Inequality and a repeated joint project

Agents voluntarily contribute to an infinitely repeated joint project. We investigate the conditions for cooperation to be a renegotiation-proof and coalition-proof equilibrium before examining the influence of output share inequality on the sustainability of cooperation. When shares are not equally distributed, cooperation requires agents to be more patient than under perfect equality. Beyond a certain degree of share inequality, full efficiency cannot be reached without redistribution. This model also explains the coexistence of one cooperating and one free-riding coalition. In this case, increasing inequality can have a positive or negative impact on the aggregate level of effort.

El Sistema de financiación de las comunidades autónomas de régimen común: un análisis crítico y algunas propuestas de reforma

We identify a number of elements of the current Spanish system of regional financing that do not conform satisfactorily to the principles of equity, autonomy and efficiency that should inspire its design. Our main conclusion is that although the system presents a series of shortcomings that would require an in-depth reform, its basic focus on the equalization of the service provision capacity of all regional governments should be preserved because it is in accordance with the constitutional guarantee of equal rights for all citizens and with notions of horizontal equity that are widely shared in our country. In fact, the main shortcoming of the system is, in our opinion, that it does not fully guarantee such equality in practice. Additional weaknesses of the system are its lack of transparency, the absence of mechanisms to maintain vertical equilibrium across the different levels of the administration and a significant deficit of fiscal autonomy and responsibility on the pa

Avaluació de l'experiència pilot dels tallers d'estudi assistit de la UVic dins dels plans educatius d'entorn de Manlleu, Roda de Ter i Vic (curs 2006-2007)

Aquest treball de recerca ha consistit en realitzar el seguiment dels Tallers d'Estudi Assistit (TEA) de diferents poblacions de la comarca d'Osona, per tal de conèixer-los i avaluar-los. Els TEA consisteixen en una activitat extraescolar d'acompanyament en l'etapa educativa d'alumnes de cicle mitjà, cicle superior i secundària que no disposen d'un entorn favorabale per fer una correcte escolarització. La recerca estudia dues dimensions: per una banda analitzar com la Uvic assumeix la responsabilitat de la formació i seguiment dels estudiants que participen com a monitors en els TEA, i per l'altra, contextualitzar els Tallers d'Estudi Assistit com una eina dels Plans Educatius d'Entorn, per la igualtat d'oportunitats; així com valorar el treball en xarxa que els tallers representen. Amb l'objectiu d'avaluar el funcionament dels TEA, la formació dels monitors (estudiants de la UVic) i la implicació dels agents implicats en el projecte; així com també plantejar propostes de millora per a properes edicions dels TEA.

Inequality and Risk-Taking Behaviour

This paper investigates social influences on attitudes to risk and offers an evolutionary explanation of risk-taking by young low-ranked males. Becker, Murphy and Werning (2005) found that individuals about to participate in a status tournament may take fair gambles even though they are risk averse in both wealth and status. Here their model is generalised by use of the insight of Hopkins and Kornienko (2010) that in a tournament or status competition one can consider equality in terms of the status or rewards available as well as in initial endowments. While Becker et al. found that risk-taking is increasing in the equality of initial endowments, it is found here that it is increasing in the inequality of rewards in the tournament. Further, it is shown that the poorest will be risk loving if the lowest level of status awarded is sufficiently low. Thus, the disadvantaged in society rationally engage in risky behavior when social rewards are sufficiently unequal. Finally, as greater inequality in terms of social status induces gambling, it can cause greater inequality of wealth.

Exploring women's academic careers in cross-national perspective: lessons for equal epportunity eolicies

Purpose - In recent years, several countries and/or higher education institutions have adopted equal opportunity policies to promote women's access to the upper levels of the academic career structure. The purpose of this paper is to argue that there is no universal solution to the glass ceiling that women face within academia. Insofar as the feminisation process evolves according to a variety of models, according to national and occupational context, the solutions adopted in one context may prove to be ineffective elsewhere. Design/methodology/approach - Analysis of the different models of occupational feminisation is based on a secondary analysis of the sociological literature on the subject, combined with recent data on women's access to academic positions in France and Germany. Findings - Although there are similarities in the structure of the academic labour market across countries and in the rate of feminisation of the most prestigious academic positions, the precise mechanisms through which women gain access to an academic career vary significantly from one national context to another. This cross-national variation would tend to suggest that there will also be variation when it comes to defining the most effective policy measures for increasing women's access to the upper echelons of the academic hierarchy. Indeed, different models of gender equality in academia may lead to very different results with regard to existing gender relations. Originality/value - The paper uses the available sociological literature on the feminisation process to examine how different measures adopted to promote women's access to the highest echelons of the academic career structure may have different effects on the reproduction and/or transformation of the dominant sex/gender system.

Emissions distribution in post-Kyoto international negotiations: a policy

An abundant scientific literature about climate change economics points out that the future participation of developing countries in international environmental policies will depend on their amount of pay offs inside and outside specific agreements. These studies are aimed at analyzing coalitions stability typically through a game theoretical approach. Though these contributions represent a corner stone in the research field investigating future plausible international coalitions and the reasons behind the difficulties incurred over time to implement emissions stabilizing actions, they cannot disentangle satisfactorily the role that equality play in inducing poor regions to tackle global warming. If we focus on the Stern Review findings stressing that climate change will generate heavy damages and policy actions will be costly in a finite time horizon, we understand why there is a great incentive to free ride in order to exploit benefits from emissions reduction efforts of others. The reluctance of poor countries in joining international agreements is mainly supported by historical responsibility of rich regions in generating atmospheric carbon concentration, whereas rich countries claim that emissions stabilizing policies will be effective only when developing countries will join them.Scholars recently outline that a perceived fairness in the distribution of emissions would facilitate a wide spread participation in international agreements. In this paper we overview the literature about distributional aspects of emissions by focusing on those contributions investigating past trends of emissions distribution through empirical data and future trajectories through simulations obtained by integrated assessment models. We will explain methodologies used to elaborate data and the link between real data and those coming from simulations. Results from this strand of research will be interpreted in order to discuss future negotiations for post Kyoto agreements that will be the focus of the next. Conference of the Parties in Copenhagen at the end of 2009. A particular attention will be devoted to the role that technological change will play in affecting the distribution of emissions over time and to how spillovers and experience diffusion could influence equality issues and future outcomes of policy negotiations.

Estudio de gestión de la finca La Esperanza, municipio de Pueblo Nuevo, Nicaragua

El presente proyecto tiene como finalidad el análisis de la Finca la Esperanza, en la localidad de Pueblo Nuevo, en la República de Nicaragua. En dicho análisis se estudian parámetros edáficos, calidad de agua y económicos, con el objetivo de poder plantear una propuesta de mejora en los rendimientos de la finca tanto a nivel económico como ambiental. La iniciativa de realizar este estudio surge de las necesidades del propio agricultor, que plantea el desarrollo rural sobre la base de actividades respetuosas con el medio. Las estrategias a los problemas sociales originados por la producción agraria industrial, como el éxodo rural, la pérdida de la agricultura convencional, la nueva función de los espacios agrarios de la sociedad, etc., se formalizaron en el denominado Desarrollo Sostenible. A nivel de finca cualquier concepción de sustentabilidad necesita que el agrosistema sea considerado como un ecosistema, en el que la investigación y la producción busquen no solamente altos rendimientos sino la optimización del sistema como un todo. Tal propósito requiere armonizar una viabilidad económica con otras variables, como estabilidad ecológica y equidad social. Para ello, los principios básicos de un sistema sostenible son: la conservación de los recursos renovables, la adaptación del cultivo al ambiente y el mantenimiento de un moderado pero sostenible nivel de producción. Como resultado de los análisis y observaciones hechas a lo largo de la estancia en la finca, se propone un plan de actuación de 10 años de duración en los cuales se procura alcanzar no únicamente unas cuotas máximas de rendimiento sino también la supervivencia de los recursos, base de la familia Videa Vanegas, propietarios.

Venezuelan economic laboratory. The Case of the altruistic economy of Felipe Pérez Martí

Felipe Pérez Martí, who was the Venezuelan Minister of Planning and Development in the government of Hugo Chávez, proposes an economic model that he calls the altruistic economy or fourth way, which leads cooperative game theory to its logical extremes postulating a pure communism. Here we sustain that, first, it is impossible in the model of Pérez Martí to marginally allocate non-primary goods to those most in need or who most value them, facing a problem of defective economic calculation, and second, in order to achieve equality, he would have to replace his atomic local planners by a central planner, who would be unable to overcome the problem of imperfect and and incomplete information.

Green vs. Lempert functions: a minimal example

The Lempert function for a set of poles in a domain of Cn at a point z is obtained by taking a certain infimum over all analytic disks going through the poles and the point z, and majorizes the corresponding multi-pole pluricomplex Green function. Coman proved that both coincide in the case of sets of two poles in the unit ball. We give an example of a set of three poles in the unit ball where this equality fails.

More Equal Societies do Better

Greater income equality - the key to tackling health and social problems Everyone living in Ireland, North and South, could lead happier, healthier and longer lives if measures were put in place to achieve greater income equality according to the authors of 'The Spirit Level: Why more equal societies almost always do better'. Prof Richard Wilkinson and Dr. Kate Pickett will present their findings showing how greater income equality in rich countries is key to reducing social problems and improving health. 'The Spirit Level' highlights how more unequal societies are bad for almost everyone - rich as well as poor. It demonstrates that nearly every modern social and health problem - obesity, lack of community life, violence, drugs, mental illness and big prison populations - are more likely to occur in a less equal society. IPH Chief Executive, Dr. Jane Wilde said "The evidence shows the need to change from being focused on the pursuit of greater wealth to how existing wealth can be more evenly distributed. The current economic climate presents real opportunity to reflect on what we value in society, to learn from mistakes and make plans to move towards communities that are better for everyone."

Partnerships: community involvement and perceptions of health inequalities

The Research and Development Office for Health and Personal Social Services in Northern Ireland funded the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) to undertake research into partnerships between 2003 and 2006, as part of their New Targeting Social Need programme.The aim of the research was to identify the impacts of multisectoral partnerships, how they can be measured, and what contribution they make to tackling inequalities in health. This document is one of a suite of three produced as a result of this work.

IPH response to DARD rural antipoverty framework

The Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) is an all-island body which aims to improve health in Ireland, by working to combat health inequalities and influence public policies in favour of health. The Institute promotes cooperation in research, training, information and policy in order to contribute to policies which tackle inequalities in health. IPH welcomes the opportunity to comment on the DARD Rural anti-poverty and social inclusion Framework.  IPH has conducted extensive work on poverty, equality and health across the island of Ireland.  We have also been specifically involved in other projects looking at the impact of rural areas and health, which may be found at www.publichealth.ie We would like to highlight the importance of considering the health needs of rural communities in policy such as the Rural Anti Poverty and Social Inclusion Framework. A wide variety of issues affect people’s health including employment, transport and access to services, for example the health and wellbeing of people in rural communities can be adversely affected by social isolation from a lack of public transport.

Annual Report to the ECNI 2005-06 (PDF 352 KB)

DHSSPS Annual report to the Equality Commission Northern Ireland (ECNI) åÊ2005/2006

Law and the practise of principle in diverse societies

Projecte de recerca elaborat a partir d’una estada a la London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom, entre 2007 i 2009. L’objecte principal del projecte ha estat analitzar les implicacions jurídico-polítiques i institucionals d’una teoria de la justícia i la igualtat liberals aplicada a societats multiculturals amb un marcat predomini de la diversitat cultural. L’anàlisi desenvolupa una línia d'investigació interdisciplinar - entre el dret i la teoria política - iniciada en una tesis doctoral sobre multiculturalisme i drets de les minories culturals (UPF, 2000) que va culminar en la publicació de Group Rights as Human Rights (Springer, 2006). La recerca adopta com a punt de partida les conclusions de l'esmentada obra, en especial, la rellevància del reconeixement de drets col•lectius; tanmateix, el tipus de qüestions plantejades, l’enfoc i la metodologia emprades són substancialment diferents. En concret, s'adrecen preguntes específiques sobre el model i aspiracions del constitucionalisme democràtic i el paper del dret en contextos multiculturals. També s’atorga un pes central a la dimensió institucional dels models de gestió de la diversitat que s’analitzen, prioritzant un enfocament comparatiu a partir de l’estudi de controvèrsies concretes. L’objectiu és superar algunes limitacions importants de la literatura actual, com ara la tendència a examinar en abstracte la compatibilitat de determinades demandes amb el constitucionalisme democràtic, sense abordar el funcionament d'estratègies de gestió de la diversitat cultural emprades en contextos concrets. Els treballs producte d'aquest projecte articulen les línies bàsiques d’un model pluralista, basat en principis més que en regles, que desafia els plantejaments dominants actualment. Aquest model es caracteritza pel compromís amb la legitimitat i igualtat comparatives, rebutjant el paternalisme i les visions liberals típiques sobre el paper de la regulació. La presumpció de l’“standing” moral dels grups identitaris és fonamental per tal de considerar-los interlocutors vàlids amb interessos genuïns. També s’argumenta que la integració social en contextos multiculturals no depèn tant de l’eliminació del conflicte sinó, sobre tot, d’una gestió eficient que eviti abusos de poder sistemàtics. El model defensa el rol del dret en la institucionalització del diàleg intercultural, però admet que el diàleg no necessàriament condueix a l’acord o a una estructura reguladora coherent i uniforme. Les aspiracions del ordre jurídic pluralista són més modestes: afavorir la negociació i resolució en cada conflicte, malgrat la persistència de la fragmentació i la provisionalitat dels acords. La manca d'un marc regulador comú esdevé una virtut en la mesura que permet la interacció de diferents subordres; una interacció governada per una multiplicitat de regles no necessàriament harmòniques. Els avantatges i problemes d’aquest model s'analitzen a partir de l'anàlisi de l’estructura fragmentària de l'ordre jurídic internacional i del règim Europeu de drets humans.