Structural Breaks and Causality Relationship between Economic Growth and Energy Consumption in Saudi Arabia

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the short and long run causality between economic growth and energy consumption in Saudi Arabia during the period of 1971-2012 using the Gregory and Hansen (1996) cointegration procedure and error-correction models. The results of the unit root tests with structural breaks indicate that total energy and gas consumption are stationary in levels. Thus, we dropped these variables from the cointegration and causality analysis. The stable long run relationship between real GDP and oil consumption is detected by both stability and cointegration tests. The estimated breakpoints correspond with the period of 1974-1985 during the oil boom. The causal relationship is found between real GDP and oil consumption in both the short and long run. We found short run unidirectional Granger causality running from real GDP to oil consumption. However, the long run unidirectional Granger causality is detected from oil consumption to real GDP. Therefore, the energy conservation policy in the long run should be designed with caution, since energy is considered an engine of GDP growth. Keywords: Energy consumption; Structural breaks; Causality; Saudi Arabia JEL Classifications: C20; Q43; Q4

Essays on structural breaks and stability of the money demand function

Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of EconomicsSteven P. CassouThis dissertation consists of three chapters. The first chapter surveys recent studies on the stability of the money demand function in selected developing countries. This chapter presents specific details about modeling and estimating the money demand function. Also, reasons behind the mixed results in the literature on the stability of the money demand function are explored as well as providing a guideline for future research on the stability of the money demand function in developing countries. The second chapter empirically investigates the stability of the money demand function in South Korea and Malaysia. The conventional money demand specification and cointegration framework with a single unknown structural break are conducted. The results of the residual-based tests for cointegration reveal that the M1, M2, and M3 demand are stable in the long run in Malaysia. However, there is no evidence of the stability for all three measures of the money demand in South Korea. The results of the residual-based tests suggest that structural breaks in the cointegration vectors are important and need to be accounted for in the specification of the M1, M2, and LF demand in South Korea, where LF includes M2 in addition to the reserves of nonbanking financial institutions and long-term deposits. The third chapter complements the previous chapter. It aims to evaluate the stability of the money demand function in South Korea and Malaysia using a cash in advance model and cointegration framework with one unknown structural break. This theoretical model adds short-term foreign interest rates and real exchange rates in addition to short-term domestic interest rates and real income. Also, the Granger causality and currency substitution analysis are conducted in this chapter. The results of the residuals-based tests indicate that the M2 and LF demand in South Korea, and M1, M2, and M3 demand in Malaysia are stable in the long run. The structural breaks may not be fairly absorbed when a cash in advance model is used for M1 in South Korea. Thus, the residual-based tests suggest that the structural break is still important and needs to be included in the specification of the M1 demand in South Korea

Characterization of human umbilical cord blood-derived mast cells using high-throughput expression profiling and next-generation knowledge discovery platforms

Mast cells (MCs) are tissue-resident innate immune cells that express the high-affinity receptor for immunoglobulin E and are responsible for host defense and an array of diseases related to immune system. We aimed in this study to characterize the pathways and gene signatures of human cord blood-derived MCs (hCBMCs) in comparison to cells originating from CD34− progenitors using next-generation knowledge discovery methods. CD34+ cells were isolated from human umbilical cord blood using magnetic activated cell sorting and differentiated into MCs with rhIL-6 and rhSCF supplementation for 6–8 weeks. The purity of hCBMCs was analyzed by flow cytometry exhibiting the surface markers CD117+CD34−CD45−CD23−FcεR1αdim. Total RNA from hCBMCs and CD34− cells were isolated and hybridized using microarray. Differentially expressed genes were analyzed using iPathway Guide and Pre-Ranked Gene Set Enrichment Analysis. Next-generation knowledge discovery platforms revealed MC-specific gene signatures and molecular pathways enriched in hCBMCs and pertain the immunological response repertoire