Collective Identities and the Integration of Core State Powers: Introduction to the Special Issue

This special issue explores the relationship between collective identities and the integration of core state powers, that is, the delegation of powers to a centralized institution in policy areas that are essential for the functioning of the modern state. In this introductory article we present the main conceptualizations of the contributions to the special issue that define our understanding of collective identities and core state powers. We discuss the multi-level nature of collective identities and we discuss theoretical expectations over the link between collective identities and core state powers. Finally, we briefly present each of the contributions to the issue and discuss how they relate to the broad research goals, the special issue and to each other

Partner selection in indoor-to-outdoor cooperative networks: an experimental study

In this paper, we develop a partner selection protocol for enhancing the network lifetime in cooperative wireless networks. The case-study is the cooperative relayed transmission from fixed indoor nodes to a common outdoor access point. A stochastic bivariate model for the spatial distribution of the fading parameters that govern the link performance, namely the Rician K-factor and the path-loss, is proposed and validated by means of real channel measurements. The partner selection protocol is based on the real-time estimation of a function of these fading parameters, i.e., the coding gain. To reduce the complexity of the link quality assessment, a Bayesian approach is proposed that uses the site-specific bivariate model as a-priori information for the coding gain estimation. This link quality estimator allows network lifetime gains almost as if all K-factor values were known. Furthermore, it suits IEEE 802.15.4 compliant networks as it efficiently exploits the information acquired from the receiver signal strength indicator. Extensive numerical results highlight the trade-off between complexity, robustness to model mismatches and network lifetime performance. We show for instance that infrequent updates of the site-specific model through K-factor estimation over a subset of links are sufficient to at least double the network lifetime with respect to existing algorithms based on path loss information only.Comment: This work has been submitted to IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications in August 201

Collective Identities, European Solidarity: Identification Patterns and Preferences for European Social Insurance

A degree of collective identity is often perceived to be a requirement for integration of core state powers, and even more so when redistributive measures are at stake. Existing research has shown that European identity is an important correlate of support for European social policy in general. This article explores the ways in which collective identities relate to the multidimensional nature of social policy at the European level. We explore in particular the features of European social policy that receive the most support from European publics, and how local, national and European identity moderates these preferences. We expect that people who have primarily sub-national or national attachments are less supportive of generous schemes and schemes that involve greater cross-country redistribution, and are more in favour of decentralized schemes administered by the member states than those with stronger European identities. We find support for these expectations in a conjoint survey experiment fielded in autumn 2018 in 13 EU member states

Common currency, common identity? The impact of the Euro introduction on European identity

Does European state building go hand in hand with European nation building? This article engages with the scholarly debate on the dynamic relationship between the construction of supranational political institutions that exert key functions of sovereignty and collective identities by investigating the extent to which the adoption of the Euro as a currency is associated with a decrease in the share of Europeans who identify exclusively with their nation and not with the European Union. In detail, by using a dynamic panel-data model on 26 European Union countries in the post-Maastricht period (1996–2017), our results show that the Euro has fostered European identity, leading to a small but significant decrease (-3%) in the share of Europeans with exclusive national identity

Preferences for European unemployment insurance: a question of economic ideology or EU support?

Against the backdrop of proposals to introduce a European unemployment insurance scheme, we study public support for such schemes by conducting a conjoint experiment on support for European unemployment insurance in 13 EU member states. We argue that European-level social policy initiatives and the underlying notions of solidarity cannot be reduced to a one-dimensional concept, but rather include various dimensions. Unemployment schemes vary in their generosity, the conditions for support, their impact on taxation, the extent to which they preclude permanent redistribution between countries, and the EU’s role in their administration. Generosity, conditions and taxation are ‘domestic’ dimensions, since they mainly resonate with domestic policy debates; between-country redistribution and administration are ‘cross-border’ dimensions, referring to relationships between countries. We expect economic ideology to interact predominantly with domestic dimensions and EU support to interact predominantly with cross-border dimensions. Findings confirm these expectations, with the exception of between-country redistribution and country-level conditionality

Regional inequalities and transnational solidarity in the European Union

Amid the eurocrisis, scholars and policy makers sought to establish an EU-wide layer of social policy, aiming to ensure common standards through the EU and to provide a degree of common social protection. While public support for European social policy has been extensively studied, we don't know how regional (i.e., subnational) inequalities relate to preferences for European social policy. We analyse the effect of regional differences in socio-economic and institutional contexts on public preferences for European social policy in general and support for European unemployment insurance in particular. Combining original survey data collected in 2018 in 12 European countries with regional-level economic and political indicators, we find that regional-level self-interest impacts individual preferences but that the effect is not always clear-cut. Contrary to expectations, people in richer regions are more supportive of EU social policy than people in poorer regions, while citizens of politically more autonomous regions tend to have a generally more positive view of EU social policy. A conjoint experiment on support for different policy variants of European unemployment insurance sheds light on these counterintuitive findings: Citizens in richer regions are indeed more supportive of EU-level social policy, but only when it has limited redistributive implications and instead affects standards; conversely citizens in poorer regions are willing to forego their opposition to EU social policy for redistributive programs

Analytical approximation for the sphere-sphere Coulomb potential

A simple analytical expression, which closely approximates the Coulomb potential between two uniformly charged spheres, is presented. This expression can be used in the optical potential semiclassical analyses which require that the interaction be analytic on and near the real r-axis.Comment: 4 pages including 3 figures and 1 tabl

Regional inequalities and transnational solidarity in the European Union

Amid the eurocrisis, scholars and policy makers sought to establish an EU-wide layer of social policy, aiming to ensure common standards through the EU and to provide a degree of common social protection. While public support for European social policy has been extensively studied, we don’t know how regional (i.e., subnational) inequalities relate to preferences for European social policy. We analyse the effect of regional differences in socio-economic and institutional contexts on public preferences for European social policy in general and support for European unemployment insurance in particular. Combining original survey data collected in 2018 in 12 European countries with regional-level economic and political indicators, we find that regional-level self-interest impacts individual preferences but that the effect is not always clear-cut. Contrary to expectations, people in richer regions are more supportive of EU social policy than people in poorer regions, while citizens of politically more autonomous regions tend to have a generally more positive view of EU social policy. A conjoint experiment on support for different policy variants of European unemployment insurance sheds light on these counterintuitive findings: Citizens in richer regions are indeed more supportive of EU-level social policy, but only when it has limited redistributive implications and instead affects standards; conversely citizens in poorer regions are willing to forego their op- position to EU social policy for redistributive programs

Relationship between vaccination and nutritional status in children: Analysis of recent demographic and health surveys

BACKGROUND A body of evidence suggests that vaccines support the development of the immune system and also improve overall health. OBJECTIVE To study the effect of the complete basic vaccination schedule (Bacille Calmette-Guerin, i.e., BCG; measles; polio 3; and Diphtheria, Tetanus toxoids, and Pertussis, i.e., DTP3) on nutritional status of children under 2 years of age. METHODS Recent DHS data from 16 countries conducted after 2013 were used. After a bivariate descriptive analysis, a logistic regression analysis was conducted to predict the likelihood of underweight, stunting, and wasting by immunization status. A combined odds ratio was computed and adjusted for background variables. RESULTS A significantly higher prevalence of underweight was found among children with incomplete vaccination schedules in seven countries. Similarly, wasting and stunting were frequently observed in under-vaccinated children in four countries. Moreover, logistic regression adjusted for background variables revealed a relation between incomplete vaccination and underweight in Angola, Chad, and Guatemala (95% CI lower bound > 1). Combining data of all countries, underweight (adjusted Odds Ratio, aOR 1.21, 95% CI 1.11-1.31), wasting (aOR 1.18, 95% CI 1.05-1.33), and stunting (aOR 1.07, 95% CI 1.00-1.14) were associated with poor vaccination status. The overall effect was consistent with both sexes except the results for wasting for females and stunting for males, though insignificant. CONTRIBUTION To our knowledge, this is the first paper assessing the relation between vaccination and nutritional status at a multi-country level with a huge dataset. Our analysis suggests a poor nutritional status in children with an incomplete vaccination schedule