RESEARCH

Abstracts of Selected Papers

"Role of Non-Traditional Locations for Seasonal Flu Vaccination: Empirical Evidence and Evaluation"

This study investigated the role of non-traditional locations in the decision to vaccinate for seasonal flu. We measured individuals’ preferred location for seasonal flu vaccination by examining the National H1N1 Flu Survey (NHFS) conducted from late 2009 to early 2010. Our econometric model estimated the probabilities of possible choices by varying individual characteristics, and predicted the way in which the probabilities are expected to change given the specific covariates of interest. From this estimation, we observed that non-traditional locations significantly influenced the vaccination of certain individuals, such as those who are high-income, educated, White, employed, and living in a metropolitan statistical area (MSA), by increasing the coverage. Thus, based on the empirical evidence, our study suggested that supporting non-traditional locations for vaccination could be effective in increasing vaccination coverage.

"Binomial Latent Variable Regression and “Don’t Know” Response: Financial Knowledge and Misunderstood Bias"

(Submission Title: Financial knowledge and “Don’t know” response: Binomial and latent variable model analysis)

This study suggested new econometric regression models to investigate the effect of “Don’t Know” or “Refuse” (DK/RF) responses on parameter identification. We estimated the effect of group characteristics and financial education on the level of objective financial knowledge and found the actual effects and biases by our suggested models. This study examined six questions about personal finance and selected covariates in the 2015 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS). Because these questions included DK/RF responses, a simple regression model that does not consider DK/RF responses could lead to misleading conclusions. Thus, to address this issue, this study performed binomial and latent variable regression models that identify the effect of previously ignored DK/RF responses and evaluates potential parameters of these DK/RF responses. Our suggested models identified that a respondent who rejected financial education was likely to be less financially literate, and this effect was more significant than the generally used model expected. Further, we also fond from our models that formal or informal education proved to be less effective than researchers expected in increasing the level of objective financial knowledge. In addition, we observed minor or no gender, income, and age differences in objective financial knowledge that differed in the generally used model concluded.

"Paid Sick Leave, Vaccination, and Inequality: Bayesian Structural Equation Approach"

(Submission Title: Do we consider paid sick leave when deciding to get vaccinated?)

This study investigated the effect of paid sick leave on workers’ decisions to obtain vaccinations for the seasonal flu. Our vaccination decision model suggested that the marginal effect of paid sick leave depended on the reduced cost of obtaining a vaccination now and the expected income benefit from claiming paid sick leave after flu infection. Our hypothesis was that these effects vary according to workers’ income levels. To confirm this hypothesis, we examined the National H1N1 Flu Survey (NHFS) conducted in late 2009 to early 2010 and measured the marginal effect. For the estimation, first, we proposed the vaccination decision model with paid sick leave intervention. Then, we suggested a Bayesian endogenous covariates regression model that controlled two endogenous variables in the outcome equation by using structural equation modeling. The results of our estimation indicated that expanding paid sick leave did affect workers’ vaccination decisions differently based on their income levels. Low-income workers were willing to be vaccinated because of the positive expected income benefit. On the other hand, high-income workers were willing to be vaccinated because the positive cost effect dominated the negative expected income benefit. Therefore, we suggested two different policies: eliminating barriers or providing a financial incentive for low-income workers to receive vaccinations, and increasing the cost for high-income workers to reject vaccination.

"The Impact of Formal and Informal Education on Financial Literacy: A Bayesian Finite Mixture Approach"

Sufficient knowledge is an essential factor for proper financial behaviors. A popular policy to improve financial knowledge is a financial or economic curriculum for high school and college students. However, the effect of this education program is unclear. Our interest lies in modeling the between and within group effect of financial education on financial literacy. The between-group effect would capture the transition in financial literacy between low and high-knowledge groups. On the other hand, the within-group effect would explain the change in financial literacy within each knowledgeable group. For this purpose, we analyzed the 2015 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) by employing Bayesian finite mixture regression models. Our estimation results indicated that the voluntariness of accepting formal financial education widened the gap in financial literacy between high and low knowledge groups. Also, the formal education in high school is effective enough to improve financial literacy while that in college overlooked less-knowledgeable individuals. Moreover, informal education from parents or guardians would improve financial literacy for both knowledge groups. Thus, we suggest the mandate of school education and the financial education programs for college students and young parents.

"An Empirical Analysis of Health Interventions and Misuse of Cervical Cancer Screening among Young Women"

This study investigated the effect of three health-related interventions including a doctor’s recommendation, information about human papillomavirus (HPV), and HPV vaccination, on the misuse of cervical cancer screening and the corresponding decision among women younger than 30 years. I examined the National Health Interview Survey conducted in 2015 and applied the binary and multinomial logistic regression models. The estimation result showed that doctor’s recommendation played a significant role in not only encouraging young women to receive Pap smears at the proper usage but also inducing misuse of HPV testing, too-early screening, and overuse of Pap smear screening. It also showed that hearing of HPV and HPV vaccination induced unnecessary HPV testing, but not too-early screening and overuse of annual Pap smear for young women. To prevent young women from the misuse of cervical cancer screening, expert groups and public health authorities should provide precise and correct information about the appropriate cancer screening as well as doctor’s effort to follow the screening guideline.