The Economics of Reciprocity, Giving and Altruism

Macmillan International Economic Association Series October 2000 400 pages Description: Reciprocity is a pervasive type of social interaction in encounters, groups and organizations. Simple giving is one of the major ways of transferring goods. And others regarding social sentiments, play crucial roles in the working and in the quality of society. This volume gathers basic recent works in its main domains such as, among others, the theory of reciprocity, the public economics of transfers, the economics of the family, charities, gifts of organs, or the motivations for gift-giving. It constitutes a landmark in this rapidly expanding field of research. Read PDF sample chapter: http://www.palgrave.com/catalogue/catalogue.asp?Title_Id=0333747690

Les relations internationales du Québec : Efforts de définition d’un nouvel objet d’étude

L’étude des relations internationales du Québec n’a pas généré de programme de recherche proprement dit, avec un ensemble cohérent de données et d’instruments d’analyse. Différentes approches du phénomène sont présentées selon la manière dont est découpé l’objet d’étude et selon les schémas explicatifs mis de l’avant pour comprendre la portée et la forme du comportement international du Québec. Un récent souci d’empirisme dans la mesure de l’activité extérieure de l’État québécois permet d’envisager la possibilité d’une analyse plus systématique du phénomène.The study of Quebec's international relations has not produced, as of yet, a genuine research program, with a coherent set of data and tools of analysis. Different approaches to the phenomenon are presented, according to the different aspects of the object under study and according to the analytical frameworks which have been developed to better understand the nature and extent of Quebec's international behavior. A recent concern for empirical methods in assessing Quebec's international activities allows one to contemplate the possibility of a more systematic analysis in this field

Signature volatility models: pricing and hedging with Fourier

We consider a stochastic volatility model where the dynamics of the volatility are given by a possibly infinite linear combination of the elements of the time extended signature of a Brownian motion. First, we show that the model is remarkably universal, as it includes, but is not limited to, the celebrated Stein-Stein, Bergomi, and Heston models, together with some path-dependent variants. Second, we derive the joint characteristic functional of the log-price and integrated variance provided that some infinite dimensional extended tensor algebra valued Riccati equation admits a solution. This allows us to price and (quadratically) hedge certain European and path-dependent options using Fourier inversion techniques. We highlight the efficiency and accuracy of these Fourier techniques in a comprehensive numerical study

Utilización de los museos como recurso en la educación infantil

Recent observation of Neomida haemorrhoidalis (Fabricius) in Isère (Rhône-Alpes region, France) (Coleoptera Tenebrionidae) Neomida haemorrhoidalis (Fabricius, 1787) has been collected in the Isère department in limit of the Ain department. Probably this insect has not been observed in Rhône-Alpes region since the middle of the XIXth century.Le Ténébrionide Neomida haemorrhoidalis Fabricius, 1787 a été récolté en Isère à la limite départementale avec l'Ain. Il semblerait que l'insecte n'ait pas été trouvé dans la région Rhône-Alpes depuis la première moitié du XIXe siècle.Collomb Gérard, Ollagnon Jean-Louis, Dalmon Jacques. Observation récente de Neomida haemorrhoidalis (Fabricius) en Isère (Rhône-Alpes) (Coleopt. Tenebrionidae). In: Bulletin mensuel de la Société linnéenne de Lyon, 80ᵉ année, n°3-4, Mars-avril 2011. pp. 49-52

Selection for litter size in pigs. II. Efficiency of closed and open selection lines*

A selection experiment on litter size in the pig was carried on for seventeen generations in an Inra experimental herd. The founder population was made up of 10 males and 120 females from the Large White breed. Selection was first performed for ten generations in a closed line, compared to a control line derived from the same founder population. Selection was carried on within sire family on the total number of piglets born in the first two litters of the dam (TB1 + TB2). After ten generations, the selection criterion became dam TB1 only. The control line was then discontinued and a panel of frozen semen from the 11th generation boars was created for later comparisons. The selected line was opened to gilt daughters of hyperprolific boars and sows, at a rate of 1/8 per generation, and the same selection procedure was applied irrespective of the origin of the gilt. During the whole experiment, the number of ova shed (OS) and the number of live embryos (LE) at 30 days in the 3rd pregnancy were recorded. These two parts of the experiment were analysed using REML estimation of genetic parameters and a BLUP-Animal Model in order to estimate the responses to selection. Significant heritabilities for TB1, TB2, OS and LE were obtained, i.e. 0.10, 0.05, 0.43 and 0.19, respectively. Significant common environment variances and covariances were estimated for nearly all traits. Significantly positive BLUP responses per generation were observed from G0 to G17 for TB1 (+0.086), TB2 (+0.078), OS (+0.197) and LE (+0.157). However, the responses were 3- to 4-fold higher in the G12–G17 interval compared to G0–G11, and they were also in fair agreement with previous estimates based on standard least-squares procedures, using the control line and the control frozen semen panel. Since G11, the selection intensity was increased by nearly 80 p. cent compared to the previous generations, and the proportion of hyperprolific ancestry increased up to 65 p. cent in the sows of the last generation. The total genetic gain of about 1.4 piglets at birth per litter could be shared between a gain due to immigration, of about 0.8 piglets per litter, and a within-line selection gain of about 0.6 piglets. Thus by combining selection and immigration in the second part of the experiment, advantage could be taken from both the genetic superiority of the immigrants and the higher internal selection intensity made possible by immigration

Recettes publiques des pays en développement. Méthode d'évaluation

Cet article traite des difficultés méthodologiques soulevées par l'évaluation du niveau des recettes publiques dans les PED. Pour procéder à cette évaluation, il est tenu compte du niveau effectif des recettes publiques, de leur instabilité et enfin de l'effort fiscal. L'effort fiscal, qui permet d'isoler l'effet de la politique économique sur la mobilisation fiscale, est apprécié comme la différence entre le niveau effectif des recettes publiques et leur niveau structurel déterminé par le niveau de développement, l'ouverture commerciale, le poids de l'agriculture et la part des exportations minières et pétrolières dans les exportations totales. Rapportées au PIB les niveaux moyens de recettes des PED des différents zones géographiques sont similaires et stables sur les 25 dernières années. Cependant, l'Afrique au Sud du Sahara est caractérisée par une instabilité plus marquée et aussi par une politique économique longtemps plus favorable à la mobilisation fiscale que dans les autres zones (effort fiscal positif)

Aide publique au développement et transition fiscale

This paper aims to analyze the impact of official development assistance (ODA) on tax transition in developing countries. First, we build qualitative indicators of tax transition taking into account the level as well as the composition of public revenue. Second, we provide theoretical explanations of how ODA can affect tax transition in an environment characterized by several divergent social interests. Te third step consists in econometrically analyzing the relationship between official development assistance and tax transition. Basing our estimates on a sample consisted of 106 developing countries over the period 1980-2005, we find that official development assistance significantly accelerates the transition and even more sustains it for at least five years. This result is robust to several specifications based on alternative measures of both foreign aid and tax transition