Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Research Paper Series Globalisation and Labour Markets Open Shop Unions and Product Market Competition Open Shop Unions and Product Market Competition

Acknowledgements Financial support from the Leverhulme Trust (Programme Grant F114/BF) is gratefully acknowledged. Paulo Bastos thanks Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/17274/2004) for financial support. Abstract In this paper we analyse the impact of changes in product market competition on wage outcomes in the presence of an open shop union. With less than full union membership, product market competition is shown to affect not only a unionised firm's profits but also its payoff in the event of a dispute. In contrast to the prediction of the standard model, increases in product market competition may now increase wage levels. The model is therefore able to accommodate the mixed empirical findings regarding the impact of product market competition on union wages.
Factor Index Score Patterns in the Wais-III Standardization Sample

Representative profile subtypes, based on factor index scores, were examined in the standardization sample of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III). Two-stage cluster analysis identified five reliable subtypes. Three clusters were differentiated primarily by level of performance across all factor index scores (ranging from below average, to average, to above average). The other two clusters were characterized by distinct patterns of performance, with relative efficacy on the Processing Speed index being the most prominent distinction (ranging from a relative weakness to a relative strength). The clusters did not differ significantly in age, but ethnicity and income covaried directly with level of WAIS-ILI performance, whereas gender affected differential patterns of performance. Furthermore, education and memory were associated primarily with level and, to a relatively minor degree, pattern of WAIS-ILI performance. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.
Metabolic and thermogenic effects of lactate infusion in humans.

Lactate has been suggested to interfere with intermediary metabolism by restricting both lipolysis and glucose utilization. To test this hypothesis, in paired studies in healthy volunteers, sodium lactate (25 mumol.min-1 x kg-1) or saline was infused for 1 h in the fasting state and during 2 h of euglycemic (4.75 mM) hyperinsulinemia (approximately 400 pmol/l). Hyperlactatemia (approximately 2 mM) had no inhibitory effect on fasting free fatty acid or glycerol levels nor did it alter the suppressive action of insulin on these substrates. Likewise, sodium lactate infusion did not influence hepatic glucose production ([3-3H]glucose technique) or its suppression by insulin. During the clamp, hyperlactatemia was associated with a small increase in whole body glucose disposal (34.9 +/- 4.1 vs. 30.3 +/- 3.7 mumol.min-1 x kg-1, P < 0.05) with no major change in the pattern of substrate (carbohydrate vs. lipid) oxidation. By simultaneously measuring arteriovenous gradients across the deep tissues of the forearm (forearm technique), it was found that hyperlactatemia did not impede insulin-mediated glucose uptake; furthermore, it could be estimated that muscle tissues were responsible for the disposal of roughly one-fifth of the lactate load. Whole body energy expenditure was stimulated above the level achieved with hyperinsulinemia when lactate was also infused. Thus, under the present experimental conditions, physiological hyperlactatemia did not interfere with lipolysis, hepatic glucose production, or whole body or forearm muscle glucose utilization, or with insulin action on these processes, and was accompanied by a strong thermogenic effect.
Duration Forty Years Later

The risk inherent in the price fluctuations of bonds has many dimensions. These include default risk, inflation risk, and call risk. The most important single source of risk, particularly for government and high-grade corporate bonds, is basis-risk price fluctuations caused by shifts in interest rates. For a given shift in the yield curve, and holding other factors unchanged, longer term-to-maturity bonds generally suffer greater price changes than shorter maturity bonds. This characterization is not exact because high coupon bonds are less volatile than low coupon bonds. Intuition says that this is to be expected because, other things being equal, high coupon bonds have a greater percentage of their value due to the interim coupons and, hence, have a shorter “effective” maturity. Duration may be interpreted as an attempt to quantify this qualitative statement through the use of a single, numerical measure intended to be used in place of maturity.
Keeping Tabs on Partners: The Logic of Delegation in Coalition Governments

Parties in coalition governments must delegate to each other. Can coalition partners hold each other's ministers accountable, or must collective government degenerate to ministerial government? In this paper, I theorize about the conditions under which coalition partners should make efforts to keep tabs on each other's ministers, and the ways in which they might do so. I show that parties in Italian, Dutch, and multiparty Japanese coalitions used their allotments of junior ministerial positions to shadow each other's ministers, while parties in German coalitions relied instead on institutional devices to tie ministers' hands. I also find that during the LDP's long reign as a majority party in Japan, its factions kept tabs on each other's ministers in this same way. Finally, I demonstrate that parties were more likely to keep tabs on each other's ministers for the most important ministerial portfolios.
Thyroid cancer risk in the Swedish AMORIS study: the role of inflammatory biomarkers in serum

Chronic inflammation is one of the underlying risks associated with thyroid cancer. We ascertained the association between commonly measured serum biomarkers of inflammation and the risk of thyroid cancer in Swedish Apolipoprotein-related MORtality RISk (AMORIS) study. 226,212 subjects had baseline measurements of C-reactive protein, albumin and haptoglobin. Leukocytes were measured in a subgroup of 63,845 subjects. Associations between quartiles and dichotomized values of inflammatory markers and risk of thyroid cancer were analysed using multivariate Cox proportional hazard models. 202 individuals were diagnosed with thyroid cancer during a mean follow-up of 19.6 years. There was a positive association between lower albumin levels and risk of developing thyroid cancer [Hazard Ratio for albumin ≤ 40 g/L: 1.50 (95% Confidence Interval = 1.04–2.16)]. When stratified by a metabolic score, we observed similar association for albumin with higher HR among those with metabolic score ≥ 1, as compared to those with metabolic score of 0 [HR 1.98 (95% CI = 1.11-3.54) vs 1.17 (95% CI = 0.72–1.89)] (P = 0.19). Apart from albumin, none of the serum markers of inflammation studied showed a link with the risk of developing thyroid cancer–suggesting that the role of inflammation may be more complicated and requires assessment of more specialised measurements of inflammation.
A Meta-Analysis of International Tourism Demand Elasticities

This study uses meta-analysis to examine the relationship between estimated international tourism demand elasticities and the data characteristics and study features that may affect such empirical estimates. By reviewing 195 studies published during the period 1961–2011, the meta-regression analysis shows that origin, destination, time period, modeling method, data frequency, the inclusion/omission of other explanatory variables and their measures, and sample size all significantly influence the estimates of the demand elasticities generated by a model. Moreover, the demand elasticities at both product and destination levels are generalized by statistically integrating previous empirical estimates. The findings of this meta-analysis will be useful wherever an understanding of the drivers of tourism demand is critically important.
Financial development and growth in economies in transition

The hypothesis that financial development promotes economic growth is largely supported by empirical studies. This hypothesis is tested for 13 Central and East European Countries (CEECs) during transition using panel data. Results show that financial development, as measured by liquid liabilities as a proportion of gross domestic product, has an insignificant effect on economic growth: economic growth in CEECs is not constrained by underdeveloped financial sectors.
What caused earnings inequality to increase in Canada during the 1980s

While broad consensus exists that earnings inequality increased in Canada during the 1980s, as in other industrialised countries, there is little agreement about the causes. The main contribution of this paper is the simultaneous, empirical examination of eight hypotheses of increased earnings inequality, using multivariate regression analysis, namely: the decline in unionisation, minimum wages and industrialisation, as well as the increase in unemployment, trade, relative supply of university-educated workers and relative supply of female workers, and technological change. In Canada, during the 1980s, employment and unionisation factors strongly and consistently explain the increase in annual earnings and hourly wage-rate inequality, after controlling for six other possible determinants. The results also point to the importance of considering a multidimensional explanation of increased earnings inequality and avoiding generalisations across gender, income and work status groups. Copyright 2000 by Oxford University Press.
Biological Costs and Mechanisms of Fosfomycin Resistance in Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT Fosfomycin is a cell wall inhibitor used mainly for the treatment of uncomplicated lower urinary tract infections. As shown here, resistance to fosfomycin develops rapidly in Escherichia coli under experimental conditions, but in spite of the relatively high mutation rate in vitro, resistance in clinical isolates is rare. To examine this apparent contradiction, we mathematically modeled the probability of resistance development in the bladder during treatment. The modeling showed that during a typical episode of urinary tract infection, the probability of resistance development was high (>10−2). However, if resistance was associated with a reduction in growth rate, the probability of resistance development rapidly decreased. To examine if fosfomycin resistance causes a reduced growth rate, we isolated in vitro and in vivo a set of resistant strains. We determined their resistance mechanisms and examined the effect of the different resistance mutations on bacterial growth in the absence and presence of fosfomycin. The types of mutations found in vitro and in vivo were partly different. Resistance in the mutants isolated in vitro was caused by ptsI, cyaA, glpT, uhpA/T, and unknown mutations, whereas no cyaA or ptsI mutants could be found in vivo. All mutations caused a decreased growth rate both in laboratory medium and in urine, irrespective of the absence or presence of fosfomycin. According to the mathematical model, the reduced growth rate of the resistant strains will prevent them from establishing in the bladder, which could explain why fosfomycin resistance remains rare in clinical isolates.
A Low-Cost NIR Digital Photometer Based on InGaAs Sensors for the Detection of Milk Adulterations With Water

The adulteration of milk with water is a very common problem, which reduces its nutritional value and industrial yield, and can also represent a major risk of contamination. The standard method for detecting this kind of fraud is the cryoscopy, which fails when the adulteration is done along with other substances. Therefore, there is a need for new and more robust techniques for this purpose. With this goal, we propose a prototype of a digital photometer to quantify water added to milk. This is a microcontrolled, portable device, which uses three LEDs with emission in the near-infrared (IR) region and was developed without the use of lenses, filters, or moving parts. This equipment measures the transmittance of IR radiation through milk samples to assess the addition of water. In this paper, we present the results of experiments that were conducted with diluted milk samples containing 0%-25% of added water, using the proposed equipment and the standard method of cryoscopy. In the measurements of the percentage of added water, the mean absolute error was <;1%. In terms of repeatability, in two sets of ten measurements, we obtained absolute deviations from the average corresponding to less than 0.7% of added water. Results show that the prototype response is similar to the one of a commercial cryoscope but faster.
The Adoption of Sustainable Manufacturing Practices in the Caribbean

Centre for Production Systems, The University of Trinidad and Tobago, O'Meara Campus, 78‐94O'Meara Industrial Park, Arima, Trinidad, West IndiesABSTRACTThe Caribbean region is awakening to the reality that environmental sustainability is fastbecoming a major business performance dimension that is shaping the competitivelandscape for manufacturers. This research attempts to gain a picture of the current level ofemphasis on environmental sustainability among manufacturers in ﬁve Caribbean countries.Thispaperreportsonthelevelofawarenessoftheconceptofsustainablemanufacturing,thesustainability practices Caribbean manufacturers are currently engaged in, and the barrierspreventingtheadoptionofsustainabilitypractices. Theﬁndingsfromoursurveyshowthatthemajority of Caribbean manufacturers have little knowledge of the concept of sustainablemanufacturingandtheadoptionofsustainabilitypracticesislow. Inlightoftheseﬁndings,thepaperdiscussespotentialrolesforCaribbeangovernments,manufacturingassociations,andeducational institutions in addressing the need for greater emphasis on sustainablemanufacturingintheregion.Copyright©2011JohnWiley&Sons,LtdandERPEnvironment.
A macroeconomic approach to a firm's capital structure

In this paper, I investigate the logic behind cross sectional dispersion of firm's capital structure. I incorporate the trade off between tax benefits and financial distress costs into a dynamic general equilibrium model with heterogeneous firms and their endogenous entry/exit, and compute an equilibrium firm distribution. The main findings are summarized as follows. First, I find that the equilibrium distribution approximates the dispersion of firms' capital structure well. Second, I find that it simultaneously accounts for the relationship of capital structure to profitability \textit{and} firm size. The key mechanisms are the difference in responses to persistent and transitory productivity shocks and economies of scale. Third, I find through counterfactual experiments that even if the tax benefits do not exist, firms would not significantly change their capital structure in contrast to previous works. The intuition is that, with firm's entry/exit, young firms always exist and use debt until they accumulate internal funding. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Economics First Advisor Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde Second Advisor Dirk Krueger Third Advisor Amir Yaron
Differences in vision between clinic and home and the effect of lighting in older adults with and without glaucoma.

IMPORTANCE Patients often report greater visual difficulties at home than expected from vision testing in the clinic. Such discordance may be owing to worse vision in the home than measured in clinic. OBJECTIVE To compare vision measured between the clinic and home and evaluate factors, including lighting, associated with these differences. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cross-sectional study conducted from 2005-2009 involved 126 patients with glaucoma and 49 without glaucoma recruited from the Glaucoma and Comprehensive Eye Clinics at Washington University, St Louis, Missouri. Patients underwent clinic and home visits, were aged 55 to 90 years, were consecutively recruited, and met inclusion criteria for this study. A total of 166 eligible patients refused participation. EXPOSURE Participants underwent clinic and home visits randomized to order of completion. At each visit, masked and certified examiners measured binocular distance visual acuity (DVA) with a nonbacklit chart, near visual acuity (NVA), contrast sensitivity (CS), CS with glare, and lighting. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Differences in vision between the clinic and home. RESULTS The mean scores for all vision tests were significantly better in the clinic than home for participants with and without glaucoma (P < .05, matched-pair t tests). For DVA, 29% of participants with glaucoma read 2 or more lines better in the clinic than home and 39% with advanced glaucoma read 3 or more lines better. For the entire sample, 21% of participants read 2 or more lines better in the clinic than home for NVA and 49% read 2 or more triplets better in the clinic for CS with glare. Lighting was the most significant factor associated with differences in vision between the clinic and home for DVA, NVA, and CS with glare testing (P < .05, multiple regression model). Median home lighting was 4.3 times and 2.8 times lower than clinic lighting in areas tested for DVA and NVA, respectively. Home lighting was below that recommended in 85% or greater of participants. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Vision measured in the clinic is generally better than vision measured at home, with differences mainly owing to poor home lighting. Knowledge that vision discrepancies between patient report and clinical testing may be owing to home lighting may initiate clinician-patient discussions to optimize home lighting and improve the vision of older adults in their homes.
The Political Economy of Efficient Public Good Provision: Evidence from Flemish Libraries Using a Generalised Conditional Efficiency Framework

Provision of most public goods (e.g., health care, library services, education, utilities) can be characterised by a two-stage ‘production’ process. The first stage translates basic inputs (e.g., labour and capital) into service potential (e.g., opening hours), while the second stage describes how these programmatic inputs are transformed into observed outputs (e.g., school outcomes, library circulation). While the latter stage is best analysed in a supply-demand framework, particularly in the former stage one would like to have efficient public production. Hence, unlike previous work on public sector efficiency (which often conflates both ‘production’ stages), this paper analyses how political economy factors shape efficient public good provision in stage one (using local public libraries as our centre of attention). To do so, we use a specially tailored, fully non-parametric efficiency model. The model is rooted in popular Data Envelopment Analysis models, but allows for both outlying observations and heterogeneity (i.e., a conditional efficiency model). Using an exceptionally rich dataset comprising all 290 Flemish public libraries, our findings suggest that the ideological stance of the local government, the wealth and density of the local population and the source of library funding (i.e., local funding versus intergovernmental transfers) are crucial determinants of library efficiency.
Functional and molecular studies in primary carnitine deficiency

Primary carnitine deficiency is caused by a defect in the OCTN2 carnitine transporter encoded by the SLC22A5 gene. It can cause hypoketotic hypoglycemia or cardiomyopathy in children, and sudden death in children and adults. Fibroblasts from affected patients have reduced carnitine transport. We evaluated carnitine transport in fibroblasts from 358 subjects referred for possible carnitine deficiency. Carnitine transport was reduced to 20% or less of normal in fibroblasts of 140 out of 358 subjects. Sequencing of the 10 exons and flanking regions of the SLC22A5 gene in 95 out of 140 subjects identified causative variants in 84% of the alleles. The missense variants identified in our patients and others previously reported (n = 92) were expressed in CHO cells. Carnitine transport was impaired by 73 out of 92 variants expressed. Prediction algorithms (Polyphen‐2, SIFT) correctly predicted the functional effects of expressed variants in about 80% of cases. These results indicate that mutations in the coding region of the SLC22A5 gene cannot be identified in about 16% of the alleles causing primary carnitine deficiency. Prediction algorithms failed to determine the functional effects of amino acid substitutions in this transmembrane protein in about 20% of cases. Therefore, functional studies in fibroblasts remain the best strategy to confirm or exclude a diagnosis of primary carnitine deficiency.
MIHAIL MANOILESCU: AN APPRECIATION AND A CRITIQUE

On the 70th anniversary of the German-language edition of his book published in French in 1929 as Theorie du protectionnisme et de l’echange international (followed by an English translation of 1931 with the title The Theory of Protection and International Trade), Mihail Manoilescu became a pioneer in the theory of international trade by elaborating on an important market failure that violated the assumption of perfect competition in all commodity and factor markets postulated by the standard neoclassical trade models, in the form of a wage paid in a country’s manufacturing sector that exceeds that paid in agriculture. Manoilescu argued that the country would be subject to “unequal exchange” in trade unless it protects its manufacturing sector. Following Manoilescu’s lead, a market failure of this type was incorporated in neoclassical trade models by Everett Hagen in 1958 as a prototype of the market distortions that became an important part of the postwar trade literature. It is regrettable that Manolescu’s pro-fascist sympathies subsequently led him to abandon his views in favor of Romania’s becoming a supplier of primary commodities to the Third Reich.
Remittances and poverty in Guatemala

The author uses a large, nationally representative household survey to analyze the impact of internal remittances (from Guatemala), and international remittances (from the United States) on poverty in Guatemala. With only one exception, he finds that both internal and international remittances reduce the level, depth, and severity of poverty in Guatemala. However, he finds that remittances have a greater impact on reducing the severity as opposed to the level of poverty in Guatemala. For example, the squared poverty gap-which measures the severity of poverty-falls by 21.1 percent when internal remittances are included in household income, and by 19.8 percent when international remittances are included in such income. This is true because households in the lowest decile group receive a very large share of their total household income (expenditure) from remittances. Households in the bottom decile group receive between 50 and 60 percent of their total income (expenditure) from remittances. When these"poorest of the poor"households receive remittances, their income status changes dramatically and this in turn has a large effect on any poverty measure-like the squared poverty gap-that considers the number, distance, and distribution of poor households beneath the poverty line.