The Serotonin Transporter Polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) and Alcohol Problems in Heavy Drinkers: Moderation by Depressive Symptoms.

Heavy alcohol use in young adults has been prospectively associated with a host of psychosocial and alcohol-related problems. Recent studies have supported the interaction between serotonin transporter polymorphism and adverse environmental factors, as a predictor of alcohol use and the development of alcohol dependence. The current study examined the role of depressive symptoms in combination with the serotonin transporter polymorphism as a predictor of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Results revealed a significant genotype by depressive symptom interaction, such that heavier alcohol use was associated with depressive symptoms in L allele homozygotes but not among S allele carriers. These results remained significant after controlling for ethnicity and gender effects. These findings extend the emerging literature supporting 5-HTTLPR genotype as a risk factor for alcohol-related problems in the context of co-occurring symptoms of depression

Cross-Border Mergers and Market Segmentation (Replaces CentER DP 2010-096)

This paper shows that cross-border mergers are more likely to occur in industries which serve multiple segmented markets rather than a single integrated market, given that cost functions are strictly convex. The product price rises in the market where an acquisition is made but falls in the other, decreasing the acquisition price of other firms (in contrast to the results in the existing merger literature on integrated markets). Although the sum of consumer surplus across the countries may rise in response to a given acquisition, one of the countries gains at the expense of the other.cross-border mergers;endogenous mergers;competition policy;Cournot competition;economic integration

The Optimal Rate of Decline of an Inefficient Industry

This paper considers the problem of the optimal time path of contraction of an industry which has been hit by foreign competition, and shows that in general, along the optimal path, a production subsidy is warranted. The optimal subsidy trades off the benefit of unemployment in speeding up the approach to the new long-run equilibrium against the cost of lost output in the ‘inefficient’ industry. The dynamic shadow price of labour in this industry is also derived and shown to be always positive, though below the industry wage rat