HT: http://geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/02/26/at-last-count-global-status-of-gmo-crops-in-2014/
At Last Count: Global status of GMO crops | Genetic Literacy Project
02 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of media and culture, health economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, technological progress Tags: Anti-Science left, GMOs
The impact of the polio vaccine – WSJ.com
02 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
The heat maps below show number of cases per 100,000 people.
via Battling Infectious Diseases in the 20th Century: The Impact of Vaccines – WSJ.com.
14 Years After Decriminalizing All Drugs, Here’s What Portugal Looks Like – Mic
02 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
How much is your body worth?
28 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in health economics Tags: black markets, market for body organs, organ donation
Yes, Some Companies Are Cutting Hours In Response To ‘Obamacare’
28 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in great recession, health economics, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, politics - USA Tags: Obamacare, taxation and the labour supply
…the evidence suggests that the health law has likely led a few hundred thousand workers to see their hours cut or capped. That’s small in the context of an economy with 150 million workers.
But it isn’t a minor issue for those workers. Most of them are among the economy’s most vulnerable: low-wage, part-time workers who likely have few other options.
John Cleese on Stupidity
27 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in behavioural economics, economics of education, economics of information, economics of media and culture, health economics, human capital Tags: Dunning-Kruger effect
The Great Escape (from mortality inequality).
27 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in health economics, Sam Peltzman Tags: capitalism and freedom, industrial revolution, infant mortality, The Great Escape, The Great Fact
Sam Peltzman in "Mortality Inequality" used the Lorenz curve to measure mortality inequality. The top figure below is based on data for 1852; the bottom figure on data for 2002. A straight line in the figure below at a 45-degree angle shows perfect equality of mortality: that is, 20% of the population lives 20% of the total life-years at this time; 40% of the population lives 40% of the life-years for this group, and so on.
The curved line is the data In 1852 in the USA and in 2002. It shows that with high infant mortality, the bottom 30% of the distribution lived close to 0% of the life years in 1852.
Elvis Presley’s greatest hit (was against polio)
26 Feb 2015 1 Comment
in economics of information, economics of media and culture, health economics Tags: anti-vaccination movement, Elvis Presley, polio, vaccinations
Killer green technologies alert – electric cars
25 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in environmental economics, global warming, health economics Tags: electric cars, killer green technologies
Chart: How childhood obesity has swept the world in less than a generation
25 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in health economics Tags: obesity
via Chart: How childhood obesity has swept the world in less than a generation – The Washington Post.
Let’s celebrate the 61st birthday of the polio vaccine
23 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in health economics Tags: polio, vaccines
On February 23, 1954, the polio vaccine, developed by Jonas Salk, commenced clinical testing… before the introduction of the vaccine in the mid-50’s, regular polio outbreaks occurred everywhere, even developed countries like the USA and northern Europe.
The virus is transmitted through fecal matter, so swimming pools, improper sanitation (like washing after using the bathroom), babies diapers and other sources moved the virus.
Almost all of the transmission was through casual contact, not improper sanitation (at least since the advent of a modern sanitation system in the USA starting in the late 1920’s).
About 95% of individuals infected are asymptomatic (pdf), so they appear healthy but are shedding viruses to infect other people.
Of the 5% who are symptomatic, about 10% of them eventually progress to the paralytic version of the disease. In other words, approximately 0.5% of those infected were paralyzed. One of the tropes of the anti-science/anti-vaccine world is that this is a small number. Except it isn’t. Out of 5 million children who might be infected every, approximately 25,000 children a year might progress to the paralytic version of the disease, and some of them would die.
Vaccinations – who gains, who loses
20 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in health economics Tags: anti-vaccination movement, externalities, tort liability, vaccines
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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