A comparison of the processes of institutionalisation of political economy in Spain and Italy (1860-1900)

[spa] El estudio de los procesos a través de los cuales la economía política se ha transformado en una disciplina académica es un área de creciente interés en la historia del pensamiento económico. Dicho estudio se ha abordado a través del análisis de la importancia de la economía política en un conjunto de instituciones, consideradas clave en la expansión de la economía en las sociedades occidentales en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX y primeras décadas del XX: universidades, sociedades económicas, publicaciones periódicas de contenido económico y los parlamentos nacionales. Este papel presenta una comparación entre los desarrollos del proceso de institutionalización de la economía política en España e Italia, a través del estudio de la presencia de esta disciplina en las instituciones mencionadas para el periodo 1860-1900. El objetivo es medir la posible existencia de una vía común en la institucionalización de la economía política en ambos países, como un primer paso hacia la elaboración de un modelo supranacional de institucionalización de la economía en este periodo.

Deciding the sale of a life policy in the viatical market: Implications on individual welfare

[cat] En aquest article, es presenta un model econòmic que permet determinar la venda o no d'una pòlissa de vida (total o en part) per part d'un assegurat malalt terminal en el mercat dels viatical settlements. Aquest mercat va aparèixer a finals de la dècada dels 80 a conseqüència de l'epidèmia de la SIDA. Actualment, representa una part del mercat dels life settlements. Les pòlisses que es comercialitzen en el mercat dels viaticals són aquelles on l'assegurat és malalt terminal amb una esperança de vida de dos anys o menys. El model és discret i considera només dos períodes (anys), ja que aquesta és la vida residual màxima que contempla el mercat. L'agent posseix una riquesa inicial que ha de repartir entre consum i herència. S'introdueix en primer lloc la funció d'utilitat esperada del decisor i, utilitzant programació dinàmica, es dedueix l'estratègia que reporta una utilitat més gran (no vendre/vendre (en part) la pòlissa en el moment zero/vendre (en part) la pòlissa en el moment ú). L'òptim depèn del preu de la pòlissa venuda i de paràmetres personals de l'individu. Es troba una expressió analítica per l'estratègia òptima i es realitza un anàlisi de sensibilitat.

Iowa Civil Rights Commission History of Policy, 2000-2007

A Chronological Listing of Important Statements of Support by ICRC 2000-2007

A two-level analysis of the determinants of direct democratic choices in European, immigration and foreign policy in Switzerland

This article employs a unique data set - covering 25 popular votes on foreign, European and immigration/asylum policy held between 1992 and 2006 in Switzerland - in order to examine the conditional impact of context upon utilitarian, cultural, political and cognitive determinants of individual attitudes toward international openness. Our results reveal clear patterns of cross-level interactions between individual determinants and the project-related context of the vote. Thus, although party cues and political competence have a strong impact on individuals' support for international openness, this impact is substantially mediated by the type of coalition that is operating within the party elite. Similarly, subjective utilitarian and cultural considerations influence the voters' decision in interaction with the content of the proposal submitted to the voters as well as with the framing of the voting campaign.

The Political Economy of Active Labor-Market Policy

Active labor-market policies (ALMPs) have developed significantly over the past two decades across Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, with substantial cross-national differences in terms of both extent and overall orientation. The objective of this article is to account for cross-national variation in this policy field. It starts by reviewing existing scholarship concerning political, institutional, and ideational determinants of ALMPs. It then argues that ALMP is too broad a category to be used without further specification, and it develops a typology of four different types of ALMPs: incentive reinforcement, employment assistance, occupation, and human capital investment. These are discussed and examined through ALMP expenditure profiles in selected countries. The article uses this typology to analyze ALMP trajectories in six Western European countries and shows that the role of this instrument changes dramatically over time. It concludes that there is little regularity in the political determinants of ALMPs. In contrast, it finds strong institutional and ideational effects, nested in the interaction between the changing economic context and existing labor-market policies.

Diffusion in spatially and temporarily inhomogeneous media: Effects of turbulent mixing

We consider diffusion of a passive substance C in a phase-separating nonmiscible binary alloy under turbulent mixing. The substance is assumed to have different diffusion coefficients in the pure phases A and B, leading to a spatially and temporarily dependent diffusion ¿coefficient¿ in the diffusion equation plus convective term. In this paper we consider especially the effects of a turbulent flow field coupled to both the Cahn-Hilliard type evolution equation of the medium and the diffusion equation (both, therefore, supplemented by a convective term). It is shown that the formerly observed prolonged anomalous diffusion [H. Lehr, F. Sagués, and J.M. Sancho, Phys. Rev. E 54, 5028 (1996)] is no longer seen if a flow of sufficient intensity is supplied.

Diffusion in spatially and temporarily inhomogeneous media

In this paper we consider diffusion of a passive substance C in a temporarily and spatially inhomogeneous two-dimensional medium. As a realization for the latter we choose a phase-separating medium consisting of two substances A and B, whose dynamics is determined by the Cahn-Hilliard equation. Assuming different diffusion coefficients of C in A and B, we find that the variance of the distribution function of the said substance grows less than linearly in time. We derive a simple identity for the variance using a probabilistic ansatz and are then able to identify the interface between A and B as the main cause for this nonlinear dependence. We argue that, finally, for very large times the here temporarily dependent diffusion "constant" goes like t-1/3 to a constant asymptotic value D¿. The latter is calculated approximately by employing the effective-medium approximation and by fitting the simulation data to the said time dependence.

Reaction-diffusion fronts under stochastic advection

We study front propagation in stirred media using a simplified modelization of the turbulent flow. Computer simulations reveal the existence of the two limiting propagation modes observed in recent experiments with liquid phase isothermal reactions. These two modes respectively correspond to a wrinkled although sharp propagating interface and to a broadened one. Specific laws relative to the enhancement of the front velocity in each regime are confirmed by our simulations.

Morphological changes in convection-diffusion-limited deposition

The effect of hydrodynamic flow upon diffusion-limited deposition on a line is investigated using a Monte Carlo model. The growth process is governed by the convection and diffusion field. The convective diffusion field is simulated by the biased-random walker resulting from a superimposed drift that represents the convective flow. The development of distinct morphologies is found with varying direction and strength of drift. By introducing a horizontal drift parallel to the deposition plate, the diffusion-limited deposit changes into a single needle inclined to the plate. The width of the needle decreases with increasing strength of drift. The angle between the needle and the plate is about 45° at high flow rate. In the presence of an inclined drift to the plate, the convection-diffusion-limited deposit leads to the formation of a characteristic columnar morphology. In the limiting case where the convection dominates, the deposition process is equivalent to ballistic deposition onto an inclined surface.

Diffusion of passive scalars under stochastic convection

The diffusion of passive scalars convected by turbulent flows is addressed here. A practical procedure to obtain stochastic velocity fields with well¿defined energy spectrum functions is also presented. Analytical results are derived, based on the use of stochastic differential equations, where the basic hypothesis involved refers to a rapidly decaying turbulence. These predictions are favorable compared with direct computer simulations of stochastic differential equations containing multiplicative space¿time correlated noise.

Morphology and segregation in two-component diffusion-limited aggregation

A diffusion-limited-aggregation (DLA) model with two components (A and B species) is presented to investigate the structure of the composite deposits. The sticking probability PAB (=PBA) between the different species is introduced into the original DLA model. By using computer simulation it is shown that various patterns are produced with varying the sticking probabilities PAB (=PBA) and PAA (= PBB), where PAA (=PBB) is the sticking probability between the same species. Segregated patterns can be analyzed under the condition PAB < PAA, assumed throughout the paper. With decreasing sticking probability PAB, a clustering of the same species occurs. With sufficiently small values of both sticking probabilities PAB and PAA, the deposit becomes dense and the segregated patterns of the composite deposit show a striped structure. The effect of the concentration on the pattern morphology is also shown.

Hepatic hemangiomas: Factors associated with T2 shine-through effect on diffusion-weighted MR sequences.

PURPOSE: To determine the frequency and factors associated with the presence of T2 shine-through effect in hepatic hemangiomas on diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance (MR) sequences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was approved by institutional review board with waiver of informed consent. One hundred forty-nine consecutive patients with 388 hepatic hemangiomas who underwent a liver MR between January 2010 and November 2011 were included. MR analysis evaluated the lesion characteristics (signal intensities and enhancement patterns (classical, rapidly filling, delayed filling)), the presence of T2 shine-through effect on DW sequences (b values of 0, 150, and 600s/mm(2)), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values. Multivariate analysis was performed to study the factors associated with the T2 shine-through effect. RESULTS: T2 shine-through effect was observed in 204/388 (52.6%) of hepatic hemangiomas and in 100 (67.1%) patients. Mean ADC value of hemangiomas with T2 shine-through effect was significantly lower than hemangiomas without (2.0±0.48 vs 2.38±0.45, P<.0001). On multivariate analysis, high signal intensity on fat-suppressed T2-weighted fast spin-echo images, hemangiomas with classical or delayed enhancement, and the ADC of the liver were the only significant factors associated with T2 shine-through effect. CONCLUSION: T2 shine-through effect is commonly observed in hepatic hemangiomas and is related to hemangiomas characteristics. Radiologists should be aware of this phenomenon which could lead to misdiagnosis. Its presence should not question the diagnosis of hemangiomas when typical MR findings are found.