Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploring the Nexus between Highly-Skilled Migrants, the Kafala System, and Development in the UAE

Abstract This article explores the nexus between immigration of highly-skilled persons and economic growth in the Arab Gulf states, until now a significantly understudied topic. It is argued that long-term growth primarily stems from technological progress and the article conducts a qualitative analysis of the degree to which the group of highly skilled migrants contributes to technological progress. The paper focusses on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) but reflects general issues pertaining to the Arab Gulf states. It concludes that the policy framework that manages the migration system, the so-called Kafala (sponsorship) system, indeed has positive effects, namely that it ensures that all migrants are in employment and the skills of the migrants complement rather than overlap with the skills of the locals. However, asymmetric power balance between sponsor and migrant, the built-in inflexibility in relation to job mobility, and the lack of a broader sense of inclusion in the hosting country all diminish the contribution of the highly-skilled migrants to these economies. A culture of transience prevails which leads to short term thinking, less innovation and less likelihood of entrepreneurship. Finally, the article finds that due to demographic realities, lack of incentives for the migrants to pursue knowledge transfer and the general educational level in society, transfer of technology most likely takes place from one migrant to the next, thereby bypassing the local population.
GP treatment decisions for patients with depression

Background GPs are prescribing more antidepressants than previously, but not in accordance with guidelines. The reasons why they prescribe are not well understood. Aim To explore associations between GP treatment and severity of depression, patients’ life difficulties, previous history of illness and treatment, and patient attitudes. Design Observational study in two phases, 3 years apart. Setting Seven practices in Southampton, UK. Method Adult attenders who consented were screened for depression in the waiting room. After the consultation, the 17 participating GPs completed questionnaires on the perceived presence and severity of depression, patients’ life difficulties, previous problems and treatment, patient attitudes towards antidepressants, and their treatment decisions. Patients returned postal questionnaires on sociodemographics, life events, physical health, and attitudes towards antidepressants. Results Of 694 patients screened in the two phases, the GPs rated 101 (15%) as depressed, acknowledged depression in 44 cases (6%), and offered treatment in 27 (4%), including antidepressants in 14 (2%). Offers of antidepressants were more likely in both phases where the GPs rated the depression as moderate rather than mild, and where they perceived a positive patient attitude to antidepressants. However, GP ratings of severity did not agree well with the validated screening instrument, and their assessments of patients’ attitudes to treatment were only moderately related to patients’ self-reports. Conclusions In line with current guidelines, GPs base prescribing decisions on the perceived severity of depression, taking patients’ preferences into account, but they do not accurately identify which patients are likely to benefit from treatment. Better ways to assess depression severity and patient attitudes towards antidepressants are needed in order to target treatment more
The Index Effect Minute by Minute: Intraday Returns at NASDAQ-100 and MSCI U.S. Rebalancings

I use intraday data from 2013 to 2017 and a dataset of NASDAQ-100, MSCI USA and MSCI USA Small Cap Index constituent changes to investigate abnormal returns and trading volume around index rebalancings. The results show no pre-announcement speculation but a significantly positive (negative) post-announcement jump followed by an intraday drift for promotions (demotions). For small-cap changes, the post-announcement jump is smaller but abnormal returns with the same sign are also found on the rebalancing date and especially during the last 30 minutes of trading. Large-cap index changes have higher abnormal trading volume but much smaller abnormal returns on the rebalancing date. Consistent with the price pressure hypothesis, I find a reversal during the early trading hours on the day following the rebalancing date.
Retrieval of gridded aerosol direct radiative forcing based on multiplatform datasets

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosols play a crucial role in regional radiative budgets. Previous studies on clear-sky aerosol direct radiative forcing (ADRF) have mainly been limited to site-scale observations or model simulations for short-term cases, and long-term distributions of ADRF in China have not been portrayed yet. In this study, an accurate fine-resolution ADRF estimate at the surface was proposed. Multiplatform datasets, including satellite (MODIS aboard Terra and Aqua) and reanalysis datasets, served as inputs to the Santa Barbara Discrete Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (SBDART) model for ADRF simulation with consideration of the aerosol vertical profile over eastern China during 2000–2016. Specifically, single-scattering albedo (SSA) from the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Application, Version 2 (MERRA-2) was validated with sun photometers over eastern China. The gridded asymmetry parameter (ASY) was then simulated by matching the calculated top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes from the radiative transfer model with satellite observations (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System, CERES). The high correlation and small discrepancy (6–8 W m−2) between simulated and observed radiative fluxes at three sites (Baoshan, Fuzhou, and Yong'an) indicated that ADRF retrieval is feasible and has high accuracy over eastern China. Then this method was applied in each grid of eastern China, and the overall picture of ADRF distributions over eastern China during 2000–2016 was displayed. ADRF ranges from −220 to −20 W m−2, and annual mean ADRF is −100.21 W m−2, implying that aerosols have a strong cooling effect at the surface in eastern China. With the economic development and rapid urbanization, the spatiotemporal changes of ADRF during the past 17 years are mainly attributed to the changes of anthropogenic emissions in eastern China. Our method provides the long-term ADRF distribution over eastern China for the first time, highlighting the importance of aerosol radiative impact under climate change.
The Influence of Environmental, Social, and Personal Factors on the Usage of the App “Environment Info Push”

This study analyzed citizens’ willingness to use the Environmental Info Push app to participate in air quality control and air pollution prevention. The participants used the app for two weeks and then we investigated the users’ opinions about factors relevant to the app, air pollution control, and prevention. Answer sheets to questionnaires were received from 347 participants. All of them were valid and the study conducted research simulation and statistical analysis with SPSS 19 Statistics software and SmartPLS 2.0. The results showed that an individual’s willingness to control and prevent air pollution is most influenced by other people. The second most influential factor is the degree of severity of climate change that an individual has recognized. Other influential factors and the order of their effect included: outcome expectation, third; self-efficacy, fourth; self-image, fifth: self-preference, sixth; and self-monitoring, seventh.
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area in the making: development plan and challenges

Abstract The Chinese authority intends to develop the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) as a new engine to sustain Chinese development. By applying the theories of state rescaling and city-cluster formation, this paper intends to conduct a case study of the GBA to examine the state-initiated plan for city-cluster formation in China, to analyse the Chinese central and local governments’ efforts to put this plan into action and the hurdles they face in formatting this city-cluster. The formulation of the GBA development plan for integrated development reflects a dynamic process of upscaling and downscaling of various levels of state power. The state’s plan for the GBA is to create a world-class city-cluster, and to eliminate barriers that hinder the free flow of goods and resources. Nevertheless, it will be challenging for Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, which fall under different administrative regions and customs zones, to achieve the level of collaboration and functioning required for integrated development of the GBA. The fierce competition for dominance among these core cities could jeopardise efforts to forge closer economic integration in the region.
Efficiency of trade credit and bank finance: an ethnic minority area in China

Abstract Using 1998–2008 firm-level microdata for industrial firms, we investigate the efficiency of financial intermediation through trade credit and bank loans in an ethnic minority area in China, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. We find: (1) after receiving trade credit, ethnic minority firms tend not to repay it when they are financially distressed; (2) bank finance allocates more funds to more efficient ethnic minority firms while also allowing state-holding Han firms with worse performance levels to access bank loans; (3) efficient financial intermediation to ethnic minority firms is achieved through bank loans to relatively large firms.
Calorie estimation and the effects of calorie disclosure of the American’s favorite foods

ABSTRACT This study investigated if consumers have a reasonable estimate of the calorie content of Americans’ top 10 favorite foods and explored the effects of calorie disclosure on US consumers’ future consumption frequency of these food items. An online survey was developed, pilot tested, and distributed through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Results from 1,005 complete surveys showed that the accuracy of estimation varied based on food items. Dessert items, including cookies and ice cream, remained the most underestimated items. Calorie disclosure affected future consumption frequency of the food items. Strategies were recommended to encourage consumers’ menu label reading.
What drives the adoption of mobile payment? A Malaysian perspective

The purpose of this study is to examine the antecedents of behavioural intention to adopt mobile payment among working adults in Malaysia. The variables of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) with perceived security were adopted as a theoretical base. The gathered data through a questionnaire were examined by using multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis. The study revealed that performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, and perceived security are significant in mobile payment adoption. However, effort expectancy and social influence are not significant. The findings of this study contributed to a simple UTAUT2 model with perceived security as an additional construct in explaining the adoption intention of mobile payment. The findings of this study are applicable to the mobile payment service providers in Malaysia to improve their mobile payment quality by improving the facilitating conditions.
Essays in Finance and Econometrics

This thesis presents two essays studying the role of banks in financial markets and one which studies statistical inference in matching markets. The first chapter presents a new theory of the role of banks, providing an explanation for the role of publicly available securities on bank balance sheets. The model provides a unified framework for studying asset prices, portfolio choices, capital structure, and macroeconomic policies such as quantitative easing. Relative to existing models of banking, the paper emphasizes the demand for deposits rather than the expertise of bankers in making loans. The second chapter expands on the research agenda presented in the first by studying why traders might demand bank deposits. It formalizes the idea that deposits function as a form of money, because they are safe assets that avoid adverse selection problems in trade. The model presents a fundamental tension between banks creating large quantities of money-like assets and being vulnerable to financial panics. The third chapter studies identification and estimation in two sided matching markets where the desirability of matching with an agent can be summarized by a latent index. The paper first studies identification, showing that a many-to-one matching market allows for the estimation of parameters that cannot be estimated in a one-to-one matching market. It then studies the limiting distribution of a class of estimators and develops novel methods for proving such limit theorems.
Environmental Contributions to Autism: Explaining the Rise in Incidence of Autistic Spectrum Disorders

incidence of autism spectrum disorders, a heterogenous group of neurodevelopmental disorders is increasing. In response, there has been a concerted effort by researchers to identify environmental risk factors that explain the epidemiological changes seen with autism. Advanced parental age, maternal migrant status, maternal gestational stress, pregnancy and birth complications, maternal obesity and gestational diabetes, maternal vitamin D deficiency, use of antidepressants during gestation and exposure to organochlorine pesticides during pregnancy are all associated with an increased risk of autism. Folic acid use prior to pregnancy may reduce the risk of autism. Exposure to antenatal ultrasonography, maternal gestational cigarette and alcohol use do not appear to influence the risk of autism in offspring. There is little evidence that exposure to environmental toxins such as thimerosal, polybrominated diphenyl ethers and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in early childhood increases the risk of autism. Apart from birth complications, the current evidence suggests that the majority of environmental factors increasing the risk of autism occur in the antenatal period. consistent with the rise in incidence in autism, some of these environmental factors are now more common in developed nations. Further research is required to determine how these environmental exposures translate to an increased risk of autism. Understanding how these exposures alter neurodevelopment in autistic children may inform both the aetiopathogenesis and the strategies for prevention of autism.
Beyond Credible Commitments: (Investment) Treaties as Focal Points

Why do states enter into treaties? In literature on the investment treaty regime, the dominant answer is that investment treaties provide credible commitments to foreign investors. This narrative provides valuable insights but cannot account for the historical origins of the treaties, where drafters explicitly decided to exclude “strong” dispute settlement provisions. Unlike modern-day investment treaties, the early investment treaty regime did not allow investors to file claims against host states through investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). Using historical evidence from three major capital-exporting states—the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany—the article shows that this was a conscious design choice. Rather than providing formal dispute settlement, sanctions, and penalties to make credible commitments, Western states intended investment treaties to serve as salient focal points for the informal resolution of investment disputes. The substantive obligations were expected to fulfil their coordinating role without the shadow of judicialized dispute settlement. The argument is not just of historical interest but has broader implications for literature on international economic law dominated by the credible commitment narrative, as well as the current political backlash against ISDS.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Cerebral Microbleeds

Rationale: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common, complex multisystem disease in the elderly with multiple comorbidities that significantly impact morbidity and mortality. Although cerebral small-vessel disease is an important cause of cognitive decline and age-related disability, it is a poorly investigated potential systemic manifestation of patients with COPD. Objectives: To examine whether COPD relates to the development and location of cerebral microbleeds, a novel marker of cerebral small-vessel disease. Methods: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were part of the Rotterdam Study, a prospective population-based cohort study in subjects aged greater than or equal to 55 years. Diagnosis of COPD was confirmed by spirometry. Cerebral microbleeds were detected using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Measurements and Main Results: Subjects with COPD (n ¼ 165) had ahigherprevalenceofcerebralmicrobleedscomparedwithsubjects with normal lung function (n ¼ 645) independent of age, sex, smoking status, atherosclerotic macroangiopathy, antithrombotic use, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and serum creatinin (odds ratio [OR], 1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15‐2.47; P ¼ 0.007). Regarding the specific microbleed location, subjects with COPD had a significantly higher prevalence of microbleeds in deep or infratentorial locations (OR, 3.3; 95% CI, 1.97‐5.53; P , 0.001), which increased with severity of airflow limitation and are suggestive of hypertensive or arteriolosclerotic microangiopathy. Furthermore, in longitudinal analysis restricted to subjects without microbleed
A Surprise That Keeps You Awake: Overnight Returns After Earnings Announcements

I dissect stock returns after earnings announcements into their overnight and intraday components and document strong positive abnormal overnight returns for several weeks after both large positive and negative earnings surprises. This finding is in line with attention-induced buying pressure. Consistently, overnight returns are higher when retail investor attention towards the surprise is high. Corresponding intraday returns have the opposite sign, which makes this pattern invisible in close-to-close returns. The effect is stronger during high sentiment periods as well as for hard-to-arbitrage firms and weaker if the average investor holds the stock at a gain.
A New Approach to Estimating the Relation between Audit Fees and Financial Misconduct

Research on the association between abnormal audit fees (measuring audit effort) and financial misconduct has produced mixed results. The use of actual misstatements in this research creates small-sample inferences, introduces systematic selection bias, and reduces the scope of sample coverage. In this study we use a metric based on Benford's Law to analyze the impact of abnormal audit fees on the likelihood of misconduct. This measure is parsimonious, avoids selection bias, and can be computed for a large sample of public firms. Consistent with theory, we find that greater audit effort reduces the likelihood of misconduct and auditor resignations are more likely for clients with higher misconduct likelihood. Our findings are not driven by audit firm size, client size, the governance structure of the client, or economic bonding explanations. The effect is not subsumed when controlling for alternative misconduct measurement metrics and is robust across multiple tests to address endogeneity. JEL Classifications: G32; M41.
Depression in late life

Despite its prevalence and seriousness, depression in late life remains underappreciated as a source of disability and suffering for older people and their families. Despite a solid and substantial body of research, recognition of depression remains problematic and is often attributed to normal developmental changes in aging. Treatment efficacy data notwithstanding, the adequacy and appropriateness of treatment is highly variable. This paper contains a broad overview of new research developments in depression in late life and the disabilities associated with it Serving as an introduction to the specific papers that follow in this issue of Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, this article scans the knowledge base in basic, clinical, and health services research, identifying the highlights of current work in the area and proposing areas of needed expansion of research efforts.
Abdominal and Pelvic Aneu- rysms and Pseudoaneurysms: Imaging Review with Clinical, Radiologic, and Treatment

Abnormally enlarged visceral arteries in the abdomen and pelvis must be recognized radiologically because early treatment can improve the quality of life and prevent life-threatening complications. These lesions, typically classified as aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms, are being detected more fre quently with increased utilization of imaging and have various causes (eg, atherosclerosis, trauma, infection) and complications that may be identified radiologically. Ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging often enable detection of visceral vascular lesions, but angiography is important for further diagnosis and treatment. Endovascular treatment is often the first-line therapy. Endovascular intervention or open surgical repair is necessary for all visceral pseudoaneurysms and is likely indicated for visceral aneurysms 2 cm or more in diameter. Endovascular exclusion of flow can be achieved with coils, stents, and injectable liquids. Techniques include embolization (“sandwich” or “sac-packing” technique), exclusion of flow with luminal stents, and stent-assisted coil emboliza tion. Management often depends on the location and technical feasibility of endovascular repair. Embolization is usually preferred for aneurysms or pseudoaneurysms within solid organs, and the sandwich technique is often used when collateral flow is present. Covered stent placement may be preferred to preserve the parent artery when main visceral vessels are being treated. It is usually tailored to lesion location, and a cure can often be effected while preserving end-organ arterial flow. Posttreatment followup is usually based on treatment location, modality accuracy, and potential consequences of treatment failure. Follow-up imaging may help identify vessel recanalization, unintended thrombosis of an artery or end organ, or sequelae of nontarget embolization. Retreatment is usually warranted if the clinical risks for which embolization was performed are still present.
Does social protection crowd out social investment?

ABSTRACT In this era of austerity, while there are significant fiscal pressures on social protection programs particularly on cash benefits, there is increasing rhetoric concerning the ‘social investment turn. ’ Yet, some scholars question whether social investment policies are actually expanding. The evidence is not sufficiently apparent, and others question whether social protection policies have actually crowded out social investment policies. So far, few systematic studies have examined this issue. This research aims to explore the effect of traditional social protection on social investment policies in 18 OECD countries from 1980 to 2010. To investigate the predictive and causal relationships between the two types of policies, we will use the Granger panel analysis. Then, we will adopt the Beck & Katz panel model to analyze the crowding-out effect that social protection policies have on social investment. We argue that social protection has not crowded out social investment policies in general but, rather, that the positive link between them is increasingly weaker in recent years. In the end, we discuss the theoretical and policy implications of our findings.