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Evaluating animal consciousness
No full textAn emerging field shows how animal feelings can be studied scientifically
Bayesian reasoning for qualitative replication analysis: examples from climate politics
No full textThis paper demonstrates how Bayesian reasoning can be used for an analog of replication analysis with qualitative research that conducts inference to best explanation. We overview the basic mechanics of Bayesian reasoning with qualitative evidence and apply our approach to recent research on climate change politics, a matter of major importance that is beginning to attract greater interest in the discipline. Our re-analysis of illustrative evidence from a prominent article on global collective-action versus distributive politics theories of climate policy largely accords with the authors’ conclusions, while illuminating the value added of Bayesian analysis. In contrast, our in-depth examination of scholarship on oil majors’ support for carbon pricing yields a Bayesian inference that diverges from the authors’ conclusions. These examples highlight the potential for Bayesian reasoning not only to improve inferences when working with qualitative evidence but also to enhance analytical transparency, facilitate communication of findings, and promote knowledge accumulation
Motivational investments and financial incentives
No full textIf firms can invest in the motivation of workers to undertake costly effort, how does that affect the choice of explicit financial incentives? We develop a simple principal–agent model where the standard optimal contract is to offer a bonus that trades off incentive provision versus rent extraction. We allow the principal to undertake two types of motivational investments—one that increases the agent’s disutility from deviating from a prescribed effort level, and another that reduces the cost of effort. We refer to these as guilt and inspiration, respectively. We characterize the conditions under which motivational investments and financial incentives are substitutes and complements, and find that it depends on the type of the investment as well as whether the worker’s participation constraint is binding
The uncertainty doctrine narrative politics and US hard power after the Cold War. By Alexandra Homolar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2023. 220pp. £85.00. ISBN 978 1 00935 511 7. Available as e-book.
No full textChildhood threats and cognitive difficulties in mid and later life: a gendered perspective on the mediating role of family functioning
No full textThis study examined the associations between childhood threats (parental abuse and bullying victimization) and cognitive difficulties in mid and later life. Data were extracted from the 2022 Panel Study on Active Ageing and Society in Hong Kong (N = 5,007). Mediation analyses were performed using the PROCESS macro, both for the entire sample and gender-stratified models. Findings revealed that frequent parental abuse and bullying victimization during childhood were associated with increased cognitive difficulties in mid and later life. Contemporary family functioning mediated these relationships. Gender differences were observed in the mediating role of family functioning, with its significance limited to older women
Correlation between upstreamness and downstreamness in random global value chains
No full textThis paper is concerned with upstreamness and downstreamness of industries and countries in global value chains. Upstreamness and downstreamness measure respectively the average distance of an industrial sector from final consumption and from primary factors of production, and they are computed from the most used global Input–Output tables databases, e.g., the World Input–Output Database (WIOD). Recently, Antràs and Chor reported a puzzling and counter-intuitive finding in data from the period 1995-2011, namely that (at country level) upstreamness appears to be positively correlated with downstreamness, with a correlation slope close to +1. This effect is stable over time and across countries, and it has been confirmed and validated by later analyses. We first analyze a simple model of random Input/Output tables, and we show that, under minimal and realistic structural assumptions, there is a natural positive correlation emerging between upstreamness and downstreamness of the same industrial sector/country, with correlation slope equal to +1. This effect is robust against changes in the randomness of the entries of the I-O table and different aggregation protocols. Secondly, we perform experiments by randomly reshuffling the entries of the empirical I-O table where these puzzling correlations are detected, in such a way that the global structural constraints are preserved. Again, we find that the upstreamness and downstreamness of the same industrial sector/country are positively correlated with slope close to +1, even though the random reshuffling has destroyed any underlying economic information about inter-sectorial connections and trends. Our results – rooted in the Complexity Science approach to economic problems – strongly suggest that (i) extra care is needed when interpreting these measures as simple representations of each sector's positioning along the value chain, as the “curse of the input–output identities” and labor effects effectively force the value chain to acquire additional links from primary factors of production, and (ii) the empirically observed puzzling correlation may rather be a necessary consequence of the few structural constraints (positive entries, and sub-stochasticity) that Input/Output tables and their surrogates must meet, in turn making other proposed measures of sector inter-linkages more suitable and intuitive
Right move? Populist radical right parties and Europe
No full textWhile before winning power populist radical right (PRR) parties are often overtly against the European Union (EU) and its policies, once in government their position can change significantly. Their threats to leave the EU are frequently replaced by requests for greater EU involvement, particularly in economic and migration issues. This Special Issue unpacks PRR parties’ discourse and policies in relation to Europe, before and after gaining power. Specifically, this Introduction outlines key theoretical debates on populism, the policy positioning of PRR parties on migration, foreign policy and other issues before and after entering government, and their relationship with the EU. It then addresses the performance of PRR parties in the 2024 European Parliament elections, and provides an overview of the Special Issue
Q&A with Imaobong Umoren and Sumi Madhok on the International Studies Book Series
No full textImaobong Umoren (LSE International History) and Sumi Madhok (LSE Gender Studies) are two of the editors of the International Studies Book Series published by Cambridge University Press in association with LSE. In this interview with Anna D’Alton, they discuss the aim of the series, why transdisciplinary and transnational research matters and books to look out for in 2025
Data colonialism comes home to the US: resistance must too
No full textLSE’s Professor Nick Couldry and SUNY Oswego’s Professor Ulises A. Mejias explain how developments in the US government can be seen through the lens of data colonialism, and what can be done to resist
Report launch and key findings: a values-based approach to planning reform
No full textIn this blog we talk about the launch of our policy report “Planning with Purpose: A Values-Based Approach to Planning Reform”. We explain the meaning of a Values-Based Approach and how a values lens allowed us to untangle the tensions surrounding the planning system and its governance