Economic evaluations of clinical treatments most commonly take the form of cost effectiveness or cost utility analyses. This is appropriate since the main-sometimes the only-benefit of such interventions is increased health. The majority of economic evaluations in public health, however, have also been assessed using these techniques when arguably cost benefit analyses would in many cases have ...

This paper examines the relationships between cultural and economic factors, on the one hand, and the network readiness of African countries, on the other. For illustration purposes, data from ten (10) countries on the continent was used for analysis. The data came from reputable secondary sources, including the World Bank. A conceptual framework was developed, and relevant hypotheses tested. C...

This paper proposes the view that financial development and economic growth are linked through the characteristics of technology. Perhaps the most obvious connection between technology and financial innovation emerges through risk-sharing. Technology is modeled as a distribution function over output values. While progress allows higher output values to be attained, it also changes the risk prof...

This paper analyzes the ability of both economic variables and moving-average rules to forecast the monthly U.S. equity premium using out-of-sample tests for 1960–2008. Both approaches provide statistically and economically significant out-of-sample forecasting gains, which are concentrated in U.S. business-cycle recessions. Nevertheless, economic variables and moving-average rules capture diff...

Although the launch of the euro went better than many expected, sluggish growth, persistent unemployment and growing disenchantment with key elements of the economic governance system have led to demands for change, especially in policy coordination. This paper examines the criticisms of economic policy in the EU and the mechanisms through which it is coordinated, and considers how the EMU poli...

What is the impact on human capital investment when a worker’s ability and investments are observed by the labour market only when the worker invests in self-promoting activities? When ...rms pay spot market wages, high ability workers overinvest in selfpromotion. There is no employment contract that attains full e¢ciency. Constrained e¢ciency is attained when employment bonds are feasible. The...

Access to external finance, such as bank loans or trade credit, is a key determinant of a firm’s ability to develop, operate, and expand. Economic researchers have studied how various macroeconomic and microeconomic factors influence such access; for example, it has been shown to depend on the macroeconomic environment, since economic downturns tend to limit firms’ ability to borrow and banks’ ...

• Technology obsolescence • Very large quantities of digital information that may be worth preserving for reuse • Heterogeneous and complex digital resources • Lack of scalable methods for preservation • Economic models What is at stake? What is at stake? • Investments in conversion of information to digital form • Preservation of an increasing share of information that is " born-digital " • Ab...

Economic aspects of possible land use strategies and protection measures in coastal zones as a response to global environmental change are examined. First, some key elements are mentioned that are of critical importance for water and land management in coastal zones. Next, various socio-economic repercussions are discussed. In this context, research needs will be addressed. Subsequently, these ...

Municipal infrastructure is a fundamental facility for the normal operation and development of an urban city and is of significance for the stable progress of sustainable urbanization around the world, especially in developing countries. Based on the municipal infrastructure data of the prefecture-level cities in China, municipal infrastructure development is assessed comprehensively using a FA...