Camille Silvy: A Photographer of Modern Life

Camille Silvy (1834-1910) enjoyed a major reputation as a photographer in Paris and London in the period 1858-68. He was a photographer of modern life, in the sense introduced by his contemporary, Charles Baudelaire. Silvy's best-known work, 'River Scene, France' (1858), is a tableau of modern leisure - including working class leisure - on the outskirts of town. In addition, Silvy created a series of 'Studies on Light' in London in 1860. These studies of fog and twilight include, arguably, the first use of blur as a creative effect in the history of photography. Silvy redefined still life in a work which includes the Times newspaper and a mass-produced sauce bottle. However, Silvy's modernity was expressed in many other ways. He was highly entrepreneurial: he ran his studio as a portrait factory, experimented with new techniques and pioneered the reproduction of works of art and wartime battlefields

Is There a Glass Ceiling over Europe? Exploring the Gender Pay Gap across the Wages Distribution

Using harmonised data from the European Union Household Panel, we analyse gender pay gaps by sector across the wages distribution for eleven countries. We find that the mean gender pay gap in the raw data typically hides large variations in the gap across the wages distribution. We use quantile regression techniques to control for the effects of individual and job characteristics at different points of the distribution, and calculate the part of the gap attributable to differing returns between men and women. We find that, first, gender pay gaps are typically bigger at the top of the wage distribution, a finding that is consistent with the existence of glass ceilings. Second, for some countries gender pay gaps are also bigger at the bottom of the wage distribution, a finding that is consistent with sticky floors. Third, the gender pay gap is typically higher at the top than the bottom end of the wage distribution, suggesting that glass ceilings are more prevalent than sticky floors. Fourth, the gender pay gap differs significantly across the public and the private sector wages distribution for each of our EU countries.glass ceilings, sticky floors, quantile regression, public sector, gender pay gaps.

Are there Asymmetries in the Effects of Training on the Conditional Male Wage Distribution?

Recent studies have used quantile regression (QR) techniques to estimate the impact of education on the location, scale and shape of the conditional wage distribution. In our paper we investigate the degree to which work-related training – another important form of human capital – affects the location, scale and shape of the conditional wage distribution. Using the first six waves of the European Community Household Panel, we utilise both ordinary least squares and QR techniques to estimate associations between work-related training and wages for private sector men in ten European Union countries. Our results show that, for the majority of countries, there is a fairly uniform association between training and hourly wages across the conditional wage distribution. However, there are considerable differences across countries in mean associations between training and wages.private sector training, wages, education, quantile regression, unobservables

Young, single, but not free: the EU market for financial services

The EU has been increasing its role in financial regulation over the last four decades. At first, the main focus was on promoting trade within the union in a way compatible with the four freedoms: the free movement of goods, services, capital and people. As part of this agenda, the EU prohibited member states from introducing certain forms of regulation that inhibited free trade in services and the free movement of capital. Attempts to promote consistency of regulation tended to involve a process known as ‘mutual recognition’. In other words, member states were broadly free to develop their own regulatory frameworks within which financial institutions operated; companies from one member state could then operate freely in other member states whilst being regulated by their home state. In discussing how regulation at the EU level has become detached from the original founding principles of the EU, this chapter will focus on the regulation of insurance services, though there will also be some discussion of other nonbank financial service

Ethics in Economics: Lessons and Themes for Further Development from Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones

The 2018 Vatican document Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones examines the relationship between ethics and economics in the context of contemporary issues in finance. The relationship between ethics, business, finance, and economic life in general is a major theme of the document. This paper explores these themes in greater depth examining the importance of the virtues, education and culture in promoting an economy that serves society. It then applies a proper Christian anthropology of the human person to problems of political economy in relation to the regulation of markets and, in doing so, tries to unify the different topics discussed in the document and situate it more clearly within the tradition of Catholic social teaching and the role of the state that is posited in that teaching

Work-related Training and the New National Minimum Wage in Britain

In this paper we use important new training and wage data from the British Household Panel Survey to estimate the impact of the national minimum wage (introduced in April 1999) on the work-related training of low-wage workers. We use two 'treatment groups' for estimating the impact of the new minimum wage those workers who explicitly stated they were affected by the new minimum and those workers whose derived 1998 wages were below the minimum. Using difference-in-differences techniques for the period 1998 to 2000, we find no evidence that the introduction of the minimum wage reduced the training of affected workers, and some evidence that it increased it. In particular we find a significant positive effect of about 8 to 11% for affected workers. Consequently our findings can be interpreted as providing no evidence in support of the orthodox human capital model as it applies to work-related training, and some evidence in support of the new theories based on imperfectly competitive labour markets. Our estimates also suggest that two of the goals of the UK government: improving wages of the low paid and developing their skills have been compatible, at least for the introductory rates of the national minimum wage.minimum wages, human capital, work-related training, difference-in-differences estimation

The characterisation of mullite-related phases by hydrothermal synthesis

The aluminosilicate called mullite has been prepared by hydrothermal processing from aluminium- and silicon- acetates. The phase evolution of the products and the mechanism of formation of mullite from its precursors has been examined by x-ray powder diffraction, magic-angle spinning NMR spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy and electron microscopy. The product obtained from co-processing aluminium- and silicon- acetates was found to be a biphasic material with strong interfacial interactions between pseudoboehmite and amorphous silica-gel type phases. This interfacial interaction resulted in mullite being formed after calcination at 1250°C, which is a lower temperature than would normally be expected for the formation of mullite. Lattice parameter measurements of mullite calcined up to 1400°C suggested that a metastable state may be formed at the lower temperature. The effect of adding acid to the reagent mixture was examined and found to have no effect on the chemistry of the phase evolution of the products. The synthesis of iron-doped mullite has also been examined by x-ray powder diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, EXAFS and electron microscopy. The iron-containing phases in dried intermediate materials exhibited superparamagnetism. Upon calcination iron-doped mullite formed at 1150°C with an iron content up to 14 mol%. EXAFS showed the iron to occupy octahedral sites in the mullite structure.The synthesis of magnesium-aluminium spinel has been examined using a similar methodology. The interfacial interaction between the initial precursors was found to be stronger than that observed in the aluminosilicate system. This increase in interfacial interaction is associated with the lower temperature required to form spinel (400°C)