Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vendettas

Vendettas occur in many real world settings where rivals compete for a prize, e.g., winning a competitive promotion or retaining a job, by engaging in aggressive retaliatory behavior. We present a benchmark experiment where two players have an initial probability of winning a prize. Retaliatory vendettas occur and lead subjects to the worst possible outcomes in 2/3 of cases, counter to self-interest predictions, with large inefficiencies even in the absence of any immediate gain from aggression. Negative emotions are important and interact with the economic setting to produce large social inefficiencies. Allowing cooling off periods reduces aggression.
Are exotic species red queens?

We combined two general hypotheses from the fields of invasion biology and evolutionary biology, the enemy release hypothesis and the Red Queen hypothesis, into the new invasive queens hypothesis. This hypothesis predicts that if species with the principal ability to reproduce both sexually and asexually are introduced to an exotic range, they show a shift towards asexual reproduction in the exotic range. The reasoning behind this hypothesis is that (1) species tend to leave behind their natural enemies when being introduced to an exotic range (enemy release hypothesis) and (2) sexual reproduction is less advantageous in the absence of natural enemies due to its high costs (inverted Red Queen hypothesis). We tested the invasive queens hypothesis against data from 70 animal species, based on information from the literature and unpublished information provided by 105 experts from various continents. As predicted, the investigated species showed a significant shift towards asexual reproduction in their exotic as compared to their native range.
Rationality vs. Emotions: The Case of Tax Ethics and Compliance

Businesses that rely heavily on cash transactions have been found to be particularly susceptible to low tax ethics. Recent research indicates that cash is a highly powerful and tempting reward, which elicits a strong emotional response. In this paper we investigate how emotions affect tax ethics in a series of experimental studies. Specifically, we show that affective priming and the ease with which moral judgments are retrieved moderate tax ethics. We also show that the relative effectiveness of deterrence, such as audit probabilities and tax fines, is moderated by affect. These results point towards a complex picture of tax ethics, requiring a multifaceted policy approach that emphasizes not only enforcement, but also cognitive and affective aspects of human behavior.
A Comparison of Surface and Buried Larrea Tridentata Leaf Litter Decomposition in North American Hot Deserts

We conducted studies of mass losses from surface and buried litter bags in four North American hot desert areas to test the following hypotheses: (1) leaf litter disappearance in hot deserts is independent of actual evapotranspiration, (2) buried litter disappearance is a function of actual evapotransporation, (3) the pattern of microarthropod colonization of buried leaf litter is a function of the stage of decomposition, and (4) elimination of microarthropods results in reduced rates of decomposition and increased numbers of free—living nematodes. Mass losses from surface Larrea tridentata leaf litter bags ranked highest to lowest: Chihuahuan desert, Sonoran desert, Mojave desert, Coloradan desert. Mass losses from buried litter bags were essentially equal. °40%, in each of the deserts for bags buried from March to October. There was low correlation between rainfall and mass loss of buried litter and surface litter in the North American hot deserts. Mass losses from insecticide—treated buried bags were lower than from untreated bags. There was a greater abundance of nematodes in insecticide—treated bags than in untreated bags. Tarsonemid mites were found only in litter bags from the Chihuahuan desert. The most abundant microarthropods in buried leaf litter in the other deserts were predatory raphignathids, tydeids, and arctacarids. Decomposition (litter disappearance) in North American hot deserts was highly correlated with long—term rainfall patterns, which we hypothesize have served as the selective agents for the soil biota active in the decomposition process. Thus litter disappearance does not respond to annual fluctuations in rainfall amounts.
Factors affecting egg production and opposition in populations of Colias philodice eurytheme Boisduval (Lepidoptera: Pieridae).

Populations of the alfalfa caterpillar, Colias philodice eurytheme Boisduval, reach very high numbers during the more favorable summer months in California. This study was conducted to determine the important factors affecting egg production and oviposition, and their corresponding effects on population trends of this insect. The reproductive system of the female does not differ greatly from those of other Lepidoptera with two genital apertures. Mating usually occurs a few hours after emergence, and involves the passage of a spermatophore which is formed in the female from the glandular secretions of the male. Oogenesis is largely controlled by temperature although some sugar is also required for the maturation of a large number of eggs. Adult food is more important in its effect on oogenesis than on oviposition. Temperature is generally more critical than humidity, light intensity, or food in controlling the oviposition rates of Colias philodice eurytheme, The optimum body temperature for high rates of oviposition appears to be 32° C. The upper and lower thermal limits of body temperature for oviposition are 46° C and 21 ° C, respectively. The optimum humidity for a high oviposition rate ranges from 26 to 45 per cent. At the higher and lower temperatures, any effect that humidity may have on oviposition is masked by the effects’ of temperature. A female may lay as many as 1,172 eggs, but the average is about 715. Under field conditions, these numbers are probably seldom realized. The sex ratio usually favors the male. In order to determine the reproductive potential of a population, the age, fat body content, and number of matings of various classes of the population must be determined by dissection.
Efecto de las condiciones de secado sobre la cinética de deshidratación de las hojas de morera (Morus alba)

El objetivo del presente trabajo fue determinar las cineticas de deshidratacion de la morera bajo diferentes condiciones de temperatura, velocidad y humedad del aire, entre junio y diciembre del 2006, en Costa Rica. Forraje de morera (Morus alba) de75 dias fue empleado como sustrato. Se evaluo la cinetica de deshidratacion en un secador convectivo de resistencias electricas de bandeja unica con diametro de0,22 m y cargade122 ± 1 g hasta una humedad del 5 %. La evaluacion se realizo para tres temperaturas desecado (60 °C, 75 °C y 90 °C), dos velocidades de aire(1,0 y 2,5 m/s) y dos humedades del aire(12 g/kg aire seco y 45 g/kg aire seco), para un total de12 tratamientos triplicados. Las curvas desecado correspondientes se estudiaron segun el modelo de decaimiento exponencial de Newton. Se obtuvieron graficos de velocidad desecado en funcion del tiempo y la humedad. Las cineticas de deshidratacion presentaron la curva tipica del modelo de Newton, con altos coeficientes de correlacion. Existio un efecto triple significativo (p < 0,05) entre la temperatura, la velocidad y la humedad del aire sobre el tiempo desecado del sustrato; la variable mas influyente fue la temperatura, seguida de la velocidad y por ultimo la humedad del aire. El aumento de cualquiera de estas variables implico una disminucion del tiempo desecado. El efecto de la temperatura sobre este fue mas pronunciado a una velocidad del aire de1 m/s.
Sowing and Flowering Delays Can Be an Efficient Strategy to Improve Coexistence of Genetically Modified and Conventional Maize

The coexistence between genetically modified (GM) and non-GM maize (Zea mays L.) fields is subjected to regulation in several countries. A strategy to reduce cross-pollination from GM to non-GM fields was evaluated, on the basis of reducing the flowering coincidence by sowing at separate times. The trial included narrow plots in which transgenic maize was sown before, simultaneously, and after adjacent non-GM maize. A three-week delay between GM and non-GM sowing dates resulted in flowering delays below 5 d for early sowings, but up to 10 to 15 d for late sowings. Cross-pollination was monitored by xenia effect and validated by real-time PCR. The combined effect of flowering delay and distance from the pollen source was evaluated. Cross-pollination dramatically decreased with distance between pollen source and receptor. Flowering delay interacted with distance to the pollen donor source and further reduced GM pollen flow in all cases. Thus, it acted as a regulatory factor. A flowering delay of 92.9 growing degree units (GDU) (7 d in our experimental conditions) was enough to reduce the adventitious presence of GM kernels in non-GM maize plots down to residual values. This study illustrates the possibility of improving coexistence through temporal separation of flowering dates on the basis of appropriate delays in sowing dates.
High Frequency Traders and Asset Prices

Do high frequency traders affect transaction prices? In this paper we derive distributions of transaction prices in limit order markets populated by low frequency traders (humans) before and after the entrance of a high frequency trader (machine). We find that the presence of a machine is likely to change the average transaction price, even in the absence of new information. We also find that in a market with a high frequency trader, the distribution of transaction prices has more mass around the center and thinner far tails. With a machine, mean intertrade duration decreases in proportion to the increase in the ratio of the human order arrival rates with and without the presence of the machine; trading volume goes up by the same rate. We show that the machine makes positive expected profits by "sniping" out human orders somewhat away from the front of the book. This explains the shape of the transaction price density. In fact, we show that in a special case, the faster humans submit and vary their orders, the more profits the machine makes.
Moderate Inflation

Inflation persists at moderate rates (15-30 percent) in all the countries that successfully reduced triple-digit inflation in the 1980s. Several other countries--for example, Colombia--have experienced moderate inflation for prolonged periods. The authors introduce types of theories of persistent inflation. Theories emphasizing seigniorage as a source of government finance and those emphasizing the costs of ending inflation were detailed. They examine the sources and persistence of episodes of moderate inflation. Most episodes were triggered by commodity price shocks and were brief. Very few ended in higher inflation. This report presents case studies of eight countries, including three that now suffer from moderate inflation and four that successfully moved down to single-digit inflation rates. The authors analyze the roles of seigniorage, indexation and disindexation, the exchange rate commitment, and monetary and fiscal policy. The evidence suggests that seigniorage plays, at most, a modest role in the persistence of moderate inflation and that such inflation can be reduced only at a substantial short-term cost to growth.
Agent-based model approach to optimal foraging in heterogeneous landscapes: effects of patch clumpiness

E. Nonaka, Dept of Biology, Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA. P. Holme (pholme@kth.se), Dept of ComputerScience, Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA, (present address: Computational Biology, School of Computer Scienceand Communication, Royal Inst. of Technology, SE-100 44, Stockholm, Sweden). Optimal foraging theory concerns animal behavior in landscapes where food is concentrated in patches.The efficiency of foraging is an effect of both the animal behavior and the geometry of the landscape;furthermore, the landscape is itself affected by the foraging of animals. We investigated the effect of landscapeheterogeneity on the efficiency of an optimal forager. The particular aspect of heterogeneity we considered was‘‘clumpiness’’ the degree to which food resource patches are clustered together. The starting point for ourstudy was the framework of the Mean Value Theorem (MVT) by Charnov. Since MVT is not spatially explicit,and thus not apt to investigate effects of clumpiness, we built an agent-based (or individual-based) model foranimal movement in discrete landscapes extending the MVT. We also constructed a model for generatinglandscapes where the clumpiness of patches can be easily controlled, or ‘‘tuned’’, by an input parameter. Weevaluated the agent based model by comparing the results with what the MTV would give, i.e. if the spatialeffects were removed. The MVT matched the simulations best on landscapes with random patch configurationand high food recovery rates. As for our main question about the effects of clumpiness, we found that, whenlandscapes were highly productive (rapid food replenishment), foraging efficiency was greatest in clumpedlandscapes. In less productive landscapes, however, foraging efficiency was lowest in landscapes with a clumpedpatch distribution.
Entrenchment or Enhancement: Could Climate Change Adaptation Help Reduce Poverty?

In the context of climate change, the poorest people are commonly seen as having the least capacity to adapt. However, to date, there has been a limited examination of the dynamic and differentiated nature of poverty. Through bringing together both the chronic poverty and adaptation literature, this article presents a new pro-poor adaptation research agenda underpinned by a more nuanced understanding of poverty. Whilst recognising that poverty reduction efforts are threatened by climate change, this article investigates ways in which proactive adaptation could offer opportunities to create pathways out of chronic poverty through targeted vulnerability reduction and adaptation efforts.
Monetary Policy Through the Stock Market: Central Bank Purchase of Equity Index ETFs

As part of its unconventional monetary policy, since 2010 the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has purchased equity index exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The total purchased amount reached 3% of GDP and the bank has become among the largest shareholders in over 40% of listed companies. Because of the reduction in float shares and the non-informational nature of the BOJ purchases, liquidity and price informativeness of the underlying shares deteriorates, increasing friction in the share market. The number of shareholders, institutional ownership, and analyst coverage all decreased for firms in which the BOJ holds shares. These firms issue fewer shares. Although the BOJ’s ETF purchase might increase share prices, the increase in both illiquidity and downside risk limit the share price increases. Although the equity cost of capital decreases for firms with disproportionately large BOJ holdings, the cost of increased illiquidity might have wider effects for the all listed firms.
Have You Heard the News? How Real-Life Expectations React to Publicity

As evidence is accumulating that subjective expectations influence behavior and that these expectations are sometimes biased, it becomes policy-relevant to know how to influence individuals' expectations. Information in the media is likely to affect how people picture the future. This paper studies the role of public information dissemination, or publicity, in a real-life expectations formation process. For this purpose, an exceptional Dutch dataset on monthly expectations regarding the future eligibility age for old age social security is analyzed. On average, the publicity reaction in eligibility age expectations is small but the differences among subgroups are considerable. I find that higher educated and high income groups hardly adapt their expectations to relevant publicity. On the contrary, those who do not often read a newspaper have a relatively high publicity reaction. A potential explanation for this latter finding is that these groups have low quality initial expectations. If this is true, publicity thus particularly benefits the initially worse informed groups.
Procyclical Leverage: Evidence from Banks' Lending and Financing Decisions

Middle-aged people have a higher demand for bank loans compared to other age groups and banks that are active in regions with more middle-aged residents are exposed to higher loan demand. This generates a geographically varying demand for loans. Using this variation, we show that banks increase their loan supply and expand their balance sheet with an increase in their loan demand. They finance this expansion mainly with debt. This leads to a decrease in their Tier 1 ratios and an increase in their leverage, i.e., leverage is procyclical. By differentiating between worse-and better-capitalized banks, we highlight the importance of bank capital in banks' lending and financing decisions.
Mandatory Pension Savings and Long-run Debt Accumulation: Evidence from Danish Low-wage Earners

Based on two decades of Danish register data at the individual level, this paper finds that a 1-dollar increase in pension wealth leads to a 42-cent rise in total debt for a group of low-wage earners. Collective bargaining in the labor market provides time-sector variation in mandatory pension contribution rates, which we exploit in two empirical research designs; an event study and a cross-sectional instrumental variable regression model. Both methods demonstrate that the debt rise is accompanied by increased housing wealth and homeownership rates. Together, the empirical evidence indicates that mandatory pension contributions lead to a significant increase in net wealth, as well as in gross debt.
Revisiting the Impact of Oil Price Shocks on Macroeconomic Performance: An International Perspective

Dramatic fluctuations in oil prices from time to time demand more research that can evaluate the impact of oil price shocks across the globe. Using a large-scale structural vector autoregression (SVAR) model that allows for an evolving parameter structure and that covers 60 oil-importing and -exporting economies, this paper disentangles the direct and indirect effects of oil price shocks on an economy. The results based on changes in oil prices and oil prices decomposed into aggregate demand, oil-specific demand and oil supply shocks show that in addition to the often measured direct impact, the indirect multiplier impact that works through the international transmission mechanism plays a crucial role in explaining the impact of oil price swings. The negative effects of a sharp rise in oil prices on oil importers are likely to be offset by the positive impact on oil exporters. Nevertheless, oil exporters may also suffer in the long run.
Returns to MBA Quality: Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Returns to Peers, Faculty, and Institution Quality

A large literature has focused on estimating the returns to schooling and has typically done so by incorporating institutional heterogeneity in quality along merely one dimension (such as average SAT scores). Using longitudinal survey data of registrants for the GMAT exam and school level information from other sources, we create, in the context of graduate management education, multiple indices of school quality, and estimate the effect of these quality measures on multiple indicators of career success. In particular, we create quality measures of MBA programs based on: (1) institutional and curricular factors, (2) characteristics of the student body, and (3) characteristics of the faculty. We create aggregate quality indices by combining individual proxies using factor analysis. We also extend the literature by considering the effects of quality on both earnings and non-monetary outcomes: attainment of managerial goals relative to initial individual expectations, self-assessed skill gains, and various measures of job satisfaction. We include several unique individual control variables, and further control for unobserved heterogeneity through the use of instrumental variables and individual fixed effects. Results indicate that the quality of peers matters most for earnings, especially for OLS estimates. When individual fixed effects are included, estimates of quality premiums diminish somewhat, emphasizing the importance of controlling for selection into programs of varying quality. School quality is also an important predictor of several non-pecuniary outcomes.
Vertical Structure and Innovation: A Study of the SoC and Smartphone Industries

This article studies how vertical integration and upstream R&D subsidy affect innovation and welfare in vertically separated industries. I formulate a dynamic structural model of a dominant upstream firm and oligopolistic downstream firms that invest in complementary innovations. I estimate the model using data on the System‐on‐Chip (SoC) and smartphone industries. The results suggest that a vertical merger can increase innovation and welfare, mainly driven by the investment coordination of the merged firms. I also find that subsidizing the upstream innovation increases overall private investment, innovation, and welfare.
Dividend Initiations and Information Content - The Impact of the 2003 Dividend Tax Cut

We examine the operating performance subsequent to dividend initiations by comparing firms with similar pre-event operating performance and growth opportunities. We find strong (weak) evidence of information content for dividends initiated by firms subsequent (prior) to the 2003 tax cut in the U.S. We also utilize Cox-proportional hazard regressions and find support for information content in the post-tax cut period. Further, we show that abnormal operating performances are positively related to post announcement long run abnormal returns for both the pre- and post-tax periods, indicating that the information content of dividend initiations regarding future earnings is reflected in the long-term reaction.