There are many cases where poor information or human psychology can impede effective decision-making.For example, one theory in behavioural economics warns that people taking decisions are inclined to drawincorrect mental references based on what they know. “Nudge theory” is a potential...

CII Introduction: a consumer’s ability to understand, assess and form a personal attitude towards financial risk is a key component in building confidence in choosing and using financial products. From choosing what pension funds to invest in to deciding whether or not to take out protection...

The prevalence of cancer is set to increase sharply with new pressures for change in treatment and prevention. This paper reviews evidence on likely changes in treatment costs, which will increase with improved survival, and on the distribution of costs to society. It then presents a profile of...

Certain rules have been developed on the minimum increases in public spending needed to cover the costs of aging and the costs of new technology. In practice elderly people only use certain kinds of service and much of the increase has had to be used to finance changes in other services. From...

The total number of nursing and midwifery staff rose by 17 per cent from 1976 to 1982. The aim of this paper is to provide a detailed analysis of what this substantial investment actually meant in terms of grades, types of hospital and region. Total numbers in the general hospitals rose by 24...

This paper describes the evaluation of investment options in nurse human capital and examines how managers can identify the costs and benefits of alternative arrangements. This study followed a request from four health districts on Humberside (East Yorkshire, Grimsby, Hull and Scunthorpe) where...

This paper describes a study of local evidence from 6 socioeconomically different areas of England about the development of minor surgery in general practice since the 1990 contract. The results are discussed in relation to a review of the literature on minor surgery in general practice....

The East Anglian Regional Health Authority is concerned to base its budgetary decisions on accurate information about the costs of cross-boundary flows in the Region. A patient counts as a cross boundary flow when a resident in one district completes a spell as an in-patient in a hospital in...

Certain rules have been developed on the minimum increases in public spending needed to cover the costs of aging and the costs of new technology. In practice elderly people only use certain kinds of service and much of the increase has had to be used to finance changes in other services. From...