Pension reform in Latin America : quick fixes or sustainable reform?

Because of better health and higher standards of living, people are living longer. By 2030, more than 16 percent of the world's population will be older than 60, compared with 9 percent today. As a result, pension systems will need reform. Most current systems have substantial unfunded liabilities that will impose significant financial burdens onfuture generations without providing adequate protection for older individuals and lower-income workers. Pension reform is inevitable because of demographic imperatives and because many pension systems are financially unsustainable. Unfunded public pension systems pose political risk if promises to future retirees cannot be met. Pension reform is both technically and politically complex but more and more countries are beginning to address the problem. The question is whether to adopt quick fixes or sustainable changes that will benefit the macroeconomy and protect elderly and lower-income citizens. Quick fixes--typical in many economies--generally involve changes in eligibility (such as retirement age), changes in the rate of contribution or the population of workers on which contributions are calculated, or changes in the structure of benefits. Countries in Latin America have been ahead of other regions in undertaking major reform from pay-as-you-go defined-benefit pension plans to fully funded, defined-contribution pension plans. Because of the successful Chilean pension model, a notable number of Latin American countries have undertaken deep pension reform. The author highlights reform efforts in a sample of countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Peru. Vigilance is still needed, says the author. Effective oversight is essential, and so is complementary reform in the banking, insurance, and securities markets. In capital markets, for example, regulation must be strengthened and the requirement that pension fund investments be made only in government-related securities must be eliminated. New types of insurance must be made available and there must be increased competition among insurance providers. More work must be done but the region's pension systems have started on the right course.Banks&Banking Reform,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Public Health Promotion,Pensions&Retirement Systems,Environmental Economics&Policies,Pensions&Retirement Systems,Economic Stabilization,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research

Information and intellectual property: The global challenges

The paper analyses the contribution of 'golden papers' - seminal works whose ideas remain as fresh and relevant today as when they were first published decades ago - and which continue to dominate academic discourse among successive generations of scholars. The authors analyse why two works written within an industrial development context: The simple economics of basic scientific research, by Richard Nelson (1959) and Kenneth Arrows Economic Welfare and the Allocation of Resources for Invention (1962), are so relevant in today’s knowledge-driven economic paradigm. Focusing on the papers’ application to current global policy debates on information/knowledge and intellectual property, they argue that while the context has changed the essential nature of innovation - driven by widespread access to the ability to replicate and improve - remains the same. Hence a focus on endogenous innovation policy is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago.knowledge economy, science and technology, innovation, intellectual property rights, institutional change

Amylases and their applications

Amylases are widely distributed and are one of the most studied enzymes. These enzymes have wide scale application ranging from textile to effluent treatment

PROTON STRUCTURE FUNCTION CALCULATION BY THERMODYNAMICAL BAG MODEL

This paper focuses on finding proton structure functions in deep inelastic scattering of leptons on nucleons by MIT Bag model. This model proposed by V. Devanathan and S. Karthiyayini assumes that nucleon is a hot bag containing quarks, which interact with bosons. The nucleon structure function is then expressed in terms of Parton distribution functions where both are functions of Bjorken variable ð‘¥ only. The structure functions calculated by this model are found to be in good agreement with the data obtained from CERN for Bjorken variable ð‘¥ greater than 0.2 only

PREVENTION OF HORMONAL MAMMARY CARCINOGENESIS IN RATS BY DIETARY BERRIES AND ELLAGIC ACID

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women around the world. The hormone 17-estradiol (E2) is strongly implicated as a causative agent in this cancer. Since estrogen acts as a complete carcinogen, agents that interfere with the carcinogenic actions of E2 are required. Most agents effective against experimental mammary carcinogenesis have been employed as pure compounds disregarding the synergy that exists between several phytonutrients in a whole food. In these studies we have taken a unified approach, by employing a pure phytonutrient ellagic acid and whole foods that contain the phytonutrient at various levels berries, in the prevention of E2- induced mammary cancer in ACI rats. We have also used a tiered approach by screening several phytochemicals in vitro and implementing these results in both short- and long-term studies. Initially, several phytochemicals were tested as pure compounds against oxidative DNA damage induced by 4-hydroxy estradiol and CuCl2. Ellagic acid, was the most effective agent (andgt;98% reduction). In a short-term in vivo study, both dietary blueberry and strawberry (5% w/w), were ineffective in reducing the baseline oxidative DNA damage in the livers of CD-1 mice. However, red raspberry (5% w/w) was highly effective (50% reduction) and ellagic acid (400 ppm) was moderately effective (25% reduction). Further both diets up-regulated hepatic DNA repair genes in a similar fashion. In a long-term estradiol-induced mammary carcinogenicity study in ACI rats, dietary berries (2.5% w/w) and ellagic acid (400 ppm) reduced both tumor volume and tumors per animal to different extents (50-75%). One mechanism by which these dietary interventions inhibit mammary tumorigenesis may be via modulation of E2 metabolism, especially at the early stages of carcinogenesis. At 6 weeks after E2 treatment both berries and ellagic acid or berries alone significantly offset E2- induced changes in CYP1B1 and CYP1A1 expressions respectively. In addition, no toxicity or adverse effects are observed when rodents were fed either berries (1 - 5%) or ellagic acid (400 ppm). These data taken collectively support the possibility of using natural foods such as berries as an adjuvant to current pharmacological therapies in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer

A Reflection and Comparison of Physician Training in the United States of America and United Kingdom

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Effect of C:N ratio on alpha amylase production by Bacillus licheniformis SPT 27

Bacillus licheniformis SPT 27 is an isolate which produces extra cellular alpha (α-) amylase exhibiting activity at a wide pH range and was relatively stable. The B. lichenformis isolate, however, produces low yields of the amylase. Our results show that the amylase production is higher in the presence of starch, with Amarantus peniculatus starch producing the highest amount of amylase. Amongst sugars, fructose supported maximum amylase production. Of the nitrogen sources tested, peptone and ammonium hydrogen phosphate where the best organic and inorganic sources respectively. The C:N ratio found to be the optimum was 1:1. Key Words: Amarantus manipulates, alpha (α-) amylase, Bacillus licheniformis SPT 27, C:N ratio. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.3(10) 2004:519-52