Consumption and habits : evidence from panel data

The purpose of this paper is to test for the presence of habit formation in consumption decisions using household panel data. We use the test proposed by Meghir and Weber (1996) and estimate the within -period marginal rate of substitution between commodities, which is robust to the presence of liquidity constraints. To that end, we use a Spanish panel data set in which households are observed up to eight consecutive quarters. This temporal dimension is crucial, since it allows us to take into account time invariant unobserved heterogeneity across households ("fixed effects") and, therefore, to investigate if the relationship between current and past consumption reflects habits or heterogeneity. Our results conf irm the importance of accounting for fixed effects when analyzing intertemporal consumption decisions allowing for time non-separabilities. Once fixed effects are controlled for and a proper set of instruments is used, the results yield supporting evidence of habit formation in the demand system of food at home, transport and services

The level of provision of specialist palliative care services in Scotland: an international benchmarking study

Objectives: Comparative benchmarking of specialist palliative care (SPC) services across jurisdictions can be used to assess the adequacy of provision. Published in 2016, the Scottish Atlas of Palliative Care unlocks the possibility of benchmarking Scotland’s provision against other European Union (EU) countries. Our objectives were to describe the provision of SPC services in Scotland and compare this with other EU countries, assessing coverage against European norms. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of data collected as part for the Scottish Atlas by structured telephone (n=33) or online (n=3) survey with informants from 14 territorial health boards and 15 hospices who provided information about SPC services in their locality. National-level Scottish data were compared with data from other EU countries allowing ranking for each service type and service coverage as calculated against European Association for Palliative Care norms. Results: Scotland had a total of 23 SPC inpatient units containing 349 beds, 27 SPC hospital support teams and 38 SPC home care teams. Relative to other EU countries, Scotland ranked seventh for provision of SPC inpatient units and hospital support teams, and fifth for home care teams. Coverage for these services was 85%, 100% and 72%, respectively. Conclusion: Scotland is positioned among the top 10 EU countries for the level of provision of SPC services. National policy in Scotland has focused on the delivery of palliative care at home or in a homely setting. These data support a focus on developing services in community settings to meet Scotland’s policy ambitions

Audit market concentration and related regulatory measures

Audit markets are highly concentrated and such a situation might have negative consequences on competition, and thus, on price setting, on audit quality and on the functioning of markets. The European regulator recognized some causes for audit market concentration, identified a systemic risk and suggested joint audits and a mandatory rotation of audit firms to reduce concentration. Prominent concentration measures are concentration ratios, the Lorenz curve, the Gini-coefficient and the Herfindahl-Hirschman-Index. An empirical study on the concentration of German Prime Standard market for the period 2010 – 2013 revealed a high concentration which is quite stable over time and a narrow oligopoly with duopolistic tendencies. Nevertheless, competition could still work, e.g. due to the threat of market entrants. Moreover, given the fact that Big4 audit firms provide a higher audit quality, concentration may have positive effects. The mandatory audit firm rotation has a positive effect on auditor independence and a negative effect on auditor competence. This explains why related research output is inconclusive, i.e. the total effect on audit quality remains unclear. Moreover, a positive impact on competition is not ensured. Archival studies reveal that joint audits do not improve audit quality but increase audit costs. On the other hand, joint audits potentially reduce concentration. A combination between audit firm rotation and joint audits might be an optimal solution.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Historia y violencia: Walter Benjamin y María Zambrano

Las experiencias totalitarias que asolaron Europa el pasado siglo marcaron las vidas y las obras de Walter Benjamin y María Zambrano. Ambos autores se cuestionarán el origen de la violencia europea y el derecho que la historia tiene sobre nosotros, para plantear la necesidad de reivindicar la solidaridad con el pasado de la humanidad sufriente y una nueva forma de conocimiento y de política. En este sentido, en los trabajos de Zambrano y Benjamin encontramos una recuperación de la tradición gnóstica que se revelará en un mesianismo capaz de romper la historia sacrificial de Occidente, que rebasa los límites de lo exclusivamente filosófico.Totalitarian experiences which devastated Europe during the last century marked the lives and the works of Walter Benjamin and María Zambrano. Both authors questioned themselves about the origin of European violence and the right that history has over us, to raise the necessity of claiming solidarity with the past of suffering humanity and a new way of Knowledge and Politics. In this way, the recovery of the Gnostic tradition can be found in Zambrano and Benjamin´s works. This will be disclosed in a messianism capable of breaking down the sacrificial history of the West, something which exceeds the boundaries of the purely philosophical

Diseño de un sistema para la filtración de humos mediante radiación ultravioleta C.

Este trabajo de fin de grado comprende el diseño de un sistema de filtración del humo de cocinas industriales a partir de lámparas de radiación ultravioleta C. Este producto será comercializado por la empresa LuisCapdevila,S.A. Este tipo de filtración permite la eliminación de las grasas del flujo de aire, descomponiendo estas en otras partículas. Esto es de gran interés debido al gran número de inconveniencias que provoca la condensación de las grasas a lo largo del sistema de extracción de una cocina industrial. A lo largo del proyecto se analizan los sistemas de extracción y se definen los inconvenientes provocados por las grasas condensadas, que son principalmente aumentar el riesgo de incendio y generar unos costes de mantenimientos elevados. También se determina el efecto de la radiación ultravioleta, que descompone la grasa en partículas que no condensan. Seguidamente se procede al diseño del producto, se explican las diferentes piezas diseñadas y se justifican las diferentes decisiones técnicas. Se ha diseñado el producto de forma que sea seguro para los diferentes usuarios y a su vez maximice el efecto de las lámparas de luz ultravioleta C. En la fase de diseño se ha realizado un prototipo y comprobado el correcto funcionamiento de todo el sistema. Por último se ha realizado un análisis de los costes del producto y de su impacto ambienta

Zonas fronterizas: notas sobre teoría poscolonial y latinoamericanismo

Se pretende realizar un acercamiento a las teorías contemporáneas de lo que se ha denominado como razón postcolonial y estudios subalternos para plantear si es posible articular este panorama discursivo (filosófico y literario) sobre el estudio de la compleja realidad latinoamericana. Desde este punto de vista, se propondrá un metacrítica del latinoamericanismo tradicional, en la medida en que será considerado como un producto de la Modernidad europea, que parte de una "agencia global" que busca integrar sus datos en un conocimiento supuestamente neutral y universal que abarque todas las diferencias e identidades continentales. Frente al él, se planteará un segundo Latinoamericanismo, esbozado por Alberto Moreiras, situado en los cruces intermedios y fronterizos, que desarrolle una crítica epistemológica para detectar la incapacidad de América Latina de construir su propio lugar de enunciación.This article intends to examine contemporary theories in what has been called postcolonial reason and subaltern studies, in order to determine whether this discursive framework (both philosophical and literary) can be applied to the study of the complex Latin American reality. From this point of view, a meta-critical analysis will be made of traditional Latinamericanism, insofar as it will be considered a product of European modernity, which departs from a "global agency" which seeks to integrate its dates in knowledge supposed to be neutral and universal. This knowledge would cover all the continental differences and identities. It will be set out a second Latinamericanism, outlined by Alberto Moreiras. It will be located in the intervals and borders crosses, which develops an epistemological critic for detecting the Latin America inability of building its own enunciation place

La resurrección de la carne. Negri y la búsqueda de un nuevo sujeto

El presente ensayo analiza, desde la postura de los filósofos Negri y Hardt planteada en sus obras Imperio y Multitud, la constitución de nuevas formas de soberanía de ámbito supra-estatal en el tiempo histórico que se ha conocido como Postmodernidad. Desde su punto de vista, la constitución del “Imperio” sería la forma política de la Globalización, correspondiente a una fase histórica en la cual el dominio del capital se ha establecido a escala planetaria subsumiendo bajo sí la vida misma, configurándose en biopolítica. Bajo esta interpretación, "Imperial” es entonces la política de dominio de este sistema que se contrapondrá a la política de la “Multitud”, término con el cual Negri y Hardt definen el nuevo nivel de la “fuerza productiva” del mundo global, que organizará nuevas formas de cooperación social y de ciudadanía.The following essay analyzes the stance of the philosophers Negri and Hard explained in their works Empire and Multitude. From their point of view, the empire construction would be the globalization political form, corresponding to an historical stage: the Post-Modernity. This stage has been established all over the word subsuming under live itself, shaping in biopolitics. Under this interpretation, “Imperial” is this system political domain. It would be against the politics of the “Multitude”; this term is used by Negri and Hard to define the new level of global word “productive strength” which will organize new ways of social cooperation and citizenship