Wages, Productivity, and the Dynamic Interaction of Businesses and Workers

This paper exploits a new matched universal and longitudinal employer-employee database at the US Census Bureau to empirically investigate the link between firms' choice of worker mix and the implied relationships between productivity and wages. We particularly focus on the decision making process of new firms and examine the role of both learning and selection. Our key empirical results are: (i) We find substantial and persistent differences in earnings per worker, output per worker, and worker mix across businesses within narrowly defined industries, which remain even after controlling for other observable characteristics. (ii) We find that new businesses exhibit even greater heterogeneity in earnings and productivity than do mature businesses, but that they adjust to the mature business pattern as they age. The adjustment process, while different for earnings and productivity, is consistent both with firms learning as they age and with the exit of mistake' prone firms. (iii) The dynamics of the reduction in productivity heterogeneity of new firms as they age is both complex and very different from the dynamic reduction of earnings heterogeneity.

Electronic structure and magnetism in two-dimensional hexagonal 5d transition metal carbides, Tan+1Cn (n=1,2,3)

Density functional calculations are used to investigate the electronic structure of two-dimensional 5d tantalum carbides with honeycomb-like lattice structures. We focus on changes in the low-energy bands near the Fermi level with dimensionality. We find that the Ta 5d states dominate, but the extended nature of the wavefunctions makes them weakly correlated. The carbide sheets are prone to long range magnetic order. We evaluate the stability of these states to enhanced electron--electron interactions through a Hubbard U correction. Lastly, we find spin orbit interactions strongly renormalize the band structure for n=2, but play a minor role in n=1 and 3.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

The effects of perceptual and Piagetian training on the reading achievement of first grade pupils

Purpose: This study was designed to investigate the effect of pairing cognitive training, developed from Piaget\u27s theory, with perceptual training on reading achievement. Also investigated was the effect of cognitive and perceptual training by themselves, as well as that of a cont:col group on reading achievement. A second purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not perceptual errors would be reduced by pairing perceptual and cognitive training as opposed to perceptual, cognitive or control training alone

Romances with Schools: A Life of Education

Book Revie

Sensitive detection and study of catalytic species for bimolecular reactions

In our lab, we have developed a sensitive and convenient assay for the detection of catalysts for bimolecular reactions. We have shown that catalysis of peptide synthesis by as little as 2.5 fmol (2.5 x 10[superscript]-15 mol) of a damaged enzyme can be detected using our assay. An interesting feature of our procedure is that it requires no complex apparatus, and may be carried out in parallel on many samples. We have used the assay to detect the presence of an enzyme catalyst, however the basic assay design is very versatile and may also be used to identify and evaluate other catalysts for a wide range of useful reactions. At present, sample volumes of 5 ul are studied and may be possible to lower this reaction volume substantially. The nature of the assay allows for the simultaneous screening of catalysts under varying reaction conditions;The original idea was to develop the assay and use it to screen for new catalytic antibodies with peptide ligase activity. Unfortunately however, no catalytic antibodies were obtained even using traditional screening and characterization methods. Nevertheless, the potential of the assay for screening large antibody pools has been demonstrated by the detection of solvent damaged [alpha]-chymotrypsin catalyzed peptide bond formation. The activity of this catalyst is comparable to that expected for first generation catalytic antibodies;One factor contributing to the high sensitivity of the assay is the extremely large association constant between avidin and biotin. This property has also been taken advantage of by attaching biotin to 7-azatryptophan the latter of which serves as a fluorescent probe owing to its unique excitation and emission spectra. The biotin tag causes 7-azatryptophan to be held in close proximity to the protein avidin and by monitoring changes in the emission spectrum of 7-azatryptophan, information has been obtained about the motional constraints felt by small molecules near the surfaces of proteins

Oxytocin makes us trusting but not gullible

Originally known for its role in childbirth and lactation, oxytocin (OT) has recently proved to play a key role in social behavior. Deprived of OT, humans are unable to recognize and to bond to their peers. Inversely, once boosted with OT, people become more caring, trusting and generous. Effect-sizes on trust and generosity were sufficiently large that OT started to be perceived as a natural drug that would make people credulous. But could OT really impede judgment and lead individuals to trust untrustworthy peers? Here we show that oxytocin makes people trusting, but not gullible. Namely, OT did not have a trust-enhancing effect on people who interacted with seemingly unreliable peers. These results emphasize that the effect of OT is much more context-dependent than previously thought. This finding therefore invalidates some of the potential commercial or military applications of oxytocin

Establishment Wage Differentials

Economists have long known that individual wages depend on a combination of employee and employer characteristics, as well as the interaction of the two. Although it is important to understand how employee and employer characteristics are related to wages, little is known about the magnitude and relation of these wage effects. This is primarily due to the lack of microdata which links individuals to the establishments where they work, but also due to technical difficulties associated with separating out employee and employer effects. This paper uses data from the Occupational Employment Statistics program at the Bureau of Labor Statistics that permit both of these issues to be addressed. Our results show that employer effects contribute substantially to earnings differences across individuals. We also find that establishments that pay well for one occupation also pay well for others. This paper contributes to the growing literature that analyzes firms’ compensation policies, and specifically the topic of employer effects on wages.Establishment Wage Differentials; Occupational Employment Statistics