Impact of the political and economic restructuring in Eastern Europe on the availability of net energy exports—An emprirical framework

The recent political changes will not only affect the domestic economies of the Eastern European countries but also important world commodity markets. This paper investigates the consequences for world energy markets. For this purpose, a disaggregated model of the Eastern European energy markets is developed that accounts for the introduction markets (‘pricing’) into the formerly central planned economies. Deregulation will stimulate conservation and will favour ‘noble’ fuels, i.e. oil, gas and electricity. (Potential) net energy exports will slightly increase by 1995 where gas exports could compensate for the decline in oil exports.     

Treating handicapped newborns: suggestions for institutional policy

In October 1984 a conference of physicians and other health professionals, attorneys, members of the press, ethicists, and social scientists met at the State University of New York at Stony Brook to consider the medical, ethical, and social issues raised by the treatment of handicapped newborns. Presented here is a summary of guidelines for the implementation of their most important recommendation--the establishment of institutional policies concerning the internal decision making process regarding treatment and the procedures for sharing information about controversial cases with the public. The guidelines address the medical problems of diagnosis, prognosis, and clinical decision making; institutional responses to controversy within the institution and to the media and the public; and the composition and role of institutional review committees.     

Does Political Advertising Persuade?

Well over $1 billion was spent on televised political advertising in the U.S. in 2004. Given the ubiquity of the 30 second spot, one might presume that ads must affect viewers’ vote choices. Somewhat surprisingly, though, scholars have yet to make much progress in confirming this claim. In this paper, we leverage a comprehensive dataset that tracks political ads in the nation’s top media markets and a survey of presidential and U.S. Senate voters in 2004. We ask whether exposure to presidential and Senate advertising influences voters’ evaluations of candidates and the choices that they make at the ballot box. In the end, we find considerable evidence that advertising persuades—and that its impact varies depending on the characteristics of the viewer.