Corruption, Political Competition and Environmental Policy

There is a growing literature on the causes and consequences of corruption. A common and often unsubstantiated assertion is that countries which exhibit a low level of political competition are more likely to suffer higher levels of corruption. In this paper we examine the effects of corruption on environmental policy under varying degrees of political competition. An important feature of the model, which has been neglected in the existing literature, is that corruption may occur at different levels of government, such as the payment of bribes to politicians who determine policies, or bureaucrats who administer environmental regulations. We analyse the relationship between political competition and environmental outcomes in a model of stratified corruption and identify the benefits and limits of political competition. Our results suggest that while political competition may yield policy improvements, it cannot eliminate corruption at all levels of government.corruption, lobbying, political competition, regulatory compliance, bribery

Book reviews

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Bidding for Sport Mega-Events

Sport mega-events such as the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup, or on a smaller scale the Commonwealth Games or regional events, attract competing bids from nations or cities. These bids are mostly made at tax-payers? expense and spending is often large and non-transparent. Our paper addresses the question of why large sums of public money are spent in an attempt to secure uncertain rights to host events which, according to ex post studies, often yield few gains. The paper analyses the economics of the bidding process, emphasising public choice aspects of mega-event bidding to identify the interaction of potential beneficiaries and policymakers' interests. We do not directly enter debates about legacies of hosting mega-events, but ask why public money is spent on a bidding process which is even less likely to realize net social benefits. The empirical part of the paper uses past bids from the state of South Australia, a demonstrated bidder for various sports mega (or not so mega-) events with a mixed record of success, as a case study of the economics of bidding.bidding, sports

Geometric model from microscopic theory for nuclear absorption

A parameter-free geometric model for nuclear absorption is derived herein from microscopic theory. The expression for the absorption cross section in the eikonal approximation, taken in integral form, is separated into a geometric contribution that is described by an energy-dependent effective radius and two surface terms that cancel in an asymptotic series expansion. For collisions of light nuclei, an expression for the effective radius is derived from harmonic oscillator nuclear density functions. A direct extension to heavy nuclei with Woods-Saxon densities is made by identifying the equivalent half-density radius for the harmonic oscillator functions. Coulomb corrections are incorporated, and a simplified geometric form of the Bradt-Peters type is obtained. Results spanning the energy range from 1 MeV/nucleon to 1 GeV/nucleon are presented. Good agreement with experimental results is obtained

Fully energy-dependent HZETRN (a galactic cosmic-ray transport code)

For extended manned space missions, the radiation shielding design requires efficient and accurate cosmic-ray transport codes that can handle the physics processes in detail. The Langley Research Center galactic cosmic-ray transport code (HZETRN) is currently under development for such design use. The cross sections for the production of secondary nucleons in the existing HZETRN code are energy dependent only for nucleon collisions. The approximation of energy-independent, heavy-ion fragmentation cross section is now removed by implementing a mathematically simplified energy-dependent stepping formalism for heavy ions. The cross section at each computational grid is obtained by linear interpolation from a few tabulated data to minimize computing time. Test runs were made for galactic cosmic-ray transport through a liquid hydrogen shield and a water shield at solar minimum. The results show no appreciable change in total fluxes or computing time compared with energy-independent calculations. Differences in high LET (linear energy transfer) spectra are noted, however, because of the large variation in cross sections at the low-energy region. The high LET components are significantly higher in the new code and have important implications on biological risk estimates for heavy-ion exposure

The Illinois chorus frog (Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis) and the dredge material deposition sites at Beardstown, Illinois

Report issued on: 28 February 2002; revised 19 August 2002Prepared for unspecified recipien

Moderate exercise increases affinity of large very low density lipoproteins for hydrolysis by lipoprotein lipase

Context: Postprandial triglyceride (TG) concentration is independently associated with cardiovascular disease risk. Exercise reduces postprandial TG concentrations but the mechanisms responsible are unclear. Objective: To determine the effects of exercise on affinity of chylomicrons, large very low density lipoproteins (VLDL1) and smaller VLDL (VLDL2) for lipoprotein lipase (LPL) mediated TG hydrolysis. Design: Within-participant cross-over study. Setting: A University metabolic investigation unit. Participants: Ten overweight/obese men. Interventions: Participants undertook two oral fat tolerance tests, separated by 7–14 days, in which they had blood taken fasting and for 4 hours after a high-fat mixed meal. On the afternoon before one test, they performed a 90-minute treadmill walk at 50% maximal oxygen uptake (EX); no exercise was performed before the control test (CON). Main outcome measures: Circulating TG-rich lipoprotein concentrations; affinity of chylomicrons, VLDL1, VLDL2 for LPL-mediated TG hydrolysis. Results: Exercise significantly reduced fasting VLDL1-TG concentration (CON: 0.49(0.33–0.72) mmol.l−1, EX: 0.36(0.22–0.59) mmol.l−1, [geometric means (95% confidence interval)]; p=0.04). Time-averaged postprandial chylomicron-TG (CON: 0.55±0.10 mmol.l−1, EX: 0.39±0.08 mmol.l−1, [mean±SEM], p=0.03) and VLDL1-TG (CON: 0.85±0.13 mmol.l−1, EX: 0.66±0.10 mmol.l−1, p=0.01) concentrations were both lower in EX than CON. Affinity of VLDL1 for LPL-mediated TG hydrolysis increased by 2.2(1.3–3.7) fold (geometric mean (95% confidence interval)) (p=0.02) in the fasted state and 2.6(1.8–2.6) fold (p=0.001) postprandially. Affinity of chylomicrons and VLDL2 was not significantly different between trials. Conclusions: Exercise increases affinity of VLDL1 for LPL-mediated TG hydrolysis both fasting and postprandially. This mechanism is likely to contribute to exercise's TG-lowering effect