Shackling short sellers: The 2008 shorting ban

Selected “Best Paper” at the 2009 University of Michigan / Mitsui conference on “Financial (In) Stability.”</p

International trade and economic growth in Mexico

This study empirically examines on the role of international trade on economic growth in Mexico. To allow for potentially dynamic, as well as endogenous, patterns often associated with exports, imports, and growth, the analysis relies upon time series approaches involving causality and vector error correction methods. Results indicate that imports play a more critical role than exports do for economic growth in Mexico. As such, the outcomes contribute to the growing body of international evidence regarding import led growth in the global economy

International trade and economic growth in Mexico

This study empirically examines on the role of international trade on economic growth in Mexico. To allow for potentially dynamic, as well as endogenous, patterns often associated with exports, imports, and growth, the analysis relies upon time series approaches involving causality and vector error correction methods. Results indicate that imports play a more critical role than exports do for economic growth in Mexico. As such, the outcomes contribute to the growing body of international evidence regarding import led growth in the global economy

Tradeoffs in Trade Data: Do Our Assumptions Affect Our Results?

Researchers investigating the link between trade and peace often face a severe problem of list-wise deletion from missing trade data. Attempts to mitigate this problem include assuming that most observations are zero or imputing the values of such flows. We compare two frequently used trade data sets (the Gleditsch data set and the Correlates of War Project data set). We classify individual observations as observed, constructed or missing. We demonstrate that state attributes are systematically related to different categories of trade data. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we also find that replacing some missing data with estimated values tends to inflate the effects of trade in conflict models, although the effects differ by data set

Initial United States experience with the Paracor HeartNet⁎⁎Paracor Medical, Inc, Sunnyvale, Calif. myocardial constraint device for heart failure

ObjectiveThis study was undertaken to review the initial results and surgical safety data for the US Food and Drug Administration safety and feasibility trial of the Paracor HeartNet (Paracor Medical, Inc, Sunnyvale, Calif.) myocardial constraint device.MethodsPatients with New York Heart Association functional class II or III heart failure underwent device implantation (n = 21) through a left minithoracotomy.ResultsThe average age was 53 years (31–72 years). There were 18 men and 3 women, and 17 patients had nonischemic etiology of heart failure. Mean heart failure duration was 8.3 years (1.4-18.8 years). Average ejection fraction was 22% (11%-33%), with an average left ventricular end-diastolic dimension of 74 mm (55-94 mm). Previous medical therapy included angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, β-blockers, diuretics, digoxin, and aldosterone receptor blockers. At implantation, 17 patients had implantable electronic devices: 1 biventricular pacemaker, 11 biventricular pacemakers with cardioverter-defibrillators, and 5 implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. Patient comorbidities included hypertension in 10 cases, diabetes mellitus in 8, myocardial infarction in 1, and ventricular tachycardia in 8. Mean operative time was 68 minutes (42–102 minutes), and implantation time averaged 15 minutes (5–51 minutes). The average time to ambulation was 1.6 days (1–4 days). The intensive care unit stay averaged 3.3 days (1–16 days), and hospital stay averaged 6.3 days (4–16 days). Atrial fibrillation occurred in 2 patients, and there were 2 in-hospital deaths.ConclusionsThe Paracor device can be implanted in patients with heart failure and reduced left ventricular function with a high degree of success. Significant surgical complications were infrequent. The initial US experience supports the conduct of a randomized, controlled, pivotal trial

Cassini RADAR Sequence Planning and Instrument Performance

The Cassini RADAR is a multimode instrument used to map the surface of Titan, the atmosphere of Saturn, the Saturn ring system, and to explore the properties of the icy satellites. Four different active mode bandwidths and a passive radiometer mode provide a wide range of flexibility in taking measurements. The scatterometer mode is used for real aperture imaging of Titan, high-altitude (around 20 000 km) synthetic aperture imaging of Titan and Iapetus, and long range (up to 700 000 km) detection of disk integrated albedos for satellites in the Saturn system. Two SAR modes are used for high- and medium-resolution (300-1000 m) imaging of Titan's surface during close flybys. A high-bandwidth altimeter mode is used for topographic profiling in selected areas with a range resolution of about 35 m. The passive radiometer mode is used to map emission from Titan, from Saturn's atmosphere, from the rings, and from the icy satellites. Repeated scans with differing polarizations using both active and passive data provide data that can usefully constrain models of surface composition and structure. The radar and radiometer receivers show very good stability, and calibration observations have provided an absolute calibration good to about 1.3 dB. Relative uncertainties within a pass and between passes can be even smaller. Data are currently being processed and delivered to the planetary data system at quarterly intervals one year after being acquired