The Fertility Pattern of Twins and the General Population Compared: Evidence from Danish Cohorts 1945-64

Twin studies provide an important possibility for demographers to analyze patterns of heritability and to estimate structural models with controls for endowments. These possibilities are increasingly used in the context of fertility and related behaviors. A close congruence between the fertility patterns of twins and that of the general population, however, is an essential pre-condition in order to generalize the results of twin-based investigations of fertility and related behaviors to the general population. In this paper we therefore compare the fertility of Danish twins born 1945--64 to the fertility pattern of the general population born during the same period. Our analyses find a very close correspondence between the fertility pattern of twins and of the general population. There exist only few statistically significant differences, and the primary difference pertains to the fact that female twins have a slightly later onset of childbearing than non-twins. There are virtually no relevant differences between the fertility patterns of dizygotic and monozygotic twins.cohort fertility, Denmark, fertility, twin studies

Mandatory IFRS Reporting and Changes in Enforcement

In recent years, reporting under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) became mandatory in many countries. The capital-market effects around this change have been extensively studied, but their sources are not yet well understood. This study aims to distinguish between several potential explanations for the observed capital-market effects. We find that, across all countries, mandatory IFRS reporting had little impact on liquidity. The liquidity effects around IFRS introduction are concentrated in the European Union (EU) and limited to five EU countries that concurrently made substantive changes in reporting enforcement. There is little evidence of liquidity benefits in IFRS countries without substantive enforcement changes even when they have strong legal and regulatory systems. Moreover, we find similar liquidity effects for firms that experience enforcement changes but do not concurrently switch to IFRS. Thus, changes in reporting enforcement or (unobserved) factors associated with these changes play a critical role for the observed liquidity benefits after mandatory IFRS adoption. In contrast, the change in accounting standards seems to have had little effect on market liquidity

The Effect of Regulatory Harmonization on Cross-border Labor Migration: Evidence from the Accounting Profession

The paper examines the effect of international regulatory harmonization on cross-border labor migration. We analyze directives in the European Union (EU) that harmonized accounting and auditing standards. This regulatory harmonization should make it less costly for those who work in the accounting profession to move across countries. Our research design compares the cross-border migration of accounting professionals relative to tightly-matched other professionals before and after regulatory harmonization. We find that, on average, labor migration in the accounting profession increases relative to comparable professions by roughly 15% after harmonization. The findings illustrate that diversity in rules constitutes an important economic barrier to cross-border labor mobility and, more specifically, that accounting harmonization can have a meaningful effect on cross-border migration

Two-dimensional higher-derivative gravity and conformal transformations

We consider the lagrangian $L=F(R)$ in classical (=non-quantized) two-dimensional fourth-order gravity and give new relations to Einstein's theory with a non-minimally coupled scalar field. We distinguish between scale-invariant lagrangians and scale-invariant field equations. $L$ is scale-invariant for F = c_1 R\sp {k+1} and a divergence for $F=c_2 R$. The field equation is scale-invariant not only for the sum of them, but also for $F=R\ln R$. We prove this to be the only exception and show in which sense it is the limit of \frac{1}{k} R\sp{k+1} as $k\to 0$. More generally: Let $H$ be a divergence and $F$ a scale-invariant lagrangian, then $L= H\ln F$ has a scale-invariant field equation. Further, we comment on the known generalized Birkhoff theorem and exact solutions including black holes.Comment: 16 pages, latex, no figures, [email protected], Class. Quant. Grav. to appea

Blood-based biomarkers at large bowel endoscopy and prediction of future malignancies

Soluble cancer-related protein biomarker levels may be increased in subjects without findings at large bowel endoscopy performed due to symptoms associated with colorectal cancer. The present study focused on a possible association between increased biomarker levels in such subjects and subsequent development of malignant diseases. In a major study of 4,990 subjects undergoing large bowel endoscopy, 691 were without pathology and comorbidity. Plasma levels of TIMP-1, CEA, CA19-9, and YKL-40 were determined in samples collected just before endoscopy and compared with subsequent development of a malignant disease within a period of 7-8 years. The upper 90% limits of the reference levels of every single protein were used to differentiate between normal and increased levels. The levels were separated into three groups: 0, none of the biomarkers increased; 1, one biomarker increased; 2, two or more biomarkers increased. A total of 43 subjects developed a primary malignant disease in the observation period. Univariatly, increase of all four biomarkers was significantly associated with subsequent development of a malignant disease. A multivariate analysis showed that increased biomarker levels were associated with subsequent development of a malignant disease ( P = 0.002). The cumulative risk of developing malignant disease within the first 5 years after endoscopy was group 0, 3.3%; group 1, 5.8%; group 2, 7.8%. It is concluded that increased levels of plasma TIMP-1, CEA, CA19-9, and serum YKL-40 at large bowel endoscopy without findings may be associated with an increased risk of developing a subsequent malignant disease