Menu Costs and the Neutrality of Money

A model of endogenous price adjustment under money growth is presented. Firms follow (s, S) pricing policies and price revisions are imperfectly synchronized. In the aggregate, price stickiness disappears and money is neutral. The connection between firm price adjustment and relative price variability in the presence of monetary growth is also investigated. The results contrast with those obtained in models with exogenous fixed timing of price adjustment.

The Multicohort Fishery Under Uncertainty

The multicohort fishery subject to random environmental disturbances is examined within a market framework. The free access problem is considered and optimal selective and proportional harvesting policies are discussed.Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty,

Analysis of a Japan government intervention on the domestic agriculture market

We investigate an economic system in which one large agent - the Japan government changes the environment of numerous smaller agents - the Japan agriculture producers by indirect regulation of prices of agriculture goods. The reason for this intervention was that before the oil crisis in 1974 Japan agriculture production prices exhibited irregular and large amplitude changes. By means of analysis of correlations and a combination of singular spectrum analysis (SSA), principal component analysis (PCA), and time delay phase space construction (TDPSC) we study the influence of the government measures on the domestic piglet prices and production in Japan. We show that the government regulation politics was successful and leaded (i) to a decrease of the nonstationarities and to increase of predictability of the piglet price; (ii) to a coupling of the price and production cycles; (iii) to increase of determinism of the dynamics of the fluctuations of piglet price around the year average price. The investigated case is an example confirming the thesis that a large agent can change in a significant way the environment of the small agents in complex (economic or financial) systems which can be crucial for their survival or extinction.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures presented at APFA5, Torino, Italy, 29.06-01.07.200

Redox cycling of iridium(III) complexes gives versatile materials for photonics applications

The cyclometallated iridium(III) complex [Me4N][Ir(ppy)2(cat)] (Hppy = 2-phenylpyridine; H2cat = benzene-1,2-diol) has been prepared under inert atmosphere and has been structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Under ambient conditions, the fully reduced complex (as formulated) undergoes rapid one-electron oxidation both in solution and in the solid state to a species containing a semiquinone ligand. The resultant neutral complex [Ir(ppy)2(sq)] (sq = o-semiquinone) was also prepared by exposing the reaction mixture to O2 during the course of the reaction. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy confirms the diamagnetic nature of the complex [Me4N][Ir(ppy)2(cat)] and indicates that the unpaired electron in [Ir(ppy)2(sq)] resides primarily on the sq ligand. The photophysical, electrochemical, and spectroelectrochemical properties of [Ir(ppy)2(sq)] were investigated and reveal the changes in absorption as the complex is converted into the catecholate and quinone forms

PFOS induces behavioral alterations, including spontaneous hyperactivity that is corrected by dexamfetamine in zebrafish larvae

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is a widely spread environmental contaminant. It accumulates in the brain and has potential neurotoxic effects. The exposure to PFOS has been associated with higher impulsivity and increased ADHD prevalence. We investigated the effects of developmental exposure to PFOS in zebrafish larvae, focusing on the modulation of activity by the dopaminergic system. We exposed zebrafish embryos to 0.1 or 1 mg/L PFOS (0.186 or 1.858 µM, respectively) and assessed swimming activity at 6 dpf. We analyzed the structure of spontaneous activity, the hyperactivity and the habituation during a brief dark period (visual motor response), and the vibrational startle response. The findings in zebrafish larvae were compared with historical data from 3 months old male mice exposed to 0.3 or 3 mg/kg/day PFOS throughout gestation. Finally, we investigated the effects of dexamfetamine on the alterations in spontaneous activity and startle response in zebrafish larvae. We found that zebrafish larvae exposed to 0.1 mg/L PFOS habituate faster than controls during a dark pulse, while the larvae exposed to 1 mg/L PFOS display a disorganized pattern of spontaneous activity and persistent hyperactivity. Similarly, mice exposed to 0.3 mg/kg/day PFOS habituated faster than controls to a new environment, while mice exposed to 3 mg/kg/day PFOS displayed more intense and disorganized spontaneous activity. Dexamfetamine partly corrected the hyperactive phenotype in zebrafish larvae. In conclusion, developmental exposure to PFOS in zebrafish induces spontaneous hyperactivity mediated by a dopaminergic deficit, which can be partially reversed by dexamfetamine in zebrafish larvae

Enforcement missions: targets vs budgets

Enforcement of policy is typically delegated. What sort of mission should the head of an enforcement program be given? When there is more than one firm being regulated the firms’ decision problems—otherwise completely separate—become linked in a way that depends on that mission. Under some sorts of missions firms compete to avoid the attention of the enforcer by competitive reductions in the extent of their non-compliance, in others the interaction encourages competitive expansions. We develop a general model that allows for the ordering of some typical classes of missions. We find that in plausible settings ‘target-driven’ missions (that set a hard target in terms of environmental outcome but flexible budget) achieve the same outcome at lower cost than ‘budget-driven’ ones (that fix the enforcement budget). Inspection of some fixed fraction of firms is never optimal

Life-Long Learning: intercultural education and communication Europe and beyond

Life-Long Learning seems to be an all-sides studied model. Globalisation, work-market rapid change, and the free circulation of knowledge let researchers discover that there is a new way of designing the LLL process. The multicultural society is a drive of LLL process optimisation. After the Lisbon strategy and seeing the unstoppable path of lifelong learning stress, the requirements for a profound reflection on the role of citizen's education. The article aims to analyse the intercultural aspect of LLL and how it can be stretched. Particular attention is dedicated to how the EU and RF reply to society and economic challenges through the implementation of the LLL process. The intercultural aspect will comprise a horizontal intercultural aspect and vertical ones. Will be examined the role of the European Commission as well as a promoter of the idea of an inclusive society and the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world. The intercultural approach will be stressed thanks to examining the Soviet Union and Russian Federation's LLL process. The used methodology is a review of relevant intervention studies and Political Documents and Financing actions for examining the effectiveness of interventions. The analysis of two paths of the LLL process's implementation and promotion; the analysis of two ways of LLL process organisation will permit an expansive view of the LLL process. Furthermore, the parallel analysis of the LLL process permits us to see how the two ways of social development can be reflected through different actions on LLL policy, starting from formal education and ultimate to third Age Education. In final, it permits us to learn more about how LLL can be a solution to avoid social welfare bankruptcy