Applying fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, an optimal approach for this aim, we reveal several pathways to diminished loneliness within European societies. Through the employment of the 2014 European Social Survey and additional data sources, we conducted an analysis of loneliness outcomes across 26 European nations. Two key factors for experiencing less loneliness, as our research suggests, are readily available internet connectivity and active engagement in social groups. Additionally, three avenues are enough to lessen loneliness on a societal scale. A common thread among societies with less loneliness is the integration of welfare support mechanisms and cultural programs designed to combat the feeling of isolation. confirmed cases The mutually exclusive nature of the third path, commercial provision, and welfare support stems from the former's reliance on a limited social safety net. The most effective means of building communities with reduced rates of loneliness depends upon increasing internet access, nurturing civil society through involvement in associations and volunteering, and maintaining a social safety net that protects vulnerable groups and supports opportunities for social connection. Through configurational robustness testing, a more encompassing approach to applying current best practices, this article adds a further methodological contribution to fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis robustness testing.
A supply and demand analysis demonstrates the equilibrium point for voluntary cooperation's presence when externalities are considered. Leveraging familiar components, the analysis reinterprets the considerable body of literature, commencing with Buchanan, Coase, Ostrom, Shapley, Telser, Tullock, and Williamson, revealing that a Pigouvian tax is not the only approach to address independently acting individuals merely coordinated by distorted market valuations. Pigouvian taxes and subsidies do not have the same effect as voluntary cooperation, which alters the character of costs resulting from externalities with differing incidence. Forest management, volume discounts, residential association policies, energy policy, the scope of household activity planning, and the role of the workplace in preventing infectious disease are topics covered in the paper's examination of diverse applications.
After the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by Minneapolis police officers, a significant number of US cities vowed to decrease police funding. Initially, we examine if the municipalities pledging police defunding followed through on their commitments. We discovered that municipalities that vowed to temporarily cut police budgets didn't actually lower those budgets, but rather, later raised them to amounts surpassing their previous levels. We posit that two mechanisms—allocational politics, driven by electoral incentives for city politicians to provide jobs and services, and the strength of police unions—underpin the observed political equilibrium, which features protected police officers as an obstacle to reform. Several further reforms pertinent to predatory policing are discussed; these suggestions originate from public choice scholars.
Emerging social activities with novel externalities are defined by the unknown cost or benefit of their spillovers, a discovery process that remains ongoing. Recent international concern surrounding novel negative externalities has been reignited by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instances of this nature are frequently cited as demonstrating the constraints of liberal political economy in managing public crises. By re-examining classical political economy through the lens of the modern state's infectious disease crisis, we uphold liberal democracy's superior handling of these societal issues against authoritarian alternatives. A critical component for effective responses to novel externalities is a system for producing and updating reliable public information, supported by a self-sufficient scientific community dedicated to its evaluation and clarification. Regimes structured as liberal democracies, with their diverse political power sources, independent civil society, and academic freedom, are often characterized by those epistemic capacities. The theoretical value of polycentrism and self-governance, extending beyond their more familiar role in increasing accountability and competition in the provision of local public goods, is highlighted by our analysis, ultimately facilitating effective national policy.
Despite sustained complaints, the regulation of price hikes during emergencies continues to be a dominant feature in the American system. Criticisms traditionally focus on the societal expense of shortages; however, we've discovered an unforeseen cost associated with price-gouging regulations: a rise in social interaction during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. medical sustainability During the pandemic, thirty-four U.S. states, in response to the crisis, declared emergencies, triggering their pre-existing price-gouging regulations; eight others, concurrently, enacted new regulations alongside their emergency declarations. This unique natural experiment arose because these states shared borders with eight others that likewise declared emergencies, yet lacked price-gouging protections. Examining the pandemic-driven fluctuations in regulations and cellular mobility data, we discovered that price controls amplified visits to and social interactions within commercial environments, possibly because the regulatory constraints created shortages, forcing consumers to frequent more stores and engage with more individuals to obtain desired goods. This, naturally, erodes the effectiveness of social distancing measures.
Included with the online version are supplemental materials, obtainable at the address 101007/s11127-023-01054-z.
The online version offers supplementary material, which can be found at the URL 101007/s11127-023-01054-z.
Discussions regarding 'rights' and their associated societal entitlements are now prevalent in contemporary political and policy debates, characterizing the tone and substance of these discussions. Despite the clear constitutional design flaws concerning the interplay between rights enumeration and the government-citizen nexus, we will explore the impact of rights' articulation on citizen-citizen engagement. We create and execute a novel experiment to explore the dependence of social cooperation on the enumeration and either positive or negative framing of the right for subjects to perform a particular action. Positive articulations of rights generate an 'entitlement effect' that undermines social cooperation and diminishes the inclination of individuals to act in a prosocial manner.
The 19th century witnessed federal Indian policy's erratic swings between the opposing concepts of assimilation and isolation. Existing scholarship on the influence of past federal policies on the economic status of Native American tribes is substantial, but no study has explicitly examined the long-term economic consequences of federal assimilation policies. By analyzing the differential impact of federal policies across tribal units, this paper investigates the long-term effects of assimilation on economic outcomes. I introduce a novel approach to measuring the impact of these policies on cultural assimilation: the frequency of traditional indigenous names in relation to mainstream American given names. My methodology for analyzing name type distribution involves the names and locations of all American Indians recorded in the 1900 United States census. Classifying each appellation, I then calculated the reservation-specific percentage of non-indigenous names. My analysis endeavors to determine the connection between cultural assimilation in 1900 and average income figures from 1970 to 2020. Across all census years, consistently high per capita incomes are observed in conjunction with historical levels of assimilation. Cultural, institutional, and regional controls, when included, do not diminish the robustness of the findings.
Individuals' perceived value of reduced death risks is determined by the degree and the schedule of the risk mitigation. We assessed stated preferences for risk reduction among three time-dependent paths, each resulting in the same life expectancy increase (risk decline over the next decade, or constant adjustments to future risk). Differing willingness to pay (WTP) values were observed depending on the timing and the associated improvement in life expectancy. Respondents' preferences for alternative time paths varied widely, but approximately 90% displayed transitive orderings. SS-31 manufacturer WTP's association with life expectancy gains (ranging from about 7 to 28 days) and the choices respondents made regarding alternative time paths is statistically significant. Variations in the time frame impact the estimated value per statistical life year (VSLY), which typically averages around $500,000, aligning with established calculations obtained from dividing the estimated value per statistical life by the discounted life expectancy.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a causative factor in cervical cancer for women, and vaccination against HPV is among the most effective strategies for preventing this type of cancer. Currently, two vaccines are available for purchase, each containing virus-like particles (VLPs) derived from HPV L1 proteins. These HPV vaccines, though effective, are priced too high for women in developing nations to afford. Subsequently, there is a considerable market demand for the production of a reasonably priced vaccine. The production of self-assembled HPV16 VLPs in plants is the subject of this inquiry. A chimeric protein, incorporating the N-terminal 79 amino acid residues of RbcS as a long-transit peptide for directing to chloroplasts, was constructed, additionally incorporating a SUMO domain and the HPV16 L1 protein. Chloroplast-targeted bdSENP1, a protein which precisely recognizes and cleaves the SUMO domain, enabled the expression of the chimeric gene in plants. Concurrent expression of bdSENP1 prompted the expulsion of HPV16 L1 from the chimeric proteins, without any extraneous amino acid residues.