Voters prefer more qualified mayors, but does it matter for public finances? Evidence for Germany

This paper studies the importance of politician's qualification, in terms of education and experience, for fiscal outcomes. The analysis is based on a large panel for 2,031 German municipalities for which we have collected information on municipal budgets as well as the election results and qualification levels of mayoral candidates. We principally use a Regression Discontinuity Design focusing on close elections to estimate causal effects. We find that mayors with prior experience in office indeed tend to reduce the level of local public debt, lower total municipal expenditures and decrease the local taxes. In contrast, the education level of the mayor exerts no significant effects on the overall fiscal performance of the municipality. The results are partly surprising as both education and experience are shown to matter greatly in the electoral success of mayoral candidates

A proposal to couple the ESRB with the ESM

On the occasion of related proposals by the European Commission and the Eurogroup, this paper proposes to entrust the ESM with the hosting of the ESRB in the medium term. The novel proposal aims at strengthening the macro-prudential expertise of the ESM and at enhancing the independence of the ESRB. Following a brief summary of related proposals, the main rationales and the key elements of the proposal are presented in detail

Adaptation and Psychometric Evaluation of the Young Diagnostic Questionnaire (YDQ) for Parental Assessment of Adolescent Problematic Internet Use

Background and aims The surge of problematic Internet use in adolescents is a continuously growing problem across the globe. To our knowledge, to date valid questionnaire-based measurement of problematic Internet use is possible only by self-assessment. The objective for the present study was to adapt an established instrument for a parental assessment of adolescent problematic Internet use and to evaluate the psychometric properties of this questionnaire. Methods Data were collected from a representative German sample of 1,000 parents of adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years using a standardized questionnaire. To assess problematic Internet use, we adapted the established Young Diagnostic Questionnaire by rewording the items to survey a parental rating instead of a self-report (“Parental version of the Young Diagnostic Questionnaire,” PYDQ). Additionally, we assessed the Internet usage time, parental monitoring, family functioning, school performance of the adolescent, and parent–adolescent conflicts. We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis based on the 8 items of the PYDQ modeled as categorical indicators and one latent factor using a robust weighted least squares estimator. We also calculated a reliability coefficient, the acceptance of the instrument, and performed correlation analyses. Results The unidimensional model showed excellent global goodness-of-fit (χ2/df = 1.65, RMSEA = 0.03, CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.99) and satisfactory factor loadings (standardized values ranged from 0.60 to 0.77). We observed a reliability coefficient of 0.70, a good acceptance of the instrument, and the correlation analyses indicated the construct validity of the PYDQ. Discussion and conclusion The proposed PYDQ is a suitable instrument for parental assessment of adolescent problematic Internet use

A Model to Explore Responses of Spruce Stands to Air-Pollution Stress in Europe

Systems analysis has proven to be a suitable instrument for describing the processes taking place in pollution-damaged forest stands and for simulating the ecosystem behavior in various environmental situations. In a preliminary model showing the behavior of pollution-damaged spruce stands, site, air pollution, stand structure and management are taken into consideration. The target of this model consists of simulating system behavior under variable pollutant stressors and management strategies, and of serving as a basis for decision-making. The basic model is subdivided into the following submodels: "Forest stand" with management as well as external ecological factors and international modifications; "Leaf quantity/leaf fall"; "Net assimilation"; and "Dendromass distribution". A soil model from other authors is being incorporated. After a comparison with similar models, reference is made to further possibilities of application

Temporal and visual source memory deficits among ecstasy/polydrug users

Objectives: The present paper seeks to investigate whether source memory judgements are adversely affected by recreational illicit drug use. Method: Sixty-two ecstasy/polydrug users and 75 non ecstasy users completed a source memory task, in which they tried to determine whether or not a word had been previously presented and if so, attempted to recall the format, location and temporal position in which the word had occurred. Results: While not differing in terms of the number of hits and false positive responses, ecstasy/polydrug users adopted a more liberal decision criterion when judging if a word had been presented previously. With regard to source memory, users were less able to determine the format in which words had been presented (upper versus lower case). Female users did worse than female nonusers in determining which list (first or second) a word was from. Unexpectedly, the current frequency of cocaine use was negative associated with list and case source memory performance. Conclusions: Given the role that source memory plays in everyday cognition, those who use cocaine more frequently might have more difficulty in everyday tasks such as recalling the sources of crucial information or making use of contextual information as an aid to learning

Christian Thomasius, el Estado de derecho y la separación entre Iglesia y Estado

Christian Thomasius was above all a professor of jurisprudence who used his legal skills to resolve all sorts of legal, political, and moral problems. In this article we review two of his writings that contributed to his rearticulation of the relations between religion and politics in early modernity. He used the elements of what later became the concept of the rule of law to defend Denis Veiras, author of the Histoire des Sevarambes, against charges of atheism. He also defended the skeptical jurisprudence of Georg Heber as the best instrument for separating church and state and assigning each their proper roles, and made use of theological skepticism to justify excluding the theologians from politics and limit the interventions of princes into religious matters except in cases where the peace of the state was endangered.Christian Thomasius fue, ante todo, un profesor de Derecho que utilizó su formación jurídica para resolver todo tipo de problemas legales, políticos y morales. En este artículo veremos que dos de sus escritos plasmaron parte de su contribución a la articulación de las relaciones apropiadas entre religión y política en la modernidad. Asimismo, utilizó el incipiente concepto de Estado de derecho (rule of law) para defender a Denis Veiras, autor de la Histoire des Sevarambes, de la acusación de ateísmo. Del mismo modo, defendió la jurisprudencia escéptica de Georg Heber como el mejor instrumento para separar la Iglesia del Estado, y se valió de la teología escéptica para justificar la exclusión de los teólogos de la política y contener la intervención de los príncipes en asuntos religiosos, salvo en los casos en que estuviese en juego la paz política

Emotional dysregulation predicts problematic gaming in children and youths: a cross-sectional and longitudinal approach

Adolescents show a high vulnerability for addictive gaming patterns on the one hand and immature emotion regulation (ER) abilities as a risk factor for mental disorders on the other hand. We investigated the predictive value of ER difficulties on problematic gaming (PG) considering age groups (children vs. youths) and gender cross-sectionally and prospectively in a representative sample of German adolescents via online survey with two measurement points 14 months apart. General Poisson, logistic, and multinomial regression models were estimated to predict gaming patterns by ER difficulties controlling for age group and gender. Results revealed ER difficulties to be significantly associated with PG. Moreover, subgroup analyses indicated differing ER patterns for children vs. youths and boys vs. girls: for children, higher PG values were associated with emotional awareness and emotional clarity whereas for youths it was the acceptance of emotional responses. Moreover, gender differences implicated that boys with PG had more deficits in goal-oriented behavior as well as emotional awareness while affected girls were lacking emotional clarity and had problems with the acceptance of their emotional responses. Interestingly, procrastination was a significant predictor for PG irrespective of subgroups. Furthermore, longitudinal analyses indicated that difficulties in ER promoted PG while stronger procrastination tendencies maintained it. With the inclusion of procrastination, which can be understood as a maladaptive ER strategy, a broader picture of ER difficulties as a risk factor for PG could be drawn. The findings support a better understanding of PG etiology and the development of targeted prevention and intervention measures

Family-based prevention against substance abuse and behavioral problems: culture-sensitive adaptation process for the modification of the US-American Strengthening Families Program 10–14 to German conditions

Aim: The Strengthening Families Program 10–14 (SFP 10–14) was developed in 1993 at the Iowa State University as a universal family-based prevention program against substance abuse and behavioral problems in youth aged 10 to 14 years. Its effectiveness in delaying the initiation of tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use, in decreasing the average amount consumed and in reducing adolescents’ problem behavior in school and at home has been repeatedly evaluated in randomized-controlled studies in the US. While there is a well-established system of school- and community-based prevention in Germany, there is a lack of family-based prevention. This situation would be improved by the cultural adaptation and evaluation of SFP 10–14 in Germany. Subjects and methods: Focus group meetings were held with experts from family assistance and drug prevention, as well as with parents of children within the ages of the target group, in three geographically different cities in Germany (Hamburg, Schwerin and Munich). Group members were presented the original version of the material from the US (teaching manuals and DVDs), as well as an already adapted version from the UK. Group members developed criteria in a group discussion process necessary for the adaptation of the material to the German culture. Following the newly defined criteria, new teaching DVDs and manuals were produced. Results: As a result of the focus groups meetings, several aspects concerning the adaptation of the material had to be considered. Four aspects were especially important: (1) application to the regional social structures in Germany, within the target group (risk population: migration background, socioeconomic status, family structure), (2) adaptation to the German language (colloquial language, idiomatic expressions, non-verbal language), (3) consideration of culturally dependent norms about parents’ and children’s role model behavior, as well as the problem definition for behavior that is supposed to be addressed (family, school, peer group) and (4) the program’s adequate incorporation into the conditions of the local support system. Conclusions: Neither of the two existing SFP versions (US and UK version) could serve as a matrix for the German version, extensive adaptations were necessary. Results from the adaptation process carried out earlier in the UK with the original material from the US were helpful in this process. The German version of the program (Familien stärken) will be evaluated for a target group that consists of families with low socioeconomic status. This randomized-controlled multicenter study will be carried out in different German cities (Hamburg, Hanover, Schwerin, Rostock and Munich) between 2010 and 2013

The effects of ecstasy' (MDMA) on visuospatial memory performance: findings from a systematic review with meta-analyses

To review, with meta-analyses where appropriate, performance differences between ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) users and non-users on a wider range of visuospatial tasks than previously reviewed. Such tasks have been shown to draw upon working memory executive resources. Abstract databases were searched using the United Kingdom National Health Service Evidence Health Information Resource. Inclusion criteria were publication in English language peer-reviewed journals and the reporting of new findings regarding human ecstasy-users' performance on visuospatial tasks. Data extracted included specific task requirements to provide a basis for meta-analyses for categories of tasks with similar requirements. Fifty-two studies were identified for review, although not all were suitable for meta-analysis. Significant weighted mean effect sizes indicating poorer performance by ecstasy users compared with matched controls were found for tasks requiring recall of spatial stimulus elements, recognition of figures and production/reproduction of figures. There was no evidence of a linear relationship between estimated ecstasy consumption and effect sizes. Given the networked nature of processing for spatial and non-spatial visual information, future scanning and imaging studies should focus on brain activation differences between ecstasy users and non-users in the context of specific tasks to facilitate identification of loci of potentially compromised activity in users. Keywords: ecstasy (MDMA); visuospatial; memory; meta-analyse

Pathways to ecstasy use in young adults: Anxiety, depression or behavioural deviance?

Aims: To investigate pathways to ecstasy use disorders from pre-birth to early adulthood with particular attention to the relationship between early depressive and anxiety symptoms and later ecstasy use disorders