Levels of asset specificity in relational contracting

Standard property rights theory (whether static or dynamic) assumes assets are specific, but once this assumption is in place, the level of asset specificity has no bearing on the make-or-buy decision. While there are good reasons to doubt the universality of transaction cost economics’ prediction that the more specific the asset, the more likely is vertical integration to be optimal, this is an issue that cannot be addressed within the existing property rights framework. In this paper the level of asset specificity matters for the integration decision, even in the static version of the model, and this result emerges naturally once an equally reasonable bargaining protocol is considered. To show this, we take Baker, Gibbons, and Murphy’s (2002) relational contracting model, and use it as the vehicle for the analysis. Changing the bargaining protocol assumed by those authors results in a model in which the integration choice is affected in a non-trivial way by realized asset specificity

Towards a Federal Democracy in Europe?

The paper endorses a dynamic rather than a static analysis of the EU at supersystemic level of analysis. It sketches a toolkit to analyse the actors and contents of constitutional politics, exploiting the insights of the main grand theories, based on the interpretative scheme of crisis-initiative-leadership, and the distinction between unification, integration and construction. Applying this toolkit, a trend towards an increase of the EU federal features can be discerned. Eventually, to overcome the current crisis more steps in this direction are needed

Theorizing belonging of migrant children and youth at a meso-level

This article offers a two-fold contribution. On the one hand, it includes a review of the key junctions in the research landscape related to migrant children and youth by bringing together youth studies, migration studies and a child-centered paradigm with the focus on the meso-level and the concept of belonging. On the other hand, by seeing belonging as a valuable analytical framework for the integration of approaches at the tripartite analysis favoring the meso-level, the paper encourages studies to dynamically overcome the dichotomy, incompleteness and a static nature of the research conducted separately on either macro or micro levels

Towards Symbolic State Traversal for Efficient WCET Analysis of Abstract Pipeline and Cache Models

Static program analysis is a proven approach for obtaining safe and tight upper bounds on the worst-case execution time (WCET) of program tasks. It requires an analysis on the microarchitectural level, most notably pipeline and cache analysis. In our approach, the integrated pipeline and cache analysis operates on sets of possible abstract hardware states. Due to the growth of CPU complexity and the existence of timing anomalies, the analysis must handle an increasing number of possible abstract states for each program point. Symbolic methods have been proposed as a way to reduce memory consumption and improve runtime in order to keep pace with the growing hardware complexity. This paper presents the advances made since the original proposal and discusses a compact representation of abstract caches for integration with symbolic pipeline analysis

Integrating Economics In The K-12 Curriculum

This is a multi-year study of the effects of integrating economics into the curriculum on the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) economics outcome scores. The study was carried out using State summary and disaggregated data and summary data for each school system in the State of Maryland. The 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 2000 MSPAP economics outcome scores for grades 3, 5, and 8, constitute the dependent variable for the study with the level of integration of economics in the curriculum and class size, being the main explanatory variables. Using comparative static analysis and regression analysis three questions were addressed. The first question asks how school systems with different levels of integration of economics in the curriculum compare to the State average. The second question asks how these groupings compare to each other. The third question employs regression analysis to determine the effect of economics instruction and class size on the economics test scores. Other explanatory variables considered include: wealth per capita, income per capita, expenditures per pupil, student enrollments, and the level of performance on the overall battery of MSPAP tests

North-South technology diffusion, regional integration, and the dynamics of the natural trading partners hypothesis

Based on static analysis, a number of studies argue that forming a regional trade agreement is more likely to raise welfare if member countries are"natural trading partners,"while other studies claim that the opposite is true. Schiff and Wang look at the argument from a dynamic viewpoint by examining the impact of North-South trade on technology diffusion and total factor productivity (TFP) in the South. Specifically, it examines the impact on TFP in the Republic of Korea, Mexico, and Poland of trade with Japan, Canada plus the United States (North America) and the European Union. Using industry-level data, they find that (1) technology diffusion and productivity gains tend to be regional: Korea benefits mainly from trade with Japan, Mexico with the United States, and Poland with the European Union; and (2) though these results suggest that the dynamic version of the"natural trading partners"hypothesis holds for all three countries, careful analysis shows that it holds for Korea and Mexico but not necessarily for Poland.Trade Policy,Environmental Economics&Policies,Earth Sciences&GIS,Economic Theory&Research,Water and Industry,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Trade and Regional Integration,Trade Policy

Dynamic Reconfiguration of Brain Functional Network in Stroke

The brain continually reorganizes its functional network to adapt to post-stroke functional impairments. Previous studies using static modularity analysis have presented global-level behavior patterns of this network reorganization. However, it is far from understood how the brain reconfigures its functional network dynamically following a stroke. This study collected resting-state functional MRI data from 15 stroke patients, with mild (n = 6) and severe (n = 9) two subgroups based on their clinical symptoms. Additionally, 15 age-matched healthy subjects were considered as controls. By applying a multilayer network method, a dynamic modular structure was recognized based on a time-resolved function network. Then dynamic network measurements (recruitment, integration, and flexibility) were calculated to characterize the dynamic reconfiguration of post-stroke brain functional networks, hence, to reveal the neural functional rebuilding process. It was found from this investigation that severe patients tended to have reduced recruitment and increased between-network integration, while mild patients exhibited low network flexibility and less network integration. It is also noted that this severity-dependent alteration in network interaction was not able to be revealed by previous studies using static methods. Clinically, the obtained knowledge of the diverse patterns of dynamic adjustment in brain functional networks observed from the brain signal could help understand the underlying mechanism of the motor, speech, and cognitive functional impairments caused by stroke attacks. The proposed method not only could be used to evaluate patients' current brain status but also has the potential to provide insights into prognosis analysis and prediction

Dynamic Reconfiguration of Brain Functional Network in Stroke

The brain continually reorganizes its functional network to adapt to post-stroke functional impairments. Previous studies using static modularity analysis have presented global-level behavior patterns of this network reorganization. However, it is far from understood how the brain reconfigures its functional network dynamically following a stroke. This study collected resting-state functional MRI data from 15 stroke patients, with mild (n = 6) and severe (n = 9) two subgroups based on their clinical symptoms. Additionally, 15 age-matched healthy subjects were considered as controls. By applying a multilayer network method, a dynamic modular structure was recognized based on a time-resolved function network. Then dynamic network measurements (recruitment, integration, and flexibility) were calculated to characterize the dynamic reconfiguration of post-stroke brain functional networks, hence, to reveal the neural functional rebuilding process. It was found from this investigation that severe patients tended to have reduced recruitment and increased between-network integration, while mild patients exhibited low network flexibility and less network integration. It is also noted that this severity-dependent alteration in network interaction was not able to be revealed by previous studies using static methods. Clinically, the obtained knowledge of the diverse patterns of dynamic adjustment in brain functional networks observed from the brain signal could help understand the underlying mechanism of the motor, speech, and cognitive functional impairments caused by stroke attacks. The proposed method not only could be used to evaluate patients' current brain status but also has the potential to provide insights into prognosis analysis and prediction

The dynamic analysis of piping systems using pseudo-dynamic techniques

This paper describes an application of pseudo-dynamic techniques to the dynamic analysis of piping structures. Essentially it consists in coupling a direct time integration algorithm, such as the Newmark method, to an experimental step. At each time step the integration algorithm generates a displacement vector of the structure, which is prescribed for the test specimen. This is mounted in a rigid test rig fitted with a set of displacement actuators and load cells at the level of the structure degrees of freedom. The load cells allow the reading of the internal restoring force vector, which is fed back to the direct time integration algorithm in an actual time step. Further calculations for the velocity and acceleration vectors will define a new structure configuration by evaluating a new displacement vector referred to the next time step. This procedure makes it possible to assess experimentally a realistic stress distribution at sections of complex shape piping parts. The method is a precise tool in dynamic analysis and, on being carried out in a quasi-static procedure, it operates with less expensive equipment than is necessary in real dynamic test