drug rates were shown to be valid measures of sub-state estimates of diagnosed prevalence and could be used to target health resources to counties in need. This methodology could be particularly helpful to rural areas whose prevalence rates cannot be estimated using national surveys. While there are no spatial statistically significant patterns nationally, there are significant variations within states that suggest unmet health needs.

The Individual Economic Costs of Teenage Childbearing.

Although the desire to have children remains high among most Americans more future parents are beginning to acknowledge the disadvantages of large families and the advantages of small ones. In this paper previous findings on the economic costs of raising children are reviewed and examined especially as they apply to the rapidly growing population of teenage childbearers. Utilizing data from a variety of sources information was tabulated on the average loss of education by age at 1st birth the average annual income and hourly wage for women by educational attainment the expected annual reduction of income due to low educational attainment and the direct costs of subsequent fertility. Results showed that children born to teenagers were substantially more expensive than those born to women who delay 1st births until their 20s. (authors)

Health insurance in the near elderly population

A number of studies have documented therising number of persons under age 65 who do not havehealth insurance. This paper focuses on the healthinsurance status of near elderly, those persons age 55through 64. A comparison age group, persons age 45through 54, is selected for benchmark purposes. Utilizing data from the 1996 Current PopulationSurvey, logistic regression is used to generateinsurance status prediction equations for both agegroups. Household characteristics, income, educationand employment are found to be significant predictorsof health insurance status, but fewer-than-expecteddifferences are found in comparing equations betweenthe two age groups. Results are discussed in thecontext of recent proposals to extend Medicarecoverage, the effect of Medicare policy changes on thenumber of near elderly persons without healthinsurance, and how prolonged periods of time withouthealth insurance may lead to an increased burden onMedicare as newly eligible Medicare recipients seekservices to address their pent-up demand for healthcare.

Morbidity and Mortality

Of all demographic factors, morbidity and mortality represent the clearest linkage between demography and health care. In a general way, they represent both the level of need and the extent of the effect of the functioning of the health care system. Morbidity, or the level of sickness and disability within a population, historically has been an area of study for both clinicians and population-oriented scientists such as epidemiologists. In recent years, however, increased activity on the part of demographers has been observed as population researchers apply their methodologies and perspectives in greater detail and with more precision to the study of sickness and death. Mortality refers to the process of death characterizing a population and its study includes the characteristics of those who die as well as what they die from. It is a more traditional focus of demographers, in part because of its direct effect (along with fertility and migration) in bringing about population change.