International Coercion, Emulation and Policy Diffusion: Market-Oriented Infrastructure Reforms, 1977-1999

Why do some countries adopt market-oriented reforms such as deregulation, privatization and liberalization of competition in their infrastructure industries while others do not? Why did the pace of adoption accelerate in the 1990s? Building on neo-institutional theory in sociology, we argue that the domestic adoption of market-oriented reforms is strongly influenced by international pressures of coercion and emulation. We find robust support for these arguments with an event-history analysis of the determinants of reform in the telecommunications and electricity sectors of as many as 205 countries and territories between 1977 and 1999. Our results also suggest that the coercive effect of multilateral lending from the IMF, the World Bank or Regional Development Banks is increasing over time, a finding that is consistent with anecdotal evidence that multilateral organizations have broadened the scope of the “conditionality” terms specifying market-oriented reforms imposed on borrowing countries. We discuss the possibility that, by pressuring countries into policy reform, cross-national coercion and emulation may not produce ideal outcomes.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40099/3/wp713.pd

How expectations became governable: institutional change and the performative power of central banks

Central banks have accumulated unparalleled power over the conduct of macroeconomic policy. Key for this development was the articulation and differentiation of monetary policy as a distinct policy domain. While political economists emphasize the foundational institutional changes that enabled this development, recent performativity-studies focus on central bankers’ invention of expectation management techniques. In line with a few other works, this article aims to bring these two aspects together. The key argument is that, over the last few decades, central banks have identified different strategies to assume authority over “expectational politics” and reinforced dominant institutional forces within them. I introduce a comparative scheme to distinguish two different expectational governance regimes. My own empirical investigation focuses on a monetarist regime that emerged from corporatist contexts, where central banks enjoyed “embedded autonomy” and where commercial banks maintained conservative reserve management routines. I further argue that innovations towards inflation targeting took place in countries with non-existent or disintegrating corporatist structures and where central banks turned to finance to establish a different version of expectation coordination. A widespread adoption of this “financialized” expectational governance has been made possible by broader processes of institutional convergence that were supported by central bankers themselves

Combined unfavourable polymorphisms ofhOCT1 and ABCG2 are responsible for delayed complete cytogenetic response during imatinib treatment.

In the recent years, imatinib has changed the outcome of patients affected by chronic myeloid leukemia (CML); nevertheless, about one third of patients must stop the treatment for side effects or resistance. In both these contexts, the adherence to treatment and the drug plas- ma levels have been reported to be strictly linked both to the quality of response and to the tolerability. A large work on Imatinib pharmacoki- netics is at present carried out according to the procedures of the TIK- let protocol (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT 01860456), thus extend- ing the work previously published by our group (Di Paolo et al., Phar- macogenomic J, 2014) on the role of several genetic covariates. As addi- tional side study, we have investigated the possibility that the time to the achievement of the complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) could be influenced by the genetic polymorphisms in the trans-membrane trans- porters, such as SLC22A1, ABCB1, ABCG2, hOCT1, and SLCO1B1. To accomplish with this objective, both logistic regressions and Anova tests were applied in a population composed by 43 adult CML patients on imatinib. The goal of our approach was to investigate the possible role on CCyR of single and combined different genetic polymorphisms. From a first preliminary check we have found that the only significant role is played by the polymorphisms combination of ABCG2 and hOCT1. Through logistic regression we have computed the probabili- ty of obtaining a delayed CCyR (lasting more than 12 months) as a function of ABCG2 and hOCT1. We found that patients with favourable genotype (high-activity wild-type hOCT1 and low-activity polymorphic ABCG2) have a high probability of achieving the CCyR by 6 months of treatment, while patients with unfavourable genotype (both high-activity wild-type hOCT1 and ABCG2, or both low-activi- ty polymorphic hOCT1 and ABCG2) have a significantly higher prob- ability of achieving a late CCyR (>12 months). The logistic regression performed can be considered significant since patients with an unfavourable genotype have an Odd Ratio (O.R.) value equal to 1.15, p=0.002. Subsequently Anova tests have confirmed these results. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that a delayed cytogenetic response is influenced by the combination of the genetic polymorphisms that concomitantly cause a reduced intake (hOCT1) and an increased efflux (ABCG2) of imatinib, whereas there is not any observed effect due to each single polymorphism. This could be relevant, considering that the 2013 ELN guidelines identify as optimal responder patients who achieve the CCyR by 6 months from the beginning of therapy

The c.480C>G polymorphism of hOCT1 influences imatinib clearance in patients affected by chronic myeloid leukemia.

The aim of the study was to investigate any possible influence of polymorphisms of transmembrane transporters human organic cation transporter 1 (hOCT1), ABCB1, ABCG2 on imatinib pharmacokinetics in 33 men and 27 women (median age and range, 56 and 27-79 years, respectively) affected by chronic myeloid leukemia. A population pharmacokinetic analysis was performed to investigate imatinib disposition in every patient and the role of transporter polymorphisms. Results showed that the α1-acid glycoprotein and the c.480C>G genotype of hOCT1 had a significant effect on apparent drug clearance (CL/F) being responsible, respectively, for a 20% and 10% decrease in interindividual variability (IIV) of CL/F (from 50.1 up to 19.6%). Interestingly, 25 patients carrying at least one polymorphic c.480 G allele had a significant lower CL/F value with respect to the 35 c.480CC individuals (mean±s.d., 9.6±1.6 vs 12.1±2.3 l h(-1), respectively; PG SNP may significantly influence imatinib pharmacokinetics, supporting further analyses in larger groups of patients

Heterogenity of IgE response to walnut and hazelnut in Italian allergic patients.

Background:The prevalence of IgE reactivity against genuine walnut and hazelnut allergens is poorly defined. Objective: The IgE response to walnut and hazelnut was investigated in Italian patients with primary allergy to these nuts. Methods: Sera from 36 patients allergic to hazelnut and/or walnut, not reactive to PR-10, profilin, and LTP, underwent immunoblot analysis with extracts of both nuts.Results:Most patients had a history of systemic symptoms following the ingestion of the offending food(s).Twelve patients were sensitized to both walnut and hazelnut, and 13 were sensitized to other nuts and seeds (cashew, peanut, sesame, pine nut, almond, Brazil nut, and pistachio). On walnut immunoblot, the 7 sera which scored positive showed much variability in their IgE profile. Two reacted uniquely at 10 kDa, and the others at 35 , 40, 45, 50, 67, and > 67 kDa.The profiles obtained under reducing and non-reducing conditions showed several differences. The 7 sera positive on hazelnut immunoblot under reducing conditions recognized sera at 10 kDa and at <10 kDa (n=1), 20 kDa (n=4), at about 22, 24, 30, 40, 43, 58, 60, and 90 kDa, and higher m.w. in other cases. Under non-reducing conditions IgE reactivity at 20, 28, 35, 40, 45, 60, 90, and 100 kDa,was detected.Only two sera scored positive under both conditions and showed an IgE profile that partly changed from one assay to another. Conclusion: The current list of walnut and hazelnut allergens is far from being complete. Both reducing and non-reducing conditions are needed to detect IgE reactivity in individual patients