Anti-corruption programmes in post-communist transition countries and changes in the business environment, 1999-2002

This paper analyses the anti-corruption activities of 24 transition countries in the period 1999-2002. These activities are divided into omnibus anti-corruption programmes, legislative reform aimed at tackling corruption, and adherence to international anti-corruption conventions. The paper presents a new measure for determining the extent of anti- corruption activity undertaken in these three categories during 1999- 2002. Using the results of a large survey of firms across the region, the paper shows that countries with low levels of administrative corruption were more likely to adopt intensive anti-corruption programmes than countries with high levels of administrative corruption, independent of the level of state capture Across the transition countries, omnibus anti-corruption programmes and membership in international anti-corruption conventions have not led to reductions in the level of either administrative corruption or state capture – at least in this relatively short time period – while new or amended laws aimed at tackling corruption have led to reductions in administrative corruption, but not in levels of state capture. Finally, the paper finds that perceptions of corruption – measured in terms of the degree to which firms consider corruption to be an obstacle to the operation and growth of their business – are positively correlated with the intensity of anti-corruption programmes. This finding suggests that by launching high-profile anti-corruption initiatives, governments may be more likely to heighten managers’ perceptions of the problem rather than to reduce the impact of corruption on firms.business environment, law, state capture, governance, corruption, anti-corruption, legislative reform

TRUST IN TRANSITION: CROSS COUNTRY AND FIRM EVIDENCE

This paper uses data from a large survey of firms across 26 transition countries to examine the determinants of trust in the transition process. We first introduce a new measure of trust between firms: the level of prepayment demanded by suppliers from their customers in advance of delivery. Using this new measure, we confirm earlier findings that trust is higher where firms have confidence in third party enforcement through the legal system. However, the fairness and honesty of the courts are a more important determinant of interfirm trust than are the courts’ efficiency or ability to enforce decisions. We then examine the role of business networks in building trust and find that networks based around personal ties – family and friends – and business associations actively promote the development of trust, while business networks based on enterprise insiders and government agencies do not. Finally, we find that country-level effects are significantly more important determinants of interfirm trust than are firm-level effects.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40026/3/wp640.pd

Para una historia de la memoria colectiva : El post-Vichy

Para responder al requisito del seminario del IHTP, intenté explicitar en mi ponencia el marco conceptual de un trabajo que ya publiqué, Le Syndrome de Vichy, extrayendo algunos ejes principales que permitan entablar un diálogo interdisciplinario. De este modo, resultó insoslayable la pregunta por la pertinencia del proyecto en sí, por la grilla de lectura propuesta y finalmente, por las derivaciones posibles de tal enfoque. El libro mencionado no tenía como objeto el período de la ocupación propiamente dicho sino la pervivencia de las fracturas y traumas que había generado dicho período en la conciencia nacional. Basado en un análisis de las representaciones de la última guerra en la vida política y cultural, y de los usos y formas de instrumentalización del pasado, el libro intenta trazar la evolución del recuerdo del gobierno de Vichy en la sociedad francesa desde 1944 hasta nuestros días. Se inscribió de hecho en una corriente historiográfica reciente que renovó la noción controvertida de “memoria colectiva”, al postular la posibilidad de describir su historia, una ambición que no resulta en nada una obviedad. Ese fue el objeto central del debate entablado aquí con Marie-Claire Lavabre.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Trust in Transition: Cross-country and Firm Evidence

This paper uses data from a large survey of firms across 26 transition countries to examine the determinants of trust in the transition process. We first introduce a new measure of trust between firms: the level of prepayment demanded by suppliers from their customers in advance of delivery. Using this new measure, we confirm earlier findings that trust is higher where firms have confidence in third party enforcement through the legal system. However, the fairness and honesty of the courts are more important determinants of inter-firm trust than the courts’ efficiency or ability to enforce decisions. We then examine the role of business networks in building trust and find that networks based around personal ties – family and friends – and business associations actively promote the development of trust, while business networks based on enterprise insiders and government agencies do not. Finally, we find that country-level effects are significantly more important determinants of inter-firm trust than firm-level effects.transition, trust, prepayment, courts, business networks

Some Reflections for the SDS Retreat

Produced by The Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i, The Frank Sawyer School of Management, Suffolk University, Boston, Massachusetts and The School of Social Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, for the Society for Disability Studies

Foxp1 and lhx1 coordinate motor neuron migration with axon trajectory choice by gating Reelin signalling.

Topographic neuronal maps arise as a consequence of axon trajectory choice correlated with the localisation of neuronal soma, but the identity of the pathways coordinating these processes is unknown. We addressed this question in the context of the myotopic map formed by limb muscles innervated by spinal lateral motor column (LMC) motor axons where the Eph receptor signals specifying growth cone trajectory are restricted by Foxp1 and Lhx1 transcription factors. We show that the localisation of LMC neuron cell bodies can be dissociated from axon trajectory choice by either the loss or gain of function of the Reelin signalling pathway. The response of LMC motor neurons to Reelin is gated by Foxp1- and Lhx1-mediated regulation of expression of the critical Reelin signalling intermediate Dab1. Together, these observations point to identical transcription factors that control motor axon guidance and soma migration and reveal the molecular hierarchy of myotopic organisation

Are Dietary Cholesterol Intake and Serum Cholesterol Levels Related to Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Obese Children?

Background. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children has been recognized as a major health burden. Serum lipids as well as dietary cholesterol (DC) intake may positively relate to development of NAFLD. The purpose of this study was to investigate anthropometric, biochemical, and dietary intake parameters of obese Greek children with and without NAFLD. Materials and Methods. Eighty-five obese children aged 8–15 (45 boys/40 girls) participated in the study. NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasonography (US) in all subjects. Liver indexes were measured in all children. A 3-day dietary was recorded for all subjects. Results. 38 out of 85 children (44.7%) were found to have fatty liver. Obese children with increased levels of TC (95% CI: 1.721–3.191), low density lipoprotein (LDL) (95% CI: 1.829–3.058), and increased dietary cholesterol intakes (95% CI: 1.511–2.719) were 2.541, 2.612, and 2.041 times more likely to develop NAFLD compared with the children without NAFLD. Conclusion. The present study showed that TC, LDL, and DC were the strongest risk factors of development of NAFLD. Reducing body weight and dietary cholesterol intakes as well as decreasing serum TC and LDL levels are urgently necessary in order to prevent NAFLD and possible other health implications later in life