Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Why Do Boards Let Their CEOs Take Outside Directorships? Entrenchment and Embeddedness

We study the supply side of the market for CEOs as outside board members in the context of increasing legal and shareholder pressure on CEOs to refrain from accepting outside directorships. Consistent with potential benefits to their employing firms, CEOs have been increasingly more likely to accept directorships at vertically-related firms, especially when information and learning about upstream/downstream industries is expected to be particularly valuable. CEO director- ships at vertically-related firms have a significant positive effect on firm value and performance and help their firms handle industry shocks, especially in innovative industries where anticipating demand and supply conditions is crucially important. Consistent with agency/entrenchment costs, CEO outside directorships at unrelated firms are more likely for sending firms with weaker governance and have a significant negative effect on firm value. Taken together, our results suggest that external pressure has reduced the number of outside directorships that CEOs take and has improved their overall quality, although some evidence of agency problems remains.
A new species of Centaurea (Asteraceae) from Sicily

A new species of Centaurea, Centaurea sicana, endemic to Sicily, is described. This new taxon is close to Centaurea parlatoris and Centaurea giardinae (Sect. Dissectae), the former occurring at Palermo and in the Madonie Mountains, while the latter occurs on the Etna volcano. The new species has so far been found only on the Sicani Mountains, a limestone mountain range in western Sicily, while the related species occur in the surrounding mountains. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 157, 785–788.
Us Stock Prices and Macroeconomic Fundamentals

Using 54 years of quarterly data and a VAR model underpinned by a theoretical framework describing the relationship between US stock prices and the macroeconomy, this paper analyses the extent to which US stock prices deviate from economy-wide fundamentals. Focusing on real output and using a present value approach, we derive the fundamental price-output ratio and the fundamental stock price under different assumptions regarding the time-variability of returns, and proceed to compare these to actual data. Despite differences between model results, all imply that since 1996, the stock market, relative to other periods in history, has been overvalued compared to its value warranted by the expected growth in output.
Center-Periphery Structures and Dependency: A Theoretical and Methodological Proposal

Capitalist world-economy is composed of center-periphery structures where central countries exercise a higher structural power than the periphery. In order to gain a better theoretical and empirical understanding of this asymmetry of power, this paper proposes a brief theoretical discussion and interpretation of some intuitions coming from the works of Cardoso and Faletto (1979) and Marini (1973). Taking those intuitions as theoretical motivation, the paper proposes a methodology focused on the empirical evaluation of the existence of centers, sub-centers, semi-peripheral and peripheral countries which “minimize” the structural power of the periphery. The methodology is applied to world trade networks composed of 100 countries from 1992 to 2017 for which it has been possible to build multiple maps that describe the distribution of influence among countries and regions. The main result of this application is the evidence found in favor of the existence of central-peripheral structures as well as evidence on how the United States and China are struggling to consolidate their influence over multiple peripheral regions of the world.
Earnings Forecasts and Governability: Evidence from US.

We examine the effect of governance on analysts’ earnings forecasts. We contribute in the literature by opting for indicators of country governability, such as the quality of government regulations, rule of law and government effectiveness. By employing a comprehensive data set for over 912 US firms for the period 2000 – 2014, we demonstrate strong positive association between the government effectiveness and analysts’ earnings forecasts. We extend this analysis also using corporate governance variables such as CEO equity incentives and CEO power, whilst we examine for possible cross term association between governability and the former. This paper, further, investigates the effects of earnings management on analysts’ earnings forecasts documenting negative impact of the former on the latter.
Abundance of leafrollers and their parasitoids on selected host plants in New Zealand

Abstract The comparative abundance of orchard pest leafroller larvae was determined on eight host plants in the vicinity of pipfruit orchards. The greatest numbers occurred in Canterbury, followed by Nelson, Hawke's Bay, and Central Otago. In Hawke's Bay, leafroller larvae were Ctenopseustis obliquana (41%), Planotortrix octo (15%), Epiphyas postvittana (16%), and Cnephasia jactatana (9%), and were most abundant on poplar, willow, and alder. In Nelson, leafrollers were E. postvittana (25%), Planotortrix excessana (23%), C. obliquana (23%), and C. herana (22%), found on willow, alder, clover, poplar, gorse, broom, dock, and plantain. In Canterbury, larvae were C. herana (51%), E. postvittana (34%), and P. octo (15%), mainly on broom, gorse, alder, poplar, dock, and clover. Leafrollers were very rare on host plants sampled in Central Otago, despite their pest status in horticulture. A total of 1460 larvae were reared to adults from the four regions, with 31% parasitism, of which two thirds were Dolichogenid.
Try Before You Buy: How Do Two-Stage Acquisitions Affect M&A Outcomes?

40% of toehold acquisitions in the global M&amp;A market are two-stage deals in which the acquirer holds a long-term toehold before obtaining majority control. A key advantage of two-stage deals is acquirers’ access to inside information. Using the UTSA enactment as an exogenous shock that decreases information availability, I find that UTSA increased two-stage acquirer CARs and the use of two-stage deals, but not short-term toeholds. It however also increased two-stage deals’ signaling value, increasing long-term target run-ups. These results indicate that two-stage acquirers’ information advantage affects M&amp;A outcomes by enabling better decision-making and by signaling information to the market.
Role of Information Technology in the Displacement of Service Jobs: Theory and Evidence

This paper examines the role played by information technology (IT) in the displacement (termination of employment) of service workers. It adopts a task-based approach that captures the inherent characteristics the tasks within a job, which are then used to derive the offshorability and computerizability scores that represent the potential for its displacement through offshoring and automation. From a microeconomic model, we build a research framework in which IT not only directly affects displacement, but also moderates the impacts of offshorability and computerizability through communication and processing intensities. In addition, we propose that offshorability and computerizability are substitutes in their impacts on displacement. Making use of the O*NET dataset, we conduct a detailed task-based analysis to test hypotheses by examining the actual service worker displacement data gleaned from the US Current Population Surveys (CPS) conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The results strongly support the hypotheses. Our study not only contributes to a better understanding of technology-induced unemployment but also bears practical implications for management and policy.
Household Finance

Household financial decisions are complex, interdependent, and heterogeneous, and central to the functioning of the financial system. We present an overview of the rapidly expanding literature on household finance (with some important exceptions) and suggest directions for future research. We begin with the theory and empirics of asset market participation and asset allocation over the life cycle. We then discuss household choices in insurance markets, trading behavior, decisions on retirement saving, and financial choices by retirees. We survey research on liabilities, including mortgage choice, refinancing, and default, and household behavior in unsecured credit markets, including credit cards and payday lending. We then connect the household to its social environment, including peer effects, cultural and hereditary factors, intra-household financial decision-making, financial literacy, cognition, and educational interventions. We also discuss literature on the provision and consumption of financial advice. (JEL D15, G41, G50, J26, Z13)
A review of northern goshawk habitat selection in the home range and implications for forest management in the western United States

Abstract We reviewed all North American radiotelemetry studies of within-home-range habitat selection by northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) and all studies relating territory occupancy and productivity to landscape habitat features. Goshawks selected habitats in the home range with structural characteristics of mature to old-growth forests, such as large trees and high canopy closure. We documented selection of these structures in a number of forest types, including ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), mixed conifer, lodgepole pine (P. contorta), temperate rainforest, upland hardwood, and boreal forest, suggesting that goshawks are selecting forests for their structure rather than for species composition. Goshawks did not select stands with the greatest prey abundance. Selection for natural openings, edges, and stand diversity was inconclusive. Habitat selection patterns suggest that current goshawk management plans in the western United States may be inadequate.
Effect of source: sink ratios and vegetative melon growth

We evaluated the effect of different source:sink ratios determined through variations of planting density and number of fruits per plant during the vegetative growth of melon plants. Two experiments were carried out in a plastic greenhouse in the 2004/2005 spring-summer season. In one experiment, three planting densities (1.7; 2.4 and 3.0 plants m-2) and two different quantities of fruits per plant (3 and 4) were studied. In the other experiment, two treatments were set: pruning all fruits and keeping 3 fruits plant-1, in order to evaluate the effect of the absence of fruits. From the data of dry and fresh matter and leaf area (LA) 68 days after setting, it was determined dry matter production, distribution to the vegetative parts, leaf area index (LAI), specific leaf area (SLA) and dry-matter content of the stems and leaves. The increase of the planting density did not improve the source strength and had no effect on vegetative growth during periods of the year with high solar radiation. At the end of the cropping period, the relatively low melon planting density LA, in association to a high available solar radiation, avoided an excess of mutual shading among plants; this allowed the penetration of solar radiation inside the vegetative canopy, even at higher planting densities. A new fruit competes more with the remaining fruits than with the vegetative organs. The fruits compete indistinctly with the vegetative aboveground parts. In other words, stem and leaf act as an entity. The melon plant adapts to a low demand of sinks accumulating fotoassimilates in vegetative organs.
Stock Price Response to Earnings Announcements: Japan

This study is conducted on Japan as a major global economic power; the study that has not been researched yet, especially for the period of 2001-14. The main objective is to examine whether earnings response coefficient (ERC) behaviour could explain more fully the stock price changes, as to the reason why the stock price change is not equal to the amount of announced earnings. This paper reports new findings from applying portfolio method, which shows a much bigger earnings impact on share prices (ERC) compared to the erstwhile reports of ERC using individual events, averaged over the sample. I estimate cumulative abnormal returns, CAR, across a test window for each quarterly earnings announcement event across one accounting year. The CARs are then regressed against earnings changes of individual firms and portfolios. The findings show a significant positive CAR when earnings increases; and a negative CAR if earnings declines. The ERC is very small in the test period of 2001-14, which is consistent with published results for years before 2000. The ERC size magnifies substantially due to the grouping effect used through portfolio formation. What is significant is that the use of portfolio method, by removing the idiosyncratic errors, shows an ERC size that is considered large in relation to prior studies using aggregation of individual event effects and then averaging the individual ERC. The last evidence supports strongly the value relevance accounting theory that has not seen much support from averaging the price responses of individual event responses.
Genetic diversity and the history of pacific island house geckos (Hemidactylus and Lepidodactylus)

Patterns of variation in chromosomes, mitochondrial DNA and allozymes were assessed for two parthenogenetic (Lepidodactylus lugubris and Hemidactylus garnotii ) and one sexual (H. frenatus) species of house gecko that have colonized remote Pacific Ocean islands. The aims were to test the assumed recency of colonization and to provide information on the amount and distribution of genetic variation. Lepidodactylus lugubris was found to have diploid and triploid clones, high heterozygosity and moderate diversity for allozymes, and only two common types of mtDNA. The common clones distinguished by genetic analysis were geographically widespread. Together the genetic data suggest multiple origins of L. lugubris, with multiple recent invasions of the Pacific Ocean islands. Hemidactylus garnotii had low genetic diversity for chromosomes, mtDNA and allozymes. In contrast, its sexual congener, H. frenatus, had unusually high levels of mtDNA diversity, with some widespread variants. The low level of mtDNA diversity in the parthogenetic species provides strong support for the assumption that these are recent colonists of Pacific islands.
Artists Work Best Alone? The Relationship Between Lone Inventors, Complexity and Technological Novelty

Scholars have in recent years highlighted the need to distinguish between novelty and impact of inventions, and to study the antecedents of novelty in their own right. Extant studies show that individuals working alone and/or outside organizations - referred to as lone inventors - are less likely than teams and organizations to generate breakthrough inventions, but are they more or less likely to generate highly novel inventions? This paper explores the relationship between lone inventors and the likelihood of generating technologically novel patents, as compared to inventors working alone and/or in organizations. All U.S. patents applied for between 1986 and 2010 are analyzed, and technological novelty is measured as new combination of technology codes. Both independent and single inventors are more likely to generate new combinations than teams and organizations, but the effect decreases with increasing complexity. These findings suggest that lone inventors have an advantage in novelty generation compared to collaboration in teams and/or organizations, and that the technological complexity of the invention moderates the relationship. The paper thereby contributes to the understanding of the role of lone inventors in innovation, as well as to the antecedents of technological novelty.
IFN-γ: A Cytokine Essential for Rejection of CTL-Resistant, Virus-Infected Cells

We recently demonstrated differential susceptibility of cells expressing viral antigen to killing by antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). In addition, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) has been implicated in the clearance of some viruses from tissues. We explored the role of IFN-gamma in the cytotoxicity of Sendai virus-specific CTLs against virus-infected RL(male symbol)1 (T cell leukemia) or Meth A (fibrosarcoma) cells, as well as the growth of subcutaneously (s.c.) transplanted, virus-infected cells in IFN-gamma(+/+) or IFN-gamma(/) mice of the syngeneic strain (BALB/c). Sendai virus-specific CTLs were cytotoxic against virus-infected RL(male symbol)1 cells, and s.c. transplanted, virus-infected RL(male symbol)1 cells were acutely rejected from IFN-gamma(+/+) or IFN-gamma(/) mice. In contrast, the CTLs were inactive toward virus-infected Meth A cells, but s.c. transplanted, virus-infected Meth A cells were acutely rejected from IFN-gamma(+/+) but not IFN-gamma(/) mice. The s.c. growth of virus-infected Meth A cells in the mutant mice was markedly inhibited by s.c. injections of IFN-gamma, and the rejection from IFN-gamma(+/+) mice was delayed after specific elimination of macrophages by intravenous (i.v.) injections of dichloromethylene diphosphonatecontaining liposomes. These results suggest an essential role of IFN-gamma and involvement of macrophage in the rejection of CTL-resistant, virus-infected cells.
International Tail Risk Connectedness: Network and Determinants

Abstract We construct a complete network of directional tail risk connectedness for 32 countries within a Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) Quantile Regression framework. In addition to highlighting the network’s essential features, including the key drivers and receivers of tail risk, we reveal some striking new network determinants. These include the predominant role of economy size, as well as the negative net impact of economic linkages such as trade and capital flows in addition to capital stocks on cross-country tail risk connectedness.
Effect of defoliation by grazing or shoot removal on the root growth of field-grown wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract. Dual-purpose crops for grazing and grain production can be highly profitable, provided grazing does not cause significant loss of grain yield. In many plants, defoliation causes a transient reduction in the allocation of resources to stem and root growth and remobilisation of soluble resources to re-establish leaf area rapidly. In Australia, the usual autumn and winter period of defoliation for grazed crops, May–July, coincides with a phase of near-linear root depth penetration in ungrazed crops, and the crop recovery period after grazing occurs during stem elongation, when grain number and yield potential are determined. However, few studies have investigated the potential impact of crop defoliation through grazing on root growth of wheat in the field. We investigated the effect of defoliation by grazing or shoot removal on the root growth of wheat crops in four field experiments in south-eastern Australia in which the timing, frequency and intensity of defoliation varied. Despite significant impacts of defoliation on aboveground biomass (50–90% reduction) and grain yield (10–43% reduction) in all experiments, we found little evidence of effects on the rate of root penetration or final rooting depth. A notable exception was observed in one experiment when defoliation commenced very early (four-leaf stage, Zadoks growth stage Z14) in a repeatedly defoliated crop, reducing rooting depth from 1.65 to 1.35 m. The only other measured impact on roots was in an early-sown winter wheat crop grazed by sheep for 3 months (6 June–3 September), in which root length density was reduced by ∼50% in surface layers above 1.0 m depth, but there was no impact on maximum root depth or root length density at 1.0–2.0 m depth. Our results suggest that grazing has little impact on the rooting depth of wheat unless it occurs very early and repeatedly, when plants are allocating significant resources to establish the primary roots. However, there may be some reduction in the density of roots in surface layers during recovery after long-term grazing, presumably associated with reduced proliferation of the nodal root system. We conclude that most significant yield penalties due to grazing relate to impacts on the assimilation of aboveground resources, rather than to reduced water or nutrient acquisition by roots.
Dose Responses for Adaption to Low Doses of 60Co γ Rays and 3H β Particles in Normal Human Fibroblasts

Abstract Broome, E. J., Brown, D. L. and Mitchel, R. E. J. Dose Responses for Adaption to Low Doses of 60Co γ Rays and 3H β Particles in Normal Human Fibroblasts. Radiat. Res. 158, 181–186 (2002). The dose response for adaption to radiation at low doses was compared in normal human fibroblasts (AG1522) exposed to either 60Co γ rays or 3H β particles. Cells were grown in culture to confluence and exposed at either 37°C or 0°C to 3H β-particle or 60Co γ-ray adapting doses ranging from 0.1 mGy to 500 mGy. These cells, and unexposed control cells, were allowed to adapt during a fixed 3-h, 37°C incubation prior to a 4-Gy challenge dose of 60Co γ rays. Adaption was assessed by measuring micronucleus frequency in cytokinesis-blocked, binucleate cells. No adaption was detected in cells exposed to 60Co γ radiation at 37°C after a dose of 0.1 mGy given at a low dose rate or to 500 mGy given at a high dose rate. However, low-dose-rate exposure (1–3 mGy/min) to any dose between 1 and 500 mGy from either radiation, delivered at either temperature, caused cells to adapt and reduced the micronucleus frequency that resulted from the subsequent 4-Gy exposure. Within this dose range, the magnitude of the reduction was the same, regardless of the dose or radiation type. These results demonstrate that doses as low as (on average) about one track per cell (1 mGy) produce the same maximum adaptive response as do doses that deposit many tracks per cell, and that the two radiations were not different in this regard. Exposure at a temperature where metabolic processes, including DNA repair, were inactive (0°C) did not alter the result, indicating that the adaptive response is not sensitive to changes in the accumulation of DNA damage within this range. The results also show that the RBE for low doses of tritium β-particle radiation is 1, using adaption as the end point.
More Lemons, More Disclosure? The JOBS Act and Voluntary IPO Disclosure of Internal Controls

I examine the change in voluntary IPO disclosure of internal controls after the JOBS Act. The JOBS Act postponed the compliance deadline of internal control audits after IPO. Simultaneously, it increased the number of small IPO firms with potential control weaknesses. I find that IPO firms are more likely to disclose internal controls after the JOBS Act. Further, post-JOBS IPO firms who are willing to disclose experience lower underpricing. This lower underpricing is not fully explained by the supplemental disclosure of remediation of control weaknesses. Finally, the increased disclosure of internal controls after the JOBS Act is not associated with worse accounting quality or more intensive SEC oversight on internal control issues. Collectively, these results are consistent with a dynamic view that as investors rationally update their beliefs of increasing “lemons” in the IPO population after the JOBS Act, IPO firms become more forthcoming with internal control disclosure.