Recent Macroeconomic Dynamics and Agriculture in Historical Perspective

This article explores the similarities, differences, and implications from the 1970s–1980s experience for the macroeconomic dynamic that may arise from the 2008 price spike and subsequent recession. Role of monetary policy (deviations from Taylor rule) is assessed. This is an argument that has not been too prominent in public discourse about causes of the financial crisis or the policies undertaken to restore stability to financial markets and avoid an even deeper downturn than occurred. The ‘‘misery index’’ is compared across the past and recent macroeconomic events. Effects on agriculture of exchange rates are reviewed, effects dependent on currency values and interest rates that can change quickly and in unexpected ways.monetary policy, exchange rates, macroeconomic effects on agriculture, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Environmental Economics and Policy, Political Economy, Production Economics, Public Economics, E52, F41, Q18,

Asymptotically efficient triangulations of the d-cube

Let $P$ and $Q$ be polytopes, the first of "low" dimension and the second of "high" dimension. We show how to triangulate the product $P \times Q$ efficiently (i.e., with few simplices) starting with a given triangulation of $Q$. Our method has a computational part, where we need to compute an efficient triangulation of $P \times \Delta^m$, for a (small) natural number $m$ of our choice. $\Delta^m$ denotes the $m$-simplex. Our procedure can be applied to obtain (asymptotically) efficient triangulations of the cube $I^n$: We decompose $I^n = I^k \times I^{n-k}$, for a small $k$. Then we recursively assume we have obtained an efficient triangulation of the second factor and use our method to triangulate the product. The outcome is that using $k=3$ and $m=2$, we can triangulate $I^n$ with $O(0.816^{n} n!)$ simplices, instead of the $O(0.840^{n} n!)$ achievable before.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures. Only minor changes from previous versions, some suggested by anonymous referees. Paper accepted in "Discrete and Computational Geometry

Agricultural policies in Indonesia

As in many other developing countries, the concerns about food security in Indonesia during the 1980s and early 1990s resulted in policies aimed at achieving self-sufficiency in food crops. The Government of Indonesia (GOI) combined price interventions and economic incentives to encourage agricultural production, especially of the staple crops. From 1985 to 1998, Indonesia started a series of domestic and trade reforms emanating from a combination of unilateral undertakings, the country's commitments to the WTO, and the government's agreement with the IMF following the 1997/98 financial crisis. This study computes nominal protection rates and producer support estimates (NPR and PSE) for Indonesia for the period 1985-2003 for six agricultural commodities, rice, maize, sugar, soybeans, crude palm oil, and natural rubber (representing more than two-thirds of Indonesian agricultural output) in an attempt to quantify the net effects of these policies. The NPRs and PSEs computed for Indonesia show that in spite of the reforms, the GOI has protected its agriculture over the past twenty years, although not uniformly across commodities. Although the reforms went a long way in reducing trade and domestic regulations on agricultural products, the study results demonstrate a return to protection for some commodities in recent years.

Scalar meson production in nucleon-nucleon collisions near threshold

We establish the model-independent spin structure of the matrix elements for the near-threshold scalar meson production in $pp-$ and $np$-collisions, when the final particles are emitted in S-state. Polarization phenomena are derived in a general form. The properties of the $t-$channel dynamics, which is based on different meson exchanges, are studied in terms of the $s-$channel parametrization of the matrix element. The prediction of a 'realistic' model, based on $\pi+\sigma$-exchanges are also presented.Comment: 16 pages 6 figure

From graphs to tensegrity structures: Geometric and symbolic approaches

A form-finding problem for tensegrity structures is studied; given an abstract graph, we show an algorithm to provide a necessary condition for it to be the underlying graph of a tensegrity in $\mathbb{R}^d$ (typically $d=2,3$) with vertices in general position. Furthermore, for a certain class of graphs our algorithm allows to obtain necessary and sufficient conditions on the relative position of the vertices in order to underlie a tensegrity, for what we propose both a geometric and a symbolic approach.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures; final versio

Key Findings of the NTM-IMPACT Project

This special issue of The World Economy presents research findings from the European Commission–funded project “Assessment of the impacts of non-tariff measures (NTM)—on the competitiveness of the EU and selected trade partners” (NTM-Impact). Directed toward the EU and its trade partners, the project’s first overall objective was to collect and analyze new data on NTMs for key and representative agri-food products. This involved three components: creating a large symmetric international database on the diverse types of governmental standards and regulations used to address food safety and quality issues, constructing measures of heterogeneity among these standards and regulations; and evaluating the effects of the heterogeneity of NTMs on agri-food trade. The second overall objective was to undertake detailed case studies of NTMs among the main traders in markets for selected dairy, meat, and fruit and vegetable products. The third objective was to analyze the socioeconomic and trade impacts from private standards on a sample of low- and medium-income developing countries. Collaborators from 19 institutions in five EU and 11 non-EU countries participated in the project

Electromagnetic interactions for the two-body spectator equations

This paper presents a new non-associative algebra which is used to (i) show how the spectator (or Gross) two-body equations and electromagnetic currents can be formally derived from the Bethe-Salpeter equation and currents if both are treated to all orders, (ii) obtain explicit expressions for the Gross two-body electromagnetic currents valid to any order, and (iii) prove that the currents so derived are exactly gauge invariant when truncated consistently to any finite order. In addition to presenting these new results, this work complements and extends previous treatments based largely on the analysis of sums of Feynman diagrams.Comment: 44 pages, 14 figure