Product Market Integration and Income Taxation: Distortions and Gains from Trade

It is widely perceived that globalization is a threat to tax financed public sector activities. The argument is that public activities (public consumption and transfers) financed by income taxes may distort labour markets and cause higher wages and thus a loss of competitiveness. If the importance of the latter effect is reinforced by globalization, it is inferred that the marginal costs of public funds increase and a retrenchment of the public sector follows. We consider this issue in a Ricardian trade model in which production and specialization structures are endogenous. Even though income taxation unambiguously worsens wage competitiveness, it does not follow that tax distortions or marginal costs of public funds increase with product market integration. The reason is that gains from trade tend to reduce both. Moreover, non-cooperative fiscal policies do not have a bias towards retrenchment due to a positive terms of trade effect from taxation.labour taxation, open economy, policy spill-over, marginal costs of public funds

Improved methods for the travelling salesperson problem with hotel selection

In this talk, a new formulation and a new metaheuristic solution procedure for the travelling salesperson problem with hotel selection (TSPHS) is presented. The metaheuristic is a multi-start procedure that outperforms existing heuristics on all benchmark instances. We also provide a number of new optimal solutions found by a commercial solver extended with a dedicated cutting plane procedure, as well as new best known solutions for most benchmark instances

Private Equity and Long-Run Investment: The Case of Innovation

A long-standing controversy is whether LBOs relieve managers from short-term pressures from public shareholders, or whether LBO funds themselves are driven by short-term profit motives and sacrifice long-term growth to boost short-term performance. We investigate 495 transactions with a focus on one form of long-term activities, namely investments in innovation as measured by patenting activity. We find no evidence that LBOs are associated with a decrease in these activities. Relying on standard measures of patent quality, we find that patents granted to firms involved in private equity trans actions are more cited (a proxy for economic importance), show no significant shifts in the fundamental nature of the research, and are more concentrated in the most important and prominent areas of companies' innovative portfolios.Private equity; patents; innovation; short-termism

How Does the Patient Benefit from Clinical PET?

Clinical molecular imaging by use of PET and PET/CT is increasingly important in routine oncological practice worldwide. A vast majority of clinical PET investigations are performed with [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), but there is a growing interest in novel molecular probes among scientists and clinicians. Beyond FDG, a small number of different tracers have been shown to be of clinical value. With a growing commercial interest in tracer development, many more are under investigation. This review provides some examples of clinical situations where tracers other than FDG have been found useful and an outlook towards technical and regulatory development needed to allow the full impact of clinical PET to benefit the individual patient

The alpha-linolenic acid requirements of developing heliothines

Lepidoptera cannot synthesise α-18:3 and must therefore obtain it from dietary sources. An α-18:3 deficiency has little effect on larval growth, but leads to abnormalities in pupation and adult eclosion. In order to compare the α-18:3 requirements of Heliothis virescens (a generalist) and Heliothis subflexa (a specialist), two artificial diets with varying concentrations of α-18:3 were prepared. Developmental characteristics and the fatty acid content of the adults were monitored. Although H. virescens and H. subflexa responded differently to alterations in α-18:3 content, it remains essential for both species. Thus, in contrast to a previous report, H. subflexa does indeed require dietary α-18:3. Larvae of H. virescens were reared on a range of α-18:3 supplemented diets. There was a positive correlation between the α-18:3 content of the mother and the molar composition of the eggs she produced. This suggests the passive transfer of α-18:3 from females to their eggs. Larvae were started on α-18:3 containing diet and transferred to a deficient diet, or transferred to α-18:3 containing diet after being initially raised on deficient diet. Insects obtaining α-18:3 later in development performed better than those obtaining α-18:3 earlier in development. Although the maternally transferred α-18:3 may be sufficient for the growth of neonates, the α-18:3 acquired during later stages appears to be more important to successful development and pupal emergence. Helicoverpa armigera larvae were reared on the leaves of wild type tomato plants, jasmonic acid (JA) insensitive plants, and plants with reduced levels of α-18:3. On the wild type plants, larvae had a reduced growth rate, and none survived to pupation. Larvae on the JA insensitive plants performed better than those reared on the α-18:3 deficient plants. While decreased α-18:3 contents may offer the plants some protection against herbivory, the inherent JA induced defences are likely to be more effective

Träds påverkan på dagvattenhantering i alltmer hårdgjorda miljöer

Den här uppsatsen diskuterar trädens potentiella påverkan på dagvattenhantering genom en manuell beräkning. Träden på Rundelsgatan, Baltzarsgatan och Stortorget i Malmö har med hjälp av en litteraturstudie analyserats och jämförts med resultaten från programmet i-Tree Eco. Trädens påverkan på dagvattenhantering genom interception diskuteras samt deras estetiska och sociala inverkan på sin närmiljö. Denna uppsats ämnar bidra med information om hur val av träd utgör en faktor i hårdgjorda miljöer. Genom att använda ett poängsystem baserat på litteraturstudien i kombination med programmet i-Tree Eco version 6, utvärderas hur stor påverkan träd har på dagvattenhanteringen genom interception.This study discusses the potential impact of trees on rainwater management through a manual estimation. The trees on Rundelsgatan, Baltzarsgatan and Stortorget in Malmö have with the help of literature been analysed and compared with the results of the program i-Tree Eco. The trees impact on rainwater management through interception have been discussed as well as their aesthetic and social effect on their local environment. This study aims to contribute with information regarding how the choice of tree can be a factor in impermeable environments. Through the use of a point system based in the literature study in combination with i-Tree Eco version 6 it should be possible to evaluate the impact that trees have on rainwater management through interception

Tensions in liberalism: the troubled path to liberal world order

"The lack of a general consensus on the major characteristics of world order has led to a considerable amount of confusion among scholars as well as among policymakers. What kind of order is emerging now? Is it the 'liberal moment'; a renewed balance of power competition; a 'clash of civilizations', 'Jihad vs. McWorld'; or something else entirely? These analyses make valid points but they are misleading as versions of world order, because they fail to capture what is the most decisive characteristic of the present order. The core issue of world order has to do with tensions in liberalism. Progress towards a genuinely liberal world order has proven much more complicated than expected when the Cold War ended. Liberals agree on the major principles of world order but they are vastly unsure about the real substance of order, including what it should offer to people and states." (author's abstract)"Da kein allgemeiner Konsens über die Hauptmerkmale einer Weltordnung besteht, herrscht unter Wissenschaftler/-innen und Politiker/-innen große Verwirrung. Was für eine Weltordnung entsteht zurzeit? Ist es die 'liberale Bewegung' (ein erneuter Streit über die Machtverhältnisse), der 'Kampf der Zivilisationen' ('Jihad gegen McWorld') oder etwas völlig anderes? Obwohl solche Analysen auf einige stichhaltige Argumente weisen, erweisen sie sich als unterschiedliche Versionen von Weltordnungen eher irreführend und ungeeignet, weil sie das wichtigste Charakteristikum der heutigen Weltordnung nicht erfassen. Denn die Kernfrage der Weltordnung hat doch mit den Spannungen innerhalb des Liberalismus zu tun. Und Fortschritte, nach dem Ende des Kalten Krieges, in Richtung einer wirklich liberalen Weltordnung haben sich als weitaus komplizierter erwiesen, als zu erwarten war. Über die Hauptprinzipien einer Weltordnung sind sich die Liberalen einig. Doch was genau die Substanz dieser Ordnung ist und vor allem, was diese den Staaten und Völkern wirklich bringen soll, darüber herrscht noch große Unsicherheit." (Autorenreferat