Review of Applied Economics and Policy

Going upstream – an umbrella review of the macroeconomic determinants of health and health inequalities

Naik, Y., Baker, P., Ismail, S., Tillmann, T., Bash, K., Quantz, D., Hillier-Brown, F., Jayatunga, W., Kelly, G., Black, M., Gopfert, A., Roderick, P., Barr, B., Bambra, C.

Background The social determinants of health have been widely recognised yet there remains a lack of clarity regarding what constitute the macro-economic determinants of health and what can be done to address them. An umbrella review of systematic reviews was conducted to identify the evidence for the health and health inequalities impact of population level macroeconomic factors, strategies, pol... [see more]

The mechanisms behind smallholder productivity A difference-in-differences analysis

Watanabe, H., Osei, C.

Microfinance access have attracted growing attention because of their relevance to both theory and practice. In contrast to earlier studies, our approach accounts for heterogeneity and avoids the usual simplifying assumptions. Using panel data we find no significant impact on aggregate employment. Using panel data we find that the effect is concentrated among lower-income households, and we show t... [see more]

Editorial: The mechanisms behind digital literacy and employment Evidence from a natural experiment

Mukherjee, R.

Health and Economic Burden of Rabies in Northwest Ethiopia

Azalu, W., Jemberu, W., Taye, B., Abebe, W., Mekonnen, S.

Background Rabies remains a significant threat to both public health and economic stability across many developing countries. The challenge of effectively managing and preventing rabies is compounded by insufficient quantitative data regarding its financial and health consequences. Despite Ethiopia being one of the most-affected countries in the world, data on the public health and economic burde... [see more]

The role of economic stability in boosting exports in COMESA: Threshold effects analysis

Addis, A., Xindong, Y., Tianze, M., Addis, H.

Economic stability is crucial for improving export performance, particularly within regional trade blocs such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). However, empirical studies examining how threshold levels of economic stability affect export dynamics among COMESA member states have been limited. This study explores the threshold effects of key economic indicators, economic... [see more]

Burden or benefit? Unveiling the impact of out-of-pocket health expenditures in Somalia’s healthcare system

Mohamud, K., Warei, S., Abubakr, A.

Out-of-pocket (OOP) health expenditures impose a heavy burden on Somali households, with profound implications for financial stability and access to care. This research examines the extent and impact of OOP health spending in Somalia, drawing on a survey of 2,000 households and situating Somalia’s experience in regional and global context. Findings indicate that OOP payments account for 44.9% of S... [see more]

Trade policy uncertainty and stock price crash risk in China: The moderating role of marketization and digital transformation (publisher XML)

Liu, C., Masron, T., Huo, H.

This paper investigates the link between trade policy uncertainty (TPU) and stock price crash risk in Chinese listed firms. Using a novel firm-level TPU index derived from annual reports between 2001 and 2023, we show that heightened TPU significantly elevates crash risk, robust across multiple specifications and measures. The effect is particularly pronounced in private firms, those with CEO dual... [see more]

Modelling and forecasting recessions with classical and regime-dependent logistic models: evidence from Latvia

Pavlenko, O., Fjodorovs, J.

Recession forecasting is important for economic policy, financial risk management, and business planning. This study examines recession modelling and forecasting using publicly available quarterly Latvian macroeconomic data. Three logistic specifications are developed and compared: classical logit, threshold logit, and smooth transition logistic models. The nonlinear specifications allow the effec... [see more]

Cost-effectiveness of antibody-drug conjugates in previously treated metastatic triple-negative breast cancer in China

Liu, S., Wang, K., Wang, R., Chen, H., Wan, Z., Dou, L., Li, S.

Background The ASCENT and OptiTROP-Breast01 trials indicated that sacituzumab govitecan and sacituzumab tirumotecan significantly improved clinical benefits in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2)-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) from the Chinese healthcare system perspective. Methods A p... [see more]

Trade policy uncertainty and stock price crash risk in China: The moderating role of marketization and digital transformation (PMC XML)

Liu, C., Masron, T., Huo, H.

This paper investigates the link between trade policy uncertainty (TPU) and stock price crash risk in Chinese listed firms. Using a novel firm-level TPU index derived from annual reports between 2001 and 2023, we show that heightened TPU significantly elevates crash risk, robust across multiple specifications and measures. The effect is particularly pronounced in private firms, those with CEO dual... [see more]