The Maastricht Criteria and the Euro. Has the Convergence Continued?

We analyze the performance of the Maastricht convergence criteria (inflation, long-term interest rate, annual and overall public debt) of the European Monetary Union (EMU) that led to the introduction of the Euro on Jan. 1st 1999 as book currency. Defining 3 regimes, 1992-97, 1997-1999 and 2000-2001, we analyse convergence properties, like a smooth or a rough transition in the mean or variance shifts between these 3 regimes. Given the regimes, we test the convergence in econometric models to see if the first and second moments of the convergence process are time dependent. Furthermore we check for a smooth transition process between the regimes and if the convergence process has stabilized around a target path. We find that the speed of the convergence processes for the monetary authority controlled variables (inflation and interest rates) were very different from the government controlled variables annual deficit and the public debt.EMU convergence, Maastricht criteria, Heteroskedastic spline models, ARCH regime shifts, Inflation, Public deficits

Preoperative evaluation of pulmonary artery morphology and pulmonary circulation in neonates with pulmonary atresia - usefulness of MR angiography in clinical routine

BACKGROUND: To explore the role of contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) in clinical routine for evaluating neonates with pulmonary atresia (PA) and to describe their pulmonary artery morphology and blood supply.CE-MRA studies of 15 neonates with PA (12 female; median weight: 2900 g) were retrospectively evaluated by two radiologists in consensus. Each study was judged to be either diagnostic or non-diagnostic depending on the potential to evaluate pulmonary artery morphology and pulmonary blood supply. In those cases where surgery or conventional angiocardiography was performed results were compared. RESULTS: CE-MRA was considered diagnostic in 87%. Pulmonary artery morphology was classified as "confluent with (n = 1) and without (n = 1) main pulmonary artery", "non-confluent" (n = 6) or "absent" (n = 7). Source of pulmonary blood supply was "a persistent arterial duct" (n = 12), "a direct" (n = 22) or "indirect (n = 9) aortopulmonary collateral artery (APCA)" or "an APCA from the ascending aorta" (n = 2). In no patient were there any additional findings at surgery or conventional angiocardiography which would have changed the therapeutic or surgical approach. CONCLUSIONS: CE-MRA is a useful diagnostic tool for the preoperative evaluation of the morphology of pulmonary arteries and blood supply in neonates with PA. In most cases diagnostic cardiac catheterization can be avoided

The Economic Convergence Performance of Central and Eastern European Countries

A critical discussion of a comparative growth analysis about Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries is performed. The main conclusion is that there was economic convergence for most CEE accession candidates, but not between them and Western Europe. Results do justify a separation into first and second-wave accession countries, but also undermine differences in Central and Eastern Europe between accession and non-accession countries. This paper critically examines theories and empirical studies for three types of convergence, namely β,σ and club convergence. Each can be in absolute terms or conditional to the long-term equilibrium (steady state) for each country. Empirical results are provided for all types of convergence from 1996 to 2000, both with population-weighted and non-weighted data. The analysis is performed for differently framed country subgroups considering even Western Europe for better comparability. Once absolute convergence is found through a unit root test about a standard deviation time series of cross-sectional income per capita, the regression coefficient for initial income per capita with the average growth over the sample period as dependent variable (β convergence) establishes the speed of this process. The same method applies to the conditional version by using the distance of the income from the corresponding steady state instead of the level of GDP. Then Markov chain probability matrixes (club convergence) provide information about the past behaviour of the whole cross-sectional income distribution over time, but also about intra-mobility of single countries. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2003β and σ convergence, Central and Eastern Europe, club convergence, comparative growth analysis, Eastern Enlargement of the EU, economic convergence,

The Maastricht Criteria and the Euro: Has the Convergence Continued?

Abstract: We analyze the performance of the Maastricht convergence criteria (inflation, long-term interest rate, annual and overall public debt) of the European Monetary Union (EMU) that led to the introduction of the Euro on Jan. 1st 1999 as book currency. Defining 3 regimes, 1992-97, 1997-1999 and 2000-2001, we analyse convergence properties, like a smooth or a rough transition in the mean or variance shifts between these 3 regimes. Given the regimes, we test the convergence in econometric models to see if the first and second moments of the convergence process are time dependent. Furthermore we check for a smooth transition process between the regimes and if the convergence process has stabilized around a target path. We find that the speed of the convergence processes for the monetary authority controlled variables (inflation and interest rates) were very different from the government controlled variables annual deficit and the public debt.

Aortic arch malformations

Although anomalies of the aortic arch and its branches are relatively uncommon malformations, they are often associated with congenital heart disease. Isolated lesions may be clinically significant when the airways are compromised by a vascular ring. In this article, the development and imaging appearance of the aortic arch system and its various malformations are reviewed