Earthquakes,grants, and public expenditure: How municipalities respond to natural disasters

We analyze the response of municipalities to the occurrence of natural disasters in terms of spending behavior, use of upper-tier transfers and recovery, using balance sheet data of about 8,000 Italian municipalities for the period 2000–2015, and the universe of earthquakes events. We find evidence of increasing expenditure for about 12 years after the shocks, with asymmetric responses between earthquake-related and unconditional grants, and heterogeneous flypaper effects across the country. While in northern municipalities expenditure tends to regress to pre-earthquake levels, southern municipalities stick to higher expenditure levels when grants drop. This evidence is coupled with a faster recovery of private income and housing prices in northern municipalities.     

The Rhetoric of the Expressions in the Song by the Sea (Exodus 15,1-18)

The author considers the expressions used in the Song by the Sea (Exodus 15,1-18) in connection with the commonly accepted bipartite structure of the Song. He analyzes the expressions by categorizing them, grouping them, and considering their rhetoric. This literary analysis, supported by tables and graphic illustrations, highlights the basic rhetoric of the Song. The two parts of the Song have different themes but an interconnected rhetoric centered in Yahweh and his relationship with Israel and her enemies.     

古代埃及瘟疫的传播和影响北大核心CSSCI

在古代埃及,瘟疫广泛存在且种类较多。尼罗河既是古代埃及人的主要水源也是其交通命脉,因此也成为瘟疫的主要传播途径。一方面,囿于当时社会生产力的发展水平,古代埃及人往往把瘟疫的发生理解为神明的惩罚,因此通常通过向瘟疫之神献祭并念动咒语的方式来驱逐瘟疫对人的伤害。另一方面,埃及人也能理性地面对瘟疫的发生,并积极运用医学知识治疗瘟疫,采取措施有效地阻止瘟疫的蔓延。瘟疫的传播不仅对古代埃及社会产生影响,而且也深刻地影响着埃及与其周边国家和地区的交往。同时,瘟疫的传播也是埃及与古代近东地区密切交往的结果。     

The Theophany and Meal of Exodus 24

ABSTRACT

The Hebrew Bible may give the impression that there was a clearly definable area called Geshur. The Biblical view is often adopted in scholarly literature. The kingdom of Geshur plays a role in the reconstruction of the political situation during the early monarchic period, especially during the reign of King David.

However, historical sources for Geshur are shaky. These Biblical traditions may contain an early core that may even preserve an ancient memory of Geshur, but their historical value is much smaller than what scholarly discussion would implicate. They do not justify many of the views found in scholarly discussion. Scholarship has also sought to corroborate the Biblical traditions with two external sources but the evidence is very problematic, and, in the worst case, its use is reminiscent of Biblicism, where the main function of external sources is to corroborate Biblical texts.