Household energy expenditures, 1982–2005

While energy's share of total expenditures has risen in recent years, it remains below the shares seen in the early and mid-1980s. Furthermore, the impact of the price increases on a household differs, based on the household's specific energy consumption patterns.Energy consumption ; Households - Economic aspects

Community development spending, 1981–2004

Millions of low-income individuals in the U.S. are aided through community development programs, which are funded by federal, state, and local governments. The authors consider whether federal transfers and expenditures from moneys generated by states and localities respond to state-level trends in unemployment and poverty.Community development ; Expenditures, Public

The Intertemporal Substitution and Income Effects of a VAT Rate Increase: Evidence from Japan

One of the biggest political issues in Japan is an increase in the rate of value added tax (VAT). In this paper, we evaluate its impact on household expenditure, using Japan's April 1997 VAT rate increase from three to five percent as a case study. A rate increase induces price hikes, and provided this increase in price levels is anticipated, households should engage in intertemporal substitution of purchases. In addition, if households are not compensated for the rate increase, it has the potential to induce an income effect on household consumption. Based on monthly household expenditure data, we find that households spent 30,231 yen more in the quarter prior to the rate increase than they would have in its absence, while the income effect was negligible. Consistent with theoretical predictions, increased outlays on durable and storable non-durable goods and services were responsible for roughly three-quarters of the observed intertemporal substitution effects. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we find that the VAT rate increase had no impact on real household spending following its implementation, once we have accounted for intertemporal substitution, which caused a large transitory disturbance in household expenditures.

The Household Expenditure Response to Pre-announced Consumption Tax Changes.

The studies included in this dissertation examine the household expenditure response to pre-announced increases in national consumption tax rates. Several countries have changed their consumption tax rate in recent years in order to generate new revenue or stimulate demand. Consequently, it is important to understand the impact of these tax changes on household expenditure. In addition, pre-announced consumption tax changes provide predictable variation in prices, and as such, present an ideal environment to measure intertemporal substitution behavior. The first and second chapters of this dissertation use the April 1997 increase in Japan’s Value Added Tax (VAT) rate along with household-level expenditure data to measure intertemporal substitution behavior. Chapter 1 provides an estimate of the intertemporal elasticity of substitution in consumption (IES). Using an appropriate categorization of non-durables and an empirical specification that is robust to intratemporal substitution between durables and non-durables, we find that the IES is 0.21 and not significantly different from zero. Chapter II builds on the work of Chapter I. First, it characterizes the sensitivity of household consumption and expenditure to the increase in Japan’s VAT. Second, the study utilizes information on the durable and storable expenditure responses to the VAT increase to yield a more precise estimate of the IES. Matching the time path of expenditures generated by a dynamic structural model of household consumption to empirical estimates of the intertemporal substitution response to the VAT increase, I find that expenditure is sensitive to a change in the future price level due to accelerated purchases of durables and stockpiling of storables. However, consumption is relatively insensitive. The IES is 0.13, and is precisely estimated. The final chapter uses durable and non-durable retail sales data to estimate the intertemporal substitution and income effects of three increases in New Zealand’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate. The intertemporal substitution estimates are consistent with the results from Japan. I also find evidence that uncompensated tax rate increases reduce retail sales in proportion to the price increase. The results presented in this dissertation suggest that policies that alter intertemporal prices will have a large, but short-lived impact on household expenditure.PHDEconomicsUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97900/1/cashin_1.pd

The Effect of uranium-236 and neptunium-237 on the value of uranium used as feed for thermal power reactors

Statement of responsibility on title page reads: Manson Benedict, David J. Bauhs, Terence C. Golden and Edward A. Mason"June 30, 1968.""MIT-2073-7."Includes bibliographical references (pages 183-184)United States Atomic Energy Commission contract AT(30-1)-207

Consumer understanding of terms used in imaging reports requested for low back pain: a cross-sectional survey

OBJECTIVES: To investigate (1) self-reported societal comprehension of common and usually non-serious terms found in lumbar spine imaging reports and (2) its relationship to perceived seriousness, likely persistence of low back pain (LBP), fear of movement, back beliefs and history and intensity of LBP. DESIGN: Cross-sectional online survey of the general public. SETTING: Five English-speaking countries: UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Adults (age >18 years) with or without a history of LBP recruited in April 2019 with quotas for country, age and gender. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported understanding of 14 terms (annular fissure, disc bulge, disc degeneration, disc extrusion, disc height loss, disc protrusion, disc signal loss, facet joint degeneration, high intensity zone, mild canal stenosis, Modic changes, nerve root contact, spondylolisthesis and spondylosis) commonly found in lumbar spine imaging reports. For each term, we also elicited worry about its seriousness, and whether its presence would indicate pain persistence and prompt fear of movement. RESULTS: From 774 responses, we included 677 (87.5%) with complete and valid responses. 577 (85%) participants had a current or past history of LBP of whom 251 (44%) had received lumbar spine imaging. Self-reported understanding of all terms was poor. At best, 235 (35%) reported understanding the term ‘disc degeneration’, while only 71 (10.5%) reported understanding the term ‘Modic changes’. For all terms, a moderate to large proportion of participants (range 59%–71%), considered they indicated a serious back problem, that pain might persist (range 52%–71%) and they would be fearful of movement (range 42%–57%). CONCLUSION: Common and usually non-serious terms in lumbar spine imaging reports are poorly understood by the general population and may contribute to the burden of LBP. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ACTRN12619000545167

Crystal structures of Lymnaea stagnalis AChBP in complex with neonicotinoid insecticides imidacloprid and clothianidin

Neonicotinoid insecticides, which act on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in a variety of ways, have extremely low mammalian toxicity, yet the molecular basis of such actions is poorly understood. To elucidate the molecular basis for nAChR–neonicotinoid interactions, a surrogate protein, acetylcholine binding protein from Lymnaea stagnalis (Ls-AChBP) was crystallized in complex with neonicotinoid insecticides imidacloprid (IMI) or clothianidin (CTD). The crystal structures suggested that the guanidine moiety of IMI and CTD stacks with Tyr185, while the nitro group of IMI but not of CTD makes a hydrogen bond with Gln55. IMI showed higher binding affinity for Ls-AChBP than that of CTD, consistent with weaker CH–π interactions in the Ls-AChBP–CTD complex than in the Ls-AChBP–IMI complex and the lack of the nitro group-Gln55 hydrogen bond in CTD. Yet, the NH at position 1 of CTD makes a hydrogen bond with the backbone carbonyl of Trp143, offering an explanation for the diverse actions of neonicotinoids on nAChRs