Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender Pay Gap in French Public Administration: An Application of a Novel Three-Step Approach of Blinder-Oaxaca Decomposition with Fixed Effect Model

This work aims at estimating the gender pay gap within the French ministries. For a long time people considered that, because of the sophisticated organization of the French public service, its mode of recruiting and promoting (through competitive exams and precise career ladder) and its way of paying the employees (through detailed salary scales), discrimination is minimal, if not nonexistent. However, previous results have brought into the debate evidences of significant gender wage differential, both in terms of payments and career paths. Using the data provided by two ministries of the French public service (environment, transportation and housing) from 2012 to 2016 and employing a novel three-step approach of Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition with a fixed effect model, this article suggests that a 8% gender pay gap against women exists in the allocation of indemnities, where roughly 30% of the difference cannot be explained by observable characteristics and is equivalent to approximately €751 per annum for an average female employee. The gap varies substantially among macrogrades, suggesting the allocation mechanism may be far from systematic or centrally managed. Moreover, we do not observe any expanding or diminishing trend in our five-year panel.
Nonparametric Option Implied Tail Risk and Market Returns

We propose a non-parametric method based on a model-free formula to evaluate the tails of a risk-neutral distribution using the full cross-section of option prices at a fixed horizon. The method leads to the joint estimation of risk-neutral tail probabilities and tail expectations beyond the minimum and maximum strike prices. We confirm the accuracy of the risk-neutral tail measures using simulated data. We extract time series of left and right option implied tail risk measures from S&amp;P 500 index options. We find the ratio of risk-neutral left tail conditional expectation to a physical measure of tail risk significantly predicts the equity risk premium at longer return horizons of six months to twelve months with a significant improvement in ex- planatory power when compared to using the physical tail risk measure alone. We also find that both the risk-neutral left and right tail conditional expectations significantly predict the one-month ahead variance risk premium.
Potential Impact of Simulated Mobile Phone Radiation on Blood-Brain Barrier

Rats were experimentally exposed to the chemical factor, inorganic manganese (Mn), and the physical factor, simulated radiation of mobile phone to detect possible interactions, resulting in changes of brain Mn level or other changes. In acute test, significant increase in brain Mn level was observed in rats exposed to both factors as compared to Mn only. Within subchronic 3-month' test such interaction did not appear, but in vivo observation of exposed rats at the end of the test have demonstrated signficant behavioral changes as compared to unexposed rats.
Southeast Asian invasive birds: ecology, impact and management

Invasive birds can have serious impacts on native biodiversity, native ecosystems and humans. However, there is a dearth of literature on the status and effects of invasive birds in Southeast Asia. We review the current available information on the invasive bird species in Southeast Asia, first by discussing characteristics that likely make invasive bird species successful and second by reviewing the impacts of the invasive bird species on Southeast Asian economy and biodiversity. We end by discussing the strengths and weaknesses, as well as the applicability of different management options.
Why Do UK Firms Repurchase Their Own Shares?

We examine the practice of share repurchases in the UK. We find that an important regulatory reform in 2003, which relaxed previously strict rules about repurchases, was followed by a significant increase in repurchase activity by UK listed firms. However, unlike in the US, repurchases remain a small proportion of total distributions to shareholders. We test five key hypotheses from prior literature. Our analysis of a large sample of firms from 2000 to 2016 provides strong support, across both regulatory regimes, for both the free cash flow and the investment hypotheses. We find some support for both the undervaluation and the leverage/capital structure hypothesis in the first regime only. In contrast to the US, the dividend substitution hypothesis is not supported. In the UK, the extent of share repurchases remains relatively small, and they appear to be used as a complement to regular dividends, being made regularly, in an amount positively associated with dividends paid.
Immunological Relationships and Generic Revision of the Australian Lizards Assigned to the Genus Leiolopisma (Scincidae, Lygosominae)

The phylogenetic relationships of the Australian scincid lizards currently assigned to the genus Leiolopisma have been examined by quantitative micro-complement fixation (MC'F) comparisons of serum albumin. The results of these comparisons do not support the monophyly implicit in these species' current congeneric status, but suggest instead that the Australian species of Leiolopisma belong to several distinct phyletic lineages within the Eugongylus group. These findings are supported by several sets of non-biochemical characters, including features of scalation, osteology and karyotype. None of the Australian species shares a close relationship with the type-species of Leiolopisrna (L. telfairii), and so a new taxonomic arrangement is proposed which distributes them among the following genera: Bartleia, gen. nov. (jigurru); Bassiana, gen. nov. (duperreyi, platynotum and trilineata); Cautula, gen. nov. (zia); Niveoscincus, gen. nov. (coventryi, greeni, metallicus, microlepidotus, ocellatus, orocryptus, palfreymani and pretiosus); and Pseudemoia Fuhn, 1967 (baudini, entrecasteauxii Group 1; entrecasteauxii Group 2, rawlinsoni and spenceri). Preliminary comparisons suggest that other Leiolopisma species, from New Caledonia, Lord Howe I. and New Zealand, belong to phyletic lineages which are distinct from any of the Australian 'Leiolopisma' and from the type-species.
Effect of Liv. 100 on the Lipid Profile in Antabuse-Using Alcohol Dependents

The present investigation was performed to study the effect of Liv.100, an ayurvedic herbal formulation, on the level of lipids in antabuse-using alcohol dependents. Liv.100 was given to the patients at the dosage of 35 mg/kg body wt for a period of 18 days. Antabuse-treated patients received antabuse at 4 mg/kg body wt dosage for a period of 18 days. Fasting blood samples were collected before and after treatment of 18 days and used for the estimation of total lipids, total cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids, free fatty acids, free cholesterol, and ester cholesterol. The antabuse-receiving alcohol dependents treated with Liv.100 showed significant decreases in the levels of total lipids, total cholesterol, triglycerides, free cholesterol, and ester cholesterol when compared with alcohol dependents receiving antabuse alone. The present study suggests the hypolipidemic effect of Liv.100 in antabuse-using alcohol dependents.
Transitions between Growth Episodes: Do Institutions Matter and Do Some Institutions Matter More?

This paper examines the institutional and political determinants of the timing of growth episodes. We extend the earlier literature on the determinants of the onset of growth accelerations and decelerations by providing a more generalised approach to understanding growth episode transitions. We differentiate between six types of growth episodes – from growth collapses (where the episode specific growth rate, g, is -2 per year), to negative growth (g between -2 and 0), stagnation (g between 0 and +2), stable growth (g between +2 and +4), moderate growth (g between +4 and +6), and rapid growth (g over +6). Using multinomial logit models, in the context of a panel dataset of 125 countries from 1984 to 2010, we examine the likelihood of switching from one growth episode to another growth episode. We find that though bureaucracy quality has a positive effect while switching from negative growth episodes to positive growth episodes, it does not matter in most of the cases of switching from stable or moderate positive growth episodes to rapid positive growth episodes. Both contract viability and democratisation can explain the switching from negative growth episodes to positive growth episodes. Contract viability and democracy can also explain the movements from lower positive growth episodes to higher positive growth episodes. However, while contract viability is important for moving from stable or moderate positive growth episodes to rapid growth episodes, democracy is not important in explaining such switches. This suggests that while better economic and political institutions matter in taking a country from growth collapses to stable growth, economic institutions matter more than the political institutions for the transition from stable growth to rapid growth.
A test of species–energy theory: patch occupancy and colony size in tropical rainforest litter‐nesting ants

Species–energy theory can account for spatial variation in the abundance and community composition of animals, though the mechanisms of species–energy theory are under contention. We evaluated three competing mechanisms at the local spatial scale by conducting an in vivo light manipulation over supplemental ant nests placed in the leaf litter of a Costa Rican tropical rainforest. We found that the light environment did not alter the 10% rate of occupation of the supplemental nests, but light did alter the size of colonies and the genus-level composition of the community. Light levels in the foraging range were positively associated with colony sizes of all ants, whereas light levels directly on the nest site were predictive of the occurrence of ant genera. Colonies of specialized predators, dacetine ants, were larger in more shaded foraging environments, and the functional group of generalized myrmicines exhibited an opposite pattern, with smaller-sized colonies in response to shading. Responses of twig-dwelling ants to the light environment were most consistent with the metabolic cost hypothesis as a mechanism of species–energy theory. We found mixed support for the thermal energy availability hypothesis, and scant support for the chemical energy hypothesis, as the litter depth, a measure of prey density, was not predictive of ant responses. In summary, at the local scale, we found patterns in colony size and life history are governed by light-dependent mechanisms.
Adaptation to Single Resources and the Evolution of Crossbill (Loxia) Diversity

I quantitatively test the hypothesis that four taxa or "types" (species or subspecies) of Red Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) in the Pacific Northwest have diversified morphologically in bill characters in response to alternative adaptive peaks presented by their food: seeds in conifer cones. Hypothetically, each adaptive peak corresponds to one conifer species whose seeds are (1) produced regularly from year to year, (2) held in cones through late winter when seed is most limiting, and (3) protected from depletion by potential noncrossbill competitors. Four such conifers, termed "key conifers," are present (Tsuga heterophylla, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Pinus ponderosa, and Pinus contorta var. latifolia). I use data on foraging efficiency for 31 captive crossbills of four types to determine the optimal bill size and palate structure for foraging on the key conifers. As predicted, if each type is adapted for foraging on a key conifer, the observed morphology of a given type is often the predicted optimal size morphology of foraging on its respective key conifer. Two of the types have mean bill sizes (bill depth) equalling their predicted optimal size. For one of the remaining types, the observed differs from the optimum by 0.4 mm; I was unable to predict an optimal size for the remaining type. Optimal bill size varies with season. Bill sizes corresponded more closely to the optima for winter (lean period) than for summer. Observed mean width of the palate groove, in which crossbills hold conifer seeds while the seeds are being husked, was consistently close to the estimated optimal groove width. Optimal groove width was correlated (r2 = 1.00, n = 4) with seed size (cube root of mass), suggesting optimal groove width is determined by seed size. Overall, each crossbill type has either the optimal bill size or optimal husking groove width, or both, for foraging on their key conifers. Fitness set analyses indicate that there are substantial trade—offs in foraging efficiency. The best phenotype for foraging on one conifer is often only one—half as efficient on other conifers. All four fitness sets are concave, implying selection against intermediate phenotypes. I conclude, first, that reliability of seeds on key conifers during periods of food scarcity is a critical feature in the ecology and evolution of crossbills. Second, optimization of morphological traits occurs even in populations in highly variable environments. Third, disruptive selection against intermediate phenotypes is likely. This should maintain, if not reinforce, the distinctiveness of types. Fourth, the diversity of cone structure and seed size among key conifers is ultimately responsible for the diversification of crossbills.
The Influence of Tax Regimes on Distribution Policy of Corporations – Evidence from German Tax Reforms

Tax effects on distribution policy have been at the center of debate in the theoretical and empirical literature for over half a century. Theoretically, there are two major schools of thought on the matter. The “traditional view” predicts an influence of taxation on firms’ payouts, while the “new view” leaves payouts neutral to taxation. The topic has generated renewed interest with the passage of the tax reform of 2003 (JGTRRA) in the U.S. However, due to its temporary nature, the JGTRRA 2003 does not provide an ideal setting to assess which economic theory better describes reality. In this paper, we try to shed some light on the discussion by presenting new empirical results based on the two non-temporary tax reforms of 2002 and 2009 in Germany. Our sample contains all firms listed at the Frankfurt stock exchange in the years from 1993 to 2009. By exploiting a unique setting of exceptional tax heterogeneity introduced by two major tax reforms and increasing payouts due to changes in the capital market environment, we find robust evidence that the switch from a split-rate tax system with full imputation to a shareholder relief system in 2002 and the change to a flat tax system in 2009 led to significant changes in the payout behavior of German firms. In line with the traditional view, the dividend yield, the propensity to pay dividends and the propensity to initiate dividend distributions declined in the wake of the reform of 2002, while share repurchases developed in the opposite direction.
Strong Phenotypic Variation in Floral Design and Display Traits of an Annual Tarweed in Relation to Small-Scale Topographic Heterogeneity in Semiarid Chile

Floral trait expression in wild populations varies in relation to environmental gradients. Variation can be observed among and within plant populations. We investigated the changes in floral phenotype within populations and the probability of plant pollinator visits in relation to small-scale variation in soil moisture and plant cover in a semiarid ecosystem. We measured the variability of floral phenotypes of three wild populations of Madia chilensis along a gradient constituted by three topographic positions (south-facing slope, north-facing slope, and ravine). Changes in soil moisture, plant density, leaf water content, and internode elongation were measured for one population over two study years. Pollinator visit probabilities were also estimated. Floral phenotypes were strongly segregated among topographic positions but less segregated among populations. Plants with the lowest water contents and the smallest or least-conspicuous flower heads grew in the drier north-facing slope, while plants with the highest water contents and showier flower design and display grew in the wetter ravine. Probabilities of pollinator visits were higher on the north-facing slope. Differences in floral phenotypes and probabilities of pollinator visits of M. chilensis were strongly connected to topographic variations at small spatial scale. Topographic heterogeneity at small spatial scale could thus have important consequences for floral trait evolution and pollination ecology.
Greek Shipping Receipts Revisited: A Freight Market and Country Risk Perspective

The receipts from shipping services have been a vital resource for the Greek economy covering a perennial trade deficit. The downward adjustment in freight rates following the Lehman brothers collapse was swift severely impacting shipping inflows into the Greek economy. Almost two years later, Greece, facing a debt crisis, had to conclude an economic adjustment programme with official lenders. In the process, country risk rose to record levels peaking around the 2012 Greek dual elections with the banking sector surviving minimum confidence only through the increase of central bank financing, including emergency liquidity assistance, of about 140 billion euros. Against this backdrop, concerns were voiced about the sustainability of Greek shipping inflows. The paper re-investigates both the long and short term determinants of shipping inflows in the Greek balance of payments throughout this turbulent period marked by high freight market volatility by using a symmetric error correction framework (ECM). The authors assess also the presence of any asymmetric adjustment through the estimation of an asymmetric error correction model (AECM). The paper assesses next the impact of the country specific risk on monthly shipping inflows around the peak of the country risk crisis. The paper is structured in five sections. Following introduction, the authors proceed to a literature review on Greek shipping receipts. The third section discusses freight market developments with a reference to the increased country risk since the end of the last decade. The model and the empirical results are presented in section four. In the final fifth section conclusions are discussed.
Hard Times or Great Expectations?: Dividend Omissions and Dividend Cuts by UK Firms

The payment of dividends is one of the key unresolved puzzles of company financial behaviour. This paper uncovers a more recent dividend puzzle; that of an increasing proportion of quoted UK companies omitting cash dividends. Also motivated by a desire to understand corporate balance sheet adjustment, models for the incidence of dividend omissions and cuts are estimated as functions of financial characteristics including cash flow, leverage, investment opportunities, investment and company size. These financial variables can account for most of the increase in omissions since 1995. There is relatively little evidence to link this to the major tax reform of 1997 that abolished tax refunds on dividend income payable to tax-exempt institutions. Significant persistence effects indicate that companies are slow to adjust their balance sheets through dividends.
A Bootstrap Method for Identifying and Evaluating a Structural Vector Autoregression

Graph-theoretic methods of causal search based in the ideas of Pearl (2000), Spirtes, Glymour, and Scheines (2000), and others have been applied by a number of researchers to economic data, particularly by Swanson and Granger (1997) to the problem of finding a data-based contemporaneous causal order for the structural autoregression (SVAR), rather than, as is typically done, assuming a weakly justified Choleski order. Demiralp and Hoover (2003) provided Monte Carlo evidence that such methods were effective, provided that signal strengths were sufficiently high. Unfortunately, in applications to actual data, such Monte Carlo simulations are of limited value, since the causal structure of the true data-generating process is necessarily unknown. In this paper, we present a bootstrap procedure that can be applied to actual data (i.e., without knowledge of the true causal structure). We show with an applied example and a simulation study that the procedure is an effective tool for assessing our confidence in causal orders identified by graph-theoretic search procedures.
Molecular data (nrITS-sequencing) reveal relationships among Iranian endemic taxa of the Umbelliferae

The majority of endemic and subendemic Iranian Umbelliferae taxa have never been investigated using molecular approachs to phylogeny. 36 species from 28 genera of the Umbelliferae from this region were included for the first time in analysis using ITS sequence data to clarify their systematics. For some newly investigated (Leiotulus, Semenovia, Ducrosia, Echinophora, Pycnocycla, Turgenia lisaeoides, Prangos, Alococarpum, Bilacunaria, Elaeosticta, Johreniopsis, Pseudotrachydium) taxa the molecular data correspond to, or at least do not contradict with, their traditional, morphologically grounded taxonomy. Leutea was shown closely related to Ferula (not Peucedanum), and Opsicarpium – to Pimpinella. A taxonomically isolated position of Mozaffariania has been demonstrated. Haussknechtia appeared to be the closest relative of Demavendia and Zeravschania. It was shown that Calyptrosciadium belongs to Komarovia -clade, having long-distant geographical disjunction. Close affinity of Heptaptera and Prangos was not supported. Similarly, Thecocarpus appeared to be distant from other Echinophoreae, putting monophyly of the tribe in question. As a result, new molecular data have cleared up systematic questions in some taxonomically uncertain Iranian Umbelliferae. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) Molekulare Daten (nrITS-Sequenzen) zur Verwandtschaft endemischer Umbelliferae-Taxa im Iran Die Mehrzahl endemischer und subendemischer Umbelliferen-Taxa im Iran wurde hinsichtlich ihrer Phylogenie bisher nicht mittels molekularer Methoden umtersucht. 36 Arten aus 28 Gattungen der Umbelliferae dieses Gebietes wurden erstmals mittels ITS-Sequenzen zur Klarung ihrer Systematik untersucht. Fur einige dieser Sippen (Leiotulus, Semenovia, Ducrosia, Echinophora, Pycnocycla, Turgenia lisaeoides, Prangos, Alococarpum, Bilacunaria, Elaeosticta, Johreniopsis, Pseudotrachydium) korrespondieren die molekularen mit oder widersprechen zumindest nicht der traditionellen, morphologisch begrundeten Taxonomie. Fur Leutea konnte eine nahe Verwandtschaft zu Ferula (nicht zu Peucedanum) nachgewiesen werden, fur Opsicarpium zu Pimpinella. Eine taxonomisch isolierte Stellung wurde fur Mozzafariania ermittelt. Haussknechtia erscheint als nachste Verwandte zu Demavendia und Zeravschania. Fur Calyptrosciadium konnte eine Zugehorigkeit zum Komarovia -Cladus mit seiner ausgepragten geographischen Disjunktion aufgezeigt werden. Eine nahe Verwandtschaft von Heptaptera und Prangos wurde nicht bestatigt. Ahnlich erscheint Thecocarpus entfernt von anderen Echinophorae und stellt die Monophylie der Tribus infrage. Im Ergebnis klaren die neuen molekularen Daten systematische Fragen einiger taxonomisch unsicherer iranischer Umbelliferae ab.