A regional perspective on the "Great Moderation"

The Great Moderation impacted job growth across nearly all regions over a fairly short period of time.Recessions ; Economic conditions - United States ; Economic conditions - Texas

The 'Great Moderation' in output and employment volatility: an update

The reduced aggregate volatility that began in 1984 has continued into the new millennium.

New Pact for Europe - National Report - GERMANY. EPC Report May 2017

This is the second in a series of National Reports to be published as part of the new phase of the New Pact for Europe project.* While the German National Reflection Group (NRG) views the current state of the Union as critical, it is also convinced that the EU can still be a positive sum game for all. Drawing on the discussions held amongst the members of the group, this report presents a set of conclusions on how Germany sees the future of the European project

How the coronavirus pandemic affects the EU’s geopolitical agenda

The coronavirus pandemic accelerates some of the global trends that fueled the EU’s geopolitical ambition while raising the challenges that come with its enactment. This policy paper reviews the implications for the EU while focusing on three key relationships: China, the US and Africa. It argues that the pandemic represents an opportunity for EU global leadership and shows what that could look like

The EU Facing The Coronavirus - A Political Urgency To Embody European Solidarity

“The climate that seems to prevail among Heads of State or government and the lack of European solidarity are putting the European Union in mortal danger,” Jacques Delors warned in an exceptional public speech in the middle of Europe’s devastating coronavirus crisis. This lack of solidarity has already left its mark on public opinion, especially in Italy, as divisions unfolded during the March European Council

Quest for coherence: a comparative analysis of EU crisis management in Africa

This thesis explores the factors that explain varying degrees of coherence in European Union (EU) crisis management and draws implications for its role as an international security actor. The analysis starts from the assumption that coherence is a function of competing and conflicting interests and norms. The influence and interaction of these factors across governance levels are viewed through two theoretical lenses: liberal intergovernmentalism and sociological institutionalism. Derived hypotheses are evaluated through a comparative case study design, focused on three instances of crisis management in Africa, namely Libya (2011), Somalia (2011-2012), and Mali (2012-2013). The analysis traces the activities and interaction of EU institutional actors and member states, with a focus on France, the United Kingdom (UK), and Germany. It suggests that the degree of coherence in EU crisis management is contingent on the congruence of domestic economic and electoral interests, as well as national threat perceptions. But it also depends on the extent to which EU-level coherence norms resonate with national norms on the use of force and preferred modes of multilateral cooperation. The study identifies scope conditions for the interaction of interests and norms: if economic and electoral stakes are high and calculable, interest-based calculation prevails. If, instead, decision-makers are faced with low stakes and uncertainty, embedded national norms are more likely to shape their behaviour. The Union thus represents a rather unpredictable security actor, whose multi-level coherence depends on the context-specific balance between domestically defined interests, stakes, and salient norms

Does folic acid compete with glutamic acid at the postsynaptic membrane NMDA receptor?

During the first month of a human pregnancy folic acid (FA) is vital to the closing of the neural tube. However, overconsumption of FA has been linked to the rise of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), although this linkage is still under debate and testing. It has been hypothesized that the glutamate (GA) portion of FA may compete for binding to the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDA-R) with the neurotransmitter glutamate, causing inhibited growth cone activity. In order to test this hypothesis, we cultured eight-day chick dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) and assessed parameters of neural development in the presence of FA, GA, or both and compared these to controls. We found that neurite number was initially inhibited by both FA and GA, though the GA was no longer inhibitory in the more advanced DRGs. Furthermore, when the two were combined the GA partly overcame the FA’s inhibition. We found no consistent effects on neurite length, or on dynamic activity of neurites and growth cones. We found that both agents inhibited synaptogenesis. Additionally, we found that synaptogenic area was increased as the DRGs advanced

Influence of Aging and Cerebrovascular Disease on Neuroimaging Measures of Alzheimer Disease

The overall goal of this dissertation is to gain a better understanding of how Alzheimer disease relates to normal aging and cerebrovascular disease to impact neuroimaging measures in a clinically meaningful way. Both aging and cerebrovascular disease are known to influence measures of Alzheimer disease, making it difficult to separate what changes are attributable specifically to Alzheimer disease. We hypothesize that a better understanding of these relationships will allow future studies to appropriately take these factors into account. In Chapters 2 and 3 we attempt to separate out the influences of normal aging and Alzheimer disease on measures of atrophy. In Chapter 2 we show that non-linear, region-specific patterns of atrophy occur with aging, but we are not able to detect additional atrophy occurring in preclinical Alzheimer disease. Thus, preclinical Alzheimer disease is likely not confounding aging research so long as careful cognitive screening of the participants is done. In Chapter 3 we show that controlling for the age-related atrophy we describe in Chapter 2 does not improve volumetric prediction of symptomatic Alzheimer disease, likely because age-related atrophy contributes to symptoms. Despite this, volumetric predictions were still useful in detecting symptomatic Alzheimer disease in research cohorts and in patient populations. In Chapters 4 and 5 we change focus to vascular dementia, examining if cerebrovascular disease develops independently or synergistically with Alzheimer disease. In Chapter 4 we find that preclinical Alzheimer disease is not more prevalent, and thus is not a risk factor, in stroke nor in post-stroke dementia. Finally, in Chapter 5 we find that patterns of white matter hyperintensities, as a reflection of small vessel disease, have greater volumes in symptomatic Alzheimer disease relative to normal aging and preclinical Alzheimer disease. However, white matter hyperintensities could not distinguish normal aging from preclinical Alzheimer disease, leaving it unclear if white matter hyperintensities develop as a later part of Alzheimer disease or simply co-occur and have an additive effect on cognition

Advancing sustainable consumption in the UK and China: the mediating effect of pro-environmental self-identity

In this paper, we respond to the call for more holistic and culturally diverse research to advance understanding of (non)sustainable consumption behaviour. Our conceptual model incorporates materialism, environmental concern, social consumption motivation, pro-environmental self-identity and sustainable consumption behaviours. This paper contributes to knowledge by examining the mediating role of pro-environmental self-identity to more fully explain consumers’ (non)sustainable consumption behaviour. An international online panel survey was employed in the UK (n = 1037) and China (n = 1025). Findings show that pro-environmental self-identity partially or fully mediates the relationships between materialism, environmental concern, social consumption motivation and sustainable consumption behaviours. Important cultural differences also emerged, for example, the positive effect of materialism on Chinese consumer’s sustainable consumption, which is contrary to Western evidence. We suggest bolder, culturally informed and more reflexive marketing strategies are needed to significantly advance sustainable consumption, thus effectively helping to redress the crisis facing our planet