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Counterfactual estimates of excess deaths in Russian regions in the period 2020–21 are compared with officially reported COVID deaths to analyse underreporting. COVID mortality levels at the end of years 2020 and 2021 as well as annual growth during 2021 and the first half of 2022 reveal that COVID is a real threat to high labour productivity regions and those with relatively bigger defence and civilian sectors. Corruption lowers COVID mortality growth, suggesting a public health system where better care is obtained informally. Improved access to a doctor just before the pandemic lowered the level of mortality during the worst year (2021) but did not impact the mortality growth or the mortality level in 2020. Better prevention of any virus including COVID in the future would include more regionally decentralised vaccine and testing initiatives to boost compliance plus a fundamentally reformed health system that includes access to foreign-made vaccines and higher quality mortality data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using convergence estimations, the economies of the towns and districts of Rostov Oblast are shown to be resilient to four shocks to the economy – initial sanctions (2019), initial COVID and continuing sanctions (2020), continuing sanctions and worsening COVID (2021), war, harsher sanctions and declining COVID (2022). Agricultural output is resilient and represents an important growth sector for the Russian economy. Housing and floor area construction are resilient with even gross production being maintained. Labor indicators show a severe shock to unemployment and vacancies in 2020 followed by recovery in 2021 and a much tighter labor market in 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports of falsification, fabrication, plagiarism, and other violations of research integrity across the sciences are on the increase. Joining with other disciplines to actively protect the integrity of the marriage and family therapy (MFT) research literature is of utmost importance to both the discipline and the future of the profession. To inform the issues raised, results are presented of an informal survey among MFT clinical members on their perceptions about the literature together with their preferences for how best to protect its integrity. This article initiates an important discussion about the honesty of MFT research.

Using a spatial dynamic panel, the long-run industrial sector convergence rate across Mexico's states is found to be 2%. The model is a system-General Method of Moments with correction for spatial autocorrelation and an explicit human capital input. The significant ineguality between the richest and poorest states is caused by differences in factor accumulation. Physical capital accumulation dominates in richer states while the human capital accumulation is in poorer states. Regional ineguality is predicted to grow unless there is government intervention to address the bipolar regional divide. More investment in human capital in non-industrialized states to draw strength from Mexico's diversity is recommended. Comparative Economic Studies (2015) 57, 183-202. doi: 10.1057/ces.2014.42; published online 8 January 2015 Keywords: Mexican regional convergence, physical and human capital, spatial panel analysis JEL Classification: 040, 047, Rll, R15, INTRODUCTION Mexico has always been known as a country of great diversity in fields from literature to economics. For example, regional economic diversity within Mexico has led to the poorest [...]

Counterfactual estimates of excess deaths in Russian regions in 2020 are compared with actual deaths to measure the initial COVID impact. COVID is a real threat to high labor productivity regions and those with relatively bigger defense sectors. Corruption is surprisingly found to lower excess deaths. Legacy Soviet human capital and early Putin era democracy don't appear to impact excess deaths. Urban males are most threatened with an even greater negative impact on the economy as COVID moves into working age brackets in the medium term. Living in rural areas and/or in regions far from Moscow was relatively safer in 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on two rounds of a nationally representative household survey, this paper presents an exploratory study of risk factors and the economics of the decision to smoke by adults in Russia in the second haft of the 1990s. With an overall smoking prevalence of 32.2%, smoking is much more prevalent among men (61.4%) than among women (10.3%). The risk of smoking is on the rise in Russia due mainly to the growing incidence of female smoking, especially in major urban centres, where the impact of modern culture and Western tobacco companies is more profound. The low estimated price elasticities of the decision to smoke for men (-0.085) and for women (-0.628) suggest that an excise tax on cigarettes is not an effective means to reduce the prevalence of smoking. The decision to smoke is also found to be very income inelastic. Formal education, occupation, alcohol consumption, and obesity are associated with smoking in a way similar to developed countries. Comparative Economic Studies (2003) 45, 87-103. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ces.8100001 Keywords: Russia, smoking, Russian health JEL Classifications: I1, P5, R2, INTRODUCTION According to the World Health Organization (WHO) (Lopez, 1997), smoking has become, or soon will be, the leading cause of death throughout the world and in Eastern Europe in [...]

INTRODUCTION With collectivization in the 1930s, the agricultural sector became the 'Achilles' heel' of the Soviet economy. Despite relatively large amounts of agricultural investment over a long period, agricultural productivity [...]

Assessed supervisees' (N=72) perceptions of supervision in American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy-accredited programs. Supervisees from 14 programs described actual and preferred supervision. Most reported mixed didactic-experiential supervision style. Supervisees considered quality of supervision good, some reported not receiving once a week supervision, and most did not receive style of supervision they preferred. (Author/NB)

The Ethics At-Risk Test is a self-administered diagnostic tool that aims to help family and marriage therapists lower the incidence of ethical practice standards violation. The test may also raise vital questions that are useful in discussions regarding the training of marriage and family therapists. Aside from analyzing the conditions that may lead to an ethics violation, the at-risk test also discusses dual relationships and ethics code violations that occur most often within the profession and recommends a course of action.

I. INTRODUCTION In many developing countries, the information markets often are inefficient relative to more developed countries. Decision making is inhibited by the long search time needed to find information. [...]

Explored the exchange of social rewards and costs between the therapist and client (N=11 dating couples) in an initial therapy interview. Results suggested that client perceptions of short-term cost may be influenced by educational or informative responses about the general functioning of relationships. (JAC)

Critiques the Beavers-Timberlawn Family Evaluation Scale (BT), a measure designed to be used in conjunction with other scales to more fully identify the health/competence of a family. Reviews the assessment tool's strengths and limitations. Finds the BT to be an important contribution to clinical work. (ABB)

Nation States and the Multinational Corporation Nathan M Jensen Princeton University Press: Princeton and Oxford, 2006, pp. 193. What can one say about cross-country foreign direct investment (FDI) using panel [...]

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The economic performance of Chechnya is examined for the first time using an aggregate stochastic frontier production function method. The 15 sectors of the economy are found to be quite inefficient in the use of capital and labour to produce aggregate output. Extensive growth is likely to continue though at a lower rate as federal subsidies from Moscow end. Intensive growth is unlikely given the lack of foreign investment and the authoritarian political system. Some evidence for the emergence of a market economy is found, suggesting that Kadyrov has overseen an economic transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- Has the Mexican inter-regional growth and convergence experience also occurred within single regions? Using the important southern region of Veracruz, the purpose of this paper is to examine this question over a 48-year period within a single Mexican state. Design/methodology/approach -- Growth is examined using a standard two input stochastic production function (SPF) that creates a measure of technical efficiency. Convergence is measured using a convergence equation from the literature but which also included the results from the SPF analysis to incorporate not only initial levels of inputs but also the ability of a municipio to utilize these inputs. Data collection in Mexico and online included a long run database of 149 municipios in Veracruz from 1960 thru 2008. Findings -- A stochastic Cobb-Douglas technology is found to fit the long run growth of Veracruz province well. In the 1960s, 2000s and the long run (1960-2008), weak evidence for the municipios in Veracruz appear to be converging with a relatively higher level of technical efficiency resulting in slower growth of industrial labor productivity is found. Some very recent improvement in technical efficiency may be the result of institutional as well as economic reforms finally allowing an exiting of inefficient firms that has kept the levels of municipio industrial technical efficiency stagnant for decades at about 70 percent. Research limitations/implications -- Data were limited to 149 municipios because of the need to track long run trends. Data were also limited by the need to use what was available in 1960 in a direct comparison with 2008. The design of the study was to use the technical efficiency index as a proxy for much of the missing data on institutions in the historic period. Panel data were used because the economic census is not done every year plus the turmoil in the Mexican economy in the 1980s thru the end of the 1990s make imputation of missing years at the local level quite difficult. Practical implications -- The paper provides a baseline to analyze the long run intra-regional economic growth of other Mexican states which have a large number of municipios. It begins the exciting possibility of looking at Mexican long run growth from the municipio level which has historically played an important role in Mexico. Originality/value -- This is the first study to examine long run growth within a Mexican state at the municipio level using both the production function and convergence literature. Results suggest several avenues for further research inside Veracruz and across Mexico. Paper type Research paper [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russian macroeconomic growth in the transition era is analysed across federal districts using a neoclassical production function often found in studies of Soviet-era economic growth. An adjusted capital stock series for Russian regions is created and used in the aggregate production function for 1995-2003 to analyse growth across the 11 federal districts in Russia. Federal district output growth is found to be explained well by neoclassical growth theory, indicating that poorer regions may converge to richer regions, thereby strengthening the Russian Federation. Federal districts also have high capital/labour ratios, suggesting that expanded regional domestic and foreign investment across Russia in the future will enhance growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]