Optimal Investment Strategies under Demand and Tax Policy Uncertainty

In this paper we offer an analysis of the effects of uncertainty about future tax policy on irreversible investment. The main message of the paper is that investment is not much affected by the degreee of tax policy uncertainty. This is true regardless of whether random tax changes are determined endogenously or exogenously. The paper therefore indicates that reducing tax policy uncertainty is probably no magic bullet to increase private investment spendingInvestment, uncertainty, irreversibility, taxation

Job polarization has squeezed the American middle class

Has the decline in manufacturing and clerical jobs been responsible for the lagging wages of middleskill workers in the United States? To answer this question, Michael Boehm compares the occupational choices and earnings of survey respondents in the 1980s and today. The decline of the middle class has been much debated in the United States and elsewhere in recent years. The first important component of this decline is the fall in the number of well-paid middle-skill jobs in manufacturing and clerical occupations since the 1980s

Three essays on the allocation of talent

In my thesis I investigate the causes and the effects of the allocation of workers into occupations, sectors, and locations. My analysis is substantially aided by the availability of new data on workers’ talents (or skills). The first chapter of the thesis exploits the fact that workers choose occupations according to their talents in order to study the effects on wages of the declining demand for manufacturing and clerical occupations. This is done by relating the occupational choices and the wages associated with particular talents over two representative cohorts of young workers in the United States between the late 1980s and the late 2000s. The second chapter, which is conjoint work, analyses the effect of an inflow of talent on productivity and output in the academic sector. We exploit the countercyclical relative attractiveness of academia as an employer over the business cycle to study periods of high (recessions) and low (booms) inflow of talent into that sector. Finally, the third chapter shows that government policy in the form of commuting tax breaks has substantial effects on the allocation of workers into jobs and residences. In particular, I exploit two reductions of tax breaks for commuting in 2003/4 and 2006/7 in Germany to estimate commuting costs’ effects on workers’ decisions to change the location of their job and/or their house

Self-administration of edible Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and associated behavioral effects in mice

Background With increasing access to legal cannabis across the globe, it is imperative to more closely study its behavioral and physiological effects. Furthermore, with the proliferation of cannabis use, modes of consumption are changing, with edible formulations becoming increasingly popular. Nevertheless, there are relatively few animal models of self-administration of the primary psychoactive component of cannabis, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and almost all incorporate routes of administration other than those used by humans. The aim of the current study was to develop a model of edible THC self-administration and assess its impact on CB1 receptor-mediated behaviors in female and male mice. Methods Mice were given limited access to a palatable dough which occasionally contained THC in doses ranging from 1 to 10 mg/kg. Following dough consumption, mice were assessed for home cage locomotor activity, body temperature, or analgesia. Locomotor activity was also assessed in conjunction with the CB1 receptor antagonist SR141716A. Results Dough was well-consumed, but consumption decreased at the highest THC concentrations. Edible THC produced dose-dependent decreases in locomotor activity and body temperature in both sexes, and these effects were more pronounced in male mice. Hypolocomotion induced by edible THC was attenuated by SR141716A, indicating mediation by CB1 receptor activation. Conclusions In contrast to other cannabinoid self-administration models, edible THC is relatively low in stress and uses a route of administration analogous to one used by humans. Potential applications include chronic THC self-administration, determining THC reward/reinforcement, and investigating consequences of oral THC use

Recruiting talented researchers is easier in recessions and universities benefit from increased productivity.

Between the end of 2007 and the middle of 2009, Britain and the United States experienced the worst recession for more than half a century. Evidence suggests that during that time entry into high-paying and high-risk private sector jobs declined substantially while many talented graduates tried to stay on at university. Using data of economics PhD graduates, Michael Boehm and Martin Watzinger find that universities benefit from recessions because in downturns they can recruit more productive researchers than in booms

Stable sectors may benefit from recessions by recruiting more talented workers

Between the end of 2007 and the middle of 2009, Britain and the United States experienced the worst recession for more than half a century. During that time entry into high-paying and high-risk private sector jobs declined substantially while many graduates tried to secure employment in less volatile sectors, such as academia. But how may this affect the economy in the long run? Michael Boehm and Martin Watzinger measure significantly higher research productivity for academics that started their career in recession compared to academics that started out in a boom. This suggests that less volatile sectors benefit from recessions in terms of the talent they can attract

The allocation of talent over the business cycle and its effect on sectoral productivity

It is well documented that graduates enter different occupations in recessions than in booms. In this article, we examine the impact of this reallocation for long-term productivity and output across sectors. We develop a model in which talent flows to stable sectors in recessions and to cyclical sectors in booms. We find evidence for the predicted change in productivity caused by the business cycle in a setting where output can be readily measured: economists starting or graduating from their PhD in a recession are significantly more productive over the long term than economists starting or graduating in a boom

The Further Education Maturity Model: Development and Implementation of a Maturity Model for the Selection of Further Education Offerings in the Field of IT Management and IT Consulting

The permanently changing information and communication technology (IT) makes it inevitable for IT professionals to keep up-to-date. However, the market for further education presents itself as being diversified and opaque at the same time. Especially for young professionals, the selection of the “right” training offering is difficult. This entails the necessity to develop methods and models to create the further education market in a more comprehensible and transparent way. This article describes the development of the Further Education Maturity Model (FEMM). It enables users to assign IT training offerings to certain maturity levels and consequently to make decisions about the quality of the further education offering. A proven procedure is used to develop the FEMM, implement it into an online tool, and evaluate it. Results show the appropriateness of the proposed model

PROTHIOCONAZOLE TOLERANT \u3ci\u3eCRYPTOCOCCUS FLAVESCENS\u3c/i\u3e STRAINS FOR BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF FUSARIUM HEAD BLIGHT

Strains of Cryptococcus flavescens which are superior antagonists of F. graminearum for suppression and control of FHB in cereals, particularly in wheat and barley, are described. The strains are prothioconazole tolerant variants of previously described C. flavescens OH 182.9 (NRRL Y-30216). Moreover, these prothioconazole tolerant variants exhibit significantly increased efficacy against F. graminearum in comparison to the parent strain OH 182.9