University of Mannheim

About: University of Mannheim is a education organization based out in Mannheim, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Context (language use) & Politics. The organization has 4448 authors who have published 12918 publications receiving 446557 citations. The organization is also known as: Uni Mannheim & UMA.

Discrete Orthogonal Decomposition and Variational Fluid Flow Estimation

Abstract: We exploit the mimetic finite difference method introduced by Hyman and Shashkov to present a framework for estimating vector fields and related scalar fields (divergence, curl) of physical interest from image sequences. Our approach provides a basis for consistent definitions of higher-order differential operators, for the analysis and a novel stability result concerning second-order div-curl regularizers, for novel variational schemes to the estimation of solenoidal (divergence-free) image flows, and to convergent numerical methods in terms of subspace corrections.

The Economics and Politics of Women's Rights

Abstract: Women’s rights and economic development are highly correlated. Today, the discrepancy between the legal rights of women and men is much larger in developing compared to developed countries. Historically, even in countries that are now rich women had few rights before economic development took off. Is development the cause of expanding women’s rights, or conversely, do women’s rights facilitate development? We argue that there is truth to both hypotheses. The literature on the economic consequences of women’s rights documents that more rights for women lead to more spending on health and children, which should benefit development. The politicaleconomy literature on the evolution of women’s rights finds that technological change increased the costs of patriarchy for men, and thus contributed to expanding women’s rights. Combining these perspectives, we discuss the theory of Doepke and Tertilt (2009), where an increase in the return to human capital induces men to vote for women’s rights, which in turn promotes growth in human capital and income per capita.

Cooperation and the Commons

Abstract: Sustainably managing common natural resources, such as fisheries, water, and forests, is essential for our long-term survival. Many analysts have assumed, however, that people will maximize short-term self-benefits—for example, by cutting as much firewood as they can sell—and warned that this behavior will inevitably produce a “tragedy of the commons” ( 1 ), such as a stripped forest that no longer produces wood for anyone. But in laboratory simulations of such social dilemmas, the outcome is not always tragedy. Instead, a basic finding is that humans do not universally maximize short-term self-benefits, and can cooperate to produce shared, long-term benefits ( 2 , 3 ). Similar findings have come from field studies of commonly managed resources ( 6 – 7 ). It has been challenging, however, to directly relate laboratory findings to resource conditions in the field, and identify the conditions that enhance cooperation. On page 961 of this issue, Rustagi et al. ( 8 ) help fill this gap. In an innovative study of Ethiopia's Oromo people, they use economic experiments and forest growth data to show that groups that had a higher proportion of “conditional cooperators” were more likely to invest in forest patrols aimed at enforcing firewood collection rules—and had more productive forests. They also show that other factors, including a group's distance to markets and the quality of its leadership, influenced the success of cooperative management.