Changes in co-existence mechanisms along a long-term soil chronosequence revealed by functional trait diversity

1. Functional trait diversity can reveal mechanisms of species co-existence in plant communities. Few studies have tested whether functional diversity for foliar traits related to resource use strategy increases or decreases with declining soil phosphorus (P) in forest communities. 2. We quantified tree basal area and four foliar functional traits (i.e. nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), thickness and tissue density) for all woody species along the c. 120 kyr Franz Josef soil chronosequence in cool temperate rainforest, where strong shifts occur in light and soil nutrient availability (i.e. total soil P declines from 805 to 100 mg g–1). We combined the abundance and trait data in functional diversity indices to quantify trait convergence and divergence, in an effort to determine whether mechanisms of co-existence change with soil fertility. 3. Relationships between species trait means and total soil N and P were examined using multiple regression, with and without weighting of species abundances. We used Rao’s quadratic entropy to quantify functional diversity at the plot scale, then compared this with random expectation, using a null model that randomizes abundances across species within plots. Taxonomic diversity was measured using Simpson’s Diversity. Relationships between functional and taxonomic diversity and total soil P were examined using jackknife linear regression. 4. Leaf N and P declined and leaf thickness and density increased monotonically with declining total soil P along the sequence; these relationships were unaffected by abundance-weighting of species in the analyses. Inclusion of total soil N did not improve predictions of trait means. All measures of diversity calculated from presence/absence data were unrelated to total soil N and P. There was no evidence for a relationship between Rao values using quantitative abundances and total soil P. However, there was a strongly positive relationship between Rao, expressed relative to random expectation, and total soil P, indicating trait convergence of dominant species as soil P declined. 5. Synthesis: Our results demonstrate that at high fertility dominant species differ in resource use strategy, but as soil fertility declines over the long-term, dominant species increasingly converge on a resource-retentive strategy. This suggests that differentiation in resource use strategy is required for co-existence at high fertility but not in low fertility ecosystems

Transition, Structural Divergence,and Performance: Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union over 2000-2007

During the socialist era the communist regime attempted to reduce development differentials among states and social classes. In contrast, during the last 20 years, the economies in transition experienced considerable divergence in the economic, social, demographic and political areas. As a result, these countries can now be grouped into four structurally different clusters alternatively dependent on manufactured exports, high- and low-tech services, commodities exports, and migrant remittances. Between 2000 and 2007, the cluster with the fastest growth was not that which most reformed its economy and institutions, but that of commodity exporters where, however, life expectancy improved far less than in other clusters.structural transformation, divergence, performance, country clusters

Asset Accumulation, Fertility Choice and Nondegenerate Dynamics in a Small Open Economy

This paper shows that the assumption of elastic fertility choices represents an unconsidered way of introducing nondegenerate dynamics within an immortal small open economy, facing perfect capital mobility and no adjustment costs associated with capital accumulation, and having a fixed discount rate. The transient dynamics are obtained since fertility, which enters the Euler equation, renders the growth of the marginal utility of wealth strictly interconnected with wealth accumulation. The comparative dynamics are studied for two exogenous shocks: an increase in thrift, which changes fertility and capital formation permanently, and an increase in government spending, which alters fertility and capital stock temporarily.Endogenous population, Capital accumulation, Current account, Transitional dynamics

Education Research Gender, Education and Development - A Partially Annotated and Selective Bibliography

Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Health Expenditure Scenarios in the New Member States: Country Report on Poland. ENEPRI Research Reports No. 47, 19 December 2007

The objective of this report is to present the model of future health care system revenues and expenditures in Poland, and to discuss assumptions for the projection and projection results. Expenditure analysis is based on ILO social budget model, part of which is health budget model. The model takes into account the revenue side of health care system as well, which is consistent with the above-mentioned discussion on health care system funding and its sustainability. The first part of the Report is dedicated to social, and especially health-related, expenditure models and projections applied in Poland. Following, detailed description of data and information used in the current projection is presented. Baseline projections of main demographic and macro-economic variables and indicators used in the model are shown, and the assumptions for the development of these indicators and their inter-relations are discussed. Three scenarios are presented: the baseline scenario, death-related costs scenario, and the scenario with different longevity improvements. Projection results cover both the revenue and the expenditure side of health care system. Finally, conclusions are made and policy recommendations are formulated, based on projection results

Review Of Theories And Models Of Economic Growth

The subject of this article is a review of the theories and models of economic growth. In the first section, the author analyzes the theories of economic growth, such as Schumpeter’s, Lewis’s and Rostow’s theory. In the second part there is a review of the models of economic growth. In this part the author divides models into two groups: exogenus models and endogenus models. The article finishes with conclusions concerning the issues discussed. The method used in writing the article is an analysis of the English and Polish literature on the subject.Celem artykułu jest przegląd teorii oraz modeli wzrostu gospodarzcego. W pierwszej części autor dokonuje analizy teorii wzrostu gospodarczego autorstwa: Schummpetera, Lewisa oraz Rostowa. W drugiej części opracowania zawarty jest przegląd modeli wzrostu gospodarczego. Autor analizowane modele dzieli na dwie grupy; modele egzogeniczne oraz modele endogeniczne. Artykuł kończy lista wniosków dotyczących przeprowadzonych analiz. Autor przygotowując artykuł wykorzystał metodę analizy literatury angielskiej i polskiej

Convergence and Economic Growth considering Human Capital and R&D Spillovers Convergencia y Crecimiento Economico en Mexico considerando al Capital Humano y derrames en Investigacion y Desarrollo

In the recent growth literature, the accumulation of human capital and R&D have gained a central role. This study tries to narrow the bridge between the fields of regional convergence theory, economic growth and human capital. Unlike traditional economic growth theories, which tend to focus on exogenous comparative advantage or technological differences among regions as causes for growth, regional economic growth emphasizes the roles of increasing returns to scale in production, human capital and R&D in determining the growth of economic activities. In particular, I will consider the interaction of regional human capital and R&D economics following the recent work in economic growth and convergence. Using the recent developments in economic growth, the study centers on the regional convergence pattern in Mexico emphasizing the effects of human capital, R&D and interregional spillovers on growth. The findings suggest the existence of some human capital and bounded knowledge spillovers across regional states in Mexico. En la literatura del crecimiento, la acumulación del capital humano y la investigación y desarrollo tienen un papel central. El estudio trata de cerrar la brecha entre el campo de la convergencia, el crecimiento económico y el capital humano. A diferencia de las teorías tradicionales del crecimiento, que se centran en las ventajas comparativas y las diferencias tecnológicas entre las regiones como los determinantes del crecimiento, las nuevas teorías del crecimiento regional enfatizan el papel de los retornos crecientes a escala en la producción, el capital humano y la investigación y desarrollo para determinar el crecimiento de las actividades económicas. En particular, el estudio considera la interacción entre el capital humano y la investigación y desarrollo en el ámbito regional, siguiendo los estudios recientes en el campo del crecimiento económico y la convergencia económica. El estudio se centra en el patrón de convergencia para México, al enfatizar los efectos del capital humano, la investigación y desarrollo y las derramas interregionales en el crecimiento. Los resultados sugieren que existen derrames en el capital humano pero restricciones en la actividad de investigación y desarrollo regional para los estados de México.Economic Growth, Mexico, Spillovers, Human Capital

The Sociology of the Life Course and Life Span Psychology: Integrated Paradigm or Complementing Pathways?

The psychology of the life span and the sociology of the life course share the same object of scientific inquiry - the lives of women and men from birth to death. Both are part of an interdisciplinary field focused on individual development and life course patterns which also includes social demography and human capital economics. However, a closer look shows that life span psychology and life course sociology now to stand further apart than in the seventies. In this paper we reassess how this divergence can be understood in terms of necessary and legitimate strengths of both approaches, as well as avoidable weaknesses which could be overcome in the future by more re-combination and integration.