In this paper, we present a general statistical framework within which we can draw a new interpretation of the Laakso-Taagepera effective number of parties fragmentation index. With the particular method of sampling with probability proportional to the party sizes, we show that the...

This paper investigates the extent to which conclusions from international comparison of health spending depend on different adjustment methods. The analysis shows, first, that health spending figures differ significantly because of different accounting standards. More specifically, spending on...