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Randomized controlled trials (RCT) have become a dominant empirical tool in applied economics. The internal validity of RCTs crucially depends on the (implicit) assumption that the procedure assigning subjects to treatment and control groups has no effect on behavior. We show theoretically that this assumption is violated when people are motivated by belief-dependent preferences and care about the intentions of others. The choice of assignment procedure influences subjects’ behavior and, consequently, the RCTs’ findings. Strikingly, even a credible and explicit randomization procedure does not guarantee an unbiased prediction of the impact of a general introduction of the policy.

The human TRPM8 gene encodes a receptor mediating cold sensitivity, and this points to its putative role in cold adaptation. The structural variability of the TRPM8 gene for five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) has been studied in the Kyrgyz population. The SNPs are located in the coding regions of the gene, and three of them are confined to a 20-bp segment in exon 7. The frequencies of minor SNP alleles are as follows: rs13004520 G/C = 0.06; rs28901637 A/T = 0.13; rs11562975 G/C = 0.27; rs7593557 G/A = 0.21; rs11563071 C/G = 0.12. The analyzed sample of Kyrgyz population includes 275 individuals living at different altitudes and under drastically different climatic conditions. The frequency of the minor rs11562975 allele in the highlanders (living above 3200 m ASL and higher) is lower by a factor of 1.5 than in the residents of lower regions (760–3000 m ASL; p < 0.01). This result indicates a selective role of rs11562975 in adapting to cold. A comparison of haplotype frequencies in the Kyrgyz population with Europeans, East Asians, and Africans shows a clear narrowing of genotype variation in Europeans in comparison to all the others. Probably, this phenomenon is related to a decline in the population size (bottleneck effect) during evolution. We consider the exon–intron structure of the TRPM8 gene. The epigenetic markers in the vicinity of the gene have been analyzed. Two strong binding sites for insulator ctcf proteins are present there. They are likely to be associated with chromatin conformation and alternative splicing regulation. A structural–functional characterization of genes for the TRP protein family is provided.

Aim. To study an association between Arg399Gln of XRCC1 gene, Arg72Pro of TP53 gene and T309G of MDM2 gene polymorphisms and breast cancer (BC) rate in women of the Kyrgyz population Material and Methods. Genomic DNA was obtainedfrom the whole blood of 117 breast cancer patients and 102 cancer-free healthy women residing in the Kyrgyz Republic. XRCC1 (Arg399Gln), TP53(Arg72Pro) and MDM2 (T309G) genotyping was carried out by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay. Results. Women with the 399Gln allele had 1,57 fold higher risk (OR=1,57; p=0,034) of developing breast cancer than cases without these alleles. Individuals carrying the heterozygous genotype Arg399Gln had 2,77 fold higher risk (OR=2,77; p=0,0010) of BC. Notably, haplotype analyses revealed a stronger association with breast cancer risk if compare with data of the genotype analysis at each locus alone. The combination of heterozygous XRCC1 (Arg399Gln) variant and TP53 (Arg72Pro) genes increased even more the risk of BC (OR=3,98; p=0,0059). The combination of Arg399Gln and T309G genotypes of - XRCC1 and MDM2 genes is significant association with risk of BC (OR=3,0; p=0,034). We showed the combinations of Arg399Gln, Arg72Pro and T309Ggenotypes of-XRCC1, TP53 andMDM2 genes is related to the strong association with risk of BC in Kyrgyz women (OR=6,40; p=0,025). Conclusion. The polymorphisms Arg399Gln of XRCC1 gene, Arg72Pro of TP53 gene and T309G of MDM2 gene are associated with an increased risk of BC in Kyrgyz females. Combinations of unfavorable genotypes of several candidate genes increase even more the risk of BC.

We prove that the Dirichlet and Poincar´e problems for degenerate multidimensional hyperbolic equations with Gellerstedt operator in a cylindrical domain are uniquely solvable and establish a criterion of uniqueness for the regular solutions of these problems.

Correctness of boundary value problems in a plane for elliptical equations has been studied properly using the method of the theory of analytic functions. At investigation of analogous problems, when the number of independent variables is more than two, there arise principle difficulties. Quite good and convenient method of singular integral equations has to be abandoned because there is no complete theory of multidimensional singular integral equations. Boundary value problems for second-order elliptical equations in domains with edges have been studied properly earlier. Explicit classical solutions to Dirichlet and Poincare problems in cylindrical domains for one class of multidimensional elliptical equations can be found in the authors works. In this article,the author proved that the local boundary value problem, which is the generalization of Dirichet and Poincare problem, has only solution. Besides, the criterion of uniqueness of regular solution is obtained.

This article investigates how, with increasing land pressure during Russian settlement in Kazakh steppes in the late nineteenth century, clan institutions affected the transition from nomadic pastoralism to settled agriculture. Using a novel dataset constructed from Russian colonial expedition materials matched with clan genealogies, we find that, controlling for geographic factors, clan identity strongly influenced the duration of transhumance period, the organization of production, and the acquisition of new agricultural tools. Information transmission within clans, external economies of scale in nomadic pastoralism, and clan-specific values and norms underlie the results.

Aim — in this study, we investigated whether polymorphisms Glu23Lys in KCNJ11 are associated with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the Kyrgyz population. Material and methods . We genotyped 287 Kyrgyz individuals. A case—control study was performed, including 178 patients with T2DM (female — 55, male — 123, average age 54±6,6) and 109 non-diabetes controls (female — 48, male — 61, average age 50±8,4). The genotypes of polymorphic position Glu23Lys of KCNJ11 were determined by PCR-RFLP assay. Results . Genotypes Glu23Lys and Lys23Lys, containing the minor allele 23Lys, were more frequent in the group of type 2 diabetes (χ 2 =4,09; p =0,043). The allele 23Lys of KCNJ11 gene is associated with a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the Kyrgyz population [OR=1,46 (1,02—2,07); p =0,036]. Homozygous genotype Glu23Glu and allele Glu23 reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes [OR=0,61 (0,37—0,99); p =0,043 and OR=0,69 (0,48—0,98); p =0,037], respectively). Conclusion . Polymorphisms Glu23Lys of KCNJ11 gene are associated with the risk of Type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Kyrgyz Population according to the dominant and additive models of inheritance of the trait. Our results indicate that the allele 23Lys of KCNJ11 gene confers an elevated risk for the development of Type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Kyrgyz population.

The Central Asian Kyrgyz highland population provides a unique opportunity to address genetic diversity and understand the genetic mechanisms underlying high-altitude pulmonary hypertension (HAPH). Although a significant fraction of the population is unaffected, there are susceptible individuals who display HAPH in the absence of any lung, cardiac or hematologic disease. We report herein the analysis of the whole-genome sequencing of healthy individuals compared with HAPH patients and other controls (total n = 33). Genome scans reveal selection signals in various regions, encompassing multiple genes from the first whole-genome sequences focusing on HAPH. We show here evidence of three candidate genes MTMR4, TMOD3 and VCAM1 that are functionally associated with well-known molecular and pathophysiological processes and which likely lead to HAPH in this population. These processes are (a) dysfunctional BMP signaling, (b) disrupted tissue repair processes and (c) abnormal endothelial cell function. Whole-genome sequence of well-characterized patients and controls and using multiple statistical tools uncovered novel candidate genes that belong to pathways central to the pathogenesis of HAPH. These studies on high-altitude human populations are pertinent to the understanding of sea level diseases involving hypoxia as a main element of their pathophysiology.

The correctness of boundary value problems on the plane for elliptic equations by the method of the theory of ana-lytic functions of a complex variable has been well studied. When investigating similar questions, when the number of independent variables is greater than two, problems of a fundamental nature arise. A very attractive and convenient method of singular integral equations loses their validity due to the absence of any full theory of multidimensional singular integral equations. Boundary value problems for second-order elliptic equations in domains with edges have been studied in detail. In the author's papers explicit forms of classical solutions of Dirichlet problems in cylindrical domains for multi-dimensional elliptic equations are found. In this paper we use the method proposed in the author's works, we show the unique solvability and obtain an explicit form of the classical solution of the Dirichlet problem in a cylindrical do-main for one class of degenerate multidimensional elliptic-parabolic equations.

Participatory conservation projects run by NGOs in developing countries imply involvement of communities in conservation efforts, to combine economic development with environmental preservation. We build an economic model explaining the emergence of participatory conservation and its contradictions linked to the conflicting incentives of local farmers, NGOs, and donors. The tragedy of the commons in a natural area justifies an NGO intervention. Contractual incompleteness calls for participatory conservation. However, if the revenue from the conservation project is uncertain, the community abstains from conservation unless the NGO allocates resources to agriculture. The NGO must deviate from its narrow mission to reach its broad mission. If the NGO is funded by conservation-oriented donors, it struggles to justify diverting resources to agriculture. Thus, the NGO faces a “size versus efficiency” dilemma: poorly conserving a larger area (non-cooperating local community, satisfied donors) or conserving well a smaller area (local community cooperation, unsatisfied donors)., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

For thousands of years the Eurasian steppes have been a centre of human migrations and cultural change. Here we sequence the genomes of 137 ancient humans (about 1× average coverage), covering a period of 4,000 years, to understand the population history of the Eurasian steppes after the Bronze Age migrations. We find that the genetics of the Scythian groups that dominated the Eurasian steppes throughout the Iron Age were highly structured, with diverse origins comprising Late Bronze Age herders, European farmers and southern Siberian hunter-gatherers. Later, Scythians admixed with the eastern steppe nomads who formed the Xiongnu confederations, and moved westward in about the second or third century bc, forming the Hun traditions in the fourth–fifth century ad, and carrying with them plague that was basal to the Justinian plague. These nomads were further admixed with East Asian groups during several short-term khanates in the Medieval period. These historical events transformed the Eurasian steppes from being inhabited by Indo-European speakers of largely West Eurasian ancestry to the mostly Turkic-speaking groups of the present day, who are primarily of East Asian ancestry. Sequences of 137 ancient and 502 modern human genomes illuminate the population history of the Eurasian steppes after the Bronze Age and document the replacement of Indo-European speakers of West Eurasian ancestry by Turkic-speaking groups of East Asian ancestry.

Background The aim of this study was to identify mutations of rpoB, katG, inhA and ahp-genes associated Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistance to rifampicin (RIF) and isoniazid (INH) in Kyrgyz Republic. We studied 633 smear samples from the primary pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients. We verified Mycobacterium tuberculosis susceptibility to RIF and INH using culture method of absolute concentrations, and commercially available test named “TB-BIOCHIP” (Biochip-IMB, Moscow, Russian Federation). Results For RIF-resistance, TB-BIOCHIP’s sensitivity and specificity were 88% and 97%, 84% and 95% for INH-resistance, and 90% and 97% for multi-drug resistance (MDR). In RIF-resistant strains, TB-BIOCHIP showed mutations in codons 531 (64.8%), 526 (17.3%), 516 (8.1%), 511 (5.4%), 533 (3.2%), 522 (0.6%) and 513 (0.6%) of rpoB gene. The most prevalent was Ser531 > Leu mutation (63.7%). 91.2% of mutations entailing resistance to INH were in katG gene, 7% in inhA gene, and 1.8% in ahpC gene. Ser315→Thr (88.6%) was the most prevalent mutation leading to resistance to INH. Conclusions In Kyrgyz Republic, the most prevalent mutation in RIF-resistant strains was Ser531 → Leu in rpoB gene, as opposed to Ser315 → Thr in katG gene in INH-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In Kyrgyz Republic, the major reservoir of MDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis were strains with combined mutations Ser531 → Leu in rpoB gene and Ser315 → Thr in katG gene. TB-BIOCHIP has shown moderate sensitivity with the advantage of obtaining results in only two days.

Background The aim of this study was to quantify the association of Val109Asp polymorphism of intelectin 1 (ITLN1) gene with the abdominal obesity (AO) in Kyrgyz population. Methods Patients admitted to annual screening at a local outpatient facility were enrolled or this study. We genotyped 297 nonrelated adults of Kyrgyz ethnicity, of whom 127 were AO patients, including 46 men and 81 women with the mean age 53.2 ± 7.1 years, and 170 non-obese controls, including 61 men and 109 women with the mean age 52.0 ± 9.0 years. AO was defined as having waist circumferences ≥ 102 cm in men and ≥ 88 cm in women. We used PCR-RFLP method to define Val109Asp polymorphism of ITLN1 gene. Results Asp109Asp, Asp109Val and Val109Val genotypes were found in 48%, 40%, and 12% of AO patients respectively, and in 53%, 43%, and 4% of controls, whereas Val109Val homozygous genotype of ITLN1 gene Val109Asp polymorphic marker was significantly more prevalent in AO patients. In Kyrgyz population, Val109Val genotype of ITLN1 gene increased the risk of AO (odds ratio (OR) 3.12, 95% CI 1.23–7.90). Asp109Asp homozygous genotype, on opposite, was not associated with this condition (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.53–1.30). Finally, the allelic variants of Val109Asp polymorphism of ITLN1 gene were not associated with AO. Conclusion Significant increase in the frequency of Val109Val genotype of ITLN1 gene in AO patients may be indicative of some potential role of ITLN1 gene in molding genetic predisposition to AO in the Kyrgyz. This requires further elaboration in the future studies.

Some examples that show that the homogeneous Tricomi problem for a multidimensional hyperbolic-parabolic equation has the infinite set of nontrivial solutions are constructed.

International audience; Globalization has been accompanied by rising pressure from advocacy non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on multinational firms to act in socially-responsible manner. We analyze how NGO pressure interacts with industry structure, using a simple model of NGO-firm interaction embedded in an industry environment with endogenous markups and entry. We explain three key empirical patterns in developing-country industries under activist pressure: the degree of exit under more intense activist pressure, the differential response of industries to NGO activism, and the general rise of NGO activism following globalization.

Is the decline in voter turnout an indicator of a worse health of a representative democracy? We build a simple probabilistic-voting model with endogenous turnout to address this question. We find that a lower turnout caused by a higher cost of voting implies higher political rents. Contrarily, a lower turnout caused by a higher ideological mobility of voters or by a lower expressive benefit of voting implies lower political rents. If voters have a civic-duty motive to vote that depends on the level of rents, multiple equilibria (a high-rents low-turnout and a low-rents high-turnout) arise.

What is the central question of this study? Cerebral hypoxia impairs cognitive function and exercise performance and may result in brain damage. Residents at high altitude, in particular those with high-altitude pulmonary hypertension, are prone to hypoxaemia due to the exposure to reduced barometric pressure and impaired pulmonary gas exchange. Whether highlanders have a reduced cerebral oxygenation has not been studied. What is the main finding and its importance? We found that despite a reduced arterial oxygen saturation, healthy highlanders and even those with pulmonary hypertension have a similar cerebral oxygenation to healthy lowlanders, suggesting that compensatory mechanisms protect long-term residents at high altitude from cerebral hypoxia. Abstract High-altitude pulmonary hypertension (HAPH), a chronic altitude-related illness, causes hypoxaemia and impaired exercise performance. We evaluated the hypothesis that haemodynamic limitation and hypoxaemia in patients with HAPH are associated with impaired cerebral tissue oxygenation (CTO) compared with healthy highlanders (HH) and lowlanders (LL). We studied 36 highlanders with HAPH and 54 HH at an altitude of 3250 m, and 34 LL at 760 m. Mean(±SD) pulmonary artery pressures were 34(±3), 22(±5) and 16(±4) mmHg, respectively (P < 0.05, all comparisons). The CTO was monitored by near-infrared spectroscopy along with pulse oximetry (peripheral arterial oxygen saturation, SpO2) during quiet breathing of room air (RA) and oxygen for 20 min each, and during hyperventilation with RA and oxygen, respectively. In HAPH, HH and LL breathing RA, SpO2 was 88(±4), 92(±2) and 95(±2)%, respectively (P < 0.001, all comparisons), and CTO was similar in the three groups, at 68(±3), 68(±4) and 69(±4)%, respectively (n.s., all comparisons). Breathing oxygen increased SpO2 and CTO significantly more in HAPH than in HH and LL. Hyperventilation (RA) did not reduce CTO in HAPH but did in HH and LL; hyperventilation (oxygen) increased CTO in HAPH only. Highlanders with and without HAPH studied at 3250 m had a similar CTO to healthy lowlanders at 760 m even though highlanders were hypoxaemic. The physiological response to hyperoxia and hypocapnia assessed by cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy suggests that healthy highlanders and even highlanders with HAPH effectively maintain an adequate CTO. This adaptation may be of particular relevance because adequate cerebral oxygenation is essential for vital brain functions.

Objective: The extent to which social organization of human societies impacts the patterns of genetic diversity remains an open question. Here, we investigate the transmission of reproductive success in patrilineal and cognatic populations from Central Asia using a coalescent approach. Methods: We performed a study on the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome polymorphism of patrilineal and cognatic populations from Central Asia. We reconstructed the gene genealogies in each population for both kind of markers and inferred the imbalance level of these genealogies, a parameter directly related to the level of transmission of reproductive success. Results: This imbalance level appeared much stronger for the Y chromosome in patrilineal populations than in cognatic populations, while no difference was found for mtDNA. Furthermore, we showed that this imbalance level correlates negatively with Y-chromosomal, mtDNA, and autosomal genetic diversity. Conclusions: This shows that patrilineality might be one of the factors explaining the male transmission of reproductive success, which, in turn, lead to a reduction of genetic diversity. Thus, notwithstanding the fact that our population genetic approach clearly shows that there is a strong male-biased transmission of reproductive success in patrilineal societies, it also highlights the fact that a social process such as cultural transmission of reproductive success could play an important role in shaping human genetic diversity, although we cannot formally exclude that this transmission has also a genetic component. Am J Phys Anthropol 157:537–543, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

We determine a many-dimensional domain in which the Dirichlet and Poincare problems for the wave equation are uniquely solvable.

A population of ethnic Kyrgyz was examined with a view to elucidating the relationship between the adiponectin G276T gene polymorphic locus and the development of abdominal obesity (AO). The study included 288 subjects at the age between 40 and 70 years. 139 of them (81 women and 58 men) presented with AO while 149 without obesity (62 women and 87 men) constituted the control group. The measured anthropometric parameters included arterial pressure, blood glucose, insulin, and leptin levels, blood lipid composition. Genotypes of adiponectin (AN) G276T gene polymorphism were identified by means of PCR-RFLP analysis. The relationship between the presence of the adiponectin G276T gene polymorphic and the development of abdominal obesity in the women was demonstrated. Specifically, 31% of the women with AO were carriers of T allele compared with 17% in the control group (χ2=7.89; p =0.005). The GT + TT genotype and carriage of T allele were associated with an increased risk of development of abdominal obesity (OR=2.5; 95% CI = 1.25-4.97 for the genotype and OR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.26-4.000 for the allele). No such relationship was documented among men. The women with AO and GT+TT genotype more frequently than homozygotes presented with type 2 diabetes mellitus (64 and 37% respectively; p=0.017), hypertriglyceridemia (41 and 16.2% respectively; p=0.016), and enhanced blood glucose level (7.74±3.3 and 6.52±1.17; p=0.033). Moreover, their HOMA index was higher than in the homozygotes (3.5±1.7 and 2.63±1.24 respectively; p=0.02). It is concluded that the adiponectin G276T gene polymorphic variant in the women of Kyrgyz ethnicity is associated with abdominal obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperglycemia, and hypertriglyceridemia.

It is estimated that >140 million people live above 2500 m in various regions of the world.1 There are many challenges to living at high altitude, but chronic exposure to alveolar hypoxia is prominent among them. Inspired Po2 falls from ≈150 mm Hg at sea level to ≈100 mm Hg at 3000 m and 43 mm Hg on the summit of Everest (8400 m).2,3 The body responds by hyperventilating, increasing resting heart rate, and stimulating red cell production in an attempt to maintain the oxygen content of arterial blood at or above sea level values.2 However, hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) and vascular remodeling, together with increased erythropoiesis, place an increased pressure load on the right ventricle (RV). How well healthy humans adapt to hypoxia depends on their rate of ascent to altitude, the severity and duration of their exposure, and their genetic background. ### Pulmonary Vascular Response to Hypoxia For most mammals, including humans, a rise in pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) is an early and inevitable consequence of ascent to high altitude. Resting mean PAP increases along a parabolic curve from 15 mm Hg at 2000 m to ≈30 mm Hg at 4500 m.4 The exceptions and interindividual variation in the magnitude of response offer a natural experiment that might provide insight into fundamental underlying mechanisms ( vide infra ). The initial rise in PAP on exposure to hypoxia is attributed to HPV. With chronic hypoxia, other mechanisms that likely drive vascular remodeling soon contribute to the elevated pressure (Figure 1A). After 2 or 3 weeks of hypoxia, there is little response to rebreathing 100% oxygen, indicating a structural resistance to pulmonary blood flow rather than one based solely on increased vasomotor tone.6 A fall in PAP on re-exposure to a normal oxygen environment is evident in rats monitored by telemetry over days …

Despite the fact that nonprofit organizations play a large role in the production and distribution of goods and services in modern economies, and the rising role of non-governmental organizations in carrying out projects in developing countries, our knowledge of their governance, and of its’ implications for their behaviour and performance, is limited. This special issue tries to uncover some of the mechanisms and institutions that characterize the governance of non-profits and NGOs, as well as its implications. In particular, the papers focus on: (i) the determinants of NGO governance and its implications for reducing poverty in developing countries, (ii) the governance of non-profit organizations, (iii) the impact of governance characteristics on the performance of non-profit organizations, and (iv) the effect of non-profit governance on the interaction between the non-profit and for-profit sectors.

Yaks have adapted to high altitude and they do not develop hypoxic pulmonary hypertension. Although we previously identified the important role of augmented nitric oxide synthase activity in the yak pulmonary circulatory system, evidence of the direct involvement of Rho-kinase as a basal vascular tone regulator is lacking. Four domesticated male pure-bred yaks and four bulls that were born and raised at an altitude of 3000 m in the Tien-Shan mountains were studied at an altitude of 3,100 m. Mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) was measured before and after fasudil (60 mg in 20 mL of saline) was intravenously administered using a Swan-Ganz catheter at a rate of 3.3 mL/min for 30 min. Fasudil decreased mPAP in bulls from67.8±14.9to32.3±5.3 mmHg (P<0.05) after 15 min and the level was maintained for 30 min, but it merely blunted mPAP in yaks from28.2±4.5to25.1±11.1and23.2±2.7 mmHg after 5 and 30 min, respectively. These findings comprise the first evidence of a modest role of Rho-kinase in the maintenance of pulmonary artery pressure in the yak.

We study the informational efficiency of a market with a single traded asset. The price initially differs from the fundamental value, about which the agents have noisy private information (which is, on average, correct). A fraction of traders revise their price expectations in each period. The price at which the asset is traded is public information. The agents' expectations have an adaptive component and a social-interactions component with confirmatory bias. We show that, taken separately, each of the deviations from rationality worsens the informational efficiency of the market. However, when the two biases are combined, the degree of informational inefficiency of the market (measured as the deviation of the long-run market price from the fundamental value of the asset) can be non-monotonic both in the weight of the adaptive component and in the degree of confirmatory bias. For some ranges of parameters, two biases tend to mitigate each other's effect, thus increasing informational efficiency.

International audience; We build an occupational-choice general-equilibrium model with for-profit firms, nonprofit organizations, and endogenous private warm-glow donations. Lack of monitoring on the use of funds implies that an increase of funds of the nonprofit sector (because of a higher income in the for-profit sector, a stronger preference for giving, or an inflow of foreign aid) worsens the motivational composition and performance of the nonprofit sector. We also analyze the conditions under which donors (through linking donations to the motivational composition of the nonprofit sector), nonprofits themselves (through peer monitoring), or the government (using a tax-financed public funding of nonprofits) can eliminate the low-effectiveness equilibrium. We present supporting case-study evidence from developing-country nongovernmental organization sector and humanitarian emergencies.

This paper systematically reviews the empirical literature on development nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), drawing both on quantitative and qualitative analyses, and constructs a set of basic facts about these organisations. These facts concern the size of the development NGO sector and its evolution, the funding of NGOs, the allocation of NGO aid and projects across beneficiary countries, the relationship of NGOs with beneficiaries, and the phenomenon of globalisation of development NGOs., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Sex-specific genetic structures have been previously documented worldwide in humans, even though causal factors have not always clearly been identified. In this study, we investigated the impact of ethnicity, geography and social organization on the sex-specific genetic structure in Inner Asia. Furthermore, we explored the process of ethnogenesis in multiple ethnic groups.We sampled DNA in Central and Northern Asia from 39 populations of Indo-Iranian and Turkic-Mongolic native speakers. We focused on genetic data of the Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA. First, we compared the frequencies of haplogroups to South European and East Asian populations. Then, we investigated the genetic differentiation for eight Y-STRs and the HVS1 region, and tested for the effect of geography and ethnicity on such patterns. Finally, we reconstructed the male demographic history, inferred split times and effective population sizes of different ethnic groups.Based on the haplogroup data, we observed that the Indo-Iranian- and Turkic-Mongolic-speaking populations have distinct genetic backgrounds. However, each population showed consistent mtDNA and Y chromosome haplogroups patterns. As expected in patrilocal populations, we found that the Y-STRs were more structured than the HVS1. While ethnicity strongly influenced the genetic diversity on the Y chromosome, geography better explained that of the mtDNA. Furthermore, when looking at various ethnic groups, we systematically found a genetic split time older than historical records, suggesting a cultural rather than biological process of ethnogenesis.This study highlights that, in Inner Asia, specific cultural behaviors, especially patrilineality and patrilocality, leave a detectable signature on the sex-specific genetic structure.

We build a model with non-governmental organizations competing through fundraising for donations and choosing their project types. Donors’ willingness to give differs across project types. Each NGO chooses whether to compete in the larger donation market or to monopolize the smaller one. The resulting equilibrium configuration crucially depends on the asymmetry in potential donation market size and on donors’ perceived substitutability or complementarity between giving to two different projects. We analyze the welfare properties of the decentralized equilibrum and characterize the conditions under which such equilibrium is inefficient. We also develop a variant of the model with inter-temporal choices of NGOs, analyze settings where NGOs can coordinate their fundraising activities and/or project type choices, extend the model to allow for spillovers between NGO fundraising activities, and illustrate the mechanisms of the model with several case studies., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

This paper investigates the economic returns to language skills and bilingualism. The analysis is staged in Kazakhstan, a multi-ethnic country that has switched its official state language from Russian to Kazakh since 1997. Using two newly assembled data sets, we find negative returns to speaking Kazakh and a negative effect of bilingualism on earnings while Russian was the official state language in the 1990s. Since neither sectoral segmentation, nor reverse causality can explain our findings, we argue that the most likely source for the earnings disadvantage was (language) discrimination. Surprisingly, the Kazakh language continues to yield a negative wage premium 13 years after it has been made official state language. Since discrimination against the titular language is implausible, we explain the low economic value of the Kazakh language in 2010 by the deteriorated quality of schools with Kazakh as language of instruction. Based on PISA data, we illustrate that scholastic achievements are substantially lower for pupils taught in Kazakh, despite the official support for the titular language. Our results suggest that switching the official state language without appropriate investments in school resources is unlikely to cure the economic disadvantage of a previously marginalized language.