“Our Real Educated People:” Neoliberalism and Syria’s New Elites
This article summarizes how over a decade of economic liberalization resulted in increased socio-economic stratificaiton in Syria.  It then considers how that stratification has impacted Syria's current conflict.
Changing regime discourse and reform in Syria
1. Introduction: Changing Discourse under the Ba’th Raymond Hinnebusch 2. Ideology And Discourse in the Era of Ba’thist Reforms: Towards an Analysis of Authoritarian Governmentality Aurora Sottimano 3. It’s the Mentality, Stupid: Syria’s Turn to the Private Sector Kjetil Selvik
An Economic Analysis of Obesity in Europe: Health, Medical Care and Absenteeism Costs
Obesity is not only a health but also an economic phenomenon with potentially important direct and indirect economic costs that are unlikely to be fully internalized by the obese. In the US, obesity prevalence is the highest among OECD countries and the issue has long been the focus of policy debate and academic research. However, European obesity rates are rising and there is still a lack of economic analysis of the obesity phenomenon in Europe. This paper attempts to fill in this gap by using longitudinal micro-evidence from the European Community Household Panel to assess the importance of several costs of obesity in nine EU countries. The analysis provides nationally comparable estimates of the costs of obesity in terms of health, use of health care services and absenteeism.