We investigate conditions sufficient for identification of average treatment effects using instrumental variables. First we show that the existence of valid instruments is not sufficient to identify any meaningful average treatment effect. We then establish that the combination of an instrument and a condition on the relation between the instrument and the participation status is sufficient for identification of a local average treatment effect for those who can be induced to change their participation status by changing the value of the instrument. Finally we derive the probability limit of the standard IV estimator under these conditions. It is seen to be a weighted average of local average treatment effects.

Evolution and Rationality Some Recent Game-Theoretic Results. Identification and Estimation of Local Average Treatment Effects

Objective: The recent obesity epidemic has been accompanied by a parallel growth in chronic sleep deprivation. Physiologic studies suggest sleep deprivation may influence weight through effects on appetite, physical activity, and/or thermoregulation. This work reviews the literature regarding short sleep duration as an independent risk factor for obesity and weight gain.

Short sleep duration and weight gain : a systematic review

http://www.antoniocasella.eu/salute/lancet_crisis_health_27mar13.pdf

Financial crisis, austerity, and health in Europe

Tobacco use by adolescents and young adults poses serious concerns Nearly all adults who have ever smoked daily first tried a cigarette before 26 years of age Current cigarette use among adults is highest among persons aged 21 to 25 years The parts of the brain most responsible for cognitive and psychosocial maturity continue to develop and change through young adulthood, and adolescent brains are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of nicotineAt the request of the US Food and Drug Administration, Public Health Implications of Raising the Minimum Age of Legal Access to Tobacco Products considers the likely public health impact of raising the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products The report reviews the existing literature on tobacco use patterns, developmental biology and psychology, health effects of tobacco use, and the current landscape regarding youth access laws, including minimum age laws and their enforcement Based on this literature, the report makes conclusions about the likely effect of raising the minimum age to 19, 21, and 25 years on tobacco use initiation The report also quantifies the accompanying public health outcomes based on findings from two tobacco use simulation models According to the report, raising the minimum age of legal access to tobacco products, particularly to ages 21 and 25, will lead to substantial reductions in tobacco use, improve the health of Americans across the lifespan, and save lives Public Health Implications of Raising the Minimum Age of Legal Access to Tobacco Products will be a valuable reference for federal policy makers and state and local health departments and legislators

Public Health Implications of Raising the Minimum Age of Legal Access to Tobacco Products

A textbook of family medicine

When one analyzes the determinants of production efficiency, regressing efficiency scores estimated by data envelopment analysis on explanatory variables has much intuitive appeal. Simar and Wilson...

/pdf/simar-and-wilson-two-stage-efficiency-analysis-for-stata-1ckywmkr30.pdf

Simar and Wilson two-stage efficiency analysis for Stata:

This study analyses a parametric estimator for a system of equations with limited dependent variables that was recently proposed. Its performance is compared with those of alternative estimation procedures using Monte Carlo methods. The comparison shows that this new estimator is less efficient for a wide range of parameter regions than multivariate generalizations of the classical Heckman model. This result can be explained by its variance depending on the squared conditional mean of the dependent variables. Additionally, it turns out that within the class of generalized Heckman estimators, rather simple ones display the best performance.

Efficiency of two-step estimators for censored systems of equations: Shonkwiler and Yen reconsidered

This paper analyzes the decision to start smoking using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP). Our focus is on the role that parental smoking behavior plays for children's smoking initiation. The data used are a combination of retrospective information on the age individuals started smoking and, by tracing back these individuals within the panel structure up to that point, information on characteristics at the age of smoking initiation. In contrast to the previous literature it is possible to control for the environment at the time of smoking onset that might have influenced the decision to start. Our preferred specification of a discrete time hazard model indicates that parental smoking significantly increases the offspring's hazard to start smoking. While this effect is most prominent for currently smoking parents, it is also found for parents who have given up smoking already. However, an ambiguous effect of the timing of parental smoking cessation is found, arguing against role-model effects being a key determinant for smoking initiation.

Smoking initiation in Germany: the role of intergenerational transmission.

In 1996, free choice of health insurers was introduced to the German social health insurance system. One objective was to increase efficiency through competition. A crucial precondition for effective competition among health insurers is that consumers search for lower-priced health insurers. We test this hypothesis by estimating the price elasticities of insurers' market shares. We use unique panel data and specify a dynamic panel model to explain changes in market shares. Estimation results suggest that short-run price elasticities are smaller than previously found by other studies. In the long-run, however, estimation results suggest substantial price effects. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

http://people.stern.nyu.edu/wgreene/Lugano2013/Tamm-Tauchmann-Wasem-Gress-HE16-2007.pdf

Elasticities of market shares and social health insurance choice in germany: a dynamic panel data approach

Despite their frequent use in applied work, nonparametric approaches to efficiency analysis—namely, data envelopment analysis and free disposal hull— have bad reputations among econometricians. Thi...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1536867X1201200309

Harald Tauchmann

Papers

Simar and Wilson two-stage efficiency analysis for Stata:

Efficiency of two-step estimators for censored systems of equations: Shonkwiler and Yen reconsidered

Smoking initiation in Germany: the role of intergenerational transmission.

Elasticities of market shares and social health insurance choice in germany: a dynamic panel data approach

Partial frontier efficiency analysis