United We Vote

This paper studies the advantages that a coalition of agents obtains by forming a voting bloc to pool their votes and cast them all together. We identify the necessary and sufficient conditions for an agent to benefit from the formation of the voting bloc, both if the agent is a member of the bloc and if the agent is not part of the bloc. We also determine whether individual agents prefer to participate in or step out of the bloc, and we find the different optimal internal voting rules that aggregate preferences within the coalition.Voting bloc, Coalition formation, Voting rule

The Foundations of Spatial Preferences

Utility representation; spatial models; multidimensional preferences; spatial representation; norms; city block preferences

Cohesion, Insurance and Redistribution

Governments use redistributive policies to favor relatively unproductive economic sectors. Traditional economic wisdom teaches that the government should instead buy out the agents in these sectors, and let them relocate to more productive sectors. We show that redistribution to a sector whose agents have highly correlated incomes generates an insurance value. Taking this insurance value into account, a buy-out is not sufficient to compensate the agents in the sector for relocating. In fact, it may be efficient for the government to sustain agents in an activity that, while less productive, is subject to correlated income shocks. US data suggests that indeed, sectors that receive transfers are subject to more correlated income shocks than others

On the Efficiency of Partial Information in Elections

We study the relation between the electorate's information about candidates' policy platforms during an election, and the subsequent provision of inefficient local public goods (pork) by the winning candidate. More information does not lead to better outcomes. We show that the efficient outcome in which no candidate proposes to provide any inefficient good is sustained in equilibrium only if voters are not well informed. If the electorate is well informed, electoral competition leads candidates to provide inefficient pork in all equilibria. We show that this result is robust even if candidates care about efficiency.Elections, information, inefficiency, pork, campaigns

Is the Status Quo Relevant in a Representative Democracy?

This work studies the effect of the value of the status quo in the candidates’ decisions and policy outcomes in a representative democracy with endogenous candidates. Following the citizen-candidate model due to Besley and Coate (1997) we show, for a unidimensional policy issue and for both an odd and even number of citizens, that some equilibria only hold for certain values of the status quo policy. In particular we find that a moderate status quo rules out equilibrium outcomes in which there is an uncontested candidate and that two-candidate equilibria exist more generally when the number of citizens is even

Development of Artificial Diet and Optimum Feeding Strategy For Malaysian River Catfish Mystus Nemurus (Cuvier and Valenciennes) Larvae

Four feeding experiments were conducted to evaluate the growth and survival of Mystus nemurus larvae under different diets and feeding regimes. First experiment evaluated the influence of the gradual and direct weaning techniques on growth and survival of the larvae. Newly hatched live food (Artemia nauplii) was provided to all treatments at the start of exogenous feeding. For gradual weaning scheme, the live food was gradually decreased on day 4 or 6 until the larvae were on 100% artificial diet. In contrast the larval diet was shifted from live food to 100% artificial diet starting day 6 or 10 for direct weaning scheme while the controls were fed on Artemia throughout the study. This study showed that gradual weaning at day 4 of exogenous feeding gave better growth and survival rate comparable to the controls and seemed to be the most economically and biologically viable techniques for feeding M. nemurus larvae. The second experiment was conducted to study the effect of feed particle size on feeding behavior and ultimately growth and survival of larvae. Different feed particle sizes were administered at different stages of weaning. In Treatment I, the larvae were given an assorted size «425-700µm) diet at the start of weaning onwards. Larvae on Treatment II were given different sizes of diet for different period. i.e. <425µm at the start of weaning (day 4) to day 8, 425-600µm from day 9 to day 12 and 600-700µm from day 13 to day 16. The two treatments were also tested without any weaning or live food while the control was similar to Experiment I. Treatment I gave the best growth and survival rate equivalent to the control. Continuos feeding of a wide range of feed particle size during larviculture seemed to benefit the uneven growth rate in M. nemurus larvae. Treatments without weaning gave inferior growth and total mortality after day 8

Etelvina Astrada, estar en España para estar en Argentina : la ideología en apertura de una poeta coherente

Este trabajo busca un acercamiento hacia la escritura de la poeta Etelvina Astrada, nacida en Córdoba y exiliada en Madrid desde 1975. Su obra, publicada en totalidad en Europa, resulta injustamente desconocida en su provincia natal. La escasa tirada de sus libros y su circulación fuera del país, las enormes dificultades que vivió durante la época de la dictadura militar más la acción natural del tiempo que profundiza las distancias geográficas; aportan al desconocimiento de sus coterráneos. El hecho se advierte como negativo, en tanto que la escritora hizo un gran aporte de ideas, valores y entrega a la cultura argentina de la resistencia.This paper seeks an approach to the work of a poetry, Etelvina Astrada, born in Córdoba (Argentina) and exiled in Madrid since 1975. Her books, totally published in Europe, are unfairly unknown in her home province. The few copies of her books and their circulation outside the country, the enormous difficulties that she lived during the era of the military dictatorship, and the natural action of time deepening the geographical distances; added to the unknown at her province. The fact is warned as negative, while the writer made a great contribution of ideas, values, and delivery to the Argentine culture of resistance.Aquest treball busca un acostament cap a l'escriptura de la poeta Etelvina Astrada, nascuda a Còrdova i exiliada a Madrid des de 1975. La seva obra, publicada en totalitat a Europa, resulta injustament desconeguda a la seva província natal. L'escassa tirada dels seus llibres i la seva circulació fora del país, les enormes dificultats que va viure durant l'època de la dictadura militar més l'acció natural del temps que aprofundeix les distàncies geogràfiques; aporten al desconeixement de les seves coterráneos. El fet s'adverteix com negatiu, en tant que l'escriptora va fer una gran aportació d'idees, valors i lliurament a la cultura argentina de la resistència

Citizen Candidates Under Uncertainty

In this paper we make two contributions to the growing literature on "citizen-candidate" models of representative democracy. First, we add uncertainty about the total vote count. We show that in a society with a large electorate, where the outcome of the election is uncertain and where winning candidates receive a large reward from holding office, there will be a two-candidate equilibrium and no equilibria with a single candidate. Second, we introduce a new concept of equilibrium, which we term "sincere-strategic," and we show that with this refinement, the two equilibrium candidates will not be too extreme, one will lean to the left and the other one to the right

Voting Blocs, Coalitions and Parties

In this paper I study the strategic implications of coalition formation in an assembly. A coalition forms a voting bloc to coordinate the voting behavior of its members, acting as a single player and affecting the policy outcome. I prove that there exist stable endogenous voting bloc structures and in an assembly with two parties I show how the incentives to form a bloc depend on the types of the agents, the sizes of the parties, and the rules the blocs use to aggregate their preferences. I also provide an empirical application of the model to the US Supreme Court and I show that justices face a strategic incentive to coalesce into voting blocs

Michigan Redistricting Draft Map Analysis

Michigan has embarked on an historic redrawing of boundaries for its 13 U.S. House, 38 Senate and 110 House districts. Redistricting was entrusted this year to 13 members of the Michigan Independent Redistricting Commission (MICRC) randomly selected from a pool of qualified applicants.This report provides a quantitative analysis of the collaborative Draft Proposed maps, as those maps were collaboratively drawn by the MICRC and released on Oct. 11, 2021. For the collaborative maps, the Commission voted to release four congressional maps, three Michigan Senate maps, and three Michigan House maps. These Draft Proposed maps will be subject to a round of public hearings to be conducted around the state from Wednesday, Oct. 20 to Wednesday, Oct. 27.In this report, the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University analyzes these 10 collaborative Draft Proposed maps