Nurse-staffing level and quality of acute care services:Evidence from cross-national panel data analysis in OECD countries

Background:Most of previous studies aimed to estimate the effect of nurse staffing on quality of acute hospital care have used stochastic methods and their results are mixed.Objective:To measure the magnitude of effect of nurse-staffing level on increasing quality of acute care services in long-run.Data:The number of practicing nurses'density per 1000 population as the proxy of nurse-staffing level and three Health Care Quality Indicators(HCQI)included 30-day mortality per 100 patients based on acute myocardial infarction(MORTAMIO),hemorrhagic stroke(MORTHSTO)and ischemic stroke(MORTISTO)were collected as a part of ongoing project by OECD.org in panels of 26 OECD countries over 2005-2015 period.Method:Panel data analysis.Results:There were committed relationships from nurse-staffing level to the enhancement of HCQI i.e.1%increase in nurse-staffing level would reduce the rates of patient mortality based on MORTAMIO,MORTHSTO and MORTISTO by 0.65%,0.60%and 0.80%,respectively.Furthermore,the role of nursestaffing level in increasing overall HCQI were simulated at the highest level in Sweden(-3.53),Denmark(-3.31),Canada(-2.59),Netherlands(-2.33),Finland(-2.09),Switzerland(-1.72),Australia(-1.64)and United States(-1.53).Conclusion:A higher proportion of nurses-staffing level is associated with higher quality of acute care services in OECD countries.Also,the nursing characteristics of Sweden,Denmark,Canada,Netherlands,Finland,Switzerland,Australia and United States would be good patterns for other countries to maximize nursing outcomes in the care of patients with acute and life-threatening conditions by reducing the risk of complication,mortality and adverse clinical outcomes.

Factors Determining Health Expenditure in the Asian and the OECD Countries

It is widely recognized that developed countries have been spending more than developing countries on health care. Objective of the study is to examine determinants of health expenditure and what factors influence it. Fifteen Asian countries and 30 OECD countries were chosen to explore the difference of their health expenditure structures. Model of health expenditure per person was estimated to be dependent on market demand, market supply, and other exogenous factors. A model with country specific and time effects of health expenditure was used and estimated. The study found a negative but insignificant relationship between price and health expenditure and a positive and significant relationship between GDP and health expenditure. Urban population density as proxy of urbanization was found to induce the health expenditure in the OECD. Out-of-pocket payment was also found to induce health expenditure for both the Asian and the OECD countries. A net effect of improvement in the health status or a lower mortality rate and a higher life expectancy caused an increase in the health expenditure among the Asian countries studied but decreased health expenditure in the OECD countries. In terms of income elasticity, it was found to be smaller than one in both groups of the countries. Since the income has changed faster than the other factors, the net effect of changes of all factors over period of time will cause rising in health care expenditure. Finally, the model indicated that both the Asian and OECD countries will continue to have a rising health expenditure per person over a period of time.

Stock prices and economic activity nexus in OECD countries:new evidence from an asymmetric panel Granger causality test in the frequency domain

This study investigates the stock price–economic activity nexus in 12 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD)by employing monthly data over the period 1981:1–2018:3.For this purpose,the study uses Granger causality in the frequency domain in the panel setting by decomposing the symmetric and asymmetric fluctuations.This methodology determines whether the predictive power of interested variables is concentrated on quickly,moderately,or slowly fluctuating components.Our findings show that the stock prices have predictive power for future long-term economic activity in the panel setting.However,economic activity has more reliable information for stock prices for negative components.Additionally,empirical findings for asymmetric shocks are not fully consistent with those of symmetric ones.Besides,the country-specific results provide different causal linkages across members and frequencies.These findings may provide valuable information for policymakers to design proper and effective policies in OECD countries regarding the stock market and economic activity nexus.

Impact of taxes on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:Evidence from Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD)countries

Multiple ecological and socioeconomic problems have occurred worldwide,raising the awareness of sustainability.This study aims to examine the impact of taxes on Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)in the context of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD)countries.This research used effective average tax(EAT),tax on personal income(TPI),tax on corporate profits(TCP),and tax on goods and services(TGS)as the variables of taxes,and employed secondary data from 38 OECD countries covering 2000–2021.The study also used Breusch-Pagan Lagrange Multiplier(LM),Pesaran Scaled LM,Bias-Corrected Scaled LM,and Pesaran Cross-sectional dependence(CSD)tests to analyze the existence of crosssectional dependency.Then,we established the stationarity of variables through second-generation panel unit root tests(Cross-sectional Augmented Dickey-Fuller(CADF)and Cross-sectional Im,Pesaran,and Shin(CIPS)),and confirmed the long-run cointegration of the variables by using secondgeneration panel cointegration test(Westerlund cointegration test).The results showed that EAT,TPI,TCP,and TGS are positively associated with SDGs.However,the change in TPI has a smaller effect on SDGs than the change in EAT or TCP or TGS.The result of panel causality indicated that EAT,TPI,and TGS have a unidirectional causal relationship with SDGs.The study also found that TCP has a bi-directional causal relationship with SDGs.Moreover,the finding indicated that the OECD countries need to focus on tax policies to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.This study is based on the theory of optimal taxation(TOT),which suggests that tax systems should be designed to maximize social welfare.Finally,we suggests the importance of taking a comprehensive approach for the managers and policy-makers when analyzing the impact of taxes on SDGs.

Will Tax Burden Be a Stumbling Block to Carbon-Emission Reduction? Evidence from OECD Countries

The influence of taxation on the economy and society is everywhere. Given the fact that CO_(2) emission is closely connected with human activities, the question naturally arises whether the tax burden affects the carbon emissions. To address this issue, based on the data of 21 OECD countries over the period from 1991–2014, we use the ratio of tax revenue to GDP as a proxy of the tax burden and employ a panel quantile model with the non-additive fixed effects for analysis. The results suggest that the impact of the tax burden on carbon emissions is heterogeneous across countries based on the level of carbon emissions. Moreover, we find a stable U-shaped relationship between the tax burden and carbon emissions whether for countries with a high or low level of carbon emissions. Our findings suggest that moderate taxes could help reduce carbon emissions, but the effect of excessive taxation is the opposite.