The Economic Performance of European Cities and City Regions: Myths and Realities

The ever-increasing concentration of people and economic growth in the largest cities relative to the rest of the country has slowed down or even reversed in many of the developed European countries over the last decade. This trend contradicts what the global cities, urban economics and new economic geography literature would predict. This trend can be interpreted from two points of view: (1) the trend is due to large obstacles to further large city urbanization and thus is inefficient or (2) this trend highlights alternative pathways to growth than the mega-city approach and may be as, if not more, efficient. This trend may be linked to Europe's uniquely polycentric urban structure with high number of small- and medium-sized cities. In addition, improvements in the access to services, including broadband, outside large cities may have facilitated the higher growth rates of smaller centres and rural regions and increased their appeal for residents and firms. Last but not least, negative externalities in the large cities, such as congestion costs, pollution, labour crowding and high cost of living, may increase the appeal of smaller centres and rural regions.     

Education for All: How Much Will It Cost?

In 1990, a target of universal access to basic education by the year 2000 was set by two global conferences. Ten years later, however, it was clear that the target had not been met. Too many countries had made insufficient progress, and although many of the reasons for this inadequate progress were country‐specific, one factor stood out in virtually all countries: inadequate public finance for primary education. In 2000, the Millennium Summit set a new target date for achieving ‘education for all’ of 2015. This article updates the global and regional cost estimates for reaching that target. The estimates are based on the most recent country‐by‐country data on budgetary expenditure, population and enrolment trends, and unit cost. The annual additional cost of achieving ‘education for all’ in developing countries by 2015 is estimated at US$ 9.1 billion. Although this is affordable at the global level, individual countries will need considerably more resources than are currently available. However, official development assistance (ODA) has been declining, and the share of ODA allocated to basic education has changed little over the past decade. Therefore, although affordable, the target of universal basic education by 2015 is likely to be missed, just as it was in 2000, without a major change both in ODA and national budgets.     

Metallurgical traditions and metal exchange networks in late prehistoric central Myanmar,c. 1000 BC to c. AD 500

Myanmar has been notably underrepresented in recent studies of archaeometallurgy in Southeast Asia, despite its richness in both mineral and cultural resources and its potentially central role in long-distance exchange networks linking India, China and peninsular neighbours. Here, we present original analytical data on copper-base artefacts from several Bronze Age and Iron Age sites in Myanmar. Observed microstructures range from as-cast, worked, to fully annealed; compositions include leaded copper, low-tin to high-tin bronzes, and arsenical copper/bronze. Lead isotope analyses indicate that the metal originates from different geological sources, including several that match the lead isotope signatures of known prehistoric copper mines in Thailand and Laos. These archaeometallurgical data, including evidence for secondary copper-base production, more than double those currently available for Myanmar and document the presence of multiple local alloying and working traditions, perhaps chronologically differentiated, as well as identifying possible links to primary mineral sources across the region. Overall, this adds significant new information to the emerging picture of Southeast Asian prehistoric metallurgy at the crossroads of several major ancient cultures.     

Effect of organic and inorganic consolidation agents on Tlaltecuhtli monolith

A huge monolithic piece corresponding to the first years of the sixteenth century has been discovered in Mexico City. It represents the earth goddess Tlaltecuhtli. The preservation of such a magnificent piece is imperative. Therefore, the surface has to be characterized and the interaction of consolidants with the rock has to be understood.Some of the consolidation methods are impregnation of the mineral with nopal or silicic acid derivatives. In this work we compare the physico-chemical effects of organic and inorganic consolidants. Original and impregnated samples are characterized with a series of original techniques: X-ray diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance, nitrogen adsorption and small angle X-ray scattering. Fractal dimension, specific surface area and pore size distribution clearly differentiated the samples. The organic materials, nopal gum or slobber, cover the mineral particles with a smooth layer. The KSE solutions react and lead to microporosity.     

Fluvial spatial taphonomy: a new method for the study of post-depositional processes

Traditional taphonomic analyses do not consider the emergent properties resulting from the relationship of variables. Several of these emergent properties are expressed spatially. Here, we present a spatial taphonomic approach to the understanding of post-depositional processes affecting experimental assemblages modified by fluvial currents. Spatial statistical methods are a great tool to understand how different taphonomic variables relate at a spatial scale. The results of the application of this method to bone assemblages affected by low- and high-energy flows show the loss or modification of most of the original spatial taphonomic relationships. It also shows the degree of bone loss according to element, anatomical section and bone structure, and shape types. Anisotropy is identified in both experimental contexts. These results add new criteria to assess the impact of water flows in bone assemblages and contribute to define the properties of lag assemblages.     

La Espiral Cave (Cuba): Guano and signs of Plant Substances Used as Paint Ingredients

At La Espiral cave, located in Bahia Honda municipality (Artemisa province, Cuba), there are several pictographs, including two of particular importance due to the design used: one of concentric circles and another of a spiral. We analyzed the pigments and binders used in one of these pictographs. The chemical ingredients of the paint are considered in this article, as well as the use of bat guano as a major pigment compound. The apparent presence of ellagic acid, ellagitannin, or anthocyanins would strengthen the hypothesis that artists used vegetable protein as a paint binder or solvent.     

Qu(e)erying Sex and Gender in Archaeology: a Critique of the “Third” and Other Sexual Categories

In this paper, I will recover the issue of the “third gender” in archaeological analysis in order to argue that the use of a “third,” despite what it may appear at first sight, does not challenge the logic inherent in gender and sexual binaries, that is, the use of universal, ahistorical, and stagnated categories. As an alternative, I will rely on Almudena Hernando’s genealogical work on gender and identity, as well as on Lucía Moragón-Martínez’s arguments regarding corporeality, to state that in “oral societies” (like prehistoric ones), body and person cannot be ontologically distinguished and, as a consequence, the anatomical features that we categorize as “sex” can neither be thought nor defined abstractly. I will further examine the implications of this claim in relation to the sex–gender fluidity that can be seen in those oral societies, formerly pigeonholed into the third gender category. In addition, I will analyze current literature developed by gender archaeologists in order to show the strengths and limitations of my proposal in relation to recent works on the topic.     

FACTOR ACCUMULATION,EXTERNALITIES, AND ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY IN REGIONAL GROWTH: EVIDENCE FROM EUROPE

This paper proposes a model that incorporates capital accumulation and spatial spillovers across economies, while allowing for regional differences in absorptive capacity. This model is estimated using a sample of EU regions, over a period including the enlargement of the single‐market area in the middle of the first decade of the 21st century. Results confirm the relevance of local absorptive capacity that is directly linked with the process of making the most of externalities. Capital deepening reduced the role of capital in explaining the regional productivity gap, but was not enough to help lagging regions to equal the return to human capital investments reached by most advanced regions.