Reconstruction multipliers

A law issued to allocate reconstruction grants following the 2009 "Aquilano" earthquake has resulted in a large and unanticipated discontinuity across municipalities with comparable damages. Using diff-in-diff analysis we estimate the "local spending" and the "local tax" multipliers--according to the composition of the stimulus--controlling for the negative supply shock generated by the event. The stimulus prevented a fall in economic activity and the multiplicative effects of tax cuts are estimated much higher than those of spending. Our results underline the importance of countercyclical fiscal interventions and suggest the most effective composition of such a stimulus

The Impact of Earthquakes on Economic Activity: Evidence from Italy

Although earthquakes are large idiosyncratic shocks for affected regions, little is known of their impact on economic activity. Seismic events are rare, the data is crude (the Richter scale measures the magnitude but says nothing of the associated damages) and counterfactuals are often entirely absent. We suggest an innovative identification strategy to address these issues based on the so-called ’Mercalli scale’ ranks - a geophysical methodology devised to gauge seismic damages relying on a newly compiled dataset following 95 Italian provinces from 1986 to 2011 (including 22 seismic episodes) offering an ideal ground for identification. Also, we carry out counterfactuals taking advantage of ex ante identical neighboring provinces that only differ ex post in terms of damages. Contrary to conventional views, we find that the impact of seismic events on output is negligible (or even positive) including after the most devastating events

Shake me the money!

During a natural disaster, the negative supply shock due to the destruction of productive capacity is counteracted by a positive demand shock due to public grants for assistance and reconstruction positing an identification issue in empirical work. Focusing on the 2009 'Aquilano' earthquake in Italy as a case study, we take advantage of quantified measure of damages for 75,424 buildings to estimate the negative supply shock and of a law issued to allocate reconstruction grants, which resulted in a sharp, exogenous discontinuity in transfers and output behavior across neighboring municipalities to estimate the positive demand shock. Diff-in-diff analysis suggests that local output multipliers of reconstruction grants (net of marginal tax rebates) are below unity. Yet the size of the grants act as a public insurance scheme, preventing a fall in output

Habilidade competitiva de genótipos de feijão comum do grupo "preto" com plantas daninhas.

A hipótese dessa pesquisa é de que há variabilidade entre genótipos de feijão do grupo Preto quanto à competitividade com plantas daninhas e é possível identificar características de plantas que explicam expressivamente a habilidade competitiva. O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar a habilidade competitiva de genótipos de feijão do grupo preto com plantas daninhas. As perdas de produtividade de grãos em genótipos de feijão preto, decorrentes da interferência exercida pelas plantas daninhas, variaram de 30,8 a 54,9 %, sendo que os genótipos que apresentaram as menores perdas de produtividade também suprimiram em maior grau o crescimento das plantas daninhas. Houve tendência de aumento das reduções de produtividade de grãos em razão da interferência de plantas daninhas com o aumento da produtividade verificada na ausência de interferência. Não foi possível identificar características de plantas que afetam significativamente a habilidade dos genótipos de feijão em competir com plantas daninhas

Influence of Quince rootstocks on Entomosporium Leaf Spot (Entomosporium mespili) susceptibility in European Pear cv. Abate Fetel

Entomosporium leaf spot (ELS) is caused by the fungus Fabraea maculata (anamorph: Entomosporium mespili) and affects most pear cultivars and quince rootstocks in Brazil. The aim of this study was to characterize the effect of Adams, EMA and EMC quince rootstocks on ELS in European pear cultivar “Abate Fetel” in Southern Brazil, during the 2009/2010, 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 growing season. The incidence and severity of disease was quantified weekly in 100 randomly leaves distributed in four medium-height branches per plant with eight replications. Disease progress curves of ELS were constructed and the epidemics compared according to: (1) the beginning of symptoms appearance (BSA); (2) the time to reach the maximum disease incidence and severity (TRMDI and TRMDS); (3) area under the incidence and severity disease progress curve (AUIDPC and AUSDPC). The data were analyzed by linear regression and adjusted for three empirical models: Logistic, Monomolecular and Gompertz. The Abate Fetel cultivar under all rootstocks evaluated was susceptible to E. mespili. However, there were significant differences in ELS intensity among rootstocks evaluated. The highest ELS intensities were observed in combinations with EMA and Adams quince rootstock. Abate Fetel cultivar grafted on EMC quince rootstock showed all epidemiological variables results significantly different when compared with EMA quince rootstock. EMC quince rootstock induced late resistance compared with the other considerated rootstocks. The Logistic model was the most appropriates to describe the ELS progress of Abate Fetel cultivar under all rootstocks evaluated in the edafoclimatic conditions of Southern Brazil, during the 2009/2010, 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 growing season

Resposta de Borreria latifolia e Richardia brasiliensis a doses do herbicida glyphosate em pós-emergência.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar e ajustar a resposta de plantas de ervaquente (Borreria latifolia) e poaia-branca (Richardia brasiliensis) a diferentes concentrações do herbicida glyphosate. O estudo foi desenvolvido em casa-de-vegetação, arranjado em delineamento inteiramente casualizado com quatro repetições. Foram avaliadas nove concentrações de do herbicida glyphosate (0, 43, 73, 124, 211, 360, 612, 1040 e 1768 g e.a. ha-1) para o controle de Borreria latifolia e Richardia brasiliensis. Realizou-se avaliações de controle aos 14 e 28 dias após a aplicação (DAA) e massa da parte aérea seca. Com os resultados obtidos, evidenciou-se controle satisfatório para as duas espécies estudadas com o emprego da dose 612 g e.a. ha-1. Em decorrência ao maior controle de erva-quente e poaia-branca, observou-se também uma maior redução da MPAS atingindo aproximadamente 100% com o emprego da dose de 1040 g e.a. ha-1

Desempenho de foransulfuron + iodosulfuron e imazapic + imazapyr em biótipos de Bidens spp.

Bidens spp. especies are present in 74% of the farms of central plateaus of the state of Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil. The species Bidens pilosa was the first weed to be documented as resistant to herbicides inhibitors of the enzyme acetholactate sinthase (ALS), in Brazil. Foransulfuron + iodosulfuron and imazapic + imazapyr are ALS inhibitors recently launched to use on the corn crop. Since, there is no record of the action of these herbicidas on resistant Bidens spp. biotypes, the objective of this work was to evaluate the performance of foransulfuron + iodosulfuron and imazapic + imazapyr on biotypes collected in several places in Brazil. Experiments were conducted in the greenhouse at Federal University at Rio Grande do Sul. Seeds of Bidens spp. had been sown in trays with capacity for 2000 ml, with soil:sand substratum (2:1). After emergence, seedlings were transfered to vases with 300 ml capacity and kept irrigated. When seedlings had reached the four leaved stage they were sprayed with the herbicides with rates from 0 up to 8 times the recommended dose. The experimental design was a complete random design with four replicates. At 21 days after the application it was evaluated the plant control. The results had been submitted to the analysis of variance and when evidenced interaction of biotype and rate, dose-response curves had been adjusted, for each biotype. The results confirmed difference of sensitivity to the herbicides between the tested biotypes. The biotypes susceptible to other ALS inhibitors had confirmed its susceptibility to the herbicidas foransulfuron + iodosulfuron and imazapic + imazapyr. But, the biotypes resistant to other ALS-inhibitors were also resistant to these herbicidas. The mixtures of foransulfuron + iodosulfuron and imazapic + imazapyr are new herbicidas for the corn crop but do not solve the problem of ALS-resistance in Bidens spp.Bidens spp. encontra-se presente em 74% das lavouras do planalto central do Rio Grande do Sul. A espécie Bidens pilosa foi a primeira planta daninha a ser relatada como resistente aos herbicidas inibidores da enzima acetolactato sintase (ALS) no Brasil. Foransulfuron + iodosulfuron e imazapic + imazapyr são herbicidas inibidores da enzima ALS usados nacultura de milho e não há relatos na literatura sobre a ação destes herbicidas em biótipos resistentes de Bidens spp. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o desempenho de foransulfuron + iodosulfuron e imazapic + imazapyr em biótipos de Bidens ssp. oriundas de vários locais do país. Foram instalados experimentos em casa de vegetação na Faculdade de Agronomia da UFRGS. Sementes de Bidens spp. foram semeadas em bandejas com capacidade para 2000 ml, com substrato de solo-areia (2:1). Após emergência, plântulas foram transplantadas para vasos de 300 ml e mantidas sem déficit hídrico. Quando as plântulas atingiram quatro folhas verdadeiras foram aspergidas com os herbicidas em até 8 vezes a dose recomendada, em quatro repetições. Aos 21 dias após a aplicação, avaliou-se o controle das plantas. Os resultados foram submetidos à análise de variância e quando constatada interação entre biótipo e dose ajustaram-se curvas de resposta à dose, para cada biótipo. Os resultados confirmaram diferença de sensibilidade aos herbicidas entre os biótipos testados. Os biótipos suscetíveis a outros inibidores de ALS, confirmaram a sua susceptibilidade aos herbicidas foransulfuron + iodosulfuron e imazapic + imazapyr. Mas, os biótipos resistentes a outros inibidores de ALS também confirmaram sua resistência a estes herbicidas. Conclui-se que foransulfuron + iodosulfuron e imazapic + imazapyr são novos herbicidas para a cultura de milho e são iguamente ineficientes sobre os biótipos de Bidens spp resistentes aos inibidores da ALS