The economic impact of the fight against climate change

To fight climate change, global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions should be reduced dramatically. However, observations for the period 2008-2009 indicate that several major countries will need to step up their efforts to reach their Kyoto target by 2012. For the period after 2012, only the EU has strongly committed itself to further reduce its GHG emissions. Any climate policy has to induce both producers and consumers to adjust their behaviour. Generally, governments use a combination of instruments while taking into account not only their effectiveness, but also social concerns and firms’ international competitiveness. Efforts to reduce GHG emissions will weigh on economic activity, but the impact could be attenuated if the proceeds from emissions permits and environmental taxes were recycled to stimulate the economy through lower labour taxes or support for R&D and innovation. In addition, investing in the development of low-carbon technologies also offers opportunities for innovation, sustainable growth and employment. The main channel for reducing GHG emissions is by lowering the energy intensity of economic activity. As Belgian industry has already made important efforts in this respect, there remains little room for manoeuvre given current technologies. At the same time, residential energy consumption and energy consumption for transport could be lowered considerably. As energy intensity cannot be reduced indefinitely, it is also important to increase the use of renewable energy sources and to invest in carbon capture and storage technologies.climate change, energy intensity, renewable energy, tradable emissions permits, environmental taxes, eco-innovation

The incomes and financing balance of individuals and companies

The article begins by establishing that the share of wages in GDP has declined quite sharply in Belgium over the past five years. The fall in the wage share in 2003-2005 was due partly to the deteriorating economic conditions at the beginning of this century. It can also be seen as a continuation of the decline which started in the early 1980s, attributable to structural developments such as globalisation, technological progress and the growing importance of the services sector. However, the downward trend in the total disposable income of individuals as a percentage of GDP is due mainly to the reduction in their net interest income, which is in turn attributable to falling interest rates. In absolute terms, however, the disposable income of individuals has risen, even if inflation is taken into account. The main effect of the reduction in the gross disposable income of individuals in relation to GDP has been to cut the savings ratio, as consumption expenditure has only fallen slightly as a percentage of GDP. Moreover, since 2004 individuals’ investment spending has surged, reducing their financing balance to less than 1 p.c. of GDP. The primary counterpart of the recent contraction of the wage share has been the strong rise in the gross operating surplus of companies. On the other hand, companies have also paid more taxes on income and wealth, made higher net dividend payments to other sectors, and invested more in fixed assets. Nonetheless, the financing balance of companies has risen steadily, reaching an average of 2.4 p.c. of GDP in the past three years, so that they have been able to move gradually towards financing more of their investment out of internal resources, thus further consolidating their balance sheets.wage share, operating surplus, disposable income, financing balance

Taxonomic results of the Bryotrop expedition to Zaire and Rwanda : 15., Fissidentaceae

For locality data and a description of the collecting sites see the contribution by E. Fischer on the vegetation of the study area in this volume (Tropical Bryology 8: 13-37, 1993). The specimens are deposited at the Botanical MuseumBerlin (B) as well as in the herbarium of the author (except for unicates)

Two new species of Fissidens (Fissidentaceae, Musci) from Africa : Fissidens harringtonii and Fissidens artsii

Fissidens harringtonii from Sierra Leone and F. artsii from Réunion are newly described and illustrated. The taxonomic position of F. harringtonii and F. integerrimus Mitten in Hook.f & Wilson, with which it is compared, is discussed. Fissidens artsii is compared to F. ovatifolius R.Ruthe and F. sublimbatus Grout

Universality of ac-conduction in anisotropic disordered systems: An effective medium approximation study

Anisotropic disordered system are studied in this work within the random barrier model. In such systems the transition probabilities in different directions have different probability density functions. The frequency-dependent conductivity at low temperatures is obtained using an effective medium approximation. It is shown that the isotropic universal ac-conduction law, $\sigma \ln \sigma=u$, is recovered if properly scaled conductivity ($\sigma$) and frequency ($u$) variables are used.Comment: 5 pages, no figures, final form (with corrected equations

Share prices, house prices and monetary policy

Recent developments in stock and house prices revived the debate on the role of asset prices in the conduct of monetary policy. The article first explores the links between asset price fluctuations, macroeconomic developments and monetary policy, highlighting the possibility of asset price booms and bursts in an environment of stable consumer prices and the challenges for monetary policy. The problem of identification of “bubbles” is then illustrated by an assessment of recent developments in stock prices in the United States and the euro area and in house prices in the euro area, with special attention for the fast-increasing house prices in some countries and for the Belgian situation. Finally, the article briefly explains how asset prices are taken into account in the monetary policy strategy of the Eurosystem.monetary policy, transmission process, stock prices, residential property prices, Eurosystem

Ike’s Constitutional Venturing: The Institutionalization of the CIA, Covert Action, and American Interventionism

U.S. covert action from the 1950s onward was shaped, in part, by the success a CIA-orchestrated coup d\u27état in which the United States deposed the popular Iranian nationalist Mohammed Mossadegh. Ordered by president Eisenhower, the coup in Iran set the precedent for utilizing covert action as a means of achieving State goals. In so doing, President Eisenhower overturned the precedent set by his immediate predecessor, President Truman: that is, the precedent of using the CIA in its intended function, gathering and evaluating intelligence. The coup, then, is an exemplary case of venture constitutionalism. Eisenhower, in ordering the coup, extended his authority as President by setting a new precedent of intervention without consulting Congress or the public. From here venture constitutionalism will be defined, the history of the CIA and its organizational context will be written, the coup will briefly be discussed, and then an explication of the constitutional venturing that took place therein will be provided

Morphologic and Transcriptomic Response to Weed Pressure in Multiple Maize (Zea mays L.) Selections and Teosinte (Zea mays L. ssp parviglumis) Lines

Sweet corn (Zea mays L. convar. saccharata var. rugosa) and modern dent variants (field maize, Zea mays L. indentata) have varying degrees of weed tolerance (ability to maintain yield under weed stress). Maize retains ~30% of its ancestral teosinte’s (Zea mays ssp parviglumis) genetic base. Transcriptomic response to weed pressure in maize and teosinte can lead to manipulation of the maize genome to minimize crop yield loss due to weed presence. In maize and teosinte under weed-free and weedstressed conditions, the objectives of this study were: 1) to evaluate transcriptomic responses of 2 teosinte lines; 2) to evaluate transcriptomic response in 5 maize selections in 4 different growing seasons; 3) to determine if mid-season growth parameters (chlorophyll, height, stem diameter, leaf area, or biomass) correlate with crop tolerance; and, 4) to compare and contrast transcriptomic responses among maize and teosinte selections. Four maize selections and 2 teosinte lines suffered grain yield (maize) or harvest biomass (teosinte) loss due to weed stress ranging from 13-44%. Each evaluated selection had a unique response to weeds, with 3 gene ontologies (jasmonic acid response/signaling, UDP-glucosyl and glucuronyltransferases, and quercetin glucosyltransferase) common to all selections evaluated. These common ontologies were not directly related to light depravation or quality, nutrient depravation, nor water stress, which were expected to be the primary mechanisms in weed response. This research suggests individual maize and teosinte selections have distinctive responses to weed stress

No L1 privilege in talker adaptation

As a rule, listening is easier in first (L1) than second languages (L2); difficult L2 listening can challenge even highly proficient users. We here examine one particular listening function, adaptation to novel talkers, in such a high-proficiency population: Dutch emigrants to Australia, predominantly using English outside the family, but all also retaining L1 proficiency. Using lexically-guided perceptual learning (Norris, McQueen & Cutler, 2003), we investigated these listeners’ adaptation to an ambiguous speech sound, in parallel experiments in both their L1 and their L2. A control study established that perceptual learning outcomes were unaffected by the procedural measures required for this double comparison. The emigrants showed equivalent proficiency in tests in both languages, robust perceptual adaptation in their L2, English, but no adaptation in L1. We propose that adaptation to novel talkers is a language-specific skill requiring regular novel practice; a limited set of known (family) interlocutors cannot meet this requirement