The health care systems in the Nordic countries are facing key challenges. While the possibilities and willingness to expand health care resources are limited, the demand for health care are increasing due to continuous development of new medical technologies, changing demographics, increasing...

The empirical literature on the asset allocation and medical expenditures ofU.S. households consistently shows that risky portfolio shares are increasing inboth wealth and health whereas health investment shares are decreasing in thesesame variables. Despite this evidence, most of the existing...

Despite the empirical relevance of advertising strategies in concentrated markets, the economics literature is largely silent on the effect of persuasive advertising strategies on pricing and market structure and increasing (or decreasing) dominance. We propose a simple model of persuasive...

This paper examines the profit testing of life insurance companies that issue participating policies, type B and type A universal life policies, and variable annuities with guaranteed minimum maturity and death benefits, when investment returns are stochastic and modeled by normal or variance...

In looking for empirical evidence about the activity of countries, a proposal is made for studying (measuring and modelling) the activity of countries through the use of Social Accounting Matrices (SAMs) and Socio-Demographic Matrices (SDMs). SAMs and SDMs are presented as tools that have...

This paper uses a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model to estimate the South African Reserve Bank's (SARB) policy reaction rule. We find that the SARB has a stable rule very much in line with those estimated for Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Relative to other emerging...

This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the model developed in Galor and Moav, Natural Selection and the Origin of Economic Growth (2002), in which agents vary genetically in their preference for quality and quantity of children. The simulation produces a pattern of income and population...