Which Democracies Pay Higher Wages?

This paper asks if and how constitutions affect labour market outcomes. This question is motivated by Rodrik (1999), who suggests that 'democracies pay higher wages' and Persson and Tabellini (2003) who provide evidence that constitutions impact on economic outcomes. An empirical analysis using treatment effect estimators and Bayesian Model Averaging provides robust causal evidence that presidential democracies are associated with lower wages, after controlling for other potential determinants such as the level of income per capita.Democracy, Constitutions, Wages, Factor Shares, Bayesian Model Averaging

Ideology and the growth of US state government

This paper analyzes the impact of ideology on the size of US state governments. Following Pickering and Rockey (2011) this impact is hypothesized to increase with mean state income. This idea is tested using state-level ideology data derived from the voting behavior of state congressional representatives. Empirically the interaction of ideology and mean income is a key determinant of state government size. At 1960s levels of income the impact of ideology is negligible. At 1997 levels of income a one standard-deviation move towards the left of the ideology spectrum increases state government size by about half a standard deviation. Estimated income elasticities differentiated by state and time are found to be increasing with ideology and diminishing with income, as predicted by the theory

Pre-treatment of surface waters for ceramic microfiltration

The influence of pre-treatment on the suppression of irreversible (IR) fouling of ceramic membranes challenged with three UK surface waters has been studied at pilot scale. An initial scoping study compared the efficacy of suspended ion exchange (SIX) and clarification (coagulation followed by sludge blanket clarification) individually and in combination. Direct membrane filtration following in-line coagulation (ILCA) was also investigated with and without SIX. The impact on the various organic fractions, specifically high molecular weight (HMW) biopolymers (BPs) and humic substances (HSs), and lower molecular weight (LMW) building blocks (BBs) and neutrals, was studied using liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection (LC-OCD). Results revealed SIX and coagulation to preferentially remove the LMW and HMW organic fractions respectively. Residual HMW organic matter (primarily BPs) following SIX pre-treatment were retained by the membrane which led to rapid irreversible fouling. Coagulation pre-treatment provided stable membrane operation and the residual LMW organics were not significantly retained by the membrane. Combining clarification and SIX resulted in significantly increased removal of organics and lower membrane fouling rates. Tests performed using SIX and ILCA revealed high dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal compared to SIX with clarification. However, unlike the case for clarification with SIX, the addition of SIX to optimised ILCA dosing offered no additional suppression of membrane fouling compared to ILCA alone. Optimised ILCA pretreatment led to very low IR fouling rates of <0.3 kPa/day trans-membrane pressure, despite highly challenging operating conditions of elevated fluxes (185 L m−2 h−1) and highly variable feedwater dissolved organic carbon concentrations

Women's behavioural engagement with a masculine male heightens during the fertile window: evidence for the cycle shift hypothesis

Previous research suggests that women may alter their behaviour during the fertile window of the menstrual cycle to attract a mate who has traits that indicate high-quality genes. We tested whether fertile women demonstrate greater behavioural engagement with a masculine compared to a less masculine male. The test was performed using a quiz show paradigm, in which a male host asked female participants general knowledge questions. The masculinity of the host was varied between participants. Women's performance on the quiz, as well as their romantic attraction to the host, was examined in relation to women's estimated cycle phase and host masculinity. Fertile compared to nonfertile women were more romantically attracted to the host and were faster to answer his questions, but only when he was portrayed as masculine. The results of the study are interpreted as being in keeping with Gangestad and Thornhill's cycle shift hypothesis (Menstrual cycle variation in women's preferences for the scent of symmetrical men. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 1998; 265:727–733. doi:10.1098/rspb.1998.03801998

Modelling the effects of reservoir parameters and rock mineralogy on wettability during low salinity waterflooding in sandstone reservoirs

Peer reviewedPostprintproo

Ariel - Volume 4 Number 6

Editors David A. Jacoby Eugenia Miller Tom Williams Associate Editors Paul Bialas Terry Burt Michael Leo Gail Tenikat Editor Emeritus and Business Manager Richard J. Bonnano Movie Editor Robert Breckenridge Staff Richard Blutstein Mary F. Buechler J.D. Kanofsky Rocket Weber David Maye