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By advancing a theory that explains how sovereign recognition has succeeded in the past and is working in the present, and by anticipating the practices of future secessionist movements, Secession and the Sovereignty Game prescribes solutions that could make the sovereignty game less conflictual.

What are the factors that determine how central governments respond to demands for independence? Secessionist movements are numerous and quite varied in form, but the chief obstacle to their ambitions is the state itself, which can deny independence demands, deploy force if need be, and request that the international community respect its territorial integrity by not recognizing the breakaway region. Age of Secession focuses on this crucial but neglected moment in the life of a secessionist movement. Griffiths offers a novel theory using original data on secessionist movements between 1816 and 2011. He explains how state response is shaped by international and domestic factors, when conflict is likely, and why states have proliferated since 1945. He mixes quantitative methods with case studies of secessionist movements in the United Kingdom, Russia/Soviet Union, and India. This is an important book for anyone who wants to understand the phenomenon of secession.

"A considerable amount of uncertainty surrounds life expectancy at birth, the average length of life. The standard deviation in adult life spans is about 15 years in the U.S., and theory and evidence suggest it is costly. In this paper, I calibrate a standard intertemporal model to show that one less year in standard deviation is worth about half a mean life year. Differences in the standard deviation amplify measured differences in life expectancy between the U.S. and other industrialized countries, and accounting for historical gains against the standard deviation raises the total value of mortality declines during the last century by about 25 percent"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site

High labor demand for physician assistants/associates (PA) has led to substantial PA workforce and wage growth. During this growth period, states have adopted reforms to reduce PA scope of practice restrictions and reports of significant gender and race wage disparities have emerged. This study examined data from the American Community Survey to investigate the influence of demographic characteristics, human capital, and scope of practice reforms on PA wages from 2008 to 2017. Using an ordinary least squares two-way fixed effects estimator, a significant association between reforms and PA wages could not be established. Rather, wages were found to be strongly associated with human capital and demographic characteristics. Gender and race wage disparities persist, with female PAs earning 7.5% lower wages than male PAs and White PAs earning 9.1% to 14.5% higher wages than racial and ethnic minority PAs. These findings suggest a minimal influence of prior scope of practice reforms on PA wages.

How do secessionist movements formulate strategy and choose tactics? Secessionism takes place on a strategic playing field that shapes tactical behavior, driving some movements to choose armed rebellion while others prefer nonviolent civil resistance or electoral competition. Secessionist movements attempt to compel and make normative appeals in different combinations depending on local conditions such as regime type, the strength of the state, and the degree to which the region is already de facto independent. These efforts are aimed at not only the home state, but also the international community that can apply pressure on the home state to negotiate with the secessionists. I identify six kinds of movements—democratized, indigenous legal, combative/strong state, combative/weak state, decolonial, and de facto—and I outline the perils and possibilities inherent in each kind. I then construct a theoretical framework and test the implications using original data on secessionist tactics between 1946 and 2011.

Recently, the federal government has taken numerous steps to promote the equal treatment (also known as parity) of mental and physical health issues. The two most impactful actions are the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act of 2008 and the Affordable Care Act. These acts focus on the traditional avenue for parity change—insurance regulation. While these acts have improved parity, major gaps in coverage and treatment between mental health/substance use disorder treatment and medical/surgical treatment persist. ERISA Preemption, evasive insurer behavior, lack of enforcement, and lack of consumer education continue to plague patients and healthcare professionals. On its own, federal insurance regulation is not doing its job. While the extent of the problem varies by state, the United States is nowhere close to full mental health parity. Nonetheless, the push towards full parity continues at the state level. This Comment analyzes the parity efforts of four states: Illinois, Massachusetts, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. Each state represents a different approach to mental health parity. While some states focus on traditional insurance regulation, others enact broad changes that address specific practical and social challenges in behavioral health care. This Comment will analyze each state's actions beyond typical parity metrics and consider the holistic impact of the state's actions on the entire behavioral health system. Ultimately, this Comment will make two major recommendations. First, federal and state governments must broaden their view of parity to include implicit barriers to care outside of insurance coverage and treatment rates. Second, true parity requires states to pair stringent insurance regulation with community sourced action plans designed to mitigate current issues in the behavioral health system.