Why do French MPs Focus More on Constituency Work than on Parliamentary Work?

The relationship between French members of the National Assembly and citizens is paradoxical. On the one hand, the French political culture, constitution and history favour a very abstract conception of representation: MPs are supposed to act as trustees and collectively to embody the French Nation. On the other hand, they are deeply involved in their constituencies and express a great level of satisfaction being there. In order to understand how French MPs reconcile the national and local dimensions of their mandate, the data gathered through face-to-face interviews with MPs are described. Then a scale analysis is provided in order to sum up the local–national orientations of the MPs. Using this scale, it is possible to test the impact of several variables on the territorial focus of MPs: electoral incentives, political ambition, ideological factors and working conditions at the local and the national level.     

Why is the Victimization of Young Latino Adults Higher in New Areas of Settlement?

Objectives

We used multilevel data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to identify factors that account for differences in risk of violent victimization among young Latino adults in new and traditional settlement areas.

Methods

Area-identified NCVS data (2008–2012) were linked with census tract data from the decennial census and American Community Survey to study individual and community contributions to the risk of violent victimization. We analyzed total violence and violence specific to offense types and victim-offender relationship. The analyses were performed adjusting for the complex survey design.

Results

Young Latino adults in new settlement areas have higher victimization rates than their counterparts in traditional areas for total violence and for the majority of violence types studied. Holding constant individual and other contextual factors, Latino population density is a key neighborhood characteristic that explains the observed area differences in victimization, yielding evidence for the hypothesis that co-ethnic support in a community helps protect young Latino adults and contributes to differences in victimization across areas. Also there is evidence that the protective role of Latino population density is stronger for violence involving non-strangers than it is for violence involving strangers. Moreover, we find that the concentration of Latino immigrants, which indicates the neighborhood potential for immigrant revitalization, is another neighborhood factor that protects young Latino adults in both new and traditional settlement areas. However, there is some but limited evidence that the neighborhood-revitalizing role of immigration might be smaller in some contexts (such as some new areas outside central cities), possibly because those areas are heterogeneous in their ability to promote the integration of immigrants.

Conclusions

Our analysis of the NCVS shows the importance of neighborhood factors for the risk of violence among young Latino adults. It provides evidence consistent with co-ethnic support and immigrant revitalization theories. The findings also suggest that the effects of those neighborhood factors may be contingent upon violence type and the context in which they occur. These findings help us understand the difference in the safety of young Latino adults in new and traditional areas.

     

Why are countries reluctant to exchange information on interest income? Participation in and effectiveness of the EU Savings Tax Directive

Since 1.7.2005 the EU Savings Tax Directive has ensured a minimum of taxation on foreign interest income by offering participating countries the opportunity either to apply a withholding tax or to exchange information on cross-border interest income. The aim of the paper is to examine why countries do not exchange information on interest income. The results suggest that the incentive to exchange information is weakened if the financial sector in a country is very profitable. A high profitability of the financial sector enables countries to maximize revenues from the corporation tax. A second reason for discouraging information exchange is related to the spillover effects on the domestic labor market. An inflow of financial capital is indirectly associated with the creation of employment and well-paid jobs. In its current form the savings tax directive enables individuals to avoid taxation, either by placing their income in non-participating countries or by investing in assets which are not part of the directive. Using German revenue data for 2005 and 2006 the paper shows that Germany receives significantly less revenue from countries applying a withholding tax. This result indirectly indicates that investors can take advantage of the directive's loopholes.     

This time is different?—on the use of emergency measures during the corona pandemic

European Journal of Law and Economics - In many areas such as consumer law or competition law, legislators can opt between two alternative forms of sanctions to remedy wrongdoing: they can impose...     

Why is it taking so long to move down the road?: Creating a regional border agreement in the DMV as an alternative for the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children

The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) is an agreement between all 50 states and the District of Columbia governing the process of placing a foster child out of state. Notorious for its long wait times and system backlog, the ICPC presents a host of problems for children attempting to move mere minutes across state lines to be with a relative or kin placement instead of state foster care. In an effort to make this process smoother, 18 different “border agreements” have been adopted by several neighboring states across the U.S. Such border agreements give temporary placement licenses to relatives and kin while the ICPC process is ongoing. While this is a good start towards a solution, the ICPC could be further streamlined if border agreements were used more widely, especially in regional contexts. This article considers the possibility of such a regional agreement between the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Northern Virginia (known as the “DMV”). By comparing and contrasting two existing border agreements in these three jurisdictions, a regional DMV border agreement can be created implementing the best terms of both agreements.     

Why football players may benefit from the ‘shadow of the transfer system’

Transfer restrictions have a long tradition in professional sports but came under heavy attack in recent years (e.g. Bosman ruling, Monti system). Based on a bargaining model with stochastic player productivity, we show that less restrictive transfer rules reallocate ex post bargaining power from players to clubs. This reallocation is efficient and in the ex ante self-interest of players. The right to charge transfer fees enables clubs to insure their players. The players, in turn, benefit by converting risky future income into riskless current income. Overall, player utility is higher under more than under less restrictive transfer rules.

Invisible hand or fatherly hand? Problems of paternalism in the New Perspective on health

This article examines the charge that the "New Perspective" on health (as exemplified by the Lalonde Report in Canada, by Prevention and Health in the United Kingdom) represents an abandonment of liberal principles in favor of a collectivist and paternalistic role for the state. It looks first at the problems confronting modern health policy, and at the reasoning behind the New Perspective's approach. It then explores whether and how the charge of paternalism applies to that approach, and just what such a charge implies. The article concludes with a discussion of the "liberal paternalist" viewpoint towards health policy, a viewpoint that combines respect for individual liberty with an interest in taking effective public action to improve the health status of modern populations.     

Wisdom or Indifference? The Principles of Representative Government in the Eyes of the French Voters

This contribution attempts to assess qualitatively the current views of ordinary French citizens about political representation in general and their MPs in particular. In contrast to the Tocquevillian idea of an unequivocal egalitarian claim rising from the people, the results of the present study support the view that citizens tend to adopt both democratic and aristocratic principles in their perceptions of political representation. General support for the electoral procedure captures such ambiguity as elections are not only legitimate on democratic grounds (the egalitarian civic participation) but also on aristocratic grounds (the selection of the best). This study follows an original method involving analysis of discussions from 11 focus groups within French constituencies in 2010–11. The results of an experimental design comparing various kinds of elected position (parents' representatives, workers' representatives, MPs and the President of the Republic) are presented and discussed.     

Overlooking the criminally compassionate: what are the implications of prosecutorial policy on encouraging or assisting suicide?

The decision of the House of Lords in the case of Purdy compelled the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to promulgate guidance as to the exercise of prosecutorial discretion with respect to those suspected of an offence under the Suicide Act 1961. Consequently, the Policy for Prosecutors in Respect of Cases of Encouraging or Assisting Suicide now sets out determining factors for potential culpability in encouraging or assisting suicide. This paper discusses the implications of the Policy, particularly with respect to the role of compassion as a key determining factor which effectively decriminalises acts of assisting or encouraging suicide in the majority of cases, despite such acts remaining technically criminal. Following the DPP's assertion that the location of the actual suicide is irrelevant to the prosecutorial decision, this article considers whether some elements of the Policy might belie this assertion. The apparently heightened risk of prosecution now faced by doctors and other healthcare professionals and workers is also considered. Finally, in light of the apparent prosecutorial endorsement of compassionate assisted suicide, this article questions whether we might now expect the imminent legalisation of assisted suicide.     

Vanishing vaccinations: why are so many Americans opting out of vaccinating their children?

Vaccinations against life-threatening diseases are one of the greatest public health achievements in history. Literally millions of premature deaths have been prevented, and countless more children have been saved from disfiguring illness. While vaccinations carry unavoidable risks, the medical, social and economic benefits they confer have led all fifty states to enact compulsory childhood vaccination laws to stop the spread of preventable diseases. Today, however, vaccines are becoming a victim of their success--many individuals have never witnessed the debilitating diseases that vaccines protect against, allowing complacency toward immunization requirements to build. Antivaccination sentiment is growing fast in the United States, in large part due to the controversial and hotly disputed link between immunizations and autism. The internet worsens fears regarding vaccination safety, as at least a dozen websites publish alarming information about the risks of vaccines. Increasing numbers of parents are refusing immunizations for their children and seeking legally sanctioned exemptions instead, apparently fearing vaccines more than the underlying diseases that they protect against. A variety of factors are at play: religious and philosophical beliefs, freedom and individualism, misinformation about risk, and overperception of risk. State legislatures and health departments now face a difficult challenge: respecting individual rights and freedoms while also safeguarding the public welfare. Nearly all states allow vaccination exemptions for religious reasons and a growing number provide "philosophical" opt-outs as well. However, in all but a handful of jurisdictions, neither objection is seriously documented or verified. Often, the law requires a parent to do no more than simply check a box indicating she does not wish her child to receive immunizations. The problem is exacerbated by financial incentives schools have to encourage students to opt out of vaccinations. The rise in parents opting out has caused the AMA grave concern, with many experts decrying the rise of so-called "exemptions of convenience." In some areas, nearly one out of five children have not received their recommended vaccines. The consequences are serious not only for those unprotected children, but for the rest of society as well. "Herd immunity" is threatened as more and more parents free ride off of the community's dwindling immunity, and outbreaks of diseases thought to have been conquered have already occurred. Lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers threaten them with bankruptcy, costs are being externalized onto the healthcare and legal systems, and vulnerable populations are suffering harm or even death. In the interests of social welfare, state legislatures and health departments should consider methods to ensure that the exemption process is carefully tailored to prevent check-the-box opt-outs of convenience, while still allowing exemptions for those with earnest and informed convictions or medical reasons.