Stakeholders and perspectivism in qualitative policy evaluation: A realist reflection

This paper examines the epistemological bases for the inclusion of stakeholders in policy research. While it concedes that the input of stakeholders provides essential expert and experiential knowledge for the understanding of complex policies and programmes, it contends that the approach which assumes that all interpretations of policy including those of stakeholders should be afforded equal validity, which we term relativist perspectivism, undermines the possibility of robust research by allowing power to replace methodological rigour as the primary research dynamic. It is noted that this problem tends to be more acute when the research is qualitative. A study into the gendered effects of Common Agricultural Policy reforms is used as an illustrative example of how research can be compromised by relativist perspectivism. It is argued that realist research methodologies uniquely provide the capacity to maintain epistemological robustness, while also being able to take due account of the perspectives of stakeholders.

Measurements of absolute, single charge-exchange cross sections of H+, He+ and He2+ with H2O and CO2

Absolute measurements have been made of single-electron charge-exchange cross sections of H+, He+, and He2+ in H2O and CO2 in the energy range 0.3-7.5 keV amu(-1). Collisions of this type occur in the interaction of solar wind ions with cometary gases and have been observed by the Giotto spacecraft using the Ion Mass Spectrometer/High Energy Range Spectrometer (IMS/HERS) during a close encounter with comet Halley in 1986. Increases in the He+ ion density, and in the He2+ to H+ density ratio were reported by Shelley et al, and Fuselier et al. and were explained by charge exchange. However, the lack of reliable cross sections for this process made interpretation of the data difficult. New cross sections are presented and discussed in relation to the Giotto observations.

International order flows: Explaining equity and exchange rate returns

Macroeconomic models of equity and exchange rate returns perform poorly at high frequencies. The proportion of daily returns that these models explain is essentially zero. Instead of relying on macroeconomic determinants, we model equity price and exchange rate behavior based on a concept from microstructure – order flow. The international order flows are derived from belief changes of different investor groups in a two-country setting. We obtain a structural relationship between equity returns, exchange rate returns and their relationship to home and foreign equity market order flow. To test the model we construct daily aggregate order flow data from 800 million equity trades in the U.S. and France from 1999 to 2003. Almost 60% of the daily returns in the S&P100 index are explained jointly by exchange rate returns and aggregate order flows in both markets. As predicted by the model, daily exchange rate returns and order flow into the French market have significant incremental explanatory power for the daily S&P returns. The model implications are also validated for intraday returns.