Spatial inequalities explained - Evidence from Burkina Faso

The literature shows that regional disparities in growth and poverty are often relatively high, that these regional disparities do not necessarily disappear as the economies grow and develop and that these disparities are itself in many cases an important driver of the overall performance of an economy. In this paper we make use of the advantage of a multilevel random coefficient model to explain spatial disparities in incomes among Burkinab`e households. Our findings show that it is not a geographical concentration of people with poor endowments that make areas poor in Burkina Faso. Household income disparities are largely driven by differences in neighborhood endowments and to a smaller extent by provincial or regional characteristics. We conclude that the policy should target small scale geographical units, such as villages. Providing infrastructure, enhancing the functioning of labor markets and fostering demand for education can compensate for climatical disadvantages.Spatial inequality, poverty, multilevel modeling, decomposition, Sub-Saharan Africa

Robust Multiperiod Poverty Comparisons

We propose a methodology for comparing poverty over multiple periods across time and space without arbitrarily aggregating income over various years or relying on arbitrarily specified poverty lines. Following Duclos et al. (2006a), we use the multivariate stochastic dominance methodology to create dominance surfaces for different time spans. We elaborate the method for the bi-dimensional case, using income observed over two periods, one at the beginning and one at the end of a time span, as dimensions. We also embed in this framework a new concept of chronic and transient poverty. We illustrate our approach by performing poverty comparisons using data for Indonesia and Peru. --Chronic Poverty,Multiperiod Poverty,Poverty Dominance,Poverty Dynamics,Transient Poverty

Robust Multiperiod Poverty Comparisons

We propose a new methodology for comparing poverty over multiple periods across time and space that does not arbitrarily aggregate income over various years or rely on arbitrarily specified poverty lines or poverty indices. Following Duclos et al. (2006a), we use the multivariate stochastic dominance methodology to create dominance surfaces for different time spans. We elaborate the method first for the bidimensional case, using as dimensions income observed over two periods: one at the beginning and one at the end of a time span. Subsequently, we extend it to the case where incomes are observed over n-periods. We illustrate our approach by performing poverty comparisons using data for Indonesia and Peru.Multiperiod Poverty, Poverty Dominance, Poverty Dynamics, Chronic Poverty

Low Malnutrition but High Mortality: Explaining the Paradox of the Lake Victoria Region

Exploiting DHS data from 235 regions in 29 Sub-Saharan Africa countries, we find that the combination of low levels of malnutrition together with dramatically high rates of mortality, encountered in Kenya's Lake Victoria territory, is unique for Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper explores the causes of this paradox for the Kenyan context. Our identification strategy consists of two parts. First of all, we apply multilevel regression models to control simultaneously for family and community clustering of the observed malnutrition and mortality outcomes. Secondly, to address unobserved but correlated factors, we exploit information from GIS and malaria databases to construct variables that capture additional components of children's geographic, political and cultural environment. Our analysis reveals that beneficial agricultural conditions and feeding practices lead to the observed sound anthropometric outcomes around Lake Victoria. In contrast, high mortality rates rest upon an adverse disease environment (malaria prevalence, water pollution, HIV rates) and a policy neglect (underprovision of health care services). Nonetheless, a significant effect of the local ethnic group, the Luo, on mortality remains. --Child mortality,undernutrition,poverty,multilevel modeling,Sub-Saharan Africa

Low Malnutrition but High Mortality: Explaining the Paradox of the Lake Victoria Region

Exploiting DHS data from 235 regions in 29 Sub-Saharan Africa countries, we find that the combination of low levels of malnutrition together with dramatically high rates of mortality, encountered in Kenya\'s Lake Victoria territory, is unique for Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper explores the causes of this paradox for the Kenyan context. Our identification strategy consists of two parts. First of all, we apply multilevel regression models to control simultaneously for family and community clustering of the observed malnutrition and mortality outcomes. Secondly, to address unobserved but correlated factors, we exploit information from GIS and malaria databases to construct variables that capture additional components of children\'s geographic, political and cultural environment. Our analysis reveals that beneficial agricultural conditions and feeding practices lead to the observed sound anthropometric outcomes around Lake Victoria. In contrast, high mortality rates rest upon an adverse disease environment (malaria prevalence, water pollution, HIV rates) and a policy neglect (underprovision of health care services). Nonetheless, a significant effect of the local ethnic group, the Luo, on mortality remains.Child mortality, undernutrition, poverty, multilevel modeling, Sub-Saharan Africa

Econometric Analysis in Poverty Research

Poverty and inequality persist in many regions of the developing world. This may be due mainly to an ineffective targeting of policies to address the root causes of poverty. Sustainable policy interventions are in need of reliable concepts of poverty and of a thorough understanding of the underlying mechanism that lead to such deprivation. The three essays of this book add to the debate concerning appropriate statistical tools in empirical development economics. The work proposes specific methodologies to analyze the extent of poverty and its underlying factors based on recent household surveys. The first chapter deals with a concept of poverty comparisons when panel data is at hand. The second chapter studies the determinants of spatial inequality using multilevel modelling. The third chapter analyzes the relation between a child’s nutritional status and its survival probability

An enthusiastic support of Bonnie J. Miller-McLemoreߣs corrections of the Five Misunderstandings of Practical Theology based on Schleiermacherߣs Concept of Theology

This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Peer Reviewe

Deciphering the role of mitogen-activated protein kinases in host cell death induced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The emergence and prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) resistant strains requires the development of alternative therapeutic strategies, such as host-directed therapies (HDT), to treat tuberculosis (TB) infections. These HDT act on the host- response to a pathogen rather than directly on the pathogen itself. A HDT already applied to TB patients are corticosteroids, such as dexamethasone, which are combined with antibiotic treatment in a subset of patients. The exact mechanism of action of corticosteroids in TB remains elusive. Mtb is a highly adapted pathogen that continuously exploits the immune system of the host to ensure its own survival. A major mechanism of pathogenesis in TB is the induction of host cell death. Host cell death leads to the escape of Mtb from the phagocyte and results in dissemination of the disease. However, the exact cell death pathway induced by Mtb as well as the key regulators remain unknown. In-depth understanding of this cell death pathway and the protective mechanism of dexamethasone would provide valuable targets for HDT and may allow for a tailored therapy in patients with extensive tissue necrosis and inflammation. In this thesis, I decipher a novel host cell death pathway triggered by Mtb, which can be inhibited by dexamethasone. Infection of macrophages (Mᴓ) with Mtb induces the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). I show that p38 MAPK signaling triggers necrosis rather than apoptosis in Mtb-infected phagocytes. The activation of p38 MAPK promotes the dissociation of hexokinase II (HKII) from mitochondria and allows the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP). The opening of the mPTP results in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) depletion and finally in necrosis of the host cell. I can show that dexamethasone inhibits this pathway by activating MAPK phosphatase 1 (MKP-1) to downregulate p38 MAPK activity. Moreover, a direct inhibition of p38 MAPK by the specific p38 MAPK inhibitor doramapimod has similar effects on host cell survival. Since corticosteroids are anti-inflammatory drugs, which among others inhibit tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling, I further characterized TNF and necroptosis in Mtb-infected cells using mixed lineage kinase domain-like pseudokinase (MLKL) and TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) knockout Mᴓ. I could demonstrate that the underlying mechanism of dexamethasone is independent from TNF and necroptosis. Thus, my results link p38 MAPK inhibition by corticosteroids or p38 MAPK inhibitors to the abrogation of mitochondria-mediated host cell death in TB infection and provides new opportunities for research on novel HDT concepts

Zur steuerlichen Bedeutung der Entfernungspauschale

Der Koalitionsvertrag der neuen Bundesregierung sieht vor, eine Pendlerpauschale nur noch ab einer Entfernung von 20 km zu gewähren. Welche Bedeutung hatte die Entfernungspauschale bisher für die Steuerzahlungen von Arbeitnehmern? Welche Einkommensgruppen werden von der geplanten Kürzung besonders betroffen? --