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The Effect of Inter-Municipal Cooperation on Local Business Development in German Municipalities
No full textDoes inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) enhance municipal economic performance? This study employs marginal structural models to address selection into treatment and time-dependent confounding to estimate the effectiveness of IMC in the field of local business development. I use data on municipalities in four West-German states, Lower Saxony, Hesse, Rhineland Palatinate, and Bavaria during the years 2008-2015. I find that, over time, IMC has a positive effect on local economic performance and local business development resources are spent more productively in cooperating municipalities
The Impact of UN and US Economic Sanctions on GDP Growth
No full textIn this paper, we empirically assess how economic sanctions imposed by the UN and the US affect the target states’ GDP growth. Our sample includes 68 countries and covers the period 1976–2012. We find, first, that sanctions imposed by the UN have a statistically and economically significant influence on economic growth. On average, the imposition of UN sanctions decreases the target state’s real per capita GDP growth rate by 2.3–3.5 percentage points (pp). These adverse effects last for a period of 10 years. Comprehensive UN economic sanctions, that is, embargoes affecting nearly all economic activity, trigger a reduction in GDP growth by more than 5 pp. Second, the effect of US sanctions is much smaller and less distinct. The imposition of US sanctions decreases GDP growth in the target state over a period of 7 years and, on average, by 0.5–0.9 pp
Financial Markets and ECB Monetary Policy Communication – A Second QE Surprise
No full textThis paper shows that a different communication style of the European Central Bank (ECB) affects stock prices differently. A break in the ECB’s communication from 2016 onwards makes it necessary to adjust the identification of monetary policy surprises in the euro area. By modifying the high-frequency identification of monetary policy shocks in the euro area, I can show that two quantitative easing shocks occur per decision: One during the release and one during the press conference. Although the impact on policy rates is identical, the release window shock seems to have a more pronounced effect on stock prices
Sectoral FDI, Absorptive Capacity and Economic Growth – Empirical Evidence from Egyptian Governorates
No full textUsing a novel panel dataset of Egyptian governorates for the period 1992–2007, we investigate the effects of aggregate and sectoral foreign direct investment (FDI) on Egypt’s economic growth. We distinguish between FDI in the manufacturing, agriculture and service sector. The similarity of governorates in terms of institutional characteristics like culture, language, and legal framework and the consistency of the data collection process enables an effective estimation of the effect of FDI on Egypt’s economic growth. Employing General Methods of Moments (GMM) panel estimations, we find that neither aggregate nor sectoral FDI has an unconditional effect on economic growth. We also reject human capital as a channel of absorptive capacity, but reveal an interesting effect of FDI in the service sector on economic growth in interaction with domestic private investment (DPI). Service FDI promotes economic growth only if the host governorate has a minimum threshold of DPI to absorb foreign knowledge and technology
Complement alternative pathway determines disease susceptibility and severity in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)–associated vasculitis
No full textDieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglichThis publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectivelyActivation of the alternative pathway (AP) of complement is involved in the pathogenesis of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)–associated vasculitis (AAV), although the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. To gain insight into the role of the AP, common gene variants in CFH/CFHR1-5, CFB, C3 and MCP, and longitudinal determinations of plasma C3, C4, FH, FHR-1, FHR-2, FHR-5, FB, properdin and sC5b-9 levels were analyzed in a Spanish AAV cohort consisting of 102 patients; 54 with active AAV (active cohort) and 48 in remission not receiving immunosuppressants or dialysis therapy (remission cohort). The validation cohort consisted of 100 patients with ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis. Here, we demonstrated that common genetic variants in complement components of the AP are associated with disease susceptibility (CFB32Q/W) or severity of kidney damage in AAV (CFH-H1, CFH1H2 and ΔCFHR3/1). Plasma levels of complement components were significantly different between active and remission cohorts. In longitudinal observations, a high degree of AP activation at diagnosis was associated with worse disease outcome, while high basal FHR-1 levels and lower FH/FHR-1 ratios determined severe forms of kidney associated AAV. These genetic and plasmatic findings were confirmed in the validation cohort. Additionally, autoantibodies against FH and C3 convertase were identified in one and five active patients, respectively. Thus, our study identified key genetic and plasma components of the AP that determine disease susceptibility, prognosis, and severity in AAV. Our data also suggests that balance between FH and FHR-1 is critical and supports FHR-1 as a novel AP-specific therapeutic target in AAV
Pushing on a String: State-Owned Enterprises and Monetary Policy Transmission in China
No full textThis paper studies whether monetary transmission in China is
asymmetric. While researchers found an asymmetric transmission in the
U.S. and other economies, China offers a specific rationale for asymmetries:
the presence of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) enjoying preferential
access to financing. To study the consequences of SOEs for policy
transmission, we differentiate between expansionary and restrictive
policy shocks and argue that SOEs should suffer less from a policy tightening
and benefit more from a policy easing. Based on sector-specific
macroeconomic time series and a large firm-level data set, we provide
evidence of a systematic and sizable asymmetry in the transmission of
monetary policy shocks in China. The nature of the asymmetry is consistent
with the notion of explicit or implicit government-guarantees of
SOEs and has consequences for the adjustment of aggregate variables. In
contrast to other central banks, the People’s Bank of China seems to be
able to “push on a string”
Uptake of environmental DNA in Bacillus subtilis occurs all over the cell surface through a dynamic pilus structure
No full textAt the transition to stationary phase, a subpopulation of Bacillus subtilis cells can enter the
developmental state of competence, where DNA is taken up through the cell envelope, and
is processed to single stranded DNA, which is incorporated into the genome if sufficient
homology between sequences exists. We show here that the initial step of transport across
the cell wall occurs via a true pilus structure, with an average length of about 500 nm, which
assembles at various places on the cell surface. Once assembled, the pilus remains at one
position and can be retracted in a time frame of seconds. The major pilin, ComGC, was studied
at a single molecule level in live cells. ComGC was found in two distinct populations, one
that would correspond to ComGC freely diffusing throughout the cell membrane, and one
that is relatively stationary, likely reflecting pilus-incorporated molecules. The ratio of 65%
diffusing and 35% stationary ComGC molecules changed towards more stationary molecules
upon addition of external DNA, while the number of pili in the population did not
strongly increase. These findings suggest that the pilus assembles stochastically, but
engages more pilin monomers from the membrane fraction in the presence of transport substrate.
Our data support a model in which transport of environmental DNA occurs through
the entire cell surface by a dynamic pilus, mediating efficient uptake through the cell wall
into the periplasm, where DNA diffuses to a cell pole containing the localized transport
machinery mediating passage into the cytosol.Gefördert durch den Open-Access-Publikationsfonds der UB Marburg
The Spatio-Temporal Cloud Frequency Distribution in the Galapagos Archipelago as Seen from MODIS Cloud Mask Data
No full textClouds play an important role in the climate system; nonetheless, the relationship between
climate change in general and regional cloud occurrence is not yet well understood. This particularly
holds for remote areas such as the iconic Galapagos archipelago in Ecuador. As a first step towards
a better understanding, we analyzed the spatio-temporal patterns of cloud cover over Galapagos.
We found that cloud frequency and distribution exhibit large inter- and intra-annual variability due
to the changing influence of climatic drivers (trade winds, sea surface temperature, El Niño/La
Niña events) and spatial variations due to terrain characteristics and location within the archipelago.
The highest cloud frequencies occur in mid-elevations on the slopes exposed to the southerly trade
winds (south-east slopes). Towards the highlands (>900m a.s.l), cloud frequency decreases, with
a sharp leap towards high-level crater areas mainly on Isabela Island that frequently immerse into
the trade inversion layer. With respect to the diurnal cycle, we found a lower cloud frequency over
the islands in the evening than in the morning. Seasonally, cloud frequency is higher during the
hot season (January–May) than in the cool season (June–December). However, spatial differences in
cloudiness were more pronounced during the cool season months. We further analyzed two periods
beyond average atmospheric forcing. During El Niño 2015, the cloud frequency was higher than
usual, and differences between altitudes and aspects were less pronounced. La Niña 2007 led to
negative anomalies in cloud frequency over the islands, with intensified differences between altitude
and aspect.Gefördert durch den Open-Access-Publikationsfonds der UB Marburg
“Talking Down Monetary Policy” – A Note
No full textThere is a recent debate about whether monetary policy is no longer ef-
fective in stimulating demand, a concern often voiced in the euro area. As
a response, the ECB warns against \talking down monetary policy" (ECB
Vice-President Vitor Constancio, 2016). This note uses a textbook model of optimal monetary policy to study a situation in which the public misperceives
the interest rate elasticity of aggregate demand, which reflects policy effectiveness. We show that as a result of underestimating policy effectiveness demand shocks can no longer be stabilized perfectly, thus resulting in ineffcient inflation and output dynamics. In the presence of misperceptions, a negative demand shocks leads to a prolonged period of negative in
ation rates
The Feasibility and Accuracy of Holographic Navigation with Laser Crosshair Simulator Registration on a Mixed-Reality Display
No full textAddressing conventional neurosurgical navigation systems’ high costs and complexity, this study explores the feasibility and accuracy of a simplified, cost-effective mixed reality navigation (MRN) system based on a laser crosshair simulator (LCS). A new automatic registration method was developed, featuring coplanar laser emitters and a recognizable target pattern. The workflow was integrated into Microsoft’s HoloLens-2 for practical application. The study assessed the system’s precision by utilizing life-sized 3D-printed head phantoms based on computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 19 patients (female/male: 7/12, average age: 54.4 ± 18.5 years) with intracranial lesions. Six to seven CT/MRI-visible scalp markers were used as reference points per case. The LCS-MRN’s accuracy was evaluated through landmark-based and lesion-based analyses, using metrics such as target registration error (TRE) and Dice similarity coefficient (DSC). The system demonstrated immersive capabilities for observing intracranial structures across all cases. Analysis of 124 landmarks showed a TRE of 3.0 ± 0.5 mm, consistent across various surgical positions. The DSC of 0.83 ± 0.12 correlated significantly with lesion volume (Spearman rho = 0.813, p < 0.001). Therefore, the LCS-MRN system is a viable tool for neurosurgical planning, highlighting its low user dependency, cost-efficiency, and accuracy, with prospects for future clinical application enhancements.Gefördert durch den Open-Access-Publikationsfonds der UB Marburg