"Did the 2008 Rebate Fail? A Response to Taylor and Feldstein "

Did the 2008 rebate fail to stimulate consumer spending? In their recent influential AER articles, John Taylor and Martin Feldstein each claim that BEA aggregate time series data show that the 2008 rebate failed. Re-examining the BEA data, we find that the data instead show there is a high probability that the rebate stimulated consumption. Moreover, the hypothesis that a rebate has half the impact of ordinary disposable income cannot be rejected. Thus, we find that analysis of the BEA aggregate time series data is consistent with the conclusion from the micro-data studies that the 2008 rebate stimulated consumer spending.fiscal policy, fiscal stimulus, tax rebates

"Overcoming the zero interest-rate bound: A quantitative prescription (Revision of Working Paper No. 2006-14)"

Using a macroeconometric model we provide a quantitative estimate of the cash transfer or tax cut that would achieve recovery from a severe recession when the central bank is unable to achieve full recovery because of the zero bound. We introduce an automatic transfer and simulate its triggering in the severe recession. We find that an automatic transfer that averages 3% of quarterly GDP repeated four times (quarterly) reduces the unemployment rate an additional full percentage point and thereby completes the recovery.   We recommend that legislatures enact an automatic counter-cyclical fiscal policy that will assure adequate stimulus without generating a long-term debt problem.Zero-interest rate bound, Counter-cyclical fiscal policy

"Did the 2008 Rebate Fail? A Response to Taylor and Feldstein"

Did the 2008 rebate fail to stimulate consumer spending? In their influential AER articles, John Taylor and Martin Feldstein each claim that BEA aggregate time series data show that the 2008 rebate failed. Re-examining the BEA data, we find that the data instead show there is a high probability that the rebate stimulated consumption. Moreover, the hypothesis that a rebate has half the impact of ordinary disposable income cannot be rejected. Thus, we find that analysis of the BEA aggregate time series data is consistent with the conclusion from the micro-data studies that the 2008 rebate stimulated consumer spending.fiscal policy, fiscal stimulus, tax rebates

"Compensations and contributions under an international carbon treaty"

The simulations in this paper use actual 2004 data on carbon emissions and per capita GDP from 178 countries to provide a rough estimate of how much better off high-income countries might be by compensating low-income countries to help reduce carbon emissions rather than doing it without their help; and a rough estimate of the per capita compensation to each low-income country and the per capita contribution from each high-income country under several alternative formulas that might be adopted under an international carbon treaty. The study focuses special attention on the per capita compensations to India, China, and Russia, and the per capita contributions from the United States, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, and France, under alternative formulas. In our initial simulation, if the 46 countries with per capita GDP above $12,000 want to reduce world emissions by 1.095 billion metric tons (15$108 billion if they do it without help. But if they get optimal help from the 132 low-income countries, the total cost of reducing world emissions 1.095 billion would be only $55 billion--$27 billion for the low-income countries and $28 billion for the high-income countries-- so the world cost saving would be$53 billion and the cost saving for the high-income countries would be $80 billion. Thus, if the high-income countries compensate the low-income countries 100$27 billion), the high-income countries would still be $53 billion better off than if they had done it alone. Under the formula used in this initial simulation, China’s per capita compensation would be$7 and the U.S.’s per capita contribution would be $40.International Carbon Treaty

"Income-related patient cost-sharing: Simulation for prescription drugs under Medicare"

This paper studies an application of income-related patient cost-sharing. Using data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, we find that varying patient costsharing rates with patient income in the Medicare prescription drug program can reduce the severity of two problems: high percent-of-income burdens, and unequal medication due to income. We estimate behavioral responses in the Medicare population and incorporate the estimates into a micro-simulation model which uses data that are representative of the actual Medicare population. We find that introducing incomerelated patient cost-sharing into a Medicare drug program can dramatically reduce the severity of the two problems.Patient Cost-Sharing, Medicare

VICAR image processing system guide to system use

The functional characteristics and operating requirements of the Video Image Communication and Retrieval System are detailed

Fast-reaction asymptotics for a time-dependent reaction-diffusion system with a growing nonlinear source term

In this paper, we prove rigorously the fast-reaction asymptotics lambda -> infinity for a reaction-diffusion system having a nonlinear production term with very rapid reaction rate lambda. We derive the limit PDE system and prove the uniqueness of its solutions. The key tools of our analysis include (uniform w.r.t. lambda) L^1-estimates for both q and w and a balanced formulation, where combinations of the original components which balance the fast reaction are used. The results reported here answer some open questions raised by T.I. Seidman in the paper [16]

Direct Measurement of 2D and 3D Interprecipitate Distance Distributions from Atom-Probe Tomographic Reconstructions

Edge-to-edge interprecipitate distance distributions are critical for predicting precipitation strengthening of alloys and other physical phenomena. A method to calculate this 3D distance and the 2D interplanar distance from atom-probe tomographic data is presented. It is applied to nanometer-sized Cu-rich precipitates in an Fe-1.7 at.% Cu alloy. Experimental interprecipitate distance distributions are discussed