Cost analysis of road traffic crashes in South Africa

Chaff cutter is an extensively used machine in Indian rural households to chop fodder for feeding draft and mulch to animals. A survey was conducted in five villages of Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh (a northern state of India) to determine the causal factors responsible for chaff cutter injuries. It was observed that major injuries were caused during children playing with the machine and workers feeding the fodder in to the chute. Further, a survey of chaff cutter manufacturers was conducted to determine the critical dimensions of the machine so that safety interventions could be developed. Based on the survey results and mechanism of injuries, three safety interventions were developed to prevent the injuries. These interventions can be retrofitted on old machines and can be incorporated in new machines as well. Experiments were conducted using different fodder crops to observe difficulty in chaff cutting with the safety interventions. It was observed that incorporation of the interventions had no effect on performance of chaff cutting operation. These were retrofitted on existing machines at different locations and the response was very positive.     

Transactions,standardisation and competition: Establishing uniform sizes in the British wire industry c.1880

When science could not provide a solution to transaction problems in the British wire industry c.1880, market groups had to negotiate a business solution. This involved converging towards a ‘one-size-fits-all’ standard: a process requiring compromises and cooperation between competitive firms, and solving coordination failure through state intervention. This paper demonstrates how different groups held different notions of ‘ideal’ standards depending on the incentives they faced. Reconciling these differences was an institutional, rather than a technological, process. The paper also analyses why, historically, dominant producers cooperated to set industry standards when faced with an imminent lock-in on ‘wrong’ standards imposed on the industry.     

LIBERAL ECONOMICS AND THE RISE OF LAISSEZ‐FAIRE ECOLOGY

The shift in thinking about how to manage national economies and economic systems in the 1980s was part of a broader revolution in intellectual thought. This is seen in ecology, where a shift in thinking about how to manage environments took place at the same time. Traditionally, the environment was viewed in determinist (structuralist) terms, as a system which was susceptible to management and manipulation. Ecosystems were thought to evolve through predictable stages, reaching a climax state. From the late 1980s, ecologists became increasingly convinced that ecosystems, like economic systems, are complex. They argued that while human intervention is often necessary, wherever possible it should be replaced with more natural controls, which can often fulfil policy aims as well if not better than deliberate intervention. Like economies, the best ecosystems are those which largely manage themselves.     

A review of biopsychosocial strategies to prevent and overcome early-recognized poor adherence in growth hormone therapy of children

Abstract

Background:

Adherence to growth hormone (GH) therapy among children is variable and remains a problem, possibly affecting growth outcomes and future health, and having economic consequences.

Objective:

To provide a review of the issues related to poor adherence to GH therapy in children and describe integrative strategies that may improve adherence.

Results:

Poor adherence may be caused by various factors, affecting both the children and their families. The key reasons for adherence difficulties are psychological/emotional problems, social/everyday problems and technical handling issues of the drug delivery device. Correspondingly a broad range of strategies to address adherence to GH therapy often revolve around counseling and education, not just for the patient but also for the family giving care.

Limitations:

This review is intended as a general survey of strategies which could help, in clinical practice, to overcome poor adherence to growth hormone therapy in children; it summarizes the representative literature but it does not aim to be a rigorous database literature search in every aspect.

Conclusions:

If poor adherence is recognized early on during treatment, appropriate steps may be taken to identify barriers that are amenable to change for encouraging the child to adhere to the treatment regimen. A preventative approach may also be considered; for example, doctors could address adherence issues early and train families of children treated with GH to recognize the resources as well as the barriers to adherence. The broad range of different causes for poor adherence demands a great variety of interventions, making it important to individualize optimal treatment behavior. Additionally, economic studies are required to quantify the cost of poor adherence to GH therapy and to show the financial benefits of good adherence.     

浅析忽略物业管理早期介入原因

物业管理早期介入的观点是为了保证物业能正常使用和发挥功能而提出的。通过理解其涵义以及在项目各阶段的工作及角色,分析得到忽略物业管理早期介入原因如下:物业管理早期介入概念远未能普及、回避物业管理的早期介入、物业公司本身缺陷、物业管理经营与房地产开发经营是相互独立且互补的、历史和现实原因形成的陈旧观念。     

宏观调控与微观干预

宏观调控是近几年出现频率最高的词,然而关于宏观调控的真正内涵却很少有人能说清楚,文章就这一词语的真正内涵及外延进行了探讨.指出宏观调控与政府干预的不同,以及微观干预与宏观调控之区别,并就我国当前宏观调控的任务谈些自己的观点.     

“Ideas” driven growth: the OECD evidence

This paper estimates the parameters of the ideas production function crucial to recent ideas-driven growth models. Using U. S. patents granted to residents in OECD countries to generate the stock of commercially used ideas, we provide evidence for two main findings. First, at the level of the production of ideas, we find evidence of increasing returns to scale in the stock of ideas and number of researchers, but marginal decreasing returns in each one of these factors. Second, we provide evidence of the association between ideas growth and economic growth for the OECD as a whole in the long run.JEL Classification: 031, 040The author would like to thank the helpful comments made by two anonymous referees, and by the editor, of the PEJ. The helpful discussions with Professor Mário Rui Silva are grateful acknowledged, too.     

政治联系、预算软约束与政府补助的配置效率——基于中国民营上市公司的经验研究

本文以2004～2008年的民营上市公司为样本,实证研究了民营企业的政治联系对预算软约束及政府补助效率的影响。研究发现,政治联系是一把双刃剑:一方面,政治联系的民营企业容易受到政府干预,由此承担了较重的雇员负担,也因此获得了较多的政府补助,从而支持了林毅夫等对预算软约束的政策性负担层面的解释。另一方面,虽然政治联系未直接发挥关系作用,但会增加雇员负担一定时的政府补助。进一步地,在政治联系的民营企业中,政府补助对公司绩效的促进作用显著低于无政治联系的民营企业,揭示了政治联系改变了政府补助的流向,降低了政府补助资金的配置效率。     

政府干预、政治关联与企业非效率投资——基于中国上市公司面板数据的实证研究

以2004~2009年间701家上市公司为样本,研究政府干预、政治关联对企业非效率投资行为的影响。研究发现:政府干预一方面会加剧有自由现金流量公司的过度投资,对国有企业过度投资的影响更为严重;另一方面可以有效地缓解融资约束企业的投资不足,尤其是国有企业的投资不足。这说明,出于自身的政策性负担或政治晋升目标,政府会损害或支持所控制的企业,这为政府"掠夺之手理论"和"支持之手理论"提供了实证支持。研究还发现,政治关联与过度投资和投资不足均负相关,这表明,政治关联可以作为法律保护的替代机制来保护企业产权免受政府损害,并为企业谋取利益。     

证券市场均衡理论及其对我国市场的启示

证券市场均衡理论说明证券市场是在以市场制度为依托,市场机制充分发挥作用,经济当事人具有贝叶斯理性并能无障碍获得市场信息条件下,才能实现的均衡状态。我国证券市场是在计划经济向市场经济转轨中形成的,政府主导制度供给、干预证券市场运行。一方面政府行为直接推动了证券市场的发展,有利于证券市场服务于改革,服务于政策目标的实现;另一方面,由于政府行为也蕴含了与市场机制不相溶的因素,妨碍了证券市场功能的发挥。