Has the SARB become more effective post inflation targeting?

This paper assesses the impact of a monetary policy shock on 15 key macroeconomic variables of South Africa, in the pre- and post-inflation targeting periods. For this purpose, we use a Factor-Augmented Vector Autoregressive (FAVAR) model comprising of 107 monthly time series over two equal sub-samples of 1989:01–1997:12 and 2000:01–2008:12. The results, based on impulse response functions, are in line with economic theory and indicate no puzzling effects often observed with small-scale monetary Vector Autoregressive (VAR) models. More importantly, we find that the ability of monetary policy in affecting key macroeconomic variables, including inflation, has increased in the post-targeting period. But, majority of the effects are insignificant, which could, however, also be due to the shorter-lengths of the sub-samples relative to the number of variables used in this study, rather than depicting the inability of monetary policy to significantly affect the South African economy.     

Technology business incubation mechanisms and sustainable regional development

This article introduces various aspects of technology business incubators (TBIs), emphasizing their increasing role in the spatial context where they are used as platforms and drivers of regional entrepreneurial ecosystems. It outlines the key themes of the emerging role of TBIs in sustainable regional development: TBI biodiversity of ecosystems; accelerating startups in the entrepreneurial university; TBI mechanisms challenged by green technology to sustain regional development; and TBIs’ connecting role between entrepreneurship education, experiential knowledge, and regional development. It proposes an agenda for future research on the role of TBIs as bridging mechanisms and drivers of entrepreneurship and regional development.     

Lacan et la philosophie

This review article examines certain of the assumptions that inform Juranville's philosophical reading of Lacan and demonstrates that, whilst his foregrounding of phenomenology is an important contribution to Lacanian studies in that it suggests that Lacan's reference to linguistics may have been overstated and that it is more productive to read his work as a more general reflection on language and signification, it depends ultimately upon the unfounded assumption that Lacan's discourse is a system to be read purely in terms of its self-development or synchrony. It is further argued that Lacan's relationship with philosophy is more ambiguous than the author suggests and that Juranville's vision of the philosophical field requires a certain problematization     

The modern trends in alcohol, drugs and driving research

Research on alcohol, drugs and driving can be broadly separated into experimental and epidemiological studies. Every approach has its inherent advantages and disadvantages. Experimental studies can result in an interpretation by single cause, but can only identify potential risks, and the results can sometimes be of limited value because of the use of non-realistic doses or because of the drug use history or inter-individual differences of the volunteers. Recent studies have used higher, more realistic doses and paid more attention to the combination of alcohol and drugs and have shown that the chronic use of illicit drugs can be associated with some cognitive and/or psychomotor impairment, and can lead to a decrease in driving performance even when the subject is no longer intoxicated.Epidemiological studies include roadside surveys, studies in a subset of drivers, accident risk studies, responsibility analyses, surveys and pharmaco-epidemiological studies. Between studies, results may be incomparable due to testing different populations, different kinds of samples, etc. More large-scale roadside studies are conducted now.Advances in analytical toxicology have also contributed to a better understanding of the risks associated with driving under the influence. While older studies measured the inactive metabolite THC-COOH and did not show an increased risk in cannabis-positive drivers, more recent studies measured the active THC in blood and did show a concentration dependent increase in crash risk. The use of LC–MS/MS has allowed more broad-range screening as this technique can measure many different drugs in a small sample volume. While some older studies used saliva but had many analytical problems (including an insufficient sample volume in up to a third of the cases), newer methods of saliva sampling and analysis give better results. The use of saliva for roadside surveys allows non-invasive sampling, but the lack of correlation with the concentrations in blood makes interpretation of results difficult.The results of both epidemiological and experimental studies should be combined to obtain a good estimate of the impact of certain drugs on driving performance and accident risk. In 2006–07 a committee of international experts drafted guidelines for future research into drugs and driving. These have been taken on board by the DRUID project, a large-scale EU funded project on driving under the influence of drugs, alcohol and medicines.     

The European Biotech Directive: Past as Prologue

The directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions (the ‘Biotech Directive’) represents the end of a decade‐long dialogue on how best to encourage biotechnology innovation in Europe while addressing ethical concerns. The Biotech Directive represents an interesting compromise between Parliament, Commission, and Council based on divergent policy concerns, treaty limitations, and international trade rules. In this article, the authors explore the meaning and implication of the Biotech Directive by examining its contentious history, its provisions, and its jurisdictional foundations. Drawing on this base, the authors examine questions left unanswered by the Biotech Directive and analyse how the Biotech Directive fits in with existing international law.     

Societal Actors Shape Collective Identities of Minorities: Procedural Fairness Climate Effects on Identification,Subjective Well-Being and Psychological Health

In the present studies, we aimed to show that the perceived procedural fairness of societal actors’ multicultural decisions promotes ethnic minority members’ societal identification. These enhanced identification levels, in turn, contribute to better psychological health and well-being. Firstly, a vignette study in a sample of African Americans explored the effect of procedural fairness climate on identification. The second and third studies used self-report questionnaires. Study 2 consisted of a sample of sojourners in a university context, Study 3 analyzed online data through an African American sample. The studies provided evidence for the effect of procedural fairness climate on increased societal identification, which in turn mediates the fairness effect on increased well-being and psychological health. Societal actors can use procedural fairness to increase well-being when making decisions that involve ethnic minorities.

     

An Apocalyptic Patent

Law and Critique - It was originally suggested that the Anthropocene began in 1784, the date of James Watt’s patent for the rotative steam engine. Patent dates are interesting artefacts. They...     

Quebec’s resilient redistribution model: Activation policies in the 2010s

Compared to the rest of Canada, Quebec has an ambitious and redistributive social model, which includes an elaborate set of Active Labour Market Policies (ALMP), with higher expenditures as a percentage of GDP, an encompassing coverage, and collaborative, multipartite governance arrangements. Since the 2008 recession, however, most OECD countries have implemented retrenchment measures, market enforcement, and individual action plans to their ALMP. Using provincial, federal, and OECD data and reports, this article maps the recent evolution of Quebec’s ALMP in light of these trends. Quebec’s model appears largely resilient, despite declining expenditures and modest concessions to conditionality in social assistance.