On welfare criteria and optimality in an endogenous growth model

In this paper we explore the consequences for optimality of a social planner adopting two different welfare criteria. The framework of analysis is an OLG model with physical and human capital. We first show that, when the SWF is a discounted sum of individual utilities defined over consumption per unit of natural labour, the precise cardinalization of the individual utility function becomes crucial for the characterization of the social optimum. Also, decentralizing the social optimum requires an education subsidy. In contrast, when the SWF is a discounted sum of individual utilities defined over consumption per unit of efficient labour, the precise cardinalization of preferences becomes irrelevant. More strikingly, along the optimal growth path, education should be taxed.endogenous growth, human capital, intergenerational transfers, education policy

Employment descentralisation: polycentric compaction or sprawl? The case of the Barcelona Metropolitan Region 1986-1996

The Barcelona Metropolitan Region (BMR) has been repeatedly characterised as a polycentric-type urban system. The aim of this study is to corroborate this affirmation by making use of a methodology that enables the identifying of employment subcentres and valuing of the degree of polycentrism of the BMR in 1986 and 1996. The results obtained in the two years confirm the existence and extension of the polycentrism.Employment subcentres, identification, descentralisation, sprawl, compaction, polycentrism.

Does Indirect Tax Harmonization Deliver Pareto Improvements in the Presence of Global Public Goods?

This paper identifies conditions under which, starting from any tax distorting equilibrium, destination- and origin-based indirect tax-harmonizing reforms are potentially Pareto improving in the presence of global public goods. The first condition (unrequited transfers between governments) requires that transfers are designed in such a way that the marginal valuations of the global public goods are equalized, whereas the second (conditional revenue changes) requires that the change in global tax revenues, as a consequence of tax harmonization, is consistent with the direction of inefficiency in global public good provision relative to the (modified) Samuelson rule. Under these conditions, tax harmonization results in redistributing the gains from a reduction in global deadweight loss and any changes in global tax revenues according to the Pareto principle. And this is the case independently of the tax principle in place (destination or origin).origin principle, destination principle, indirect tax harmonization, reform of commodity taxes, global/local public goods

Estudio de los polimorfismos en las regiones codificantes de los genes CYP450 asociados al metabolismo de fármacos antiepilépticos en pacientes pediátricos con epilepsia focal farmacorresistente

Diversos factores, incluida la farmacogenética, contribuyen a la variabilidad interindividual en las respuestas a los medicamentos. Muchos fármacos antiepilépticos (FAE’s) son metabolizados por una variedad de reacciones enzimáticas que son catalizadas en su mayoría por miembros de la familia del citocromo P450 (CYP-450) y por ello se les da una atención considerable. Algunos genes CYP existen como variantes genéticas (alelos), también afectan las concentraciones de las FAE’s en sangre, lo que altera la biodisponibilidad del fármaco. Los genes CYP2D6, CYP2C9, CYP2D19 y CYP3A4 son los que están ampliamente implicados en el metabolismo de la mayoría de los fármacos antiepilépticos. Las evidencias experimentales indican que la composición de la frecuencia de los alelos en la población muestra una posible relación con la variabilidad asociada a la respuesta clínica. En este estudio se evaluó la variabilidad génica de los SNVs (variaciones de un solo nucleótido, por sus siglas en inglés) de los genes CYP2D6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19 y CYP3A4, dentro de una población rigurosamente seleccionada de pacientes pediátricos con epilepsia parcial compleja. Se analizaron las secuencias genéticas de 23 pacientes con epilepsia farmacorresistente y 7 pacientes control con buena respuesta a FAE’s y con el mismo diagnóstico. Seis exones y tres intrones en estos cuatro genes fueron secuenciados, y se determinaron las concentraciones de fármaco en saliva y en plasma sanguíneo. Los SNVs más relevantes con relaciones farmacogenómicas fueron CYP2D6*2 (rs16947) que disminuyo su actividad metabolizadora y CYP2D6*4 (rs1065852), CYP2C19*2 (rs4244285) y CYP3A4*1B (rs2740574) con un comportamiento de metabolizador deficiente. Los factores de riesgo más importantes se encontraron en el genotipo AA y el alelo homocigoto mutado del SNV rs3892097 del gen CYP2D6, seguidos por los alelos A y T de los SNV rs2740574 y rs2687116, respectivos, del gen CYP3A4. La asociación más importante fue entre homocigotos, genotipo AA de rs3892097 y genotipo AA de rs2740574 con una frecuencia del 78.3% en pacientes con epilepsia resistente a fármacos en comparación con 14.3% en pacientes control. Los resultados demostraron el importante papel de la variante alélica homocigoto mutado CYP3A4*1B como factor de riesgo para desarrollar resistencia a los fármacos y los SNV del gen CYP2D6 y CYP2C19 que pueden afectar la respuesta a los fármacos antiepilépticos.Several factors, including pharmacogenetics, contribute to inter-individual variability in responses to drug treatment. Many antiepileptic drugs are metabolized by a variety of enzymatic reactions that are mostly catalyzed by members of the cytochrome P450 family (CYP-450) and are therefore given considerable attention. Some CYP genes exist as genetic variants (Alleles), which may also affect the concentrations of FAE’s in the blood, altering the bioavailability of the drugs. Experimental evidence indicates a clear involvement between CYP2D6, CYP2C9, CYP2D19 and CYP3A4 genes and the metabolism of most antiepileptic drugs along with the associated variability in clinical responses with the allele frequency. In this study, the polymorphisms of CYP2D6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP3A4, within a rigorously selected population of pediatric patients with drug-resistant epilepsy were analyzed. The genetic sequences of 23 patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, and 7 control patients with good response to FAE’s and with the same diagnosis were analyzed. Six exons and three introns in these four genes were genotyped, and the drug concentrations in saliva and plasma were determined. The most relevant SNVs with pharmacogenomics relationships were CYP2D6*2 (rs16947) showed decreased metabolizing activity and CYP2D6*4 (rs1065852), CYP2C19*2 (rs4244285) and CYP3A4*1B (rs2740574) with a poor metabolizer behavior. The most substantial risk factors were found in the AA genotype mutated homozygote and the rs3892097 SNV allele of the CYP2D6 gene, followed by the A and T alleles of the respective rs2740574 and rs2687116 SNV, of the CYP3A4 gene. The most significant association was between AA homozygotes for rs3892097 and rs2740574, with 78.3% patients with in drug-resistant epilepsy compared with 14.3% in control patients. The results demonstrated the critical role of the CYP 3A4*1B allelic variant mutated homozygote as risk factor for developing drug resistance and the CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 SNVs that may affect the response to antiepileptic drugs

Indirect tax harmonization and global public goods

Journal Article“The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10797-012-9246-8”.This paper identifies conditions under which, starting from any tax-distorting equilibrium, destination- and origin-based indirect tax-harmonizing reforms are potentially Pareto improving in the presence of global public goods. The first condition (unrequited transfers between governments) requires that transfers are designed in such a way that the marginal valuations of the global public goods are equalized, whereas the second (conditional revenue changes) requires that the change in global tax revenues, as a consequence of tax harmonization, is consistent with the under/over-provision of global public goods relative to the (modified) Samuelson rule. Under these conditions, tax harmonization results in redistributing the gains from a reduction in global deadweight loss and any changes in global tax revenues according to the Pareto principle. And this is the case independently of the tax principle in place (destination or origin). © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Distribución de la Actividad Económica y Estructura Urbana: El caso de la región metropolitana de Barcelona

La RMB es una ciudad de tipo policéntrico en la que resaltan unas ciudades de tamaño medio con elevada presencia de actividad económica y que, en muchos casos, destacan por sus dinámicas de crecimiento endógeno. El objetivo de esta investigación era hallar evidencia empírica en la RMB acerca de los determinantes de la localización de la actividad económica. Un objetivo que, a la par, requería la inclusión del estudio de la estructura urbana de la región para poder evaluar el efecto que en ella ejercen los determinantes de la localización. Si bien los resultados obtenidos con la Exponencial son buenos, la inclusión de formas funcionales de tipo polinómico para capturar los grumos de densidad han demostrado su eficiencia. Aunque la Cubic-Spline obtiene buenos resultados, tiene el inconveniente de no poder interpretar sus coeficientes. No obstante, nuestra propuesta, la Spline-Lineal, nos permite detectar la presencia de los subcentros que constituyen la región en base a la existencia de gradientes de densidad positivos.

Pareto-improving indirect tax coordination and tax diversity

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this record.Coordination in tax matters, in the EU and elsewhere, has been largely driven by the movement of taxes towards some common level and, therefore, towards tax uniformity. Making use of a perfectly competitive general equilibrium framework of international trade in which governments provide global public goods, it is shown that, starting from a Nash equilibrium, there exist strict Pareto-improving multilateral tax reforms that are consistent with tax diversity.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Face masks in the general healthy population. Scientific and ethical issues.

In most European countries, facemasks use is recommended or mandatory in enclosed spaces where physical distancing is not possible. In Spain, this measure was first extended to open public spaces and later made mandatory regardless of whether or not the interpersonal safety distance can be kept. At present, there is no evidence on the effectiveness of universal masking of healthy people in the community to prevent infection with respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. The mandatory use of masks poses some ethical questions. Firstly, it entails a paternalistic action. Secondly, application of the principle of precaution becomes questionable when there is no clear benefit-risk relationship. Thirdly, compulsoriness can interfere with equity of public health actions. Fourthly, it can result in social stigma and discrimination against those who do not wear one, even though they well may have good reasons for doing so. Lastly, this measure may generate confusion in the population, along with an altered perception of the risk. The World Health Organization recommends its use in public places with a high potential risk of transmission and where other prevention measures, such as physical distancing, are not possible. Mandatory use of masks in public open spaces, regardless of the risk of transmission or of whether or not the interpersonal safety distance can be kept, is an intrusive measure that restricts individual freedoms, and would not appear to be justified on the basis of available scientific evidence. What we need are recommendations explaining where, when, how and what type of mask to wear.This publication was supported by the Spanish Health Research Fund of the Institute of Health Carlos III (Project ENPY 120/18).S

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