2,961 research outputs found
Reptricket. Förord till Lars Gustafsson: Mot noll
No full textIntroduction to a collection of philosophical essays by Swedish author Lars Gustafsson (b. 1936)
Author Functions in Lars Kepler\u27s The Hypnotist: An Analysis
No full textThis paper examines Foucault\u27s notion of the author function as it pertains to Lars Kepler\u27s bestselling 2011 crime thriller, The Hypnotist. Lars Kepler is the pseudonym of a Swedish husband-wife writing duo, making him the perfect subject for analysis centering on illusory notion of the author. This paper will answer these questions: Who is the true author of The Hypnotist? What factors influence the author function of this bestelling novel? And what can The Hypnotist phenomenon tell us about the relationships between authors and their readers? This paper will demonstrate that no literary works may be ascribed to an individual person, and that authors hold no privileged knowledge of the works they produce, because authors cease to be authors the moment pen is lifted from page
Young and Old Competing for Public Welfare Services
No full textGenerational conflict affects the supply of public welfare services, and the rising share of elderly is seen as a threat to educational spending. We offer an analysis of spending in child care, primary and lower secondary education, and care for the elderly related to the size of young and old voters. Using panel data from Denmark for the period 1989-1996, we find that the elderly are reducing spending in child care and education, but the young do not threaten elderly care. It is a disadvantage for both the elderly and the young to be part of a large cohort.public welfare services, group size, age composition of the population, generational conflict
Centralized or decentralized financing of local governments? Consequences for efficiency and inequality of service provision
No full textCompared with most countries the Norwegian system of financing local governments is highly centralized. Grants make up a substantial part of revenues and local taxes are highly regulated by the center. The development of the system was motivated by a desire to equalize service provision throughout the country. The purpose of this paper is to analyze possible consequences of more decentralized financing with local tax discretion. Contrary to the conventional wisdom the analysis indicates that decentralized financing is likely to give more equal provision of local public services. In addition, substantial efficiency gains can be obtained.Centralized financing; Decentralized financing; Tax discretion; Efficiency gains; Equalization
Efficiency Potential and Efficiency Variation in Norwegian Lower Secondary Schools
No full textThe paper performs an efficiency analysis of the lower secondary school sector in Norway. The efficiency potential is calculated to 14 percent based on a DEA analysis with grades in core subjects (adjusted for student characteristics and family background) as outputs. The analysis of the determinants of efficiency indicates that a high level of municipal revenue, a high degree of party fragmentation, and a high share of socialists in the local council are associated with low educational efficiency. The negative effects of the share of socialists and party fragmentation seem to reflect both higher resource use and lower student performance.educational efficiency, DEA analysis, determinants of efficiency, political and budgetary institutions
Myopic or constrained by balanced-budget-rules? The intertemporal spending behavior of Norwegian local governments
No full textThe paper analyzes the intertemporal spending behavior of Norwegian local governments with particular attention to liquidity constraints imposed by balanced-budget-rules (BBRs). The main findings are: (i) On average, local government spending behavior is neither perfectly forward looking nor fully myopic. (ii) Local governments with good fiscal conditions behave more forward looking than other local governments. (iii) A high degree of party fragmentations is associated with less forward looking behavior. The overall assessment is that the departure from rational forward looking behavior reflects both liquidity constraints imposed by BBRs and myopic behavior.Balanced-budget-rules; Intertemporal spending behavior; Consumption smoothing; Local government
STEM CELLS, HUMAN EMBRYOS AND ETHICS: INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES
No full textForeword / Mahendra Rao -- Introduction / Lars Østnor -- Contributors -- 1. The moral status of human embryos with special regard to stem cell research and therapy / Øyvind Baune, Ole Johan Borge, Steinar Funderud, Dagfinn Føllesdal, Gunnar Heiene, and Lars Østnor -- Pt. 1. Biological and medical perspectives -- 2. Stem cells: sources and clinical applications / Steinar Funderud -- 3. Alternative means to obtain pluripotent stem cells / Ole Johan Borge -- 4. Neurogenesis and potential use of stem cells from adult human brain / Håvard Ølstørn, Morten C. Moe, Mercy Varghese, and Iver A. Langmoen -- 5. Can we use human embryonic stem cells to treat brain and spinal cord injury and disease? / Joel C. Glover -- 6. Stem cells, embryos and ethics: is there a way forward? / William B. Hurlbut -- Pt. 2. Social and political perspectives -- 7. An intercultural perspective on human embryonic stem cell research / LeRoy Walters -- 8. Human embryo research: the European perspective / Egbert Schroten -- 9. Stem cells, pluralism and moral empathy / Theo A. Boer -- Pt. 3. Philosophical perspectives -- 10. The potentiality argument and stem cell research / Dagfinn Føllesdal -- 11. Can the distinction between the moral and the descriptive support a full moral standing of an embryo? / Øyvind Baune -- 12. The beginning of individual human life / Anthony Kenny -- 13. Embryonic stem cell research arguments of the ethical debate in Germany / Ludger Honnefelder -- 14. The question of human cloning in the context of the stem cell debate / Otfried Höffe -- Pt. 4. Theological perspectives -- 15. Stem cells from human embryos for research? The theological discussion within Christianity / Lars Østnor -- 16. Theological arguments in the human stem cell debate: a critical evaluation / Gunnar Heiene -- 17. Human embryos and embryonic stem cells ethical aspects / Monika Bobbert -- Inde
Income Distribution and Tax Structure: Microeconomic Test of the Meltzer-Richard Hypothesis
No full textThe tax structure is important for the income distribution and therefore a key playground for redistributive politics. The standard theory assumes that more unequal income distribution will create a majority for more redistribution (Meltzer and Richard). This study investigates the empirical validity of this relationship in a microeconomic study of the tax structure in decentralized government in Norway. The choice of revenue instruments studied involves user charges and property taxes oriented towards housing. While user charges act as head taxes, property taxes have distributive consequences. The approach is in the tradition of majority rule, and we show how the local government decisions regarding tax structure and spending level can be understood as one-dimensional. This motivates the empirical analysis where the actual income distribution is measured by the ratio of median to mean income. The estimated model confirms that more equal income distribution implies a shift in the tax burden from property taxes to user charges.
- …
