On the welfare costs of business-cycle fluctuations and economic-growth variation in the 20th century and beyond

The main objective of this paper is to propose a novel setup that allows estimating separately the welfare costs of the uncertainty stemming from business-cycle uctuations and from economic-growth variation, when the two types of shocks associated with them (respectively,transitory and permanent shocks) hit consumption simultaneously. Separating these welfare costs requires dealing with degenerate bivariate distributions. Levis Continuity Theorem and the Disintegration Theorem allow us to adequately de ne the one-dimensional limiting marginal distributions. Under Normality, we show that the parameters of the original marginal distributions are not afected, providing the means for calculating separately the welfare costs of business-cycle uctuations and of economic-growth variation. Our empirical results show that, if we consider only transitory shocks, the welfare cost of business cycles is much smaller than previously thought. Indeed, we found it to be negative - -0:03% of per-capita consumption! On the other hand, we found that the welfare cost of economic-growth variation is relatively large. Our estimate for reasonable preference-parameter values shows that it is 0:71% of consumption US$ 208:98 per person, per year.

Wow!Table: framework de visão computacional

Orientador: Pedro Filipe Pereira Campos

Stochastic simulation of time-series models combined with geostatistics to predict water-table scenarios in a Guarani Aquifer System outcrop area, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Transfer function-noise modeling and spatial interpolation to evaluate the risk of extreme (shallow) water-table levels in the Brazilian Cerrados

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The effects of the coexistence of weed communities on table beet yield during early crop development

Objetivando avaliar efeitos de períodos de infestação inicial na comunidade infestante e na produtividade da beterraba em sistema de semeadura direta e transplantio, conduziu-se um experimento em delineamento de blocos casualizados, esquema fatorial 2 x 13. Métodos de semeadura direta e transplante de mudas foram avaliados dentro de 13 períodos semanais crescentes de infestação. Importância relativa, densidade e matéria seca acumulada pelas plantas daninhas foram analisadas por regressão não-linear, assim como produtividade e estande da cultura de beterraba, que foram submetidos à análise de variância. Amaranthus viridis, Coronopus didymus, Cyperus rotundus, Digitaria nuda, Galinsoga parviflora e Nicandra physaloides foram as plantas daninhas mais importantes, destacando-se C. didymus. O acúmulo de matéria seca das plantas daninhas foi maior na cultura em semeadura direta, embora a densidade de plantas daninhas tenha sido mais alta em sistema de transplantio. A produtividade da beterraba transplantada foi maior que a da semeadura direta no tratamento livre de plantas daninhas. A convivência das plantas daninhas com a cultura pode permanecer por quatro e sete semanas depois da semeadura/transplantio, respectivamente, antes de reduzir a produtividade. A cultura em sistema de semeadura direta foi mais susceptível à interferência das plantas daninhas que a cultura sob sistema de transplantio.

Fertility life table of Trichogramma pretiosum and Trichogramma acacioi (Hymenoptera : Trichogrammatidae) on Sitotroga cerealella (Lepidoptera : Gelechiidae) eggs at different constant temperatures

Fertility life tables were developed for both Trichogramma pretiosum and Trichogramma acacioi reared on Sitotroga cerealella eggs as an alternative host at five different temperatures. The egg parasitoids were first collected from Nipteria panacea eggs, a lepidopterous pest of avocado. Egg parasitoid females were individualized in small glass vials along with 40 eggs of the host during 24 h for parasitization. For evaluation of the parasitism capacity, a similar procedure was adopted, but cardboards with eggs were replaced every day. The net reproductive rate (Ro), intrinsic rate of increase (rm), finite rate of increase (lambda), and mean generation time (T) were estimated. Temperature affected all parameters for both Trichogramma species. The highest fecundity for both species was observed at 25degreesC. Extreme temperatures such as 15degreesC or 35degreesC negatively affect the development rate of both species.

Biology and fertility life table of the South American fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus on grape

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Population Fluctuations of Formicidae (Hymenoptera) and Araneae (Arachnida) in Two Tillage Systems in the Region of Guaíra-SP

The objective of this study was to elucidate population fluctuations of spider and ant species in forest fragments and adjacent soybean and corn crops under no-tillage and conventional tillage systems, and their correlations with meteorological factors. From Nov 2004 to Apr 2007 sampling of these arthropods at Guaira, São Paulo state was done biweekly during the cropping season and monthly during the periods between crops. To obtain samples at each experimental site, pitfall traps were distributed in 2 transects of 200 m of which 100 m was in the crop, and 100 m was in the forest fragment. Temperature and rainfall were found to have major impacts on fluctuations in population densities of ants of the genus, Pheidole, in soybean and corn crops both grown with conventional tillage and no tillage systems.

Influences of thermal and electric load fluctuations in the cogeneration attractiveness

The use of mean values of thermal and electric demand can be justifiable for synthesising the configuration and for estimating the economic results because it simplifies the analysis in a preliminary feasibility study of a cogeneration plant. For determining the cogeneration scheme that best fits the energetic needs of a process several cycles and combinations must be considered, and those technically feasible will be analysed according to economic models. Although interesting for a first approach, this procedure do not consider that the peaks and valleys present in the load patterns will impose additional constraints relatively to the equipment capacities. In this paper, the effects of thermal and electric load fluctuation to the cogeneration plant design were considered. An approach for modelling these load variability is proposed for comparing two competing thermal and electric parity competing schemes. A gas turbine associated to a heat recovery steam generator was then proposed and analysed for thermal- and electric-following operational strategies. Thermal-following option revealed to be more attractive for the technical and economic limits defined for this analysis. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anaerobic capacity may not be determined by critical power model in elite table tennis players

The aim of the present study was to verify the applicability of anaerobic work capacity (AWC) determined from the critical power model in elite table tennis players. Eight male international level table tennis players participated in the study. The tests undertaken were: 1) A critical frequency test used to determinate the anaerobic work capacity; 2) Wingate tests were performed using leg and arm ergometers. AWC corresponded to 99.5 +/- 29.1 table tennis balls. AWC was not related to peak (r = -0.25), mean (r = -0.02), relative peak (r = -0.49) or relative mean power (r = 0.01), nor fatigue index (r = -0.52) (Wingate leg ergometer). Similar correlations for peak (r = -0.34), mean (r = -0.04), relative peak (r = -0.49), relative mean power (r = -0.14) and peak blood lactate concentration (r = -0.08) were determined in the Wingate arm ergometer test. Based on these results the AWC determined by a modified critical power test was not a good index for measurement of anaerobic capacity in table tennis players.

Validity of critical frequency test for measuring table tennis aerobic endurance through specific protocol

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Isolation and characterization of latent and active polyphenoloxidase in BRS Clara (CNPUV 154-147 x Centennial seedless) and BRS Morena (Marroo seedless x Centennial seedless) seedless table grapes

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Phenolic Composition of the Brazilian Seedless Table Grape Varieties BRS Clara and BRS Morena

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)