Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Growth Economics of Epidemics: A Review of the Theory

This survey of economic growth theory applied to epidemiology highlights that Blanchard-Yaari structures involving a Lucas human capital accumulation are appropriate to study an AIDS-like crisis. Physical capital accumulation, schooling, health expenditures and supply effects are put together within a Blanchard two-sector economy to capture life-cycle effects of AIDS-like epidemics.
The financing behaviour of firms and financial crisis

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the capital structure literature by examining the determinants of capital structure from the context of South Africa and to provide evidence of the effects of the 2007/2008 global financial crisis on firm-level determinants of debt-equity choice. Design/methodology/approach - – This paper begins by embarking on an extensive review of literature on extant empirical research on capital structure. The panel econometric technique is further adopted to examine firm-level determinants of capital structure and also the impact of 2007/2008 financial crisis. Findings - – The findings of the paper suggest that theories of capital structure underpinning debt-equity choice of firms in developed economies are also applicable in the South African context. The authors also find a strong evidence of the effects of the financial crisis on the capital structure of firms in South Africa. Practical implications - – This paper serves as springboard on which further research can be grounded and also highlights the interaction between the South African economy and the global economy. Originality/value - – The paper provides a fresh evidence on the determinants of capital structure from the Sub-Saharan African context and to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that examines the effects of the 2007/2008 financial crisis on capital structure of firms in South Africa.
The impact of an integrated community-based micronutrient and health programme on anaemia in non-pregnant Malawian women

Abstract Objective To assess the impact of an integrated community-based micronutrient and health (MICAH) programme on anaemia (Hb < 120 g/l) among non-pregnant rural Malawian women aged 15–49 years from communities that participated in the 1996–2005 MICAH programme. Design Prospective study of two large-scale cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2000 and 2004 as part of programme evaluation in MICAH and Comparison areas. Setting Rural areas across Malawi. The MICAH programme implemented a comprehensive package of interventions to reduce anaemia, based on a broad range on direct and indirect causes in Malawi. The project approaches included: Fe supplementation; dietary diversification and modification; food fortification; and strengthening primary health care. Participants Non-pregnant women of childbearing age (15–49 years old, n 5422), from randomly selected households that responded to a household questionnaire, had their Hb measured from finger-prick blood samples using the HemoCue®. Results In 2000, there was no significant difference in Hb concentration between MICAH and Comparison areas (mean (se): 117·4 (0·4) v. 116·8 (0·5) g/l, P > 0·05) and the corresponding prevalence of anaemia (53·5 % v. 52·9 %, P > 0·05). By 2004, Hb concentration had increased significantly in MICAH but not in Comparison areas (mean (se): 121·0 (0·4) v. 115·7 (0·6) g/l, P < 0·001), and the prevalence of anaemia had declined significantly in MICAH areas (53·5 % to 44·1 %, χ2 = 28·2, P < 0·0001) but not in Comparison areas (52·8 % to 54·0 %, χ2 = 0·3, P = 0·6). Conclusions The MICAH programme was an effective public health nutrition programme that was associated with significant reductions in the prevalence of anaemia among non-pregnant rural Malawian women.
Determinants of economic growth: the experts' view

Over the last two decades a wide range of studies has investigated the factors underlying economic growth. Using differing conceptual and methodological viewpoints, these studies have placed emphasis on a different set of explanatory parameters and offered various insights to the sources of economic growth and development. This paper draws on a questionnaire survey addressed to various experts (academics, regional scientists, policy makers and business people), to explore their views on the factors underlying economic dynamism. Economic dynamics refers to the potential an area has for generating and maintaining high rates of economic performance. Specific issues raised in the questionnaire include an evaluation of the world’s most dynamic areas (in the near future), the factors that advance or retard economic growth, the significance attached to a number of elements in terms of their influence to economic performance, the combination of characteristics that expected to promote economic dynamism and an evaluation of the ability of each theoretical background and methodological technique to explain economic dynamism and to study growth. The results of this research, which is in progress, are expected to assist assessment of our current knowledgebase, to identify misconceptions and knowledge gaps and to indicate direction for further research on the issue of economic growth.
THE GENERIC PROBLEMS OF COMPETITIVENESS AT COMPANY LEVEL IN THE FORMER SOCIALIST ECONOMIES - THE CASE OF CROATIA

THIS ARTICLE IS BASED ON the research project on 'The Competitiveness of Croatia', financed by the Croatian government towards the end of 1992 and the beginning of 1993. The author was the project leader. The project examined three important aspects of Croatian competitiveness. First, price competitiveness and market shares of the most important Croatian export products. Second, the competitive situation of eight industrial and service sectors. Third, the competitiveness problems at the company level, based on case-studies of 14 Croatian companies. The study of the companies was based on a 36-page questionnaire combining hard and soft data.1 It is structured around the main business functions covering the following areas: markets, marketing and distribution; labour force and management; production, equipment and technology; technical preparation, engineering, RD and finance. An extensive list of questions for interviews with top managers is included. The companies selected are mainly big companies (700-5000 employees) and are all exporters. They are from the following sectors: textiles and clothing (three), process equipment (one), machine tools (one), food (one), pharmaceuticals (one), electric equipment (one), steel (one), telecommunications (one), shipbuilding (one), tourism (two) and shipping (one). The analyses of companies are complementary to the sectoral studies, as well as to the analysis of the competitiveness problems at the macro level. The authors presented their results in the form of case-studies.2 The aggregation of the cases shows some characteristics that are common to all the companies examined. We call these characteristics generic and we think they are common to most of the former socialist economies.
Growing a business and becoming more entrepreneurial: the five traits of success

Purpose – In today's current economic environment the barriers to growth are even more apparent than normal and there is little appetite for risk taking and minimal room for mistake making. This paper aims to assess how entrepreneurs can successfully recognize and respond to opportunities quickly and effectively.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through a survey of entrepreneurs entitled: “What makes entrepreneurs tick? ”. Findings – The paper finds that successful entrepreneurs conduct frequent and thorough risk assessments of ideas and opportunities and take appropriate action accordingly. They minimize the risks within their control, and understand the probability and impact of the risks they cannot control.Practical implications – While running a growing, successful entrepreneurial business looks like a talent you either do or do not have, the reality is there are some core aptitudes which are quite definable and which can be instilled in an organization.Social implications – Entrepreneu.
The impact of land reallocation on technical efficiency: evidence from China

China's rural reforms expose farm households to an increased risk of administrative land reallocation and adjustment. This study explores the impact of land reallocation on technical efficiency, based on a panel data set from rural households in Zhejiang, Hubei, and Yunnan provinces between 1995 and 2002. Our research indicates that the development of a land rental market could serve as a substitute for administrative land reallocation in optimizing the distribution of land resources. The results from the stochastic frontier production function show that land reallocation does have effects on technical efficiency. The different signs for different provinces indicate that the impact of land reallocation on technical efficiency is an empirical issue and depends on the specific institutional settings and the overall economic environment in each province.
Natural-Rate Theory and OECD Unemployment

Our mission is to examine from the perspective of the intertemporal-equilibrium models of endogenous natural-rate theory the huge swings in unemployment among the OECD countries in recent times. We first look at the huge rise in jobless rates between the early 1970s and the early 1990s throughout the OECD: in the United States a rise from about 51 per cent to 7 per cent, Canada from about 6 to 10,Japan from 11 to 21, Italy from 31 to about 71, the United Kingdom from about 33 to about 9, France from about 23 to about 10, and West Germany from 4 to 5$;. 1 We then look at the developing recovery of the general unemployment rate, most notably in the United Kingdom and the United States, amid a generally continued elevation of jobless rates among the less educated. We see the mid-1990s surge of unemployment in Germany, France and Italy as another story. There are other, older perspectives, of course. Keynesians interpreted events in the 1970s and in the 1980s as signs of effective-demand and effective-supply shocks (Feldstein, 1986; Fitoussi and Phelps, 1986; Malinvaud, 1985; Pissarides, 1990). But if the natural rate was unchanged they had to explain why the subsequent disinflation was short-lived (why inflation even turned up in the late 1980s or early 1990s) despite high unemployment. Lacking an endogenous natural rate, Keynesians could explain the durability of the slump only by positing either a permanent expectational disequilibrium or hysteresis, i.e. non-ergodicity (as in Phelps, 1972) or a degree of persistence so great as to be empirically indistinguishable from hysteresis. As the slump ran on, the expectational possibility wore thin. So they were down to hysteresis. Hicks (1974) launched a break with the Keynesian-monetarist perspective in the 1980s with his appeal to real frictions or rigidities. If wage-setting mechanisms make the real wage, v, sticky (in the sense of Lerner), hence predetermined in the short run, the unemployment rate, u, will rise in the short run in response to a shock contracting the 'demand wage,' i.e., a downward shift of the labour-demand schedule in the 1 u, v plane (Bruno and Sachs, 1985). Another landmark was a bargaining model with the property that its natural unemployment rate rose in response to several much-discussed shocks such as higher taxes and an energy shock reducing labour productivity (Layard and
The integrated conjugative plasmid pSAM2 of Streptomyces ambofaciens is related to temperate bacteriophages.

Streptomyces ambofaciens ATCC23877 and derivatives contain the 11‐kb element pSAM2 present in an integrated state or as a free and integrated plasmid. This element, able to integrate site‐specifically in the genome of different Streptomyces species, is conjugative and mobilizes chromosomal markers. Besides these plasmid functions, we have shown that the site‐specific recombination system of pSAM2 presents strong similarities with that of several temperate phages. The integration event is promoted by a site‐specific recombinase of the integrase family. The int gene encoding this integrase is closely linked to the plasmid attachment site (attP). A small open reading frame (ORF) overlaps the int gene and the predicted protein exhibits similarities with Xis proteins involved in phages excision. The integrated copy of pSAM2 in strain ATCC23877 is flanked by att sequences (attL and attR). Another att sequence (attX) is present in this strain and attX and attL are the boundaries of a 42‐kb fragment (xSAM1) absent, as well as pSAM2, from S.ambofaciens DSM40697. Sequences partially similar to pSAM2 int gene are found near the chromosomal integration zone in both S.ambofaciens strains. The possible origin of pSAM2, an element carrying plasmid as well as phage features, is discussed.
A Structural Analysis of Credit Risk With Risky Collateral: A Methodology for Haircut Determination

Although many credit risk pricing models exist in the academic literature, very little attention has been paid to the impact of risky collateral on credit risk. It is nonetheless well known that practitioners often mitigate credit risk with collateral, using so–called haircuts for collateral level determination. The presence of collateral has a complex effect that can not be analysed simply with existing models. We analyse the value of credit risk when there is collateral in a range of different situations, including dual–default in a simple setting, stochastic collateral, stochastic bond collateral with stochastic interest rates, continuous and discrete marking–to–market and margin calls. The models confirm many practical intuitions, such as the impact on the haircut level required of the risks of the collateral asset and of the underlying asset to the forward as well as the impact of their correlation. Moreover, the model supports the intuition that the frequency of marking–to–market and collateral are substitutes. The models also stress the possibly unexpected magnitude of these factors. More importantly, they give actual solutions to determining the value of the credit risk depending on the haircut chosen and the frequency of marking–to–markets, results not presented before in the literature. The models are also a good basis to understand the portfolio effect of collateral management. Finally, they illustrate how differences in prices may arise from pure differences of credit risk management, as illustrated here in the case of futures and forwards. (J.E.L.: G13).
Faith-Based Sexual Education: A Comparison of Comprehensive and Abstinence-Only Programs

This study sought to evaluate the effects of faith-based sexual education programs. Participants (ages 13-18, N = 128) were surveyed regarding their religious and sexual attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors prior to completing a sexual education program at their church, synagogue, or religious institution and again after completing the program. The sexual education programs were divided into three groups based on program content and duration: abstinence-only-short, comprehensive-short, and comprehensive-long. The first goal was to assess the within-group effects of attending an abstinence-only or comprehensive sexual education program. Participants from all three groups showed an increase in the degree to which they believed that sex is special. The second goal was to compare the postprogram outcomes of each of the three groups. Interestingly, the groups varied little with regard to attitudes. Among sexually inactive youth, participants who attended an abstinenceonly program were more likely to cite religious reasons for abstinence. Additionally, participants from the comprehensive-long program engaged in more sexual activity than participants from the other groups, which was likely due to their older age. The promise of faith-based initiatives is discussed, as well as the existing research challenges and possible solutions. Future research directions are considered. Faith-Based Sexual Education iv
Education and Training for Entrepreneurs: A Consideration of Initiatives in Ireland and the Netherlands.

A growing body of academic research has examined the effectiveness of entrepreneurship training and support initiatives, with recent studies focusing on the provision of training and other skills development opportunities. An important theme that has emerged from this work is the failure of many programmes and initiatives to take on board the particular needs of the entrepreneurs in developing training and support systems. By extending research in this area, this article considers the importance of education and training to the economy and focuses on the particular value of entrepreneurship education and training. Some of the fundamental themes in the literature are reviewed, including the difficulties involved in categorising entrepreneurship education and training; the issue of whether or not entrepreneurship can be taught; the content of entrepreneurship programmes and the cultural and evaluative considerations. The article discusses and compares training and support provision for entrepreneurs in Ireland and The Netherlands.
Isoniazid affects multiple components of the type II fatty acid synthase system of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Genetic and biochemical evidence has implicated two different target enzymes for isoniazid (INH) within the unique type II fatty acid synthase (FAS) system involved in the production of mycolic acids. These two components are an enoyl acyl carrier protein (ACP) reductase, InhA, and a β‐ketoacyl‐ACP synthase, KasA. We compared the consequences of INH treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) with two inhibitors having well‐defined targets: triclosan (TRC), which inhibits InhA; and thiolactomycin (TLM), which inhibits KasA. INH and TLM, but not TRC, upregulate the expression of an operon containing five FAS II components, including kasA and acpM. Although all three compounds inhibit mycolic acid synthesis, treatment with INH and TLM, but not with TRC, results in the accumulation of ACP‐bound lipid precursors to mycolic acids that were 26 carbons long and fully saturated. TLM‐resistant mutants of MTB were more cross‐resistant to INH than TRC‐resistant mutants. Overexpression of KasA conferred more resistance to TLM and INH than to TRC. Overexpression of InhA conferred more resistance to TRC than to INH and TLM. Co‐overexpression of both InhA and KasA resulted in strongly enhanced levels of INH resistance, in addition to cross‐resistance to both TLM and TRC. These results suggest that these components of the FAS II complex are not independently regulated and that alterations in the expression level of InhA affect expression levels of KasA. Nonetheless, INH appeared to resemble TLM more closely in overall mode of action, and KasA levels appeared to be tightly correlated with INH sensitivity.
Self regulation mechanisms 1 RUNNING HEAD : Associated mechanisms of self-regulation Mechanisms of self-regulation : Associations between cognitive control and emotion regulation

This study sought to expand on the current understanding of a relationship between two self-regulatory systems: cognitive control and emotion regulation. Cognitive control ability was measured through the error-related negativity (ERN) and post-error behavioral measures during a Stroop task. Emotion regulation ability was assessed by measures of cortisol levels and heart rate after a stress manipulation as well as a selfreport measure of coping skills (the CISS). We predicted that individuals with better cognitive control abilities would show lower levels of cortisol and heart rates in response to the stress manipulation and higher scores on the CISS problem focused coping subscale. While we found that higher levels of cognitive control were correlated with lower levels of cortisol after the Stroop task, we did not find this expected correlation in response to the stress manipulation. There were also no significant correlations between our other measures of emotion regulation (heart rate and the CISS) and cognitive control ability. Implications of this finding as well as directions for future research are discussed. Self regulation mechanisms 3
The Issue of Endogeneity within Theory-Based, Quantitative Management Accounting Research

Abstract A current issue of potential concern in theory-based management accounting research is the extent to which endogeneity limits the validity of empirical testing of models. This paper aims to stimulate debate as to the meaning of endogeneity as it applies to (management) accounting research. The paper explains what endogeneity is, its causes and consequences, and potential ways of managing the problem. Specifically, the paper argues that an econometric definition of endogeneity clarifies its meaning in empirical research. A series of basic issues that concern endogeneity and theory construction are presented. These include omitted variables, simultaneity, equilibrium conditions and issues concerning choice variables. Finally, possible approaches for dealing with endogeneity are presented.
Who consults? The configuration of expert groups in the European union

This article examines and explains the committee system of the EU as a crucial property of the EU governance system using a database on the European Commission's experts groups. What is the extent of the expert consultative system? What is the distribution of expert groups? Are these groups best understood as loose networks or do they constitute a stable, well-established consultative system? We observe a proliferation of expert groups over time and across sectors. They have become permanent properties of the EU governance system; yet they are remarkably unevenly distributed among different policy domains. Sectoral differentiation is accentuated by weak horizontal coordination between the Directorates-General. We argue that this heterogeneity is not only a result of deliberate design attempts and differences in policy tasks, but also the result of differences in legal and administrative capabilities, as well as the gradual development of different routines and norms among the DGs.
A meta-review of Internet computer-based psychological treatments for anxiety disorders

Introduction Internet computer-based psychological treatments have enjoyed rapid growth. Today, there are a number of them available for many mental disorders and psychological problems. Internet-based psychological treatments for anxiety disorders and phobias are amongst the most frequently observed. Treatment results with these resources are promising, but inconclusive. Methods This paper reviews 11 systematic reviews and meta-analyses about the efficacy of Internet-based psychological treatments for anxiety disorders, including studies and clinical trials covering the majority of anxiety disorders and phobias, usually with adult patient samples. Results In general, these reviews agree on the efficacy of Internet-based psychological treatment as compared with non-treatment groups (with large effect sizes), finding similar efficacy compared with face-to-face therapies. Internet-based psychological treatments are further improved when combined with some type of therapist contact. On the negative side, some systematic reviews highlight high attrition rates of Internet-based psychological treatments. Discussion These findings remain inconclusive and more refined reviews (involving patient samples, therapy comparisons, type of therapist contact, etc.) are needed, in order to establish the scope and limits of Internet-based psychological treatments for anxiety disorders.