An Evaluation of the 1997 Fiscal Decentralization Reform in Mexico: The Case of the Health Sector

This paper studies the impact of the health decentralization of funds and responsibilities that took place in Mexico in 1997 on state level health outcomes. It renders two main results. First, the magnitude of transfers from the federal government to states failed to take into account state-specific needs; instead, transfers were mainly determined by the pre-reform health expenditures of the federal government in each state. Second, decentralization did not boost the advances in health outcomes already achieved under the centralized health sector regime. We conclude by discussing plausible reasons for the disappointing impact of decentralization on health outcomes.Fiscal decentralization, federalism, health.

The Optimal Tax Rule in the Presence of Time Use

Using Mexican data on household time use and consumption, we find significant substitution between goods and time in home production and different elasticities of substitution for different household commodities. Adding these findings to the Ramsey optimal tax problem, we show it is optimal to impose higher taxes on market goods used in the production of commodities with a lower elasticity of substitution between goods and time. The reason is that government wants to minimize the distortionary substitution from market purchases toward untaxed time use in home production. This is an analog of the classical Corlett and Hague (1953-1954) result, differing in that we allow for the possibility of substitution between goods and time in the production of commodities. Leaving aside distributional considerations, we conclude that higher taxes should be imposed on market goods used in the production of `Eating` and lower taxes imposed on market goods used in the production of `Recreation`.Optimal taxation, Time use, Elasticity of substitution.

Financing Innovation

Financing innovation is the mechanism that allows public support for public or private innovation to compensate the inherent market failure of innovation activities. An insight of the main drivers and mechanisms of implementation at European level is provided

Coupled Extraction/Re-Extraction Method for the Chemical Speciation of Nickel in NaturalWaters

Chemical fractionation and speciation of metals species in natural waters and its relation with bioavailability have received increased attention in recent years. A simple liquid membranes method, based on coupled liquid extraction and re-extraction processes, is proposed to separate and quantify the species of nickel present in water samples. A simplex optimization of chemical variables, such as carrier concentration in the organic solution and nitric acid concentration in the receiving solution, was performed and, under optimized conditions, the extraction system was applied to determine nickel species in water samples at natural level concentrations. A linear relationship was established between extraction e cacy and the concentration of dissolved organic carbon in the samples, allowing the separation and determination of labile and non-labile nickel fractions, since the latter was not transported through the organic solution acting as liquid membrane. When the total and labile concentrations of metals were analyzed in real samples with di erent salinities, no significant di erences were found between the results obtained and those from well-established methods. An average relative error of 1.50 and 2.37 was obtained for total Ni concentration and labile fraction, respectively. Finally, a comparison with the theoretical speciation data calculated with the softwareWinHumic V was successfully performed. Thus, the proposed method allows the simultaneous determination of labile and non-labile nickel fractions, presented as a simple alternative to nickel fractionation in natural waters

The chromosphere above a δ\delta-sunspot in the presence of fan-shaped jets

$\delta$-sunspots are known to be favourable locations for fast and energetic events like flares and CMEs. The photosphere of this type of sunspots has been thoroughly investigated in the past three decades. The atmospheric conditions in the chromosphere are not so well known, however. his study is focused on the chromosphere of a $\delta$-sunspot that harbours a series of fan-shaped jets in its penumbra . The aim of this study is to establish the magnetic field topology and the temperature distribution in the presence of jets in the photosphere and the chromosphere. We use data from the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST) and the Solar Dynamics Observatory. We invert the spectropolarimetric FeI 6302~\AA\ and CaII ~8542~\AA\ data from the SST using the the non-LTE inversion code NICOLE to estimate the magnetic field configuration, temperature and velocity structure in the chromosphere. A loop-like magnetic structure is observed to emerge in the penumbra of the sunspot. The jets are launched from the loop-like structure. Magnetic reconnection between this emerging field and the pre-existing vertical field is suggested by hot plasma patches on the interface between the two fields. The height at which the reconnection takes place is located between $\log \tau_{500} = -2$ and $\log \tau_{500} = -3$. The magnetic field vector and the atmospheric temperature maps show a stationary configuration during the whole observation.Comment: 12 pages, 15 figures. Recommended for publication in A&

Acorns for fattening free-range pigs (OK-Net Ecofeed Practice Abstract)

- The fattening performance is very much influenced by the age of pigs and their compensatory growth; hence, pigs should be as old as possible (≥1 year) and adapted to grazing. - Grass is necessary as a source of protein to compensate for the low protein levels in acorns. - The food conversion rate is 10.5 kg of whole acorns of Q. i. rotundifolia to gain 1 kg, besides the contribution of grass; to establish the stocking rate, consider that an adult evergreen oak produces ≈11 kg of acorns/year). - Iberian pigs peel acorns to avoid the high content of tannins in the shell. However, during peeling, approxi-mately 20% of the kernel can be wasted

Brainwashing constituents in Aldous Huxley's brave new worldand George Orwell's nineteen eighty-four

Brave New Worldand Nineteen Eighty-Fourare some of the best examples of dystopian novels in the twentieth century. Following the definition given by Gregory Claeys in his chapter, The origins of dystopia: Wells, Huxley and Orwell, 'dystopia' is often used interchangeably with 'anti-utopia' or 'negative utopia', by contrast to utopia or 'eutopia' (good place), to describe a fictional portrayal of a society in which evil, or negative social and political developments, have theupper hand, or as a satire of utopian aspirations which attempts to show up their fallacies. According to the distinction made by Jorge

Anhelos de reforma: Madrid ante el proceso de reforma universitaria

Este estudio analiza los comienzos de la reforma universitaria en el primer franquismo: 1939-1943. Se basa en las consideraciones que las distintas facultades de la Universidad de Madrid hicieron para éste primer proyecto de reforma tras la guerra civil española.This study analyzes the first two years of the university reform process (started in 1939 and finished in 1943) in the University of Madrid. It is based on the analysis of the First Project of Reform and on the previous considerations that the Madrilenian University and its Faculaties expressed in this respect.Publicad

Towards a Half-bred poetics: the role of dramatic irony in the short stories of the Chicano Borderlands

Abstract: Diasporic writing has given rise to what some critics have called “Half-bred poetics” or “Hyphen poetics”, among other terms, and it is in the context of this poetics that diasporic writing can be best understood. Most accounts of the aesthetic features that characterise diasporic literatures stop at the analysis of what is probably its most salient characteristic, that is, the issue of interlingualism and language variance. However, in this paper I will analyse the recurrent use of dramatic irony in several Chicano short stories in order to explain the reasons why this type of irony is so convenient for diasporic prose writers.--- Resumen: La literatura diaspórica ha dado lugar a lo que algunos críticos han llamado “poéticas mestizas” o “poéticas con guión”, entre otros términos, y es en ese contexto crítico en el que mejor puede apreciarse la riqueza de la escritura diaspórica. La mayoría de los estudios que explican cuáles son los rasgos estéticos de las literaturas diaspóricas se centran únicamente sobre el que probablemente sea su rasgo más característico, es decir, el del uso del interlingualismo y la variación lingüística. Sin embargo, en este artículo el objeto de estudio será el uso de la ironía dramática en varios relatos breves de autores Chicanos, con el fin de explicar las razones por las que este tipo de ironía es muy apropiado para los escritores diaspóricos en prosa