Signaling an Outside Option

We consider the case of an upstream seller who works to improve an asset that has been specialized to a downstream buyer's needs. The buyer then makes a take it or leave it offer to the seller about how the future surplus should be split. We assume that the seller from the outset has private information about the fraction of the surplus that he can realize on his own, and show that this leads to higher investment compared to the complete information case. This positive effect on investment is countervailed by the occurrence of inefficient separations, which result when the buyer mistakenly tries to call the seller's bluff with a low offer

Signaling an Outside Option

We consider the case of an upstream seller who works to improve an asset that has been specialized to a downstream buyer's needs. The buyer then makes a take it or leave it offer to the seller about how the future surplus should be split. We assume that the seller from the outset has private information about the fraction of the surplus that he can realize on his own, and show that this leads to higher investment compared to the complete information case. This positive effect on investment is countervailed by the occurrence of inefficient separations, which result when the buyer mistakenly tries to call the seller's bluff with a low offer.signaling; relationship-specific investment; incomplete contracts; outside options

Applying machine learning techniques to identify companies at higher risk of ESG controversy

ESG controversies may have enormous consequences for an individual company, its customers, investors, and other stakeholders. The objective of this work is to identify companies at high risk of ESG controversy based on public ESG data. By using machine learning solutions, early indicators in ESG data can be identified that provide insight into how likely a company is to face an ESG controversy. By using Random Forest models, the proportion of companies with a controversy among the flagged companies can be increased by 93, 5.6and 4.3times for the Environmental, Social and Governance pillar, respectively

Novel Molecular Targets in the Search for Anti-Inflammatory Agents

In the chronic state of inflammatory diseases, cellular signaling networks aimed at combating invading pathogens are often constitutively active and transmit their signals even in the absence of inflammatory agents. Thus, many anti-inflammatory drugs interfere with these dys- and hyperactivated cellular signaling networks or transcription factors. As many signaling molecules fulfill important and essential functions in normal cell physiology, their systemic and long-term inhibition may lead to severe side effects including an impaired immune response. To circumvent these pitfalls, two possibilities are proposed and discussed here: (I) Since many inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease are restricted to certain cell types or tissues, a new generation of anti-inflammatory drugs would target enzymes that are only operational in these affected tissues. (II) As some signaling pathways affect solely a small subset of inflammatory target genes, their inhibition bears the potential of limiting potential side effect

Authentic application examples in math lectures through peer teaching

Engineering students often miss the connection between mathematics and the engineering disciplines. One solution to this problem is to integrate application examples into the math lectures. However, it is challenging for mathematicians to find adequate applications and to present them in an authentic manner. We describe a concept of integrating application examples through peer teaching: A student who has already completed the mathematics course is involved in the preparation and presentation of such examples. As a result, the examples are very authentic since they are developed and presented by a person knowing the applications, the learners’ motivation is high due to peer teaching, and the new material is high-quality owing to the supervision by the lecturer. Surveys conducted for each application example reveal that the concept is well accepted. The paper describes the steps in the development of application examples of different length and mathematical depth and gives recommendations on how to implement the concept successfully into math lectures

Implementing Bilateral Trade in a Global Landuse Model

International Relations/Trade, Land Economics/Use,

Empirical Issues In Measuring The Returns To Female Labor Market Experience

This paper assesses the empirical properties of two labor market experience measures for female workers in the United States.  Our results confirm that the conventional cross-sectional measure of labor market experience, often referred to as potential experience, is an upwardly-biased estimate of the true labor market experience of women -- since women are more likely to experience periods of intermittent labor force participation.  This bias yields inconsistent estimates of the returns to female labor market experience.  We also present corrected returns to female labor market experience based on longitudinal work history information

An Examination Of Occupational Differences In The Returns To Labor Market Experience

This study explores differences in the returns to labor market experience for men across occupational categories in the U.S. labor market.  Our analysis of data from the 2003 Current Population Survey indicates that an additional year of labor market experience has a significant and positive impact on the weekly earnings of white- and blue-collar workers.  However, white-collar workers in general earn higher estimated returns to experience than their blue-collar counterparts, and these differences appear to be statistically significant

Do Higher State Minimum Wages Reduce the Racial Wage Gap for Men?

Using data from the 2019 Current Population Survey, we find that black, non-Hispanic men who reside in states with the highest minimum wages (above $10 in 2018) have a slightly smaller wage gap relative to white, non-Hispanic men. However, wage regressions show no appreciable improvement in the relative earnings of black men in states with minimum wages that exceed the federal level when accounting for other demographic determinants of earnings. Our results indicate that increasing a state’s minimum wage does not appear to be an effective policy tool to reduce racial wage inequality for men

Sources and utilization of foodstuffs in Belarusian households: results of the Grodno households survey

The paper is a documentation of a (non-representative) survey on the food situation of households in the Grodno region, Belarus. It covers the year between September 2000 and August 2001. The focus of the survey was on the sources of food in the households (purchase, own production, and receipt in non-monetary transactions between households) and on the utilization (consumption, feed use, sale, unpaid transfers to other households, and spoilage). The paper describes the survey design and the scope and quality of the compiled data set and it presents results of descriptive analyses. The survey households consume a well balanced diet based on potatoes and vegetables as the main staple food. 75 percent of the households use small land plots for food production and a third of the households keep livestock. Household food production provides an important contribution to food available in the households and the value of the produce represents a considerable part of average household income. Most of the self-produced food is consumed or given away in non-monetary transactions. Prices of foodstuffs differ in part significantly between different points of sale and between rural and urban areas. -- G E R M A N V E R S I O N: Dieses Diskussionspapier dokumentiert eine (nicht-repräsentative) Befragung über die Ernährungssituation von Haushalten in der Region Grodno in Weißrussland. Die Befragung wurde zwischen September 2000 und August 2001 durchgeführt. Der Fragebogen behandelt vorwiegend das Aufkommen von Nahrungsmitteln aus verschiedenen Quellen (Kauf, Eigenproduktion und den Erhalt von Nahrungsmitteln durch nicht-monetären Transfer zwischen Haushalten) und die Verwendung (Verzehr, Verfütterung, Verkauf, nicht-monetäre Vergabe und Verderb). Das Papier beschreibt das Studiendesign sowie den Umfang und die Qualität der erhobenen Daten. Weiterhin werden die Ergebnisse deskriptiver Analysen präsentiert. Die Ernährung der befragten Haushalte basiert auf Kartoffeln und Gemüse, wobei Kartoffeln das wichtigste Grundnahrungsmittel darstellen. 75 % der Haushalte nutzen kleine Landflächen zur Nahrungsmittelproduktion und ein Drittel hält Nutztiere. Die Eigenproduktion in den Haushalten leistet einen wichtigen Beitrag zum Nahrungsmittelaufkommen und der Produktionswert repräsentiert einen bedeutsamen Teil des durchschnittlichen Haushaltseinkommens. Der größte Teil der produzierten Nahrungsmittel wird verzehrt, gefolgt von der Vergabe in nichtmonetären Transaktionen. Die Nahrungsmittelpreise unterscheiden sich teilweise signifikant zwischen verschiedenen Einkaufsquellen und zwischen städtischen und ländlichen Gebieten.Belarus,Grodno,foodstuffs,food,nutrition,diet,household survey,Weißrussland,Belarus,Grodno,Ernährung,Nahrungsmittel,Haushaltsbefragung