An Experimental Study in the Crowding-Out Effect of Public Transfers in a Model with Multiple Families

We study an overlapping-generations experiment with multiple families in which redistributional transfers can take the form of support to the elderly or grants to children.Supporting the old is a purely inter-generational (intra-family) transfer, whereas grants to children also involve an element of intra-generational (inter-family) solidarity.Our treatment variable is the tax rate determining the amount of redistribution by means of the compulsory pension scheme.We investigate to which degree compulsory solidarity crowds out voluntary solidarity.We also consider whether voluntary solidarity relies more on grants to children or on support to the old aged, and the mechanisms which are used in eliciting transfers from family members from other generations.within-family transfers;overlapping generations;redistributive public-pension system;crowding out of private transfers;reciprocity

A Scanning Electron Microscopy Study of Taxus Leaves as Related to Taxonomy

Scanning electron microscopy, when applied to the surfaces of the needles of Taxus spp. (yew) revealed features that appear useful in the taxonomy of this tree species which yields the important anticancer drug, taxol. For instance, all of the four North American species have 3-5 rows of stomata on one-half of the abaxial leaf surface, whereas all of the others, including those from Europe and Asia, have 7-10 rows of stomata. The appearance of individual or fused papilliform epidermal cells and their arrangement on the leaf surface also is a feature that varies between species. Patterns of wax formation appeared on all species of yew examined but none could characteristically be assigned to a given species. Wax pattern variation was dependent upon age, environment, and probably to some extent, species differences. This study may provide some additional useful and reliable indicators in Taxus taxonomy