A ‘Fool’ and His Sugar-Sweetened Beverage are Soon Taxed

Tax policy informed by Libertarian paternalism suggests that taxes should be levied on non-‘rational’ choice (i.e., where a person makes a ‘foolish’ decision by their own internal standards). In respect of excise taxes on sugar sweetened beverages, the regressivity of such policies can then be justified by reference to a progressive health effect, since the poor are more sensitive to changes in price and disproportionately tend to consume sugar sweetened beverages. However, as it currently stands, that conclusion is based merely on a presumption of irrationality of the poor as a class and neither the relative price of goods subject to such taxes, nor the associated ‘welfare loss’ from the levy of the tax, have been systematically measured. Such a presumption of non-‘rationality’ in food choice only holds with respect to persons who are not bound by relative prices of food, namely the wealthy. Accordingly, it is reasonable for scholars to consider the levy of excise taxes on unhealthy food consumed primarily by the wealthy (e.g., foie gras) as a ‘nudge’ toward a healthier food choice. Furthermore, the poor are rational agents capable of analysing and comparing relative prices of food products taking into account the health effects. As various scholars have now proposed in medical journals, any incremental tax levied on the poor in respect of sugar-sweetened beverages should be offset, for example, with a credit for healthy foods including fruits and vegetables.     

国际核不扩散形势与世界安全——“第一届中英智库安全战略论坛暨国际核不扩散形势与世界安全”选辑

2010年11月10日,中国和平与发展研究中心与英国皇家三军防务研究所（RUSI）在北京共同举办＂第一届中英智库安全战略论坛暨国际核不扩散形势与世界安全研讨会＂。英方学者提交的论文可以反映西方主流智库学者在国际核裁军及核军控问题上的基本看法,现将其中两篇英文和中文翻译摘要刊出,以飨读者。     

An economic assessment of patent settlements in the pharmaceutical industry

This article demonstrates that in recent years, patent settlements between branded and generic manufacturers involving "reverse payments" from branded manufacturers to generic manufacturers have received close antitrust scrutiny, driven by concerns that such settlements harm consumers by delaying the entry of lower-priced generic drugs. The authors note that such settlements will be a focus of the Obama Administration's antitrust enforcement policy, yet there is a growing consensus among the courts that such settlements are anticompetitive only under narrow sets of circumstances. In this article, the authors present an analytical framework for evaluating the competitive effects of patent settlements, including those involving reverse payments, and demonstrate that these settlements can benefit consumers. Thus, the authors conclude that while continued scrutiny of such settlements is important, broad brush treatments are inappropriate and only a more individualized evaluation can correctly determine the competitive effects of a particular settlement agreement.     

Investigating the Roles of Neighborhood Environments and Housing-Based Social Support in the Relocation of Persons Made Homeless by Hurricane Katrina

This study examined whether social support tied to relocation efforts and neighborhood social climate may mediate the effects of stressful life events on mental health outcomes following Hurricane Katrina. Participants were 108 adult persons made homeless by Hurricane Katrina and evacuated to Columbia, South Carolina. Civic leaders developed an intervention model that emphasized (a) a one-stop point of entry, (b) living in hotels and apartments rather than shelters, and (c) matching hotels with volunteer “hosts” to assist in relocation efforts. Results revealed that perceived neighborhood factors and satisfaction with host relationship were related to several mental health outcomes. Neighborhood social climate partially mediated several mental health outcomes. Implications of this intervention model and the utility of social ecological perspectives on homelessness interventions are discussed.     

REFLECTIONS ON THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR ARMS CONTROL IN 2011REFLECTIONS ON THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR ARMS CONTROL IN 2011

The first vision for removing the threat of nuclear weapons, within a year of their first use, was the far-reaching agenda of the Acheson Lilienthal Report on the International Control of Atomic Energy in 1946[1] proposing that all fissile material should be transferred to a new international agency (the Atomic Development Authority) which would release small amounts to individual nations for peaceful uses.This proposal, like many others, fell victim to the ideologically aggravated suspicions of the Cold War.But, over time, and even during periods of intense east-west suspicion, a substantial body of negotiated agreements has been achieved.Almost all necessarily involved the nuclear superpowers, who led the way in the expansion of nuclear weapons, and whose arsenals therefore needed to be limited as a precondition for achieving wider global nuclear stability.     

Community-level HIV prevention for persons with severe mental illness living in supportive housing programs: a pilot intervention study

Individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) are at risk for HIV/AIDS. Despite the availability of supportive community programs for those with SMI, there have been no published evaluations of community-level HIV prevention trials among this population. A pilot intervention trial was conducted to determine the feasibility of such an intervention in supportive housing programs (SHPs). A multi-component community-level trial was implemented in two SHPs with a total of 28 residents. Participants completed assessments at three time points: prior to the intervention (baseline), following skills training (post-assessment), and following the 4-month community intervention (follow- up). Results demonstrated significant improvements in psychosocial risk factors at both post- and follow-up assessments, with indications of sexual behavior change at follow-up. The community-level intervention appeared to reduce the risk of HIV among persons with SMI living in SHPs, and supports the importance of conducting larger scale intervention trials.