How does income inequality affect cooperation and punishment in public good settings?

In the frame of decentralization reforms in Namibia, local water point associations evolved that have to collect water fees from community members to cover maintenance costs. Enforcement, however, is weak and water point associations have to rely on moral pleas. Partly as a consequence, several users refuse to pay. I test the impact of informal sanction mechanisms on cooperation among water point users in groups with equal and unequal incomes. Interestingly, and in contrast to the vast majority of related studies, cooperation does not increase under the threat of punishment, though the punishment option was frequently used. At individual level I show that while punishments do not affect cooperative behaviour, they provoke counter-punishment. This suggests that peer-sanctioning mechanisms as a means to enforce norm-compliance are not accepted among water point association members. Contribution levels were higher in heterogeneous groups compared with homogenous ones, and both pro-social and anti-social punishments occurred more frequently in homogenous groups. A comparison between different income types further reveals that the poor contribute larger shares of their income than those endowed with higher incomes and that they use punishment as frequently and as vehemently as the better-off, despite higher opportunity costs

Europe's migration 'partnerships' with Africa need a new direction in 2017

2016 was the deadliest year for migrants crossing the Mediterranean; more than 4,800 people died on their way to Europe, despite the fact that fewer attempted the journey than in previous years. While European migration policies tend to be fragmented, there has been a shift to stepping up a "Fortress Europe" approach. But closing borders won't work in the long run. Curbing illegal migration and sealing borders will not stop migration from occurring, but rather improve the business of traffickers and make migrants' journeys more dangerous. A year ago, more than 60 heads of states and government met in Malta for the first summit between the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) solely dedicated to the topic of migration. Contrary to initial hopes, the Action Plan and Political Declaration that were agreed upon did not make a significant difference to previous EU policies on migration, which tend to be broad and vague. The EU approach does not take account of the reality of migration, as we have recently pointed out. Nine out of ten international refugees remain in the Global South. And the main burden of the refugee crisis is not in Europe, but among the poorest countries in the world

Microcredit and business-training programs: effective strategies for micro- and small enterprise growth?

The World Bank’s most recent Global Financial Development Report (World Bank 2013) has once again stressed lack of both financial capital and business-related knowledge as key impediments to firm growth in developing countries. Yet, the most popular instruments to relax these constraints are largely unsuccessful in spurring firm growth. Most people in developing countries are employed in micro- and small enterprises. Therefore, promoting these firms by providing access to financial capital and basic managerial skills through microcredit and business-training programs has been considered a matter of common sense among experts. However, recent empirical results unambiguously show that these programs are no panacea for poor enterprise development and growth. Many firms have limited access to financial capital, and many owners lack basic managerial skills. These deficits have been frequently assumed to be major impediments to firm growth in developing countries. Microcredit and business-training programs are the most widely used strategies to promote enterprise development. Findings from recent empirical impact evaluation studies suggest that these programs are insufficient to trigger firm growth or job creation. The empirical studies have some limitations, and it remains largely unclear what types of entrepreneurs these programs work best for and why these programs seem to have largely failed to improve business performance. Amendments in key design features of these programs and the development of screening tools to identify and target high-potential entrepreneurs might help improve their effectiveness. Yet, the results show that microcredit and business-training courses are no panacea for stagnant enterprise development everywhere and call for a stronger emphasis on a holistic strategy mix that takes into account context-specific interrelations among different binding constraints

Universal Love or One True Religion? Experimental Evidence of the Ambivalent Effect of Religious Ideas on Altruism and Discrimination

Contrary to the expectations of secularization theory, religion remains socially important and affects politics in multiple ways - especially regarding conflict between religious communities. Theoretically, religion can increase altruism, but belief in the superiority of one's faith may facilitate intergroup discrimination and related conflict. Previous findings remain inconclusive, however, as specific religious ideas have hardly been tested. In this article, we argue that the content of religious ideas has causal effects on intergroup discrimination. We hence test the impact of two opposing, prominent religious ideas on altruism and discrimination: universal love and the notion of one true religion. Conducting dictator games with Christians and Muslims in Ghana and Tanzania, we find causal effects: Whereas the idea of one true religion increases intergroup discrimination, that of universal love fosters equal treatment. The policy implications hereof are obvious - promoting tolerant religious ideas seems crucial to avoiding conflict

Digitale Unterstützung für Lehrkräfte beim Aufarbeiten von Verstehensgrundlagen: Mathe-sicher-können-Online-Check

Förderorientierte Diagnosen sind, im Sinne des formativen Assessments, konsequent darauf ausgerichtet, die Handlungsentscheidungen von Lehrkräften für die Förderung zu fundieren (Black & Wiliam, 1998). Dazu können digitale Diagnoseplattformen substantiell beitragen durch automatisiertes Erfassen und Verarbeiten von Daten von Lernenden (Scheiter, 2021). Dass nicht nur kalkülorientierte, sondern auch verstehensorientierte digitale Diagnoseangebote möglich sind, hat z.B. das australische Diagnosetool SMART eindrucksvoll gezeigt, das systematisch die relevanten Grundvorstellungen und typischen Fehlvorstellungen der Lernenden zu vielen Themen der Sekundarstufe 1 für Lehrkräfte sichtbar macht (Stacey et al., 2018). Allerdings diagnostizieren die in Deutschland derzeit verfügbaren digitalen Diagnoseplattformen bislang vorrangig Kalkülfähigkeiten, zu wenig jedoch konzeptuelles Verständnis (Thurm, 2020). Daher wird bis 2024 der Mathe-sicher-können (MSK) Online-Check aufgebaut, der verstehens- und förderorientierte digitale Diagnosebausteine für die arithmetischen Verstehensgrundlagen der Klassen 3-7 bereitstellt. Digitalisiert werden derzeit die Standortbestimmungen zu 45 Diagnose- und Förderbausteinen aus dem nicht-digitalen MSK-Material für mathematikschwache Lernende (Selter et al., 2014). Die Diagnosebausteine sind konsequent verstehensorientiert, indem sie auf diejenigen Vorstellungen und Darstellungen der Arithmetik fokussieren, ohne die ein Weiterlernen nicht möglich ist (Zahl- und Operationsverständnis für natürliche Zahlen, Brüche, Dezimalzahlen, Prozente) und auch das Rechnen und Sachrechnen konsequent an Vorstellungen anknüpfen. Sie sind insofern förderorientiert, als dass sie passend zu den Fördereinheiten entwickelt wurden, die in unterrichtsergänzenden Kleingruppenförderungen oder Regelunterricht kommunikationsfördernd mit Lehrkräftemoderation genutzt werden können

Die Migrationspolitik der EU in Afrika braucht einen Richtungswechsel

Entgegen der weitverbreiteten Annahme eines "Exodus" aus Afrika bleibt die Mehrheit der afrikanischen Flüchtlinge und Migranten bislang auf ihrem Heimatkontinent. Doch in Zukunft wird der Migrationsdruck aufgrund des großen Bevölkerungswachstums steigen. Um die damit verbundenen Herausforderungen zu bewältigen und Potenziale zu nutzen, bedarf es eines Richtungswechsels der europäischen Migrationspolitik in Afrika

Beschäftigung, Armut und die Millenniumsziele der Vereinten Nationen

Laut dem aktuellen Weltentwicklungsbericht 2013 bildet Beschäftigung den Grundstein für Entwicklung. Auch in der laufenden Debatte über die Millenniumsziele (Millennium Development Goals, MDGs) nach 2015 wird die bisher vernachlässigte Dimension menschenwürdiger Beschäftigung als ein zentraler Bestandteil möglicher Anschlussabkommen an die Millenniumsziele gesehen. Analyse Die Schaffung menschenwürdiger Arbeit ist eine wichtige Voraussetzung für die nachhaltige Bekämpfung von Armut und ein erklärtes Ziel der Vereinten Nationen (UN). Allerdings lässt sich „menschenwürdige Arbeit“ nur schwer messen. Dies spiegelt sich in den bisher verwendeten beschäftigungsbezogenen MDG-Indikatoren wider, die bezüglich ihrer Aussagekraft über die Qualität von Arbeit erhebliche Defizite aufweisen. Trotz des globalen Beschäftigungsanstiegs und einer deutlichen Verringerung der globalen Einkommensarmut in den letzten dreißig Jahren leben in Entwicklungsländern immer noch mehr als eine Milliarde Menschen in extremer Armut. Ein Großteil der erwerbstätigen Bevölkerung in Entwicklungsländern arbeitet als Selbstständige im informellen Sektor, der auch in den nächsten Jahrzehnten bestehen bleiben wird. Die nachträglich hinzugefügten beschäftigungsbezogenen MDG-Indikatoren werden den Charakteristika von Beschäftigung in Entwicklungsländern nicht gerecht. Sie lassen außerdem kaum Rückschlüsse auf die Qualität der Arbeit zu, da die nichtmateriellen Aspekte menschenwürdiger Arbeit nur schwer oder gar nicht operationalisierbar sind. Beschäftigungsbezogene Zielindikatoren sollten bei einem möglichen Anschlussabkommen zu den MDGs weiterhin berücksichtigt, jedoch in ihrer Ausgestaltung überdacht werden. Ein neuer Indikator, der den Anteil der Beschäftigten mit einem Arbeitseinkommen unter einer bestimmten Mindesteinkommenshöhe misst, böte einige Vorteile gegenüber den bisherigen Indikatoren. Darüber hinaus spielt die soziale Absicherung eine wichtige Rolle für das individuelle Wohlergehen. Entsprechende Ziele – etwa der krankenversicherte Anteil der Bevölkerung – sollten jedoch nicht an das Ziel gekoppelt werden, menschenwürdige Arbeit zu schaffen

Injection Molding of Magnesium Aluminate Spinel Nanocomposites for High‐Throughput Manufacturing of Transparent Ceramics

Transparent ceramics like magnesium aluminate spinel (MAS) are considered the next step in material evolution showing unmatched mechanical, chemical and physical resistance combined with high optical transparency. Unfortunately, transparent ceramics are notoriously difficult to shape, especially on the microscale. Therefore, a thermoplastic MAS nanocomposite is developed that can be shaped by polymer injection molding at high speed and precision. The nanocomposite is converted to dense MAS by debinding, pre-sintering, and hot isostatic pressing yielding transparent ceramics with high optical transmission up to 84 % and high mechanical strength. A transparent macroscopic MAS components with wall thicknesses up to 4 mm as well as microstructured components with single micrometer resolution are shown. This work makes transparent MAS ceramics accessible to modern high-throughput polymer processing techniques for fast and cost-efficient manufacturing of macroscopic and microstructured components enabling a plethora of potential applications from optics and photonics, medicine to scratch and break-resistant transparent windows for consumer electronics

How does income inequality affect cooperation and punishment in public good settings?

In the frame of decentralization reforms in Namibia, local water point associations evolved that have to collect water fees from community members to cover maintenance costs. Enforcement, however, is weak and water point associations have to rely on moral pleas. As a consequence, several users refuse to pay. I test the impact of informal sanction mechanisms on cooperation among water point users in groups with equal and unequal incomes. Interestingly, and in contrast to the vast majority of related studies, cooperation does not increase under the threat of punishment, though the punishment option was frequently used. At individual level I show that while punishments do not affect cooperative behaviour, they provoke counter-punishment. This suggests that peer-sanctioning mechanisms as a means to enforce norm-compliance are not accepted among water point association members. Contribution levels were higher in heterogeneous groups compared with homogenous ones, and both pro-social and anti-social punishments occurred more frequently in homogenous groups. A comparison between different income types further reveals that the poor contribute larger shares of their income than those endowed with higher incomes and that they use punishment as frequently and as vehemently as the better-off, despite higher opportunity costs.Income heterogeneity, public goods experiment, peer punishment, anti-social punishment, Namibia