Foreign aid and growth

Burnside and Dollar (2000) (BD) ignite a policy debate by claiming that foreign aid works only in good policy environments. This result, however, has been criticized by a number of studies on numerous statistical grounds concluding that the BD result is too fragile. I revisit the aid-growth relationship using Bayesian Model Averaging techniques to account for uncertainty issues regarding model specification. I find that the data evidence does not support the claim that aid works only in good policy environments. My analysis also suggests that aid flows are not very effective in boosting growth regardless of the quality of the policy environment.

Gastric outlet obstruction caused by focal nodular hyperplasia of the liver: A case report and literature review

AbstractINTRODUCTIONHere, we present a case of gastric outlet obstruction due to focal nodular hyperplasia of the liver.PRESENTATION OF CASEA 23-year-old female presented to our emergency clinic with nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Endoscopy showed that the prepyloric region of the stomach was externally compressed by a lesion. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 70mm solid mass originating from the liver, extending caudally in an exophytic manner, and compressing the stomach. Laparotomy revealed an irregular and exophytic mass originating from the liver, which caused gastric outlet obstruction. The mass was resected with a 10mm safety margin. The histopathology report of the mass returned as focal nodular hyperplasia.DISCUSSIONGastric outlet obstruction is a clinical syndrome characterized by abdominal pain, nausea, and postprandial vomiting. This clinical condition frequently develops as a result of peptic ulcer disease, pyloric stenosis, and obstruction of pylorus by foreign bodies including phytobezoars, congenital duodenal webs, malignant disorders, and various lesions externally compressing the stomach. Gastric outlet obstruction due to hepatic lesions is extremely rare; few cases have been reported.CONCLUSIONThis is the first reported case of gastric outlet obstruction that developed due to focal nodular hyperplasia of the liver

Original Article Long-term effects of forgotten biliary stents: a case series and literature review

Abstract: There are many studies about the biliary stents, however there is a little information about the long-term stayed forgotten biliary stents except a few case reports. We have reported the results of a number of cases with biliary stents that were forgotten or omitted by the patient and the endoscopist. During February 2010 to May 2013, five patients were referred to the general surgery clinic of Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul Turkey. Past history and medical documents submitted by the patient did not indicate a replacement of the biliary stent in 3 patients. Two patients knew that they had biliary stents. We also conducted a literature review via the PubMed and Google Scholar databases of English language studies published until March 2014 on forgotten biliary stent. There were 3 men and 2 women ranging in age from 22 to 68 years (mean age 41.6 years). Patients presented with pain in the upper abdomen, jaundice, fever, abnormal liver function tests or dilatation of the biliary tract alone or in combination. Patients' demographic findings are presented i

Population heterogeneity and growth

I investigate the robustness of the link between growth and heterogeneity in a population along ethnic, linguistic, religious, and socio-economic class lines using cross-country data covering the period 1960-92 and 72 countries. In addition to 21 distinct explanatory variables extensively used in the empirical growth literature, I consider several fragmentation and polarization indices capturing the heterogeneity in a population to deal with measurement uncertainty, and utilize Bayesian Model Averaging techniques to address uncertainty issues regarding model specification. My results indicate that while substantial data evidence favors the inclusion of population heterogeneity as a theory when proxied by fragmentation indices, it does not support the inclusion of this theory when proxied by polarization indices. Furthermore, the religious fragmentation index has the strongest evidence in favor of its inclusion as opposed to ethnic and linguistic fragmentation indices and income inequality.Growth Fragmentation Polarization Model uncertainty Model averaging

Improving Educational Outcomes in Slovenia

Overall, the education system fares well by international comparison. Slovenia has one of the highest shares of the population aged 25 to 64 to have completed at least upper secondary education, and ranks high in international educational achievement tests. Nevertheless, in some areas, reforms could significantly improve performance and equip the labour force with the skills most in demand in a rapidly changing economy. In particular, low student-teacher ratios, small class sizes, and a high share of non-teaching staff suggest that there is room for improving spending efficiency. Rationalising teaching and non-teaching staff would also free up valuable public resources that could be redirected towards underfunded aspects of the education system. Low enrolment rates in short vocational education programmes and in certain higher education fields, such as science and engineering, contribute to a skill deficit in some occupations, underlining the need to make such programmes more attractive. At the tertiary level, completion rates and spending per student are low by international standards, and students take too long to complete their studies. The combination of low student fees and access to generous financial support, coupled with the preferential treatment of student work until recently, creates “fake students”; it also provides genuine students with an incentive to remain in the tertiary education system too long. Introducing universal tuition fees along with loans with income-contingent repayment would help to address such issues. This Working Paper relates to the 2011 Economic Survey of Slovenia (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/Slovenia). Améliorer les résultats du système éducatif en Slovénie Dans l’ensemble, le système éducatif donne des résultats satisfaisants par rapport aux autres pays. La proportion de la population slovène âgée de 25 à 64 ans ayant achevé au moins le deuxième cycle de l’enseignement secondaire est parmi les plus élevées de la zone OCDE et le pays est très bien placé dans les évaluations internationales du niveau des élèves. Néanmoins, dans certains domaines, des réformes pourraient largement contribuer à améliorer les performances et à doter les travailleurs des qualifications les plus recherchées dans une économie en pleine mutation. Ainsi, le faible nombre d’élèves par enseignant, la taille réduite des classes et la proportion élevée de personnel non enseignant donnent à penser qu’il serait possible d’accroître l’efficacité des dépenses. La rationalisation des effectifs enseignants et non enseignants serait un autre moyen de dégager des ressources publiques précieuses qui pourraient être réaffectées à des secteurs du système éducatif dont le financement est insuffisant. Le faible nombre d’inscrits dans les filières courtes de l’enseignement professionnel et dans certaines branches de l’enseignement supérieur comme les sciences et les études d’ingénieur se traduit par un déficit de compétences dans certains métiers, d’où la nécessité de rendre ces formations plus attrayantes. Dans l’enseignement supérieur, les taux de réussite et les dépenses par étudiant sont faibles par rapport aux moyennes internationales et les études durent trop longtemps. De plus, la modicité des droits de scolarité et l’accès à des aides financières généreuses, conjugués au traitement préférentiel dont bénéficiait jusqu’à une date récente le travail des étudiants, ont pour effet de créer des « faux étudiants », tout en incitant ceux qui font vraiment des études à rester trop longtemps dans l’enseignement supérieur. L’instauration de droits de scolarité universels, parallèlement à des prêts remboursables en fonction des ressources, pourrait apporter une solution à ces problèmes. Ce Document de travail se rapporte à l’Étude économique de l’OCDE de la Slovénie 2011 (www.oecd.org/eco/etudes/Slovénie).tertiary education, PISA, tuition fees, vocational and technical education, student work, income-contingent loans, early childhood education, éducation technique et professionnelle, éducation préscolaire, frais de scolarité, travail des élèves, PISA, éducation tertiaire

The Effects of Downturns on Labour Force Participation: Evidence and Causes

This paper uses an impulse-response function approach to assess the magnitude and persistence of the effects of downturns on labour force participation for a sample of 30 countries over the period 1960-2008. Past severe recessions appear to have had a significant and persistent impact on participation, while moderate downturns did not. The aggregate participation rate effect of severe downturns peaked on average at about 1½ to 2½ percentage points five to eight years after the cyclical peak, and was still significant after almost a decade. Youths and older workers account for the bulk of this effect. Institutional and policy settings are found to be an important factor having shaped the response of participation to economic downturns. In particular, early retirement incentives embedded in old-age pension schemes and other social transfer programmes are found to amplify the responsiveness of older workers’ participation to economic conditions. However, the findings in this paper do not seem to apply to the most recent crisis, partly because the labour market situation did not deteriorate as much as the magnitude of the recession would have suggested in a number of OECD countries. Les effets des retournements de conjoncture sur la participation au marché du travail : Evidence et causes Cet article utilise une approche impulsion-réponse pour évaluer l’ampleur et la persistance des effets des retournements de conjoncture sur la participation au marché du travail pour un échantillon de 30 pays de l’OCDE sur la période 1960-2008. Il apparaît que les récessions sévères ont eu un impact significatif et persistant sur la participation dans le passé, au contraire des retournements de cycle plus modérés. L’effet agrégé des récessions sévères sur la participation a atteint un pic de 1½ à 2½ points de pourcentage cinq à huit ans après le point haut du cycle, et était toujours significatif après presque une décennie. Les jeunes et les seniors ont contribué à l’essentiel de cet effet. Les facteurs politiques et institutionnels jouent un rôle important dans la réponse de la participation aux retournements conjoncturels. En particulier, il apparaît que les incitations au départ anticipé à la retraite contenues dans les régimes de retraite et les autres systèmes de transferts sociaux accroissent la sensibilité de la participation des seniors aux conditions économiques. Pour autant, les résultats de cet article ne semblent pas s’appliquer à la crise récente, en partie parce que la situation du marché du travail ne s’est pas détériorée autant que l’ampleur de la récession aurait pu le suggérer dans un certain nombre de pays de l’OCDE.labour force participation, recession, hysteresis, downturn, retirement, crisis, crise, retraites, récession, hystérésis, retournements de conjoncture, participation au marché du travail

The GDP Impact of Reform: A Simple Simulation Framework

This paper presents a framework to assess the impact of a wide range of structural policy reforms on GDP per capita at various horizons by linking together previous empirical studies mostly carried out by the OECD. The simple accounting framework consists of reduced-form equations and offers a more tractable and realistic alternative to an estimated general equilibrium model. Though this involves some risks of double counting the effects of certain reforms and omits interactions across different policy areas, the plausible scenarios suggest that the largest long-run GDP per capita gains may be obtained from reforms that would raise the quantity and quality of education, strengthen competition in product markets, reduce the level and/or duration of unemployment benefits, cut labour tax wedges and relax employment protection legislation. Past reforms in these areas might also have contributed to as much as half of GDP per capita growth in OECD countries in the decade prior to the recent financial and economic crisis. Simulations further indicate that addressing all policy weaknesses in each OECD country by aligning policy settings on the OECD average could raise GDP per capita by as much as 25% in the typical country. L'impact des réformes sur le PIB : un cadre simple de simulation Cet article présente un cadre d’analyse pour évaluer l’impact sur le PIB par tête à différents horizons d’un large éventail de réformes de politiques structurelles en reliant ensemble des études empiriques précédemment réalisées pour la plupart par l’OCDE. Le cadre comptable simplifié est constitué d’équations sous forme réduite et offre une alternative plus flexible et plus réaliste qu’un modèle estimé d’équilibre général. Bien que cela implique des risques de double comptage des effets de certaines réformes et l’omission des interactions au sein des différents domaines de politiques, les scénarios plausibles suggèrent que les gains en PIB par tête à long terme les plus élevées pourraient provenir des réformes augmentant la quantité et la qualité de l’éducation, renforçant la concurrence sur le marché des produits, réduisant le niveau et/ou la durée des allocations chômage, diminuant le coin salarial et assouplissant la législation sur la protection de l’emploi. Les réformes passées dans ces domaines pourraient avoir contribué jusqu’à la moitié de la croissance du PIB par tête dans les pays de l’OCDE au cours de la décennie précédant la crise financière et économique récente. Les simulations indiquent en outre que traiter l’ensemble des points faibles de chaque pays de l’OCDE en alignant les positions des politiques sur la moyenne de l’OCDE pourrait accroître le PIB par tête jusqu’à 25% dans le pays moyen.productivity, employment, structural reforms, growth, emploi, croissance, productivité, réforme structurelle

Evaluation of hand functions in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Objectives. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by hyperandrogenemia and androgen levels are associated with muscle size and strength; thus we aimed to investigate the hand functions of women with PCOS. Methods. Thirty-seven patients with PCOS and 35 age-matched healthy women were included in the study as PCOS and control groups. Age, body mass index, dominant hand, physical activity level, lean/fat mass ratio, percentage of body fat, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score and Duruoz Hand Index (DHI) score were recorded. Hand grip and pinch strengths were tested in the dominant hand using a hand dynamometer and a pinch meter, respectively. Manuel dexterity was tested by the grooved pegboard test. Serum concentrations of total testosterone, estradiol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone and progesterone were measured. Results. Patients with PCOS had high total testosterone levels (p0.001). There were no differences between groups in all of the hand strengths or dexterity. No correlations between hand parameters and hormones were found. DHI and BDI scores were high in the PCOS group (p=0.002 and 0.039, respectively). There was a correlation between DHI and BDI scores. Depressive patients had higher BMI (p=0.021) and body fat percentage (p=0.05) than non-depressive patients in the PCOS group. Conclusion. Hand strength and dexterity did not change in patients with PCOS. Depression risk increased especially in the patients with high BMI and affected hand functional status in PCOS