Artificial intelligence investments reduce risks to critical mineral supply.

This paper employs insights from earth science on the financial risk of project developments to present an economic theory of critical minerals. Our theory posits that back-ended critical mineral projects that have unaddressed technical and non-technical barriers, such as those involving lithium and cobalt, exhibit an additional risk for investors which we term the "back-ended risk premium". We show that the back-ended risk premium increases the cost of capital and, therefore, has the potential to reduce investment in the sector.

Petrol prices and obesity.

Using 13 waves of longitudinal data from Australia, we examine the relationship between petrol prices and obesity. Applying panel data models that control for individual fixed effects and the endogeneity of petrol prices, our results suggest that petrol prices have a negative effect on obesity. Specifically, our preferred instrumental variable estimates, which instrument for petrol prices using the Arca Oil Stock price and control for individual and time fixed effects, suggest that a standard deviation increase in petrol prices generates a 0.

Locus of control and the mental health effects of local area crime.

Rationale: Exposure to local crime can constitute profound and continuing trauma with significant mental health implications. This is true for both victims and others within society who have not been directly victimised. Yet, for most policymakers, understanding what can be done to help victims to improve their level of mental wellbeing, has proved to be extremely challenging.

Impact of Testing on Sexually Transmitted Infections among Female Brothel Sex Workers in Bangladesh: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Past studies that have designed interventions to reduce the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have typically provided onsite treatment to sex workers who tested positive, which were expensive and difficult to implement. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of an intervention which tested for STIs and provided information on the closest treatment facility on reducing the prevalence of STIs among female brothel-based sex workers (BSWs) in Bangladesh. The study adopted a pre-post interventional design as well as a randomized controlled study design.

Survey measures versus incentivized measures of risk preferences: Evidence from sex workers' risky sexual transactions.

Survey measures of risk attitudes are primarily used in the health literature, although incentivized measures of risk preferences are being increasingly used in other fields. We exploit the unique setting of commercial female sex workers in Bangladesh to investigate whether incentivized measures of risk preferences, or non-incentivized survey measures of risk preferences, best identify the risky commercial sex decisions that they make. The study uses survey data collected during February-April 2016, and October-November 2016 from eight brothels in Bangladesh.

Neighbourhood ethnic diversity and mental health in Australia.

We present the first study that empirically examines the effects of neighbourhood ethnic diversity on mental health. Using 16 waves of longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, we find that ethnic diversity is negatively associated with mental health. Our preferred estimates, using lagged ethnic diversity at the state level to instrument for neighbourhood ethnic diversity, suggest that a standard deviation increase in ethnic diversity is associated with a decline of 0.

Decomposing the effect of height on income in China: The role of market and political channels.

It is well known that height is positively associated with earnings. Based on individual level data, this paper investigates the channels through which height influences income in China. Our first key finding is that for males (females) a 1 centimeter (cm) increase in height leads to a 0.

Do fertility control policies affect health in old age? Evidence from China's one-child experiment.

How do fertility control policies contribute to the welfare of women, and their husbands, particularly as they get older? We consider whether the reduction in fertility resulting from population control policies has had any effect on the health of elderly parents in China. In particular, we examine the influence of this fertility decline, experienced due to China's one-child policy, on several measures of the health of parents in middle and old age. Overall, our results suggest that having fewer children has a positive effect on self-reported parental health but generally no effect on other measures of health.

Cointegration between oil spot and future prices of the same and different grades in the presence of structural change.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether crude oil spot and futures prices of the same and different grades are cointegrated using a residual-based cointegration test that allows for one structural break in the cointegrating vector and high-frequency data. We choose the US WTI and the UK Brent as the representative crudes for this analysis since these two crudes have well-established spot and futures markets. We find that spot and future prices of the same grade as well as spot and futures prices of different grades are cointegrated.

The Environment and Well-Being in Urban China.

We examine the relationship between atmospheric pollution, measured as sulphur dioxide emissions, environmental disasters, traffic congestion, access to parkland and well-being in urban China, using a large survey administered across 30 cities in 2003. We find that in cities with high levels of atmospheric pollution, environmental disasters and traffic congestion Chinese citizens report significantly lower levels of well-being ceteris paribus while in cities with greater access to parkland Chinese citizens report significantly higher levels of well-being ceteris paribus.

Unit root properties of crude oil spot and futures prices.

In this article, we examine whether WTI and Brent crude oil spot and futures prices (at 1, 3 and 6 months to maturity) contain a unit root with one and two structural breaks, employing weekly data over the period 1991-2004. To realise this objective we employ Lagrange multiplier (LM) unit root tests with one and two endogenous structural breaks proposed by Lee and Strazicich [2003. Minimum Lagrange multiplier unit root test with two structural breaks.

Stability of walking frames.

Biomechanical tools were used to assess stability for 11 patients who, following the surgical amputation of one lower limb, required the assistance of a walking frame to ambulate. The Walker Tipping Index (WTI), as derived from the forces applied to the walking frame, was developed specifically for this study to examine the relationship between stability and walking frame height during ambulation. However, the WTI may be useful as a criterion of stability to assist clinicians in their evaluation of walker use in a variety of patient populations.