Inequality aversion among gypsies: a field investigation

This paper presents a first attempt to measure inequality aversion among gypsies. We conducted an experiment among adult gypsies living at slums outside Vallecas (Madrid). To analyze this variable we use the mechanism provided by Kroll & Davidovitz (2003) among 38 voluntary participants. Results indicate that: i) 52.6% of the individuals are inequality averse; ii) there is a positive relationship between inequality aversion and some features of the population such as individual religious practise, marital status, family size, position in the hierarchy of the family or club association and, iii) neither wealth, nor participation in voluntary activities affect inequality aversion.inequality aversion, gypsies, field experiment.

Factors that influence the behavior of a person against the risk of starting a business in Latin America

El desempleo y la baja calidad de los empleos existentes, han creado la necesidad de emprender y pasar de ser empleado a emprendedor. Sin embargo, existen algunos factores que caracterizan a este comportamiento. La presente investigación identifica algunos de los factores que incrementan en una persona el riesgo de emprender un negocio en América Latina. Los principales factores que influyen en este comportamiento son: la experiencia, el conocimiento, la habilidad y la edad entre las once variables utilizadas en el periodo 2009-2011. Los modelos de redes neuronales utilizados clasifican a la variable dependiente (miedo al fracaso) con un porcentaje de acierto del 68% en el periodo de estudi

A simheuristic for routing electric vehicles with limited driving ranges and stochastic travel times

Green transportation is becoming relevant in the context of smart cities, where the use of electric vehicles represents a promising strategy to support sustainability policies. However the use of electric vehicles shows some drawbacks as well, such as their limited driving-range capacity. This paper analyses a realistic vehicle routing problem in which both driving-range constraints and stochastic travel times are considered. Thus, the main goal is to minimize the expected time-based cost required to complete the freight distribution plan. In order to design reliable Routing plans, a simheuristic algorithm is proposed. It combines Monte Carlo simulation with a multi-start metaheuristic, which also employs biased-randomization techniques. By including simulation, simheuristics extend the capabilities of metaheuristics to deal with stochastic problems. A series of computational experiments are performed to test our solving approach as well as to analyse the effect of uncertainty on the routing plans.Peer Reviewe

Does the FTC Have Blood On Its Hands? An Analysis of FTC Overreach and Abuse of Power After \u3cem\u3eLiu\u3c/em\u3e

Recent cases have called the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) enforcement methods into question. After a circuit split developed in the wake of the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Federal Trade Commission v. Credit Bureau Center, L.L.C., the Supreme Court responded by granting certiorari and consolidating the case with AMG Capital Management, L.L.C. v. Federal Trade Commission. The issue in these cases is whether Section 13(b) of the FTC Act authorizes the FTC to bypass the due process safeguards mandated by Congress in Sections 5 and 19 of the FTC Act and, in doing so, to conduct warrantless searches and seizures, unilaterally freeze assets, and impose punitive “disgorgement” monetary damages. In light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Securities & Exchange Commission v. Liu, it seems likely that the Court will limit the FTC’s abusive use of Section 13(b) and find in favor of the defendants in these cases. The FTC’s mission is to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and for many years, one of its main enforcement methods has been disgorgement under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act. Section 13(b) gives the FTC the authority to seek preliminary and permanent injunctions when it believes that the law is being violated or is about to be violated. It does not mention disgorgement or any other restitution methods, but the FTC has spent considerable time and energy building a foundation of favorable case law to support its ability to use disgorgement. Its strategy consisted of building a body of precedent, based on old and inapplicable cases, and it has aggressively pursued this strategy with the intention of expanding its enforcement abilities. The way it has used its self-created power has caused untold damage to business owners, employees, and consumers. This Article argues that the Supreme Court should rule against the FTC in Credit Bureau Center/AMG Capital Management. The FTC used shaky and extraneous case law to expand its power to include the ability to seek disgorgement, and it has caused irreparable harm to businesses and individuals across the country. Indeed, following the FTC’s use of disgorgement as an improper remedy to seek damages, several business owners who were subjected to that improper treatment committed suicide, making the FTC a de facto judge, jury, and executioner. Part I details the methods that the FTC has used over the past few decades to expand its power to its current level. Part II argues that disgorgement is not authorized by Congress under Section 13(b). Indeed, nothing other than a preliminary or permanent injunction is authorized by Congress under Section 13(b). And Part III addresses the numerous constitutional issues that arise when a federal agency expands its power far beyond its statutory grant of power

Effects of the Great Recession on state output in Mexico

This paper investigates the effects of a battery of variables on total and sector output drops in the Mexican states during the Great Recession by estimating spatial and cross-section regression models. Our main results can be summarized as follows. First, there is evidence of spatial autocorrelation only in the case of total production and it seems to be negative, which does not support the hypothesis of in - terstate transmission of the recession. Second, total and sector production falls can be explained by the specialization in the production of tradable (mainly durable) goods. Third, exposure to external shocks plays an important role in the cases of industrial and services production, but not in total output. Fourth, there seems to be that federal fiscal policy has actually been pro-cyclical while state fiscal policies have contributed to mitigate the recession