Azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptan-7-ones (carbapenams) from pyrrole

The azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptan-7-ones 4, 10, 16 and 24 have been prepared from pyrrole. The same general approach has been used for all these derivatives; namely, substitution of pyrrole at the 2- and 5-carbon atoms, catalytic hydrogenation to produce pyrrolidine-2-acetic acid derivatives, and cyclisation using tris(1,3-dihydro-2-oxobenzoxazol-3-yl)phosphine oxide 6. The catalytic hydrogenation of 2,5-disubstituted pyrroles gives only the corresponding cis-2,5-disubstituted pyrrolidines. The hydrogenation proceeds more easily when the nitrogen atom bears a tert-butoxycarbonyl substituent. The N-tert-butoxycarbonylpyrroles 8 and 21 bearing an á-substituent in the acetate side chain were hydrogenated with a high degree of facial stereoselectivity. This allowed the 6-phthalimidoazabicyclo- [3.2.0]heptan-7-one 24 to be isolated as a single diastereoisomer. The X-ray crystal structure of a precursor, the triester, 22a, has been obtained

Poverty reduction and democratization – new cross-country evidence

Inclou supplemental materialThe rapid decrease in absolute poverty across the developing world has received much attention. However, there have been few systematic attempts to analyse the political consequences of these developments. This article builds on the improved availability of household income data from developing countries to document a small but statistically significant impact of lagged poverty rates on a range of democracy indicators. The results hold across a battery of sensitivity and robustness tests. I also show that poverty reduction has a stronger effect on democracy than alternative predictors that are more widely used in the democratic regime transition and consolidation literature, such as average income and relative inequality (the Gini index). However, I find weaker effects of poverty on indicators of government quality and a declining influence of poverty reduction on democracy over time. These results point to more structural obstacles to democratic consolidation in lower-income regions, such as a tendency by populist leaders to exploit the economic grievances of vulnerable lower-middle classes.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO) through its Academic Excellence and Societal Challenges initiative [grant number CSO2017-87350-P]