Topics in public finance: social security and taxation

Summary The field of public finance focuses on the spending and taxing activities of governments and their influence on the allocation of resources and distribution of income. This work covers in three parts different topics related to public finance which are currently widely discussed in media and politics. The first two parts deal with issues on social security, which is in general one of the biggest spending shares of governments. The third part looks at the main income source of governments by analyzing the perceived value of tax competition. Part one deals with the current problem of increased early retirement by focusing on Switzerland as a special case. Early retirement is predominantly considered to be the result of incentives set by social security and the tax system. But the Swiss example demonstrates that the incidence of early retirement has dramatically increased even in the absence of institutional changes. We argue that the wealth effect also plays an important role in the retirement decision for middle and high income earners. An actuarially fair, but mandatory funded system with a relatively high replacement rate may thus contribute to a low labor market participation rate of elderly workers. We provide evidence using a unique dataset on individual retirement decisions in Swiss pension funds, allowing us to perfectly control for pension scheme details. Our findings suggest that affordability is a key determinant in the retirement decisions. The higher the accumulated pension capital, the earlier men, and to a smaller extent women, tend to leave the workforce. The fact that early retirement has become much more prevalent in the last 15 years is a further indicator of the importance of a wealth effect, as the maturing of the Swiss mandatory funded pension system over that period has led to an increase in the effective replacement rates for middle and high income earners. Part two covers the theoretical side of social security. Theories analyzing optimal social security benefits provide important qualitative results, by mainly using one general type of an economy. Economies are however very diverse concerning numerous aspects, one of the most important being the wealth level. This can lead to significant quantitative benefit differences that imply differences in replacement rates and levels of labor supply. We focus on several aspects related to this fact. In a within cohort social security model, we introduce disability insurance with an imperfect screening mechanism. We then vary the wealth level of the model economy and analyze how the optimal social security benefit structure or equivalently, the optimal replacement rates, changes depending on the wealth level of the economy, and if the introduction of disability insurance into a social security system is preferable for all economies. Second, the screening mechanism of disability insurance and the threshold level at which people are defined as disabled can differ. For economies with different wealth levels, we determine for different thresholds the screening level that maximizes social welfare. Finally, part three turns to the income of governments, by adding an element to the controversy on tax competition versus tax harmonization.2 Inter-jurisdictional tax competition can generate at least two potential benefits or costs: On a public level, tax competition may result in a lower or higher efficiency in the production of public services. But there is also a more private benefit in the form of an option for individuals to move to a community with a lower tax rate in the future. To explore the value citizens attach to tax competition we analyze a unique popular vote for a complete tax harmonization between communities in the third largest Swiss canton, Vaud. Although a majority of voters would have seemingly benefited from replacing the current tax rate by a revenue-neutral average tax rate, the proposal was rejected by a large margin. Our estimates suggest that the estimated combined perceived benefit from tax competition is in the range of 10%.

Assessing sedimentary evolution by means of Sr-isotope ratios : 3 case studies on the Caribbean plate : (Cretaceous: Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica, Tertiary: Hess Rise, and La Désirade, Guadeloupe, France)

The understanding of sedimentary evolution is intimately related to the knowledge of the exact ages of the sediments. When working on carbonate sediments, age dating is commonly based on paleontological observations and established biozonations, which may prove to be relatively imprecise. Dating by means of strontium isotope ratios in marine bioclasts is the probably best method in order to precisely date carbonate successions, provided that the sample reflects original marine geochemical characteristics. This requires a precise study of the samples including its petrography, SEM and cathodoluminescence observations, stable carbon and oxygen isotope geochemistry and finally the strontium isotope measurement itself. On the Nicoya Peninsula (Northwestern Costa Rica) sediments from the Piedras Blancas Formation, Nambi Formation and Quebrada Pavas Formation were dated by the means of strontium isotope ratios measured in Upper Cretaceous Inoceramus shell fragments. Results have shown average 87Sr/86Sr values of 0.707654 (middle late Campanian) for the Piedras Blancas Formation, 0.707322 (Turonian-Coniacian) for the Nambi Formation and 0.707721 (late Campanian-Maastrichtian) for the Quebrada Pavas Formation. Abundant detrital components in the studied formations constitute a difficulty to strontium isotope dating. In fact, the fossil bearing sediments can easily contaminate the target fossil with strontium mobilized form basalts during diagenesis and thus the obtained strontium isotope ratios may be influenced significantly and so will the obtained ages. The new and more precise age assignments allow for more precision in the chronostratigraphic chart of the sedimentary and tectonic evolution of the Nicoya Peninsula, providing a better insight on the evolution of this region. Meteor Cruise M81 dredged shallow water carbonates from the Hess Rise and Hess Escarpment during March 2010. Several of these shallow water carbonates contain abundant Larger Foraminifera that indicates an Eocene-Oligocene age. In this study the strontium isotope values ranging from 0.707847 to 0.708238 can be interpreted as a Rupelian to Chattian age of these sediments. These platform sediments are placed on seamounts, now located at depths reaching 1600 m. Observation of sedimentologic characteristics of these sediments has helped to resolve apparent discrepancies between fossil and strontium isotope ages. Hence, it is possible to show that the subsidence was active during early Miocene times. On La Désirade (Guadeloupe France), the Neogene to Quaternary carbonate cover has been dated by microfossils and some U/Th-ages. Disagreements subsisted in the paleontological ages of the formations. Strontium isotope ratios ranging from 0.709047 to 0.709076 showed the Limestone Table of La Désirade to range from an Early Pliocene to Late Pliocene/early Pleistocene age. A very late Miocene age (87Sr/86Sr =0.709013) can be determined to the Detrital Offshore Limestone. The flat volcanic basement had to be eroded by wave-action during a long-term stable relative sea-level. Sediments of the Table Limestone on La Désirade show both low-stand and high-stand facies that encroach on the igneous basement, implying deposition during a major phase of subsidence creating accommodation space. Subsidence is followed by tectonic uplift documented by fringing reefs and beach rocks that young from the top of the Table Limestone (180 m) towards the present coastline. Strontium isotope ratios from two different fringing reefs (0.707172 and 0.709145) and from a beach rock (0.709163) allow tentative dating, (125ky, ~ 400ky, 945ky) and indicate an uplift rate of about 5cm/ky for this time period of La Désirade Island. The documented subsidence and uplift history calls for a new model of tectonic evolution of the area.

Toward an integration of spirituality and religiousness into the psychosocial dimension of schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: Spirituality and religiousness have been shown to be highly prevalent among patients with schizophrenia. However, clinicians are rarely aware of the importance of religion and understand little of the value or difficulties it presents to treatment. This study aimed to assess the role of religion as a mediating variable in the process of coping with psychotic illness. METHOD: Semistructured interviews about religious coping were conducted with a sample of 115 outpatients with psychotic illness. RESULTS: For some patients, religion instilled hope, purpose, and meaning in their lives (71%), whereas for others, it induced spiritual despair (14%). Patients also reported that religion lessened (54%) or increased (10%) psychotic and general symptoms. Religion was also reported to increase social integration (28%) or social isolation (3%). It may reduce (33%) or increase (10%) the risk of suicide attempts, reduce (14%) or increase (3%) substance use, and foster adherence to (16%) or be in opposition to (15%) psychiatric treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight the clinical significance of religion in the care of patients with schizophrenia. Religion is neither a strictly personal matter nor a strictly cultural one. Spirituality should be integrated into the psychosocial dimension of care. Our results suggest that the complexity of the relationship between religion and illness requires a highly sensitive approach to each unique story.

Retroviral Integration Site Selection

The stable insertion of a copy of their genome into the host cell genome is an essential step of the life cycle of retroviruses. The site of viral DNA integration, mediated by the viral-encoded integrase enzyme, has important consequences for both the virus and the host cell. The analysis of retroviral integration site distribution was facilitated by the availability of the human genome sequence, revealing the non-random feature of integration site selection and identifying different favored and disfavored genomic locations for individual retroviruses. This review will summarize the current knowledge about retroviral differences in their integration site preferences as well as the mechanisms involved in this process.

Selective integration of auditory-visual looming cues by humans.

An object's motion relative to an observer can confer ethologically meaningful information. Approaching or looming stimuli can signal threats/collisions to be avoided or prey to be confronted, whereas receding stimuli can signal successful escape or failed pursuit. Using movement detection and subjective ratings, we investigated the multisensory integration of looming and receding auditory and visual information by humans. While prior research has demonstrated a perceptual bias for unisensory and more recently multisensory looming stimuli, none has investigated whether there is integration of looming signals between modalities. Our findings reveal selective integration of multisensory looming stimuli. Performance was significantly enhanced for looming stimuli over all other multisensory conditions. Contrasts with static multisensory conditions indicate that only multisensory looming stimuli resulted in facilitation beyond that induced by the sheer presence of auditory-visual stimuli. Controlling for variation in physical energy replicated the advantage for multisensory looming stimuli. Finally, only looming stimuli exhibited a negative linear relationship between enhancement indices for detection speed and for subjective ratings. Maximal detection speed was attained when motion perception was already robust under unisensory conditions. The preferential integration of multisensory looming stimuli highlights that complex ethologically salient stimuli likely require synergistic cooperation between existing principles of multisensory integration. A new conceptualization of the neurophysiologic mechanisms mediating real-world multisensory perceptions and action is therefore supported.

Increased audiovisual integration in cochlear-implanted deaf patients: independent components analysis of longitudinal positron emission tomography data.

It has been demonstrated in earlier studies that patients with a cochlear implant have increased abilities for audio-visual integration because the crude information transmitted by the cochlear implant requires the persistent use of the complementary speech information from the visual channel. The brain network for these abilities needs to be clarified. We used an independent components analysis (ICA) of the activation (H2 (15) O) positron emission tomography data to explore occipito-temporal brain activity in post-lingually deaf patients with unilaterally implanted cochlear implants at several months post-implantation (T1), shortly after implantation (T0) and in normal hearing controls. In between-group analysis, patients at T1 had greater blood flow in the left middle temporal cortex as compared with T0 and normal hearing controls. In within-group analysis, patients at T0 had a task-related ICA component in the visual cortex, and patients at T1 had one task-related ICA component in the left middle temporal cortex and the other in the visual cortex. The time courses of temporal and visual activities during the positron emission tomography examination at T1 were highly correlated, meaning that synchronized integrative activity occurred. The greater involvement of the visual cortex and its close coupling with the temporal cortex at T1 confirm the importance of audio-visual integration in more experienced cochlear implant subjects at the cortical level.

Interrogation of related clinical pan-azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus strains: G138C, Y431C, and G434C single nucleotide polymorphisms in cyp51A, upregulation of cyp51A, and integration and activation of transposon Atf1 in the cyp51A promoter.

Multiple Aspergillus fumigatus isolates from a patient with two aspergillomas complicating chronic pulmonary aspergillosis were pan-azole resistant. Microsatellite typing was identical for all isolates despite major phenotypic and some growth rate differences. Three different cyp51A mutations were found (G138C, Y431C, and G434C), of which the first two were demonstrated by heterologous expression in a hypersusceptible Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain to be at least partly responsible for elevated MICs. cyp51A and cyp51B gene duplication was excluded, but increased expression of cyp51A was demonstrated in three isolates selected for additional study (7-to 13-fold increases). In the isolate with the greatest cyp51A expression, an Aft1 transposon was found inserted 370 bp upstream of the start codon of the cyp51A gene, an integration location never previously demonstrated in Aspergillus. Two transcription start sites were identified at 49 and 136 bp upstream of the start codon. The role of the Aft1 transposon, if any, in modulating cyp51A expression remains to be established. Increased mRNA expression of the transporters AfuMDR1 and AfuMDR4 also was demonstrated in some isolates, which could contribute to azole resistance or simply represent a stress response. The diversity of confirmed and possible azole resistance mechanisms demonstrated in a single series of isogenic isolates is remarkable, indicating the ability of A. fumigatus to adapt in the clinical setting.