Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determinants of the Choice of Exchange Rate Regime in Resource-Rich Countries

This research studies the specific determinants of the choice of exchange rate regime in resource-rich countries. We run multinomial logit regressions for an unbalanced panel data set of 145 countries over the 1975-2004 period. We find that resource-rich countries are more likely to adopt a fixed exchange rate regime compared to resource-poor countries. Furthermore, we provide evidence that output volatility contributes to the likelihood of choosing a fixed exchange rate regime positively in resource-rich countries and negatively in resource-poor countries. We believe that in resource-rich countries a fixed exchange rate regime is mainly preferred due to its stabilization function in the face of turbulent foreign exchange inflows. Moreover, our results reveal that the role of democracy and independent central banks in choosing more flexible exchange rate regimes is stronger in resource-rich countries. In resource-rich countries that possess non-democratic institutions and non-independent central banks, the government is less accountable in spending natural resource revenues and fiscal dominance prevails. In this situation, fluctuations in natural resource revenues are more easily transmitted into the domestic economy and therefore a fixed exchange rate becomes a more favorable option.
Liquidity Creation and Financial Stability: The Role of Hidden Trades

This paper studies liquidity insurance by financial intermediaries when agents can make unobservable side trades. Closed-end mutual funds of Jacklin (1987) achieve constrained efficiency when regulated appropriately, equilibrium is unique, and there are no financial panics. In an economy with banks funded by demand deposits, financial panics also do not arise when banks and depositors can trade in a credit market. These results highlight the central role played by trading possibilities in shaping liquidity creation and financial stability.
Does Sophistication Affect Long-Term Return Expectations? Evidence from Financial Advisers' Exam Scores

We use unique data fromfinancial advisers' professional exam scores and combine it with other variables to create an index of financial sophistication. Using this index to explain long-term stock return expectations, we find that more sophisticated financial advisers tend to have lower return expectations. A one standard deviation increase in the sophistication index reduces expected returns by 1.1 percentage points. The effect is stronger for emerging market stocks (2.3 percentage points). The sophistication effect contributes 60% to the model fit, while employer fixed effects combined contribute less than 30%. These results help understand the formation of potentially excessively optimistic expectations.
Through Thelen's Lens: Layering, Conversion, Drift, Displacement and Exhaustion in the Development of Dutch Construction Regulation

Historical institutionalism, and especially Kathleen Thelen’s take on it, have taken a flight in explaining institutional change. Theorizing on incremental change, and institutional change mechanisms such as layering, conversion, and drift are now widely used throughout the institutional change literature. This is a laudable achievement, but what is the true value of this particular strand of theorizing? This article first reviews the ever growing literature in this area, and then applies the theory and concepts discussed on a novel case – the development of over a hundred years of construction regulation in the Netherlands. It concludes that the theory and concept It finds that the theory and concepts have exceptional value in providing a single language to explain real-world examples of institutional change, but critiques the theory for a lack of clarity and predictive power.
The nutritional composition of seeds from Boscia senegalensis (Dilo) from the Republic of Niger

Abstract The seeds ofBoscia senegalensisare used as a staple food during periods of famine in the Sahel zone of West Africa. Seeds collected in the Republic of Niger were extracted exhaustively with water to remove bitter components and possible toxic substances and then analyzed for their content of various nutrients. The processed seeds, calleddiloby the Hausa-speaking people of the western Sahel, contained 21% (dry wt) protein whose quality is inferior to that of an “ideal” WHO protein standard. Whilediloprotein contains a considerable quantity of tryptophan (4%) and extraordinarily large amounts of arginine (15.8%), it is deficient in lysine (3%) and threonine (3%). Lipid accounted for 3.68% of the dry weight ofdilo.Three-fourths of the fatty acids in the crude lipid extract were contributed by saturated fatty acids: palmitic acid (690 mg/100 g dry wt) and stearic acid (130 mg/100 g dry wt). Dilocontains 70 mg/100 g dry wt of the essential fatty acid linoleic acid, but undetectable levels of α-linolenic acid. In terms of mineral content,dilocontained relatively little calcium (29 mg/100 g dry wt) and magnesium (4.2 mg/100 g dry wt), and only traces of copper, selenium, and manganese. Zinc and iron, however, were present at relatively high levels, 6.0 and 5.3 mg/100 g dry wt, respectively. These data indicate that whiledilodoes not provide a complete food source in terms of essential nutrients, it does contain substantial quantities of arginine, tryptophan, and other essential amino acids, one of the essential fatty acids (linoleic acid), and zinc and iron. The chemical composition ofdiloharvested in Niger differs significantly from that ofB. senegalensisseeds grown in Sudan.
Sexual Cannibalism in Orb-Weaving Spiders: An Economic Model

Sexual cannibalism in orb-weaving spiders commonly takes place before copulation, even among virgin females. This behavior is curious because, although the female may obtain a nutritious meal, she risks remaining unmated. We present an economic model that accounts for sexual cannibalism by virgin females using stochastic dynamic programming. The model considers a female's expected reproductive output (which is a function of the number of copulations she has achieved) and her body size, both of which will depend upon her decision to either mate or cannibalize a courting male. The model demonstrates that cannibalism of courting males by virgin females can arise purely through foraging considerations and that the most important factors for the evolution of this behavior are the expected number of males encountered during the season and the distribution of mass gained from other prey items. The model also suggests a novel form of selection pressure on male body size.
Fixed Coronary Artery Stenosis in Tunneled Coronary Artery Identified by Intravascular Ultrasound: A Case Report

Myocardial bridging is characterized as the compression of a segment of the coronary artery during systole. Significant atherosclerosis within the bridge is almost never seen at pathologic examination because of the absence of synthetic type smooth muscle cells in the intima of the tunneled artery. To date, there have been no reports of significant atherosclerosis at the site of myocardial bridging documented by angiography or intravenous ultrasound. We report a rare case of fixed coronary artery stenosis at the site of myocardial bridging identified by intravascular ultrasound.
Propagação vegetativa de árvores selecionadas de Eucalyptus cloeziana F. Muell. por estaquia

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of adventitious rooting in cuttings of shoots obtained from tree severance, stem ringing and induction of epicormic shoots on pruned branches of Eucalyptus cloeziana trees, as well as the influence of IBA on the adventitious rooting of the same cuttings. Stump shoots were used from three and five trees, of 5 and 15 years old respectively. Trees of 5, 15 and 20 years old were used for the stem ringing, and 20-year-old trees were used for the delivery by means of pruned branches. Induction of stump shoots showed better results for the selected 5-year-old trees than for the 15-year-old ones. Cuttings originating from 5-year-old trees gave better results without IBA, while those originating from the 15-year-old trees presented better rooting when IBA was used. Shoot formation induced on pruned branches and through stem ringing were considered efficient techniques for shoot induction. The obtained cuttings, however, did not produce adventitious rooting. In general, delivery by stump shoots was shown to be a more viable technique when compared to the other techniques studied, both by the higher number of shoots emitted and their superior rooting capacity.
Observations on the breeding biology of Sabine's Gulls (Xema sabini)

The breeding biology of Sabine's Gulls (Xema sabini) nesting in a colony with Arctic Terns (Sternaparadisaea) was studied in 1980 at East Bay, Southampton Island, N.W. T. Sabine's Gull nests were initiated over a 1.5-week period, from 23 June to 3 July, and the mean clutch size was 2.77. The mean weight of freshly laid eggs was 22.3 g. Hatching was asynchronous and occurred from 14 to 22 July, following an incubation period of 21 days. Of 53 eggs laid, 44 hatched (83.0%). Chicks showed typical sigmoidal patterns of growth for weight, culmen, and tarsus, and a straight line pattern for ninth primary feather. Growth was rapid, and chicks attained nearly adult proportions by 13 to 15 days of age. The timing and duration of the breeding effort (just over 7 weeks) and the rapid rate of growth of Sabine's Gull chicks are seen as adaptations to the short Arctic summer. The mean internest distance between Sabine's Gulls on the colony was 92.5 m. Nesting was more dense on islands than on the mainland, reflecting th.
Recruitment of Juvenile Gags in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and Factors Contributing to Observed Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Estuarine Occupancy

Abstract We conducted a comprehensive examination of long-term (10+ years) fisheries-independent data to characterize the spatial and temporal patterns of habitat selection and recruitment of juvenile gags Mycteroperca microlepis in four eastern Gulf of Mexico estuaries in Florida: Apalachicola Bay, Cedar Key, Tampa Bay, and Charlotte Harbor. Results from generalized linear modeling and habitat suitability analyses indicated that juvenile gags selected euhaline or polyhaline habitats with sloping bottoms and extensive coverage of submerged aquatic vegetation; the observed patterns were similar among estuaries. Latitudinal differences in the timing and duration of estuarine occupancy by juvenile gags were evident, with individuals appearing earlier and remaining later in more southerly estuaries. Significant interannual variability in recruitment of juvenile gags was evident within all estuaries, with high juvenile recruitment evident every 2 to 4 years. Continued efforts toward characterizing year-class s.
What Do Multiple Objectives Really Mean for Performance? Empirical Evidence from the French Manufacturing Sector

We explore the performance consequences of the simultaneous pursuit of multiple objectives in organizations. Taking advantage of a unique dataset covering both the objectives pursued and performance outcomes, we test the hypothesis that is the cornerstone of multiple objective theory: performance on a given metric increases when it is pursued as an objective but decreases with the number of other objectives pursued simultaneously. We find overall support to this hypothesis, which holds for most, but not all, objectives. We further unpack the link between multiplicity of objectives and performance, investigating the moderating effects of organization design choices. This study suggests that multiple objectives impose a cost on organizations, but also provide a benefit of alleviating tradeoffs in achieving higher performance in multiple dimensions.
Experts in the crowd and their influence on herding in reward-based crowdfunding of cultural projects

The present research investigates certification effects and rational herding in reward-based crowdfunding (RBCF) campaigns of cultural projects. Culture is a domain where expert opinion traditionally plays an important role. Consequently, to test the role of experts in collective behaviour and outcomes of crowdfunding campaigns, RBCF of cultural projects is a particularly relevant field. The authors analyse data obtained from France’s leading RBCF platform, Ulule, and show that the contributing crowd is heterogeneous, both in terms of expertise and willingness to follow information cascades. Testing the impact of different backer categories on (1) campaign success, (2) composition of the crowd and (3) overall day-by-day funding dynamics, the study provides evidence of the existence of both a certification effect at the very beginning of a funding campaign, and dynamic herding later all along the campaign. Contributions from expert backers, whether specialized in the same creative industry as a given project or not, trigger additional contributions and improve the success probability of a funding campaign. Senior experts follow other senior experts, which supports normative social influence and, when specialized, they follow other specialized senior experts, which highlights taste-based homophily. We also show that junior experts, i.e. future serial backers, follow senior experts, particularly when specialized, which supports informational social influence. Experts hence lead the crowd in their decision to contribute to cultural projects, and those who follow them are mostly senior experts themselves and apprentice experts, not one-time contributors, which suggests the existence of community logic and rational information cascades in RBCF.
Priority Effects in the Recruitment of Juvenile Coral Reef Fishes

Competing models of community structure in assemblages of coral reef fishes have suggested that (1) these assemblages are structured by deterministic interactions between species, or between species and resources, or (2) the composition of these assemblages are determined by highly variable settlement from planktonic larvae. We examined interactions among newly recruited juvenile fishes and between juvenile fishes and transplanted resident damslfish on artificial reefs in St. Croix, United States Virgin Island. Two kinds of priority effects occurred: (1) recruitment of three species of settling juveniles significantly decreased in the presence of the territorial damselfish, and (2) prior settlement of a juvenile predator lowered successful recruitment of two juvenile prey species. The first effect increases determinism in the structure of coral reef fish assemblages, while the second decreases their predictability.
Plasma amyloid β‐peptide 1–42 and incipient Alzheimer's disease

Mutations in the amyloid precursor protein and presenilin 1 and 2 genes result in elevated plasma levels of the amyloid β‐peptide species terminating at amino acid residue 42 (Aβ1–42). In a longitudinal study of unrelated elderly individuals, those who subsequently developed Alzheimer's disease had higher plasma levels of Aβ1–42 at entry than did those who remained free of dementia. The results indicate that elevated plasma levels of the released Aβ peptide Aβ1–42 may be detected several years before the onset of symptoms, supporting that extracellular Aβ1–42 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of late‐onset Alzheimer's disease.
Social Media Marketing on Organisational Efficiency of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria

The study examined the effect of social media marketing on organizational efficiency of deposit money banks in Nigeria. Blog, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn were used as the dimensions of social media platforms in this study. The study used conversion rate to measure organisational efficiency of banks. The study adopted descriptive and inferential statistical tools to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. The study used a questionnaire to elicit information from the respondents. The population of the study consisted of all the 22 deposit money banks approved by CBN. The study sampled 154 respondents from 22 deposit money banks in Nigeria and validly used 133 respondents representing 86.36% response rate for data analysis. The study found that banks use blog, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to conduct their marketing activities in the manner of brand promotion and persuasion of customers to patronize them and these activities enhance organisational efficiency of banks. The study revealed that blog has positive but insignificant effect on conversion rate. The study discovered that Facebook has positive and significant effect on conversion rate. The study revealed that Twitter has positive and significant effect on conversion rate. The study found that LinkedIn has positive and insignificant effect on conversion rate. The study concludes that as banks use blogs, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to create awareness about their products and services on the internet their conversion rates are significantly and positively boosted. The study therefore recommends that bank managers should use blog, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to their advantage by encouraging bank staff and not just the marketing department to participate in social media marketing which in turn covers more ground for the enhancement of conversion rate leading to organisational efficiency of banks.
Broad Cross-License Negotiations

In many industries, broad cross-license agreements are considered a useful method to obtain freedom to operate and to avoid patent litigation. In this paper I study ﬁrm incentives to sign a broad cross-license as well as the duration of broad cross-license negotiations. I develop a model of bargaining with learning, which predicts that two ﬁrms will enter a broad cross-license agreement only if their capital intensities are large enough. The model also predicts faster negotiations when ﬁrms have high capital intensities and when the frequency of future disputes is low. I conﬁrm these predictions empirically using a novel dataset on cross-licensing and litigation in the U.S. semiconductor industry.
Abundance, feeding, and morphology of passerine birds at Kowhai Bush, Kaikoura, New Zealand

Abstract Five-minute stationary counts of birds at Kowhai Bush over 17 months suggest that the scores for grey warblers and chaffinches may reflect vocal conspicuousness, rather than abundance, and that the scores for shining cuckoos, goldfinches, and redpolls may reflect vocal and visual conspicuousness in combination. Counts in three types of kanuka forest show that cuckoos, robins, and bellbirds favoured the more dense and diverse suocessional stages; that riflemen, brown creepers, fantails, chaffinches, goldfinches, and redpolls were most abundant in less mature habitats; and that warblers and silvereyes were almost uniformly common. Cuckoos and robins overlapped the most in use of habitat, robins and redpolls the least. For both warblers and robins, indices of abundance varied between two of the habitats in proportion to the densities of resident adults, permitting calibration of the indices. Excepting creepers and robins, native species were apparently less abundant at Kowhai Bush than in climax for.
Testing Disagreement Models

We provide plausibly identified evidence for the role of investor disagreement in asset pricing. Our natural experiment exploits the staggered implementation of EDGAR, which induces a reduction in investor disagreement with no accompanying changes in company fundamentals, disclosure quality, or earnings management. The reduction in disagreement leads to lower stock price crash risk. The effect is more pronounced for stocks with binding short-sale constraints and high investor optimism. The reduction in disagreement is followed by higher returns. Our results provide evidence consistent with models of investor disagreement.
The Effect of Medicaid Expansion on Wait Time in the Emergency Department

We study the effect of Medicaid expansion on wait time in the emergency department (ED), using a difference-in-differences approach, where the treatment group includes the states that expanded Medicaid at the beginning of 2014 and the control group includes the states that did not expand Medicaid before 2016. We first focus on the average treatment effect and find that Medicaid expansion increases ED wait time by 10.4% (or 3.5 minutes). We then develop a first-difference causal forest (FDCF) approach for heterogeneous treatment-effect analysis by incorporating the first-difference approach into the causal forest approach. Our comprehensive simulation studies show that the FDCF approach has smaller mean-squared errors than direct applications of the causal forest approach. Finally, we apply the FDCF approach to our empirical example and find that the effect of Medicaid expansion varies widely across different hospitals. Our results are useful to policymakers deciding whether to expand Medicaid and to hospital managers seeking to understand the effect of Medicaid expansion on their hospitals. Our results are also useful to researchers applying causal machine learning methods for heterogeneous treatment-effect analysis. This paper was accepted by Stefan Scholtes, healthcare management.
Effect of energy and protein supplementation on phosphorus utilization in lactating dairy cows

Two experiments were undertaken in which grass silage was used in conjunction with a series of different concentrate types designed to examine the effect of carbohydrate source, protein level and degradability on total dietary phosphorus (P) utilization with emphasis on P pollution. Twelve Holstein-Friesian dairy cows in early to mid-lactation were used in an incomplete changeover design with four periods consisting of 4 weeks each. Phosphorus intake ranged from 54 to 80 g/day and faecal P represented the principal route by which ingested P was disposed of by cows, with insignificant amounts being voided in urine. A positive linear relationship between faecal P and P intake was established. In Experiment 1, P utilization was affected by dietary carbohydrate type, with an associated output of 3.3 g faecal P/g milk P produced for all treatments except those utilizing low degradable starch and low protein supplements, where a mean value of 2.8 g faecal P/g milk P was observed. In Experiment 2, where two protein levels and three protein degradabilities were examined, the efficiency of P utilization for milk P production was not affected by either level or degradability of crude protein (CP) but a significant reduction in faecal P excretion due to lower protein and P intake was observed. In general, P utilization in Experiment 2 was substantially improved compared to the Experiment 1, with an associated output of 1.8 g faecal P/g milk P produced. The improved utilization of P in Experiment 2 could be due to lower P content of the diets offered and higher dry matter (DM) intake. For dairy cows weighing 600 kg, consuming 17-18 kg DM/day and producing about 25 kg milk, P excretion in faeces and hence P pollution to the environment might be minimized without compromising lactational performance by formulating diets to supply about 68 g P/day, which is close to recent published recommended requirements for P.