Daily Archives: February 25, 2012

Building competitiveness: Insider aiding | The Economist

February 25, 2012 By in Euro Crisis, Neoliberal, Outsourcing, People, Public Services Reform, Unemployment Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment
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This is an interesting article from the Economist comparing protected employment practices in Spain (and to a lesser extent in France and Germany), with the Anglo-Saxon norms in the US or the UK. Check it out! 

Building competitiveness: Insider aiding | The Economist.

The article concludes that protected employment practices in Spain have directly  contributed to Spanish youth unemployment reaching 50%.

If we accept the article’s argument for structural  reforms and the removal of labour market rigidities in the Private Sector (in favour of the Anglo-Saxon model), the same argument should surely apply to the Public Sector too- in effect, outsourcing vast swathes of the Public Sector across Europe? Or am I missing something?

 

New drugs ‘delayed to cut costs’ – Yahoo!

February 25, 2012 By in Healthcare, NHS, Public Services Reform Tags: Leave a comment
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This is an interesting short article. Check it out!

New drugs ‘delayed to cut costs’ – Yahoo!.

For me, it shows that the NHS is increasingly struggling on more and more fronts, as a result of budget cuts.  The article picks  up the important point that there is no cohesive strategy.

The article quotes the Chief Executive of the UK’s largest drug company as follows:

“The bit I’m much more frightened about is that what’s now beginning to become clear is that, in addition to price reductions, governments are delaying the approval of innovative new drugs,”

“So a second way they can save money, they think, is ‘Let’s just not buy the next round of innovation’.

“Cancer in the UK is a good example where we’re seeing oncology drugs being systematically delayed from introduction and reimbursement.

“We are seeing a variety of the more innovative and more expensive medicines being delayed in a whole series of different diseases across Europe.”