Politically Connected Firms and the Environment

This paper examines the environmental effect of political connections at the individual and organizational levels. We integrate political connections at both levels in a four-stage game-theoretic framework to study the political interplay between an entrepreneur, a bureaucrat and a government. We distinguish individual-level political connections from bribery and argue that while the latter is generally more efficient for the firm aiming to reduce environmental tax payments, political connections become more appealing when the bureaucrat places a higher value on indirect non-monetary benefits. We find that individual-level political connections are associated with more emission discharges by the firm, while the effect of organizational-level political connections on emissions depends on a negative interaction effect between political connections at different levels and a positive resource-reallocation effect between abatement activities and production.

Secessionist conflict as diversion from inequality: The missing link between grievance and repression

Why do some secessionist claims turn violent and others stay peaceful? This study elucidates the role of inequality and diversionary tactics of states in secessionist violence. Horizontal inequality increases the grievances of minorities and fuels rebellion. States with high vertical inequality prefer to suppress peripheries instead of increasing redistribution and alleviating their material grievances. States shun redistributing toward peripheral regions because sharing with one group prompts demands for redistribution among other groups, including the dominant group. Fearing resource reallocation at the national scale and potential loss of their elevated social status, the elites opt for violent solutions for secessionist crises. Using a new dataset on self-determination movements I test these conjectures and find strong support for them.

Senegala

Senegal has a history of representative politics dating from the nineteenth century, and has experienced political stability since independence in 1960. Progressive political liberalization since the 1980s has occurred without coups or national conferences, making the country an outlier in the region. However, despite two peaceful transitions of power in 2000 and 2012, Senegal’s politics have also been continuously marred by autocratic behavior and periodic limitations on civil liberties. As such, Senegal remains a “patrimonial democracy.” The country’s social and generational inequalities have been exacerbated by mismanagement of resource reallocation by the state, as well as by its dependence on international aid and remittances. The worrisome socioeconomic situation has sparked migration but also bolstered the engagement of younger generations, with social movements increasingly active in the public arena and more women participating in politics. In addition, religious diversification and greater religious pluralism have increasingly challenged the historically central role of Islam, and especially the Sufi orders, in politics.

Reproductive Suicide: Similar Mechanisms of Aging in C. elegans and Pacific Salmon

In some species of salmon, reproductive maturity triggers the development of massive pathology resulting from reproductive effort, leading to rapid post-reproductive death. Such reproductive death, which occurs in many semelparous organisms (with a single bout of reproduction), can be prevented by blocking reproductive maturation, and this can increase lifespan dramatically. Reproductive death is often viewed as distinct from senescence in iteroparous organisms (with multiple bouts of reproduction) such as humans. Here we review the evidence that reproductive death occurs in C. elegans and discuss what this means for its use as a model organism to study aging. Inhibiting insulin/IGF-1 signaling and germline removal suppresses reproductive death and greatly extends lifespan in C. elegans, but can also extend lifespan to a small extent in iteroparous organisms. We argue that mechanisms of senescence operative in reproductive death exist in a less catastrophic form in iteroparous organisms, particularly those that involve costly resource reallocation, and exhibit endocrine-regulated plasticity. Thus, mechanisms of senescence in semelparous organisms (including plants) and iteroparous ones form an etiological continuum. Therefore understanding mechanisms of reproductive death in C. elegans can teach us about some mechanisms of senescence that are operative in iteroparous organisms.

SPATIAL DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FOR PLANNING AND RESEARCH

In Malaysia, spatial demographic studies are lacking due to data paucity. This exploratory study illustrates the relevance of spatial demographic data for development and business planning at the local level. Data for this study came from Malaysian population censuses, vital statistics reports and social statistics bulletins. Bivariate analyses were performed to present some examples of the potential use of spatial demographic data for more target-oriented planning. Data show that the population in several densely populated districts continues to grow rapidly. Hence, development planning should aim to forestall the exacer-bation of the regional imbalance. Localities with high birth rate and rapid population ageing must be prepared to cope with the changing demographic scenario. The wide variations in pupil-teacher ratio across districts indicate the need for resource reallocation. The under-reporting of births and deaths in the remote areas may result in misallocation of health and educational resources. Comparisons of indictors from different data sources demonstrate data inconsistency and deficiency. This study aims to present a strong case for collecting and disseminating small area statistics to enhance spatial demographic research for socio-economic development, infrastructural, regional and business planning.