Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endogenous Social Security Financial Crises

This paper addresses the causes and dynamics of pay-as-you-go social security financial crises. Its main hypothesis is there exists a self-reinforcing vicious circle between the social security system, the fertility rate and labor supply. We argue that changes in the pay-as-you-go social security tax rate may induce a subsequent demographic transition and a decline in supply of labor. Theses effects cause the system to be unsustainable, as fewer individuals pay social security taxes but more individuals receive social security benefits over time. A direct policy implication is that governments are required to adjust either the tax rate and/or the benefits of the social security system. Further, we show that when the government maintains its promised payments of benefits, the social security tax rate will follow a unit-root process that grows through time. We test our predictions concerning the fertility rate and labor supply by using the case of Chile as an experiment. The empirical analysis shows support for our hypotheses concerning fertility rate and labor supply. Later, we show evidence of a unit-root process in the social security tax rate by using data from a number of OECD countries.
Alterations in Rat Brain Proteins after Desflurane Anesthesia

BackgroundVolatile anesthetics disappear from an organism after the end of anesthesia. Whether changes of protein expression persist in the brain for a longer period is not known. This study investigates the question of whether the expression of proteins is altered in the rat brain after the end of desflurane anesthesia. MethodsThree groups (n = 12 each) of rats were anesthetized with 5.7% desflurane in air for 3 h. Brains were removed directly after anesthesia, 24 h after anesthesia, or 72 h after anesthesia. Two additional groups (n = 12 each) served as naive conscious controls, in which the brains were removed without previous anesthesia 3 or 72 h after the start of the experiment. Cytosolic proteins were isolated. A proteome-wide study was performed, based on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. ResultsCompared with conscious controls, significant (P < 0.05) increase/decrease was found: 3 h of anesthesia, 5/2 proteins; 24 h after anesthesia, 13/1 proteins; 72 h after anesthesia, 6/4 proteins. The overall changes in protein expression as quantified by the induction factor ranged from −1.67 (decrease to 60%) to 1.79 (increase by 79%) compared with the controls (100%). Some of these regulated proteins play a role in vesicle transport and metabolism. ConclusionDesflurane anesthesia produces changes in cytosolic protein expression up to 72 h after anesthesia in the rat brain, indicating yet unknown persisting effects.
Short Sales Constraints and Return Volatility: Evidence from the Chinese A and H Share Markets

Returns of the same companies' common stocks, both non-market-adjusted and market-adjusted, exhibit greater volatility, on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong where short selling is allowed than on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange where short selling is restrained. This unique evidence indicates that short selling increases stock price volatility for the Chinese stocks in the Chinese stock markets.
The Impact of Managing Director Changes and Financial Distress on Audit Qualification and Auditor Switching

This study examines the interactive effects of change in managing director/chief executive officer (MD) and financial distress together with five control variables (type of audit firm; audit fees; gearing; time; and company size) on first, audit opinion and secondly on auditor switching. Based on a sample of 297 UK listed companies between 1987 and 2001, we find that companies that are financially distressed and change their MD are most likely to receive a qualified audit report, "ceteris paribus". In addition, we find evidence of both familiarity and intimidation threats and that the probability of a switch increases with the severity of qualification. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2005.
Market Microstructure and Stock Return Predictions

To what extent are the empirical regularities implied by market microstructure theories useful in predicting the short-run behavior of stock returns A two-equation econometric model of quote revisions and transaction returns is developed and used to identify the relative importance of different microstructure theories and to make predictions. Microstructure variables and lagged stock index futures returns have in-sample and out-of-sample predictive power based on data observed at five-minute intervals. The most striking microstructure implication of the model, confirmed by the empirical results, specifies that the expected quote return is positively related to the deviation between the transaction price and the quote midpoint while the expected transaction return is negatively related to the same variable. Article published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Financial Studies in its journal, The Review of Financial Studies.
Pension Fund Capitalism

The growth of pension funds has been nothing short of astronomical. Pension funds now dominate the world's financial markets, affecting nations' wealth, community development, and industrial well being. Yet little is known about their structure and organization. Pension funds and their agents in the investment industry control enormous sums of money, profoundly affecting the structure and performance of nation-states and the global economy. At the same time, it is also apparent that many western governments are retreating from the provision of 'public good' once thought essential to the fabric of urban life. Clark agues that if we are to understand the long-term future of the western economies (in general) and our communities (in particular), we need also to understand how institutional investors allocate assets, mobilize funds, and make investment decisions. There are few studies of the relationship between pension funds and the financial services industry. Pension Fund Capitalism fills an important gap in the literature as well as the intersection between pension funds and public policy.
Theory of flicker and transient responses. I. Uniform fields.

Photopic flicker data are explained in terms of a theoretical model of two retinal processes. The first is a linear diffusion process (presumably in the receptors), with a large dynamic range (∼105). The second is a nonlinear inhibiting network (neural feedback at the synapses of the plexiform layers) that adaptively controls the sensitivity and time constants of the model. The magnitude of its transfer function fits the flicker data quantitatively at all frequencies, over a wide range of adaptation levels. The corresponding small-signal impulse responses are also calculated: their latencies and leading edges (associated with receptor activity) are invariant with adaptation level; the remaining phases of these transient waveforms (associated with the graded potentials of secondary neurons) adapt strongly, in accord with current histology and micro-electrode findings.
Anthropometric and biochemical profiles of black south african women

It has been reported that the diet of rural women in most African countries differs considerably from that of their urban counterparts, with the urban diet composed of more refined carbohydrates and fatty food. This study examines anthropometric and biochemical profiles and the association between these parameters in pre-menopausal, post-pubertal black South African women. A representative sample of 500 participants, randomly selected in Mangaung, Bloemfontein in the Free State Province, using township maps obtained from the Bloemfontein Municipality were recruited to participate. Younger women were aged 25-34 years and older women 35- 44 years. Anthropometric and biochemical profiles were determined according to standard methods. From the original sample of 500 women, 496 were eligible to participate. Of the younger women 30.1% and of the older women 27.7% were overweight, while 23.3% of younger women and 24% of older women had a body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2, indicating obesity. Most women had a waist-hip ratio (WHR) age groups had a body fat percentage >25% (92.5% and 94% respectively of younger and older women). Of the younger women 6.8% and of the older women 13.8% had triglyceride (TG) levels higher than the reference range. Total cholesterol levels fell within the reference range for 79.8% of the younger women and 71.3% of the older women. Glucose and insulin levels were within reference ranges for most women of both age groups. A significant association was found between insulin sensitivity and BMI and between insulin sensitivity and TG levels in both age groups. No significant association was found between waist circumference and elevated glucose levels in both age groups. A significant difference between insulin sensitivity and WHR was observed in the older group of women. The prevalence of overweight and obesity reported in this population may pose a potential risk for the development of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. Keywords: Black women, anthropometric indicators, biochemical parameters, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus
IETR millimeter-wave Compact Antenna Test Range implementation and validation

In order to improve its capabilities in measuring millimeter-wave antennas, the Institute of Electronic and Telecommunications of Rennes has implemented a Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR) in one of its anechoic chamber. This paper describes the main lines of this project, from the technical requirements to the verification of the CATR performances. Measurements of the Quiet Zone (QZ) in V-band are presented to show the performances of this equipment.
General equilibrium models for development policy

This comprehensive survey of multisector, economy-wide planning models weighs their power to address issues of trade, distribution, growth, and structural change. The authors combine theoretical discussion of the properties of applied equilibrium models with numerical applications to particular countries, and problems. The models consider ranges from input-output and linear programming to the more recent nonlinear computable general equilibrium models. The authors examine how these models can be used to measure growth and structural change, to select an appropriate foreign exchange regimen, and to evaluate the impact of alternative development strategies on the distribution of income. The empirical applications draw on the experience of particular countries, and comparisons among countries to demonstrate how such models provide a useful framework for policy analysis. Particular attention is given to the difficulties of formulating plans and policies in mixed-market economies and to the problems of capturing the real constraints on policymakers within the abstractions of a model.
Communication and recreation for ‘new-generation’ workers in China: a hierarchical linear modelling approach

This article investigates the effects of communication and recreation on ‘new-generation’ workers' performance, as well as the underlying mechanism and boundary condition. Using data from 1256 ‘new-generation’ workers in 109 firms in labour-intensive industries in China, a hierarchical linear modelling approach reveals that the more co-workers with whom workers frequently communicate, the better their performance. Recreation departments also facilitate individual work performance. Social support mediates these two relationships. In addition, gender moderates the effects of the recreation department and the number of frequent communicators on work performance, such that the effects are stronger for male workers than for female ones.
Public Opinion, Crime, and Criminal Justice

Research on public knowledge has found that the public knows little about crime or the criminal justice system including crime-related statistics such as crime rates, recidivism rates, and average sentences. Members of the public have little familiarity with specific laws or with their legal rights. Although some research shows that most people favor the imposition of harsher sentences on convicted offenders, more refined research reveals that the public is not more punitive than the judiciary. Research on crime seriousness reveals substantial consensus between different groups and over time. Policymakers and criminal justice professionals believe attitudes to be harsher than they are. A priority for the criminal justice system is to dispel misperceptions of crime held by the public and misperceptions of public attitudes held by professionals and policymakers.
Leadership and school success: The behaviors and practices of a principal in an effective urban high school

Andrew Tait Alexson. LEADERSHIP AND SCHOOL SUCCESS: THE BEHAVIORS AND PRACTICES OF A PRINCIPAL IN AN EFFECTIVE URBAN HIGH SCHOOL. (Under the direction of Dr. Ellen Lowrie Black) School of Education, August, 2008. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the behaviors and practices of a principal in an effective, private, faith-based urban high school. The researcher interviewed school personnel, observed school operations, and reviewed school documents. The researcher administered two surveys to 15 faculty, staff, board members and the principal. The first survey included 76 questions that addressed Powell’s five domains of Vision, Mission, and Culture; Curriculum and Classroom Instruction; Collaboration and Shared Leadership; Family and Community Relations; and Effective Management. The second survey included 30 questions that explored Kouzes and Posner’s leadership characteristics of Model the Way; Inspire a Shared Vision; Challenge the Process; Enable Others to Act; and Encourage the Heart. This study confirmed many of the findings presented in the literature review and found that the study school was effective in part because of the leadership behaviors and practices of the principal. The principal was instrumental in keeping the school moving toward the goal of providing an excellent, Christ-centered education that equips urban students for leadership, service,
What Will Happen to Financial Markets When the Baby Boomers Retire?

This paper explores whether changes in the age distribution have significant effects on financial markets that are rational and forward-looking. It presents a stationary overlapping generations model in which agents save for retirement while working, making a portfolio decision over risky equity and riskless bonds in zero net supply. The model features only aggregate uncertainty, a technology shock to production and random population growth, and is solved numerically using the parameterized expectations approach (PEA) following Den Haan and Marcet (1990). The methodology of Den Haan and Marcet (1994) is used to test the accuracy of the solution. Although agents' degree of risk aversion is constant over time, they invest as if increasingly risk averse with age: young workers short the riskless asset in order to hold equity, while old workers hold mostly the riskless asset. This portfolio behavior stems from an implicit holding of a nontradable asset, human capital. Using the PEA solution to simulate a baby boom-baby bust reveals that the return differential between equity and bonds rises significantly when boom turns to bust. At this point a large cohort of old workers trades with a smaller cohort of young workers, resulting in excess demand for the riskless asset, which pushes down the riskfree rate relative to the return on equity. There is thus cohort-specific demographic risk in financial markets that are rational and forward-looking, with returns to baby boomers significantly below steady state returns. The paper also demonstrates that a simple pay-as-you-go pension scheme fails to insure agents against this cohort-specific risk, concluding that only government can insure agents against it, by varying borrowing over time and thereby making transfers of wealth across non-overlapping generations.An appendix solves the model using a "projection" PEA, which uses a nonlinear equation solver to find the coefficients at which the approximating function equals the numerically computed conditional expectation. It compares the efficiency and accuracy of this solution method to that of the Monte Carlo PEA.
What's the Difference between a Donkey and an Elephant? Using Panel Data from Us States to Estimate the Impact of Partisanship on Policy Settings and Economic Outcomes

Using panel data from US states, I measure the impact of partisanship on a wide range of different policy settings and economic outcomes. Across 32 measures, there are surprisingly few differences in policy settings, social outcomes and economic outcomes under Democrats and Republicans. In terms of policies, Democratic Governors tend to prefer slightly higher minimum wages and more redistributive taxes. Under Republican Governors, incarceration rates are higher, while welfare caseloads are higher under Democratic Governors. In terms of social and economic outcomes, Democratic Governors tend to preside over higher median post-tax income, lower post-tax inequality, and lower unemployment rates. However, for 25 of the 32 dependent variables, gubernatorial partisanship does not have a statistically significant impact on policy outcomes and social welfare. I find no evidence of gubernatorial partisan differences in welfare generosity, the number of government employees or their salaries, state revenue, incarceration rates, execution rates, pre-tax incomes and inequality, crime rates, suicide rates, and test scores. These results are robust to the use of regression discontinuity estimation, to take account of the possibility of reverse causality. Overall, it seems that Governors behave in a fairly non-ideological manner.
New York State Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Demonstration Project: Effects of Screening Protocol on Inpatient Outcome Measures

Objective: To examine differences among various test protocols on the fail rate at hospital discharge for infants in the well‐baby nursery (WBN) and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) who received hearing screening through a universal newborn hearing screening demonstration project. Design: The outcomes of several screening protocols were examined. Two technologies were used: transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) alone or in combination with the auditory brain stem response (ABR). The performance of test protocols in both nurseries within eight hospitals was examined over a 2‐ to 3‐yr period. In the WBN, six hospitals used a screening protocol of TEOAE technology first followed by an ABR (automated or conventional) technology screening for newborns who referred on TEOAE screening. Two hospitals used TEOAE only in the WBN. Seven hospitals used screening protocols in the NICU that used a combination of TEOAE and ABR technologies (TEOAE technology administered first or second, before or after TEOAE, or TEOAE and ABR tests on all infants). Only one hospital used TEOAE technology exclusively for hearing screening. Results: Significant differences among screening protocols were found across hospitals in the first, second, and third years of the program. The combination of TEOAE technology and ABR technology (a two‐technology screening protocol) resulted in a significantly lower fail rate at hospital discharge than the use of a single‐technology (TEOAE). Fail rates at discharge were twice as high using the one‐technology protocol versus two‐technology protocol, even when the best outcomes from program year 3 were considered exclusively. Results of two‐technology versus one‐technology protocols were similar in the NICU. Use of a second technology for screening TEOAE fails significantly reduced every hospital that used the protocol's fail rate at discharge. Conclusions: A two‐technology screening protocol resulted in significantly lower fail rates at hospital discharge in both the WBN and NICU nurseries than use of a single‐technology (TEOAE) hearing screening protocol.
Spatial Integration in the Broiler Market in Peninsular Malaysia

The broiler sector in Peninsular Malaysia is marked by many structural elements of imperfect competition, particularly increasing vertical integration. This study adopts the Enders and Granger (1998) threshold autoregressive model to analyze market integration and pricing efficiency in the broiler sector. Results indicate that market integration exists in the broiler sector in spite of the structural rigidities that are present. However, asymmetries in price transmission are evident between the central market and regional wholesale markets.
Asking About Changes in Happiness in a Daily Web Survey and its Implication for the Easterlin Paradox*

This chapter investigates whether the level of happiness and integrated process of changes in happiness are the same. Using the daily data of two waves of 4 and 6 months each, we found that the level of happiness is stationary, whereas the integrated process of changes is non-stationary with a rising trend, implying that they are different series. An examination of the causes of the difference indicated that although adaptation completely influences the level of happiness, it only partially influences the change in happiness. This may be because the latter is based on a comparison between today and yesterday,
Repression and the Liberal State

There is a tendency for research on state repression to focus on nondemocratic and non-Western states. The authors assume that all states are repressive and focus on state repression in Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. They also distinguish between the repressive activities of state authorities and the repressive activities of individual state agents. In general, they uncover important differences in state repression as perpetrated by state authorities versus state repression as perpetrated by individual state agents. The authors also find that the ethnic minority population in this Western democracy was more likely to suffer from state repression than was the ethnic majority population, and they find that state repression was strongly influenced by economic conditions.
Linking Lessons: Disentangling the Subtexts

ABSTRACT The objective of this paper is to identify. some problems and contradictions in the concept of “linkage” as Canadian universities have tried to develop it with their “partners” in the South (and in the North). After an analysis of the ideological framing of such projects in the official documents of one university and of CIDA and AUCC, I will take examples (both positive and negative) from the three main stages of a project—project design, project implementation, and project evaluation, attempting in each case to suggest ways in which current practice can be strengthened and made more conceptually coherent.