Search results for "Natural experiment"

Evaluating free school fruit: results from a natural experiment in Norway with representative data

2014

AbstractObjectiveTo assess impacts of the nationwide Norwegian School Fruit Scheme (NSFS) using nationally representative data.DesignThe NSFS is organized such that primary-school children (grades 1–7) are randomly assigned to one of three school fruit arrangements: (i) the child receives one free fruit or vegetable per day; (ii) the child is given the option to subscribe to one fruit or vegetable per day at a subsidized price; and (iii) the child attends a school that has no school fruit arrangement.SettingData from an Internet survey are used to compare child and parental fruit and vegetable intakes across the three NSFS groups focusing mainly on groups (i) and (iii). The analysis was con…

A study protocol: evaluating the natural experiment of free school fruit in Norway (2007-14)

2017

The long-term consequences of the global 1918 influenza pandemic: A systematic analysis of 117 IPUMS international census data sets

2017

Several country-level studies, including a prominent one for the United States, have identified long-term effects of in-utero exposure to the 1918 influenza pandemic (also known as the Spanish Flu) on economic outcomes in adulthood. In-utero conditions are theoretically linked to adult health and socioeconomic status through the fetal origins or Barker hypothesis. Historical exposure to the Spanish Flu provides a natural experiment to test this hypothesis. Although the Spanish Flu was a global phenomenon, with around 500 million people infected worldwide, there exists no comprehensive global study on its long-term economic effects. We attempt to close this gap by systematically analyzing 11…

Regime change and the convergence of democratic value orientations through socialization. Evidence from reunited Germany

2016

ABSTRACTTheories of socialization and political culture claim that public ideas about how a democracy should be shaped will only change slowly after regime changes. Thus, citizens’ value orientations should converge after a replacement of generations and through institutional learning. Pertaining to the development and convergence of individual conceptions of democracy or democratic value orientations, these assumptions have not yet been tested empirically. This article therefore provides an empirical test, drawing on the case of German reunification as a natural experiment. I analyse the development of democratic value orientations based on data from the sixth wave of the European Social S…

European Banking Union and bank risk disclosure: the effects of the Single Supervisory Mechanism

2022

AbstractThis paper provides evidence on the impact of European Banking Union (BU) and the associated Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) on the risk disclosure practices of European banks. The onset of BU and the associated rules are considered as an exogenous shock that provides the setting for a natural experiment to analyze the effects of the new supervisory arrangements on bank risk disclosure practices. A Difference-in-Differences approach is adopted, building evidence from the disclosure practices of systemically important banks supervised by the European Central Bank (ECB) and other banks supervised by national regulators over the period 2012–2017. The main findings are that bank risk…

How to evaluate the effect of seven years of the Norwegian School Fruit Scheme (2007-2014) on fruit, vegetable and snack consumption and weight statu…

2019

Aim: From August 2007 to June 2014, the Norwegian School Fruit Scheme (NSFS) legally established that all pupils in junior high and combined schools (275,000 pupils every year), but not those in primary schools (343,000 pupils every year), were entitled to a free piece of fruit or vegetable every school day. The NSFS is a natural experiment, unique in terms of scope and lengthiness. Such governmental efforts to improve the diet of the public are rarely evaluated. Thus, an evaluation of the comprehensive, well-designed NSFS is warranted. The aim was to describe how the NSFS can be evaluated using existing data sets. Methods: Four data sets have been identified for the evaluation of the NSFS…

In UteroRamadan Exposure and Children's Academic Performance

2014

A large literature has linked the in utero environment to health in adulthood. We consider how prenatal nutrition may shape human capital acquisition in childhood, utilising the month-long Ramadan fast as a natural experiment. In student register data for Pakistani and Bangladeshi families in England, we examine whether Ramadan's overlap with pregnancy affects subsequent academic outcomes at age 7. We find that test scores are 0.05-0.08 standard deviations lower for students exposed to Ramadan in early pregnancy. Our results suggest that brief prenatal investments may be more cost effective than traditional educational interventions in improving academic performance.

Open It And They Will Come? The Impact of Fallen Barriers on Securities Market Participation

2017

Various barriers may prevent people from entering a market. Will they participate in the market despite their inexperience once the barriers fall? I exploit the socalled German reunification experiment in order to assess the impact of removed market barriers on participation rates: While East Germans were deprived of the possibility to participate in capitalist securities markets before 1989, the reunification of Germany offered access to those markets. I estimate that a person is, ceteris paribus, by 25–30 percentage points less likely to participate over a 3–7 years horizon after being initially excluded from the securities market, suggesting a prominent role of financial experience in ex…

Early life stress and frailty in old age: the Helsinki birth cohort study

2018

Background: Evidence suggests that early life stress (ELS) may extend its effect into adulthood and predispose an individual to adverse health outcomes. We investigated whether wartime parental separation, an indicator of severe ELS, would be associated with frailty in old age. Methods: Of the 972 participants belonging to the present sub-study of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, 117 (12. 0%) had been evacuated abroad unaccompanied by their parents in childhood during World War II. Frailty was assessed at a mean age of 71 years according to Fried's criteria. Results: Thirteen frail men (4 separated and 9 non-separated) and 20 frail women (2 separated and 18 non-separated) were identified. C…