In modern democracies, the media are a key actor in the political process. They are the main source of information from which citizens draw their knowledge about political matters. From the perspective of the rationality of public opinion building the principle of diversity is regarded as the...

We employ bootstrap methods (Efron (1979)) to test the effect of an important electoral reform implemented in Italy from 1993 to 2001, that moved the system for electing the Par-liament from purely proportional to plurality rule (for 75% of the seats). We do not find any effect on either the...

The purpose of this note is to contribute to the emerging common understanding between the natural science, economic and social science perspectives on the 'value' of ecosystems and biodiversity. Given the inherent complexity of nature it is not surprising that the concept of 'value is capable...

This research argues that variations in the interplay between cultural assimilation and cultural diffusion have played a significant role in giving rise to differential patterns of economic development across the globe. Societies that were geographically less vulnerable to cultural diffusion...