Do Campaign Finance Policies Really Improve Voters' Welfare?

In an electoral race, interest groups will be willing to finance political candidates’ campaigns in return for favors that are costly to voters. Starting from the empirical observation of split contributions, we develop a theoretical model of directly informative campaign advertising with rational voters. In this setting, interest groups that demand more favors are less likely to finance candidates to enhance their electoral prospects. We find that the only feasible Pareto improving policy involves providing specific limits and subsidies to each candidate. Unfortunately, this policy is very demanding in terms of information for the policy maker and always involves candidates providing favors to interest groups. We argue that bans on contributions without public subsidies may not be welfare improving, since they negatively affect the informational value of advertisements.Campaign Finance, Interest Groups, Elections, Welfare

Political Geography and Income Inequalities

This paper studies the effect of the introduction of income inequalities in a model of geopolitical organization. We assume the existence of two groups of agents with different incomes. We focus on the policy effects of changes in income differential between the groups and changes in the fraction of the population belonging to the two groups. In the optimal solution, if size is endogenous and public good provision exogenous size increases as income inequality increases; if both size and public good provision are endogenously determined size is neutral to changes in income inequalities and public good provision decreases as inequality increases. There are cases where a stable solution does not exist and the possibility of non existence increases together with inequality, if both size and public good provision are endogenously determined.Country Size, Public Good, Income Inequality, Tax Distortion

Political Geography and Income Inequalities

This paper displays an analysis of geopolitical organizations within the framework proposed by Alesina and Spolaore (1997), where heterogeneity concerns the geographical space. This model adds heterogeneity in terms of income. Main results of the paper: (i) in the normative equilibrium (social planner solution) there is an inverse relationship between income inequality and public good provision within each jurisdiction; (ii) in the positive equilibrium (equilibrium geography) we find that in some cases there are no equilibria depending upon income inequality.Jurisdiction Size, Public Spending, Income Distribution, Tax Distortion

Inequality, Political Systems and Public Spending

Political regimes and institutions di®er across countries. Such char- acteristics in°uence public spending within each country. The aim of this paper is to check for the existence of a link between political institu- tions, income inequality and public spending. We develop an empirical investigation, based on panel data analysis, on the determinants of pub- lic spending focusing on political, economic, demographic and social variables in large sample of developed and developing countries from 1970 to 2005. In particular, we focus on the e®ects of electoral rules on government consumption ¯nding that in countries with proportional electoral rule an increase in the heterogeneity of the government in- creases government consumption, while in countries with majoriratian electoral rule, a shift from presidential to parliamentary system leads to an increase in government consumption. We ¯nd that the link between income distribution, measured by the Gini index, and public spending depends upon institutional characteristics. Moreover, we ¯nd empiri- cal support for the argument that government spending is a policy tool used by governments to insurance the domestic economy from external shocks stemming from international trade.

GEOPOLITICAL EFFECTS OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION

Questa tesi si compone di tre parti e tratta di differenti aspetti inerenti l'organizzazione geopolica delle nazioni da un punto di vista teorico. Viene prestata particolare attenzione agli effetti della distribuzione del reddito.This dissertation is composed of three papers and discusses different aspects of the geopolitical organization of countries from a theoretical point of view. Special attention is given to the effects of income distributio

Perchè i privati finanziano i partiti

Il finanziamento dei partiti da parte di privati rappresenta una minaccia per il processo democratico? I dati sugli Stati Uniti mostrano che i gruppi d'interesse tendono a finanziare le campagne elettorali per motivi ideologici o per influenzare le politiche dei candidati. Più sono trasparenti le informazioni sui finanziamenti privati, maggiore sarà il costo di "comprare" le politiche. E il finanziamento privato può rivelare informazioni sulle capacità dei candidati che quello pubblico per sua natura non può dare

Diet and enteral nutrition in patients with chronic kidney disease not on dialysis: a review focusing on fat, fiber and protein intake

The clinical data available on dietary requirements of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) not on dialysis are limited and largely inconclusive in terms of the renal, cardiovascular and nutritional outcomes achievable through dietary modifications. Restriction of protein intake during the early stages of CKD may in fact slow its progression, but at the same time this approach may also lead to protein-energy wasting, if energy intake is not adequate and properly monitored. Unfortunately, compliance to dietary recommendations is traditionally low in this patient population. A switch from saturated to mono- and polyunsaturated fats is generally recognized as advantageous for cardiac health; however, the benefits in term of renal function are largely unknown. Similarly, the association between dietary fiber intake and kidney disease is largely unknown. In fact, while there is evidence on the positive health effects of dietary fibers in the general population, nutritional guidelines for CKD lack formal recommendations concerning fiber intake. This paper reviews data and evidence from clinical trials and meta-analyses on renal and cardiovascular outcomes related to modifications in protein, fat and fiber intake. Suggestions for maintaining nutritional status through patient-oriented dietary patterns and enteral supplementation in CKD patients on conservative therapy are also presented

Correction: Interaction of healthcare staff's attitude with barriers to physical activity in hemodialysis patients: A quantitative assessment.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0196313.]