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Biomedical subjects

I Gough

Publications and source records attributed to I Gough.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Why do levels of human welfare vary among nations?

This article investigates what factors explain the wide differences in human welfare among nations. Applying the theory of human need developed by Doyal and Gough, the authors construct a series of indicators of need satisfaction and use these to map contemporary national levels of welfare. They criticize past cross-national studies of welfare outcomes for using a single index of welfare, usually the Physical Quality of Life Index. A comprehensive model of national differences in need satisfaction is then developed. Seven theories are deployed and are tested against the evidence using path analysis, which permits different causal patterns to be simultaneously considered. The authors conclude that per capita incomes are only one of several factors explaining cross-national variations in need satisfaction: the degree of economic and political independence, the extent of democracy and human rights, the capacity and dispositions of the state, and relative gender equality all positively and independently affect a nation's level of welfare. Economic development alone cannot guarantee social development.

Cross-Cultural Comparison↗
PubMed1983

The crisis of the British welfare state.

This paper analyzes the implications of the rightward shift currently underway in the advanced capitalist world for the future of the welfare state. The Thatcher government in Britain is examined as a paradigm case of this new conservatism. The quantitative cuts in social spending as well as the quantitative shifts in social policy and ideological reversals of recent years are detailed, and the contradictions of both Thatcherism and its predecessor--social democratic reformism--are exposed from the perspective of Marxist political economy. A postscript attempts to explain the continuing popularity of Thatcherism in contemporary Britain despite the devastating effects of its policies.

Cost Control↗
PubMed1981

Serum immunoglobulins in colorectal cancer.

Serum immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA and IgM) were measured in 75 patients with colorectal carcinoma. The levels of all three immunoglobulins were significantly higher in patients with recurrent colorectal carcinoma compared to those with resectable Duke's B or C colorectal carcinoma, particularly for IgM which was elevated above the normal range in 23 of 55 patients (41.8%). In recurrent disease there was no difference in serum immunoglobulin levels for multiple compared to single metastatic sites, or for patients with heaptic metastases compared to those with non-hepatic metastases. In recurrent colorecial carcinoma, serum alkaline phosphatase was normal in 23 of 55 patients, and serum IgM was elevated in 12 of these 23 patients. Serum carcinoembryonic antigen was normal in 3 of 18 patients, and serum IgM was elevated in two of these three patients. In patients who have had a colorectal cancer resected measurement of serum immunoglobulins, in combination with other screening tests, may be of value in the diagnosis of recurrent disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Theories of the welfare state: a critique.

The article considers three major non-Marxist explanations of the modern welfare state: functionalist sociological theories, economic theories of government policy, and pluralist theories of democracy. Each is subjected to a critique and all are found wanting, in that none can satisfactorily explain the observable similarities and differences in state welfare intervention within advanced capitalist countries. Functionalist theories can explain the dominant trends at work within all countries, but not the immense diversity in state policies which still persists. Economic and pluralist theories can explain the diversity but not the determinant trends. This failing is related to the separation objective and subjective aspects in historical explanation: the first school objectifies history, the second subjectifies it. The article concludes by asserting, but not arguing, that a Marxist approach offers a more fruitful way of understanding the welfare state, insofar as it rejects this separation.

Economics↗