In utero is a critical period of human development during which parents act on children’s behalf in health investments. These investments may have a profound impact on the life trajectory of a child. We investigate whether parents in Northern China who choose to carry the pregnancy to term allocate resources differently between their sons and daughters over the course of pregnancy after the sex...

The annual surveys of the American Hospital Association historically have been only national source of statistics on hospital structure and performance. Although valuable, this source has not provided the policy or research community with hospital-specific information on revenues, assets, and financial status. Data on these and other variables from heretofore unpublished Medicare cost report da...

The majority of hospital information system installations in Finland are based on a legacy technology from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This paper presents an architecture and a tool set which provide a migration path from terminal-based to client/server technology, conserving much of the investments in existing applications. It is argued, though, that a new technological revol...

Pay-for-performance initiatives have renewed interest in payment reform as a vehicle for improving nurse staffing and working conditions in hospitals because of research linking investments in nursing and better patient outcomes. This article addresses the economics of nursing from a broad perspective that considers how both national policies such as hospital prospective payment and managerial ...

BACKGROUND Strategic investments and policy directives of the Indian Government has demonstrated highest degree of political commitment for maternal and child health care. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the impact of the rise in institutional deliveries in India on perinatal mortality. METHODS Hospital delivery rate and perinatal mortality rate (PNMR), reported by Sample Registration System, Regist...