Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Traditional farming and key foraging habitats for chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax conservation in a Spanish pseudosteppe landscape

Summary 0[ Agricultural land devoted to low! intensity practices supports many declining bird species in Europe[ The potential e}ects of intensi_cation or abandonment of tra! ditional farming practices are assessed from the point of view of the conservation of the chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax[ 1[ The study was conducted in Los Monegros "north! east Spain#\ in a pseudosteppe landscape of special relevance for this species[ In this area traditional farming survives in the form of low! intensity arable systems including fallowing and extensive sheep grazing[ 2[ Foraging choughs showed a strong selection for _eld margins\ avoided any remn! ant of the original scrubland and halophitic vegetation\ and utilized other habitats maintained by traditional crop rotation "e[ g[ fallow\ stubble# at di}erent times of the year[ 3[ A highly complex pattern of habitat selection was found which was not only related to seasonal changes in habitat availability\ but also di}ered between territorial pairs and the non! breeding population[ This emphasizes the importance of taking all the di}erent components of bird populations into account when analysing interactions between habitat selection and the annual farming cycle[ 4[ Chough habitat selection suggests that both agricultural intensi_cation and land abandonment would have detrimental consequences for this species in Los Monegros[ The maintenance of traditional farming is recommended\ especially by promoting the use of long fallow rotations grazed extensively by livestock\ encouraging the increase of grassland edges around landholdings and sand roads\ and maintaining a low input of biocides[ These management measurements could also favour most other endangered species of steppe birds\ and could be supported by the establishment of Zonal Programmes under the CAP Agri! Environment Regulation "1967:81#[ Key! words] Agri! Environment Regulation 1967:81\ birds\ Common Agricultural Policy\ habitat selection[
Six new Actinella (Bacillariophyta) species from Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand: further evidence for widespread diatom endemism in the Australasian region

Examination of sediment samples from oligo-and dystrophic ponds, lakes and streams in Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand revealed a hitherto unknown diversity of the diatom genus Actinella Lewis. Six new species are proposed, viz. Actinella aotearoaia sp. nov., A. giluwensis sp. nov., A indistincta sp. nov., A. muylaertii sp. nov., A. parva sp. nov. and A. pulchella sp. nov. All species are heteropolar, both in girdle and valve view. Novel information on the genus Actinella includes the observations of two ribbon-shaped, valve-appressed plastids in A. aotearoaia and A. pulchella, and the presence of long mucilage stalks in A. aotearoaia. It is argued that, despite recent proposals to reduce the genera Actinella and Desmogonium Ehrenberg to the rank of subgenera of Eunotia, they should be kept separate until the taxonomic significance of their distinctive morphological features (such as heteropolarity) is fully assessed. The new species appear to be endemic to Australasia and have distinct biogeographies within this region. Except for A. aotearoaia, all species are present in Tasmania; A. indistincta and A. pulchella have also been found in New Zealand (Stewart Island). A. aotearoaia is common in several localities in New Zealand but was also found near Sydney on the Australian mainland. Actinella giluwensis has only been observed in material from Papua New Guinea. The record of A. punctata for the latter country constitutes the first confirmed record for this species outside North America and Europe. The discovery of the new Actinella species again confirms the importance of the Australasian region as a major centre of microalgal biodiversity and endemism.
Crisis in the Eurozone and how to Deal with It

In concise, non-technical terms, Paul De Grauwe, Professor of Economics at Leuven University and Senior Associate Research Fellow at CEPS, explains how the current financial crisis in the eurozone developed, distinguishing in turn the three main actors that have played a major role: Greece, the financial markets (including the rating agencies) and the eurozone authorities. While acknowledging that a grand plan for more intense political union in the eurozone does not seem possible, he further outlines smaller, but focused steps that could be taken towards such a future union.
Consumption Structure, Welfare Goods and Retirement Income: Linking the Ageing Puzzles

While the empirical evidence tends to support some predictions of the life-cycle theory, a number of puzzles remain: an ageing-consumption, an ageing-saving and a saving-capitalisation puzzles have been put forward in the literature. This paper analyses the links between these three puzzles and develops a model relating usual life-cycle variables, social transfers (public health care expenditures and the generosity of pension systems) to the level of savings. A reduced-form model using a panel of 18 OECD countries is tested, confirming the proposed explanations for the puzzles, together with other factors such as Ricardian equivalence and the population structure. We found that the relative generosity of welfare systems have a significant negative impact on household saving rate.
Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe: Money Demand, Seigniorage and Aid Shocks

Zimbabwe has recently experienced record hyperinflation of 80 billion percent a month. This paper uses new data from Zimbabwe to investigate money demand under hyperinflation using an ARDL estimation for the period 1980-2008. The results produce plausible convergence rates and long- run elasticities, indicating that real money balances are cointegrated with the inflation rate. Evidence is also presented that suggests prices are being driven by increases in the money supply rather than by changes in price setting behaviour. The paper additionally uses the estimated elasticity on the inflation variable to calculate the maximum level of seigniorage revenue that could be raised in the economy. Actual seigniorage levels increased dramatically after 2000, with inflation eventually exceeding the rate required to maximize this revenue stream. This is discussed in relation to international financing constraints and the collapse of the domestic tax base.
FDI and Taxation - A Meta-Study

Despite the continuing political interest in the usefulness of tax competition and tax coordination as well as the wealth of theoretical analyses, it still remains open whether or when tax competition is harmful. Moreover, the influence of tax differentials on multinationals' decisions is still insufficiently analyzed. Thus, economists have increasingly resorted to empirical analysis in order to gain insights on the elasticity of FDI with respect to company taxation. As a result, the empirical literature on taxation and international capital flows has grown to a similar abundance during the last 25 years as the respective theoretical literature. Its heterogeneity leads to a rising need for concise reviews on the existing empirical evidence. In this paper we extend former meta-analyses on FDI and taxation in three ways. First, we add the most recent publications unconsidered in meta-analyses up-to-date. Second, we apply a different methodology by using a broad set of meta-regression estimators and explicitly discuss which one is most suitable for application to our meta-data. Third, we address some important issues in research on FDI and taxation to the clarification of which meta-analysis can make valuable contributions. These issues are mainly: The influence of variables which might moderate effects of tax differentials (e.g. public spending), the implications of using aggregate FDI data as opposed to firm-level information on measured tax effects, the implications of bilateral effective tax rates, and the possible presence of publication bias in primary research.
Monetary Policy in a Changing Environment

The papers in this volume were presented and discussed at the Autumn Central Bank Economists' Meeting held at the BIS in Basel on 14-15 October 2002. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss challenges that central banks have faced in the current environment characterised by low and comparatively stable inflation, structural supply side improvements, the apparently high credibility of central banks' anti-inflation commitment and liberalised financial markets. These challenges have included learning how to deal with unforeseen potential increases in productivity growth, major expansions in credit and asset prices, and, in some cases, even financial instability and deflation. Another challenge has been the recent sudden and widespread slowdown in economic activity that, uncharacteristically, was not triggered by a tightening of monetary policy designed to quell inflationary pressures but rather by the unwinding of an investment boom. The meeting explored potential changes in the dynamics of the business cycle, in particular the ability to identify inflationary and deflationary pressures, and the implications for monetary policy, including the challenges posed by the zero lower bound on interest rates.
Resprouting of the Mediterranean‐type shrub Erica australis with modified lignotuber carbohydrate content

1 The vigour of plant resprouting after fire may be driven by the amount of stored non‐structural carbohydrates (NC). However, the extent to which NC reserves limit this response in woody plants has not been established. 2 This study analyses the effects of modifying NC concentrations in the lignotuberous Mediterranean‐type shrub Erica australis, on resprouting after experimental burning. A factorial experiment with two treatments (shade and burn) was carried out, with three levels per treatment. Plants were shaded (exposure to 100%, 50% or 20% of incident radiation for 1 year), following which they were clipped (control, no fire), or clipped and burned at one of two levels of severity. After this, they were allowed to resprout and grow for 2 years. 3 Shading modified NC concentrations in the lignotuber, but not in the roots. Two years after burning, plants subjected to the greatest shading, which reduced their NC concentrations to 44% (sum of NC) or 19% (starch) of that of control plants, had suffered higher mortality after resprouting, had a significantly lower number of resprouts, of shorter length, and had produced lower biomass per plant than less shaded or unshaded plants. However, plants subjected to intermediate shade, which suffered a reduction in NC concentrations to 70% of that of control plants, did not differ in resprouting response from control plants. 4 Burning caused more direct mortality, and a severe reduction in both number or biomass of resprouts, than just clipping. There were no significant shade × burning interaction effects. 5 While reductions in NC may limit resprouting, such limitation may only occur when NC is reduced to much lower concentrations than caused by commonly experienced conditions. The role of NC reserves in limiting resprouting of lignotuberous, woody plants such as E. australis might therefore not be as important as is commonly assumed.
Optimal Monetary Policy When Agents are Learning.

Most studies of optimal monetary policy under learning rely on optimality conditions derived for the case when agents have rational expectations. In this paper, we derive optimal monetary policy in an economy where the Central Bank knows, and makes active use of, the learning algorithm agents follow in forming their expectations. In this setup, monetary policy can influence future expectations through its effect on learning dynamics, introducing an additional trade-off between inflation and output gap stabilization. Specifically, the optimal interest rate rule reacts more aggressively to out of equilibrium inflation expectations and noisy cost-push shocks than would be optimal under rational expectations: the Central Bank exploits its ability to drive" future inflation expectations closer to equilibrium. This optimal policy qualitatively resembles optimal policy when the Central Bank can commit and agents have rational expectations. Moreover, when beliefs are updated according to recursive least squares, the optimal policy is time-varying: after a structural break the Central Bank should be more aggressive and relax the degree of aggressiveness in subsequent periods. The policy recommendation is robust: under our policy the welfare loss if the private sector actually has rational expectations is much smaller than if the Central Bank mistakenly assumes rational expectations whereas in fact agents are learning.
Firms’ Debt-Equity Decisions When the Static Tradeoff Theory and the Pecking Order Theory Disagree

This paper tests the static tradeoff theory against the pecking order theory. We focus on an important difference in prediction: the static tradeoff theory argues that a firm increases leverage until it reaches its target debt ratio, while the pecking order yields debt issuance until the debt capacity is reached. For a sample of U.S. firms in the period 1985-2005, we find that the pecking order theory is a better descriptor of firms’ issue decisions than the static tradeoff theory. In contrast, when we focus on repurchase decisions we find that the static tradeoff theory is a stronger predictor of firms’ capital structure decisions.
Behavioralizing Finance

Finance is in the midst of a paradigm shift, from a neoclassical based framework to a psychologically based framework. Behavioral finance is the application of psychology to financial decision making and financial markets. Behavioralizing finance is the process of replacing neoclassical assumptions with behavioral counterparts. This volume surveys the literature in behavioral finance, and identifies both its strengths and weaknesses. In doing so, it identifies possible directions for behavioralizing the frameworks used to study beliefs, preferences, portfolio selection, asset pricing, corporate finance, and financial market regulation. The intent is to provide a structured approach to behavioral finance in respect to underlying psychological concepts, formal framework, testable hypotheses, and empirical findings. A key theme of the volume is that the future of finance will combine realistic assumptions from behavioral finance and rigorous analysis from neoclassical finance.
Call learning in black-capped chickadees (Parus atricapillus) : The role of experience in the development of 'chick-a-dee' calls

The role of learning in the development of bird vocalizations other than territorial song is not well studied. The well-known role of direct imitation in the development of territorial song potentially masks the effects of other processes in the development of vocal behaviour. The ‘chick-a-dee’ call of black-capped chickadees is a good system in which to investigate more subtle developmental processes because this call is composed of a small number of distinctive note types. These note types may be classified objectively based on a simple set of acoustic variables, allowing for a quantitative assessment of vocal learning. We raised four groups of black-capped chickadees under different degrees of social and acoustic isolation. We then used a multivariate analysis of the acoustic structure of the introductory call notes (‘A-’ ‘B-’ and ‘C-notes’) to determine how similar the notes produced by these hand-reared birds were to the notes of wild birds. Hand-reared chickadees with greater exposure to normal phonology produced notes of all three note types that were more similar to those of wild birds. Regardless of experience, however, all birds produced A-notes that fell within the normal range of those produced by wild birds. By contrast, the development of normal B- and C-notes appears to be more dependent upon experience. These data suggest that learning may play a different role in the development of different phonological units within one vocalization. Our results also illustrate the importance of considering processes other than simple imitation in the development of avian vocalizations.
Falsifiability

We examine the fundamental concept of Popper's falsifiability within an economic model in which a tester hires a potential expert to produce a theory. Payments are made contingent on the performance of the theory vis-a-vis future realizations of the data. We show that if experts are strategic, then falsifiability has no power to distinguish legitimate scientific theories from worthless theories. We also show that even if experts are strategic there are alternative criteria that can distinguish legitimate from worthless theories.
Unspanned Global Macro Risks in Bond Returns

We examine the macro-spanning hypothesis for bond returns in international markets. Based on a large panel of real-time macroeconomic variables that are not subject to revisions, we find that global macro factors have predictive power for bond returns unspanned by yield factors. Furthermore, we estimate macro-finance term structure models with the unspanned global macro factors and find that the global macro factors influence the market prices of level and slope risks and induce comovements in forward term premia in global bond markets. This paper was accepted by David Simchi-Levi, finance.
SUSCEPTIBILITY TO PREDATION FOR DIFFERENT GRASSHOPPERS: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY'

A study was conducted in western Montana to determine the impact of different predators on grasshopper populations. By placing grasshoppers of different species, sexes, ages, and body masses on monofilament tethers in the field, rates of predation could be estimated. These rates are consistent with other estimates obtained from population studies in the same environment, but provide a far more detailed assessment of which grasshoppers are most vulnerable to predators and which predators are most important. Immature individuals are more vulnerable at small body sizes and adults are more vul- nerable at large body sizes; this is because the principal predators on immature individuals are arthropods, and on adults, vertebrates. Male grasshoppers were 2-3 times as vulnerable as females. The subfamily Oedopodinae was more vulnerable than the Gomphocerinae or Melanoplinae. Predation rates indicate that predators are only able to impact seriously (reduce life expectancy below the suitable abiotic period for existence) the largest Oedo- podinae, making predation of little consequence for most grasshopper populations in this environment.
Estimation of Genetic Trends and Correlations for Jersey Cattle

Abstract Genetic correlations were estimated between sire evaluations for 14 type traits, 4 production traits, and stayability to 36, 48, 60, and 72 mo of age from type information and 469,460 lactation records on daughters of 3789 Jersey sires. Most correlated genetically with stayability were production traits with estimates that ranged from . 44 to 1.01. Of the stayability measures, stayability at 48 mo of age had the highest correlation with production and other stayability measures. Modified Contemporary Comparison and Northeast Artificial Insemination Sire Comparison sire evaluations on daughter records had correlations of . 77 and . 71 for milk and fat. The Northeast Artificial Insemination Sire Comparison was correlated with stayability whereas the Modified Contemporary Comparison was correlated with type evaluations. Estimates of yearly genetic means indicate substantial improvement in recent years for production and stayability. Animals freshening from 1969 to 1977 have improved 290 kg of milk, 10.5 kg of fat, and 1.3, 4.0, 4.5, and 3.1 units of stayability for 36-, 48-, 60-, and 72-mo stayability because of improved sires only. This is an annual improvement due to sires of 36 kg of milk, 1.3 kg of fat, and . 2, . 6, . 8, and . 6 units of stayability.
Does Local Government Fragmentation Affect Local Spending?

This study uses multiple measures of fragmentation and decentralization to assess the effects of these conditions on total local spending in 126 metropolitan regions and 538 counties in the same regions in 2002. The measures are derived from a recognized scheme that distinguishes among total, horizontal, and vertical dimensions of these conditions, and the models control for other causes of total local spending, including sprawl and interlocal spending. The study finds support for the claim that total spending by local governments is higher in regions and counties with more single purpose governments (vertical fragmentation), but also jurisdictions where a greater percentage of spending is done by counties (centralization). Findings also vary by unit of analysis and type of special purpose government, which suggests that the effects of governing structure are not as straightforward as theory suggests.
Selective Secondary Education and School Participation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Malawi

Large scale tracking policies, allowing academically apt pupils to enter a select group of secondary schools, can be found in many Sub-Saharan countries. However, evidence on the impact of these policies on school outcomes, especially school participation, is limited. This paper fills this gap by providing regression discontinuity evidence on the impact of Malawi's racking program. The analysis is based on unique institutional data covering an entire cohort of pupils. Estimates show that Malawi's tracking program raises school participation of top students without a reduction in pupil learning. These findings have implications for education policy in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Selecting the right parasitoid for the environment in classical biological control programmes: the case of Diadegma semiclausum (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) and Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) in the Kofele highland of Ethiopia

The careful selection of parasitoids with a track record of success in similar environmental conditions may increase the likelihood of effective biocontrol. Diamondback moth (DBM) population and level of parasitism were assessed for three years prior to the release of Diadegma semiclausum (Hellén) in June 2008. Thereafter, the DBM population and severity of crop damage and the occurrence of D. semiclausum and indigenous DBM parasitoids were monitored by monthly surveys during the main production season of June to December for three years. Before release, DBM numbers fluctuated between 4.2 and 11.2 per plant and parasitism ranged between 6.5 and 24.7%. DBM density declined to 2.8, 0.9 and 0.7 per plant whilst parasitism levels increased successively to 21, 39 and 38% in 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively. A significant shift in parasitoid guild was observed after D. semiclausum release: it comprised 18.6, 80.3 and 88.6% of total parasitism in the first, second and third year, respectively. The decline of DBM density following the release of the introduced parasitoid and its establishment will ensure production of Brassica spp. without pesticide use against DBM in the affected area.