Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Institutional Quality and Economic Crises: Legal Origin Theory versus Colonial Strategy Theory

In a natural experiment among former colonies between 1970 and 1999, weak institutions reflected in high settler mortality and French legal origin often increase the likelihood and intensity of local currency and real crises (i.e., those resulting in a drop in real output) amid six global crises. The effects of institutions on crises are often mediated through macroeconomic policies, but they are often not primary channels. Persistent institutions (i.e., those reflected in the legal origins and settler mortality) predict the occurrence and intensity of crises better than time-varying institutions do.
Explaining Gaps in Readiness for College-Level Math: The Role of High School Courses

Despite increased requirements for high school graduation, almost one-third of the nation's college freshmen are unprepared for college-level math. The need for remediation is particularly high among students who are low income, Hispanic, and black. Female students are also less likely than males to be ready for college-level math. This article estimates how much of these gaps are determined by the courses that students take while in high school. Using data on students in Florida public postsecondary institutions, we find that differences among college-going students in the highest math course taken explain 2835 percent of black, Hispanic, and poverty gaps in readiness and over three-quarters of the Asian advantage. Courses fail to explain gender gaps in readiness. Low-income, black, and Asian students also receive lower returns to math courses, suggesting differential educational quality. This analysis is valuable to policy makers and educators seeking to reduce disparities in college readiness.
Spiraling to Ethnic War: Elites, Masses, and Moscow in Moldova's Civil War

I T h e continuing spread of ethnic violence seems set to replace the spread of communism as the central security concern in western capitals. Ethnic wars in Bosnia, Rwanda, Chechnya, and elsewhere frequently dominate the attention of policymakers and publics worldwide, and when top American officials say that ”instability” is the major worldwide threat to American national security, ethnic wars are largely what they have in mind. The impression created by such rhetoric is that ethnic war can happen anywhere, an impression reinforced by the wide range of places where such wars have recently occurred, from Chiapas to Croatia, Iraqi Kurdistan to Sri Lanka. There have been numerous attempts to explain the causes of these ethnic wars. One approach focuses on the role of mass passions or ”ancient hatred” in driving ethnic violence. ’ A second theory suggests that inter-ethnic security dilemmas may be the key cause of ethnic war. ’ A third approach blames ethnic wars on manipulation by belligerent leaders. However, by focusing on only one cause of conflict-whether hostile masses, belligerent leaders, or the security dilemma-many of these arguments create the false impression that where that one factor is present, ethnic war threatens. They therefore exaggerate the threat of ethnic war.
Rickshaw Bank: Empowering the Poor through Asset Ownership (Innovations Case Narrative: Rickshaw Bank)

me to completely change my profession. I am trained as a veterinary doctor, and have a well-established practice in the city of Guwahati, Assam, in northeastern India. As an outcome of my deep interest in animal husbandry and agribusiness, I established and ran the Centre for Rural Development (CRD), a not–for-profit organization. To attend to work outside the office, I usually took a cycle rickshaw, a tricycle commonly used on Indian roads to carry people or goods for short distances; this transport would cost me five rupees one way. I often wondered how much the rickshaw “pullers” were earning. One day, while taking a ride, I asked one of them “Who owns your rickshaw? ” He gave a name that was clearly not his own. He said he had been working for 16 years as a puller and was paying 25 rupees a day in rental, about 65 U.S. cents. As he talked, I began to understand more about the overall suffering and precarious living conditions of the rickshaw-pulling community. As I got out of the rickshaw and moved on to my own work, I forgot about it, but when I went to bed that evening, his words came back to me. So, I got up and took out my calculator. I could quickly see that the driver paid nearly half his earnings to rent his vehicle and had paid out, many times over, the cost of a rickshaw, roughly6,500 rupees. For me this was a call to action. After doing some research among pullers, I founded the Rickshaw Bank (RB) as one of the flagship programs of CRD on the philosophy that income-producing assets are critical if individuals are to break the vicious cycle of poverty. The program is designed to provide a means of self-employment for members of the poor and marginalized rickshaw community who live in urban slums. The central idea
Manner and Result in the Roots of Verbal Meaning

Rappaport Hovav and Levin (2010) argue that verbs fall into (at least) two classes: result verbs (e.g., break) and manner verbs (e.g., run). No verb encodes both manner and result simultaneously, a truth-conditional fact that Rappaport Hovav and Levin argue follows from how verb meanings are composed at the level of event structure. However, a key issue in verifying this claim is isolating truth-conditional diagnostics for manner and result. We develop and review a number of such diagnostics and show that there are verbs that encode both meanings together, counterexemplifying their truth-conditional complementarity. However, using evidence from scopal adverbs, we argue that when the meanings occur together, they are encoded in a single, undecomposable manner+result root at event structure. This fact validates complementarity as a fact about how many and what types of roots may occur in an event structure, though it also argues for a richer typology of roots than is typically assumed, including those encoding manner and result simultaneously.
Decoding Human Intervention: Pathways to Successful Environmental Management

Despite progress in integrating sustainability into operations and corporate strategies many companies struggle to see substantial improvements in their environmental practices. The literature offers a preponderance of systems and analytical tools in the field of operations management literature but neglects the soft management factors also believed to be crucial for bringing about change and employee participation. Fundamentally we still lack knowledge about the best ways to engage people and organisations in sustainable practices. To address this gap, we examine both best and poor practices in seven UK ISO 14001 certified manufacturers to explore the intervention mechanisms of soft key success factors (KSF) which enhance environmental practice. This paper has two contributions. First, it clarifies the function of KSFs as antecedent and intervention variables and their role in affecting environmental practice. Second, it develops precise propositions which explain the pathways of four intervention mechanisms as mediators between antecedents and environmental practices.
Consumption and Children

Consumption by couples rises sharply in the beginning and falls later in life; the causes of the early rise are hotly contested. Among the suggestions are rule of thumb behavior, demographics, liquidity constraints, the precautionary motive, and nonseparabilities between consumption and labor supply. We develop two tests of the extreme hypothesis that only changes in family structure matter. We estimate effects of the numbers and ages of children on consumption. These estimates allow us to rationalize all of the increase in consumption without recourse to any of the causal mechanisms. Our estimates can be interpreted either as giving upper bounds on the effects of children or as evidence that the other causes are not important.
The Role of Structural Change in the Economic Development of Asian Economies

In this paper, we combine data on gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and sectoral employment shares to undertake a decomposition of GDP per capita growth for a sample of 43 Asian and non-Asian economies. We decompose income changes into three components: (i) changes in labor productivity within sectors, (ii) employment shifts across sectors (structural change), and (iii) changes in the intensity of employment participation. We then compare the decomposition results for the Asian economies that moved between different income levels of interest with those from a representative typical economy and other comparison economies. The results suggest that in most Asian economies labor productivity growth was the dominant source of gains in GDP per capita, with the observed gains in labor productivity often driven by changing labor productivity within sectors rather than by shifts in employment across sectors. This is not to diminish the role of structural change, which at lower income levels can explain a significant proportion of overall labor productivity growth.
Finite-Sample Properties of Propensity-Score Matching and Weighting Estimators

The finite-sample properties of matching and weighting estimators, often used for estimating average treatment effects, are analyzed. Potential and feasible precision gains relative to pair matching are examined. Local linear matching (with and without trimming), k-nearest-neighbor matching, and particularly the weighting estimators performed worst. Ridge matching, on the other hand, leads to an approximately 25 smaller MSE than does pair matching. In addition, ridge matching is least sensitive to the design choice.
The Long-term Sustainability of Lean as a Management Practice: Survey Evidence on Diffusion and Use of the Concept in Norway in the Period 2015–2017

Even though Lean is a management concept with roots stretching back several decades, it did not take off on a large scale in Norway until around 2010. Since then, Lean has received frequent attention in the Norwegian media, and recent surveys indicate that the diffusion and popularity of Lean can be considered relatively high in both the private and public sectors. This article focuses on the sustainability of Lean as a management practice in Norway. The Google dictionary defines the term “sustainability” as “the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level. ” The article therefore seeks to examine the evolution in the diffusion and use of the Lean concept in Norway in the period 2015–2017. For this purpose, we draw on data from two surveys administered in 2015 and 2017, as well as a small number of follow-up interviews carried out in 2017. The results generally show that the diffusion rate in Norway appears to be relatively stable, and Lean users appear to have a very positive perception of the concept, which indicates that the Lean concept currently has an institutionalised position as a management practice in Norway. Therefore, the evolution pattern of Lean in Norway differs from what has been observed in other countries where the concept appears to be on a downward trajectory in terms of its popularity. Moreover, the results reveal considerable variation in terms of how Lean is interpreted, understood and used in practice, for instance, when it comes to abstraction levels and the use of different Lean-related principles and tools. Overall, the results have several theoretical and methodological implications for future studies on the diffusion, use and long-term sustainability of popular management concepts such as Lean.
More on Identification in Detailed Wage Decompositions

Wage decompositions are often used to decompose wage differentials of two demographic groups into differences in characteristics and differences in returns to those characteristics. The latter part is used as an estimate of the degree of discrimination. A problem with this approach is that the contributions of individual dummy variables to the wage decomposition are not identified. This note proposes a simple solution to the identification problem. The solution is illustrated with an empirical application to Spanish labor market data.
External Allomorphy and Lexical Representation

Many cases of allomorphic alternation are restricted to specific lexical items but at the same time show a regular phonological distribution. Standard approaches cannot deal with these cases because they must either resort to diacritic features or list regular phonological contexts as idiosyncratic. These problems can be overcome if we assume that allomorphs are lexically organized as a partially ordered set. If no ordering is established, allomorphic choice is determined by the phonologyin particular, by the emergence of the unmarked (TETU). In other cases, TETU effects are insufficient, and lexical ordering determines the preference for dominant allomorphs.
EFFECT OF INTERNET FINANCIAL REPORTING AND COMPANY SIZE ON STOCK TRADING VOLUME AT LQ45 COMPANY IN INDONESIA STOCK EXCHANGE

Purpose of Study: The research aims to determine and study the effect of the application of internet financial reporting and the size of the company to the trading volume of shares in companies listed in the LQ45 Index in Indonesia Stock Exchange. Methodology: The method used in this research is descriptive verification with a quantitative approach. Sampling used in this research is saturated sampling, as many as 63 companies become sample in this research. The object of research studied is the company website LQ45 along with the financial statements of each company. The research data is obtained from financial and non-financial information from the company website and financial data from IDX Fact Year 2012-2014. The analysis method used is panel data test, classical assumption test, multiple regression analysis, coefficient of determination, with the F test statistical test and t-test. Results: The results showed that internet financial reporting and firm size influence simultaneously to stock trading volume while partially, only company size has a significant influence on stock trading volume. Implications/Applications: Internet financial reporting does not affect the volume of stock trading.
The Responses of Prices at Different Stages of Production to Monetary Policy Shocks

This paper examines the responses of prices at different stages of production to monetary policy shocks. In aggregate price analysis, the VAR of Christiano et al. (1996a, 1996b) is used to identify the policy shock as the federal funds rate innovation and trace out the responses of prices. In disaggregate price analysis, the adjustment of prices is examined by comparing inflation before and after a recent policy tightening identified by Romer and Romer (1989, 1992). At early stages of production, a monetary tightening causes input prices to fall more rapidly and by a larger amount than output prices.
The Syntax of Existential Constructions

This article outlines an account of the syntax of existential constructions (e.g., There are [too many problems]) based on a view of the postcopular NPas a predicate. This NPfigures as the predicate in an embedded clausal complement of be with expletivethere as its subject. There consequently moves to the higher Spec, IPposition for Case-theoretic reasons. Existential constructions and existential interpretation are a particular instance of a wider phenomenon involving the use of predicates of various categories with expletive subjects (e.g., It is cold). Long-distance agreement between the main (inflected) verb and the postcopular NPis a combined effect of the relation of subject-predicate agreement holding between the expletive subject (there) and a predicate NPwithin the embedded clausal structure and the relation of specifier-head agreement (feature checking) between the raised expletive and the matrix I/T. This analysis is generalized to other cases of long-distance agreement (e.g., There appeared a man). It is shown that an analysis based on the notionAgree (Chomsky 2000) is empirically inadequate. Well-known restrictions on the distribution of NPs/ DPs in existential constructions follow from the proposed analysis.
Have U.S. Financial Institutions' Real Estate Investments Exhibited “Trend-Chasing” Behavior?

Abstract This paper uses real estate investment data for major groups of U.S. financial institutions—commercial banks, thrifts, and life insurance companies—to evaluate their investment timing performance over the 1970–1989 period. Our major finding is that real estate investments by commercial banks and thrifts have largely been driven by past real estate and market returns rather than by future expected returns. This apparent “trend-chasing” investment strategy—of buying high and selling low—offers an explanation for the poor performance of their real estate investments. We argue that imposing market value accounting on such institutions may actually reinforce their “trend-chasing” behavior.
Employment Spells and Unemployment Insurance Eligibility Requirements

In this paper we examine whether the requirements that workers must satisfy to qualify for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits in any succeeding period of joblessness affect the duration of employment spells. This behavioral consequence of a UI system has been neglected in empirical research, which has instead focused on the effects of UI parameters on the actions of the unemployed. The effect is identified by a unique change in the eligibility requirements of the Canadian UI system in 1990, which increased the weeks of employment required to establish UI eligibility. We provide a variety of estimates of this behavioral effect. In our preferred set of results, we find a significant increase in the employment hazard in the week that an individual satisfies the eligibility requirement in many regions of the country. In the spirit of Feldstein's (1976) study of temporary layoffs, the results provide new evidence of the impact of UI system parameters on the actions of employers and workers.
Has NCLB Encouraged Educational Triage? Accountability and the Distribution of Achievement Gains

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has been criticized for encouraging schools to neglect students whose performance exceeds the proficiency threshold or lies so far below it that there is no reasonable prospect of closing the gap during the current year. We examine this hypothesis using longitudinal data from 2002–03 through 2005–06. Our identification strategy relies on the fact that as NCLB was phased in, states had some latitude in designating which grades were to count for purposes of a school making adequate yearly progress. We compare the mathematics achievement distribution in a grade before and after it became a high-stakes grade. We find in general no evidence that gains were concentrated on students near the proficiency standard at the expense of students scoring much lower, though there are inconsistent signs of a trade-off with students at the upper end of the distribution.
Do Natural Resources Attract Nonresource FDI?

Abstract A new and extensive panel of outward nonresource and resource FDI is used to investigate the effect of natural resources on the different components of FDI. Our main findings are as follows. First, for countries which were not a resource producer before, a resource discovery causes nonresource FDI to fall 16% in the short run and by 68% in the long run. Second, for countries that were already a resource producer, a doubling of resource rents induces a 12.4% fall in nonresource FDI. Third, on average, the contraction in nonresource FDI outweighs the boom in resource FDI. Aggregate FDI falls by 4% if the resource bonanza is doubled. Finally, these negative effects on nonresource FDI are amplified through the positive spatial lags in nonresource FDI. We also find that resource FDI is vertical, whereas nonresource FDI is of the export-fragmentation variety. Our main findings are robust to different measures of resource reserves and the oil price and to allowing sample selection bias.
An Alternative Definition of Economic Regions in the United States Based on Similarities in State Business Cycles

Since the 1950s the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has grouped the states into eight regions based primarily on cross-sectional similarities in their socioeconomic characteristics. This paper groups states into regions based on the similarities in their business cycles. We applied k-means cluster analysis to the cyclical components of Stock-Watson-type indices estimated at the state level to group the 48 contiguous states into eight regions with similar cycles. We then compare the cohesion of the regions so defined with the cohesion of the BEA regions. Finally, we examine how that definition affects the results of some recent regional business cycle analysis.
Forest Policy, Institutions, and REDD+ in India, Tanzania, and Mexico

This article investigates forest policies and institutions surrounding REDD+ in three heavily forested countries: India, Tanzania, and Mexico. The comparative analysis leads to three key insights. First, each of the case study countries has multiple land tenure statutes that result in different distributions of the costs and benefits of forest protection for key stakeholders. Second, land tenure regimes that offer local communities the most secure forest rights are not necessarily those associated with benefit-sharing mechanisms outlined in national REDD+ policy proposals. Third, a credible commitment by government to share REDD+ benefits with forest-dependent people is contingent on the interests of key actors involved in the policy process. Political and administrative structures that limit the power and authority of forest government bodies lead to more responsive and accountable policy outcomes.
Reducing Poverty through Employment

Widespread poverty is an urgent challenge for the world. Creating opportunities for steady employment at reasonable wages is the best way to take people out of poverty. Reducing poverty through employment requires two major thrusts: 1) generate employment, and 2) increase employability. To increase employment, I argue for focusing on small and medium sized enterprises, which are the main engine of job creation. To increase employability, a good starting place to focus on is the youth. This paper describes in detail two organizations, TechnoServe and Employment Generation & Marketing Mission, which are implementing these ideas and effectively helping to reduce poverty.
On the Demographic Adjustment of Unemployment

Abstract The unemployment rate is one of the most important business cycle indicators, but its interpretation can be difficult because slow changes in the demographic composition of the labor force affect the level of unemployment and make comparisons across business cycles difficult. To purge the unemployment rate from demographic factors, labor force shares are routinely used to control for compositional changes. This paper shows that this approach is ill defined, because the labor force share of a demographic group is mechanically linked to that group's unemployment rate, as both variables are driven by the same underlying worker flows. We propose a new demographic-adjustment procedure that uses a dynamic factor model for the worker flows to separate aggregate labor market forces and demographic-specific trends. Using the U.S. labor market as an illustration, our demographic-adjusted unemployment rate indicates that the 2008–2009 recession was much more severe and generated substantially more slack than the early 1980s recession.