A dynamic analysis of partisan voting: The issue salience effect of unemployment in South Korea

This paper examines the electoral effects of the salience of unemployment issue. While increasing employment volatility has spawned exciting research, evidence of how unemployment affects vote choice is inconclusive. I refine partisan voting theory by focusing on issue salience of unemployment and the dynamics of voter choice. Voters are more likely to make a transition to support left parties when they identify unemployment as the most important and salient issue. The study also examines voter heterogeneity in the link between issue salience and the propensity for transition to the left. The effect of issue salience of unemployment is more pronounced among lower income groups than their counterparts. Analysis of a transition model using the 1997 and 2002 Korean presidential election surveys finds evidence supporting my arguments.     

The Effects of Fiscal Decentralization on Public Spending: The Korean Case

The local government reforms of the 1980s and 1990s in Korea involved devolution of substantial resources from the central to local governments. Fiscal realignment between the levels of government occurred during the same period of time. This article places these changes within the context of fiscal decentralization, using a variety of time-series regression techniques, in an effort to assess its impact. Findings suggest that fiscal decentralization serves as a constraint on the behavior of central government, while it serves as a booster on behalf of underdeveloped local governments. Fiscal decentralization may be a very effective means of self-government, and plays a key role in improving the fit between the provision of public goods and citizens' demand in Korea.     

Trust and the protection of property rights: evidence from global regions

In this study, we address the issue of whether trust enhances institutional quality. Despite accumulated research on the topic, comparative studies examining whether such a relationship holds across different regions are rare. Consequently, in this study, we focus on the heterogeneous effect of trust on the protection of property rights worldwide. According to our research, in Western democracies, owing to relatively effective legal systems, trust facilitates cooperation among citizens in utilizing public means to collectively secure properties. In contrast, in other parts of the world, owing to less effective legal systems, citizens with high levels of trust, who presumably have access to many social resources, utilize private means such as informal networks, for protecting property rights. Our empirical analysis of time-series cross-sectional data, and individual-level survey data yields evidence supporting the aforementioned assertion. Moreover, we find suggestive evidence of a causal mechanism linking trust and institutional quality.

     

1H NMR spectroscopic identification of a glue sniffing biomarker

Organic solvent abuse typically involves sniffing organic solvents to experience the mind-altering conditions they induce. In Republic of Korea, organic solvent abuse is a serious social problem, especially among teenagers. Several studies have addressed the effects of organic solvent abuse on mind and body, but there are no simple methods by which such abuse can be positively identified. In this report, we describe a method for analyzing toluene metabolites (toluene is the main ingredient of glue) in glue-sniffers' urine using (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Toluene is a commonly used solvent in the rubber, paint, plastics, leather, printing, and chemical industries. Inhaled toluene is metabolized to hippuric acid in the liver and excreted in the urine. Hippuric acid is known as a good biomarker for biological monitoring of toluene exposure. We have scanned hippuric acid and other toluene metabolites by NMR spectroscopy and performed statistical multivariate analysis of the data. Based on this analysis, we sought to determine parameters by which glue-sniffing (toluene inhalation) behavior may be verified. We also demonstrate the use of a pattern recognition method for accurate and efficient analysis of NMR data. In comparison to conventional methods, such as mass spectroscopy coupled with liquid chromatography or gas chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has several advantages, including simple sample preparation, non-destructive sampling, accuracy, short acquisition time, and reproducibility in the determination of urinary hippuric acid.     

Monitoring of clobetasol propionate and betamethasone dipropionate as undeclared steroids in cosmetic products manufactured in Korea

Some cosmetic products manufactured in Korea have been suspected to contain anti-inflammatory corticosteroids, such as clobetasol propionate and betamethasone dipropionate, for the treatment of eczema, seborrhea and psoriasis, without any indication on the label of the cosmetic products. Due to their severe side effects, such as permanent skin atopy, these two corticosteroids in cosmetic products need to be monitored from a forensic point of view. Cosmetic product samples (number of samples=47) of manufacturers charged by consumers have been collected in local and online markets of Korea, and they were validated and analyzed by a simple high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with ultraviolet diode array (UV-DAD). LC-MS/MS and LC-MS were used to confirm these steroids in cosmetic samples with diagnostic ions (m/z) and isotope ratio. Linearity was studied with 0.5-10μg/mL range in both steroids. Good correlation coefficients (r(2)≥0.999) were found, and their limits of quantifications were 0.59μg/mL and 0.66μg/mL in clobetasol propionate and betamethasone dipropionate, respectively. At three different concentrations spanning the linear dynamic ranges, mean recoveries were always higher than 93%, and precisions for intra-day and inter-day analyses were both less than 3.5%. The results show 32-96.4μg/g levels of clobetasol propionate in five different cosmetic products. Also, betamethasone dipropionate in a sample was monitored at the level of 195.1μg/g. This fact reveals that some manufacturers have added these steroids in their cosmetic products to advertise the treatment effect for skin atopy. Thus, these cosmetic products need to be monitored carefully, and ultimately removed from the market.