The demographic database of Istat (www.istat.it)is explored and the main facts are extracted and described, both at the aggregate national level as well as at the regional one. This paper is completely self-standing but, at the same time, poses the basis for a more general analysis that will be...

The same methodology Oecd and Ecofin apply to project future trends of health care expenditue is here applied to reconstruct backwards Italian health care expenditure. The time horizon is 1988-2012. Results are described and argued. Important evidence emerges on the historical value of the...

The Ecofin-Oecd methodology is applied to reconstruct the health care expenditure evolution in Italy and in the Region Emilia Romagna. The reconstructed series can be compared to the historical series, highlighting the different capabilities of the Italian average and of the Region Emilia...

This paper estimates the total factor productivity of the Italian health care sector using a modified bootstrapped Malmquist Index including the quality of the production process provided to the population. Decomposing the productivity process in three different components (efficiency change,...

Abstract This paper looks at the current situation of health deficits and shortages in Morocco with a focus on the roles of medical education and prospects for the health workforce for the period 2010-2030. The attained results from both trend description and simulations of patterns show major...

ABSTRACT The high price of cancer drugs has become a world-wide phenomenon. In recent decades, studies have produced ample evidence of rising research and clinical testing costs underlying pharmaceutical innovations. There is a general concurrence that the current model of drug development needs...

The study estimates calories, proteins and fats-income elasticities in sub Saharan Africa (SSA). Annual time series data for 43 countries covering 1975-2009 that yields a balanced panel was employed for the analysis. The nutrient-income elasticities are estimated based on the aggregate Engel...

The study argues that potential savings from efficiency could be effective alternative to increasing health system financing in SSA. Health system efficiency estimates were derived from the Data Envelopment Analysis and Stochastic Frontier Analysis and used to compute potential gains from...

The relationship between forests and human nutrition is not yet well understood. A better understanding of this relationship is vital at a time when the majority of new land for agriculture is being cleared from forests. We use Demographic Health Survey food consumption data for over 93,000...