IRAS and the Boston University Arecibo Galactic H I Survey: A catalog of cloud properties

The Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) Galactic Plane Surface Brightness Images were used to identify infrared emission associated with cool, diffuse H I clouds detected by the Boston University-Arecibo Galactic H I Survey. These clouds are associated with galactic star clusters, H II regions, and molecular clouds. Using emission-absorption experiments toward galactic H II regions, we determined the H I properties of cool H I clouds seen in absorption against the thermal continuum, including their kinematic distances. Correlations were then made between IRAS sources and these H II regions, thus some of the spatial confusion associated with the IRAS fields near the galactic plane was resolved since the distances to these sources was known. Because we can also correlate the BU-Arecibo clouds with existing CO surveys, these results will allow us to determine the intrinsic properties of the gas (neutral and ionized atomic as well as molecular) and dust for interstellar clouds in the inner galaxy. For the IRAS-identified H II region sample, we have established the far infrared (FIR) luminosities and galactic distribution of these sources

Brains, drains, and roads, growth hills: complementarity between public education and infrastructure in a half-century panel of states

Applying a Barro-style model of endogenous growth to a fifty-year panel of states from 1957 to 2007, We examine the extent to which expenditures on public education and infrastructure— together with the taxes necessary to support them— enhance or impede the steady-state growth of state and local economies, as measured by per capita personal income. Our findings suggest that the independent effect of tax expenditures on either public infrastructure or education alone is significantly negative, but the complementary effect of each on the other is positive enough to make their combined effect significantly positive— except at large scales, where we find diseconomies, consistent with the ‘growth hill’ predicted by theory. Policy effects are identified empirically using a recursive structure with very long lags, GMM/instrumental variables, and controls for both fixed and time-varying heterogeneity. Results are robust to a variety of alternative specifications.growth human capital public infrastructure

Monthly household income volatility in the U.S., 1991/92 vs. 2002/03

We investigate changes in monthly income volatility in non-elderly households in the U.S. since the early 1990s. Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), we find that monthly income volatility is highest for lower income households, and that it increased substantially for these households between 1992 and 2003. The increase appears to have its roots in the shift of household income away from relatively stable public assistance (AFDC/TANF) benefits and towards earnings. We subject these findings to sensitivity analyses and find similar results. We also find increases in volatility among households with incomes above the poverty line, but these findings are less robust in the face of some sensitivity analyses.poverty, income volatility, income assistance, welfare reform

Ranking State Fiscal Structures using Theory and Evidence

taxes growth infrastructure state rankings

E-books, MFNs and a European Commission blowing hot and cold

A few weeks ago, the European Commission opened an antitrust investigation into the Most Favored Nation clauses (MFNs) included in the agreements that tech giant Amazon concluded with book publishers. Konstantina Bania, Researcher at Fundação Getulio Vargas and the European University Institute, explains the implications of these clauses for competition in content markets and argues that the Commission’s approach is inconsistent with older decisions