A key to the New World species of holostipous Lejeuneaceae

A synopsis and key emphasizing vegetative characters are provided for the 967species (in 36 genera) of Lejeuneaceae with undivided underleaves recorded from the New World

Threatened bryophytes of the neotropical rain forest : a status report

Tropical deforestation, inevitably, leads to the local loss of bryophyte species. Recent studies show that the degree of species loss may vary considerably and depends on the scale or amount of habitat change that has occurred. Predictably, the shade epiphytes are most seriously affected by disturbance. An estimated 10% of the bryophyte species of neotropical rain forests are under threat. Based on data from recent monographs, a first list of 19 endangered and 27 rare species of these forests is presented. Critical areas for threatened species include Costa Rica and Panama, the Greater Antilles, the Chocó, southeastern Brazil, and parts of Amazonia. Protection of as much as possible of the remaining natural rain forest area seems the best approach to the conservation of the tropical bryophyte flora

Diversity and distribution of Asian Lejeuneaceae subfamily Ptychanthoideae

A synopsis is provided of 88 species in 17 genera currently recognized in Lejeuneaceae subfamily Ptychanthoideae sensu lato (including Nipponolejeunea) of Asia. Taxonomic novelties include Thysananthus flavescens (Hatt.) comb. nov. (for Mastigolejeunea flavescens (Hatt.) Mizut.), Spruceanthus macrostipulus (Steph.) comb. nov. (for Archilejeunea macrostipula (Steph.) Verd.) and the reduction of Platylejeunea Mizut. to synonymy under Lopholejeunea

Governance and economic growth

Because protection of property rights cannot be appropriated by any individual, it is widely recognized as being the state's responsibility. Moreover, recent empirical evidence suggests that protection of property rights leads to higher investment levels and faster growth. The extent of property rights protection differs significantly across countries. The author integrates the emergence of property rights within a simple growth framework. Drawing on North (1990), he presents a model where economic performance and enforcement of property rights may reinforce each other.Initial conditions determine the economy's convergence to a high-income or a low-income steady state. Existing empirical evidence offers tentative support for this theory.Judicial System Reform,Labor Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Common Property Resource Development,Economic Theory&Research,Inequality,Common Property Resource Development,Environmental Economics&Policies,Governance Indicators

Endogenous Reversals of Fortune

The phenomenon of systemic changes in the fortunes of social groups is hard to reconcile with traditional macroeconomic models of intergenerational mobility. This paper, therefore, proposes a theory of endogenous reversal of fortune, whereby instilling strict work norms is an instrument to address moral hazard in poor families more so than in rich families, which is consistent with empirical regularities pertaining to work attitudes. The mechanism implies that hard-working children of the poor may eventually overtake leisure-prone children of the rich. This evolution, in particular, of work norms, is endogenously determined and is, therefore a better explanation of the rise and the fall of population groups than existing theories that rely on exogenous ability variations.work norms, intergenerational income mobility

The Political Economy of Sustainable Federations

This paper studies a constitutional framework that enables sustainable federative agreements. In the model, districts decide on local policies and envision the possibility of entering a federation. Focusing on rules for legislative bargaining in the federation, I find that a non-egalitarian bargaining rule, which assigns policy making power to one of the district's representatives is welfare inferior to the decentralized status quo. In contrast, under an egalitarian bargaining procedure, federation yields a welfare superior outcome. The analysis indicates the desirability of making such egalitarian bargaining rules credible.

The political economy of public spending on education, inequality, and growth

Public provision of education has often been perceived as universal and egalitarian, but in reality it is not. Political pressure typically results in incidence bias in favor of the rich. The author argues that the bias in political influence resulting from extreme income inequalities is particularly likely to generate an incidence bias, which we call social exclusion. This may then lead to a feedback mechanism whereby inequality in the incidence of public spending on education breeds higher income inequality, thus generating multiple equilibria: with social exclusion and high inequality; and with social inclusion and relatively low inequality. The author also shows that the latter equilibrium leads to higher long-run growth than the former. An extension of the basic model reveals that spillover effects among members of social groups differentiated by race or ethnicity may reinforce the support for social exclusion.Public Health Promotion,Environmental Economics&Policies,Decentralization,Economic Theory&Research,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Inequality,Poverty Assessment,Governance Indicators,Achieving Shared Growth,Economic Theory&Research

The genus Radula (Hepaticae) in the Galapagos Islands

Seven species of Radula are reported from the Galapagos Islands, including Radula santacruziana spec. nov. The majority of the species are common and widespread in the neotropics; two (including the new species) are endemic to the Galapagos. R. cornucopiae Spruce and R. mollis Lindenb. et Gott. are reduced to synonymy, resp. under R. episcia Spruce and R. quadrata Gott. et al

Educational expansion : evidence and interpretation

The authors document the vast expansion of schooling over the past several decades, as well as convergence in schooling measures across countries. They make the observation that poor countries today have higher average education levels than countries at the same level of economic development had in the past. They propose a simple model that suggests that these trends can be attributed to the intertemporal expansion of the world technological frontier, which enhances the demand for schooling. Their empirical analysis supports the view that educational expansion has occurred because of the increase in demand, especially in open economies, and not because of cost-reducing improvements in the education sector.Teaching and Learning,Decentralization,Labor Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Environmental Economics&Policies,Achieving Shared Growth,Economic Theory&Research,Teaching and Learning,Inequality