Legacy from the Transition?: Alcohol Consumption by Young Adults in Ukraine

The study analyses the effects of transition on the amount and patterns of alcohol consumption. We test the hypothesis of how far negative experiences induced by the collapse of the Soviet Union have led to drinking in the young generation of Ukrainians. We use data coming from the Ukrainian Longitude Monitoring Survey (ULMS) to identify both determinants and patterns of alcohol consumption among young adults. We find that financial strain in the household increases the probability of drinking in the cohort of young adults. Moreover, we also identify an intergenerational link in drinking behaviour, which is often neglected in the literature.alcohol consumption, Ukraine, economic transition, young adults

Intergenerational Correlations of Extreme Right-Wing Party Preferences and Attitudes toward Immigration

This study analyzes the importance of parental socialization on the development of children's far right-wing preferences and attitudes towards immigration. Using longitudinal data from Germany, our intergenerational estimates suggest that the strongest and most important predictor for young people's right-wing extremism are parents' right-wing extremist attitudes. While intergenerational associations in attitudes towards immigration are equally high for sons and daughters, we find a positive intergenerational transmission of right-wing extremist party affinity for sons, but not for daughters. Compared to the intergenerational correlation of other party affinities, the high association between fathers' and sons' right-wing extremist attitudes is particularly striking

Identifying Conflict and Violence in Micro-Level Surveys

The overall goal of the report is to increase the capacity of researchers and policy makers to identify comparatively, and across time, how individuals, households and communities are affected by violent conflict. The report provides an extensive overview of existing practices and datasets used in this field of research. We investigate existing methodologies and data-bases used to operationalize the variables of interest and discuss the channels linking violent conflict to individual and household welfare. Special attention is paid to methodological issues on how to design a module and operationalize variables that allow researchers to analyze the welfare effects of violent conflict across countries and across time. We develop and discuss a generic household module that can be easily inserted into future socio-economic surveys implemented in conflict-affected countries. This module will enable researchers to address specific violence-related issues comparatively across different conflict settings and systematically across time. The module proposed builds on previous experiences on survey designs in conflict-affected areas. We review existing conflict- and violence-related questionnaires, with a special focus on World Bank's Living Standard Measurement Surveys (LSMS), and propose suggestions on how to improve questionnaires in order to deepen the understanding of the nature of violent conflict and the channels whereby conflict and violence affect the welfare characteristics and choices of individuals and households in conflict areas.conflict, violence, war, individuals, households, survey, questionnaire, methodology

Система юридичних гарантій забезпечення діяльності судів

Авдєєнко, Є. В. Система юридичних гарантій забезпечення діяльності судів [Електронний ресурс] / Є. В. Авдєєнко // Форум права. – 2014. – № 2. – С. 6–11. – Режим доступу: http://nbuv.gov.ua/j-pdf/FP_index.htm_2014_2_3.pdf.Авдєєнко Є. В. "Система юридичних гарантій забезпечення діяльності судів." Форум права 2 (2014): 6–11.Досліджується зміст гарантій забезпечення діяльності судів. Характеризуються наукові погляди на класифікацію гарантій незалежності суддів. Аналізуються нормативно-правові акти, які закріплюють дані гарантії. Визначається система юридичних гарантій діяльності судів. Надаються пропозиції щодо вдосконалення законодавства з питань закріплення та реалізації таких гарантій.We study the content of guarantees of courts’ activity. Scientific views on the classification of judicial independence guarantees are characterized. Legal acts that determine these warranties are analyzed. We determine the system of legal guarantees of courts’ activity. Suggestions for improving legislation on issues establishing and realization of such safeguards are cribbed.Исследуется содержание гарантий обеспечения деятельности судов. Характеризуются научные взгляды на классификацию гарантий независимости судей. Анализируются нормативно-правовые акты, которые закрепляют данные гарантии. Определяется система юридических гарантий деятельности судов. Предоставляются предложения по совершенствованию законодательства по вопросам закрепления и реализации таких гарантий

Do Transparent Moneyboxes increase Savings? A Note on Visual Feedback and Savings Behavior

Limited attention may play a role in explaining the inability to reach savings goals (Karlan, McConnell, Mullainathan and Zinman, forthcoming). Presuming that attention is a scarce resource and important for the pursuit of saving plans, limits to attention in inter-temporal consumption and saving decisions may cause savers not to reach their savings goals. In turn, constant feedback on the savings performance may help to reach savings goals in the presence of limited attention. In this presentation we will draw on a simple experiment to test whether the visual representation of savings balances stimulates savings behavior and helps individuals reach their savings goals. Doing so, we randomly offer transparent and non-transparent moneyboxes as a complementary savings device to current and former clients of a microfinance organization in Ethiopia. We test whether the visual representation of saving balances via transparent money boxes increases savings and helps microfinance clients reach their savings goals. While this is our working hypothesis, we also test whether the visual representation of saving balances via transparent money boxes decreases savings (i.e. because of a higher temptation to spend money that can be seen, or because it is more difficult to hide savings from others). The hypotheses are currently under investigation as the final phase of the data-collection was completed in February 2015

Overconfidence, Underconfidence, and the Use of Persuasive Messages in the Attainment of Savings Goals

The presentation analyzes whether the success of persuasive messages depends on an individual's behavioral bias: If at the onset of a savings period saving goals are chosen with over- or underconfidence, i.e. individuals over- or underestimate their savings potential, individuals might save too little and even stop saving altogether. Thus, given an individual's characteristics different dis- or encouraging messages might help to achieve the savings goals. The messages encourage some individuals to reconsider their self-set goal and to choose either a more ambitious or a more cautious goal. In our experiment we randomly assign moneyboxes in combination with these persuasive messages to 940 current and former clients of a microfinance institution in rural Ethiopia. Two baseline surveys and a recently collected follow-up data allow for an in-depth analysis of the mechanisms and the steps involved in the persuasive process that is likely to lead to different saving performances