Gender gaps in policy making: Evidence from direct democracy in Switzerland

In spite of increasing representation of women in politics, little is known about their impact onpolicies. Comparing outcomes of parliaments with different shares of female members does not identifytheir causal impact because of possible differences in the underlying electorate. This paper usesa unique data set on voting decisions to sheds new light on gender gaps in policy making. Ouranalysis focuses on Switzerland, where all citizens can directly decide on a broad range of policiesin referendums and initiatives. We show that there are large gender gaps in the areas of health,environmental protection, defense spending and welfare policy which typically persist even conditionalon socio-economic characteristics. We also find that female policy makers have a substantial effect onthe composition of public spending, but a small effect on the overall size of government.

A sharp concentration inequality with applications

We present a new general concentration-of-measure inequality and illustrate its power by applications in random combinatorics. The results find direct applications in some problems of learning theory.

Responsiveness of astrocytes in serum-free aggregate cultures to epidermal growth factor: dependence on the cell cycle and the epidermal growth factor concentration.

Serum-free aggregating cell cultures of fetal rat telencephalon treated with low doses (0.5 nM) of epidermal growth factor (EGF) showed a small, transient increase in DNA synthesis but no significant changes in total DNA and protein content. By contrast, treatment with high doses (13 nM) of EGF caused a marked stimulation of DNA synthesis as well as a net increase in DNA and protein content. The expression of the astrocyte-specific enzyme, glutamine synthetase, was greatly enhanced both at low and at high EGF concentrations. These results suggest that at low concentration EGF stimulates exclusively the differentiation of astrocytes, whereas at high concentration, EGF has also a mitogenic effect. Nonproliferating astrocytes in cultures treated with 0.4 microM 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl-cytosine were refractory to EGF treatment, indicating that their responsiveness to EGF is cell cycle-dependent. Binding studies using a crude membrane fraction of 5-day cultures showed a homogeneous population of EGF binding sites (Kd approximately equal to 2.6 nM). Specific EGF binding sites were found also in non-proliferating (and nonresponsive) cultures, although they showed slightly reduced affinity and binding capacity. This finding suggests that the cell cycle-dependent control of astroglial responsiveness to EGF does not occur at the receptor level. However, it was found that the specific EGF binding sites disappear with progressive cellular differentiation.

Beyond the glass ceiling: Does gender matter?

The representation of women in top corporate officer positions is steadily increasing. However, little is known about the impact this will have. A large literature documents that women are different from men in their choices and in their preferences, but most of this literature relies on samples of college students or workers at lower levels in the corporate hierarchy. If women must be like men to break the glass ceiling, we might expect gender differences to disappear among top executives. In contrast, using a large survey of all directors of publicly-traded corporations in Sweden, we show that female and male directors differ systematically in their core values and risk attitudes. While certain population gender differences disappear at the director level, others do not. Consistent with the findings for the Swedish population, female directors are more benevolent and universally concerned, but less power-oriented than men. However, they are less traditional and security-oriented than their male counterparts. Furthermore, female directors are slightly more risk-loving than male directors. This suggests that having a women on the board need not lead to more risk-averse decision-making.

How wide is the gap? An investigation of gender wage differences using quantile regression

In this paper we examine the determinants of wages and decompose theobserved differences across genders into the "explained by differentcharacteristics" and "explained by different returns components"using a sample of Spanish workers. Apart from the conditionalexpectation of wages, we estimate the conditional quantile functionsfor men and women and find that both the absolute wage gap and thepart attributed to different returns at each of the quantiles, farfrom being well represented by their counterparts at the mean, aregreater as we move up in the wage range.

Effects of mineralocorticoid and K+ concentration on K+ secretion and ROMK channel expression in a mouse cortical collecting duct cell line.

The cortical collecting duct (CCD) plays a key role in regulated K(+) secretion, which is mediated mainly through renal outer medullary K(+) (ROMK) channels located in the apical membrane. However, the mechanisms of the regulation of urinary K(+) excretion with regard to K(+) balance are not well known. We took advantage of a recently established mouse CCD cell line (mCCD(cl1)) to investigate the regulation of K(+) secretion by mineralocorticoid and K(+) concentration. We show that this cell line expresses ROMK mRNA and a barium-sensitive K(+) conductance in its apical membrane. As this conductance is sensitive to tertiapin-Q, with an apparent affinity of 6 nM, and to intracellular acidification, it is probably mediated by ROMK. Overnight exposure to 100 nM aldosterone did not significantly change the K(+) conductance, while it increased the amiloride-sensitive Na(+) transport. Overnight exposure to a high K(+) (7 mM) concentration produced a small but significant increase in the apical membrane barium-sensitive K(+) conductance. The mRNA levels of all ROMK isoforms measured by qRT-PCR were not changed by altering the basolateral K(+) concentration but were decreased by 15-45% upon treatment with aldosterone (0.3 or 300 nM for 1 and 3 h). The paradoxical response of ROMK expression to aldosterone could possibly work as a preventative mechanism to avoid excessive K(+) loss which would otherwise result from the increased electrogenic Na(+) transport and associated depolarization of the apical membrane in the CCD. In conclusion, mCCD(cl1) cells demonstrate a significant K(+) secretion, probably mediated by ROMK, which is not stimulated by aldosterone but increased by overnight exposure to a high K(+) concentration.

The impact of gender composition on team performance and decision-making: Evidence from the field

We investigate whether the gender composition of teams affect theireconomic performance. We study a large business game, played in groups ofthree, where each group takes the role of a general manager. There are twoparallel competitions, one involving undergraduates and the other involvingMBAs. Our analysis shows that teams formed by three women aresignificantly outperformed by any other gender combination, both at theundergraduate and MBA levels. Looking across the performancedistribution, we find that for undergraduates, three women teams areoutperformed throughout, but by as much as 10pp at the bottom and by only1pp at the top. For MBAs, at the top, the best performing group is two menand one woman. The differences in performance are explained bydifferences in decision-making. We observe that three women teams are lessaggressive in their pricing strategies, invest less in R&D, and invest more insocial sustainability initiatives, than any other gender combination teams.Finally, we find support for the hypothesis that it is poor work dynamicsamong the three women teams that drives the results.

Iowa Gender Wage Equity Study, 2008

In 1993, Iowa Workforce Development (then the Department of Employment Services) conducted a survey to determine if there was a gender gap in wages paid. The results of that survey indicated that females were paid 68 cents for every dollar paid to males. Another study was conducted in 1999 which found that females made approximately 73 cents for every dollar made by males in Iowa. These calculations took into account the average number of hours respondents worked weekly. In January 2008, Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) was contacted by the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women (ICSW) to request that IWD conduct research to update the 1999 gender wage equity study to determine if the wage disparity between males and females has changed since the 1999 study. This study was completed by IWD using 2007/2008 Laborshed data consisting of responses from 5,669 employed respondents. Of the respondents, 59.6 percent (3,379) were female, 40.3 percent (2,285) were male, and 0.1 percent (5) refused to identify their gender. Statewide sampling was provided by the University of Northern Iowa’s Institute for Decision Making based on the population per ZIP code. The results of the survey show that females who are paid an hourly wage earn 21.8 percent (78.2 cents for every dollar) less than males earn and females who are salaried earn 21.6 percent less than males. Additional survey results detail the occupational categories, industries and the education and experience levels. All of these characteristics contribute to the disparity.

First nationwide study on driving under the influence of drugs in Switzerland.

In Switzerland, a two-tier system based on impairment by any psychoactive substances which affect the capacity to drive safely and zero tolerance for certain illicit drugs came into force on 1 January 2005. According to the new legislation, the offender is sanctioned if Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol THC is >or=1.5ng/ml or amphetamine, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA), cocaine, free morphine are >or=15ng/ml in whole blood (confidence interval+/-30%). For all other psychoactive substances, impairment must be proven in applying the so-called "three pillars expertise". At the same time the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for driving was lowered from 0.80 to 0.50g/kg. The purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence of drugs in the first year after the introduction of the revision of the Swiss Traffic Law in the population of drivers suspected of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID). A database was developed to collect the data from all DUID cases submitted by the police or the Justice to the eight Swiss authorized laboratories between January and December 2005. Data collected were anonymous and included the age, gender, date and time of the event, the type of vehicle, the circumstances, the sampling time and the results of all the performed toxicological analyses. The focus was explicitly on DUID; cases of drivers who were suspected to be under the influence of ethanol only were not considered. The final study population included 4794 DUID offenders (4243 males, 543 females). The mean age of all drivers was 31+/-12 years (range 14-92 years). One or more psychoactive drugs were detected in 89% of all analyzed blood samples. In 11% (N=530) of the samples, neither alcohol nor drugs were present. The most frequently encountered drugs in whole blood were cannabinoids (48% of total number of cases), ethanol (35%), cocaine (25%), opiates (10%), amphetamines (7%), benzodiazepines (6%) and methadone (5%). Other medicinal drugs such as antidepressants and benzodiazepine-like were detected less frequently. Poly-drug use was prevalent but it may be underestimated because the laboratories do not always analyze all drugs in a blood sample. This first Swiss study points out that DUID is a serious problem on the roads in Switzerland. Further investigations will show if this situation has changed in the following years.

Work values as predictors of entrepreneurial career intentions: A longitudinal analysis of gender effects

Purpose - Work values are an important characteristic to understand gender differences in career intentions, but how gender affects the relationship between values and career intentions is not well established. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether gender moderates the effects of work values on level and change of entrepreneurial intentions (EI). Design/methodology/approach - In total, 218 German university students were sampled regarding work values and with EI assessed three times over the course of 12 months. Data were analysed with latent growth modelling. Findings - Self-enhancement and openness to change values predicted higher levels and conservation values lower levels of EI. Gender moderated the effects of enhancement and conservation values on change in EI. Research limitations/implications - The authors relied on self-reported measures and the sample was restricted to university students. Future research needs to verify to what extent these results generalize to other samples and different career fields, such as science or nursing. Practical implications - The results imply that men and women are interested in an entrepreneurial career based on the same work values but that values have different effects for men and women regarding individual changes in EI. The results suggest that the prototypical work values of a career domain seem important regarding increasing the career intent for the gender that is underrepresented in that domain. Originality/value - The results enhance understanding of how gender affects the relation of work values and a specific career intention, such as entrepreneurship.

Concentration and self-censorship in commercial media

Within a simple model of non-localized, Hotelling-type competitionamong arbitrary numbers of media outlets we characterize qualityand content of media under different ownership structures. Assumingadvertising-sponsored, profit-maximizing outlets, we show that (i) topicssensitive to advertisers can be underreported (self-censored) by alloutlets in the market, (ii) self-censorship increases with the concentrationof ownership, (iii) adding outlets, while keeping the number ofowners fixed, may even increase self-censorship; the latter result relieson consumers' most preferred outlets being potentially owned by thesame media companies. We argue that externalities resulting fromself-censorship could be empirically large.

Gender specialization in households: An empirical analysis

This paper studies the effect of parental education on the educational attainmentof children in the US for cohorts born after 1910. Importantly, we allow for cohort-specificdifferences by gender. Our estimates show that paternal education has been more importantfor the attainment of male children (paternal specialization on sons). However, maternalspecialization (on daughters) seems to have appeared only for cohorts born after 1955. Weinterpret these results as evidence that fathers are more important role models for sonswhile mothers are a more important reference for daughters. We argue that our results arerobust to the presence of hereditary unobserved ability and conjecture that both types ofgender specialization may have been present in earlier cohorts too.