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Daily Archives: December 5, 2014

2014 Corruption Perceptions Index

The 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index Measures the Perceived Levels of Public Sector Corruption in 175 Countries and Territories

“Corruption is a problem for all economies, requiring leading financial centres in the EU and US to act together with fast-growing economies to stop the corrupt from getting away with it, anti-corruption group Transparency International said today. In the 20th edition of the Corruption Perceptions Index, scores for China (with a score of 36 out of 100), Turkey (45) and Angola (19) were among the biggest fallers with a drop of 4 or 5 points, despite average economic growth of more than 4 per cent over the last four years. Click here for the full index“The 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index shows that economic growth is undermined and efforts to stop corruption fade when leaders and high level officials abuse power to appropriate public funds for personal gain,” said José Ugaz, the chair of Transparency International. “Corrupt officials smuggle ill-gotten assets into safe havens through offshore companies with absolute impunity,” Ugaz added. “Countries at the bottom need to adopt radical anti-corruption measures in favour of their people. Countries at the top of the index should make sure they don’t export corrupt practices to underdeveloped countries.” More than two thirds of the 175 countries in the 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index score below 50, on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean). Denmark comes out on top in 2014 with a score of 92 while North Korea and Somalia share last place, scoring just eight. The scores of several countries rose or fell by four points or more. The biggest falls were in Turkey (-5), Angola, China, Malawi and Rwanda (all -4). The biggest improvers were Côte d´Ivoire, Egypt, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (+5), Afghanistan, Jordan, Mali and Swaziland (+4). The Corruption Perceptions Index is based on expert opinions of public sector corruption. Countries’ scores can be helped by open government where the public can hold leaders to account, while a poor score is a sign of prevalent bribery, lack of punishment for corruption and public institutions that don’t respond to citizens’ needs.”

The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein Online

“Princeton University Press proudly presents The Digital Einstein Papers, an open-access site for The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, the ongoing publication of Einstein’s massive written legacy comprising more than 30,000 unique documents. The site presents all 13 volumes published to date by the editors of the Einstein Papers Project, covering the writings and correspondence of… Continue Reading

How Men Flex: The Working Mother Report

“The WMRI survey finds that 7 in 10 men enjoy the ability to influence their schedule and do so without fear of negative consequences. For 47 percent of those surveyed, this flex comes in the form of a formal work arrangement, with 29 percent reporting that their flexible work schedule is a regular one that repeats week to week. Stephen Lawrence works a regular flex… Continue Reading

Interest Rate Derivatives and Monetary Policy Expectations

NY Fed – Interest Rate Derivatives and Monetary Policy Expectations. Richard Crump, Emanuel Moench, William O’Boyle, Matthew Raskin, Carlo Rosa, and Lisa Stowe First in a two-part series – “Market expectations of the path of future policy rates can have important implications for financial markets and the economy. Because interest rate derivatives enable market participants to… Continue Reading

Monthly Budget Review for November 2014

“The federal government’s budget deficit was $181 billion for the first two months of fiscal year 2015, $45 billion less than the shortfall recorded in October and November of last year, CBO estimates. That outcome was affected by shifts in the timing of certain payments. Without those shifts, the deficit would have declined by just $9 billion. Total… Continue Reading

2014 Financial Stability Conference

“Cleveland Fed and OFR Conference on December 4-5 in DC Focused on Approaches to Monitoring Financial Stability and Development/Implementation of Macroprudential Policy. This second annual Cleveland Fed/OFR conference brought together policymakers, market participants, and academics to discuss: Macroprudential policy development and implementation Tools that measure vulnerabilities in the financial system Measurement challenges in the implementation of… Continue Reading

The Ethics of Big Data in Higher Education

International Review of Information Ethics, Jeffrey Alan Johnson, July 2014 “Data mining and predictive analytics—collectively referred to as “big data”—are increasingly used in higher education to classify students and predict student behavior. But while the potential benefits of such techniques are significant, realizing them presents a range of ethical and social challenges. The immediate challenge considers the extent to… Continue Reading

How US state governments can improve customer service

A McKinsey Center for Government survey finds that Americans are often dissatisfied with state services—and identifies significant opportunities for improvement. “Technological advances such as smartphones and apps have opened new frontiers of convenience, speed, and transparency for private-sector customers. At the same time, tightening government budgets are making it difficult for the public sector to… Continue Reading

Older Americans With a Disability: 2008−2012

Older Americans With a Disability: 2008−2012 – American Community Survey Reports “Disability, as defined by the Americans With Disabilities Act, is an individual’s physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of that individual.1Studies consistently find that disability rates rise with age (Altman and Bernstein, 2008; Brault, 2012). Beyond age 65, the oldest old (aged 85 and over) are at highest… Continue Reading