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Union Countries (union + country)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences33%
Humanities and Social Sciences33%
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting33%

Kinds of Union Countries

  • european union country
    		•

    Selected Abstracts

    Do European Primarily Internet Banks Show Scale and Experience Efficiencies?

    EUROPEAN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2007
    Javier Delgado
    G21; O32; O33 Abstract Empirical evidence shows that Internet banks worldwide have underperformed newly chartered traditional banks mainly because of their higher overhead costs. European banks have not been an exception in this regard. This paper analyses, for the first time in Europe, whether this is a temporary phenomenon and whether Internet banks may generate scale economies in excess of those available to traditional banks. Also do they (and their customers) accumulate experience with this new business model, allowing them to perform as well or even better than their peers, the traditional banks? To this end, we have generally followed the same analytical framework and methodology used byDeYoung (2001, 2002, 2005)for Internet banks in the USA although the limitations in the availability of data, as well as the existence of different regulatory frameworks and market conditions, particularly in the retail segment, in the 15 European Union countries have required some modifications to the methodology. The empirical analysis confirms that, as is the case for US banks, European Internet banks show technologically based scale economies, while no conclusive evidence exists of technology based learning economies. As Internet banks get larger, the profitability gap with traditional banks shrinks. To the extent that Internet banks are profitable, European authorities may encourage a larger number of consumers to use this delivery channel, by tackling consumers security concerns. This would allow Internet banks to capture more of the potential scale efficiencies implied in our estimations. [source]

    The hospital costs of care for stroke in nine European countries

    HEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue S1 2008
    David Epstein
    Abstract Stroke is a major cause of mortality and morbidity, but the reasons for differences in costs of care within and between countries are not well understood. The HealthBASKET project used a vignette methodology to compare the mean costs and prices of hospital care across providers in nine European Union countries. Data on resource use, unit costs and prices of care for female stroke patients without co-morbidity were collected from a sample of 50 hospitals. Mean costs for each provider were analysed using multiple regression. Sensitivity analysis explored the effects on cost of using official exchange rates, purchasing power parity (PPP) and proportion of national income per capita. The mean cost of a hospital episode per patient for stroke at PPP was ,3813 (standard error 227) with an additional day in hospital typically associated with 6.9% (95% CI: 4,9%) higher costs and thrombolysis associated with 41% higher costs (10,73%). After adjusting for explanatory factors, about 76% of the variation in cost could be attributed to between-country differences, and the extent of this variation was sensitive to the method of currency conversion. There was considerable variation in the care pathways within and between countries, including differences in the availability of stroke units and access to rehabilitative services, but only the length of stay and use of thrombolytic therapy were significantly associated with higher cost. The vignette methodology appears feasible, but further research needs to consider access to healthcare over a longer follow up and to include both costs and outcomes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

    Maastricht's Fiscal Rules at Ten: An Assessment

    JCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 5 2002
    Marco Buti
    The Maastricht Treaty is ten years old. Its fiscal rules played a key role in kickstarting and sustaining the budgetary retrenchment efforts in European Union countries in the run,up to economic and monetary union (EMU). The experience of the Maastricht,induced fiscal consolidation shows that the political economy dimension of the rules is key to their success. It remains to be seen whether the stability and growth pact , which aims to lock EMU members into a permanent fiscal discipline commitment while allowing for flexibility to cushion cyclical fluctuations , will work. In order to succeed in this undertaking, EU governments and institutions have to tackle a number of open issues in the implementation of the pact while recreating the political drive which made Maastricht a success. [source]

    Hydroquinone and its analogues in dermatology , a risk-benefit viewpoint

    JOURNAL OF COSMETIC DERMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2006
    DABT, J L O'Donoghue VMD
    Summary Hydroquinone (HQ) has been used since the 1950s in commercially available over-the-counter skin lightener products and since the 1960s as a commercially available medical product. It is also used in cosmetic products such as hair dyes and products for coating finger nails. Beginning in 2001, HQ is no longer authorized for use in cosmetic skin lightening formulations in European Union countries, although products containing arbutin, an analogue of HQ, and botanicals, including plants that naturally contain HQ and arbutin, continue to remain available in European countries. The potential toxicity of HQ is dependent on the route of exposure, and toxicity in rodents is highly sex-, species-, and strain-specific. Subchronic and chronic toxicity in experimental animals is primarily limited to nephrotoxicity in male F-344 rats. Dermal toxicity studies, even those conducted in the sensitive male F-344 rat, are essentially devoid of systemic toxicity. Developmental and reproductive toxicity studies with HQ in rats and rabbits have not demonstrated significant effects. Cancer bioassay data for HQ demonstrate limited effects and are not sufficient to classify HQ for human carcinogenicity. Epidemiology and occupational studies of workers with extensive exposure to HQ have not reported any evidence of adverse systemic health effects or carcinogenicity. A risk-benefit approach is recommended for assessing the available data for HQ, arbutin, and other materials in use as, or proposed for use as, skin lighteners to provide optimal therapeutic benefits to patients with pigmentary changes of the skin. [source]

    Food consumption in the European Union: Main determinants and country differences

    AGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2001
    A. Gracia
    Consumers in the European Union are involved in integration processes that head towards homogenization of food consumption patterns. Several factors are encouraging these homogenization trends based on consumers' similarities and corporate activities. In this article a review of the food consumption structure, across European Union countries, is undertaken. First, food consumption trends in different countries are described and, second, factors, which determine consumer choices, are presented. Despite the fact that European consumers face more homogeneous food market conditions, food consumption differences exist because preferences and food habits are still different among European consumers, and the market is fragmented (EconLit: L660). © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source]

    Constraints to expanding access to health interventions: an empirical analysis and country typology

    JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2003
    M. Kent Ranson
    This paper adopts three approaches to classifying countries by level of constraint, in order to inform the choice of strategies for expanding access to health interventions in different contexts. We find substantial heterogeneity across the 84 low-income and (all) sub-Saharan African countries analysed. Poor sub-Saharan African countries are the most highly constrained; Asian countries, in general, less constrained; and the two Asian giants, China and India, consistently fall above the median. Former Soviet Union countries rank low in terms of governance, but high for health systems variables. Only 10 per cent of the total population of the countries included lives in countries with the greatest constraints. The potential applications of the analysis are discussed, as are the limitations of the cross-sectional, macro level approach. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]