Ernst Freund as Precursor of the Rational Study of Corporate Law

Gindis, David, Ernst Freund as Precursor of the Rational Study of Corporate Law (October 27, 2017). Journal of Institutional Economics, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2905547, doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2905547The rise of large business corporations in the late 19th century compelled many American observers to admit that the nature of the corporation had yet to be understood. Published in this context, Ernst Freund's little-known The Legal Nature of Corporations (1897) was an original attempt to come to terms with a new legal and economic reality. But it can also be described, to paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes, as the earliest example of the rational study of corporate law. The paper shows that Freund had the intuitions of an institutional economist, and engaged in what today would be called comparative institutional analysis. Remarkably, his argument that the corporate form secures property against insider defection and against outsiders anticipated recent work on entity shielding and capital lock-in, and can be read as an early contribution to what today would be called the theory of the firm.Peer reviewe

Review article of the current state of glaciers in the tropical Andes: a multi-century perspective on glacier evolution and climate change

The aim of this paper is to provide the community with a comprehensive overview of the studies of glaciers in the tropical Andes conducted in recent decades leading to the current status of the glaciers in the context of climate change. In terms of changes in surface area and length, we show that the glacier retreat in the tropical Andes over the last three decades is unprecedented since the maximum extension of the LIA (mid 17th–early 18th century). In terms of changes in mass balance, although there have been some sporadic gains on several glaciers, we show that the trend has been quite negative over the past 50 yr, with a mean mass balance deficit for glaciers in the tropical Andes that is slightly more negative than the computed global average. A break point in the trend appeared in the late 1970s with mean annual mass balance per year decreasing from −0.2m w.e. in the period 1964–1975 to −0.76m w.e. in the period 1976–2010. In addition, even if glaciers are currently retreating everywhere in the tropical Andes, it should be noted that as a percentage, this is much more pronounced on small glaciers at low altitudes that do not have a permanent accumulation zone, and which could disappear in the coming years/decades. Monthly mass balance measurements performed in Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia showed that variability of the surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean is the main factor governing variability of the mass balance variability at the interannual to decadal time scale. Precipitation did not display a significant trend in the tropical Andes in the 20th century, and consequently cannot explain the glacier recession. On the other hand, temperature increased at a significant rate of 0.10◦Cdecade−1 in the last 70 yr. The higher frequency of El Nin ̃o events and changes in its spatial and temporal occurrence since the late 1970s together with a warming troposphere over the tropical Andes may thus explain much of the recent dramatic shrinkage of glaciers in this part of the world

Obesity and renal cell cancer – a quantitative review

Obesity has been associated with an increased risk of renal cell cancer among women, while the evidence for men is considered weaker. We conducted a quantitative summary analysis to evaluate the existing evidence that obesity increases the risk of renal cell cancer both among men and women. We identified all studies examining body weight in relation to kidney cancer, available in MEDLINE from 1966 to 1998. The quantitative summary analysis was limited to studies assessing obesity as body mass index (BMI, kg m−2), or equivalent. The risk estimates and the confidence intervals were extracted from the individual studies, and a mixed effect weighted regression model was used. We identified 22 unique studies on each sex, and the quantitative analysis included 14 studies on men and women, respectively. The summary relative risk estimate was 1.07 (95% CI 1.05–1.09) per unit of increase in BMI (corresponding to 3 kg body weight increase for a subject of average height). We found no evidence of effect modification by sex. Our quantitative summary shows that increased BMI is equally strongly associated with an increased risk of renal cell cancer among men and women. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaignhttp://www.bjcancer.co

Whistleblowers as regulatory intermediaries: Instrumental and reflexive considerations in decentralizing regulation

This article frames whistleblowers as regulatory intermediaries who provide a response to the problem posed by the fragmentation of knowledge in a complex society and market economy. I identify two ways in which whistleblowers become regulatory intermediaries: The first is by remedying informational asymmetries between the regulator and the target (instrumental approach). Both in the United States and in the European Union, whistleblowers are protected on the basis of the value of the disclosed information for the advancement of regulatory objectives. The second way in which whistleblowers become regulatory intermediaries is by contributing to the development of “communities of compliance” and by enhancing the internal self-regulatory capacities of regulatory targets (reflexive approach). Creating internal channels of reporting and monitoring is perceived as a way to change the organizational culture of targets. Through the instrumentalism – reflexivity dipole, competing rationales and normative visions of regulatory intermediation become apparent: It could, on the one hand, facilitate state intervention and legal sanctions or, on the other hand, signal the aspiration to embed public and social values in private actors

Glaciologie et nivologie

The proglacial stream escaping from Zongo Glacier (Bolivia, 16°S) shows high discharges during the wet season (October - March) and low discharges during the dry season (May - August), although neither net radiation, nor air temperature are variable enough to explain this large seasonality. Then, a detailed energy balance study has been carried out on this tropical glacier (2.1 km2) since March 1996, at the altitude of the mean equilibrium line (5 150 m a.s.l.). Each component of the energy balance (net radiation, sensible and latent heat fluxes, heat transfer into the ice and heat supplied by precipitation) are derived separately to know which energy flux(es) is(are) responsible for the high seasonality of the proglacial stream discharge. Net radiation and turbulent fluxes dominate the surface energy balance : net radiation is obviously the main source of energy at the glacier surface but quantitatively, this energy input does not change a lot from season to season. Sensible heat flux remains small throughout the year, and does not show any seasonality either. On the contrary, latent heat flux is very variable with seasons. During the dry season, at the glacier surface, the energy input as net radiation is almost entirely consumed by the high sublimation (penitents grow at the surface), and therefore, melting is reduced and discharge is low. During the wet season, the high humidity of the surface layer stops the sublimation, and the energy input is used for melting, leading to high discharge. (Résumé d'auteur

Glaciers et évolution climatique dans les Andes boliviennes - Glacier de Zongo et glacier de Chacaltaya, Cordillère Royale, 16°S

Glaciers and climatic evolution in the Andes of Bolivia Zongo and Chacaltaya glaciers -real cordillera, 16°S Abstract The high sensibility and the short lag time response of glaciers to climatic changing make it possible to use them for analyzing the variability and the evolution of climate in the Tropics. Measurements of mass balance and hydrological balance were performed every month on the two glaciers. Methods are presented. Results obtained during the three hydrological years 1991-1994 have shown great variability. This variability is controlled mainly by the extension of the precipitation period in the warm season which extends over six months. ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) events are associated with quite negative mass balance, as shown both by the response of glaciers to the last 1991-1992 event and by the mass balance reconstruction from hydrological data for the two last decades. The glacier retreat is increasing dramatically since the 1980's in the Central Andes due to a succession of ENSO events and the forces of global warming.Résumé Par sa sensibilité et son délai de réponse bref, le glacier est d'un grand intérêt pour analyser l'évolution et la variabilité actuelles du climat entre les tropiques. Les méthodes de détermination des bilans de masse et des bilans hydrologiques, avec un pas de mesure mensuel, sont présentées. Les résultats obtenus sur trois années hydrologiques (1991-1994) montrent une grande variabilité. Celle-ci est contrôlée surtout par l'extension de la période des précipitations au sein de la saison chaude qui dure environ six mois. Les événements ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation ) sont associés à des bilans nettement négatifs, ce qui est démontré par la réponse du glacier à l'épisode ENSO de 1991-1992 et dans la reconstruction des bilans effectuée sur la base de données hydrologiques pour les deux dernières décennies. Le recul accéléré des glaciers tropicaux depuis les années 1980 est lié à la fois à une succession d'événements ENSO et au réchauffement atmosphérique.Glaciares y evolución climática en los Andes bolivianos. Glaciar de Zongo y Glaciar de Chacaltaya, Cordillera Real, 16°S. Resumen Por su sensibilidad y su plazo de respuesta breve, el glaciar es de un gran interés para analizar la evolución y la variabilidad actuales del clima entre los trópicos. Se presentan los métodos de determinación del balance de masas y del balance hidrológico, con una frecuencia de mediciones mensual. Los resultados recogidos durante tres años (1991-1994) muestran una gran variabilidad. Esta es controlada sobre todo por la extensión del periodo de precipitaciones en medio de la temporada cálida que dura más o menos seis meses. Los eventos ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation ) son asociados a balances netamente negativos, lo que es demostrado por la respuesta del glaciar al episodio de 1991-1992 y por la reconstrucción de los balances efectuada con base en los datos hidrológicos durante los dos últimos decenios. El retroceso acelerado de los glaciares tropicales desde los años 1980 es vincunlado a la vez a una succesión de eventos ENSO y al recalentamiento atmosférico.Francou Bernard, Ribstein P. Glaciers et évolution climatique dans les Andes boliviennes - Glacier de Zongo et glacier de Chacaltaya, Cordillère Royale, 16°S. In: Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Études Andines, tome 24, N°1, 1995. pp. 23-36

Coherent Isotope History of Andean Ice Cores over the Last Century

[1] Isotope records from Andean ice cores provide detailed and high-resolution climate information on various time scales. However, the relationship between these valuable isotope records and local or regional climate remains poorly understood. Here we present results from two new drillings in Bolivia, from the Illimani and the Sajama ice caps. All four high altitude isotope signals in the Andes now available (Huascaran, Quelccaya, Illimani and Sajama) show near identical decadal variability in the 20th century. Comparison with general circulation model results and meteorological data suggest that the Andean high altitude records are primarily controlled by precipitation variability over the Amazon basin