7,148 research outputs found
Bailouts in Costa Rica as a Result of Government Centralization and Discretionary Transfers
This paper investigates the inter-relation between the central government and the municipalities in Costa Rica. It examines episodes in which the central government has bailed out the local governments from their obligations. We employ empirical and descriptive methods to show how discretionary grants relate to the degree of fiscal discipline of the municipality to produce hidden bailouts. Political, demographic, and economic variables explain the allocation of these discretionary transfers. We illustrate the effects of the high concentration of decision-making of the central government on the fiscal performance of the municipalities. The municipalities play a limited role and its functioning largely depends upon the central government. We argue that the national administration would face a high political cost if it did not bail out the local government in several of the episodes studied. Using panel data from 1982-1997 on 81 cantones, we find that the fiscal effort of the local government is reduced by the presence of discretionary grants. The local governments finance local expenses with these discretionary transfers according to our empirical results. As expected from the centralization issue, political variables such as the affiliation of the local administration have significant effects on the resources received by the municipalities.
The UN in the lab
We consider two alternatives to inaction for governments combating terrorism, which we term Defense and Prevention. Defense consists of investing in resources that reduce the impact of an attack, and generates a negative externality to other governments, making their countries a more attractive objective for terrorists. In contrast, Prevention, which consists of investing in resources that reduce the ability of the terrorist organization to mount an attack, creates a positive externality by reducing the overall threat of terrorism for all. This interaction is captured using a simple 3×3 “Nested Prisoner’s Dilemma” game, with a single Nash equilibrium where both countries choose Defense. Due to the structure of this interaction, countries can benefit from coordination of policy choices, and international institutions (such as the UN) can be utilized to facilitate coordination by implementing agreements to share the burden of Prevention. We introduce an institution that implements a burden-sharing policy for Prevention, and investigate experimentally whether subjects coordinate on a cooperative strategy more frequently under different levels of cost sharing. In all treatments, burden sharing leaves the Prisoner’s Dilemma structure and Nash equilibrium of the game unchanged. We compare three levels of burden sharing to a baseline in a between-subjects design, and find that burden sharing generates a non-linear effect on the choice of the efficient Prevention strategy and overall performance. Only an institution supporting a high level of mandatory burden sharing generates a significant improvement in the use of the Prevention strategy
Simulação do impacto das atividades florestais na fragilidade potencial em plantios de pinus.
Este trabalho, realizado em uma área com povoamento de Pinus taeda, teve por objetivo simular e mapear a influência do valor de impacto das atividades florestais na fragilidade potencial. Variáveis do solo, de declividade do terreno, valor de impacto e de cobertura vegetal foram utilizadas para gerar os mapas. Os resultados expressos pelo modelo adotado mostraram que as áreas mais frágeis apresentam em sua maioria declividades superiores a 75 % e textura que variam de arenosa a média, e as áreas menos frágeis apresentam predominantemente relevo plano (até 3 %) e textura argilosa. Quando simulado o impacto das atividades florestais sobre esse ambiente, verificou-se que na maior parte da área (78 %) todas as atividades florestais podem ser realizadas sem influência na degradação do meio ambiente e para algumas áreas (11 %) o ambiente foi considerado menos frágil, em razão da presença de cobertura vegetal
Unification of the conditional probability and semiclassical interpretations for the problem of time in quantum theory
We show that the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation (TDSE) is the
phenomenological dynamical law of evolution unraveled in the classical limit
from a timeless formulation in terms of probability amplitudes conditioned by
the values of suitably chosen internal clock variables, thereby unifying the
conditional probability interpretation (CPI) and the semiclassical approach for
the problem of time in quantum theory. Our formalism stems from an exact
factorization of the Hamiltonian eigenfunction of the clock plus system
composite, where the clock and system factors play the role of marginal and
conditional probability amplitudes, respectively. Application of the Variation
Principle leads to a pair of exact coupled pseudoeigenvalue equations for these
amplitudes, whose solution requires an iterative self-consistent procedure. The
equation for the conditional amplitude constitutes an effective "equation of
motion" for the quantum state of the system with respect to the clock
variables. These coupled equations also provide a convenient framework for
treating the back-reaction of the system on the clock at various levels of
approximation. At the lowest level, when the WKB approximation for the marginal
amplitude is appropriate, in the classical limit of the clock variables the
TDSE for the system emerges as a matter of course from the conditional
equation. In this connection, we provide a discussion of the characteristics
required by physical systems to serve as good clocks. This development is seen
to be advantageous over the original CPI and semiclassical approach since it
maintains the essence of the conventional formalism of quantum mechanics,
admits a transparent interpretation, avoids the use of the Born-Oppenheimer
approximation, and resolves various objections raised about them.Comment: 10 pages. Typographical errors correcte
CARMA Large Area Star Formation Survey: Observational Analysis of Filaments in the Serpens South Molecular Cloud
We present the N2H+(J=1-0) map of the Serpens South molecular cloud obtained
as part of the CARMA Large Area Star Formation Survey (CLASSy). The
observations cover 250 square arcminutes and fully sample structures from 3000
AU to 3 pc with a velocity resolution of 0.16 km/s, and they can be used to
constrain the origin and evolution of molecular cloud filaments. The spatial
distribution of the N2H+ emission is characterized by long filaments that
resemble those observed in the dust continuum emission by Herschel. However,
the gas filaments are typically narrower such that, in some cases, two or three
quasi-parallel N2H+ filaments comprise a single observed dust continuum
filament. The difference between the dust and gas filament widths casts doubt
on Herschel ability to resolve the Serpens South filaments. Some molecular
filaments show velocity gradients along their major axis, and two are
characterized by a steep velocity gradient in the direction perpendicular to
the filament axis. The observed velocity gradient along one of these filaments
was previously postulated as evidence for mass infall toward the central
cluster, but these kind of gradients can be interpreted as projection of
large-scale turbulence.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, published in ApJL (July 2014
Alternativas de planejamento para a exploração florestal.
No manejo sustentado em florestas tropicais, há necessidade da garantia de um fluxo constante de recursos para a sua viabilidade. No entanto, isso nem sempre é possível, pelo fato de a exploração ser realizada sem planejamento. Este trabalho tem como finalidade apresentar um método que auxilie no planejamento e na distribuição de recursos disponíveis, através da formulação de cenários para otimização do número de equipes para cada atividade da exploração dependente do tempo limite para conclusão dos trabalhos. Com base no tempo que uma equipe leva para executar determinada atividade e no seu sequenciamento, foram utilizadas técnicas da pesquisa operacional, para determinação do caminho crítico da cadeia de exploração de madeira nativa. Esses métodos, ao mesmo tempo em que organizam o sequenciamento das atividades e determinam quais delas devem receber maior atenção no planejamento, otimizam o número de equipes, para que toda a cadeia seja executada dentro de um tempo limite, o que se faz necessário na região, para que o ciclo de corte se limite à época de seca. O método proposto mostra-se como uma alternativa para o planejamento florestal das atividades de baixo impacto ao garantir o número ótimo de equipes e a realização de todo empreendimento no tempo estipulado
A Correction to the Standard Galactic Reddening Map: Passive Galaxies as Standard Crayons
We present corrections to the Schlegel, Finkbeiner, Davis (SFD98) reddening
maps over the Sloan Digital Sky Survey northern Galactic cap area. To find
these corrections, we employ what we dub the "standard crayon" method, in which
we use passively evolving galaxies as color standards by which to measure
deviations from the reddening map. We select these passively evolving galaxies
spectroscopically, using limits on the H alpha and O II equivalent widths to
remove all star-forming galaxies from the SDSS main galaxy catalog. We find
that by correcting for known reddening, redshift, color-magnitude relation, and
variation of color with environmental density, we can reduce the scatter in
color to below 3% in the bulk of the 151,637 galaxies we select. Using these
galaxies we construct maps of the deviation from the SFD98 reddening map at 4.5
degree resolution, with 1-sigma error of ~ 1.5 millimagnitudes E(B-V). We find
that the SFD98 maps are largely accurate with most of the map having deviations
below 3 millimagnitudes E(B-V), though some regions do deviate from SFD98 by as
much as 50%. The maximum deviation found is 45 millimagnitudes in E(B-V), and
spatial structure of the deviation is strongly correlated with the observed
dust temperature, such that SFD98 underpredicts reddening in regions of low
dust temperature. Our maps of these deviations, as well as their errors, are
made available to the scientific community as supplemental correction to SFD98
at http://www.peekandgraves2010.com.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures. Accepted to the ApJ. Reddening correction maps
and associated software can be found at http://www.peekandgraves2010.co
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