Terms Of Redistribution Research Articles

Economic Growth and Equality of Opportunity

In this paper we argue that a better understanding of the relationship between inequality and growth can be obtained by shifting the analysis from the space of final achievements to the space of opportunities. To this end, we introduce the Opportunity Growth Incidence Curve, that can be used to evaluate the income dynamics of specific groups of the population and to infer the role of growth in the evolution of inequality of opportunity over time. By employing a rank dependent social welfare function we provide a rigorous normative justification for the use of the OGIC: we obtain suitable dominance conditions and we show how they can be interpreted in terms of OGIC dominance. We also propose an index that can be used to measure the impact of growth in terms of opportunity redistribution. Finally, we provide two empirical illustrations, for Italy and for Brasil, which show the potentials of the tools we have introduced.

Tarifas sociales para el servicio de agua potable en Arica, Chile y su impacto teórico en la distribución del ingreso de los usuarios

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the redistributive effect of a system of social tariffs of water supply services, compared to the current direct subsidies from the government to low-income consumers. The goal is to determine social prices for non-deficit operation, using a mathematical model based on the theory of welfare economics. A scheme of differentiated tariffs according to income of consumers in the city of Arica, Chile, is evaluated as to the theoretical impact on the distribution of wealth of these consumers. From the results of this investigation, we concluded that social tariffs have a small advantage over direct subsidies in terms of redistribution, but undesirable side effects are produced, creating market distortions that could cancel out any significant redistribution of wealth.

Spatial distribution and dynamics of proton conductivity in fuel cell membranes: potentialand limitations of electrochemical atomic force microscopy measurements

The proton conductivity of a Nafion 112 membrane is measured with a high spatialresolution using electrochemical atomic force microscopy. Image analysis reveals aninhomogeneous conductivity distribution which is attributed to the limited connectivity ofhydrophilic domains. This information relates to the micro-morphology which is due tophase separation of the hydrophobic polymer backbone and the hydrophilic pendantgroups. The direct images relate to a different length scale and are complementary to thex-ray diffraction investigations which provide only average information. Furthermore, themeasured current values reveal an interesting correlation with the size of the conductiveareas. A bimodal conductivity distribution suggests that there are different mechanismswhich contribute to the proton current in Nafion. Additionally, time dependence in localconductivity is found and interpreted in terms of redistribution of water in themembrane. A statistical analysis of the current distribution is performed andcompared with theoretical simulations. Evidence is found for the existence of acritical current density. On a timescale of seconds the response of the conductivenetwork is probed by applying voltage steps to the atomic force microscope tip.

Theoretical studies on hydrogen bonding interactions: From small clusters to the liquid phase

AbstractThis article discusses some methodological aspects and applications of hydrogen bonding interactions in molecular aggregates, as well as in liquids, that have currently been considered in the literature. First, the concept of a hydrogen bond is revisited from the classic picture of a H‐bonded pair of molecules. Second, an analysis of the interaction energy into various physically meaningful terms is presented within the quantum mechanical scope and applied for different H‐bonded complexes. Third, cooperative effects are quantitatively considered in terms of electronic redistribution upon complexation. Fourth, some results are reviewed and new insights into the fundamental nature of the hydrogen bonding interaction are reported. Finally, the fundamental forces responsible for the formation of hydrogen bonds in condensed phase are examined by means of atomistic simulations based on classical force fields. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010

The Inconsistency between Measurement and Policy Instruments in Family Income Taxation

The aim of this paper is to point out an inconsistency between the way income tax progressivity is measured and the policy instruments used by the income tax authorities. This inconsistency leads to violation of Feldstein's principle of horizontal equity and causes unintentional reranking among families of different sizes. The paper provides a methodology for measuring the magnitude of the unintentional reranking in terms of foregone redistribution.

Aerothermal Study of the Unsteady Flow Field in a Transonic Gas Turbine With Inlet Temperature Distortions

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) prediction of the unsteady aerothermal interaction in the HP turbine stage, with inlet temperature nonuniformity, requires appropriate unsteady modeling and a low diffusive numerical scheme coupled with suitable turbulence models. This maybe referred to as high fidelity CFD. A numerical study has been conducted by the University of Florence in collaboration with ONERA to compare capabilities and limitations of their CFD codes for such flows. The test vehicle used for the investigation is a turbine stage of three-dimensional design from the QinetiQ turbine facility known as MT1. This stage is a high pressure transonic stage that has an unshrouded rotor, configured, and uncooled with 32 stators and 60 rotor blades. Two different CFD solvers are compared that use different unsteady treatments of the interaction. A reduced count ratio technique has been used by the University of Florence with its code HYBFLOW, while a phase lag model has been used by ONERA in their code, ELSA. Four different inlet conditions have been simulated and compared with focus on the experimental values provided by QinetiQ in the frame of TATEF and TATEF2 EU Sixth Framework Projects. The differences in terms of performance parameters and hot fluid redistribution, as well as the time- and pitch-averaged radial distributions on a plane downstream of the rotor blade, have been underlined. Special attention was given to the predictions of rotor blade unsteady pressure and heat transfer rates.

Ultra-fast diffusion channels in pure Ni severely deformed by equal-channel angular pressing

Grain boundary self-diffusion in Ni severely deformed by equal-channel angular pressing has been investigated. The radiotracer technique was applied by using the 63Ni isotope and high-precision mechanical grinding. Ultra-fast diffusion rates, which exceed those along general high-angle grain boundaries in annealed coarse-grained Ni by orders of magnitude, were observed. Such high diffusivities were attributed to a non-equilibrium state of grain boundaries produced by severe plastic deformation. A significant downward deviation from an Arrhenius plot for ultra-fast diffusivity for temperatures above 400 K was found. This was interpreted in terms of a partial relaxation of the non-equilibrium grain boundary structure. Additionally, the formation of ultra-fast diffusion channels, presumably in the form of percolating porosity as a result of stepwise annealing of the material, was observed. This phenomenon is discussed in terms of the free volume redistribution in grain boundaries. It is proposed to quantify the excess energy of interfaces in terms of the observed enhancement of diffusivity. This approach allows the excess energy of non-equilibrium grain boundaries to be determined from diffusion measurements.

Optimal Income Taxation with Uncertain Earnings: A Synthesis

We study optimal nonlinear income taxation when earnings can differ because of both ability and luck, so the income tax has both a redistributive role and an insurance role. A substantial literature on optimal redistribution in the absence of uncertainty has evolved since Mirrlees’ original contribution. The literature on the income tax as a social insurance device is more limited. It has largely assumed that households are ex ante identical so unequal earnings are due to uncertainty alone. We provide a general treatment of the optimal income tax under uncertainty when households differ in ability. We characterize optimal marginal tax rates and interpret them in terms of redistribution, insurance and incentive effects. The case of ex ante identical households and the no-risk case with heterogeneous abilities come out as special cases.

Multi-pillared social insurance systems: The post-reform picture in Chile, Uruguay and Brazil

This article focuses on an analysis of social insurance models and reforms in Chile, Uruguay and Brazil. Noting that these three countries are following different reform trajectories, the article explores trends in the restructuring of each of these insurance systems across the course of successive reforms. In the systems, different trends are supporting a closer link between contributions and benefits, according growing importance to private individual accounts and favouring the expansion of the role played by social assistance. These trends all suggest a move towards various forms of multi-pillared social insurance, but with uncertain results in terms of redistribution and the dynamics of the fundamental objectives of social insurance.

Global Justice and the Public Sphere: The Dynamics of Fraser’s Critical Theory

In this paper, I locate Fraser’s theory in relation to Rawls’ concept of justice as fairness, but particularly to Habermas’ shift of focus to the social institutions and practices where deliberation takes place, in a decentered idea of justice. I identify Fraser’s key intervention through her feministinspired critique of Habermas in relation to power and its effects upon the structural exclusions from the public sphere. At the same time, I note that Fraser drew attention to power struggles within that sphere; it is contested internally thanks to the deliberations of a plurality of competing publics drawn from among the dominated. I also trace the development of Fraser’s theory of justice through the various stages of her familiar double-headed account in terms of recognition and redistribution, to its current form in which, in the post-Westphalian context, the third dimension of the political site of the injustice of misrepresentation has been integrated. I argue that this new prominence given to the political is in part the result of the exchange with Honneth. Finally, I turn to the concept of a nascent global public sphere, developed along the lines of Habermas’ decentered notion of authority, using the example of the challenges to the legitimacy of the US and UK decision to declare war against Iraq. Keywords - misrepresentation, recognition, post-Westphalian, public sphere, critical theory

Il bilancio partecipativo di Porto Alegre: il contributo brasiliano alle pratiche di partnership

The Porto Alegre Participatory Budgeting (PB) initiative is considered as one of the best practices of innovative local governance for its democratic effects in terms of administrative efficiency, economic redistribution and social capital. The relation between the state and the participatory society makes PB an interesting case for the theory of partnerships. However, it differs from them in many respects, thus providing new insights into the current debate and research agenda. The democratic and systemic nature of this all-civil society process seem to show a political and social paradigm shift which call into question the modern concept and form of the state, that of the third sector, as well as the sharp distinction between them all. PB seems to go beyond the idea of partnership between state and society, revealing instead a new kind of civil political sphere.

Allocation discourses: South African water rights reform

Perceptions of increasing water scarcity have caused many countries to reform their water legislation. South Africa, in the vanguard of reform efforts, passed the National Water Act in 1998. The Act was lauded as a progressive piece of policy as it posited the redress of past injustices as one of its overarching aims. But there has been little progress in terms of redistribution of water use rights. This paper argues that bringing water under the ambit of the state, in combination with the particular political conjunctures in post-apartheid South Africa, opened up space for the emergence of narratives around water use rights that framed the continued use of existing users as pivotal for sustainability and that redistribution is associated with a high degree of risk. Although water allocation reform is essentially a deeply political issue, the increasing technocratisation and bureaucratisation of the reform process served to mask contested understandings through, for example, the use of innocuous-sounding terms such as “existing lawful use”. This, in combination with a highly under-resourced water management sector tasked with the responsibility of shouldering a heavy and complex system of licensing, resulted in reform efforts ending in a temporary impasse.

Vegetation zonation along the geological and geo-morphological gradient at Eastern slope of Sulaiman range, Pakistan

The vegetation of gypsiferous strata of Sulaiman range (30°33 / N to 30°41 / 30 // north latitude and 70°32 / E to 70°41 / 30 // east longitude, annual rainfall more than 100 mm) was analyzed using ordination (DECORANA) and classificatory cluster analysis techniques. Four plant associations were recognized in the study area. The application of the classification to the ordination allowed an interpretation of vegetation distribution in terms of topography and redistribution of rainwater, the nature of soil, bed rock and geological strata. The pattern of plant communities along the first ordination axis suggested that beside the landscape, substrate plays an important role in determining the boundaries between the plant communities. The assessment of the floristic suggested that there were three classes of plants: first there are plants of alluvial sandy plains (psymophytes), secondly; those of permanent water courses (hydrophytes) and thirdly, there are plants that grow on rocky hard strata (xerophytes/lithophytes). The observed pattern in available soil calcium seems related to long term redistribution of water that occurs during rainfall events because soil calcium, magnesium and moisture content have similar distributions along the transect. High calcium content for rocky strata was due to its parent geological gypsiferous formation. Although the boundaries across the landscape were associated with down slope movement of water, soil particles and cations, it was difficult to assess the relative importance of these factors in comparison with landscape level. The vegetation patterns revealed are discussed in relation to environmental factors and problems of plant assemblage in vegetation of the area. Key words : Vegetation analysis, plant communities, Sulaiman range, Pakistan.

Magnetic and dielectric properties of low vanadium doped nickel–zinc–copper ferrites

The new spinel-type of general formula Ni 0.6+ x Zn 0.2Cu 0.2V x Fe 2−2 x O 4 with 0.0≤ x≤0.25 was synthesized by the usual ceramic method. Structure of the prepared ferrites was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). Room temperature magnetic hysteresis loops were measured using magnetic field strength up to 6 kOe. Saturation magnetization ( M s) increased with vanadium content up to x=0.05 and then decreased. Variation of ( M s) as a function of x is explained in terms of cation redistribution between A and B sublattices. Coercive force ( H c), remanent induction ( B r) and squareness of the hysteresis loop ( B r/ M s) as functions of x are presented. Dielectric permittivity ( ε′, ε″) and dielectric loss tangent (tan δ) were measured as functions of frequency and temperature. These parameters were found to be strongly dependent on V 2O 5 concentration. The variation of dielectric loss tangent with frequency at different temperatures shows abnormal behavior, where more than one relaxation peaks were observed at low and high temperatures. This behavior could be attributed to the collective contribution of two types of carriers (p and n) to polarization.

Direct numerical simulations of turbulence subjected to a straining and destraining cycle

In many turbulent flows, significant interactions between fluctuations and mean velocity gradients occur in nonequilibrium conditions, i.e., the turbulence does not have sufficient time to adjust to changes in the velocity gradients applied by the large scales. The simplest flow that retains such physics is the time dependent homogeneous strain flow. A detailed experimental study of initially isotropic turbulence subjected to a straining and destraining cycle was reported by Chen et al. [“Scale interactions of turbulence subjected to a straining-relaxation-destraining cycle,” J. Fluid Mech. 562, 123 (2006)]. Direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the experiment of Chen et al. [“Scale interactions of turbulence subjected to a straining-relaxation-destraining cycle,” J. Fluid Mech. 562, 123 (2006)] is undertaken, applying the measured straining and destraining cycle in the DNS. By necessity, the Reynolds number in the DNS is lower. The DNS study provides a complement to the experimental one including time evolution of small-scale gradients and pressure terms that could not be measured in the experiments. The turbulence response is characterized in terms of velocity variances, and similarities and differences between the experimental data and the DNS results are discussed. Most of the differences can be attributed to the response of the largest eddies, which, even if are subjected to the same straining cycle, evolve under different conditions in the simulations and experiment. To explore this issue, the time evolution of different initial conditions parametrized in terms of the integral scale is analyzed in computational domains with different aspect ratios. This systematic analysis is necessary to minimize artifacts due to unphysical confinement effects of the flow. The evolution of turbulent kinetic energy production predicted by DNS, in agreement with experimental data, provides a significant backscatter of kinetic energy during the destraining phase. This behavior is explained in terms of Reynolds stress anisotropy and nonequilibrium conditions. From the DNS, a substantial persistency of anisotropy is observed up to small scales, i.e., at the level of velocity gradients. Due to the time dependent deformation, we find that the major contribution in the Reynolds stresses budget is provided by the production term and by the pressure/strain correlation, resulting in large time variation of velocity intensities. The DNS data are compared with predictions from the classical Launder–Reece–Rodi isoptropic production [B. E. Launder et al., “Progress in the development of a Reynolds stress turbulence closure,” J. Fluid Mech. 68, 537 (1975)] Reynolds stress model, showing good agreement with some differences for the redistribution term.

Spin-wave fluctuations in ferrimagnetic MgxFe3−xO4 nanoparticles

We have performed a systematic study of the magnetic properties of a series of ferrimagnetic nanoparticles of MgxFe3−xO4 (0.8≤x≤1.5) prepared by the combustion reaction method. The magnetization data can be well fitted by Bloch’s law with T3/2. Bloch’s constant B determined from the fitting procedure was found to increase with Mg content x from ∼3.09×10−5 K−3/2 for x=0.8 to 6.27×10−5 K−3/2 for x=1.5. The exchange integral JAB and the spin-wave stiffness constant D of MgxFe3−xO4 nanoparticles were also determined as ∼0.842 and 0.574 meV and 296 and 202 meV Å2 for specimens with x=0.8 and 1.5, respectively. These results are discussed in terms of cation redistribution among A and B sites on these nanostructured spinel ferrites.

Nickel(II) Nitrate vs. Acetate: Influence of the Precursor on the Structure and Reducibility of Ni/MCM‐41 and Ni/Al‐MCM‐41 Catalysts

AbstractNickel(II) nitrate is the nickel precursor generally selected to prepare oxide‐supported catalysts, due to its low cost, high solubility in water and decomposition at moderate temperatures. However, its decomposition produces NOx, and it is known to melt and redistribute over the support upon heating, leading to poorly dispersed metal particles after reduction and to their partial expulsion from the porous support system. The benefits of using NiII acetate as an alternative to NiII nitrate are explored by investigating a series of model Ni catalysts (1–5 wt %) prepared from the mesoporous siliceous supports MCM‐41 and Al‐MCM‐41. The problems encountered with NiII nitrate, in terms of particle size and redistribution of nickel, are not observed with NiII acetate. In the case of MCM‐41‐supported systems, metal particles are well dispersed and remain located within the porous support. The higher pH of the impregnation solution, favoring electrostatic interactions between nickel ions and the support, may account for the higher metal dispersion. The formation of silicate‐like species in strong interaction with the support does not appear prominent on siliceous MCM‐41 when nickel acetate is the precursor, but seems to be enhanced for higher Ni contents. Finally, Al‐MCM‐41 supports are more sensitive to the exposure to nickel acetate than their siliceous analogues because acetate ions are able to extract Al ions from the support, resulting in a partial disruption of the support organization and to the formation of nickel silicate species.

Cultural economy in post-transitional South Africa

... the dominance of a culture in a society does not require all members to be able to participate in that culture on the same terms. Indeed, a culture may be dominant even if most people can only aspire to participate in it: its dominance is felt to the extent that people's aspirations, their hopes and fears, vocabulary of motives and sense of self are defined in its terms ... While it is important to recognize that the terms of participation in consumer culture are profoundly unequal, these terms are not directly tied (though they might be indirectly related) to economic equality, but are peculiar to the culture itself. (Lury 1996: 7) What then is money? It is a universal measure of value, but its specific form is not yet as universal as the method that humanity has devised to measure time all round the world. It is purchasing power, a means of buying and selling in markets. It counts wealth and status. It is a store of memory linking individuals to their various communities, a kind of memory bank and thus a source of identity. As a symbolic medium, it conveys information through a system of signs that relies more on numbers than words. A lot more circulates with money than the goods and services it buys. (Hart 2007:15) Why political economy no longer tells the whole story The uneven and contradictory interconnections between apartheid and capitalism in South Africa have long been critically debated in political economy terms from both liberal and Marxist perspectives. Recent critical analyses of transformation in South Africa and attempts to describe South Africa's reintegration into the global economy underscore, to varying degrees and from a range of different viewpoints, the growing and troubling 'limits of liberation' (Robins 2005). These studies continue to probe and problematise, within political economy frameworks, the nature of state power and national polities both in Africa and beyond, typically critiquing the domination of state politics, law and institutions, issues of ownership and control, describing how subsequent struggles for power are enacted among various political players, and between these and market actors. These critical inquiries include, but are by no means limited to, Bond 2005, 2006; Chidester, Dexter and James 2003; Daniel, Habib and Southall 2004; Daniel, Southall and Lutchman 2005; Habib and Bentley 2008; Robins 2005; Seekings and Nattrass 2006; Southall and Melber 2009, to name but a handful. Today, post-transitional South Africa comprises a contradictory network of socio-cultural and economic forms of reorganisation, broadly attesting to an accommodation of neoliberal corporate capitalism. This corporate neoliberal environment is marked concurrently by continuing uneven development, ongoing poverty and rising structural unemployment, transforming accumulations of capital, more or less successful procedures of racial redress, elitist and ethnic mechanisms of socio-economic inclusion and exclusion, manifestations of non-racialism and re-racialisation, local mobilisations of social movements and NGOs, refashioned affiliations to traditionally African social practices and hierarchies, and more. During the apartheid regime, crucial in this regard were the ways political and economic factors converged and intersected primarily through strategies of racial discrimination as a means of controlling 'cheap' black labour. However, in post-apartheid South Africa, convergences between economic, ethnic, national and other socio-cultural determinants, and the state-initiated agenda of redress, have generated new socio-economic complexities. Alongside attempts to attain sustainable economic growth and rejoin the global economy, and a desire--however implicit--to forge a sense of national identity, government has also made a point of prioritising an initiative of redress, whereby transformation has been conceptualised in terms of wealth and income redistribution to previously disenfranchised groups (see Habib & Bentley 2008: 24, passim; Innes 2007: 67). …

Reynolds-averaged modeling of polymer drag reduction in turbulent flows

A novel eddy viscosity model for predicting friction drag reduction induced by polymers in turbulent wall-bounded flows is presented. The approach is based on the elliptic relaxation model modified to account for the modified Reynolds-stress equilibrium established by the presence of elastic polymer chains in the fluid. The increased wall damping of the turbulent fluctuations is obtained by modifying the pressure–strain redistribution term. Polymer solutions are represented using the Finite Extensibility Non-linear elastic FENE-P dumbbell model; only one transport equation for the elongation of the polymer chains is considered. The model reproduces the level of drag reduction observed over a wide range of rheological parameters. In addition, both the mean velocity and the turbulent fluctuations are predicted with good accuracy. The approach is computationally attractive because of its limited increase in computational cost in comparison with its Newtonian counterpart.

The statistical properties of tropical ice clouds generated by the West African and Australian monsoons, from ground‐based radar–lidar observations

AbstractIn the present paper we characterize the statistical properties of non‐precipitating tropical ice clouds (deep ice anvils resulting from deep convection and cirrus clouds) over Niamey, Niger, West Africa, and Darwin, northern Australia, using ground‐based radar–lidar observations from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) programme. The ice cloud properties analysed in this paper are the frequency of ice cloud occurrence, cloud fraction, the morphological properties (cloud‐top height, base height, and thickness), the microphysical and radiative properties (ice water content, visible extinction, effective radius, terminal fall speed, and concentration), and the internal cloud dynamics (in‐cloud vertical air velocity). The main highlight of the paper is that it characterizes for the first time the probability density functions of the tropical ice cloud properties, their vertical variability and their diurnal variability at the same time. This is particularly important over West Africa, since the ARM deployment in Niamey provides the first vertically resolved observations of non‐precipitating ice clouds in this crucial area in terms of redistribution of water and energy in the troposphere. The comparison between the two sites also provides an additional observational basis for the evaluation of the parametrization of clouds in large‐scale models, which should be able to reproduce both the statistical properties at each site and the differences between the two sites.The frequency of ice cloud occurrence is found to be much larger over Darwin when compared to Niamey, and with a much larger diurnal variability, which is well correlated with the diurnal cycle of deep convective activity. The diurnal cycle of the ice cloud occurrence over Niamey is also much less correlated with that of deep convective activity than over Darwin, probably owing to the fact that Niamey is further away from the deep convective sources of the region. The frequency distributions of cloud fraction are strongly bimodal and broadly similar over the two sites, with a predominance of clouds characterized either by a very small cloud fraction (less than 0.3) or a very large cloud fraction (larger than 0.9). The ice clouds over Darwin are also much thicker (by 1 km or more statistically) and are characterized by a much larger diurnal variability than ice clouds over Niamey. Ice clouds over Niamey are also characterized by smaller particle sizes and fall speeds but in much larger concentrations, thereby carrying more ice water and producing more visible extinction than the ice clouds over Darwin. It is also found that there is a much larger occurrence of downward in‐cloud air motions less than 1 m s−1 over Darwin, which together with the larger fall speeds retrieved over Darwin indicates that the life cycle of ice clouds is probably shorter over Darwin than over Niamey. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society