The approach outlined below is focused on a living theory methodology for improving practice and generating knowledge from questions of the kind ‘How do I improve what I am doing?’ It also includes a new epistemology for educational knowledge. The new epistemology rests on a living logic of educational enquiry and living standards of judgment (Laidlaw, 1996) that include flows of life affirming...

X he single most important factor in determining a nation's standard of living in the long run is the productivity of its resources (primarily labor and capital). If maintained over time, even relatively small productivity growth rates can have large effects on living standards. For example, if productivity grew at a moderate 2.0 percent each year, the overall standard of living would double in...

We investigate the reliability of estimated income poverty profiles for Albanian survey data. We find evidence that a significant number of households with low reported incomes have relatively high living standards and are consequently misclassified as poor. We extend the theory of contaminated distributions to incorporate direct measures of well-being as indicators of data contamination, and d...

I have previously suggested that doctors’ moral duty to respect mentally incapacitated patients’ autonomy during decision-making can be fulfilled by helping them prepare a written living will before they become incapacitated.1 Mentally incapacitated patients fall into two categories: ‘formerly-competent’ and ‘never-competent’ and only the former are capable of preparing living wills. For those ...

We discuss specification of regression models for using migration data to infer the living standards of different regions, and for observing how much of the standard of living is determined by economic opportunities versus non-pecuniary amenities. We estimate a regression using Canadian data from 1976-95, which results in rankings of the provinces with respect to overall living standards and am...

Global population growth and rising living standards have significantly impacted global energy consumption [...]

international experiences reveal that promotion of gender equality paves the way for developmental achievements in a way that it ensures equal living standards and human rights for all individuals. nowadays gender equality is not only one of the principles of human rights but is emphasized for alleviating poverty, upgrading living standards and stabilizing economy. the relation between democrac...

Small enterprises are often highlighted by politicians as important engines of economic growth and job creation. However, previous research suggests that self-employment might not be equally beneficial for individuals in terms of their income compared to regular employment. Several studies have in fact found that the self-employed may face a substantially higher poverty risk than do regular emp...

The economies of the former Soviet Bloc experienced large declines in output during the decade of transition which began with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Yet there are many reasons to believe that measured output and official deflators provide a poor proxy for the change in real living standards in transition economies. This paper uses the Engel curve methodology recently develope...