The combined incidence of taxes and public expenditures in the Philippines

Incidence studies of fiscal policy in developing countries typically examine either the distribution of tax burdens or the incidence of public expenditures. But the central issue for policymakers is the combined or net incidence of fiscal activities. One reason that combined incidence studies are so rare is that they require detailed data on both taxation and public spending. The authors show that the net incidence of fiscal policy in a country with average data - the Philippines - can be estimated using a variety of data sources and tools, using simplifying assumptions. For 20 years, the Philippine economy has experienced a series of balance of payments crises triggered by fiscal crises. It has had an unsatisfactory record of poverty alleviation. The authors examine net fiscal incidence to find out how poverty will be affected by the rise in taxes and the cut in spending. They found that: 1) the incidence pattern of taxes is basically neutral. Contrary to expectations, indirect taxes are only slightly regressive; and 2) it is the pattern of expenditures that drives the combined incidence, which is progressive.Public Sector Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Systems Development&Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Health Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Economic Theory&Research,Health Economics&Finance,Banks&Banking Reform

In-vitro studies of some selected botanicals and baubiofungicide on mycelial growth and conidial germination of Cercospora arachidicola and Cercosporidium personatum

Efforts have been made to assess some plant extracts namely, Lycopersicon esculentum, Tagetus patula, Achras sapota, Azadirachta indica, Datura metel, Cymbopogon citrates, Polyalthia longifolia, Allium sativum and Allium cepa in vitro for the management of leaf spot (tikka) disease of groundnut cultivar Dhaka-1 caused by Cercospora arachidicola and Cercosporidium personatum. Results indicated that all the tested plant extracts and BAUBiofungicide suppressed the growth of mycelium and inhibition of conidial germination of C. arachidicola and C. personatum. Among the treatments, the leaf extracts of L. esculentum showed the most effective followed by leaf extract of D. metel, A. indica and BAU-Biofungicide in case of mycelial growth and conidial germination. Other plant extracts also had inhibitory effects. In case of conidial germination and germination inhibition, the least effective plant extract was C. citrates. Leaf extract of A. sapota was the least effective in case of mycelial growth. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/ijarit.v3i2.17842 Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 3 (2): 36-40, December, 201

Effect of impregnated nets on mortality and behaviour of mosquitoes.

The effectiveness of impregnated fabrics on mosquitoes has been studied in the laboratory with a view to improving the means for communities to protect themselves against vectors of malaria and other diseases. Di-ethyl toluamide (deet) was found to be more effective against mosquitoes when impregnated cotton nets were placed at a distance from the bait rather than close to the bait. Deet at a dose of 6.25 ml/m1 gave complete protection against An. gambiae for 2 weeks. When various types of netting and sheeting were dipped in permethrin emulsion at normal temperature, the amount of Insecticide absorbed was generally proportional to the weight of liquid taken up, i.e. there was no evidence of selective absorption. However, selective absorption of more permethrin than expected was observed when nets were impregnated at 97°C and acid pH. Diffusion of permethrin did not occur between pieces of netting and sheeting sewn together. The LD5Q of permethrin on cotton nets was found to be about three times greater than on nylon nets. Ae. aegypti was found to be more susceptible to permethrin than An. gambiae. which was more susceptible than C. quinquefasciatus. PP321 (Icon) and cypermethrin were found to be the most effective of 9 pyrethroids tested. Hand washing with cowfat soap reduced the amount of all the pyrethroids remaining on the nets, ageing in tropical condition did not have such an effect. The effectiveness of permethrin remained constant for 30 weeks when impregnated into a thick cotton net and evaluated in a "tunnel" against An. gambiae. No clear cut effect of temperature on the toxicity of permethrin against An. gambiae was detected within the range of 16 to 28°C. Mosquitoes resistant to various insecticides (one of them to DOT) did not show cross-resistance to permethrin; only two strains showed some tolerance. A prolonged exposure of one of the tolerant strain to permethrin did not increase permethrin resistance level. When a part of the same strain was exposed to DDT, resistance developed quickly but with no cross-resistance to permethrin. The present WHO method for detecting resistance in adult mosquitoes is not satisfactory. Short exposure of mosquitoes to impregnated surfaces may be a solution. Although for other groups of insecticides variation in time and dose have equivalent effects, for permethrin this was not found to be true, i.e. on halving the exposure time the LD50 was not doubled. Mosquitoes frequently find their way into, or bite through, untreated bednets. When mosquitoes were released in a room and a human subject sat under a permethrin impregnated bednet with an arm pressing against the net, mosquitoes failed to bite through the net. All the mosquitoes trying to bite through or entering the net through holes cut in it were knocked down within 30 minutes of release and ultimately died

Tackling health transition in China

Over the past three decades, China has made commendable strides in improving the health status of its population. Between 1965 and 1995, its infant mortality rate declined from 90 per 1,000 live births to 36. During the same period, life expectancy at birth rose from 55 to 69 years and the maternal mortality rate fell from 26 to 15 per 100,000 deliveries. This performance compares favorably with that in similar Asian economies. China's infant mortality rate, for example, was less that half the rate predicted for its income level, Similarly, life expectancy at birth was higher than that in many comparable Asian countries. These favorable results conceal more recent trends, however. Since the early 1990s, mortality rates have increased in many provinces, particularly among infants and children under age five. And health status and health-related process indicators have improved more slowly than in the mid -1980s. What accounts for relatively stagnant, even deteriorating health indicators, and what strategies should be designed to address them as China enters the 21st century? Overall, the author argues, the recent erosion in health gains stems from three factors: a) changes in government financing of the health sector have increased inequity, inefficiency, and costs for medical treatment; b) the main contributors to the burden of disease have shifted from maternal conditions and infectious disease toward noncommunicable diseases and injuries, the prevention of which has not been a tradition part of China's public health programs; and c) the shift to a more market-oriented economy has changed environmental and behavioral risk factors, thus diversifying the types of disease across regions. The author suggests strategies for mitigating China's current and emerging health problems.Health Systems Development&Reform,Public Health Promotion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Disease Control&Prevention,Early Child and Children's Health,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Health Systems Development&Reform,Health Economics&Finance,Adolescent Health,Gender and Health

Making education in China equitable and efficient

As China consolidates its rapid economic gains and continues its drive toward a market-oriented environment, the country's international competitiveness will depend greatly on the quality of its human resources. China has made impressive gains in human resource development in the past two decades, and continuing to do so will help reduce poverty in two ways: indirectly, by increasing the productivity and efficiency of its labor force, and directly, by fostering the earning capacity of the poor. Eventually, improving human resources will spur economic growth and enhance welfare. Progress in human resource development has steadily slowed in recent years, however, because of two broad problems. First, the distribution of education services continues to discriminate against the poor, largely because they have not benefited from recent gains in economic growth and are being choked off from access to services. Second, some mechanisms and arrangements for delivering services have created targeting inefficiencies. The author argues that the government's priorities should be to improve the equity, efficiency, and quality of social services, as well as their financing.Public Health Promotion,Primary Education,Curriculum&Instruction,Teaching and Learning,Decentralization,Teaching and Learning,Gender and Education,Primary Education,Curriculum&Instruction,Health Monitoring&Evaluation

Prediction and Observation of Pore Pressure Due to Pile Driving

In this study, pore pressure response due to pile driving has been observed in the field. Cavity Expansion theory using critical state parameters of the soil has been used to predict the trend of the pore pressure development and dissipation. Parametric study has been carried out to know the sensitivity of various parameters on the predicted results. A comparison has been made between the predicted and observed results

Monotone Grid Drawings of Planar Graphs

A monotone drawing of a planar graph $G$ is a planar straight-line drawing of $G$ where a monotone path exists between every pair of vertices of $G$ in some direction. Recently monotone drawings of planar graphs have been proposed as a new standard for visualizing graphs. A monotone drawing of a planar graph is a monotone grid drawing if every vertex in the drawing is drawn on a grid point. In this paper we study monotone grid drawings of planar graphs in a variable embedding setting. We show that every connected planar graph of $n$ vertices has a monotone grid drawing on a grid of size $O(n)\times O(n^2)$, and such a drawing can be found in O(n) time