The L1 stalk is a key mobile element of the large ribosomal subunit which interacts with tRNA during translocation. Here, we investigate the structure and mechanical properties of the rRNA H76/H75/H79 three-way junction at the base of the L1 stalk from four different prokaryotic organisms. We propose a coarse-grained elastic model and parameterize it using large-scale atomistic molecular dynami...

We document the extent of measurement errors in the basic data set on police used in the literature on the effect of police on crime. Analyzing medium to large U.S. cities over 1960-2010, we obtain measurement error corrected estimates of the police elasticity. The magnitudes of our estimates are similar to those obtained in the quasi-experimental literature, but our approach yields much greate...

Arguably the most aggressive affirmative action program ever implemented in the United States was a series of court-ordered racial hiring quotas imposed on municipal police departments. My best estimate of the effect of court-ordered affirmative action on work-force composition is a 14-percentage-point gain in the fraction African American among newly hired officers. Evidence on police performa...

To what extent do bond market reactions to an unexpected deficit shock depend on state-specific politics? To answer this question, we calculate German state bond spreads over government benchmark paper using information from Datastream for the period 2006-2010. We test for a variety of institutional and political factors. We find evidence that investors base risk perceptions on state specific e...

We document the extent of measurement errors in the basic data set on police used in the literature on the effect of police on crime. Analyzing medium to large U.S. cities over 1960-2010, we obtain measurement error corrected estimates of the police elasticity. The magnitudes of our estimates are similar to those obtained in the quasi-experimental literature, but our approach yields much greate...

Rent extraction by public sector workers may be limited by the ability of taxpayers to vote with their feet. But rent extraction may be higher in regions where high amenities mute the migration response. This paper develops a theoretical model that predicts such a link between public sector wage differentials and local amenities, and the predictions are tested by analyzing variation in these di...

We propose a nonparametric test for the exclusion and monotonicity assumptions invoked in instrumental variable (IV) designs based on random assignment of cases to judges. show its asymptotic validity demonstrate finite-sample performance simulations. apply our an empirical setting from literature examining effects pretrial detention defendant outcomes New York. When are not satisfied, we weake...

Sparked by high-profile confrontations between police and citizens in Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere, many commentators have criticized the excessive militarization of law enforcement. We investigate whether surplus military-grade equipment acquired by local police departments from the Pentagon has an effect on crime rates. We use temporal variations in US military expenditure and betweencou...

This paper examines the impact of private prison contracting by exploiting staggered capacity shocks in Mississippi. Motivated a model based on typical contract that pays per diem for each occupied bed, empirical analysis shows inmates serve 90 additional days. is alternatively estimated as 4.8 percent average sentence. The delayed release erodes half cost savings offered and linked to greater ...