Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perfect Equilibrium in a Model of a Race

This paper investigates perfect equilibrium in a model of a race in which two players are competing for an indivisible prize. The winner is the first player to reach the finishing line. It is shown that the behaviour of the winner of the race is often exactly as if he were the only player: the rival makes no difference. Even if competition does affect the winner's behaviour, it does so only in the first stage of the race and not thereafter. It is shown how several factors combine to determine which player will win: relative valuations of the prize, discount rates, efficiency at making progress and initial distances from the finishing line. Insofar as the model applies to patent races, it suggests that the potential competition faced by one firm in a patent race (e.g. an incumbent monopolist) may be of little or no consequence.
The Dynamics of Lawmaking in a Bicameral Legislature

This article analyzes legislative performance in a nascent presidential bicameral democracy, taking Brazil as a case. The author argues that the timing and outcomes of legislative production are functions of bicameral incongruence, types of bicameralism, sequence of examination, and legislative bargaining. These hypotheses are tested using a new legislative data set from Brazil that covers over 3,000 bills submitted to the National Congress since 1988. Event history analyses of these bills show that presidential bicameral (coalitional) majorities, presidential elections, initiation by the lower house, and bills proposing provisional changes raise the chances of a bill's approval. The results also indicate that the effects of many of these variables are time dependent. In contrast, bicameral incongruence, symmetric bicameralism, and legislative elections either raise the risks of a bill's rejection or delay the timing of its approval. Economic crises increase legislative activities in general in both approving and rejecting bills.
Challenges Facing Medical Residents' Satisfaction in the Middle East: A Report From United Arab Emirates

Phenomenon: Medical residents' satisfaction with the quality of training for medical residency training specialists is one of the core measures of training program success. It will also therefore contribute to the integrity of healthcare in the long run. Yet there is a paucity of research describing medical residents' satisfaction in the Middle East, and there are no published studies that measure the satisfaction of medical residents trained within the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This makes it difficult to develop a quality residency training program that might meet the needs of both physicians and society. Approach: The authors designed a questionnaire to assess medical residents' satisfaction with the Dubai residency training program in order to identify insufficiencies in the training, clinical, and educational aspects. The survey was a self-report questionnaire composed of different subscales covering sociodemographic and educational/academic profile of the residents along with their overall satisfaction of their training, curriculum, work environment, peer teamwork, and their personal opinion on their medical career. Findings: Respondents showed a substantial level of satisfaction with the residency training. The vast majority of residents (80%, N = 88) believe that their residency program curriculum and rotation was “good,” “very good,” or “excellent. ” Areas of dissatisfaction included salary, excessive paperwork during rotations, and harassment. Insights: This is the first report that studies the satisfaction of medical residents in all specialties in Dubai, UAE. Our findings provide preliminary evidence on the efficiency of different modifications applied to the residency program in UAE. To our knowledge, there has not been any previous study in the Middle East that has analyzed this aspect of medical residents from different specialties. The authors believe that this report can be used as a baseline to monitor the effectiveness of interventions applied in the future toward improving residency training programs in this region.
TRADE LIBERALIZATION, EXCHANGE RATE AND EXPORT GROWTH IN PAKISTAN

This paper examines the impact of trade liberalization and effective exchange rate on export growth for Pakistan, using Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). The study is based on annual time series data for the period 1981-2010.The results suggest that, openness has a significant and positive impact on export growth in the long run. Real effective exchange rate and world GDP also have positive and significant impact on export but only if trade is more liberalized. Two interaction terms (OP*WY,OP*RR) are used in the study, which postulate an important concept in literature.
Identification and evaluation of suitable locations for waste management sites

Placing a sanitary waste management landfill (SWML) has long been a controversial issue and often creates strong public reactions. It is clear that the spatial variability of components and impacts is inherently connected to the process of site selection. The present research initially aims to provide decision-makers with a spatial methodology for the early stages of planning when a number of alternative locations are considered. Geographical information systems (GIS) are being used which can serve as a platform providing to all parties involved in such a process with thematic maps excluding areas unsuitable for SWML. The methodology further assists the decision making at the later stages of planning, when the subjectivity of factors assigned by both planners and consultants is being tested. The methodology allows the sensitivity of the apparent 'best' option to the allocation of weightings to be explored criticising eventually the outcome of conducted studies. Although European legislations have been taken into consideration, the principal motivation of the present research is to examine how the proposed methodology relates to current Greek procedures for siting a SWM landfill. The application of the methodology is illustrated using a case study which is a SWM landfill in West Attica, Greece.
The 2004 Olympic Games announcement and its effect on the Athens and Milan stock exchanges

Through an event study methodology, the effect of the nomination of Athens as the hosting city for the Olympics of 2004 on the stock exchanges of Greece (winner) and Italy (loser), the two primary candidates for the Games is examined. Academic literature suggests that sporting mega events have a positive contribution to the host area economy. This implies that the stock exchange should react positively to the announcement of such events. Berman et al. (2000), in a similar study on the announcement of the Sydney 2000 Olympics, found no significant effect on the overall market and only limited effect on infrastructure-related companies based in the specific area hosting the Games. This study reveals a significantly positive effect on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) as a whole, as well as on infrastructure-related industries. No significant effect was identified on the Milan Stock Exchange (MSE). The differences in the impact of the announcement to economy size differences between the two countries and to the assessment is attributed to the fact that due to the highly competitive nature of the bidding process the financial markets assign higher probability to losing instead of winning.
Global market integration increases likelihood that a future African Green Revolution could increase crop land use and CO2 emissions

Significance Agriculture is a key driver of tropical deforestation, and there is heated debate about whether productivity-enhancing crop innovations can slow such environmental degradation. For fixed food demand, globally higher yields will reduce cropland and hence deforestation. However, regional innovations often boost agricultural profitability and lower prices, thereby leading to cropland expansion in the innovating region. This paper develops a framework for understanding the impact of regional innovations on global land use and the environment. Although the historical Green Revolution in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East is shown to have been land sparing, a future Green Revolution in Africa could lead to global cropland expansion in the context of a more fully integrated global agricultural economy. There has been a resurgence of interest in the impacts of agricultural productivity on land use and the environment. At the center of this debate is the assertion that agricultural innovation is land sparing. However, numerous case studies and global empirical studies have found little evidence of higher yields being accompanied by reduced area. We find that these studies overlook two crucial factors: estimation of a true counterfactual scenario and a tendency to adopt a regional, rather than a global, perspective. This paper introduces a general framework for analyzing the impacts of regional and global innovation on long run crop output, prices, land rents, land use, and associated CO2 emissions. In so doing, it facilitates a reconciliation of the apparently conflicting views of the impacts of agricultural productivity growth on global land use and environmental quality. Our historical analysis demonstrates that the Green Revolution in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East was unambiguously land and emissions sparing, compared with a counterfactual world without these innovations. In contrast, we find that the environmental impacts of a prospective African Green Revolution are potentially ambiguous. We trace these divergent outcomes to relative differences between the innovating region and the rest of the world in yields, emissions efficiencies, cropland supply response, and intensification potential. Globalization of agriculture raises the potential for adverse environmental consequences. However, if sustained for several decades, an African Green Revolution will eventually become land sparing.
ANALYSE DES DETERMINANTS DE L’EFFICACITE ENERGETIQUE DANS L’ESPACE UEMOA

﻿﻿Energy saving strategies are key means for developing countries, non-oil producers, to fight against energy dependency and its huge share in national budget. In this perspective, this paper investigates the determinants of energy efficiency in WAEMU countries in order to ensure a sustainable growth. To this end, we used the panel data methodology especially a robust fixed effects model in the form of error correction model. Firstly, we found a U relationship between energy intensity and GDP. Secondly, the structure of the WAEMU economies is a significant determinant of their energy efficiency level in the sense that industrial and service sectors significantly reduce their energy intensity. However, the study shows that public sector activities and households’ social and economic behaviors are energy intensive activities. In the same way, the stock of capital is composed of less energy saving technologies since it positively affects the energy consumption per unit of output. Finally, this paper reveals significant differences between WAEMU countries energy intensities.
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development as a Rural Development Strategy

Many social scientists believe that supporting en- trepreneurship development within low-income communities is a viable development strategy to combat poverty. Some even sug- gest that if economic development is to be effective, new busi- nesses in low income areas must be started through local initia- tives, and that entrepreneurship is critical to the maintenance of a healthy economy. Underpinned by recent scholarship and grass- roots movements that suggest that presence of smaller scale, lo- cally-controlled enterprises can help determine whether communi- ties prosper or decline, this paper explores the links between entrepreneurship and rural development. Using a theory of change hmework (Oldsman and Hallberg 2002), the authors examine the USDA 1890 Entrepreneurial Outreach Initiative (USDA 2004) and its use as a local, community-based strategy to spur economic growth and development in rural communities across the South. Microenterprise and small business development programs have become a relatively new and important research subject globally. Many development scholars and professionals believe supporting small businesses within low-income communities is a plausible development strategy to combat poverty. Some suggest that entre- preneurship is critical to the maintenance of a healthy economy and if economic development is to be effective, new businesses in low- income areas must be started through local initiatives (Acs and Mal- ecki 2003, Lichtenstein and Lyons 2001, Smilor 1997, Winders 1997). Despite general support for microenterprise and small
Expression and Splicing of the Insulin‐Like Growth Factor Gene in Rodent Muscle is Associated with Muscle Satellite (stem) Cell Activation following Local Tissue Damage

Muscle satellite cells are mononuclear cells that remain in a quiescent state until activated when they proliferate and fuse with muscle fibres to donate nuclei, a process necessary for post‐embryonic growth, hypertrophy and tissue repair in this post‐mitotic tissue. These processes have been associated with expression of the insulin‐like growth factor (IGF‐I) gene that can undergo alternative splicing to generate different gene products with varying functions. To gain insight into the cellular mechanisms involved in local tissue repair, the time courses of expression of two IGF‐I splice variants produced in muscle were determined together with marker genes for satellite cell activation following local muscle damage. Using real‐time RT‐PCR with specific primers, the mRNA transcripts in rat tibialis anterior muscles were measured at different time intervals following either mechanical damage imposed by electrical stimulation of the stretched muscle or damage caused by injection with bupivacaine. It was found that the autocrine splice variant mechano growth factor (MGF) was rapidly expressed and then declined within a few days following both types of damage. Systemic IGF‐IEa was more slowly upregulated and its increase was commensurate with the rate of decline in MGF expression. Satellite cell activation as measured by M‐cadherin and one of the muscle regulatory factors MyoD and the sequence of expression suggests that the initial pulse of MGF is responsible for satellite cell activation, as the systemic IGF‐IEa mRNA expression peaks after the expression of these markers, including M‐cadherin protein. Later splicing of the IGF‐I gene away from MGF but towards IGF‐IEa seems physiologically appropriate as IGF‐IEa is the main source of mature IGF‐I for upregulation of protein synthesis required to complete the repair.
Monetary policy effectiveness and the housing market

Purpose - This paper aims to examine the controversial issue of the extent to which Federal Reserve monetary policy may have contributed to the recent housing crisis and subsequent adverse macroeconomic developments. Design/methodology/approach - The authors develop a small model that facilitates OLS and VAR estimates of the critical period. Findings - The empirical results support the claim of John B. Taylor and others who held that monetary policy was excessively stimulative in terms of the low fed funds rate 2002-2005, but also support the view of Alan Greenspan and others that the linkages between short-term rates, long-term rates, and the housing market deteriorated during that decade. Originality/value - The model includes the Taylor Rule, a housing equation, and a mechanism linking the two relationships. The empirical results support elements of the camp that blames monetary policy for the recent housing crisis, and elements of the opposing camp which limits policy culpability. Specifically, it suggests excessive monetary ease and a structural change (for which the Fed cannot be blamed) in the monetary policy-housing market linkage that occurred prior to the crisis. The results also support long-term, prior crisis, channels of influence that run from the state of the economy to fed funds rates to mortgage interest rates to housing prices. A return to normalcy in the housing market should be accompanied by the re-establishment of these channels.
MODELING EXTRAGALACTIC FOREGROUNDS AND SECONDARIES FOR UNBIASED ESTIMATION OF COSMOLOGICAL PARAMETERS FROM PRIMARY COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND ANISOTROPY

Using the latest physical modeling and constrained by the most recent data, we develop a phenomenological parameterized model of the contributions to intensity and polarization maps at millimeter wavelengths from external galaxies and Sunyaev–Zeldovich effects. We find such modeling to be necessary for estimation of cosmological parameters from Planck data. For example, ignoring the clustering of the infrared background would result in a bias in ns of 7σ in the context of an eight-parameter cosmological model. We show that the simultaneous marginalization over a full foreground model can eliminate such biases, while increasing the statistical uncertainty in cosmological parameters by less than 20%. The small increases in uncertainty can be significantly reduced with the inclusion of higher-resolution ground-based data. The multi-frequency analysis we employ involves modeling 46 total power spectra and marginalization over 17 foreground parameters. We show that we can also reduce the data to a best estimate of the cosmic microwave background power spectra, with just two principal components (with constrained amplitudes) describing residual foreground contamination.
Causality analysis among electricity consumption, consumer expenditure, gross domestic product (GDP) and foreign direct investment (FDI): Case study of Malaysia

The current paper attempts to examine the causal relationship between electricity consumption (EC), consumer price index (CPI), gross domestic product (GDP) and foreign direct investment (FDI). Time series data were used for these variables for 1971 to 2009 period. The vector error correction model (VECM) was employed to estimate the causal relationship between electricity consumption with respective independent variables. All variables were found to be co-integrated indicating the existence of long run relationship among them. Furthermore, the result for long run causality from electricity consumption to FDI, GDP growth and inflation was found to be significant. The results suggest that electricity consumption is an important element determining economic growth in Malaysia and a powerful tool in executing government policy for energy saving. Policy makers should be aware of the importance of stable electricity supply in order to achieve sustainable economic growth.
Working for the Fenland Dollar: An Evaluation of Local Exchange Trading Schemes as an Informal Employment Strategy to Tackle Social Exclusion

This article argues that in the current context of rising unemployment and growing exclusion from the traditional locus of social cohesion and income distribution, a new approach to social policy and employment is required. The scope of informal employment strategies to tackle social exclusion needs to be examined. One such initiative, which has been attracting increasing attention from policy-makers, is the Local Exchange Trading Scheme (LETS) local grassroots community currency which operates as a cashless trading network for members. LETS have been growing throughout the UK in recent years. Findings are presented from a case study of a LETS scheme. LETS was found to be successful at delivering new informal employment opportunities to socially excluded groups, boosting their income, and providing a forum for social interaction and community-building. However, there is scope for much greater participation. LETS's small size restricts its usefulness in the labour market for informal employment, and current state policy towards benefit recipients working on LETS is an obstacle. Possibilities for mainstream incorporation into welfare strategies are limited by the informal, non-commercial and deeply personal value regime enacted within LETS. Yet professionalisation would threaten this nascent socially embedded economic geography. State support for LETS, while highly desirable, should not be considered an unproblematic advocacy issue.
Towards reasonably priced microcredit: analysing Egyptian NGO-MFIs' cost structure and financial performance

Interest rates have always been a much debated topic in microfinance, as the prices paid by low-income clients tend to be higher than conventional banks' rates. In Egypt, microcredit rates are increasingly being criticized and viewed as unreasonably high. The study analyses the effective interest rates charged by Egyptian NGO-MFIs compared with commercial banks' rates, and using time series cross-sectional regression models, the study examines the main determinants affecting NGO-MFIs’ portfolio yield and operating expenses in order to identify prospects for providing reasonably priced credit for low-income Egyptians. Findings suggest that, as the average portfolio yield for NGO-MFIs in Egypt has exceeded the global average portfolio yield, there is a clear potential for providing microcredit at lower prices, and much can still be done towards more operational efficiency.
A Consumer Perspective on Price-Matching Refund Policies: Effect on Price Perceptions and Search Behavior

Although price-matching refund policies are common in many retail environments, the impact of such policies on consumers has largely been ignored. This article reports the results of three studies that examine price-matching policies from a consumer perspective. Study 1 shows that consumers perceive price-matching policies as signals of low store prices and that the presence of a refund increases the likelihood of discontinuing price search. Contrary to the predictions based on signaling theory in information economics, studies 2 and 3 show that when search costs are low, the number of stores searched increases in the presence versus absence of a price-matching policy. When search costs are high, consumers appear to accept the price-matching signal at face value and search less in the presence of a refund. The article concludes by discussing the theoretical implications of the findings and suggesting directions for future research.
GDI1 encodes a GDP dissociation inhibitor that plays an essential role in the yeast secretory pathway.

GTP binding proteins of the Sec4/Ypt/rab family regulate distinct vesicular traffic events in eukaryotic cells. We have cloned GDI1, an essential homolog of bovine rab GDI (GDP dissociation inhibitor) from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Analogous to the bovine protein, purified Gdi1p slows the dissociation of GDP from Sec4p and releases the GDP‐bound form from yeast membranes. Depletion of Gdi1p in vivo leads to loss of the soluble pool of Sec4p and inhibition of protein transport at multiple stages of the secretory pathway. Complementation analysis indicates that GDI1 is allelic to sec19‐1. These results establish that Gdi1p plays an essential function in membrane traffic and are consistent with a role for Gdi1p in the recycling of proteins of the Sec4/Ypt/rab family from their target membranes back to their vesicular pools.