Mobility and Optimal Tenure Choice

Cataloged from PDF version of article.In this paper, we offer a dynamic model of the optimal tenure behavior of an individual who faces the possibility of moving multiple times during his lifetime. We also investigate the lifetime effects of such factors as income tax, property tax, transaction costs, and mortgage rates on the household's tenure choice. The agents in the model utilize a genetic algorithm, a probabilistic search approach, to determine their optimal lifetime tenure choice path. The agents are forward looking in that they anticipate such possible events as changes in jobs, marital status, household size, or dissatisfaction with current residence. Our results suggest several housing policy implications and explain some of the empirical findings in the literature. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

How Sensitive Are Bank Managers to Shareholder Value?

Cataloged from PDF version of article.We test for the existence of market discipline by shareholders of banks with a wide range of ownership structures. Discipline by shareholders manifests itself through monitoring banks’ level of risk as well as through influencing banks’ management actions. We find that shareholders utilize the relation between stock returns and different types of risk measures to monitor risky banks. Shareholders partially influence bank management by responding to decreasing stock returns with a demand to improve loan quality. Moreover, the influence on management in small banks is more pronounced compared to large banks

Use of bioanalyzer electropherograms for quality control and target evaluation in microarray expression profiling studies of ocular tissues

Expression profiling with DNA microarrays has been used to examine the transcriptome of a wide spectrum of vertebrate cells and tissues. The sensitivity and accuracy of the data generated is dependent on the quality and composition of the input RNA. In this report, we examine the quality and array performance of over 200 total RNA samples extracted from ocular tissues and cells that have been processed in a microarray core laboratory over a 7-year period. Total RNA integrity and cRNA target size distribution were assessed using the 2100 Bioanalyzer. We present Affymetrix GeneChip array performance metrics for different ocular samples processed according to a standard microarray assay workflow including several quality control checkpoints. Our review of ocular sample performance in the microarray assay demonstrates the value of considering tissue-specific characteristics in evaluating array data. Specifically, we show that Bioanalyzer electropherograms reveal highly abundant mRNAs in lacrimal gland targets that are correlated with variation in array assay performance. Our results provide useful benchmarks for other gene expression studies of ocular systems

Job Creation and Job Destruction in EU Agriculture

This is the first paper to study job creation and destruction in EU agriculture. We disaggregate gross employment patterns and net job flows into detailed intra-sectoral labour adjustment dynamics based on a unique EU-wide firm level panel dataset for 1990-2005. We find that: (1) job creation and destruction rates in EU agriculture are comparable to other sectors; (2) there is some evidence of ongoing substitution of family labour for hired labour (3) there are important differences in job creation and destruction rates between different Member States; (4) these differences can be attributed to structural differences across countries, sectors and firm types; (5) time variation of job reallocation fluctuates countercyclically; (6) idiosyncratic effects are the main driver of time variance in job reallocation

Investor Inattention and the Market Impact of Summary Statistics

Investors with limited attention have an incentive to focus on summary statistics rather than individual pieces of information. We use this observation to form a test of the impact of limited attention on the aggregate stock market. We examine the market response to a macro economic release that is purely a summary statistic, the U.S. Leading Economic Index (LEI). Consistent with the limited attention hypothesis, we show that the LEI announcement has an impact on aggregate stock returns, return volatility, and trading volume. Furthermore, we find that the response to the LEI is higher for stocks which inattentive investors are more likely to trade