Academic literature on the topic 'Interest rates Group of Seven countries'

This paper analysis the term structure of interest rates for the Group of Seven (G7) countries. In addition to standard cointegration testing procedures, a cointegration test in a nonlinear smooth transition autoregression (STAR) framework developed by Kapetanios et al. (2006) is also employed. While the standard cointegration test results suggest the existence of cointegration relationship between short and long-term interest rates for Canada, France, Italy, Japan, and US data, these tests fail to establish a cointegration relationship for Germany and the United Kingdom. In case we take account of cointegration with non-linear adjustment, the results provide clear evidence of cointegration for all countries except Germany. Our finding implies that, especially in the case of UK, we may achieve important implications by taking account of possible nonlinearities. Overall, our findings support the proposition of expectation hypothesis for all of the G7 countries except Germany.

Every economic sector, every single industry, every economy, and even every firm has its specific financial structure. Given that it is not possible to examine thousands of individual companies for scientific purposes, it is necessary to at least examine the differences between individual sectors, industries and countries. At the same time, the formation and optimization of the financial structure is influenced by a myriad of diverse factors that financial managers should take into account in their decisions. Thanks to these facts, more and more researches had been created for over half a century. This research expands knowledge in seven selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe – the Visegrád Group, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Romania. The aim of the research is to evaluate, based on the Generalized Method of Moments, the relationship between the six selected factors and the indebtedness level in companies belonging to the agricultural, forestry and fishing industry. The subject of the research is medium, large and very large companies during the years 2009 to 2016. The research deals with the influence of profitability, liquidity, asset structure, economic development, inflation and interest rates on the total, long-term and short-term indebtedness of companies. The main finding of the research is that companies are influenced by both internal and external determinants. However, even though the industry should be neutral, external determinants – GDP growth rates, inflation rates and interest rates – have a more significant impact on the debt level. The results of this research will not only extend current knowledge in the field of corporate finance, but at the same time, the results may be stimulating in setting support rules for public administration and even European institutions, as the selected industry is strongly linked to subsidy policies.

Abstract Payment mechanisms have attracted substantial research interest because of their consequent effect on care outcomes, including treatment costs, admission and readmission rates and patient satisfaction. Those mechanisms create the incentive environment within which health workers operate and can influence provider behaviour in ways that can facilitate achievement of national health policy goals. This systematic review aims to understand the effects of changes in hospital payment mechanisms introduced in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) on hospital- and patient-level outcomes. A standardised search of seven databases and a manual search of the grey literature and reference lists of existing reviews were performed to identify relevant articles published between January 2000 and July 2019. We included original studies focused on hospital payment reforms and their effect on hospital and patient outcomes in LMICs. Narrative descriptions or studies focusing only on provider payments or primary care settings were excluded. The authors used the Risk of Bias in Non-Randomized Studies of Interventions tool to assess the risk of bias and quality. Results were synthesized in a narrative description due to methodological heterogeneity. A total of 24 articles from seven middle-income countries were included, the majority of which are from Asia. In most cases, hospital payment reforms included shifts from passive (fee-for-service) to active payment models—the most common being diagnosis-related group payments, capitation and global budget. In general, hospital payment reforms were associated with decreases in hospital expenditures, out-of-pocket payments, length of hospital stay and readmission rates. The majority of the articles scored low on quality due to weak study design. A shift from passive to active hospital payment methods in LMICs has been associated with lower hospital and patient costs as well as increased efficiency without any apparent compromise on quality. However, there is an important need for high-quality studies in this area.

Background The provision of physiotherapy care via telehealth is becoming increasingly common and, in some circumstances, is a necessity, as observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important to understand what are the core capabilities that physiotherapists need in order to deliver quality care via videoconferencing. Objective The objective of our study was to develop a discipline-specific core capability framework for physiotherapists to deliver quality care via videoconferencing. Methods An international Delphi panel comprising a steering group and experts in the field, including physiotherapy researchers, physiotherapy clinicians, representatives of physiotherapy organizations, and consumers, was established by drawing on the research team’s academic, research, and clinical networks as well as contacting international physiotherapy organizations. The draft framework was developed by the research team and steering group, based on relevant documents identified within the literature. The panel considered a draft framework of 73 specific capabilities mapped across 8 domains. Over 3 rounds, panelists rated their agreement (Likert or numerical rating scales) on whether each capability was essential (core) for physiotherapists to deliver quality care via videoconferencing. The capabilities that achieved consensus, defined as 75% of the panel ratings being ≥7 out of 10 in round 3, were retained. Results A total of 130 panelists from 32 countries participated in round 1, with retention rates of 65% and 60% in rounds 2 and 3, respectively. The final framework comprised 60 capabilities across the following seven domains: compliance (capabilities: n=7), patient privacy and confidentiality (capabilities: n=4), patient safety (capabilities: n=7), technology skills (capabilities: n=7), telehealth delivery (capabilities: n=16), assessment and diagnosis (capabilities: n=7), and care planning and management (capabilities: n=12). Conclusions This framework outlines the specific core capabilities that are required of physiotherapists to provide quality care via videoconferencing. The core capability framework provides guidance for physiotherapists to deliver care via videoconferencing and will help inform the future development of physiotherapy curricula and professional development initiatives in the delivery of telehealth. Acknowledgments The members of the International Videoconferencing Steering Group are Michael Billings, Carmen Cooper-Oguz, Karen Finnan, Sarah Gallagher, Daniel Kenneth Gilbertson, Lesley Holdsworth, Anne Holland, Jeremey McAlister, Dan Miles, and Robin Rots. Conflict of Interest No conflicts declared.

Abstract Abstract 507 The question of whether child acute leukemia (ChAL) incidence has changed as a result of Chernobyl is of great scientific and public interest. Our initial report (Nature, 1993) showed no increase in the incidence rates (IR) of ChAL in Belarus in the whole group of children (0–14 y.o.) 5 years (1986 – 1991) after accident. This data were confirmed in several European countries. As concerns infant's AL (0–1 y.o.), Petridou et al. reported 2.6 times increase of AL in Greek infants, exposed in utero to Chernobyl radiation. No significant difference in IR was found among children aged 1 – 4 y.o. or older. All epidemiological data concerning separate analysis of infant (0–1 y.o.) ChL was concentrated on the first decade after Chernobyl and no any systematic data is available after 1996. Since 1979 the occurrence of leukemia has been documented accurately through the Registry of Blood diseases. The patients had to be inhabitants of Belarus and were grouped by age at diagnosis. AL diagnostic accuracy was confirmed by the international experts. Rates were standardized directly to the standard world population. We present the age-cohort-period analyses of IR trends of ChAL from 1979 to 2006 in Belarus. It comprised 1077 ChAL cases (0–4 y.o.). Number of cases and equivalent doses of whole body radiation exposure was tabulated by age at diagnosis and period of observation (seven pre-accident years, 1979–1985) and post-accident 7-year periods: 1986–1992, 1993–1999 and 2000–2006. During first 7 years after the accident (1986–1992) the IR of infant AL (0–1 y.o.) increased significantly – from 49 (IR=4.33) before Chernobyl to 67 cases (IR=6.36) in 1986–1992 (RR=1.47; p=0.04). Older age group (1–4 y.o.) did not show any increase in ChAL rates. Following 7-years period (1993–1999) revealed the statistically significant decrease of incidence of infant leukemia: from 49 (IR=4.33) before Chernobyl to 16 cases (IR=2.29) in 1993–1999 years (RR=0.53; p=0.024). Surprisingly, during the next 7 years (2000–2006) we found a further decrease of the incidence of infant leukemia with only 3 cases (IR=0.47) in 7 years. It is highly significant when compared with 49 cases (IR=4.33) before Chernobyl (p= 0.0000053, RR=0.11) and 67 cases (IR=6.36) appeared during first 7 years following Chernobyl accident (p < 0.0000001, RR=0.04). As concerns the older group (1–4 y.o.) we did not find any decrease of IR into the second (1993–1999) and third (2000–2006) 7-year periods. Actually we are working on the next time period (2007–2010) and new upgraded data will be presented. Long-term analysis of incidence of post-Chernobyl childhood acute leukemia permitted to discover the biphasic dynamics of infant's AL incidence rate. Significant increase into the first 7-year period followed by dramatic decrease between year +8 and year + 21. From radiological point of view it is relatively simpler to explain the increase into the first 7 years, because ionizing radiation is one of the few exposures for which the casual relationship with childhood leukemia has been established. Much more difficult to explain following after decrease in incidence rate of infant leukemia in Belarus. Can we speculate about the “adaptation-to-radiation” mechanisms? Over the past decades the growing body of data from cell cultures, experimental animals and humans suggests that low-dose ionizing radiation may have some beneficial (hormetic or adoptive) effect. Several epidemiological studies (India, China, Japan, USA) of a long-term low dose environmental irradiation are in favor of the hypothesis of radiation hormesis or adaptation. The carcinogenic effects of low dose radiation exposure may be restricted to children exposed in utero or in early infancy (0-12 months) during the first years after explosion. Following after dramatic decrease of IRs of infant leukemia might be explained by the developing of adaptive response to chronic low dose ionizing radiation exposure. The presented data may be one of the first clinical evidence concerning human ability of adaptation to long-term low dose radiation. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Abstract Introduction: Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT) is a complex medical process that has evolved throughout the years, becoming a potentially curative therapy for many hematologic neoplasms and non-malignant marrow disorders, as well as a clinical option for some autoimmune diseases. During the past decades, HSCT has had important advances in technology and technique, patient supportive care, and conditioning protocols, making it a safer procedure. As a result, patient survival rates continue improving. Nonetheless, it is unclear if these improvements are also seen in developing countries. The aim of the present study is to assess survival rate for patients who underwent auto-HSCT in a Colombian population. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at a tertiary referral center in Colombia, South America, on patients who underwent auto-HSCT between November 2009 and December 2017. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze patient's demographic characteristics. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to assess overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) rates at 100 days, one year, and five years following auto-HSCT. Results: One hundred and fifty-seven patients were included, with a mean age of 49.54 years (range 14-71). Seventy-nine (50.31%) were men. Classifying patients by age group, 68.7% of the patients (n=108) were in the 20-60 years old group and 28% (n=44) were older than 60 years. The most common indication for auto-HSCT was multiple myeloma (42.7%), followed by non-Hodgkin lymphoma (35%) and Hodgkin lymphoma (13%). Peripheral blood stem cells were the graft source in all patients (100%). High-dose melphalan (MEL 200) was the conditioning regimen administered to patients with diagnosis of multiple myeloma, and BEAM (carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan) to patients with lymphoma. OS was 91.7% (CI95% 86.2-95.1) at 100 days, 81% (CI95% 73.9-86.4) at one year, and 60.9% (CI95% 51.3-69.1) at five years. RFS was 94.9% (CI95% 90-97.4) at 100 days, 86.3% (CI95% 79.7-90.8) at one year, and 70.5% (CI95% 66.6-80.7) at five years. Classifying patients by pre-transplantation disease stage as defined by the EBMT study group, OS for early disease was 85.5% (CI95% 75.6-91.8) at one year and 58.2% (CI95% 43.7-70.2) at 5 years, 88.1% (CI95% 76.5-94.1) at one year and 51.8% (CI95% 33.9-66.9) at 5 years for intermediate stage, and 100% at one year and 42.3% (CI95% 7.3-75.4) at 5 years for advanced disease. The most common cause of death was disease progression. There were 51 deaths (32.48%) post-transplantation, 5.73% (n=9) in the first 100 days, 7.6% (n=12) between 100 days and 1-year, and 18% (n=29) after the first-year post-transplantation. Non-relapse mortality was 3.2% at both 100 days and 5 years. Conclusion: OS and RFS of auto-HSCT were very similar to the outcomes reported in the existing literature mainly assessed in developed countries. The most common cause of death in patients who underwent auto-HSCT was progression of the primary disease, and transplant-related mortality was low. Figure. Figure. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the commonest cancer in children. The survival rates in pediatric ALL have improved to 80-90% in high-income countries, where the goal of current risk-adapted treatment protocols is to minimize treatment-related mortality. In contrast, cure/survival rates are still lower in low-income countries, due to combined effect of disease-related factors, high incidence of treatment abandonment, higher rates of relapse, & higher treatment-related mortality. The Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) protocol versions are commonly used for treatment of pediatric ALL in many centers. There is no published data on treatment outcomes with ALL IC-BFM 2009 protocol in pediatric ALL in India. Objective: The study aims to evaluate the treatment outcomes in Indian pediatric ALL/LBL patients treated with ALL IC-BFM 2009 protocol under severe resource-limited settings, in terms of morphological complete remission (CR), minimal residual disease (MRD) status, and disease-free survival. Methods: Our study enrolled 25 newly diagnosed pediatric ALL/LBL patients (age ≤18 years) between February 2018 & June 2019. Induction chemotherapy was initiated as per ALL IC-BFM 2009 protocol after obtaining informed consent. Risk stratification was done as per protocol into standard risk (SR), intermediate risk (IR), and high risk (HR) groups, based on age, baseline leukocyte count, cytogenetics & molecular study findings, day 8 steroid response (peripheral blood absolute blast count), bone marrow MRD by flowcytometry on day 15, and bone marrow morphological response on days 15 & 33 of induction phase. Additional imaging was done to assess response in LBL patients. Central nervous system (CNS)-directed therapy with intrathecal chemotherapy was administered as per protocol. Post-induction therapy consisted of an augmented early intensification phase, risk-adapted consolidation therapy phase, a delayed intensification (reinduction) phase, & maintenance phase. Therapeutic cranial radiation (18 Gy) was administered only to patients with documented CNS leukemia. Results: Of the total 25 patients, 17 had B-ALL, six had T-ALL & two had T-LBL. Median age of patients was 9 years (2-18 years), with 11 boys & 14 girls. All the patients had BCR-ABL negative disease; three patients had t(12;21)(p13;q22)/ETV6-RUNX1. Seven patients (28%) had hyperleukocytosis (leukocyte count >1,00,000/µL) and two patients had CNS leukemia at presentation. Nine out of the 25 patients (36%) were in high risk group as per criteria. Eight patients (32%) had poor steroid response on day 8 of induction (PB blasts ≥ 1000/µL). Six patients had M3 marrow on day 15 (>25% blasts in marrow). Day 15 bone marrow MRD was <0.1% in 13 patients (52%), >0.1% in 7 patients (28%) and could not be done in 5 patients (including the two T-LBL patients). Twenty-three out of 25 patients (92%) achieved morphological CR (marrow blasts <5%) on day 33. There were two deaths in induction; both patients were not in CR as per day 33 bone marrow morphology criteria. One B-ALL patient in HR group died of early medullary relapse. The remaining 22 patients are in CR & doing well on follow up, and four of them have started maintenance phase therapy. The results are summarized in Table 1. Conclusion: Our preliminary results with ALL IC-BFM 2009 treatment protocol in Indian pediatric ALL/LBL patients are encouraging, with 92% complete remission rate, 88% disease-free survival and manageable treatment-related toxicity in spite of severe resource constraints. Long-term follow up & enrollment of higher number of patients is planned. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Abstract Introduction: Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a group of heterogeneous malignant disorders. AML incidence rates in world populations generally ranged from 3.0 to 4.0 cases per 100,000 person-years in adult populations, while developing countries had about one-third the incidence of AML. In Algeria there are no large-scale studies regarding acute myeloid leukemia epidemiology. The objective of this study was to analyze the initial basic characteristics of patients diagnosed with AML in our population and the incidence rate. Patients and methods: A survey form was distributed to all departments of hematology at the 21 participating centers of the Algerian AML Study Group (A.AMLSG). In this multicenter, retrospective study, 2,231 patients were included between 2011 and 2017. We intended to register all patients aged 15 years or older with newly diagnosed AML. Data noted age at presentation, gender, medical history, physical examination, and blood and bone marrow investigations such as, hemoglobin levels, blood cell count, and AML subtype according to flow cytometry analysis. AML cases were classified according to the 2008 World Health Organization (WHO) proposal. Age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) of AML were calculated using Algerian population data in the years 2011-2017. SPSS 20 was used for data analysis. Results: Of the 2,231 patients, 1059 (47%) were females and 1172 (53%) males, with a mean of 318.7 cases per year for the whole country. The overall mean age was 46.7±18.2 years. The most common age group was 30-70 years with 1444 (64.7%) patients. Most frequent clinical features at presentation included fever 987/2120 (46.5%), weakness 532/2120 (25%) and bleeding tendency 1033/2120 (48.7%). A significant number of patients had presented with body aches, respiratory complaints and hepatosplenomegaly or other abdominal complaints. Median hemoglobin levels was 7.6 g/dl (IQR: 2.4 - 14,8), whereas median counts for white blood cells (WBC), platelets and blasts were 20 G/L (IQR: 0,2-260), 35,5 G/L (IQR: 1-425) and 58% (IQR: 28-100), respectively. AML subtypes were available for 1946 (87.2%) patients. The most common AML subtype according to latest WHO classification was "AML with maturation" (M2) having 499 (26%) patients, followed by acute monocytic leukemia (M4) with 378 (19.4%). APL was the fourth most frequent pathology with 283 (15%) cases, 147 (52%) were females and 136 (48%) males, with a mean age of 37±16,1years. According to the SANZ classification, patients were diagnosed with favorable risk (N = 31, 11%), intermediate risk (N = 107, 38%), and adverse risk (N = 145, 51%). Cytogenetic studies were performed in 21% of the patients, and molecular biology studies were performed in 12% of the patients. Mutated FLT3-ITD was present in 12 patients (16%) among 75 patients. The trend of continuous annual increase in cases of AML where 250 cases had been registered in 2011, 252 in 2012, 339 in 2013, 290 in 2014, 320 in 2015, 370 in 2016 and 410 in 2017. According to their place of care, the patient distribution shows that over 58% had been diagnosed in the seven oldest hematological centers in the country, while according to their place of residence, the city of Algiers had the highest frequency of 12.9%. Globally, 28% of AML were diagnosed in the whole western region of the country, 43% in the center and 29% in the east. The crude annual incidence per 100 000 of the population continued to rise from 0.94 in 2011 to 1.39 in 2017. The age-specific incidence varied from 0.72 for ages 15- 20 years, with a trend of a continuous increase in the rate, and a sharp increase to 2.44 after age 60 years reaching the highest 2.63 after age 80. Conclusion: The young population in Algeria was expected to result in a relatively lower AML incidence rate and median age since AML incidence usually occurs much later in life. An overall increase in the number of AML patients diagnosed nationwide over the last seven years indicates a need for additional health care resources including curative and therapy-intense strategies, such as stem cell transplant facilities to optimize outcome. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

SummaryIn this paper we use a Threshold AutoRegressive (TAR) model to capture the nonlinear dynamics of monthly real effective exchange rate data for the G7 countries. The novelty of our approach relates to the use of the real interest differential as the switching variable. This choice allows us to consider jointly the nonlinearity and nonstationarity issues using recent advances in asymptotic theory. We find that the null of linearity is easily rejected against the nonlinear model for all currencies considered. Further, for five out of the seven countries, where the null of unit root is rejected, we report evidence of quite rapid mean reversion.

Abstract Introduction: The thalassemias are the most common of the inherited abnormalities of hemoglobin, typically characterized by a quantitative defect in the synthesis of either the alpha or beta globin chain, resulting in reduced or absent synthesis of either of the globin chains followed by ineffective erythropoiesis with hemolysis. Beta thalassemia is prevalent in the populations of the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, India, Pakistan, and Southeast Asia. Patients are treated with red blood cell transfusions and iron chelation to prevent organ iron overload. Currently, the only cure for thalassemia is allogeneic bone marrow transplantation which corrects the genetic defect in the hematopoietic system by the use of allogeneic stem cells. Methods: We retrospectively and prospectively analyzed the outcomes in transfusion dependant beta Thalassemia patients, who underwent allogeneic HSCT between June 2004 and June 2014. The patients were classified into Class 1, 2 and 3 as per the Pesaro criteria. Results: Sixty seven patients (Males n=40; females n=27) with a median age of 7 years (range 2 to 22 years) underwent HSCT during this time. Fifty seven patients were classified as Class 2, 8 as Class 3 and 2 as Class 1. The conditioning regimens used consisted of Bu-Cy-ATG (n=30), Bu-Cy (n=2), Flu-Bu-Cy-ATG (n=23), Treo-Flu-Thio (n=8), Treo-Flu-Thio-ATG(n=3) and Flu-Bu-Cy-Thio-ATG(n=1) with cyclosporine and methotrexate as GVHD prophylaxis. Stem cell source was marrow, peripheral stem cells and cord in 50, 17 and 1 patients respectively. Sixty four patients had matched sibling transplant and three non-sibling donors (one unrelated cord, one matched unrelated and one haplo-identical ). One patient received both both marrow as well as peripheral stem cells. The median TC cell dose was 6.4x108/kg (range 3 to 16.3 x108/kg) and median CD34 cell dose of 2.4 x106/kg (range 0.6 to 19.6 x106/kg). Hematological recovery was seen in all patients except three patients, who died before engraftment. Neutrophil and platelet engraftment occurred at a median of 14 days (range, 10-22 days) and 22 days (range, 10-35 days), respectively. Twenty four patients developed veno-occlusive disease, 20 patients developed Gr II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and 3 patients had chronic GVHD. At day +28, thirty five patients showed more than 90% donor chimersim and rest had mixed chimerism. Four patients experienced graft rejection. Treatment-related mortality (TRM) for the whole cohort was 10.4% at 100 days and 14.9% at 6 months post transplant. TRM was 12.28% and 37.5% for Class 2 and class 3 patients respectively. At a median follow up of 416 days, overall survival and thalassemia free survival are 82.1%, and 74.6% respectively. Conclusion: Similar outcomes have been reported from developed countries. Outcome of Class 3 patients still continues to be poor and VOD rates are high in this patient group. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Based on the seven case studies analysed in this volume, this chapter concludes that national development banks (NDBs) have been successful in many cases in supporting innovation and entrepreneurship, key new sectors like renewable energy, and financial inclusion. They have developed new instruments, such as far greater use of guarantees, equity (including venture capital) and debt funds, and new instruments for financial inclusion. The context in which they operate is key to their success. Active countercyclical policies, low inflation, fairly low real interest rates, a well-functioning financial sector, and competitive exchange rates are crucial. They are also more effective if the country has a clear development strategy, linked to production sector strategies that foster innovative sectors. Under these conditions, the chapter argues that there is great need for a larger scale of NDB activity in Latin America and in developing countries in general.

Economists at War tells the story of a group of remarkable economists, and how they used their skills to help their countries fight their battles during the turbulent period covering the Chinese–Japanese War, World War I, and the Cold War. Politicians and generals cannot win wars if they do not have resources. This book focuses on the lives and achievements of seven finance ministers, advisors, and central bankers from Japan, China, Germany, the UK, the USSR, and the US. They all had connections, and their stories are interlinked. 1935–55 was a time of conflict, confrontation and destruction. It was also the time when the skills of economists were called upon to finance the military, to identify economic vulnerabilities, to help reconstruction. Economics was first used as a policy tool, and economists started to gain importance: macroeconomics, managerial economics, and computing were all born during this time. The reader sees the struggle to raise funds by taxing peasants, controlling banks, working in disrupted debt markets, inflating currencies, and cajoling aid-givers. There is tension between civilian resources and military requirements. There are desperate attempts to control economies wracked with inflation, depression, political argument, and fighting. There are clever schemes to evade sanctions, develop barter trade, and use economic espionage.There are struggles to apply good economic policy in the regimes of despots like Stalin, Hitler, and Chiang Kai-shek.. This book will interest economists, devotees of military history, and interested lay readers alike. It is a book about economics, but it is also a human story.

This chapter analyzes the borrowing behavior of Japanese households compared to the other Group of Seven (G7) countries, and it also evaluates patterns by the age of the household head. In Japan, pre-retirees (age 50–59) do not carry high amounts of debt, and their financial health is satisfactory. By contrast, households with a head age 30–39 have taken on sharply more debt holdings in recent years, due partly to the fact that tax breaks for housing purchase, reforms in the housing loan market since the early 2000s, and expansionary monetary policy enabled Japanese households to purchase housing younger than previously. As a consequence, households have become more vulnerable to rising interest rates over time.

Objections to the bonus culture because it is unfair and morally unpleasant raise serious issues, but have diverted attention from its economic damage. Pay has also been misinterpreted as being an issue between management and shareholders. But shareholders are not damaged as, unlike the economy, they do not benefit from faster growth in GDP. This can be seen by comparing the growth rates of different countries and the returns that have accrued to shareholders. Shareholders are not a homogenous group. Those who are retired benefit from high share prices. Those saving for their retirement should like low prices so that they will have high returns on their savings, but few recognize their ‘real interests’ in this way. No group of shareholders likes, in practice, to have the prices of their shares decline.

Abstract During the early 1990s, it became increasingly clear to the medical community and the public health authorities in Denmark that cancer treatment there was lagging behind most other Western European countries. This chapter examines how Danish cancer policy from around 2000 onwards moved from a position as a laggard to a decent position. It is argued that during the first two decades of the new century, Denmark made remarkable advances along each of the four dimensions of the PPPE model (programmatic, process, political, and endurance) used in this volume. Over the course of 20 years, four consecutive cancer plans have vastly improved diagnostic and curative procedures and capacities with the effect that survival rates for cancer patients have increased substantially and at higher rates than in the other Nordic countries in the same period. Yet, there is still scope for improving preventive actions and regulations (in the area of smoking, alcohol consumption and dieting) and in the area of diagnostic and curative procedures and capacities. Overall, it is also a process success in the sense that the policy saw the emergence of an enduring coalition of state, regions, patient organizations and health professionals around the goal of improving cancer treatment. Recently, however, a few actors in this interest group coalition have questioned whether or not the strong focus on cancer policy may be crowding out the attention to other diseases. Finally, it is a political success as the costly cancer plans have enjoyed widespread and enduring parliamentary and popular support.

The chapter highlights the state of monetary policy in Africa and explores the challenges that central banks face as they address the increasingly complex forces at work in the global economy. It sequences the evolution of monetary policy from the time of World War II under the Bretton Woods system to the more recent forward-looking monetary policy in advanced economies and relates it to influencing the evolution of monetary policy frameworks in Africa. Some challenges affecting African countries are identified, including the collapse of commodity prices, persistent high interest rates spreads, and limitations of high frequency data that constrain monetary authorities’ abilities to take corrective actions in a timely manner. The chapter concludes by providing seven principles towards increasing the effectiveness of monetary policy for countries seeking to move towards forward-looking monetary policy frameworks.

The aim of this chapter is to study the impact of the selected macroeconomic indicators on unemployment rate in the region of Western Balkan countries and, more specifically, Albania, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo. This research is based on the time period 2000 to 2017 and includes five countries and the econometric model used in here is panel data. Data are retrieved from official and trustable sources such as World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The methodology used is the vector autoregressive model (VAR), unit root test, Hausman test, Granger causality test. All the macroeconomic variables, inflation, interest rates, GDP, and FDI are found to have a significant impact on unemployment rate of this group of countries. The novelty of this study remains the fact that this analysis is performed for the Western Balkan countries as a group. The results can serve and can be taken into consideration when applying similar econometric analysis in the future researches or implementing new policies that influences the macroeconomic factors.

The aim of this chapter is to study the impact of the selected macroeconomic indicators on unemployment rate in the region of Western Balkan countries and, more specifically, Albania, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo. This research is based on the time period 2000 to 2017 and includes five countries and the econometric model used in here is panel data. Data are retrieved from official and trustable sources such as World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The methodology used is the vector autoregressive model (VAR), unit root test, Hausman test, Granger causality test. All the macroeconomic variables, inflation, interest rates, GDP, and FDI are found to have a significant impact on unemployment rate of this group of countries. The novelty of this study remains the fact that this analysis is performed for the Western Balkan countries as a group. The results can serve and can be taken into consideration when applying similar econometric analysis in the future researches or implementing new policies that influences the macroeconomic factors.

This chapter introduces a phenomenon I call ‘digital subprime’. Digital subprime represents a frontier in lenders’ quest for predictive power, involving a growing group of technology startups who are entering subprime, payday lending markets in various countries and are lending at high rates of interest to borrowers who often have either poor or not credit histories. In this variant of consumer credit lending, diverse forms of data are processed through forms of algorithmic analysis in the attempt to better predict the repayment behaviour of individuals. This data often appears extremely mundane and to have very little to do with the credit product in hand. The chapter seeks to map the terrain of possibility represented by the diverse forms of data that are rendered accessible to lenders, partly as a basis for future research, and partly to highlight key developments in the present and future ontologies of money.

In some countries nuclear waste facility siting programs include social and economic benefits, compensation, local empowerment and motivation measures and other incentives for the potential host community. This can generally be referred to as an ‘added value approach’. Demonstration of the safety of a repository is seen as a precondition of an added value approach. Recently much focus has been placed on studying and developing public participation approaches but less on the use of such incentive and community benefit packages, although they are becoming a more common element in many site selection strategies for nuclear waste management facilities. The primary objective of this paper is to report on an ongoing study of stakeholders’ opinions of the use of an added value approach in siting a radioactive waste facility in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia. The paper argues that an added value approach should adapt to the interests and needs of stakeholders during different stages of a siting process. The main question posed in the study is as follows: What are the measures which should be included in ‘added value approach’ according to the stakeholders? The research data consists of stakeholders’ responses to a survey focusing on the use of added value (community benefits) and incentives in siting nuclear waste management facilities. The survey involved use of a questionnaire developed as part of the EU-funded IPPA* project in three countries: the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia. (* Implementing Public Participation Approaches in Radioactive Waste Disposal, FP7 Contract Number: 269849). The target audiences for the questionnaires were the stakeholders represented in the national stakeholder groups established to discuss site selection for a nuclear waste repository in their country. A total of 105 questionnaires were sent to the stakeholders between November 2011 and January 2012. 44 questionnaires were returned, resulting in a total response rate of 41% (10/29 in the Czech Republic, 11/14 in Poland and in 23/64 in Slovenia).

Background: Every year, around 14 million women and girls aged 15 to 19 (both married and unmarried) give birth. This age group might lead to negative outcomes of pregnancy and childbirth. This scoping review aimed to identify the outcomes of adolescent pregnancy and its contributing factors. Subjects and Method: A scoping review method was conducted in eight stages including (1) Identification of study problems; (2) Determining priority problem and study question; (3) Determining framework; (4) Literature searching; (5) Article selec­tion; (6) Critical appraisal; (7) Data extraction; and (8) Mapping. The research question was identified using population, exposure, and outcome(s) (PEOS) framework. The search included Wiley Online Library, EBSCO, ProQuest, and PubMed databases. The inclusion criteria were English-language and full-text articles published between 2009 and 2019. A total of 307 articles were obtained by the searched database. After the review process, seven articles were eligible for this review. The data were reported by the PRISMA flow chart. Results: Six articles from developing countries (Brazil, Mexico, Zambia, Malawi, and Romania) and one report from developed countries (Australia) met the inclusion criteria with qualitative, quantitative (cross-sectional), and descriptive studies. The existing studies stated that adolescent pregnancy had adverse effects on both mother and babies’ health and well-being. Young maternal age is associated with low parity, lack of prenatal care, premature, and low birth weight. Factors contributed to the increased adolescent pregnancy rate were early sexual initiation, low use of contraception, low educational level, low socioeconomic status, inadequate knowledge about sexual and reproductive health, and gender disparity. Conclusion: Young maternal age contributes to adverse pregnancy outcomes of both mothers and babies. Early sexual health education and health promotion on teenage girls may reduce the risk of adolescent pregnancy rates. Keywords: adolescent pregnancy, birth outcome, maternal age Correspondence: Sumarni. Universitas ‘Aisyiyah Yogyakarta. Jl. Siliwangi (Ringroad Barat) No. 63, Nogotirto, Gamping, Sleman, Yogyakarta, 55292. Email: sumarnipino21@gmail.com. Mobile: +6282346354512. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26911/the7thicph.02.28

When looking for a location for a wave energy converter (WEC) installation, developers usually look for sites with high or very high wave energy resource. From this perspective, countries like Scotland or Ireland have made great effort to include this energy source in their energy mix due to their expected high untapped potential. However, higher resource carries marine operation restrictions. Because of that, the selection of a site for a WEC deployment, the installation, operation and maintenance factors have to be considered from the beginning. In this work an analysis of the suitable locations for the development of wave energy is performed based on the operation and maintenance (O&M) parameters. This study is performed across the globe coastlines taking the met-ocean climate data from Reguero et al (2011) global reanalysis database (GOW) developed at IH Cantabria. Firstly, an analysis of the global availability and accessibility levels is performed all around the globe taking different wave height thresholds into account. Seven specific locations (North-West Denmark, West of Ireland, Chile, North of Spain, West Portugal, South-West Australia and North of Scotland) with high interest on wave energy have been further analyzed and compared. Secondly, the O&M access limits are quantified in terms of the weather windows and the waiting period between available weather windows. A statistical analysis of these parameters is performed within different weather windows lengths (6 h, 12 h and 24 h). The seasonality of these parameters is also analyzed. Finally, a failure analysis will be carried out, simulating the repair operation along the lifecycle of the device for different failure rates and waiting times. The affection of this failure and repair scheme over the power production of a device analyzed previously in Andres et al (2014) will be presented. In this study, some locations with high resource (Spain, Nova Scotia) lead to medium to high accessibilities/availabilities due to the balance between resource and persistence of the weather conditions. Some locations with high resource such as Chile or Australia resulted inaccessible during very long periods of time due to the persistence of severe conditions and then not very recommended for novel converters with uncertain failure rates.

Background Australia is a multi-cultural society with increasing rates of people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. On average, CALD groups have higher rates of tobacco use, lower participation in cancer screening programs, and poorer health outcomes than the general Australian population. Lower cancer screening and smoking cessation rates are due to differing cultural norms, health-related attitudes, and beliefs, and language barriers. Interventions can help address these potential barriers and increase tobacco cessation and cancer screening rates among CALD groups. Cancer Council NSW (CCNSW) aims to reduce the impact of cancer and improve cancer outcomes for priority populations including CALD communities. In line with this objective, CCNSW commissioned this rapid review of interventions implemented in Australia and comparable countries. Review questions This review aimed to address the following specific questions: Question 1 (Q1): What smoking cessation interventions have been proven effective in reducing or preventing smoking among culturally and linguistically diverse communities? Question 2 (Q2): What screening interventions have proven effective in increasing participation in population cancer screening programs among culturally and linguistically diverse populations? This review focused on Chinese-, Vietnamese- and Arabic-speaking people as they are the largest CALD groups in Australia and have high rates of tobacco use and poor screening adherence in NSW. Summary of methods An extensive search of peer-reviewed and grey literature published between January 2013-March 2022 identified 19 eligible studies for inclusion in the Q1 review and 49 studies for the Q2 review. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Levels of Evidence and Joanna Briggs Institute’s (JBI) Critical Appraisal Tools were used to assess the robustness and quality of the included studies, respectively. Key findings Findings are reported by components of an intervention overall and for each CALD group. By understanding the effectiveness of individual components, results will demonstrate key building blocks of an effective intervention. Question 1: What smoking cessation interventions have been proven effective in reducing or preventing smoking among culturally and linguistically diverse communities? Thirteen of the 19 studies were Level IV (L4) evidence, four were Level III (L3), one was Level II (L2), none were L1 (highest level of evidence) and one study’s evidence level was unable to be determined. The quality of included studies varied. Fifteen tobacco cessation intervention components were included, with most interventions involving at least three components (range 2-6). Written information (14 studies), and education sessions (10 studies) were the most common components included in an intervention. Eight of the 15 intervention components explored had promising evidence for use with Chinese-speaking participants (written information, education sessions, visual information, counselling, involving a family member or friend, nicotine replacement therapy, branded merchandise, and mobile messaging). Another two components (media campaign and telephone follow-up) had evidence aggregated across CALD groups (i.e., results for Chinese-speaking participants were combined with other CALD group(s)). No intervention component was deemed of sufficient evidence for use with Vietnamese-speaking participants and four intervention components had aggregated evidence (written information, education sessions, counselling, nicotine replacement therapy). Counselling was the only intervention component to have promising evidence for use with Arabic-speaking participants and one had mixed evidence (written information). Question 2: What screening interventions have proven effective in increasing participation in population cancer screening programs among culturally and linguistically diverse populations? Two of the 49 studies were Level I (L1) evidence, 13 L2, seven L3, 25 L4 and two studies’ level of evidence was unable to be determined. Eighteen intervention components were assessed with most interventions involving 3-4 components (range 1-6). Education sessions (32 studies), written information (23 studies) and patient navigation (10 studies) were the most common components. Seven of the 18 cancer screening intervention components had promising evidence to support their use with Vietnamese-speaking participants (education sessions, written information, patient navigation, visual information, peer/community health worker, counselling, and peer experience). The component, opportunity to be screened (e.g. mailed or handed a bowel screening test), had aggregated evidence regarding its use with Vietnamese-speaking participants. Seven intervention components (education session, written information, visual information, peer/community health worker, opportunity to be screened, counselling, and branded merchandise) also had promising evidence to support their use with Chinese-speaking participants whilst two components had mixed (patient navigation) or aggregated (media campaign) evidence. One intervention component for use with Arabic-speaking participants had promising evidence to support its use (opportunity to be screened) and eight intervention components had mixed or aggregated support (education sessions, written information, patient navigation, visual information, peer/community health worker, peer experience, media campaign, and anatomical models). Gaps in the evidence There were four noteworthy gaps in the evidence: 1. No systematic review was captured for Q1, and only two studies were randomised controlled trials. Much of the evidence is therefore based on lower level study designs, with risk of bias. 2. Many studies provided inadequate detail regarding their intervention design which impacts both the quality appraisal and how mixed finding results can be interpreted. 3. Several intervention components were found to have supportive evidence available only at the aggregate level. Further research is warranted to determine the interventions effectiveness with the individual CALD participant group only. 4. The evidence regarding the effectiveness of certain intervention components were either unknown (no studies) or insufficient (only one study) across CALD groups. This was the predominately the case for Arabic-speaking participants for both Q1 and Q2, and for Vietnamese-speaking participants for Q1. Further research is therefore warranted. Applicability Most of the intervention components included in this review are applicable for use in the Australian context, and NSW specifically. However, intervention components assessed as having insufficient, mixed, or no evidence require further research. Cancer screening and tobacco cessation interventions targeting Chinese-speaking participants were more common and therefore showed more evidence of effectiveness for the intervention components explored. There was support for cancer screening intervention components targeting Vietnamese-speaking participants but not for tobacco cessation interventions. There were few interventions implemented for Arabic-speaking participants that addressed tobacco cessation and screening adherence. Much of the evidence for Vietnamese and Arabic-speaking participants was further limited by studies co-recruiting multiple CALD groups and reporting aggregate results. Conclusion There is sound evidence for use of a range of intervention components to address tobacco cessation and cancer screening adherence among Chinese-speaking populations, and cancer screening adherence among Vietnamese-speaking populations. Evidence is lacking regarding the effectiveness of tobacco cessation interventions with Vietnamese- and Arabic-speaking participants, and cancer screening interventions for Arabic-speaking participants. More research is required to determine whether components considered effective for use in one CALD group are applicable to other CALD populations.

1.1 Macroeconomic summary In September, headline inflation (11.4% annually) and the average of core inflation indicators (8.6% annually) continued on a rising trend, and higher increases than expected were recorded. Forecasts increased again, and inflation expectations remained above 3%. Inflationary surprises in the third quarter were significant and widespread, and they are the result of several shocks. On the one hand, international cost and price shocks, which have mainly affected goods and foods, continue to exert upwards pressure on national inflation. In addition to these external supply shocks, domestic supply shocks have also affected foods. On the other hand, the strong recovery of aggregate demand, especially for private consumption and for machinery and equipment, as well as a higher accumulated depreciation of the Colombian peso and its pass-through to domestic prices also explain the rise in inflation. Indexation also contributes, both through the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and through the Producer Price Index (PPI), which continues to have a significant impact on electricity prices and, to a lesser degree, on other public utilities and rent. In comparison with July’s report, the new forecast trajectory for headline and core inflation (excluding food and regulated items) is higher in the forecast horizon, mainly due to exchange rate pressures, higher excess demand, and indexation at higher inflation rates, but it maintains a trend of convergence towards the target. In the case of food, a good domestic supply of perishable foods and some moderation in international processed food prices are still expected. However, the technical staff estimates higher pressures on this group’s prices from labor costs, raw material prices, and exchange rates. In terms of the CPI for regulated items, the new forecast supposes reductions in electricity prices at the end of the year, but the effects of indexation at higher inflation rates and the expected rises in fuel prices would continue to push this CPI group. Therefore, the new projection suggests that, in December, inflation would reach 11.3% and would decrease throughout 2023 and 2024, closing the year at 7.1% and 3.5%, respectively. These forecasts have a high level of uncertainty, due especially to the future behavior of international financial conditions, external price and cost shocks, the persistence of depreciation of the Colombian peso, the pace of adjustment of domestic demand, the indexation degree of nominal contracts, and the decisions that would be made regarding domestic fuel and electricity prices. Economic activity continues to surprise on the upside, and the projection of growth for 2022 rose from 6.9% to 7.9% but lowered for 2023 from 1.1% to 0.5%. Thus, excess demand is higher than estimated in the previous report, and it would diminish in 2023. Economic growth in the second quarterwas higher than estimated in July due to stronger domestic demand, mainly because of private consumption. Economic activity indicators for the third quarter suggest that the GDP would stay at a high level, above its potential, with an annual change of 6.4%, and 0.6% higher than observed in the second quarter. Nevertheless, these numbers reflect deceleration in its quarterly and annual growth. Domestic demand would show similar behavior, with a high value, higher than that of output. This can be explained partly by the strong behavior of private consumption and investment in machinery and equipment. In the third quarter, investment in construction would have continued with mediocre performance, which would still place it at levels lower than those observed before the pandemic. The trade deficit would have widened due to high imports with a stronger trend than that for exports. It is expected that, in the forecast horizon, consumption would decrease from its current high levels, partly as a consequence of tighter domestic financial conditions, lower repressed demand, higher exchange rate pressures on imported goods prices, and the deterioration of actual income due to the rise in inflation. Investment would continue to lag behind, without reaching the levels observed before the pandemic, in a context of high financing costs and high uncertainty. A lower projected behavior in domestic demand and the high levels of prices for oil and other basic goods that the country exports would be reflected in a reduction in the trade deficit. Due to all of this, economic growth for all of 2022, 2023, and 2024 would be 7.9%, 0.5%, and 1.3%, respectively. Expected excess demand (measured via the output gap) is estimated to be higher than contemplated in the previous report; it would diminish in 2023 and could turn negative in 2024. These estimates remain subject to a high degree of uncertainty related to global political tension, a rise in international interest rates, and the effects of this rise on demand and financial conditions abroad. In the domestic context, the evolution of fiscal policy as well as future measures regarding economic policy and their possible effects on macroeconomic imbalances in the country, among others, are factors that generate uncertainty and affect risk premia, the exchange rate, investment, and the country’s economic activity. Interest rates at several of the world’s main central banks continue to rise, some at a pace higher than expected by the market. This is in response to the high levels of inflation and their inflation expectations, which continue to exceed the targets. Thus, global growth projections are still being moderated, risk premia have risen, and the dollar continues to gain strength against other main currencies. International pressures on global inflation have heightened. In the United States, core inflation has not receded, pressured by the behavior of the CPI for services and a tight labor market. Consequently, the U.S. Federal Reserve continued to increase the policy interest rate at a strong pace. This rate is expected to now reach higher levels than projected in the previous quarter. Other developed and emerging economies have also increased their policy interest rates. Thus, international financial conditions have tightened significantly, which reflects in a widespread strengthening of the dollar, increases in worldwide risk premia, and the devaluation of risky assets. Recently, these effects have been stronger in Colombia than in the majority of its peers in the region. Considering all of the aforementioned, the technical staff of the bank increased its assumption regarding the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate, reduced the country’s external demand growth forecast, and raised the projected trajectory for the risk premium. The latter remains elevated at higher levels than its historical average, within a context of high local uncertainty and of extensive financing needs from the foreign sector and the public sector. All of this results in higher inflationary pressures associated to the depreciation of the Colombian peso. The uncertainty regarding external forecasts and its impact on the country remain elevated, given the unforeseeable evolution of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, of geopolitical tensions, and of the tightening of external financial conditions, among others. A macroeconomic context of high inflation, inflation expectations and forecasts above 3%, and a positive output gap suggests the need for contractionary monetary policy, compatible with the macroeconomic adjustment necessary to eliminate excess demand, mitigate the risk of unanchoring in inflation expectations, and guarantee convergence of inflation at the target. In comparison with the July report forecasts, domestic demand has been more dynamic, with a higher observed output level that surpasses the economy’s productive capacity. Headline and core inflation have registered surprising rises, associated with the effects of domestic and external price shocks that were more persistent than anticipated, with excess demand and indexation processes in some CPI groups. The country’s risk premium and the observed and expected international interest rates increased. As a consequence of this, inflationary pressures from the exchange rate rose, and in this report, the probability of the neutral real interest rate being higher than estimated increased. In general, inflation expectations for all terms and the bank’s technical staff inflation forecast for 2023 increased again and continue to stray from 3%. All of the aforementioned elevated the risk of unanchoring inflation expectations and could heighten widespread indexation processes that push inflation away from the target for a longer time. In this context, it is necessary to consolidate a contractionary monetary policy that tends towards convergence of inflation at the target in the forecast horizon and towards the reduction of excess demand in order to guarantee a sustainable output level trajectory. 1.2 Monetary policy decision In its September and October of 2022 meetings, Banco de la República’s Board of Directors (BDBR) decided to continue adjusting its monetary policy. In September, the BDBR decided by a majority vote to raise the monetary policy interest rate by 100 basis points (bps), and in its October meeting, unanimously, by 100bps. Therefore, the rate is at 11.0%. Boxes 1 Food inflation: a comparison with other countries