Black and (thin) blue (line): Corruption and other political determinants of police killings in America

Police violence is not uncommon in America, and the risk of civilians' being killed by police is considerably higher here than in similar countries, making it a major public health issue. For Black Americans the risk is significantly higher. In this study, we analyze the political determinants of police killings of Black Americans, with a specific focus on corruption in American states. Our evidence suggests that police can kill Black Americans with impunity because of a lack of accountability—exemplified by corruption—that is largely determined by political influences. Our findings point to ways in which the responsibility for police violence and killings is deeply rooted and influenced by the values of the wider society.     

Nowhere to go? Why do some civil wars generate more refugees than others?

Civil wars greatly vary in the number of refugees they generate, ranging from zero to over six millions in a given conflict. Work on this variation has largely focused on “push” factors – deleterious attributes of the home country that lead to refugee flows, such as violence and repression. Yet, few have studied the importance of “pull” factors – attractive features of the potential host countries. Here we show in particular the importance of the expected quality of life in possible destinations. Using data on civil wars from 1951 to 2008, we find that the proximity of democratic and wealthy potential hosts accounts for much of the variation in the number of refugees. Out-of-sample validation methods show that these “pull” factors account for nearly as much predictive power as all the main variables previously identified in the literature combined.     

Legal corruption?

Public Choice - “Legal corruption” may strike many scholars as a contradiction in terms, but in fact the concept can be essential if we are to understand the sources and consequences of...     

Coincidence of Nicolau Syndrome and Rhabdomyolysis: Report of a Forensic Autopsy Case and Review of the Literature

Nicolau syndrome (NS) is a dermatological adverse reaction of intramuscular injections and is caused by several mechanisms. The etiopathogenesis remains unclear, and several hypotheses have suggested a vascular origin. Rhabdomyolysis (RM) is the destruction of striated muscle, with the subsequent release of muscle cell contents into circulation. NS and RM diagnoses may overlap. Herein, we present the autopsy findings of a 40‐year‐old female with NS complicated with RM. On clinical follow‐up, creatine kinase (CK) was 7146 IU/L, and urea and creatinine levels were elevated on the third day after intramuscular diclofenac injection. Possible ischemic process triggered the RM and subsequent acute renal failure. The opportunity for an early diagnosis was missed because the patient delayed seeking medical aid. The prognosis worsened, and the patient died due to secondary sepsis. Early diagnosis of NS before the occurrence of complications is the most important issue in patient education and can be life‐saving.     

Trust and growth

Using data from U.S. states, we find a positive relationship between trust and growth. According to our results, a 10 percentage point increase in trust increases the growth rate of GDP by 0.5 percentage points and the growth rate of manufacturing employment by 1.3 percentage points over a five-year period. Our results are robust to the endogeneity between trust and growth.     

Fear of crime among citizens of Turkey

Most fear of crime research has occurred in Western countries. The following analysis presents an integrated model of fear of crime for a randomly selected sample of 6,713 individuals from urban and rural parts of Turkey. Consistent with previous research, the victimization model, disorder model, and community concern/social control model predicted fear of crime among Turkish citizens. The integrated model of fear of crime, however, functioned differently in the Turkish context based on gender and residential locale. Increased age lowered the level of fear for women but not for men, and the positive impact of previous victimization on fear of crime was significantly more pronounced among females. Increased education reduced fear for urban dwellers, but not for rural residents. While age did not have a significant impact on fear for rural residents, in contrast to the vulnerability hypothesis, it reduced the level of fear for urban residents.     

The Social Organisation of Migrant Smugglers in Turkey: Roles and Functions

Thousands of irregular migrants and refugees are transported from conflict areas and/or underdeveloped countries to wealthy Western states. These transfers are usually facilitated and arranged by migrant smuggling organisations. This paper reflects part of a comprehensive research project on irregular migration and migrant smuggling in Turkey and examines the structure and networks of smugglers operating in Turkey. Based on face-to-face interviews with smugglers (N?=?54), it aims to shed light on migrant smugglers, smuggling structures and their organisations in Turkey. The findings suggest that the migrant smuggling business is composed of networks established at the local, national and international levels. These are structured on an ad hoc basis and are often adaptable to any changes and opportunities that may arise.     

The relationship between corruption and income inequality in U.S. states: evidence from a panel cointegration and error correction model

We investigate the causality between corruption and income inequality within a multivariate framework using a panel data set of all 50 U.S. states over the period 1980 to 2004. The heterogeneous panel cointegration test by Pedroni (Oxf. Bull. Econ. Stat. 61:653–670, 1999; Econom. Theory 20:597–627, 2004) indicates that in the long run corruption and the unemployment rate have a positive and statistically significant impact on income inequality while a negative impact is found for real personal income per capita, education, and unionization rate. The Granger-causality results associated with a panel vector error correction model indicate both short-run and long-run bidirectional causality between corruption and income inequality.