Unemployment, credit rationing, and capital accumulation: a tale of two frictions

Summary. This paper develops a model in which two information frictions are embedded into an otherwise conventional neoclassical growth model; an adverse selection problem in the labor market and a costly state verification problem in the credit market. The former allows equilibrium unemployment to arise endogenously while the latter is responsible for equilibrium credit rationing. This structure is used to investigate a theoretical link between the level of unemployment and the extent of credit rationing (and capital formation). The presence of the labor market friction is enough to generate scope for multiple steady state equilibria. The model also generates a large class of endogenous cyclical and chaotic dynamical equilibria. Development trap phenomena may also appear. Received: April 10, 1998; revised version: May 20, 1998     

Orientation and community participation of ecological development： a case study of Hutuo River in Shijiazhuang City, China

Entrusted to by Shijiazhuang municipal Party committee and government,Shanghai Tongji University finished ＂The General Planning of Ecological Development Project of Hutuo River in Shijiazhuang City＂.It aims to build Hutuo River into a wind-breaking and sand-fixing barrier and ecological protect district in the north of Shijiazhuang based on the recovery of natural ecology to improve the environment of Shijiazhuang city.It also intends to develop the district lightly and build it into a nature beauty spot and big park.After the construction for several years,the general environment of this district has been greatly improved.But during the development,the man-made landscapes are highlighted excessively,which deviates from the construction of nature landscape.The currency of constructing big leisure park gradually comes into being,so the recovery of nature ecological is slow.So,this paper intends to make the orientation to ecological development of Hutuo River in Shijiazhuang city and puts forward the community participation to promote the future development of ecotourism in Shijiazhuang.     

Patients’ preferences for the treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders: a systematic review of discrete choice experiments

Abstract

Introduction: Matching available mental health services to patients’ preferences, as well as is possible, may increase patient satisfaction and help increase adherence to certain treatments. This study systematically reviewed discrete-choice experiments (DCEs) on patients’ preferences for treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders and assessed the relative importance of outcome, process and cost attributes to improve the current and future treatment situations.

Methods: A systematic literature review using PubMed, EMBASE and PsychInfo was conducted to retrieve all relevant DCEs published up to 15 April 2019, eliciting patient preferences for treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders. Data were extracted using an extraction sheet, and attributes were classified into outcome, process and cost attributes. The relative importance of each attribute category was then assessed, and studies were evaluated according to their reporting quality, using validated checklists.

Results: A total of 11 studies were identified for qualitative analysis. All studies received an aggregate score of 4 on the five-point PREFS checklist (Purpose, Respondents, Explanation, Findings and Significance). Most attributes were outcome related (52%), followed by process (42%) and cost (6%) attributes. Comparing the attribute categories and summing up the relative importance weights for each category within the studies, process attributes were ranked as most important, followed by cost and outcome attributes.

Conclusions: In this systematic review, heterogeneous results were observed regarding the inclusion and framing of different attributes across studies. Overall, patients considered process and cost attributes to be more important than outcome attributes. Outcomes and process are important for patients, and thus clinicians should be particularly aware of this and take patients’ preferences into account, although the attribute importance may depend on chosen attributes and related levels.     

Framing of economic news and policy support during a pandemic: Evidence from a survey experiment

We examine how news outlets’ communication of macroeconomic information affects policy support during the COVID-19 crisis. In our survey experiment based on a representative sample from Germany, respondents are exposed to an expert forecast of GDP growth. Individuals either receive no information, the baseline forecast, or real-world media frames of the same forecast. We find that positive framing of economic growth increases policy support. This effect is stronger for respondents with more pessimistic macroeconomic expectations. Negatively framed economic news are perceived as more credible and hence less surprising in times of recession, not translating into political opinion.     

The need for combining IEA and IE tools: The potential effects of a global ban on PVC on climate change

Over the last decades the concepts of Integrated Environmental Assessment (IEA) and Industrial Ecology (IE), both claiming to provide analyses and solutions for sustainability issues, have been developed separately as they emerged in response to questions from different policy-fields. In both fields, specific tools are used to support national and international environmental policy. The focus of IEA and IE tools, however, is different. IEA tools focus on one or a limited number of specific environmental issues. They often model the chain environmental processes with high spatial (and temporal) resolution, but have a low resolution for the material structure of the economy and only partly take into account indirect effects that occur via physical and socio-economic linkages. IE tools take into account all environmental issues related to a specific substance or product. They have a high resolution for the material structure of the economy and take into account indirect effects that occur via physical linkages, however, their environmental modelling is very limited. Both IE and IEA tools have proven to be very useful and neither is superior to the other. However, a combination of both can provide additional information that can be used for more effective policy making. We use the case of a hypothetical world-wide ban on PVC to show that a measure that is not directly related to climate change could still have significant climate effects. This indirect effect is a result of the linkages of material flows in society. We show that IEA tools are not well suited to include these types of effects and that IE tools can fill this gap partially. What is really needed is a broader systems perspective that takes into account the full range of possible side-effects of environmental policy measures.     

Sharing and evaluation of a new community co-management model for protecting Crested Ibis: a case study of Crested Ibis National Nature Reserve, China

The Crested Ibis（Nipponia Nippon） is endemic to Qinling Mountains of China and was once abundant over vast areas of north-east of Asia habitat.During the 20th century,however,the population declined greatly in numbers.Habitat quality used to be the main threat to this species but recent actions by the government and wildlife protection organizations have brought this under control.With the establishment of Crested Ibis Nature Reserve in China,conflicts between socio-economic development and Crested Ibis conservation have become more acute.How do we deal with the relation between Crested Ibis conservation and community development？ In this study,the Crested Ibis Nature Reserve co-management model namely ＂companies ＋ farmers ＋ Nature Reserve＂ model is proposed and evaluated with demonstration investigation methods,including continuous six-year fixed-site socio-economic development data of surrounding community,company sales revenue data and monitored data of Crested Ibis Nature Reserve.The results show that farmers＇ income and conservation awareness increased greatly from 2003 to 2008; company sales revenue has increased by about 20% annually in the recent years; management level has noticeably improved in Nature Reserve,the scope of Crested Ibis habitat has expanded 50 hm2; chemical composition of habitat reduced year after year; and the number of Crested Ibis had been growing annually.At the end,the success of the model is evaluated,and problems in implementation of the model are discussed from the following aspects：management system,co-management concept,economic base of partners,marketing mechanism,technical capacity and so on.