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Selected AbstractsEducation for All: How Much Will It Cost?DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2004Enrique Delamonica In 1990, a target of universal access to basic education by the year 2000 was set by two global conferences. Ten years later, however, it was clear that the target had not been met. Too many countries had made insufficient progress, and although many of the reasons for this inadequate progress were country-specific, one factor stood out in virtually all countries: inadequate public finance for primary education. In 2000, the Millennium Summit set a new target date for achieving ,education for all' of 2015. This article updates the global and regional cost estimates for reaching that target. The estimates are based on the most recent country-by-country data on budgetary expenditure, population and enrolment trends, and unit cost. The annual additional cost of achieving ,education for all' in developing countries by 2015 is estimated at US$ 9.1 billion. Although this is affordable at the global level, individual countries will need considerably more resources than are currently available. However, official development assistance (ODA) has been declining, and the share of ODA allocated to basic education has changed little over the past decade. Therefore, although affordable, the target of universal basic education by 2015 is likely to be missed, just as it was in 2000, without a major change both in ODA and national budgets. [source] Alcohol consumption and overall accident mortality in 14 European countriesADDICTION, Issue 1s1 2001Ole-Jørgen Skog Aims. To evaluate the effects of changes in aggregate alcohol consumption on overall accident mortality in 14 western European countries after 1950, and to compare traditional beer, wine, and spirits countries with respect to the impact of alcohol. Design, setting and participants. The countries were sorted into three groups - traditional spirits countries of northern Europe, traditional beer countries of central Europe and wine countries of southern Europe. Gender- and age-specific annual mortality rates were analysed in relation to per capita alcohol consumption, utilizing the Box-Jenkins technique for time series analysis. All series were differenced to remove long-term trends. The results of the analyses in individual countries were pooled within each group of countries to increase the statistical power. Measurements. Overall accident mortality data for 5-year age groups were converted to gender and age specific mortality rates in the age groups 15-29, 30-49 and 50-69 years. Rates were age adjusted within groups. Data on per capita alcohol consumption were converted to consumption per inhabitant 15 years and older. Findings. The analyses demonstrated a statistically significant and positive relationship between changes in aggregate alcohol consumption in all three groups of countries. The estimated effect parameter was larger in northern Europe than in central Europe, and smallest in southern Europe. Conclusion. The results are compatible with the hypothesis that accident mortality rates are influenced by per capita alcohol consumption in southern, central and northern Europe. However, alcohol appears to play a larger role in northern Europe than in southern Europe. [source] The epidemiology of epilepsy in Europe , a systematic reviewEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 4 2005L. Forsgren Population-based epidemiological studies on epilepsy are available mainly from the UK and the Nordic, Baltic and western Mediterranean countries. No studies were identified from large areas of Europe, especially from the former eastern Europe (except the Baltic countries) and the eastern Mediterranean countries. Based on the prevalence of epilepsy in different studies and accounting for incomplete case identification the estimated number of children and adolescents in Europe with active epilepsy is 0.9 million (prevalence 4.5,5.0 per 1000), 1.9 million in ages 20,64 years (prevalence six per 1000) and 0.6 million in ages 65 years and older (prevalence seven per 1000). Approximately 20,30% of the epilepsy population have more than one seizure per month. Based on the age-specific incidence rates in European studies, the estimated number of new cases per year amongst European children and adolescents is 130 000 (incidence rate 70 per 100 000), 96 000 in adults 20,64 years (incidence rate 30 per 100 000) and 85 000 in the elderly 65 years and older (incidence 100 per 100 000). The proportion of both new and established cases with epilepsy in the young, adults and elderly in individual countries may differ substantially from total European distribution because of differences in age structure. [source] The impact of the euro on Europe's financial marketsFINANCIAL MARKETS, INSTITUTIONS & INSTRUMENTS, Issue 3 2003Gabriele Galati This paper presents an overview of the impact of the introduction of the euro on Europe's financial structure over the first four years since the start of EMU. It analyzes changes in money markets, bond markets, equity markets and foreign exchange markets. Euro's role in originating or catalyzing trends has been uneven across the spectrum of financial markets. From the supply side, banks and investors in fixed income markets have become more focused on the characteristics of individual borrowers rather than the nationality of the issuer and have built up expertise to evaluate credit risk. European equity markets have also been affected by the enhanced ability of investors to build strategies with a pan-European perspective as prices increasingly reflected risk factors specific to industrial sectors rather than individual countries. On the borrower side, EMU has increased the attractiveness of market-based financing methods by allowing debt issuers to tap institutional portfolios across the euro area. Lower barriers to cross-border financial transactions have also increased the contestability of the market for financial services, be it at the wholesale or the retail level. The introduction of the euro has also highlighted the shortcomings of existing institutional structures and areas where excessive focus on narrowly defined interests may stand in the way of realizing the full potential benefits from the new environment. Diverging legal and institutional infrastructures and market practices can impede further financial market development and deepening. Hence, the euro has put a premium on cooperation between national authorities and institution as a means of achieving a more harmonized financial environment. The impact of EMU on depth in foreign exchange markets has been less clear-cut, as volatility, spreads, trading volumes and liquidity appear not to have changed in a substantial way. Overall, it seems that the new currency has made some progress towards the goal of becoming a currency of international stature that would rival that of the US dollar. However, a number of the necessary next steps towards achieving this goal are also among the trickiest to implement. [source] Monetary and Fiscal Policy Rules in the EMUGERMAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 4 2004Bas Van Aarle EMU; fiscal policy; monetary policy Abstract. This paper studies the design and effects of monetary and fiscal policy in the euro area. To do so, a stylized two-region model of monetary and fiscal policy rules in the EMU is built. We analyse how monetary and fiscal rules affect the adjustment dynamics in the model. Both the effects on the individual countries and on the EMU aggregate economy are studied. Three aspects play an important role in the analysis: (i) the consequences of alternative monetary and fiscal policy rules, (ii) the consequences of asymmetries between EMU countries (asymmetries in macroeconomic shocks and macroeconomic structures), and (iii) the role of alternative degrees of backward- and forward-looking behaviour in consumer decisions and inflation expectations. [source] Country specific cost comparisons from multinational clinical trials using empirical Bayesian shrinkage estimation: the Canadian ASSENT-3 economic analysisHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2005Andrew R. Willan Abstract The growing number of multinational clinical trials in which patient-level health care resource data are collected have raised the issue of which is the best approach for making inference for individual countries with respect to the between-treatment difference in mean cost. We describe and discuss the relative merits of three approaches. The first uses the random effects pooled estimate from all countries to estimate the difference for any particular country. The second approach estimates the difference using only the data from the specific country in question. Using empirical Bayes estimation a third approach estimates the country-specific difference using a variance-weighted linear sum of the estimates provided by the other two approaches. The approaches are illustrated and compared using the data from the ASSENT-3 trial. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Europe's Migration Agreements with Migrant-Sending Countries in the Global South: A Critical ReviewINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 3 2010Aderanti Adepoju The past two decades have seen the steady emergence of various bilateral and multilateral migration agreements between Europe and migrant-sending countries in the global South. This article provides a critical assessment of the way the EU , and individual countries such as Spain, France and Italy , have played active roles in reshaping old and developing new strategies for keeping migration under control while opening up new opportunities for "regular" migration. It also discusses the extent to which migration agreements help migrant-sending countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to optimize the link between migration and development. Based on an analysis of the contents of the migration agreements and their implementation, it has become obvious that there is still a long way to go to achieve "fair multilateralism" and create "win-win" situations between the EU and the poorer migrant-sending countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. [source] Acute isolated tuberculous appendicitisJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PHARMACY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 3 2006G. Wyrobiec MD Summary Non-pulmonary tuberculosis is found with different frequencies in different countries of the world. It is said to constitute about 4% of all tuberculosis cases in Poland, about 25% in England and Wales and about 17% in the USA. It seems that these differences are the result of differences in rates of diagnosis and registration of new tuberculosis cases. This in turn is influenced by public health funding in the individual countries. In this work, we present a case of acute, isolated, tuberculous inflammation of the appendix. We call attention to the fact that pre-operative diagnosis is practically impossible. Clinical symptoms do not point to inflammatory changes. Only surgical evaluation, and especially the result of histopathological examination make it to possible to establish the final diagnosis to initiation of anti-tuberculous treatment. [source] Forecasting growth and inflation in an enlarged euro areaJOURNAL OF FORECASTING, Issue 5 2009Thomas Flavin Abstract We compare models for forecasting growth and inflation in the enlarged euro area. Forecasts are built from univariate autoregressive and single-equation models. The analysis is undertaken for both individual countries and EU aggregate variables. Aggregate forecasts are constructed by both employing aggregate variables and by aggregating country-specific forecasts. Using financial variables for country-specific forecasts tends to add little to the predictive ability of a simple AR model. However, they do help to predict EU aggregates. Furthermore, forecasts from pooling individual country models usually outperform those of the aggregate itself, particularly for the EU25 grouping. This is particularly interesting from the perspective of the European Central Bank, who require forecasts of economic activity and inflation to formulate appropriate economic policy across the enlarged group. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Molecular epidemiological studies show that hepatitis A virus is endemic among active homosexual men in EuropeJOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 4 2007Kathrine Stene-Johansen Abstract Large outbreaks of hepatitis A have occurred in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom during the period 1997,2005 affecting homosexual men. A collaborative study was undertaken between these countries to determine if the strains involved in these hepatitis A outbreaks were related genetically. The N-terminal region of VP1 and the VP1/P2A region of the strains were sequenced and compared. The majority of the strains found among homosexual men from the different European countries formed a closely related cluster, named MSM1, belonging to genotype IA. Different HAV strains circulated among other risk groups in these countries during the same period, indicating that specific strains were circulating among homosexual men exclusively. Similar strains found among homosexual men from 1997 to 2005 indicate that these HAV strains have been circulating among homosexual men for a long time. The homosexual communities are probably too small within the individual countries to maintain HAV in their population over time, whereas the homosexual communities across Europe are probably sufficiently large to sustain continued circulation of homologous HAV strains for years resulting in an endemic situation among homosexual men. J. Med. Virol. 79:356,365, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Has the time come to control hepatitis A globally?JOURNAL OF VIRAL HEPATITIS, Issue 2008Matching prevention to the changing epidemiology Summary., For the first time a global meeting on hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection as vaccine preventable disease was organized at the end of 2007. More than 200 experts from 46 countries gathered to investigate the changing global HAV epidemiology reflecting the increasing numbers of persons at risk for severe clinical disease and mortality from HAV infection. The benefits of childhood and adult hepatitis A (HepA) vaccination strategies and the data needed by individual countries and international health organizations to assess current HepA prevention strategies were discussed. New approaches in preventing HAV infection including universal HepA vaccination were considered. This introductory paper summarizes the major findings of the meeting and describes the changing epidemiology of HAV infections and the impact of HepA vaccination strategies in various countries. Implementation of HepA vaccination strategies should take into account the level of endemicity, the level of the socio-economic development and sanitation, and the risk of outbreaks. A stepwise strategy for introduction of HepA universal immunisation of children was recommended. This strategy should be based on accurate surveillance of cases and qualitative documentation of outbreaks and their control, secure political support on the basis of high-quality results, and comprehensive cost-effectiveness studies. The recognition of the need for increased global attention towards HepA prevention is an important outcome of this meeting. [source] Cost-comparison of DDT and alternative insecticides for malaria controlMEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 4 2000K. Walker Summary In anti-malaria operations the use of DDT for indoor residual spraying has declined substantially over the past 30 years, but this insecticide is still considered valuable for malaria control, mainly because of its low cost relative to alternative insecticides. Despite the development of resistance to DDT in some populations of malaria vector Anopheles mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), DDT remains generally effective when used for house-spraying against most species of Anopheles, due to excitorepellency as well as insecticidal effects. A 1990 cost comparison by the World Health Organization (WHO) found DDT to be considerably less expensive than other insecticides, which cost 2 to 23 times more on the basis of cost per house per 6 months of control. To determine whether such a cost advantage still prevails for DDT, this paper compares recent price quotes from manufacturers and WHO suppliers for DDT and appropriate formulations of nine other insecticides (two carbamates, two organophosphates and five pyrethroids) commonly used for residual house-spraying in malaria control programmes. Based on these ,global' price quotes, detailed calculations show that DDT is still the least expensive insecticide on a cost per house basis, although the price appears to be rising as DDT production declines. At the same time, the prices of pyrethroids are declining, making some only slightly more expensive than DDT at low application dosages. Other costs, including operations (labour), transportation and human safety may also increase the price advantages of DDT and some pyrethroids vs. organophosphates and carbamates, although possible environmental impacts from DDT remain a concern. However, a global cost comparison may not realistically reflect local costs or effective application dosages at the country level. Recent data on insecticide prices paid by the health ministries of individual countries showed that prices of particular insecticides can vary substantially in the open market. Therefore, the most cost-effective insecticide in any given country or region must be determined on a case-by-case basis. Regional coordination of procurement of public health insecticides could improve access to affordable products. [source] Prevalence of cholinesterase inhibitors in subjects with dementia in Europe,PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY, Issue 7 2008Antoine Pariente MD Abstract Purpose To evaluate the prevalence of cholinesterase inhibitor (ChI) treatment in subjects with dementia in European countries. Methods We studied the prevalence of treatment in subjects with dementia among European countries in 2004 (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom) by using estimates of prevalence of dementia and of ChI treatments according to sales and reimbursement data. Results In 2004, estimated prevalence of ChI use among subjects with dementia ranged from 3.0% in the Netherlands to 20.3% in France. It was 17.5% in Spain, 6.7% in the UK and 5.9% in Italy. Donepezil was used by more than 60% of patients using a single ChI and represented almost 50% of reimbursements for patients that had used at least two different ChIs during the year. Galantamine and rivastigmine were respectively used by 22 and 18% of subjects using a single drug and 27 and 23% of reimbursements for patients that had used at least two different ChIs. Nevertheless, different patterns of use were found for individual countries. Conclusions Prevalence of treatment by ChIs among subjects with dementia remains weak and varies greatly across Europe. Differences in reimbursement rates and health policies could partly explain these variations, as ChIs could have failed to convince health authorities because the outcomes considered for trials are not used by clinicians in their everyday practice. If donepezil was highly predominant across countries, variations in rivastigmine and galantamine importance could reflect local market specificities. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Longevity Advances in High-Income Countries, 1955,96POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 1 2002Kevin M. White The advance of life expectancy within high-income countries from 1955 to 1996 is well represented by a straight-line trend. This explains more of the variance on average, and in 19 of 21 high-income countries, than logged or unlogged age-standardized death rates. Change in life expectancy in individual countries over this period was partially predicted by a country's level relative to the rest of this group of high-income countries and partially by a country's own prior rate of advance, with substantial convergence toward the group mean for both measures. [source] Rebuilding governance in failed states and post-conflict societies: core concepts and cross-cutting themesPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2005Derick W. Brinkerhoff This overview article looks at the emergence of failed and post-conflict states on the international relations and assistance agenda, and at the importance of governance in establishing peace, pursuing state reconstruction and preventing conflict. It introduces the topic of the special issue, how effective governance can be re-established following societal conflict or war. After a brief review of the terminology of failed states, post-conflict and governance, the article discusses governance reconstruction in terms of three dimensions: reconstituting legitimacy, re-establishing security and rebuilding effectiveness. The article summarises key points made by the contributors to the special issue, who look at donor governance reconstruction agendas, security-sector governance and subnational governance. Several common themes emerge and are elaborated upon: similarities between development and post-conflict assistance; linkages among governance's legitimacy, effectiveness and security dimensions; rebuilding versus creating governance systems; local versus national governance reconstruction; formal versus informal governance. The article concludes with a call for further work to elaborate frameworks that can incorporate the particulars of individual countries in addressing legitimacy, security and effectiveness. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Codex final definition of dietary fibre: issues of implementationQUALITY ASSURANCE & SAFETY OF CROPS & FOOD, Issue 4 2009Joanne R. Lupton Abstract Introduction At its 30th session in South Africa in November 2008, the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) agreed on a definition of dietary fibre. Although many aspects of what can be called "dietary fibre" were resolved, the application of this definition raises additional issues in need of resolution. Objectives The goal of this paper is to discuss the major areas at issue in implementing the new Codex definition of dietary fibre: (1) the footnote that individual countries can decide whether they accept oligosaccharides with a degree of polymerization (DP) from 3 to 9 (included) as being fibre; and 2) guidance on which physiological effects are beneficial. Less critical but still important is the issue of animal sources of fibre not requiring proof of a beneficial physiological effect; and the effect of processing on fibre. Results and conclusion Unless all countries accept (or do not accept) that carbohydrate polymers with 3,9 monomeric units are dietary fibre, there will be two, rather than one definition. Again, if each country has its own criteria as to the physiological benefits of fibre and how to verify those benefits there will be as many "definitions" of fibre as there are effects accepted by all the member states. Given the importance to consumers, food companies, researchers, and regulatory agencies in having one definition, it is incumbent on all of us in the field to work toward that end. [source] Strategic Delegation in Monetary UnionsTHE MANCHESTER SCHOOL, Issue 2004V. V. Chari In monetary unions, monetary policy is typically made by delegates of the member countries. This procedure raises the possibility of strategic delegation,that countries may choose the types of delegates to influence outcomes in their favor. We show that without commitment in monetary policy, strategic delegation arises if and only if three conditions are met: shocks affecting individual countries are not perfectly correlated, risk-sharing across countries is imperfect, and the Phillips curve is nonlinear. Moreover, inflation rates are inefficiently high. We argue that ways of solving the commitment problem, including the emphasis on price stability in the agreements constituting the European Union, are especially valuable when strategic delegation is a problem. [source] Evidence from panel unit root and cointegration tests that the Environmental Kuznets Curve does not existAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL & RESOURCE ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2003Roger Perman The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis , an inverted U-shape relation between various indicators of environmental degradation and income per capita , has become one of the ,stylised facts' of environmental and resource economics. This is despite considerable criticism on both theoretical and empirical grounds. Cointegration analysis can be used to test the validity of such stylised facts when the data involved contain stochastic trends. In the present paper, we use cointegration analysis to test the EKC hypothesis using a panel dataset of sulfur emissions and GDP data for 74 countries over a span of 31 years. We find that the data is stochastically trending in the time-series dimension. Given this, and interpreting the EKC as a long run equilibrium relationship, support for the hypothesis requires that an appropriate model cointegrates and that sulfur emissions are a concave function of income. Individual and panel cointegration tests cast doubt on the general applicability of the hypothesised relationship. Even when we find cointegration, many of the relationships for individual countries are not concave. The results show that the EKC is a problematic concept, at least in the case of sulfur emissions. [source] A comparative study of the relationship between pension plans and individual savings in Asian countries from an institutional point of viewINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 4 2010Mann Hyung Hur Hur MH. A comparative study of the relationship between pension plans and individual savings in Asian countries from an institutional point of view Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 379,389 © 2009 The Author, Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. This study identifies various saving plans used as alternative pension plans in Asian countries and examines the extent to which these saving plans contribute to their pension schemes. Data were collected from six Asian countries: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. The comparison concentrates on an examination of differences and similarities in individual countries' privately managed pension schemes and saving plans. This study suggests that a pension system does not have to be a privately managed plan to encourage individual savings. A critical point for individual savings was avoiding a defined benefit plan. On the basis of these findings, a typology of relationships between second and third pillars and provident funds and incentive systems for individual savings was developed. [source] Do indicators of financial crises work?INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FINANCE & ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2003An evaluation of an early warning system Abstract The object of this paper is to develop an operational early warning system (EWS) that can detect financial crises. To achieve this goal the paper analyses and extends the early warning system developed by Kaminsky, Lizondo and Reinhart (1998) and Kaminsky and Reinhart (1999) that is based on the ,signal' approach. This system monitors several indicators that tend to exhibit an unusual behaviour in the periods preceding a crisis. When an indicator exceeds (or falls below) a threshold, then it is said to issue a ,signal' that a currency crisis may occur within a given period. The model does a fairly good job of anticipating some of the crises in 1997/1998, but several weaknesses to the approach are identified. The paper also evaluates how this system can be applied to an individual country. On balance, the results in this paper are mixed, but the results suggest that an early warning system should be thought of as a useful diagnostic tool. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||