A new species group of the genus Epicauta Dejean of Southern South America, the bella group (Coleoptera: Meloidae)

Epicauta (Coleoptera: Meloideae) includes two subgenera, and within the nominotypical subgenus several species groups. Analyzing species of southern South America, a set of species of Epicauta has the particularity to present two distinctive characters which separates this group from the other species groups of American Epicauta: color pattern of pubescence in elytra is not coincident with color pattern of tegument and endophalic hook robust. Based on these characters I propose a new group of species herein named bella group. This group includes the Neotropical species Epicauta bella Mäklin, E. brunneipennis (Haag-Rutemberg), E. diagramma (Burmeister), E. griseonigra (Fairmaire), E. luctifera (Fairmaire), E. riojana (Fairmaire) (New status), and E. zebra (Dohrn). This group is endemic of southern South America, inhabiting the Chaco biogeographical subregion, mainly in the arid northern areas of Argentina. Here we redefine the species of the bella group, consider new characters, illustrate the species in the group, provide maps of their distribution, and a key to identify them.Fil: Campos Soldini, Maria Paula. Provincia de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción; Argentin

Law, environmental policy and Kantian philosophy

Are Kantian philosophy and its principle of respect for persons inadequate to the protection of environmental values? This paper answers this question by elucidating how Kantian ethics can take environmental values seriously. In the period that starts with the Critique of Judgment in 1790 and ends with the Metaphysics of Morals in 1797, the subject would have been approached by Kant in a different manner; although the respect that we may owe to non-human nature is still grounded in our duties to mankind, the basis for such respect stems from nature’s aesthetic properties, and the duty to preserve nature lies in our duties to ourselves. Compared to the “market paradigm”, as it is called by Gillroy (the reference is to a conception of a public policy based on a criterion of economic efficiency or utility), Kantian philosophy can offer a better explanation of the relationship between environmental policy and the theory of justice. Kantian justice defines the “just state” as the one that protects the moral capacities of its “active” citizens, as presented in the first Part of the Metaphysics of Morals. In the Kantian paradigm, the environmental risk becomes a “public” concern. That means it is not subsumed under an individual decision, based on a calculus

How group identification distorts beliefs

This paper investigates how group identification distorts people’s beliefs about the ability of their peers in social groups. We find that experimentally manipulated identification with a randomly composed group leads to overconfident beliefs about fellow group members’ performance on an intelligence test. This result cannot be explained by individual overconfidence, i.e., participants overconfident in their own skill believing that their group performed better because of them, as this was ruled out by experimental design. Moreover, we find that participants with stronger group identification put more weight on positive signals about their group when updating their beliefs. These in-group biases in beliefs can have important economic consequences when group membership is used to make inference about an individual’s characteristics as, for instance, in hiring decisions

Hybrid coastal edges in the Neuquén Basin (Allen Formation, Upper Cretaceous, Argentina)

The Allen Formation records the first Ingression Atlantic to the Neuquén Basin during the Late Cretaceous. The definition of lithofacies and facies associations interpretation for stratigraphic sections in Paso Córdoba and Salitral Moreno area, Río Negro, Argentina allowed to establish the depositional system that characterized this transgression in the northeastern edge of the Basin. In this paper we present sedimentological analysis of conglomeratic, sandstone, heterolithic and pelitic facies, which allowed the interpretation of tidal channels (CM), intertidal flats (PI), tidal flat influenced by storms (PT), subtidal flat (PS) and shoreface deposits (CP) parts of the depositional environment. These deposits represent a sedimentary records preserved example of hybrid systems, in which, the base of the sequence has greater tidal influence, while the upper portion is dominated by wave action. The paleocurrent data indicating a NNW-SSE direction to the shore and correlations and spatial distribution of facies associations propose paleogeographic and paleoenvironmental interpretations to Malargüe Group base. Then in this paper the relationship of this coastal environment presents with wind systems previously defined in this area for the Allen Formation.Fil: Armas, María Paula. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Cs.exactas Fisicoquimicas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra, Biodiversidad y Ambiente. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Cordoba. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra, Biodiversidad y Ambiente.; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez, Maria Lidia. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales; Argentin

Does the location of manufacturing determine service sectors’ location choices? Evidence from Portugal

Considering the case of Portugal over the period 1995-2000, this paper analyses whether the location of market services is explained by the geographical proximity of the industrial sectors that use these services as intermediate inputs. A rather detailed level of regional disaggregation is used, namely the county level (275 counties). This influence is confirmed by the results of some location indices and by the regressions made for each sector. An alternative spatial unit is also used, consisting of the county itself combined with those with which it shares boundaries, showing the relevance of the level of regional disaggregation for the results obtained.Services, Manufacturing Industry, Location of Economic Activity, Portugal.

What determines the export performance? A comparative analysis at the world level

We use constant market share (CMS) analysis to measure the variations in the market share of 82 of the world’s principal exporting countries between 1995/97 and 2005/07. The results of this analysis serve to stress the importance of competitiveness in explaining export performance. Furthermore, the existence is observed of a spatial tendency, reflected in the fact that countries that are geographically close to each other tend to display a similar behavior with regard to market share evolution and the components into which the variation is broken down.constant market share, competitiveness, export performance, international trade. Classification- C43, F10, F14.

Determinants of the pattern of horizontal and vertical intra-industry trade: what can we learn from Portuguese data?

We rely on vertical and horizontal differentiation models to study the cross-industry and cross-country determinants of Portuguese intra-industry trade in 1997. We identify distinct factors for each type and the comparative advantage explanation for the vertical case. To confirm the robustness of the results we use alternative measures for a continuous dependent variable and re-estimate all equations with a Probit model. The probabilistic model takes into account the fact that we expect a relation between the existence of the explanatory variables and the existence of the phenomenon, but the way some of the factors impact is not a priori known.horizontal intra-industry trade; vertical intra-industry trade; Portugal.

Determinant Factors of FDI Spillovers – What Do We Really Know?

Empirical evidence about FDI spillovers to domestic firms has provided mixed results. This global evaluation has recently been complemented with the analysis of the factors that determine the existence, dimension and sign of FDI spillovers. We survey the arguments that support these factors and analyze the empirical evidence already produced. FDI spillovers depend on many factors, frequently with an indeterminate effect. Absorptive capacity of domestic firms and regions are a precondition for incorporating the benefits of FDI spillovers. Concerning the remaining factors, the results suggest opposite effects or, in some cases, are still insufficient to legitimate decisive conclusions.productivity; spillovers; FDI; determinant factors.

Regional Integration and Internal Economic Geography - an Empirical Evaluation with Portuguese Data

The effects of the reduction of international trade costs on the internal economic geography of each country have been very scarcely studied in empirical terms. With data for Portugal since its adhesion to the European Union, we test the hypotheses put forward by the new economic geography concerning the evolution of the spatial concentration of the manufacturing industry as a whole and of the different industries individually considered. We consider alternative concentration concepts and data disaggregated both at the level of NUTS III (28 regions) and concelhos (275 regions). Results show a dispersion of total industry as a consequence of the reduction of international trade costs, in line with Krugman and Elizondo (1996)’s prediction. Individual industries show a similar tendency, in contrast with the theoretical hypothesis.trade liberalization; industrial location; Portugal.