Agglomeration Effects: Productivity of the Informal Sector in Vietnam

This paper investigates agglomeration externalities on the productivity of informal household businesses in Vietnam. Although the paper finds heterogeneous impacts of agglomeration on the productivity of informal firms between urban and rural settings and across industries, it is found that technology transfers are not an agglomerative force for the informal sector of Vietnam. The disaggregation of local scale externalities into city types reveals that the highest developed cities in Vietnam may either be low-quality agglomeration or go beyond their optimal scale for the informal sector in some industries.     

Political Participation and Civic Courage: The Negative Effect of Transparency on Making Small Campaign Contributions

This study assesses whether public disclosure of campaign contributions affects citizens’ willingness to give money to candidates. In the American states, campaign finance laws require disclosure of private information for contributors at relatively low thresholds ranging from $1 to $300. The Internet has made it relatively easy to publicize such information in a way that changes the social context for political participation. Drawing on social influence theory, the analysis suggests that citizens are sensitive to divulging private information, especially those who are surrounded by people with different political views. Using experimental data from the 2011 Cooperative Congressional Election Studies, it demonstrates how individuals refrain from making small campaign contributions or reduce their donations to avoid disclosing their identities. The conclusion discusses the implications of transparency laws for political participation, especially for small donors.     

Does This Make Me Look Fat? Peer Crowd and Peer Contributions to Adolescent Girls’ Weight Control Behaviors

Based on the Theory of Reasoned Action, this study evaluated a “socialization” model linking girls’ peer crowd affiliations (e.g., Jocks, Populars) with their own weight concern, perceived peer weight norms, and weight control behaviors. An alternative “selection” model was also evaluated. Girls (N = 236; M age = 15.95 years) from diverse ethnic backgrounds completed surveys assessing peer crowd affiliation, their own concern with weight, perceptions of peers’ concern with weight, and weight control behaviors. Models were evaluated using SEM. The socialization model demonstrated good fit; the alternative selection model did not. Specifically, girls’ level of identification with certain peer crowds (Jocks, Burnouts, Alternatives) was associated with girls’ reported own concern and perceived peer concern with weight. Additionally, girls’ own concern and peer norms were related independently to girls’ weight control behaviors. Findings suggest that peer crowds and girls’ own and peer weight norms may be important targets of prevention efforts.

Horizontal coordination in cooperative federalism: The purpose of ministerial conferences in Germany

ABSTRACT

Intergovernmental councils in Germany comprise 18 sectoral ministerial conferences and the prime ministerial conference as peak organization. They complement the Bundesrat as institutions of Intergovernmental Relations in the German system of cooperative federalism, dealing with matters of shared rule as well as self-rule. Based on expert interviews among ministerial bureaucrats, this contribution finds that contrary to conventional wisdom, vertical influence and autonomy protection are not their main purpose. Rather, they serve primarily information exchange and coordination. Still, the emphasis on either influence and autonomy protection or coordination and information as well as the directions of interaction vary across policy sectors. We further investigate constitutional allocation of power and party political composition as determinants on the specific purpose of ministerial conferences. The findings suggest that the allocation of power is more important than party political composition in explaining variation between sectoral ministerial conferences.     

Peer Victimization and Social Anxiety in Adolescents: Prospective and Reciprocal Relationships

This study used a 2-month prospective research design to examine the bi-directional interplay between peer victimization and social anxiety among adolescents. Participants included 228 adolescents (58% female) in grades 10–12. Three types of peer victimization were examined: overt (physical aggression or verbal threats), relational (malicious manipulation of a relationship, such as by friendship withdrawal), and reputational (damaging another’s peer relationships, such as through rumor spreading). Adolescents’ self-reported feelings of social anxiety and peer victimization experiences were assessed at two time points, in November and January of the same school year. Peer victimization was strongly related to adolescents’ social anxiety, and relational victimization explained additional unique variance. Moreover, peer victimization was both a predictor and consequence of social anxiety over time, with the most robust results found for relational victimization. Limited support was obtained for gender as a moderating variable. Findings highlight the deleterious effects of peer victimization, especially relational victimization, and suggest avenues for future research and clinical intervention for adolescents experiencing such victimization.