The Struggle of Sound Archives in the United States

published or submitted for publicatio

What do deficits tell us about debt? Empirical evidence on creative accounting with fiscal rules in the EU

Fiscal rules, such as the Excessive Deficit Procedure and the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), aim at constraining government behavior. Milesi-Ferretti (2003) develops a model in which governments circumvent such rules by reverting to creative accounting. The amount of this depends on the reputation cost for the government and the economic cost of sticking to the rule. We provide empirical evidence of creative accounting in the European Union. We find that the SGP rules have induced governments to use stock-flow adjustments, a form of creative accounting, to hide deficits. The tendency to substitute stock-flow adjustments for budget deficits is especially strong for the cyclical component of the deficit, as in times of recession the cost of reducing the deficit is particularly large.Fiscal rules; stock-flow adjustments; debt-deficit adjustments; stability and growth pact; excessive deficit procedure; ESA 95

What do deficits tell us about debt? Empirical evidence on creative accounting with fiscal rules in the EU

Fiscal rules, such as the excessive deficit procedure and the stability and growth pact (SGP), aim at constraining government behavior. Milesi-Ferretti (2003) develops a model in which governments circumvent such rules by reverting to creative accounting. The amount of this creative accounting depends on the reputation cost for the government and the economic cost of sticking to the rule. In this paper, we provide empirical evidence of creative accounting in the European Union. We find that the SGP rules have induced governments to use stock-flow adjustments, a form of creative accounting, to hide deficits. This tendency to substitute stock-flow adjustments for budget deficits is especially strong for the cyclical component of the deficit, as in times of recession the cost of reducing the deficit is particularly large. --Fiscal rules,stock-flow adjustments,debt-deficit adjustments,stability and growth pact,excessive deficit procedure,ESA 95

Recursive Calculation of Effective Potential and Variational Resummation

We set up a method for a recursive calculation of the effective potential which is applied to a cubic potential with imaginary coupling. The result is resummed using variational perturbation theory (VPT), yielding an exponentially fast convergence.Comment: Author Information under http://www.physik.fu-berlin.de/~kleinert/institution.html Latest update of paper (including all PS fonts) at http://www.physik.fu-berlin.de/~kleinert/350

Method to determine the optimal parameters of the Arecibo 46.8-MHz antenna system

The spherical reflector at the Arecibo Observatory (AO) offers great advantages for the design of simple and inexpensive high performance steerable antennas at VHF. Light and small feeds have the added benefit that they can be quickly installed in the Arecibo platform. It is important to evaluate the performance of any given feed including the effects of the spherical reflector. The optimization is emphasized of two parameters, namely, the distance below the focal point of the reflector and the beam width of a point feed. For the design of the feed at 46.8 MHz at the AO there were other requirements independent of MST (mesosphere stratosphere troposphere) work. The design of the primary array is discussed along with its performance with the AO spherical reflector

East Germany: Transition with Unification ; Experiments and Experiences

--Economic transition,public finance

Biomechanical Analysis of Spinal Load in Motor-Manual Cutting

Two Norwegian cutting instructors have been used as models for demonstration of "correct" and "poor" working postures in motor-manual cutting. This enabled estimation of the intervertebral disc compression forces at L5/Sl-level. The results/when related to defined lifting hazard levels shows that the compressive forces are greater in all "poor" postures compared with corresponding "correct" postures. Furthermore, relating to the lifting hazard levels, it becomes obvious that even correct working techniques in the felling and bunching sequences entails hazardous compressive forces in the lumbar column. This is probably one of the main causes of the high incidence of lower back injuries among loggers. Training courses for better technique and adminstrative or engineering controls to eliminate the peak loads are still needed in forestry

Dee Brown

In 1974, Choice magazine voiced a widely held opinion when it characterized Dee A. Brown as “a distinguished writer of Western history” (284). By then he had also become known to a wide audience as a first-rate storyteller. Yet prior to the publication in 1970 of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, he had labored in relative obscurity, athough writing a steady stream of novels, articles, and historical reference books. Then the success and acceptance of Bury My Heart lifted him to national prominence