Duverger, semi-presidentialism and the supposed French archetype

The concept of semi-presidentialism was first operationalised by Maurice Duverger. There are now 17 countries with semi-presidential constitutions in Europe. Within this set of countries France is usually considered to be the archetypal example of semi-presidentialism. This article maps the main institutional and political features of European semi-presidentialism on the basis of Duverger’s original three-fold schema. The most striking feature is the diversity of practice within this set of countries. This means that semi-presidentialism should not be operationalised as a discrete explanatory variable. However, there are ways of systematically capturing the variation within semi-presidentialism to allow cross-national comparisons. This diversity also means that France should not be considered as the archetypal semi-presidential country. At best, France is an archetypal example of a particular type of semi-presidentialism. Overall, Duverger’s main contribution to the study of semi-presidentialism was the original identification of the concept and his implicit insight that there are different types of semi-presidentialism. In the future, the study of semi-presidentialism would benefit from the development of theory-driven comparative work that avoids a reliance on France as the supposed semi-presidential archetype

External sources of clean technology: evidence from the clean development mechanism

New technology is fundamental to sustainable development. However, inventors from industrialized countries often refuse technology transfer because they worry about reverse-engineering. When can clean technology transfer succeed? We develop a formal model of the political economy of North–South technology transfer. According to the model, technology transfer is possible if (1) the technology in focus has limited global commercial potential or (2) the host developing country does not have the capacity to absorb new technologies for commercial use. If both conditions fail, inventors from industrialized countries worry about the adverse competitiveness effects of reverse-engineering, so technology transfer fails. Data analysis of technology transfer in 4,894 projects implemented under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism during the 2004–2010 period provides evidence in support of the model

How to Include Political Capabilities in the HDI? An Evaluation of Alternatives

This paper evaluates existing measures of political regimes and political freedom with respect to their desirability as indicators of political capabilities. It argues that the focus of desirable measures should be on the political and civil institutions that affect individuals’ opportunities to pursue their goals (their capabilities). Attempts to capture “actual” capabilities are misleading since they replicate what the existing HDI already does and muddle a measure that derives power from its simplicity. The paper then suggests indicators that are intuitive, clear and sufficiently encompassing to capture the political and civil environment within which individuals must pursue their goals.democracy, regime classification, civil and political freedom

The determinants of election to the United Nations Security Council

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11127-013-0096-4.The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is the foremost international body responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. Members vote on issues of global importance and consequently receive perks—election to the UNSC predicts, for instance, World Bank and IMF loans. But who gets elected to the UNSC? Addressing this question empirically is not straightforward as it requires a model that allows for discrete choices at the regional and international levels; the former nominates candidates while the latter ratifies them. Using an original multiple discrete choice model to analyze a dataset of 180 elections from 1970 to 2005, we find that UNSC election appears to derive from a compromise between the demands of populous countries to win election more frequently and a norm of giving each country its turn. We also find evidence that richer countries from the developing world win election more often, while involvement in warfare lowers election probability. By contrast, development aid does not predict election

State Capacity and the Environmental Investment Gap in Authoritarian States

We construct an n-period, constrained optimization model where the authoritarian ruler maximizes expected rents subject to budget constraint of available surplus. We show that the larger state capacity is in the previous period, the worse environmental quality will be in the next period: while infrastructural investment and environmental protection increase with state capacity, the former increases at a faster rate which enlarges the gap between the two?the environmental investment gap. Given infrastructural public goods typically damage the environment, the larger this gap is the worse the environmental quality would be. This follows from rulers? optimizing logic of equating marginal returns once we assume the declining marginal productivity of factors of production of surplus. We model three types of air and water pollutants in autocracies as a function of state capacity and other relevant variables. State capacity is associated with higher levels of all three types of pollutants

Currículos plenos dos cursos de graduação em ciências contábeis : uma análise de grades curriculares recentes

Dissertação (mestrado)—Programa Multi-institucional e Inter-Regional de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Contábeis, UnB, UFPB, UFPE, UFRN, 2003.Há muito, já havia sido constatado que o ensino da Contabilidade não mais atendia às exigências decorrentes da evolução do seu ambiente de atuação. Muitos esforços foram desenvolvidos visando equacionar o problema e indicar soluções. Aqui são mencionados alguns desses esforços que, também, foram utilizados para orientar os propósitos desta dissertação. Em síntese, tais propósitos consistem em evidenciar aspectos significativos relacionados com grades curriculares dos cursos nacionais de Ciências Contábeis e emitir inferências a respeito. Assim, a seqüência bibliográfica deste trabalho consistiu em: evidenciar a defasagem entre o ensino e a prática profissional da Contabilidade; identificar aspectos pertinentes do mercado de trabalho e o que esse mercado requer do contador; delinear o perfil desejável para o contador; e identificar metodologias/práticas de ensino e estruturas (grades) curriculares adequadas à formação de contadores com o perfil requerido pelo atual ambiente profissional. Diante da impossibilidade de concentrar a pesquisa sobre projetos pedagógicos em poder do Ministério da Educação, recorreu-se aos meios eletrônicos a fim de coletar grades curriculares, indispensáveis à execução deste trabalho. A partir dessas grades curriculares, foi estruturado um banco de dados e, deste, foram derivadas três composições a serem investigadas. Quanto à primeira composição, foram investigadas diferenças e semelhanças, por grupos de disciplinas, em relação a três segmentos distintos (região geográfica, localização e tipo de administração/propriedade) e segundo três óticas diferentes (carga horária, quantidade e período), relativamente às disciplinas oferecidas. No que concerne à segunda composição (“ENFASES”), investigou-se possível importância (carga horária) conferida a diversas áreas de formação do contador. Finalmente, com base numa visão da International Federation of Accountants - IFAC, estruturou-se uma terceira composição segundo a qual foi investigado, ao nível daqueles segmentos, como os contadores estão sendo capacitados, no que concerne aos ATRIBUTOS necessários à sua qualificação profissional.Since long ago, it had already been evidenced that the Accounting teaching does not meet any more the current requirements from the evolution of its activity area. Many efforts were developed aiming to solve that problem and indicate solutions. Here are mentioned some of those efforts that also were used in guiding the purposes of this dissertation. In short, such purposes consist in making evident significant features related with the curricular grading of Brazilian Accounting Science courses, and in emitting inferences concerning this issue. Therefore, the bibliographical sequence of this work consisted in: evidencing the time lag between the Accounting teaching and professional practicing; identifying pertinent aspects of job market and market requirements for accountants; delineating the desirable profile for accountants; and identifying teaching methodologies/practices and adequate curricular structures (grating) for the graduation of accountants with the profile required by the current professional environment. Due to the impossibility of focusing such research on pedagogic projects under the Ministry of Education, it was utilized electronic resources to collect curricular gratings, which were essentials to accomplish this work. Starting from those curricular grating, a database was structured and from this, three compositions were derived to be investigated. With regard to the first composition, differences and similarities were investigated, by groups of disciplines, in concern to three different segments (geographical area, location and administration/purport types) and according three different views (hourly load, amount and period), relatively to the offered disciplines. With regard to the second composition ("EMPHASES”), the probable significance (hourly load) granted to several areas for the accountant graduation was investigated. Finally, based on a vision of International Federation of Accountants-IFAC, a third composition was structured, and upon that, it was investigated, at the level of those segments, how the accountants are being graduated in relation to the indispensable ATTRIBUTES for their professional qualification

MOBILIDADES, ESPAÇOS E RELAÇÕES SOCIAIS: UMA BREVE ANÁLISE DO FILME “UP IN THE AIR”

Este trabalho é fruto das discussões realizadas em uma das sessões de Cineclube organizadas pelo Grupo de pesquisa “Turismo e Cultura” (UFF) no ano de 2010, dos debates ocorridos em 2011 na disciplina “Turismos, Migrações, Exílios e as Teorias Contemporâneas da Mobilidade” do curso de Doutorado em História, Política e Bens Culturais (Cpdoc/FGV) e das trocas sobrevindas da disciplina optativa que ministrei no curso de graduação em Turismo da UFF em 2011 e em 2012, intitulada “Mobilidades, Lazer e Turismo”. A partir do filme Up in the Air, este artigo pretende discutir os significados que as mobilidades, em seus mais diferentes e interdependentes modos, fornecem às relações sociais construídas nos (inter) espaços e nas redes de sociabilidade contemporâneas

Utilização de coagulação/floculação e processo oxidativo avançado no tratamento de lixiviado de aterro sanitário estabilizado

O lixiviado de aterro sanitário é um líquido escuro resultante da percolação da água das chuvas e dos processos de degradação dos resíduos. Recolhido pelo sistema de drenagem dos aterros, este líquido não pode ser lançado diretamente em corpos receptores por apresentar elevado potencial poluidor. Existe, portanto, a necessidade de tratamento adequado buscando reduzir sua carga de matéria orgânica. Devido à elevada recalcitrância do lixiviado gerado em um aterro estabilizado, o processo biológico, muitas vezes torna-se inviável ou até mesmo dependente de um pré-tratamento caro para aumentar a biodegradabilidade do lixiviado. Sendo assim, neste trabalho foi realizado um estudo para a investigação da eficiência de processos físico-químicos e químicos no tratamento de um lixiviado gerado em um aterro estabilizado, tendo como meta a remoção de DQO. A amostra de lixiviado examinada foi proveniente do Aterro Metropolitano de Gramacho, localizado no município de Duque de Caxias, Estado do Rio de Janeiro, que recebe os resíduos sólidos gerados na região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro. Este aterro possui cerca de 30 anos de operação e gera, portanto, um tipo de lixiviado com características muito recalcitrantes, e, portanto, de tratamento complexo. Para tratar esta matriz recalcitrante, foram avaliados o processo de coagulação/floculação seguido do processo Fenton ou Foto-Fenton (Processos Oxidativos Avançados - POA), visando à remoção da matéria orgânica residual. Além disso, os POA foram avaliados sem a etapa preliminar de coagulação/floculação. Foram testados diversos parâmetros para as respectivas tecnologias, visando à otimização dos processos combinados. Este estudo demonstrou a efetividade do processo de coagulação/floculação como proposta de tratamento primário, alcançando remoção de 50% na DQO para as condições de pH 4 e 1228 mg/L de cloreto férrico. Além disto, dentre os POA avaliados, o processo Fenton foi o mais efetivo para remoção da DQO do lixiviado pré-tratado por coagulação/floculação, alcançando 65% de remoção, com 1330mg/L de H2O2 e 266mg/L de Fe2+. O processo Foto-Fenton aplicado diretamente ao efluente bruto também alcançou bom resultado na remoção de DQO (75%), com 2720mg/L de H2O2 e 544mg/L de Fe2+ na presença de luz UV. Entretanto a combinação de tecnologias de tratamento é vista como o método mais seguro de opção de tratamento, tendo em vista as grandes variabilidades nas características dos lixiviados

Different paths to the modern state in Europe: the interaction between domestic political economy and interstate competition

Theoretical work on state formation and capacity has focused mostly on early modern Europe and on the experience of western European states during this period. While a number of European states monopolized domestic tax collection and achieved gains in state capacity during the early modern era, for others revenues stagnated or even declined, and these variations motivated alternative hypotheses for determinants of fiscal and state capacity. In this study we test the basic hypotheses in the existing literature making use of the large date set we have compiled for all of the leading states across the continent. We find strong empirical support for two prevailing threads in the literature, arguing respectively that interstate wars and changes in economic structure towards an urbanized economy had positive fiscal impact. Regarding the main point of contention in the theoretical literature, whether it was representative or authoritarian political regimes that facilitated the gains in fiscal capacity, we do not find conclusive evidence that one performed better than the other. Instead, the empirical evidence we have gathered lends supports to the hypothesis that when under pressure of war, the fiscal performance of representative regimes was better in the more urbanized-commercial economies and the fiscal performance of authoritarian regimes was better in rural-agrarian economie