Church attendance in Spain (1930-1992): Gender differences and secularization

This paper uses retrospective data from the ISSP98 database to reconstruct church-attendance trends in Spain from 1930 to 1992. Time series analysis is performed to examine religious changes in two parallel ways: first, to determine both male and female church-attendance trends and second, to study the gender effect, that is, differences between males and females regarding church attendance. Our results indicate that: i) both male and female church attendance is declining at a rate of 2% annually ii) gender differences remain unaltered for the period analyzed.church-attendance trends

Organizing effects of testosterone and economic behavior: not just risk taking

Recent literature emphasizes the role that testosterone, as well as markers indicating early exposure to T and its organizing effect on the brain (such as the ratio of second to fourth finger,D2:D4), have on performance in financial markets. These results may suggest that the main effect of T, either circulating or in fetal exposure, on economic behavior occurs through the increased willingness to take risks. However, these findings indicate that traders with a low digit ratio are not only more profitable, but more able to survive in the long run, thus the effect might consist of more than just lower risk aversion. In addition, recent literature suggests a positive correlation between abstract reasoning ability and higher willingness to take risks. To test the two hypotheses of testosterone on performance in financial activities (effect on risk attitude versus a complex effect involving risk attitude and reasoning ability), we gather data on the three variables in a sample of 188 ethnically homogeneous college students (Caucasians). We measure a D2:D4 digit ratio, abstract reasoning ability with the Raven Progressive Matrices task, and risk attitude with choice among lotteries. Low digit ratio in men is associated with higher risk taking and higher scores in abstract reasoning ability when a combined measure of risk aversion over different tasks is used. This explains both the higher performance and higher survival rate observed in traders, as well as the observed correlation between abstract reasoning ability and risk taking. We also analyze how much of the total effect of digit ratio on risk attitude is direct, and how much is mediated. Mediation analysis shows that a substantial part of the effect of T on attitude to risk is mediated by abstract reasoning ability

Unraveling public good games

This paper provides experimental evidence on how players predict end-game effects in a linear public good game. Our regression analysis yields a measure of the relative importance of priors and signals on subjects’ beliefs on contributions and allows us to conclude that, first, the weight of the signal is relatively unimportant, while priors have a large weight and, second, priors are the same for all periods. Hence, subjects do not expect end-game effects and there is very little updating of beliefs. We argue that the sustainability of cooperation is related to this pattern of belief formation

Cognitive abilities and economic behavior

At the heart of behavioral and experimental economics is the goal to better understand behavior through observation so that economic models can be improved. However, despite the predictions of classical economics, the researcher is often confronted with a great deal of behavioral heterogeneity. One way to approach this heterogeneity is to acknowledge that decision makers differ from each other in fundamental ways and these differences contribute to the differences in observed economic behavior

No Time to Spare: Improving Access to Trauma Care

Since the September 11 attacks, policymakers are paying increasing attention to the adequacy of the U.S. trauma care system to handle potential mass casualty incidents. This attention has led to questions about how well the trauma system covers the population for day-to-day trauma, such as motor vehicle accidents and gunshot wounds. Although the number of trauma centers has increased in the last decade, no national plan exists to assure that everyone has timely access to a specialized trauma center if needed. This Issue Brief summarizes a new study that estimates the proportion of residents that can reach a trauma center by ground or air ambulance within one hour of where they live, using objective measures of travel times and distances

Organizing effects of testosterone and economic behavior: not just risk taking

Recent literature emphasizes the role that testosterone, as well as markers indicating early exposure to T and its organizing effect on the brain (such as the ratio of second to fourth finger,D2:D4), have on performance in financial markets. These results may suggest that the main effect of T, either circulating or in fetal exposure, on economic behavior occurs through the increased willingness to take risks. However, these findings indicate that traders with a low digit ratio are not only more profitable, but more able to survive in the long run, thus the effect might consist of more than just lower risk aversion. In addition, recent literature suggests a positive correlation between abstract reasoning ability and higher willingness to take risks. To test the two hypotheses of testosterone on performance in financial activities (effect on risk attitude versus a complex effect involving risk attitude and reasoning ability), we gather data on the three variables in a sample of 188 ethnically homogeneous college students (Caucasians). We measure a D2:D4 digit ratio, abstract reasoning ability with the Raven Progressive Matrices task, and risk attitude with choice among lotteries. Low digit ratio in men is associated with higher risk taking and higher scores in abstract reasoning ability when a combined measure of risk aversion over different tasks is used. This explains both the higher performance and higher survival rate observed in traders, as well as the observed correlation between abstract reasoning ability and risk taking. We also analyze how much of the total effect of digit ratio on risk attitude is direct, and how much is mediated. Mediation analysis shows that a substantial part of the effect of T on attitude to risk is mediated by abstract reasoning ability

Self-identified obese people request less money: a field experiment

Empirical evidence suggests that obese people are discriminated in different social environments such as the work place. Yet, the degree to which obese people are internalizing and adjusting their own behaviour as a result of this discriminatory behaviour has not been studied thoroughly. We develop a proxy for measuring experimentally the "self-weight bias" by giving to both self-identified obese (n=90) and non-obese (n=180) individuals the opportunity to request a positive amount of money after having performed an identical task. Consistent with the System Justification Theory, we find that self-identified obese individuals, due to a preexisting false consciousness, request significantly lower amounts of money than non-obese ones. A within subject comparison between self-reports and external interviewers' evaluations reveals that the excessive weight felt by the "self" but not reported by evaluators captures the self-weight bias not only for obese but also for non-obese individuals. Linking our experimental results to the supply side of the labour market, we argue that self-weight bias, as expressed by lower salary requests, enhances discriminatory behaviour against individuals who feel, but may not actually be, obese and consequently exacerbates the wage gab across weight

Contextualização no ensino: casos da educação matemática

Este texto tem como objetivo discutir a contextualização no ensino. Para tanto, resgata-se na bibliografia uma breve revisão sobre o tema, diferenciando a cotidianização no ensino da contextualização no ensino. E, na continuidade, relatam-se dois casos de sequências didáticas na educação matemática cujo cenário trabalhado depende diretamente do contexto que o cerca. Ao final, verifica-se a possibilidade de se trabalhar parte da realidade dos alunos na educação matemática, contribuindo para uma Alfabetização Científica e Tecnológica na perspectiva ampliada