How Obesity Policies are Failing in America

Adult obesity rates increased in 23 states and did not decrease in a single state in the past year, according to F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009, a report released today by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). In addition, the percentage of obese or overweight children is at or above 30 percent in 30 states.

Read the complete article here.

Congress’s Health Care Numbers Don’t Add Up

New research finds congressional budget office has underestimated savings and overestimated costs from health policy changes.

Read this article from the NYT here.

The timing of fiscal interventions: Don’t do tomorrow what you can do today

The composition and timing of the fiscal stimulus is a major concern for policymakers. This column presents research showing that anticipated tax cuts result in reduced economy activity before they take effect. During the current downturn, that constitutes a strong argument against stimulus policies that phase in tax cuts over time.

Read the full article here.

'Artificial trees' to cut carbon

Engineers say a forest of 100,000 "artificial trees" could be deployed within 10 to 20 years to help soak up the world's carbon emissions.

Read the full article here.

Waiting for the low carbon revolution

The low-carbon revolution is not going to happen by itself, says Andrew Pendleton. In this week's Green Room, he calls on governments put the necessary frameworks in place that will allow the private sector to roll out the technologies needed to deliver the ambitious cuts in emissions.

Read A. Pendleton's opinion here.

Competition builds trust

Recent research argues that culture affects economic outcomes. Do markets instil cultural values that support good outcomes? This column provides evidence that more competitive markets raise employees’ trust levels. That suggests that competitive markets build the values that support them.

Read the complete article here.

Inégalités sociales de santé en Belgique: des chiffres indéniables. Observations à l'aide de données mutualistes.

Pour lire ce rapport, consultez la Revue belge de la Sécurité Sociale (1e trimestre 2009) - page 145- ici.

Gauging by numbers: a first attempt to measure the quality of public finances in the EU

Ensuring high quality of public finances (QPF) with a view to supporting long-term economic growth has gained new urgency as the room for fiscal manoeuvre has shrunk in light of the current crisis.To more systematically analyse QPF and compare developments across countries and over time, a greater focus on identifying and developing comparable QPF indicators is needed. This paper provides a first attempt in this respect. Based on the view that QPF is a multi-dimensional concept, it creates composite indicators for twelve areas of public finances that are linked to long-term economic growth. While the proposed alternative calculation methods yield relatively robust results and findings are in line with conventional wisdom, due to data problems the composite indicators should only be seen as a useful starting point for identifying a country's main strengths and weaknesses in QPF. This would need to be complemented by qualitative analysis that also accounts for country and other specificities.

Read this report from the EC here.

The EU's response to support the real economy during the economic crisis: an overview of Member States' recovery measures

This paper provides a preliminary assessment of the adequacy of Member States' recovery plans supporting the real economy - labour markets and vulnerable groups; investment; and businesses (but not financial sector support measures). It looks in particular at the time-consistency of the short-term measures designed to avert major dislocations of economic activity and assesses the compatibility of the short-term crisis response with the European Union's long-term policy objectives under the Lisbon strategy. The main finding is that the European Union's response to the crisis is strong and, at the current juncture, appears adequate and that measures being pursued under Member States' recovery plans are for the most part in line with the principles and guidelines enunciated in the European Economic Recovery Plan.

Read this report from the EC, Economic and Financial Affairs, here.

China shows the world how to get through a crisis

Read Jim O'Neill's column in the FT here.

Gezondheidszorg! met de nadruk op HET geestelijke en fysieke gezond zijn....

U, V or W for recovery

The world economy has stopped shrinking. That’s the end of the good news. Read the complete article in The Economist here.

Oil can be a curse on poor nations

Read the column in the FT here.

Tevredenheid over gezondheidsvoorzieningen

Hoe percipiëren de Nederlandstaligen in België de kwaliteit, de beschikbaarheid en toegankelijkheid van de gezondheidsvoorzieningen in ons land? Traditioneel worden aan de (Belgische) gezondheidszorg een aantal sterke troeven toegeschreven zoals de hoge dekkingsgraad van de bevolking door de verplichte ziekteverzekering, de vrije keuze van de patiënt en de vlotte toegang tot het gezondheidssysteem. Uit de analyse zal moeten blijken of de respondenten dit gezondheidssysteem positief evalueren. Hoe positioneert de Vlaamse Gemeenschap zich ten aanzien van andere EU-lidstaten?

Lees het volledige rapport hier.

How big is $9 trillion?

Read Krugman's opinion here.

Why this new crisis needs a new paradigm of economic thought

Do the US and Europe risk repeating Japan’s lost decade? This column warns that if the US or European financial clean-ups falter, they will be vulnerable to recurring financial crises. It argues that macroeconomic models should not treat finance as an innocuous veil and calls for a new approach that places financial intermediaries at the centre of its models.

Read the full article here.

Gezondheidszorg!

FEIT: 'Alleen met plastische chirurgie word je Miss Universe'!!!!!!!

Santé : Obama victime de sa propre stratégie

Lisez l'article du Libération.fr ici.

De sterkste schouders kreunen

Uiteraard moeten de sterkste schouders de grootste lasten dragen. Maar sommige uitspraken gaan voorbij aan de huidige realiteit. In 2005 schreef ik in een column in Trends (zie onderaan) al een bijdrage over deze situatie. Daarin toonde ik ook de vergelijking tussen België en Nederland. Beide landen hebben het zogenaamde Rijnlandmodel nagestreefd, en zijn qua grootte en economische welstand vrij goed te vergelijken....

Lees de opinie van G. Noels op Econoshock hier.

ACV = Algehele Collectivisering van Vlaanderen?

“Het is van groot belang dat we de progressiviteit in de belastingen opnieuw gaan herstellen. Dat principe is in de voorbije jaren stelselmatig afgebouwd. Terwijl het toch vanzelfsprekend is dat de sterkste schouders de grootste lasten moeten dragen,’ zegt ACV-voorzitter Luc Cortebeeck in een interview met De Standaard.

Lees de opinie van G. Noels op Econoshock hier.

Thomas Philippon : "Taxons les activités bancaires les plus risquées pour le secteur financier"

A la suite des derniers rebondissements sur les scandales des bonus dans les banques, tout juste sauvées de la crise, Christine Lagarde, la ministre de l'économie, a décidé de convoquer, lundi 24 août, les dirigeants de banques françaises et des autorités de tutelle (Commission bancaire, Banque de France) pour mettre au point des règles destinées à faire cesser "la course à l'échalote aux bonus". Ces propositions seront à l'ordre du jour d'une deuxième réunion qui se tiendra le lendemain à l'Elysée.

Lisez l'article complet ici.

En Emilie-Romagne, les banques entreposent dans un "Fort Knox" les meules de parmesan en dépôt de garantie

Dans la région d'Emilie-Romagne, patrie du parmesan, les deux entrepôts des Magazzini Generali della Tagliata (MGT), propriété de la banque Credem (Credito Emiliano), qui viennent d'être modernisés avec l'installation d'un système photovoltaïque, sont connus sous le nom de "Fort Knox". Mais à la place de l'or, des liasses de billets ou des oeuvres d'art que l'on trouve habituellement dans les coffres-forts, ils recèlent du parmesan.

Lisez la suite de l'article dans Le Monde ici.

Does Economic Success Require Democracy?

Sadly, no. In fact, the politically unfree countries are enjoying more economic growth than the politically free ones. Kevin Hassett tells you why here (piece published in The American).

Energie en Milieu....

Bankproblemen in VS niet opgelost

Read this comment on Econoshock here.

Notable & Quotable

Rose Friedman writing with her husband Milton on economic and political freedom. Read the column here.

Economie, innovatie en werk.........

L'échec de l'évaluation des ministres, ou les limites de la culture du résultat, par Philippe Dobler et Olivier Saulpic

L'évaluation est aujourd'hui au coeur des réformes en cours, notamment dans les hôpitaux, les universités et de nombreuses administrations (mais aussi d'évolutions dans les entreprises). On ne sait pas bien ce que recouvre le terme de "culture de résultat" qui sous-tend ces réformes, mais il semble légitimer des pratiques d'évaluation des individus sur la base d'un nombre le plus réduit possible d'indicateurs chiffrés, diffusés largement selon un principe de transparence et associées à des systèmes formels de sanction-récompense que l'on souhaite le plus objectif possible....

Lisez la suite de l'article dans Le Monde ici.

ObamaCare Is All About Rationing

Overspending is far preferable to artificially limiting the availability of new procedures and technologies.

Read Harvard's Martin Feldstein opines on the President's health reform efforts here.

International trade in used vehicles as an “alternative” cash for clunkers programme: Evidence from NAFTA

Under the US “cash for clunkers” programme, billions of dollars are being allocated to pay drivers to purchase a new vehicle and scrap their old automobile. This column says the programme will reduce international trade in used cars, which significantly benefits consumers in developing economies. Such trade also increases the average emission efficiency of automobiles in both the US and developing nations, which raises the possibility that “cash for clunkers” might raise global emissions.

Read the complete article here.

IMF: World Economic Outlook, July 2009: Contractionary forces receding but weak recovery ahead

Read this report here.

Nep katholicisme!

Migratie en Integratie en godsdienst???

Het stond in de krant. De taliban in Afghanistan heeft ervoor gezorgd dat vrouwen nu ook geen eten meer krijgen als zij geen sex met hun man uiteraard en niet vriend of samenwonenende partner willen ...woordloos ben ik!

Economie, innovatie en werk.........

What to Do About Pre-existing Conditions

Most Americans worry about health coverage if they lose their job and get sick. There is a market solution.

Read J.H. Cochrane's column here.

A quick note on Germany and France

Read Krugman's comment here.

US: Health Care’s Taxing Problem

Mainstream economists generally agree that current U.S. tax policy for health insurance is fundamentally irrational, regressive, and ultimately destructive. Fixing this system should be one of Congress's top priorities when it comes to health reform. Sadly, the current Congressional health-reform proposals would leave the worst feature of the current system in place and make a bad situation worse...

Read the article here.

France: carrières incomplètes et retraites

Pour consulter l'étude du Centre français d'études de l'emploi, cliquez ici.

Stimuler l'économie ou périr

Lisez l'article de Joseph Stiglitz ici.

Le dangereux paradoxe de la politique économique chinoise

Des problématiques propres à la Chine poussent le cours du pétrole à la hausse sur le marché mondial. En ce moment, l'empire du Milieu achète et produit plus de brut qu'il ne lui en faut, l'objectif étant, entre autres, de maintenir l'emploi dans le secteur du raffinage. Parce qu'elles veulent s'épargner les répercussions politiques et sociales du chômage, les autorités chinoises créent la tension sur le marché des matières premières. ...

Pour lire la suite de l'article, cliquez ici.