Top 10 Blockchain Predictions for the (Near) Future of Healthcare

To review blockchain lessons learned in 2018 and near-future predictions for blockchain in healthcare, Blockchain in Healthcare Today (BHTY) asked the world's blockchain in healthcare experts to share their insights. Here, our internationally-renowned BHTY peer-review board discusses their major predictions. Based on their responses, presented in detail below, ten major themes (Table) for the future of blockchain in healthcare will emerge over the 12 months

Econometric modeling of the aggregate time-series relationship between consumption expenditure and income : an international analysis

This study analyzes the relationship between consumption expenditure and income for 13 OECD countries over the period 1950-1982. The analysis is done on a country-by-country basis and pooled cross-section time-series framework. It is indicated that the theoretical models of consumption point to a more general autoregressive distributed lag model than is usually estimated. The update of some of the previous empirical studies are provided and their statistical inadequacies are highlighted. It is shown that most of the above models, at a minimum, suffer from dynamic misspecfication. As an alternative Davidson, Hendry, Srba and Yeo(1978) Error Correction Mechanism (ECM) is utilized and empirically evaluated. Moreover, using Davidson et al. methodology on dynamic specification analysis country-specific models of consumption are obtained. Through a battery of diagnostic tests it is shown that the latter models do not suffer from the statistical inadequacies that are found in the previous studies. Also, it is shown that the pooled results support the above ECM model. In particular, the pooled "within" estimator indicates a large and significant disequilibrium term while the "between" estimator indicates a small and insignificant disequilibrium term. This is consistent with the belief that the within estimator tend to yield short-run estimates while the between estimator tend to yield long-run estimates. It is concluded that on a country-by-country and pooled bases the modeling procedure expounded by Davidson et al. has the potential to provide a parsimonious approximation to the data generation process.Economics, Department o

The Tendency towards Factor Price Equalization among OECD Countries.

The authors conduct tests to gain insight into the empirical relevance of the proposition that factor prices converge as trade expands. The test results support the proposition of factor price convergence in sixteen OECD countries during the 1961-84 period. Regression analyses support the view that trade openness has been the most significant factor influencing wage variations. This paper also distinguishes between "high wage" and "low wage" countries. Pooled ordinary least squares estimates indicate that Canada, the United States, Denmark, West Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden are "high wage" and Japan, New Zealand, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom are "low wage" countries. Further results using the Within estimations technique are provided. Copyright 1989 by MIT Press.

Effects of Consumer Goods Shortages on Fertility in Post-Soviet Economy

Demography, Economic transition, Family economics, Fertility,

Parental Employment, Shared Parent–Child Activities and Childhood Obesity

Child health, Childhood obesity, Family economics, Family policy, Paternal employment,

Backward Bends, Quantity Constraints, and Soviet Labor Supply: Evidence from the Soviet Interview Project.

This study makes two contributions to the quantity-constraint literature. First, it investigates the effects of consumer-market shortage on labor supply. Second, it considers the effects on hours of work of eliminating quantity constraints in a planned socialist economy. The estimated model of Soviet labor suppl y shows that the uncompensated wage elasticities of Soviet workers are negative and that workers facing quantity constraints react more strongly to wage increases than workers who do not face quantity constraints. The elimination of quantity constraints would, therefore, be expected to raise aggregate hours worked in the Soviet economy. Copyright 1993 by Economics Department of the University of Pennsylvania and the Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association.

Are Mergers Beneficial or Detrimental? Evidence from Advertising Agencies1

We study 33 pairs of advertising agencies that merged between 1947 and 1985, comparing each merging pair against two controls: (a) a pair of agencies with combined merger-date billings close to the total billings of the merged unit, and (b) a single agency with similar total merger-date billings. Gross revenues are the dependent variable. Results: Merging firms do worse in the short run than controls. Assuming similar subsequent rates of growth for merging and non-merging firms, a loss of 16 percent of firm value due to merging is implied.mergers, advertising agencies JEL classification: L10,

Do The Russians Really Save That Much? - Alternate Estimates From The Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey

We use a new independent survey of 4,000 Russian households (the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey or RLMS) to study their saving behavior. The RLMS household saving rate (12%) is less than half the official figure (29%). Despite the massive changes of the transition, the Russian household saving rate of 1994 cannot be shown to be different from that of 1976. The patterns of Russian household saving differ from international experience: Its paradoxical U-shaped saving-age relationship may be explained by the dramatic deterioration of life expectancies of middle-aged Russians. © 2000 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology