Fiscal austerity and migration: a missing link

In this paper we propose a new channel through which fiscal austerity affects the macroeconomy. To this end, we introduce endogenous migration both for the unem- ployed and the employed members of the household in a small open economy New Keynesian model with labour market frictions. Our model-based simulations for the austerity mix implemented in Greece over the period 2010-2015 show that the model is able to match the total size of half a million emigrants and output drop of 25%, while the model without migration generates an output drop of 20%. Having established that the model delivers empirically plausible results, we then use it to investigate (i) the two-way relation between migration and austerity, and (ii) the role of migration as shock absorber. We find that tax hikes induce prolonged migration outflows, while the effect of spending cuts is hump-shaped. In turn, emigration implies an increase in both the tax hike and time required to achieve a given size of debt reduction. As a result of the labour-reducing effect of these higher tax hikes, the unemployment gains from migration are only temporary in the presence of austerity and are substantially reversed over time

Tumor Susceptibility Gene 101 (TSG101) Is a Novel Binding-Partner for the Class II Rab11-FIPs

The Rab11-FIPs (Rab11-family interacting proteins; henceforth, FIPs) are a family of Rab11a/Rab11b/Rab25 GTPase effector proteins implicated in an assortment of intracellular trafficking processes. Through proteomic screening, we have identified TSG101 (tumor susceptibility gene 101), a component of the ESCRT-I (endosomal sorting complex required for transport) complex, as a novel FIP4-binding protein, which we find can also bind FIP3. We show that α-helical coiled-coil regions of both TSG101 and FIP4 mediate the interaction with the cognate protein, and that point mutations in the coiled-coil regions of both TSG101 and FIP4 abrogate the interaction. We find that expression of TSG101 and FIP4 mutants cause cytokinesis defects, but that the TSG101-FIP4 interaction is not required for localisation of TSG101 to the midbody/Flemming body during abscission. Together, these data suggest functional overlap between Rab11-controlled processes and components of the ESCRT pathway

Ramet proliferation by longitudinal splitting in the Gabonese rain forest liana Dalhousiea africana S. Moore (Papilionaceae)

Growth strategies of clonal palms were studied in old-growth tropical rainforest in Yasuní, Amazonian Ecuador. Genet structure, clonal and sexual fecundity, and light availability were investigated for 188 genets totalling 1256 ramets and 10 species. Negative relationships between risk of stem bending and stem diameter and between stem diameter and number of large ramets per genet were found. Recruitment of thick-stemmed species occurred in better-lit microsites than where the smaller species occurred. The three most common species were studied in more detail. Clonal and sexual fecundity were only related to light availability in one species each. No general trade-off between sexual and clonal reproduction was found. Sexual fecundity was related to size in all three species, while clonal fecundity was so only in one species. Overall, the results suggest that light availability poses a strong constraint on the evolution of growth strategies in clonal understorey palms, while the resource cost of sexual reproduction is not high enough to result in a general trade-off between sexual and clonal reproduction. It is also concluded that in understorey palms clonal growth is more a growth strategy than a dispersion-propagation strategy