Economic and policy determinants of public sector deficits

The purpose of this paper is to derive a framework for quantifying the contribution of the most important economic and policy variables to the public sector deficit. The method involves behavioral relations, identities for some key macroeconomic and sector variables and an accounting breakdown of the consolidated public sector deficit. This allows one to compare the direct effects of various foreign and domestic economic shocks on the deficit with those arising from changes in policy-controlled variables. The method is useful for decomposing historical time series of public deficits according to their main determinants - and for carrying out simulation or projection exercises for the level and structure of future deficits.Economic Stabilization,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies

Macroeconomics of public sector deficits : the case of Chile

The authors analyze the structure of public deficits in Chile, distinguishing between consolidated nonfinancial public deficits and quasifiscal losses of the Central Bank - focusing on the determinants and sustainability of the deficits. In the framework of an estimated portfolio model, they simulate the path of domestic inflation and interest rates for money-financed and debt-financed deficits. Then they trace the effects of deficits, and their form of financing, on private consumption and investment - focusing on empirical estimates of the different channels through which public spending and taxation crowd in or crowd out private spending. Finally, they measure the spillover effects from the deficit to the real exchange rate and the trade surplus. Chile's successful experience suggests that fiscal stabilization is a prerequisite for structural reform - and that structural reform need not be postponed until stabilization is fully achieved.Economic Stabilization,Economic Theory&Research,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Macroeconomic Management

THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM IN THE POLICY PROCESS

Academic freedom, Policy process, policy decision-making, policy advice, research, research institute, Political Economy, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Un marco analítico-contable para la evaluación de la política fiscal en América Latina

Incluye BibliografíaRevisa los problemas de medición del déficit público relevantes en América Latina, con el propósito de lograr una definición adecuada del déficit, especialmente en lo que se refiere al tratamiento del efecto de la inflación sobre la deuda pública

Transpiration efficiency of a tropical pioneer tree (Ficus insipida) in relation to soil fertility

The response of whole-plant water-use efficiency, termed transpiration efficiency (TE), to variation in soil fertility was assessed in a tropical pioneer tree, Ficus insipida Willd. Measurements of stable isotope ratios (d13C, d18O, d15N), elemental concentrations (C, N, P),plant growth, instantaneous leaf gas exchange, and whole-plant water use were used to analyse the mechanisms controlling TE. Plants were grown individually in 19 l pots with non-limiting soil moisture. Soil fertility was altered by mixing soil with varying proportions of rice husks, and applying a slow release fertilizer. A large variation was observed in leaf photosynthetic rate, mean relative growth rate (RGR), and TE in response to experimental treatments; these traits were well correlated with variation in leaf N concentration. Variation in TE showed a strong dependence on the ratio of intercellular to ambient CO2 mole fractions (ci/ca); both for instantaneous measurements of ci/ca (R2=0.69, P <0.0001, n=30), and integrated estimates based on C isotope discrimination (R2 =0.88, P<0.0001, n=30). On the other hand, variations in the leaf-to-air humidity gradient, unproductive water loss, and respiratory C use probably played only minor roles in modulating TE in the face of variable soil fertility. The pronounced variation in TE resulted from a combination of the strong response of ci/ca to leaf N, and inherently high values of ci/ca for this tropical tree species; these two factors conspired to cause a 4-fold variation among treatments in (1–ci/ca ), the term that actually modifies TE. Results suggest that variation in plant N status could have important implications for the coupling between C and water exchange in tropical forest trees

Towards an interoperable information infrastructure providing decision support for genomic medicine

Genetic dispositions play a major role in individual disease risk and treatment response. Genomic medicine, in which medical decisions are refined by genetic information of particular patients, is becoming increasingly important. Here we describe our work and future visions around the creation of a distributed infrastructure for pharmacogenetic data and medical decision support, based on industry standards such as the Web Ontology Language (OWL) and the Arden Syntax

On the shape of barchan dunes

Barchans are crescent-shaped sand dunes forming in aride regions with unidirectional wind and limited sand supply. We report analytical and numerical results for dune shapes under different environmental conditions as obtained from the so-called `minimal model' of aeolian sand dunes. The profiles of longitudinal vertical slices (i.e. along the wind direction) are analyzed as a function of wind speed and sand supply. Shape transitions can be induced by changes of mass, wind speed and sand supply. Within a minimal extension of the model to the transverse direction the scale-invariant profile of transverse vertical cuts can be derived analytically.Comment: to appear in J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 17 (2005

Quantum numbers for relative ground states of antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin rings

We suggest a general rule for the shift quantum numbers k of the relative ground states of antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin rings. This rule generalizes well-known results of Marshall, Peierls, Lieb, Schultz, and Mattis for even rings. Our rule is confirmed by numerical investigations and rigorous proofs for special cases, including systems with a Haldane gap. Implications for the total spin quantum number S of relative ground states are discussed as well as generalizations to the XXZ model.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B. More information at http://www.physik.uni-osnabrueck.de/makrosysteme

Analysis of Epithelial Growth Factor-Receptor (EGFR) Phosphorylation in Uterine Smooth Muscle Tumors

Uterine fibroids are the commonest uterine benign tumors. A potential mechanism of malignant transformation from leiomyomas to leiomyosarcomas has beendescribed. Tyrosine phosphorylation is a key mechanism that controls biological functions, such as proliferation and cell differentiation. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the phosphorylation of epithelial growth factor-receptor (EGFR) in normal myometrium, uterine myomas and uterine leiomyosarcomas. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples from normal myometrium, leiomyomas and leiomyosarcomas were studied. Samples were immunohistochemically (IHC) assessed using the anti-EGFR phosphorylation of Y845 (pEGFR-Y845) and anti-pEGFR-Y1173 phosphorylation-specific antibodies. IHC staining was evaluated using a semiquantitative score. The expression of pEGFR-Y845 was significantly upregulated in leiomyosarcomas (p < 0.001) compared to leiomyomas and normal myometrium. In contrast, pEGFR-Y1173 did not differ significantly between the three groups of the study. Correlation analysis revealed an overall positive correlation between pEGFR Y845 and mucin 1 (MUC1). Further subgroup analysis within the tumoral group (myomas and leiomyosarcomas) revealed an additional negative correlation between pEGFR Y845 and galectin-3 (gal-3) staining. On the contrary no significant correlation was noted within the non-tumoral group. An upregulated EGFR phosphorylation of Y845 in leiomyosarcomas compared to leiomyomas implicates EGFR activation at this special receptor site. Due to these pEGFR-Y845 variations, it can be postulated that MUC1 interacts with it, whereas gal-3 seems to be cleaved from Y845 phosphorylated EGFR. Further research on this field could focus on differences in EGFR pathways as a potentially advantageous diagnostic tool for investigation of benign and malignant signal transduction processes

High accuracy theoretical investigations of CaF, SrF, and BaF and implications for laser-cooling

The NL-eEDM collaboration is building an experimental setup to search for the permanent electric dipole moment of the electron in a slow beam of cold barium fluoride molecules [Eur. Phys. J. D, 72, 197 (2018)]. Knowledge of molecular properties of BaF is thus needed to plan the measurements and in particular to determine an optimal laser-cooling scheme. Accurate and reliable theoretical predictions of these properties require incorporation of both high-order correlation and relativistic effects in the calculations. In this work theoretical investigations of the ground and the lowest excited states of BaF and its lighter homologues, CaF and SrF, are carried out in the framework of the relativistic Fock-space coupled cluster (FSCC) and multireference configuration interaction (MRCI) methods. Using the calculated molecular properties, we determine the Franck-Condon factors (FCFs) for the $A^2\Pi_{1/2} \rightarrow X^2\Sigma^{+}_{1/2}$ transition, which was successfully used for cooling CaF and SrF and is now considered for BaF. For all three species, the FCFs are found to be highly diagonal. Calculations are also performed for the $B^2\Sigma^{+}_{1/2} \rightarrow X^2\Sigma^{+}_{1/2}$ transition recently exploited for laser-cooling of CaF; it is shown that this transition is not suitable for laser-cooling of BaF, due to the non-diagonal nature of the FCFs in this system. Special attention is given to the properties of the $A'^2\Delta$ state, which in the case of BaF causes a leak channel, in contrast to CaF and SrF species where this state is energetically above the excited states used in laser-cooling. We also present the dipole moments of the ground and the excited states of the three molecules and the transition dipole moments (TDMs) between the different states.Comment: Minor changes; The following article has been submitted to the Journal of Chemical Physics. After it is published, it will be found at https://publishing.aip.org/resources/librarians/products/journals