Suchergebnisse

The main aim of this thesis is to evaluate the reduction of economic and health disparities in the European Union from 1990-2010. Through different dynamic panel models, we show that in simple economics terms there has been a catching-up process within the eurozone and that the distance between the core-periphery has been reduced. However, in terms of disparities, significant economic differences across the eurozone regions still exist. In an attempt to go beyond economic terms, we show that the EU countries also catch-up in terms of health, while in terms of disparities there are still significant inconsistencies among the EU regions. Consequently, if the reduction of dispersion is the ultimate measure of convergence, as various authors have agreed (e.g. Quah, 1993), then our overall study shows a lack of convergence across EU regions in terms of economics and health ; L'objectiu principal d'aquesta tesi és avaluar la reducció de les disparitats econòmiques i en salut en la Unió Europea des de 1990-2010. A través a diferents models de panell dinàmics, mostrem que en termes merament econòmics hi ha hagut un procés d'aproximació entre els membre de l'euro zona i que la distància entre centre-perifèria s'ha reduït. No obstant, en termes de disparitats, encara existeixen diferències econòmiques significatives entre les regions de l'euro zona. Per anar més enllà de simples termes econòmics, mostrem que els països de la UE també s'han aproximat en termes de salut, mentre que en termes de disparitats, encara hi ha inconsistències significatives entre les regions de la UE. Conseqüentment, si la reducció de les disparitats és la mesura definitiva de la convergència, com diversos autors han assenyalat (ex. Quah, 1993), llavors, el nostre estudi mostra una manca de convergència econòmica i en salut entre les regions de la UE

The main aim of this thesis is to evaluate the reduction of economic and health disparities in the European Union from 1990-2010. Through different dynamic panel models, we show that in simple economics terms there has been a catching-up process within the eurozone and that the distance between the core-periphery has been reduced. However, in terms of disparities, significant economic differences across the eurozone regions still exist. In an attempt to go beyond economic terms, we show that the EU countries also catch-up in terms of health, while in terms of disparities there are still significant inconsistencies among the EU regions. Consequently, if the reduction of dispersion is the ultimate measure of convergence, as various authors have agreed (e.g. Quah, 1993), then our overall study shows a lack of convergence across EU regions in terms of economics and health ; L'objectiu principal d'aquesta tesi és avaluar la reducció de les disparitats econòmiques i en salut en la Unió Europea des de 1990-2010. A través a diferents models de panell dinàmics, mostrem que en termes merament econòmics hi ha hagut un procés d'aproximació entre els membre de l'euro zona i que la distància entre centre-perifèria s'ha reduït. No obstant, en termes de disparitats, encara existeixen diferències econòmiques significatives entre les regions de l'euro zona. Per anar més enllà de simples termes econòmics, mostrem que els països de la UE també s'han aproximat en termes de salut, mentre que en termes de disparitats, encara hi ha inconsistències significatives entre les regions de la UE. Conseqüentment, si la reducció de les disparitats és la mesura definitiva de la convergència, com diversos autors han assenyalat (ex. Quah, 1993), llavors, el nostre estudi mostra una manca de convergència econòmica i en salut entre les regions de la UE

The main aim of this thesis is to evaluate the reduction of economic and health disparities in the European Union from 1990-2010. Through different dynamic panel models, we show that in simple economics terms there has been a catching-up process within the eurozone and that the distance between the core-periphery has been reduced. However, in terms of disparities, significant economic differences across the eurozone regions still exist. In an attempt to go beyond economic terms, we show that the EU countries also catch-up in terms of health, while in terms of disparities there are still significant inconsistencies among the EU regions. Consequently, if the reduction of dispersion is the ultimate measure of convergence, as various authors have agreed (e.g. Quah, 1993), then our overall study shows a lack of convergence across EU regions in terms of economics and health ; L'objectiu principal d'aquesta tesi és avaluar la reducció de les disparitats econòmiques i en salut en la Unió Europea des de 1990-2010. A través a diferents models de panell dinàmics, mostrem que en termes merament econòmics hi ha hagut un procés d'aproximació entre els membre de l'euro zona i que la distància entre centre-perifèria s'ha reduït. No obstant, en termes de disparitats, encara existeixen diferències econòmiques significatives entre les regions de l'euro zona. Per anar més enllà de simples termes econòmics, mostrem que els països de la UE també s'han aproximat en termes de salut, mentre que en termes de disparitats, encara hi ha inconsistències significatives entre les regions de la UE. Conseqüentment, si la reducció de les disparitats és la mesura definitiva de la convergència, com diversos autors han assenyalat (ex. Quah, 1993), llavors, el nostre estudi mostra una manca de convergència econòmica i en salut entre les regions de la UE

The main aim of this thesis is to evaluate the reduction of economic and health disparities in the European Union from 1990-2010. Through different dynamic panel models, we show that in simple economics terms there has been a catching-up process within the eurozone and that the distance between the core-periphery has been reduced. However, in terms of disparities, significant economic differences across the eurozone regions still exist. In an attempt to go beyond economic terms, we show that the EU countries also catch-up in terms of health, while in terms of disparities there are still significant inconsistencies among the EU regions. Consequently, if the reduction of dispersion is the ultimate measure of convergence, as various authors have agreed (e.g. Quah, 1993), then our overall study shows a lack of convergence across EU regions in terms of economics and health ; L'objectiu principal d'aquesta tesi és avaluar la reducció de les disparitats econòmiques i en salut en la Unió Europea des de 1990-2010. A través a diferents models de panell dinàmics, mostrem que en termes merament econòmics hi ha hagut un procés d'aproximació entre els membre de l'euro zona i que la distància entre centre-perifèria s'ha reduït. No obstant, en termes de disparitats, encara existeixen diferències econòmiques significatives entre les regions de l'euro zona. Per anar més enllà de simples termes econòmics, mostrem que els països de la UE també s'han aproximat en termes de salut, mentre que en termes de disparitats, encara hi ha inconsistències significatives entre les regions de la UE. Conseqüentment, si la reducció de les disparitats és la mesura definitiva de la convergència, com diversos autors han assenyalat (ex. Quah, 1993), llavors, el nostre estudi mostra una manca de convergència econòmica i en salut entre les regions de la UE

The Erratum to this article has been published in International Journal for Equity in Health 2016 15:178 ; The recent economic crisis has been a major shock not only to the economic sector, but also to the rest of society. Our main objective in this paper is to show the impact of the economic crisis on convergence, i.e. the reduction or equalising of disparities, among the EU-27 countries in terms of health. The aim is to observe whether the economic crisis (from 2008 onwards) has in fact had an effect on health inequalities within the EU.MethodsWe estimate convergence by specifying a dynamic panel model with random-effects (time, regions and countries). We are particularly interested in σ-convergence. As dependent variables, we use life expectancy, total mortality and (cause-specific) mortality in the regions of the EU-27 countries over the period 1995–2011.ResultsThe results of the analysis show that, in terms of health, there has been a catching-up process among the EU regions. However, we find no reduction, on average, in dispersion levels as the σ-convergence shows. The main finding of this paper has been the sharp increase in disparities in 2010 for all health outcomes (albeit less abrupt for cancer mortality).ConclusionThis increase in disparities in 2010 coincides with the austerity measures implemented in the EU countries. Our main conclusion is that these austerity measures have had an impact on socioeconomic inequalities

Unfortunately, after publication of this article in 'International Journal for Equity in Health 2016 15:135' it was noticed that part of the 'Acknowledgements' section was missing. The following sentence should have been added to the 'Acknowledgements' section:"This study has been developed within the PhD Programme in International Relations and European Integration of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB, Spain). We would also like to thank the comments of Prof. Jordi Bacaria (UAB)."

The Erratum to this article has been published in International Journal for Equity in Health 2016 15:178 ; The recent economic crisis has been a major shock not only to the economic sector, but also to the rest of society. Our main objective in this paper is to show the impact of the economic crisis on convergence, i.e. the reduction or equalising of disparities, among the EU-27 countries in terms of health. The aim is to observe whether the economic crisis (from 2008 onwards) has in fact had an effect on health inequalities within the EU. Methods We estimate convergence by specifying a dynamic panel model with random-effects (time, regions and countries). We are particularly interested in σ-convergence. As dependent variables, we use life expectancy, total mortality and (cause-specific) mortality in the regions of the EU-27 countries over the period 1995–2011. Results The results of the analysis show that, in terms of health, there has been a catching-up process among the EU regions. However, we find no reduction, on average, in dispersion levels as the σ-convergence shows. The main finding of this paper has been the sharp increase in disparities in 2010 for all health outcomes (albeit less abrupt for cancer mortality). Conclusion This increase in disparities in 2010 coincides with the austerity measures implemented in the EU countries. Our main conclusion is that these austerity measures have had an impact on socioeconomic inequalities

The Erratum to this article has been published in International Journal for Equity in Health 2016 15:178 ; The recent economic crisis has been a major shock not only to the economic sector, but also to the rest of society. Our main objective in this paper is to show the impact of the economic crisis on convergence, i.e. the reduction or equalising of disparities, among the EU-27 countries in terms of health. The aim is to observe whether the economic crisis (from 2008 onwards) has in fact had an effect on health inequalities within the EU. Methods We estimate convergence by specifying a dynamic panel model with random-effects (time, regions and countries). We are particularly interested in σ-convergence. As dependent variables, we use life expectancy, total mortality and (cause-specific) mortality in the regions of the EU-27 countries over the period 1995–2011. Results The results of the analysis show that, in terms of health, there has been a catching-up process among the EU regions. However, we find no reduction, on average, in dispersion levels as the σ-convergence shows. The main finding of this paper has been the sharp increase in disparities in 2010 for all health outcomes (albeit less abrupt for cancer mortality). Conclusion This increase in disparities in 2010 coincides with the austerity measures implemented in the EU countries. Our main conclusion is that these austerity measures have had an impact on socioeconomic inequalities

Unfortunately, after publication of this article in 'International Journal for Equity in Health 2016 15:135' it was noticed that part of the 'Acknowledgements' section was missing. The following sentence should have been added to the 'Acknowledgements' section: "This study has been developed within the PhD Programme in International Relations and European Integration of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB, Spain). We would also like to thank the comments of Prof. Jordi Bacaria (UAB)."

The Erratum to this article has been published in International Journal for Equity in Health 2016 15:178 ; The recent economic crisis has been a major shock not only to the economic sector, but also to the rest of society. Our main objective in this paper is to show the impact of the economic crisis on convergence, i.e. the reduction or equalising of disparities, among the EU-27 countries in terms of health. The aim is to observe whether the economic crisis (from 2008 onwards) has in fact had an effect on health inequalities within the EU. Methods We estimate convergence by specifying a dynamic panel model with random-effects (time, regions and countries). We are particularly interested in σ-convergence. As dependent variables, we use life expectancy, total mortality and (cause-specific) mortality in the regions of the EU-27 countries over the period 1995–2011. Results The results of the analysis show that, in terms of health, there has been a catching-up process among the EU regions. However, we find no reduction, on average, in dispersion levels as the σ-convergence shows. The main finding of this paper has been the sharp increase in disparities in 2010 for all health outcomes (albeit less abrupt for cancer mortality). Conclusion This increase in disparities in 2010 coincides with the austerity measures implemented in the EU countries. Our main conclusion is that these austerity measures have had an impact on socioeconomic inequalities

Unfortunately, after publication of this article in 'International Journal for Equity in Health 2016 15:135' it was noticed that part of the 'Acknowledgements' section was missing. The following sentence should have been added to the 'Acknowledgements' section: "This study has been developed within the PhD Programme in International Relations and European Integration of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB, Spain). We would also like to thank the comments of Prof. Jordi Bacaria (UAB)."

Unfortunately, after publication of this article in 'International Journal for Equity in Health 2016 15:135' it was noticed that part of the 'Acknowledgements' section was missing. The following sentence should have been added to the 'Acknowledgements' section: "This study has been developed within the PhD Programme in International Relations and European Integration of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB, Spain). We would also like to thank the comments of Prof. Jordi Bacaria (UAB)."

Opioid abuse has become a public health concern among many developed countries, with policymakers searching for strategies to mitigate adverse effects on population health and the wider economy. The United Kingdom has seen dramatic increases in opioid-related mortality following the financial crises in 2008. We examine the impact of spending cuts resulting from government prescribed austerity measures on opioid-related hospitalisations and mortality, thereby expanding on existing evidence suggesting a countercyclical relationship with macroeconomic performance. We take advantage of the variation in spending cuts passed down from central government to local authorities since 2010, with reductions in budgets of up to fifty percent in some areas resulting in the rescaling of vital public services. Longitudinal panel data methods are used to analyse a comprehensive, linked dataset that combines information from spending records, official death registry data and large administrative health care data for 152 local authorities (i.e., unitary authorities and county councils) in England between April 2010 and March 2017. A total of 280,827 people experienced a hospital admission in the English National Health Service because of an opioid overdose and 14,700 people died from opioids across the study period. Local authorities that experienced largest spending cuts also saw largest increases in opioid abuse. Interactions between changes in unemployment and spending items for welfare programmes show evidence about the importance for governments to protect populations from social-risk effects at times of deteriorating macroeconomic performance. Our study carries important lessons for countries aiming to address high rates of opioid abuse, including the United States, Canada and Sweden.

Since the birth of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), policies have been implemented in the Member States of the European Union (EU) to lead them towards economic convergence. This article analyses the convergence of the 174 regions that exist in the 17 euro-zone countries in the years from 1990 to 2010. The article specifies a space-time econometric model using the hypotheses of conditioned beta-convergence and sigmaconvergence. The dependent variables of the model are per capita GDP and productivity and the explanatory variables are real economic variables. Beta-convergence is found to exist between the countries of the euro-zone in terms of per capita GDP, but there is divergence in terms of productivity, though only at country level. In other words, the hypothesis is confirmed that it is guidelines at country level that lead to hypothetical convergence and that the unfavourable performance of productivity is due, without doubt, to differences in behaviour between the active populations of the different euro zone countries ; Desde el nacimiento de la Unión Económica y Monetaria (UEM), se han implantado políticas en los diferentes países miembros de la Unión Europea (UE) para conducirlos hacia la convergencia económica. Analizamos la convergencia de las 174 regiones que existen en los 17 países de la zona euro en el periodo 1990-2010. Especificamos un modelo econométrico espacio-temporal, utilizando las hipótesis de beta-convergencia condicionada y de sigmaconvergencia. Las variables dependientes del modelo son el PIB per cápita y la productividad y las variables explicativas son variables económicas reales. Encontramos que existe beta- convergencia entre los países de la zona euro en términos de PIB per cápita, pero divergencia en términos de productividad, si bien las pautas se producen sólo a nivel de país. Es decir, se confirma nuestra hipótesis de que son las pautas a escala país las que conducen a la hipotética convergencia y que el comportamiento desfavorable de la productividad se debe, sin duda, a un diferente comportamiento de la población activa entre los diferentes países de la zona euro ; Ekonomia eta Moneta Batasuna jaio zenetik, Europar Batasuneko herrialde bakoitzak bere politikak ezarri ditu konbergentzia ekonomikoa lortzeko. 1990-2010 aldian 17 herrialdez osatutako batasunak biltzen dituen 174 eskualdeen konbergentzia aztertuko dugu. Espazio-denborazko eredua ekonometrikoa zehaztu dugu, beta-konbergentzia baldintzatua eta konbergentzia-sigma hipotesiak erabiliz. Ereduaren aldagai dependenteak BPG per capita eta produktibitatea dira, eta aldagai esplikatiboakk, berriz, aldagaia ekonomiko errealak dira. Euro-guneko herrialdeetan beta- konbergentzia ikusten dugu BPG per capitari dagokionez, baina produktibitateari dagokionez dibergentzia dago, nahiz pautak herrialde mailan bakarrik gertatzen diren. Hau da, berretsita geratzen da gure hipotesia; herrialde-mailako pautak direla dira konbergentzia hipotetikora garamatzatenak eta produktibitatearen portaera txarra, dudarik gabe, euro-guneko herrialdeetan biztanleria aktiboaren jokabide ezberdinaren ondorio dela

Objective: Evaluate the effects of the 'euro per prescription' on primary health care services (number of doctor visits), through a retrospective cohort study of health care users in Catalonia (Spain). This policy, implemented in Catalonia on 23 June 2012, only lasted 6 months. This policy was introduced to improve budgetary imbalances in Spain and boost the regional and national governments' budgets. Methods: We used a retrospective cohort, composed of individuals who had had contact with primary healthcare services between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2012. The econometric specification followed is a hurdle model. Results: Our results show that from October 2012 onwards there was a decrease in the average number of overall visits, particularly for individuals aged 65 years or more. However, this decline cannot be entirely attributed to the introduction of the euro per prescription policy as in October of that same year the Spanish government introduced its pharmaceutical copayment for pensioners. Conclusions: The policies appraised in this paper reveal a clear deterrent effect among vulnerable individuals such as those with the highest probability of being unemployed and/or those individuals with chronic conditions