https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(12)60149-4.pdf

Adolescence and the social determinants of health

Gold and the US dollar: Hedge or haven?

Aims/hypothesis
Type 1 diabetes is the most frequent endocrine disease in children, with 65,000 children diagnosed worldwide every year. Up to 80% of these children present with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which is associated with both short-term risks and long-term consequences. This study aimed to characterise the worldwide variation in presentation of type 1 diabetes to inform future interventions to reduce this excess morbidity and mortality.

/pdf/variation-between-countries-in-the-frequency-of-diabetic-3mjzpw67a1.pdf

Variation between countries in the frequency of diabetic ketoacidosis at first presentation of type 1 diabetes in children: a systematic review

This paper uses heterogeneous panel cointegration techniques to estimate the long-run effect of income inequality on per-capita income for 46 countries over the period 1970–1995. We find that inequality has a negative long-run effect on income, both for the sample as a whole and for important sub-groups within the sample (developed countries, developing countries, democracies, and non-democracies). The effect is economically important, with a magnitude about half as high as the magnitude of an increase in the investment share.

/pdf/inequality-and-growth-evidence-from-panel-cointegration-572ao090ww.pdf

Inequality and growth: evidence from panel cointegration

Governments may feel they are protecting health by safeguarding healthcare budgets, yet David Stuckler, Sanjay Basu , and Martin McKee argue that social welfare spending is as important, if not more so, for population health

/pdf/budget-crises-health-and-social-welfare-programmes-3840xy0f8n.pdf

Budget crises, health, and social welfare programmes

This paper uses Johansen multivariate cointegration analysis to examine the relationship between health and GDP for 13 OECD countries over the last two centuries, for periods ranging from 1820-2001 to 1921-2001. A similar, long run, cointegrating relationship between life expectancy and both total GDP and GDP per capita was found for all the countries estimated. The relationships have a significant influence on both total GDP and GPD per capita in most of the countries estimated, with 1% increase in life expectancy resulting in an average 6% increase in total GDP in the long run, and 5% increase in GDP per capita. Total GDP and GDP per capita also have a significant influence on life expectancy for most countries. There is no evidence of changes in the relationships for any country over the periods estimated, indicating that shifts in the major causes of illness and death over time do not appear to have influenced the link between health and economic growth.

/pdf/the-relationship-between-health-and-gdp-in-oecd-countries-in-sww463fzka.pdf

The relationship between health and GDP in OECD countries in the very long run.

There is mounting evidence of a complex system of multi-directional links between fertility, productivity and inequality. The contribution of this study is a multi-country analysis of these three variables as a simultaneous system in a VECM framework using annual time series data for the UK, USA, Australia, Japan, and Sweden. The results highlight some differences between countries in the relationships between the variables. For the UK and Australia, the VECM analysis reveals a long run relationship between fertility and productivity to which both fertility and productivity adjust. This calls into question pro-fertility policies in these countries that aim to offset the costs of popula tion ageing, because an increase in fertility may be associated with lower productivity in the long run. The results for the USA suggest that raising productivity in the long run will be associated with a decrease in both inequality and fertility. No significant long run relationships were found for Japan and Sweden.

/pdf/fertility-income-inequality-and-labour-productivity-2fbg0zts7o.pdf

Fertility, income inequality, and labour productivity

Australia is generally held to be a small open economy with a high proportion of commodity exports. It is therefore regarded as a ‘price taker’ in international markets, and pass-through on exports is expected to be zero. This paper uses the Johansen Multivariate Cointegration technique to estimate the pass-through of exchange rate changes to the destination-currency prices of aggregate Australian exports. The results demonstrate a stable long-run pass-through level of 60 per cent, which refutes the ‘small-country’ assumption of Australian exporters as price takers. These findings have important implications for Australia's terms of trade and current account deficit

Exchange Rate Pass‐through: How Much do Exchange Rate Changes Affect the Prices of Australian Exports?

Exchange rate changes and endogenous terms of trade effects in a small open economy

Agricultural exports are usually assumed to operate in perfectly competitive inter- national markets, but many are subject to non-tariff barriers to trade that can affect the degree of pass-through of exchange rate changes to foreign currency prices. The present study uses multivariate cointegration techniques to examine the effects of exchange rate changes on the prices of Australian exports of milk products, cheese, beef, sheepmeat, and hides and skins. The results indicate that Australian dairy exports operate in competitive markets in which pass-through is complete, but there is no stable long-run relationship between exchange rates and prices for any of the other livestock products.

Robyn Frances Swift

Papers

The relationship between health and GDP in OECD countries in the very long run.

Fertility, income inequality, and labour productivity

Exchange Rate Pass‐through: How Much do Exchange Rate Changes Affect the Prices of Australian Exports?

Exchange rate changes and endogenous terms of trade effects in a small open economy

The pass‐through of exchange rate changes to the prices of Australian exports of dairy and livestock products