Design of artificial genetic regulatory networks with multiple delayed adaptive responses

Genetic regulatory networks with adaptive responses are widely studied in biology. Usually, models consisting only of a few nodes have been considered. They present one input receptor for activation and one output node where the adaptive response is computed. In this work, we design genetic regulatory networks with many receptors and many output nodes able to produce delayed adaptive responses. This design is performed by using an evolutionary algorithm of mutations and selections that minimizes an error function defined by the adaptive response in signal shapes. We present several examples of network constructions with a predefined required set of adaptive delayed responses. We show that an output node can have different kinds of responses as a function of the activated receptor. Additionally, complex network structures are presented since processing nodes can be involved in several input-output pathways

Do Firms Benefit from Multiple Banking Relationships?: Evidence from Small and Medium-Sized Firms in Japan

This paper examines empirically the effects of multiple banking relationships on the cost and availability of credit. The analysis is based on an unbalanced panel data set for Japanese small and medium-sized firms over the period 2000-2002. The Hausman-Taylor estimator is used to allow for possible correlation between unobservable heterogeneity among firms and multiple banking relationships. The results suggest that the cost of credit is positively correlated with the number of banking relationships when the endogeneity of the banking relationships is considered. Multiple banking relationships have a positive effect on the availability of credit for financially constrained firms.

An Empirical Study of Alcoholic Consumption and Labor Productivity in Japan

This paper examines the relationship between labor productivity and alcohol consumption based on research conducted with a limited sample of workers who drink alcohol. Estimation results show that in the case of males, the amount of alcohol consumed significantly raises labor productivity, with an elasticity of approximately 0.13. In females, we cannot reach the firm conclusion. Conversely, the reverse relationship between labor productivity and alcohol consumption cannot be confirmed. Moreover, an awareness of appropriate alcohol consumption supports the sixth strategy of the Health Japan 21 policy, which is to reduce national alcohol consumption by about 20%.

"Fiscal Decentralization, Commitment and Regional Inequality: Evidence from State-level Cross-sectional Data for the United States"

While conventional approaches to fiscal decentralization suggest that decentralization lowers the power of redistribution among regions, recent theories argue that fiscal decentralization works as a commitment device. In this manner, where the budget in a given region is highly dependent on transfers from the central government, there is an incentive for effort following fiscal decentralization. The former effect is argued to increase regional inequality, while the latter suggests a decrease in regional inequality. However no known empirical work has directly examined the relationship between fiscal decentralization and regional inequality. In this paper, cross-sectional data for the United States, excluding the convergence of regional income, are used to derive the net relationship. It is also the case that the direction of this effect on regional inequality depends on how fiscal decentralization is promoted. While the former distribution effect directly depends on the central government's share of power, the latter incentive effect depends on autonomy. Two measures that represent the power of the central government and autonomy are used to identify these effects. The results indicate that local expenditure or revenue share in fiscal decentralization has no significant effect on regional inequality, while the achievement of autonomy by fiscal decentralization has a negative effect on regional inequality. This supports the theory that fiscal decentralization works as a commitment device. The results also show that how fiscal decentralization is promoted is important for how it impacts on regional inequality.