Considerations on the last Censuses of Agriculture, Industry and Service carried out by INE Mozambique

The paper, after a short overview of the institutional framework of the National Statistical System and of the political and economic features of Mozambique, analyses the recent censuses of agriculture and of the enterprises which can represent an interesting case for Developing Countries with similar socio-economic characteristics. These censuses, allowing the territorial localisation of the collected data, can open important spaces for the evaluation of needs concerning social services and the allocation of related resources, planning of infrastructures, and solutions to productive localisation problems. Moreover, the collected data will constitute the benchmarks for sample surveys needed for gathering the country’s socio-economic transformations. Finally, the last paragraph is dedicated to the informal sector which has a high incidence on the value added of the country’s production.Census; Institution Building; Economic Analysis; Developing Countries; Informal Sector; National statistical system; survey on economic activities; Mozambique;

Considerazioni sui recenti censimenti dell'agricolutra, dell'industria e dei servizi in Mozambico

The paper, after a short overview of the institutional framework of the National Statistical System and of the political and economic features of Mozambique, analyses the recent censuses of agriculture and of the enterprises which can represent an interesting case for Developing Countries with similar socio-economic characteristics. These censuses, allowing the territorial localisation of the collected data, can open important spaces for the evaluation of needs concerning social services and the allocation of related resources, planning of infrastructures, and solutions to productive localisation problems. Moreover, the collected data will constitute the benchmarks for sample surveys needed for gathering the country’s socio-economic transformations. Finally, the last paragraph is dedicated to the informal sector which has a high incidence on the value added of the country’s production

I currency board come strumento di stabilizzazione economica: come funzionano e dove sono adottati

This paper describes the functioning of a currency board within the socio-economic context in which it operates. Special focus is given to the macroeconomic implications of a currency board system compared to a central bank system. In particular the author describes the principles regulating a currency board system (par.3), analyses the most relevant experiences on the adoption of a currency board (par. 5) and its advantages and problems

I currency board come strumento di stabilizzazione economica: come funzionano e dove sono adottati

This paper describes the functioning of a currency board within the socio-economic context in which it operates. Special focus is given to the macroeconomic implications of a currency board system compared to a central bank system. In particular the author describes the principles regulating a currency board system (par.3), analyses the most relevant experiences on the adoption of a currency board (par. 5) and its advantages and problems

The frog skin-derived antimicrobial peptide esculentin-1a(1-21)nh2 promotes the migration of human hacat keratinocytes in an egf receptor-dependent manner: a novel promoter of human skin wound healing?

One of the many functions of skin is to protect the organism against a wide range of pathogens. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) produced by the skin epithelium provide an effective chemical shield against microbial pathogens. However, whereas antibacterial/antifungal activities of AMPs have been extensively characterized, much less is known regarding their wound healing-modulatory properties. By using an in vitro re-epithelialisation assay employing special cell-culture inserts, we detected that a derivative of the frog-skin AMP esculentin-1a, named esculentin-1a(1-21)NH2, significantly stimulates migration of immortalized human keratinocytes (HaCaT cells) over a wide range of peptide concentrations (0.025-4 μM), and this notably more efficiently than human cathelicidin (LL-37). This activity is preserved in primary human epidermal keratinocytes. By using appropriate inhibitors and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay we found that the peptide-induced cell migration involves activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor and STAT3 protein. These results suggest that esculentin-1a(1-21)NH2 now deserves to be tested in standard wound healing assays as a novel candidate promoter of skin re-epithelialisation. The established ability of esculentin-1a(1-21)NH2 to kill microbes without harming mammalian cells, namely its high anti-Pseudomonal activity, makes this AMP a particularly attractive candidate wound healing promoter, especially in the management of chronic, often Pseudomonas-infected, skin ulcers

Currency boards as instrument for economic stabilisation: how they work and where they are adopted

This paper describes the functioning of a currency board within the socio-economic context in which it operates. Special focus is given to the macroeconomic implications of a currency board system compared to a central bank system. In particular the author describes the principles regulating a currency board system (par.3), analyses the most relevant experiences on the adoption of a currency board (par. 5) and its advantages and problems.Currency Boards; Monetary Policy; Central Banks;

CFTs on Non-Critical Braneworlds

We examine the cosmological evolution equations of de Sitter, flat and anti-de Sitter braneworlds sandwiched in between two n dimensional AdS-Schwarzschild spacetimes. We are careful to use the correct form for the induced Newton's constant on the brane, and show that it would be naive to assume the energy of the bulk spacetime is just given by the sum of the black hole masses. By carefully calculating the energy of the bulk for large mass we show that the induced geometry of the braneworld is just a radiation dominated FRW universe with the radiation coming from a CFT that is dual to the AdS bulk.Comment: 15 pages, no figures; references added, minor additions and clarifications, version to appear in Phys. Lett.

Metodologia - O Sector Informal em Moçambique: Resultados do Primeiro Inquérito Nacional (2005)

The Republic of Mozambique is experiencing a significant social and economic change and needs an updated informative base to allow policy-makers to found their decision on reliable and comparable data. The fast development of the Non Observed Economy (NOE) was one of the most important consequences of the transformation of the Mozambican economy. The Italian support Programme to the Mozambique National Statistical System , started in 2004, provided technical assistance for improving the quality of statistics for the Mozambican government according to best practices and international standards. One of the most interesting component of the project was the definition of a methodology for the analysis of the NOE and the provision of a first estimate of the phenomenon through a survey carried out at national level. Within the consortium, led by ICstat, Istat was responsible for the component, with the technical support of experts from INE Mozambique and INE Portugal . The NOE, as defined in the OECD Handbook for Measuring the Non Observed Economy, is one of the most relevant issues to be tackled in order to guarantee a correct comparison of the National Accounts variables and the exhaustiveness of National Accounts estimates, according to the System of National Accounts defined by the UN Handbook (SNA93), nowadays adopted by the majority of countries, that allows the correct comparison of their economic results. At international level there has been considerable progress towards the harmonization of statistical concepts and methods, through the adoption by international organizations of common standards and recommendations: 15th International Conference of Labour Statistics – Recommendation on employment statistics in the informal sector (1993); 3rd Revision of the United Nation’s System of National Accounts, which indicated how the informal sector should be treated in the accounts; the OECD Handbook, which also draws on the SNA93 for the terms used in the definition of NOE. Statistical information about the informal sector and small enterprises in Mozambique is still very sketchy in spite of their major economic significance: the informal sector is in fact directly linked to the main objectives of development (increased production, job creation, combating poverty). Therefore, strong attention has been paid to this component and in particular to the implementation of a specific survey for gathering the information necessary for the assessment of the methodology and the estimation of the sector. In this sense, the main commitment of the project was to strengthen INE Mozambique’s statistical capacity, in order both to approach the NOE sector according to international standards and to carry out, for the first time, a survey based on sound and exhaustive methodology. The aim of this handbook is twofold: • To focus on the experience derived from the project’s component, describing the strategies adopted and the steps implemented to define an ad-hoc methodology within the social and economic contextual factors which takes into account the national statistical environment and the international statistical framework (international standards, assessment of the Informal Sector in Mozambique, questionnaire, survey techniques and final estimations). The methods and techniques presented for approaching the informal sector study could represent a reference for future analysis on this phenomenon and for repeating similar surveys. • To present the results of the survey with the main information on the sector and a first analysis of it. Although the Mozambique reality represents a peculiar case, the value added of the project’s component lies in the fact that the experiences gained and the good practices adopted can be a reference model for those countries that are currently experiencing a development phase with socio-economic features comparable with those of the Mozambican economy. The results of the survey are useful for more exhaustive estimations for National Accounts and, at the same time, represent a benchmark of social evaluation for planning poverty reduction strategies (PARPA). Moreover, with this survey INE Mozambique has analysed the agricultural production (in most cases represented by “production for auto-consumption”), often coming from secondary activities of households which are located in the urban area and that, as main activity, conduct extra-agricultural activities

Metodologia - O Sector Informal em Moçambique: Resultados do Primeiro Inquérito Nacional (2005)

The Republic of Mozambique is experiencing a significant social and economic change and needs an updated informative base to allow policy-makers to found their decision on reliable and comparable data. The fast development of the Non Observed Economy (NOE) was one of the most important consequences of the transformation of the Mozambican economy. The Italian support Programme to the Mozambique National Statistical System , started in 2004, provided technical assistance for improving the quality of statistics for the Mozambican government according to best practices and international standards. One of the most interesting component of the project was the definition of a methodology for the analysis of the NOE and the provision of a first estimate of the phenomenon through a survey carried out at national level. Within the consortium, led by ICstat, Istat was responsible for the component, with the technical support of experts from INE Mozambique and INE Portugal . The NOE, as defined in the OECD Handbook for Measuring the Non Observed Economy, is one of the most relevant issues to be tackled in order to guarantee a correct comparison of the National Accounts variables and the exhaustiveness of National Accounts estimates, according to the System of National Accounts defined by the UN Handbook (SNA93), nowadays adopted by the majority of countries, that allows the correct comparison of their economic results. At international level there has been considerable progress towards the harmonization of statistical concepts and methods, through the adoption by international organizations of common standards and recommendations: 15th International Conference of Labour Statistics – Recommendation on employment statistics in the informal sector (1993); 3rd Revision of the United Nation’s System of National Accounts, which indicated how the informal sector should be treated in the accounts; the OECD Handbook, which also draws on the SNA93 for the terms used in the definition of NOE. Statistical information about the informal sector and small enterprises in Mozambique is still very sketchy in spite of their major economic significance: the informal sector is in fact directly linked to the main objectives of development (increased production, job creation, combating poverty). Therefore, strong attention has been paid to this component and in particular to the implementation of a specific survey for gathering the information necessary for the assessment of the methodology and the estimation of the sector. In this sense, the main commitment of the project was to strengthen INE Mozambique’s statistical capacity, in order both to approach the NOE sector according to international standards and to carry out, for the first time, a survey based on sound and exhaustive methodology. The aim of this handbook is twofold: • To focus on the experience derived from the project’s component, describing the strategies adopted and the steps implemented to define an ad-hoc methodology within the social and economic contextual factors which takes into account the national statistical environment and the international statistical framework (international standards, assessment of the Informal Sector in Mozambique, questionnaire, survey techniques and final estimations). The methods and techniques presented for approaching the informal sector study could represent a reference for future analysis on this phenomenon and for repeating similar surveys. • To present the results of the survey with the main information on the sector and a first analysis of it. Although the Mozambique reality represents a peculiar case, the value added of the project’s component lies in the fact that the experiences gained and the good practices adopted can be a reference model for those countries that are currently experiencing a development phase with socio-economic features comparable with those of the Mozambican economy. The results of the survey are useful for more exhaustive estimations for National Accounts and, at the same time, represent a benchmark of social evaluation for planning poverty reduction strategies (PARPA). Moreover, with this survey INE Mozambique has analysed the agricultural production (in most cases represented by “production for auto-consumption”), often coming from secondary activities of households which are located in the urban area and that, as main activity, conduct extra-agricultural activities