The impact of European legislative and technology measures to reduce air pollutants on air quality, human health and climate

European air quality legislation has reduced emissions of air pollutants across Europe since the 1970s, affecting air quality, human health and regional climate. We used a coupled composition-climate model to simulate the impacts of European air quality legislation and technology measures implemented between 1970 and 2010. We contrast simulations using two emission scenarios; one with actual emissions in 2010 and the other with emissions that would have occurred in 2010 in the absence of technological improvements and end-of-pipe treatment measures in the energy, industrial and road transport sectors. European emissions of sulphur dioxide, black carbon (BC) and organic carbon in 2010 are 53%, 59% and 32% lower respectively compared to emissions that would have occurred in 2010 in the absence of legislative and technology measures. These emission reductions decreased simulated European annual mean concentrations of fine particulate matter(PM2.5) by 35%, sulphate by 44%, BC by 56% and particulate organic matter by 23%. The reduction in PM2.5 concentrations is calculated to have prevented 80 000 (37 000–116 000, at 95% confidence intervals) premature deaths annually across the European Union, resulting in a perceived financial benefit to society of US$232 billion annually (1.4% of 2010 EU GDP). The reduction in aerosol concentrations due to legislative and technology measures caused a positive change in the aerosol radiative effect at the top of atmosphere, reduced atmospheric absorption and also increased the amount of solar radiation incident at the surface over Europe. We used an energy budget approximation to estimate that these changes in the radiative balance have increased European annual mean surface temperatures and precipitation by 0.45 ± 0.11 °C and by 13 ± 0.8 mm yr−1 respectively. Our results show that the implementation of European legislation and technological improvements to reduce the emission of air pollutants has improved air quality and human health over Europe, as well as having an unintended impact on the regional radiative balance and climate.

Writing-to-Learn Using Social Pedagogy and Technology

Accounting faculty from LaGuardia will share the structure and results of an initiative centered on using ePortfolio and social pedagogy to facilitate writing-to-learn for accounting students. Through a series of ePortfolio-based assignments that connected two classes, along with an in-class writing workshop conducted by non-discipline faculty, students worked together to understand the importance of writing in the accounting discipline and strengthened their writing abilities.

Development, capabilities and technology : an evaluative framework

In this paper we present a framework to be used for evaluation of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) projects. The framework is based on Sen´s notion of development as freedom where human capabilities and functionings are seen as key aspects to development. Sen´s capability approach presents an alternative way of seeing and evaluating development (alternative to more traditional ways of measuring development). The approach is based on expanding freedoms, or eliminating unfreedoms, for people so that they can live a life that they have reason to value. Even though Sen is referenced a lot in ICT4D literature the analysis rarely goes further then stating that Sen presents an alternative to traditional ways of development. Reasons can be that the capability approach does not specifically mention technology, in addition to the lack of guidelines presented by Sen on how to use the framework. The aim of this paper is to operationalize the evaluation process and to include a clear role for technology in Sen´s capability framework. The framework is validated with a case on distance education from Bangladesh. 

Two essays on education and governament policies

Whether human capital increases or decreases wage uncertainty is an open ques- tion from an empirical standpoint. Yet, most policy prescriptions regarding human capital formation are based on models that impose riskiness on this type of invest- ment. We slightly deviate from the rest of the literature by allowing for non-linear income taxes in a two period model. This enables us to derive prescriptions that are robust to the risk characteristics of human capital: savings should be discouraged, human capital investments encouraged and both types of investment driven to an e¢ cient level from an aggregate perspective. These prescriptions are also robust to what choices are observed, even though the policy instruments used to implement them are not.

The effect of social security, demography and technology on retirement

This article investigates the causes in the reduction of labor force participation of the old. We argue that the changes in social security policy, in technology and in demography may account for most of the changes in retirement over the second part of the last century in the U.S. economy. We develop a dynamic general equilibrium model with endogenous retirement that embeds social security legislation. The model is able to match very closely the increase in the retirement rate of males aged 65 and older. It also quanti es the isolated impact on retirement and on the solvency of the social security system of the di¤erent factors. The model suggests that technological and demographic changes had a strong in uence on retirement, so that it would have increased signi cantly even if the social security rules had not changed. However, as the latter became much more generous in the past, changes in social security policy can account not only for a sizeable part of the expansion of retirement, but also for the most of the observed increase in the social security expenses as a share of GDP.

The effect of social security, demography and technology on retirement

This article investigates the causes in the reduction of labor force participation of the old. We argue that the changes in social security policy, in technology and in demography may account for most of the changes in retirement over the second part of the last century in the U.S. economy. We develop a dynamic general equilibrium model with endogenous retirement that embeds social security legislation. The model is able to match very closely the increase in the retirement rate of males aged 65 and older. It also quanti es the isolated impact on retirement and on the solvency of the social security system of the di¤erent factors. The model suggests that technological and demographic changes had a strong in uence on retirement, so that it would have increased signi cantly even if the social security rules had not changed. However, as the latter became much more generous in the past, changes in social security policy can account not only for a sizeable part of the expansion of retirement, but also for the most of the observed increase in the social security expenses as a share of GDP.

The effect of social security, health, demography and technology on retirement

This article studies the determinants of the labor force participation of the elderly and investigates the factors that may account for the increase in retirement in the second half of the last century. We develop a life-cycle general equilibrium model with endogenous retirement that embeds Social Security legislation and Medicare. Individuals are ex ante heterogeneous with respect to their preferences for leisure and face uncertainty about labor productivity, health status and out-of-pocket medical expenses. The model is calibrated to the U.S. economy in 2000 and is able to reproduce very closely the retirement behavior of the American population. It reproduces the peaks in the distribution of Social Security applications at ages 62 and 65 and the observed facts that low earners and unhealthy individuals retire earlier. It also matches very closely the increase in retirement from 1950 to 2000. Changes in Social Security policy - which became much more generous - and the introduction of Medicare account for most of the expansion of retirement. In contrast, the isolated impact of the increase in longevity was a delaying of retirement.

On testing the Phillips curves, the IS Curves, and the interaction between fiscal and monetary policies

Esta tese é composta por três ensaios sobre testes empíricos de curvas de Phillips, curvas IS e a interação entre as políticas fiscal e monetária. O primeiro ensaio ("Curvas de Phillips: um Teste Abrangente") testa curvas de Phillips usando uma especificação autoregressiva de defasagem distribuída (ADL) que abrange a curva de Phillips Aceleracionista (APC), a curva de Phillips Novo Keynesiana (NKPC), a curva de Phillips Híbrida (HPC) e a curva de Phillips de Informação Rígida (SIPC). Utilizamos dados dos Estados Unidos (1985Q1--2007Q4) e do Brasil (1996Q1--2012Q2), usando o hiato do produto e alternativamente o custo marginal real como medida de pressão inflacionária. A evidência empírica rejeita as restrições decorrentes da NKPC, da HPC e da SIPC, mas não rejeita aquelas da APC. O segundo ensaio ("Curvas IS: um Teste Abrangente") testa curvas IS usando uma especificação ADL que abrange a curva IS Keynesiana tradicional (KISC), a curva IS Novo Keynesiana (NKISC) e a curva IS Híbrida (HISC). Utilizamos dados dos Estados Unidos (1985Q1--2007Q4) e do Brasil (1996Q1--2012Q2). A evidência empírica rejeita as restrições decorrentes da NKISC e da HISC, mas não rejeita aquelas da KISC. O terceiro ensaio ("Os Efeitos da Política Fiscal e suas Interações com a Política Monetária") analisa os efeitos de choques na política fiscal sobre a dinâmica da economia e a interação entre as políticas fiscal e monetária usando modelos SVARs. Testamos a Teoria Fiscal do Nível de Preços para o Brasil analisando a resposta do passivo do setor público a choques no superávit primário. Para a identificação híbrida, encontramos que não é possível distinguir empiricamente entre os regimes Ricardiano (Dominância Monetária) e não-Ricardiano (Dominância Fiscal). Entretanto, utilizando a identificação de restrições de sinais, existe evidência que o governo seguiu um regime Ricardiano (Dominância Monetária) de janeiro de 2000 a junho de 2008.

Capital misallocation and mitigating policies

The purpose of this work is to study the role for government in mitigating capital misallocation. We develop an entrepreneurship model in which heterogeneous producers face collateral constraints on production, but can hedge idiosyncratic shocks. Hedging works as a tool for reallocating resources to states in which they are more productively deployed, and can alleviate the effect of the financial frictions and be a counteracting force to capital misallocation. Government incentives to hedging improve workers’ welfare in steady state through an increase in TFP and wages. The intervention leads to a reduction in the rate of return of entrepreneurs and an increase in wealth dispersion. These two effects cause entrepreneurial welfare to decrease.

Contribuições do Programa Institucional de Bolsas de Iniciação Científica (PIBIC) para a formação do aluno de psicologia

The undergraduate courses in Psychology have been historically pointed as defective in aspects related to the critical education and the integration between theory and practice. Hence, the scientific education has been considered a possibility to overcome those lacks. Therefore, this study has investigated the undergraduate education process of Psychology students with PIBIC (Portuguese acronym for Undergraduate Scientific Research Scholarships Institutional Program) scholarships from CNPq (Portuguese acronym Brazilian National Council of Scientific and Technological Development). The scholarship program has been a strategic tool for the undergraduate scientific research. Electronic questionnaires have been sent to all the PIBIC scholarship students of Psychology in Brazil (622; 104 have answered), containing questions about the program developed activities, tutoring and advising, PIBIC evaluation and other ones. The students scientific and academic production has also been investigated through their Lattes (CNPq s Platform in which researchers have their academic résumés). The major part of the participants (70%) has stated that the first motivation to be in the program had been their interest in the research or in the academic career. Furthermore, 60% of the scholarship students has worked as volunteers before receiving PIBIC scholarship. Among the students who have answered the research, 65,4% has reported they are tutored directly by their advisors, and 80% of them attends one or more than one advising meeting every fifteen days. It has been identified that the Psychology scholarship students do not participate in all the research activities and that the proximity with the advisor is related to the accomplishment of tasks which contributes with the student critical and reflexive education. Finally, less than 25% of the students has published scientific articles or book chapters during the scholarship, what XI demonstrates a possible exclusion of them in that phase of the process. In general, the scholarship students evaluate the program positively by revealing that it contributes with their professional and academic education. For those reasons, it is observed PIBIC s potential role for the undergraduate education in order to develop more critical psychologists able to propose innovations and contextualized practices. However, the results obtained in programs like the studied one denounce the disqualification of the provided undergraduate education for the major part of the university students, who do not have a PIBIC scholarship. As a result, it is emphasized that it there should be more investment for improving the quality of the undergraduate education itself and not only for programs which are available for few students