Growth and Poverty Reduction Under Globalization: The Systematic Impact of Exchange Rate Misalignment

This paper asseses of the role of economic growth in achieving the first target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The analysis is composed of two parts. First, we address economic growth as the most effective instrument for achieving poverty reduction. In evaluating feasibility we extend the “exit-time” concept and we find that at least one half of all the targeted countries will not achieve the first target of the MDGs if they continue on their historical trajectory. Second, we focus on accelerating the rate of growth in the poorest countries of the world if the MDGs are to be achieved. In a standard reduced-form growth-regression model we introduce the exchange rate misalignment defined as the chronic deviation between the nominal exchange rate and the purchasing power parity rate. We confirm the negative relationship between misalignment and growth. Most importantly, the analysis proves misalignment originates in the currency substitution that takes place in developing countries that results in the systematic devaluation of their currencies. This finding highlights the importance of the proper combination of trade and exchange rate policies in fostering growth in developing countries.millennium development goals (MDGs); exchange rate misalignments; economic growth and feasibility of MDGs; openness of the economy and economic growth; currency substitution and exchange rate misalignment.

Exchange Rate Misalignment: A New Test of Long-Run PPP Based on Cross-Country Data (Subsequently published in "Applied Financial Economics", 16, 127-134, 2006. )

We formulate and implement a new empirical procedure to examine the validity of PPP in the long-run for 153 countries by using the familiar cross-country data set of Heston, Summers, and Aten (2002). Unlike the existing studies that rely on mean reversion of real exchange rates, we explicitly examine country-specificity in the deviations of the nominal exchange rate from PPP. We find, first, that out of a total of 153 countries, 132 countries have achieved PPP within twenty years, 1980-2000 and 105 countries have attained PPP over ten years, 1990-2000. Second, according to the results, our method can be accepted as a workable shortcut of the direct, fullinformation approach of Yotopoulos (1996) that tests for long-run PPP utilizing micro-ICP data. This becomes an important characteristic of this paper since comprehensive micro-ICP data are no longer easily available. As a by-product, of the empirical validation of our shortcut approach, our empirical results are in favor of the Ricardo-Balassa-Samuelson effect.

"Exchange Rate Misalignment: A New Test of Long-Run PPP Based on Cross-Country Data"

We formulate and implement a new empirical procedure to examine the validity of PPP in the long-run for 153 countries by using the familiar cross-country data set of Heston, Summers, and Aten (2002). Unlike the existing studies that rely on mean reversion of real exchange rates, we explicitly examine country-specificity in the deviations of the nominal exchange rate from PPP. We find, first, that out of a total of 153 countries, 132 countries have achieved PPP within twenty years, 1980-2000 and 105 countries have attained PPP over ten years, 1990-2000. Second, according to the results, our method can be accepted as a workable shortcut of the direct, fullinformation approach of Yotopoulos (1996) that tests for long-run PPP utilizing micro-ICP data. This becomes an important characteristic of this paper since comprehensive micro-ICP data are no longer easily available. As a by-product, of the empirical validation of our shortcut approach, our empirical results are in favor of the Ricardo-Balassa-Samuelson effect.

Coordinate space proton-deuteron scattering calculations including Coulomb force effects

We present a practical method to solve the proton-deuteron scattering problem at energies above the three-body breakup threshold, in which we treat three-body integral equations in coordinate space accommodating long-range proton-proton Coulomb interactions. The method is examined for phase shift parameters, and then applied to calculations of differential cross sections in elastic and breakup reactions, analyzing powers, etc. with a realistic nucleon-nucleon force and three-nucleon forces. Effects of the Coulomb force and the three-nucleon forces on these observables are discussed in comparing with experimental data.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, submitted to PR

Magnetotransport Study of the Canted Antiferromagnetic Phase in Bilayer ν=2\nu=2 Quantum Hall State

Magnetotransport properties are investigated in the bilayer quantum Hall state at the total filling factor $\nu=2$. We measured the activation energy elaborately as a function of the total electron density and the density difference between the two layers. Our experimental data demonstrate clearly the emergence of the canted antiferromagnetic (CAF) phase between the ferromagnetic phase and the spin-singlet phase. The stability of the CAF phase is discussed by the comparison between experimental results and theoretical calculations using a Hartree-Fock approximation and an exact diagonalization study. The data reveal also an intrinsic structure of the CAF phase divided into two regions according to the dominancy between the intralayer and interlayer correlations.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Excitation spectrum of Bilayer ν=2\nu=2 Quantum Hall Systems

Excitation spectra in bilayer quantum Hall systems at total Landau-level filling $\nu=2$ are studied by the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approximation. The systems have the spin degrees of freedom in addition to the layer degrees of freedom described in terms of pseudospin. On the excitation spectra from spin-unpolarized and pseudospin-polarized ground state, this approximation fully preserves the spin rotational symmetry and thus can give not only spin-triplet but also spin-singlet excitations systematically. It is also found that the ground-state properties are well described by this approximation.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; conference: EP2DS-1

Interspecific differences in the larval performance of Pieris butterflies (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) are associated with differences in the glucosinolate profiles of host plants

The tremendous diversity of plants and herbivores has arisen from a coevolutionary relationship characterized by plant defense and herbivore counter adaptation. Pierid butterfly species feed on Brassicales plants that produce glucosinolates as a chemical deterrent against herbivory. In turn, the larvae of pierids have nitrile specifier proteins (NSPs) that are expressed in their gut and disarm glucosinolates. Pierid butterflies are known to have diversified in response to glucosinolate diversification in Brassicales. Therefore, each pierid species is expected to have a spectrum of host plants characterized by specific glucosinolate profiles. In this study, we tested whether the larval performance of different Pieris species, a genus in Pieridae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), was associated with plant defense traits of putative host plants. We conducted feeding assays using larvae of three Pieris species and 10 species of the Brassicaceae family possessing different leaf physical traits and glucosinolate profile measurements. The larvae of Pieris rapae responded differently in the feeding assays compared with the other two Pieris species. This difference was associated with differences in glucosinolate profiles but not with variations in physical traits of the host plants. This result suggests that individual Pieris species are adapted to a subset of glucosinolate profiles within the Brassicaceae. Our results support the idea that the host ranges of Pieris species depend on larval responses to glucosinolate diversification in the host species, supporting the hypothesis of coevolution between butterflies and host plants mediated by the chemical arms race