Economic pause - some perspective and interpretation

Economic conditions

Inflation and taxes: disincentives for capital formation

Inflation (Finance) ; Taxation

From personalized exchange towards anonymous trade: A field experiment on the workings of the invisible hand

The experimental literature has shown the tendency for experimental trading markets to converge to neoclassical predictions. Yet, the extent to which theory explains the equilibrating forces in markets remains under-researched, especially in the developing world. We set up a laboratory in 94 villages in rural Sierra Leone to mimic a real market. In this laboratory market, average efficiency of the within-village treatment is somewhat lower than predicted by theory (and observed in different contexts), and markets do not fully converge to theoretical predictions across rounds of trading. We also find that trading with strangers reduces efficiency, and that anonymized trade within the village does not affect efficiency. This points to the importance of behavioral norms for trade. Intra-village social relationships or hierarchies, instead, appear less important as determinants of trade. This is confirmed by analysis of the trader-level data, showing that individual earnings in the experiment do not vary with one’s status or position in local networks.We thank N.W.O. 452-04-333, N.W.O. 451-14-001 and Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI 05/101005) for financial support.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2016.10.01

Magneto-elastic coupling and competing entropy changes in substituted CoMnSi metamagnets

We use neutron diffraction, magnetometry and low temperature heat capacity to probe giant magneto-elastic coupling in CoMnSi-based antiferromagnets and to establish the origin of the entropy change that occurs at the metamagnetic transition in such compounds. We find a large difference between the electronic density of states of the antiferromagnetic and high magnetisation states. The magnetic field-induced entropy change is composed of this contribution and a significant counteracting lattice component, deduced from the presence of negative magnetostriction. In calculating the electronic entropy change, we note the importance of using an accurate model of the electronic density of states, which here varies rapidly close to the Fermi energy.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures. Figures 4 and 6 were updated in v2 of this preprint. In v3, figures 1 and 2 have been updated, while Table II and the abstract have been extended. In v4, Table I has updated with relevant neutron diffraction dat

Doing it differently: Engaging interview participants with imaginative variation

Imaginative variation was identified by Husserl (1936/1970) as a phenomenological technique for the purpose of elucidating the manner in which phenomena appear to consciousness. Briefly, by engaging in the phenomenological reduction and using imaginative variation, phenomenologists are able to describe the experience of consciousness, having stepped outside of the natural attitude through the epochē. Imaginative variation is a stage aimed at explicating the structures of experience, and is best described as a mental experiment. Features of the experience are imaginatively altered in order to view the phenomenon under investigation from varying perspectives. Husserl argued that this process will reveal the essences of an experience, as only those aspects that are invariant to the experience of the phenomenon will not be able to change through the variation. Often in qualitative research interviews, participants struggle to articulate or verbalise their experiences. The purpose of this article is to detail a radical and novel way of using imaginative variation with interview participants, by asking the participants to engage with imaginative variation, in order to produce a rich and insightful experiential account of a phenomenon. We will discuss how the first author successfully used imaginative variation in this way in her study of the erotic experience of bondage, discipline, dominance & submission, and sadism & masochism (BDSM), before considering the usefulness of this technique when applied to areas of study beyond sexuality

Evaluation of range of motion restriction within the hip joint

In Total Hip Arthroplasty, determining the impingement free range of motion requirement is a complex task. This is because in the native hip, motion is restricted by both impingement as well as soft tissue restraint. The aim of this study is to determine a range of motion benchmark which can identify motions which are at risk from impingement and those which are constrained due to soft tissue. Two experimental methodologies were used to determine motions which were limited by impingement and those motions which were limited by both impingement and soft tissue restraint. By comparing these two experimental results, motions which were limited by impingement were able to be separated from those motions which were limited by soft tissue restraint. The results show motions in extension as well as flexion combined with adduction are limited by soft tissue restraint. Motions in flexion, flexion combined with abduction and adduction are at risk from osseous impingement. Consequently, these motions represent where the maximum likely damage will occur in femoroacetabular impingement or at most risk of prosthetic impingement in Total Hip Arthroplasty

The effect of inelastic processes on tunneling

We study an electron that interacts with phonons or other linear or nonlinear excitations as it resonantly tunnels. The method we use is based on mapping a many-body problem in a large variational space exactly onto a one-body problem. The method is conceptually simpler than previous Green's function approaches, and allows the essentially exact numerical solution of much more general problems. We solve tunneling problems with transverse channels, multiple sites coupled to phonons, and multiple phonon degrees of freedom and excitations.Comment: 12 pages, REVTex, 4 figures in compressed tar .ps forma

MOF-associated complexes ensure stem cell identity and Xist repression

Histone acetyl transferases (HATs) play distinct roles in many cellular processes and are frequently misregulated in cancers. Here, we study the regulatory potential of MYST1-(MOF)-containing MSL and NSL complexes in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and neuronal progenitors. We find that both complexes influence transcription by targeting promoters and TSS-distal enhancers. In contrast to flies, the MSL complex is not exclusively enriched on the X chromosome, yet it is crucial for mammalian X chromosome regulation as it specifically regulates Tsix, the major repressor of Xist lncRNA. MSL depletion leads to decreased Tsix expression, reduced REX1 recruitment, and consequently, enhanced accumulation of Xist and variable numbers of inactivated X chromosomes during early differentiation. The NSL complex provides additional, Tsix-independent repression of Xist by maintaining pluripotency. MSL and NSL complexes therefore act synergistically by using distinct pathways to ensure a fail-safe mechanism for the repression of X inactivation in ESCs