STORRE Collection: Electronic copies of Economics working papers.
http://hdl.handle.net/1893/477
Electronic copies of Economics working papers.2024-03-18T18:40:09ZValidation of the Worries Emerging from the Covid-19 Pandemic (WECP) Scale
http://hdl.handle.net/1893/34060
Title: Validation of the Worries Emerging from the Covid-19 Pandemic (WECP) Scale
Author(s): Comerford, David; Olivarius, Olivia; Bell, David; Douglas, Elaine
Abstract: Background and Objectives: Covid-19 has caused substantial disruption to how we live, work and socialise and has evoked concerns and worries regarding many aspects of life. As the UK was easing Covid-19 restrictions in the period March – May 2021, we devised and validated a Worries Emerging from the Covid-19 Pandemic scale (the WECP scale). Research Design and Methods: We devised 100 items that factor analyses over two rounds of data collection on UK residents reduced to a 14-item scale. The resultant WECP scale captures the following dimensions: worries about the future course of the virus; worries about readjusting to society; feelings of isolation; worries about the continuation or reintroduction of restrictions; worries for family and friends; financial worries and worries regarding the safety and efficacy of Covid vaccines. Results: Scores on our WECP scale are independently predicted by three scales from the peer-reviewed literature: one that captures fear concerning the disease itself, one that captures broader worries around the pandemic and one that measures resilience. WECP scores are lower among older respondents (age 70+) than among younger respondents (age 40-49) and this is largely explained by financial worries and worries regarding the efficacy and risks of the Covid-19 vaccines. Discussion: The WECP scale provides a uniquely insightful measure of the worries experienced by the older UK population as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. It can help identify which groups have been left feeling vulnerable by the pandemic and on which dimensions those groups would profit from support.2022-01-31T00:00:00ZDid Negative News Regarding the Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine end in Vaccine Hesitancy? A Repeated Cross-Section Event Study from the UK
http://hdl.handle.net/1893/34059
Title: Did Negative News Regarding the Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine end in Vaccine Hesitancy? A Repeated Cross-Section Event Study from the UK
Author(s): Comerford, David; Olivarius, Olivia; Dawson, Alison; Brown, Tamara; Bell, David; McGregor, Lesley; Pemble, Cate; McCabe, Louise; Douglas, Elaine
Abstract: Vaccine hesitancy is influenced by perceived risk and benefits. On March 15th 2021 various countries suspended use of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 following deaths arising from blood clots. The story became headline news and online search querying vaccine safety increased. What happened to Covid-19 vaccine intentions? We were collecting relevant data at the time. Our survey asked UK adults if they intended to get the vaccine and measured their attitudes towards it. Data collection from respondents before coverage of the story reached its peak (March 12th -15th; n = 241) was compared with responses after the peak (March 17th; n = 305). Our data show no reductions in intentions or attitudes. Our study is uniquely positioned to analyse real-world responses and indicates that media coverage of this story did not reduce intention to take up the vaccine in the UK.2021-03-31T00:00:00ZWelfare and the depth of informality: Evidence from five African countries
http://hdl.handle.net/1893/33814
Title: Welfare and the depth of informality: Evidence from five African countries
Author(s): Egger, Eva-Maria; Poggi, Cecilia; Rufrancos, Héctor
Abstract: This study explores the relationship between household poverty and depth of informality by proposing a new measure of informality at the household level. It is defined as the share of activities (hours worked or income earned) without social insurance for wage workers in the household. We apply cross-sectional regressions to five urban sub-Saharan African countries, showing that a household head informality dummy obscures a non-linear relationship between the depth of household informality and welfare outcomes. In some countries, a small share of income from formal jobs is associated with at least the same welfare as a fully formal portfolio. By assessing transitions between household portfolios with panel data for urban Nigeria, we also show that most welfare differences are explained by selection and that movements in and out of formality cannot sufficiently change welfare trajectories. The results call for better inclusion of informal profiles to social insurance programmes.2021-02-01T00:00:00ZPreference Conditions for Linear Demand Functions
http://hdl.handle.net/1893/33704
Title: Preference Conditions for Linear Demand Functions
Author(s): Diasakos, Theodoros M
Abstract: The present study takes consumer preferences as the primitive and a most general formulation of a linear demand system as the desideratum. To investigate how the two are related, I take a novel approach to demand integrability that relies on some recent results in Diasakos and Gerasimou (2020). The methodology applies for either of the two possible price-normalization regimes (with respect to the price of a numeraire commodity or income); in either case, it leads to a complete characterization of linear demand systems in terms of the properties for the underlying rationalizing preference relation, and analytical solutions for the corresponding (direct) utility function. My results provide a proper microfoundation for linear demand systems-in a way that addresses knowledge gaps in the extant literature on linear demand that leave space for fundamental misunderstanding. JEL Classifications: C02, D01, D11 An earlier version was presented at a session of the 20th annual SAET conference; I wish to thank the participants for helpful comments.2021-11-29T00:00:00Z