Neuroscience cuts will hurt key areas

Will it hurt ? MacroeconoMic effects of fiscal consolidation

This chapter examines the effects of fiscal consolidation —tax hikes and government spending cuts—on economic activity. Based on a historical analysis of fiscal consolidation in advanced economies, and on simulations of the IMF’s Global Integrated Monetary and Fiscal Model (GIMF), it finds that fiscal consolidation typically reduces output and raises unemployment in the short term. At the same ...

Climate change is catchy--but when will it really hurt?

Concern and general awareness about the impacts of climate change in all sectors of the social-ecological-economic system is growing as a result of improved climate science products and information, as well as increased media coverage of the apparent manifestations of the phenomenon in our society. However, scales of climate variability and change, in space and time, are often confused and so a...

Who will guard the guardians of neuroscience?

Brain science is big. With the help of politicians, neuroscientists and the media, the brain has captured the public imagination. In late 2006 and early 2007, readers of The New York Times learned the difference between a “tightwad’s brain” and a “spendthrift’s brain” or how our “neurological circuits stop [us] from buying a George Foreman grill but not a Discovery Channel colour-changing mood ...

Will austerity cuts dismantle the Spanish healthcare system?

The financial crisis has hit Spain hard. Initially, given its low government debt, Spain seemed safe, but it was forced to bail out its banks when the housing boom they had been fuelling finally collapsed. In the first quarter of 2013, 27% of the labour force were unemployed, including over 57% of the under 25s. Poverty has increased. Twenty one per cent of the Spanish population lived below th...

Key Developments in Translational Neuroscience: an Update