International spillovers from U.S. fiscal policy shocks

I estimate the effect of U.S. government spending and tax shocks on Canada and the U.K. from 1975 to 2014, and on Japan from 1979 to 2014. Spending and tax shocks are identified using sign restrictions on the impulse responses from a vector autoregression (VAR). I find that spillover effects of expansionary fiscal shocks are not uniform across countries, though for all three countries they result in economically significant GDP increases in the short run. In addition, government spending shocks have larger effects than net tax shocks. Altogether, the results support the idea that some countries may benefit significantly from expansionary U.S. fiscal policy

International spillovers from U.S. fiscal policy shocks

I estimate the effect of U.S. government spending and tax shocks on Canada, Japan, and the U.K. for the period 1974 through 2007. Spending and tax shocks are identified using sign restrictions on the impulse responses from a vector autoregression (VAR). I find that while spillover effects of expansionary fiscal shocks are not uniform in direction or magnitude across countries, for Canada and Japan they result in economically significant GDP increases over some portion of the response horizon. For all three countries, government spending shocks generally have larger effects than net tax shocks. Altogether, the results support the idea that some countries may benefit significantly from expansionary U.S. fiscal policy

The Transmission of Fiscal Policy Shocks: International Spillovers and Non-Linearities

My dissertation addresses two issues that have not been adequately addressed in the empirical literature on the effects of fiscal policy: the possibility that U.S. fiscal policy has economically significant spillovers to other countries and the possibility that discretionary fiscal policy may have different effects in recessions and expansions. In the first chapter I estimate the magnitude and direction of spillovers from U.S. fiscal policy shocks to Canada, Japan, and the U.K. I find that U.S. government spending and net tax increases can be either beneficial or harmful for our trading partners. The magnitudes are generally moderate, with the response to a government spending increase typically an order of magnitude larger than the response to a net tax increase. In the second chapter I examine whether the spillovers to Canada vary across U.S. recessions and expansions and whether the responses vary non-linearly with the size or direction of the change in U.S. government spending. I find that there are indeed different effects in recession and expansion, but that the differences are short-lived, lasting no more than a few quarters. The use of a non-linear empirical model does not seem to matter much in estimating the direction of the responses to an increase in U.S. government spending, but the magnitudes of the effects on the real exchange rate and the trade balance are significantly larger than those estimated using a linear model. In the third chapter I shift the focus to the domestic effects of fiscal policy in Canada. I compare the responses of several Canadian macroeconomic series to increases in government spending in recession and expansion. With the notable exception of GDP, I find that the difference in responses across regimes is generally not significant in a statistical or qualitative sense. For GDP I find that the response to government spending shocks is negative in both recessions and expansions, but the magnitude of the response in recession is significantly larger

Citrate salts for preventing and treating calcium containing kidney stones in adults

Background: kidney stones affect people worldwide and have a high rate of recurrence even with treatment. Recurrences are particularly prevalent in people with low urinary citrate levels. These people have a higher incidence of calcium phosphate and calcium oxalate stones. Oral citrate therapy increases the urinary citrate levels, which in turn binds with calcium and inhibits the crystallisation thus reduces stone formation. Despite the widespread use of oral citrate therapy for prevention and treatment of calcium oxalate stones, the evidence to support its clinical efficacy remains uncertain.Objectives: the objective of this review was to determine the efficacy and adverse events associated with citrate salts for the treatment and prevention of calcium containing kidney stones.Search methods: we searched the Cochrane Kidney and Transplant Specialised Register to 29 July 2015 through contact with the Trials' Search Co-ordinator using search terms relevant to this review.Selection criteria: we included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed the efficacy and adverse events associated with citrate salts for the treatment and prevention of calcium containing kidney stones in adults treated for a minimum of six months.Data collection and analysis: two authors assessed studies for inclusion in this review. Data were extracted according to predetermined criteria. Summary estimates of effect were obtained using a random-effects model, and results were expressed as risk ratios (RR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) for dichotomous outcomes, and mean difference (MD) and 95% CI for continuous outcomes.Main results: we included seven studies that included a total of 477 participants, most of whom had oxalate stones. Of these, three studies (247 participants) compared potassium citrate with placebo or no intervention; three (166 participants) compared potassium-sodium citrate with no intervention; and one (64 participants) compared potassium-magnesium citrate with placebo. Overall, quality of the reporting of the included studies was considered moderate to poor, and there was a high risk of attrition bias in two studies.Compared with placebo or no intervention, citrate therapy significantly reduced the stone size (4 studies, 160 participants: RR 2.35, 95% CI 1.36 to 4.05). New stone formation was significantly lower with citrate therapy compared to control (7 studies, 324 participants: RR 0.26, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.68). The beneficial effect on stone size stability was also evident (4 studies, 160 participants: RR 1.97, 95% CI 1.19 to 3.26). Adverse events were reported in four studies, with the main side effects being upper gastrointestinal disturbance and one patient reported a rash. There were more gastrointestinal adverse events in the citrate group; however this was not significant (4 studies, 271 participants: RR 2.55, 95% CI 0.71 to 9.16). There were significantly more dropouts due to adverse events with citrate therapy compared to control (4 studies, 271 participants: RR 4.45, 95% CI 1.28 to 15.50). The need for retreatment was significantly less with citrate therapy compared to control (2 studies, 157 participants: RR 0.22, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.89).Author's conclusions: nitrate salts prevent new stone formation and reduce further stone growth in patients with residual stones that predominantly contain oxalate. The quality of reported literature remains moderate to poor; hence a well-designed statistically powered multi-centre RCT is needed in order to answer relevant questions concerning the efficacy of citrate salts.</p

Marshmallows

Abstract not availabl

Social Security Administration Death Master File

Records of deaths that have been reported to SSA from 1937 - November 2013