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Begin New Search Topic Human Welfare Publication Year within 25 Years

431. Analyzing the Kerry and Bush Health Proposals

Author:
Joseph Antos, Roland (Guy) King, Donald Muse, Wildsmith. Tom, and Judy Xanthopoulos
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
The number of Americans without health insurance remains high. According to the latest Census Bureau figures, 45 million people were uninsured during 2003, an increase of almost 1.4 million from the year before. About 15.6 percent of the population did not have health insurance last year. That is the highest rate of non-coverage since 1998, when 16.3 percent were uninsured.
Topic:
Government, Human Welfare, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States

432. The Politics of Compassion

Author:
Karlyn H. Bowman
Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
In 1976, for the first time as far as we can tell, a pollster asked people about various qualities that were important for a president to have and included “compassion” as an option people could choose. Seventy-four percent chose “placing the country's interests above their own,” 73 percent “intelligence,” 68 percent “sound judgment in a crisis” and, separately, “competence or ability to get the job done,” and 67 percent “compassion, concern for little man/average citizen.” [All questions discussed in this introduction appear below.] At about that time, Gallup asked several questions that compared Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford on this quality. Since that time, in every election, pollsters have compared candidates (and rated presidents) on being compassionate. The National Election Pool exit pollsters compared the Democratic candidates on it in the 2004 primaries. In January 2004, Princeton Survey Research Associates/Newsweek interviewers asked whether George W. Bush and, separately, John Kerry cared about people like you. In February, Harris, CNN, and Time asked whether each man cared about the average American. Also in February, Gallup, CNN, and USA Today interviewers asked which candidate was more in touch with the problems of ordinary Americans.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
United States and America

433. Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Medicines in the United States and New Zealand: An Analysis of Regulatory Approaches and Consumer Responses

Author:
John E. Calfee, Philip Gendall, and Janet Hoek
Publication Date:
05-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
New Zealand and the United States are the only two advanced nations to permit direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medicines, but they use very different regulatory regimes. This paper examines the evolution of DTCA in both countries, compares the New Zealand self-regulatory model with regulation by the US Food and Drug Administration, and examines consumer survey results from both nations. Surveys reveal striking consistencies in overall attitudes towards DTCA, albeit with strong differences on a few topics directly affected by differences in regulations, such as the balance of risk and benefit information. Consumers think DTCA helps them learn about new drugs and talk to their doctors about possible treatments, with little apparent negative impact on patient-doctor communications. Regulation in New Zealand is more efficient than American regulation, although more effective disclosure of risk information could address concerns raised by New Zealand consumer groups.
Topic:
Government and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
United States, Southeast Asia, and New Zealand

434. The Role of Health in the Fight against International Poverty

Author:
Lael Brainard
Publication Date:
04-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
The end of the Cold War and disillusionment with aid's many failures led to widespread aid fatigue among donors during the 1990s. Total official development assistance (ODA) as a share of donor GDP fell by one third over the decade (from 0.32 to 0.22 percent). This was particularly pronounced in the United States, where a slash-and-burn approach reduced foreign economic assistance to just over one half of 1 percent of budget outlays, compared with over 3 percent at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. And U.S. per capita spending fell to last place among donor nations, ending the decade at $29, far below the average of $70.
Topic:
Development, Human Welfare, International Organization, and Poverty
Political Geography:
United States and Cuba

435. Addressing the HIV/AIDS Pandemic: A U.S. Global AIDS Strategy for the Long Term

Publication Date:
05-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
The United States has embarked on a major effort to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The success of this effort will be critical. Yet as impressive as the U.S. response has been, more will have to be done on a broader level to achieve the objectives that have been set forth.
Topic:
Human Welfare and Third World
Political Geography:
Africa and United States

436. Welfare and the Labour Market in the EU

Author:
Marie-Laure Michaud
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Over the last two decades, EU institutions have been increasingly concerned with the issues of unemployment reduction and job creation. The EU has recommended that member states develop welfare systems that moderate the negative effects of market relationships on the one hand, and enhance the efficiency of market performance on the other.
Topic:
Economics and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
Europe

437. Health Crisis: HIV/AIDS in Developing World Cities

Author:
Martin Caceres
Publication Date:
06-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Developing countries' urban areas are at the core of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The normal functioning of urban areas, their societies, and institutions can be severely disrupted by a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. This environment provides both a high potential for the spread of the disease and unique opportunities to fight and contain it.
Topic:
Civil Society, Health, and Human Welfare

438. Reframing Urban Assistance: Scale, Ambition, and Possibility

Author:
Michael A. Cohen
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
In the early 1990s, Annick Osmont, a French anthropologist, wrote a book entitled La Banque Mondiale et des Villes. She analyzed the design and impact of World Bank–assisted projects in several West African countries—Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Senega—all of which I had worked with. She concluded that the World Bank's macroeconomic adjustment policies had had a greater impact on the cities and urban populations in those countries than the urban slum upgrading projects financed by the Bank.When I first read this book, I was angry and convinced she was wrong. How could she be so dismissive of the “good intentions and work” that those projects represented? Five years later, I agreed.
Topic:
Civil Society, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, and Poverty

439. Sweatshops and Third World Living Standards: Are the Jobs Worth the Sweat?

Author:
David Skarbek and Benjamin Powell
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Independent Institute
Abstract:
Many studies have shown that multinational firms pay more than domestic firms in Third World countries. Economists critical of sweatshops have responded that multinational firms' wage data do not address whether sweatshop jobs are above average because many of these jobs are with domestic subcontractors. In this paper we compare apparel industry wages and the wages of individual firms accused of being sweatshops to measures of the standard of living in Third World economies. We find that most sweatshop jobs provide an above average standard of living for their workers.
Topic:
Economics, Human Welfare, Industrial Policy, and Third World

440. Prostitution and Sex Crimes

Author:
Kirby R. Cundiff
Publication Date:
04-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Independent Institute
Abstract:
In this paper I examine the hypothesis that the frequency of rape is increased when another source of sex (prostitution) is limited or unavailable. To test this theory I regressed the rape rate in available OECD countries against a proxy for the availability of prostitution and, to remove the general propensity for violence in the society, against the homicide rate and the availability of prostitution. The one variable regression model was anti-correlated with borderline significance. In the multiple regression model the rape rate was shown to be correlated with the homicide rate and anti-correlated with the availability of prostitution. Both relationships were at above the 95% confidence level. It is estimated that if prostitution were legalized in the United States, the rape rate would decrease by roughly 25% for a decrease of approximately 25,000 rapes per year.
Topic:
Crime, Gender Issues, Human Rights, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
United States