Insurers and policymakers encourage the use of generic drugs to reduce costs, but generics remain underused. We conducted a national survey of commercially insured adults to evaluate their perceptions about generic drugs. Patients agreed that generics are less expensive and a better value than brand-name drugs, and are just as safe. However, although 56 percent reported that Americans should us...

Economics has typically been the social science of choice to inform public policy and policymakers. In the current paper we contemplate the role behavioral science can play in enlightening policymakers. In particular, we provide some examples of research that has and can be used to inform policy, reflect on the kind of behavioral science that is important for policy, and approaches for convinci...

A survey on monetary policy communication among former members of the Governing Council European Central Bank (ECB) reveals that enhancing credibility and trust is viewed as most important objective communication. Respondents judge with financial markets experts adequate, but see room for improvement in communicating public. The central bank seen topic. Several respondents perceived ECB's infla...

BACKGROUND Chronic conditions are the leading reason why people seek medical care, yet the current financing and delivery system has been criticized for not promoting ongoing care. The perceptions of physicians, policymakers, and the general public were compared on how well the current system addresses the needs of people with chronic conditions. METHODS National surveys of 1238 physicians an...

OBJECTIVE This study describes public policymakers' experiences with the feasibility of using information from quality of care assessment activities. The objective is to improve the ability to match quality evaluation tools with policymakers' information needs. DESIGN US state administrative policymakers were interviewed about use of quality of care information and knowledge, attitudes, and e...

Background Research suggests that policymakers often use personal contacts to find information and advice. However, the main sources of information for public health policymakers are not known. This study aims to describe policymakers' sources of information. A questionnaire survey of public health policymakers across Greater Manchester (GM) was carried out (response rate 48%). All policy actor...

INTRODUCTION Socio-economic inequalities in health are large in urban areas; however, local municipal governments may plan, manage and provide services and policies which can reduce these. The objective of this study was to describe the beliefs and perceptions of public policymakers in a European city, Barcelona. They are the key actors in designing and implementing urban public policies. MET...

Introduction Reducing poverty and meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will require improved policies around the world (UNDP, 2003). However, policymakers and other stakeholders often don’t know which policies are most suitable and how they can best be implemented in different contexts. Research is one way for policymakers and other stakeholders to enhance the processes of policy for...

We examine the extent of policy experimentation under decentralization and centralization. More speci cally, we study the incentive for experimentation in an environment where there is uncertainty about the payo of policies as well as the competence of policymakers. Voters form beliefs about the policymakers upon observing noisy signals. Policymakers are concerned about their reputation to the ...

INTRODUCTION Nigeria is one of the low and middle income countries (LMICs) facing severe resource constraint, making it impossible for adequate resources to be allocated to the health sector. Priority setting becomes imperative because it guides investments in health care, health research and respects resource constraints. The objective of this study was to enhance the knowledge and understandi...