Fishing Technology and Optimal Distribution of Harvest Rates

In this paper we analyze the optimal management of a joint ownership fishery exploitation model where agents use different fishing gears. As opposed to other works, we consider a model in which the fishing technology affects resource's growth not only through the harvest function, but also through the natural growth rate of the resource. The main objective is to capture the evidence that some fishing gears alter the habitat of the resource, and may alter the natural growth rate of the resource. The main result we obtain is that, when the natural growth of the resource is altered by the fishing technology, the optimal stock is not independent of how harvest quotas are distributed among the agents. Thus, in this context, a fishing policy that determines, first, the optimum stock and, secondly, decides on how to distribute the harvest among the different agents will not be efficient.fisheries regulation, fishing gear's selectivity, sharing of quotas

The effect of nature on designers' creativity, according to their personality profile

The aim of this work is to demonstrate whether natural environments, either real or simulated, tend to enhance designers' creativity, and whether the effects differ depending on their personality profile. Numerous studies have been conducted on the variables that shape the work environment and affect the designer's creativity, but few take into account the interaction between the work environment and the designer's personality profile. The aim of this study is to carry out a practical experiment in which a certain number of individuals solve conceptual design problems in different work environments, followed by an assessment of the creativity of the results. The results show higher values of creativity for both types of natural setting than in a neutral scenario. The personality of the designers determines whether the highest values are achieved in real or in artificial nature

FIGHTING AGAINST MALARIA: PREVENT WARS WHILE WAITING FOR THE "MIRACULOUS" VACCINE

The World Health Organization estimates that 300 million clinical cases of malaria occur annually and its incidence increased during the 90's. There are basically two factors behind the incidence of malaria: "geographical destiny", or ecological conditions, and social conditions, which are related with unstable populations or movements of people. In this paper we explore the influence of civil wars and refugees from wars on the incidence of malaria in the asylum countries using a large panel data. The panel structure helps to separate "geographical destiny" from other social conditions. The results of the estimation show the importance of civil wars? refugees on the increase of malaria during recent years. La Organización Mundial de la Salud estima que cada año se producen 300 millones de nuevos casos de malaria y su incidencia ha aumentado durante los años 90. Hay básicamente dos factores explicativos de la incidencia de la malaria: ¿destino geográfico¿, o condiciones ecológicas, y el contacto social, que está relacionado con movimientos de la población. En este trabajo estudiamos la influencia de las guerras civiles y los refugiados generados por dichas guerras sobre la incidencia de la malaria en los países de asilo usando datos de panel. Esta estructura ayuda a separar el ¿destino geográfico¿ de las condiciones sociales. Los resultados de la estimación muestran la importancia de los refugiados de guerras civiles sobre el incremento de la incidencia de la malaria.malaria, migraciones, condiciones ecológicas. Malaria, migrations, ecological conditions.

- A THEORY OF RELIGIOUS CONFLICT AND ITS EFFECT ON GROWTH

This paper analyzes the role of religious conflict in the process of development of a country. We construct an index of religious polarization using data on the proportions of each religion in a country. The index of polarization is an alternative to the usual fragmentation index. We argue that for the case of religious conflict the fragmentation index is less appropriate than the polarization measure. We include the religious polarization index in a growth regression specification to determine the effect of religious conflicts on growth. The main finding is that religious conflict is an important factor in explaining economic growth and it is also an important explanation for the so called ¿Africa¿s growth tragedy¿. Moreover, religious polarization has a larger explanatory power on growth than ethnolinguistic and and religious fragmentation. Este trabajo analiza el papel de los conflictos religiosos en el desarrollo de un país. Hemos construido un índice de polarización religiosa utilizando los datos de proporción de cada religión en un país. El índice de polarización es una alternativa al habitual índice de fragmentación. Sostenemos que para el caso de conflictos religiosos, el índice de fragmentación es menos apropiado que el de polarización. Incluimos el índice de polarización religiosa en una regresión de crecimiento para determinar el efecto de los conflictos religiosos sobre el crecimiento. El resultado principal es que el conflicto religioso es un factor importante al explicar el crecimiento económico y también al explicar la llamada 'tragedia del crecimiento de África'. Además, la polarización religiosa tiene mayor poder explicativo sobre el crecimiento que la fragmentación etnolingüística y religiosa.índice de polarización religiosa, índice de fragmentación, crecimiento económico. index of religious polarization, fragmentation index, economic growth.

Foundations and social economy: conceptual approaches and socio-economic relevance

Theoretical debate about the nature of charitable foundations has traditionally become polarized around two distinct conceptual approaches: the non-profit or third sector approach, versus the social economy approach. This research tries to find a common ground between these two approaches, and to highlight the specificities of the foundation as an organizational formula, supporting its current socio-economic relevance with latest quantitative data on the contemporary Spanish foundation sector. In order to achieve this purpose, data from the main empirical studies about the sector during the last decade are compared, with a special focus on those obtained by the recently constituted Institute for Strategic Analysis of Foundations (INAEF).Foundations, social economy, non-profit organizations, third sector, socioeconomic impact, INAEF.

De huertas y rebaños: reflexiones históricas y ecológicas sobre el papel de la ganadería en al-Ándalus y aportaciones arqueozoológicas para su estudio

El estudio del cambio agrario operado en la Península a raíz de la conquista árabo-islámica del 711 se ha centrado principalmente en el proceso de difusión de la agricultura irrigada. Sin embargo, resulta sorprendente el escaso número de estudios sobre otras prácticas agrarias como las que conciernen al aprovechamiento de las cabañas ganaderas, un tema de investigación que ha sido solo superficialmente explorado debido en parte a suposiciones apriorísticas, como la que presupone la disociación existente entre ganadería y agricultura irrigada en al-Ándalus. En este trabajo se propone una reconsideración del papel de la ganadería en la economía agraria andalusí. En primer lugar, se exponen una serie de reflexiones que cuestionan la validez de algunos de los argumentos que han contribuido a lastrar el estudio de la actividad pecuaria en al-Ándalus. En segundo lugar, se alude al papel que la práctica ganadera desempeña en el contexto de la producción agraria tradicional, destacando la importancia del estiércol para el mantenimiento de una agricultura intensiva como la irrigada. Por último, se presentan algunos de los principales resultados derivados del estudio arqueozoológico de contextos andalusíes, cuya lectura agroecológica contribuye a mejorar nuestra comprensión del sistema agrario andalusí y del papel que pudo desempeñar en él la actividad pecuaria.The study of the agricultural changes that took place since the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 711 AD has mainly focused on the spreading of agricultural irrigation. Yet it is quite surprising to encounter few works dedicated to other agricultural practices that were equally relevant within the productive context of any preindustrial economy, such as animal husbandry. Research on the main practices of husbandry and its management have received little attention due in part to virtually unfounded a priori assumptions, such as the existence of dissociation and competition between this farming subsector and irrigation agriculture. The following study aims to reexamine evidence on the role of domestic animal farming and management in the Andalusi agricultural economy. First, a critical analysis is presented of the causes of the sparse attention paid to the study of the animal economy in al-Ándalus. Second, the paramount importance of animal husbandry within pre-mechanized farming contexts is shown along with the crucial role of a by-product such as animal manure for the maintenance of fertility in irrigated agricultural land. Lastly, we offer an agroecological interpretation of results obtained from the analysis of assemblages of animal remains from Andalusi archaeological sites, aiming to offer a glimpse into the agricultural system of al-Ándalus and the role played by animal husbandry within it

Automated construction and analysis of political networks via open government and media sources

We present a tool to generate real world political networks from user provided lists of politicians and news sites. Additional output includes visualizations, interactive tools and maps that allow a user to better understand the politicians and their surrounding environments as portrayed by the media. As a case study, we construct a comprehensive list of current Texas politicians, select news sites that convey a spectrum of political viewpoints covering Texas politics, and examine the results. We propose a ”Combined” co-occurrence distance metric to better reflect the relationship between two entities. A topic modeling technique is also proposed as a novel, automated way of labeling communities that exist within a politician’s ”extended” network.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

A price mechanism in economies with asymmetric information

In this paper we consider a pure exchange economy with a finite set of types of agents which have incomplete and asymmetric information on the states of nature. Our aim is to describe the equilibrium price formation and how the lack of information may affect the allocation of resources. For it, we adapt to an asymmetric information scenario a variant of the Shapley-Shubik game introduced by Dubey and Geanakoplos (2003).C72/ D51

The social and religious role of roman women. Fortvna mvliebris cult of integration as the official religion

Desde la infancia, la mujer era educada para ser esposa y madre. Llegar a poseer el título de materfamilias constituía el ideal romano para la mujer. El acceso femenino a decisiones claves del Estado estaba vetado, aunque existieron instrumentos de acercamiento a través de los sacerdocios y cultos oficiales. Este fue el caso, en cierta medida, del culto de Fortuna Muliebris, en el cual sólo se participaba bajo unos requisitos muy concretos, como el de ser matrona uniuira. El culto de Fortuna Muliebris consiguió establecerse entre las matronas romanas y fue seguido por las emperatrices como “matrona prima”.The woman was educated from childhood to be a mother and wife. The roman ideal for the woman was able to possess the title of materfamilias. Women’s access to key decisions of the state was prohibited, but there were instruments approach to power through the official cults. This was the of the cult of Fortuna Muliebris, which involved only under very specific requirements, such as a woman uniuira. This dedication got established between the roman matrons was followed by the empresses as “matrona prima”