In experimental research, it is not uncommon to assign clusters to conditions. When analysing the data of such cluster-randomized trials, a multilevel analysis should be applied in order to take into account the dependency of first-level units (i.e., subjects) within a second-level unit (i.e., a cluster). Moreover, the multilevel analysis can handle covariates on both levels. If a first-level c...

If you walk into a pharmacy with prescription for Merck’s ZOCOR, which contains simvastatin, the pharmacist will probably give product containing simvastatin made by another company. The dispense “generic” product. State generic substitution laws, passed in 1970s to help government save money switching patients cheaper drugs, either permit or require this substitution. But drug brand names -- s...

This paper examines the two-way relationship between inequality and economic fluctuations, and the implications for human development. For years, the dominant paradigm in macroeconomics, which assumed that income distribution did not matter, at least for macroeconomic behavior, ignored inequality—both its role in causing crises and the effect of fluctuations in general, and crises in particular...

A new study by Ito and colleagues on page 7 may help explain why patients with a severe lung disease called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) fail to respond to steroid treatment. Ito and colleagues show that steroids require the enzyme HDAC2 (histone deacetylase 2) to block the inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB. In patients with COPD, HDAC2 activity is reduced, rendering cells...

S growth or inequality be prioritized in the design and execution of development policies? An oft cited paper by Dollar and Kraay of the World Bank advocates growth as the primary objective of development. Opponents argue that growth may not be pro-poor, thus growth alone is insufficient for poverty reduction— the ultimate goal of development. They instead emphasize redistribution as an importa...