Environmental problems and economic development in an endogenous fertility model

Population growth is often viewed as a most oppressive global problem with respect to environmental deterioration, but the relationships between population development, economic dynamics and environmental pollution are complex due to various feedback mechanisms. We analyze society’s economic decisions on birth rates, investment into human and physical capital, and polluting emissions within an optimal control model of the coupled demographic-economic-environmental system. We show that a long-run steady state is optimal that is characterized by a stable pollution stock, and by population and economic growth rates depending on the possibilities of emission abatement and technical progress due to human capital accumulation. We derive a condition on the production technologies and opportunity costs of raising children, under which the optimal birth rate is constant even during the transition to a steady state. In particular in an economy where only human capital is needed to produce output, the optimal choice of the birth rate is not affected by the states of the economy or the environment. In such a setting, the optimal birth rate is constant and policy should concentrate on intertemporal adjustment of per-capita emissions.sustainability, endogenous fertility, externalities

The care of patients with subthreshold depression in primary care: Is it all that bad? A qualitative study on the views of general practitioners and patients

Contains fulltext : 53656.pdf ( ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Studies show that subthreshold depression is highly prevalent in primary care, has impact on the quality of life and causes immense health care costs. Although this points to the clinical relevance of subthreshold depression, contradictory results exist regarding the often self-remitting course of this state. However, first steps towards quality improvement in the care of subthreshold depressive patients are being undertaken. This makes it important to gather information from both a GPs' and a patients' point of view concerning the clinical relevance as well as the status quo of diagnosis and treatment in order to appraise the need for quality improvement research. METHOD: We conducted qualitative, semi-structured interviews for the questioning of 20 GPs and 20 patients with subthreshold depression on aspects of clinical relevance and on the status quo of diagnosis and treatment. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed on a content analytical theoretical background using Atlas.ti software. RESULTS: Most of the GPs found subthreshold depression to be clinically significant. Although some problems in diagnosis and treatment were mentioned, the GPs had sensible diagnostic and treatment strategies at hand which resulted from the long and trustful relationship with the patients and which corresponded to the patients' expectations. The patients rather expected their GP to listen to them than to take specific actions towards symptom relief and, in the main, were satisfied with the GPs' care. CONCLUSION: The study shows that subthreshold depression is a clinically relevant issue for GPs but raises the possibility that quality improvement might not be as necessary as past studies showed. Further quantitative research using larger random samples is needed to determine the effectiveness of the strategies used by the GPs, patients' satisfaction with these strategies and the course of these patients' symptoms in primary care

Familie als Gegenstand kinderpsychiatrischer Forschung

Bei der Behandlung des Themas 'Familie' steht die Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie in enger Verbindung zu anderen ärztlichen Gebieten (Pädiatrie, Psychiatrie, Neurologie), dem Erziehungs- und und Bildungsbereich und der Jugendhilfe. Hinter diesem professionellen, mehr oder weniger gemeinsamen Ganzen steht aber noch jedes Einzelnen Beziehung zur Familie, vor allem zu seiner Herkunftsfamilie, die nun mal das Bild von Selbst und Familie prägt und auch das professionelle Bild von Familie bestimmt. Die Annahme der vollständigen Familie impliziert ein Idealbild, das den Einzelnen von uns in die berufliche und persönliche Schwierigkeit bringt, im alltäglichen Erleben mit ganz anderen Bildern konfrontiert zu sein: mit zwar noch vollständigen, aber heillos zerstrittenen, mit kranken und in zunehmender Zahl mit unvollständigen Familien. In dieser Hinsicht haben Kinder- und Jugendpsychiater ständig eine besonders große Kluft zwischen Überzeugungen, Wünschen und Hoffnungen auf der einen und nur mit Kompromißbereitschaft annehmbaren Realitäten auf der anderen Seite zu überbrücken. (TL2

Begrenzen Chinas Wasserressourcen seine wirtschaftliche Entwicklung?

Dieses Papier untersucht Probleme der Wasserverfügbarkeit in China. Es wird gezeigt, dass - geographisch bedingt - erhebliche regionale Unterschiede in der Verfügbarkeit von Wasser in China existieren. Eine empirische Analyse der regionalen Strukturen der Wasserverfügbarkeit und des Wasserverbrauches für den Konsum sowie die landwirtschaftliche und industrielle Produktion zeigt, dass insbesondere erhebliche Nutzungskonflikte zwischen Landwirtschaft und Industrie existieren. Ein Szenario zur möglichen künftigen Entwicklung zeigt darüber hinaus, dass sich diese Nutzungskonflikte weiter verschärfen werden. Die damit verbundenen Probleme lassen sich nur durch eine Verbesserung der Effizienz der Wassernutzung verbunden mit einem umfangreichen Transfer von Wasser aus dem Süden in den Norden des Landes lösen. Ohne diese Maßnahmen können die natürlichen Bedingungen zu einer bindenden Restriktion für die künftige wirtschaftliche Entwicklung Chinas werden.Wasserressourcen, wirtschaftliche Entwicklung, Umweltprobleme

Baltic Sea Coastal Eutrophication in a Thousand Year Perspective

Sediment cores from three sites along the east-coast of Sweden, north-western Baltic Proper, have been studied with respect to lithologies, geochemistry and diatom assemblages to trace and date early human impact with emphasis on nutrient discharge. The three sites Bråviken, Himmerfjärden and Ådfjärden, have been impacted to various degree during the last millennia by multiple stressors like excessive nutrient discharge and hazardous substances, leading to coastal hypoxia, eutrophication and pollution. These stressors are mainly caused by drivers in the drainage area as increased human population, changed land use and point sources as industries and a sewage treatment plant. Even though their detailed history differs, the results show similar general patterns for all three sites. We find no evidence in our data from the coastal zone supporting the hypothesis that the extensive areal distribution of hypoxia in the open Baltic Sea during the Medieval Climate Anomaly was caused by human impact. Timing of the onset of man-made eutrophication, as identified from d15N and changes in diatom composition, differs between the three sites, reflecting the site specific geography and local environmental histories of these areas. The onset of eutrophication dates to 1800 CE in Bråviken and Himmerfjärden areas, and to 1900 CE in the less urban area of Ådfjärden. We conclude that the recorded environmental changes during the last centuries are unique in a thousand year perspective

Bioturbation as a key driver behind the dominance of Bacteria over Archaea in near-surface sediment

The factors controlling the relative abundances of Archaea and Bacteria in marine sediments are poorly understood. We determined depth distributions of archaeal and bacterial 16S rRNA genes by quantitative PCR at eight stations in Aarhus Bay, Denmark. Bacterial outnumber archaeal genes 10–60-fold in uppermost sediments that are irrigated and mixed by macrofauna. This bioturbation is indicated by visual observations of sediment color and faunal tracks, by porewater profiles of dissolved inorganic carbon and sulfate, and by distributions of unsupported 210Pb and 137Cs. Below the depth of bioturbation, the relative abundances of archaeal genes increase, accounting for one third of 16S rRNA genes in the sulfate zone, and half of 16S rRNA genes in the sulfate-methane transition zone and methane zone. Phylogenetic analyses reveal a strong shift in bacterial and archaeal community structure from bioturbated sediments to underlying layers. Stable isotopic analyses on organic matter and porewater geochemical gradients suggest that macrofauna mediate bacterial dominance and affect microbial community structure in bioturbated sediment by introducing fresh organic matter and high-energy electron acceptors from overlying seawater. Below the zone of bioturbation, organic matter content and the presence of sulfate exert key influences on bacterial and archaeal abundances and overall microbial community structure.ISSN:2045-232