Political institutions and debt crises

This paper shows that political institutions matter in explaining defaults on external and domestic debt obligations. We explore a large number of political and macroeconomic variables using a non-parametric technique to predict safety from default. The advantage of this technique is that it is able to identify patterns in the data that are not captured in standard probit analysis. We find that political factors matter, and do so in different ways for democratic and non-democratic regimes, and for domestic and external debt. In democracies, a parliamentary system or sufficient checks and balances almost guarantee the absence of default on external debt when economic fundamentals or liquidity are sufficiently strong. In dictatorships, high stability and tenure play a similar role for default on domestic debt.     

Negativer Kompetenzkonflikt zwischen VwGH und Unabhängigem Umweltsenat; Aufhebung des Beschlusses des VwGH

Der Anwendung der in § 40 Abs 1 UVP-G 2000 und § 5 USG vorgesehenen Beschr?nkung der Zust?ndigkeit des Unabh?ngigen Umweltsenates auf Angelegenheiten des ersten und zweiten Abschnittes des UVP-G 2000 steht kein unmittelbar anwendbares Unionsrecht entgegen. Der als Gericht iSd Art 6 Abs 1 MRK sowie Art 47 Abs 2 GRC zu qualifizierende VwGH hat seine Zust?ndigkeit in der Sache daher zu Unrecht abgelehnt, sodass der die Beschwerde zurückweisende Beschluss des VwGH vom VfGH aufzuheben war.     

The effect of ionizing gamma radiation on natural and synthetic fibers and its implications for the forensic examination of fiber evidence

Circumstances of criminal activities involving radioactive materials may mean fiber evidence recovered from a crime scene could have been exposed to materials emitting ionizing radiation. The consequences of radiation exposed fibers on the result of the forensic analysis and interpretation is explored. The effect of exposure to 1-1000 kGy radiation doses in natural and synthetic fibers was noticeable using comparative forensic examination methods, such as optical microscopy, microspectrophotometry, and thin-layer chromatography. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis showed no signs of radiation-induced chemical changes in any of the fiber structures. The outcome of the comparative methods highlights the risk of "false negatives" associated in comparing colors of recovered fibers that may have been exposed to unknown radiation doses. Consideration of such results supports the requirement to know the context, including the environmental conditions, as much as possible before undertaking a forensic fiber examination.