Finitely Presented Monoids and Algebras defined by Permutation Relations of Abelian Type, II

The class of finitely presented algebras A over a field K with a set of generators x_{1},...,x_{n} and defined by homogeneous relations of the form x_{i_1}x_{i_2}...x_{i_l}=x_{sigma(i_1)}x_{sigma(i_2)}...x_{sigma(i_l)}, where l geq 2 is a given integer and sigma runs through a subgroup H of Sym_n, is considered. It is shown that the underlying monoid S_{n,l}(H)= <x_1,x_2,...,x_n|x_{i_1}x_{i_2}...x_{i_l}=x_{sigma(i_1)}x_{sigma(i_2)}...x_{\sigma (i_l)}, sigma in H, i_1,...,i_l in {1,...,n}> is cancellative if and only if H is semiregular and abelian. In this case S_{n,l}(H) is a submonoid of its universal group G. If, furthermore, H is transitive then the periodic elements T(G) of G form a finite abelian subgroup, G is periodic-by-cyclic and it is a central localization of S_{n,l}(H), and the Jacobson radical of the algebra A is determined by the Jacobson radical of the group algebra K[T(G)]. Finally, it is shown that if H is an arbitrary group that is transitive then K[S_{n,l}(H)] is a Noetherian PI-algebra of Gelfand-Kirillov dimension one; if furthermore H is abelian then often K[G] is a principal ideal ring. In case H is not transitive then K[S_{n,l}(H)] is of exponential growth.Comment: 8 page

Retirement and Subjective Well-Being

We provide an explanation for the common finding that the effect of retirement on life satisfaction is negligible. For this we use subjective well-being measures for life and domains of life satisfaction that are available in the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) and show that the effect of voluntary retirement on satisfaction with current household income is negative, while the effect on satisfaction with leisure is positive. At the same time, the effect on health satisfaction is positive but small. Following the life domain approach we then argue that these effects offset each other for an average individual and that therefore the overall effect is negligible. Furthermore, we show that it is important to distinguish between voluntary and involuntary retirement. The effect of involuntary retirement is negative because the adverse effect on satisfaction with household income is bigger, the favorable effect on satisfaction with leisure is smaller, and the effect on satisfaction with health is not significantly different from zero. These results turn out to be robust to using different identification strategies such as fixed effects and first differences estimation, as well as instrumental variables estimation using eligibility ages and plant closures as instruments for voluntary and involuntary retirement.retirement, subjective well-being, satisfaction measurement

Retirement and Subjective Well-Being

We provide an explanation for the common finding that the effect of retirement on life satisfaction is negligible. For this we use subjective well-being measures for life and domains of life satisfaction that are available in the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) and show that the effect of voluntary retirement on satisfaction with current household income is negative, while the effect on satisfaction with leisure is positive. At the same time, the effect on health satisfaction is positive but small. Following the life domain approach we then argue that these effects offset each other for an average individual and that therefore the overall effect is negligible. Furthermore, we show that it is important to distinguish between voluntary and involuntary retirement. The effect of involuntary retirement is negative because the adverse effect on satisfaction with household income is bigger, the favorable effect on satisfaction with leisure is smaller, and the effect on satisfaction with health is not significantly different from zero. These results turn out to be robust to using different identification strategies such as fixed effects and first differences estimation, as well as instrumental variables estimation using eligibility ages and plant closures as instruments for voluntary and involuntary retirement.labour economics ;

Troubled Banks, Impaired Foreign Direct Investment: The Role of Relative Access to Credit

The relative wealth hypothesis of Froot and Stein (1991), motivated by the aggregate correlation between real exchange rates and foreign direct investment (FDI) observed in the 1980s, cannot explain one of the major shifts in FDI in the 1990s: the continued decline in Japanese FDI during a period of stable stock prices and a rapidly appreciating yen. However, when the relative wealth hypothesis is supplemented with the relative access to credit hypothesis proposed in this study, we are able to show that unequal access to credit by Japanese firms can explain the FDI puzzle in the 1990s. We utilize a unique data set that links individual Japanese firms engaged in FDI to their main banks. Using both bank-level and firm-level data sets, we find that financial difficulties at banks were economically and statistically important in reducing the number of FDI projects by Japanese firms into the United States, even after controlling for the effects associated with the relative wealth movements driven by macroeconomic fluctuations in the exchange rate and stock market prices. This provides strong empirical evidence that differences across firms in the degree of their access to credit can be an important determinant of foreign direct investment.

The real exchange rate and foreign direct investment in the United States: relative wealth vs. relative wage effects

There has been a significant correlation between inward foreign direct investment in the United States and the U.S. real exchange rate since the 1970s. Two alternative reasons for this relationship are that the real exchange rate affects the relative cost of production and that the real exchange rate alters reTative wealth across countries. In this paper we explore these alternatives by examining the determinants of four measures of inward foreign direct investment to the United States from seven industrial countries over the period 1979 to 1988. We find strong evidence that relative wealth significantly affects foreign direct investment in the United States. We find little evidence that relative wages have a significant impact on the determination of foreign direct investment in the United States. These results are robust to the choice of countries in our sample and when controlling for changes in tax codes.Investments, Foreign - United States ; Foreign exchange rates

From nitrite reductase to Alzheimer's disease: Design, synthesis, and reactivity of new nitrogen-, oxygen-, and sulfur-containing ligands and their copper complexes.

Transition metal ions are essential for a wide range of biochemical transformations and are found in more than one half of all known enzymes. Our interest in the bioinorganic chemistry of copper prompted us to develop new model complexes that more accurately mimic structural aspects of the copper-containing nitrite reductase (CuNiR) active site, which contains a type 1 ("blue") electron transfer center that is coupled via a His-Cys bridge to a type 2 ("normal") catalytic center. Preliminary attempts to achieve this goal by covalently linking 1,4,7-triazacyclononane (TACN) and His were thwarted by synthetic challenges. Using less reactive amino acids, however, the first structurally characterized copper(II) complexes of TACN-Ala, -Gly, and -Phe were obtained and studied. These new complexes provide insight into the copper coordination chemistry of TACN, where one of its secondary amines has been converted to a tertiary amide. As an offshoot of this project, mononuclear copper(II) complexes of a new N2S(thioether) ligand were also obtained and fully characterized. The reactivity of these complexes with thiolates was investigated in an effort to produce new N2S(thioether)S(thiolate) type 1 copper center models. Although stable copper(II)-thiolate complexes could not be obtained, the redox decomposition of one of these proceeds by way of an unprecedented pathway that requires two equivalents of thiolate to fully reduce copper(II) to copper(I). Finally, a related ligand that contains two thioethers was also prepared. Attempts to produce copper(II) complexes of this ligand result in unanticipated redox decomposition that is dependent on the presence of both thioether sulfurs. This work has direct relevance to a recent proposal implicating Met sulfur in Alzheimer's Disease amyloid-beta neurotoxicity