Expressive and Instrumental Voting: The Scylla and Charybdis of Constitutional Political Economy

Brennan and Hamlin (2002) note that expressive voting still holds at the constitutional phase. The argument, when taken to its necessary conclusion, proves quite problematic for Constitutional Political Economy. Veil mechanisms following Buchanan induce expressive voting at the constitutional phase, removing the normative benefits ascribed to the hypothetical unanimity principle. If the constitution is authored by a small group and the veil is thereby removed, instrumental considerations come to bear and the authors of the constitution establish themselves as Oligarch.expressive voting, constitutional political economy, Leviathan

Hayek, Mill and the Liberal Tradition

This book considers the relationship between Hayek and Mill, taking issues with Hayek’s criticism of Mill and providing a broader perspective of the liberal tradition. Featuring contributions from the likes of Ross Emmett, Leon Montes and Robert Garnett, these chapters ask whether Hayek had an accurate reading of the ideas of Mill and Smith, as well as considering themes such as sympathy and analytical egalitarianism that play a large part in the liberal tradition, but less in work of Hayek These chapters argue that addition of these key ideas to the Hayekian corpus leads to a far broader understanding of the liberal tradition than that provided by Hayek Introduction, Andrew Farrant , 1.Hayek and the Liberal Tradition, 1. Is Friedrich Hayek rowing Adam Smith’s boat, Leon Montes , 2. F. A. Hayek’s Sympathetic Agents, David M. Levy and Sandra Peart , 3. Discussion and the Evolution of Institutions in a Liberal Democracy: Frank Knight Joins the Debate, Ross Emmett , 2. Pushing the Boundaries of the Liberal Tradition? , 4. Hayek, Mill, and the Problem of Institutional Change?, Andrew Farrant , 5. A Socialist Spontaneous Order, Theodore A. Burczak , 6. Hayek and Philanthropy: A Classical Liberal Road Not (Yet) Taken, Robert Garnet

Arabian adventures

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the world’s most rapidly urbanising countries. Despite the recent downturn in the economy, the region continues to undergo rapid development, particularly around Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Consequently the country is host to many major civil engineering projects including the world’s tallest building, artificial offshore islands, new international airports, metro systems and high-speed rail networks

Wookey Hole Chamber 20 SSSI audit

This report documents an audit of geological features of potential scientific and aesthetic importance in Wookey 20. This audit was created by the British Geological Survey (BGS) under commission by Wookey Hole Caves Ltd as part of the planning conditions for the extension of the show cave from Wookey 9 into Wookey 20

Hayek, Mill and the Liberal Tradition

This book considers the relationship between Hayek and Mill, taking issues with Hayek’s criticism of Mill and providing a broader perspective of the liberal tradition. Featuring contributions from the likes of Ross Emmett, Leon Montes and Robert Garnett, these chapters ask whether Hayek had an accurate reading of the ideas of Mill and Smith, as well as considering themes such as sympathy and analytical egalitarianism that play a large part in the liberal tradition, but less in work of Hayek These chapters argue that addition of these key ideas to the Hayekian corpus leads to a far broader understanding of the liberal tradition than that provided by Hayek Introduction, Andrew Farrant , 1.Hayek and the Liberal Tradition, 1. Is Friedrich Hayek rowing Adam Smith’s boat, Leon Montes , 2. F. A. Hayek’s Sympathetic Agents, David M. Levy and Sandra Peart , 3. Discussion and the Evolution of Institutions in a Liberal Democracy: Frank Knight Joins the Debate, Ross Emmett , 2. Pushing the Boundaries of the Liberal Tradition? , 4. Hayek, Mill, and the Problem of Institutional Change?, Andrew Farrant , 5. A Socialist Spontaneous Order, Theodore A. Burczak , 6. Hayek and Philanthropy: A Classical Liberal Road Not (Yet) Taken, Robert Garnet

Subterranean glacial spillways: an example from the karst of South Wales, UK

Many karst areas in the UK have been glaciated one or more times during the last 0.5 Ma, yet there are few documented examples of caves in these regions being affected by glacial processes other than erosion. The karst of South Wales is one area where sub or pro-glacial modification of pre-existing caves is thought to occur. Evidence from the Ogof Draenen cave system suggests that caves can sometimes act as subterranean glacial ‘underspill’ channels for melt-water. This cave, one of the longest in Britain with a surveyed length of over 70 km, underlies the interfluve between two glaciated valleys. Sediment fills and speleo-morphological observations indicate that melt-water from a high level glacier in the Afon Lwyd valley (>340m asl) filled part of the cave and over-spilled into the neighbouring Usk valley, temporarily reversing non-glacial groundwater flow directions in the cave. It is suggested that this may have occurred during a Middle Pleistocene glaciation

British Cave Research Association field guide to the Bath Stone quarries, Box, Wiltshire

The venue for the 2016 British Cave Research Association Cave Science Symposium Field Trip is the underground ‘Bath Stone’ quarries around Box, near Corsham, Wiltshire (Figure 1). The aim of the field trip is to examine the cambering and gulling, gull caves and karstic features observed in the quarries. The underground quarries at Box lie at the southern end of the Cotswold Hills, on the southern side of the By Brook valley, a tributary if the River Avon. This valley has incised though the Great Oolite Group, a sequence of Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) limestones and mudstones. The underground quarries are developed within the Chalfield Oolite Formation. This is an excellent building stone, as it can be sawn by hand in any direction as a ‘freestone’ which then hardens on exposure to air, rather than having a distinct cleavage like slate

Are Two Knaves Better than One? Every Man a Knave: Hume, Buchanan, and Musgrave\u27s View on Economics and Government

It is commonplace to view market agents as self-interested knaves, while government agents are either as knaves or public-spirited angels. What are the consequences of these different motivational assumptions in modeling governmental and market behavior? We compare David Hume, James M. Buchanan, and Richard Musgrave. We claim that Hume, the only one thinking consistently in terms of the worst-case, offers a second best solution for both the government and the economy, which may turn out to be the best possible solution given human nature. Because of the reciprocal check, two knaves are better than one. More is preferred to less even with vices

Predicting the subsurface

Britain is blessed with a magnificent variety of landscapes, much of it the result of the diverse range of rock types that form our small island, and the different ways in which they respond to weathering and erosion. Nowhere is this clearer than when enjoying a walk along many of the paths that snake around our coastline; dramatic colour changes in the cliffs, steep climbs and descents between headlands and bays all reflect changes in the underlying geology. Sometimes the connection is obvious, such as the contrast between the low, sandy and muddy cliffs that tumble into the sea along the coast of Essex, and the rugged white cliffs on the south coast of England. These natural features, which we take for granted, have a significant impact on how we live and move about our island

Groundwater in Cretaceous carbonates: KG@B field trip 21st June 2015

The Upper Cretaceous Chalk of southern England is the UK’s most important aquifer, providing more than 75% of the public supply for southeast England, including London. The aquifer also sustains rivers and wetlands, and their associated groundwater dependent ecosystems. However, the aquifer is facing a multitude of threats including over-abstraction, nitrate pollution, and climate change. The Chalk is a complex aquifer in which groundwater flow is through the matrix, fractures and karstic dissolutional voids. The Chalk matrix has a porosity of around 35% (Bloomfield et al., 1995). The matrix is thought to provide an important contribution to storage, although the size of the pore throats is very small, and therefore the permeability is very low (Price et al., 1993). The average permeability of 977 core samples was only 6.3 x 10-4 m/day (Allen et al., 1997). The matrix is particularly important in solute transport, because solutes move between the matrix and the more permeable parts of the aquifer via diffusion (Foster 1975). The unmodified fracture network provides an important contribution to storage and flow, and has a hydraulic conductivity of about 0.1 m/d, and a transmissivity of about 20 m2/day (Price, 1987). However, it is the dissolutionally enlarged fissures and conduits that make the Chalk such a good aquifer. The median transmissivity from 2100 pumping tests is 540 m2/day, and the 25th and 75th percentiles are 190 and 1500 m2/day respectively (MacDonald and Allen, 2001). Borehole packer testing, logging and imaging have shown that most of this transmissivity comes from a small number of dissolutional voids (e.g. Tate et al., 1970; Schurch and Buckley, 2002). Laterally extensive lithostratigraphical horizons including marl seams, bedding planes, sheet and tabular flint bands, and hard-grounds have an important influence on these groundwater flows. They are all horizons where downward percolation of water may be impeded. Dissolution often occurs where flow is concentrated along these horizons, creating conduits or fissures, especially where they are intersected by joint sets