So far in this course we have dealt entirely with the evolution of characters that are controlled by simple Mendelian inheritance at a single locus. There are notes on the course website about gametic disequilibrium and how allele frequencies change at two loci simultaneously, but we didn’t discuss them. In every example we’ve considered we’ve imagined that we could understand something about evolution by examining the evolution of a single gene. That’s the domain of classical population genetics. For the next few weeks we’re going to be exploring a field that’s actually older than classical population genetics, although the approach we’ll be taking to it involves the use of population genetic machinery. If you know a little about the history of evolutionary biology, you may know that after the rediscovery of Mendel’s work in 1900 there was a heated debate between the “biometricians” (e.g., Galton and Pearson) and the “Mendelians” (e.g., de Vries, Correns, Bateson, and Morgan). Biometricians asserted that the really important variation in evolution didn’t follow Mendelian rules. Height, weight, skin color, and similar traits seemed to

Human biochemical genetics

世界経済・社会統計 = World development indicators

计量经济分析 = Econometric analysis

How has Japan become a major economic power, a world leader in the automotive and electronics industries? What is the secret of their success? The consensus has been that, though the Japanese are not particularly innovative, they are exceptionally skilful at imitation, at improving products that already exist. But now two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hiro Takeuchi, turn this conventional wisdom on its head: Japanese firms are successful, they contend, precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. Examining case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, 3M, GE, and the U.S. Marines, this book reveals how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge and use it to produce new processes, products, and services.

The knowledge-creating company : how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation

The reference human genome sequence set the stage for studies of genetic variation and its association with human disease, but epigenomic studies lack a similar reference. To address this need, the NIH Roadmap Epigenomics Consortium generated the largest collection so far of human epigenomes for primary cells and tissues. Here we describe the integrative analysis of 111 reference human epigenomes generated as part of the programme, profiled for histone modification patterns, DNA accessibility, DNA methylation and RNA expression. We establish global maps of regulatory elements, define regulatory modules of coordinated activity, and their likely activators and repressors. We show that disease- and trait-associated genetic variants are enriched in tissue-specific epigenomic marks, revealing biologically relevant cell types for diverse human traits, and providing a resource for interpreting the molecular basis of human disease. Our results demonstrate the central role of epigenomic information for understanding gene regulation, cellular differentiation and human disease.

Integrative analysis of 111 reference human epigenomes

This paper investigates why women’s self-employment rates are consistently lower than those of men. It has three focal points. It discriminates between the preference for self-employment and actual involvement in self-employment using a two (probit) equation model. It makes a systematic distinction between different ways in which gender influences the preference for and actual involvement in self-employment (mediation and moderation). It includes perceived ability as a potential driver of self-employment next to risk attitude, self-employed parents and other sociodemographic drivers. A representative data set of more than 8,000 individuals from 29 countries (25 EU member states, US, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) is used (the 2004 Flash Eurobarometer survey). The findings show that women’s lower preference for becoming self-employed plays an important role in explaining their lower involvement in self-employment and that a gender effect remains that may point at gender-based obstacles to entrepreneurship.

Explaining Preferences and Actual Involvement in Self-Employment: New Insights into the Role of Gender

Based upon two strands of literature, this paper hypothesizes a U-shaped relationship between a country's rate of entrepreneurial dynamics and its level of economic development. This would imply a different scope for entrepreneurship policy across subsequent stages of development. Regressing GEM's 2002 data for nascent entrepreneurship in 36 countries on the level of economic development as measured either by per capita income or by an index for innovative capacity, we find support for a U-shaped relationship. Testing our results against several control variables, evidence is again found for this relationship with economic development, in addition to significant effects of the business ownership rate (+), social security expenditure (-), aggregate taxes (+) and population growth (+). The results suggest that a 'natural rate' of nascent entrepreneurship is to some extent governed by 'laws' related to the level of economic development. For the most advanced nations, improving incentive structures for business start-ups and promoting the commercial exploitation of scientific findings offer the most promising approach for public policy. Developing nations, however, may be better off pursuing the exploitation of scale economies, fostering foreign direct investment and promoting management education.

Nascent entrepreneurship and the level of economic development

In this paper we examine the relationship, across 39 countries, between regulation and entrepreneurship using a new two-equation model. We find the minimum capital requirement required to start a business lowers entrepreneurship rates across countries, as do labour market regulations. However the administrative considerations of starting a business - such as the time, the cost, or the number of procedures required - are unrelated to the formation rate of either nascent or young businesses. Given the explicit link made by Djankov et al. (2002) between the speed and ease with which businesses may be established in a country and its economic performance - and the enthusiasm with which this link has been grasped by European Union policy makers - our findings imply this link needs reconsidering.

The Effect of Business Regulations on Nascent and Young Business Entrepreneurship

L’article rend compte de trois approches theoriques etablissant un cadre d’analyse pour l’examen des rapports entre culture et entrepreneuriat. Ces trois approches sont respectivement : l’approche par l’agregation des traits psychologiques, celle de la legitimation sociale (ou approbation morale) et enfin, l’approche reposant sur l’insatisfaction. On evoque ensuite les tests empiriques. L’article se conclut par quelques considerations a l’adresse du « policy maker ».

L'impact de la culture sur l'esprit d'entreprendre

A growing conversation has emerged linking ostensibly dark or pathological individual-level characteristics to entrepreneurship. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) emerged as a proof-of-concept phenomenon. Recent studies in entrepreneurship journals have made great strides – articulating the theoretical relevance of ADHD-type behavior in entrepreneurship, and suggesting a positive link consistent with narratives in the popular press. While the recent research has made important inroads, quantitative studies have yet to empirically examine ADHD in line with its theoretical roots and definition – as a full-blown clinical disorder. The present paper contributes by providing a theoretically-empirically aligned test of the connection between clinical ADHD and entrepreneurial intention as well as action.

Roy Thurik

Papers

Explaining Preferences and Actual Involvement in Self-Employment: New Insights into the Role of Gender

Nascent entrepreneurship and the level of economic development

The Effect of Business Regulations on Nascent and Young Business Entrepreneurship

L'impact de la culture sur l'esprit d'entreprendre

Entrepreneurship & Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Large-Scale Study Involving the Clinical Condition of Adhd