Veblen’s Imperial Germany revisited

He is editor of Intereconomics,a journal issued in English, and author of major policy statements on economic and social issues.     

Suicide,gender, and age variations in India. Are women in indian society protected from suicide?

A new set of data concerning the pattern of suicide in India between 1991-1997 are presented. Suicide rates rose over this period despite a small decline in the Indian suicide rate in 1995 and 1996. It was found that between 1995 and 1997 there was a modest fall in the suicide rates among under 29-year-olds of both sexes, and an increase among those 30 years and older. The pattern of suicides in India is bimodal: the incidence of suicides is highest for those in the 30-44-year-old category of both sexes and tends to decline in higher age categories. Suicide rates were nearly equal for young women and men, a contrast with the pattern of suicide sex ratios in eight developed countries.     

Discrepancy between CYP2D6 phenotype and genotype derived from post-mortem dextromethorphan blood level

OBJECTIVE: To describe the death of a toddler after a therapeutic dose of dextromethorphan and its investigation. STUDY DESIGN: Case report, cytochrome P450 phenotype and genotype determination in the victim and post-mortem drug redistribution study performed in rats. RESULTS: A 20-month Asian male who received 3 mg of dextromethorphan once at 09:00 h and again at 22:00 h was found dead at 04:35 h. Post-mortem examination showed signs of early bronchopneumonia (bacterial cultures were negative); dextromethorphan and dextrorphan blood concentrations taken from the heart cavity were 500 ng/ml (1. 84 micromol/l) and 200 ng/ml (0.78 micromol/l), respectively. Despite the dextromethorphan level being almost 100-fold higher than expected after therapeutic doses, intentional or unintentional overdose was extremely unlikely; other potential causes were investigated. Post-mortem drug redistribution study performed in rats showed that dextromethorphan does not undergo extensive redistribution after death (6+/-5-fold increase) and could not explain the observed dextromethorphan level. The dextromethorphan/dextrorphan concentration ratio of 2.5 found in this toddler was compatible with a slow CYP2D6 metabolizer phenotype. However, the toddler exhibited a fast metabolizer genotype. Potential reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. CONCLUSION: CYP450 phenotypes derived from post-mortem blood levels should be interpreted with caution and preferably confirmed by a genotype analysis.     

The fiscal distribution of the provincial-municipal service exchange in Nova Scotia

Abstract: While assessments of distributional fiscal impacts are considered a fundamental principle in Canadian public policy, this article demonstrates that recent provincial-municipal service disentanglement initiatives in Nova Scotia followed vague service classifications at the expense of basic distributional considerations. After the 1995 service exchange in Nova Scotia, the municipalities with the weakest taxable assessment base faced increased costs in service provision and governance functions, while the financial burden of service delivery in municipalities with the richest taxable assessment was reduced by these service realignment initiatives. Sommaire: Dans le cadre de l'élaboration des politiques gouvernementales au Canada, l'évaluation des répercussions fiscales distributives est un élément fondamental. Pourtant, l'auteur de cet article démontre que les récentes réformes entreprises par le gouvernement de la Nouvelle-Écosse, afin de clarifier le rôle et responsabilités des services provinciaux et ceux des municipalités, à donné lieu à des classifications vagues au détriment des considérations distributives. Après les échanges de services en 1995, les municipalités, dont les bases de taxations sont faibles, ont vu leurs coûts de prestation de services et d'administration augmenter, alors que les municipalités les plus nanties ont bénéficié d'une réduction de leurs coûts en matière de prestation de services et d'administration grâce à la clarification des rôles et responsabilités en question.     

Reviews

Dark Age: The Political Odyssey of Emperor Bokassa by Brian Titley. McGill‐Queen's University Press, Québec (Canada) and Liverpool University Press, Liverpool, (UK), 1997. xii. plus 5pp. of illustrations (photographs and a map of the Central African Republic) plus 257pp. including notes, bibliography and index. £22.95 hardback.

The Making of a Periphery: Economic Development and Cultural Encounters in Southern Tanzania edited by Pekka Seppala and Bertha Koda. Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Uppsala (Sweden), 1998. 344 pp. including figures, tables, maps, notes, bibliography and index. Paperback.

Farewell to Farms: De‐agrarianization and Employment in Africa edited by D.F. Bryceson and V. Jamal. Ashgate Publishing Ltd., Aldershot, 1997. iv plus 265pp. including figures, tables, notes and index.

The World Bank and Nigeria: Cornucopia or Pandora's Box? by Rufai Ahmed Alkali. Kaduna, Baraka Press, 1997. 205pp. including selected references.

Sustaining the Future: Economic, Social and Environmental Change in Sub‐Saharan Africa edited by George Benneh, William B.Morgan and Juha I.Uitto. The United Nations University Press, Tokyo, New York and Paris, 1996.