Measuring the Effects of Post-Government-Employment Restrictions

The "revolving door" problem linking private interests and governmentdecision makers has become an important mechanism in the implementationof influence peddling. The "revolving door" problem is premisedon the assumption that a market exists for the services of formergovernment employees. However, no attempt has been made to providea measure of the value of these services, nor to evaluate theeffect of regulations intended to curb the problem. This articleattempts to fill this gap by utilizing an event-study methodologyto measure the effect of gaining "access" to government underalternative regulations.     

Democracy,credibility, and sound economics: The Israeli hyperinflation

The 1985 Israeli economic stabilization program provides a rare case of stable (as of late 1996) success under democratic auspices without major social disorder. Existing explanations for the success of the Israeli reforms overemphasize economics at the expense of politics. This paper analyzes the political causes of the early 1980s Israeli hyperinflation. The program's economic measures and performance are reviewed. The Israeli economic stabilization program succeeded because it was considered credible by the Israeli public. The social and political factors that contributed to the program's credibility are investigated and their importance is ranked. The applicability of the paper to other economic reforms under democratic auspices is highlighted and future research is outlined.     

The 2015 Spanish election: the times they are a’ changing

The Spanish legislative election of 2015 speaks of change. This is the end of the traditional two-party system and the beginning of a new political era marked by institutional renewal. The Socialist Party and the Partido Popular have both lost significant parliamentary force, whereas two new parties (Podemos, and Ciudadanos) are now crucial to ensure stable government majorities. This new parliamentary scenario seems to better mirror the political pluralism of a changing society which has already demonstrated for change in striking events such as the 15-M Movement. However, political parties are far from showing conciliatory aspirations, possibly because a new election is suddenly a realistic option. This report outlines the political context of the election, indicates the main topics during the campaign and discusses the results.     

Not searching,but finding: how innovation shapes perceptions about universities and public research organisations

Previous research about firms’ perceptions on the usefulness of public research has not distinguished between technological innovators and non-innovators. With the exception of openness of search, we find that factors shaping such perceptions differ in both types of firms. Non-innovators need market power and the presence of an R&D department to profit from public knowledge. Innovators need less sheltered environments and lesser R&D effort, though the availability of resources and absorptive capacity is necessary. Using a sample of 1,031 Spanish manufacturing firms, we conclude that practical experience in technological innovation enhances firms’ perceptions on the usefulness of public research, not directly but by enabling certain internal changes, i.e. it produces encounters between corporate choices and public research.     

Memories of parenting practices are associated with psychopathy in juvenile male offenders

Despite the large body of research documenting parenting practices as risk factors for the development of child and adolescent disruptive behaviour, the association with psychopathy is notably less known. The goal was to examine, in 75 institutionalized juvenile male offenders, the association between self-reported memories of parenting practices during childhood (Alabama Parenting Questionnaire) and psychopathy (Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version). Results showed that ineffective parenting practices as inconsistent discipline and poor monitoring/supervision were significantly associated with increased levels of psychopathic traits. Interestingly, only two of the four facets of the construct, lifestyle and antisocial, were associated with these parenting behaviours. Findings highlight the importance of considering parenting practices in the study of the early development of psychopathy and suggest that the facets could be rooted in distinct underlying etiologic-dispositional factors with differentiated developmental pathways and different psychosocial correlates. The study lends support to the multidimensional approach of psychopathy as a syndrome.