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We present an overlapping generations model with two families who can guarantee old age support either by intra-family transfers from child to parent or via a tax-financed public pension system encompassing both families.We derive the individually and family-specific optimal decisions and present some more behavioristic hypotheses.Our experimental observations allow conclusions on (1) whether raising taxes crowds out voluntary transfers, (2) how income distributions influence family and public solidarity, and (3) whether participants prefer more to less public solidarity.

Arachidonic acid metabolism was studied in isolated gastric mucous and parietal cells. During a 90 min incubation, mucous cells incorporated [1- 14 C]arachidonic acid (4.5 μmol/l) into triacylglycerols (500 pmol/mg protein), phosphatidylcholine (520), phosphatidylethanolamine (290) and phosphatidylinositol (100). 230 pmol/mg protein was recovered as 14 CO 2 and 130 pmol/mg protein in the form of unidentified water-soluble metabolites. The incorporation rates were linearly related with arachidonic acid concentration up to 10 μmol/l. Neither equimolar concentrations of oleic acid, palmitic acid and linoleic acid nor prostaglandin E 2 (1 μmol/l) or indomethacin (10 μmol/l) affected incorporation. During prolonged incubation incorporated arachidonic acid was transferred from triacylglycerols and phosphatidylcholine to phosphatidylethanolamine. Upon subcellular fractionation most of the incorporated arachidonic acid was found in the microsomal fraction. Compared with mucous cells, parietal cells incorporated arachidonic acid less quickly into phospholipids, but utilized it more efficiently for energy metabolism. In conclusion gastric cells show a highly dynamic metabolism of arachidonic acid which is qualitatively similar but quantitatively different between cell types.