The climate change effects on the agricultural sector of Bolivia

Bolivia as many other countries in the world, it is looking for some mechanism that allows to fight against the adverse impacts produced by climate variability. There is consensus that more adaptation and mitigation measures if we want to reduce the adverse effects produced by the climate change - in addition the vulnerability to these phenomena depends also on other stress factors. The aim of our research seeks to evaluate the economic impact of climate change in the agricultural sector of Bolivia with and without mitigation measures. From one hand the work quantify the effect of climate change over the GDP - from the other hand it evaluates the relevance of mitigation measures destined to reduce the risk and vulnerability of climate change. There are many methodologies that evaluate the incidence of climate change, both from economic and technological perspective - the first one in well known as bottom-up schemes - the second one is named top-down schemes. For the purposes of our research we use top-down model, based on Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) techniques

Market and inequality revisited

The great controversy regarding the results of the application of market-oriented policies on the population's conditions of life, especially about the inequality in the distribution of income, has constituted the concern that has given origin to this paper. With the objective to test the hypothesis that a free market structure promotes a better income distribution, we have carried out several quantifications of inequality indices in the different structures of the labor market in Bolivia; also, a microsimulation model has been applied, to see whether change toward a market-oriented structure can improve the distribution of income and, lastly, we have carried out an exercise to link income inequality with social mobility. The reached results, although they are not the sufficiently strong to validate the hypothesis, are sufficiently clear to show us that the free market policies do not act in a negative way on the income distribution.La gran controversia respecto a los resultados de la aplicación de políticas orientadas al mercado sobre las condiciones de vida de la población, en especial sobre la desigualdad en la distribución del ingreso, ha constituido la preocupación que ha dado origen a este trabajo. Con el objetivo de testear la hipótesis de que una estructura de libre mercado promueve una mejor distribución del ingreso, hemos realizado varias cuantificaciones de índices de desigualdad en las distintas estructuras del mercado laboral en Bolivia; asimismo, se ha aplicado un modelo de microsimulación, para ver en qué medida un cambio hacia políticas orientadas al mercado pueden mejorar la distribución del ingreso y, por último, se ha realizado un ejercicio para vincular la desigualdad del ingreso con la movilidad social. Los resultados alcanzados si bien no son lo suficientemente fuertes para validar la hipótesis, son lo suficientemente claros para mostrarnos que las políticas de libre mercado no actúan de manera negativa sobre la distribución del ingreso

Mercado y desigualdad

Uno de los temas que mayor controversia ha generado en los últimos años, es en qué medida una economía de mercado es más eficiente para impulsar el crecimiento y el bienestar de la población, frente a economías con menor libertad económica. Este tema ha sido estudiado en varios trabajos, los que concluyeron que, efectivamente, mayores grados de libertad económica se traducen en tasas de crecimiento más altas y mejores niveles de vida. Esta constatación nos estimuló a indagar si al interior de la base donde se desarrollan las actividades laborales en Bolivia, también se reflejaba que el mercado promueve una menor desigualdad en la distribución del ingreso. Los resultados alcanzados nos conducen a probar el temple de esta hipótesis, es decir, que cuando más cercanas están las actividades laborales de la lógica del mercado, menor es la desigualdad en la distribución de los ingresos.Among the most controversial issues raised during the last decade, one of them is associated with the measurement of market economy’s efficiency in terms of economic growth and population’s well being. Previous investigations show that higher economic freedom levels have direct relationship with higher economic growth rates and better living conditions. Therefore, we find strong motivations to carry out this research for the Bolivian labor markets, demonstrating that the market economy promotes a lower income inequality levels. The results help us to test the following hypothesis: as a labor market gets closer to the market economy, then, there are improvements in the income distribution

El efecto Evo

Utilizando un modelo de equilibrio general computable y aplicando una microsimulación sobre la Encuesta MECOVI del año 2007, el documento muestra que la inversión pública tiene un efecto positivo sobre la reducción de la pobreza en escenarios de inversión moderada, inversión actual e inversión alta. No obstante, la reducción de la pobreza no es muy significativa. Los resultados más importantes se evidencian en el índice de recuento, que se reduce alrededor de 3 puntos en un escenario de alta intervención, y 2 puntos en un escenario de inversión como el actual. Sin embargo, los resultados obtenidos para los indicadores de brecha y severidad de pobreza son más modestos.Pobreza; inversión pública; Modelo de Equilibrio General Computable; índice de recuento; brecha; severidad; MECOVI

Bolivia en el contexto de la crisis económica internacional

The current research has the aim to identify and evaluate the impacts of external shocks related to the new economic context of world-wide deceleration in the Bolivian economy. It is assumed for this scenario that Bolivia would face a reduction in the export prices, a reduction in the level of foreign direct investment, a fall in the remittances and a decline in the government expenditure. In order to evaluate these effects in the short and medium term, we use a dynamic General Equilibrium Computable Model (CGE), in a horizon of ten years. The exercise was realized on the basis of the following experiments: i) an adverse shock in terms of trade, ii) a negative shock in the level of government spending, iii) a negative shock in the level of remittances and direct foreign investment (DFI

Immunoglobulin, glucocorticoid, or combination therapy for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a propensity-weighted cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a hyperinflammatory condition associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, has emerged as a serious illness in children worldwide. Immunoglobulin or glucocorticoids, or both, are currently recommended treatments. METHODS: The Best Available Treatment Study evaluated immunomodulatory treatments for MIS-C in an international observational cohort. Analysis of the first 614 patients was previously reported. In this propensity-weighted cohort study, clinical and outcome data from children with suspected or proven MIS-C were collected onto a web-based Research Electronic Data Capture database. After excluding neonates and incomplete or duplicate records, inverse probability weighting was used to compare primary treatments with intravenous immunoglobulin, intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, or glucocorticoids alone, using intravenous immunoglobulin as the reference treatment. Primary outcomes were a composite of inotropic or ventilator support from the second day after treatment initiation, or death, and time to improvement on an ordinal clinical severity scale. Secondary outcomes included treatment escalation, clinical deterioration, fever, and coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN69546370. FINDINGS: We enrolled 2101 children (aged 0 months to 19 years) with clinically diagnosed MIS-C from 39 countries between June 14, 2020, and April 25, 2022, and, following exclusions, 2009 patients were included for analysis (median age 8·0 years [IQR 4·2-11·4], 1191 [59·3%] male and 818 [40·7%] female, and 825 [41·1%] White). 680 (33·8%) patients received primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin, 698 (34·7%) with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, 487 (24·2%) with glucocorticoids alone; 59 (2·9%) patients received other combinations, including biologicals, and 85 (4·2%) patients received no immunomodulators. There were no significant differences between treatments for primary outcomes for the 1586 patients with complete baseline and outcome data that were considered for primary analysis. Adjusted odds ratios for ventilation, inotropic support, or death were 1·09 (95% CI 0·75-1·58; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids and 0·93 (0·58-1·47; corrected p value=1·00) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Adjusted average hazard ratios for time to improvement were 1·04 (95% CI 0·91-1·20; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, and 0·84 (0·70-1·00; corrected p value=0·22) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Treatment escalation was less frequent for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids (OR 0·15 [95% CI 0·11-0·20]; p<0·0001) and glucocorticoids alone (0·68 [0·50-0·93]; p=0·014) versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Persistent fever (from day 2 onward) was less common with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids compared with either intravenous immunoglobulin alone (OR 0·50 [95% CI 0·38-0·67]; p<0·0001) or glucocorticoids alone (0·63 [0·45-0·88]; p=0·0058). Coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution did not differ significantly between treatment groups. INTERPRETATION: Recovery rates, including occurrence and resolution of coronary artery aneurysms, were similar for primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin when compared to glucocorticoids or intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids. Initial treatment with glucocorticoids appears to be a safe alternative to immunoglobulin or combined therapy, and might be advantageous in view of the cost and limited availability of intravenous immunoglobulin in many countries. FUNDING: Imperial College London, the European Union's Horizon 2020, Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Foundation, UK National Institute for Health and Care Research, and National Institutes of Health

Informe: efectos del cambio climático sobre la producción del sector agrícola de Bolivia

Bolivia as many other countries in the world, it is looking for some mechanism that allows to fight against the adverse impacts produced by climate variability. There is consensus that more adaptation and mitigation measures if we want to reduce the adverse effects produced by the climate change - in addition the vulnerability to these phenomena depends also on other stress factors. The aim of our research seeks to evaluate the economic impact of climate change in the agricultural sector of Bolivia with and without mitigation measures. From one hand the work quantify the effect of climate change over the GDP - from the other hand it evaluates the relevance of mitigation measures destined to reduce the risk and vulnerability of climate change. There are many methodologies that evaluate the incidence of climate change, both from economic and technological perspective - the first one in well known as bottom-up schemes - the second one is named top-down schemes. For the purposes of our research we use top-down model, based on Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) techniques

Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-Producing Klebsiella spp.: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses

Healthcare-related infections caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella spp. are of major concern. To control transmission, deep understanding of the transmission mechanisms is needed. This systematic review aimed to identify risk factors and sources, clonal relatedness using molecular techniques, and the most effective control strategies for ESBL-producing Klebsiella spp. A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and Outbreak Database was performed. We identified 2771 articles from November 25th, 1960 until April 7th, 2014 of which 148 were included in the systematic review and 23 in a random-effects meta-analysis study. The random-effects meta-analyses showed that underlying disease or condition (odds ratio [OR] = 6.25; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.85 to 13.66) generated the highest pooled estimate. ESBL-producing Klebsiella spp. were spread through person-to-person contact and via sources in the environment; we identified both monoclonal and polyclonal presence. Multi-faceted interventions are needed to prevent transmission of ESBL-producing Klebsiella spp