Variation in central bank independence across countries: Some provisional empirical evidence

In this paper seven hypotheses to explain variation in central bank independence across countries are tested. The predictions based upon the theory that delegation of authority by politicians to the central bank is used as a commitment device are not supported: central bank independence is not higher the larger the employment motivated inflationary bias, the higher political instability or the larger the government debt. Central bank independence is positively related to historical inflation experience and negatively with political instability. We do only find limited support for the view that countries with a universal banking system and countries whose central banks do not regulate financial institutions have more independent central banks.     

The Dutch parliamentary election of May 1986

After a rather uneventful election campaign, the results of the May 1986 Dutch parliamentary election were a surprise to virtually all involved. Since the introduction of regular opinion polling in the 1960s, no election has taken place when the polls were ‘wrong’. However, in 1986 last minute shifts that were stronger than had ever occurred in the Netherlands produced results that differed significantly from the predictions based upon the polls published immediately prior to the election.     

Changes in composition of ballpoint pen inks on aging in darkness

A method for comparison of the relative age of ink entries written by the same ballpoint pen on documents stored in darkness is presented. Inks were extracted from the document and analyzed by HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography). On aging, changes in the chemical composition of the inks were noted. These changes were similar to those observed when inks were exposed to light or heat. The aging was followed by using ternary diagrams constructed for dyes generally present in blue-colored inks--Crystal Violet, Methyl Violet, and Tetramethyl Para Rosaniline. The procedure is applicable for relative dating of ink entries in diaries, notebooks, etc., where often several ink entries are written by the same ink. However, a prolonged exposure of the document to daylight and/or artificial light (light from fluorescent tubes) as well as to extensive heat will render the whole procedure inapplicable. An example of the use of the proposed method in casework is given.     

Comparison of Anonymous Versus Confidential Survey Procedures: Effects on Health Indicators in Dutch Adolescents

Self-report questionnaires are frequently used in youth research, but doubt remains whether total anonymity affects the results. This study compared the responses of 704 mainly 16–17-year-old adolescents to self-report measures of various health indicators in 2 groups: anonymous and confidential collection. For most health indicators no significant differences were found. Perceived health, use of alcohol, and aggressive behavior (for boys) were reported significantly less frequently in the confidential group (small effect size). It appeared that pupils with high scores on social desirability do not respond differently at most health indicators in the 2 conditions. For most health characteristics, epidemiologically useful outcomes may be derived from confidential self-report measures, which are also valuable for detecting individual at-risk children. Similar studies in lower grades and other types of education should confirm the results.Youth Department, Municipal Health Service Rotterdam area. Main research interests are emotional and behavioral problems of adolescents, youth health care, monitoring.Youth Department, Municipal Health Service Rotterdam area. Main research interests are emotional and behavioral problems of adolescents, youth health care, monitoring.Research Department, Municipal Health Service Rotterdam area. Major research interests include emotional and behavioral problems of adolescents, suicidal behavior, youth health care, monitoring.     

Segmental analysis for cocaine and metabolites by HPLC in hair of suspected drug overdose cases

Hair samples of eight postmortem cases were analyzed in segments of 1 to 3 cm for cocaine, benzoylecgonine and cocaethylene. Samples were prepared for analysis by digestion in 0.1 M HCl and subsequent extraction with mixed-mode solid-phase extraction columns. Measurement was made by reversed-phase, narrow-bore HPLC and fluorescence detection using two laboratory-made internal standards. The concentrations were in the region of 0.29-316 ng/mg of hair for cocaine, 0.43-141 ng/mg of hair for benzoylecgonine and 0.93-1.83 ng/mg of hair for cocaethylene. All eight investigated cases had cocaine-positive segments. In six of the cases, all segments were positive, suggesting regular cocaine use and two showed in-between negative segments indicating an interruption or a change of the abuse intensity. The results showed a second, remarkable observation, i.e. enormous concentration differences (factor >150) for both cocaine and benzoylecgonine between the different subjects. Furthermore, interindividual cocaine/benzoylecgonine ratios ranged from 0.02 to 8.43. We believe these observations could in part be attributed to both some of the still existing limitations in the analytical approach(es), especially the mandatory hair washing steps, and in our still too limited knowledge of the hair incorporation processes. Nevertheless, in some cases, segmental analysis proved to be an important tool to distinguish, together with postmortem examination, deadly chronic abuse from single acute drug overdosage.     

The Spirit of Capitalism? Religious Doctrine,Values, and Economic Attitude Constructs

This article examines the relationship between conservative Protestant doctrine and economic policy attitudes. Building upon Weber's (1930) classic (and controversial) thesis that Calvinist thought inspired the capitalist spirit, we posit that the individualistic theology of fundamentalists, evangelicals, and charismatics often engenders political preferences for individualistic economic policies. We test this hypothesis by (1) performing a series of cross-sectional ordered probit analyses to understand the independent degree of association between doctrinal belief and economic attitudes toward taxing, spending, and the role of government, (2) creating and testing a structural equation model to assess various hypothesized paths of influence, and finally, (3) using 1994–96 NES panel data to assess the degree to which changes in an individual's doctrinal beliefs produce changes in his or her economic attitudes. Results lend substantial support to the efficacy of Weber's thesis, and point to religious belief as one exogenous agent of core political values.