Simulating the Impact of the Global Economic Crisis and Policy. Responses on Children in West and Central Africa

The current global financial and economic crisis, which exacerbates the impacts of the energy and food crises that immediately preceded it, has spread to the developing countries endangering recent gains in terms of economic growth and poverty reduction. The effects of the crisis are likely to vary substantially between countries and between individuals within the same country. Children are among the most vulnerable population, particularly in a period of crisis. Especially in least developed countries, where social safety nets programs are missing or poorly performing and public fiscal space is extremely limited, households with few economic opportunities are at a higher risk of falling into (monetary) poverty, suffering from hunger, removing children from school and into work, and losing access to health services. This study simulates the impacts of the global economic crisis and alternative policy responses on different dimensions of child welfare in Western and Central Africa (WCA) over the period 2009-2011. It is based on country studies for Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Ghana, which broadly represent the diversity of economic conditions in WCA countries. In order to capture the complex macro-economic effects of the crisis and the various policy responses – on trade, investment, remittances, aid flows, goods and factor markets – and to then trace their consequences in terms of child welfare – monetary poverty, hunger (caloric poverty), school participation, child labour, and access to health services – a combination of macro- and micro-analysis was adopted. The simulations suggest that the strongest effects are registered in terms of monetary poverty and hunger, although large differences between countries emerge. More moderate impacts are predicted in terms of school participation, child labour, and access to health care, although these are still significant and require urgent policy responses. Specifically, Ghana is the country where children are predicted to suffer the most in terms of monetary poverty and hunger, while Burkina Faso is where the largest deteriorations in schooling, child labour and access to health services are simulated. Among the policy responses examined to counteract the negative effects of the crisis on child well-being, a targeted cash transfer to predicted poor children is by far the most effective program. A comparison between a universal and targeted approach is also presented.Global economic crisis, child poverty, hunger, education, child labour, health, West and Central Africa, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Ghana, social protection

Globalization and Health: Impact Pathways and Recent Evidence

The last two decades of the twentieth century recorded a slowdown in health gains and widespread increases in health inequality across and within countries. The paper explores the causes of such trends on the basis of five main mortality models. To do so, it regresses IMR/LEB on 15 determinants of health. The results underscore the negative health effects of the trends observed between 1980-2000, such as rising inequality, greater income volatility, declining health expenditure, increasing migration and so on. Finally, the paper simulates the level of LEB that would have been achieved in ten regions of the world if the determinants of health had continued developing over these decades as they did over 1960-80. The results indicate that in seven of such regions (including China and India) LEB would have been higher than actually observed. In this regard, the paper raises doubts about the way globalization has taken place and the way public policy oriented it.health status, health inequalities, globalization

Why adopt double standards for alien fish and homoeothermic vertebrates? A reply to Fenoglio, Delmastro, and Boano (2018)

In order to mitigate the ecological impact of alien species there is a need to control or eradicate those species that are causing a loss of biodiversity. However, such conservation actions can lack public support. In their editorial to The European Zoological Journal (Vol. 85, pp. 227–228), Fenoglio and co-authors observe that public opinion is little concerned about fish welfare and, therefore, is less likely to oppose alien fish than alien bird and mammal eradications. Alien fish management is presented as a science-driven model to which the management of alien birds and mammals should aspire, and public education is identified as a solution for the social conflicts inherent to alien species management. This reflects the authors' opinion that a unitary, integrally scientific strategy would be the best one to counter biological invasions. However, a more flexible strategy including societal inclinations might be considered too, to avoid sabotage of the conservation actions by several predictable opponents, including animal rights movements. Moving from the latter opinion, the present reply aims at providing additional examples and argumentations on (i) why double or multiple management standards could be the only viable strategy to counter alien species, (ii) why alien fish management is not a good model, and (iii) why education cannot be the only solution for social conflicts inherent to alien species management

Spatial distribution of introduced brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis (Salmonidae) within alpine lakes: evidences from a fish eradication campaign

Brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis have been used worldwide to stock fishless alpine lakes, negatively affecting native biota. Understanding its spatial ecology in invaded ecosystems can provide information to interpret and contrast its ecological impact. We opportunistically used capture points of brook trout gillnetted during an eradication campaign to assess the distribution patterns of four unexploited populations inhabiting high-altitude lakes. The main eradication method implies the use of many gillnets with several mesh sizes, which are selective for different fish sizes. For each lake we drew six capture maps associated with as many different mesh sizes, and we tested whether the distance from the coastline (which in alpine lakes is a reliable proxy of the most important spatial gradients, e.g. depth, temperature, prey availability, lighting conditions) influences the proportion of captured fish belonging to different size classes and the number of fish captured by the nets with different mesh sizes. To interpret the results, we also provide a cartographic description of the lakes’ bathymetry and littoral microhabitats. We found (1) a negative relationship between brook trout distribution and the distance from the coastline in all of the size classes, lakes and mesh sizes; (2) that large brook trout can thrive in the lakes’ center, while small ones are limited to the littoral areas; and (3) that the distance from the coastline alone cannot explain all the differences in the catch densities in different parts of the lakes. As in their native range, introduced brook trout populations also have littoral habits. Microhabitats, prey availability and distance from the spawning ground are other likely factors determining the distribution patterns of brook trout populations introduced in alpine lakes. The obtained results also provide useful information on how to plan new eradication campaigns

Evidences of zooplankton vertical migration in stocked and never-stocked alpine lakes in Gran Paradiso National Park (Italy)

Abstract Zooplankton vertical migration was described in four high altitude lakes in Gran Paradiso National Park (Northern Italy) during 2008 summertime. The authors succeeded in describing the vertical distribution of 6 species: diel vertical migrations were observed in the case of adult crustacean species (Cyclops gr. abyssorum, Arctodiaptomus alpinus and Daphnia gr. longispina), whereas the remaining rotifer species (Keratella quadrata, Polyarthra gr. dolichoptera and Synchaeta gr. stylata-pectinata) and naupliar stages of copepods did not undergo migrations. Migratory behavior of Daphnia gr. longispina and Cyclops gr. abyssorum was influenced by the size of individuals, especially larger individuals use to migrate deeper during the day compared to the smaller conspecific. This study provides new evidences of zooplankton vertical migration in never-stocked lakes and highlights the need to consider the zooplankton migration as result of multiple causal factors

Screening of endocrine organ-specific humoral autoimmunity in 47,XXY Klinefelter's syndrome reveals a significant increase in diabetes-specific immunoreactivity in comparison with healthy control men.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of humoral endocrine organ-specific autoimmunity in 47,XXY Klinefelter’s syndrome (KS) by investigating the autoantibody profile specific to type 1 diabetes (T1DM), Addison’s disease (AD), Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT), and autoimmune chronic atrophic gastritis (AG). Sixty-one adult Caucasian 47,XXY KS patients were tested for autoantibodies specific to T1DM (Insulin Abs, GAD Abs, IA-2 Abs, Znt8 Abs), HT (TPO Abs), AD (21-OH Abs), and AG (APC Abs). Thirty-five of these patients were not undergoing testosterone replacement therapy TRT (Group 1) and the remaining 26 patients started TRT before the beginning of the study (Group 2). KS autoantibody frequencies were compared to those found in 122 control men. Six of 61 KS patients (9.8 %) were positive for at least one endocrine autoantibody, compared to 6.5 % of controls. Interestingly, KS endocrine immunoreactivity was directed primarily against diabetes-specific autoantigens (8.2 %), with a significantly higher frequency than in controls (p = 0.016). Two KS patients (3.3 %) were TPO Ab positive, whereas no patients were positive for AD- and AG-related autoantigens. The autoantibody endocrine profile of untreated and treated KS patients was not significantly different. Our findings demonstrate for the first time that endocrine humoral immunoreactivity is not rare in KS patients and that it is more frequently directed against type 1 diabetes-related autoantigens, thus suggesting the importance of screening for organ-specific autoimmunity in clinical practice. Follow-up studies are needed to establish if autoantibody-positive KS patients will develop clinical T1D

Spatial inequality during the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa using night-time lights data

In this paper, we study the evolution of spatial inequality during the recent COVID-19 pandemic in Africa and assess if there is any association between the outbreak of the health crisis, the strictness of policy restrictions and the changes observed in spatial inequality. Using remotely sensed night time lights data, we find that spatial inequality decreased after the COVID-19 outbreak. Yet, there are huge differences within and between countries. Spatial inequality decreased in Southern and Northern African countries while it increased in Central African countries. Spatial inequality mainly decreased in countries implementing more stringent measures but also in those areas that were richer before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic

Arc development in the Apennines

In central Italy, geometry, kinematics, and tectonic evolution of the late Neogene Umbrian Arc, which is one of the main thrusts of the northern Apennines, have long been studied. Documented evidence for orogenic curvature includes vertical-axis rotations along both limbs of the arc and a positive orocline test along the entire arc. The curvature’s cause is, however, still unexplained. In this work, we focused our attention on the southern portion of the Umbrian Arc, the so-called Olevano-Antrodoco thrust. We analyze, in particular, gravity and seismic reflection data and consider available paleomagnetic, stratigraphic, structural, and topographic evidence from the central Apennines to infer spatial extent, attitude, and surface effects of a mid-crustal anticlinorium imaged in the CROP-11 deep seismic profile. The anticlinorium has horizontal dimensions of about 50 by 30 km and is located right beneath the Olevano-Antrodoco thrust. Stratigraphic, structural, and topographic evidence suggests that the anticlinorium produced a surface uplift during its growth in early Pliocene times. We propose an evolutionary model in which, during late Neogene time, the Olevano-Antrodoco thrust developed in an out-of-sequence fashion and underwent about 16° of clockwise rotation when the thrust ran into and was then raised and folded by the growing anticlinorium (late Messinian-early Pliocene time). This new model suggests a causal link between mid-crustal folding and surficial orogenic curvature that is consistent with several available data sets from the northern-central Apennines; more evidence is, however, needed to fully test hypothesis. Additionally, due to the occurrence of mid-crustal basement-involved thrusts in other orogens, this model may be a viable mechanism for arc formation elsewhere

Gravity modelling along CROP04 seismic profile

The processing and interpretation of seismic lines, together with the analysis of surficial geological data and hydrocarbon wells data, are powerful tools for the investigation of crust structures. Nevertheless, for depths exceeding that portion of crust usually investigated for commercial purposes, only geophysical data are generally available (among the others: NVR seismic from CROP project, DSS data, magnetic data, gravity data). In this context, the possibility of comparing two independent geophysical data sets, such as data from seismic exploration (CROP Project) and gravimetric analysis (Bouguer anomalies), is of particular interest for investigations into the deeper crust portion. In the present work gravity data modelling was used to study deep crust, constraints being provided by WARR data and by reflection seismic data obtained along the CROP04 profile that crosses the Southern Apennines (Italy) from Agropoli (SW) to Barletta (NE). A preliminary interpretation has been made of the regional gravity anomaly trend in deep crust in Southern Italy; the role of this anomaly trend as an independent constraint for the geological interpretation of the CROP04 seismic line is discussed

Efficiency and Capital Structure in the Italian Cereal Sector

Farm capital structure may have contrasting effects on farm efficiency as a strand of the farm efficiency literature as pointed out ( for a review see for example Davidova and Latruffe 2007). Farmers often use external funding both to cover productions costs and to finance investments (machinery, equipment, buildings) to enhance farm economic performance. The debt is necessary to maintain or improve farm productivity and competitiveness by adopting technological innovation needed to increase farm efficiency. At the same time leverage may affects farm efficiency by influencing farm production decision constrained by lower farm expenditure capacity. In this case, farms response may rely on reducing the necessary expenditures to maintain the production assets with negative consequences on farm productivity, growth and efficiency. Finally, farm leverage may affects the farms capacity to react to market shocks adopting the needed strategic adjustments to maintain productivity, efficiency and competitiveness. A relevant case study for assessing this last effect would be the recent surge in price volatility that affected European and world cereal markets starting from 2008.The objective of this paper is to provide new empirical evidence on the relationship between farm capital structure and farm efficiency. In particular we will try to answer the following research question: does higher leverage lead to better performance? The food price volatility that has affected the cereal market from 2008 onwards is a possible stress for cereal farms that must adapt to the rapid drop in prices such as the one observed in 2010. Our research provide a first insight on the evolution of the cereal farms debt-technical efficiency relationship in times of high price volatility