Is There Monopsony in the Labor Market? Evidence from a Natural Experiment

A variety of recent theoretical and empirical advances have renewed interest in monopsonistic models of the labor market. However, there is little direct empirical support for these models, even in labor markets that are textbook examples of monopsony. We use an exogenous change in wages at Veterans Affairs hospitals as a natural experiment to investigate the extent of monopsony in the nurse labor market. In contrast to much of the prior literature, we estimate that labor supply to individual hospitals is quite inelastic, with short-run elasticity around 0.1. We also find that non-VA hospitals responded to the VA wage change by changing their own wages.

Irrigation externalities: pricing and charges

Irrigation externalities: pricing and charges by Gavan Dwyer, Robert Douglas, Deb Peterson, Jo Chong and Kate Maddern was released on 14 March 2006. The paper discusses the nature and causes of environmental change related to rural water use, and provides a taxonomy of the many diverse types. It also examines the issues surrounding possible charges on water use for water related externalities. There have been few attempts by water utilities to incorporate externalities into full cost pricing of irrigation water. The aim of this Staff Working Paper was to: examine the extent to which charges imposed by irrigation water utilities could address externalities from irrigation water supply and use; and to develop a framework to identify and characterise changes in environmental conditions from the supply and use of irrigation water that may lead to environmental externalities. The authors found that many factors influence the extent to which charging for water would change water use. These include the volume of water available to irrigators, the extent to which trade can occur, the size of the charge or tax, the price responsiveness for irrigation water and the existing mechanisms to address externalities. A tax on water use may increase economic efficiency where external costs are related only to the level of water use. However, such a tax is an unsuitable instrument if the Government's policy objective is to reduce environmental damage to a predetermined level or to raise a target level of revenue to address the externalities. The views expressed in this paper are those of the staff involved and do not necessarily reflect those of the Productivity Commission.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Is There Monopsony in the Labor Market? Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Recent theoretical and empirical advances have renewed interest in monopsonistic models of the labor market. However, there is little direct empirical support for these models. We use an exogenous change in wages at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals as a natural experiment to investigate the extent of monopsony in the nurse labor market. We estimate that labor supply to individual hospitals is quite inelastic, with short-run elasticity around 0.1. We also find that non-VA hospitals responded to the VA wage change by changing their own wages

Mesenchymal adenomatous polyposis coli plays critical and diverse roles in regulating lung development.

BackgroundAdenomatous polyposis coli (Apc) is a tumor suppressor that inhibits Wnt/Ctnnb1. Mutations of Apc will not only lead to familial adenomatous polyposis with associated epithelial lesions, but will also cause aggressive fibromatosis in mesenchymal cells. However, the roles of Apc in regulating mesenchymal cell biology and organogenesis during development are unknown.ResultsWe have specifically deleted the Apc gene in lung mesenchymal cells during early lung development in mice. Loss of Apc function resulted in immediate mesenchymal cell hyperproliferation through abnormal activation of Wnt/Ctnnb1, followed by a subsequent inhibition of cell proliferation due to cell cycle arrest at G0/G1, which was caused by a mechanism independent of Wnt/Ctnnb1. Meanwhile, abrogation of Apc also disrupted lung mesenchymal cell differentiation, including decreased airway and vascular smooth muscle cells, the presence of Sox9-positive mesenchymal cells in the peripheral lung, and excessive versican production. Moreover, lung epithelial branching morphogenesis was drastically inhibited due to disrupted Bmp4-Fgf10 morphogen production and regulation in surrounding lung mesenchyme. Lastly, lung mesenchyme-specific Apc conditional knockout also resulted in altered lung vasculogenesis and disrupted pulmonary vascular continuity through a paracrine mechanism, leading to massive pulmonary hemorrhage and lethality at mid-gestation when the pulmonary circulation should have started.ConclusionsOur study suggests that Apc in lung mesenchyme plays central roles in coordinating the proper development of several quite different cellular compartments including lung epithelial branching and pulmonary vascular circulation during lung organogenesis

ErbB3 signaling prevents cardiac fibrosis after isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury

We generate a new tamoxifen-inducible mice model of EC-specific ErbB3 overexpression to investigate the role of ErbB3 in myocardial ischemia and heart failure. In the present study, we compared cardiac function and fibrosis development in EC cell-specific ErbB3 overexpressing mice versus control after the Isoproterenol (ISO)-induced model of cardiac injury, which culminates in cardiac fibrosis development.https://knowledgeconnection.mainehealth.org/lambrew-retreat-2023/1011/thumbnail.jp