The European origins of economic development

Although a large literature argues that European settlement outside of Europe during colonization had an enduring effect on economic development, researchers have been unable to assess these predictions directly because of an absence of data on colonial European settlement. We construct a new database on the European share of the population during colonization and examine its association with economic development today. We find a strong, positive relation between current income per capita and colonial European settlement that is robust to controlling for the current proportion of the population of European descent, as well as many other country characteristics. The results suggest that any adverse effects of extractive institutions associated with small European settlements were, even at low levels of colonial European settlement, more than offset by other things that Europeans brought, such as human capital and technology.     

An Exploratory Study of Regulatory Failure in the Australian Home Mortgage Market

Regulators have long been interested in protecting consumers borrowing for a home as it is likely the single greatest financial obligation they will undertake. In this paper we examine the approach taken in Australia to mandating the disclosure of simple comparison data to reduce the complexity involved in the home loan decision. This article highlights that while the form of the legislated disclosure significantly improves decision accuracy, the failure of the regulator to account for the consumer's purchase behavior and lenders' motivations has undermined its effectiveness. We provide a number of recommendations for how to rectify these failings, principally that regulators need to consider the role of borrower information search and lender motivation as part of any regulatory reform.     

CPA credential perceptions: a case study of Hispanic accountants

One of the recommendations of The Pathways Commission report was to increase the number of diverse entrants into the accounting profession. While the Commission’s recommendation is commendable, the lack of diversity in the accounting profession is not a new problem. Hence, the accounting profession has attempted to address the underrepresentation of minority Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) for many years. To this end, organizations such as American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA), and the Ph.D. Project have provided different types of support to alleviate the problem. However, the numbers are still disturbingly low. This is particularly true for Hispanic accountants. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine Hispanic accountants’ perception of the CPA credential. While the results indicate that gender, exam affordability, and job incentives are positively associated with the likelihood of being a CPA, the 150-hour requirement was not perceived as a hindrance for certification.     

Low amplitude P, QRS and T wave pattern in lead I--the "isoelectric lead I sign"

An applicant's electrocardiogram contains a low amplitude P, QRS and T wave pattern in lead I. The diagnostic and prognostic implications of this ECG pattern are discussed.     

Nonsustained wide QRS tachycardia during an exercise ECG stress test

The evaluation of a nonsustained wide QRS tachycardia in a life insurance applicant's exercise test presents a special challenge to the medical director because of the unpredictable and potentially lethal nature of these arrhythmias. Ventricular tachycardia accounts for up to 80% of wide QRS tachycardias in unselected populations and more than 95% of cases with a prior myocardial infarction. Malignant ventricular arrhythmias usually occur in the presence of significant structural heart disease. In this setting, ventricular arrhythmias carry a high risk of sudden cardiac death. Less commonly, ventricular tachycardia occurs in hearts that appear normal. In many such cases, however, the heart is in fact not normal, but rather has less visible abnormalities including derangements of cardiac ion channels or structural proteins. In these individuals, ventricular arrhythmias also carry a high risk of sudden cardiac death. There are, however, some ventricular tachycardia syndromes which occur in normal hearts that have a more benign prognosis.     

The challenge of inferior Q waves

The presence of unexpected Q waves in an applicant's electrocardiogram poses a diagnostic dilemma for the medical director. On the one hand, the Q waves may be the remnants of a previously unsuspected "silent" myocardial infarction. Conversely, unexpected Q waves may represent a normal or positional variant, or an important noncoronary type of heart disease. This case study illustrates some of the pitfalls in interpreting applicants' electrocardiograms containing Q waves in the inferior leads.     

Richard Abel. Americanizing the Movies and "Movie-Mad" Audiences, 1910-1914

Richard Abel argues that in the period from 1910, when the motionpicture "revolution" succeeded and the American film marketwas emancipated from French domination, to 1914, when foreignfilms were nearly eliminated from the U.S. market, the Americanfilm industry was characterized by widespread experimentationand innovation, especially in the areas of promotion practices,distribution strategies, content refinement, and audience development.Six chapters of Abel's Americanizing the Movies bring to theforeground the battle of     

Simultaneous versus sequential information processing

Subjects update prior information simultaneously versus sequentially. The mean prediction is remarkably close to the correct Bayesian estimate with simultaneous information, but differs significantly conditional on whether good news precedes bad news or vice versa.