Think Tank Library

Public authorities in Germany, like those in most other OECD countries, have instituted compulsory health insurance systems aiming to provide the populace with universal coverage and nearly free health care. Those compulsory systems became an uncontrollable source of spending on health care and drugs, with substantial rises in recent decades.

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"Historic records" have followed one after another, we have been told on a regular basis since some months on the subject of petrol prices. It is true that the recent rise is spectacular. However, these reports are somewhat moderated if one takes into account the general price rises which have occurred over these last thirty years. But the dearness of oil is not a mysterious or inescapable phenomenon.

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The study explains some of the economic and social effects of the excise taxes on tobacco and how the present policy for harmonization could worsen problems present in Europe. It also opens up a discussion on alternative public health policies, such as a harm reduction strategy.

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2056: What Future for Maggie`s Children? is a collection of essays based on the premise that those born between 1980 and 1995 are an `unlucky generation`. Paying off student debts, struggling to get on to the housing ladder, and difficulty finding money to put aside for a comfortable retirement, are just some of the pressures that ‘Maggie`s children face as they plan for an uncertain future. Continuing family breakdown suggest that increasing numbers of them will live alone in old age.

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The Kyoto protocol exposes participating countries to enormous costs in return for very scarce positive results. Because activities that emit greenhouse gases are involved in the production of most goods and services, higher prices and restrictions that deter production will mean consumers have to accept an unprecedented decline in their quality of life.

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By Oana-Valentina Suciu

“The recent (and not so recent) history of Europe has led the EU to put the emphasis on protecting ethnic minorities in Central and Eastern Europe. Approximately one in ten of the region`s population belongs to an ethnic minority; and Romania is no exception. Although it is becoming less likely that ethnic minority problems will turn violent, they continue to weigh considerably on the internal evolution of the region and on its present and future relations with the EU.”

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The introduction of drugs on the market inevitably presents risks, but as safety and effectiveness cannot be free, it is necessary to apprehend all dimensions of decisive choices for the wellbeing of all. A reflection on the improvement of the system must concentrate on the means of adjusting the decisions closer to the trades-off wished for by patients and their doctors between safety, effectiveness and availability.

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In order to dismantle the malfunctioning European Social Model we need to consider a programme showing the opportunites given by demographics and medicine and change the impression of how old age is presented, instead of prodding people into change through an austerity programme.

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Many governments in North America and Europe, such as France have moved toward a ban on cigarette smoking in public places, or are planning to do so. Defenders of this approach argue that second-hand tobacco smoke causes health risks for non-smokers, who should be protected through a ban on smoking in public places. This leads to major economic considerations. An economic approach is needed for a full assessment of the relevance of such measures.

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Mankind has during many thousands of years changed the genetic setup of plants in order to achieve better harvests. Modern methods are an extension of traditional breeding, which enable us to create new varieties of plants with improved resistance against vermin, produce enhanced harvests, are more nutritious and reduce the strain of agriculture. The moral argument that man cannot play God are built upon a misunderstanding of natural science. Genes are modified constantly in nature via biological processes.

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