The functioning of economic policy coordination

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Fiscal and Monetary Policy Coordination in EMU

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and discuss the coordination of fiscal and monetary policies in EMU. In section 2, we develop a framework for studying monetary and fiscal policy in a monetary union to explore the implications of the common currency for policy coordination. We show that there is little need for coordinating monetary and fiscal policies in the long run. In section 3, we study the interaction of monetary and fiscal policies in the short run. A monetary policy firmly committed to price stability at the EMU level implies that the central bank controls aggregate output at the euro-area level, while national fiscal policies determine the distribution of aggregate demand across the participating countries. Thus, national governments are engaged in a purely distributional game with inefficient outcomes unless policies are coordinated. If monetary policy also pursues a goal of output stabilization, policy coordination should include the central bank together with the fiscal authorities. We also show that the proposal to restrict fiscal policies to the operation automatic stabilizers at the national level, which is now often made in EMU, does not solve the issue of policy coordination. Instead, it worsens the situation of the central bank unless automatic stabilizers are identical in all member economies. In section 4, we review the existing mechanisms for policy coordination and show that they are deficient, since they focus on the long run rather than the short run and largely ignore the interdependence of national economic policies and the ECB’s monetary policy. Section 5 concludes.

Strategic planning of a heterogenous workforce

Dieser Artikel ist eine konsequente Weiterentwicklung des strategischen Personalplanungsmodells. Dabei wird die Dynamik der Unternehmensum- welt parametrisiert und in das Planungsmodell mit aufgenommen. Die Per- sonalplanung startet bei der Optimierung mit dem vorhandenen Personal des Unternehmens, kann somit von einer Planungsperiode zur nächsten am Status Quo des Unternehmens ansetzen. Die individuellen Unterschiede einzelner Personen werden für weite Be- reiche der praktischen Anwendung modelliert. So werden nicht nur die Ko- sten der Personalakquise oder der Abfindung explizit behandelt, auch die individuellen körperlichen und geistigen Fähigkeiten, sowie Aus- und Wei- terbildungskosten eines jeden Arbeiters werden berücksichtigt. Modellierung, Implementierung sowie Anwendung wurden durch den Autoren Martin Mundschenk ausgearbeitet

Current Trends in Functional Imaging of Pheochromocytomas and Paragangliomas

Most pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas should be evaluated with anatomical imaging (computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging) followed by functional imaging (nuclear medicine modalities). Functional imaging assures that the tumor is indeed a pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma and enables more thorough localization, especially detecting as many lesions as possible (in particular for metastatic disease). Functional imaging for pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas, can use radiolabled ligands specific for pathways of synthesis, metabolism, and inactivation of catecholamines or nonspecific ligands. In an overview of the available nuclear medicine modalities, we summarize the accumulated experience and recommend when functional imaging should be applied to patients with pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74881/1/annals.1353.041.pd

A Transplantable Phosphorylation Probe for Direct Assessment of G Protein-Coupled Receptor Activation

The newly developed multireceptor somatostatin analogs pasireotide (SOM230), octreotide and somatoprim (DG3173) have primarily been characterized according to their binding profiles. However, their ability to activate individual somatostatin receptor subtypes (sst) has not been directly assessed so far. Here, we transplanted the carboxyl-terminal phosphorylation motif of the sst2 receptor to other somatostatin receptors and assessed receptor activation using a set of three phosphosite-specific antibodies. Our comparative analysis revealed unexpected efficacy profiles for pasireotide, octreotide and somatoprim. Pasireotide was able to activate sst3 and sst5 receptors but was only a partial agonist at the sst2 receptor. Octreotide exhibited potent agonistic properties at the sst2 receptor but produced very little sst5 receptor activation. Like octreotide, somatoprim was a full agonist at the sst2 receptor. Unlike octreotide, somatoprim was also a potent agonist at the sst5 receptor. Together, we propose the application of a phosphorylation probe for direct assessment of G protein-coupled receptor activation and demonstrate its utility in the pharmacological characterization of novel somatostatin analogs

Human impact on the transport of terrigenous and anthropogenic elements to peri-alpine lakes (Switzerland) over the last decades

Terrigenous (Sc, Fe, K, Mg, Al, Ti) and anthropogenic (Pb and Cu) element fluxes were measured in a new sediment core from Lake Biel (Switzerland) and in previously well-documented cores from two upstream lakes (Lake Brienz and Lake Thun). These three large peri-alpine lakes are connected by the Aare River, which is the main tributary to the High Rhine River. Major and trace element analysis of the sediment cores by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) shows that the site of Lake Brienz receives three times more terrigenous elements than the two other studied sites, given by the role of Lake Brienz as the first major sediment sink located in the foothills of the Alps. Overall, the terrigenous fluxes reconstructed at the three studied sites suggest that the construction of sediment-trapping reservoirs during the twentieth century noticeably decreased the riverine suspended sediment load at a regional scale. In fact, the extensive river damming that occurred in the upstream watershed catchment (between ca. 1930 and 1950 and up to 2300 m a.s.l.) and that significantly modified seasonal suspended sediment loads and riverine water discharge patterns to downstream lakes noticeably diminished the long-range transport of (fine) terrigenous particles by the Aare River. Concerning the transport of anthropogenic pollutants, the lowest lead enrichment factors (EFs Pb) were measured in the upstream course of the Aare River at the site of Lake Brienz, whereas the metal pollution was highest in downstream Lake Biel, with the maximum values measured between 1940 and 1970 (EF Pb >3). The following recorded regional reduction in aquatic Pb pollution started about 15 years before the actual introduction of unleaded gasoline in 1985. Furthermore, the radiometric dating of the sediment core from Lake Biel identifies three events of hydrological transport of artificial radionuclides released by the nuclear reactor of Mühleberg located at more than 15 km upstream of Lake Biel for the time period 1970 to 200