Efficiency of EU Merger Control in the 1990-2008 Period

The main goal of this paper is to provide an analysis of key regulatory changes in the European merger control and to evaluate their real impact on the efficiency of merger regulation. Our main contribution is an empirical analysis of a unique representative sample of 161 horizontal mergers covering the final regulatory assessments during the period from 1990 to 2008. We use stock market data to identify those cases where there are discrepancies between the Commission and market evaluation of the merger. The PROBIT model is then used to further investigate the sources of these discrepancies. Our results suggest that the Commission’s decisions are not purely explained by the motive of protecting consumer welfare and that other political and institutional factors do play a role in setting policy. We did not find evidence that the Commission protects competitors at the expense of consumers and foreign firms. Moreover, we conclude that the regulatory reform introduced in 2004 has significantly enhanced efficiency of the European merger control. To the authors’ best knowledge, this paper is the first study using stock market data to evaluate an impact of the recent EU merger control.merger control, European Union, political economy, regulatory reform, PROBIT model

European Union and its member states as a collective actor in WTO decision-making process. ACES Cases No. 2010.3

This paper will outline and analyze the decision-making process in WTO matters. First, the players of the decision-making process -- the Council of the European Union (Council), the Trade Policy Committee, the Commission, and the European Parliament -- will be examined. Then the distinction will be made between decision-making in initiating WTO disputes and decision-making conducting trade agreement negotiations in the WTO. Then, decision-making practices in WTO matters will be assessed against constitutional principles of transparency, accountability, and legitimacy. After this assessment, conclusions will be drawn

BRIEF REPORT: PREVENTING LATE-LIFE DEPRESSION IN LOW – AND MIDDLE – INCOME COUNTRIES (LMICS)

As the number of older adults in low- and middle- income (LMIC) countries is expected to grow substantially over the next several decades, it is important to develop programs for the prevention of major depression in later life. These programs should be flexible enough to be adjusted to the needs of poorly resourced LMICs. The current report provides an overview of a “depression in later life” (DIL) study in Goa, India, as a promising and effective mental health prevention program, with the potential for implementation in other LMICs. DIL study uses unspecialized physicians and lay health counselors (LHCs) to deliver both scalable psychological intervention and low-intensity intervention, consistent with Institute of Medicine’s (IOM, 1994) indicated prevention approach. DIL intervention led to reduced incidence of Major Depressive Disorder in DIL-randomized participants and as such it is important in meeting the 2016-2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of “Ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being for all at all ages.

Licence to lie and the social (In)appropriateness of lying

Environments that encourage dishonest behaviour can compromise intrinsic honesty by altering beliefs about what is considered socially appropriate behaviour. I extend the incentivised Krupka and Weber (2013) elicitation method to the domain of lying and present two complementary studies that show how different social environments not only instigate different levels of dishonest behaviour but also change what a representative sample of Norwegian citizens perceives as socially appropriate when it comes to lying.publishedVersio

FINANCIAL REPORTING INCENTIVES: TAXATION AND EXTERNAL FINANCING NEED

Earnings management literature extensively explores tax regime and debt contracting as possible incentives in financial reporting. Firms engage with aggressive financial reporting to bias earnings in periods when the need for external financing increases. Contrary to this, the tax burden represents incentive for more conservative reporting.   We argue that the level of firm’s financial reporting aggressiveness is not constant but rather floating from period to period, directly effecting quality of financial reports. We assume that firm’s management on its own discretion determines level of conservatism balancing between these two incentives. The prevailing of two incentives, the need for external financing and the tax burden, determines level of conservatism in particular reporting period.   We hypothesised that the reduction in tax burden incentive overcomes the debt contracting incentive in years of decreasing external financing need, implying more conservative accounting to balance between economic and taxable income. The total accruals are used as a measure of earnings management reflected to working capital accruals.   The data analysis conducted on financial reports of 297 firms in the time-series of five years shows significant correlation between total accruals, external financing needs and the difference between economic and taxable income

Correlation between serum concentrations of homocysteine, folate and vitamin B12 in patients with schizophrenia

Introduction: The role of hyperhomocysteinemia in psychotic disorder can be explained by partial antagonism of homocysteine on NMDA-glycine receptor. Plasma concentration of homocysteine is an indicatorof the status of the B-vitamins (folate, B12, B6). Folate deficiency may have different effects on the neurochemical processes of schizophrenia. This suggests that the association between elevated levels of homocysteine and schizophrenia is biologically very likely.Methods: The study was consisted of 20 patients with schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls. We investigated the levels of serum homocysteine concentration using AxSYM (Abbott), levels of folate assay istwo-step immunoassay to determine the presence folate in human serum using CMIA (chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay) technology and Axsym Holo Tc is microparticle enzyme immunoassay (MEIA)for the quantitative determination of human holo TC in serum and determination defi cit of vitamin B 12.Results: The patients group has higher levels of homocysteine in compare with controls group for 3.85 μmol/L while the concentration of folate in the group of patients was lower for 9.17 ng/mL. The mean level of vitamin B-12 in investigation groups were in reference range 19.1-119 pmol/L, but patient group have lower average concentration of vitamin B-12 lower for 24.81 pmol/L compared to the control group.Conclusion: Our results showed that homocysteine concentration is inversely proportionate to folate concentration,i.e. as homocysteine concentration in serum increases, folate concentration falls. Shizophrenicpatients with elevated tHcy level and low folate levels should have vitamin supplementation with folic acid

It Pays to be Nice: The Benefits of Cooperating in Markets

We contribute to the experimental literature by examining the causal effect of partner choice opportunities on the earnings of different cooperative types. We first elicit cooperative types and then randomly assign subjects to a repeated prisoner's dilemma game, with either mutual partner choice or random matching. In each period, the individual who fails to attain a partner is excluded from the group. The results from three experiments show that mutual partner choice enables cooperators to outperform free riders; cooperators tend to earn more than free riders and are less frequently excluded. Our findings are robust with respect to varying group size and whether subjects are reminded about their entire partner and earnings history or only their recent history.publishedVersio

The Myth of Discovering Absolute Truth through Science:How Szasz Mistook Scientific Evidence for Absolute Truth in An Attempt to Deny the Existence of Mental Illness, and Invalidated Experiences of Those Affected by Mental Disorders

Author Contact Information:Mirsad Serdarevic, Ph.D.Assistant Professor of PsychologyPsychology Program CoordinatorInternational University of SarajevoTel.: [email protected] AbstractThe purpose of this article is to illustrate limitations of Dr. Thomas S. Szasz's absolutist approach in critiquing psychiatry, psychotherapy, and the concept of mental illness most famously expressed in The Myth of Mental Illness (Szasz, 1961). This article illustrates that Szasz mistook scientific proof for absolute truth. First, a comparison of scientific proof to its superior relation, mathematical proof, illustrates its theoretical short-comings. Szasz relies, sometimes subtly, sometimes quite overtly, but always selectively on "real science" to present psychiatry and the mental health fields as imposters in the field of medicine or health, while neglecting to see or discuss limitations of "science" in general and medicine in particular. Secondly, a summary of evidence supporting psychotherapy's effectiveness will be presented, the discussion of which was either consciously or unconsciously omitted in Szasz's (1978; 1988) The Myth of Psychotherapy. Third, summary of Pennington's (2002) integration of both biological and psychological basis of psychopathology through cognitive neuroscientific theoretical framework is presented as it reasonably addresses Szasz's confusion about and critique of mental illness and the mind-body problem

Infant Neuromotor Development and Neuropsychiatric Problems Modern Epidemiological approaches

__Background:__ This thesis focuses on the role of infant neuromotor development in relation to neuropsychiatric problems. I performed genetic studies to further our understanding of the association between neuromotor development in infancy and behavioral problems in childhood. Methods: Studies described in this thesis were performed in Generation R, a large prospective population-based cohort in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In a large ample of children at age 9-20 weeks, 15 research assistants assessed neuromotor development (tone, responses, senses and other observations) using Touwen instrument. Parents reported on their behavior during childhood and cognitive abilities were observed at age 6 years. __Objectives:__ The aims of this thesis were 1) to study the associations between neuromotor development during infancy and childhood behavior and cognitive functioning, 2) to examine the extend to which genetic susceptibility for psychiatric disorders influences neuromotor development 3) to understand the role of infant neuromotor development in the association of genetic susceptibility for psychiatric disorders with behavioral outcomes during childhood. __Results:__ I showed that infant neuromotor development is associated with shifting and cold, but not hot executive functioning, as well as with autistic symptoms. I further found that infant neuromotor development (low muscle tone and senses) predicts internalizing, but not externalizing symptoms during childhood. Problems in shifting partly mediated association between low muscle tone and later internalizing symptoms. Furthermore, a higher genetic risk for schizophrenia and a lower genetic risk for bipolar disorder was associated with non-optimal overall neuromotor development during infancy. I also found that the genetic risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) predicts non-optimal neuromotor development and in particular low muscle tone, while the genetic risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) predicts non-optimal senses and other observations in boys. Infant neuromotor development mediates the association of genetic risk for ASD and ADHD with autistic symptoms. In particular, low muscle tone mediates the association of genetic risk for ASD with autistic symptoms, while senses and other observations mediate association of genetic risk for ASD and ADHD with autistic symptoms. __Conclusion:__ Early identification of non-optimal neuromotor development in infants with a high genetic risk, followed by early intervention, could potentially reduce autistic symptoms in children

A meta-analysis of Boolean network models reveals design principles of gene regulatory networks

Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) describe how a collection of genes governs the processes within a cell. Understanding how GRNs manage to consistently perform a particular function constitutes a key question in cell biology. GRNs are frequently modeled as Boolean networks, which are intuitive, simple to describe, and can yield qualitative results even when data is sparse. We generate an expandable database of published, expert-curated Boolean GRN models, and extracted the rules governing these networks. A meta-analysis of this diverse set of models enables us to identify fundamental design principles of GRNs. The biological term canalization reflects a cell's ability to maintain a stable phenotype despite ongoing environmental perturbations. Accordingly, Boolean canalizing functions are functions where the output is already determined if a specific variable takes on its canalizing input, regardless of all other inputs. We provide a detailed analysis of the prevalence of canalization and show that most rules describing the regulatory logic are highly canalizing. Independent from this, we also find that most rules exhibit a high level of redundancy. An analysis of the prevalence of small network motifs, e.g. feed-forward loops or feedback loops, in the wiring diagram of the identified models reveals several highly abundant types of motifs, as well as a surprisingly high overabundance of negative regulations in complex feedback loops. Lastly, we provide the strongest evidence thus far in favor of the hypothesis that GRNs operate at the critical edge between order and chaos.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure