Economic Effects of VAT Reform in Germany

In the tax policy debate, differentiation of value-added taxes is often justified by distributional concerns. Our quantitative analysis for Germany indicates that such concerns are misplaced. We find that the abolition of VAT differentiation has only negligible redistributive effects. Instead, reduced VAT are found to act as industry-specific subsidies. Whereas the overall welfare effects of pure VAT reforms are very small, a revenue-neutral introduction of a harmonised VAT combined with reductions in the marginal income tax rates or social security contributions turns out to produce substantial welfare gains for all households. --VAT,tax reforms,distribution,efficiency,applied general equilibrium

Renal AA-amyloidosis in intravenous drug users - a role for HIV-infection?

Background: Chronic renal disease is a serious complication of long-term intravenous drug use (IVDU). Recent reports have postulated a changing pattern of underlying nephropathy over the last decades. Methods: Retrospective investigation including all patients with prior or present IVDU that underwent renal biopsy because of chronic kidney disease between 01.04.2002 and 31.03.2012 in the city of Frankfurt/Main, Germany. Results: Twenty four patients with IVDU underwent renal biopsy because of progressive chronic kidney disease or proteinuria. Renal AA-amyloidosis was the predominant cause of renal failure in 50% of patients. Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (GN) was the second most common cause found in 21%. Patients with AA-amyloidosis were more likely to be HIV infected (67 vs.17%; p=0.036) and tended to have a higher rate of repeated systemic infections (92 vs. 50%; p=0.069). Patients with AA-amyloidosis presented with progressive renal disease and nephrotic-range proteinuria but most patients had no peripheral edema or systemic hypertension. Development of proteinuria preceded the decline of GFR for approximately 1--2 years. Conclusions: AA-amyloidosis was the predominant cause of progressive renal disease in the last 10 years in patients with IVDU. The highest rate of AA-amyloidosis observed was seen in HIV infected patients with IVDU. We speculate that chronic HIV-infection as well as the associated immunosuppression might promote development of AA-amyloidosis by increasing frequency and duration of infections acquired by IVDU

Biologische Bekämpfung des Maiskäfers Sitophilus zeamais (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Mais mit der Lagererzwespe Lariophagus distinguendus (Förster) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) sowie der Reismotte Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Reis mit der Mehlmottenschlupfwespe Habrobracon hebetor (Say) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Maize and rice constitute some of the most important cereals cultivated in the world, being used as staple food for people especially in Africa. The rice moth, Corcyra cephalonica, and the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais, are major pests of stored grains in the tropics. The use of parasitoids in biological pest control is already common in different agricultural and horticultural fields. At present, grain managers tend to look at alternatives to chemicals to control insects in stored grain. Lariophagus distinguendus (Förster) is a synovigenic, solitary larval and pupal ectoparasitoid of several beetle species that infest stored goods. The ability for long-range host finding of this parasitoid mediated by volatiles has been shown (Steidle & Schöller 1997). Habrobracon hebetor (Say) is a gregarious ectoparasitoid of many lepidopterous pests. This wasp occurs naturally in the stored grain ecosystem (Keever & al. 1985) where it attacks several pyralid moths, including the rice moth, Corcyra cephalonica. The present study was conducted to assess the host finding of the two parasitoids H. hebetor and L. distinguendus.Wenn Vorratsschädlinge gefüllte Säcke befallen ist eine Bekämpfung mit Hilfe durchgreifender Methoden wie z.B. Begasung oder der Einsatz von Kälte möglich. Die Anwendung dieser Verfahren ist aber technisch nicht immer realisierbar. Verschiedene parasitoide Hymenopteren werden zur biologischen Bekämpfung von Vorratsschädlingen eingesetzt. Diese Wespen dringen in der Regel nicht in Verpackungen ein. Säcke aus Jute besitzen jedoch eine Maschenweite, die das Eindringen von Nützlingen erlauben könnte. Um die Möglichkeit des Nützlingseinsatzes in Sacklägern zu prüfen, wurden folgende Untersuchungen durchgeführt: (1) Wirtsfindung von Habrobracon hebetor in gesacktem Langkornreis (5 kg-Säcke, Raupen von Corcyra cephalonica 4 cm tief im Reis) (2) Wirtsfindung von Lariophagus distinguendus in gesacktem Mais (5 kg-Säcke, Befall durch Sitophilus zeamais). Es wurde täglich auf eindringende L. distinguendus bzw. H. hebetor hin kontrolliert. Der tägliche Schlupf der Nachkommen der Wespen wurde dokumentiert. H. hebetor war nur zu einem sehr geringen Anteil in der Lage, in die Säcke einzudringen. 50% der eingesetzten L. distinguendus drangen in die Jutesäcke ein und verringerten den Populationsaufbau der Maiskäfer. Begleitende Untersuchungen in unverpacktem, geschüttetem Reis ergaben, dass H. hebetor mindestens 14 cm tief eindringt und Reismottenraupen parasitiert

Economic Effects of VAT Reform in Germany

In the tax policy debate, differentiation of value-added taxes is often justified by distributional concerns. Our quantitative analysis for Germany indicates that such concerns are misplaced. We find that the abolition of VAT differentiation has only negligible redistributive effects. Instead, reduced VAT are found to act as industry-specific subsidies. Whereas the overall welfare effects of pure VAT reforms are very small, a revenue-neutral introduction of a harmonised VAT combined with reductions in the marginal income tax rates or social security contributions turns out to produce substantial welfare gains for all households

Economic effects of VAT reforms in Germany

In the tax policy debate, differentiation of value-added taxes is often justified by distributional concerns. Our quantitative analysis for Germany indicates that such concerns are misplaced. We find that the abolition of VAT differentiation has only negligible redistributive effects. Instead, reduced VAT are found to act as industry-specific subsidies. Whereas the overall welfare effects of pure VAT reforms are very small, a revenue-neutral introduction of a harmonised VAT combined with reductions in the marginal income tax rates or social security contributions turns out to yield substantial welfare gains for all households

Die Trichogramma-Fauna Pakistans (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae)

Die Arten der Gattung Trichogramma (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) sind Eiparasitoide. Aufgrund ihrer Bedeutung für die biologische Bekämpfung werden sie in zahlreichen Ländern kommerziell produziert WAJNBERG & HASSAN 1994). Eine Voraussetzung für die erfolgreiche Praxisanwendung ist die Identifikation der Arten. Die Artbestimmung ist aufgrund der geringen Körpergröße von etwa 0,3 mm und der geringen Variabilität morphologischer Merkmale schwierig (PINTO et al. 1989). Schon seit Beginn der Erforschung der Taxonomie der Gattung herrschen Unsicherheit und wiedersprüchliche Auffassungen, so wurden z. B. indische Populationen von T. australicum Girault über einen Zeitraum von etwa 50 Jahren als T. minutum Riley oder T. evanescens Westwood bestimmt, obwohl diese Art eine bedeutende Rolle für die biologische Bekämpfung in der Region hatte (NAGARKATTI & NAGARAJA 1968). Aus Pakistan ist nur eine einzige Art der Gattung Trichogramma bekannt, T. chilonis Ishii, und diese Art wird dort auch produziert und gegen Schadlepidopteren an Zuckerrohr eingesetzt. Da aus den Nachbarländern mehrere Trichogramma-Arten bekannt sind (NAGARAJA 1973), wurde in verschiedenen Landesteilen versucht, neue Nachweise zu erlangen.Comprehensive survey of different ecological zones of Pakistan was conducted to explore the fauna of the Trichogramma species by collecting host insect eggs from all types of vegetation including vegetables, fruits, crops, weeds and forest trees. Three species of Trichogramma namely: T. chilonis, T. semblidis, and T. pintoi are recorded. Except T. chilonis all are new record for Pakistan. A key to all known Pakistani species is presented. Crossing experiments between the species resembling most closely are summarised to show their limited genetic compatibility or incompatibility as the case may be. Biological differences are presented between geographical isolated populations of the same species and between different species

Excuse Me, Something Is Unfair! - Implications of Perceived Fairness of Service Robots

Fairness is an important aspect for individuals and teams. This also applies for human-robot interaction (HRI). Especially if intelligent robots provide services to multiple humans, humans may feel treated unfairly by robots. Most work in this area deals with the aspects of fair algorithms, task allocation and decision support. This work focuses on a different, yet little explored perspective, which looks at fairness in HRI from a human-centered perspective in human-robot teams. We present an experiment in which a service robot was responsible for distributing resources among competing team members. We investigated how different strategies of distribution influence the perceived fairness and the perception of the robot. Our study shows that humans might perceive technically efficient algorithms as unfair, especially if humans personally experience negative consequences. This also had negative impact on human perception of the robot, which should be considered in the design of future robots