Examination of Multiple Criteria in Health Technology Assessment for Application to Instrumental Analysis

Abstract:

The instrumental-ceremonial dichotomy is the analytical concern emphasized in instrumental analysis by original institutional economists for making welfare decisions. Paul Dale Bush and Wolfram Elsner explained that warranted criteria are required in order to conduct instrumental analysis. The concern for criteria led to an examination of multiple criteria decision analysis in health technology assessment in order to improve instrumental analysis. Health technology assessment (HTA) is one of the most active and extensive areas of analysis for policy making because medical technology changes very rapidly, expenditures on it are high and growing, it can harm as well as help, and there is intense personal concern by citizens who want wellness. Although HTA, especially with regard to the analysis of multiple criteria, has made considerable progress, its appraisal has been a disappointment. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to critique aspects of multiple criteria HTA in order to further develop instrumental analysis.     

Long-term trend and short-run dynamics of the Canadian dollar: an error correction modelling approach

Using quarterly data for 1972–2000, the paper examines the long-term and short-term movements of the US-Canadian exchange rate. It is found that the standard purchasing power parity condition fails to explain movements of the Canadian dollar. The explanatory power of the model increases significantly when resource commodity prices are added to the equation. Short-term movements in the Canadian dollar are influenced by the interest rate differential between Canada and the USA.     

Einzelbesprechungen

Ohne ZusammenfassungAus dem Italienischen übersetzt von Erich Allina, Wien.Aus dem Englischen übersetzt von Erich Allina, Wien     

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WHY THE COMPOSITE INDEX OF LEADING INDICATORS DOES NOT LEAD

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Rational expectations equilibrium with conditioning on past prices: A mean-variance example

The paper uses an intertemporal mean-variance model of the market for a dividend-paying risky asset to analyse rational expectations equilibria when all agents condition their expectations on past rather than current prices. The main result shows that if the time span between successive market periods is short, the market will approximate full informational efficiency arbitrarily closely, yet the returns to being informed are bounded away from zero. This contrasts with the Grossman-Stiglitz proposition that markets cannot come close to informational efficiency if the acquisition of information is costly.     

Reappraising Austrian Economics' Basic Tenets in the Light of Aristotelian Ideas

This paper sustains that reappraising Austrian economics in the light of Aristotelian ideas is not only possible but also fruitful. First, I draw a sketch of the essential features of Austrian economics. Next, I argue about the necessity for a thorough analysis of the notion of freedom, and I analyze Mises' conception. Next, I expose Aristotle's social, epistemological and economic thought related to Austrian main traits. An account of how the exercise of Aristotelian virtues may be synergic with economic coordination and a sketch of the consequences of the proposal on the teaching of economics are then provided. Finally, the conclusion shortly sums up the content and relevance of Aristotle's contribution.