Empirical investigations and their normative interpretations: A reply to Barnett and Block

Barnett and Block (Public Choice 140(1–2):1–13, 2009) disagree with some of the points put forward in an empirical study on the pre-1836 English lighthouse system (Cambridge Journal of Economics 30(3):389–502, 2006). They claim first that some private lighthouses were built and maintained for charitable purposes, which in fact does not refute my argument. Second, they misrepresent my empirical analysis, to make it ideological, which they thereafter intend to refute by contradictory ideological assertions. They finally change the evaluation criteria: The efficiency criterion is no longer used and liberty is taken as the ultimate goal.     

Homicide by manual occipitoatlantal dislocation

Occipitoatlantal dislocation is usually seen as a fatal injury in traffic accidents and has rarely been reported as a consequence of a homicide. The authors report the case of a women presenting a fatal occipitoatlantal dislocation, the circumstances of which pointed to a homicidal origin. Blood extravasation surrounding the muscles of the posterior part of the neck as well as abnormal mobility of the cranio-cervical joint was noted during autopsy; thus a complete dissection of this region was performed. This led to the finding of a fracture of the left occipital condyle and of the left superior articular facet of the atlas. This case clearly demonstrates the need to perform a large, systematic, posterior approach to the upper cervical spine, completed by the opening of the skull around the posterior fossa, when injury to the cranio-cervical junction is suspected. In these cases, the classic anterior approach give poor information and poor dissection possibilities.     

The housing system of the former Soviet Union: Why do the soviets need housing markets?

Abstract

The administrative‐command system that had been in full force in the Soviet Union between 1927 and 1990 had its own logic and internal consistency. It is now common knowledge that this economic system has flaws that led to a deepening secular decline over the past three decades. Because of ideological reasons, and an inadequate economic understanding of the capacity of their system to be liberalized, many reformers sought a third way between central planning and markets. The consensus today is that there is no third way. Among the former Soviet republics, Russia has just embarked on market‐oriented reforms and is facing a difficult and unstable transition because central planning mechanisms have ceased to function, but markets are not yet in place. This transition is particularly problematic for housing, which is a very severely distorted economic sector.

The international evidence on market economies that has accumulated over the past 20 years shows that, when housing sector distortions exist, they are predominantly found on the supply side. In socialist economies, however, housing is part of the compensation provided by enterprises and other employers. As a result housing suffers from demand‐side distortions in addition to the supply‐side problems caused by the absence of land markets, vague property rights, and burdensome urban regulations. The housing sector is already so large and distorted in these highly urban economies that overall economic reforms cannot succeed without housing reforms. In addition to presenting an overview of Soviet housing, this paper provides comparative evidence indicating that, among all the distorted socialist housing systems, Russia's probably is the most impaired. The basic elements of a market‐oriented strategy to improve housing are briefly presented.     

Moral Objectivity and Reasonable Agreement: Can Realism Be Reconciled with Kantian Constructivism?

Abstract. In this paper I analyze the tension between realism and antirealism at the basis of Kantian constructivism. This tension generates a conflictive account of the source of the validity of social norms. On the one hand, the claim to moral objectivity characteristic of Kantian moral theories makes the validity of norms depend on realist assumptions concerning the existence of shared fundamental interests among all rational human beings. I illustrate this claim through a comparison of the approaches of Rawls, Habermas and Scanlon. On the other hand, however, objections to moral realism motivate many Kantian constructivists to endorse the antirealist claim that reasonable agreement is the source of the validity of social norms. After analyzing the difficulties in the latter strategy, I try to show how a balance between the realist and antirealist elements of Kantian constructivism can be reached by drawing a sharper distinction between the justice and the legitimacy of social norms.     

Ex post efficiency of bankruptcy procedures: A general normative framework

In this paper, we consider the case of a distressed firm whose financial commitments have to be renegotiated with stakeholders (banks, trade creditors …). At default time, rival projects (continuation, piecemeal liquidation, liquidation as a going concern …) may be undertaken. In such a case, the most frequent way of making collective choices is to vote. Our attention focuses on the risk of not choosing the best project because of free riders: personal interests may block the issue in favor of the project associated to the highest value of the firm.At first, we consider a law-enforced procedure under which financial deviations from the absolute priority order (APO) are possible: each individual gain is slightly modified in order to obtain a non-strict majority in favor of the best project. This legal intervention can be implemented and considered as “optimal” if it respects four criteria: economic efficiency, financial neutrality, legal tolerability and democratic desirability. Under these conditions, any law-driven renegotiation process must defines financial transfers that underweight (respectively overweight) the sub-optimal gains (respectively losses) of the most influent voter. Moreover, the proportion of financial transfers granted to each stakeholder exactly reflects their relative influence power: in other words, financial deviations from APO can be interpreted as the price that any stakeholder has to pay (respectively receive) because of his marginal negative (respectively positive) impact on the collective decision. Then, these results serve as a guide to comment ex post efficiency of various bankruptcy procedures (US, French, English and German). Our approach may be interpreted as a first step in the design of an economically efficient procedure that should deal with both ex ante and ex post efficiencies.     

Fatal accidental hanging by a high-chair waist strap in a 2-year-old girl

High chairs are commonly used to feed children after 6 months. Related injuries are oftentime minor and rarely leading to death. We describe a case of a 2-year-old female child who used to jump alone on her high chair and also had the habit to fasten the straps by herself. Her mother found her hanging by the waist straps. A thorough investigation showed that she climbed her high chair and fastened the waist straps but not the crotch one. The girl slid down into the seat, trapping her neck in the waist straps and thus resulting in hanging. In here, we concluded that the victim's death was caused by asphyxia, itself, caused by accidental hanging. The present case is of a special interest because of the rare similar cases reported. This case suggests that a correct restraint use and a close supervision would have prevented such a fatal issue.     

Sexual abuse and anti-wrinkle cream: evidence from octocrylene

In a case of a driving ability assessment, hair analysis for ethyl glucuronide (EtG) was requested by the authorities. The person concerned denied alcohol consumption and did not present any clinical sign of alcoholism. However, EtG was found in concentrations of up to 910pg/mg in hair from different sampling dates suggesting an excessive drinking behavior. The person declared to use a hair lotion on a regularly base. To evaluate a possible effect of the hair lotion, prospective blood and urine controls as well as hair sampling of scalp and pubic hair were performed. The traditional clinical biomarkers of ethanol consumption, CDT and GGT, were inconspicuous in three blood samples taken. EtG was not detected in all collected urine samples. The hair lotion was transmitted to our laboratory. The ethanol concentration in this lotion was determined with 35g/L. The EtG immunoassay gave a positive result indicating EtG, which could be confirmed by GC-MS/MS-NCI. In a follow-up experiment the lotion was applied to the hair of a volunteer over a period of six weeks. After this treatment, EtG could be measured in the hair at a concentration of 72pg/mg suggesting chronic and excessive alcohol consumption. Overnight incubation of EtG free hair in the lotion yielded an EtG concentration of 140pg/mg. In the present case, the positive EtG hair findings could be interpreted as the result of an EtG containing hair care product. To our knowledge, the existence of such a product has not yet been reported, and it is exceptionally unusual to find EtG in cosmetics. Therefore, external sources for hair contamination should always be taken into account when unusual cosmetic treatment is mentioned. In those cases, it is recommended to analyze the hair product for a possible contamination with EtG. The analysis of body hair can help to reveal problems occurring from cosmetic treatment of head hair. As a consequence, the assessment of drinking behavior should be based on more than one diagnostic parameter.