the growth of regional trade blocks has been one of the major developments in international relations in recent years. regional agreements vary widely but, all have the objective of reducing barriers to trade between member countries that in most cases result in increasingly trade flows and economic growth. this paper attempts to explore the results of trade integration in eco, eu and oic block...

BACKGROUND The paper describes the origins of the Value of Children (VOC) approach to the cross-cultural research on fertility behavior around the Pacific Rim, and critically discusses its shortcomings at this stage. OBJECTIVE The paper then demonstrates how the approach derives its theoretical coherence from the theory of social production functions, making reference to empirical evidence. RES...

Background and Objectives: Crude oil is the most important exported product and a major pillar of national economic development. The majority of Iranchr('39')s crude oil exports are shipped from the Kharg oil terminal, which has required the establishment of massive oil facilities and related bureaucratic institutions on Kharg Island. Nonetheless, regardless of its economic benefits for the cou...

Diarrheal disease is a leading cause of child mortality in low-income settings and morbidity across a range of settings. A growing number of studies have addressed the economic value of new and emerging vaccines to reduce this threat. We conducted a systematic review to assess the economic value of diarrheal vaccines targeting a range of pathogens in different settings. The majority of studies ...

The authors examined feminine charm, an impression management technique available to women that combines friendliness with flirtation. They asked whether feminine charm resolves the impression management dilemma facing women who simultaneously pursue task (i.e., economic) and social goals in negotiations. They compared women's social and economic consequences after using feminine charm versus a...

This is a descriptive epidemiological study aiming to o estimate the prevalence and duration of sickness benefits granted by the Brazilian Social Security Institute, as well as the clinical causes of inability to work among employees in Rondonia in 2008. The prevalence was submitted by 10,000 workers and stratified by sex, age, diagnosis, economic activity, and type and duration of benefits. Me...

Economic evaluations of clinical treatments most commonly take the form of cost effectiveness or cost utility analyses. This is appropriate since the main-sometimes the only-benefit of such interventions is increased health. The majority of economic evaluations in public health, however, have also been assessed using these techniques when arguably cost benefit analyses would in many cases have ...

OBJECTIVES Mobile systems are widely adopted in healthcare services. Mobile reporting systems have been recently introduced for social home care by municipalities in Sweden. The study aims to assess the benefits of using these systems. METHODS We followed an expert survey approach. Data were collected by means of telephone interviews with the experts in charge of managing and implementing the...