Organic foods in public catering: Organisational development or a locomotive to boost organic sales

In many countries public procurement policies of organic foods have become a popular instrument to increase the sale of organic produce. However, unlike the relatively uncomplicated “organic” change process in private households, the processes related to implementation of foods in public food systems have proved to be quite complicated. In order to study the nature of these systems and their ability to implement organic consumption a study of the Danish Green Procurement Programme (GPP) method was carried out. The GPP aimed at supporting organic consumption in public catering. The study included document analysis, qualitative interviews and a questionnaire based survey among practitioners at catering and municipal level. The results show that organic conversion processes in municipal catering is a multifaceted process. The process is not only concerned with substituting conventional foods with organic ones but involves a number of significant spin offs and ramifications. Instead of being a simple replacement process the conversion also functions as a change opportunity in which public food systems can develop and innovate. However the Danish case also shows that if organic procurement policies should be a reliable alternative sales channel, it is important at all times to keep the goal of the conversion in mind and not to neglect the need for constant monitoring of the progress of the organic procurement policy in terms of actual amounts of organic products. The case shows that such monitoring is needed both at institutional, municipal and national levels

Proceedings of the Conference on Human and Economic Resources

We estimate the amount of income and consumption smoothing (risk sharing) between countries in the European Monetary Union (EMU) and between other developed countries during the period 1970–2003. In particular, we examine if EMU countries display different patterns of risk sharing than other developed countries in the period leading up to and following the formation of the EMU in 1999. We find that income smoothing from international factor income has increased in the EMU since the introduction of the EMU and that consumption smoothing from procyclical government saving has declined steeply in the EMU since the signing of the Maastricht treaty.EMU, Risk Sharing, economic determinants of risk sharing

Is risk sharing in the United States a regional phenomenon?

Regions within the United States routinely experience economic fluctuations that differ from those of other regions. For example, in the past few years, falling wheat prices have slowed growth in the value of total output in Kansas. Such developments can pose concerns for policymakers because macroeconomic tools like monetary policy affect all regions, not just specific regions. Fortunately, several mechanisms help insulate regional income and consumption from region-specific output fluctuations. Diversification of asset ownership across regions, made possible by national capital markets, smoothes regional income and, in turn, consumption. The federal tax system also helps protect regional income and consumption from region- specific changes in output. Finally, adjustments to saving further insulate consumption from variation in output. In effect, each of these mechanisms mitigates the effect of region-specific economic fluctuations by pooling risks across regions--by providing risk sharing.> Although earlier research has documented the pattern of risk sharing for the United States as a whole, patterns may differ across broad regions of the nation. Eastern states, for example, may benefit more from income smoothing through capital markets due to their proximity to Wall Street. Moreover, geographic distance may affect whether and how risk is shared. For instance, it may be easier for Kansas residents to own property, such as a farm or hotel, in Colorado than in Massachusetts. Similarly, business owners in Kansas are more likely to obtain loans in Missouri than in New York. In this case, geography may affect the ability of risk sharing to mitigate region-specific fluctuations in output. Because geography matters, this article examines whether risk sharing occurs more in some regions than in others and whether risk sharing is greater within large regions of the United States than between regions.> Sorensen and Yosha present the conceptual framework of risk sharing and develop a method for estimating the amount of risk sharing provided by different mechanisms. They report estimates of risk sharing patterns within and across a set of large U.S. regions. These estimates reveal some important regional differences. Moreover, the estimates indicate there is more overall risk sharing within regions than between regions. The risk sharing provided by capital markets and the federal tax system is essentially the same within and across regions, implying that these are nationwide mechanisms. In contrast, risk sharing through saving adjustments is more local, occurring just within regions.Risk

Is state fiscal policy asymmetric over the business cycle?

A number of stabilizers are thought to mute the business cycle. One key stabilizer is federal fiscal policy. The federal budget surplus tends to rise during economic booms and fall in downturns, helping to stabilize consumers’ disposable income and thereby mitigate economic fluctuations. During booms, for example, the budget surplus typically rises because tax revenues rise more than expenditures.> Another stabilizer that has traditionally received less attention is state fiscal policy. Like the federal budget surplus, state government surpluses tend to rise during economic expansions and decline during downturns. Moreover, like the federal budget, state budgets represent large shares of the economy. The stabilizing influence of state fiscal policy, however, may differ across business cycle expansions and downturns – making state fiscal policy asymmetric. For example, state budgets could be more effective at mitigating economic slumps than at muting booms if taxes fall more sharply during a slump than they rise in an expansion of equal magnitude. Asymmetry in fiscal policy could be caused by a number of factors, such as balanced budget rules, which are constitutionally imposed restrictions on a state government’s ability to incur debt.> Sorensen and Yosha examine the business cycle behavior of state fiscal policy to determine whether policy is asymmetric and, if so, to identify the causes. They conclude that state revenue and expenditure display significant asymmetry over the business cycle, with nearly offsetting effects on the budget surplus. As a result, state fiscal policy tends to mute economic booms to roughly the same degree it mitigates slowdowns. The asymmetries in revenue and expenditure appear to be associated with balanced budget rules, although their fundamental causes cannot be clearly identified.Fiscal policy ; Business cycles

Risk Sharing among OECD and EU Countries: The Role of Capital Gains, Capital Income, Transfers, and Saving

We estimate the amount of income and consumption smoothing (risk sharing) between OECD countries during the period 1970{2003 with a particular focus on EU and EMU countries. Income smoothing from international factor income has increased in the EU and, in particular, the EMU but not in the non-EU OECD since the introduction of the Euro. Consumption smoothing from pro-cyclical government saving has declined in the EMU, but not in the non-EU OECD, since the signing of the Maastricht treaty. We find that when capital gains and losses on international asset positions are considered part of income, the magnitude of capital gains leads to huge amounts of income smoothing and dis-smoothing although, at the time horizons we examine, the capital gains or losses are only weakly reflected in consumption. Understanding the role of capital gains in risk sharing appears to be of first order importance.Government De¯cits, Income Insurance, International Capital Markets, International Integration, Risk Sharing, External Capital Gains

The Static and Dynamic Benefits of Migration and Remittances in Nicaragua

This paper utilizes a unique three-wave panel of household data from Nicaragua, which allows a thorough exploration of the relationships between migration, remittances and household consumption. The paper distinguishes between the effects of emigration and the impacts of remittances received. There is a self-selection bias in the decision to send a migrant, as well as in the decision to receive remittances. To adequately correct for these selection biases, we develop a bivariate selection correction procedure. Perhaps surprisingly, the results show that households do not benefit (in terms of higher consumption growth) from receiving remittances, but rather from having migrants abroad. This suggests that not only money are remitted from abroad, but also something more subtle, which could be business ideas, belief systems, aspirations, patterns of social interaction, and other intangibles, which have been dubbed social remittances.Migration, Remittances, Social Remittances, Nicaragua, Bivariate Selection Correction

Labor Mobility in Bolivia: On-the-job Search Behavior of Private and Public Sector Employees

This paper estimates structural parameters of both a simple and an extended job separation model with the purpose of understanding constraints in the labor market in Bolivia. The results confirm the hypothesis that skilled labor is a scarce commodity in Bolivia, while unskilled labor is abundantly available. This implies that skilled employees shop around for alternative employment opportunities and quit their jobs when a better opportunity arises. The quit rate among skilled employees in the private sector is much higher than the quit rate among skilled employees in the public sector. The reverse is true for the lay-off rate, and together this suggests that the private sector has difficulties maintaining its skilled labor. The estimates of the wage sensitivity of job search effort parameters presented in this paper suggest that it would be difficult for the private sector to improve its capacity to retain skilled employees by increasing wages – skilled employees in the private sector do not seem to reduce their on-the-job search in response to higher wages. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the public sector in Bolivia, inflated by high levels of foreign aid (about 10% of GDP), may be detracting scarce human resources from local productive sectors, potentially jeopardizing the opportunity for sustainable development.Mobility, on-the-job search, labor markets, Bolivia

Ecological modernisation in the public catering sector. Danish experiences with use of organic food

The paper is part of the proceedings of an iPOPY seminar. The authors reflect on whether and how organic food in schools and kindergartens can be described as a part of an ecological modernization strategy in Denmark. They discuss how it has merged with more economically and technically approach in public catering policy. They discuss how it has merged with more economically and technically approaches in public catering policy

Antibiotics in acute bronchitis: a meta-analysis.

PurposeMost patients with acute bronchitis who seek medical care are treated with antibiotics, although the effectiveness of this intervention is uncertain. We performed a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials to estimate the effectiveness of antibiotics in the treatment of acute bronchitis.Subjects and methodsEnglish-language studies published January 1966 to April 1998 were retrieved using MEDLINE, bibliographies, and consultation with experts. Only randomized trials that enrolled otherwise healthy patients with a diagnosis of acute bronchitis, used an antibiotic in the treatment group and a placebo in the control group, and provided sufficient data to calculate an effect size were included.ResultsWe identified eight randomized controlled trials that satisfied all inclusion criteria. These studies used one of three antibiotics (erythromycin, doxycycline, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole). The use of antibiotics decreased the duration of cough and sputum production by approximately one-half day (summary effect size 0.21; 95% CI, 0.05 to 0.36). For specific symptoms, there were nonsignificant trends favoring the use of antibiotics: a decrease of 0.4 days of purulent sputum (95% CI, -0.1 to 0.8), a decrease of 0.5 days of cough (95% CI, -0.1 to 1.1), and a decrease of 0.3 days lost from work (95% CI, -0.6 to 1.1).ConclusionThis meta-analysis suggests a small benefit from the use of the antibiotics erythromycin, doxycycline, or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole in the treatment of acute bronchitis in otherwise healthy patients. As this small benefit must be weighed against the risk of side effects and the societal cost of increasing antibiotic resistance, we believe that the use of antibiotics is not justified in these patients