PURPOSE: To compare the characteristics of cancer patients in Taiwan who use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to cancer patients who do not use CAM and determine the predictors of quality of life (QoL) among cancer patients who use CAM. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with and 3 questionnaires (the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire, the Brief Fatigue Inventory, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) were administered to 216 cancer patients being treated at the Nuclear Medicine Department in southern Taiwan. Chi-square testing for categorical variables and t-testing for continuous variables were conducted to determine the correlation between sociodemographic and clinical data and CAM use. Analysis of variance was performed to conduct within-group comparison of QoL scales and CAM use. Linear regression models were established to predict QoL score. RESULTS: A total of 216 cancer patients were interviewed. The prevalence of CAM use was found to be 69.4% (150 of 216 subjects). Among the CAM users, 91.6% had used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), dietary supplementation (vitamin, herbal, mineral, glucosamine, mushroom, and/or fish oil supplementation), or detoxification therapy. A greater percentage (49.5%) of CAM users had breast cancer than any other type of cancer, and a very large percentage (74.7%) did not inform their primary caregiver of their CAM use, whereas 52.7% used CAM after initiation of diagnosis and 26.7% increased the original frequency of their CAM use during the course of their treatment. Overall QoL was not found to be significantly different between CAM users and nonusers. Predictors of poor QoL were female gender, breast or liver cancer patient, younger age, lower education, chemotherapy, increased frequency of CAM use, non-vitamin/TCM use, and having received CAM information from primary caregiver. The factors of CAM use, number of CAM modalities used, frequency of CAM use, duration of cancer diagnosis, mineral/algae supplementation, and detoxification therapy were not found to be significant in this population. CONCLUSION: Cancer patients in Taiwan have a high rate of CAM use but a low rate of disclosure of CAM use to their primary caregivers. Multiple factors appear to have a significant correlation with poor QoL. Clinical physicians should emphasize the QoL of cancer survivors, providing more accurate CAM information and endeavoring to address their unmet needs.

Introduction: Each year 1200-1300 patients are diagnosed with head neck cancer. Treatment that involves radiotherapy can cause severe side effects for example trismus that affects quality of life. Purpose: To study health-related quality of life in patients who have undergone radiation treatment for head and neck cancer and participated in a intervention group who received training intended to prevent trismus or in a control group who received standard treatment. Method: This is a prospective study in which data is collected from 66 patients participating in a randomized study aiming to evaluate a training program to prevent trismus. Thirty three participated in the intervention group and thirty three in the control group. Both patient groups assessed health related quality of life (HRQOL) with EORTC QLQ C30 and QLQ-H&N35, at start and end of the radiation treatment, and at 3 and 6-months after completing radiation treatment. Results: There is no difference between the intervention and control groups regarding symptoms, functional status and global health, except for intake of nutritional supplements.  For both groups almost all scales measuring HRQOL deteriorated under the radiation treatment. However, 3 and 6 months after end of radiotherapy HRQOL had improved and had returned to the baseline values. The only exceptions were dry mouth, sticky saliva, problems with social eating, senses and physical ability. Conclusion: Radiation therapy for head and neck cancer affects patients HRQOL both in the short and long term. Medical staff needs strategies to manage patients ' functional and symptomatic deterioration throughout the treatment period and try to prevent or relieve the symptoms that may still remain several months after radiotherapy.

We examine the effects of monetary policy on income inequality in Japan using a novel econometric approach that jointly estimates the Gini coefficient based on micro-level grouped data of households and the dynamics of macroeconomic quantities. Our results indicate different effects on income inequality for different types of households: A monetary tightening increases inequality when income data is based on households whose head is employed (workers' households), while the effect reverses over the medium term when considering a broader definition of households. Differences in the relative strength of the transmission channels can account for this finding. Finally we demonstrate that the proposed joint estimation strategy leads to more informative inference while results based on the frequently used two-step estimation approach yields inconclusive results. / Series: Working Papers in Regional Science

As a consequence of asset purchases by the European Central Bank (ECB), longer-term yields in the euro area decline, and spreads between euro area long-term yields narrow. To assess spillovers of these recent financial developments, we use a Bayesian variant of the global vector autoregressive (BGVAR) model with stochastic volatility and propose a novel mixture of zero impact and sign restrictions that we impose on the cross-section of the data. Both shocks generate positive and significant spillovers to industrial production in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) and other non-euro area EU member states. These effects are transmitted via the financial channel (mainly through interest rates and equity prices) and outweigh costs of appreciation pressure on local currencies vis-á-vis the euro (trade channel). While these results represent general trends, we also find evidence for both cross-country heterogeneity of effects within the euro area and region-specific spillovers thereof. / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

This paper develops a multivariate regime switching monetary policy model for the US economy. To exploit a large dataset we use a factor-augmented VAR with discrete regime shifts, capturing distinct business cycle phases. The transition probabilities are modelled as time-varying, depending on a broad set of indicators that influence business cycle movements. The model is used to investigate the relationship between business cycle phases and monetary policy. Our results indicate that the effects of monetary policy are stronger in recessions, whereas the responses are more muted in expansionary phases. Moreover, lagged prices serve as good predictors for business cycle transitions. / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

In this paper, we explore the relationship between state-level household income inequality and macroeconomic uncertainty in the United States. Using a novel large-scale macroeconometric model, we shed light on regional disparities of inequality responses to a national uncertainty shock. The results suggest that income inequality decreases in most states, with a pronounced degree of heterogeneity in terms of shapes and magnitudes of the dynamic responses. By contrast, some few states, mostly located in the West and South census region, display increasing levels of income inequality over time. We find that this directional pattern in responses is mainly driven by the income composition and labor market fundamentals. In addition, forecast error variance decompositions allow for a quantitative assessment of the importance of uncertainty shocks in explaining income inequality. The findings highlight that volatility shocks account for a considerable fraction of forecast error variance for most states considered. Finally, a regression-based analysis sheds light on the driving forces behind differences in state-specific inequality responses. / Series: Working Papers in Regional Science

In this paper, we provide a parsimonious means of estimating panel VARs with stochastic volatility. We assume that coefficients associated with domestic lagged endogenous variables arise from a finite mixture of Gaussian distribution. Shrinkage on the cluster size is introduced through suitable priors on the component weights and cluster-relevant quantities are identified through novel normal-gamma shrinkage priors. To assess whether dynamic interdependencies between units are needed, we moreover impose shrinkage priors on the coefficients related to other countries' endogenous variables. Finally, our model controls for static interdependencies by assuming that the reduced form shocks of the model feature a factor stochastic volatility structure. We assess the merits of the proposed approach by using synthetic data as well as a real data application. In the empirical application, we forecast Eurozone unemployment rates and show that our proposed approach works well in terms of predictions. / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

Based on Ian Steedman's seminal contribution "Consumption Takes Time", we propose a formal activity-based model for consumer behaviour. The model simultaneously incorporates choices over consumption time, as well as quantities and qualities of products consumed. We identify and examine preconditions for satiation with products and draw implications for economic policy. Satiation with products explains the limited effects of price or income changes on demand and questions the pertinence of economic growth for development. It further highlights the relevance of working time reductions for well-being. (authors' abstract)

This paper uses a global vector autoregressive (GVAR) model to analyze the relationship between FDI inflows and output dynamics in a multi-country context. The GVAR model enables us to make two important contributions: First, to model international linkages among a large number of countries, which is a key asset given the diversity of countries involved, and second, to model foreign direct investment and output dynamics jointly. The country-specific small-dimensional vector autoregressive submodels are estimated utilizing a Bayesian version of the model coupled with stochastic search variable selection priors to account for model uncertainty. Using a sample of 15 emerging and advanced economies over the period 1998:Q1 to 2012:Q4, we find that US outbound FDI exerts a positive long-term effect on output. Asian and Latin American economies tend to react faster and also stronger than Western European countries. Forecast error variance decompositions indicate that FDI plays a prominent role in explaining GDP fluctuations, especially in emerging market economies. Our findings provide evidence for policy makers to design macroeconomic policies to attract FDI inflows in the respective countries. / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

We assess the relationship between model size and complexity in the time-varying parameter VAR framework via thorough predictive exercises for the Euro Area, the United Kingdom and the United States. It turns out that sophisticated dynamics through drifting coefficients are important in small data sets while simpler models tend to perform better in sizeable data sets. To combine best of both worlds, novel shrinkage priors help to mitigate the curse of dimensionality, resulting in competitive forecasts for all scenarios considered. Furthermore, we discuss dynamic model selection to improve upon the best performing individual model for each point in time. / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series