A priori veto power of the president of Poland

The a priori power of the president of Poland, lower chamber of parliament (Sejm) and upper chamber of parliament (Senate) in the process of legislation are considered in this paper. The evaluation of power is made using the Johnston power indexDecision Theory

Origins of scaling in FX markets

Typical data sets employed by economists and financial analysts do not exceed a few hundred or thousand observations per series. However, in the last decade data sets containing tick-by-tick observations have become available. The studies of these data have turned up new and interesting facts about the pricing of assets. In this article we show that foreign exchange (FX) rate returns satisfy scaling with an exponent significantly different from that of a random walk. But what is more important, we also show that the conditionally exponential decay (CED) model can be used to solve a long standing problem in the analysis of intra-daily data, i.e. it can be used to identify the mathematical structure of the distributions of FX returns corresponding to the empirical scaling laws.FX market; scaling law; volatility; CED model; high frequency data

Single equivalent of double majority voting system

In the paper, the consequences of using double majority voting in the European Council of Ministers are analysed. An equivalent single majority distribution of seats is proposed and evaluated.majority voting, single equivalent

Modified Shapley – Shubik power index for parliamentary coalitions

Classical power analysis does not involve preferences of players (parties). Classical power indices are constructed under assumption of equal probability of occurrence for each coalition. The paper contains a proposition of relaxation of this assumption, based on extended Shapley–Shubik power index approach.power index, ideological preferences, ideological distance

Scaling in currency exchange: A Conditionally Exponential Decay approach

We use the Conditionally Exponential Decay (CED) model to explain the scaling behavior in currency exchange (FX) rates. This approach enables us not only to show that FX returns satisfy scaling with an exponent qualitatively different from that of a random walk, but also to identify the distributions of these returns corresponding to the empirical scaling laws. The study is conducted via three different estimation methods and using intra-daily FX data which offers the great advantage of large samples and high significance.Econophysics; Scaling law; CED model; High frequency data; Currency exchange;

Power Indices: Shapley-Shubik OR Penrose-Banzhaf?

Shapley-Shubik and Penrose-Banzhaf (absolute and relative) power measures and their interpretations are analysed. Both of them could be successfully derived as cooperative game values, and at the same time both of them can be interpreted as probabilities of some decisive position (pivot, swing) without using cooperative game theory at all. In the paper we show that one has to be very careful in interpretation of results based on relative PB-power index and not to use it without absolute PB-power index, what is frequently the case in many published studies.absolute power; cooperative games; I-power; pivot; power indices; relative power; P-power; swing

Searching for self-similarity in switching time and turbulent cascades in ion transport through a biochannel. A time delay asymmetry

The process of ion transport through a locust potassium channel is described by means of the Fokker-Planck equation (FPE). The deterministic and stochastic components of the process of switching between various conducting states of the channel are expressed by two coefficients, $D^{(1)}$ and $D^{(2)}$, a drift and a diffusion coefficient, respectively. The FPE leads to a Langevin equation. This analysis reveals beside the well known deterministic aspects a turbulent, cascade type of action. The (noisy-like) switching between different conducting states prevents the channel from staying in one, closed or open state. The similarity between the hydrodynamic flow in the turbulent regime and hierarchical switching between conducting states of this biochannel is discussed. A non-trivial character of $D^{(1)}$ and $D^{(2)}$ coefficients is shown, which points to different processes governing the channel's action, asymetrically depending on the history of the previously conducting states. Moreover, the Fokker-Planck and Langevin equations provide information on whether and how the statistics of the channel action change over various time scales.Comment: submitted to physica A text : 12 pages + 8 figure

Ion channel gating: a first passage time analysis of the Kramers type

The opening rate of voltage-gated potassium ion channels exhibits a characteristic, knee-like turnover where the common exponential voltage-dependence changes suddenly into a linear one. An explanation of this puzzling crossover is put forward in terms of a stochastic first passage time analysis. The theory predicts that the exponential voltage-dependence correlates with the exponential distribution of closed residence times. This feature occurs at large negative voltages when the channel is predominantly closed. In contrast, the linear part of voltage-dependence emerges together with a non-exponential distribution of closed dwelling times with increasing voltage, yielding a large opening rate. Depending on the parameter set, the closed-time distribution displays a power law behavior which extends over several decades.Comment: 7 p., 4 fi