We quantify the lasting effects of childhood health and economic circumstances on adult health, employment and socioeconomic status, using data from a birth cohort that has been followed from birth into middle age. Controlling for parental income, education and social class, children who experience poor health have significantly lower educational attainment, poorer health, and lower social stat...

Survey data from a USDA-funded multi-state longitudinal project revealed a paradox where rural low-income families from states considered prosperous were persistently more food insecure than similar families from less prosperous states. An examination of quantitative and qualitative data found that families in the food insecure states were more likely to experience greater material hardship and...

Due to the rapidly aging population, increasing medical expenditure, and foreign pressure on medical education, Japan is confronting the need for major reform in its medical care system, especially regarding primary care. After our economic stagnation began, the medical expense covered by medical insurance has become a major issue. In spite of our good quality of health care, the Japanese gover...

1 Relativity and interactivity The Buddhist principle that all is empty is understood by some as the principle that all is relative [Thurman (1993)]. This universal relativity principle is more embracing though less structured than Einstein’s general relativity principle, which still admits many absolutes. It is worth considering seriously. A philosophical argument for a universal relativity co...