Who benefits from labor market regulations? Chile 1960-1998

Economists have examined the impact of labor market regulations on the level of employment. But there are many reasons to suspect that the impact of regulations differs across types of workers. In this paper the authors take advantage of the unusually large variance in labor policy in Chile to examine how different labor market regulations affect the distribution of employment and the employment rates across age, gender, and skill levels. To this effect, they use a sample of repeated cross-section household surveys spanning the period 1960-98 and measures of the evolution of job security provisions and minimum wages across time. The results suggest large distribution effects. The authors find that employment security provisions and minimum wages reduce the share of youth and unskilled employment as well as their employment rates. They also find large effects on the distribution of employment between women and men.Labor Policies,Labor Management and Relations,Environmental Economics&Policies,Public Health Promotion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Labor Management and Relations,Labor Standards,Youth and Governance

Binding energy of localized biexcitons in quantum wells

A variational calculation of the ground state energy of a biexciton in a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well is presented. The well width fluctuations leading to trapping of the biexcitons are modeled by a parabolic potential. The results obtained for different well widths are compared with recent experimental data. Good agreement is obtained both for the biexciton binding energy and for the Haynes factor. We find that the structure of a biexciton is similar to the one of the H_2 molecule.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Continental-scale temperature variability in PMIP3 simulations and PAGES 2k regional temperature reconstructions over the past millennium

Estimated external radiative forcings, model results, and proxy-based climate reconstructions have been used over the past several decades to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying observed climate variability and change over the past millennium. Here, the recent set of temperature reconstructions at the continental-scale generated by the PAGES 2k project and a collection of state-of-the-art model simulations driven by realistic external forcings are jointly analysed. The first aim is to estimate the consistency between model results and reconstructions for each continental-scale region over the time and frequency domains. Secondly, the links between regions are investigated to determine whether reconstructed global-scale covariability patterns are similar to those identified in model simulations. The third aim is to assess the role of external forcings in the observed temperature variations. From a large set of analyses, we conclude that models are in relatively good agreement with temperature reconstructions for Northern Hemisphere regions, particularly in the Arctic. This is likely due to the relatively large amplitude of the externally forced response across northern and high-latitude regions, which results in a clearly detectable signature in both reconstructions and simulations. Conversely, models disagree strongly with the reconstructions in the Southern Hemisphere. Furthermore, the simulations are more regionally coherent than the reconstructions, perhaps due to an underestimation of the magnitude of internal variability in models or to an overestimation of the response to the external forcing in the Southern Hemisphere. Part of the disagreement might also reflect large uncertainties in the reconstructions, specifically in some Southern Hemisphere regions, which are based on fewer palaeoclimate records than in the Northern Hemisphere

The Disadvantage of Winning an Election

JEL Classification Codes: D7; H1.-- Trabajo presentado a: "XVIII Encuentro de Economía Pública" celebrado en Malaga en 2011; "PET 10 - Annual Conference of the Association for Public Economic Theory" celebrada en Estambul en 2010; "MOVE - Urrutia Elejalde Workshop on: Information, Dynamics, and Political Decision Making" celebrado en Barcelona en 2010.This paper analyzes the problem that an incumbent faces during the legislature when deciding how to react to popular initiatives or policy proposals coming from different sources. We argue that this potential source of electoral disadvantage that the incumbent obtains after being elected can jeopardize the reelection possibilities of the incumbent. We analyze the decision of the incumbent when facing reelection and we characterize the conditions under which the advantages that the incumbent obtains can overcome the disadvantages. Finally, we use the results of this analysis to discuss some implica- tions of the use of mechanisms of direct democracy like referenda and popular assemblies on electoral competition.Aragonès acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, grant number ECO2009-08820, the Barcelona GSE and the Catalan Government. We would like to thank Miguel Angel Ballester, Micael Castanheira, Luca Merlino, Norman Schofield, Jim Snyder, Joel Sobel, participants of the first APE-X meeting in Brussels and participants of the IAE’s informal seminar for their useful comments.Peer reviewe

KOPS-guided DNA translocation by FtsK safeguards Escherichia coli chromosome segregation

The septum-located DNA translocase, FtsK, acts to co-ordinate the late steps of Escherichia coli chromosome segregation with cell division. The FtsK γ regulatory subdomain interacts with 8 bp KOPS DNA sequences, which are oriented from the replication origin to the terminus region (ter) in each arm of the chromosome. This interaction directs FtsK translocation towards ter where the final chromosome unlinking by decatenation and chromosome dimer resolution occurs. Chromosome dimer resolution requires FtsK translocation along DNA and its interaction with the XerCD recombinase bound to the recombination site, dif, located within ter. The frequency of chromosome dimer formation is ∼15% per generation in wild-type cells. Here we characterize FtsK alleles that no longer recognize KOPS, yet are proficient for translocation and chromosome dimer resolution. Non-directed FtsK translocation leads to a small reduction in fitness in otherwise normal cell populations, as a consequence of ∼70% of chromosome dimers being resolved to monomers. More serious consequences arise when chromosome dimer formation is increased, or their resolution efficiency is impaired because of defects in chromosome organization and processing. For example, when Cre–loxP recombination replaces XerCD–dif recombination in dimer resolution, when functional MukBEF is absent, or when replication terminates away from ter

¿Quién y cómo se construye el ‘nosotros’? La construcción narrativa del ‘nosotros catalán’ a partir de los acontecimientos del 1714

This paper is based on an empirical research conducted in Catalonia. The aim of the study was to analyse the possible links between students’ ethnicity and identities and the ways in which they narrate the history of the communities they live in. By means of questionnaires (340) and interviews (14), a group of 13-16 years old students were required to narrate the historical events of the 11th of September of 1714 which are commemorated in the Catalan national day. Data was analysed through narrative analyses and the results were compared using statistical tests. The results suggest that, in their historical narratives, students construct a homogeneous ‘Catalan we’ that can be exclude students from minority linguistic, ethnic or national communities. We conclude the paper by discussing the implications of these results in history and social studies education in the Catalan community and elsewhere