Introduction: The state of labor in the People’s Republic of China

Studies in Comparative International Development -     

Inequality, unemployment and crime in Latin American cities

Crime rates in many Latin American citiestend to be very high. But there is alsodiversity between and within cities. Regardless of whether the role ofdeterrence or those of poverty andinequality are emphasised as causes ofcrime, the use of aggregate data instatistical work may provoke seriousunobserved-heterogeneity biases. Diversity, divisiveness and heterogeneitymay also affect future trends, includingfurther vigilantism, official orsemi-official violence, segmentation,privatisation and ``medievalisation'. Thediscussion is completed by some ideas as tothe possibility that Latin America'spresent may be an accurate forecast ofEurope's future.     

Differentiation of hydrocephalic calf and human calvariae

Occasionally, partial calvariae of hydrocephalic calves are found in forensic contexts and mistakenly identified as human. Such specimens can be properly identified through immunological assessment of associated soft tissue, microscopic analysis of associated hair, and morphological comparison with documented museum specimens. Morphological comparison should focus on the form of the occiput, supraorbital grooves, and bulbous vault and presence of coronal processes.     

Cocaine and sudden "natural" death

The cardiovascular effects of cocaine may culminate in clinical episodes of angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, arrhythmias, and intracranial hemorrhage. To clarify whether or not cocaine causes fatalities by these mechanisms, we studied 24 cases of sudden, apparently natural deaths as a result of coronary arteriosclerosis (15 cases), hypertensive cardiovascular disease (4 cases), and intracranial hemorrhage (5 cases) associated with cocaine use. In 11 cases, cocaine was found in the blood (average concentration: 0.57 mg/L, range: 0.05 to 1.45 mg/L), whereas in the remainder, cocaine or its major metabolite was found in the urine or other tissues. In the majority of decedents, autopsy disclosed the existence of severe natural disease which could have been exacerbated by the administration of stimulant drugs, including cocaine. These data, and a review of the current medical literature, indicate that cocaine may precipitate the sudden death of an individual with undiagnosed cardiovascular disease. A contributory role of cocaine should be considered in any apparently natural death occurring in a population where cocaine abuse is prevalent.     

东亚地区秩序的未来：东亚还是亚太？

东亚历史上曾先后建立以中国为中心的朝贡——华夷秩序以及以日本、美国为核心的霸权秩序,在以国家主权为国际关系核心机制的当代,这些反映不平等国家间关系的秩序无法复制到当今东亚,东亚的现实也决定了不存在孕育这些秩序的土壤。同时,20世纪80年代以来的全球化和区域经济一体化两种趋势极大程度地影响了当今东亚秩序的建构,然而一个统一的东亚秩序的建构又受到该地区复杂的大国关系的制约,东亚秩序将摇摆于“东亚”与“亚太”之间。     

Which is it you want – equality or maternity leave?

In Alabaster v. Barclays Bank plc and Secretary of State for Social Security (No. 2: [2005] E.W.C.A Civ. 508, [2005] I.R.L.R. 576.) Michelle Alabaster won a grand total of ￡204.53 (plus ￡65.86 interest) after eight years of litigation, which included two visits to the Court of Appeal and one to the European Court of Justice. This marathon resulted from the sex discrimination which Alabaster had alleged in relation to the calculation of her Statutory Maternity Pay (S.M.P.) whilst she was pregnant 10 years earlier. The technicalities of the statutory schemes involved should not be allowed to disguise the important principle which finally emerges in the Court of Appeal and which underlines one of the longstanding criticisms of the equality legislation, namely the requirement that a woman must compare herself with a man in order to establish unlawful sex discrimination.     

Is tax competition harmful and is the EU an optimal tax area?

This paper examines the issue of harmfulness of tax competition commenting on issues like welfare, growth, redistribution, harmonization and individual freedom. A simple game theoretical ap proach is formulated, where for the first time the two players start from unequal initial conditions, thus influencing strategy and outcomes. Next we propose the new criterion of Optimal Tax Area under which the possibility and feasibility of tax harmonization is examined. The policy implication of our paper is that we do not expect harmonization for direct taxes like corporate taxes in the EU in the near future and if so, harmonization of corporate tax rates on low levels. We conclude that both more theoretic research and empirical evidence are needed before we can answer with certainty whether tax competition is harmful or not. classification A1 . D6 . H0