This paper explores the use of a non-parametric frontier approach to analyse multi-factor productivity across time and countries. We argue that conventional measures of total factor productivity involve some restrictive assumptions that might bias the results. A non-parametric approach avoids these assumptions. The model uses linear programming techniques to examine the productivity catching-up...

In this paper, we investigate the nexus between life insurance and suicide behavior using OECD cross-country data from 1980 to 2002. Through semiparametric instrumental variable regressions with fixed effects, we find that for the majority of observations, there exists a positive relationship between suicide rate and life insurance density (premium per capita). Since life insurance policies pay...

Data on volumes and prices of consumption and investment are u s e d to compare Australian real GDP for 1990 with the other OECD countries. Australian consumption patterns, including leisure, a n d price structure are very different from most other countries a n d especially from Japan's. The Australian bundle of consumption, investment and leisure is revealed preferred to that of Japan and a n...

normal 0 false false false en-us x-none ar-sa background: reforms in inpatient care are critical for the enhancement of the efficiency of health systems. it still remains the main costly sector of the health system, accounting for more than 60% of all expenditures. inappropriate and ineffective use of the hospital infrastructure is also a big issue. we aimed to analyze statistical data on healt...

This paper focuses on the evolution of productivity in the telecommunications industries for 13 OECD countries over the period 1979-1998. It uses Data Envelopment Analysis, a non-parametric approach that allows decompositions of changes in productivity into variations in efficiency and technical change. Moreover, it tests the existence of convergence in labor and total factor productivity level...

BACKGROUND Publicly funded healthcare forms an intricate part of government spending in most Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, because of its reliance on entitlements and dedicated revenue streams. The impact of budgetary rules and procedures on publicly funded health care might thus be different from other spending categories. In this study we focus on th...

In analysing the effects of the Turkish health reforms, we were careful to use reliable data from the Turkish Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) 1993, 1998, 2003, and 2008; the Turkish Household and Budget Surveys (THBS) 2003–11 done annually by the Turkish Statistical Institution; and the health expenditure and health insurance coverage data from the Social Security Institution. We used WHO ...

INTRODUCTION A national health account (NHA) provides a systematic approach to mapping the flow of health sector funds within a specified health system over a defined time period. This article attempts to present a profile of health system financing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates using data from NHAs, and to compare the functional structures of financing schemes in Dubai with schemes in Qatar a...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of obesity increased dramatically in many European countries in the past decades. Whether the increase occurred to the same extent in all socioeconomic groups is less known. We systematically assessed and compared the trends in educational inequalities in obesity in 15 different European countries between 1990 and 2010. METHODS Nationally representative survey data f...

Existing studies on the effects of fiscal policy under imperfect competition typically treat each firm’s price-cost markup as fixed. This paper examines the implications of endogenising the markup in a simple model of income taxation under monopolistic competition. It is demonstrated that an increase in income tax reduces the number of firms, lessens competition among surviving firms and raises...