Aid for trade and the political economy of trade liberalization

The Aid for Trade (AfT) initiative has gained much popularity since its launch at the World Trade Organization's Ministerial Conference in 2005, and there are ongoing discussions on its effectiveness and potential to improve the integration of developing countries into the world economy. This paper contributes to the debate by analyzing AfT in a political economy context. We find that the delivery of AfT is a precondition for trade reform in developing countries, as well as for trade liberalization and trade-enhancing rule-making in regional and international forums. Accordingly, AfT may be a catalyst of trade reforms domestically and internationally. --Aid for Trade,Trade Liberalization,Trade Policy,Trade Reform

The Impact of Aid for Trade Facilitation on the Costs of Trading

There have been ongoing discussions within the WTO Doha Round on Trade Facilitation and the wider Aid for Trade agenda to assist developing countries in reducing behind-the-border restrictions and to help them benefit from trade reform. Our paper contributes to this debate by analyzing the impact of foreign aid spent on Aid for Trade and Trade Facilitation on the costs of trading. In our empirical investigation, we conduct a panel data estimation for a sample of 99 developing countries for the period 2004-2009. Overall, we find that our aid measures have a negative effect on the costs of trading. --Trade Facilitation,Aid for Trade,Trade Costs

Germanizing Europe? The evolution of the European Stability and Growth Pact

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The role of warmth in the experience of hospitality:An exploratory study

To create positive customer experiences, the service industry is increasingly paying attention to hospitality. However, service organisations are in need of tools to improve the experience of hospitality of their customers. What service attributes result in an experience of hospitality? Research on hospitality has thus far focussed on service staff behaviour (Ariffin & Maghzi, 2012; Blain & Lashley, 2014; Tasci & Semrad, 2016). However, there is a lack of knowledge on the role of environmental attributes in the experience of hospitality. Besides Brotherton (2005), who showed that modern, clean, comfortable and bright are aspects people associate with hospitality, little is known about how the perception of attributes of the physical service environment contribute to our experience of hospitality. Research has shown that the experience of hospitality in service environments is represented by three factors: inviting, care and comfort (Pijls, Groen, Galetzka & Pruyn, 2017). These factors are expected to be triggered by mental concepts grounded in bodily sensations. According to embodied cognition theory, attributes we perceive with our senses result in bodily sensation, such as warmth, weight or distance, which in turn affect our mental state. Embodied cognition is the idea that emotions and thoughts not only originate in the brain, but that we also think and feel with our body (Lobel, 2014). We expect that embodied cognition is one of the mechanisms underlying the experience of hospitality, linking the experience of hospitality to the impact of the physical environment. As far as we know the theory of embodied cognition has not yet been studied in the context of hospitality. Mental warmth is one of the abstract metaphors grounded in a concrete experience, in this case in the sensation of physical warmth (Williams & Bargh, 2008; Lakoff and Johnson, 1999). This experiment explores the effect of the perceived physical warmth on the experience of mental warmth among customers of a theatre by examining the effect of cold versus warm furniture material and by examining the effect of cold versus hot drinks. Based on the studies performed by Williams and Bargh (2008) and IJzerman & Semin (2009) on the effect of holding cold versus hot drinks, it is expected that: H1 Touching and drinking a hot drink will lead to the experience of hospitality H2 Touching and drinking a hot drink will lead to the experience of physical warmth, and subsequently mental warmth, which will result an increased experience of hospitality, compared to touching and drinking a cold drink. H3 Sitting on furniture made of warm material will lead to the experience of hospitality H4 Sitting on furniture made of warm material will lead to the experience of physical warmth, and subsequently mental warmth, which will result an increased experience of hospitality, compared to touching and drinking a cold drink. The experience of hospitality will be measured in a theatre foyer. A 3 (warm versus neutral versus cold furniture material) x 2 (warm versus cold drink) between-subjects factorial design will be employed. Visitors to the theatre will be asked to fill in the survey, while holding and drinking either a warm or a cold drink, and while sitting either on warm, neutral or cold furniture. The experience of hospitality will be measured with the 13-item Experience of Hospitality Scale. Mental warmth will be measured by 5 questions, such as ‘the foyer has an intimate atmosphere’, ‘I’m warmly treated in this theatre’, ‘this theatre is a warm organisation’. Results are forthcoming

Global Monthly Water Scarcity: Blue Water Footprints versus Blue Water Availability

Freshwater scarcity is a growing concern, placing considerable importance on the accuracy of indicators used to characterize and map water scarcity worldwide. We improve upon past efforts by using estimates of blue water footprints (consumptive use of ground- and surface water flows) rather than water withdrawals, accounting for the flows needed to sustain critical ecological functions and by considering monthly rather than annual values. We analyzed 405 river basins for the period 1996–2005. In 201 basins with 2.67 billion inhabitants there was severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year. The ecological and economic consequences of increasing degrees of water scarcity – as evidenced by the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo), Indus, and Murray-Darling River Basins – can include complete desiccation during dry seasons, decimation of aquatic biodiversity, and substantial economic disruption

Trial design: Computer guided normal-low versus normal-high potassium control in critically ill patients: Rationale of the GRIP-COMPASS study

Background: Potassium depletion is common in hospitalized patients and can cause serious complications such as cardiac arrhythmias. In the intensive care unit (ICU) the majority of patients require potassium suppletion. However, there are no data regarding the optimal control target in critically ill patients. After open-heart surgery, patients have a strongly increased risk of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter (AFF). In a novel trial design, we examined if in these patients different potassium control-targets within the normal range may have different effects on the incidence of AFF. Methods/Design: The "computer-driven Glucose and potassium Regulation program in Intensive care Patients with COMparison of PotASSium targets within normokalemic range (GRIP-COMPASS) trial" is a single-center prospective trial in which a total of 1200 patients are assigned to either a potassium control-target of 4.0 mmol/L or 4.5 mmol/L in consecutive alternating blocks of 50 patients each. Potassium levels are regulated by the computer-assisted potassium suppletion algorithm called GRIP-II (Glucose and potassium regulation for Intensive care Patients). Primary endpoint is the in-hospital incidence of AFF after cardiac surgery. Secondary endpoints are: in-hospital AFF in medical patients or patients after non-cardiac surgery, actually achieved potassium levels and their variation, electrolyte and glucose levels, potassium and insulin requirements, cumulative fluid balance, (ICU) length of stay, ICU mortality, hospital mortality and 90-day mortality. Discussion: The GRIP-COMPASS trial is the first controlled clinical trial to date that compares potassium targets. Other novel methodological elements of the study are that it is performed in ICU patients where both targets are within the normal range and that a computer-assisted potassium suppletion algorithm is used

Global Monthly Water Scarcity: Blue Water Footprints versus Blue Water Availability

Freshwater scarcity is a growing concern, placing considerable importance on the accuracy of indicators used to characterize and map water scarcity worldwide. We improve upon past efforts by using estimates of blue water footprints (consumptive use of ground- and surface water flows) rather than water withdrawals, accounting for the flows needed to sustain critical ecological functions and by considering monthly rather than annual values. We analyzed 405 river basins for the period 1996–2005. In 201 basins with 2.67 billion inhabitants there was severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year. The ecological and economic consequences of increasing degrees of water scarcity – as evidenced by the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo), Indus, and Murray-Darling River Basins – can include complete desiccation during dry seasons, decimation of aquatic biodiversity, and substantial economic disruption