Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Old Age and the Decline in Financial Literacy

Households age 60 and older bear increasing responsibility for managing retirement portfolios, and they hold the majority of financial assets in the United States. Cognitive aging studies find evidence of a decline in fluid and crystallized intelligence in old age that may impact the ability to manage money effectively. Using a large sample of older respondents, we test whether knowledge of basic concepts essential to effective financial choice declines after age 60. We find a consistent linear decline in financial literacy score after age 60. A nearly identical rate of decline among men, stockowners, older, and college-educated respondents indicates that cohort effects are not driving the results. Confidence in financial decision-making abilities does not decline with age. A separate analysis using data that include measures of cognitive ability suggests that a natural decline in both fluid and crystallized intelligence in old age contributes to falling financial literacy scores. This paper was accepted by Brad Barber, finance.
Motivation and Markets

Many workers receive pay based on subjectively assessed performance, yet the shirking model of efficiency wages excludes it. This paper incorporates such pay, with the following results. Performance pay is more efficient than efficiency wages when the costs of having a job vacant are low and qualified workers in short supply. More capitl-intensive industries pay more than less capital-intensive industries, as observed in studies of interindustry wages differentials. Sustaining an efficient outcome requires a social convention similar to the notion of a fair wage. The model also makes predictions about the relationship between turnover, wages, growth and unemployment.
The Importance of R&D and Innovation for Productivity: A Reexamination in Light of the 2000 French Innovation Survey

This paper consists in a detailed robustness investigation of the Crepon, Duguet and Mairesse [1998] (CDM) econometric framework, which encompasses as a reduced form equation the production function extended to R&D, as pioneered by Zvi Griliches. We focus on the sensitivity of the estimated productivity elasticities of innovation and R&D, with respect to different model specifications and estimation methods, and to the different innovation output quantitative and qualitative indicators available in the 1998-2000 French Community Innovation Survey. The main conclusion we draw is that as long as we properly correct for endogeneity and also, when appropriate, for selectivity, we find again estimates of the productivity elasticities of R&D and of the corresponding median rates of return to R&D, which are close to the usual estimates from the extended Cobb-Douglas production function. We interpret the need to instrument innovation and R&D as revealing important measurement errors in the innovation intensity variables, as well as but to a lesser extent in the innovation binary indicators, the R&D intensity variable and binary indicator. Although innovation surveys unveil interesting information and the CDM model is a good framework, which can both be used to advance our understanding of the firm R&D and innovation activities and performances, much more remains to be done to improve the quality of the data and relevance of the analysis.
The Effects of Inflammation on Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Expression in Satellite Cells of the Dorsal Root Ganglion

Study Design. After undergoing L5 hemilaminectomy, chromic gut suture was placed onto the DRG and the animals were sacrificed at various time-points. Objective. The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of inflammation on satellite cells (SCs) of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) by analyzing glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression in of the DRG at various time points. Summary of Background Data. SCs are neuroglial cells that closely interact with nerve cells of the DRG. The role of SC remains unknown GFAP expression increases in response to CNS injury. Loss of GFAP has impaired Schwann cell proliferation and delayed nerve regeneration after injury. Methods. Sixty rats underwent a left L5 hemilaminectomy. In Group I, a chromic-gut suture was place topically on the DRG (n = 30), Group II was the sham surgery group (n = 30). DRGs were harvested at 6, 24, 48, 72 hours, and 7 days after surgery. In Group III, 6 control rats were killed and their bilateral L5 DRG harvested. The harvested DRG were analyzed using light microscopy for SC immunoreactivity, using GFAP, HIS-36, TNF-&agr;, IL-1&agr;, IL-1&bgr;, IL-6 monoclonal antibodies. Results. One hundred thirty-two DRGs were harvested for analysis. Naïve controls and neurons did not express GFAP. The SC sheath expressed GFAP as early as 6 hours postchromic gut application. In Group I, GFAP expression steadily increased after chromic-gut application with 100% of SC soma and SC sheaths being GFAP positive at 7 days. The contralateral DRG demonstrated delayed GFAP expression, with 83% of SC soma and SC sheaths were GFAP positive at 7 days. In Group II, 89% of sacs expressed GFAP by 7 compared to 79% in the contralateral undisturbed DRG. Conclusion. Under physiologic conditions, the expression of GFAP by SCs is undetectable. As the inflammatory process develops, GFAP expression steadily increases with 100% of SCs being GFAP immunoreactive 7 days after chromic gut application. These data suggest that SCs are the primary source of GFAP in the DRG. We hypothesize that SC play an important role in the response to early inflammatory injury.
On the sensitivity of returns to seniority to the measurement of earnings

This paper examines the incidence of measurement error in wage data on the estimation of returns to seniority. Earnings surveys collect wage data through questions pertaining to earnings and hours over a given period of time (year, week) or through direct reports of hourly wages. Comparing results for different wage variables from the panel study of income dynamics (PSID), it is shown that estimated returns to seniority are very sensitive to the type of wage data used. Estimates based on yearly reports are typically twice as large as those using direct reports. Two sources account for this discrepancy. First, the inclusion of earnings from secondary jobs and overtime in the PSID annual earnings data tends to overestimate returns to seniority. Second, hourly wages computed from yearly measures include important measurement errors that tend to bias coefficients upward.
Crossing Boundaries: Action Networks, Amalgamation and Inter-Community Trust in a Small Rural Shire

Abstract Local government reforms introduced throughout the mid-1990s radically altered the face, institutional form and structure of local government in the state of Victoria, Australia. In rural areas, where shire boundaries often reflected deeply ingrained notions of communal interest and identity, the forced merger of previously independent and fiercely parochial councils into larger unified political and administrative units was particularly contentious. Drawing on a survey of 649 residents from the rural Shire of Buloke, this paper examines attitudes towards local government amalgamation, levels of inter-community trust and reciprocity, and how these vary across different parts of the municipality. Social network analysis is then used to explore the relationship between these attitudes and trust levels and the structure and orientation of respondents’ inter-community networks. The paper finds that despite the passage of more than a decade, significant residual resentment surrounding the impact of the forced amalgamations remains evident across most communities in Buloke Shire. There is a widespread perception that the reforms have undermined rather than improved the operation of local government across the municipality, and that post-amalgamation political structures have largely failed to effectively reconcile the diverse and sometimes disparate interests of Buloke's constituent towns and communities. The network analysis also suggests that much work remains to be done to develop a meaningful sense of community based on the new administrative boundaries, with very little evidence of cross-community cooperation, coalition building or issue-based interaction detected.
Using the Spatial Distribution of Bidders to Detect Collusion in the Marketplace: Evidence from Timber Auctions

This study develops identification strategies utilizing spatial bidding patterns to detect possible collusion in auction markets. The identification strategy is applied to examine bidder behavior using data drawn from nearly 3,000 auctions (over 10,000 individual bids) for cutting rights of standing timber in British Columbia for the period 1996-2000. Results suggest that observed patterns of behavior are inconsistent with a model of perfectly competitive bidding. Further, changes in such patterns across geographic space are remarkably consistent with patterns of decay in the transmission of knowledge reported in previous empirical work on spillovers. Copyright (c) Blackwell Publishing, Inc. 2008
Different Modes of Blockade by p‐Phenylene‐polymethylene Bis‐ammonium Compounds of the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Channel in Skeletal Muscle Cells of Mice

Abstract— The structure‐activity relationships of five newly synthesized p‐phenylene‐polymethylene bis‐ammonium (PMBA: C6H4[(CH2)nN+R3]2) compounds were investigated on the blockade of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) channel. The cell‐attached patch clamp configuration was used to measure single‐channel currents in the endplate region of single flexor digitorum brevis muscle cells of adult mice. The bis‐trimethylammonium compounds PMBA‐1 (n = 4, R = CH3) and PMBA‐23 (n = 6, R = CH3) produced channel opening above 0·3 μm and open channel blockade above 10 and 3 μm, respectively. The bis‐triethylammonium compounds PMBA‐43 (n = 1, R = CH2CH3) and PMBA‐24 (n = 6, R = CH2CH3) showed no channel opening action, but PMBA‐21 (n = 4, R = CH2CH3) opened channels weakly at 3 and 10 μm. These bis‐triethylammonium compounds exerted different blocking actions on acetylcholine‐activated channel currents. Above 10 μm PMBA‐43, like tetraefhylammonium, blocked open channels by decreasing the mean open time by rapid partial closing of the channel during the open‐phase. At 10 μm, PMBA‐21 blocked open and closed channels by decreasing the opening frequency by means of an irregular sequence of short pulses. At 0·3 μm, PMBA‐24 blocked closed or nonconducting channels by decreasing the opening frequency without producing changes in mean open time. These results indicate that by lengthening the distance between two nitrogen atoms in the bis‐triethylammonium group of PMBA, open channel blockade changes to closed channel blockade. PMBA compounds were classified into three types of nAChR channel blockers: PMBA‐43 as an open, PMBA‐21 as an open and closed, and PMBA‐24 as a closed or nonconducting channel blocker.
SC1/Hevin Identifies Early White Matter Injury After Ischemia and Intracerebral Hemorrhage in Young and Aged Rats

Abstract The progression of white matter damage after ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes can exacerbate the initial injury, but little is known about the processes involved. We show that the antiadhesive matricellular glycoprotein SC1 is a novel early marker of white matter damage in 3 models of acute injury in the rat striatum: transient focal ischemia, intracerebral hemorrhage, and a needle penetration wound. SC1 was restricted to the damaged portions of axon bundles that bordered stroke lesions in young-adult and aged rats. SC1 peaked at 1 and 3 days after intracerebral hemorrhage and at 7 days after ischemia. The SC1-positive bundles usually expressed degraded myelin basic protein and amyloid precursor protein, a marker of axonal injury. At the hematoma edge, SC1 was seen in a few axon bundles that retained myelin basic protein staining. In these bundles, punctate SC1 staining filled individual axons, extended beyond a core of pan-axonal neurofilament and NF200 and was inside or overlapped with myelin basic protein staining when it was present. Aged rats had less SC1 (and amyloid precursor protein) after both types of stroke, suggesting a reduced axonal response. SC1 also labeled amyloid precursor protein–positive axon bundles along the needle penetration tract of saline-injected rats; thus, SC1 appears to characterize damaged striatal white matter damage after multiple types of injury.
The use of reference points in valuation judgment

Experiments reported in this paper clarify and extend results of previous research into the impact of reference points on valuation judgment. The value judgments of expert commercial appraisers from the USA who were not familiar with the geographical setting of the subject property were influenced by a variety of reference points. In order of significance of impact, these influential reference points were: the uncompleted contract price of a comparable property; the uncompleted contract price of the subject property; and the value opinions of other experts. This hierarchy of impact is consistent with both the degree to which each reference point is sanctioned by normative US training and the degree to which each reference point is generally available to US experts. Comparison with previous research suggests that market uncertainty as reflected by geographical unfamiliarity has a role in triggering reference point anchoring.
Globalization and leadership and management: a comparative analysis of primary schools in England and Finland

This article analyses the impact of processes of globalization on both policy and practice in relation to primary school leadership and management in England and Finland. Data are drawn from case study research carried out from 1994–1996 in six schools in Finland and six schools in England and a follow‐up study on teacher professionalism (2001–2002) that involved 37 of the original participants being re‐interviewed. The article contributes to the ongoing debate concerning the extent to which global trends lead to homogeneity in educational systems or a ‘glocalized’ response. Such a glocalized response is derived not only from different cultural mediations at the national policy level but also from the various innovation biographies of different schools and the values of particular head teachers/principals. It is argued that, on the one hand, as a result of globalization there is growing uniformity, particularly in relation to the consequences of marketization and managerialism. Owing to the latter, principals in Finland like their English counterparts were found to be experiencing work intensification and role diversification that negatively impacted on their educative leadership. On the other hand, there is evidence also of processes of glocalization in terms of differential national educational policy changes (as, for example, in relation to testing and inspection). Global recommendations for the management of educational reform through collegial working relationships, distributed leadership and schools as learning organizations were promoted in both countries. However, the processes involved in these recommendations illustrate the manner in which national cultural influences and school factors lead both to some similarities and striking differences in their implementation.
Determinants of the Annual Duration of Sickness Presenteeism: Empirical Evidence from European Data

Sickness presenteeism, i.e. going to work while sick, can cause substantial productivity losses. Focusing on work‐related characteristics, we investigate the determinants of the annual duration of sickness presenteeism using representative European cross‐sectional data. We find work autonomy, workload, tenure, and the work environment to be the quantitatively most relevant determinants of sickness presenteeism days. Work autonomy (control over one's work, being supervisor), workload (weekly working hours, time pressure), and tenure are positively related to the number of sickness presenteeism days. In contrast, a good work environment (good working conditions and social support) comes along with fewer presenteeism days.
Causality between Defence Spending and Economic Growth: The Case of Mainland China

Using cointegration and Granger causality tests, examines the causal relationship between defence spending and economic growth in mainland China over the period 1950-1991. The results show that defence spending is not cointegrated with the real economic growth rate, implying the lack of any long-run equilibrium relationship between the two variables. In addition, Granger causality tests indicate causal independence between the two variables.
The Impact of Government-Assisted Management Training and Development on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Britain

Small and medium-sized firms in Britain have been encouraged by a range of government policies. In this paper, the impact of Business Growth Training Option 3 is examined, which between 1989 and 1991 provided financial assistance to small and medium-sized firms to employ consultants to help them train and develop their management staff. A novel methodology is employed; it follows a cohort of firms through their Option 3 project, and compares them with a matched sample of firms not in receipt of assistance. The evaluation demonstrates the effectiveness of support for management training in small and medium-sized enterprises. It shows that Option 3 produced a substantial increase in the scale and range of management training. It also shows that Option 3 assistance led to improvements in management, organisation, and business performance in participant firms. Based on this evidence, a series of recommendations are made for both government policy and further academic research.
Corporate Portfolio Management: Theory and Practice

Forty years after the introduction of the BCG growth-share matrix, some version of corporate portfolio management (CPM) is employed by most large multibusiness companies. But little is known about the current practices of CPM. Which processes have companies adopted, and which executives in a company tend to be the main participants? What are the major corporate uses of CPM? And how satisfied are today's companies with their approaches? To answer these questions, The Boston Consulting Group, in collaboration with Freiberg University in Germany, conducted a comprehensive global survey on the practices of corporate portfolio management that involved more than 200 senior executives at the largest companies worldwide. These survey responses were supplemented by interviews with 50 senior executives of global multibusiness companies as well as a systematic review of more than 100 major client projects that BCG conducted between 2004 and 2009. One major focus of the survey was the concept of parenting advantage. - Defined in terms of a particular company being the best possible owner of a particular business, the concept offers a clear framework for identifying the four most important ways in which management can use the principles and methods of CPM to create value for its businesses:. While fostering synergies and realizing advantage through centralization of functions and services were considered relevant by about half of the companies responding to the survey, the most important drivers of corporate value added by CPM were said to be the direct influence of the parents expertise and active portfolio monitoring. But even so, only 40% of recent divestiture decisions and 23% of recent acquisitions were said to be triggered by portfolio considerations, suggesting a significant gap between the effort put into CPM processes and their role in corporate-level decision-making.
Indian managers in transition: orientations, work goals, values and ethics

■ This study explores the nature and complexities of work related values of senior managers in India. This is of particular interest as the national economic reform agenda is reshaping the character of most large organisations. A field study examined the perceptions of work values, ethos to corporate social responsibility, and ethical orientations of senior Indian managers.
Labor Force Participation of Married Women in Turkey: Is There an Added or a Discouraged Worker Effect?

This article analyzes married women's labor supply responses to their husbands' job loss (added worker effect) and worsening of unemployment conditions (discouraged worker effect). We find that married women whose husbands are unemployed or underemployed are more likely to participate in the labor force and work more hours using yearly cross-sectional data from Turkey for the 2000-2010 period. We also construct two year panels based on questions on previous year's labor market outcomes. Panel results provide further support for the added worker effect. Wives whose husbands experience a job loss are more likely to increase their labor force participation. However, a worsening of overall unemployment conditions appears to have a discouraging effect on wives' labor supply response, wives tend to decrease their labor participation when unemployment rate in their region increases.
In vivo gene silencing of CD81 by lentiviral expression of small interference RNAs suppresses cocaine‐induced behaviour

The tetraspanin CD81 is induced in the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway after cocaine administration. To further investigate its role, a regulatable lentivirus (Lenti‐CD81) bearing the CD81 gene under the control of a tetracycline‐inducible promoter and lentiviruses expressing short hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeted against CD81 (Lenti‐CD81‐shRNAs) have been prepared. Infection of HEK293T cells in vitro with Lenti‐CD81‐shRNAs resulted in 96.5% gene silencing (from quantitative real‐time PCR(qRT‐PCR) and immunocytochemistry). In vivo delivery of Lenti‐CD81‐shRNA into the nucleus accumbens or ventral tegmental area resulted in 91.3 and 94% silencing of endogenous CD81, respectively. Stereotaxic injection of Lenti‐CD81 into these regions, resulting in CD81 overexpression, induced a four‐ to fivefold increase in locomotor activity after chronic cocaine administration, which returned to basal levels when Lenti‐CD81‐shRNA had been coinjected or when CD81 expression was blocked by doxycycline. Furthermore, silencing endogenous CD81 in vivo resulted in a significant decrease in locomotor activity over controls, again suppressing cocaine‐induced behaviour.