On the convergence of social protection systems in the European Union

Member states of the European Union are autonomous when it comes to the design of their social protection systems. However, they are committed by a Recommendation accepted by the European Council addressing the convergence of social protection objectives and policies. Beside that, it is expected that convergence of social protection systems could come about as a result of economic integration. In this paper we have examined whether such convergence has occurred during the past decades, using data on replacement rates and social expenditure ratios. We find a rather strong trend of relative convergence, but it does not follow that this trend is the result of the European integration.Social protection, European Union

On the Optimal Size of a Buffer Stock -The Case of Wheat in Pakistan

In a study of the operation of the wheat market in Pakistan, Cornelisse and Naqvi [I, p. 116] stated that the pre-harvest wheat stock in March 1983 of 2,100,000 tons should provide sufficient protection against a major harvest failure. This conclusion was based on the observation that a stock of that size corresponded to approximately 40 percent of the marketed surplus of wheat and to 17 percent of domestic production - very secure proportions according to the prevailing standards. Two questions, however, remain. One, it is not yet clear what the chances are that a bad harvest or a series of bad harvests wipes out the available stock and - if that happens - what is the expected volume of wheat imports needed to supplement the stock. Two, while security is one concern in buffer stock management, the cost aspect is another. A large buffer stock provides excellent security, but it also entails high costs of storage; a smaller stock may reduce security only slightly and reduce costs considerably. On the other hand, if a buffer stock is small, the probability that supplementary imports are needed is relatively high and so is the expected volume of these imports. Considering the fact that in Pakistan domestically produced wheat is much cheaper than imported wheat, this implies that a small stock of wheat, too, may involve high costs, in this case due to imports. Thus the question arises: what is the size of the wheat buffer stock that minimizes costs

Consumption and Trade of Wheat and Flour in Pakistan - The Role of Public and Private Sectors

This article, the second of two articles In this Review on the operation of the wheat market in Pakistan,- describes the various sources from which consumers in the Punjab, Sind and the NWFP obtain wheat and flour. There appear to be considerable differences in the patterns of wheat provisioning, if consumers are distinguished by province, rural and urban areas and household income. Further, an evaluation is made of the performance of private traders in wheat- and flour-markets. These findings are then used to examine whether the position of self-sufficiency in wheat, which the country has recently achieved, provides arguments for revising the wheat-market policies adopted during a period when the situation was much less favourable

On the convergence of social protection systems in the European Union

Member states of the European Union are autonomous when it comes to the design of their social protection systems. However, they are committed by a Recommendation accepted by the European Council addressing the convergence of social protection objectives and policies. Beside that, it is expected that convergence of social protection systems could come about as a result of economic integration. In this paper we have examined whether such convergence has occurred during the past decades, using data on replacement rates and social expenditure ratios. We find a rather strong trend of relative convergence, but it does not follow that this trend is the result of the European integration

Prognostic factors for long-term outcomes in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

Objective: The objective of this article is to investigate potential clinical and MRI predictors of long-term outcomes in multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: This was a post hoc analysis using data from all 382 patients in the PRISMS long-term follow-up (LTFU) study collected up to eight years after randomisation. An additional analysis was performed including only those patients originally randomised to receive early subcutaneous interferon (IFN) β-1a (n = 259). Baseline/prestudy variables, indicators of early clinical and MRI activity (baseline to month 24), and indicators of IFN β-1a treatment exposure (including medication possession ratio (MPR)) were investigated as candidate prognostic factors for outcomes measured from baseline and from month 24 to LTFU. Explanatory variables identified from univariate regression models (p ≤ 0.15) were selected for inclusion in stepwise multiple regression models. Results: Candidate prognostic factors selected by the univariate analysis (p ≤ 0.15) included age, MS duration, baseline brain volume, EDSS score, and log(T2 burden of disease (BOD)). In most of the multivariate regression models applied, higher baseline brain volume and MPR predicted better long-term clinical outcomes, while higher baseline and greater early increase in EDSS score predicted worse outcomes. Conclusion: Identification of markers that may be prognostic for long-term disability could help identify MS patients at higher risk of disability progression