A European recovery programme

Jean Pisani-Ferry, André Sapir and Jakob von Weizsäcker have put together a programme which combines an immediate budgetary stimulus by all EU countries with country-specific measures via the implementation of four concrete steps: 1. Budgetary boost 2. Reform commitment 3. Enforcement 4. Prudent borrowing.

Bringing Home the Green Recovery: A User's Guide to the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

The $787 billion recovery package marks a big, bold, and historic investment in creating green jobs and building more equitable communities. The package invests nearly$100 billion in funding for transportation and infrastructure, $48 billion in investments in job training and education,$41 billion for energy-related programs, and $20 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy. But without substantial advocacy from local and state groups, these historic federal investments may not end up in the communities that need them most. The in-depth guide offers tangible, up-to-date information and ideas for using and securing recovery dollars to help expand opportunity in low-income communities and communities of color. The guide is a first step in what will be a vital nationwide effort to ensure the recovery package helps all communities rise stronger than ever from this economic crisis, and that community-based organizations are at the forefront in crafting a green, equitable recovery.American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ARRA, stimulus

Blood lactate clearance after maximal exercise depends on active recovery intensity

AIM: High-intensity exercise is time-limited by onset of fatigue, marked by accumulation of blood lactate. This is accentuated at maximal, all-out exercise that rapidly accumulates high blood lactate. The optimal active recovery intensity for clearing lactate after such maximal, all-out exercise remains unknown. Thus, we studied the intensity-dependence of lactate clearance during active recovery after maximal exercise.<p></p> METHODS: We constructed a standardized maximal, all-out treadmill exercise protocol that predictably lead to voluntary exhaustion and blood lactate concentration >10 mM. Next, subjects ran series of all-out bouts that increased blood lactate concentration to 11.5±0.2 mM, followed by recovery exercises ranging 0% (passive)-100% of the lactate threshold.<p></p> RESULTS: Repeated measurements showed faster lactate clearance during active versus passive recovery (P<0.01), and that active recovery at 60-100% of lactate threshold was more efficient for lactate clearance than lower intensity recovery (P<0.05). Active recovery at 80% of lactate threshold had the highest rate of and shortest time constant for lactate clearance (P<0.05), whereas the response during the other intensities was graded (100%=60%>40%>passive recovery, P<0.05).<p></p> CONCLUSION: Active recovery after maximal all-out exercise clears accumulated blood lactate faster than passive recovery in an intensity-dependent manner, with maximum clearance occurring at active recovery of 80% of lactate threshold

Recovery From Design

Through research, inquiry, and an evaluation of Recovery By Design, a ‘design therapy’ program that serves people with mental illness, substance use disorders, and developmental disabilities, it is my assertion that the practice of design has therapeutic potential and can aid in the process of recovery. To the novice, the practices of conception, shaping form, and praxis have empowering benefit especially when guided by Conditional and Transformation Design methods together with an emphasis on materiality and vernacular form

The IMF and Economic Recovery: Is Fund Policy Contributing to Downside Risks?

The IMF’s most recent World Economic Outlook (WEO), published last week, projects world economic growth will slow, from 4.8 percent in 2010 to 4.2 percent next year. Throughout the report, there are numerous concerns expressed about the “fragility” of the global economic recovery. The Acting Chair of the Executive Board states that “[t]he recovery is losing momentum temporarily during the second half of 2010 and will likely remain weak in the first half of 2011, as extraordinary policy stimulus is gradually withdrawn.” In view of the report and its findings, one might expect a strong bias towards continuing fiscal stimulus in weak economies, and a bias against fiscal consolidation. However, this paper finds that the IMF continues to support pro-cyclical policies in some countries, fiscal consolidation in many others, and clearly does not support central bank financing of fiscal stimulus – even in countries such as the United States – where the threat of high inflation is very remote.IMF