bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of short-acting beta blocker on the cardiac recovery after cardiopulmonary bypass
Authors: Sun Jie , Ding Zhengnian , Qian Yanning
Published: August 2011

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of beta blocker on cardiac recovery and rhythm during cardiac surgeries. Sixty surgical rheumatic heart disease patients were received esmolol 1 mg/kg or the same volume of saline prior to removal of the aortic clamp. The incidence of cardiac automatic re-beat, ventricular fibrillation after reperfusion, the heart rate after steady re-beat, vasoactive drug use during weaning from bypass, the posterior parallel time and total bypass time were decreased by esmolol treatment. In conclusion: Esmolol has a positive effect on the cardiac recovery in cardiopulmonary bypass surgeries.
Scope of claim coverage in patents of fufang Chinese herbal drugs: Substitution of ingredients
Authors: Wang Xinsheng , Tian Jiaher , Chan Albert Wai-Kit
Published: August 2011

Herbal ingredients in a Chinese fufang prescription are often replaced by one or several other herbal combinations. As there have been very few Chinese herbal patent infringement cases, it is still unclear how the Doctrine of Equivalents should be applied to determine the scope of 'equivalents' in Chinese fufang prescriptions. Case law principles from cases in other technical areas such as chemical patents and biological drug patents can be borrowed to ascertain a precise scope of a fufang patent. This article summarizes and discusses several chemical and biopharmaceutical patent cases. In cases where a certain herbal ingredient is substituted by another herb or a combination of herbs, accused infringers are likely to relate herbal drug patents to chemical drug patents with strict interpretation whereas patent owners may take advantage of the liberal application of Doctrine of Equivalence in biopharmaceutical patents by analogizing the complex nature of herbal drugs with biological drugs. Therefore, consideration should be given to the purpose of an ingredient in a patent, the qualities when combined with the other ingredients and the intended function. The scope of equivalents also depends on the stage of the prior art. Moreover, it is desirable to disclose any potential substitutes when drafting the application. Claims should be drafted in such a way that all foreseeable modifications are encompassed for the protection of the patent owner's intellectual property.
Familial tumoral calcinosis in two Chinese patients: a case series
Authors: Zhang Che , Gu Jiaowei , Cheng Xiaoli , Xiong Kui
Published: August 2011

Introduction

Tumoral calcinosis is a rare and benign condition characterized by massive subcutaneous soft tissue deposits of calcium phosphate predominantly around large joints.

Case presentation

Familial tumoral calcinosis was present in two members of a Han Chinese family, namely, the son and daughter. The 14-year-old son had the first operation on his right sole of the foot at the age of six, and then experienced subsequent surgeries at a lesion in his right sole of the foot and left hip, respectively. The 16-year-old daughter underwent her first operation at the age of six in her left gluteal region, and subsequent surgeries were performed due to recurrence at the same lesion. Pathologic diagnoses of surgical specimens in both of the patients were reported as tumoral calcinosis. The laboratory results showed hyperphosphatemia with normal levels of serum calcium and alkaline phosphatase. Only surgical treatment was performed in both patients with satisfactory prognosis.

Conclusion

This is the first report of Chinese familial tumoral calcinosis. The etiopathogenisis and treatment are discussed.
Hypocellular scar formation or aberrant fibrosis induced by an intrastromal corneal ring: a case report
Authors: Cao Xiaoguang , Ursea Roxana , Shen Defen , Ramkumar Hema L , Chan Chi-Chao
Published: August 2011

Introduction

Intrastromal corneal rings or segments are approved for the treatment of myopia and astigmatism associated with keratoconus. We describe a clinicopathological case of intrastromal corneal rings. For the first time, the molecular pathological findings of intrastromal corneal rings in the cornea are illustrated.

Case presentation

A 47-year-old African-American man with a history of keratoconus and failure in using a Rigid Gas Permeable contact lens received an intrastromal corneal ring implant in his left eye. Due to complications, penetrating keratoplasty was performed. The intrastromal corneal ring channels were surrounded by a dense acellular (channel haze) and/or hypocellular (acidophilic densification) collagen scar and slightly edematous keratocytes. Mild macrophage infiltration was found near the inner aspect of the intrastromal corneal rings. Molecular analyses of the microdissected cells surrounding the intrastromal corneal ring channels and central corneal stroma revealed 10 times lower relative expression of IP-10/CXCL10 mRNA and two times higher CCL5 mRNA in the cells surrounding the intrastromal corneal ring, as compared to the central corneal stroma. IP-10/CXCL10 is a fibrotic and angiostatic chemokine produced by macrophages, endothelial cells and fibroblasts.

Conclusion

An intrastromal corneal ring implant can induce hypocellular scar formation and mild inflammation, which may result from aberrant release of fibrosis-related chemokines.
Single-cell copy number variation detection
Authors: Cheng Jiqiu , Vanneste Evelyne , Konings Peter , Voet Thierry , Vermeesch Joris R , Moreau Yves
Published: August 2011

Detection of chromosomal aberrations from a single cell by array comparative genomic hybridization (single-cell array CGH), instead of from a population of cells, is an emerging technique. However, such detection is challenging because of the genome artifacts and the DNA amplification process inherent to the single cell approach. Current normalization algorithms result in inaccurate aberration detection for single-cell data. We propose a normalization method based on channel, genome composition and recurrent genome artifact corrections. We demonstrate that the proposed channel clone normalization significantly improves the copy number variation detection in both simulated and real single-cell array CGH data.
Premorbid risk markers for chronic fatigue syndrome in the 1958 British birth cohort
Authors: Clark Charlotte , Goodwin Laura , Stansfeld Stephen A. , Hotopf Matthew , White Peter D.
Published: August 2011

Background

Little is known about the aetiology of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME); prospective studies suggest a role for premorbid mood disorder.

Aims

To examine childhood and early adult adversity, ill health and physical activity as premorbid risk markers for CFS/ME by 42 years, taking psychopathology into account.

Method

Data were from the 1958 British birth cohort, a prospective study from birth to 42 years (n= 11 419). The outcomes were self-reported CFS/ME (n= 127) and operationally defined CFS-like illness (n= 241) at 42 years.

Results

Adjusting for psychopathology, parental physical abuse (odds ratio (OR) = 2.10, 95% CI 1.16–3.81), childhood gastrointestinal symptoms (OR = 1.58, 95% CI 1.00–2.50) and parental reports of many colds (OR = 1.65, 95% CI 1.09–2.50) were independently associated with self-reported CFS/ME. Female gender and premorbid psychopathology were the only risk markers for CFS-like illness, independent of comorbid psychopathology.

Conclusions

This confirms the importance of premorbid psychopathology in the aetiological pathways of CFS/ME, and replicates retrospective findings that childhood adversity may play a role in a minority.
Is Literature a Secular Concept? Three Earthquakes
Authors: Robbins Bruce
Published: August 2011

The critique of theodicy might form part of the rationale for a renewed version of literary study. This hypothesis, suggested by James Wood's New York Times oped on the 2010 Haiti earthquake, leads to an interrogation of the status of literature: Is it a secular concept, as Richard Rorty has proposed? Or if (as it seems) literature is not distinguished as such from nonsecular discourse, then does the study of literature fit Rorty's argument about the need for a nonfoundational, nonauthoritative discourse in a secular democracy? This essay pursues these questions through the work of several theorists, including Elaine Scarry, Martha C. Nussbaum, and John Guillory, and through two more earthquakes, each seeming to delegitimize theodicy and replace it with secular understanding, but inconclusively: the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, which Adam Smith used (in displaced form) in his Theory of Moral Sentiments, and the earthquake in Zadie Smith's White Teeth, which Wood finds unfortunately representative of “hysterical realism.”
The Chatter of People and Things
Authors: Schnapp Jeffrey T.
Published: August 2011

The essay explores how literary practices of listing, cataloging, and inventorying are altered by the shift from classical, premodern, and early modern regimes of data scarcity (within which every piece of information is considered valuable a priori) to modern regimes of data surplus (within which information has no a priori value). Three examples are analyzed in depth: the heroscopía from book 6 of Virgil's Aeneid, in which Roman history is portrayed as a triumphal procession; Astolfo's voyage to the moon in canto 34 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso, with its inventory of everything that has been lost and forgotten on the earth's surface; and Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's 1914 words-in-freedom epic, Zang Tumb Tumb, in which commercial inventories are used as overlays to explode (rather than preserve) memories.
Who Wrote “Rock Me to Sleep”? Elizabeth Akers Allen and the Profession of Poetry
Authors: Sorby Angela
Published: August 2011

Nineteenth-century reading practices (which involved the copying, memorizing, and unauthorized circulation of verses) blurred the line between readers and writers, vexing the very idea that a poem could have an owner. In 1867 a notorious attribution scandal pitted the established writer Elizabeth Akers Allen against an unhinged upstart, Alexander M. W. Ball, who claimed to have written her poem “Rock Me to Sleep.” A close examination of their dispute raises broad questions about the value of poetry, both in the rapidly professionalizing world of later nineteenth-century America and, implicitly, in the more recent milieu of the Internet. Are some poets professionals, even if poetry does not pay? Who owns the poem, the writer or the reader? Does the writer own every version of the poem, or only the original? What, if anything, distinguishes professionals from amateurs, writers from readers, and originals from copies?
Activin and GDF11 collaborate in feedback control of neuroepithelial stem cell proliferation and fate
Authors: Gokoffski Kimberly K. , Wu Hsiao-Huei , Beites Crestina L. , Kim Joon , Kim Euiseok J. , Matzuk Martin M. , Johnson Jane E. , Lander Arthur D. , Calof Anne L.
Published: August 2011

Studies of the olfactory epithelium model system have demonstrated that production of neurons is regulated by negative feedback. Previously, we showed that a locally produced signal, the TGFβ superfamily ligand GDF11, regulates the genesis of olfactory receptor neurons by inhibiting proliferation of the immediate neuronal precursors (INPs) that give rise to them. GDF11 is antagonized by follistatin (FST), which is also produced locally. Here, we show that Fst–/– mice exhibit dramatically decreased neurogenesis, a phenotype that can only be partially explained by increased GDF11 activity. Instead, a second FST-binding factor, activin βB (ACTβB), inhibits neurogenesis by a distinct mechanism: whereas GDF11 inhibits expansion of INPs, ACTβB inhibits expansion of stem and early progenitor cells. We present data supporting the concept that these latter cells, previously considered two distinct types, constitute a dynamic stem/progenitor population in which individual cells alternate expression of Sox2 and/or Ascl1. In addition, we demonstrate that interplay between ACTβB and GDF11 determines whether stem/progenitor cells adopt a glial versus neuronal fate. Altogether, the data indicate that the transition between stem cells and committed progenitors is neither sharp nor irreversible and that GDF11, ACTβB and FST are crucial components of a circuit that controls both total cell number and the ratio of neuronal versus glial cells in this system. Thus, our findings demonstrate a close connection between the signals involved in the control of tissue size and those that regulate the proportions of different cell types.
The Hedgehog-induced Smoothened conformational switch assembles a signaling complex that activates Fused by promoting its dimerization and phosphorylation
Authors: Shi Qing , Li Shuang , Jia Jianhang , Jiang Jin
Published: August 2011

Hedgehog (Hh) transduces signal by regulating the subcellular localization and conformational state of the GPCR-like protein Smoothened (Smo) but how Smo relays the signal to cytoplasmic signaling components remains poorly understood. Here, we show that Hh-induced Smo conformational change recruits Costal2 (Cos2)/Fused (Fu) and promotes Fu kinase domain dimerization. We find that induced dimerization through the Fu kinase domain activates Fu by inducing multi-site phosphorylation of its activation loop (AL) and phospho-mimetic mutations of AL activate the Hh pathway. Interestingly, we observe that graded Hh signals progressively increase Fu kinase domain dimerization and AL phosphorylation, suggesting that Hh activates Fu in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, we find that activated Fu regulates Cubitus interruptus (Ci) by both promoting its transcriptional activator activity and inhibiting its proteolysis into a repressor form. We provide evidence that activated Fu exerts these regulations by interfering with the formation of Ci-Sufu and Ci-Cos2-kinase complexes that normally inhibit Ci activity and promote its processing. Taken together, our results suggest that Hh-induced Smo conformational change facilitates the assembly of active Smo-Cos2-Fu signaling complexes that promote Fu kinase domain dimerization, phosphorylation and activation, and that Fu regulates both the activator and repressor forms of Ci.
Fez function is required to maintain the size of the animal plate in the sea urchin embryo
Authors: Yaguchi Shunsuke , Yaguchi Junko , Wei Zheng , Jin Yinhua , Angerer Lynne M. , Inaba Kazuo
Published: August 2011

Partitioning ectoderm precisely into neurogenic and non-neurogenic regions is an essential step for neurogenesis of almost all bilaterian embryos. Although it is widely accepted that antagonism between BMP and its inhibitors primarily sets up the border between these two types of ectoderm, it is unclear how such extracellular, diffusible molecules create a sharp and precise border at the single-cell level. Here, we show that Fez, a zinc finger protein, functions as an intracellular factor attenuating BMP signaling specifically within the neurogenic region at the anterior end of sea urchin embryos, termed the animal plate. When Fez function is blocked, the size of this neurogenic ectoderm becomes smaller than normal. However, this reduction is rescued in Fez morphants simply by blocking BMP2/4 translation, indicating that Fez maintains the size of the animal plate by attenuating BMP2/4 function. Consistent with this, the gradient of BMP activity along the aboral side of the animal plate, as measured by pSmad1/5/8 levels, drops significantly in cells expressing Fez and this steep decline requires Fez function. Our data reveal that this neurogenic ectoderm produces an intrinsic system that attenuates BMP signaling to ensure the establishment of a stable, well-defined neural territory, the animal plate.
Gcm/Glide-dependent conversion into glia depends on neural stem cell age, but not on division, triggering a chromatin signature that is conserved in vertebrate glia
Authors: Flici Hakima , Erkosar Berra , Komonyi Orban , Karatas Omer Faruk , Laneve Pietro , Giangrande Angela
Published: August 2011

Neurons and glia differentiate from multipotent precursors called neural stem cells (NSCs), upon the activation of specific transcription factors. In vitro, it has been shown that NSCs display very plastic features; however, one of the major challenges is to understand the bases of lineage restriction and NSC plasticity in vivo, at the cellular level. We show here that overexpression of the Gcm transcription factor, which controls the glial versus neuronal fate choice, fully and efficiently converts Drosophila NSCs towards the glial fate via an intermediate state. Gcm acts in a dose-dependent and autonomous manner by concomitantly repressing the endogenous program and inducing the glial program in the NSC. Most NSCs divide several times to build the embryonic nervous system and eventually enter quiescence: strikingly, the gliogenic potential of Gcm decreases with time and quiescent NSCs are resistant to fate conversion. Together with the fact that Gcm is able to convert mutant NSCs that cannot divide, this indicates that plasticity depends on temporal cues rather than on the mitotic potential. Finally, NSC plasticity involves specific chromatin modifications. The endogenous glial cells, as well as those induced by Gcm overexpression display low levels of histone 3 lysine 9 acetylation (H3K9ac) and Drosophila CREB-binding protein (dCBP) Histone Acetyl-Transferase (HAT). Moreover, we show that dCBP targets the H3K9 residue and that high levels of dCBP HAT disrupt gliogenesis. Thus, glial differentiation needs low levels of histone acetylation, a feature shared by vertebrate glia, calling for an epigenetic pathway conserved in evolution.
Activation of metabotropic GABA receptors increases the energy barrier for vesicle fusion
Authors: Rost Benjamin R. , Nicholson Patrick , Ahnert-Hilger Gudrun , Rummel Andreas , Rosenmund Christian , Breustedt Joerg , Schmitz Dietmar
Published: August 2011

Neurotransmitter release from presynaptic terminals is under the tight control of various metabotropic receptors. We report here that in addition to the regulation of Ca2+ channel activity, metabotropic GABAB receptors (GABABRs) at murine hippocampal glutamatergic synapses utilize an inhibitory pathway that directly targets the synaptic vesicle release machinery. Acute application of the GABABR agonist baclofen rapidly and reversibly inhibits vesicle fusion, which occurs independently of the SNAP-25 C-terminus. Using applications of hypertonic sucrose solutions, we find that the size of the readily releasable pool remains unchanged by GABABR activation, but the sensitivity of primed vesicles to hypertonic stimuli appears lowered as the response amplitudes at intermediate sucrose concentrations are smaller and release kinetics are slowed. These data show that presynaptic GABABRs can inhibit neurotransmitter release directly by increasing the energy barrier for vesicle fusion.
CFTR anion channel modulates expression of human transmembrane mucin MUC3 through the PDZ protein GOPC
Authors: Pelaseyed Thaher , Hansson Gunnar C.
Published: August 2011

The transmembrane mucins in the enterocyte are type 1 transmembrane proteins with long and rigid mucin domains, rich in proline, threonine and serine residues that carry numerous O-glycans. Three of these mucins, MUC3, MUC12 and MUC17 are unique in harboring C-terminal class I PDZ motifs, making them suitable ligands for PDZ proteins. A screening of 123 different human PDZ domains for binding to MUC3 identified a strong interaction with the PDZ protein GOPC (Golgi-associated PDZ and coiled-coil motif-containing protein). This interaction was mediated by the C-terminal PDZ motif of MUC3, binding to the single GOPC PDZ domain. GOPC is also a binding partner for cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) that directs CFTR for degradation. Overexpression of GOPC downregulated the total levels of MUC3, an effect that was reversed by introducing CFTR. The results suggest that CFTR and MUC3 compete for binding to GOPC, which in turn can regulate levels of these two proteins. For the first time a direct coupling between mucins and the CFTR channel is demonstrated, a finding that will shed further light on the still poorly understood relationship between cystic fibrosis and the mucus phenotype of this disease.
The myosin-interacting protein SMYD1 is essential for sarcomere organization
Authors: Just Steffen , Meder Benjamin , Berger Ina M. , Etard Christelle , Trano Nicole , Patzel Eva , Hassel David , Marquart Sabine , Dahme Tillman , Vogel Britta , Fishman Mark C. , Katus Hugo A. , Strähle Uwe , Rottbauer Wolfgang
Published: August 2011

Assembly, maintenance and renewal of sarcomeres require highly organized and balanced folding, transport, modification and degradation of sarcomeric proteins. However, the molecules that mediate these processes are largely unknown. Here, we isolated the zebrafish mutant flatline (fla), which shows disturbed sarcomere assembly exclusively in heart and fast-twitch skeletal muscle. By positional cloning we identified a nonsense mutation within the SET- and MYND-domain-containing protein 1 gene (smyd1) to be responsible for the fla phenotype. We found SMYD1 expression to be restricted to the heart and fast-twitch skeletal muscle cells. Within these cell types, SMYD1 localizes to both the sarcomeric M-line, where it physically associates with myosin, and the nucleus, where it supposedly represses transcription through its SET and MYND domains. However, although we found transcript levels of thick filament chaperones, such as Hsp90a1 and UNC-45b, to be severely upregulated in fla, its histone methyltransferase activity – mainly responsible for the nuclear function of SMYD1 – is dispensable for sarcomerogenesis. Accordingly, sarcomere assembly in fla mutant embryos can be reconstituted by ectopically expressing histone methyltransferase-deficient SMYD1. By contrast, ectopic expression of myosin-binding-deficient SMYD1 does not rescue fla mutants, implicating an essential role for the SMYD1–myosin interaction in cardiac and fast-twitch skeletal muscle thick filament assembly.
SPOC1 (PHF13) is required for spermatogonial stem cell differentiation and sustained spermatogenesis
Authors: Bördlein Annegret , Scherthan Harry , Nelkenbrecher Claudia , Molter Tina , Bösl Michael R. , Dippold Christine , Birke Kerstin , Kinkley Sarah , Staege Hannah , Will Hans , Winterpacht Andreas
Published: August 2011

SPOC1 (PHF13) is a recently identified protein that has been shown to dynamically associate with somatic chromatin, to modulate chromatin compaction and to be important for proper cell division. Here, we report on the expression of SPOC1 in promyelocytic leukaemia zinc finger (PLZF)-positive undifferentiated spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) of the mouse testis. To investigate further the biological function of SPOC1 in germ cells we generated Spoc1 mutant mice from a gene-trap embryonic stem cell clone. Postpubertal homozygous Spoc1−/− animals displayed a pronounced progressive loss of germ cells from an initially normal germ epithelium of the testis tubules leading to testis hypoplasia. This loss first affected non-SSC stages of germ cells and then, at a later time point, the undifferentiated spermatogonia. Remarkably, successive loss of all germ cells (at >20 weeks of age) was preceded by a transient increase in the number of undifferentiated Aaligned (Aal) spermatogonia in younger mice (at >10 weeks of age). The number of primary Spoc1−/− gonocytes, the proliferation of germ cells, and the initiation and progression of meiosis was normal, but we noted a significantly elevated level of apoptosis in the Spoc1−/− testis. Taken together, the data argue that SPOC1 is indispensable for stem cell differentiation in the testis and for sustained spermatogenesis.
An Introduction to Applicable Game Theory
Authors: Gibbons Robert
Published: August 2011

This paper offers an introduction to game theory for applied economists. The author gives simple definitions and intuitive examples of four kinds of games and their corresponding solution concepts: Nash equilibrium in static games of complete information; subgame-perfect Nash equilibrium in dynamic games of complete information; Bayesian Nash equilibrium in static games with incomplete (or 'private') information; and perfect Bayesian (or sequential) equilibrium in dynamic games with incomplete information. The main theme of the paper is that there are important differences among the games but important similarities among the solution concepts.
Policy Watch: The 1996 Welfare Reform
Authors: Blank Rebecca M
Published: August 2011

Welfare reform legislation was passed in the summer of 1996. Four key research questions that the new law presents to social scientists are as follows: (1) Can states design and operate better programs than AFDC? This includes questions about the ability of AFDC women to work a significant number of hours; the legislation's effect in areas of concentrated urban poverty; and the extent to which women will be able to improve their families' economic status under the legislation. (2) Will jobs be available? (3) How will the new block grant affect states' fiscal situation? and (4) What new research methodology questions does this legislation introduce?
Anomalies: The Equity Premium Puzzle
Authors: Siegel Jeremy J , Thaler Richard H
Published: August 2011

The equity premium is the difference in returns between equities and fixed income securities, such as Treasury bills. The puzzle refers to the fact that the premium has historically been very large--about 6 percent per year--too large to be easily explained by risk aversion. The authors document the evidence for the puzzle and find that is exists in many countries, over long time periods, and does not seem to be explained by survivorship bias. They also summarize several theoretical explanations. The authors conclude that it is difficult to explain the equity premium without incorporating some kind of irrationality.
Reflections on the Natural Rate Hypothesis
Authors: Stiglitz Joseph
Published: August 2011

Does the deviation of unemployment from some natural rate provide a robust and useful way to predict changes in the inflation rate? Can economists explain why the NAIRU changes over time? Is the NAIRU a useful way to frame policy discussions despite the uncertainty surrounding its precise level? The NAIRU hypothesis passes all three tests. Recent research shows that the NAIRU has fallen dramatically in the last decade. This paper refutes the need for a highly restrictive bias in macroeconomic policy because small deviations from the NAIRU will lead to only small, possibly easily correctable, changes in the inflation rate.
The NAIRU, Unemployment and Monetary Policy
Authors: Staiger Douglas , Stock James H , Watson Mark W
Published: August 2011

This paper examines the precision of conventional estimates of the NAIRU and the role of the NAIRU and unemployment in forecasting inflation. The authors find that, although there is a clear empirical Phillips relation, the NAIRU is imprecisely estimated, forecasts of inflation are insensitive to the NAIRU, and there are other leading indicators of inflation that are at least as good as unemployment. This suggests deemphasizing the NAIRU in public discourse about monetary policy and instead drawing on a richer variety of leading indicators of inflation.
What We Know and Do Not Know About the Natural Rate of Unemployment
Authors: Blanchard Olivier , Katz Lawrence F
Published: August 2011

Over the past three decades, much research has attempted to identify the determinants of the natural rate of unemployment. The authors reach two main conclusions about this body of work. First, there has been considerable theoretical progress over the past thirty years. A framework emerged that can be used to think, for example, about the relation between technological progress and unemployment. Second, empirical knowledge lags behind. Economists don't have a good quantitative understanding of the determinants of the natural rate, either across time or countries. The authors look at two issues, the relation of wages to unemployment and the rise of European unemployment.
The Perseverance of Paul Samuelson's Economics
Authors: Skousen Mark
Published: August 2011

A reflection of the economics profession through Paul Samuelson's Economics. Samuelson offers an uneasy mix of laissez faire in micro and government interventionism in macro. In earlier editions, Keynesian thinking dominated, with an antisaving, progovernment bias and a need for an activist fiscal policy aimed at alleviating unpredictable chronic business cycles under private enterprise. Middle editions had chapters on the Soviet Union and China, rather than Japan and West Germany. Recently, Samuelson and coauthor William Nordhaus have gradually shifted from antithrift to prosavings policies, from deficit spending to fiscal restraint, and from fiscal policy to monetary policy as effective countercyclical tools.
Credo of a Lucky Textbook Author
Authors: Samuelson Paul A
Published: August 2011

At war's end, introductory economics textbooks were overdue for a revolutionary advance. Change conspired to tempt the author to bring to the beginning course the rudiments of Keynesian macroeconomics. The impact was explosive. In reaction to criticisms of the subsequent evolutionary revisions, the author here describes the transition beyond the 1936 Model T General Theory paradigm from the standpoint of advances on the frontier, at the same time correcting erroneous claims about the saving process. Finally, he tells the tales of rightist censorship of Lorie Tarshis's 1947 pioneering Keynesian textbook and of later thunder from the left.
Inequality, Income Growth, and Mobility: The Basic Facts
Authors: Gottschalk Peter
Published: August 2011

This essay brings together the factual material on changes in the distribution of labor market income that any of the theories addressed in the other papers in this symposium must address. The broad stylized facts are that the rapid growth and stable level of inequality of both total family income and individual labor market that marked the postwar period came to an end during the 1970s. Real mean earnings grew very little but inequality of earnings rose substantially. This reflected increases both in inequality between education and experience groups and within groups. Mobility showed little change over this period.
Distinguished Lecture on Economics in Government: What Central Bankers Could Learn from Academics—and Vice Versa
Authors: Blinder Alan S
Published: August 2011

Academic writing about monetary policy has been useful to practical central bankers, but more of (certain aspects of) the economists' way of thinking could profitably be imported. On the other hand, academics could improve their analysis, and make it more useful to policymakers, if they would pay more attention to certain ‘real-world’ aspects of monetary policy. The author draws on his experience at the Federal Reserve Board to point out a number of specific lessons for each side.
Changes in Earnings Inequality: The Role of Demand Shifts
Authors: Johnson George E
Published: August 2011

That the relative demand for labor in the upper segment of the skill distribution has been shifting is a widely accepted ‘stylized fact’ in the literature on the increase in earnings inequality that has occurred since the late 1970s. Explanations of the causes of the relative demand shifts range from effects of increased integration of the world economy to skill-based technological change (reflecting, in part, the computerization of production processes). However, relative demand for skilled labor has been increasing fairly steadily since 1940, a fact having implications about the causes of both the demand shifts and recent increases in inequality.
Factor Proportions and Relative Wages: The Supply-Side Determinants of Wage Inequality
Authors: Topel Robert H
Published: August 2011

Supply-side factors may contribute to rising wage inequality. First, certain changes in the supply of skills allegedly exacerbate wage inequality. Women's increased labor force participation and increased immigration are the leading candidates; both allegedly reduce the wages of less-skilled men. However, immigration's impact on wage inequality has been minor and the effects of women's participation is inconclusive. Second, in evaluating the likelihood that human capital investment will mitigate future inequality, evidence suggests that rising returns to education have increased the proportion of young people attending college, limiting the growth of inequality among high-wage workers.
Inflation Targeting: A New Framework for Monetary Policy?
Authors: Bernanke Ben S , Mishkin Frederic S
Published: August 2011

In recent years, a number of industrialized countries have adopted a strategy for monetary policy known as ‘inflation targeting.’ The authors describe how this approach has been implemented in practice and argue that it is best understood as a broad framework for policy, which allows the central bank ‘constrained discretion,’ rather than as an ironclad policy rule in the Friedman sense. They discuss the potential of the inflation-targeting approach for making monetary policy more coherent and transparent and for increasing monetary policy discipline. The authors' final section addresses some additional practical issues raised by this approach.
Bridging the Gap Between the Public's and Economists' Views of the Economy
Authors: Blendon Robert J. , Benson John M , Brodie Mollyann , Morin Richard , Altman Drew E , Gitterman Daniel , Brossard Mario , James Matt
Published: August 2011

This paper reports the results of two parallel 1996 surveys, one of economists, one of the public. It finds that the public has a bleaker picture of what has happened economically to the average family and is more pessimistic than most economists about the intermediate future. The public cites different reasons than economists do for why the economy is not doing better. Also, individuals' perceptions of their own economic experiences yield a different set of beliefs about economic conditions than that described in official statistics. The authors offer possible explanations of the perception gap between the public and economists. Coauthors are John M. Benson, Mollyann Brodie, Richard Morin, Drew E. Altman, Daniel Gitterman, Mario Brossard, and Matt James.
Restructuring, Competition and Regulatory Reform in the U.S. Electricity Sector
Authors: Joskow Paul L
Published: August 2011

The U.S. electricity sector is going through dramatic changes. The changes are expanding competition in the generating segment of the industry, making it possible for consumers to choose among competing generation service suppliers, and reforming the regulation of remaining monopoly segments. The paper discusses current industry structure and regulation, its historical performance, and the sources of political pressures for change. It examines important industry restructuring and regulatory reform issues, including the organization of competitive generation markets, transmission access and pricing, generation market power, and the application of incentive regulation mechanisms to the transmission and distribution segments.
FDICIA After Five Years
Authors: Benston George J , Kaufman George G
Published: August 2011

At year-end 1991, Congress enacted fundamental deposit insurance reform for banks and thrifts--the FDIC Improvement Act. This reform followed the failure of more than 2,000 depository institutions in the 1980s. Many failed because the incentive incompatibility of the structure of federal government-provided deposit insurance encouraged moral hazard behavior by banks and poor agent behavior by regulators. Insurance was put on a more incentive compatible basis, providing for a graduated series of sanctions mimicking market discipline that first may and then must be applied by the regulators on floundering banks. This article reviews these changes and evaluates early results.
A Nobel Prize for Game Theorists: The Contributions of Harsanyi, Nash and Selten
Authors: Gul Faruk
Published: August 2011

The purpose of this essay is to celebrate the contributions of John C. Harsanyi, John F. Nash, and Reinhard Selten to economics. The emphasis is on tracing the influence of their work on economic analysis rather than giving a detailed account of each of their contributions. The three researchers are identified with the three most important ideas in game theory: equilibrium, asymmetric information, and credibility. These three ideas have dominated not only theoretical research but also numerous other fields within economics since the 1950s.
Policy Watch: The Family and Medical Leave Act
Authors: Ruhm Christopher J
Published: August 2011

This article summarizes the provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act, its possible effects on labor markets, and the resulting changes in the ability of workers to take leave. The author concludes that the actual provisions of the act are quite modest and have yielded neither large benefits to workers nor imposed significant costs on employers. One reason for this is that few workers gained significant new rights to time off work because the legislation contains many exemptions and employees often had other mechanisms for obtaining leave prior to its enactment.
On the Evolution of the World Income Distribution
Authors: Jones Charles I
Published: August 2011

The post-World War I period has seen substantial changes in the world income distribution. As a result, the shape of the distribution has changed from something that looks like a normal distribution in 1960 to a bimodal 'twin peaks' distribution in 1988. Projecting these changes into the future suggests a number of interesting findings. First, it seems likely that the United States will lose its position as the country with the highest level of GDP per worker. Second, the future income distribution will involve far more 'rich' countries and far fewer 'poor' countries than currently observed.
Divergence, Big Time
Authors: Pritchett Lant
Published: August 2011

Historical data are unnecessary to demonstrate that perhaps the basic fact of modern economic history is massive absolute divergence in per capita income across countries. A plausible lower bound on per capita income can be combined with estimates of its current level in the poorer countries to place an upper bound on long-run income growth. Between 1870 and 1990, the ratio of richest to poorest countries' income increased from roughly 9 to 1 to 45 to 1, the standard deviation of (natural log) per capita income doubled, and the average income gap between the richest and all other countries grew nearly tenfold from $1,286 to $12,000.
Labor Market Rigidities: At the Root of Unemployment in Europe
Authors: Siebert Horst
Published: August 2011

This paper studies the major institutional changes at the root of the increase in the west European unemployment trade in the last quarter century from below 3 percent to 11 percent. The institutional characteristics of wage bargaining and the legal rules hamper the self-equilibrating function of the labor market. The reservation wage, raised by the welfare state's rise, has affected the bargaining process, the wage level and the wage structure. Econometric evidence is presented. Since the mid-1980s, differences emerge, and the Scandinavian, the French-Mediterranean, the German, and the British-Dutch approach to the labor market can be distinguished.
Unemployment and Labor Market Rigidities: Europe versus North America
Authors: Nickell Stephen
Published: August 2011

The received wisdom tells us that the rigidity and inflexibility of European job markets relative to that in the United States is the reason why Europe has high unemployment. This paper argues that this broad brush analysis is simply too vague to be useful. Indeed it is probably positively misleading. Many labor market institutions that conventionally come under the heading of rigidities have no observable impact on unemployment and may otherwise serve a useful purpose.
European Telecommunications Markets on the Verge of Full Liberalization
Authors: Waverman Leonard , Sirel Esen
Published: August 2011

January 1, 1998 is the date when voice telephony is fully liberalized in most European countries. The process of privatization and liberalization has been uneven across Europe; actively embraced by countries such as the U. K., Sweden, and Finland, while opposed in others. The role of the European Commission which uses its powers under the single market to push recalcitrant operators and countries is key. No two countries in Europe are following the exact same path, which makes the Commission's role difficult; it is unclear to what extent rules interconnection, access, and universal service funding should be identical. New entrants in country markets include other incumbent operators as well as other utilities; alliances are forming among many participants. The central issue is the degree to which the marketplace will be allowed to function, rather than forced to compete, through politics.
Austrian and Neoclassical Economics: Any Gains From Trade?
Authors: Rosen Sherwin
Published: August 2011

The systems aspects of Austrian economic thought pertaining to the process of competition deserve a prominent place in modern economic thinking. The paper develops the differences between the Austrian view of competition as an evolutionary process, and the neoclassical emphasis on determining market equilibrium under known or given conditions. These bear importantly on the fundamental way we think about decentralization of economic activities among highly specialized agents with incomplete knowledge and information. The role of competition as a selection device that often encourages survival of the fittest and solves some types of agency problems is well worth thinking about.
Retrospectives: The Economics of Leon Hirsch Keyserling
Authors: Brazelton W. Robert
Published: August 2011

The economics of Leon H. Keyserling influenced the Roosevelt era in terms of housing, agriculture, labor, and antitrust legislation. During the Truman era, discussed herein, Keyserling was influential as chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, stressing long-term growth, general and selective fiscal, monetary, and interest rate policies, and the view that economic growth, equity, and welfare are tied together via a full employment goal. Thus he was a liberal Keynesian and a pragmatist realizing that the keys to prosperity were consumption (wages) and investment (profits).
Policy Watch: Medicaid and Uninsured Women and Children
Authors: Gruber Jonathan
Published: August 2011

This paper focuses on the role of Medicaid, the public health insurance program for low income populations, as a means of reducing uninsurance among uninsured women and children. The author discusses the structure of the Medicaid program and recent findings of its effects on insurance status, medical utilization, and health. He concludes that public insurance can be a cost-effective tool for reducing uninsurance and improving health, but only if eligibility is targeted to populations in need of insurance; expansions up the income scale should be accompanied by other program features that minimize substitution of private insurance, such as cost-sharing.
EMU: Why and How It Might Happen
Authors: Wyplosz Charles
Published: August 2011

This paper reviews the history, economic rationale, and main components of the project of establishing a monetary union in Europe by 1999. The adoption of a single currency is shown to be the best available option following the liberalization of capital movements. Most of the institution's design (central bank independence and objective, fiscal restraints) reflect Germany's fears of inflation as it is asked to give up its currency. The fiscal restraints are excessive, however, and a source of contractionary bias. The paper also presents the timetable of the final countdown.
Rethinking Federalism
Authors: Inman Robert P , Rubinfeld Daniel L
Published: August 2011

The appropriate federal structure of government is now a policy issue of major debate. This paper identifies three approaches and compares their strengths and weaknesses. Economic federalism recommends the use of competitive communities for the provision of congestible local goods and a strong central government for the provision of pure public goods and spillovers. Cooperative federalism recommends intercommunity agreements; democratic federalism prefers a majority-rule representative legislature. Efficiency will sometimes conflict with other constitutional objectives--political participation and the protection of rights--and compromises will often be required.
Tiebout? Or Not Tiebout? The Market Metaphor and America's Devolution Debate
Authors: Donahue John D
Published: August 2011

The market metaphor of intergovernmental choice as a spur to efficiency (formalized by Charles M. Tiebout) is often invoked to support the shift away from Washington and toward the states. But the model translates badly to governments; governmental entry and exit is costly. Public-sector co11usion often serves citizens' interests. Heterogeneous mobility distorts the signals sent by interstate migration. And while Tiebout (and followers) condition efficiency predictions on optimal distribution, the U.S. devolution movement coincides with rising inequality and has gone furthest where distribution matters most. The metaphor is misapplied. Devolution will likely do more to enfeeble government than to improve it.
Federalism as a Commitment to Preserving Market Incentives
Authors: Qian Yingyi , Weingast Barry R
Published: August 2011

The authors advance a new perspective in the study of federalism. Their approach views federalism as a governance solution of the state to credibly preserving market incentives. Market incentives are preserved if the state is credibly prevented from compromising on future economic success and from bailing out future failures. The salient features of federalism--decentralization of information and authority and interjurisdictional competition--help provide credible commitment or these purposes. In addition, the authors suggest that some federalism are self-sustaining.
Understanding the ‘Family Gap’ in Pay for Women with Children
Authors: Waldfogel Jane
Published: August 2011

As the gender gap in pay between women and men has been narrowing, the 'family gap' in pay between mothers and nonmothers has been widening. One reason may be the institutional structure in the United States, which has emphasized equal pay and opportunity policies but not family policies, in contrast to other countries that have implemented both. The authors now have evidence on the links between one such family policy and women's pay. Recent research suggests that maternity leave coverage, by raising women's retention after childbirth, also raises women's levels of work experience, job tenure, and pay.
Rankings of U.S. Economics Departments
Authors: Dusansky Richard , Vernon Clayton J
Published: August 2011

Economics departments in the United States are ranked using the criterion of publication in a set of eight leading journals. The publication period is 1990-94 inclusive, and faculty assignments to departments are for fall semester 1995. The ranking is compared with the publication-based rankings of Conroy-Dusansky, which it updates, and Scott-Mitias, as well as with the survey-based rankings of the National Research Council and of U.S. News and World Report. Important issues considered include current accuracy of software matching using electronic indexes, objectivity of criteria, contemporaneity of survey response, and correlations between rankings.