The Economics of Collusion: Cartels and Bidding Rings. By Robert C. Marshall and Leslie M. Marx. Cambridge and London: MIT Press, 2012. Pp. xii, 302. $35.00. ISBN 978-0-262 01732-9.

Book reviewJohn J. Siegfrie

So You Want to Earn a PH.D. in Economics: How Long do you Think it Will Take?

The elapsed time taken to earn a Ph.D. in economics is analyzed with data from 620 (of about 950) 1996-97 Ph.D.s. The median is 5.3 years. A duration model indicates that those students at several of the most highly regarded programs, those supported by no-work fellowships, and those holding a prior masters degree finish faster than others. Americans, those who start jobs before completing their degree, and those who have children take longer. Kids slow the progress of women, but not of men. The only difference among fields is a longer time required for industrial organization and international economics. There is no difference in time-to-degree between men and women, married and single students, older and younger students, and those enrolled in larger or smaller Ph.D. programs. Fellowship support is more important for speeding the progress of women than that of men.EDUCATION, ECONOMICS

Male circumcision for prevention of heterosexual acquisition of HIV in men

Background: Male circumcision is defined as the surgical removal of all or part of the foreskin of the penis and may be practiced as part of a religious ritual, as a medical procedure, or as part of a traditional ritual performed as an initiation into manhood. Since the 1980s, over 30 observational studies have suggested a protective effect of male circumcision on HIV acquisition in heterosexual men. In 2002, three randomised controlled trials to assess the efficacy of male circumcision for preventing HIV acquisition in men commenced in Africa. This review evaluates the results of these trials, which analysed the effectiveness and safety of male circumcision for preventing acquisition of HIV in heterosexual men. Objectives: To assess the evidence of an interventional effect of male circumcision for preventing acquisition of HIV-1 and HIV-2 by men through heterosexual intercourse Search strategy: We formulated a comprehensive and exhaustive search strategy in an attempt to identify all relevant studies regardless of language or publication status (published, unpublished, in press, and in progress). In June 2007 we searched the following electronic journal and trial databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL. We also searched the electronic conference databases NLM Gateway and AID Search and the trials registers ClinicalTrials.gov and Current Controlled Trials. We contacted researchers and relevant organizations and checked reference lists of all included studies. Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials of male circumcision versus no circumcision in HIV-negative heterosexual men with HIV incidence as the primary outcome. Data collection and analysis: Two review authors independently assessed study eligibility, extracted data, and graded methodological quality. Data extraction and methodological quality were checked by a third author who resolved differences when these arose. Data were considered clinically homogeneous and meta-analyses and sensitivity analyses were performed. Main results: Three large RCTs of men from the general population were conducted in South Africa (N = 3 274), Uganda (N = 4 996) and Kenya (N = 2 784) between 2002 and 2006. All three trials were stopped early due to significant findings at interim analyses. We combined the survival estimates for all three trials at 12 months and also at 21 or 24 months in a meta-analysis using available case analyses using the random effects model. The resultant incidence risk ratio (IRR) was 0.50 at 12 months with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.34 to 0.72; and 0.46 at 21 or 24 months (95% CI: 0.34 to 0.62). These IRRs can be interpreted as a relative risk reduction of acquiring HIV of 50% at 12 months and 54% at 21 or 24 months following circumcision. There was little statistical heterogeneity between the trial results (χ2 = 0.60; df = 2; p = 0.74 and χ2 = 0.31; df = 2; p = 0.86) with the degree of heterogeneity quantified by the I2 at 0% in both analyses. We investigated the sensitivity of the calculated IRRs and conducted meta-analyses of the reported IRRs, the reported per protocol IRRs, and reported full intention-to-treat analysis. The results obtained did not differ markedly from the available case meta-analysis, with circumcision displaying significant protective effects across all analyses. We conducted a meta-analysis of the secondary outcomes measuring sexual behaviour for the Kenyan and Ugandan trials and found no significant differences between circumcised and uncircumcised men. For the South African trial the mean number of sexual contacts at the 12-month visit was 5.9 in the circumcision group versus 5 in the control group, which was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). This difference remained statistically significant at the 21-month visit (7.5 versus 6.4; p = 0.0015). No other significant differences were observed. Incidence of adverse events following the surgical circumcision procedure was low in all three trials. Reporting of methodological quality was variable across the three trials, but overall, the potential for significant biases affecting the trial results was judged to be low to moderate given the large sample sizes of the trials, the balance of possible confounding variables across randomised groups at baseline in all three trials, and the employment of acceptable statistical early stopping rules. Authors' conclusions: There is strong evidence that medical male circumcision reduces the acquisition of HIV by heterosexual men by between 38% and 66% over 24 months. Incidence of adverse events is very low, indicating that male circumcision, when conducted under these conditions, is a safe procedure. Inclusion of male circumcision into current HIV prevention measures guidelines is warranted, with further research required to assess the feasibility, desirability, and cost-effectiveness of implementing the procedure within local contexts. Copyright © 2009 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Revie

Is Race a Determinant of Student Performance in Economics?

Educational economics, Human capital,

Who Is Publishing? An Analysis of Finance Research Productivity in the European Region

This study ranks the research productivity in finance across European universities and researchers using a set of 15 finance journals during the decade of the 1990s. A total of 219 universities are ranked. During the sample period from 1990 to 1999, UK universities dominate the top-20 ranking. However, the UK 's dominance is significantly reduced when the Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, a UKbased journal, is excluded from the analysis. Other non-UK European universities gain further ground when only the top-4 journals are used to measure ranking. Our analysis also shows that a majority of the top 20 European universities have made significant progress in research productivity over the period 1990-99. Additionally, we compare the top European universities to those in North America. The top European university, London Business School, compares to the 24th and 25th ranked North American universities for the period from 1990 to 1999; it compares to the 15th and 16th ranked North American universities for the more recent sub-period from 1995 to 1999. The top researcher is Henri Servaes from London Business School. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2004.