Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impacts of Transport Infrastructure on Productivity and Economic Growth: Recent Advances and Research Challenges

ABSTRACT The paper provides an update of the survey focusing on estimating the contribution of transport infrastructure to productivity and economic growth. The central questions addressed are possible reasons behind the conflicting results reported in the literature on the elasticity of economic output with respect to transport infrastructure investment. After providing a systematic review of recent empirical studies on the effects of transport infrastructure on productivity and economic growth, the paper notes that controversial results can be attributed to ten causes (grouped into three categories for distinguishing): (1) related to different contexts: research period, geographical scales, and country's capability in enabling economic development; (2) related to different phenomena that are being measured: different economic sectors, different types of transport infrastructure, and different quality levels of transport infrastructure; and (3) related to distinct ways of measuring a similar phenomenon: measures used to describe the dependent variable and explanatory variable, functional specification, and estimation method of the econometric model. Strong network externalities of transport infrastructure may result in nonlinearity of the relationship between transport infrastructure and economic growth. Moreover, the absence of spatial concerns in infrastructure's impacts is another important source of inconclusive results. Finally, building on recent literature, the paper has discussed policy implications and identified several research avenues for further research.
Market Provision of Custom Software: Learning Effects and Low Balling

Due to reusability of program code and learning effects in software development, development cost of custom software typically decreases in time and experience. This creates a first-mover advantage to software developers. The paper studies whether the benefits of declining development costs are passed on to buyers in the form of lower prices when developers bid strategically. By using a model of bidding auctions we characterize equilibrium bidding strategies of two software developers. In order to become the first mover and attain future market dominance, developers find it optimal to forgo profits from the first projects. As a result, bid prices = development cost plus a profit margin to the developer to the buyers may not necessarily decrease over time, and even if so, not as fast as development cost drops. We also show that bidders expect a higher profit margin from a high-variance project. Thus, if there exist high-variance projects in the future, developers are more likely to submit below-cost bid prices or "low ball. "
The effect of summer jobs on post-schooling incomes

In part because of high youth unemployment, students’ transition from school to work is an important policy and research topic. Public programs offering summer jobs or work while in high school as measures to smooth the transition is commonplace. The immediate effect of the programs on school attendance, school grades, and disposable income is well documented. However, their effect on the transition to the labor market remains unsettled, partly because of a potential selection bias in previous observational studies. In this paper, 2650 first graders of high school in Falun Council, Sweden, randomly allotted summer jobs via a program in the years of 1997-2003, are followed ten years after graduation. The program led to a substantially larger accumulation of work experience while in high school for offered (particularly weak academically performing) females, but not for offered males. Hence, the immediate program effect was heterogeneous. Females were used to estimate the causal effect of work experience while in high school on post-schooling incomes. The (statistically) significant estimate implies an elasticity of 0.4. Work experience while in high school seems to be of future benefit, but the elasticity is potentially inflated due to heterogeneous effects that we were unable to account for.
Food Stamp Caseloads over the Business Cycle

We use a dynamic model of food stamp caseloads with state-level panel data to estimate the impact of the business cycle on food stamp caseloads in the era of welfare reform. The macroeconomy has a substantial impact on food stamp caseloads: A one-percentage-point increase in the unemployment rate leads to a 2.3% increase after one year. In terms of welfare policy, a 10-percentage-point increase in the share of a state's population waived from rules limiting food stamp receipt among able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) results in a 0.5% increase in contemporaneous caseloads. States with waivers from the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program in the mid-1990s had caseloads about 1.9% higher than nonwaiver states. While changes in AFDC caseloads have historically resulted in coincident changes in food stamp caseloads, our results suggest that the link between AFDC caseload and food stamp caseload changes has dissipated substantially after welfare reform. The cyclical sensitivity of food stamp caseloads indicates the importance of food stamps in smoothing consumption during economic recessions.
Does the Timing of Dividend Reductions Signal Value? Empirical Evidence

This paper examines a firm’s dividend reduction timing relative to other dividend reductions in the same industry. It tests if the timing of dividend cuts is informative in firm valuation. The findings suggest that during periods of less accessible external financing, such as recessions, firms with greater investment opportunities are among the first firms to make necessary dividend reductions to take advantage of such opportunities. When external financing is more accessible, firms with superior investment opportunities are able to access capital markets in lieu of dividend-reducing internal financing, indicating higher firm values for earlier dividend reductions during periods of costly external financing and significantly lower firm values for early reductions when financing is more easily obtained. A series of empirical tests show that, in periods of less accessible external financing or during a recession, early dividend-reducing firms significantly outperform late reducers in announcement day and contraction cycle cumulative abnormal returns. The results also show that, outside of a recession, early dividend-reducing firms have significantly lower industry contraction cycle returns than late dividend reducers. Additionally, this study compares early dividend reductions that occur during periods of costly external financing (or during a recession) against early reductions that occur when external financing is more available (or outside of a recession) and finds the former to have significantly higher announcement day and contraction cycle cumulative abnormal returns.
AN EXPLORATORY EVALUATION OF THE PULPABILITY OF Brachystegia spiciformis AND Pericopsis angolensis FROM THE ANGOLAN MIOMBO WOODLANDS

Brachystegia spiciformis and Pericopsis angolensis are two hardwood species found in the Miombo woodlands. The wood features, kraft pulping and strength pulp properties of both species were evaluated in order to determine their potential as raw material for papermaking. Brachystegia spiciformis wood density was 640 kg m-3 and Pericopsis angolensis was 795 kg m-3. Pericopsis angolensis wood has higher cell wall thickness and occluded fibre lumen as remarkable anatomical properties. Runkel ratio, slenderness ratio, and the coefficients of flexibility and rigidity in Brachystegia spiciformis were 1.5, 65.7, 41.2% and 29.4%, while in Pericopsis angolensis these values were 17.6, 59.9, 5.4% and 47.3%, respectively. Brachystegia spiciformis has a higher cellulose content, lower hemicellulose and lignin content, and higher S/G ratio than Pericopsis angolensis. In kraft pulping, a higher demand of active alkali was needed for both species, and pulps with high kappa number (24–27) and low pulp yield (40%) were obtained. Pericopsis angolensis pulps reached tensile, tear and burst indexes of 99.6 Nm g-1, 5.9 mN.m2 g-1 and 4.9 kPa.m2 g-1, respectively. Brachystegia spiciformis pulps reached tensile, tear and burst indexes of 100.3 Nm g-1, 10.7 mN.m2 g-1 and 6.1 kPa.m2 g-1, respectively. As a conclusion, Brachystegia spiciformis wood has better pulpability than Pericopsis angolensis wood, according to its pulps properties, despite of the similar pulp yield between both species. Both species may be suitable for unbleached wrapping papers and rigid cardboards manufacturing.
Impossibility and Related Doctrines in Contract Law: An Economic Analysis

O RDINARILY the failure of one party to a contract to fulfill the performance required of him constitutes a breach of contract for which he is liable in damages to the other party. But sometimes the failure to perform is excused and the contract is said to be discharged rather than breached. This study uses economic theory to investigate three closely related doctrines in the law of contracts that operate to discharge a contract: "impossibility," "impracticability," and "frustration. " These are not the only excuses for nonperformance of a contract. Among other excuses, not discussed in this study, is the closely related doctrine of mutual mistake (sometimes called "antecedent impossibility"). Also related, and only incidentally discussed herein, is the doctrine of Hadley v. Baxendale1 limiting the liability of the breaching party to the foreseeable damages of the breach. There is an extensive legal literature on the set of doctrines that, for want of a more inclusive term, we shall sometimes lump together under the name "impossibility. " The main conclusions of this literature are summarized in Part IA, next, while Part IB analyzes the subject from the standpoint of economics.2 Part II applies the economic analysis to the leading cases and
SELF EMPLOYMENT AMONG GRADUATES

An econometric model of the self-employment decision is estimated for a large sample of U.K. graduates. Although the earnings distributions suggest that there are incentives to be self-employed, the difference in the predicted earnings that an individual receives in the self-employed and employed sectors is not a significant influence on the choice of sector and the decision depends on personal and social factors. Policies based on changing the pecuniary returns may not encourage the growth of self-employment among graduates. The econometric results also suggest that the self-employed are a nonrandom subset of the graduate workforce. Copyright 1990 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the Board of Trustees of the Bulletin of Economic Research
Evaluating the Democratic Accountability of Governance Networks: Analysing Two Nordic Megaprojects

Abstract There is currently a need to analyse and measure the democratic accountability of governance networks. This kind of analysis and measurement calls for the development of an interactive conceptualisation of democratic accountability that makes it possible to measure the level of democratic accountability of concrete governance networks with reference to the extent to which they interact with (1) relevant politicians appointed through the institutions of representative democracy, (2) the relevant and affected stakeholders, and (3) the wider citizenry. A case study of two governance networks involved in two Nordic megaprojects illustrates how this measurement device can be brought into use and what the insights are that can be gained from it.
The Education of English Language Learners in Arizona: A Legacy of Persisting Achievement Gaps in a Restrictive Language Policy Climate.

Author(s): Garcia, Eugene; Lawton, Kerry; Diniz de Figueiredo, Eduardo H. | Abstract: This report reviews achievement gaps in both reading and math between ELL and non-ELL students in Arizona over the post-Proposition 203 period 2005-2009 and during the first year of implementation of the 4 hour ELD block, 2008-09. The study finds that Arizona has made little to no progress in closing the achievement gap between ELL and non-ELL students during this period. It also compares achievement gaps in reading and math over the same period between Arizona and Utah and Washington DC, two educational entities with vastly different spending policies. Here, the study argues that, notwithstanding changes in tests and proficiency thresholds in the states over this period of time, the relative position of Arizona vis-a-vis these comparison entities remains very similar, with Arizona continuing to lag behind both in percent of ELL students achieving proficiency in reading and math. The study concludes that Arizona is on the wrong path for closing achievement gaps for its ELL students and that this is due, at least in part, to its highly restrictive language instruction policies.Also available at http://civilrightsproject.ucla. edu
How Conservative Does the Central Banker Have to Be? On the Treatment of Expectations under Discretionary Policymaking

This paper explores an issue that arises in the delegation process. The paper shows that a myopic central banker, one who treats expectations as constant in setting discretionary policy, can replicate the behaviour of output and inflation under policy from a timeless perspective. For that to happen, society must delegate a price level target or a speed limit policy to a central banker who is more weight-conservative than society.
The Effect of Complement Factor H Y402H Polymorphism on the Outcome of Photodynamic Therapy in Age-related Macular Degeneration

Purpose Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been widely used in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The complement cascade has an important role in the tissue reactions occurring after PDT. The Y402H polymorphism of the complement factor H (CFH) gene has been identified as a risk factor for AMD. Since CFH is central in the regulation of the complement system the authors wanted to analyze whether the CFH Y402H polymorphism modifies the PDT outcome in AMD. Methods A total of 88 patients having been treated with PDT and without further scheduled PDT sessions were analyzed. Depending on the situation at their final PDT session the patients were classified retrospectively as PDT-responders or PDT-nonresponders. All patients were genotyped for the CFH Y402H polymorphism. Results The proportion of PDT-responders was 18/26 (69.2%) in patients homozygous for the CFH Y402H risk allele, 34/50 (68.0%) in heterozygous, and 7/12 (58.3%) in patients with the normal genotype (p=0.520). The median number of PDT treatments of the PDT-responders was three for all the genotypes. Conclusions The dysfunction of the CFH related to the risk of AMD and caused by the Y402H polymorphism does not modify the outcome of PDT. Genotyping for CFH Y402H cannot be used to select patients for this treatment.
Determinants of Chief Executive Officer Compensation

This study investigates correlates of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) compensation, with particular emphasis on measures of firm performance. An analysis of data from 120 firms in 1977–81 shows that, contrary to the findings of some other studies, CEOs were not given an incentive through compensation to increase the size of the firm at the expense of profit. Rather, CEO compensation was positively related to profit as a percentage of sales. Also, CEOs recruited from outside the firm earned significantly more than internally promoted CEOs, and both of those groups earned significantly more than CEOs who were founders of the firm. The market equity value of the firm and the CEO's age and years of service as a CEO had little effect on compensation.
Supply side short-circuiting in design and build projects

Design and build is becoming an increasingly adopted procurement solution for construction projects. Characterised by its integrated team approach, it allows the construction contractor to take a more central role in the design process than its traditional alternatives. Its global popularity and rate of adoption necessitate greater understanding by those involved, particularly client organisations whose primary business is not construction. This research is focused on understanding the team dynamics at the pre‐tender stage. Employing a grounded theory methodology and semi‐structured interviews, the central theme of “short‐circuiting” the tender development process by architects emerged. Four major themes responsible for short‐circuiting are: the quality and distribution of the “employer’s requirements”; architect’s unwillingness to realign their role with design and build; clarity of the contractor’s communication channels; and client’s misunderstanding of the time required to successfully procure buildings. The short‐circuiting manifests itself in a confusion of roles and responsibility of the parties involved, leading to client dissatisfaction in the finished construction product.
Building scientific literacy through summer science camps: a strategy for design, implementation and assessment

To enhance scientific literacy in the general public efforts are needed that both inspire and engage the learner. Often such efforts are provided through school programs or science learning centers, however, in many rural communities such resources are unavailable. Alternate strategies are needed to provide individuals with quality educational opportunities. One such option is the development of short-term science camps. Science camps can provide both researchers and teachers with the opportunity to disseminate important scientific findings and concepts to a broad audience. Here, we present a brief guide for those educators interested in developing a short-term science camps as a means to promote scientific education and literacy. The aim of this guide is to discuss the potential benefits and caveats associated with running a science camp in rural areas and provide educators with a template assessment for evaluating students' knowledge and perceptions of science. We also discuss the results of a pilot camp offered to seven students in the rural international community of the Exuma Cays, Bahamas. We used using pre- and post-knowledge assessments as well as student self-evaluations to evaluate the effectiveness of the camp. Our findings suggest that these short-term outreach activities can have a positive impact on the scientific literacy and long-term career goals of the participants.
Gambling with the house money and trying to break even: the effects of prior outcomes on risky choice

How is risk-taking affected by prior gains and losses? While normative theory implores decision makers to only consider incremental outcomes, real decision makers are influenced by prior outcomes. We first consider how prior outcomes are combined with the potential payoffs offered by current choices. We propose an editing rule to describe how decision makers frame such problems. We also present data from real money experiments supporting a "house money effect" (increased risk seeking in the presence of a prior gain) and "break-even effects" (in the presence of prior losses, outcomes which offer a chance to break even are especially attractive).
Career entrenchment: A quiet march toward occupational death?

Executive Overview Willy Loman, the desperate protagonist of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, knew what it was like to be entrenched in a career. Miller wrote his play in 1949, but Loman's grim and futile situation is all too familiar to some contemporary workers. What happens when workers are entrapped and disillusioned? Willy Loman sought to free himself through suicide. Fortunately, other options are available and are chosen daily by entrenched careerists and their managers.
Growth, what growth? It is not on the menu: subsistence entrepreneurship among Zimbabwean entrepreneurs - a country perspective

Entrepreneurship is an important activity for the entrepreneur, country and employee, as it creates employment for the employee and wealth for both entrepreneur and state. But governments benefit little from informal and small companies that do not pay taxes. Hence, the huge desires for governments like Zimbabwe to see informal and small enterprises grow to the level where they pay taxes. On the other hand, entrepreneurs start entrepreneurial ventures for different reasons including creating a job for one's relatives and self, to supplement one's income, having a desire to achieve bigger things, as a last resort in terms of survival, or as a way to while away time whilst waiting for secure salaried employment. As a result of these differences, entrepreneurs have differing approaches to the future of their enterprises. Whilst some would be committed to their enterprises' current operations and future growth, for others growth is not on the menu, as they are happy to operate on a subsistence level for the entire life of the enterprise.
Difference Systems in Financial Futures Markets

Many financial futures markets allow substitutions for the par grade of security at delivery. Substitutes are deliverable at premiums or discounts-"differences" in commodities parlance-to the futures price. The rule that establishes these differences is called a difference system. This paper characterizes financial futures market equilibrium with yield-based difference systems and investigates particular systems in use. The major finding is that currently used difference systems effectively limit deliverable supply in the futures markets and lead to futures prices which understate the cash market price of the par security. IN ORDER TO INCREASE deliverable supply, many financial futures markets allow the delivery of a variety of grades (issues) of securities in fulfillment of a financial futures contract. ' The par grade of security on which the futures contract is based is deliverable at the futures price. Various other grades of securities are deliverable at premiums or discounts to the futures price. In commodities parlance, these premiums and discounts are called "differences", and the rule that establishes the set of premiums and discounts is called a "difference system. " [See Hoffman [2] Chapter XV for an excellent discussion of difference systems in commodity futures contracts]. There are two types of difference systems currently in use in financial futures markets. Both are based on security yields. The first is called variable rate or yield maintenance pricing. Under this system, nonpar securities are deliverable at the futures price times a factor which is the price of the delivered security relative to the par security where both are discounted by the yield of the par security selling at the futures price. The second is called fixed rate or factor pricing. Under this system, nonpar securities are deliverable at the futures price times a "factor" which is the price of the delivered security relative to the par security where both are discounted at the yield of the par security selling at par. This paper first characterizes financial futures market equilibrium with yieldbased difference systems and then investigates theoretically and empirically the particular characteristics of factor pricing and yield maintenance pricing. The major finding is that currently used differences systems produce financial futures prices which systematically understate the spot market price of the par security * Vice President, Chicago Mercantile Exchange. This research was conducted while the author was Economist, Financial Studies Section, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The opinions in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Board