Forecasting with Micro Panels: The Case of Health Care Costs

Micro panels characterized by large numbers of individuals observed over a short time period provide a rich source of information, but as yet there is only limited experience in using such data for forecasting. Existing simulation evidence supports the use of a fixed‐effects approach when forecasting but it is not based on a truly micro panel set‐up. In this study, we exploit the linkage of a representative survey of more than 250,000 Australians aged 45 and over to 4 years of hospital, medical and pharmaceutical records. The availability of panel health cost data allows the use of predictors based on fixed‐effects estimates designed to guard against possible omitted variable biases associated with unobservable individual specific effects. We demonstrate the preference towards fixed‐effects‐based predictors is unlikely to hold in many practical situations, including our models of health care costs. Simulation evidence with a micro panel set‐up adds support and additional insights to the results obtained in the application. These results are supportive of the use of the ordinary least squares predictor in a wide range of circumstances. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

财政分权与基本公共服务供给——基于中国省级面板数据的实证分析

采用2007~2011年中国省级面板数据,运用固定效应模型,分析了财政分权对我国基本公共服务供给的影响,并通过控制变量的引入,揭示可能影响地方政府公共服务供给的因素.结果表明:财政分权并没有提高公共服务供给水平;经济发展水平、财政转移支付、政府偏好和财政支出水平对基本公共服务供给水平有正向影响,而人口密度对基本公共服务供给水平产生负影响     

基于位置和散度效应因子分类筛选及仿真试验

针对供应链及其它计算机仿真试验中所涉及因子数目众多的情形,序贯分支方法因筛选效率较高被广泛采用.然而,现有的序贯分支方法忽视对散度效应起显著作用的因子.由于相比位置效应,散度效应在产品或供应链系统的质量设计中是同等甚至更为重要的,故提出一种基于位置效应与散度效应的序贯分支方法.首先,将影响位置效应与散度效应的显著因子分类为调节因子,重要因子和稳健因子;然后,结合序贯概率比检验(sequential probability ratio test,SPRT),在控制筛选过程中第一类错误和第二类错误的基础上,采用序贯分支方法分类地筛选出显著因子;最后通过仿真试验说明此方法能够有效且分类地处理位置效应与散度效应下的显著因子筛选问题.     

农村工业结构时空演进及其环境污染效应评价——基于行业污染程度视角

从行业污染程度的视角对农村工业进行分类,分析农村工业结构变动的时空分异特征,探讨农村工业结构变动对环境影响的机理,构建环境影响指数,定量评价农村工业结构演进的环境污染效应.主要结论如下:①1988-2010年间农村工业轻度污染行业所占比重呈现增加的趋势,而污染行业呈现下降的趋势.研究期内环境影响指数呈现"增长-下降-增长"的变化趋势,2002年以后又逐步呈现增加的趋势.②农村工业结构区域分异特征明显,在省级层面,江苏、山东、浙江、山西、河北、河南、广东、辽宁、上海等省市重污染行业和中度污染占全国重污染行业的比重较多,环境影响指数也都较大.在区域层面上,污染行业也主要集中在东部发达地区,东部地区环境影响指数远远大于中部和西部地区.在环境管理实践中不同的地区应实行差别化的管理政策.     

Multicategory Purchase Incidence Models for Partitions of Product Categories

We analyze multicategory purchases of households by means of heterogeneous multivariate probit models that relate to partitions formed from a total of 25 product categories. We investigate both prior and post hoc partitions. We search model structures by a stochastic algorithm and estimate models by Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation. The best model in terms of cross‐validated log‐likelihood refers to a post hoc partition with two groups; the second‐best model considers all categories as one group. Among prior partitions with at least two category groups a five‐group model performs best. Effects on average basket value differ for the model with five prior category groups from those for the best‐performing model in 40% and 24% of the investigated categories for features and displays, respectively. In addition, the model with five prior category groups also underestimates total sales revenue across all categories by about 28%. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Between meaning culture and presence effects: contemporary biomedical objects as a challenge to museums

The acquisition and display of material artefacts is the raison d’être of museums. But what constitutes a museum artefact? Contemporary medicine (biomedicine) is increasingly producing artefacts that do not fit the traditional museological understanding of what constitutes a material, tangible artefact. Museums today are therefore caught in a paradox. On the one hand, medical science and technologies are having an increasing pervasive impact on the way contemporary life is lived and understood and is therefore a central part of the contemporary world. On the other hand, the objects involved in medical diagnostics and therapies are becoming increasingly invisible and intangible and therefore seem to have no role to play as artefacts in a museum context. Consequently, museums are at risk of becoming alienated from an increasingly important part of contemporary society. This essay elaborates the paradox by employing Gumbrecht’s (2004) distinction between ‘presence’ and ‘meaning’.     

遥感估算植被覆盖度的角度效应分析

植被覆盖度是植被在地面的垂直投影面积占统计区总面积的百分比.由于植被反射的二向性特性,不同角度估算的植被覆盖度原则上不可比,另外,不同观测角度对应像元不同的采样面积,对于非均一地表这种面积差异引起的角度效应也非常显著.本文除了考虑植被的二向性反射,还重点模拟分析了由于像元的采样面积差异引起的角度效应及其带来的植被覆盖度估算误差.模拟结果表明:相比天顶观测,在倾斜40°观测时,对于作物和裸土混合,由于面积误差带来的红光波段反射率差异已高达56%,同时引起的植被覆盖度估算误差达到23%,因此研究植被覆盖度的角度效应问题很有必要.     

应用高分子材料整治铁路桥梁支座病害

分析了铁路桥梁支座病害的成因,介绍了应用高分子材料整治桥梁支座病害的施工工艺和取得的效果.     

酸樱桃果实有效成分及药理作用的研究

酸樱桃果实营养丰富、均衡,含有大量的维生素(VA,VB,VC)和矿物质(K,Ca,Fe),而糖类、脂肪、热量的含量较低;尤其富含花青素、各种花色苷、褪黑激素、槲皮素、异槲皮素和其他有效成分.大量研究发现它们具有显著的药理作用,如调节睡眠、清除自由基、抗氧化作用、抗炎、镇痛、抗癌、预防心血管疾病、降低血糖、延缓衰老等.因此,对酸樱桃果实有效成分及药理作用进行了研究.