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on Unemployment, Inequality and Poverty |
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Issue of 2007‒09‒30
two papers chosen by |
| By: | June E. O'Neill; Dave M. O'Neill |
| Abstract: | Does Canada's publicly funded, single payer health care system deliver better health outcomes and distribute health resources more equitably than the multi-payer heavily private U.S. system? We show that the efficacy of health care systems cannot be usefully evaluated by comparisons of infant mortality and life expectancy. We analyze several alternative measures of health status using JCUSH (The Joint Canada/U.S. Survey of Health) and other surveys. We find a somewhat higher incidence of chronic health conditions in the U.S. than in Canada but somewhat greater U.S. access to treatment for these conditions. Moreover, a significantly higher percentage of U.S. women and men are screened for major forms of cancer. Although health status, measured in various ways is similar in both countries, mortality/incidence ratios for various cancers tend to be higher in Canada. The need to ration resources in Canada, where care is delivered "free", ultimately leads to long waits. In the U.S., costs are more often a source of unmet needs. We also find that Canada has no more abolished the tendency for health status to improve with income than have other countries. Indeed, the health-income gradient is slightly steeper in Canada than it is in the U.S. |
| JEL: | I1 I11 I12 I18 |
| Date: | 2007–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13429&r=ltv |
| By: | Fields, Gary S. |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a selective overview of the literature on modeling labor market policies in developing countries. It considers welfare economics, theoretical models, and empirical evidence to highlight the three general features needed in future research on labor market policy in developing countries. The author identifies desirable research components (welfare economics, theoretical modeling, and empirical modeling) and pitfalls in the literature (inappropriate use of productivity, reliance on wrong kinds of empirical studies, lack of cost-benefit analysis, attention to only a subset of the goods and bads, and fallacy of composition). The paper concludes with suggested topics and methods for future research. The author states that sound labor market policy requires sound labor market models. The paper makes a case for developing policy based on explicit evaluation criteria, specific theoretical models, and comprehensive empirical evidence. |
| Keywords: | Labor Markets,Labor Policies,,Markets and Market Access,Population Policies |
| Date: | 2007–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4362&r=ltv |