Financial literacy, institutions and education: Lessons from the German reunification

A growing body of literature highlights the importance of financial literacy in affecting household choices. However, much fewer studies focus on understanding the determinants of different levels of financial literacy. Our paper contributes to filling this gap by analyzing a specific determinant, i. e., the educational system, to explain the heterogeneity of financial literacy scores across Germany. The results suggest that the lower financial literacy observed in East Germany can be partially attributed to the different institutional framework experienced during the Cold War, more specifically, to the socialist educational system experienced in East Germany, which affected specific cohorts of individuals. By exploiting the unique set-up of the German reunification, we identify education as a channel through which institutions and financial literacy are related in the German context. In support of this hypothesis, we find that individuals exposed to the Eastern educational system exhibit 12 % 12\hspace{0.1667em}\% to 21 % 21\hspace{0.1667em}\% lower financial literacy scores compared with the households in the control group, not exposed to such system.

Determinant Factors and Regulatory Systems for Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Rice Apiculi and Stigmas

Anthocyanins cause purple, brown or red colors in various tissues of rice plants, but the specific determinant factors and regulatory systems for anthocyanin biosynthesis in almost all tissues remain largely unknown. In the present study, we mapped and isolated two complementary genes, OsC1 encoding a R2R3-MYB transcriptional factor and OsDFR encoding a dihydroflavonol 4-reductase, which are responsible for the purple coloration of apiculi and stigmas in indica cultivar Xieqingzao by the map-based cloning strategy. We also identified two tissue-specific pigmentation genes, OsPa for apiculi and OsPs for stigmas, by phylogenetic analysis of all anthocyanin biosynthesis-associated bHLH transcriptional factors in maize and rice, CRISPR/Cas9 knockout and transcriptional expression analysis. The OsC1, OsPa and OsPs proteins are all localized in the nucleus while the OsDFR protein is localized in the nucleus and cytoplasm, and the OsC1 and OsDFR genes are preferentially strongly expressed in both purple-colored tissues while the OsPa and OsPs genes are preferentially strongly expressed in apiculi and stigmas, respectively. OsC1 specifically interacts with OsPa or OsPs to activate OsDFR and other anthocyanin biosynthesis genes, resulting in purple-colored apiculi or stigmas. OsC1 itself does not produce color but can produce brown apiculi when functioning together with OsPa. Loss of function of OsDFR alone leads to brown apiculi and straw-white stigmas. Genotyping and phenotyping of a panel of 176 rice accessions revealed diverse genotypic combinations of OsC1, OsDFR, OsPa and OsPs that enable accurate prediction of their apiculus and stigma pigmentation phenotypes, thus validating the general applicability of the OsC1-OsDFR-OsPa and OsC1-OsDFR-OsPs models to natural populations. Our findings disclosed the biological functions of OsC1, OsPa and OsPs, and shed light on the specific regulatory systems of anthocyanin biosynthesis in apiculi and stigmas, a further step in understanding the regulatory network of anthocyanin biosynthesis in rice.

An Intergenerational Perspective on (Re)migration: Return and Onward Mobility Intentions across Immigrant Generations

This article compares the prevalence and determinants of international mobility intentions across immigrant generations (G1, G1.5, G2, and G2.5), using French survey data. Two types of migration intentions are analyzed: (a) return to the (parents’) origin country and (b) onward migration to a third country. Results highlight migration intentions’ intergenerational variation and underlying logics. The probability to state return intentions is larger for G1 yet surprisingly similar to the stated return intentions for G2. By contrast, G2.5 (one immigrant and one French native parent) stand out as they are primarily characterized by onward migration intentions and are significantly less likely to consider “returning” to their sole immigrant parents’ origin country. Echoing the conceptual framework of “reactive transnationalism” or “reactive ethnicity,” the specific determinant of G2 return intentions appears to be their perception of discrimination. These findings show the value of (a) disaggregating the traditional first versus second generation dichotomy to understand the complexity of migration intentions and (b) including countries other than the parental homeland when studying second-generation transnational practices. More broadly, the article contributes to a better understanding of integration mechanisms by using migration intentions not only as proxies for population movements but also as a valuable framework providing empirical insights into immigrants’ personal relationship to both the country of residence and expected destination.

The fire burns within: Individual motivations for self-sacrifice

Extreme self-sacrifice in intergroup conflict may be driven not only by situational factors generating “fusion,” but also by interindividual differences. Social value orientation is discussed as a potential contributor to self-harming behavior outside of intergroup conflicts and to the general propensity to participate in intergroup conflict. Social value orientation may therefore also be a person-specific determinant of extreme self-sacrifice in intergroup conflict.