Using accounting data in cartel damage calculations: blessing or menace?

Standard methods for calculating cartel-damage rely on data of prices charged and quantity sold. Such data may not easily be available. In this paper, it is shown that accounting data can be used for computing a lower bound for cartel-damage. Previous literature indicates that economic profits can hardly be inferred from accounting data. Therefore, it is shown under which econometrically testable assumptions on accounting costs a meaningful lower bound for cartel-damage can consistently be estimated when using accounting data. However, the aggregation-level and the publication-frequency of accounting data pose a challenge to the estimation of cartel-damage. A further challenge is to appropriately reflect the strength respectively effectiveness of the collusive agreement in the specification of any such estimation.     

Political Cleavages in Indigenous Representation: The Case of the Norwegian and Swedish Sámediggis

Abstract

Using Lipset and Rokkan’s cleavage theory in an Indigenous context, the article compares political cleavages in internal Sámi politics in Norway and Sweden. The authors discuss the historical legacies of each country’s policies toward the Sámi and subsequent development of party systems before using survey data to analyze cleavages within the Sámi electorates. The analysis shows a prominent cleavage in Sámi politics in Norway regarding the extent of Sámi self-determination, whereas the main cleavage in Sweden can be found in the category-split between reindeer herders and other Sámi created by state policy. Contemporary cleavages in Indigenous politics may, thus, be deeply rooted in nation-building processes.     

Change of position within the German government as an arena of rivalling public interest groups—The case of the German buyer's premium as regulatory instrument for the purchase of electric cars in Germany

The present article deals with the role of the German federal government on promoting the increased production of electric cars in Germany. It shows the changing positions of different stakeholders in the Berlin arena, their interests, positions, and alliances. It examines the question of why and how the stakeholders, especially within the government, change their positions in the arena of electromobility. The paper refers to the principal‐agent theory associated with the empirical field of arena analysis. The empirical basis of this study comprises five high‐level expert interviews with key‐decision players in the electromobility arena: two former federal state secretaries of the Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), Mr. Bomba, and the Ministry of Economy and Energie (BMWi), Mr. Machnig; the acting state secretary in the Ministry of Finance (BMF), Mr. Gatzer, and, in addition, the head of the Berlin representative office of a major German automobile manufacturer and the chairman of the National Platform on Electric Mobility. In addition to these interviews, a lot of participating observation was done between 2012 and 2013, as a major German automobile manufacturer provided insights into the group's representation in Berlin, the decision‐making process between the corporate headquarters and the public affairs managers in Berlin and Brussels, and the cooperation with the ministries in Berlin. The paper tries to fill a research gap: Scholarly research on the impact of the German federal government as an arena of rivalling public interest groups is scarce in Germany. The leading view takes the federal government as a monolith, which view is more based on “how it should act” as on empirical evidence (“how it acts”). Inductive evidence shows that the government does not exist, as it is a subarena of itself. The consequences of this observation for the theorization of the role of the government in the larger society, as being only one out of many players, are discussed in the text.     

Early birds: Special interests and the strategic logic of international cooperation

I propose that special interests are particularly influential in international cooperation because they are able to enact pressure on the government already during the negotiations while the issue is not yet salient for the general public. In my formal model, special interests can offer political support to the government in exchange for a discriminatory implementation commitment that benefits them. The government colludes with the special interests if the value of political support exceeds the cost. However, if the government colludes with special interests in country A, the payoff to the government and special interests in country B also decreases because the probability of successful international cooperation decreases. In equilibrium, special interests create a collective-action problem that complicates international cooperation. In addition to providing a new explanation for the power of special interests in international cooperation, the article illuminates how international negotiations and domestic treaty implementation interact. The analysis also reveals a new dimension of flexibility in international cooperation.     

Determination of blood/serum ratios of different forensically relevant analytes in authentic samples

For forensic toxicological investigations only whole blood, but no serum is often available. Pharmacokinetic data are helpful for interpreting the results, but most of these studies indicate serum or plasma concentrations. In order to obtain reliable conversion factors which also take intersubject variability into account, the blood/serum ratios (B/S) of oxycodone, morphine, fentanyl, hydromorphone, zopiclone, MDMA, dexamphetamine, alprazolam, risperidone and 9-hydroxyrisperidone were determined by LC-MS/MS using authentic samples. Blood and corresponding serum samples were obtained from driving studies performed with controlled or known dosages of the above drugs. The analytes were analysed in blood and serum and the following mean B/S ratios (relative standard deviations) were determined: oxycodone 1.48 (8.19 %); morphine 1.03 (3.59 %); fentanyl 0.87 (13.9 %); hydromorphone 1.04 (8.11 %); zopiclone 0.89 (16.1 %); MDMA 1.19 (8.04 %); dexamphetamine 0.89 (10.9 %); alprazolam 0.81 (5.84 %); risperidone 0.65 (7.52 %); 9-hydroxyrisperidone 0.73 (12.3 %). These mean values are largely in line with those reported in the literature. The B/S ratios did not appear to depend on partition coefficients, whereas there was strong evidence that B/S ratios decreased with increasing plasma protein binding.     

Medical and legal aspects of genital mutilation and circumcision part I: female genital mutilation (FGM)

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is considered to be against the law and against morality not only in Western countries, although a woman of age and able to consent may sometimes think differently. The procedure may have serious physical and emotional consequences for the girl or woman. Nevertheless there are attempts to justify the procedure with medical and hygienic pseudoarguments, ideology, freedom of religion, cultural identity and social adequacy. Outside the Western world, some people claim that religion and culture alone justify the practice. In Germany, parents can lose the right to determine the residence of their daughter, if she is faced with the risk of genital mutilation in order to prevent that the child or girl is taken to her home country. Genital mutilation as a gender-specific threat is recognized as a reason to grant asylum or prevent deportation. Proposals to make genital mutilation a separate punishable offence are presently discussed by the legislator.     

Wine, fruit, and emission reductions: the CDM as development strategy in Chile

Through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol, a developed country actor with a binding emission reduction target can use emission reductions from a project implemented in a developing country to meet this target. At the same time, CDM projects are meant to contribute to sustainable development in the host country, as defined by this country. The CDM is often taken to illustrate a broader contemporary turn in environmental policymaking toward market liberalism, flexibility, and pluralism, where the governance of the CDM involves ??agency beyond the state?? at different political levels and across various jurisdictions. While such an image of the CDM certainly identifies important aspects, it also downplays the ways in which states govern the CDM, not at the international level but at the domestic level through the host country prerogative to define its sustainable development priorities. Early on in the scholarly debate on the CDM, fears were raised about a ??race to the bottom?? with regard to sustainable development requirements on CDM projects. Our research on Chile confirms that hypothesis, with the important addition, that the ??race?? is not simply a structural feature of the CDM, but a deliberate strategy. We argue that Chile has actively chosen to put only marginal emphasis on securing the CDM??s contribution to sustainable development, and instead uses the CDM primarily as a tool to attract foreign investments, treating carbon credits as just another export product.     

Evaluation of amylase testing as a tool for saliva screening of crime scene trace swabs

Amylase testing has been used as a presumptive test for crime scene saliva for over three decades, mainly to locate saliva stains on surfaces. We have developed a saliva screening application for crime scene trace swabs, utilising an amylase sensitive paper (Phadebas^® Forensic Press test). Positive results were obtained for all tested dried saliva stains (0.5–32 μL) with high or intermediate amylase activity (840 and 290 kU/L). Results were typically obtained within 5 min, and all samples that produced DNA profiles were positive. However, salivary amylase activities, as well as DNA concentrations, vary significantly between individuals. We show that there is no correlation between amylase activity and amount of DNA in fresh saliva. Even so, a positive amylase result indicates presence of saliva, and thereby presence of DNA. Amylase testing may be useful for screening in investigations where the number of DNA analyses is limited due to cost, e.g., in volume crime.