Translating English non-human subjects in agentive contexts : a closer look at Dutch

While subjects of transitive action verbs in English and Dutch are typically realized as human agents (see Comrie 1989), both languages also feature instances of nonhuman agents in subject position. However, Vandepitte and Hartsuiker (2011) have shown that there are fewer options in Dutch and that translation issues present themselves in cases where both languages do not overlap. This paper wants to document overlap and differences in terms of non-prototypical subject realization by focussing on the strategies that are used in Dutch translations of six actions verbs (give, demonstrate, show, suggest, offer and tell) in combination with non-human subjects. Results reveal that a fair share of non-human subjects are also translated as such in the target language. Other strategies include occasional humanization of the non-human source text subjects, reduction of valency patterns with reduced agentivity vis-a-vis the English source-text sentences and shifts in the mapping of semantic roles onto syntactic functions

Innovations in mortgage markets and increased spending on housing

Over the past several decades, innovations in the mortgage market have benefited consumers through a variety of channels. Innovations include the lowering of down payment requirements, increased flexibility in repayment schedules, and the reduction of costs associated with extracting equity from homes. To ascertain the ways in which these innovations would alter spending on housing, we develop a model of the home buying and mortgage choice decision that produces a number of testable implications. For instance, the lowering of down payment requirements should result in homeownership rates increasing, especially for households that are traditionally cash constrained. In fact, we show that between 1994 and 2004, the homeownership rate for young and low-income households rose sharply. Increased flexibility of repayment schedules should assist households in smoothing their housing consumption choices. Empirically, we document that households have increased the share of their income spent on housing by a substantial margin. The result is robust to the changing composition of households and also to regional location. Households that have been traditionally cash constrained have increased their housing expenditures but tend to have low mortgage rates, suggesting that these households may be financing their increased housing consumption with alternative, flexible mortgage products.Mortgages ; Housing - Finance

Labor supply and personal computer adoption.

The positive correlations found between computer use and human capital are often interpreted as evidence that the adoption of computers have raised the relative demand for skilled labor, the widely touted skill-biased technological change hypothesis. However, several models argue the skill- intensity of technology is endogenously determined by the relative supply of skilled labor. The authors use instruments for the supply of human capital coupled with a rich dataset on computer usage by businesses to show that the supply of human capital is an important determinant of the adoption of personal computers. Their results suggest that great caution must be exercised in placing economic interpretations on the correlations often found between technology and human capital.Labor supply ; Computers

Endogenous Skill Bias in Technology Adoption: City-Level Evidence from the IT Revolution

This paper focuses on the bi-directional interaction between technology adoption and labor market conditions. We examine cross-city differences in PC-adoption, relative wages, and changes in relative wages over the period 1980-2000 to evaluate whether the patterns conform to the predictions of a neoclassical model of endogenous technology adoption. Our approach melds the literature on the effect of the relative supply of skilled labor on technology adoption to the often distinct literature on how technological change influences the relative demand for skilled labor. Our results support the idea that differences in technology use across cities and its effects on wages reflect an equilibrium response to local factor supply conditions. The model and data suggest that cities initially endowed with relatively abundant and cheap skilled labor adopted PCs more aggressively than cities with relatively expensive skilled labor, causing returns to skill to increase most in cities that adopted PCs most intensively. Our findings indicate that neo-classical models of endogenous technology adoption can be very useful for understanding where technological change arises and how it affects markets.

Endogenous skill bias in technology adoption: city-level evidence from the IT revolution

This paper focuses on the bi-directional interaction between technology adoption and labor market conditions. We examine cross-city differences in PC adoption, relative wages, and changes in relative wages over the period 1980-2000 to evaluate whether the patterns conform to the predictions of a neoclassical model of endogenous technology adoption. Our approach melds the literature on the effect of the relative supply of skilled labor on technology adoption to the often distinct literature on how technological change influences the relative demand for skilled labor. Our results support the idea that differences in technology use across cities and its effects on wages reflect an equilibrium response to local factor supply conditions. The model and data suggest that cities initially endowed with relatively abundant and cheap skilled labor adopted PCs more aggressively than cities with relatively expensive skilled labor, causing returns to skill to increase most in cities that adopted PCs most intensively. Our findings indicate that neoclassical models of endogenous technology adoption can be very useful for understanding where technological change arises and how it affects markets.Technological innovations ; Labor market

Genetic mapping of host loci determining gut microbiota in hybrid mice

All animals and plants are colonized by microorganisms, whereby different host species contain different microbial populations. These microbial communities form long-term relationships with their hosts. Understanding the genomic basis underlying these relationships provides insight into the possible coevolution between hosts and their microbiota. This thesis aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the forces shaping the microbiome