We report sequencing of the O antigen encoded by the rfb gene cluster of Salmonella enterica serotype Jangwani (O17) and Salmonella serotype Cerro (O18). We developed serogroup O17- and O18-specific PCR assays based on rfb gene targets and found them to be sensitive and specific for rapid identification of Salmonella serogroups O17 and O18.

This paper presents a model of the interaction between corrupt government officials and industrial firms to show that corruption is antithetical to competition. It is hypothesized that a government agent that controls access to a formal market has a self-interest in demanding a bribe payment that serves to limit the number of firms. This corrupt official will also be subject to a detection tech...

Escherichia coli Sonnei has an O antigen identical to that of Plesiomonas shigelloides O17, and its O-antigen gene cluster is located on a plasmid. By sequencing the chromosomal O-antigen gene cluster of P. shigelloides O17 and comparing it with that of Sonnei, we showed that Sonnei gained its O-antigen genes recently.

We build a model where a buyer negotiates a price discount with a seller in exchange for not asking the receipt and paying in cash, allowing tax evasion. Sellers and buyers are heterogeneous with respect to their tax morale and to their cost of managing payment instruments different from cash. We study how a tax rebate for the buyer and a tax on cash withdrawals affect tax evasion and governmen...

Differential tax analysis is used to show how the socially optimal fiscal-tax to liquidity-tax ratio changes with the relative size of the tax-evading hidden economy. The smaller the relative size of the hidden economy, the larger the optimal fiscal-tax to liquidity-tax ratio. The empirical cross-section and panel evidence supports this theoretical result. JEL: E31, E52, H21, O17

Analysis of the economic effects of constitutional rules has made substantial progress over the last decade. This survey provides an overview of this rapidly growing research area and also discusses a number of methodological issues and identifies underresearched areas. It argues that the next logical step of Positive Constitutional Economics is to endogenize constitutional rules. JEL classific...

Economists and political scientists have argued that differences in the risk of civil conflict across countries and over time may partly reflect differences in the opportunity cost of participating in civil conflicts. One way to test for the opportunity-cost channel is to examine civil conflict risk following transitory income shocks. In this paper I propose two instrumentalvariables approaches...

JEL Classification: K42, L13, O17.

We study the emergence and interaction of red tape and corruption in a principal–bureaucrat– agent hierarchy. The principal is to provide the agent with a unit of a good that involves externalities so that market mechanisms fail to achieve first best. Red tape produces information but is costly to the agent and is administered by a corrupt bureaucrat. First, the bureaucrat may extort bribes fro...

The Demand for, and Consequences of, Formalization among Informal Firms in Sri Lanka The majority of firms in most developing countries are informal. We conducted a field experiment in Sri Lanka which provided incentives for informal firms to formalize. Offering only information about the registration process and reimbursement for direct registration costs had no impact on formalization. Adding...