Intergenerational Transmission of Risk Attitudes: A Revealed Preference Approach

This study investigates whether the willingness to take income risks revealed by occupational choice is transmitted from parents to their children. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we find that fathers' riskiness of job is a significant determinant of children's occupational risk, in particular sons' (excluding parent-child pairs with identical occupations). This is the first piece of evidence for intergenerational transmission of risk attitudes relying on real world behavior. It shows that not only individuals' own assessments of their risk attitudes correlate (found by previous studies) but also risk preferences shown in exactly the same situation.Risk preferences, intergenerational transmission, occupational choice

Scientific Misbehavior in Economics: Unacceptable research practice linked to perceived pressure to publish.

Upholding research integrity depends on our ability to understand the extent of misconduct. Sarah Necker describes her landmark study on economists’ research norms and practices. Fabrication, falsification and plagiarism are widely considered to be unjustifiable, but misbehaviour is still prevalent. For example, 1-3% of economists surveyed admit that they have accepted or offered gifts, money, or sex in exchange for co-authorship, data, or promotion. Economists’ perceived pressure to publish is found to be positively related to their admission of being involved in several rejected research practices

A Novel Algorithm for Distributed Dynamic Interference Coordination in Cellular Networks

Wireless systems based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) multiplex different users in time and frequency. One of the main problems in OFDMA-systems is the inter-cell interference. A promising approach to solve this problem is interference coordination (IFCO). In this paper, we present a novel distributed IFCO scheme, where a central coordinator communicates coordination information in regular time intervals. This information is the basis for a local inner optimization in every basestation. The proposed scheme achieves an increase of more than 100% with respect to the cell edge throughput, and a gain of about 30% in the aggregate spectral efficiency compared to a reuse 3 system

The evolution of German's values since reunification

Exploiting the natural experiment of German reunification, we study whether having experienced socialism has an enduring effect on people's basic values. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we show that individuals that lived in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) assign different importance to six out of nine life goals. Our evidence suggests two reactions, adaption to policies/conditions in the GDR as well as switching to the opposite values. The strength of the reactions varies with East Germans' appreciation of reunification. Intergenerational transmission seems to contribute to the preservation of socialist in influence across generations; it does not differ between East and West Germany. We show that self-reported values are behaviorally relevant. Differences in values provide a possible explanation for persistent differences in behavior

Birds standing on one leg: mechanisms and possible functions - a review

Viele Vögel ruhen auf einem Bein ohne erkennbare Spezialisierungen. Das Bein wird so positioniert, dass der Körper auch ohne besonderen Energieaufwand stabil steht. Bei langbeinigen Vögeln sind Sperr- oder Schnappmechanismen beschrieben worden, die das Intertarsalgelenk zwischen Unterschenkel und Lauf beim Stehen auf einem Bein am Einknicken hindern sollen. Beim Strauß (Struthio camelus) scheint ein Schnappmechanismus tatsächlich zu existieren, allerdings steht der Strauß nie auf einem Bein. Für ein Vorkommen solcher Mechanismen bei Stelzvögeln, die auf einem Bein stehen, gibt es bisher keine Belege. Beim Stehen auf einem Bein könnte ein kürzlich entdecktes zusätzliches Gleichgewichtsorgan im Beckenbereich der Wirbelsäule eine wichtige Rolle spielen, da es im Bereich der Beine direkt auf die Beinmotorik wirkt. Eine thermoregulatorische Funktion des Stehens auf einem Bein steht mit den thermoregulatorischen Eigenschaften der Beine in Einklang. Das Verbergen eines Beines im Gefieder reduziert die Wärmeabgabe in kalter Umgebung und trägt damit zur Konstanthaltung der Körpertemperatur bei. Eine thermoregulatorische Funktion scheint allerdings nicht die alleinige Funktion des Stehens auf einem Bein zu sein, da das Bein nicht immer im Gefieder versteckt wird und die Vögel auch in warmer Umgebung auf einem Bein stehen. Eine weitere Möglichkeit, die diskutiert wird, ist eine Entlastung der Muskulatur durch das Stehen auf einem Bein. Da das Anziehen des Beines aber mit Muskelaktivität verbunden ist, wäre es wichtig, den Energieverbrauch beim Stehen auf einem Bein, mit dem beim Stehen auf beiden Beinen zu vergleichen. Das gleiche gilt für die thermoregulatorische Funktion. Solche Messungen, die Klarheit über die Bedeutung des Stehens auf einem Bein schaffen könnten, fehlen bisher.Many birds stand on one leg when resting on the ground. The leg is positioned in a way which needs not much energy. In long-legged birds the body is far from the ground which may require special adaptations to keeping balance. Snapping mechanisms which serve to “lock” the intertarsal joint when standing are reviewed. Such a mechanism is obviously present in the ostrich which does, however, not stand on one leg. There is so far no convincing evidence that a snapping mechanism exists in long-legged birds which stand on one leg. It seems that normal mechanisms of keeping balance also work in long-legged birds. A recently discovered sense organ of equilibrium in the lumbosacral vertebral canal which controls leg movements may play an important role in standing on one leg. Hiding one foot in the plumage reduces heat loss in a cold environment. However, the foot is not always hidden in the plumage and standing on one leg occurs also in a warm environment, i.e. thermoregulation probably is not the only function of standing on one leg. Another function of standing on one leg may be to avoid muscle fatigue. However, to tuck up one leg means muscle activity and it is not clear whether it saves energy. There is a need for comparing energy (oxygen) consumption when standing on one leg as compared to standing on both legs both as to a thermoregulatory and muscle relaxation function

XIII. On the Determination of the Position of Strata in Stratified Rocks

It has always appeared to me, that the study of the stratification of rocks and of mountain masses, ought to be one of the principal objects of a geological observer. Many of the most important facts in geology have been ascertained by the consideration of the position of strata. Among these facts, the relation existing between the direction and the inclination of the strata and the unstratified rocks, to whose presence the change in the position of the beds from an horizontal to an inclined, and sometimes even to a vertical situation, is now generally attributed, is one of the most conspicuous. It is only by an accurate determination of the position of the strata in any mountain-chain that the real direction of the line of elevation of that chain or its mineralogical axis may be determine

Happiness of economists

This study investigates the determinants of economists' life satisfaction. The analysis is based on a survey of professional, mostly academic economists from European countries and beyond. We find that certain features of economists' professional situation influence their well-being. Happiness is increased by having more research time while the lack of a tenured position decreases satisfaction in particular if the contract expires in the near future or cannot be extended. Surprisingly, publication success has no effect on satisfaction. While the perceived level of external pressure also has no impact, the perceived change of pressure in recent years has. Economists may have accepted a high level of pressure when entering academia but do not seem to be willing to cope with the increase observed in recent years