The Effect of a Compressed High School Curriculum on University Performance

A recent education reform in Germany reduced the duration of academic high school education by one year but left the curriculum, and total class time unchanged. We use a unique data set of university students to investigate the effects of this reduction in years of schooling on academic achievements at the tertiary level. By exploiting variation in the implementation of the reform across school types over time, we isolate the reform e ect from cohort, state, and school type effects. Our results suggest that the reform lowers the opportunity costs of schooling and facilitates an earlier labor market entry as we find no detrimental effects while students are one year younger on average

Evaluation of Pyrolysis Oil as Carbon Source for Fungal Fermentation

Pyrolysis oil, a complex mixture of several organic compounds, produced during flash pyrolysis of organic lignocellulosic material was evaluated for its suitability as alternative carbon source for fungal growth and fermentation processes. Therefore several fungi from all phyla were screened for their tolerance toward pyrolysis oil. Additionally Aspergillus oryzae and Rhizopus delemar, both established organic acid producers, were chosen as model organisms to investigate the suitability of pyrolysis oil as carbon source in fungal production processes. It was observed that A. oryzae tolerates pyrolysis oil concentrations between 1 and 2% depending on growth phase or stationary production phase, respectively. To investigate possible reasons for the low tolerance level, eleven substances from pyrolysis oil including aldehydes, organic acids, small organic compounds and phenolic substances were selected and maximum concentrations still allowing growth and organic acid production were determined. Furthermore, effects of substances to malic acid production were analyzed and compounds were categorized regarding their properties in three groups of toxicity. To validate the results, further tests were also performed with R. delemar. For the first time it could be shown that small amounts of phenolic substances are beneficial for organic acid production and A. oryzae might be able to degrade isoeugenol. Regarding pyrolysis oil toxicity, 2-cyclopenten-1-on was identified as the most toxic compound for filamentous fungi; a substance never described for anti-fungal or any other toxic properties before and possibly responsible for the low fungal tolerance levels toward pyrolysis oil

Educational Reforms, Incentive Schemes, and Their Impact on Academic Achievement

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The Effects of Taxation on Migration: Some Evidence for the ASEAN and APEC Economies

This paper investigates the effects of taxation on migration. It develops a stylized, two country model to examine the impact of taxation on labor mobility. The theoretical prediction that taxation affects migration decisions is supported by some empirical evidence for the ASEAN and APEC economies. Average tax rates are found to have a larger impact on migration choices than marginal rates. Moreover, the results suggest that educated migrants are more responsive to taxation than migrants with no education. Average tax rates are most important for migrants with secondary education, while marginal rates have a greater influence on the decisions of migrants with tertiary education than secondary educated migrants. The finding that taxation affects migration decisions, in particular of educated migrants, has important policy implications.International migration, taxation

The effects of taxation on migration: Some evidence for the ASEAN and APEC economies

This paper investigates the effects of taxation on migration. It develops a stylized, two-country model to examine the impact of taxation on labor mobility. The theoretical prediction that taxation affects migration decisions is supported by some empirical evidence for the ASEAN and APEC economies. Average tax rates are found to have a larger impact on migration choices than marginal rates. Moreover, the results suggest that educated migrants are more responsive to tax- ation than migrants with no education. Average tax rates are most important for migrants with secondary education, while marginal rates have a greater influ- ence on the decisions of migrants with tertiary education than secondary educated migrants. The finding that taxation affects migration decisions, in particular of educated migrants, has important policy implications.