Neopatrimonialism in Latin America: Prospects and Promises of a Neglected Concept

Neopatrimonialism relates to the co-existence of two different logics of political domination: legal-rational rule, which is associated with modern statehood, and patrimonial rule, which corresponds to the traditional type of domination. In recent years, the concept has been applied to characterize political authority in a number of states in different world regions. But despite the fact that elements of neopatrimonial rule can also be found in many Latin American countries, the concept has not taken hold in the scholarship carried out on that region. This paper first explains how neopatrimonialism relates to the dominant approaches in the scholarly debates on Latin American politics, and then it discusses the potential benefits of the concept of neopatrimonialism. It argues that neopatrimonialism provides a more complex characterization of political rule on both the political and the administrative levels than more frequently applied concepts such as neopopulism.Latin America, neopatrimonialism, informal institutions, domination

Kein Auslaufmodell : 20 Jahre Mercosur

QC 2011063

How Neopatrimonialism Affects Tax Administration: A Comparative Study of Three World Regions

Neopatrimonialism is a concept that has predominately been applied to describe governance in sub?Saharan Africa. Recently, though, it has also been used to describe states from other world regions. However, scholars have rarely attempted to systematically compare neopatrimonial rule in different regional settings. This paper aims to narrow this gap by examining the effect of neopatrimonialism on the tax administration as a core state function in six countries from three different world regions: Argentina, Venezuela, Indonesia, the Philippines, Kenya and Zambia. We conclude that neopatrimonialism is a valuable concept for comparative area studies with the potential to foster dialogue on the “state in operation” across the regional divide. However, several indicators are more valid for some world regions than for others. We find that there is no systematic relationship between neopatrimonial trajectories and the strength of tax administration. Individual actor decisions influence the outcomes of neopatrimonialism substantially.neopatrimonialism, governance, institutions, Argentina, Venezuela, Indonesia, Philippines, Kenya, Zambia

Evolution of localization in NiTi shape memory alloys and its effect on structures

Nearly equiatomic NiTi can be strained to several percent and fully recover upon unloading (pseudoelastic behavior). This property is derived from solid-state transformations between the austenitic (A) and martensitic (M) phases, which can be induced by either changes in temperature or stress. In concert with prior results in tension, stress-induced phase transformation leads to localized deformation associated with the nucleation and propagation of the M-phase during loading and the A-phase during unloading. By contrast, it is demonstrated that under compression, transformation stresses are higher, strains are smaller, and the deformation is essentially homogeneous. This tension-compression asymmetry and unstable material behavior have an effect on the response and stability of NiTi structures. This is demonstrated with pure bending of tubes, and axial compression of cylindrical shells. Pure bending results in localization that leads to the coexistence of two curvature regimes. In the axial compression of the shell, transformation induces buckling and collapse, both of which are recoverable upon unloading. A requirement for the analysis and design of such structures is constitutive models that capture the material instability and asymmetry. Furthermore, the extensions of these material nonlinearities to the multiaxial setting must be addressed. To this end, results from a series of experiments on pseudoelastic NiTi tubes loaded under combined axial load and internal pressure are presented in which radial stress paths in the axial-hoop stress space were traced. Stereo digital image correlation was used to monitor the evolution of transformation-induced deformation. Results spanning axial-to-hoop stress ratios from -1.0 to uniaxial tension revealed that, but for a narrow region near equibiaxial tension, transformation leads to localized helical deformation bands with helix angles that vary with the stress ratio, while the stresses remain nearly constant. In the vicinity of equibiaxial tension, the material exhibits hardening and homogeneous deformation. Loci of the transformation stresses, while exhibiting minor anisotropy, traced an elongated non-Mises trajectory in the axial-hoop stress space. By contrast, the transformation strains exhibit significant anisotropy between axial and hoop dominant stress paths. Moreover, strains around the equibiaxial stress state, where material hardening and homogeneous deformation was observed, are significantly smaller than in the rest of the stress space. The strain anisotropy has a corresponding reflection on the energy dissipated during transformation with axial dominant stress paths dissipating significantly more energy than hoop dominant ones, with less dissipation observed in the neighborhood of equibiaxial stress.Engineering Mechanic

Kein Auslaufmodell: 20 Jahre Mercosur

Der Mercosur (Mercado Común del Sur – Gemeinsamer Markt des Südens) wird 20 Jahre alt. Mit dem Vertrag von Asunción legten Argentinien, Brasilien, Uruguay und Paraguay am 26. März 1991 den Grundstein für die nach wie vor bedeutendste Regionalorganisation Lateinamerikas. Zum Zeitpunkt seiner Gründung war der Mercosur ein herausragendes Beispiel für den "neuen" und "offenen" Regionalismus. Die anfänglichen wirtschaftlichen Erfolge mündeten jedoch bald in eine Phase anhaltender Stagnation. Vor dem Hintergrund der Schaffung neuer und stärker politisch orientierter Regionalorganisationen wie die Union Südamerikanischer Nationen (UNASUR) oder die Gemeinschaft Lateinamerikanischer und Karibischer Staaten (CELAC) stellte sich zudem die Frage, ob der Mercosur für seine Mitglieder auch künftig noch der zentrale Bezugsrahmen in regionalen Fragen sein oder zu einem Auslaufmodell werden wird. Mit Blick auf seine wirtschaftlichen Integrationsziele (Zollunion, Schaffung eines gemeinsamen Marktes) ist der Mercosur deutlich hinter den Erwartungen zurückgeblieben. Die Gründe liegen in den enormen Asymmetrien zwischen seinen Mitgliedsländern, in der fehlenden makroökonomischen Koordinierung und in den nationalen Alleingängen auf Kosten der Partner. Die geringen Fortschritte auf wirtschaftlichem Gebiet sind nicht zuletzt Ausdruck der Krise des "offenen" Regionalismus, mit dem die Organisation seit ihrer Schaffung verbunden ist. Seit Anfang des 21. Jahrhunderts hat sich der Mercosur von diesem Integrationsmodell entfernt und einen stärker politischen Charakter angenommen. Die im vergangenen Jahrzehnt auf dem Subkontinent neu ins Leben gerufenen Regionalorganisationen stellen bislang keine ernsthaften Alternativen zum Mercosur dar. Über dessen Fortbestehen besteht in allen gesellschaftlichen Lagern weitgehender Konsens. Anders als der Mercosur, der nach wie vor auf einem festen wirtschaftlichen Fundament ruht und vielfach regulierend in den Alltag seiner Mitgliedsländer eingreift, hängen UNASUR, CELAC oder die Bolivarische Allianz für die Völker Amerikas (ALBA) wesentlich stärker von der politischen Konjunktur und der Kooperationsbereitschaft der jeweiligen Regierungen ab

Concentrations of criteria pollutants in the contiguous U.S., 1979 – 2015: Role of model parsimony in integrated empirical geographic regression

BACKGROUND: National- or regional-scale prediction models that estimate individual-level air pollution concentrations commonly include hundreds of geographic variables. However, these many variables may not be necessary and parsimonious approach including small numbers of variables may achieve sufficient prediction ability. This parsimonious approach can also be applied to most criteria pollutants. This approach will be powerful when generating publicly available datasets of model predictions that support research in environmental health and other fields. OBJECTIVES: We aim to (1) build annual-average integrated empirical geographic (IEG) regression models for the contiguous U.S. for six criteria pollutants, for all years with regulatory monitoring data during 1979 – 2015; (2) explore the impact of model parsimony on model performance by comparing the model performance depending on the numbers or variables offered into a model; and (3) provide publicly available model predictions. METHODS: We compute annual-average concentrations from regulatory monitoring data for PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, and ozone at all monitoring sites for 1979-2015. We also compute ~900 geographic characteristics at each location including measures of traffic, land use, and satellite-based estimates of air pollution and landcover. We then develop IEG models, employing universal kriging and summary factors estimated by partial least squares (PLS) of independent variables. For all pollutants and years, we compare three approaches for choosing variables to include in the model: (1) no variables (kriging only), (2) a limited number of variables chosen by forward selection, and (3) all variables. We evaluate model performance using 10-fold cross-validation (CV) using conventional randomly-selected and spatially-clustered test data. RESULTS: Models using 3 to 30 variables generally have the best performance across all pollutants and years (median R2 conventional [clustered] CV: 0.66 [0.47]) compared to models with no (0.37 [0]) or all variables (0.64 [0.27]). Using the best models mostly including 3-30 variables, we predicted annual-average concentrations of six criteria pollutants for all Census Blocks in the contiguous U.S. DISCUSSION: Our findings suggest that national prediction models can be built on only a small number (30 or fewer) of important variables and provide robust concentration estimates. Model estimates are freely available online

Reconstruction of a meteotsunami in Lake Erie on 27 May 2012: Roles of atmospheric conditions on hydrodynamic response in enclosed basins

On 27 May 2012, atmospheric conditions gave rise to two convective systems that generated a series of waves in the meteotsunami band on Lake Erie. The resulting waves swept three swimmers a 0.5 mi offshore, inundated a marina, and may have led to a capsized boat along the southern shoreline. Analysis of radial velocities from a nearby radar tower in combination with coastal meteorological observation indicates that the convective systems produced a series of outflow bands that were the likely atmospheric cause of the meteotsunami. In order to explain the processes that led to meteotsunami generation, we model the hydrodynamic response to three meteorological forcing scenarios: (i) the reconstructed atmospheric disturbance from radar analysis, (ii) simulated conditions from a high‐resolution weather model, and (iii) interpolated meteorological conditions from the NOAA Great Lakes Coastal Forecasting System. The results reveal that the convective systems generated a series of waves incident to the southern shore of the lake that reflected toward the northern shoreline and reflected again to the southern shore, resulting in spatial wave focusing and edge wave formation that combined to impact recreational users near Cleveland, OH. This study illustrates the effects of meteotsunami development in an enclosed basin, including wave reflection, focusing, and edge wave formation as well as temporal lags between the causative atmospheric conditions and arrival of dangerous wave conditions. As a result, the ability to detect these extreme storms and predict the hydrodynamic response is crucial to reducing risk and building resilient coastal communities.Key Points:Radar‐based velocity allows for detection of meteotsunami‐inducing frontWave reflection, focusing, and edge waves led to meteotsunami conditionsEnclosed basins can induce temporal lags between storm front and wave responsePeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145384/1/jgrc21485_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145384/2/jgrc21485-sup-0001-2015JC010883-s01.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145384/3/jgrc21485.pd

Particulate matter air pollution and national and county life expectancy loss in the USA: a spatiotemporal analysis

Background Exposure to fine particulate matter pollution (PM2.5) is hazardous to health. Our aim was to directly estimate the health and longevity impacts of current PM2.5 concentrations, and the benefits of reductions from 1999 to 2015, nationally and at county level, for the entire contemporary population of the contiguous United States. Methods and findings We used vital registration and population data with information on sex, age, cause of death and county of residence. We used four Bayesian spatio-temporal models, with different adjustments for other determinants of mortality, to directly estimate mortality and life expectancy loss due to current PM2.5 pollution, and the benefits of reductions since 1999, nationally and by county. The covariates included in the adjusted models were per capita income; percentage of population whose family income is below the poverty threshold, who are of Black or African American race, who have graduated from high-school, who live in urban areas, and who are unemployed; cumulative smoking; and mean temperature and relative humidity. In the main model, which adjusted for these covariates and for unobserved county characteristics through the use of county random intercepts, PM2.5 pollution in excess of the lowest observed concentration (2.8 µg/m3) was responsible for an estimated 15,612 deaths (95% credible interval 13,248-17,945) in females and in 14,757 deaths (12,617-16,919) for males. These deaths would lower national life expectancy by an estimated 0.15 years (0.13-0.17) for women and 0.13 years (0.11-0.15) for men. The life expectancy loss due to PM2.5 was largest around Los Angeles and in some southern states, such as Arkansas, Oklahoma or Alabama. At any PM2.5 concentration, life expectancy loss was, on average, larger in counties with lower income than in wealthier counties. Reductions in PM2.5 since 1999 have lowered mortality in all but 14 counties where PM2.5 increased slightly. The main limitation of our study, similar to other observational studies, is that it is not guaranteed for the observed associations to be causal. We did not have annual county-level data on other important determinants of mortality, such as healthcare access and quality and diet, but these factors were adjusted for with use of county random intercepts. Conclusions According to our estimates, recent reductions in particulate matter pollution in the USA have resulted in public health benefits. Nonetheless, we estimate that current concentrations are associated with mortality impacts and loss of life expectancy, with larger impacts in counties with lower income and higher poverty rate