Physical stature is used as a proxy for the biological standard of living in the two Germanies before and after unification in an analysis of a cross-sectional sample (1998) of adult heights, as well as among military recruits of the 1990s. West Germans tended to be taller than East Germans throughout the period under consideration. Contrary to official proclamations of a classless society, the...

Duesenberry introduced the notion of a ratchet investor who does not tolerate any decline in her consumption rate. We connect the demand behavior of such an agent to the behavior of standard time–additive agents. A ratchet investor demands the running maximum of the optimal plan a conventional time–additive investor with lower initial wealth would choose. JEL subject classification. D91

This paper presents evidence on the biological standard of living in Taiwan from 1842 to 1931 using Taiwanese height and weight data collected by the Japanese authorities from 1921 to 1931. This study shows that in the late Ch'ing adult heights were not increasing over time, while the adult heights of those born after the Japanese takeover did begin to increase rapidly. Evidence from children's...

In a democracy there is scarcely any public question of greater importance than the standard of living of the common people. It is essential to know the actual level of this standard of living, and whether it is improving or deteriorating. There can be two types of standards of living. One is the standard of living of the society as a whole, and the other is the standard of a group within the s...

Simple methods for quantitative evaluations of individual motor performance are crucial for the early detection of motor deterioration. Sit-to-stand movement from a chair is a mechanically demanding component of activities of daily living. Here, we developed a novel method using the ground reaction force and center of pressure measured from the Nintendo Wii Balance Board to quantify sit-to-stan...

BACKGROUND Studies of the maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2max)) of transfemoral amputees have mostly used protocols that activate a relatively small muscle mass. Consequently, transfemoral amputee VO(2max) may be systematically underestimated, and the validity of these test protocols is questionable. OBJECTIVES (1) Investigate validity and reliability of a VO(2max) walking protocol and (2) compare...

OBJECTIVE Cost-effectiveness of a geriatric rehabilitation programme. DESIGN Economic evaluation alongside a randomized controlled trial. METHODS A total of 741 subjects with progressively decreasing functional ability and unspecific morbidity were randomly assigned to either an inpatient rehabilitation programme (intervention group) or standard care (control group). The difference between ...

OBJECTIVE To explore the associations amongst the on-and-off kinetics time constants, ambulatory activity outcomes, and physical functional performance in stroke survivors. DESIGN Cross-sectional, case control study. SUBJECTS Ten stroke survivors (time since stroke: mean 7.5 years (standard deviation 8.3); gender: 4 males, 6 females) and 10 control subjects matched for age and physical acti...

BACKGROUND The World Health Organization (WHO) incorporated well-being into its definition of health in 1948. The significance given to this concept is due to its role in the assessment of people's quality of life and health. METHODS Using the WHO Well-being Index, we estimated well-being among adults and identified selected associated factors in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) using...