Is the consumer confidence index a sound predictor of the private demand in the United States?

The United States (U.S.) Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) has been widely and unambiguously regarded as a good 'predictor' of the U.S.'s private investment and consumption. In order to demonstrate such with statistical rigor, co-integration and Granger causality tests were applied for 1978:Q1-2003:Q1. Two crucial results were obtained: a) co-integration was not found between CCI and investment and consumption, and b) CCI does not determine -in the Granger sense- either consumption or private investment. Conversely, we found causality from these two variables over CCI

Journalism and society in Chile in the early Republican: "El Araucano" as state journalism model

El objetivo del texto es mostrar la particular experiencia del periódico El Araucano, en los inicios de la vida republicana chilena. En el marco de un naciente espacio público excluyente y exclusivo a la elite aristocrática que se disputaba el control y el sentido del nuevo orden y gracias al sello que le impuso Andrés Bello, El Araucano configura un cierto modelo de prensa de carácter estatal que, a partir de la naturalización del orden conservador triunfante en la guerra civil de 1830, se centra en la difusión de los fundamentos de la sociedad a construir y toma una relativa distancia de la lucha política cotidiana. De todas formas, es una expresión más de la prensa doctrinaria prevaleciente en las nuevas repúblicas durante la mayor parte del siglo XIX.The aim of the text is to show the particular experience of the newspaper El Araucano, at the beginning of the chilean republican life. In the framework of a nascent public space inclusive and exclusive to the aristocratic elite which was played to the control and direction of the new order and thanks to seal imposed by Andrés Bello, El Araucano configure some model of state journalism, from the naturalization of the triumphant conservative order in the civil war of 1830 focuses on the dissemination of the fundamentals of society to build and takes a relative distance from the daily political struggle. Anyway, is one more expression of the prevailing doctrinal press in the new republics during most of the 19th century

La creación de una sociedad del aprendizaje : un nuevo enfoque hacia el crecimiento, el desarrollo y el progreso social

1 Archivo PDF (4 páginas). magyecccResumen: Eduardo Chávez Cruz reseña el libro “La creación de una sociedad del aprendizaje Un nuevo enfoque hacia el crecimiento, el desarrollo y el progreso social” del autor Joseph .E.Stiglitz, a partir de dos líneas principales: la primera en al que presenta los conceptos básicos de la sociedad del aprendizaje y la segunda dónde explica los lineamientos necesarios para el surgimiento de la sociedad del aprendizaje. Incluye las críticas realizadas por el autor del libro acerca de la influencia del aprendizaje en el mejoramiento del nivel de vida y las diferencias acerca de la difusión del conocimiento entre los países desarrollados y los subdesarrollados. Comenta la incapacidad de los países para producir innovación, la necesidad de abandonar los modelos clásicos de enseñanza y el establecimiento de políticas para crear una sociedad del aprendizaje. Abstract: Eduardo Chávez Cruz outlines the book "Creating a Learning Society A New Approach to Growth, Development and Social Progress" by author Joseph E. Stiglitz, based on two main lines: The first in which he presents the basic concepts of the learning society and the second where he explains the necessary guidelines for the emergence of the learning society. It includes criticisms made by the author of the book about the influence of learning on the improvement of living standards and the differences about the diffusion of knowledge between developed and underdeveloped countries. He comments on the inability of countries to produce innovation, the need to abandon classical models of education and the establishment of policies to create a learning society. Palabras clave: Sociedad de la información, progreso, evolución social Keywords: Society of Information, progress, social evolution

Water Pricing and Social Equity in Portuguese Municipalities

Water supply services are Services of General Interest (SGI), subject to specific public service obligations, such as universality, continuity, quality, affordability, transparency, and consumer protection. There is an extensive empirical literature on the design of optimal prices. However, these contributions tend to neglect the issue of universal service and equity concerning the volume of water for basic needs (the ‘essential minimum quantity’). Addressing this gap in the literature, and using empirical data for the Portuguese municipalities, this paper aims to evaluate whether income-related equity considerations are embodied in water supply Portuguese municipalities’ tariffs. Accordingly, essential minimum quantities of water for representative households are computed, and then compared with the lowest tariff block’s upper limit by water utility. Next, representative households are ranked by costs underlying essential minimum quantities and by income. This analysis also considers concentration curves and indexes which show that water bills are regressive, i.e., there is socioeconomic inequity favourable to the better-off representative households.Water Policy, Water Pricing, Social Equity, Efficient Water Use, Portugal.

Criatividade, Transhumanismo e a metáfora Co-criador Criado

The goal of Transhumanism is to change the human condition through radical enhancement of its positive traits and through AI (Artificial Intelligence). Among these traits the transhumanists highlight creativity. Here we first describe human creativity at more fundamental levels than those related to the arts and sciences when, for example, childhood is taken into account. We then admit that creativity is experienced on both its bright and dark sides. In a second moment we describe attempts to improve creativity both at the bodily level and in the emulation of human behavior in AI. These developments are presented both as effective results in laboratories and as transhumanist proposals emerging from them. Third, we have introduced the work of some theologians and ethicists, who study such proposals through the lens of the "created co-creator" metaphor. Finally, we analyze these developments through a reflection on the nature of creativity. We identify three problems in the current ideas about enhancement: first, they are bound to Western standards of creativity; second, the tempo and mode of evolution (involving an extended childhood) are not taken into account; third, the enhancement of creativity develops both its healthy and the perverse side. Proponents of the created co-creator metaphor also have difficulties with the problems pointed out. Concerning AI, there is a promising perspective of approaching human creativity, but there are some intrinsic limits: Human emotions are ambiguous, contradictory and far from rational control; human creativity is iconoclastic, thus highlighting the importance of youth and new generations; we do not expect from AI beings to present the perverse side of creativity. Our conclusions are: First, procreation and the new generations are essential to human creativity; in the same way, the wheat does not grow without the chaff; and finally, that birth breaks with causal connections and allows us to act forgiving--at birth, God's creative act is re-enacted