An exploration of embeddedness : with special reference to Japan : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Economics at Massey University

This thesis utilises the economic sociology concept of embeddedness as the theoretical underpinning to provide an alternative perspective to traditional explanations of economic growth. In general, the advantages of social embeddedness have been the main focus in the literature on the topic. The main purpose of this study is to explore, with special reference to Japan, how embedded relationships could both enable and hinder growth. The study examines the operation of embedded ties in four key areas: inter-firm interaction with an emphasis on the auto-industry; embedded relationships within the financial sector; networks in the internationalisation of firms and embeddedness between government and business, including a case study of the construction industry. It finds that while embedded ties have several advantageous facets, they also have the potential to be an impediment to growth, flexibility and adaptability to change. Network ties can expand and become so rigidly structured, especially in a Confucian society like Japan, as to become obstacles particularly in the face of changing economic circumstances. They can atrophy. This finding led to the development of the concluding notion of "atrophied embeddedness"

How Harmful are Adaptation Restrictions

The dominant assumption in economic models of climate policy remains that adaptation will be implemented in an optimal manner. There are, however, several reasons why optimal levels of adaptation may not be attainable. This paper investigates the effects of suboptimal levels of adaptation, i.e. adaptation restrictions, on the composition and level of climate change costs and on welfare. Several adaptation restrictions are identified and then simulated in a revised DICE model, extended with adaptation (AD-DICE). We find that especially substantial over-investment in adaptation can be very harmful due to sharply increasing marginal adaptation costs. Furthermore the potential of mitigation to offset suboptimal adaptation is investigated. When adaptation is not possible at extreme levels of climate change, it is cost-effective to use more stringent mitigation policies in order to keep climate change limited, thereby making adaptation possible. Furthermore not adjusting the optimal level of mitigation to these adaptation restrictions may double the costs of adaptation restrictions, and thus in general it is very harmful to ignore existing restrictions on adaptation when devising (efficient) climate policies.Integrated Assessment Modelling, Adaptation, Climate Change

AD-DICE: an implementation of adaptation in the DICE model

Integrated Assessment Models (IAMS) have helped us over the past decade to understand the interactions between the environment and the economy in the context of climate change. Although it has also long been recognized that adaptation is a powerful and necessary tool to combat the adverse effects of climate change, most IAMs have not explicitly included the option of adaptation in combating climate change. This paper adds to the IAM and climate change literature by explicitly including adaptation in an IAM, thereby making the trade-offs between adaptation and mitigation visible. Specifically, a theoretical framework is created and used to implement adaptation as a decision variable into the DICE model. We use our new AD-DICE model to derive the adaptation cost functions implicit in the DICE model. In our set-up, adaptation and mitigation decisions are separable and AD-DICE can mimic DICE when adaptation is optimal. We find that our specification of the adaptation costs is robust with respect to the mitigation policy scenarios. Our numerical results show that adaptation is a powerful option to combat climate change, as it reduces most of the potential costs of climate change in earlier periods, while mitigation does so in later periods.integrated assessment modelling, adaptation, climate change

Control of S phase duration: a replication capacity model with E2F transcription at its heart

DNA replication capacity, the maximal amount of DNA a cell can synthesize at any given time during S phase, is controlled by E2F-dependent transcription. Controlling replication capacity limits the replication rate and provides a robust mechanism to keep replication fork speed within an optimal range whilst ensuring timely completion of genome duplication

What does Paris mean for Africa? An Integrated Assessment analysis of the effects of the Paris Agreement on African economies. ESRI Working Paper 690 December 2020.

Climate change is considered the biggest environmental challenge facing the world. The expected concomitant economic impacts of climate change are substantial, where the African continent is expected to be particularly vulnerable. Research is needed to support the development of sound climate policies in Africa. This paper develops a new Integrated Assessment Model -AD-AFRICA- which allows a comprehensive analysis of climate change impacts and adaptation in Africa. The AD-AFRICA model divides Africa into five regions and includes seven specific climate change impacts. The effects of the Paris agreement Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and the below 2 degrees target are investigated. The results show that though the INDCs reduce impacts, reaching the goal of the agreement will further reduce impacts by almost 1.6 % of GDP (588,731 US$Billion). This highlights the importance of re-examining the level of INDCs. Furthermore, our results show that health and tourism impacts are highest and that different regions in Africa are more vulnerable to different climate change impacts depending on their level of development and regional characteristics. Finally, the withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement would result in an additional climate change burden of around 87 US$ Billions to Africa

Cell cycle control in cancer

Cancer is a group of diseases in which cells divide continuously and excessively. Cell division is tightly regulated by multiple evolutionarily conserved cell cycle control mechanisms, to ensure the production of two genetically identical cells. Cell cycle checkpoints operate as DNA surveillance mechanisms that prevent the accumulation and propagation of genetic errors during cell division. Checkpoints can delay cell cycle progression or, in response to irreparable DNA damage, induce cell cycle exit or cell death. Cancer-associated mutations that perturb cell cycle control allow continuous cell division chiefly by compromising the ability of cells to exit the cell cycle. Continuous rounds of division, however, create increased reliance on other cell cycle control mechanisms to prevent catastrophic levels of damage and maintain cell viability. New detailed insights into cell cycle control mechanisms and their role in cancer reveal how these dependencies can be best exploited in cancer treatment

Technical documentation of I3E model, Version 3. ESRI Survey and Statistical Report Series 91 May 2020.

This paper provides a technical description of the Ireland Environment, Energy and Economy (I3E) model. The I3E model is an intertemporal computable general equilibrium model with multiple firms, one representative household group, multiple commodities, government, enterprises, and rest of the world accounts. It describes the Irish economy in sectoral detail. This model includes a detailed description of energy inputs and concomitant greenhouse gas emissions and has been developed with the purpose of investigating the economic and environmental impacts of climate policies for Ireland. After each major development of the model, an updated version of this report is published. The current report belongs to the third version of the model