Education, Rent Seeking and Growth

This paper studies the role of education as a way of reducing private rent seeking activities and increasing output. In many underdeveloped economies, for most individuals, there is no private return to education. Nonetheless, according to this paper, governments are better off by investing in public education. We view education as a means to build personal character, thereby affecting macroeconomic long run equilibrium by reducing the number of individuals who are engaged in private rentseeking activities. We show that education is more efficient than ordinary law enforcement because it has a long-run effect. The policy implication of this result is that even when education does not increase human capital, compulsory schooling will be beneficial in pulling underdeveloped economies out of poverty.Rent Seeking, Decency, Education, Growth

HOW DO FIRING COSTS AFFECT INNOVATION AND GROWTH WHEN WORKERS’ ABILITY IS UNKNOWN – EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION AS A BURDEN ON A FIRM’S SCREENING PROCESS

This paper analyzes the implication of employment protection legislation on a firm's screening process. We present a model in which human-capital-intensive firms (hightech) with imperfect information about their workers' type attempt during a trial period to identify those incompetent workers who they will subsequently dismiss. Employment protection measures, however, place a burden on this screening process and thereby motivate innovators to embark on medium-tech projects which are more flexible in their human capital requirements. Employment protection legislation thereby distorts the pattern of specialization in favor of medium-tech firms rather than high-tech firms and consequently slows down the process of economic growth. The results of the paper are consistent with documented data on Europe versus US productivity growth and specialization patterns as well as with employment protection legislation in those economies.

How does Investors' Legal Protection affect Productivity and Growth?

This paper analyzes the implications of investors' legal protection on aggregate productivity and growth. We have two main results. First, that better investors' legal protection can mitigate agency problems between investors and innovators and therefore expand the range of high-tech projects that can be financed by non-bank investors. Second, investors' legal protection shifts investment resources from less productive (medium-tech) to highly productive (high-tech) projects and therefore enhances economic growth. These results stem from two forces. On one hand, private investors' moral hazard problems (in which entrepreneurs shift investors' resources to their own benefit), and on the other hand innovators' risk of project termination by banks due to wrong signals about projects' probability of success. Our results are consistent with recent empirical studies that show a high correlation between legal investors' protection and the structure of the financial system as well as the economic performance at industry and macroeconomic levels.Banks, private investors protection, growth

How Do Firing Costs Affect Innovation and Growth when Workers' Ability is Unknown? – Employment Protection as a Burden on a Firm's Screening Process

This paper analyzes the implication of employment protection legislation on a firm's screening process. We present a model in which human-capital-intensive firms (high-tech) with imperfect information about their workers' type attempt during a trial period to identify those incompetent workers who they will subsequently dismiss. Employment protection measures, however, place a burden on this screening process and thereby motivate innovators to embark on medium-tech projects which are more flexible in their human capital requirements. Employment protection legislation thereby distorts the pattern of specialization in favor of medium-tech firms rather than high-tech firms and consequently slows down the process of economic growth. The results of the paper are consistent with documented data on Europe versus US productivity growth and specialization patterns as well as with employment protection legislation in those economies.Screening, Firing Costs, Employment Protection, Innovation, Growth, Specialization

EDUCATION, RENT SEEKING AND GROWTH

This paper studies the role of education as a way of reducing private rent seeking activities and increasing output. In many underdeveloped economies, for most individuals, there is no private return to education. Nonetheless, according to this paper, governments are better off by investing in public education. We view education as a means to build personal character, thereby affecting macroeconomic long run equilibrium by reducing the number of individuals who are engaged in private rentseeking activities. We show that education is more efficient than ordinary law enforcement because it has a long-run effect. The policy implication of this result is that even when education does not increase human capital, compulsory schooling will be beneficial in pulling underdeveloped economies out of poverty.Rent Seeking, Decency, Education, Growth

Medida de la temperatura superficial del carbonizado de Haya en un reactor de lecho fluido mediante pirometría para aclarar el efecto del CO2 en oxicombustión

Debido a la necesidad de reducir las emisiones de CO2, causantes de la intensificación del efecto invernadero y el calentamiento global, surge como solución la técnica de captura de CO2 mediante oxi-combustión. Esta tecnología consiste en realizar el proceso de combustión en presencia de oxígeno puro parcialmente diluido con CO2 procedente de la recirculación de los gases. De esta manera los productos de la combustión tienen una alta concentración de CO2 lista para su secuestro sin necesidad de equipo de captura. La tecnología de oxi-combustión puede instalarse en plantas de producción de energía eléctrica diseñadas para trabajar en combustión con aire (1ª generación), aunque se plantea mejorar esta técnica alimentando mayores concentraciones de oxígeno a la caldera (2ª generación) consiguiendo reducir el tamaño de esta con respecto a las convencionales. Sin embargo, aún existen una serie de factores que deben ser investigados antes de construir una caldera de 2ª generación. Uno de los factores más importantes es la temperatura de las partículas de combustible, ya que, debido a las altas concentraciones de O2 en la caldera la velocidad de conversión de las partículas es muy alta pudiendo estas llegar a un nivel de temperatura inadmisible. En este Trabajo Fin de Grado se busca estudiar el efecto que el CO2 tiene sobre la temperatura de las partículas de carbonizado durante su combustión. Para ello se trabaja en un reactor de lecho fluido, a escala de laboratorio, que permite medir la temperatura del carbonizado por pirometría con cámara digital. Se emplea como combustible carbonizado de haya (biomasa) generado en un horno, y se opera a dos temperaturas de operación (800ºC y 850ºC) con dos tamaños de partícula diferentes (6 mm y 10 mm). Una de las principales conclusiones es que la menor difusividad del O2 en CO2 comparada con la de O2 en N2 es la responsable de la diferencia con los resultados en combustión con aire o mezcla de O2/N2 y que la velocidad de gasificación con CO2 debe tenerse en cuenta para el combustible utilizado y para las condiciones empleadas en este trabajo.In the energy sector, carbon capture has emerged as a technical solution for reducing CO2 emissions, which are responsible for the greenhouse gas effect and global warming. Oxy-fuel combustion is one of the options for implementing carbon capture. The technology consists of combustion of a fuel with pure oxygen (partially diluted with CO2), which results in a flue gas stream rich in CO2 that is suitable for storage. Oxy-fuel may be applied in existing power plants which are designed to operate with traditional air combustion (i.e. 1stgeneration). Alternatively, the design of new boilers operate with higher concentrations of oxygen, would allow to reduce reducing the size of the units as compared to the conventional boilers (i.e. 2nd generation). However, the construction of such oxy-fuel combustors requires further knowledge of the fuel conversion process in oxygen-rich environment. An important aspect is the temperature of the fuel particles, as the high O2 concentrations in the combustor leads to fast conversion of the fuel, which might result in intolerable temperatures. In this work, the effect of CO2 on the temperature of the char particles during the combustion process is investigated. A lab-scale fluidized bed reactor is used and the evolution of temperature of burning char particles during combustión is quantified by means of a digital camera. The results show that the main difference in the temperature of the fuel particle between oxy-fuel and air combustion relates to the lower diffusivity of O2 in CO2 as compared to that of O2 in N2. It is proposed that the rate of char gasification should be taken into account under the conditions tested in this work.Universidad de Sevilla. Grado en Ingeniería Químic

Child Labor, Fertility and Economic Growth

This paper explores the evolution of child labor, fertility, and human capital in the process of development. In early stages of development the economy is in a development trap where child labor is abundant, fertility is high and output per capita is low. Technological progress, however, increases gradually the wage differential between parental and child labor, thereby inducing parents to substitute child education for child labor and reduce fertility. The economy takes-off to a sustained growth steady-state equilibrium where child labor is abolished and fertility is low. Prohibition of child labor expedites the transition process and generates Pareto dominating outcome.

Modelling the Product Development performance of Colombian Companies

Organised by: Cranfield UniversityThis paper presents the general model of the Product Development Process (PDP) in the Metal mechanics Industry in Barranquilla-Colombia, since this sector contributes significantly to the productivity of this industrial city. This case study counted on a five-company sample. The main goal was to model the current conditions of the PDP according to the Concurrent Engineering philosophy. The companies were selected according to their productive profile, in order to contrast differences regarding the structure of their productive processes, conformation of multidisciplinary teams, integration of different areas, customers and suppliers to the PDP; human resources, information, technology and marketing constraints.Mori Seiki – The Machine Tool Compan

Experimental Investigation of Volatiles-Bed Contact in a 2-4 MWth Bubbling Bed Reactor of a Dual Fluidized Bed Gasifier

The use of catalytic bed materials in fluidized bed gasifiers represents a promising primary measure to decrease the tar content of biomass-derived raw gas. For effective application of such in-bed catalysts, extensive contact must be established between the volatile matter released from the fuel particles and the bed material. However, the extent of the contact and, consequently, the potential of in-bed tar removal techniques are not well understood. In this work, the fraction of volatile matter that interacts with the bed in a large (i.e., throughput of 300-400 kg/h biomass) bubbling bed gasifier is quantified experimentally and the effect of fluidization velocity is investigated. The results show that a higher fluidization velocity enhances gas-solid contact, with 48-69% of the volatile matter coming in contact with the bed within the range of 6-10 times the minimum fluidization (umf)