The toxic syndrome proceedings in Spain

The author, who has been counsel for the injured in the Spanish olive oil proceedings, reports about the health, political and legal issues of this the greatest tragic event in recent Spanish history. The complexity of the marketing processes has made it difficult to trace the criminal responsibilities of the traders of denatured oil. The civil servants in charge of control and supervision have so far been exempted from the proceedings. The author analyses the legal problems and makes suggestions as to the handling of such cases, including compensation.

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Die spanischen Strafverfahren im Zusammenhang mit dem Olivenölskandal

Zusammenfassung Der Bericht untersucht die Entstehung und Abwicklung des spanischen Strafverfahrens im Olivenölskandal. Im Jahre 1981 sind durch kontaminiertes Speiseöl nahezu 1,000 Menschen — meistens aus ärmeren Schichten herkommend — an schweren Vergiftungen gestorben und weitere tausend schwer erkrankt. Die Behörden haben nur zögerlich auf die größte Gesundheitskatastrophe in der spanischen Geschichte, das sog. síndrome tóxico, reagiert und das Strafverfahren gegen die verantwortlichen Händler erst nach langer Verzögerung, gegen die nachlässigen Beamten der Aufsichtsbehörden noch gar nicht eingeleitet. Die kaum aufklärbaren Wege der Vermarktung des vergifteten Öles machten es schwierig, die für die Opfer verantwortlichen Personen aufzufinden und ihre Schuld nachzuweisen. Der Autor, der als Vertreter der geschädigten Nebenkläger bzw. ihrer Familien das umfangreiche, noch nicht durch ein Urteil abgeschlossene Strafverfahren vor der audencia nacionál in Madrid mehrere Jahre aktiv begleitet hat, untersucht die rechtlichen und tatsächlichen Probleme einer kollektivrechtlichen Bewältigung des síndrome tóxico und macht Verbesserungsvorschläge, auch zur Opferentschädigung. Ein Postskrip berichtet über das nach Fertigstellung am 20. März gefällte Urteil ins Strafverfahren gegen die aceiteros.

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Ignacio de Uriarte Bofarull is a lawyer in Madrid and legal counsel to OCU (Organisación de los consumidores y usuarios). He has represented part of the victims as private attorney in the legal proceedings against the aceiteros. His address: Goya 99, Madrid — 9, Spain.     

The historical construction of correlation as a conceptual and operative instrument for empirical research

This article is meant to reconstruct—from the standpoint of sociology and history of science—the development of the concept and the operative instruments of statistical correlation. The starting point is the discussion of some key mathematical aspects of the Error Theory, including a detailed analysis of the various positions regarding its contributions, if any, to the theory of correlation. Then proceeds to examine how the concept (and its relative instruments) emerged in its modern sense, by the late Nineteenth century, thanks to the work of Francis Galton. Finally, it considers the numerous contributions that rendered possible the formalisation and generalisation of both Galton’s concept and methodological tools, in particular those of Karl Pearson, but also those of Walter Weldon, Francis Ysidro Edgeworth, George Udny Yule and Charles Spearman.

“Co-relation or correlation of structure” is a phrase much used in biology, and not least in that branch of it which refers to heredity, and the idea is even more frequently present than the phrase; but I am not aware of any previous attempt to define it clearly, to trace its mode of action in detail, or to show how to measure its degree. Francis Galton (1888, 135)

     

Minimum wages in Spain

In Spain the minimum wage appears to have no significant employment-reducing effect for workers over 18. For the under 18s, however, minimum wages and employment are negatively related. The government should consider lowering the minimum wage for younger workers.     

Oil prices and economic activity: evidence for G-7 economies based on a wavelet approach

This study examines the relationship between oil prices and economic activity in the G-7 economies during the period 1960M1–2014M07 using a wavelet approach. The results show significant differences in the relationship between these two variables depending on the frequencies. Furthermore, we find that oil price shocks affect economic activity at low frequencies (long run) in all G-7 countries, while the effect at high frequencies (short run) is limited to a few countries.     

Fiscal space on the eurozone periphery and the use of the (partially) balanced-budget multiplier: The case of Spain

This article adopts the “functional finance” approach to consider the utilization of expansive fiscal policies in the members of the European Monetary Union most affected by high unemployment. As they do not have their own monetary policy, fiscal deficits require the issuing of public debt without the support of the central bank. The authors consequently incorporate the notion of a (partially) balanced-budget expansion to achieve the desired stimulus in gross domestic product (GDP) with the least possible effect on public debt. Their proposal is only a sort of “imperfect” balanced-budget expansion: It is based on the idea that simultaneous increases in public revenue and expenditure can boost GDP, but without any pretension of keeping public deficit unchanged. Specifically, the authors use the case of Spain to show that a more expansive fiscal policy is desirable on economic grounds, and that only institutional constraints prevent it. They do it presenting two alternative scenarios for the coming years and analyzing their different impact on unemployment and fiscal sustainability. The first represents a firm commitment to budget consolidation, whereas the second is based on this “imperfect” application of the balanced budget multiplier. The main conclusion is that a more expansive fiscal policy is perfectly compatible with finance sustainability.     

Technical efficiency and use of information and communication technology in Spanish firms

The literature concerned with the relationship between performance and information and communications technology (ICT) is usually focused on the ICT investments. This paper shows that it is the level of use of ICT within organisations, with preference as regards the expenses of ICT, which is responsible for the effect on performance. A general sample of 2255 Spanish companies has been used. Firms’ performance is measured as technical efficiency, which is determined by a data envelopment analysis (DEA), in which special attention is paid to the problem of the outliers. Finally, the analysis of the level of use of ICT is focused on a key area of the organisations, the supply chain, which affects the technical efficiency of the firms analysed. Results show that there is evidence of a positive effect of the use of ICT on technical efficiency. This effect is especially notable at intensive use levels in activities related to operations/manufacturing, purchasing or sales.     

Trump’s New Trade Tariffs: A Response to Voters’ Demands?

President Trump has dramatically changed U.S. trade policy through the adoption of steep tariffs. We argue in this article that even when there are significant geopolitical reasons, Trump’s actions on trade are a response to internal demands resonant with a long history of protectionism. We provide clear evidence of the impacts of social demographics on U.S. trade policy and show that individuals from capital-intense regions with high educational attainment tend to support protectionism.