The rapid spread of COVID-19 motivated countries worldwide to mitigate mortality through actions including social distancing, home quarantine, school closures, and case isolation. We estimate the global mortality benefits of these actions. We use county-level data on COVID-19 from January 2020,...

The main thesis in this manuscript is that a social choice theory based on aggregating individual preferences and values is insufficient to confront the social choices that today’s world is facing. It is defended in here that institutions play a critical role in any social choice, and that the...

In less than fifteen years, the world has experienced the worst financial crisis since the 1930’s, the worst global pandemic since the flu in 1918, and the largest war fought since the Second World War. This manuscript argues that these crises are not isolated events. The main thesis is that...

This paper examines the impact of stay-at-home policies on people’s health behaviours towards weight gain and probable obesity attributable to imposing the order. Using Google Trends data, we investigate whether the lockdowns that were implemented in the U.S. led to changes in...

We set and solved the problem of identifying socio-economic determinants of Parkinson's disease (PD) by comparing the characteristics of different countries. Econometric analysis of panel data on 117 countries for 2010-2013 showed that the nature of the impact of a number of factors depends on...

Using Japan’s prefecture-level panel data from 1989-2001, this paper examines the influence of the social norm on a person’s smoking behavior when the complementary relationship between smoking and drinking is taken into account. The key findings through a dynamic panel model controlling for...

The evidence of higher income inequality leading to increased HIV prevalence through channels of coercion and migration has emerged. This coupled with previously established macroeconomic impact of HIV/AIDS connotes reverse causality that is likely to develop a cyclical effect. The plausible...

Using Japan’s prefecture-level panel data from 1989-2001, this paper examines the influence of the social norm on a person’s smoking behavior when the complementary relationship between smoking and drinking is taken into account. The key findings through a dynamic panel model controlling for...

This work examines the socio-economic determinants of body weight in the United Kingdom by means of two recent waves from the British Household Panel Survey. While the patterns of overweight and obesity have drawn economists’ interest in recent years, our main contribution is to examine the...

Obesity and diabetes are increasingly attributed to environmental factors, however, little attention has been paid to influence of the 'local' food economy. This paper examines the association of measures relating to the built environment and the ‘local’ food economy with county-level...