Impact of in utero airborne lead exposure on long-run adult socio-economic outcomes: A population analysis using U.S. survey and administrative data.

As a neurotoxin, early exposure to lead has long been assumed to affect socioeconomic outcomes well into adulthood. However, the empirical literature documenting such effects has been limited. This study documents the long-term effects of in utero exposure to air lead on adult socio-economic outcomes, including real earnings, disabilities, employment, public assistance, and education, using US survey and administrative data.

Policy Analysis: Valuation of Ecosystem Services in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

This study estimates the economic value of an increase in ecosystem services attributable to the reduced acidification expected from more stringent air pollution policy. By integrating a detailed biogeochemical model that projects future ecological recovery with economic methods that measure preferences for specific ecological improvements, we estimate the economic value of ecological benefits from new air pollution policies in the Southern Appalachian ecosystem. Our results indicate that these policies generate aggregate benefits of about $3.

Benefits of the ballot box for species conservation.

Recent estimates reaffirm that conservation funds are insufficient to meet biodiversity conservation goals. Organisations focused on biodiversity conservation therefore need to capitalise on investments that societies make in environmental protection that provide ancillary benefits to biodiversity. Here, we undertake the first assessment of the potential ancillary benefits from the ballot box in the United States, where citizens vote on referenda to conserve lands for reasons that may not include biodiversity directly but that indirectly might enhance biodiversity conservation.

Screening methods in alveolar echinococcosis: a follow-up study comparing Emc- and Emf-ELISA with Em2plus-ELISA and ultrasonography.

The purpose of the present study was to identify Echinococcus multilocularis infection in follow-up of 95 subjects initially seropostive by Emc-ELISA or Emf-ELISA antibody assays and to compare the utility of these assays with specific Em2plus-ELISA and ultrasound screening for E. multilocularis infection. At follow-up seven subjects were seropositive with both methods, while three were seropositive only with Emc-ELISA and 11 only with Emf-ELISA.

Valuing morbidity: an integration of the willingness-to-pay and health-status index literatures.

Placing dollar values on human health has long been a controversial aspect of policy analysis and remains difficult given the relatively small number of morbidity-valuation studies available. By combining both the economic and health literature, this paper offers an alternative approach to morbidity valuation and provides estimates for a wide range of short-term health conditions.