Textiles and apparel in NAFTA : a case of constrained liberalization

The authors examine the changes that Mexico's textile and clothing industry is likely to face under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). They compare pre-NAFTA and probable post-NAFTA scenarios for Mexican exports. The U.S. clothing and textile industry is likely to remain among the most protected of U.S. industries, so this is essentially a comparison of two protectionist situations, not of protection and free trade. The authors trace how current quota and tariff restrictions on U.S. imports from Mexico will be replaced by rules of origin designed to protect U.S. industry. Mexican textile and clothing exports will enjoy greater access to the U.S. market if most inputs originate in North America. Under the triple transformation requirements, for example, a cotton shirt would have to be made in the NAFTA region from yarn and fabric of NAFTA origin. Mexican compliance with this rule would not prove onerous. Proximity and long-standing production-sharing arrangements have made Mexico heavily dependent on U.S. inputs. Roughly 53 percent of Mexican textile and apparel exports to the United States fall under production-sharing programs, with an average 69 percent of value added of U.S. origin. Only 15 percent of input requirements for the other 47 percent of trade is imported into Mexico - only 8 percent from non-NAFTA countries. What about future trade? The authors estimate that these Mexican exports to the United States will increase only modestly - partly because of the low level of protection already associated with production-sharing arrangements. Rules oforigin under the NAFTA are small. How much investment from outside North America will be attracted to Mexico under stringent input-sourcing requirements is open to question. The competitiveness of Mexico's apparel industry in non-NAFTA markets will depend to some extent on the international competitiveness of the U.S. textile industry.TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Textiles, Apparel&Leather Industry,Trade Policy

Pollution Control in the Informal Sector: The Ciudad Juárez Brickmakers' Project

Low-technology unlicensed micro-enterprises known as "informal" firms are a significant source of pollution in developing countries that are virtually impossible to regulate in the conventional manner. This paper describes an example of an innovative and promising approach to the problem: the Ciudad Juárez Brickmakers' Project, a private-sector-led initiative aimed at abating highly polluting emissions from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico's approximately 300 informal brick kilns. We draw four lessons from the Project's history. First, private-sector-led initiatives can work -- indeed they may be more effective than public sector initiatives -- but they require strong public sector support. Second, necessary conditions for effective environmental management in the informal sector include enlisting the cooperation of local organizations, relying upon peer monitoring, and offsetting compliance costs. Ineffective strategies include promoting too-advanced technologies and intervening in informal markets. Third, pollution control strategies that provide the greatest environmental benefits may be less appropriate than low-cost intermediate strategies. Finally, in volatile developing economies, market-based environmental initiatives in the informal sector are bound to be fragile.

Rent-sharing in the multi-fibre arrangement : the case of Mexico

The author investigates market power and the distribution of rents in the market for Mexico's exports of apparel tothe United States under the Multi - Fibre Arrangement (MFA). Conventional wisdom holds that voluntary restraints, such as those under the MFA, are superior to other kinds of trade barriers because they allow developing countries to receive the scarcity rents from quantity restriction. Recently a number of studies have questioned this orthodoxy. Erzan, Krishna, and Tan (1991), in particular, have pointed out that if market power exists only on the side of the importers, they can acquire some of the fixed rents resulting from quotas, in a form of"rent-sharing". In Mexico's case, rents resulting from MFA restrictions are probably small, since few of the quotas imposed are binding. And other institutional arrangements - such as production sharing under HTS 9802 and a liberal quota regime for goods made with U.S. inputs - further mitigate the MFA's restrictiveness. Mexican exporters probably receive only a fraction of available rents, says the author. The welfare implications of MFA restrictions, and of market imperfections that might lead to rent-sharing, are thus not as significant in Mexico as they might be in countries for which conditions are more restrictive. But even for the few rents generated in Mexico's case, some rent-sharing is taking place. The author tests the existence of perfect markets and rent-sharing for six groups of Mexican apparel exports to the United States between 1981 and 1990; sweaters, trousers, men's coats, women's coats, woven shirts, and underwear. There are consistent differences between the unit value of U.S. production and the Mexico export f.o.b. price of apparel in the U.S. market adjusted for tariffs and transport costs. The adjusted price of Mexican exports is consistently below the price for U.S. production, which suggests that rent-sharing may be taking place. Using modifications of the methods of Erzan, Krishna, and Tan (1991), the author tests alternative explanations for the price difference - differences in composition of Mexican exports and U.S. production, and differences in the quality of Mexican exports and U.S. products. The existence of differences in composition between Mexican exports and U.S. production is rejected for three of the six groups. The author also controls for the existence of significant quality differences. The results indicate that rent- sharing may exist for woven shirts and underwear (two of the three groups in the sample that are consistently quota bound). U.S. importers may receive up to 49 percent of available rents.Economic Theory&Research,Markets and Market Access,Access to Markets,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Environmental Economics&Policies

The Allen Telescope Array Twenty-centimeter Survey -- A 700-Square-Degree, Multi-Epoch Radio Dataset -- II: Individual Epoch Transient Statistics

We present our second paper on the Allen Telescope Array Twenty-centimeter Survey (ATATS), a multi-epoch, ~700 sq. deg. radio image and catalog at 1.4 GHz. The survey is designed to detect rare, bright transients as well as to commission the ATA's wide-field survey capabilities. ATATS explores the challenges of multi-epoch transient and variable source surveys in the domain of dynamic range limits and changing (u,v) coverage. Here we present images made using data from the individual epochs, as well as a revised image combining data from all ATATS epochs. The combined image has RMS noise 3.96 mJy / beam, with a circular beam of 150 arcsec FWHM. The catalog, generated using a false detection rate algorithm, contains 4984 sources, and is >90% complete to 37.9 mJy. The catalogs generated from snapshot images of the individual epochs contain between 1170 and 2019 sources over the 564 sq. deg. area in common to all epochs. The 90% completeness limits of the single epoch catalogs range from 98.6 to 232 mJy. We compare the catalog generated from the combined image to those from individual epochs, and from the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS), a legacy survey at the same frequency. We are able to place new constraints on the transient population: fewer than 6e-4 transients / sq. deg., for transients brighter than 350 mJy with characteristic timescales of minutes to days. This strongly rules out an astronomical origin for the ~1 Jy sources reported by Matsumura et al. (2009), based on their stated rate of 3.1e-3 / sq. deg.Comment: 28 pages, 12 figures, ApJ accepte

Come back Marshall, all is forgiven? : Complexity, evolution, mathematics and Marshallian exceptionalism

Marshall was the great synthesiser of neoclassical economics. Yet with his qualified assumption of self-interest, his emphasis on variation in economic evolution and his cautious attitude to the use of mathematics, Marshall differs fundamentally from other leading neoclassical contemporaries. Metaphors inspire more specific analogies and ontological assumptions, and Marshall used the guiding metaphor of Spencerian evolution. But unfortunately, the further development of a Marshallian evolutionary approach was undermined in part by theoretical problems within Spencer's theory. Yet some things can be salvaged from the Marshallian evolutionary vision. They may even be placed in a more viable Darwinian framework.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Learning From Early Attempts to Generalize Darwinian Principles to Social Evolution

Copyright University of Hertfordshire & author.Evolutionary psychology places the human psyche in the context of evolution, and addresses the Darwinian processes involved, particularly at the level of genetic evolution. A logically separate and potentially complementary argument is to consider the application of Darwinian principles not only to genes but also to social entities and processes. This idea of extending Darwinian principles was suggested by Darwin himself. Attempts to do this appeared as early as the 1870s and proliferated until the early twentieth century. But such ideas remained dormant in the social sciences from the 1920s until after the Second World War. Some lessons can be learned from this earlier period, particularly concerning the problem of specifying the social units of selection or replication

Quantitative trait loci mapping reveals candidate pathways regulating cell cycle duration in Plasmodium falciparum

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Elevated parasite biomass in the human red blood cells can lead to increased malaria morbidity. The genes and mechanisms regulating growth and development of <it>Plasmodium </it><it>falciparum </it>through its erythrocytic cycle are not well understood. We previously showed that strains HB3 and Dd2 diverge in their proliferation rates, and here use quantitative trait loci mapping in 34 progeny from a cross between these parent clones along with integrative bioinformatics to identify genetic loci and candidate genes that control divergences in cell cycle duration.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Genetic mapping of cell cycle duration revealed a four-locus genetic model, including a major genetic effect on chromosome 12, which accounts for 75% of the inherited phenotype variation. These QTL span 165 genes, the majority of which have no predicted function based on homology. We present a method to systematically prioritize candidate genes using the extensive sequence and transcriptional information available for the parent lines. Putative functions were assigned to the prioritized genes based on protein interaction networks and expression eQTL from our earlier study. DNA metabolism or antigenic variation functional categories were enriched among our prioritized candidate genes. Genes were then analyzed to determine if they interact with cyclins or other proteins known to be involved in the regulation of cell cycle.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We show that the divergent proliferation rate between a drug resistant and drug sensitive parent clone is under genetic regulation and is segregating as a complex trait in 34 progeny. We map a major locus along with additional secondary effects, and use the wealth of genome data to identify key candidate genes. Of particular interest are a nucleosome assembly protein (PFL0185c), a Zinc finger transcription factor (PFL0465c) both on chromosome 12 and a ribosomal protein L7Ae-related on chromosome 4 (PFD0960c).</p

Micromechanical Properties of Injection-Molded Starch–Wood Particle Composites

The micromechanical properties of injection molded starch–wood particle composites were investigated as a function of particle content and humidity conditions. The composite materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction methods. The microhardness of the composites was shown to increase notably with the concentration of the wood particles. In addition,creep behavior under the indenter and temperature dependence were evaluated in terms of the independent contribution of the starch matrix and the wood microparticles to the hardness value. The influence of drying time on the density and weight uptake of the injection-molded composites was highlighted. The results revealed the role of the mechanism of water evaporation, showing that the dependence of water uptake and temperature was greater for the starch–wood composites than for the pure starch sample. Experiments performed during the drying process at 70°C indicated that the wood in the starch composites did not prevent water loss from the samples.Peer reviewe

Factors Associated with Revision Surgery after Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures

Background: Femoral neck fractures are associated with high rates of revision surgery after management with internal fixation. Using data from the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trial evaluating methods of internal fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures, we investigated associations between baseline and surgical factors and the need for revision surgery to promote healing, relieve pain, treat infection or improve function over 24 months postsurgery. Additionally, we investigated factors associated with (1) hardware removal and (2) implant exchange from cancellous screws (CS) or sliding hip screw (SHS) to total hip arthroplasty, hemiarthroplasty, or another internal fixation device. Methods: We identified 15 potential factors a priori that may be associated with revision surgery, 7 with hardware removal, and 14 with implant exchange. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses in our investigation. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of revision surgery included: female sex, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.50; P = 0.001], higher body mass index (fo