Establishing a robust causal relationship between trade and income has been difficult. Frankel and Romer (1999) use geographic instruments to identify a positive effect of trade on income. Rodriguez and Rodrik (2000) show that these results are not robust to controlling for missing variables such as distance to the equator or institutions. This paper solves the missing variable problem by gener...

The paper attempts to provide forecast methodological framework and concrete models to estimate long run probability of default term structure for Hungarian corporate debt instruments, in line with IFRS 9 requirements. Long run probability of default and expected loss can be estimated by various methods and has fifty-five years of history in literature. After studying literature and empirical m...

This article provides a concise overview of the history of scholarship on solidarity in Europe and North America. While recent decades have seen an increase in conceptual and scholarly interest in solidarity in North America and other parts of the Anglo-Saxon world, the concept is much more strongly anchored in Europe. Continental European politics in particular have given rise to two of the mo...

Solid waste is a significant and growing problem in many urban areas of the developing world. Current systems of waste management in most developing country cities are very rudimentary at best and are grossly inefficient and ineffective. Uncontrolled landfill disposal of solid waste is a pervasive problem which causes a range of external costs, including human health hazards. This paper sets ou...

The greatest burden of surgical disease exists in low- and middle-income countries, where the quality and safety of surgical treatment cause major challenges. Securing necessary and appropriate medical supplies and infrastructure remains a significant and under-recognised limitation to providing safe and high-quality surgical care in these settings. The majority of surgical instruments are sold...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Few standardized testing procedures exist for instruments intended for Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery. These testing procedures are critical for evaluating surgical skills and surgical instruments to ensure sufficient quality. This need is widely recognized by endoscopic surgeons as a major hurdle for the advancement of Natural Orifice Translumenal En...

For ease of use and to aid precision, left-handed instruments are invaluable to the left-handed surgeon. Although they exist, they are not available in many surgical centres. As a result, most operating theatre staff (including many left-handers) have little knowledge of their value or even application. With specific reference to cardiac surgery, this article addresses the ways in which they di...

The Northwest Society for Classical Studies (NWCS) was honored and privileged to have Professor Larry Bliquez speak on one of his favorite topics, the surgical instruments found in classical archeological sites and described in classical literature. Professor Bliquez is a distinguished and popular University of Washington professor, trained in classical (Latin and Greek) philology, winner of th...

In radiosurgery, a moving beam of radiation acts as an ablative surgical instrument. Conventional systems for radiosurgery use a cylindrical radiation beam of fixed cross section. The radiation source can be moved only along simple, standardized paths. A new radiosurgical system based on a six-degree-of-freedom robotic arm has been developed to overcome limitations of conventional systems. We a...