Side-Payments and the Costs of Conflict

Conflict and competition often impose costs on both winners and losers, and conflicting parties may prefer to resolve the dispute before it occurs. The equilibrium of a conflict game with side-payments predicts that with binding offers, proposers make and responders accept side-payments, generating settlements that strongly favor proposers. When side-payments are non-binding, proposers offer nothing and conflicts always arise. Laboratory experiments confirm that binding side-payments reduce conflicts. However, 30 % of responders reject binding offers, and offers are more egalitarian than predicted. Surprisingly, non-binding side-payments also improve efficiency, although less than binding. With binding side-payments, 87 % of efficiency gains come from avoided conflicts. However, with non-binding side-payments, only 39 % of gains come from avoided conflicts and 61 % from reduced conflict expenditures

Political Leaders' Socioeconomic Background and Fiscal Performance in Germany

This paper investigates whether the socioeconomic status of the head of government helps explain fiscal performance. Applying sociological research that attributes differences in people's ways of thinking and acting to their relative standing within society, we test whether the social status of German prime ministers can help explain differences in fiscal performance among the German Laender. Our empirical findings show that the tenures of prime ministers from a poorer socioeconomic background are associated with higher levels of public spending and debt financing

Safety and tolerability of carbamylated erythropoietin in Friedreich's ataxia.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Erythropoietin (EPO) derivatives have been found to increase frataxin levels in Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) in vitro. This multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase II clinical trial aimed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of Lu AA24493 (carbamylated EPO; CEPO). METHODS: Thirty-six ambulatory FRDA patients harboring >400 GAA repeats were 2:1 randomly assigned to either CEPO in a fixed dose (325 µg thrice-weekly) or placebo. Safety and tolerability were assessed up to 103 days after baseline. Secondary outcome measures of efficacy (exploration of biomarkers and ataxia ratings) were performed up to 43 days after baseline. RESULTS: All patients received six doses of study medication. Adverse events were equally distributed between CEPO and placebo. There was no evidence for immunogenicity of CEPO after multiple dosing. Biomarkers, such as frataxin, or measures for oxidative stress and ataxia ratings did not differ between CEPO and placebo. CONCLUSION: CEPO was safe and well tolerated in a 2-week treatment phase. Secondary outcome measures remained without apparent difference between CEPO and placebo

Normal reference values for glomerular filtration rate: what do we really know?

In nephrology, chronic kidney disease is defined by both proteinuria and measurement of glomerular filtration rate (GFR). This article focuses on GFR and different ways to define its normal reference values. In this context, we compare two perspectives: first the reference values defined by measuring GFR in normal individuals (the 'classical way') and secondly a fixed cut-off value at 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) according to the associated mortality risk (the 'prognostic way'). Following the classical way, we can assert that normal GFR values are largely over 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) in healthy subjects, at least before the age of 70 years. However, we know that GFR physiologically decreases with age, and in adults older than 70 years, values below 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) could be considered normal. Following the 'prognostic way', the fixed cut-off of 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) has been retained in the K-DIGO guidelines. However, we challenge this concept and the fact that the variable 'age' is poorly taken into account in these data. There is an obvious discrepancy between the reference values defined either by the 'classical way' or by the 'prognostic way' which we think could be largely reduced, if age was better taken into consideration in these definitions