Trends in US emergency department visits for suicide attempts, 1992-2001

This article describes trends in suicide attempt visits to emergency departments in the United States (US). Data were obtained from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey using mental-health-related ICD-9-CM, E and V codes, and mental-health reasons for visit. From 1992 to 2001, mental-health-related visits increased 27.5% from 17.1 to 23.6 per 1000 (p < .001). Emergency Department (ED) visits for suicide attempt and self injury increased by 47%, from 0.8 to 1.5 visits per 1000 US population (p(trend) = .04). Suicide-attempt-related visits increased significantly among males over the decade and among females from 1992/1993 to 1998/1999. Suicide attempt visits increased in non-Hispanic whites, patients under 15 years or those between 50-69 years of age, and the privately insured. Hospitalization rates for suicide attempt-related ED visits declined from 49% to 32% between 1992 and 2001 (p = .04). Suicide attempt-related visits increased significantly in urban areas, but in rural areas suicide attempt visits stayed relatively constant, despite significant rural decreases in mental-health related visits overall. Ten-year regional increases in suicide attempt-related visits were significant for the West and Northeast only. US emergency departments have witnessed increasing rates of ED visits for suicide attempts during a decade of significant reciprocal decreases in postattempt hospitalization. Emergency departments are increasingly important sites for identifying, assessing and treating individuals with suicidal behavior.     

Vertical equity consequences of very high cigarette tax increases: If the poor are the ones smoking,how could cigarette tax increases be progressive?

Cigarette smoking is concentrated among low‐income groups. Consequently, cigarette taxes are considered regressive. However, if poorer individuals are much more price sensitive than richer individuals, then tax increases would reduce smoking much more among the poor and their cigarette tax expenditures as a share of income would rise by much less than for the rich. Warner (2000) said this phenomenon would make cigarette tax increases progressive. We test this empirically. Among low‐, middle‐, and high‐income groups, we estimate total price elasticities of _0.37, _0.35, and _0.20, respectively. We find that cigarette tax increases are not close to progressive, using both tax expenditure‐based and traditional welfare measures. This finding is robust to cross‐border purchasing, generic cigarettes, and substantial external effects. However, we find that taxes can be progressive under some behavioral economic models (Gruber & Koszegi, 2004) but that these may only apply to a small share of smokers. © 2008 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

History,Nationalism and Face in Sino-Japanese Relations

While Sino-Japanese relations are quite stable presently, it was as recent as 2004–2005 that the two nations slid into the worst bilateral quagmire in decades. When in 2007 Japan was China’s third largest trading partner and China surpassed the US to become Japan’s largest trading partner, what is eating these two otherwise very pragmatic traders? History, nationalism and face, enabled by recent changes in the strategic environment, are the factors that have been most salient in bringing about the plunge in Sino-Japanese relations in 2004–05 and though Sino-Japanese relations have been much better since, these factors hang like a storm front over Sino-Japanese relations today.     

Crime,social disorganization,and social structure: A research note on the use of interurban ecological models

The social disorganization perspective, as set forth by Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay, has enjoyed renewed interest in criminological explanations of crime and delinquency. This paper extends this perspective beyond the traditional intraurban focus of the neighborhood to a more encompassing interurban model, using 682 SMSA counties. The results using these counties were generally consistent with neighborhood studies, demonstrating the robustness of the social disorganization model.     

The effect of rural population on homicide rates across the rural-urban continuum: A county level analysis

Using 3,130 counties and equivalents in the United States for 1980, this paper provides a test of the effects of rural population and its component parts, controlling for other factors, on homicide rates, across the rural-urban continuum. The results indicate that the percent rural population of a county continues to have an inhibitory effect upon homicide. However, this result is influenced by the rural-urban context of the county.     

Victim-offender race and support for capital punishment: A factorial design approach

Existing research suggests that juries are more likely to condemn murderers to death when offenders are black victims are white. It remains to be seen, however, whether these decisions reflect broader racial prejudices in society that are imported into the jury room. If they do, then insuring equity in capital sentencing may be beyond reach. Accordingly, this study uses factorial design methodology to examine whether members of the general public are more supportive of capital punishment when asked to rate a vignette describing a murder involving a white victim and black offender as opposed to other victim-offender racial combinations. Our analyses suggest that the race of the offender, but not the victim, has a significant influence on support for capital punishment. Thus, procedural safeguards alone may be unable to eliminate racial bias in capital sentencing.     

Improving Policy Effectiveness: Land Use Planning in a Devolved Polity

Improving public policy efficiency and effectiveness in land use planning is an established priority on the prevailing political agenda in the UK. Practical measures to enhance policy formulation in local land use development plans in Scotland offer an interesting case study of an attempt to improve policy consistency, and to secure efficiency gains in policy authorship. This article considers the specific focus on the drafting stage of public policy‐making drawing on insights provided by research into the production of model policies in Scotland. It questions the extent to which such an initiative will promote a more robust public policy‐making discipline in light of the policy cycle. The discussion of the case study illustrates a practical attempt by central government to enhance public policy‐making at the local level, while raising questions about the dangers of invoking a technocratic and instrumentalist approach to policy analysis.