Technology Transfer through Imports

While there is general agreement that technology differences must figure prominently in any successful account of the cross-country income variation, not much is known on the source of these technology differences. This paper examines cross-country income differences in terms of factor accumulation, domestic R&D, and foreign technological spillovers. The empirical analysis encompasses seventeen industrialized countries in four continents over three decades, at a level disaggregated enough to identify innovations in a number of key high-tech sectors. International technology transfer is found to play a crucial part in accounting for income differences. We also relate technology transfer to imports, showing that imports are often a major channel. At the same time, our analysis highlights that international technology transfer varies importantly across industries and countries.

Analysing International Trade Patterns: Comparative Advantage for the World’s Major Economies

Using disaggregate product data classified by the Harmonized System code, this paper computes the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) for seven major economies that, when combined, contributed more than 80% of global manufacturing exports in 1996-97 and 2006-07. Results show that in the last decade, Canada, the US, and Japan have lost their share of global exports, while China has increased its share three-fold. These losses occurred mainly for low-tech products for the US, but medium and high-tech (MHT) products for Canada and Japan. However, MHT products comprise the highest share of Japanese exports (70%) compared to Canada (which has the lowest share, approximately half of Japan’s). Canada is the only economy whose contribution to global MHT exports is lower than that of global total exports. Japan also has the highest share of RCA-based MHT exports of other East Asian countries (OEACs) and the US. China has the highest share of non-RCA- based MHT exports. Finally, the trade patterns for OEACs and Mexico did not change greatly in any dimension in the last decade. However, products with RCA have changed substantially in all economies, with the highest in Mexico

Estimating the Productivity Selection and Technology Spillover Effects of Imports

Economists emphasize two channels through which import liberalization affects productivity, one operating between and the other within firms. According to the former, import competition triggers market share reallocations between domestic firms with different technological capabilities (selection). At the same time, imports can also improve firms' technologies through learning externalities (spillovers). We present evidence for a sample of industrialized countries over the period 1973 to 2002. First, in the long run, import liberalization lowers productivity in domestic industries through selection. This finding confirms the prediction of models with firm heterogeneity, including Melitz and Ottaviano (2008), in which unilateral liberalization lowers the profits of domestic relative to foreign exporters. Second, if imports involve advanced foreign technologies, liberalization also generates technological learning that can on net raise domestic productivity. Third, for short time horizons of up to three years, a surge in imports typically raises domestic productivity. Because the number of firms at home and abroad does not change much in the short-run, new competition from foreign firms has a pro-competitive effect. We also find that high entry barriers, especially regulation, slow down the process of market share reallocation between firms. Over- all, the results support models in which trade triggers both substantial selection and technological learning.

Outward FDI from Canada and its policy context

Canada was a major net importer of foreign direct investment (IFDI) prior to 1996. The stimulus for the surge in Canada's outward FDI (OFDI) came from profitable investment opportunities abroad. Canada has diversified significantly its OFDI away from the United States over the past 20 years. The financial crisis significantly affected Canada's FDI outflows, but OFDI seems to have rebounded in the second half of 2009. While Canadian investment has historically gone mainly to developed countries, recent changes in Government policies seem to suggest that Canada is looking to build closer ties with developing countries as well. Canada has a longstanding commitment to multilateral cooperation and actively supports the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework as a way to promote international trade and investment. At the same time, Canada continues actively to negotiate foreign investment promotion and protection agreements (FIPAs)

Inward FDI in Canada and its policy context

Canada has actively participated in the corporate globalization process and is a major importer of foreign direct investment (FDI). Canada's high levels of inward FDI (IFDI) over the past 25 years reflect its improved business climate, reduced restrictions on foreign ownership and a prospering economy. Like other developed economies, Canada experienced declining FDI inflows in 2008 and 2009, largely due to the dramatic fall in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and the global economic recession. The outlook for 2010 and beyond however is promising because of the expected economic expansion in Canada and other countries, and improved global financial markets. Moreover, the Canadian Government has sent strong signals to foreign investors that Canada is open for business by, among other things, lifting restrictions on previously protected sectors and increasing the financial thresholds for the review of foreign investments

Sustainable Health in the Times of SDGs- Voices from the Margins

The present chapter reflects on health care availability, utilization and pattern of morbidity in the slum. The first part deals with the general profile of the public health, proximate causes of the ill health, which provides insight about the general profile of the infrastructure and basic amenities position vis a vis slum. The second part is related the health care utilization in slums namely services of the medical institutions, charges of the private medical institutions and clinics, source of treatment, reason for choosing the source of treatment, satisfaction with the treatment, user charge. This section also includes access to the health care services in the slums and the mode of transport used for the utilization of the health care services. The third aspect of the study is related to the pattern of morbidity in slums includes illness in the last month, ailment on the survey date, hospitalisation in one year, average morbidity and hospitalisation rate in one year of three slums, type of ailment, ailment of the head of the household, ailment of the family members, no of days of inactivity and lastly analysis of the common problems and health status of slum dwellers, treatment sought and the proximate reasons for the ailments in slums been done

Src Dependent Pancreatic Acinar Injury Can Be Initiated Independent of an Increase in Cytosolic Calcium

Several deleterious intra-acinar phenomena are simultaneously triggered on initiating acute pancreatitis. These culminate in acinar injury or inflammatory mediator generation in vitro and parenchymal damage in vivo. Supraphysiologic caerulein is one such initiator which simultaneously activates numerous signaling pathways including non-receptor tyrosine kinases such as of the Src family. It also causes a sustained increase in cytosolic calcium- a player thought to be crucial in regulating deleterious phenomena. We have shown Src to be involved in caerulein induced actin remodeling, and caerulein induced changes in the Golgi and post-Golgi trafficking to be involved in trypsinogen activation, which initiates acinar cell injury. However, it remains unclear whether an increase in cytosolic calcium is necessary to initiate acinar injury or if injury can be initiated at basal cytosolic calcium levels by an alternate pathway. To study the interplay between tyrosine kinase signaling and calcium, we treated mouse pancreatic acinar cells with the tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor pervanadate. We studied the effect of the clinically used Src inhibitor Dasatinib (BMS-354825) on pervanadate or caerulein induced changes in Src activation, trypsinogen activation, cell injury, upstream cytosolic calcium, actin and Golgi morphology. Pervanadate, like supraphysiologic caerulein, induced Src activation, redistribution of the F-actin from its normal location in the sub-apical area to the basolateral areas, and caused antegrade fragmentation of the Golgi. These changes, like those induced by supraphysiologic caerulein, were associated with trypsinogen activation and acinar injury, all of which were prevented by Dasatinib. Interestingly, however, pervanadate did not cause an increase in cytosolic calcium, and the caerulein induced increase in cytosolic calcium was not affected by Dasatinib. These findings suggest that intra-acinar deleterious phenomena may be initiated independent of an increase in cytosolic calcium. Other players resulting in acinar injury along with the Src family of tyrosine kinases remain to be explored. © 2013 Mishra et al

Burden and predictors of hypertension in India: results of SEEK (Screening and Early Evaluation of Kidney Disease) study

Background: Hypertension (HTN) is one of the major causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The objective of the study was to investigate the burden and predictors of HTN in India. Methods: 6120 subjects participated in the Screening and Early Evaluation of Kidney disease (SEEK), a community-based screening program in 53 camps in 13 representative geographic locations in India. Of these, 5929 had recorded blood pressure (BP) measurements. Potential predictors of HTN were collected using a structured questionnaire for SEEK study. Results: HTN was observed in 43.5% of our cohort. After adjusting for center variation (p < 0.0001), predictors of a higher prevalence of HTN were older age ≥40 years (p < 0.0001), BMI of ≥ 23 Kg/M2 (p < 0.0004), larger waist circumference (p < 0.0001), working in sedentary occupation (p < 0.0001), having diabetes mellitus (p < 0.0001), having proteinuria (p < 0.0016), and increased serum creatinine (p < 0.0001). High school/some college education (p = 0.0016), versus less than 9th grade education, was related with lower prevalence of HTN. Of note, proteinuria and CKD were observed in 19% and 23.5% of HTN subjects. About half (54%) of the hypertensive subjects were aware of their hypertension status. Conclusions: HTN was common in this cohort from India. Older age, BMI ≥ 23 Kg/M2, waist circumference, sedentary occupation, education less, diabetes mellitus, presence of proteinuria, and raised serum creatinine were significant predictors of hypertension. Our data suggest that HTN is a major public health problem in India with low awareness, and requires aggressive community-based screening and education to improve health

Inward and Outward FDI Country Profiles, Second Edition

This second edition contains a series of 77 standardized country profiles dealing with the inward and outward foreign direct investment (FDI) performance of 40 economies. The profiles have been peer-reviewed by a global network of experts. The publication is intended to contribute to the analysis of trends in foreign direct investment and policy issues related to them. More specifically, the individual profiles discuss FDI trends and developments (country-level developments, the corporate players); effects of the recent global crises; and the policy scene. Each profile contains a standard set of tables, including on FDI stocks and flows, sectoral and geographical FDI distributions, the largest M&As and greenfield investments, the principal foreign affiliates (for inward FDI), and the principal multinational enterprises (for outward FDI). The standardized template used to produce the profiles allows cross-country comparisons. The volume is meant to be a reference tool for anyone interested in foreign direct investment