Privatisation in Developing Countries: A Review of the Evidence and the Policy Lessons

Privatisation is widely promoted as a means of improving economic performance in developing countries. However, the policy remains controversial and the relative roles of ownership and other structural changes, such as competition and regulation, in promoting economic performance remain uncertain. This article reviews the main empirical evidence on the impact of privatisation on economic performance in developing economies. The evidence suggests that if privatisation is to improve performance over the longer term, it needs to be complemented by policies that promote competition and effective state regulation, and that privatisation works best in developing countries when it is integrated into a broader process of structural reform.     

The difference between drug money and a "lifetime's savings"

In many countries, monies suspected of being associated with drug trafficking can be seized by the authorities. One of the ways of investigating this association is through the analysis of seized banknotes for traces of controlled drugs. We report three studies which may assist the expert in assessing whether banknotes contaminated with diamorphine are part of the general population of notes in circulation or whether they show unusual contamination patterns which require explanation. Study 1 is based on three plausible contamination scenarios as they may occur during the various stages of an illicit drug transaction and seizure. It shows that notes which have been in direct contact with visible traces of diamorphine show significantly higher contamination to those in more indirect contact with the drug. Study 2 investigates the transfer of diamorphine from one highly contaminated note to other notes in a bundle over a period of 10 weeks with and without agitation. It was found that the total amount of drug transferred was smaller than 6% and no more than 4 out of a bundle of 10 previously clean notes became lightly contaminated. Based on extensive background data, study 3 proposes a probabilistic model to assess whether an observed proportion of diamorphine bearing banknotes is likely to have been contaminated by chance. The model predicts that there is only a 0.3% chance that a bundle of 100 notes from the general banknote population contains more than six contaminated specimens. Jointly, the three studies give useful indications for the spread of contamination throughout a sample and the amounts of heroin which may be expected given plausible contamination scenarios.     

Pulse Variations of a Conducted Energy Weapon (Similar to the TASER® X26 Device): Effects on Muscle Contraction and Threshold for Ventricular Fibrillation*

Abstract: Conducted energy weapons (such as the Advanced TASER X26 model produced by TASER International), incapacitate individuals by causing muscle contractions. To provide information relevant to development of future potential devices, a “Modifiable Electronic Stimulator” was used to evaluate the effects of changing various parameters of the stimulating pulse. Muscle contraction was affected by pulse power, net/gross charge, pulse duration, and pulse repetition frequency. The contraction force increased linearly as each of these factors was increased. Elimination of a precursor pulse from X26‐like pulses did not have a significant effect on the normalized force measured. Muscle‐contraction force increased as the spacing increased from 5 to 20 cm, with no further change in force above 20 cm of spacing. Therefore, it is suggested that any future developments of new conducted energy weapons should include placement of electrodes a minimum of 20 cm apart so that efficiency of the system is not degraded. In the current study, the 50% probability of fibrillation level of X26‐like pulses ranged from 4 to 5 times higher than the X26 itself. Relatively large variations about the X26 operating level were found not to result in fibrillation or asystole. Therefore, it should be possible to design and build an X26‐type device that operates efficiently at levels higher than the X26.     

Trends in victimization in schools and elsewhere, 1974–1981

Trends in the rate of victimizations of juveniles in three settings-schools, homes, and streets/parks-are examined monthly during the period 1974–1981. The relationship between in-school victimization rates and those occurring outside of school are analyzed with multivariate ARMA models informed by previous research on school victimization (Gottfredson and Gottfredson, 1985) and an importation perspective on the source of crime and victimization in institutions such as schools. Results indicate that the overall in-school victimization rate remained relatively stable during this period but that victimization rates of juveniles in other settings had significant effects on in-school victimizations. This suggests that underlying causes of victimization in general are important determinants of victimization in schools. These results are limited, however, as we examine these sources of victimization only indirectly via relationships among the different victimization rates in dynamic models and by the aggregate nature of the monthly data from the National Crime Survey.     

The role of forensic geoscience in wildlife crime detection

The increase in both automation and precision in the analysis of geological materials has had significant impact upon forensic investigations in the last 10 years. There is however, a fundamental philosophical difference between forensic and geological enquiry. This paper presents the results of forensic geoscientific investigations of three cases of wildlife crime. Two cases involve the analysis of soils recovered after incidents of illegal badger baiting in the United Kingdom. The third case involves the illegal importation of Eleonora's Falcon (Falco eleonorae) into the United Kingdom from the Mediterranean. All three cases utilise the analysis of soils by a variety of physical, chemical and biological techniques. These involve mineral and grain size analyses, cation and anion compositions, pH, organic content and pollen analysis. The independent analysis undertaken by specialists in each of these three main fields conclude firstly, that there is a significant similarity between sediments taken at the crime site at both badger setts and with sediments recovered from various spades, shovels and clothing belonging to suspects and secondly, that the soils analysed associated with the removal of the falcon eggs in the Mediterranean contained characteristics similar in many respects to the soils of the breeding areas of F. eleonorae on the cliffs of Mallorca. The use of these independent techniques in wildlife crime detection has great potential given the ubiquitous nature of soils and sediments found in association with wildlife sites.     

Putting the group back into intergroup justice studies

This paper argues that groups have traditionally been conceptualized in two major ways—subjective and objective—which correspond to the different conceptions found within the disciplines of psychology and sociology. We argue that the term group is frequently used too carelessly since rarely are readers informed of the conception of group to which the findings are relevant. Findings generated from studies involving one conception of group may not allow valid inferences to groups conceptualized differently. We suggest that a more sociological conception of group is needed to balance the current emphasis based in the psychological tradition. We believe that such a difference in conceptualizing groups could well lead to very different speculations about the nature of intergroup justice relations.