This issue of PLoS Genetics contains the second of two important papers describing the high levels of meiotic failure caused by exposure of female mice to a chemical known as Bisphenol A (BPA) [1]. In the first article [2], Pat Hunt and her collaborators demonstrated high levels of meiotic failure in females exposed to BPA, suggesting that BPA exposure affects maturing oocytes. This conclusion ...

We construct an infinite horizon model of harmful addiction. Consumption is compulsive if it differs from what the individual would have chosen had commitment been available. A good is addictive if its consumption leads to more compulsive consumption of the same good. We analyze the welfare implications of drug policies and find that taxes on drugs decrease welfare while prohibitive policies ma...

At this time, when we have still some months to wait for the findings of the Royal Commission, it may be of interest to consider the certification of the lunatic. It is unfortunate that on this point (as on others) there is still a conflict between the ideas of the doctor?interested solely in the ultimate as well as the immediate mental and physical welfare of the patient?and various people int...

Growth in aviation industry has resulted in air-traffic congestion causing flight delays. Flight delays not only have economic impact but also harmful environmental effects. Air-traffic management is becoming increasingly challenging. In this project we apply machine learning algorithms like decision tree, logistic regression and neural networks classifiers to predict if a given flight’s arriva...

Theory predicts that fiscal policy can affect economic growth by adjusting incentives for investment and labor as well as by distorting after-tax returns across sectors. This paper examines the effect of fiscal policy on growth rates first graphically, and then through two models, one of which disaggregates fiscal policy variables. I find evidence that increased size of government is negatively...

With the increasing legalization of cannabis, understanding the consequences of cannabis use is particularly timely. We examined the association between cannabis use and dependence, prospectively assessed between ages 18-38, and economic and social problems at age 38. We studied participants in the Dunedin Longitudinal Study, a cohort (n=1,037) followed from birth to age 38. Study members with ...

People often make decisions in health care that are not in their best interest, ranging from failing to enroll in health insurance to which they are entitled, to engaging in extremely harmful behaviors. Traditional economic theory provides a limited tool kit for improving behavior because it assumes that people make decisions in a rational way, have the mental capacity to deal with huge amounts...

We build a dynamic political economy model with a two-class society: workers and the elite. In the model, the formation of the elite, the rate of innovation and …scal policy are endogenous. We focus on the con‡ict within the elite over two fundamental engines of economic growth: innovation and public investment. The model creates a mapping between institutions and economic outcomes which is con...

Key points • The global burden of and threat from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) constitute a major public health challenge that undermines social and economic development throughout the world. Prisoners are at greater risk for such diseases. • Most information on NCDs in prisoners comes from high-income countries despite the fact that globally, 80% of these deaths from these diseases are in l...

Rice contaminated with fungal species during storage is not only of poor quality and low economic value, but may also have harmful effects on human and animal health. The predominant fungal species isolated from rice grains during storage belong to the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium. Some of these fungal species produce mycotoxins; they are responsible for adverse health effects in humans a...