In the quest for effective prisoner rehabilitation, while there is existing literature that predominantly emphasizes recidivism rates, it is important to recognize that this singular focus may sometimes overshadow the broader dimensions crucial for successful societal reintegration. This study, therefore, investigates the multifaceted outcomes of an employment training programme offered by the Israel Prison Service. Employing propensity score matching, we compared outcomes between programme participants and non-participants. Our analysis encompassed recidivism rates, employment stability, income levels, tax-paying behaviour and welfare service engagement. While recidivism rates remained largely unaffected, our findings unveiled promising results in other domains. Programme participants exhibited enhanced employment stability, realized higher incomes, demonstrated increased engagement in tax-paying and accessed welfare services more frequently. This study underscores the need for a comprehensive approach to assessing rehabilitation effectiveness, extending beyond the singular metric of recidivism. While acknowledging certain limitations, our research highlights that employment training programmes may not have a direct impact on recidivism but can significantly contribute to labour market reintegration and promote more productive and socially responsible behaviours. It advocates further exploring diverse outcome measures to develop holistic rehabilitation strategies.

Despite the large body of ALMP evaluations focussing on isolated training programmes for unemployed jobseekers, our understanding of potential reasons for (in)effectiveness remains limited. Specific training programmes aim to remediate particular supply- or demand-side barriers to employment experienced by targeted jobseekers. Consequently, this study unpacks training into four different types: (I) general classroom training (GCT) to enhance motivation and job search skills, (II) occupation-specific classroom training (OCT) addressing gaps in human capital, (III) non-contractual workplace training (NCWT) combining human capital acquisition with workplace experience, and (IV) contractual workplace training (CWT) additionally including a temporary wage subsidy to reduce hiring costs for employers. Using large-scale longitudinal register data, dynamic propensity score matching, and hazard models indicate positive effects of OCT participation, and particularly NCWT programmes allowing human and social capital accumulation in a workplace setting, on the transition into (stable) regular employment. In contrast, the non-effects for GCT participants highlight the need for more follow-up programmes, and the fact that, after controlling for the selective recruitment by employers of unemployed jobseekers with relatively strong profiles, CWT programme participants show moderate, short-lived positive effects which might inspire policymakers to reconsider programme assignment in light of cream-skimming by employers.

The timely identification of the high-risk groups for nosocomial infections (NIs) plays a vital role in its prevention and control. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate whether the ABO blood group is a risk factor for NI. In this study, patients with NI and non-infectionwere matched by the propensity score matching method and a logistic regression model was used to analyse the matched datasets. The study found that patients with the B&AB blood group were susceptible to Escherichia coli (OR = 1.783, p = 0.039); the A blood group were susceptible to Staphylococcus aureus (OR = 2.539, p = 0.019) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (OR = 5.724, p = 0.003); the A&AB blood group were susceptible to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (OR = 4.061, p = 0.008); the AB blood group were vulnerable to urinary tract infection (OR = 13.672, p = 0.019); the B blood group were susceptible to skin and soft tissue infection (OR = 2.418, p = 0.016); and the B&AB blood group were vulnerable to deep incision infection (OR = 4.243, p = 0.043). Summarily, the patient’s blood group is vital for identifying high-risk groups for NIs and developing targeted prevention and control measures for NIs.

There has been an increased demand by some sections of society for higher farm animal welfare standards. In response, a number of programmes marketing products of animal origin, produced under higher animal welfare standards, have been established on the market in recent years. However, the market segments for products from so-called animal welfare programmes (AWPs) have remained small. Farmers are considered an important stakeholder group for higher market shares of more animal welfare-friendly products. Farmers’ decision to adapt their production to the requirements of AWPs is multi-dimensional, but always linked to financial incentives. Since little is known about the financial attractiveness of higher animal welfare standards in livestock farming, this study investigates the perceived economic success of 579 conventional farmers keeping livestock on their farms. The survey data were analysed using propensity score matching to assess the average effect of participation in AWPs on a farm's perceived profitability, liquidity and stability from the farmer's point of view. No significant effect was found of participation in AWPs on the economic success of farmers. The implications of this result are two-fold. On the one hand, it suggests that it is of particular importance to create further financial incentives to encourage farmers to take part in these programmes. On the other, it shows that farmers’ concerns that the required costly and highly specific investments will pay off are unfounded, as farmers participating in AWPs rate their own financial situation as equivalent to that of their colleagues not participating in AWPs.

Soil and water are crucial resources for agriculture, especially in arid and semi-arid rain-fed areas, yet farm-level economic impacts and the factors influencing the adoption of measures for their conservation are little studied. The present study used data from 400 farm households to assess factors influencing the adoption of soil and water conservation measures (SWCMs) and their impacts on farm productivity and income in a semi-arid region of central India. We employed a probit model to determine the factors influencing the on-farm adoption of SWCMs and a propensity score matching technique for assessing their impacts. The findings indicate that farmer age and education, off-farm income, farm size and land ownership and access to training are key drivers of the adoption of SWCMs. SWCMs accentuated the input costs by INR 1689–2847 per ha during the rabi cropping season (October–February), but also increased crop productivity and net revenue from farming. The impact in the rabi season was less sensitive to the unobserved confounders than in the kharif season (June–September). Therefore, SWCMs could represent an important strategy for unlocking the cultivation potential of large rain-fed areas and for sustaining the livelihoods of farm households in the ecologically fragile arid and semi-arid tropics.

Discordant monozygotic (MZ) twin methodologies are considered one of the foremost statistical approaches for estimating the influence of environmental factors on phenotypic variance. Limitations associated with the discordant MZ twin approach generates an inability to estimate particular relationships and adjust estimates for the confounding influence of gene-nonshared environment interactions. Recent advancements in molecular genetics, however, can provide the opportunity to address these limitations. The current study reviews an alternative technique, genetically adjusted propensity scores (GAPS) matching, that integrates observed genetic and environmental information to adjust for the confounding of these factors in nonkin individuals. Simulations and a real data example were used to compare the GAPS matching approach to the discordant MZ twin method. Although the results of the simulated comparisons demonstrated that the discordant MZ twin approach remains the more robust statistical technique to adjust for shared environmental and genetic factors, GAPS matching — under certain conditions — could represent a viable alternative when MZ twin samples are unavailable. Overall, the findings suggest that GAPS matching can potentially provide an alternative to the discordant MZ twin approach when limited variation exists between identical twin pairs. Moreover, the ability to adjust for gene-nonshared environment interactions represents a potential advancement associated with the GAPS approach. The limitations of the approach, as well as polygenic risk scores, are also discussed.

Conservation agriculture (CA) is an important technology in many developing countries for increasing smallholder agricultural productivity and conserving arable soils. This study focuses on the effect of CA on smallholder household wellbeing including productive assets, livestock and housing material quality. The study uses a survey of CA adopters and non-adopters in the Tete and Barue districts of Mozambique. Propensity score matching was used to develop two counterfactual groups; (1) non-adopters in the communities that had received technical assistance on implementing CA, and (2) non-adopting households in communities that had not received CA instruction. Results suggest that CA adopters realized higher levels of farm production assets and better quality housing materials. CA adoption had no association with livestock ownership. The findings are encouraging with respect to demonstrating the relationship between CA adoption and improvements in smallholder household wellbeing.

The effects of early thiamine use on clinical outcomes in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) are unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between early thiamine administration and clinical outcomes in critically ill patients with AKI. The data of critically ill patients with AKI within 48 h after ICU admission were extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC III) database. PSM was used to match patients early receiving thiamine treatment to those not early receiving thiamine treatment. The association between early thiamine use and in-hospital mortality due to AKI was determined using a logistic regression model. A total of 15 066 AKI patients were eligible for study inclusion. After propensity score matching (PSM), 734 pairs of patients who did and did not receive thiamine treatment in the early stage were established. Early thiamine use was associated with lower in-hospital mortality (OR 0·65; 95 % CI 0·49, 0·87; P < 0·001) and 90-d mortality (OR 0·58; 95 % CI 0·45, 0·74; P < 0·001), and it was also associated with the recovery of renal function (OR 1·26; 95 % CI 1·17, 1·36; P < 0·001). In the subgroup analysis, early thiamine administration was associated with lower in-hospital mortality in patients with stages 1 to 2 AKI. Early thiamine use was associated with improved short-term survival in critically ill patients with AKI. It was possible beneficial role in patients with stages 1 to 2 AKI according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria.

In response to the rising financial pressure on old-age pension systems in industrialised economies, many European countries plan to increase the eligibility age for retirement pensions. We used data from Sweden to examine whether (and if so, how) retirement after age 65 – the eligibility age for basic pension – compared to retiring earlier affects older adults’ (between ages 70 and 85) cognitive functioning. Using a propensity score matching (PSM) approach, we addressed the selection bias potentially introduced by non-random selection into either early or late retirement. We also examined average and heterogeneous treatment effects (HTEs). HTEs were evaluated for different levels of cognitive stimulation from occupational activities before retirement and from leisure activities after retirement. We drew from a rich longitudinal data-set linking two nationally representative Swedish surveys with a register data-set and found that, on average, individuals who retire after age 65 do not have a higher level of cognitive functioning than those who retire earlier. Similarly, we did not observe HTEs from occupational activities. With respect to leisure activities, we found no systematic effects on cognitive functioning among those working beyond age 65. We conclude that, in general, retirement age does not seem to affect cognitive functioning in old age. Yet, the rising retirement age may put substantial pressure on individuals who suffer from poor health at the end of their occupational career, potentially exacerbating social- and health-related inequalities among older people.

Preoperative nutritional status plays an important role in predicting postoperative outcomes. Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) and Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) are good tools to assess patients’ nutritional status. They have been used in predicting outcomes in various malignancies, but few studies have focused on pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients. Totally, 306 PDAC patients were enrolled. The propensity score matching (PSM) method was introduced to eliminate the baseline inequivalence. Patients with different PNI (or CONUT) scores showed inequivalence baseline characteristics, and patients with compromised nutritional status were related with a more advanced tumour stage. After PSM, the baseline characteristics were well balanced. Both low PNI (≤45) and high CONUT (≥3) were independent risk factors for poor overall survival (P < 0·05), and the result remained the same after PSM. Survival analysis demonstrated both patients with low PNI and high CONUT score were associated with poorer survival, and the result remained the same after PSM. The results of AUC indicated that CONUT might have a higher sensitivity and specificity in predicting complications and survival. Preoperative low PNI (≤45) and high CONUT (≥3) scores might be reliable predictors of prognosis and surgical complications in PDAC patients. Compared with PNI, CONUT might be more effective.

This study aimed at comparing the factors associated with the natural progression between typical progressors (TPs) and rapid progressors (RPs) in HIV-infected individuals. A retrospective study was conducted on 2095 eligible HIV-infected individuals from 1995 to 2016 in a high-risk area of Henan Province, China. Propensity score matching was used to balance covariates, and the conditional logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the factors of natural disease progression among HIV infectors. A total of 379 pairs of RPs and TPs were matched. The standardised difference values of all covariates were less than 10%. HIV-infected individuals transmitted through sexual transmission (odds ratio (OR) 0.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.36–0.85) were more likely to progress to AIDS compared with those infected through contaminated blood. Older age at diagnosis of HIV-infected individuals (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.58–0.89) exhibited a faster progression to AIDS. HIV-infected individuals identified through a unique survey (OR 7.01, 95% CI 2.99–16.44) were less likely to progress to AIDS compared with those identified through medical institutions. HIV-infected individuals who had higher baseline CD4+T cell counts (OR 3.37, 95% CI 2.59–4.38) had a slower progression to AIDS. These findings provide evidence for natural disease progression from HIV to AIDS between TPs and RPs.

Capital and credit constraints limit the small farm’s ability to adequately use resources for optimum performance. Farmers’ access to capital is constrained in multiple ways, including price factors, risk factors, and transaction factors, as well as access to and ease of rural agricultural financing. Using a primary survey data of small farms in Tennessee, we analyzed factors influencing credit constraint and its impact on farm performance. Farm operators’ gender, off-farm work, land acreage holdings, farm specialization, and the use of smart phone with Internet significantly influenced credit constraint. We found that the financial performance of credit constrained small farmers was significantly lower than that of unconstrained small farmers—an adverse impact of constrained capacity to credit could result in up to $51,000 lower in gross farm sales. Additionally, our reason-specific results within credit constraint suggested that around $32,000 to $39,000 lower performance in gross sales can be attributable to the constrained borrowing with deficit to obtain agricultural loans at required or desired level.

In this paper, we analyze profit margins and markups of Fair Trade (FT) wines sold in the United States. We are particularly interested in whether and to what extent the FT cost impulse in production is passed along to the supply chain. We draw on a limited sample of about 470 South African wines sold in Connecticut and New Jersey in the fall of 2016; about 90 of them are certified FT. For these wines we have free on board export prices, wholesale prices, and retail prices, which allows us to compute wholesale and retail margins and analyze the FT treatment effect. We run OLS, 2SLS, and propensity score matching models and find evidence of asymmetrical pricing behavior. While wholesalers seem to fully pass-through the FT cost effect, retailers appear to amplify the cost effect. As a result, at the retail level, FT wines yield significantly higher margins than their non-FT counterparts. (JEL Classifications: L11, L31, L43, L81, Q17)

Malnutrition and acute kidney injury (AKI) are common complications in hospitalised patients, and both increase mortality; however, the relationship between them is unknown. This is a retrospective propensity score matching study enrolling 46 549 inpatients, aimed to investigate the association between Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002) and AKI and to assess the ability of NRS-2002 and AKI in predicting prognosis. In total, 37 190 (80 %) and 9359 (20 %) patients had NRS-2002 scores <3 and ≥3, respectively. Patients with NRS-2002 scores ≥3 had longer lengths of stay (12·6 (sd 7·8) v. 10·4 (sd 6·2) d, P < 0·05), higher mortality rates (9·6 v. 2·5 %, P < 0·05) and higher incidence of AKI (28 v. 16 %, P < 0·05) than patients with normal nutritional status. The NRS-2002 showed a strong association with AKI, that is, the risk of AKI changed in parallel with the score of the NRS-2002. In short- and long-term survival, patients with a lower NRS-2002 score or who did not have AKI achieved a significantly lower risk of mortality than those with a high NRS-2002 score or AKI. Univariate Cox regression analyses indicated that both the NRS-2002 and AKI were strongly related to long-term survival (AUC 0·79 and 0·71) and that the combination of the two showed better accuracy (AUC 0·80) than the individual variables. In conclusion, malnutrition can increase the risk of AKI and both AKI and malnutrition can worsen the prognosis that the undernourished patients who develop AKI yield far worse prognosis than patients with normal nutritional status.

No data exist on the associations of dietary tomato and lycopene consumption with total and cause-specific mortality. Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 1999–2010, we evaluted the long-term impact of tomato and lycopene intake on total and cause-specific (CHD and cerebrovascular disease) mortality. We also assessed the changes in cardio-metabolic risk factors according to tomato and lycopene intake. Vital status to 31 December 2011 was ascertained. Cox proportional hazard regression models (followed by propensity score matching) were used to investigate the link between tomato and lycopene consumption total, CHD and cerebrovascular mortality. Among the 23 935 participants included (mean age = 47·6 years, 48·8 % men), 3403 deaths occurred during 76·4 months of follow-up. Tomato intake was inversely associated with total (risk ratio (RR) 0·86, 95 % CI 0·81, 0·92), CHD (RR 0·76, 95 % CI 0·70, 0·85) and cerebrovascular (RR 0·70, 95 % CI 0·62, 0·81) mortality. Similar inverse associations were found between lycopene consumption, total (RR 0·76, 95 % CI 0·72, 0·81), CHD (RR 0·73, 95 % CI 0·65, 0·83) and cerebrovascular (RR 0·71, 95 % CI 0·65, 0·78) mortality; these associations were independent of anthropometric, clinical and nutritional parameters. Age and obesity did not affect the association of tomato and lycopene consumption with total, CHD and cerebrovascular mortality. C-reactive protein significantly moderated the link between lycopene and tomato intake with total, CHD and cerebrovascular mortality. ANCOVA showed that participants with a higher tomato and lycopene consumption had a more cardio-protective profile compared with those with a lower intake. Our results highlighted the favourable effect of tomato and lycopene intake on total and cause-specific mortality as well as on cardio-metabolic risk factors. These findings should be taken into consideration for public health strategies.

This study evaluates the effects of vegetative soil conservation practices (afforestation and/or bamboo planting) on farm profit and its components, revenue and variable cost. Since farmers self-select themselves as adopters of conservation measures, there could be a problem of selection bias in evaluating their soil conservation practices. We address the selection bias by using propensity score matching. We also check if there exists spatial spillover in adoption of vegetative conservation measures and how it affects matching. We use primary survey data from the Darjeeling district of the Eastern Himalayan region for the year 2013. Our results suggest strong spatial correlation. We find that the propensity score estimated from the spatial model provides better matches than the non-spatial model. While the results show that vegetative soil conservation can lead to significant gains in revenue, it also increases costs so that no significant gains in profit accrue to farmers.

China’s small-scale agricultural producers face many challenges to increasing productivity and efficiency. In recent years, the Chinese government has provided support for farmer professional cooperatives (FPCs) to connect small farms with upstream and downstream processes in the food supply chain. This study combines propensity score matching and sample selection-corrected stochastic production frontier analysis to estimate the impacts of FPC participation by greenhouse vegetable producers on technical efficiency and income. Results indicate that FPCs help participants improve returns to scale and marginal returns to land and labor, increase technical efficiency, and obtain ¥4,460 (18%) greater income per greenhouse than nonparticipants.