Nationwide Service of Process: Due Process Limitations on the Power of the Sovereign

There are a number of instances in which a federal court asserts personal jurisdiction by service of process beyond the territorial limits of the state in which it sits. The most common examples of these assertions of jurisdiction are the use of a state\u27s long-arm statute and the bulge provision of the federal rules. But, in addition, there are a number of statutes by which Congress has authorized nationwide service of process in particular circumstances. It is generally accepted that Congress may authorize expansion limits of the states in which it sits, including authorization of extraterritorial service of process. However, a question which must be considered is whether there are any constitutional limitations on this congressional power and, if so, what those limitations are. For absent any restrictions, defendants could find themselves placed in the difficult position of having to litigate a case in a district far from home, with which they have no connection. This Article begins by examining the principles which govern the assertion of personal jurisdiction in federal court. It analyzes examples of situations in which nationwide service of process has been authorized for the purpose of establishing the paradigm by which such authorizations are justified and limited. Finally, this Article suggests that the prevailing paradigm is inadequate and it offers an alternative for dealing with this problem in the future

Income Trajectories in Later Life: Longitudinal Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study

We examine respondents in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to observe how their financial situations unfolded as they aged. We focus on low-income older adults and follow them over time to identify the factors associated with having low income at baseline and thereafter. We find that (a) real income remained relatively stable as individuals approached and entered retirement, and progressed through their retirement years, and (b) labor force participation declined and thus earnings became less important with age, while Social Security and retirement savings rose as a proportion of annual income

Financial Knowledge and 401(k) Investment Performance: A Case Study

We explore whether investors who are more financially knowledgeable earn more on their retirement plan investments compared to their less sophisticated counterparts, using a unique new dataset linking administrative data on investment performance and financial knowledge. Results show that the most financially knowledgeable investors: (a) held 18 percentage points more stock than their least knowledgeable counterparts; (b) could anticipate earning 8 basis points per month more in excess returns; (c) had 40% higher portfolio volatility; and (d) held portfolios with about 38% less idiosyncratic risk, as compared to their least savvy counterparts. Our results are qualitatively similar after controlling on observables as well as modeling sample selection. We also examine portfolio changes to assess the potential impact of the financial literacy intervention. Controlling on other factors, those who elected to take the Financial Literacy survey boosted their equity allocations by 66 basis points and their monthly expected excess returns rose by 2.3 basis points; no significant difference in volatility or nonsystematic risk was detected before versus after the survey. While these findings relate to only one firm, we anticipate that they may spur other efforts to enhance financial knowledge in the workplace

Employee Financial Literacy and Retirement Plan Behavior: A Case Study

This paper uses administrative data on all active employees of the Federal Reserve System to examine participation in and contributions to the Thrift Saving Plan, the System’s defined contribution (DC) plan. We link to administrative records a unique employee survey of economic/demographic factors including a set of financial literacy questions. Not surprisingly, Federal Reserve employees are substantially more financially literate than the population at large. Most importantly, financially savvy employees are also most likely to participate in their DC plan. Sophisticated workers contribute three percentage points more of their earnings to the DC plan than do the less knowledgeable, and they hold more equity in their pension accounts. We examine changes in employee plan behavior one year after employees completed a Learning Module about retirement planning, and we compare it to baseline patterns. We find that those employees who completed the Learning Module were more likely to start contributing and less likely to have stopped contributing to the DC plan post-survey. In sum, employer-provided learning programs are shown to significantly impact employee retirement saving decisions and consistent with a lot of other research, higher levels of financial literacy is found to have a beneficial impact on retirement saving patterns

Financial Fragility during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the US economy was closed to limit the virus’ spread, and several emergency interventions were implemented. Our analysis of older (45-75) respondents fielded in April-May of 2020 indicates that about one in five respondents was financially fragile and would have difficulty facing a mid-size emergency expense. Some subgroups were at particular risk of facing financial difficulties, especially younger respondents, those with larger families, Hispanics, and the low income. Moreover, the more financially literate were better able to handle such shocks, indicating that knowledge can provide some additional protection during a pandemic

Financial Literacy and Financial Behaviour:Experimental Evidence from Rural Rwanda

We organise a field experiment with smallholder farmers in Rwanda to measure the impact of financial literacy training on financial knowledge and behaviour. The training increased financial literacy of participants, changed their savings and borrowing behaviour and had a positive effect on the new business start-up. However, it failed to have a significant (short-term) impact on income. Using a two-stage regression framework, we identify enhanced financial literacy as one of the important factors explaining behavioural changes. We also test whether financial knowledge spillovers from trained farmers to their peers in local village banks but find no evidence for that.</p

Emergency front-of-neck access in infants: A pragmatic crossover randomized control trial comparing two approaches on a simulated rabbit model.

BACKGROUND Rapid-sequence tracheotomy and scalpel-bougie tracheotomy are two published approaches for establishing emergency front-of-neck access in infants. It is unknown whether there is a difference in performance times and success rates between the two approaches. AIMS The aim of this cross-over randomized control trial study was to investigate whether the two approaches were equivalent for establishing tracheal access in rabbit cadavers. The underlying hypothesis was that the time to achieve the tracheal access is the same with both techniques. METHODS Between May and September 2022, thirty physicians (pediatric anesthesiologists and intensivists) were randomized to perform front-of-neck access using one and then the other technique: rapid-sequence tracheotomy and scalpel-bougie tracheotomy. After watching training videos, each technique was practiced four times followed by a final tracheotomy during which study measurements were obtained. Based on existing data, an equivalence margin was set at ∆ = ±10 s for the duration of the procedure. The primary outcome was defined as the duration until tracheal tube placement was achieved successfully. Secondary outcomes included success rate, structural injuries, and subjective participant self-evaluation. RESULTS The median duration of the scalpel-bougie tracheotomy was 48 s (95% CI: 37-57), while the duration of the rapid-sequence tracheotomy was 59 s (95% CI: 49-66, p = .07). The difference in the median duration between the two approaches was 11 s (95% CI: -4.9 to 29). The overall success rate was 93.3% (95% CI: 83.8%-98.2%). The scalpel-bougie tracheotomy resulted in significantly fewer damaged tracheal rings and was preferred among participants. CONCLUSIONS The scalpel-bougie tracheotomy was slightly faster than the rapid-sequence tracheotomy and favored by participants, with fewer tracheal injuries. Therefore, we propose the scalpel-bougie tracheostomy as a rescue approach favoring the similarity to the adult approach for small children. The use of a comparable equipment kit for both children and adults facilitates standardization, performance, and logistics. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05499273

Apnoeic oxygenation during paediatric tracheal intubation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Supplemental oxygen administration by apnoeic oxygenation during laryngoscopy for tracheal intubation is intended to prolong safe apnoea time, reduce the risk of hypoxaemia, and increase the success rate of first-attempt tracheal intubation under general anaesthesia. This systematic review examined the efficacy and effectiveness of apnoeic oxygenation during tracheal intubation in children. Methods This systematic review and meta-analysis included randomised controlled trials and non-randomised studies in paediatric patients requiring tracheal intubation, evaluating apnoeic oxygenation by any method compared with patients without apnoeic oxygenation. Searched databases were MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, ClinicalTrials.gov, International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP), Scopus, and Web of Science from inception to March 22, 2023. Data extraction and risk of bias assessment followed the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) recommendation. Results After initial selection of 40 708 articles, 15 studies summarising 9802 children were included (10 randomised controlled trials, four pre-post studies, one prospective observational study) published between 1988 and 2023. Eight randomised controlled trials were included for meta-analysis (n=1070 children; 803 from operating theatres, 267 from neonatal intensive care units). Apnoeic oxygenation increased intubation first-pass success with no physiological instability (risk ratio [RR] 1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03–1.57, P=0.04, I2=0), higher oxygen saturation during intubation (mean difference 3.6%, 95% CI 0.8–6.5%, P=0.02, I2=63%), and decreased incidence of hypoxaemia (RR 0.24, 95% CI 0.17–0.33, P<0.01, I2=51%) compared with no supplementary oxygen administration. Conclusion This systematic review with meta-analysis confirms that apnoeic oxygenation during tracheal intubation of children significantly increases first-pass intubation success rate. Furthermore, apnoeic oxygenation enables stable physiological conditions by maintaining oxygen saturation within the normal range. Clinical trial registration Protocol registered prospectively on PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42022369000) on December 2, 2022

Occupational Learning, Financial Knowledge, and the Accumulation of Retirement Wealth

This study explores the relationship between general human capital investment, financial knowledge, occupational spillovers, and the accumulation of wealth in a primarily descriptive manner. Drawing upon human capital theory and following previous related work by Delavande, Rohwedder and Willis (2008), we hypothesized that individuals with daily exposure to financial knowledge through their occupation would benefit by having greater financial knowledge that would translate into greater wealth accumulation than individuals who do not enjoy such spillovers from their occupation. Using data from the Cognitive Economics Study and the Health and Retirement Study, we find strong evidence that individuals in financial occupations tend to have greater financial knowledge and moderate evidence that they also have greater wealth accumulation.Social Security Administrationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78354/1/wp237.pd