Selenium:mercury molar ratios in fish from the Savannah River: implications for risk management

The risk to humans from contaminants in fish is dealt with by issuing consumption advisories, which are devised from consumption patterns, contaminant levels, and toxicity of those contaminants. The primary contaminant of concern in fish is mercury, and recently it has been suggested that the protective effects of selenium on mercury toxicity should be considered in risk management. The relationships between mercury, fish species and fish size, and selenium:mercury (Se:Hg) molar ratios were examined for freshwater fish from the Savannah River. The data indicated: (1) significant variation in Se:Hg molar ratios among and within species, (2) mean selenium molar ratios for the 11 species were negatively correlated with mean mercury levels and mean fish length, (3) greater variation in individual variances within species than the variation in mean ratios among species, (4) some species with high mean ratios had individuals with ratios below 1, and (5) even the species with the highest mean ratios had some individuals close to a molar ratio of one. These data suggest that the great variability of the Se:Hg molar ratios within a species results in the ratios being unpredictable. That is, knowing the mean Se:Hg molar ratio for a given species does not predict the ratios of individuals, or thus the protectiveness of selenium on mercury toxicity.     

Why is the issue of land ownership still of major concern in East Central European (ECE) transitional countries and particularly in Hungary?

In recent negotiations related to agriculture in connection with EU accession, the candidate countries asked for and received a period of 7–12 years exemption from EU rules with respect to the free movement of capital for the purpose of purchasing agricultural land. This means that, with some exceptions, foreigners will be prevented from buying land in most new member countries for a transitional period. The negotiating governments of the prospective new Member States claimed that a transitional period would be necessary because land prices are much lower in their countries than in the 15 EU ‘old’ countries. They claimed that without such an exemption, land in their countries would be bought cheaply by people of the ‘old’ EU countries, thus causing land scarcity for domestic farmers. However, statistical data do not support fears about land scarcity at present or in the future. The reasons for ‘keeping away’ foreigners from ‘national land’ are ideological rather than economic. Land continues to play a crucial role in rural-nationalist ideology, which has survived even after the disappearance of its bases, i.e. rural over-population and genuine land scarcity.     

What we have learnt from post-1994 innovations in pro-poor service delivery in South Africa: a case study-based analysis

Service delivery is vital for alleviating poverty in South Africa. This paper contributes to the dialogue on how to maximise the impact of pro-poor service delivery by considering evidence from a wide selection of case studies to distinguish the successes and failures of post-1994 pro-poor service delivery. Case evidence brings to light four important points: that decentralisation and participation can reinforce historical distributions of privilege; that community ownership is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for effective service delivery to individuals in rural communities; that when managed well private outsourcing can benefit the poor; and that the abolition of user fees is often not the best way to ensure access to basic services. The paper cautions against overly ambitious and idealistic policy making. When a policy fails because of its lack of flexibility or its disregard for the constraints of the implementation context, this failure should be attributed to short-sighted policy making and not to implementation failure.     

Inflation and Market Uncertainty in South Africa

Comparison of the movements in the VIX index, the rand – dollar exchange rate and South African CPI inflation reveals a striking resemblance between them, raising the question as to whether or not there is an empirical relationship among them. The aim of this paper is to determine whether or not changes in market uncertainty, as reflected in the VIX index, influence South African inflation. Given that the VIX index reflects market uncertainty, its impact on the inflation rate may differ between times of heightened uncertainty and normality, thus suggesting the presence of multiple regimes. To cater for this possibility, the analysis first uses the general‐to‐specific procedure (including squared and cubed values of dependent and independent variables) with impulse indicator saturation dummies to look for non‐linear behaviour in the form of statistically significant squared and cubed variables and clustered periods of outlier dummies that might reflect an alternative regime. Finding such periods, the analysis next uses a Markov‐switching model to model this non‐linear behaviour explicitly. The results show that market volatility as measured by the VIX indeed explains South African inflation. Moreover, as shown by the second regime of the Markov‐switching model, when market volatility is elevated, its influence on inflation also increases.     

Life satisfaction and self-employment in different types of occupations

In this research, we investigate whether a positive relationship between life satisfaction and self-employment (versus paid employment) exists while simultaneously considering two occupational dimensions: white-collar versus blue-collar work and high-skilled versus low-skilled work. Using Eurobarometer data for a large number of European countries (2008–2012), our findings confirm that self-employed workers are more satisfied with their lives than paid employees are. A life satisfaction premium is also found when the self-employed and paid employees are compared within similar occupations in terms of collar type and skill level. Finally, self-employment can help to overcome low life satisfaction scores associated with blue-collar and low-skilled work.     

Long-term and short-term analysis of the natural rubber market

Zusammenfassung Lang- und kurzfristige Analyse des Marktes für Naturkautschuk.-Die Autoren benutzen ein Vierteljahresmodell des Marktes für Naturkautschuk sowie langfristige Jahrgangsmodelle des Angebots von Naturkautschuk und der Nachfrage nach Kautschuk insgesamt, um die Zweckm?\igkeit der Bufferstock-Vereinbarung im Rahmen des Internationalen Naturkautschukabkommens zu beurteilen. Die Vereinbarung bewirkte, da\ die Einnahmen der Erzeuger um bis zu 20 vH anstiegen, aber jetzt — nachdem der Bufferstock g?nzlich verkauft worden ist — die Konsumenten den gr?\eren Vorteil haben. Das Abkommen kann die Wirkung der ?nderungen der gesamten Rohstoffpreise nicht auffangen. Verschiedene Szenarien für den Rest des Jahrhunderts deuten auf einen geringfügigen Rückgang der Preise für Naturkautschuk hin.

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Résumé L’analyse à long terme et à court terme pour le marché du caoutchouc naturel. — Un modèle trimestriel pour le marché du caoutchouc naturel et les modèles vintages en longue durée pour l’offre du caoutchouc naturel et la demande pour tout le caoutchouc sont appliqués pour évaluer la viabilité du stock de réserve selon les règles de l’Accord International sur le Caoutchouc Naturel. L’accord a augmenté les revenues des producteurs jusqu’à 20 p.c. pendant quelques trimestres, mais maintenant où tout le stock de réserve est vendu, les consommateurs en ont profité le plus. L’accord ne peut pas compenser l’influence des variations des prix des matières. Plusieurs scenarios pour le reste du siècle indiquent une petite réduction des prix du caoutchouc naturel.

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Resumen Un análisis de corto y largo plazo del mercado de caucho natural. — En este trabajo se utilizan un modelo trimestral y modelos de vendimia de largo plazo, representando la oferta y las distintas clases de demanda de caucho, para analizar la viabilidad de un almacén compensatorio en el marco del Acuerdo Internacional sobre Caucho Natural. Su efecto ha sido el de incrementar el ingreso de los productores en un 20 por ciento en algunos trimestres, pero ahora que las cantidades del almacén compensatorio han sido vendidas, los consumidores se han beneficiado aún más. El Acuerdo no puede responder al impacto de cambios de precios generales. El estudio de varios escenarios para el período hasta el fin del Siglo indica la posibilidad de una reductión marginal del precio del caucho natural que puede ser fácilmente absorbida extendiendo las plantaciones.

     

Effective institutions for presidential science advice

The Presidential science advisory apparatus has traditionally enjoyed two principal functions– judgements about organization and expenditures for scientific research and advice about large Government decisions and programs where scientific and technical components were prominent. The latter category—science for policy-making—is by far the most important. However, in practice, this function, which resembles explicit planning, is very difficult to sustain against the tide of political uneasiness.