Varieties of capitalism, quality of government, and policy conditionality in Southern Europe: Greece and Portugal in comparative perspective

This paper, drawing primarily on the Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) theoretical approach to political economy and the institutional theory of Europeanisation with emphasis on the Quality of Government (QoG) approach, examines possible variation between Greece and Portugal, in terms of their responses to pressures from Europeanisation before the crisis, as well as to MoU conditionality during the crisis. The empirical evidence seems to vindicate the fundamental assumptions of the VoC approach about the impact of variation among member states of the Eurozone, in terms of models of capitalism/political economy, on the crisis in Greece and Portugal. However, QoG is identified as key explanatory variable for variation in adaptation/adjustment capacity between the two countries, especially during the crisis. Additionally, there seems to be no evidence that cultural aspects, such as the level of social trust/ capital, can account for variation in adaptation performance between the two countries during the crisis

NAFTA: Past, Present and Future

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) – an extension of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Canada and USA to include Mexico – went into effect on January 1, 1994, primarily as an agreement to eliminate restrictions on trade and investment over the course of twelve years. NAFTA is a trade agreement and after twelve years remains as such with limited prospects, if any, of widening or deepening the integration process. Despite its narrow scope, the agreement became, from the start, controversial – and continues to be so – not only for trade and investment matters but for a whole host of other related issues. The other related issues include: the dispute settlement mechanism and side agreements on labor and environmental issues

The future of the US Dollar and its competition with the Euro

Since the collapse of the Bretton Woods Global International System in 1971, the world economy has experienced significant currency volatility. The major economies of the world have addressed such volatility differently. The EU has chosen to follow a monetary union and introduced successfully a new currency. The U.S. has paid less attention to the fluctuations of the dollar and has pursued an independent monetary policy to promote national economic stability. Japan has seen its currency appreciate significantly. This paper argues that while trade and growth across the globe are doing well, financial developments are intensifying the competition between the U.S. dollar and the euro. Three possible future scenarios are developed and discussed.peer-reviewe

Asymmetrical economic and institutional changes in the Western Balkans : cooperation with the European Union

The Western Balkans have historically been a poor area of Europe. The total population of the Western Balkans is 24.7 million. Ethnic differences of long standing have led to conflicts and to political and economic instability. Poverty and instability have combined to produce a vicious circle of institutional backwardness. Recent conflicts in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo have aggravated an already adverse economic situation. GDP in 1999 was substantially lower than that in 1989. The EU plans to enter into contractual relationships with all the Western Balkans in the form of Stabilization and Association Agreements (SAAs). The pacts are aimed at helping to establish economic and political stability, to implement institutional reforms, to practice regional free trade and cooperation and to privatize the economies of Western Balkans. These are also the presumed goals of the Western Balkans. This study focuses on a review of the progress made by the Western Balkans toward meeting the above stated challenges. A main conclusion is that the attainment of these goals has been asymmetrical for economic, political and institutional reasons.peer-reviewe

Evidences for Tsallis non-extensivity on CMR manganites

We found, from the analysis of $M$ vs. $T$ curves of some manganese oxides (manganites), that these systems do not follow the traditional Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics, but the Tsallis statistics, within the \QTR{em}{normalized} formalism. Curves were calculated within the mean field approximation, for various ferromagnetic samples and the results were compared to measurements of our own and to various other authors published data, chosen at random from the literature. The agreement between the experimental data and calculated $M_{q}$ vs. $T^{\ast}$ curve, where $T^{\ast}$ is an effective temperature, is excellent for all the compounds. The entropic parameter, $q$, correlates in a simple way with the experimental value of $T_{c}$, irrespect the chemical composition of the compounds, heat treatment or other details on sample preparation. Examples include $q<1$ (superextensivity), $q=1$ (extensivity) and $q>1$ (subextensivity) cases.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Crystal Field and Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya Interaction in orbitally ordered La_{0.95}Sr_{0.05}MnO_3: An ESR Study

We present a comprehensive analysis of Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction and crystal-field parameters using the angular dependence of the paramagnetic resonance shift and linewidth in single crystals of La_{0.95}Sr_{0.05}MnO_3 within the orthorhombic Jahn-Teller distorted phase. The Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction (~ 1K) results from the tilting of the MnO_6 octahedra against each other. The crystal-field parameters D and E are found to be of comparable magnitude (~ 1K) with D ~= -E. This indicates a strong mixing of the |3z^2-r^2> and |x^2-y^2> states for the real orbital configuration.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Playing and Listening to Tailor-Made Notched Music: Cortical Plasticity Induced by Unimodal and Multimodal Training in Tinnitus Patients

Background. The generation and maintenance of tinnitus are assumed to be based on maladaptive functional cortical reorganization. Listening to modified music, which contains no energy in the range of the individual tinnitus frequency, can inhibit the corresponding neuronal activity in the auditory cortex. Music making has been shown to be a powerful stimulator for brain plasticity, inducing changes in multiple sensory systems. Using magnetoencephalographic (MEG) and behavioral measurements we evaluated the cortical plasticity effects of two months of (a) active listening to (unisensory) versus (b) learning to play (multisensory) tailor-made notched music in nonmusician tinnitus patients. Taking into account the fact that uni- and multisensory trainings induce different patterns of cortical plasticity we hypothesized that these two protocols will have different affects. Results. Only the active listening (unisensory) group showed significant reduction of tinnitus related activity of the middle temporal cortex and an increase in the activity of a tinnitus-coping related posterior parietal area. Conclusions. These findings indicate that active listening to tailor-made notched music induces greater neuroplastic changes in the maladaptively reorganized cortical network of tinnitus patients while additional integration of other sensory modalities during training reduces these neuroplastic effects