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This article examines the factors that contribute to the size of governments in different countries. It discusses Wagner's law and the resource curse as explanations for large government size and categorizes countries based on their government size. The article explores the relationship between government size and economic performance, political institutions, and natural resources. It concludes that most countries with large governments can be explained by Wagner's law or the resource curse, while the remaining countries are ruled by autocratic governments with left-wing or incoherent political ideologies. The article also provides a table with characteristics of countries with large governments, but does not offer a roadmap for reducing government size. The author acknowledges uncertainties in reducing government size and provides rough estimates for figures. [Extracted from the article]

Services provided by nature and ecosystem capital are unpriced and their contributions cannot be observed through factor payments. Estimates of nature's gross domestic product contribution are thus based on bottom‐up extrapolations of local ecological valuations or various sectoral dependency assumptions. These estimates are hence partial and wide‐ranging. On the other hand, omission of nature and ecosystem capital in standard growth regressions potentially biases estimated returns to other factors of production. This paper incorporates various categories of natural capital and biodiversity into growth regressions, with annual data covering more than 100 economies over more than two decades. A range of econometric specifications are used, including fixed effect panel regressions, Arellano and Bond, and Pseudo Poisson Maximum Likelihood. The estimates point to natural capital, especially the narrower and specific ecosystem capital, having a sizeable positive elasticity of around one‐third of total gross fixed capital. Ecosystem capital is thus estimated to contribute around USD6–12 trillion (or 10–20 trillion in purchasing power parity terms) annually for the global economy. This estimated contribution is significantly higher than what is implied by existing stock valuations, underscoring the importance of ecosystem capital to sustainable growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The present study aimed to examine the effect of received remittance inflows on the price level ratio of the purchasing power parity conversion factor to the market exchange rate in 36 developed and developing countries from 2004 to 2020. Design/methodology/approach: The panel data conducted a comparative analysis and used panel least squares, regression with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors of fixed effect, random effect, feasible generalised least squares and maximum likelihood robust least squares to overcome the heterogeneity issue. Furthermore, the two-step difference generalised method of moments to overcome the endogeneity issue. Diagnostic tests were used to increase robustness. Findings: In the studied countries, there was a statistically significant negative relationship between received remittance inflows and the price-level ratio of the purchasing power parity conversion factor to the market exchange rate. This relationship explains why remittance flows depreciate the real exchange rate. The study's results also indicated that attracting investments can improve the quality of institutions despite high tax rates, leading to low tax revenue. Originality/value: The current study findings enrich the understanding of policies of how governments should minimise tariff rates on capital imports and introduce export-oriented incentive programmes. The study also revealed that Dutch disease can occur due to differences in the demand structure and manufacturing development policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To describe existing and cutting-edge knowledge on cost-effectiveness or item costs related to palliative home-based care for patients with cancer. We evaluated various costs, including direct medical, non-medical, and indirect costs in different geographical regions and analysed how different options for care affect the patients' quality of life and associated expenses. Methods: This Prospero-registered systematic review (CRD42023404217) adhered to the PRISMA criteria. Following a multistep selection process, we selected 22 articles published between 2013 and 2023 focused on quality of life outcomes and cost-effectiveness of home-based palliative care for cancer patients. Results: Home-based palliative care decreases the number of hospital visits, while its influence on patients quality of life is currently difficult to demonstrate across geographic regions based on available evidence. Overall, home care decreases the costs associated to the palliative care of patients with cancer. The cost structure analysis revealed that besides healthcare costs, informal care expenses and productivity losses represent a significant proportion of overall expenses). In Europe, the direct medical, non-medical, and indirect costs (in purchasing power parity) were on average $1,941, $842, and $1,241, per month per person, respectively. In the USA and Asia, direct medical and indirect costs are on average $1,095 (USA) vs $1,444 (Asia) and $2,192 (USA) vs $1,162 (Asia). Conclusion: In conclusion, the studies reviewed highlight significant cost variations and potential savings associated with palliative home-based care for cancer patients. Home-based palliative care, particularly involving medications, has shown favorable cost-effectiveness compared to hospital care. Specialized palliative home care, psychological interventions, and outpatient services further contribute to overall cost savings. However, the economic impact varies across different geographical contexts and cost categories, emphasizing the need for tailored approaches in palliative care planning and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of countries have launched their central bank digital currencies (CBDC) in recent years, but the economic impacts of CBDC adoption are underexplored. To empirically assess how CBDC adoption influences regional economic integration, this paper investigates the Greater Bay Area, where China carried out one of its first digital renminbi pilot programs. The Greater Bay Area provides a good example because the growing acceptance of digital renminbi in the area can potentially mitigate transaction costs and risks due to the exchange rate volatility of the Chinese renminbi, Hong Kong dollar, and Macao pataca. CBDC adoption can lead to greater real and financial integrations by facilitating cross-border trade in goods and services. This paper evaluates deviations from uncovered interest rate parity, purchasing power parity, and real interest rate parity across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao based on monthly interest rate and price data from January 2016 to December 2022. The time series have mean values near zero, which validate the parity conditions and indicate high degrees of financial, real, and economic integrations. The Markov regime-switching regression model identifies three regimes: (1) pre-Covid, (2) post-Covid, and (3) post-CBDC. The Covid-19 outbreak brought lower integration and stability, but the launch of the CBDC restored some of the pre-Covid integration and stability. Regimes 1 and 2 are persistent, and transitions from Regime 3 back to Regime 1 are probable. Hence, this study finds evidence that CBDC adoption improves regional economic integration in the short and long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Price levels of medical services may vary across regions with different income levels, which would raise concerns about the equal access to medical services. This study aimed to estimate the spatial price index of medical services to measure price levels across 31 provincial regions in China. Methods: Price data were collected from medical service price schedule in each region. Two methods based on the Purchasing Power Parities were used to estimate the spatial price index and measure price differences across regions. The two-way fixed effects models were used to examine the association between medical service price levels and income levels, and further investigate the impacts of price differences on utilization of medical services and medical expenditure. Results: The consistent estimation results were given by two methods. Medical service price level in the highest-price region was found to be 74% higher than the lowest. There was a significant negative correlation between price levels and income levels, as well as price levels and the utilization of outpatient services. Moreover, we also found a 1% increase in medical service price level was significantly associated with a 0.34% and 0.24% increase in the medical service expense per outpatient visit and per inpatient respectively. Conclusions: Regions in China had significant gaps in medical service price levels. Policymakers should pay more attention to regional price differences and take great measures such as enhancing financial protection to ensure the equal access to medical services and better achieve the universal health coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examines the importance of exchange rate and credit growth fluctuations when designing monetary policy in Thailand. To this end, the authors construct a small open economy New Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model. The model encompasses several essential characteristics, including incomplete financial markets, incomplete exchange rate pass-through, deviations from the law of one price and a banking sector. The authors consider generalized Taylor rules, in which policymakers adjust policy rates in response to output, inflation, credit growth and exchange rate fluctuations. The marginal likelihoods are then employed to investigate whether the central bank responds to fluctuations in the exchange rate and credit growth. Design/methodology/approach: This study constructs a small open economy DSGE model and then estimates the model using Bayesian methods. Findings: The authors demonstrate that the monetary authority does target exchange rates, whereas there is no evidence in favor of incorporating credit growth into the policy rules. These findings survive various robustness checks. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate that domestic shocks contribute significantly to domestic business cycles. Although the terms of trade shock plays a minor role in business cycles, it explains the most significant proportion of exchange rate fluctuations, followed by the country risk premium shock. Originality/value: This study is the first attempt at exploring the relevance of exchange rate and credit growth fluctuations when designing monetary policy in Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Disciplines Economics & Administrative Scienves Studies is the property of International Journal of Disciplines in Economics & Administrative Sciences Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Several research efforts were dedicated to analysing the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows on gross domestic product (GDP) and employment in the host economies. The variations in the conclusions signal that other variables influence and moderate the effects of FDI on GDP and employment. Institutional elements receive limited research attention, despite their influence on the host economies. This paper investigates the moderating role of institutional elements in the FDI-host economies on FDI’s effects on GDP and employment with China and India as case studies. The approach utilises three principal methodologies. The first methodology presents an in-depth analysis of China and India, highlighting selected institutional elements with the potential to influence FDI’s effects. The second methodology confirms the presence of a positive correlation between FDI and GDP and a negative correlation between FDI and employment-to-population ratio (EPR) in both China and India. The FDI, GDP purchasing power parity per capita, and EPR datasets are extracted from the World Bank – DataBank World Development Indicators to ensure the consistency of the data. The results of the quantitative analysis validate the qualitative analysis. The qualitative analysis confirms the moderating role of the selected institutional elements with variations in direction and strength. Significant variations in FDI’s effects on GDP and employment are strongly related to variations in the institutions of governance. The institutions of governance include the functionality of the state organs, the efficiency of the legal system and enforcement of the rule of law, and the quality of implementation of FDI-supportive policies. The findings aim to increase the absorption of the positive effects of FDI on GDP and employment in the respective countries. The research is a cornerstone of in-depth future research into the following areas: the role of selective FDI and constructive conditional FDI policies, the functionality of judicial authority controls, and FDI favourable exchange rates and interest rates policies. The novelty and contribution of the paper lie in its comprehensive exploration of the moderating role of institutional elements on the effects of FDI on GDP and employment in host economies, with a specific focus on China and India. The paper contributes significantly to the academic literature on FDI and economic development by emphasising the importance of institutional factors and providing actionable insights for policymakers and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the widespread price dispersion of homogeneous products across different online platforms, even when consumers can easily access price information from comparison websites. We collect data for the 200 most popular hotels in London (UK) and document that prices vary widely across booking sites while making reservations for a hotel room. Additionally, we find that prices listed across different platforms tend to converge as the booking date gets closer to the date of stay. However, the price dispersion persists until the date of stay, implying that the law of one price does not hold. We present a simple theoretical model to explain this and show that in the presence of aggregate demand uncertainty and capacity constraints, price dispersion could exist even when products are homogeneous, consumers are homogeneous, all agents have perfect information about the market structure, and consumers face no search costs to acquire information about the products. Our theoretical intuition and robust empirical evidence provide additional insights into price dispersion across online platforms in different institutional settings. Our study complements the existing literature that relies on consumer search costs to explain the price dispersion phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study focuses on evaluating the validity of the Relative Purchasing Power Parity (RPPP) theory for India and its four major trading partner nations namely the United States, China, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia using monthly time series spanning January 2001 to March 2021. For the purpose of empirical analysis, standard Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) unit root tests, as well as the Johansen-Juselius cointegration technique, have been applied. Firstly, the stationarity of the real exchange rate has been investigated using standard unit root tests. The findings indicate that each country’s real exchange rate is nonstationary signifying the absence of strong PPP. Thereafter, the weak form of PPP was tested in the second stage using the Johansen cointegration test. The findings of the cointegration test confirm the presence of a long-run relationship among bilateral exchange rates, domestic price levels, and foreign price levels for all countries undertaken except for the UAE. Since three economies from among the total four trading partners’ country-pair support the existence of PPP, it can be said that PPP holds for the Indian rupee exchange rate for the economies so considered. The study further signals that India’s trade with the UAE could lead to arbitrage opportunities.

Background: Despite ongoing efforts, perinatal morbidity and mortality persist across all settings, imposing a dual burden of clinical and economic strain. Besides, the fragmented nature of economic evidence on perinatal health interventions hinders the formulation of effective health policies. Our review aims to comprehensively and critically assess the economic evidence for such interventions in high-income countries, where the balance of health outcomes and fiscal prudence is paramount. Methods and analysis: We will conduct a comprehensive search for studies using databases including EconLit (EBSCO), Cost Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) Registry, Medline (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL Ultimate (EBSCO), Global Health (Ovid), and PubMed. Furthermore, we will broaden our search to include Google Scholar and conduct snowballing from the final articles included. The search terms will encompass economic evaluation, perinatal health interventions, morbidity and mortality, and high-income countries. We will include full economic evaluations focusing on cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit, cost-utility, and cost-minimisation analyses. We will exclude partial economic evaluations, reports, qualitative studies, conference papers, editorials, and systematic reviews. Date restrictions will limit the review to studies published after 2010 and those in English during the study selection process. We will use the modified Drummond checklist to evaluate the quality of each included study. Our findings will adhere to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) 2020 statement. A summary will include estimated costs, effectiveness, benefits, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). We also plan to conduct a subgroup analysis. To aid comparability, we will standardise all costs to the United States Dollar, adjusting them to their 2022 value using country-specific consumer price index and purchasing power parity. Ethics and dissemination: This systematic review will not involve human participants and requires no ethical approval. We will publish the results in a peer-reviewed journal. Trial registration: We registered our record on PROSPERO (registration #: CRD42023432232). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the authors analyze data accumulated over 10+ years of teaching market interaction using a simple classroom experiment. The experiment is designed to teach first-year undergraduate students the basics of supply and demand and market efficiency. In total, they analyze data from 85 teaching sessions and 243 individual markets. They find that traded prices typically (90% of the time) move in accordance with market equilibrium comparative statics. They also find that average traded prices are rarely (5% of the time) consistent with market equilibrium but typically (70% of the time) "close" to the equilibrium. The traded quantity is often (60% of the time) more than equilibrium, which results in a loss of efficiency. The law of one price is strongly rejected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a very debated topic among academia, national and international institutions. Therefore, policies and tools for diminishing pollutant emissions are in place in a number of countries. Among them, taxation and renewable energy use seem to be among the most important. This paper aims at testing the impact of certain tools for climate change policy implementation, such as environmental taxes, renewable energy use, real productivity, employment rate taking into consideration the level of economic development and the GINI coefficient, on the greenhouse gas emissions in two important sectors of the economy: industry and commerce. Panel data analysis is used for a cluster of nine developing countries of the European Union that have the per capita GDP at purchasing power parity lower than 80% of the EU average, during 2008-2021. Similar to other studies, the results show a negative relationship between environmental taxation and greenhouse gas emissions in the industrial sector, and a positive one in the commercial sector. The latter is explained by the fact that transport, which is a main pollutant sector, is also one of the most difficult sectors to achieve green transition, given high associated costs. The analysis also shows that renewable energy use discourages the emissions of greenhouse gases, both in the industrial and commercial sectors, so that fostering investment in renewables is an important factor for addressing climate change and promoting a sustainable growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The validity of purchasing power parity (PPP) between two economies implies goods markets of the two are well integrated. This is a pre-condition for further economic convergence. This study examines validity of the PPP between China and European countries. Since the functional form of the cointegrating relationship may not be exact or linear, we adopt the nonparametric rank tests for analysis, without prior specification of the functional form. We also address the rank problems that occur in multivariate rank tests. The results indicate strong support for nonlinear PPP relationships between China and European countries, especially during the second subsample period. This indicates China's rising economic power, particularly in the most recent decade. Although there have been disputes between China and Europe, these results suggest favorable prospects for closer economic cooperation between the two sides and the need for formulation of common policies to pursue an integrated market in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese Government has promulgated the "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI) to increase trade flows and integrate goods markets between China and BRI countries. The validity of purchasing power parity (PPP) implies well‐integrated goods markets, a precondition for further economic convergence, and the next stage of economic integration in factor, service, and financial markets. Our study aims to examine the validity of the PPP and the extent of goods market integration between China and selected BRI countries in Africa. Since the functional form of the cointegrating relationship may not be exact or linear, we adopt the nonparametric rank tests for analysis without prior knowledge and specification of the functional form. We also address the rank problems that occur in multivariate rank tests. Our empirical results provide strong evidence of an unrestricted PPP relationship with reasonably strong evidence of nonlinearity in the data. We also find that some African BRI countries have experienced goods market integration with China during the second‐half period only. This indicates that the introduction of the BRI in 2013 and China's active involvement in African economic development through BRI projects are leading to enhanced goods market integration between China and Africa. The results indicate favorable prospects of closer economic cooperation in the factor, service, and financial markets to build a free trade area or common markets with BRI countries in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compiles a market-based price index by accounting for the impact of price regulation. We then use the parallel market exchange rate and market-based price index to test Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) over a more extended period (1952–2019) in China. We find weak evidence support PPP when official data are used. However, we fail to find evidence against PPP when the parallel market exchange rate and the market-based price index are used. Moreover, the half-life of the RMB real exchange rate is approximately one year, substantially lower than the consensus estimates of 3–5 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter examines the inequality in scientific production, specifically in the field of critical care medicine, and its association with global economic disparities. The authors gathered data on medical and critical care publications from 2018 to 2022 and analyzed the contributions of countries in different income strata to scientific production. They found that high-income countries (HICs) published the majority of medical and critical care documents, although there has been a slight increase in publications from upper-middle and lower-middle income countries. Factors such as higher GDP per capita, investment in health and research, publication bias, and the impact of the open-access model may contribute to this inequality. The authors emphasize the importance of reducing the distance between scientific production and healthcare for the majority of the world's population and call for further attention to this topic in the future. [Extracted from the article]

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, with an increasing incidence and prevalence because of progressively aging populations. Costs related to AF are both direct and indirect. This systematic review aims to identify the main cost drivers of the illness, assess the potential economic impact resulting from changes in care strategies, and propose interventions where they are most needed. A systematic literature search of the PubMed and Scopus databases was performed to identify analytical observational studies defining the cost of illness in cases of AF. The search strategy was based on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) 2020 recommendations. Of the 944 articles retrieved, 24 met the inclusion criteria. These studies were conducted in several countries. All studies calculated the direct medical costs, whereas 8 of 24 studies assessed indirect costs. The median annual direct medical cost per patient, considering all studies, was €9409 (13 333 US dollars in purchasing power parities), with a very large variability due to the heterogeneity of different analyses. Hospitalization costs are generally the main cost drivers. Comorbidities and complications, such as stroke, considerably increase the average annual direct medical cost of AF. In most of the analyzed studies, inpatient care cost represents the main component of the mean direct medical cost per patient. Stroke and heart failure are responsible for a large share of the total costs; therefore, implementing guidelines to manage comorbidities in AF is a necessary step to improve health and mitigate healthcare costs. • Atrial fibrillation (AF) has an increasing incidence and prevalence because of progressively aging populations. Costs related to AF, exacerbated by the major complications that the disease can cause, are both direct—related to therapies and hospitalization—and indirect—related to productivity losses. • In most of the analyzed studies in this systematic review, inpatient care cost represented the main component of the mean direct medical cost per patient, whereas the cost of outpatient care was the principal cost item in only 3 studies. In most of the 8 studies that calculated the indirect costs, this cost component was generally much lower than the direct costs. • The presence of comorbidities and complications such as stroke, considerably increase the average annual direct medical cost of AF. Stroke and heart failure are responsible for a large share of the total costs; therefore, implementing guidelines to cope with comorbidities in AF is a necessary step to improve health and mitigate healthcare costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparative frailty prevalence data across European countries is sparse due to heterogeneous measurement methods. The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement (SHARE) initiative conducted interviews with probability sampling of non-institutionalized elderly people in several European countries. Previous frailty analyses of SHARE datasets were limited to initial SHARE countries and did not provide age- and gender-stratified frailty prevalence. Our aim was to provide age- and gender-stratified frailty prevalence estimates in all European countries, with predictions where necessary. From 29 SHARE participating countries, 311,915 individual surveys were analyzed. Frailty prevalence was estimated by country and gender in 5-year age bands using the SHARE Frailty Instrument and a frailty index. Association of frailty prevalence with age, gender, and GDP per capita (country-specific economic indicator for predictions) was investigated in multivariate mixed logistic regression models with or without multiple imputation. Female gender and increasing age were significantly associated with higher frailty prevalence. Higher GDP per capita, with or without purchasing power parity adjustment, was significantly associated with lower frailty prevalence in the 65–79 age groups in all analyses. Observed and predicted data on frailty rates by country are provided in the interactive SHARE Frailty Atlas for Europe. Our study provides age- and gender-stratified frailty prevalence estimates for all European countries, revealing remarkable between-country heterogeneity. Higher frailty prevalence is strongly associated with lower GDP per capita, underlining the importance of investigating transferability of evidence across countries at different developmental levels and calling for improved policies to reduce inequity in risk of developing frailty across European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Difference in terms of cost-of-living between rural and urban areas is a frequent theoretical analysis in Regional Economics. Lack of routine measures in rural areas does not usually allow to observe changes in rural costs. We adapt the Big Mac index, typically used to measure purchasing power parity between countries, as a potential quick and inexpensive indicator of short-term local price variations. With a national random sample of McDonald's stores repeated in time, we find prices grew slightly faster in rural areas than in urban areas. Spatial transmission of prices seems to be limited to very localized effects, meaning that rural price increases are not due to urban spillover effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Omer Halisdemir Universitesi Iktisadi ve Idari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Omer Halisdemir University, Faculty of Economics & Admistrative Sciene and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this study spanning four decades, we explored the relationship between the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) interventions and the validity of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) across two distinct exchange rate regimes: the fixed exchange rate regime (1975–1993) and the managed floating regime (1994–2015). Applying an error correction model (VECM), our analysis reveals that under the fixed exchange rate regime, the environment is conducive to PPP due to frequent interventions by the RBI. However, in the managed floating regime, selective interventions weaken the applicability of PPP. These findings align with prior research but also hint at the limitations of linear models in capturing the intricate dynamics of PPP when central banks are involved. Nonlinear models may hold the key to unraveling the relationship more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Investigación Económica is the property of Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Facultad de Economia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study examines the effect of public–private partnerships (PPPs) on income inequality, focusing on economic infrastructures. For that, we use a sample composed of data from 38 low- and middle-income countries over the period 2000–2018. The empirical findings suggest that inequality has not been reduced; by contrast, income inequality has increased in countries that have developed PPP projects to a greater extent. This study offers practical implications about the social cost that the PPP formula has in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the impact of gender on emergency surgery within Kenya. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association of gender on outcomes of postoperative complications, health care costs, and mortality. We evaluated an established cohort of patients undergoing emergency gastrointestinal surgery in rural Kenya between January 1st, 2016 and June 30th, 2019. Utilizing logistic regression, we examined the association between self-reported patient gender and the outcomes of postoperative complications and mortality. A generalized linear model was created for total hospital costs, inflation-adjusted in international dollars purchasing power parity, to examine the impact of gender. Confounding factors were controlled by Africa Surgical Outcomes Study Surgical Risk Score. Among 484 patients reviewed, 149 (30.8%) were women. 165 (34.1%) patients developed complications, with women experiencing more than men (40.9% versus 31.0%; P = 0.03) and longer hospital stays (median 6 days (4-9) versus 5 (4-7); P = 0.02). After controlling for Africa Surgical Outcomes Study Surgical Risk Score, odds of developing complications for women were 1.67 (95% confidence interval: 1.09-2.55; P = 0.019) times higher than men, and the odds of death were 2.38 (95% confidence interval: 1.12-5.09; P = 0.025) times greater for women than men, despite similar failure-to-rescue rates and intensive care unit utilization. Total hospital costs were increased for women by 531 international dollars purchasing power parity (117-946; P = 0.012) when compared to men, attributed to longer lengths of stay. These findings demonstrate that a discrepancy exists between men and women undergoing emergency gastrointestinal surgery in our setting. Further exploration of the underlying causes of this inequity is necessary for quality improvement for women in rural Kenya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the medium- and long-run, prices rather than interest rates are thought to have an effect on exchange rates, and the purchasing power parity (PPP) theory, which posits as a determining factor in exchange rates, has been used not only in academic fields but also in practice. This study considers that exchange rates are determined by the mixture of past exchange rates and the PPP theory. On the other hand, it is often pointed out that the actual exchange rate diverges significantly from the exchange rate derived from the PPP theory. Moreover, this study hypothesizes that when the deviation becomes large, there will be a movement to correct the deviation. The empirical estimations show that when the deviation is large, such movement cannot be found and when the deviation is small, there is a movement toward correction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the effects of country asymmetries in a general oligopolistic equilibrium model with segmented markets. Firms' oligopolistic behaviour in segmented markets has macro‐level effects when countries' characteristics or policies are asymmetric. Due to their effect on strategic firm behaviour, country asymmetries can induce deviations from the law of one price, which gives rise to terms‐of‐trade based international shifts in consumption and welfare. We demonstrate that by studying the welfare and distributional effects of asymmetric labour market policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the analysis of the dynamics of implementation of public-private partnership (PPP) projects in Ukraine, key problems have been identified and its priorities in financial support for the recovery of the native energy sector have been determined. It is appointed that PPP concession agreements are the main mechanisms for attracting investment in the global electric power industry. The expediency of using the concession model on BOT terms for the implementation of large projects in the energy sector is substantiated, which will contribute to the intensification of investment attraction and will allow to distribute risks between the state and business. Recommendations on the formation of an information platform for participants in the implementation of PPP projects on the basis of disclosure of information on the effectiveness of concession operations in accounting and financial statements have been developed. The tools for the formation of the financial mechanism of public-private partnership, where the priority is budget and venture financing, are substantiated. To make decisions on the implementation of PPP investment projects, an approach to assessing the financial support of project initiatives is recommended, the basis of which is the proposed criteria for compliance with financial security, the choice of funding sources, indicators of scenario analysis and efficiency. The proposed methodical approach to assessing the effectiveness of PPP allows us to assess the synergistic effect, which reflects the totality of economic, social and environmental effects. The formulated recommendations for improving the relationship between the state and business will contribute to the intensification of the attraction of private investment resources on the basis of PPPs for the restoration of the energy sector in Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We define a synthetic futures contract as a pair consisting of a terminal futures price J (a prespecified random variable) and a zero-value trading strategy whose terminal cumulative cash flow is equal to J to within an additive constant. The construction of synthetic futures contracts is demonstrated for (i) futures on futures, (ii) futures on spot, (iii) quanto futures on futures, (iv) quanto futures on spot and (v) futures on foreign futures and domestic futures. We formulate and derive the Law of One Futures Price, which justifies futures pricing based on such replication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the healthcare provider costs of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in lower-middle-income countries would motivate healthcare facilities to prioritize reducing the AMR burden. This study evaluates the extra length of stay and the associated healthcare provider costs due to AMR to estimate the potential economic benefits of AMR prevention strategies. We combined data from a parallel cohort study with administrative data from the participating hospitals. The parallel cohort study prospectively matched a cohort of patients with bloodstream infections caused by third-generation cephalosporin-resistant enterobacteria and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (AMR cohort) with two control arms: patients infected with similar susceptible bacteria and a cohort of uninfected controls. Data collection took place from June to December 2021. We calculated the cost using aggregated micro-costing and step-down costing approaches and converted costs into purchasing power parity in international US dollars, adjusting for surviving patients, bacterial species and cost centres. We found that the AMR cohort spent a mean of 4.2 extra days (95% CI: 3.7–4.7) at Hospital 1 and 5.5 extra days (95% CI: 5.1–5.9) at Hospital 2 compared with the susceptible cohort. This corresponds to an estimated mean extra cost of $823 (95% CI: 812–863) and $946 (95% CI: US$929–US$964) per admission, respectively. For both hospitals, the estimated mean annual extra cost attributable to AMR was approximately US$650 000. The cost varies by organism and type of resistance expressed. The result calls for prioritization of interventions to mitigate the spread of AMR in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary purpose of this article is to conduct the Fourier Nonlinear Unit Root Test to check Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) for seven cryptocurrencies traded in seventeen countries from 2010 to 2021. The unit root test supports the PPP hypothesis when we use each cryptocurrency separately for all the countries. However, the PPP hypothesis is strongly supported when we pool them together by countries and cryptocurrencies. This finding is in line with the power of the test issue of the PPP for regular PPP testing, which also holds good in cryptocurrencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, autoimmune, and inflammatory disease. The economic burden of MS is substantial, and the high cost of Disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) prices are the main drivers of healthcare expenditures. We conducted a systematic review of studies evaluating the cost-utility and cost-effectiveness of DMDs for relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Materials and method: Searches were conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase. The search covered articles published between May 2001 and May 2023. Studies that were written in English and Persian and examined the cost-utility and cost-effectiveness of DMDs in patients with MS were included in our review. Data extraction was guided by the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) checklist, and the quality of economic evaluations was assessed using the Quality of Health Economics Studies Instrument (QHES). All costs were converted to 2020 U.S. dollars using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). Results: The search yielded 1589 studies, and 49 studies were eligible for inclusion. The studies were mainly based on a European setting. Most studies employed Markov model to assess the cost–effectiveness. The lowest and highest numerical value of outcome measures were -1,623,918 and 2,297,141.53, respectively. Furthermore, the lowest and highest numerical value of the cost of DMDs of RRMS were $180.67, and $1474840.19, respectively. Conclusions: Based on the results of all studies, it can be concluded that for the treatment of patients with MS, care-oriented strategies should be preferred to drug strategies. Also, among the drug strategies with different prescribing methods, oral disease-modifying drugs of RRMS should be preferred to injectable drugs and intravenous infusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The validity of absolute purchasing power parity (APPP) between the pairs of 55 representative countries, along with their pooled data, is examined empirically. A rule of thumb for the validity of APPP is tentatively proposed. That is, for a pair of countries exhibiting the Penn effect, when the GDP per capita of one country is less than half of the other's, it is very likely that APPP does not hold. However, when the GDP per capita of one country is greater than half of the other's, there is a certain possibility that APPP holds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a situation where the distribution of a random variable is being estimated by the empirical distribution of noisy measurements of that variable. This is common practice in, for example, teacher value-added models and other fixed-effect models for panel data. We use an asymptotic embedding where the noise shrinks with the sample size to calculate the leading bias in the empirical distribution arising from the presence of noise. The leading bias in the empirical quantile function is equally obtained. These calculations are new in the literature, where only results on smooth functionals such as the mean and variance have been derived. We provide both analytical and jackknife corrections that recenter the limit distribution and yield confidence intervals with correct coverage in large samples. Our approach can be connected to corrections for selection bias and shrinkage estimation and is to be contrasted with deconvolution. Simulation results confirm the much-improved sampling behavior of the corrected estimators. An empirical illustration on heterogeneity in deviations from the law of one price is equally provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decades, despite the remarkable progress toward the harmonization of banking regulation, interest rate differentials in the Eurozone remain large. In this context, rejecting the law of one price as a measure of financial integration, this paper applies the co-integration technique to investigate the presence of a long-run equilibrium relationship among retail interest rates. The data sample of the co-integration analysis conducted in this paper includes three (3) loan and two (2) deposit interest rates data sets from the 12 original Eurozone member countries for the time period 2000–2020, filling in that way the gap in the existing research by extending the application of this methodology to incorporate an updated database. The empirical findings of the paper provide evidence that in most of cases, there is a co-movement and a long-run equilibrium relationship between retail interest rates. On the basis of the co-integration approach, these findings are being perceived as a signal of retail banking market integration in the Eurozone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, attention to the issue of extending the role of public-private partnership (PPP) in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has significantly increased. There are several reasons for this: a serious lag behind the planned indicators for achieving the SDGs, largely due to the unsatisfactory state of life support infrastructure in countries of developing economies; a constantly widening infrastructure gap; and the insufficient use of private businesses to create the infrastructure critical to achieving the SDGs. To ensure the active participation of private businesses in this process, new institutional mechanisms are needed. Some of these mechanisms, providing for the assessment of compliance of projects with the SDGs, have already been created and are actively promoted for the implementation of PPP projects. This article contains an analysis of these mechanisms and recommendations for incorporating new approaches to assessing the sustainability of businesses interested in implementing infrastructure projects of public interest into the PPP process, based on the principles laid down in the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and European Sustainability Reporting Standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate the disability and costs of the Brazilian Unified Health System for IHD attributable to trans-fatty acid (TFA) consumption in 2019. Design: This ecological study used secondary data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019 to estimate the years lived with disability from IHD attributable to TFA in Brazil in 2019. Data on direct costs (purchasing power parity: 1 Int$ = R$ 2·280) were obtained from the Hospital and Ambulatory Information Systems of the Brazilian Unified Health System. Moreover, the total costs in each state were divided by the resident population in 2019 and multiplied by 10 000 inhabitants. The relationship between the socio-demographic index, disease and economic burden was investigated. Setting: Brazil and its twenty-seven states. Participants: Adults aged ≥ 25 years of both sexes. Results: IHD attributable to TFA consumption resulted in 11 165 years lived with disability (95 % uncertainty interval 932–18 462) in 2019 in Brazil. A total of Int$ 54 546 227 (95 % uncertainty interval 4 505 792–85 561 810) was spent in the Brazilian Unified Health System in 2019 due to IHD attributable to TFA, with the highest costs of hospitalisations, for males and individuals aged ≥ 50 years or over. The highest costs were observed in Sergipe (Int$ 6508/10 000; 95 % uncertainty interval 576–10 265), followed by the two states from the South. Overall, as the socio-demographic index increases, expenditures increase. Conclusions: TFA consumption results in a high disease and economic IHD burden in Brazil, reinforcing the need for more effective health policies, such as industrial TFA elimination, following the international agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The rise in national health care costs has emerged as a global problem given the ever-aging population and rapid development of medical technology. The utilization of interventional pain management has, similarly, shown a continued rise worldwide. This study evaluates the differences in the medical costs in the field of interventional pain treatment (IPT) between two countries: Korea and Japan. Methods: Korean medical insurance costs for 2019 related to pain management focused on IPT were compared to those of Japan. Purchasing power parity (PPP) was used to adjust the exchange rate differences and to compare prices in consideration of the respective societies' economic power. Results: The cost of trigger point injections in Japan was 1.06 times higher than that of Korea, whereas the perineural and intraarticular injection prices were lower in Japan. The cost of epidural blocks was higher in Japan compared to Korea in both cervical/thoracic and lumbar regions. As for blocks of peripheral branches of spinal nerves, the cost of scapular nerve blocks in Japan was lower than that in Korea, given a PPP ratio 0.09. For nerve blocks in which fluoroscopy guidance is mandatory, the costs of epidurography in Japan were greater than those in Korea, given a PPP ratio 1.04. Conclusions: This is the first comparative study focusing on the medical costs related to IPT between Korea and Japan, which reveals that the costs differed along various categories. Further comparisons reflecting more diverse countries and socio-economic aspects will be required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we test the validity of the purchasing power parity (PPP) hypothesis between Türkiye and its trading partners - the European Union, China, and the US - for the period from January 2001 to January 2020. We test the stationarity of the real exchange rates for the validity of the PPP hypothesis by applying linear and nonlinear unit root tests. We also employ Fourier-based tests to account for the structural changes that occurred in the considered period. Test results indicate that shocks are temporary, and the PPP hypothesis is valid for Türkiye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article compares the economic indicators of Japan in the early 1980s to the present. It specifically focuses on the yen-dollar exchange rate, which has shown a weak yen trend in both periods. The article also analyzes the impact of purchasing power parity and interest rate differentials on the exchange rate. It concludes that the lack of earning power in Japan is a significant difference between the two periods. The article provides data on various economic indicators from 2015 to 2023, including industrial production, consumer price index, foreign trade statistics, cash salary amount, job openings, unemployment rate, M2 rate of increase, balance of payments, yen to dollar exchange rate, and trade balance. The data reveals fluctuations in these indicators over the years, with periods of growth and decline. [Extracted from the article]

This paper proposes a new logistic smooth transition autoregressive (LSTAR) cointegration test by combining the Fourier function to catch the structural changes that occur over time and the LSTAR model to consider the nonlinearity. Logistic and exponential functions are the main transition functions defining the nonlinearity in STAR models since the exponential smooth transition autoregressive (ESTAR) and LSTAR models can explain the different structures of economic variables. The Fourier approach is a simple and effective way to model the structural changes in time series as an alternative to dummy variables. The most significant advantage of the method is that it does not require prior knowledge about the date, number of breaks, or forms. Monte Carlo simulation results show that the proposed test has good size and power properties for different sample sizes and parameters. The results also revealed that the power performance of the proposed test and the Fourier ESTAR test offered by Güriş and Sedefoğlu (2022) are close to each other. The steps of the Fourier-based tests are illustrated by providing an empirical example of testing the validity of the purchasing power parity (PPP) hypothesis in Türkiye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]