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Two inhomogeneous single-fluid models for the Universe, which are able to naturally solve the H0 tension problem, are discussed. The analysis is based on a Bayesian Machine Learning approach that uses a generative process. The method here adopted allows for constraint of the free parameters of each model by making use of the model itself only. The observable is taken to be the Hubble parameter, obtained from the generative process. Using the full advantages of our method, the models are constrained for two redshift ranges. Namely, first this is done with mock H(z) data over z∈[0,2.5], thus covering known H(z) observational data, which are most helpful to validate the fit results. Then, aiming to extend to redshift ranges to be covered by the most recent ongoing and future planned missions, the models are constrained for the range z∈[0,5], too. Full validation of the results for this extended redshift range will have to wait for some years, for when higher-redshift H(z) data become available. This makes our models fully falsifiable. In addition, our second model is able to explain the BOSS reported value for H(z) at z=2.34. ; The work was carried out with the financial support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Grant No. BR05236277 (S. D. Odintsov and R.Myrzakulov), Grant No. AP05135123 (R.Myrzakulov) and Grant No. 0118RK00935 while S. D. Odintsov was visiting ENU. This work has been partially supported by MINECO (Spain), Projects No. FIS2016-76363-P and No. PID2019–104397 GB-I00, and by AGAUR (Catalan Government), Project No. 2017-SGR-247. ; Peer reviewed

Abstract. Civil asset forfeiture allows the police to profit from crime instead of the criminal by seizing a person's belongings that were used in illegal activity. The police profit from crime by keeping a percentage of the proceeds they seize. This ends up creating some perverse incentives, such as having more police resources go to seize people's assets instead of fighting crime. Shifting police efforts away from combating hard crime into fighting so-called "victimless crimes" causes an increase in hard crimes as criminals substitute from soft crimes, such as selling drugs, into hard crimes where the chances of being caught are now lower.Keywords. Theft, Government, Competition.JEL. H0, H10.

This paper proposes an agenda for the study of the determinants and the processes by which strong policymaking institutions emerge, with emphasis on the most central democratic institution: the legislature. It reviews extant theories of institutionalization, and proposes further ways of specifying and studying the concept. It emphasizes the notion that investments and beliefs are the driving force of Congress institutionalization and of its relevance in the policymaking process. Making use of several indicators of Congress institutionalization, it provides evidence suggesting that Congress institutionalization has an impact on the qualities of public policies and on economic and social development outcomes. It also explores some 'constitutional' factors that may promote Congress institutionalization. Given that a central theoretical argument of this paper is that the institutionalization of legislatures is a process that includes various self-reinforcing dynamics, the paper also undertakes the preliminary steps in developing a comparative case study of the evolution of Congress institutionalization in two Latin American countries: Argentina and Chile.

Using US data of media's coverage of politics and individual survey data, the authors document that in the states with a greater coverage of politics, citizens especially exposed to newspapers have more polarized preferences, partly coming from better political knowledge, and resulting in a higher political involvement measured as contributions to political parties and candidates.

Current trends in the distribution of wealth trigger a social divide and threaten democracy in many advanced economies. I propose to counter this evolution by enhancing the role of public capital as a redistribution and empowerment device. The governance of public capital requires two novel institutions: a socially responsible Sovereign Wealth Fund and a Federal Shareholder. This paper offers an account of their possible design and sources of financing.

This paper develops a broad theme about policy choice under ambiguity through study of a particular decision criterion. The broad theme is that, where feasible, choice between a status quo policy and an innovation is better framed as selection of a treatment allocation than as a binary decision. Study of the static minimax-regret criterion and its adaptive extension substantiate the theme. When the optimal policy is ambiguous, the static minimax-regret allocation always is fractional absent large fixed costs or deontological considerations. In dynamic choice problems, the adaptive minimax-regret criterion treats each cohort as well as possible, given the knowledge available at the time, and maximizes intertemporal learning about treatment response.

The paper reviews the necessary reforms of Germany and also addresses the question whether the reforms need a big bang or whether they can be accomplished by a piece meal approach. ; Der Beitrag geht der Frage nach, welche Veränderungen in Deutschland erforderlich sind, um die derzeit gravierenden Zielverfehlungen zu vermeiden. Er beschäftigt sich auch mit der Frage, ob die Reformen durch einen Big Bang oder eine Vielzahl kleiner Schritte möglich sind.

The article concerns two-way (2×2) contingency tables. When the H0— hypothesis of independence of features is correct, very often — because of the small sample — the distribution of the test statistics differ from the chi-square. Quantile of the chi-square is therefore not a correct critical value. With the current performance of computers, designation of critical value by statistical modeling of Monte Carlo method is not a problem, but a problem is H0 modeling. The H0 modeling is generating such arrays, which feature value assigned rows are independent of the characteristics of the assigned columns. Suitable for such modeling are tables — uniform of the same probability of belonging to cells and uneven having equal probability in all rows of a given column or in all columns of a given row. Analysis of the results of statistical modeling revealed that even when H0 is right, the distribution of the test statistics significantly depends on the uneven array. The article shows that in order to maximize the power of the test should be set critical value, taking into account measures of inequality array. The final result of the study is offered the reader a ready tool for independent verification of the H0 hypothesis.

The authors use US data on media coverage of politics and individual survey data to document that citizens exposed to more politicized newspapers have more extreme political preferences. This polarization effect of media is mainly driven by individuals who harbor liberal opinions reading more newspapers, as opposed to individuals endorsing rather conservative positions. More politicized media also reinforce other aspects of citizens' political sophistication such as political knowledge. This enhanced political sophistication materializes in observable involvement in politics, measured by campaign contributions.

Résumé. — Nous étudions rigoureusement les propriétés d'analyticité de l'opérateur de collision à l'origine, en relation avec les propriétés des invariants dits réguliers.
Nous montrons, pour une large classe de systèmes quantiques à spectre discret, que la non-dégénérescence du spectre de l'hamiltonien libre H0 est une condition suffisante pour que la partie analytique à l'origine de l'opérateur de collision soit identiquement nulle. Au contraire la dégénérescence du spectre de H0 est une condition nécessaire et une des conditions suffisantes pour que certains invariants soient des invariants singuliers.
Nous étudions, en relation, les limites temporelles moyennes de ces invariants du mouvement.

Although understanding how multiculturalism shapes society is imperative in today's globalized world, insights on certain behavior domains remain limited, including those on tax compliance among domestic versus foreign taxpayers. Our meta-study of laboratory tax experiments analyzes over 50,000 tax declaration decisions by almost 5,000 subjects entailing 95 nationalities. Not only do immigrant participants exhibit significantly less tax compliance than natives even with controls for numerous covariates, but tax compliance correlates positively with tax morale, which in turn also interacts significantly with immigration status. Few variables-mainly linked to politics-influenced the gap of compliance between natives and immigrants.

This paper develops a large-scale, dynamic life-cycle model to simulate Russia's demographic and fiscal transition under favorable and unfavorable fossil-fuel price regimes. The model includes Russia, the U.S., China, India, the EU, and Japan+ (Japan plus Korea). The model predicts dramatic increases in tax rates in the U.S., EU, India, and Russia. Indeed, the increases are so large as to question their political feasibility let alone their actual collection given the potential for tax avoidance and tax evasion.

This working paper advances research on inequality with unique, new data on income distribution in 61 countries, including 20 Latin American countries, to explore the effects of political parties on redistribution. First, consistent with a central, but still contested, assumption of the political economy literature, left-wing governments redistribute more. In addition, consistent with recent research on the importance of party organization and the organizational differences between younger and older parties, older left-wing parties are more likely to internalize the long-run costs of redistribution and to be more credible in their commitment to redistribution, leading them to redistribute less. With entirely different data, the paper also provides evidence on mechanisms: left-wing governments not only redistribute more; they also tax more. Older left-wing parties, though, tax less than younger ones.

Nach dem in Art. 20 und 28 GG festgeschriebenen Sozialstaatsprinzip ist der Staat verpflichtet, für ein funktionierendes Krankenhauswesen im Sinne einer bedarfsgerechten Versorgung der Bevölkerung mit Krankenhäusern zu sorgen. Es ist dem Staat jedoch überlassen, wie er diesen Sicherstellungsauftrag erfüllt. Er kann entweder durch den Staat selbst, über öffentliche Krankenhausträger erfolgen oder durch Gewährung bzw. Beauftragung von privaten und freigemeinnützigen Trägern. Der Staat fördert freigemeinnützige Träger u.a. durch Steuervergünstigungen. Angesichts des Wandels auf dem deutschen Krankenhausmarkt durch Veränderungen in den Vergütungsstrukturen (DRGs) und Verschiebungen der Trägerstrukturen, stellt sich die Frage nach der Rechtfertigung der steuerlichen Begünstigung gemeinnütziger Einrichtungen. Der Beitrag thematisiert die aktuelle steuerrechtliche Lage und untersucht, inwieweit das Gemeinnützigkeitsrecht unter den Aspekten der fiskalischen Belastung, der Wettbewerbssituation auf dem Krankenhausmarkt und der Auswirkungen der europäischen Integration zukunftsfähig ist. ; According to the principle of the "welfare state" (Art. 20 and 28 GG), the German government has to ensure the provision of bed capacities in hospitals to meet the population's demand for inpatient care. This obligation can either be met by public hospitals or by accreditation of private for-profit and/or private non-profit hospitals. As financial support german law offers certain tax exemptions for private non-profit hospitals. In view of the changes of the German hospital market especially regarding the reimbursement system (DRGs) and the ownership structure, the question arises whether this tax subsidy for non-profit hospitals can still be justified. This contribution presents the status quo in German tax law and examines, if it has to be changed with regard to budget effects, to competition on the hospital market and to European integration.