Labor market policies and unemployment in Morocco : a quantitative analysis

The authors study the impact of labor market policies on unemployment in Morocco. They begin by reviewing the main features of the labor market. Then they present a quantitative framework that captures many of these features-such as a large public sector, high redundancy payments, powerful trade unions, and international labor migration. The authors simulate the impact of a cut in the minimum wage and a reduction in payroll taxation. The results indicate that these policies may have a significant impact in the short term on open unskilled unemployment. But they also show that labor market reforms, to be effective in the long run, may need to be accompanied by offsetting changes in the budget to avoid crowding-out effects on private investment.Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Policies,Labor Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Markets,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management,Poverty Assessment

Analysis of a stochastic distributed delay epidemic model with relapse and Gamma distribution kernel

In this work, we investigate a stochastic epidemic model with relapse and distributed delay. First, we prove that our model possesses and unique global positive solution. Next, by means of the Lyapunov method, we determine some sufficient criteria for the extinction of the disease and its persistence. In addition, we establish the existence of a unique stationary distribution to our model. Finally, we provide some numerical simulations for the stochastic model to assist and show the applicability and efficiency of our results.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MICINN). EspañaEuropean Commission (EC). Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER

Roads out of poverty? assessing the links between aid, public investment, growth, and poverty reduction

The authors develop a macroeconomic framework that captures links between aid, public investment, growth, and poverty. Public investment is disaggregated into education, infrastructure, and health, and affects both aggregate supply and demand. Dutch disease effects are captured by accounting for changes in the relative price of domestic goods. The authors assess the impact of policy shocks on poverty by linking the model to a household survey. They calibrate the model for Ethiopia and simulate the changes in the allocation of aid and public investment. The authors also calculate the amount by which foreign aid should increase to reach the poverty targets of the Millennium Development Goals.Decentralization,Economic Theory&Research,Labor Policies,Environmental Economics&Policies,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Inequality,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Economic Stabilization,Banks&Banking Reform

Probing the (H3-H4)(2) histone tetramer structure using pulsed EPR spectroscopy combined with site-directed spin labelling

The (H3-H4)2 histone tetramer forms the central core of nucleosomes and, as such, plays a prominent role in assembly, disassembly and positioning of nucleosomes. Despite its fundamental role in chromatin, the tetramer has received little structural investigation. Here, through the use of pulsed electron-electron double resonance spectroscopy coupled with site-directed spin labelling, we survey the structure of the tetramer in solution. We find that tetramer is structurally more heterogeneous on its own than when sequestered in the octamer or nucleosome. In particular, while the central region including the H3-H3′ interface retains a structure similar to that observed in nucleosomes, other regions such as the H3 αN helix display increased structural heterogeneity. Flexibility of the H3 αN helix in the free tetramer also illustrates the potential for post-translational modifications to alter the structure of this region and mediate interactions with histone chaperones. The approach described here promises to prove a powerful system for investigating the structure of additional assemblies of histones with other important factors in chromatin assembly/fluidity

Structure-property relationships for polycarboxylate ether superplasticizers by means of RAFT polymerization

Hypothesis: Polycarboxylate ether (PCE) comb-copolymers are widely used as water reducing agents in the concrete industry while maintaining a high fluidity via the polymer adsorption to the cement particles. PCE copolymers with a broad range of structures are well established by Free radical polymerization, however, understanding the structure-property relationship is still complex due to the high polydispersity of PCE copolymers prepared by conventional polymerization. The influence of different structural parameters using well-defined polymeric structures is yet to be explored. Experiments: In this study, two different types of comb-like random copolymers, namely polycarboxylate ether (PCE; poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate/methacrylic acid)) and polysulfonate ether (PSE; poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate/sodium 4-styrenesulfonate)), were synthesized by RAFT polymerization to enable the synthesis of polymers with controlled features. The effect of charge types and side chain lengths on the adsorption, rheology, and dispersing ability of cement pastes have been studied. Findings: RAFT polymerization could be used to prepare PCE random copolymers with good control over the polymer molecular weight and narrow polydispersity (D < 1.3). Results revealed that the zeta-potential values depend on both the charge type and side chain lengths. Copolymers containing SO3- exhibited higher absolute negative zeta-potential values than COO- while PCE copolymers with shorter side chains developed higher absolute negative zeta-potential values. On the other hand, the adsorption study demonstrated that decreasing the side chain lengths lead to higher adsorption of PCE copolymers while Copolymers with COO- groups were found to be adsorbed more than SO3- counterparts. These results are further confirmed with the rheological studies and it is found that the shorter the side chain, the lower the yield stress and the higher the dispersion of cement pastes but to a limited effect. Additionally, the charge types have a major influence on the performance of superplasticizers. This study could make further progress in establishing superplasticizers with controlled architectures for better performance

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa : a macroeconomic monitoring framework

The authors present an integrated macroeconomic approach to monitoring progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Sub-Saharan Africa. At the heart of their approach is a macroeconomic model that captures key linkages between foreign aid, public investment (disaggregated into education, infrastructure, and health), the supply side, and poverty. The model is linked through cross-section regressions to indicators of malnutrition, infant mortality, life expectancy, and access to safe water. A composite MDG indicator is also calculated. The functioning of the framework is illustrated by simulating the impact of an increase in aid and a debt write-off for Niger at the MDG horizon of 2015, under alternative assumptions about the degree of efficiency of public investment. The authors'approach can serve as the building block of Strategy Papers for Human Development (SPAHD), a more encompassing concept than the current"Poverty Reduction"Strategy Papers.Economic Theory&Research,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Inequality,Investment and Investment Climate,Achieving Shared Growth