Economics

Gender inequality is an acute and persistent problem, especially in developing countries. This paper argues that gender discrimination is an inefficient practice. We model gender discrimination as the complete exclusion of females from the labor market or as the exclusion of females from managerial positions. The distortions in the allocation of talent between managerial and unskilled positions, and in human capital investment, are analyzed. It is found that both types of discrimination lower economic growth; and that the former also implies a reduction in per capita GDP, while the latter distorts the allocation of talent. Both types of discrimination imply lower female-to-male schooling ratios. We discuss the sustainability of social norms or stigma that can generate discrimination in the form described in this paper. We present evidence based on panel-data regressions across Indian states over 1961-1991 that is consistent with the model's predictions.

This paper studies whether the gender composition of recruiting committees matters. We make use of the exceptional empirical evidence provided by Spanish public examinations, where the allocation of candidates to evaluating committees is random. We analyze how the chances of success of over 75,000 male and female candidates to the Judicial Corps in the period 1995-2005 were a¤ected by the gender of their evaluators. We …nd that a female (male) candidate is signi…cantly less likely to pass the exam whenever she is randomly assigned to a committee where the share of female (male) evaluators is relatively greater. We also …nd that 'gender parity'committees are fairer than male committees. The evidence found in this paper suggests that the imposition of gender parity in recruiting committees will not increase the number of women in decision-making positions; paradoxically, it will further reduce it. However, it will increase fairness.

Many factors influence the likelihood of citizens turning out to vote. In this paper we focus our attention on issue voting, that is, on the likelihood that different policies offered by politicians affect the probability of voting. If voters consider both the benefits and the costs of voting, rational voters will only vote when politicians offer differentiated policies. In a multidimensional policy space this implies that citizens only vote when they perceive enough difference on the issues they care about the most. We investigate the role of voter abstention due to indifference in a unidimensional and a multidimensional policy setting using data from the US National Election Studies for 1972-2000 and find support for our predictions: voters perceiving a small difference between the platforms of the Democratic and Republican parties are less likely to vote; and voters who perceive the two parties as more different on a larger number of issues are significantly more likely to vote.

Este trabajo analiza la selección de la élite de una sociedad; en particular, la selección de las altas capas del funcionariado. Con la aparición de las sociedades modernas, se crearon mecanismos para la educación y evaluación de la élite con el fin de sustituir un sistema basado en el nepotismo aristocrático, reemplazándolo por otro en el que prevaleciese la meritocracia. En esta línea, las plazas de altos funcionarios se asignan mediante procesos de selección muy competitivos en numerosos países de Europa, América Latina y Asia2.

This paper investigates the reasons behind the low representation of women among legislators. Using data from Spain, we find that parties tend to nominate female candidates to poorer positions on the ballot. We examine whether this is due to voter bias or party bias, and find two pieces of evidence supporting the latter: female candidates attract more votes, and political competition improves the quality of positions to which female candidates are assigned.

Abstract We look into the potential existence of a ostate nobilitypin top civil service in Spain. With that aim we exploit the surname information of 21,000 members and 85,000 candidates for positions in the eleven main Corps of the Spanish Administration. We use a two&component linear mixture model to estimate the probability that a candidate is a relative of a Corps member.

Abstract This paper challenges the view that the gender gap in pay and promotion is partially due to menps overconfidence. Here we use a unique database with information on over 75,000 individuals taking all the major public examinations in Spain, which give access to the most coveted occupa (tions in the public sector.

Abstract This paper analyzes the relevance of ballot order in Spanish Senate elections. We use data from elections held between 1996 and 2008, when the order of parties on the ballot was random. We find that ballot order significantly affects the number of votes, as well as the number of seats, obtained by parties. In particular, for candidates from the main two parties, being placed at the beginning of the ballot is associated with an increase of two percentage points in votes (relative to being placed at the middle of the ballot).

Abstract: It is well known that incumbent politicians tend to receive more votes when economic conditions are good. In this paper we explore the source of this correlation, exploiting the exceptional evidence provided by the Spanish Christmas Lottery. This is a unique lottery: 75% of Spaniards play, sharing tickets, and every year at Christmas 0.3% of the Spanish GDP is at stake. Because winning tickets are mostly sold by one lottery outlet, winners tend to be geographically clustered.

This paper argues that sex discrimination is an inefficient practice. We model sex discrimination as the complete exclusion of females from the labor market or as the exclusion of females from managerial positions. The former implies a reduction in GDP per capita; the latter distorts the allocation of talent and lowers economic growth. Both imply lower female-to-male schooling ratios. Our model predicts a convex relationship between nondiscrimination and growth. Although discrimination is difficult to measure, it will be reflected in schooling differentials.

We analyze the interaction between electoral competition and voters' decision to vote. We show that when voters consider both the benefits and the costs of voting, politicians offer differentiated policies to motivate citizens to vote. In particular, politicians adapt their policies to the most sensitive voters—thus less sensitive voters abstain on the grounds of perceiving politicians as being too similar. In a multidimensional policy space, this implies that citizens who only care about a few issues do not vote.

This is a book review of Ebenezer Obadare's ''Humor, Silence and Civil Society in Nigeria.'' It examines conceptual issues around the role of civil society in Nigeria, the nexus (or lack thereof) between ngo's and civil society, and the roles that humor and silence play as roles of agency in how a population responds to oppression and the suppression of dissent.

This study investigated the ways in which family members of students in a Hawaiian language immersion program were involved in their children's education and identified the effects of and barriers to involvement. A sociocultural theoretical approach and Epstein's framework of different types of involvement were applied. Participants included 35 families whose children were enrolled in Papahana Kaiapuni, a K-12 public school program in Hawai'i. The program uses the Hawaiian language as the medium of instruction. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants about their program experiences. Kaiapuni family involvement practices were consistent with Epstein's typology. Consistent with previous research on family involvement in other contexts, Type 2 (school-home communications) and Type 3 (voluntary involvement) were prevalent. However, different from previous reports, participants were more involved in school decision making (Type 5). Families felt that their involvement promoted (a) the development of children's values, (b) family and community bonding, (c) children's English language learning, and (d) family members' learning about Hawaiian language and culture. The most frequently mentioned barrier to involvement was a lack of proficiency in the Hawaiian language.

This paper introduces a trust model for mobile ad hoc networks. Initially each node is assigned a trust level. Then we use several approaches to dynamically update trust levels by using reports from threat detection tools, such as Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs), located on all nodes in the network. The nodes neighboring to a node exhibiting suspicious behavior initiate trust reports. These trust reports are propagated through the network using one of our proposed methods. A source node can use the trust levels it establishes for other nodes to evaluate the security of routes to destination nodes. Using these trust levels as a guide, the source node can then select a route that meets the security requirements of the message to be transmitted. This paper demonstrates important concepts for establishing a collaborative, dynamic trust model and for using this model as an example to enhance the security of message routing in mobile ad hoc networks.

dintre temele favorite ale keynesiștilor este cea legată de consum. Neapărat trebuie să continuăm consumul susținut ca să scoatem economia din criză. Neapărat trebuie să ne împrumutăm de la bancă pentru a consuma și a readuce economia pe o pantă ascendentă. Economisirea de resurse și instinctul natural de a te abține de la consum, atunci când incertitudinea legată de viitor e mare, este văzută ca ceva absolut lipsit de sens și logică economică.