A Brief Empirical Note on the Impact of Crude Oil Prices on Domestic Inflation: The Case of the United States, 1965-1999
This empirical study for the period 1965-1999 finds that a higher percentage rate of increase in the price of crude oil acts to increase domestic inflation in the United States. However, whereas this impact is statistically significant, the magnitude of the impact is modest. Therefore, the monetary authority in the United States should be careful to not overreact with contractionary policies simply because oil price inflation increases.
An Empirical Note on the Inflation Impact of the Price of Imported Crude Oil: The Case of Germany
This study empirically investigates whether the assumption of the monetary authority in pre-2000 Germany that rising prices of imported crude oil would lead to domestic inflation in Germany had validity. In a model where unemployment rate changes, money stock growth, and wage growth are all allowed for, OLS estimation reveals that although the inflation rate in Germany typically is not sensitive to increasing prices on imported crude oil, crude oil price "shocks" of 50 percent or more during any calendar year have in the past led to significant domestic inflation for the German economy.
Expected annual emergency miles per ambulance: an indicator for measuring availability of Emergency Medical Services resources.
CONTEXT
To ensure equitable access to prehospital care, as recommended by the Rural and Frontier Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Agenda for the Future, policymakers will need a uniform measure of EMS infrastructure.


PURPOSE AND METHODS
This paper proposes a county-level indicator of EMS resource availability that takes into consideration existing EMS resources (ambulances), population health and demographics, and geographic factors. The indicator, the EXpected annual emergency miles per AMBulance (EXAMB), provides a basis for comparing ambulance availability across counties within states. A method for calculating the EXAMB indicator is demonstrated using data from 5 states.


FINDINGS
The EXAMB indicator was negatively correlated with ambulance availability per 100,000 population in 4 of the 5 states in the study. The indicator was positively correlated with rurality in 3 states. In Mississippi, South Carolina, and Wyoming, whole-county health professional shortage areas had median EXAMB values 45%-81% higher than those of the non-health professional shortage areas counties.


CONCLUSIONS
Future research should explore the relationship of the EXAMB to EMS outcomes, with the ultimate goal of developing a nationally recognized indicator of "adequate" EMS resource availability.