Incidence and prevalence of multiple sclerosis in Hungary based on record linkage of nationwide multiple healthcare administrative data.

Objectives: As there were only regional studies in Hungary about the prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS), we aimed to estimate its epidemiological features using data of Hungary's single-payer health insurance system.

Methods: Pseudonymized database of claims reported by hospitals and outpatient services between 2004-2016 was analyzed and linked with an independent database of outpatient pharmacy refills between 2010-2016. We established an administrative case definition of MS and validated it on medical records of 309 consecutive patients.

Effects of tree size and park maintenance on soil seed bank of Gleditsia triacanthos, an exotic tree in urban green areas.

The exotic honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) is often planted as ornamental tree in urban parks. In Hungary, it occasionally escapes cultivation, in other countries it has already become invasive, and thus, further spread cannot be ruled out. The production of copious long-lived seeds may contribute to its invasiveness.

Transition shocks during adulthood and health a few decades later in post-socialist Central and Eastern Europe.

Background: Health of the population of post-socialist Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries lags behind the European Union average. Our aim in this paper is to analyse the link between transition shocks and health two-three decades later.

Methods: We use retrospective data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.

Understanding Inequalities in Ride-Hailing Services Through Simulations.

Despite the potential of ride-hailing services to democratize the labor market, they are often accused of fostering unfair working conditions and low wages. This paper investigates the effect of algorithm design decisions on wage inequality in ride-hailing platforms. We create a simplified city environment where taxis serve passengers to emulate a working week in a worker's life.

Caesarean delivery and the use of antidepressants.

Background: The high ratio of caesarean sections (C-sections) is a major public health issue in the developed world; but its implications on maternal mental health are not well understood.

Methods: We use individual-level administrative panel data from Hungary between 2010 and 2016 to analyze the relationship between caesarean delivery and antidepressant consumption, an objective indicator of mental health. We focus on low-risk deliveries of mothers without subsequent birth in 3 years, and include around 135 000 observations.

Apportionment and districting by Sum of Ranking Differences.

Sum of Ranking Differences is an innovative statistical method that ranks competing solutions based on a reference point. The latter might arise naturally, or can be aggregated from the data. We provide two case studies to feature both possibilities.

Brokering the core and the periphery: Creative success and collaboration networks in the film industry.

In collaboration-based creative industries, such as film production, creators in the network core enjoy prestige and legitimacy that are key for creative success. However, core creators are challenged to maintain diverse access to new ideas or alternative views that often emerge from the network periphery. In this paper, we demonstrate that creators in the network core can increase the probability of their creative success by brokering peripheral collaborators to the core.

Healthcare spending inequality: Evidence from Hungarian administrative data.

Using administrative data on a random 50% of the Hungarian population, including individual-level information on incomes, healthcare spending, and mortality for the 2003-2011 period, we develop new evidence on the distribution of healthcare spending and mortality in Hungary by income and geography. By linking detailed administrative data on employment, income, and geographic location with measures of healthcare spending and mortality we are able to provide a more complete picture than the existing literature which has relied on survey data. We compute mean spending and 5-year and 8-year mortality measures by geography and income quantiles, and also present gender and age adjusted results.

The role of parenthood in shaping the gender wage gap - A comparative analysis of 26 European countries.

We use cross-national data on 26 EU countries to estimate how parenthood contributes to the gender wage gap, and assess how institutional elements affect this relationship. We find that irrespective of cultural norms and policies, fathers receive a wage premium, which increases the gender gap. Motherhood gaps vary across countries.

The effect of primary care availability on antibiotic consumption in Hungary: a population based panel study using unfilled general practices.

Objective: We analyse the effect of primary care availability on antibiotic consumption and on the quality of antibiotic prescribing behaviour.

Design: Retrospective panel design, secondary analysis of settlement-level administrative panel data (n=2320 settlements, T=72 months).

Participants And Setting: We analyse antibiotic consumption of the population of villages in Hungary, over years 2010 to 2015.

Linking Individual Patient Data to Estimate Incidence and Prevalence of Parkinson's Disease by Comparing Reports of Neurological Services and Pharmacy Prescription Refills at a Nationwide Level.

We set forth to estimate the number of those with Parkinson's disease (PD) in Hungary, a country with a single-payer health insurance system covering 10 million inhabitants. We analyzed all hospital and outpatient reports from neurological services and pharmacy reports of prescription refills. We cross-checked clinically administered diagnosis of PD with prescription refills of antiparkinsonian medications using record linkage.

Reduced user fees for antibiotics under age 5 in Hungary: Effect on antibiotic use and imbalances in the implementation.

Objectives: In August 2016, new prescription guidelines were introduced in Hungary to reduce the co-payments for antibiotics among children aged 0-4. This study aims at analysing the implementation of this policy and its effect on the use of antibiotics.

Methods: The analysis is based on administrative prescription records between January 2010-February 2018, covering the entire population of Hungary aged 0-7.

Determinants of the acceptability of health problems in different ages: exploring a new application of the EQ VAS.

Background: We aimed to determine the acceptability of non-perfect health states with age using the EQ VAS and analyse the influencing factors.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey on a convenience sample from the general population (N = 200). Respondents were asked to indicate on the EQ VAS the health states that are still acceptable for ages between 30 and 80 years in 10-year intervals (VAS acceptable health curve, AHC).

A comparison of European, Polish, Slovenian and British EQ-5D-3L value sets using a Hungarian sample of 18 chronic diseases.

Background: In the Central and Eastern European region, the British EQ-5D-3L value set is used commonly in quality of life (QoL) studies. Only Poland and Slovenia have country-specific weights. Our study aimed to investigate the impact of value set choice on the evaluation of 18 chronic conditions in Hungary.

The closer the better: does better access to outpatient care prevent hospitalization?

In 2010-2012, new outpatient service locations were established in poor Hungarian micro-regions. We exploit this quasi-experiment to estimate the extent of substitution between outpatient and inpatient care. Fixed-effects Poisson models on individual-level panel data for years 2008-2015 show that the number of outpatient visits increased by 19% and the number of inpatient stays decreased by 1.

Smoking ban and health at birth: Evidence from Hungary.

In 2012, smoking restrictions were extended to hospitality venues in Hungary. Women working in bars and restaurants were primarily affected by the intervention. In this research, we analyze the effect of this smoking ban on the outcomes of their pregnancies.

Which preferences associate with school performance?-Lessons from an exploratory study with university students.

Success in life is determined to a large extent by school performance so it is important to understand the effect of the factors that influence it. In this exploratory study, in addition to cognitive abilities, we attempt to link measures of preferences with outcomes of school performance. We measured in an incentivized way risk, time, social and competitive preferences and cognitive abilities of university students to look for associations between these measures and two important academic outcome measures: exam results and GPA.

Out-migration and attrition of physicians and dentists before and after EU accession (2003 and 2011): the case of Hungary.

This paper employs a large-scale, individual-level, panel dataset to analyse the effect of EU accession on the probability of out-migration on the part of Hungarian physicians and dentists between 2003 and 2011. The study uses event history modelling and competing risk models. The results show that EU accession did not at the time affect the probability of out-migration while after the end of the transitional period of restrictions on the free movement of labour from the new EU member states to Austria and Germany, the probability of doctors' migration increased considerably.

International Collaboration and Spatial Dynamics of US Patenting in Central and Eastern Europe 1981-2010.

How did post-socialist transition and a parallel shift in international labor division restructure regional innovation systems in Central and Eastern Europe? This question is increasingly important, because current EU innovation policy is combined with regional development in Smart Specialization Strategies; however, spatial trends of innovation in Central and Eastern Europe are not fully understood which might lead to less than perfectly efficient policy. In this paper we describe the spatial dynamics of inventor activity in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia between 1981 and 2010 -a period that covers both the late socialist era and the post-socialist transition. Cleaning and analyzing the publicly available data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office we illustrate that Central and Eastern European patents made in international co-operations with partners outside the region receive more citations than those Central and Eastern European patents that lack international co-operation.

Geographies of an Online Social Network.

How is online social media activity structured in the geographical space? Recent studies have shown that in spite of earlier visions about the "death of distance", physical proximity is still a major factor in social tie formation and maintenance in virtual social networks. Yet, it is unclear, what are the characteristics of the distance dependence in online social networks. In order to explore this issue the complete network of the former major Hungarian online social network is analyzed.