The economic geography of offshore incorporation in tax havens and offshore financial centres: the case of Chinese MNEs

A large share of the outward foreign direct investment (FDI) of emerging market MNEs is directed towards a small number of specific tax havens and offshore financial centres. The establishment of investment-holding companies for taxation related purposes is frequently adduced as a key motivation (‘round-tripping’) for these investments. This explanation, however, accounts for neither the concentration of such investments in specific havens nor the comparatively large national shares of such investments that originate from emerging markets. Here we draw from and build links between the geography of money and finance and international business literatures to conceptually and empirically explore this prominent, if somewhat disregarded, feature of global FDI flows

Hablas vielleicht un peu la mia language? A comprehensive overview of the role of language differences in headquarters-subsidiary communication

The management of human resources in headquarters (HQ)-subsidiary relationships requires intensive communication, but effective communication often depends on having a shared language. Hence, language differences can be a serious threat to the successful management of human resources in multinational corporations (MNCs). In this large-scale quantitative study, encompassing data from more than 800 subsidiaries in thirteen countries, we investigated four related issues. First, in terms of the importance of language differences, we found that HQ-subsidiary relationships are clearly affected by language differences and that the latter form a distance category of their own, which should not be subsumed under the related, but separate concept of cultural differences. Second, regarding the consequences of language differences for communication outcomes, we found that a lack of a shared language is associated with misunderstanding, conflict and parallel information networks which could harm HQ-subsidiary interactions. Third, with regard to the impact of language differences on communication methods, we found that alack of a shared language is associated witha significantly lower level of oral (face-to-face and phone) communication, but not written communication. Fourth, and finally, in terms of a potential solution to communication problems caused by language differences, we found that expatriates can facilitate both communication and knowledge transfer between HQ and subsidiaries

Measuring movement fluency during the sit-to-walk task

Restoring movement fluency is a key focus for physical rehabilitation; it's measurement, however, lacks objectivity. The purpose of this study was to find whether measurable movement fluency variables differed between groups of adults with different movement abilities whilst performing the sit-to-walk (STW) movement. The movement fluency variables were: (1) hesitation during movement (reduction in forward velocity of the centre of mass; CoM), (2) coordination (percentage of temporal overlap of joint rotations) and (3) smoothness (number of inflections in the CoM jerk signal)

Randomized controlled trial of intravenous antivenom versus placebo for latrodectism: the second redback antivenom evaluation (RAVE- II) study.

Objective: Latrodectism is the most important spider envenomation syndrome worldwide. There remains considerable controversy over antivenom treatment. We aimed to investigate whether antivenom resulted in resolution of pain and systemic effects in patients with latrodectism given standardized analgesia. Methods: In a multicentre randomized placebo-controlled trial of redback spider antivenom for latrodectism, 224 patients (>7yr) with a redback spider-bite and severe pain with or without systemic effects were randomized to receive normal saline (placebo) or antivenom, after receiving standardized analgesia. The primary outcome was a clinically significant reduction in pain 2 hours after trial medication compared to baseline. A second primary outcome for the subgroup with systemic features of envenomation was resolution of systemic features at 2 hours. Secondary outcomes were improved pain at 4 and 24 hours, resolution of systemic features at 4 hours, administration of opioid analgesics or unblinded antivenom after 2 hours and adverse reactions. Results: Two hours after treatment, 26/112 patients (23%) from the placebo arm had a clinically significant improvement in pain versus 38/112 (34%) from the antivenom arm (difference in favor of antivenom 10.7%;95%CI:−1.1% to +22.6%;p=0.10). Systemic 2 effects resolved after two hours in 9/41 patients (22%) in the placebo arm and 9/35 (26%) in the antivenom arm (difference 3.8%;95%CI:−15% to +23%;p=0.79). There was no significant difference in any secondary outcome between antivenom and placebo. Acute systemic hypersensitivity reactions occurred in 4/112 (3.6%) patients given antivenom. Conclusions: The addition of antivenom to standardized analgesia in patients with latrodectism, did not significantly improve pain or systemic effects.NHMRC 54522

Responding to the crisis: are policies aimed at a strong indigenous industrial base a necessary condition for sustainable economic growth?

peer-reviewedWe examine whether a strong indigenous manufacturing base is a necessary condition for sustainable economic growth in the case of two small, open economies, Ireland and Sweden. Sweden has been impacted by the economic crisis to a lesser degree than Ireland; we explore (through a manufacturing activity lens) the reasons for the asymmetric impacts and ask if the nature of the shock is related to 'Economic Sovereignty' and to the type of industrial policy. We argue Sweden was less affected given that its indigenous firms control the highly export-focused and technology-based engineering sector whereas in Ireland high-technology sectors are controlled by foreign firms. In terms of policy implications, we suggest that industrial policy should aim for sustainable economic activity and growth such that industrial activity within the economy should be able to minimise the impact of asymmetric shocks such as the current global economic recession.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe

Dark Matter attempts for CoGeNT and DAMA

Recently, the CoGeNT collaboration presented a positive signal for an annual modulation in their data set. In light of the long standing annual modulation signal in DAMA/LIBRA, we analyze the compatibility of both of these signal within the hypothesis of dark matter (DM) scattering on nuclei, taking into account existing experimental constraints. We consider the cases of elastic and inelastic scattering with either spin-dependent or spin-independent coupling to nucleons. We allow for isospin violating interactions as well as for light mediators. We find that there is some tension between the size of the modulation signal and the time-integrated event excess in CoGeNT, making it difficult to explain both simultaneously. Moreover, within the wide range of DM interaction models considered, we do not find a simultaneous explanation of CoGeNT and DAMA/LIBRA compatible with constraints from other experiments. However, in certain cases part of the data can be made consistent. For example, the modulation signal from CoGeNT becomes consistent with the total rate and with limits from other DM searches at 90% CL (but not with the DAMA/LIBRA signal) if DM scattering is inelastic spin-independent with just the right couplings to protons and neutrons to reduce the scattering rate on xenon. Conversely the DAMA/LIBRA signal (but not CoGeNT) can be explained by spin-dependent inelastic DM scattering.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figure

COSMOGRAIL: XVII. Time delays for the quadruply imaged quasar PG 1115+080

Indexación: Scopus.Acknowledgements. The authors would like to thank R. Gredel for his help in setting up the program at the ESO MPIA 2.2 m telescope, and the anonymous referee for his or her comments on this work. This work is supported by the Swiss National Fundation. This research made use of Astropy, a community-developed core Python package for Astronomy (Astropy Collaboration et al. 2013, 2018) and the 2D graphics environment Matplotlib (Hunter 2007). K.R. acknowledge support from PhD fellowship FIB-UV 2015/2016 and Becas de Doctorado Nacional CONICYT 2017 and thanks the LSSTC Data Science Fellowship Program, her time as a Fellow has benefited this work. M.T. acknowledges support by the DFG grant Hi 1495/2-1. G. C.-F. C. acknowledges support from the Ministry of Education in Taiwan via Government Scholarship to Study Abroad (GSSA). D. C.-Y. Chao and S. H. Suyu gratefully acknowledge the support from the Max Planck Society through the Max Planck Research Group for S. H. Suyu. T. A. acknowledges support by the Ministry for the Economy, Development, and Tourism’s Programa Inicativa Científica Milenio through grant IC 12009, awarded to The Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS).We present time-delay estimates for the quadruply imaged quasar PG 1115+080. Our results are based on almost daily observations for seven months at the ESO MPIA 2.2 m telescope at La Silla Observatory, reaching a signal-to-noise ratio of about 1000 per quasar image. In addition, we re-analyze existing light curves from the literature that we complete with an additional three seasons of monitoring with the Mercator telescope at La Palma Observatory. When exploring the possible source of bias we considered the so-called microlensing time delay, a potential source of systematic error so far never directly accounted for in previous time-delay publications. In 15 yr of data on PG 1115+080, we find no strong evidence of microlensing time delay. Therefore not accounting for this effect, our time-delay estimates on the individual data sets are in good agreement with each other and with the literature. Combining the data sets, we obtain the most precise time-delay estimates to date on PG 1115+080, with Δt(AB) = 8.3+1.5 -1.6 days (18.7% precision), Δt(AC) = 9.9+1.1 -1.1 days (11.1%) and Δt(BC) = 18.8+1.6 -1.6 days (8.5%). Turning these time delays into cosmological constraints is done in a companion paper that makes use of ground-based Adaptive Optics (AO) with the Keck telescope. © ESO 2018.https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2018/08/aa33287-18/aa33287-18.htm

An intermediate-depth source of hydrothermal 3He and dissolved iron in the North Pacific

We observed large water column anomalies in helium isotopes and trace metal concentrations above the Loihi Seamount. The 3He/4He of the added helium was 27.3 times the atmospheric ratio, clearly marking its origin to a primitive mantle plume. The dissolved iron to 3He ratio (dFe:3He) exported to surrounding waters was 9.3 ± 0.3 × 106. We observed the Loihi 3He and dFe “signal” at a depth of 1100 m at several stations within ∼100 – 1000 km of Loihi, which exhibited a distal dFe:3He ratio of ∼4 × 106, about half the proximal ratio. These ratios were remarkably similar to those observed over and near the Southern East Pacific Rise (SEPR) despite greatly contrasting geochemical and volcanictectonic origins. In contrast, the proximal and distal dMn:3He ratios were both ∼ 1 × 106, less than half of that observed at the SEPR. Dissolved methane was minimally enriched in waters above Loihi Seamount and was distally absent. Using an idealized regional-scale model we replicated the historically observed regional 3He distribution, requiring a hydrothermal 3He source from Loihi of 10.4 ± 4.2 mola−1, ∼2% of the global abyssal hydrothermal 3He flux. From this we compute a corresponding dFe flux of ∼40 Mmola−1. Global circulation model simulations suggest that the Loihi-influenced waters eventually upwell along the west coast of North America, also extending into the shallow northwest Pacific, making it a possibly important determinant of marine primary production in the subpolar North Pacific

The potential benefits of on-farm mitigation scenarios for reducing multiple pollutant loadings in prioritised agri-environment areas across England

The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding provided by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) via project LM0304