Fiscal Federalism and Demography

The paper examines the effects of demographic change on federal, state and local governments in Germany with a focus on the expenditure side to answer the question, whether demographic change will induce vertical fiscal expenditure imbalances. We present estimates of the impact of demographic change on public spending based on a decomposition of expenditures into almost 30 categories (functions). Our results suggest that demographic change will indeed result in significant vertical expenditure imbalances between the federal and the subnational government sector as well as within the subnational government sector. In addition, the estimates show that the structure of expenditures by function has to be adjusted considerably in order to avoid deficits as demographically induced increases in expenditures in some important functions, such as pension payments, have to be counterbalanced by exploiting potential savings that arise from demographic change in other functions. --fiscal federalism,demographic change,vertical fiscal expenditure imbalances

Demographic Change and Federal Systems: Some Preliminary Results for Germany

The paper examines the effects of demographic change on federal, state and local government expenditures in Germany. Public spending is decomposed into almost 30 categories (functions) and simple estimates of age cost profiles are derived. Using population forecasts and assuming timeinvariant age cost profiles we estimate the effects of the ageing of the Germany society on the level and structure of expenditures at the three layers of governments. Our results show that subnational governments - state and local governments - can expect demographic savings whereas the federal government will live to see a worsening of its fiscal stance. Thus one should expect that significant vertical expenditure imbalances will arise that - if institutional settings are left unchanged - will ask for an adjustment of revenue distribution within the federation. --Fiscal Federalism,Demographic Change,Vertical Fiscal Imbalances

Demographic Change and Public Sector Budgets in a Federal System

This paper examines the effects of demographic change on public finances in a federal system. We develop a simple methodical procedure to measure the effect of demographic changes on public revenues and expenditures. We apply our method to the local, state and federal government sector as well as on the social security system in Germany. Our results suggest that demographic change will lead to significant vertical fiscal imbalances between the different layers of government. In addition we show, that subnational governments can generate a demographic dividend whereas the social security system and the federal government have to carry an additional burden due to ageing.fiscal federalism, demographic change, sustainability of public finances

Digital Material in a Political Work Context - The Case of Cuparla

Understanding the appropriation of CSCW-- Tools is key to their successful implementation. This paper explores the social and organizational appropriation of the Cuparla CSCW-environment in the Stuttgart city council. The city council work requires a CSCW design that is based on the notion of digital material in separated work contexts. Within these contexts, the appropriation of technology depends on trust within the collaborating group and the organizational complexity of the tasks the group is working on. Dealing with organizational complexity and trust are therefore fundamental building blocks of CSCW-implementation strategies. With regard to software design, requirements can be elicited, that allow for different social trust structures as well as different task support

The determination of road sections by computer for use in road design

A brief resume of ,recent developments in the design of roads is given with special reference to the increasing part played by automated methods by means of which higher degrees of optimization may be achieved. Flow charts illustrating road design demonstrate the relative importance of the determination of the transverse road section by computer. The finished transverse road section, called a template, consists of a central portion and the outer sloped cut and fill banks. The central portion covers the carriageway(s) and shoulders, the shape of which is predetermined by the geometric .design of the road surface and is independent of ground shape. The outer sloped banks, called the side-drain template, are dependent upon the position of the ground surface in relation to the predetermined central portion. When a road is to be built, the road authority usually prescribes the final transverse shape of the road by specifying a standard road template. At every point along the road a specific template can then be determined in accordance with the standard template. However, problems are experienced because certain available computer programs are unable to execute the side-drain portion of the standard road template correctly while earthwork quantities are being calculated. Several available programs are investigated with regard to the procedures adopted by them for the selection of appropriate road side-drain templates. Deficiencies in these programs are noted. A general solution to the problem of the logical determination of road sections by computer, namely, the method of the locus of the slope stake point, is introduced and elucidated. The success of the method is confirmed by the presentation of the completely operative computer program SHARM for the calculation of road earthworks quantities: The use of the program is demonstrated by a short sample run. Limitations of the method of the locus of the slope stake point and of the SHARM program are noted, and finally some future developments are discussed

Neue Wege zur Erhaltung historischer Glasfenster

Es wurde ein Konzept zum Schutz korrosionsempfindlicher historischer Gläser durch direktes Beschichten entwickelt. Zur Beurteilung des Korrosionsverhaltens wurden Modellgläser mit repräsentativen Zusammensetzungen verwendet und der Korrosionsverlauf naßchemisch und IR-spektroskopisch ermittelt. Als Beschichtungskomponenten wurden speziell entwickelte organisch modifizierte Silicate, sogenannte ORMOSILe, herangezogen, da sie im Gegensatz zu herkömmlichen organischen Polymeren auch unter korrosiven Bedingungen eine ausgezeichnete Haftung zur Glasoberfläche zeigen. Zu einer für die Praxis ausreichenden Verminderung der Auslaug- bzw. Korrosionsgeschwindigkeit ist jedoch der zusätzliche Einbau von Wasserdampfdiffusionssperrschichten auf der Basis transparenter anorganischer Pigmente notwendig

Die Vegetation einer innerstädtischen Industriebrache : das ehemalige Hammersen-Gelände in Osnabrück ; Bestandsaufnahme und Bewertung

The area of the study is a good example of intraurban industrial blight. The study investigates the succession of the vegetation on the abandoned area. Associations of the Sisymbrion and the Dauco-Melilotion (Artemisio-Tanacetetum) could be identilied, occasionally - dependent on local conditions - communities of the Agropyretea intermedii-repentis and some types of shrubs. Some of the associations (mainly of the Agropyretea) can be interpreted as indicators of specilic soil contaminations. Surprisingly some of the idenlified species were hitherto assumed being already extincted in the region; obviously they dated from the soil seed bank. Some conclusions are drawn for conservation and planning of open spaces

Mitochondrial protein import

Transport of nuclear-encoded precursor proteins into mitochondria includes proteolytic cleavage of aminoterminal targeting sequences in the mitochondrial matrix. We have isolated the processing activity from Neurospora crassa. The final preparation (enriched ca. 10,000-fold over cell extracts) consists of two proteins, the matrix processing peptidase (MPP, 57 kd) and a processing enhancing protein (PEP, 52 kd). The two components were isolated as monomers. PEP is about 15-fold more abundant in mitochondria than MPP. It is partly associated with the inner membrane, while MPP is soluble in the matrix. MPP alone has a low processing activity whereas PEP alone has no apparent activity. Upon recombining both, full processing activity is restored. Our data indicate that MPP contains the catalytic site and that PEP has an enhancing function. The mitochondrial processing enzyme appears to represent a new type of “signal peptidase,” different from the bacterial leader peptidase and the signal peptidase of the endoplasmic reticulum

Stable isotope composition of Cretaceous benthic foraminifera: biological and environmental effects

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Music fan stereotypes in a South African sample

Abstract: The present study aimed to elicit stereotypes about personality characteristics of music genres including those specific to South Africa. Participants were 941 undergraduate students at a South African university. They responded to a number of surveys on their music genre preferences and personality traits. The results indicated that participants hold distinct stereotypes about the personality traits of different music fans which mainly overlap with research from other countries but also differ. This research supports prior findings that intergroup stereotyping occurs as an intergroup phenomenon based on musical preference