Legislative Committees as Uncertainty Reduction Devices in Multiparty Parliamentary Democracies

Most research on committees in multiparty legislatures in parliamentary democracies focuses on their role in solving intra-cabinet delegation problems. Using a straightforward spatial model, this article discusses how committees can also solve uncertainty problems that arise in settings characterised by unstable coalitions, weak governmental agenda control and a lack of government change. In order to explore empirically how committees solve these problems, the article focuses on the success (and later decline) over the last 30 years of the sede legislativa, a law-making procedure that formalises ‘universalism’ in Italian legislative committees. The statistical results largely confirm the theoretical expectations.     

Fatal Acute Poisoning from Massive Inhalation of Gasoline Vapors: Case Report and Comparison with Similar Cases

We describe a case of an acute lethal poisoning with hydrocarbons resulting from massive accidental inhalation of gasoline vapors. The victim, a 50‐year‐old man was found unconscious inside a control room for the transport of unleaded fuel. Complete autopsy was performed and showed evidence of congestion and edema of the lungs. Toxicological investigation was therefore fundamental to confirm exposure to fumes of gasoline. Both venous and arterial blood showed high values of volatiles in particular for benzene (39.0 and 30.4 μg/mL, respectively), toluene (23.7 and 20.4 μg/mL), and xylene isomers (29.8 and 19.3 μg/mL). The relatively low values found in the lungs are consistent with the fact that the subject, during the rescue, underwent orotracheal intubation followed by resuscitation techniques, while the low concentrations for all substances found in urine and kidneys could point to a death that occurred in a very short time after first contact with the fumes of gasoline.     

Ideological proximity and valence competition. Negative campaigning through allegation of corruption in the Italian legislative arena from 1946 to 1994

We consider the possibility for the parties to invest in negative campaigning – a behavior that, in our framework, involves blaming alleged insufficiencies of the rival concerning commonly shared values. Within a simple one-dimensional model, we deduce the hypothesis that the parties’ incentive to “attack” each other increases with the parties’ proximity on the left–right space. We test our hypothesis on an Italian case, focusing on the emphasis placed by the Communist Party on political corruption issues during the government investiture debates that spanned from the postwar period until 1994, when the traditional party system abruptly collapsed. The statistical results are largely consistent with our theoretical insights.     

Reform: budgeting and financial management

In compliance with the commitments undertaken at the European Union and in harmony with the general restructuring of public administration, a far-reaching budget reform was approved in 1997 changing the philosophy and the structure of the existing budget system and the management of public resources. The new system is based on the linkage between budget allocation and performance, on specification of functions, programs and objectives and assessment of results. This study illustrates the major developments of the previous system and the dramatic changes introduced with the 1997 reform.     

Britain,France, and Mesopotamian Oil, 1916–1920

This analysis centres on British and French policies concerning Mesopotamian oil between 1916 and 1920. Both Powers already had some degree of interest in oil matters before the war, but these concerns did not leave a particularly strong imprint on the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. During the First World War, both Britain and France became aware of their lack of oil and identified Mesopotamian oil as a key war aim. Both Powers developed close relations with Royal Dutch-Shell to further their oil policies. After the war, the struggle for oil proved inseparable from the territorial settlement in the Middle East and relations with oil companies. All actors did not initially recognise this fact, and it was only during 1919–1920 that an increasing awareness developed that oil and territorial issues were inseparable. Combined with changes in political leadership, it made possible a “silent compromise” at San Remo in April 1920.     

Fighting Organized Crime, with Particular Reference to Mafia Crimes in Italy

The special legal regulation of mafia crimes in Italy operatesat very different levels: at that of investigations, of criminalproceedings, of sentencing and of imprisonment. This legal regimeis based on a double track treatment, which generally speaking,is very harsh, but may turn especially lenient whenever a personopts out of a criminal group and decides to cooperate with theprosecution. In the daily fight against mafia crimes as wellas criminal offences perpetrated by other criminal organizationsor ‘associations’, the role of ‘cooperatingwitnesses’ has proven to be of pivotal importance. Anotheruseful prosecutorial tool developed by the Italian courts isthe notion of ‘external support to mafia associations’,although this now needs to be laid down in legislation. It is,in this writer's experience, the coordination of investigationsthat is critical to the prosecution and punishment of mafiacrimes, and to the dismantlement of mafia associations.     

Policy Failure in the Triangle of Growth: Labour Market,Human Capital,and Innovation in Spain and Italy

This article focuses on the Italian and Spanish models of growth and analyses labour market, human capital and innovation policy reforms since the mid 1990s. The comparison with France and Germany shows the constraints that have hindered the rise of institutional complementarities and the competitiveness of the two Mediterranean countries already before the introd uction of the euro and the outbreak of the 2008 crisis. The analysis highlights both similarities and structural differences between Italy and Spain and demonstrates the long-term institutional conditions that explain why the economic breakdown has had such a deep impact on the two countries.