Economies of scale and Brazilian local government expenditure: evidence from the State of Paraná

ABSTRACT

Controversy surrounds local government reform, particularly efforts directed at reducing the number of local authorities to secure economies of scale. We examine whether economies of scale exist in local government outlays by analysing the expenditure of 398 municipalities for the Brazilian state of Paraná using a 16-year panel dataset covering the period 2002–2017. We find evidence that municipal expenditure is characterised by substantial scale economies. However, given the strong correlation between population size and population density, it is important to ascertain whether the influence of population size on municipal expenditure is due to variations in population density or not. When local government areas are divided into sub-groups based on population density, evidence of scale economies remains with the majority of councils operating below optimal size. Municipal consolidations may thus lead to lower per capita expenditure.     

DROUGHT: THE ACHILLES HEEL OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

Approximately 97% of the country is experiencing drought conditions. Due to gross water mismanagement and its damaging impact on the country, Iran faces the worst situation in water resources of any industrialized nation. Tens of thousands of villages have been deserted and most of the major urban centers have passed their limits to absorb new rural migrants. Some officials predict that in less than 25 years, 50 million Iranians would be displaced from their current homes because of the pressing ecological conditions. This is happening at the time that the gap between the grassroots and the state has widened and there is increasing dissatisfaction with governance plagued by corruption, nepotism, economic mismanagement, unaccountability and a foreign policy which has produced various regional and trans-regional adversaries. This paper evaluates the pressing ecological challenges in Iran and by conceptualizing political resilience it critically evaluates whether the Islamic Republic is prepared to face the devastating ecological crisis and its socio-economic consequences.     

Analysis of ethnic origin asymmetries in uniparental lineages in Argentinian population

With the aim to study Argentinian ethnic structure and its miscegenation, we analyzed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome Short Tandem Repeats (Y-STR) of 1580 blood samples from male donors. Our results showed that the population has a greater presence of Native American lineages on the maternal side (68.73 %) regarding the paternal line (4.18 %), alongside a majority of Eurasian origins in the paternal line (92.47 %). From the independence analysis, a significant difference was observed when compared with that expected by random crossings. The results are in agreement with a model where the miscegenation of native women with European men prevails, which has been widely observed in Argentine’s migratory currents and population history.     

绿色消费文化助力城市隐形贫困人口“脱贫摘帽”

近年来,"隐形贫困人口"一词成为网络流行语并受到部分城市青年群体的认同,该部分青年群体将其作为自己的身份标签以自嘲消费与收入之间巨大落差。这一现象引发了社会的广泛关注。有学者将其产生的原因归结为非理性消费,事实上,我们更应深刻地认识到我国城市隐形贫困人口是我国社会发展过程中的历史性、阶段性现象,其在动机、方式、心态方面均表现出双重属性,这折射出当前中国社会在现代化发展过程中面临着消费文化价值观缺陷,也反映我国社会优化整合功能不充分的消费困境。因此,解决城市隐形贫困人口的"脱贫"问题,需要积极倡导并践行绿色消费文化,实现人自身、人与自然、人与社会的共荣共生。     

论农村土地承包经营制度发展及其对策

数千年来，中国农村的土地问题一直都是国家社会经济发展的基础和关键所在。随着近几年中央陆续出台的几个“一号文件”，“三农问题”特别是农村土地问题成为了国家农业经济改革的重中之重。为加快农村土地制度的改革完善，越来越多的专家学者将改革目光投向了农村土地流转的改革上，并且2014年发布的“一号文件”，强调农业改革、发展现代农业以及继续将农业视为经济根本的重要性。同时，首次提出了农村土地承包经营权“三权分离”这一概念。本文主要通过理论上的分析，结合当前农村土地承包经营权的发展现状，对“三权分离”实施的可行性进行解读和探究。     

北京市人口调控的政策演变及未来策略

长期以来，人口调控是特大城市在人口发展中所面临的重大政策安排。然而，学术界对于今后 北京市的人口是否还需要调控、调控什么、如何调控等问题都存在着很多的疑问和思考。研究在对北京市人口 调控阶段进行分析的基础上，重点对新时期以来的人口调控政策特点和面临的挑战进行了探讨。研究认为，北 京市人口调控政策呈现出进入国家重大发展战略，摆脱主要依靠行政管控的状态、多种调控方式并存，产业疏 解开始扮演重要角色等特点。同时，北京市人口调控面临着如何对人口变化形势进行准确判断，如何在人口调 控的同时保持城市发展活力和可持续发展等挑战。未来，北京市的人口调控仍然具有必要性。为实现北京市可 持续发展的目标，研究建议，应该坚持目标导向、以城市高质量发展为引领，加强人口调控顶层设计，加大间 接性的经济和市场引导，加强人才队伍建设。     

日本老年人力资源开发的经验及启示

积极应对人口老龄化，已经上升为国家的重要发展战略。在应对老龄化的过程中，老年人力资 源开发不失为化解各项社会问题的有效之道。研究认为，日本作为最早进入老龄化社会的国家，通过传播积极 老龄化观念、制定立体化政策、建立多层次机构等举措，积极开展老年人力资源开发工作，取得了良好效果。 基于日本的经验，研究建议，我国的老年人力资源开发，可从构建开发文化、制定开发政策、建设开发机构网 络等方面入手，以助力我国实现从“人口红利”向“人力红利”的转变，从“人力资源大国”向“人力资源强国” 的飞跃。     

Little Women

Abstract

Despite the growing trend of waiving youth to adult/criminal court, little is known about how convicted youth experience adult prison. To date, no research has been published about girls in adult prisons. In this study, intensive interviews were conducted with 22 girls serving time in a women's prison in the Midwest, as well as four staff working in the girls ' unit. The findings describe the complex lives of girls housed in an adult women's prison, in particular, their difficulties in gaining access to adequate schooling, work training, counseling, and health care. We also address the girls' contact with adult women prisoners, as well as their relationships with staff at the prison. Beyond improving their conditions of confinement, our research highlights the need to consider the appropriateness of placing girls in adult institutions.     

Macroeconomic Policies and Agricultural Terms of Trade,Bangladesh, 1952–2005

Agricultural prices in Bangladesh have had a tendency to rise at a faster rate than industrial prices since the early 1950s. The resulting rising trend in the agricultural terms of trade has been pronounced since the mid-1980s when Bangladesh introduced IMF- and World Bank-supported deregulatory economic reforms. This rising trend in the agricultural terms of trade is inconsistent with the Prebisch-Singer thesis in the context of domestic economy, which suggests a secular deterioration in the terms of trade for primary products vis-à-vis manufactured products. It is, however, consistent with the view of classical economists who saw the possibility of an upward trend in the terms of trade for agricultural products (food) because of diminishing returns in agriculture. In fact, the classical idea of the rising terms of trade for primary products makes sense in a land-constrained growing economy with increasing population, such as Bangladesh, which remained semi-closed until the mid-1980s. This article reviews macroeconomic policies in Bangladesh since the 1950s, examines the time-series properties of agricultural prices, industrial prices and the agricultural terms of trade and draws inference on the issue whether the agricultural sector was squeezed systematically by turning the terms of trade against agriculture for industrialisation of the country.     

Contemporary prison overcrowding: short-term fixes to a perpetual problem

Since the United States began using incarceration as its cornerstone of punishment for those who transgress the law, this method of discipline has been fraught with problems. One of the most ubiquitous problems found within correctional institutions are the conditions inmates are forced to live in particularly, when penal facilities are overcrowded. These conditions have led to extensive litigation, compelling the judicial system to change. Although overall conditions have improved, a perpetually increasing inmate population continues to plague correctional systems as costs continue to rise. As state budgets have become strained during the economic downturns, many states’ officials view less punitive measures as possible solutions to the excessive costs of administering punishment and overcrowded inmate populations. Due to facility overcrowding, several states have actually been placed under federal court order to reduce their inmate population in order to protect inmates’ constitutional rights. Although this has resulted in a change of policies to help alleviate prison overcrowding, there is little evidence these are anything more than short-term fixes to a problem with no end in sight.