Justifying the Lindahl solution as an outcome of fair cooperation

The motivation for the Lindahl equilibrium is mostly a rather artificial price mechanism. Even though the analogy to a competitive market was emphasised by Lindahl himself, his approach does not directly explain the normative ideas behind his concept. In the present paper we therefore show how the Lindahl equilibrium can be deduced from some simple equity axioms. These normative assumptions are the benefit principle on the one hand and the equal sacrifice principle (or, equivalently, a non-envy condition) as a postulate for distributional equity on the other. Fairness among agents with different preferences and incomes is taken into account by considering their marginal willingness to pay as shadow prices. In this way, the reason why the Lindahl solution can be perceived as an outcome of fair cooperation might become more understandable.     

Mapping and Explaining Parliamentary Rule Changes in Europe: A Research Program

We outline a comprehensive research program on institutional reforms in European parliaments. Original data show that parliamentary rules in Western European parliaments have been changed frequently and massively during the period from 1945 to 2010 suggesting that actors use institutional reforms as a distinct strategy to pursue their substantive goals. We discuss how institutional instability affects existing theoretical and empirical arguments about institutional effects. Furthermore, we present four ideal‐typical approaches to analyzing rule changes, present new software tools for identifying and coding changes in large text corpora, and demonstrate their usefulness for valid measurement of the overall change between subsequent text versions.     

Gedankensplitter zu einer rechtsökonomischen Analyse des verwaltungsstrafrechtlichen Tatbestands Betteln

In diesem Beitrag wird der Frage nachgegangen, unter welchen Umst?nden der Staat aus der Perspektive der ?konomie legitimiert ist, gegen bettelnde Menschen vorzugehen. In der ?ffentlichkeit hat die Frage vor allem wegen des Verdachts neue Nahrung erhalten, dass Betteln organisiert erfolge und von Personen betrieben werde, die sich teilweise sogar illegal in ?sterreich aufhalten.     

Die Reform des Wasserrechts im Referentenentwurf zum Umweltgesetzbuch

Zusammenfassung Der im November 2007 durch das Bundesumweltministerium vorgelegte Referentenentwurf für ein Umweltgesetzbuch 2009 sieht in seinem zweiten Buch “Wasserwirtschaft” umfassende Vollregelungen vor, die an die Stelle der bisherigen Rahmenvorgaben des Wasserhaushaltsgesetzes treten sollen. Ein Kernproblem der mit dieser Umweltrechtskodifikation verbundenen Reform des Wasserrechts ist die Einbindung des vorhandenen wasserwirtschaftsrechtlichen Gestattungssystems in das Modell einer integrierten Vorhabengenehmigung im Allgemeinen Teil. Der Referentenentwurf beschr?nkt sich dabei im Ergebnis weitgehend auf eine formelle Konzentrationswirkung, sieht jedoch auf der Rechtsfolgenseite für Gew?ssernutzungen eine problematische freie Widerruflichkeit der Vorhabengenehmigung vor. Weitere Schlüsselelemente des Entwurfs bilden seine Vorschl?ge zur Vereinheitlichung von Landesvorschriften und zur weitreichenden Abstufung technischer Details auf die Verordnungsebene etwa im Bereich der Anforderungen an wassergef?hrdende Stoffe. Im Detail finden sich zudem zahlreiche neue Akzentuierungen, die meist eine St?rkung der ?kologischen Belange bezwecken. Bei der Vereinheitlichung landesrechtlicher Diskrepanzen verbleibt der Bund hingegen vielfach auf dem bisherigen Regelungsniveau eines blo?en Rahmengesetzgebers.     

Criminal Recidivism After Forensic Psychiatric Treatment. A Multicenter Study on the Role of Pretreatment,Treatment-Related,and Follow-Up Variables

This study examined associations between criminal recidivism after discharge from forensic treatment and variables related to either the time before the current forensic treatment, or the current forensic treatment, or the follow-up after discharge. Participants were treated in 12 forensic clinics according to section 63 of the German penal code. A patient was classified as a criminal recidivist when the patient or the aftercare reported that the patient was delinquent at follow-up. Patients without criminal recidivism were patients for which both perspectives (patient and aftercare) reported no delinquency at follow-up. Mann–Whitney U-tests and Fisher's exact tests were performed. Data to classify patients were available for N = 249 patients. Fifteen patients (6%) were classified as criminal recidivists. The follow-up was M = 12.58 (SD = 1.84) months, and the criminal acts occurred M = 6.00 (SD = 5.55) months after discharge. Differences between patients with and without criminal recidivism were found in pretreatment (young age at first crime, early onset of mental disorder, previous forensic treatments), treatment-related (disorder due to psychoactive substance use, gradual release abuses, outbreaks, assaults against staff, criminal act during treatment, type of discharge, outcome ratings), as well as follow-up variables (no specified housing situation, not being abstinent from psychoactive substances, inpatient readmission, course of outpatient treatment, course of mental disorder) (all p < 0.05). To conclude, it is important to consider variables related to the time before the current treatment, treatment-related variables, and variables related to the follow-up to identify the patients at risk of criminal recidivism after discharge from forensic treatment.     

"I am flying to the stars"--suicide by aircraft in Germany

In 2006, 67 persons were killed in aircraft accidents in Germany and involving German aircrafts abroad. In spite of extensive investigation of each aircraft accident, there are no reliable data as to the number of suicides by aircraft. We report on a 50-year-old man who committed suicide by willfully crashing his Beech "Sierra" aircraft minutes after take off from an airport close to the town of Rendsburg, Germany. Before killing himself, the intoxicated pilot had sent an SMS announcing his suicide plans to a friend. The findings of the medico-legal investigation and the results of a review of aircraft accident reports by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (BFU) regarding suicidal plane crashes are presented.