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Ethnic differences and preference heterogeneity: assessing social pensions in Peru
No full textWe examine the impact of the non-contributory social pension program (Pension 65) in Peru, highlighting its varying effects on the three main ethnic groups: Mestizo, Quechua, and Aymara. Notably, Aymara beneficiaries have experienced greater improvements in health outcomes compared to other Peruvians. To account for these ethnic differences when evaluating policy programs, it is essential to use a welfare criterion that reflects preference heterogeneity. We propose a natural criterion: a program benefits a recipient if it lifts them to a higher indifference curve. We contrast this approach with an alternative that uses self-reported subjective well-being to evaluate a policy program. Through a panel life satisfaction regression, we find evidence of preference heterogeneity between the Aymara and other ethnic groups, consistent with the observed differences. Lastly, we explore why, contrary to simple intuition, not all beneficiaries reach a higher indifference curve
Identifying spatial drivers of soil heavy metal pollution risk integrating positive matrix factorization, machine learning, and multi-scale geographically weighted regression
No full textSoil heavy metal (HMs) contamination poses significant ecological and health risks, yet the spatial drivers of HMs pollution remain poorly understood. This study integrates pollution risk assessment, positive matrix factorization, machine learning, and multi-scale geographically weighted regression to develop a framework for identifying the spatial drivers of soil HMs contamination risk in Yangtze River New City, China. Analysis of 7152 samples revealed that although average HMs concentrations were below national standards, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, and Ni exceeded local background levels. Four key factors were identified as drivers of HMs contamination: natural sources (30.36 %, influenced by soil type), mixed agricultural and transportation sources (29.56 %, driven by cropland, aquaculture, and road density), human activities (12.68 %, including population density and community activities), and industrial sources (27.42 %, linked to factories and enterprises). Regional variations indicated that industrial activities, transportation, and human activities primarily influenced health risks, while agriculture and natural factors had a greater impact on ecological and environmental capacity risks. These findings underscore the importance of considering spatial heterogeneity in HMs pollution risk assessments and offer insights for developing targeted, region-specific policies to mitigate pollution risks of soil HMs
From social awareness to authoritarian other: The conservative weaponization of woke in Canadian parliamentary discourse
Get PDFThis study examines the evolution of (anti)woke discourse in debates within the Canadian House of Commons from 2019 to 2023, analyzing how “conceptual flipsiding” and moral panic operate to transform democratic language into tools of illiberal politics. Our critical discourse analysis of Hansard transcripts identifies three key themes: the semantic shift of woke from social awareness to authoritarianism, the strategic redefinition of woke by Conservative MPs — led by party leader Pierre Poilievre — to construct a moral panic around an anti-Canadian ideological Other, and inadequate attempts by MPs from other parties to challenge this negative framing. We argue that the discursive weaponization of woke demonstrates how political actors appropriate and invert democratic language to advance illiberal agendas while maintaining democratic legitimacy. This Canadian case illuminates broader patterns in how democratic language is manipulated across national contexts while revealing how ineffective counter-frames can inadvertently legitimize anti-democratic action within democratic institutions
Does the child penalty strike twice?
Get PDFThis paper compares the labor market trajectories of grandparents before and after the arrival of their first grandchild. We find gender gaps in earnings of 4 and 10 percent five and ten years, respectively, after the first grandchild. These effects are driven by changes in women's labor supply at both the intensive and extensive margin. We provide evidence from multiple data sources that grandmothers’ caregiving complements formal daycare, thereby offering essential flexibility for young parents. We document that grandchild penalties were larger in earlier periods characterized by low availability of daycare, shorter parental leave, and an earlier retirement age. Linking register data to geographical variations in daycare centers reveals that local daycare coverage is not associated with grandchild penalties. Detailed time use data show that grandmothers carry larger responsibilities for childcare than grandfathers. Recognizing the complementary nature of grandmaternal childcare is important for the design of policies attempting to reduce child penalties for both mothers and grandmothers
Effectiveness of a stepped‐care programme of WHO psychological interventions in a population of migrants: results from the RESPOND randomized controlled trial
No full textMigrant populations – including labour migrants, undocumented migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, internationally displaced persons, and other populations on the move – are exposed to a variety of stressors that affect their mental health. We designed and tested the effectiveness of a stepped-care programme consisting of two scalable psychological interventions developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and locally adapted for migrant populations. A parallel-group randomized controlled trial was conducted in Italy. We recruited migrant adults (≥18 years) with psychological distress (score of at least 16 on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, K10). The experimental arm received psychological first aid (PFA) and a stepped-care programme consisting of two WHO interventions adapted for this population group: first, Doing What Matters in Times of Stress (DWM) and, for participants who still reported significant levels of psychological distress after DWM, Problem Management Plus (PM+). Each intervention lasted 5-6 weeks and was delivered remotely by lay facilitators. The control arm received PFA and care as usual (CAU). The primary outcome was the change in symptoms of depression and anxiety from baseline to week 21 after randomization, measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety and Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS). Between December 14, 2021 and April 18, 2023, 108 migrants were randomized to the stepped-care intervention and 109 to CAU. Analysis of the primary outcome revealed that participants receiving the stepped-care programme showed a greater reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms compared to those receiving CAU (coefficient: –3.460, standard error, SE: 1.050, p=0.001) at week 21. The same difference was observed at week 7 (coefficient: –3.742, SE=1.008, p<0.001) and week 14 (coefficient: –6.381, SE=1.039, p<0.001). The stepped-care programme was also associated with a greater improvement of depression and anxiety symptoms assessed separately at all timepoints, of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms at weeks 14 and 21, and of self-assessed problems, function and well-being at all timepoints. No serious adverse events occurred. This study provides evidence supporting the stepped-care delivery of DWM and PM+ for migrant population groups with elevated distress. As these interventions are low-intensity, transdiagnostic and task-shifting, they are highly scalable. Existing evidence-based guidelines and implementation packages should be updated accordingly
Green macrofinancial regimes
Get PDFDebates about climate policy have neglected the question of macrofinancial pathways to decarbonisation, not all of which are economically and politically viable. We propose a theory of macrofinancial regimes, understood as combinations of monetary, fiscal, and financial institutions that shape the creation and allocation of credit/money, and hence the speed and nature of the green transition. Focusing on two dimensions—the scale of green public spending and the degree of discipline imposed on private capital—we derive a typology of four regimes. Derisking regimes are low-discipline: under weak derisking, a fiscally constrained state tweaks the risk-return profile on infrastructure assets to reduce the carbon footprint of the economy’s existing sectoral structure; under robust derisking, the state subsidizes capital expenditure in cleantech manufacturing directly, and with the ambition to alter the economy’s sectoral composition. Derisking regimes are rendered unstable by coordination problems and regressive distributional consequences. This may tip societies into a carbon shock therapy regime under which discipline is enforced by carbon prices and market competition, resulting in a disorderly transition path. Alternatively, institutional reforms that increase the state’s capacity to spend and to discipline capital may give rise to a big green state regime where coordination is achieved through state-led planning
Digital labour platforms as shock absorbers: evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic in Mozambique
No full textDigital labour platforms have grown five-fold over the past decade, enabling significant expansion of gig work worldwide. We interrogate the critique that these platforms tend to amplify aggregate shocks for registered workers. Based on the universe of records from a matching platform for manual freelancers in Mozambique, we analyse how task supply and demand altered with the onset of COVID-19. Treating the pandemic as a structural break, which extends to an event study analysis, we find it was associated with a net increase in tasks demanded per worker, but no clear change in supply growth (new registrations). While these general trends are evident across multiple market segments, there is also evidence of relatively higher demand for female as compared to male workers during the pandemic. This suggests digital labour markets can help some workers adjust to economic shocks in low-income contexts
The market in global international society: an English school approach to international political economy
No full textThe Market in Global International Society tracks the idea and practice of the market through both modern and premodern times, and its evolution as a primary institution in international relations over the past two centuries. It develops a new approach to understanding the relationship between the market and other social and political institutions of global international society. Buzan and Falkner view the market as a political ideology in support of a liberal system of governance, and not just as an economic practice or economy-wide structural feature. In doing so, they draw attention to the market's powerful impact on international order. This historical grounding brings into close contact two areas of study that have for much too long stood back-to-back: the English School of International Relations (ES), and International Political Economy (IPE). For the ES, the book fills in the large economic gap in its understanding and portrayal of the primary institutions of international society. Adding in the economic sector has a major impact on how the other primary institutions of international society both work in themselves, and interact with each other. For IPE, the book opens up a new and usefully detailed view of the constant and wide-ranging interaction of the market with the other social and political institutions of global international society. The approach through primary institutions fills in the middle ground between the big-picture classical approaches to IPE, and the current focus on intergovernmental organisations and regimes
The World Wide Web (WWW)
No full textThis chapter introduces the WWW (World Wide Web, or just the Web) as a digital infrastructure, differentiating it from the Internet itself. The chapter is technical in some degree, explaining details on protocols and URLs (Uniform Resource Locators), and how the server-client architecture allows communication to happen through the Internet. The chapter introduces a short history of the Web and the differentiation between the Web 1.0 and the Web 2.0, emphasising how the digital infrastructure has moved from a perspective of being mainly a publishing space for professional actors to a perspective of allowing the interactions between all sorts of users, as we can see today through social media channels
The simpler the better? Threshold effects of energy labels on property prices and energy efficiency investments
No full textUsing British data on over 7 million residential property sales, we find that the simplified energy efficiency (EE) information leads to important market effects. UK legislation requires the use of an energy label that shows an EE rating score (1–100) mapped into arbitrary color-coded rating bands (A–G). Applying a regression discontinuity design, we document significant price discontinuities at rating band thresholds, indicating heuristic thinking in the market. These price discontinuities influence market behavior as sellers are more likely to make EE investments if their property is just below a threshold. We discuss policy considerations and avenues for future research. (JEL D91, K32, Q48, R31