Stable isotope analysis of Late Upper Palaeolithic human and faunal remains from Grotta del Romito (Cosenza), Italy

Stable isotope analysis of carbon (δ¹³C), nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) and sulphur (δ³⁴S) were carried out on one of the largest assemblages of Late Upper Palaeolithic human remains in Southern Europe, at Grotta del Romito (Cosenza), Italy. The burials were stratigraphically dated from ca. 18,000 to 13,000 cal BP, which was confirmed by a series of new AMS dates made directly on the bone collagen. Dietary reconstruction from carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes revealed that eight of the nine individuals analysed, dating to the Final Epigravettian, had very consistent diets, rich in terrestrial animal protein, regardless of their age or sex. These included two individuals who were suffering from severe pathologies. A single individual, dating to the Evolved Epigravettian had a more variable diet, which was significantly enriched in protein from marine or freshwater fish compared to the later burials. Overall, the results are consistent with the very limited number of other studies which describe a change to more specialised and less variable subsistence strategies, in this case the hunting of large herbivores, towards the end of the Palaeolithic period. Sulphur isotope values of all of the nine burials and several faunal samples were notably consistent, showing no evidence of long-distance migration to the site from a different geological zone.     

What kind of region reaps the benefits of a currency union?

What is the economic impact of joining a currency union? Is this impact heterogeneous across regions? And how does it change in case of a recession? We answer these questions by investigating the economic impact of joining the euro area for the latecomers, that is, the eastern European countries that adopted the euro after 2002. Differently from previous literature, we use NUTS-2 regions as units of analysis. This novelty allows us to investigate the theoretical predictions of a currency union impact at a more appropriate geographical level. Using a recently developed counterfactual approach, we estimate the overall as well as the disaggregated impact of joining the euro area. We find that the adoption of the euro brought about a small positive effect, which was, however, dampened by the Great Recession. Individual regional estimates suggest heterogeneous returns with benefits accruing mostly to core regions.     

Persistence in regional learning paradigms and trajectories: consequences for innovation policy design

Inspired by the first evaluation processes on how nations and regions have interpreted and specified the smart specialization strategy, this paper applies the lens of evolutionary economic theory to interpret the causes of the lock-in mechanisms in learning processes that seem to prevail in most regions. The paper elaborates the notion of regional learning paradigms and trajectories to interpret evolution in the way innovation occurs in regions. By identifying the sources of path-dependence in regional learning paradigms and trajectories, the paper explains the difficulties faced by regions in ‘jumping’ on a new paradigm/trajectory and initiating an explorative entrepreneurial discovery process. Once the reasons for lock-in are highlighted, the paper advances some suggestions on possible adjustments to the design of a smart specialization strategy.     

Success,swing and gender: The performance off women candidates for parliament in New Zealand, 1946–87

New Zealand was the first country in the world to give women the vote, and it has a higher proportion of women as Members of Parliament than any of the other Anglo‐American first‐past‐the‐post democracies. An examination of the vote‐pulling powers of women candidates for Parliament in all the general elections in New Zealand since the end of the Second World War finds that female candidates for the Labour Party have done statistically significantly better than their male counterparts, but for National Party candidates the reverse is the case — men perform better than women. Various reasons for these findings are canvassed, including the possibilities that Labour in New Zealand is benefitting from its initiatives with respect to women's affairs, and from the female equivalent of an ‘old boys’ network.     

Judicialization and Health Policy in Colombia: The Implications for Evidence‐Informed Policymaking

The existence of the tutela mechanism and the endemic weaknesses of the legislative and executive branches of the Colombian state have led to a de facto judicialization of health policymaking. The objective of evidence‐informed policy is to identify effective policy approaches and legitimize policy decisions. Questions arise about the basis on which judges take decisions with significant policy and budgetary consequences, and the forms of evidence they use to inform these. This article focuses on the extent to which courts take account of research evidence in judgements and assesses the implications for health policy in Colombia. We place these discussions in the context of a broader analysis of the ongoing reforms to the Colombian health system and the most recent literature on evidence‐informed policymaking. The judicialization of health policymaking offers a suboptimal means to achieve the objective of evidence‐informed policymaking. The emergence of a range of evidence advisory bodies in recent years is an attempt to address the issue of judicialization alongside the other constitutional and political weaknesses Colombia faces.