Purchasing Power Parity in Three Transition Economies

This paper uses cointegration analysis on monthly data over April 1994-December 2000 to test the relevance theory of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) for two advanced transition economies (Poland and the Czech Republic) and one lagging transition economy (Romania). PPP is not rejected between the lagging reformer and developed market economies, but is rejected between the advanced reformers and the developed economies. However, PPP is not rejected between the two advanced transition economies, though it is rejected between the lagging and advanced transition economies. The evolution of the real exchange rates over 1994-2000 suggest that a significant explanation for these findings is the central role of the exchange rate in the disinflation strategies of Poland and the Czech Republic in the early part of this period, in contrast to the managed float followed by Romania throughout the period.     

Federal criminal justice legislation and the post-World War II social structure of accumulation in the United States

This article explores the relationship between the political economy and the criminal justice system through an analysis of the impact of long economic cycles in the social structure of accumulation on U.S. federal criminal justice legislation from 1948 to 1987. An analysis is conducted which compares both qualitative and quantitative changes in these legislative acts from the period of economic expansion (1948 to 1967) to the period of contraction (1968 to 1987). The research findings of this investigation indicate that mechanisms of social control intensify during periods of prolonged economic contraction; however, the concept of an exceptional state, with a proportional increase in more coercive crime control strategies, is somewhat challenged.Earlier versions of this paper were presented at meetings of the American Society of Criminology (1988, 1989, 1990).     

Structural contradictions and the United States Sentencing Commission

This research is a case study of criminal justice policy formation involving the development of federal sentencing guidelines for business organizations by the United States Sentencing Commission. It describes the decision-making process of the Commission and the influence of other groups and individuals on the process, and recounts their actions within the framework of structural contradictions theory. In the case of the federal sentencing guidelines, it is demonstrated that representatives of business opposed any legislation that was meant to limit the power of corporations or sanction the actions of their representatives, and therefore placed pressure on members of the Commission to eliminate or minimize such sanctions. The study confirms that the state, in an effort to foster the continued capital accumulation necessary for a healthy economy, acknowledged capitalist provisos and at least partially submitted to them during the development of the guidelines. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

West Nile virus encephalitis

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne virus that has caused a large number of deaths in the United States since the first outbreak in New York City in 1998. The outbreak initially was limited to the northeast but has since spread across the entire continental United States. WNV causes a variety of clinical symptoms, but the most severe consequences result from central nervous system infection, resulting in meningitis, encephalitis, or meningoencephalitis. We present a case of a 62-year-old male with metastatic cancer, who died as a result of WNV encephalitis. This is followed by a discussion on the epidemiology of WNV and a detailed summary of the methods and resources available to make a diagnosis of WNV infection postmortem. The material presented in the discussion should provide the forensic pathologist with all the information necessary to make a diagnosis of WNV infection postmortem. If nothing else, the routine collection and storage of serum, cerebrospinal fluid, and tissue for every case can enable the forensic pathologist to make this diagnosis even in cases in which WNV is not suspected until after autopsy.