Optimal Designs for the Carryover Model with Random Interactions Between Subjects and Treatments

The paper considers a model for crossover designs with carryover effects and a random interaction between treatments and subjects. Under this model, two observations of the same treatment on the same subject are positively correlated and therefore provide less information than two observations of the same treatment on different subjects. The introduction of the interaction makes the determination of optimal designs much harder than is the case for the traditional model. Generalising the results of Bludowsky's thesis, the present paper uses Kushner's method to determine optimal approximate designs. We restrict attention to the case where the number of periods is less than or equal to the number of treatments. We determine the optimal designs in the important special cases that the number of periods is 3, 4 or 5. It turns out that the optimal designs depend on the variance of the random interactions and in most cases are not binary. However, we can show that neighbour balanced binary designs are highly efficient, regardless of the number of periods and of the size of the variance of the interaction effects.     

The energy constraint in the 1980s and the scope for import substitution in Western Europe

Various policies are being proposed for reducing the energy dependence of Western Europe during the 1980s. This paper discusses their impacts through the use of a simple simulation model under different assumptions concerning energy prices conservation measures and overall economic growth. It also assesses broad energy prospects for three regions of Western Europe up to 1990. In particular, the paper analyzes the scope for substituting domestically produced energy for imported energy. Tentative policy recommendations are presented following presentation of the results. Preference is expressed for combined price-cum-rationing measures. Coordinated and generalized energy consumption policies, so as to improve the energy efficiency for both intermediate and final uses, are also discussed.     

In the wake of radical right electoral success: a cross-country comparative study of anti-immigration attitudes over time

This paper tests the theoretically assumed relationship between the parliamentary presence of radical right parties (RRPs) and anti-immigration attitudes over time. Data come from six rounds of the European Social Survey between 2002 and 2012. Using multi-level models with applications for repeated cross-sectional data, the study examines the implications of changes tied to the political advancements of the radical right with a focus on three possible scenarios: people's attitudes about immigration have generally become more negative, opposition towards immigration has become more dependent on immigrants' ethnicity, and attitudes towards immigration have become more polarised. Contrary to expectations, it is found that neither the presence, the representational strength, nor the nationalistic framing of an RRP affect opposition towards immigration over time. Thus, the conclusion is that the RRPs, so far, have not driven anti-immigration attitudes in Europe. Possible explanations for these results are discussed in the concluding section.