Parallel imports, innovations and national welfare: The role of the sizes of the income classes and national markets for health care.

This paper shows that regardless of any intra-country income differences, parallel imports result in a lower level of health-care innovation but, contrary to popular as well as conventional theoretical wisdom, a lower price in the Third World compared to market-based discrimination. Despite such a lower price, however, parallel imports unambiguously make all buyers in the Third World worse off when intra-country income disparity exists. On the other hand, even discarding the MNC's profit, there will be cases in which the richer country prefers price discrimination as well. That is, in those cases, no countries will have any incentive under the welfare criterion to undo price discrimination, contrary to Richardso

Instability and trade in currency areas

We present a model of a currency area in which labor markets of country members are isolated but there is trade among these countries. When a country experiences a negative (resp. positive) shock, inflation goes down (up). This causes two effects. On the one hand the real interest rate of this country increases (decreases). On the other hand the goods produced in this country become more (less) competitive. We show that the stability of the system depends on several factors, including a large competitive effect, how inflation expectations are formed and fiscal policy. In general, stability requires a trade-off between the rationality of expectations and budget balance

The relationship of drug reimbursement with the price and the quality of pharmaceutical innovations

This paper studies the strategic interaction between pharmaceutical firms' pricing decisions and government agencies' reimbursement decisions which discriminate between patients by giving reimbursement rights to patients for whom the drug is most effective. We show that if the reimbursement decision preceeds the pricing decision, the agency only reimburses some patients if the private and public health benefits from the new drug diverge. That is, when (i) there are large externalities of consuming the drug and (ii) the difference in costs between the new drug and the alternative treatment is large. Alternatively, if the firm can commit to a price in advance of the reimbursement decision, we identify a strategic effect which implies that by committing to a high price ex ante, the firm can force a listing outcome and make the agency more willing to reimburse than in the absence of commitment

Studies of the nucler equation of state using numerical calculations of nuclear drop collisions

A numerical calculation for the full thermal dynamics of colliding nuclei was developed. Preliminary results are reported for the thermal fluid dynamics in such processes as Coulomb scattering, fusion, fusion-fission, bulk oscillations, compression with heating, and collisions of heated nuclei

Encoding algebraic power series

Algebraic power series are formal power series which satisfy a univariate polynomial equation over the polynomial ring in n variables. This relation determines the series only up to conjugacy. Via the Artin-Mazur theorem and the implicit function theorem it is possible to describe algebraic series completely by a vector of polynomials in n+p variables. This vector will be the code of the series. In the paper, it is then shown how to manipulate algebraic series through their code. In particular, the Weierstrass division and the Grauert-Hironaka-Galligo division will be performed on the level of codes, thus providing a finite algorithm to compute the quotients and the remainder of the division.Comment: 35 page

Where do women birth during a pandemic? Changing perspectives on Safe Motherhood during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, health systems all over the world are either stressed to their maximum capacity or anticipating becoming overwhelmed. The population is advised not to attend hospital unless strictly necessary, yet this advice seems to apply to all but healthy women during childbirth. Specialized hospital care during childbirth can be lifesaving in case of obstetric complications or for COVID-19 symptomatic women, while strong evidence suggests the appropriateness of midwifery units that are integrated into the healthcare system for eligible women. We must ask ourselves whether obstetric units are the appropriate birthing facilities for healthy women during the pandemic. We have learned from previous crises that the needs of women and children are often badly served during disasters. The COVID-19 pandemic raises concerns over escalation of mistreatment and abuse media are already reporting on restrictions to the rights of birthing women in Europe and the US. In addition, concerns have emerged over increased risk of infection to COVID-19 among birthing women and familied by concentrating all women in obstetric units and lack of optimal care due to pressure on staff and resources. Women's rights in childbirth are being threatened by lack of care during labor, restrictions on accompaniment, unnecessary interventions including inductions, separation of mother and baby and prohibition on breastfeeding. An effective response to the crisis depends on strong and coordinated health care systems where mothers can birth safely, and the needs of the newborn babies are met. The interpretation of what constitute safe care is a stimulus for a strong debate between those who argue for strengthening community and primary care services and those who recommend for centralization of all births in hospitals. This debate is particularly salient during this pandemic and in preparation of future pandemics. We propose a strategic response in the face of the pandemic by expanding the use of midwifery units both alongside the obstetric unit and freestanding (in the community). Where midwifery units are absent pop-up units can be created quickly following the example of the Netherlands. This strategy in high income countries is evidence-based and also serves as a response to the surge in requests of safe childbirths pathways away from the obstetric unit by concerned women at unprecedented rates. We urge policy makers to consider replicating this model in low- and middle-income countries where hospital conditions are more precarious. A strong collaboration between midwives, nurses, obstetricians and neonatologists and the integration of primary care and acute services could ensure safety while maximizing the rational use of resources. Immediate strategic action would ensure that women are able to access appropriate care at the appropriate time, while hospitals continue to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and obstetric units are kept for women needing specialist care

Fine-scale mapping of High Nature Value farmlands: novel approaches to improve the management of rural biodiversity and ecosystem services

High Nature Value farmlands (HNVf) are defined as rural lands characterized by high levels of biodiversity and extensive farming practices. These farmlands are also known to provide important ecosystems services, such as food production, pollination, water purification and landscape recreation. Recently, this concept has been introduced in Rural Development Programmes related to biodiversity preservation in traditional agricultural landscapes. However, there are no specific rules concerning the practical use of the concept, particularly on the identification of potential HNVf areas at a local scale. However, this application becomes important for farmland biodiversity protection in the context of multi-scale agricultural development. We present a novel approach for HNVf mapping, which provides an improved local discrimination of farmlands according to their contribution for the conservation of rural biodiversity and ecosystem services. Our approach is based on a multi-criteria valuation of habitat types based on the national land cover map and agrarian censuses. It is onsidered applicable in other EU countries since comparable datasets are usually available. This methodology is also expected to provide the backbone of a standard, cost-effective methodology for HNVf monitoring, with an emphasis on the impacts of land use change on species, habitats and landscape function