Optimization Of Fiscal Retrenchment Policies Using A Social Accounting Matrix Multiobjective Linear Programming Model: The Case Of New York State

State finances continued to deteriorate over fiscal 2010, suffering from the cumulative impact of lower revenues, ballooning general fund spending and the general rise in the level of unemployment. The phasing out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is likely to constrain even further the fiscal space of local governments throughout the country, potentially endangering a fragile economic recovery. In order to face rapidly rising budget gaps, forty states enacted mid-year budget cuts totaling $22 billion for FY 2010. The fiscal retrenchment approach to budget policy appears to gain ground amongst embattled states, with governors proposing drastic cuts in their fiscal 2011 executive budgets to meet balance-budget requirements. The legacy of the 1970s tax revolts, having made tax hikes difficult to enact, also contributed to corner states into spending reduction strategies. The study of cutback management has heavily focused on how and why reduction targets are adopted by state executives and legislators, as well as on their subsequent effects on local economies. The literature is however scarce on proposing a framework for efficient structuring of budget cuts at the state level. Stricken by uncertainty, many governors are driven toward across-the-board cuts, treating general fund expenditures as a fungible commodity. With states facing increasingly painful budgetary choices, weighting their implications and analyzing potential alternatives become critical to evaluate prospects for regional economic recoveries. In this dissertation, a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) Multiobjective Linear Programming (MOLP) model is proposed and applied to the case of New York State. The SAM multipliers provide a powerful instrument to evaluate the short-term impact of austerity measures while linear programming (LP) offers an optimization framework to close efficiently the state's budget gap. Attention focuses on the existence of several conflicting objectives that the decision maker tries to optimize simultaneously. Four procedures are introduced to solve the model: the augmented weighted Tchebycheff method, an elistist genetic algorithm, the weighted sum method and constraint programming. The theoretical framework established in the following chapters as well as its application to the Deficit Reduction Plan proposed by Governor Paterson in fiscal 2009 show promising results. The model indeed converges to a set of Pareto optimal solutions that are by essence, more efficient with respect to growth, employment and labor income than the original plan. It constitutes one of the first practical applications of multiobjective optimization to policy design through a Walrasian general equilibrium framework

Recherche d'associations entre la progression vers le SIDA ou le Lupus Erythematosus et des polymorphismes de gènes humains impliqués dans l'immunité

Résumé françaisRésumé anglaisORSAY-PARIS 11-BU Sciences (914712101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Constraining the composition and geological history of the main types of terrains found in the equatorial belt of Titan

Over these past thirteen years, near-IR imaging data from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) onboard Cassini gave significant hints on the spectroscopic and geological diversity of the terrains on Titan's surface. The composition of those terrains still remains unconfirmed yet. Nonetheless, by applying a newly updated radiative transfer model, we provide excellent constraints on the composition and structure for the main IR-units present in the equatorial belt (±40°N/S). Indeed, by combining this method of correction with a spectral mixing model for water ice and tholins, we determine the main chemical species present within IR-units and relate them to the observed geomorphology. We therefore propose a scenario that could lead to the current distribution of the IR-units

Equatorial belt of Titan revisited using a comprehensive radiative transfer model

Since twelve years of exploration, near-infrared imaging data provided from the Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) onboard Cassini reveal a variety of surface units that are compositionally and/or structurally distinct. The analysis of these units enables constraining the surface composition of Titan, which is of prime importance for modelling Titan's interior, surface, and atmosphere, particularly in the search for an endogenic hydrocarbons source. For this study, we investigate a selection of regions of interest seen in VIMS data by comparatively applying methods of correction for the atmospheric contributions

Solar System Objects with the NACO Fabry-Perot and SINFONI

International audienc

Solar System Objects with the NACO Fabry-Perot and SINFONI

International audienc

Solar System Objects with the NACO Fabry-Perot and SINFONI

International audienc

Exploration of associations between phospholipase A2 gene family polymorphisms and AIDS progression using the SNPlex method.

Members of the secreted phospholipase A2 (PLA2) protein family can inhibit HIV-1 virus replication in vitro. To evaluate the impact of PLA2 gene polymorphisms on AIDS disease development, we studied 12 family members using SNPlextrade mark technology that permitted simultaneous typing of 70 tagging Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (tagSNPs). The study utilized HIV-1 seropositive donors with slow progressor (n=168) or rapid progressor (n=54) status, plus 355 control subjects. All donors were Caucasian (total 577 individuals). Genetic associations yielded mainly 0.0

Titan's equatorial belt: Surface composition and geomorphology from Cassini's VIMS and RADAR data

In thirteen years, infrared observations from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) onboard Cassini provided significant hints about the spectral and geological diversity of Titan’s surface. The analysis of the infrared signature of spectral units enables constraining the surface composition, which is essential to understand possible interactions between Titan’s interior, surface and atmosphere. Here, we investigate a selection of areas in Titan's low-latitudes imaged by Cassini's VIMS IR spectrometer, which exhibit an apparent transition from the VIMS IR-bright to the IR-blue and IR-brown spectral units (from false-color composites using red: 1.57/1.27 µm, green: 2.01/1.27 µm, and blue: 1.27/1.08 µm). By applying an updated radiative transfer model [1-3], we extract the surface albedo of IR-units identified in these regions. Then, we compare them with synthetic spectra of mixtures of the two most expected components of Titan’s surface, namely water ice and laboratory tholins. This allows us to reconnect the derived composition and grain size information to the geomorphology observed from Cassini's RADAR/SAR images. Hence, we interpret IR-bright terrains as hills and plains coated by organic material and incised by fluvial networks. The erosion products are transported downstream to areas where IR-blue terrains are seen near the IR-bright terrains. These areas, enriched in water ice, are most likely outwash plains hosting icy and organic debris from fluvial erosion. Farther away from the IR-bright terrains, the IR-brown terrains are dominantly made of organics with varied grain sizes ranging from dust- to sand-sized particles that form the dunes fields. In this work, we show that transition areas exhibit trends in terms of water ice content and grain size supported by geomorphological observations [4]. References: [1] Hirtzig, M. et al. (2013) Icarus, 226. [2] Solomonidou, A. et al. (2014) JGR, 119. [3] Maltagliati, L. et al. (2015) EPSC. [4] Brossier, J. F. et al. (2018) JGR