Unemployment and econometric learning

We apply well-known results of the econometric learning literature to the Mortensen-Pissarides real business cycle model. Agents can always learn the unique rational expectations equilibrium (REE), for all possible well-defined sets of parameter values, by using the minimum-state-variable solution to the model and decreasing gain learning. From this perspective the assumption of rational expectations in the model could be seen as reasonable. But using a parametrisation with UK data, simulations show that the speed of convergence to the REE is slow. This type of learning dampens the cyclical response of unemployment to small structural shocks

Get Smart About Your Money

“Get Smart About Your Money” was an event held at the Atlanta University Center (AUC) Robert W. Woodruff Library for Money Smart Week 2023. The goal of the event was to introduce the new business librarian, promote financial literacy in the Atlanta University Center community, and participate in National Money Smart Week

A highly sensitive electrochemical genosensor based on Co-porphyrin-labelled DNA

We report the use of Co-porphyrins as electrochemical tags for a highly sensitive and selective genosensor. An avian influenza virus-based DNA sequence characteristic of H5N1 was detected at femtomolar levels from competing non-complementary sequences through hybridisation with the labeled DNA

Home sampling for sexually transmitted infections and HIV in men who have sex with men: a prospective observational study

To determine uptake of home sampling kit (HSK) for STI/HIV compared to clinic-based testing, whether the availability of HSK would increase STI testing rates amongst HIV infected MSM, and those attending a community-based HIV testing clinic compared to historical control. Prospective observational study in three facilities providing STI/HIV testing services in Brighton, UK was conducted. Adult MSM attending/contacting a GUM clinic requesting an STI screen (group 1), HIV infected MSM attending routine outpatient clinic (group 2), and MSM attending a community-based rapid HIV testing service (group 3) were eligible. Participants were required to have no symptomatology consistent with STI and known to be immune to hepatitis A and B (group 1). Eligible men were offered a HSK to obtain self-collected specimens as an alternative to routine testing. HSK uptake compared to conventional clinic based STI/HIV testing in group 1, increase in STI testing rates due to availability of HSK compared to historical controls in group 2 and 3, and HSK return rates in all settings were calculated. Among the 128 eligible men in group 1, HSK acceptance was higher (62.5% (95%CI: 53.5–70.9)) compared to GUM clinic-based testing (37.5% (95% CI: 29.1–46.5)), (p = 0.0004). Two thirds of eligible MSM offered an HSK in all three groups accepted it, but HSK return rates varied (highest in group 1, 77.5%, lowest in group 3, 16%). HSK for HIV testing was acceptable to 81%of men in group 1. Compared to historical controls, availability of HSK increased the proportion of MSM testing for STIs in group 2 but not in group 3. HSK for STI/ HIV offers an alternative to conventional clinic-based testing for MSM seeking STI screening. It significantly increases STI testing uptake in HIV infected MSM. HSK could be considered as an adjunct to clinic-based services to further improve STI/HIV testing in MSM

Recent changes in British wage inequality:Evidence from firms and occupations

Using a dataset covering a large sample of employees and their mostly very large employers, we study the dynamics of British wage inequality over the past two decades. Contrary to other studies, we find little evidence that recent increases in inequality have been driven by differences in the average wages paid by firms. Instead greater dispersion within firms can account for the majority of changes to the wage distribution. After controlling for the changing occupational content of employee wages, the role of average firm residual differences is approximately zero; the modestly increasing trend in between-firm wage inequality is explained by a combination of changes in between-occupation inequality and the occupational specialisation of firms. It is possible that previous studies, which assign some of the importance of changes in the between-firm component to industry, have misrepresented a significant role for occupations. These results are robust across measures of hourly, weekly and annual wages

Cyclical labor costs within jobs

Using UK employer-employee panel data, we present novel facts on how wages and working hours respond to the business cycle within jobs. Firms reacted to the Great Recession with substantial real wage cuts and by recruiting more part-time workers. A one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate led to an average decline in real hourly wages of 2.6 percent for new hires as well as for job stayers. Hiring hours worked were substantially procyclical, while job-stayer hours were acyclical. These results show that real wages are not rigid and that the labor costs of new hires are especially flexible

Recent changes in British wage inequality: evidence from large firms and occupations

Using a linked employer-employee dataset covering large firms, we present new evidence on British wage inequality trends over the past two decades. Differences between firms in the average wages they paid did not drive these trends. Between 1996 and 2005, greater wage variance within firms accounted for eighty-six percent of the total increase in wage variance among employees. In the following decade, wage inequality between firms continued to increase, whereas overall wage dispersion decreased. Approximately all the contribution to inequality dynamics from estimated firm-specific factors, throughout the employee wage distribution, disappears after accounting for the changing occupational content of wages

Unemployment and econometric learning

We apply well-known results of the econometric learning literature to the Mortensen-Pissarides real business cycle model. The unique rational expectations equilibrium (REE) is always expectationally stable with decreasing gain learning, and this result is robust to over-parametrisation of the econometric model relative to the minimum state variable form used by agents (Strong E-stability). And so, from this perspective, the assumption of rational expectations in the model is not unreasonable. However, using a parametrisation with UK data, simulations suggest that the implied rate of convergence to the REE with least squares learning is however slow. The cyclical response of unemployment to structural shocks is muted under learning, and a parametrisation which guarantees root-t convergence is generally not consistent with attempts to match the observed volatility of labour market data using the standard model

Geographic Data Science

It is widely acknowledged that the emergence of “Big Data” is having a profound and often controversial impact on the production of knowledge. In this context, Data Science has developed as an interdisciplinary approach that turns such “Big Data” into information. This article argues for the positive role that Geography can have on Data Science when being applied to spatially explicit problems; and inversely, makes the case that there is much that Geography and Geographical Analysis could learn from Data Science. We propose a deeper integration through an ambitious research agenda, including systems engineering, new methodological development, and work toward addressing some acute challenges around epistemology. We argue that such issues must be resolved in order to realize a Geographic Data Science, and that such goal would be a desirable one

Compact Pulsed-Power System for Transient Plasma Ignition

The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org10.1109/TPS.2009.2024672The use of a compact solid-state pulse generator and compact igniters for transient plasma ignition in a pulse detonation engine (PDE) is reported and compared with previous results using a pseudospark pulse generator and threaded rod electrode. Transient plasma is attractive as a technology for the ignition of PDEs and other engine applications because it results in reductions in ignition delay and has been shown to ignite leaner mixtures which allows for lower specific fuel consumption, high-repetition rates, high-altitude operation, and reduced NOx emissions. It has been applied effectively to the ignition of PDEs as well as internal combustion engines. Nonequilibrium transient plasma discharges are produced by applying high-voltage nanosecond pulses that generate streamers, which generate radicals and other electronically excited species over a volume. The pulse generator used is in this experiment is capable of delivering 180 mJ into a 200-Ω load, in the form of a 60-kV 12-ns pulse. Combined with transient plasma igniters comparable with traditional spark plugs, the system was successfully tested in a PDE, resulting in similar ignition delays to those previously reported while using a smaller electrode geometry and delivering an order of magnitude less energy.Office of Naval Researc