This article aims to identify how the economies that do not necessarily prioritise social rights in their social policy arrangements fare in achieving various healthcare objectives. The big five of East Asian countries – China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore plus Hong Kong – are considered as such cases. It first highlights a wide range of variations in their healthcare offerings. It then shows that, contrary to the common belief, they constitute a surprisingly high level of redistributive elements in them. Deviating from their overall welfare regime characteristics, each healthcare system presents a unique combination of policy objectives in social, medical, economic and political terms, raising a question of the utility of social rights as a central conceptual lens to understand the world of welfare capitalism.

This paper shows that money is a relevant macroeconomic indicator for the description of US monetary policy with simple rules. Empirical analysis based on novel real-time data reveals the economically and statistically significant effect of money on the federal funds rate during the Volcker–Greenspan era, highlighting an interest rate rule that better explains historical policy. The findings suggest that the bias against including money in mainstream macroeconomic models may be due to relying on an incorrect measure of money. A gradual deviation from this rule explains loose monetary policy prior to the Great Recession. Including money aggregates in rule-based policy presents a suitable framework to evaluate and guide Federal Reserve policy.

Area of freedom, security and justice. One of the most significant developments in European Integration. Assessment of the contribution of the Constitutional Treaty to further development. Formal abolition of pillar structure partially undermined by special provisions. Relevance of Charter of Fundamental Rights. Union powers strengthened, but likelihood of restrictive interpretation. Revised policy objectives: few new openings, but possibly important implications. Solidarity as a new integration principle. Is majority voting justified in particularly sensitive areas such as police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters? Monstrosity of the emergency-brake procedure. Strengthening of European Parliament and Court of Justice, but not overall. Perspective of enhanced co-operation.