Hermite Calculus

We develop a new method of umbral nature to treat blocks of Her mite and of Hermite like poly- nomials as independent algebraic quantities. The Calculus we propose allows the formulation of a number of ”practical rules” allowing significant simplific ations in computational problem

Relativistic tunneling through two "transparent" successive barriers

In the case of tunneling of relativistic particles, differently from the nonrelativistic case, a limit of "transparent" barrier can also lead to an apparent "superluminal" behavior when considering the phase time. In this limit, the restricting condition of "opaque" barrier of the nonrelativistic case is avoided, nevertheless, the very thin width of a single barrier to obtain this "transparent" limit can result in a problem itself, for probing the effect. A combination of two successive transparent barriers can show an apparent "superluminal" behavior along a macroscopic arbitrary distance "L". Two solutions for energy E above and below the potential square barrier V are found, for both solutions there the apparent superluminal behavior is possible above a threshold of free travelling group velocity (energy) and dependent on the ratio barriers length free path as function of the ratio group velocity - speed of light

Market microstructure, bank's behaviour and interbank spreads

We present an empirical analysis of the European electronic interbank market of overnight lending (e-MID) during the years 1999–2009. The main goal of the paper is to explain the observed changes of the cross-sectional dispersion of lending/borrowing conditions before, during and after the 2007–2008 subprime crisis. Unlike previous contributions, that focused on banks’ dependent and macro information as explanatory variables, we address the role of banks’ behaviour and market microstructure as determinants of the credit spreads

Health sector financial analysis: a survey

'Health for All' will not be achieved by the year 2000 unless additional resources are recruited for health sectors of developing countries. The unmet needs for basic health care cannot be satisfied through better use of the existing health resources alone. The most premising domestic sources of additional health resources are the user fees, and uncommitted community resources. Uncommitted community resources are incomes of communities which are not committed to the provision of basic needs, or to investments that are necessary to sustain existing standards of living. Foreign exchange is a vital input in the provision of health services in developing countries. Mobilization of domestic resources for health sectors without increasing their foreign exchange inputs could lead to a fall in the quality of health services due for example to shortages in drugs. Ways of increasing supply of foreign exchange to health sectors of developing countries should be explored. Since Ministries of Health must make decisions regarding how much of various quantities of health services to provide before they actually receive their budgets, it is important for them to have a method of forecasting their budgets to avoid planning health activities that are not feasible. The paper contains a revenue prediction model that should be useful in planning and allocating budgets of the Ministries of Health. Two types of costs should be considered in designing health care delivery systems - costs of providing health services, and patients’ costs of using the services. The appropriate or cost-effective health care system is the System that minimizes the sum of these costs. It is argued in the paper that compared to alternative systems, a community based health care system in which the Government and the community share recurrent costs of health services is the most cost-effective system. Cost-sharing arrangements in such a system would include service fees, labour time contributions, prepayments for health services and community managed drug funds

Review of Emory L. Kemp’s \u3ci\u3eTaming the Muskingum\u3c/i\u3e

Article reviews the book, Taming the Muskingum By Emory Leland Kemp

Referral systems and health-care-seeking behaviour of patients: an economic analysis

The paper studies medical referral systems of developing countries in relation to patients' health-care-seeking behaviour. It is shown that the vertical referral structures are consistent with patients' cost-minimizing behaviour in their search of medical treatments. This consistency is a consequence of a common desire among patients and health planners, to minimize costs of treating illnesses so as to get the most from their limited resources. The conditions under which the medical referral system reflects treatment seeking behaviour of patients are specified. Since these conditions do not hold exactly in the real world, the referral system has some major weaknesses as a model of how National Health Service delivery systems actually function. Reforms that can be undertaken to rectify these weaknesses are suggested