Modelling Possible Impacts of GM Crops on Australian Trade

This paper looks at the impact on Australia’s trade in crops (non-wheat grains and oilseeds) where GM technology has been introduced. The model includes assumptions about the productivity gains of GM crops, possible consumer responses and regulatory costs for Australia and its major trading partners. The modelling work shows that, under current market conditions, the introduction of GM technology into the non-wheat grains and oilseeds sectors will have minimum impact on Australia’s trade position.Agriculture; Barley; Biotechnology; Canola; Corn; Cotton; EU; European Union; Food; Gene technology; Genes; Genetically modified crops; Genetically modified organisms; GM; GMO; Grains; GTAP; Herbicides; New Zealand; NZ; Oilseeds; Policy; Primary industry; Productivity; Regulation; SIP; Segregation and identity preservation systems; Soybeans; Sugarcane; Trade; United States; USA; Wheat; World Trade Organization; WTO;

Promoting Quality in Nursing Homes: The Wellspring Model

Examines the core elements of a nursing home-based initiative -- developed by an alliance of eleven nonprofit nursing homes in Wisconsin -- that works to improve care and reduce staff turnover through model clinical practice systems

The role of technology in determining skilled employment: an economywide approach

This paper compares the role of technological change with that of trade in explaining the increased demand for skilled workers. The paper shows technology has played the dominant role in changing employment patterns in Australia. The finding is consistent across industries, including those having experienced increased import competition. Rising capital intensity of production has also promoted the employment of more highly skilled workers.technology - skilled employment - skilled labour - wages - employment - trade

Assessing Socioeconomic Impacts of Transport Infrastructure Projects in the Greater Mekong Subregion

This study attempts to quantify the links between infrastructure investment and poverty reduction using a multi-region general equilibrium model, supplemented with household survey data for the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). Infrastructure investment is an important step in economic development, with improvements in transportation infrastructure boosting economic opportunities throughout the region, for example by significantly reducing travel times and costs. In this study, we concentrate on quantifying the effects of some of the key linkages between upgraded infrastructure, economic growth, and poverty reduction. We model the impact of both reducing transport costs and improving trade facilitation in the GMS. Our findings suggest strong gains to the GMS countries as a result of infrastructure development and trade facilitation with national poverty reduced throughout the region. However, the impact on various segments of these populations differs, depending in part on factor returns.greater mekong subregion; poverty reduction; infrastructure investment

Review of \u3cem\u3eSchool Violence in Context: Culture, Neighborhood, Family, School and Gender.\u3c/em\u3e Rami Benbenishty and Ron Avu Astor. Reviewed by Susan Stone.

Book review of Rami Benbenishty and Ron Avi Astor, School Violence in Context: Culture, Neighborhood, Family, School and Gender. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. $39.95 hardcover

The increasing demand for skilled workers in Australia: the role of technical change

Examines how technological change has affected the demand for skilled workers. Over the past twenty years, there has been a shift toward employment of skilled workers in Australia, as well as in many other industrialised economies. While it has sometimes been argued that the trend toward skilled workers is due to increased trade with low wage countries, the paper shows other factors are at work. Changing employment patterns are more closely associated with a pull toward skilled workers, rather than a push away from lower skilled workers. The paper emphasises the role technology has played in shaping this demand.labour market - skilled workers - technical change - computers - employment - high skilled labour

Asia's infrastructure challenges: Issues of institutional capacity

The Asian region has experienced substantial growth over the past several decades. Indeed, a quarter of all world exports now come from East Asia. Strong infrastructure underpinnings have often been cited as a major factor contributing to this success, and an important competitive advantage over other developing regions (Kuroda et al. 2006). However, a decline in spending over the past 10 years has raised concerns that this infrastructurederived competitive advantage is eroding. Overall quantity and quality of infrastructure services remain uneven both across, and within, countries in the Asian region. Strong investment in infrastructure is needed to support continuing efforts to achieve overall growth as well as poverty reduction

A Retrospective Evaluation of the Planetree Patient Centered Model of Care Program\u27s Impact on Inpatient Quality Outcomes

This retrospective quasi experimental study evaluated the effectiveness of Planetree\u27s patient-centered model of care. Donabedian\u27s model linking structure and process to outcome was used to frame this study. The structure variable is the inpatient acute care hospital unit and the process variable consists of the Planetree patient-centered model of care. Outcomes are (1) patient satisfaction, (2) length of stay, (3) readmission, (4) cost per case, and (5) productive nursing hours per patient day. All data for patient satisfaction, length of stay, readmission, cost per case and productive nurse hours per patient day were retrospective, no participant recruitment was needed. Data were obtained electronically by the primary investigator from multihospital system and individual entity organizational fiscal and clinical data bases following approval from the educational and organizational Institutional Review Boards. When comparing the control unit to the treatment unit the questions to be addressed were: (1) what is the impact of the Planetree patient-centered model of care on patient satisfaction, (2) what is the impact of the Planetree patient-centered model of care on clinical outcomes (length of stay and readmission), and (3) what is the impact of the Planetree patient-centered model of care on the cost of providing care (cost per case and productive nursing hours per patient day). The patient satisfaction composite mean score evaluation, length of stay evaluation and the cost per case evaluation demonstrate that the treatment unit is different from the control group (p=\u3c.05 with Eta squared = \u3e.01). This evidence validates that the Planetree patient-centered model of care had a positive impact on patient satisfaction, length of stay and cost per case

The Economic Impacts of Aquatic Invasive Species: A Review of the Literature

Invasive species are a growing threat in the United States, causing losses in biodiversity, changes in ecosystems, and impacts on economic enterprises such as agriculture, fisheries, and international trade. The costs of preventing and controlling invasive species are not well understood or documented, but estimates indicate that the costs are quite high. The costs of aquatic invasive species are even less well understood than those for terrestrial species. A systematic approach is needed to develop a consistent method to estimate the national costs of aquatic invasives. This review of the economic literature on aquatic invasive species is the first stage in the development of that estimate. We reviewed over sixty sources and include both empirical papers that present cost estimates as well as theoretical papers on preventing and mitigating the impacts of aquatic invasive species. Species-specific estimates are included for both animals and plants.aquatic invasive species, costs, literature review, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Determining poverty impacts on Lao People's Democratic Republic and Cambodia: Reconciling household and GTAP data

Poverty-related studies are usually general examinations of the impact of policy reforms or major investments on the poor. However, policy changes may have varying consequences across different segments of the poor. To more accurately determine the poverty implications of policy initiatives, it is important to stratify households according to income source and decompose their factor earnings. This paper applies a method that builds consistency between information in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) and Cambodian household surveys, and the outputs of the general equilibrium model developed at the Global Trade Analysis Project, or GTAP model. This allows for a consistent platform for translating policy changes to changes in poverty headcount across income strata. Thus, changes in sector outcomes arising from policy reforms or major investments (such as infrastructure projects) can be traced through changes in factor incomes. From there, a connection can be drawn between improvements in sector-specific outcomes and movements of people in and out of poverty. As such, this method will help ensure effective policy design when the objective is poverty reduction. This method can be readily extended to other developing countries' survey data