Leonard Tammy, Powell-Wiley Tiffany M, Ayers Colby, Murdoch James C, Yin Wenyuan, Pruitt Sandi L
From the aEconomics Department, University of Dallas, Irving, TX; bCardiovascular and Pulmonary Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutes, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; cApplied Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD; dDivision of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX; eDepartment of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX; and fHarold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dallas, TX.
Epidemiology. 2016 Jul;27(4):518-24. doi: 10.1097/EDE.0000000000000470.
Researchers measuring relationships between neighborhoods and health have begun using property appraisal data as a source of information about neighborhoods. Economists have developed a rich tool kit to understand how neighborhood characteristics are quantified in appraisal values. This tool kit principally relies on hedonic (implicit) price models and has much to offer regarding the interpretation and operationalization of property appraisal data-derived neighborhood measures, which goes beyond the use of appraisal data as a measure of neighborhood socioeconomic status.
We develop a theoretically informed hedonic-based neighborhood measure using residuals of a hedonic price regression applied to appraisal data in a single metropolitan area. We describe its characteristics, reliability in different types of neighborhoods, and correlation with other neighborhood measures (i.e., raw neighborhood appraisal values, census block group poverty, and observed property characteristics). We examine the association between all neighborhood measures and body mass index.
The hedonic-based neighborhood measure was correlated in the expected direction with block group poverty rate and observed property characteristics. The neighborhood measure and average raw neighborhood appraisal value, but not census block group poverty, were associated with individual body mass index.
We draw theoretically consistent methodology from the economics literature on hedonic price models to demonstrate how to leverage the implicit valuation of neighborhoods contained in publicly available appraisal data. Consistent measurement and application of the hedonic-based neighborhood measures in epidemiology will improve understanding of the relationships between neighborhoods and health. Researchers should proceed with a careful use of appraisal values utilizing theoretically informed methods such as this one.
研究邻里关系与健康之间联系的研究人员已开始将房产评估数据用作邻里信息来源。经济学家已开发出一套丰富的工具集，以了解邻里特征在评估价值中是如何被量化的。该工具集主要依赖于享乐（隐含）价格模型，在解释和运用源自房产评估数据的邻里指标方面有很多可提供的内容，这超出了将评估数据用作邻里社会经济地位衡量指标的范畴。
我们利用应用于单个大都市区评估数据的享乐价格回归残差，开发了一种基于享乐理论的邻里指标。我们描述了其特征、在不同类型邻里中的可靠性，以及与其他邻里指标（即原始邻里评估价值、普查街区组贫困率和观察到的房产特征）的相关性。我们研究了所有邻里指标与体重指数之间的关联。
基于享乐理论的邻里指标与街区组贫困率及观察到的房产特征在预期方向上相关。该邻里指标和邻里原始评估价值均值与个体体重指数相关，但普查街区组贫困率与个体体重指数不相关。
我们从经济学文献中关于享乐价格模型的理论一致的方法中汲取灵感，以展示如何利用公开可用评估数据中隐含的邻里估值。在流行病学中对基于享乐理论的邻里指标进行一致的测量和应用，将增进对邻里与健康之间关系的理解。研究人员应谨慎使用评估价值，采用诸如此类有理论依据的方法。
