The introduction of sickness insurance in Spain in the first decades of the Franco dictatorship (1939-1962)

[Abstract:]Using new statistical data on financing, coverage and economic and health care provisions, this article analyses how sickness insurance was introduced, managed and extended in Spain, under the Franco dictatorship, between 1939 and 1962. This article highlights how the dictatorship accelerated its implementation for political motives and this resulted in a failure of the system due to the lack of public financing and the high pharmaceutical, medical and infrastructure cost

Labour repression and social justice in Franco’s Spain: the political objectives of compulsory sickness insurance, 1942-1957

[Abstract:]This article analyzes the basic characteristics of the labor and social policies of the Franco dictatorship established in Spain after the Civil War (1936-1939), and the links which existed between them. The offer of support to working families was presented through a paternalistic discourse of ‘social justice’ which was combined with tough repressive measures in the labor market. Within this context, compulsory social insurances pursued a political end, as they served to mitigate social tensions in a context of worker repression and harsh living conditions. Sickness insurance was a key element in this strategy, and it turned out to be very economical for the dictatorship, as the burden of financing the system was placed on employers and, above all, the workers themselves. This led to financial and management problems within a system providing imperfect coverage, with low benefits and serious inequalities in protection. Consequently, Spain moved away from other advanced countries which, at this time, were establishing their welfare states on the basis of two pillars: the universalization of benefits and the redistributive character of the system from a social point of view

Managing financial constraints: Undercapitalization and underwriting capacity in spanish fire insurance

Reinsurance is a vital financial device for enhancing underwriting capacity, ceding risks and mitigating financial distress. By supplying financial resources and services, reinsurance can facilitate growth and expansion in the insurance business. Focusing on the insurance sector in the emerging Spanish economy and using a novel dataset on fire insurance companies, this paper examines the role of fire insurance in the capital formation, the importance of reinsurance as a vehicle for expanding the country’s domestic underwriting capacity, and how the capital import impacted on the balance of payment, from the introduction of the first comprehensive legislation regarding insurance in 1908 to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936. Considering the situation of undercapitalization, the singularities of the insurance market, and the changes in regulatory schemes, we find that foreign reinsurance became a key financial vehicle for increasing the underwriting capacity in Spain. We also show the struggle for an emerging market to find ways to keep balance of current accounts and raise capital when the financial infrastructure is underdeveloped. The diffusion of reinsurance networks from the core of industrial Western countries towards emerging economies was one of the mechanisms for financial modernization on a global scale

Beta decays and the inner structures of the neutrino in a NLHV design

A novel conceptual theory is developed for the beta decay and electron capture processes, based on the specific non-local hidden-variable (NLHV) design provided by the Cordus theory. A new mechanics is sketched out for the interactions of particules through their discrete forces, and is a deeper level representation of Feynman diagrams. The new mechanics is able to correctly predict the outcomes of the decay processes, beta minus, beta plus, electron capture. It predicts specific NLHV structures for the neutrino and antineutrino. The velocity and unique spins of the neutrino species may then be explained as a consequence of the hidden structures

Multivariate Polynomials in Sage

We have developed a patch implementing multivariate polynomials seen as a multi-base algebra. The patch is to be released into the software Sage and can already be found within the Sage-Combinat distribution. One can use our patch to define a polynomial in a set of indexed variables and expand it into a linear basis of the multivariate polynomials. So far, we have the Schubert polynomials, the Key polynomials of types A, B, C, or D, the Grothendieck polynomials and the non-symmetric Macdonald polynomials. One can also use a double set of variables and work with specific double-linear bases like the double Schubert polynomials or double Grothendieck polynomials. Our implementation is based on a definition of the basis using divided difference operators and one can also define new bases using these operators.Comment: 18 page

Hidden variable theory supports variability in decay rates of nuclides

PROBLEM- The orthodox expectation is for decay rates to be strictly constant for all types of decay (β+, β-, EC, ⍺). However empirical results show strong evidence for nuclides having variable decay rates, typically evident as periodicity. The volume of data available suggests this is a real phenomenon, not merely a spurious outcome of measurement errors. However the problem is complex because the data are conflicted for different decays. Furthermore, there is no coherent theory for why the phenomenon should exist in the first place. The effect is not required or predicted by quantum theory. Consequently it is a significant challenge to explain how the variability might arise, what factors could be involved, and how the underlying mechanisms of causality might operate. This lack of explanation contributes to the phenomenon often being dismissed as erroneous. PURPOSE- This paper develops a theoretical explanation of the variability of nuclide decay rates. APPROACH- The non-local hidden-variable solution provided by the Cordus theory was used, specifically its mechanics for neutrino-species interactions with nucleons. FINDINGS- It is predicted that the β-, β+ and electron capture processes are induced by pre-supply of neutrino-species, and that the effects are asymmetrical for those species. Also predicted is that different input energies are required, i.e. that a threshold effect exists. Four simple non-contentious lemmas are proposed with which it is straightforward to explain why β- and EC would be enhanced and correlate to solar neutrino flux (proximity & activity), and a emission unaffected. It is shown that the concept of a neutrino-species asymmetry makes sense of the broad patterns evident in the empirical data. IMPLICATIONS- The results support the variability of decay rates, on theoretical grounds. The type of decay (β+, β-, EC, ⍺) is found to be a key variable in this theory, as is the type of neutrino species and its energy. Past experiments have generally not recorded the variables sufficiently. Future empirical tests of nuclide decay rates need to be more specific about the identity of the external environmental, neutrino-species, both the energy and flux thereof. It is also necessary to be more specific about the decay path. The different decays have to be considered separately, not lumped together, nor classified primarily by element (e.g. U, Pb, Cl, etc.) but rather by type of decay process (β+, β-, EC, ⍺). A more radical implication is that hidden-variable theories offer profoundly new perspectives on fundamental physics, and can explain complex phenomena that are inconceivable from within the zero-dimensional point framework of quantum theory. ORIGINALITY- The novel contribution is the provision of a theoretical explanation for why decay rates would be variable. A detailed mechanism is presented for neutrino-species induced decay. Also novel is the prediction that the interaction is asymmetrical, and that the energy requirements are different for the various types of decay. The explanation is qualitatively consistent with the empirical evidence

Diversificación y cartelización en el seguro español, 1914-1935

Editada en la Fundación SEPIEn el primer tercio del siglo XX se producen varios fenómenos en el mercado de seguros en España por el que se modifica la situación heredada del siglo anterior. El incremento de la competencia impulsa procesos de diversificación y cartelización del mercado. En el primer caso, las compañías especializadas se convertirán en compañías generales y en el segundo caso se adoptarán acuerdos entre las empresas de seguros para controlar la competencia. En las décadas posteriores, estos fenómenos paralelos conducirán al liderazgo a determinadas compañías.In the first decades of the 20th century, several processes modify the Spanish insurance market from the inherited characteristics of the past century. Moreover, the increment of competition promotes the diversification and setting up cartels for control of market. The first process drives the specialised companies to general companies and the second one leads to agreements between them to control the competition. Both parallel procedures origínate later on the leadership of particular companies.Publicad