10 research outputs found
Optical Atomic Clocks: From International Timekeeping to Gravity Potential Measurement
No full textPaper SM1F.3 - From the session Optical Clocks (SM1F).We discuss the relation between atomic clocks and gravity from two perspectives: gravity potential measurements for optical clock comparisons and contributions to international timescales and, conversely, the measurement of gravity potential differences using optical clocks.Helen S. Margolis, Heiner Denker, Christian Voigt, Ludger Timmen, Jacopo Grotti, Silvio Koller, Stefan Vogt, Sebastian Häfner, Uwe Sterr, Christian Lisdat, Antoine Rolland, Fred N. Baynes, Michel Zampaolo, Pierre Thoumany, Marco Pizzocaro, Benjamin Rauf, Filippo Bregolin, Anna Tampellini, Piero Barbieri, Massimo Zucco, Giovanni A. Costanzo, Cecilia Clivati, Filippo Levi, and Davide Calonic
Nurturing the Other: First Contacts and the Making of Christian Bodies in Amazonia.
No full textCombining archival research, oral history and long-term ethnography, this book studies relations between Amerindians and outsiders such as American missionaries through a series of contact expeditions that led to the 'pacification' of three native Amazonian groups in Suriname and French Guiana. The author examines and contrasts Amerindian and non-Amerindian views on this process of social transformation through the lens of the body, notions of peacefulness and kinship, as well as native warfare and shamanism. The book addresses questions of change and continuity, and the little explored links between first contacts, capture and native conversion to Christianity in contemporary indigenous Amazonia
The judicial control and the role of the Justice s essential activities for the effectiveness of public policies
No full textA presente dissertação trata do controle judicial das políticas públicas e do papel das
demais instituições essenciais à justiça para sua efetivação. Para tanto, parte-se da
abordagem da divisão das funções estatais e dos critérios para sua distinção. A
seguir, analisam-se os conceitos e as características das políticas públicas. Dentre
estas últimas destacam-se os programas comissivos ou omissivos do Estado, a
noção de estabilidade, a possibilidade de controle judicial, o elemento teleológico e
as condicionantes de existência das políticas públicas, que são a deliberação
política, a atividade normativa e os atos de execução com conhecimento técnico.
Após, examina-se o controle judicial das políticas públicas, inicialmente pelos
fundamentos que autorizam o controle judicial sobre os atos dos demais Poderes,
até o fundamento constitucional para o controle das políticas públicas. É realizado o
estudo do procedimento de ponderação proposto por Robert Alexy, bem como a
análise de alguns princípios constitucionais como norteadores das decisões judiciais.
Após, passa-se ao estudo dos argumentos favoráveis e contrários à intervenção
judicial nas políticas públicas e da necessária compatibilização dos argumentos,
dentre eles a máxima efetividade das normas constitucionais, o mínimo existencial, a
teoria da felicidade, a teoria da vedação do retrocesso, a reserva do possível e as
questões orçamentárias. Em termos de instrumentos para a efetividade das políticas
públicas, abordam-se o controle da constitucionalidade, da omissão legislativa e o
controle dos atos administrativos. A compreensão das tutelas de remoção de ilícito
para a efetividade das políticas públicas é feita mediante a análise das medidas
judiciais de coerção, dentre elas a condenação em obrigação de fazer, a aplicação
de multa diária, a intervenção federal ou estadual e a responsabilização do agente
público. Examinam-se os métodos alternativos de solução de conflitos. Por fim,
aborda-se o papel das demais funções essenciais à justiça para a efetivação das
políticas públicas. É feita a análise da atividade do Ministério Público como
controlador da implementação do orçamento, bem como dos instrumentos colocados
à sua disposição, dentre eles a ação civil pública, o inquérito civil, o termo de
ajustamento de conduta e a recomendação ministerial. O papel da Defensoria
Pública passa pela necessária estruturação da carreira em todos os Estados da
federação, bem como pela defesa dos interesses das pessoas carentes, não apenas
no âmbito judicial, mas por meio de uma orientação jurídica global. Sobre a atuação
da Advocacia Pública traz-se a verificação da postura dos advogados públicos na
condução dos processos, a independência funcional e a forma de orientação do ente
federativo para colaboração com a efetivação das políticas públicasThe present dissertation is about the judicial control and the role of the Justice s
essential activities for the effectiveness of public policies and the role of the other
institutions considered essential for the effectiveness of Justice. This work has as
starting point an overview on the State functions and the criteria used to distinguish
one from each other. Following this, an analysis over the concepts and
characteristics surrounding the notion on public policies is carried on, among which
special emphasis is given to the State s commisive and ommisive programs, stability,
the possibility of judicial control, the teleological element and the conditions regarding
the existence of public policies, that are the political decisions, the creation of laws
and the execution of technical acts. In the sequence, the judicial control over public
policies is analyzed, starting from the analysis of the grounds under which the judicial
control is authorized, and over the acts of the other Powers, until the constitutional
basis for the control over public policies. The assessment procedural study proposed
by Robert Alexy, as well as the analysis of some of the guiding constitutional
principles of judicial decisions are carried on. Following this, the author studies the
favorable and non-favorable arguments regarding the judicial intervention over public
policies and the required compatibility between the arguments, among which the
highest effectiveness of constitutional rules, the minimal existentialism, the theory of
happiness, the theory of regression blockage, the possible reservation and budget
issues. In terms of instruments for the effectiveness of public policies, the
constitutional control, the legislative omission and the control over administrative acts
are assessed. The comprehension of illegal removal powers for the effectiveness of
public policies is carried out pursuant to the analysis of judicial measures of coercion,
among which mandatory rulings demanding actions, the sanctioning of daily
penalties, federal or state intervention and the liability of the public agents. The
alternative methods for conflict s resolution are examined. Finally, an analysis over
the role of the other essential judicial activities for the effectiveness of public policies
is carried on. The author assesses the activities of the Public Prosecutor Office on
the control over the budget implementation, as well as the available tools given for
that, among which the public civil lawsuit (class action), the civil investigation, the
term of adjustment of conduct and the ministry recommendation. The role of the
Public Defense Office is analyzed under the standpoint of the required structuring of
the career in all Federative States, as well as under the protection of the interests of
careless individuals, not only in Courts, but also through a global legal orientation. On
the role of the Public Advocacy, the assessment of the public attorneys behavior in
taking care of such procedures, the functional independence and the orientation from
the federative body for the collaboration for the effectiveness of public policies is
carried o
The exploration of the Brazilian airport infrastructure: Infraero and concessionaires of public services
No full textO tema central deste trabalho é traçar o contorno da infraestrutura aeroportuária brasileira, investigando os mecanismos de sua exploração através da Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária (Infraero) e das atuais concessionárias de serviço público. A partir dessa colocação, para compreensão dos avanços e mudanças dos modelos jurídicos-institucionais, o estudo, em primeiro lugar, aborda o avanço do setor aéreo e os reflexos sobre a infraestrutura, a delimitação de seu conteúdo, a noção jurídica, bem como a evolução normativa da infraestrutura aeroportuária. Num segundo momento, identificada a natureza jurídica da atividade, o trabalho expõe as formas de exploração dos principais aeroportos brasileiros, o conhecimento do prestador e do processo de transferência da prestação. Com o enfrentamento das normas incidentes sobre a exploração, seguem-se as relações jurídicas decorrentes ou derivadas do cumprimento da atribuição pública, com especial atenção aos terceiros contratados e aos usuários do serviço. Pretende-se, na presente tese, tecer críticas aos modelos de exploração da infraestrutura aeroportuária adotados após o exame de suas características, concluindo com a apresentação de proposições dedicadas à sua revisão e conformação na atualidadeThe main topic of this study is to delineate the framework of the Brazilian airport infrastructure, investigating the mechanisms used for its exploration by the Brazilian Enterprise for Airport Infrastructure – Infraero (“Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária – Infraero”) and the current concessionaires of public services. Based on this analysis and with the intention of understanding the advances and changes in the legal-institutional models, this study, initially, addresses the advances in the air transport sector and the impacts over the infrastructure, the boundaries of its content, the legal concepts, as well as the normative evolution of the airport infrastructure. After this analysis and once the legal nature of the activity is identified, the study addresses the manners by which the main Brazilian airports are explored, the knowledge of the services provider and the procedure for transferring the services. The discussion addressing the norms applicable to the exploration of the infrastructure is followed by the analysis of legal relationships resulting or deriving from performance of the public service obligations, with special attention on the contracted third parties and service users. The author intends, with this thesis, to critically analyse the models for exploration of airport infrastructure adopted after the examination of its characteristics, concluding with the presentation of propositions to review and adapt such models to the current situatio
Administrative improbity and the third partys figure
No full textA presente dissertação tem como escopo principal a análise da figura do terceiro, sua relação com o agente público para a caracterização do ato de improbidade e as cominações daí advindas, servindo como referência principal a Lei nº 8.429/92. O estudo parte da contextualização e definição de improbidade administrativa, visto que a norma é silente sobre a matéria, valendo-se o autor da doutrina e da racionalidade sistemática proposta pela citada lei para tal mister. Superada essa fase introdutória, os capítulos seguem praticamente a ordem cronológica disposta na regra, ou seja, são analisados: (i) os sujeitos passivo e ativo do ato de improbidade administrativa, dando-se especial atenção aos terceiros, (ii) os atos tipificados como ímprobos e suas especificidades, (iii) a obrigatoriedade do ressarcimento do dano ao patrimônio público e a perda dos valores percebidos em decorrência de enriquecimento ilícito, pontuadas, aqui, as medidas de indisponibilidade e seqüestro de bens, (iv) as sanções aplicáveis e (v) a prescrição das ações destinadas a levar a efeito as medidas repressivas. Com o objetivo de aprofundar o estudo e dar suporte aos temas intrínsecos de cada ponto acima delineado, foram abordados em capítulos próprios (i) a problemática da causalidade adequada, segregando a mera irregularidade da improbidade, (ii) o elemento subjetivo caracterizador do ato de improbidade administrativa e (iii) o litisconsórcio existente entre o agente público e o terceiro. Para todas as questões postas, além da doutrina e do texto legal, a jurisprudência serviu de importante ferramenta, sobretudo, nos temas mais intrincados.The main objective of this dissertation is to analyze the relationship between public agent and a third party, especially when defining an act of improbity and its comminations, using law number 8.429/92 as main reference. This study initially sets a context and a definition of administrative improbity since the norm is silent on this matter. The author uses the above mentioned laws systematic rationality and doctrine. Going forward, the chapters practically follow the same order as in the rule, analyzing (i) passive and active roles in an act of administrative improbity, with emphasis on the third party, (ii) definition of improbity and its specifications, (iii) mandatory indemnity to public property and the loss of perceived value due to illicit enrichment, including measures of unavailability and sequestration of assets, (iv) applicable sanctions and (v) prescription of actions destined to enforce corrective measures. Aiming to deepen the understanding of the issues above, specific chapters were dedicated to (i) the problem of adequate causality, differentiating irregularity from improbity, (ii) subjective elements to administrative improbity and (iii) the union between public agent and a third party. For all these questions, jurisprudence was a valuable tool to complement legal texts and doctrine, above all in the most complicated subjects
Prolonged low flow reduces reactive hyperemia and augments low flow mediated constriction in the brachial artery independent of the menstrual cycle
No full text© 2013 Rakobowchuk et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Non-invasive forearm ischemia-reperfusion injury and low flow induced vascular dysfunction models provide methods to
evaluate vascular function. The role of oestrogen, an endogenous anti-oxidant on recovery from ischemia-reperfusion injury
has not been evaluated nor has the impact of prolonged low flow on vascular function been established. Eight healthy women (33610 yr) attended the lab during the follicular, ovulatory and mid-luteal phases of their menstrual cycles. After 30 minutes of rest, brachial artery vascular function was assessed by ultrasound measurements of diameter changes during 5 minutes of forearm ischemia and 3 minutes after. Subsequently, a 20-minute forearm ischemia period was completed. Further, vascular function assessments were completed 15, 30 and 45 minutes into recovery. Flow-mediated dilation, lowflow-mediated constriction, and reactive hyperaemia proximal to the area of ischemia were determined. Flow-mediated dilation was reduced at 15 minutes of recovery but recovered at 30 and 45 minutes (PRE: 7.161.0%, POST15:4.560.6%, POST30:5. 560.7% POST45:5.960.4%, p,0.01). Conversely, low-flow mediated constriction increased (PRE: 21.360.4%, POST15: 23.360.6%, POST30: 22.560.5% POST45: 21.560.12%, p,0.01). Reactive hyperaemia was reduced throughout recovery (p,0.05). Data were unaffected by menstrual phase. Prolonged low flow altered vascular function and may relate as much to increased vasoconstriction as with decreased vasodilation. Reductions in anterograde shear and greater retrograde shear likely modulate the brachial artery response, but the reduced total shear also plays an important role. The data suggest substantial alterations in vascular function proximal to areas of ischemia with potential clinical implications following reperfusion.British Heart Foundation (PG/08/060/25340),a Physiological Society summer studentship to SG, and a Wellcome Trust Vacation Studentship to EP
Geodesy and metrology with a transportable optical clock
No full textInternational audienceOptical atomic clocks, due to their unprecedented stability and uncertainty, are already being used to test physical theories and herald a revision of the International System of Units. However, to unlock their potential for cross-disciplinary applications such as relativistic geodesy, a major challenge remains: their transformation from highly specialized instruments restricted to national metrology laboratories into flexible devices deployable in different locations. Here, we report the first field measurement campaign with a transportable Sr optical lattice clock. We use it to determine the gravity potential difference between the middle of a mountain and a location 90 km away, exploiting both local and remote clock comparisons to eliminate potential clock errors. A local comparison with a Yb lattice clock also serves as an important check on the international consistency of independently developed optical clocks. This campaign demonstrates the exciting prospects for transportable optical clocks
Additional data for the publication "Long-distance chronometric leveling with a portable optical clock"
No full textWe have measured the geopotential difference between two locations separated by 457 km by comparison of two optical lattice clocks via an interferometric fiber link, utilizing the gravitational redshift of the clock transition frequency. The 87Sr clocks have been compared side-by-side before and after one of the clocks was moved to the remote location. The chronometrically measured geopotential difference of 3918.1(2.6) m2 s−2 agrees with an independent geodetic determination of 3915.88(0.30) m2 s−2. The uncertainty of the chronometric geopotential difference is equivalent to an uncertainty of 27 cm in height.[date:yyyymmdd]_[campaign].csv: Fractional frequency difference between the stationary clock Sr1 and the transportable clock Sr2. Source data of the Allan deviations shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 of the manuscript.""
method: Experimental data. Optical beat frequency between clock lasers recorded by dead-time-free counters, with known radio frequency offsets removed.
Includes systematic corrections of the clocks. For local campaigns only, includes local gravitational redshift difference between the clocks.
format: text/csv
recommended software: [Python](https://www.python.org/)
parameters: >
One file per date, with additional label to identify the campaign (`local1`, `remote`, or `local2`).
Each row represents an interval of 1 s duration. Timestamps and gaps removed. Counters operated in lambda mode.
ratio_data.csv: Daily mean values and uncertainties of the fractional frequency difference between the stationary clock Sr1 and the transportable clock Sr2.
The 3rd to the 12th columns denote the following:
* Daily clock ratio "Sr2-Sr1"
* Statistical uncertainty "u_stat"
* Systematic uncertainty of Sr2 without the lattice light shift uncertainty "u_Sr2_noL"
* Lattice light shift uncertainty of Sr2 "u_Sr2_L"
* Total systematic uncertainty of Sr2 "u_Sr2"
* Systematic uncertainty of Sr1 without the lattice light shift uncertainty "u_Sr1_noL"
* Lattice light shift uncertainty of Sr1 "u_Sr1_L"
* Total systematic uncertainty of Sr1 "u_Sr1"
* Uncertainty of the gravitational redshift difference "u_grav"
* Total uncertainty of the daily clock ratio "u_tot"
Some of these data are shown in Fig. 3 of the manuscript (black data points: "Sr2-Sr1", black error bars: "u_tot", golden error bars: "u_stat").
method: Aggregate experimental data, see above.
format: "text/csv (with semicolon as separator)"
recommended software: [Python](https://www.python.org/)
parameters: "not applicable"We acknowledge support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany\u27s Excellence Strategy -- EXC-2123 QuantumFrontiers -- Project-ID 3908379.67.
We acknowledge support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under SFB~1464 TerraQ -- Project-ID 434617780 -- within projects A04 and A05.
We acknowledge support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under SFB~1128 geoQ within projects A03 and A04.
This work was partially supported by the Max Planck--RIKEN--PTB Center for Time, Constants and Fundamental Symmetries
The role of natural science collections in the biomonitoring of environmental contaminants in apex predators in support of the EU’s zero pollution ambition
No full textThe chemical industry is the leading sector in the EU in terms of added value. However, contaminants pose a major threat and significant costs to the environment and human health. While EU legislation and international conventions aim to reduce this threat, regulators struggle to assess and manage chemical risks, given the vast number of substances involved and the lack of data on exposure and hazards. The European Green Deal sets a ‘zero pollution ambition for a toxic free environment’ by 2050 and the EU Chemicals Strategy calls for increased monitoring of chemicals in the environment. Monitoring of contaminants in biota can, inter alia: provide regulators with early warning of bioaccumulation problems with chemicals of emerging concern; trigger risk assessment of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances; enable risk assessment of chemical mixtures in biota; enable risk assessment of mixtures; and enable assessment of the effectiveness of risk management measures and of chemicals regulations overall. A number of these purposes are to be addressed under the recently launched European Partnership for Risk Assessment of Chemicals (PARC). Apex predators are of particular value to biomonitoring. Securing sufficient data at European scale implies large-scale, long-term monitoring and a steady supply of large numbers of fresh apex predator tissue samples from across Europe. Natural science collections are very well-placed to supply these. Pan-European monitoring requires effective coordination among field organisations, collections and analytical laboratories for the flow of required specimens, processing and storage of specimens and tissue samples, contaminant analyses delivering pan-European data sets, and provision of specimen and population contextual data. Collections are well-placed to coordinate this. The COST Action European Raptor Biomonitoring Facility provides a well-developed model showing how this can work, integrating a European Raptor Biomonitoring Scheme, Specimen Bank and Sampling Programme. Simultaneously, the EU-funded LIFE APEX has demonstrated a range of regulatory applications using cutting-edge analytical techniques. PARC plans to make best use of such sampling and biomonitoring programmes. Collections are poised to play a critical role in supporting PARC objectives and thereby contribute to delivery of the EU’s zero-pollution ambition. © 2022, The Author(s)
“Corralling the Economy of Crime and Money Laundering: A Challenge for Banks and International Institutions into the 21st Century”.
No full textDrawing together leading scholars from three continents, the event provided a forum to discuss new approaches and outcomes in the field of illegal economy
The conference was formally opened by Giuseppe Eusepi, Vice-President of the ECSPC and conference organizer. He welcomed the conferees, and warmly addressed a note of appreciation to those who had come from as far afield as Australia and the United States. Attilio Celant, Dean of the Faculty of Economics, also welcomed the participants and congratulated Giuseppe Eusepi on organizing the event. He pointed out that since its inception the ECSPC has been known for attracting high profile international scholars and acknowledged the ECSPC’s invaluable contribution to the academic life in the Faculty. He suggested that the ECSPC conferences should continue and become a permanent fixture as an annual gathering. Soon after, Marcello Gorgoni, Head of the Department of Public Economics, welcomed the participants on behalf of the Department. He acknowledged the ECSPC’s ability to organize a steady sequence of international conferences and encouraged Giuseppe Eusepi to continue enriching the intellectual life of the Department.
Following the remarks of welcome and a cocktail reception, the conference started with a session chaired by Antonio Pedone. The first paper entitled “Crime and Punishment: An Expressive Voting View” was by Geoffrey Brennan. The paper defended the expressive account against a couple of arguments that have been arrayed against it – both of which are taken by their proponents to be pretty close to knock-down arguments, but that according to the author are fundamentally mistaken. He then offered an interpretation of some salient aspects of policy towards crime based on the expressive theory.
In the second paper, “Why do Transparent Public Procurement and Corruption Go Hand in Hand?” Gustavo Piga and Raffaella Coppier tried to show why countries that adopt more “transparent procurement”, as calculated by the share of tender advertised publicly, are also the ones where corruption is considered more pervasive. Piga and Coppier argued that the more countries are prone to corruption the more they increase transparency to curb corruption itself. They, then, presented alternative ways to reduce corruption in procurement.
On Friday, September 29 , there were sessions in the morning and in the afternoon and a banquet in the evening. The first session was chaired by Roger Congleton. The opening paper entitled “Dura Lex, Sed Lex? Insights from the Subjective Theory of Opportunity Cost” was by Giuseppe Eusepi. The paper was an account of the failings of the objective cost theory and its view of cost qua money outlays. The first part of the presentation revolved around the identification of what Eusepi defines the “notional locus of the law”, a tool useful to draw out the cost of law enforcement. Eusepi focused on the notion of cost as an obstacle to choice and the critical importance of finding the “notional locus of the law” to determine the cost of law enforcement. The costs in self-protection that law-abiding citizens and businesses have to bear can be expected to depend in large a part on the “notional locus of the law” that lawmakers set. Thus, effective law enforcement is expected to be heavily influenced by such “notional locus of the law”. In focusing on the relationship between economic incentives and moral equality vs. moral neutrality, he showed that from the economic point of view laws are neither neutral, nor incentive-free. In addressing these issues, Eusepi highlighted the link between unlawful activities and the economy. To this end, he provided a microeconomic analysis of organized illegal activities and showed that criminal activities enjoy an oligopolistic or even a monopolistic position by presenting a diagnosis of the mafia as a collective criminal activity. He stressed that the monopoly power of the mafia lies in the “no exit” rule. He ended with a critique of the so-called repentant or judicial collaborator policy used by criminal justice to break the “no exit” mechanism. Geoffrey Brennan served as a discussant.
The second paper, entitled “Laundering Money in the Wild East”, was delivered by Jürgen Backhaus. He argued that shortly before the conclusion of the German currency union in 1990, the Staatsbank der DDR proceeded to print a very large set of high-denomination Mark der DDR banknotes. These freshly printed bills were distributed according to a list to high-ranking officers of the disintegrating GDR who proceeded to travel to Eastern European Capitals. Backhaus argued that technically speaking Mark der DDR was not a currency at all, neither convertible outside the country nor serving the three functions of money inside. He explained how the money was converted in socialist brethren states such as Rumania and Bulgaria and used to buy company shares or taking silent partnerships in such companies to be privatized. He presented his theory of management buy-outs and silent partnerships. Donato Masciandaro offered his comments.
The second session, chaired by Giancarlo Gandolfo, started with a paper by Donato Masciandaro entitled “Offshore Financial Centres and International Soft Laws: Explaining the Regulation Gap”. With his interesting and thoroughly researched paper, Masciandaro sought to show that the regulation gap of the Offshore Financial Centres (OFCs) vis à vis international standards defined to prevent harmful phenomena - such as financial instability, money laundering, terrorism finance and aggressive taxation - depends on specific structural features. In the designing of the regulatory framework, the OFCs policymakers define the optimal degree of compliance in terms of cost-benefit analysis. He provided evidence showing that the policymaker convenience to establish an OFC jurisdiction may depend on peculiar country endowments, consistently with a path dependency approach. He illustrated a model based on a two-hundred country sample, using different classifications of OFCs. He highlighted that the probability to be an OFC increases with higher political stability, lower crime level, lower voice in international organizations and a Common Law legal system. Furthermore, he argued that a low-resource endowment has a soft influence on the choices to be an OFC. He raised the key question of how to identify optimal international policy strategies aimed to fill the regulation gap and overcome the name and shame approach, which is irredeemably inadequate. The official discussant was unable to attend. Conferees offered very stimulating comments and a range of suggestions.
The next paper by Roger Congleton focused on the “Difficulties of Policing Corruption in International Organizations”. The author argued that public corruption affects the allocation of public resources, which in turn affects private incentives in a number of ways that tend to reduce economic development. He showed how the estimates demonstrate that corruption tends to be associated with low national incomes and low public service levels. As long as culture and corruption are exogenous, corruption is simply another sociological explanatory variable that helps explain persistent differences in national income among countries. As such, the estimated effects of corruption on the quality of life within a country may be of only scientific interest. However, most nations enact laws that make various forms of corruption illegal, such as bribery, and most governments attempt to enforce those laws, at least within limits. He clinched that corruption is not entirely exogenous, insofar as corruption is affected by a nation’s enforcement efforts. He explored how domestic corruption tends to affect international agreements as well as the organizations themselves. He then presented models examining the manner in which the policies of international organizations are affected by member corruption and institutions. The paper was discussed by Luisa Giuriato.
The first afternoon session was chaired by Bengt-Arne Wickström. It started with a paper by Amedeo Argentiero, Michele Bagella, Francesco Busato entitled “Money Laundering in a Two Sector Cash-In-Advance Model”. Starting out from a theoretical model, the paper presented a methodology for generating otherwise unobservable quantities relying on observable (and estimated) variables. In particular, the paper constructed a series for money laundering over the sample 1980:01-2001:04. The analysis showed that: (1) money laundering accounts for approximately 9 percent of aggregate GDP and (2) money laundering is more volatile than aggregate GDP and it is positively correlated with it. Bengt-Arne Wickström discussed the paper.
It then followed a paper by Lucia Dalla Pellegrina entitled “Crime Deterrence and Courts Efficiency (An Application to Crimes Against Property in Italy)”. She focused on the existence of a causal relationship between the excessive length of trials and high crime rates. Using Italian data from 1999 to 2002, she showed the impact of the length of criminal trials on the willingness to commit crimes against property, like thefts, robberies, racketeering and swindles in Italy. She concluded that criminals are sensitive to the discounting process of the burden of punishment they should bear. Marianna Belloc commented on the paper.
The second afternoon session was chaired by Marcello Gorgoni. The first paper "Criminal Behavior and Social Evolution" was by Bengt-Arne Wickström. He showed that in a society with two types of individuals, honest ones and criminals, individual behavioral patterns are individually decided upon through interaction with the rest of society. In deciding its behavioral pattern, an individual considers behavior in individual encounters, aggregate behavior in society – the norm – as well as the gains from criminal activity. He demonstrated that dynamically stable equilibria with a low and a high crime rate can be obtained under various assumptions. He concluded that a small exogenous increase in the gain from crime may lead to a non-reversible structural change with a substantial increase in criminal behavior in society. Daniela Federici discussed the paper.
It followed a paper by Marco Arnone and Pier Carlo Padoan entitled “Anti-money laundering by international institutions. A very preliminary assessment”. The paper was presented by Pier Carlo Padoan. He illustrated the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism program introduced at the end-of 2001 at the IMF and WB, in conjunction with the work of the FATF and other regional bodies. According to the authors although this can be seen as the birth of a “regime for financial integrity”, the program has some shortcomings such as the limited availability of country information and the multiplicity of assessors and methodologies. For the limited sample where detailed information - based on the Detailed Assessments - is available the authors found that some areas of the AML/CFT framework are consistently weaker than others. For a larger sample - based on Recommended Actions - they found that countries’ ranking of performance is confirmed. Padoan ended by suggesting greater transparency and availability of detailed countries’ information, and made an assessment of the weak areas of a country’s AML/CFT framework at higher frequency than the established five years. The paper was discussed by Francesco Busato.
On Saturday, September 30, there was only one morning session, chaired by Giuseppe Eusepi. The format differed somewhat from the familiar since Friedrich Schneider and Ursula Windischbauer were unable to attend. The paper, “Money Laundering: Some Preliminary Empirical Findings” was presented by the discussant Antonio Nicita He led off by summarizing the paper and introduced his critique of it. The paper was basically a quantification of the volume and development of money laundering activities using a DYMIMIC estimation procedure for the years 1994/95, 1997/98, 2000/2001 and 2002/2003 for 20 highly developed OECD countries. The variation in presentation technique provided for a lengthy and stimulating discussion among the conferees, spearheaded by remarks from Donato Masciandaro.
It followed a paper by Peter Lewisch entitled “Money Laundering Laws as a Political Instrument: The Social Costs of Arbitrary Money Laundering Enforcement”. He discussed some aspects of the political dimension behind money laundering enforcement and the economic rationale behind anti-money laundering legislation. He focused on money laundering enforcement in cross-border settings and the political dimension via practical examples. The official discussant being absent, the presentation was followed by a lively discussion from the floor.
The conference closed with a paper by Debora Di Gioacchino and Maurizio Franzini entitled “Competition in Public Administration: the Right Policy against Corruption?”. The authors based their argumentation on the assumption that competition in public administration is often advocated as a solution to bureaucrats’ corruption. To carry out their analysis, the authors presented a series of models that help understand what competition in public administration can actually accomplish. Central to their discourse were bribery and extortion. They sought to demonstrate that, given the asymmetric information surrounding bureaucrats’ honesty, there is a sort of trade-off between corruption and extortion. According to the authors, trying to curb one of them through competition may result in strengthening the other. The gap left by late withdrawal of the scheduled discussant was filled by conferees who participated wholeheartedly in the discussion.
Giuseppe Eusepi closed the conference by thanking the presenters for enthusiastically delivering their papers, the discussants for offering fascinating, scholarly reflections and especially for filling the gap left by absent scheduled discussants and the chairmen for working diligently to ensure that the sessions ran smoothly and to schedule. He, then, invited the participants to join him in expressing their congratulations and acknowledgment of indebtedness to Maria Delle Grotti for her untiring efforts in preparing the conference and Alessandra Cepparulo for the terrific job she did preparing the ECSPC conference website. He was deeply appreciative of the team hired by the ECSPC for their care in overseeing all the details that contributed to a splendid conference. A note of appreciation went also to the catering service for the excellent quality of the food. Finally, he expressed his deepest gratitude to the Sapienza University of Rome, the Bank of Italy and the Faculty of Economics for their generous financial support. He announced that, as for previous conferences, a collected volume of essays based on a selection of papers is planned
