Political Budget Cycles and Fiscal Decentralization

In this paper, we study a model à la Rogoff (1990) where politicians distort fiscal policy to signal their competency, but where fiscal policy can be centralized or decentralized. Our main focus is on how the equilibrium probability that fiscal policy is distorted in any region (the political budget cycle, PBC) differs across fiscal regimes. With centralization, there are generally two effects that change the incentive for pooling behavior and thus the probability of a PBC. One is the possibility of selective distortion : the incumbent can be re-elected with the support of just a majority of regions. The other is a cost distribution effect, which is present unless the random cost of producing the public goods is perfectly correlated across regions. Both these effects work in the same direction, with the general result that overall, the PBC probability is larger under centralization (decentralization) when the rents to office are low (high). Voter welfare under the two regimes is also compared : voters tend to be better off when the PBC probability is lower, so voters may either gain or lose from centralization. Our results are robust to a number of changes in the specification of the model.

Effects of environmental perturbations during postnatal development on the phenotypic integration of the skull

Integration and modularity are fundamental determinants of how natural selection effects evolutionary change in complex multivariate traits. Interest in the study of the specific developmental basis of integration through experimental approaches is fairly recent and it has mainly focused on its genetic determinants. In this study, we present evidence that postnatal environmental perturbations can modify the covariance structure by influencing the variance of some developmental processes relative to the variances of other processes that contribute to such structure. We analyzed the effects of the reduction of nutrient supply in different ontogenetic stages (i.e. before and after weaning, and from birth to adulthood) in Rattus norvegicus. Our results show that this environmental perturbation alters the phenotypic variation/covariation structure of the principal modules of the skull (base, vault, and face). The covariance matrices of different treatment groups exhibit low correlations and are significantly different, indicating that the treatments influence covariance structure. Postnatal nutrient restriction also increases the variance of somatic growth. This increased variance drives an increase in overall integration of cranial morphology through the correlated allometric effects of size variation. The extent of this increase in integration depends on the time and duration of the nutritional restriction. These results support the conclusion that environmental perturbations can influence integration and thus covariance structure via developmental plasticity.Fil: Gonzalez, Paula Natalia. University of Calgary; CanadáFil: Oyhenart, Evelia Edith. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Hallgrimsson, Benedikt. University of Calgary; Canad

Prenatal development of skull and brain in a mouse model of growth restriction

Patterns of covariation result from the over-lapping effect of several developmental processes. By perturbing certain specific developmental processes, ex-perimental studies contribute to a better understanding of their particular effects on the generation of phenotype. The aim of this work was to analyze the interactions among morphological traits of the skull and the brain during late prenatal life (18.5 days postconception) in mice exposed to maternal protein undernutrition. Images from the skull and brain were obtained through micro-computed tomography and 3D landmark coordinates were digitized in order to quantify shape and size of both structures with geometric morphometric techniques. The results highlight a systemic effect of protein restriction on the size of the skull and the brain, which were both significantly reduced in the under-nourished group compared to control group. Skull shape is partially explained by brain size, and patterns of shape variation were only partially coincident with previous re-ports for other ontogenetic stages, suggesting that allomet-ric trajectories across pre- and postnatal ages change their directions. Within the skull, neurocranial and facial shape traits covaried strongly, while subtle covariation was found between the shape of the skull and the brain. These find-ings are in line with former studies in mutant mice and reveal the importance of carrying out analyses of pheno-typic variation in a broad range of developmental stages. The present study contributes to the basic understanding of epigenetic relations among growing tissues and has di-rect implications for the field of paleoanthropology, where inferences about brain morphology are usually derived from skull remains.Los patrones de covariación entre rasgos fenotí-picos resultan de la acción de diversos procesos que se sola-pan durante el desarrollo. Los estudios experimentales cons-tituyen la aproximación más adecuada para evaluar el efecto de procesos específicos en la generación de tales patrones. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar las interacciones entre rasgos morfológicos craneofaciales y cerebrales durante la vida prenatal tardía (18,5 días posconcepción) en ratones ex-puestos a desnutrición proteica materna. Se obtuvieron imá-genes del cráneo y cerebro a partir de microtomografía com-putada y se digitalizaron landmarks en 3D para cuantificar la forma y tamaño con técnicas de morfometría geométrica. Los resultados subrayan un efecto sistémico de la restricción proteica en el tamaño del cráneo y el cerebro. La forma del cráneo es parcialmente explicable por el tamaño cerebral y los patrones de variación en forma fueron sólo en parte coin-cidentes con los reportados antes para otras edades, lo cual sugiere que las trayectorias alométricas a lo largo de la vida pre- y posnatal cambian su dirección. Los rasgos de forma del neurocráneo y el esqueleto facial covariaron fuertemen-te, aunque se encontró una asociación débil entre la forma del cráneo y del cerebro. Estos resultados concuerdan con estudios previos en ratones mutantes y revelan la relevancia de analizar la variación fenotípica en distintas etapas. El pre-sente estudio contribuye al conocimiento básico de las inte-racciones epigenéticas entre tejidos en crecimiento y tiene implicancias en el campo paleoantropológico en el que las inferencias acerca de la morfología cerebral son usualmen-te derivadas del análisis del cráneo.Fil: Barbeito Andrés, Jimena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez, Paula Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; ArgentinaFil: Hallgrimsson, Benedikt. University of Calgary; Canad

Ensino da história na Argentina: saberes e práticas escolares e docentes sobre a última ditadura militar

La propuesta de este artículo es analizar a tres campos relativos a la historia argentina reciente: las narrativas (de la historia y la memoria), las normativas educativas, y las prácticas escolares y docentes. El trabajo señala la fuerza de la “narrativa del nunca más” en las explicaciones de lo acontecido en la última dictadura, su impacto en el mundo escolar e interpreta los saberes y prácticas docentes como estrategias y tácticas contingentes y situadas.A proposta deste artigo é analisar três campos relativos à história recente da Argentina: as narrativas (da memória e da história), os regulamentos educativos e as práticas escolares e docentes. O trabalho assinala a força da “narrativa do nunca mais” nas explicações sobre o acontecido na última ditadura, seu impacto no mundo educativo e interpreta os saberes e práticas docentes como estratégias e táticas contingentes e situadas.Fil: Gonzalez, Maria Paula. Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento. Instituto del Desarrollo Humano; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Statistical repulsion/attraction of electrons in graphene in a magnetic field

The aim of this work is to describe the thermodynamic properties of an electron gas in graphene placed in a constant magnetic field. The electron gas is constituted by $N$ Bloch electrons in the long wavelength approximation. The partition function is analyzed in terms of a perturbation expansion of the dimensionless constant $(\sqrt{eB}L)^{-1}$. The statistical repulsion/attraction potential for electrons in graphene is obtained in the respective case in which antisymmetric/symmetric states in the coordinates are chosen. Thermodynamic functions are computed for different orders in the perturbation expansion and the different contributions are compared for symmetric and antisymmetric states, showing remarkable differences between them due to the spin exchange correlation. A detailed analysis of the statistical potential is done, showing that, although electrons satisfy Fermi statistics, attractive potential at some interparticle distances can be found.Comment: Physica B, 201

Landau level transitions indoped graphene in a time dependent magnetic field

The aim of this work is to describe the Landau levels transitions of Bloch electrons in doped graphene with an arbitrary time dependent magnetic field in the long wavelength approximation. In particular, transitions from the m Landau level to the m + 1 and m + 2 Landau levels are studied using time-dependent perturbation theory. Time intervals are computed in which transition probabilities tend to zero at low order in the coupling constant. In particular, Landau level transitions are studied in the case of Bloch electrons travelling in the direction of the applied magnetic force and the results are compared with classical and revival periods of electrical current in graphene. Finally, current probabilities are computed for the n = 0 and n = 1 Landau levels showing expected oscillating behavior with modified cyclotron frequency.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure

Valley properties of doped graphene in a magnetic field

The aim of this work is to describe the electronic properties of graphene in a constant magnetic field in the long wavelength approximation with random binary disorder, by solving the Soven equation self-consistently. Density of state contributions for different valleys in each sublattice sites are obtained for different values of magnetic field strength showing remarkable differences between K and K' valleys. A band gap is obtained by an asymmetric on-site impurity concentration and the graphene electrons acquire an anomalous magnetic moment, which is opposite in different valleys, which depend highly in the interplay between the impurity band, the band edges and the broadening of the Landau levels. In turn, magnetization as a function of B for different on-site random impurities is computed showing that by decreasing the on-site impurity energy values, maximum magnetization is shifted towards higher values of B which can be used to create and manipulate polarized valley currents. Finally, conductivity and local vertex function are obtained as a function of energy showing that scattering contributions from A and B sublattices differ significantly. Effective medium local two-irreducible vertex is computed showing that scattering from sublattices A and B do not contribute equally, which can be related to weak anti-localization. From these results, it could be possible to explore how the valley pseudospin can be used to create polarized currents by populating asymmetrically the sublattice sites, where the population can be tuned with the applied magnetic field strength

Dynamical diffusion and renormalization group equation for the Fermi velocity in doped graphene

The aim of this work is to study the electron transport in graphene with impurities by introducing a generalization of linear response theory for linear dispersion relations and spinor wave functions. Current response and density response functions are derived and computed in the Boltzmann limit, showing that in the former case, a minimum conductivity appears in the no-disorder limit. In turn, from the generalization of both functions, an exact relation can be obtained that relates both. Combining this result with the relation given by the continuity equation, it is possible to obtain general functional behavior of the diffusion pole. Finally, a dynamical diffusion is computed in the quasistatic limit using the definition of relaxation function. A lower cutoff must be introduced to regularize infrared divergences, which allow us to obtain a full renormalization group equation for the Fermi velocity, which is solved up to order O(h^2).Comment: 20 pages, 2 figure

Ballistic transport properties in pristine-doped-pristine graphene junctions

We investigate the ballistic electron transport in a monolayer graphene with configurational averaged impurities, located between two clean graphene leads. It is shown that the electron transmission are strongly dependent on the concentration of impurities and the incident energy. In turn, the conductance computed using the Landauer formalism shows a similar behavior to those found in experimental works as a function of the applied voltage for different concentrations of impurities in the limit of low temperatures. In the limit of zero bias voltage, the conductance shows a minimum value which reduces to zero for high concentration of impurities which disentangle graphene sublattices. These results can be very helpful for exploring the tunneling mechanism of electrons through doped thermodynamically stable graphene

Historia, memoria y enseñanza de la historia: conceptos, debates y perspectivas europeas y latinoamericanas

Este trabajo presenta un conjunto de conceptos, debates y perspectivas europeas y latinoamericanas en torno a la relación entre historia, memoria y enseñanza de la historia. Para ello, en primer lugar, se aborda el concepto de memoria y se interpreta su centralidad en el mundo académico actual a partir de tres giros simultáneos: el giro hacia el pasado, el giro lingüístico y el giro subjetivo. Luego, se problematiza la relación entre historia y memoria, revisando sus lógicas disímiles y presentando las interpretaciones de dicha relación. Seguidamente, se aborda el carácter plural de la memoria repasando quién, qué, cómo y cuándo recuerda y olvida. También se revisa la relación entre memoria y olvido y se exploran los procesos y actores sociales que intervienen en la construcción de las memorias, donde se destaca la historia oral. Además, se analiza el vínculo entre historia y memoria en la escuela advirtiendo que en el espacio educativo se entrecruzan diversas acepciones y sentidos. Finalmente, se exploran los desafíos para la didáctica de la historia en relación con la historia, la memoria, las identidades, los testimonios y los temas “socialmente vivos”.Fil: Gonzalez, Maria Paula. Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento. Instituto del Desarrollo Humano; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Pagès, Joan. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Españ