New foreign bond issues in the U.S. market

Capital movements ; Bonds

Homely Remedy Protocols: A solution to the supply and administration of non-prescription medicinal products and dietary supplements

Patient Group Directions, although widely used since their introduction in the late 1990s, are not widely reported in the literature. However, when described, it is recognised that their use are inappropriate for non prescription medicinal products or for use outside NHS settings. This paper thus describes a suitable alternative to Patient Group Directions, for use in research participants requiring non-prescription medicinal products in their own homes, the Homely Remedy Protocol

Does cost sharing really reduce inappropriate prescriptions?

This paper explores different empirical strategies to examine the effect of cost sharing for prescription drugs in some dimensions of medication-related quality, namely the probability of inappropriate prescription drug use among United States seniors. Using data from 1996 to 2005, we explore various specifications that correct for sample selection, endogeneity¸ and unobserved heterogeneity. We find a small, but measurable, negative price elasticity for inappropriate drug use with respect to self-reported average out-of-pocket costs for all drugs consumed. That is, user fees reduce the use of potentially inappropriate medications, however the elasticity of cost sharing is lower than that of drugs in general and the price elasticity is relatively close to zero, suggesting that any quality improvements from co-payments are small

An art museum for Manila in the Philippines

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1958.ACCOMPANYING drawings held by MIT Museum.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 37).Bruce Gemmill.M.Arch

Re-visiting the Health Care Luxury Good Hypothesis: Aggregation, Precision, and Publication Biases?

While a growing literature examining the relationship between income and health expenditures suggests that health care is a luxury good, this conclusion is contentiously debated due to heterogeneity of the existing results. This paper tests the luxury good hypothesis using meta-regression analysis, taking into consideration publication selection, precision, and aggregation bias. The findings suggest that publication bias exists, a result that is robust irrespectively of the tests employed. Precision and aggregation bias also appear to play a role in the generation of estimates. The corrected income elasticity estimates range from 0.26 to 0.84, although we cannot reject the luxury good hypothesis for some of the performed corrections.aggregate health expenditure, luxury good, regional health expenditure, health care, income elasticity, meta-regression analysis

Does Cost Sharing really Reduce Inappropriate Prescriptions?

This paper explores different empirical strategies to examine the effect of cost sharing for prescription drugs in some dimensions of medication-related quality, namely the probability of inappropriate prescription drug use among United States seniors. Using data from 1996 to 2005, we explore various specifications that correct for sample selection, endogeneity¸ and unobserved heterogeneity. We find a small, but measurable, negative price elasticity for inappropriate drug use with respect to self-reported average out-of-pocket costs for all drugs consumed. That is, user fees reduce the use of potentially inappropriate medications, however the elasticity of cost sharing is lower than that of drugs in general and the price elasticity is relatively close to zero, suggesting that any quality improvements from co-payments are small.

Poor commons and kings’ propines: food and status in later medieval Aberdeen

Assuring the supply of food and drink in the medieval Scottish town, and safeguarding the town’s reputation in relation to this, were at the heart of the burgh government’s duties. Some foods were specially associated with the poor; conversely, provision and consumption of high-status comestibles was at the core of guild ceremonial, civic pageantry and celebration, and hospitality offered to important visitors. There was a recognised ranking of crafts engaged in food and drink production, and those who failed to meet expectations were threatened with loss of equipment or status–although burgh officers risked their own reputation when they failed to carry out the prescribed penalties. Employers were expected to give meals to their servants and townspeople had a mutual responsibility to provide sustenance for those engaged in public service. Status and reputation, individual and collective, and social relationships, depended on the successful provision of food and drink

Testing Merton's model for credit spreads on zero-coupon bonds

Structural models for valuing corporate bonds (beginning with Merton (1974)) have been criticised for giving spreads which are (a) too small and (b) have a term structure in which spreads diminish with extra time to maturity. Empirical tests of models are hampered by the complexity of real-world bonds, which have coupons, calls and sinking funds, and also by the complicated and changing capital structures adopted by companies. This paper exploits a new database of zero-coupon bonds issued by closed-end funds in the UK. These companies have very simple capital structures and transparent values for both assets and liabilities. Between 20 and 78 bonds are observable monthly over the period February 1992 to April 2001. Counter to previous research, we find that model and market spreads are on average of similar magnitude. Similar to previous research, market spreads are high (relative to model spreads) for bonds which have low risk and for bonds which are near to maturity. While the observed term-structure of credit spreads is upward-sloping, this may be explained by a predictable drift in leverage over time. On the whole, the results are surprisingly supportive of Merton’s model and suggest that it is important to allow for expected changes in leverage when computing credit spreads

A new record of Percursaria percursa (Ulvaceae, Ulvales) on the North Island, New Zealand

The filamentous green alga Percursaria percursa (Ulvaceae, Ulvales) was recorded for the first time on the North Island of New Zealand at mokoroa Estuary, Tauranga Harbour. This species is previously known within New Zealand from only two records, both from the South Island. In Tauranga Harbour, this species was restricted to anoxic estuarine sediments where mangrove forests had been mulched, and mulchate left in situ. Percursaria percursa was found intertwined with Ulva spp. and Rhizoclonium spp. Surveys of other North and South Island estuaries suggest that this alga, although occurring as part of nuisance green algal blooms in Tauranga Harbour, has only colonized human-impacted locations, and has not yet been observed in natural' estuarine ecosystems in New Zealand. As this species was found intertwined with other mat-forming filamentous green algae, it can easily be misidentified in the field, leading to both over- and under-reporting of species occurrence