Productivity and externalities : models of export led growth

In developing countries, industrialization for successful export-led growth has been associated with rapid structural change and growth in productivity. Standard neoclassical growth models have difficulty explaining this change in performance. This paper has developed a simple analytical model incorporating export externalities that capture the large increases in the share of trade and total factor productivity that are associated with export-led growth. It also has developed a second model that breaks growth into its various components, which includes the effects of: (a) factor accumulation; (b) moving factors from areas of low productivity to area of high productivity; (c) exporting heavy and light manufactures; and (d) importing capital goods. The paper implements the second model with data from an archetypal semi-industrial country. The model accounts for the higher total factor productivity growth observed in countries pursuing export-led growth strategies. It also captures the pattern of structural change that such countries experience.Banks&Banking Reform,Achieving Shared Growth,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Growth

Voluntary temporary abstinence from alcohol during “Dry January” and subsequent alcohol use

Objective: Temporary abstinence from alcohol may convey physiological benefits and enhance well-being. The aim of this study was to address a lack of information about: (1) correlates of successful completion of a planned period of abstinence, and (2) how success or failure in planned abstinence affects subsequent alcohol consumption. Methods: 857 British adults (249 men, 608 women) participating in the “Dry January” alcohol abstinence challenge completed a baseline questionnaire, a one-month follow-up questionnaire, and a 6-month follow-up questionnaire. Key variables assessed at baseline included measures of alcohol consumption and drink refusal self-efficacy (DRSE). Results: In bivariate analysis, success during Dry January was predicted by measures of more moderate alcohol consumption and greater social DRSE. Multivariate analyses revealed that success during Dry January was best predicted by a lower frequency of drunkenness in the month prior to Dry January. Structural Equation Modelling revealed that participation in Dry January was related to reductions in alcohol consumption and increases in DRSE among all respondents at 6-month follow-up, regardless of success, but these changes were more likely among people who successfully completed the challenge. Conclusions: The findings suggest that participation in abstinence challenges such as “Dry January” may be associated with changes toward healthier drinking and greater DRSE, and is unlikely to result in undesirable “rebound effects”: very few people reported increased alcohol consumption following a period of voluntary abstinence

Power Spectra beyond the Slow Roll Approximation in Theories with Non-Canonical Kinetic Terms

We derive analytical expressions for the power spectra at the end of inflation in theories with two inflaton fields and non-canonical kinetic terms. We find that going beyond the slow-roll approximation is necessary and that the nature of the non-canonical terms have an important impact on the final power spectra at the end of inflation. We study five models numerically and find excellent agreement with our analytical results. Our results emphasise the fact that going beyond the slow-roll approximation is important in times of high-precision data coming from cosmological observations.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures, JCAP style. Results unchanged, minor corrections/comments added. This version to be published in JCA

Product differentiation and foreign trade in CGE models of small economies

In recent years, two classes of computable general equilibrium (CGE) trade models have been used to investigate external sector policies: single country and and multicountry trade models. The authors examine the treatment of exports and imports in recent single country CGE models of small economies. They present a simple, one sector analytical model that captures the major features of the multi sector counterpart used in applied models. They show that applying the same assumption about product differentiation to imports as to exports gives rise to a well behaved, price taking economy and normally shaped offer curves. They illustrate the one-sector model with a numerical example which shows the implications of the choice of weights used as a proxy for the domestic price index in computations of real exchange rate indices. The model also shows the role of foreign trade elasticities in the popular Australian model, with traded and nontraded goods. Trade substitution elasticities on the import side play a crucial role in determining the direction of change in real exchange rate during terms of trade perturbations.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Economic Stabilization,Macroeconomic Management

Effects of T=0 two body matrix elements on M1 and Gamow-Teller transitions: isospin decomposition

We perform calculations for M1 transitions and allowed Gamow Teller (GT) transitions in the even-even Titanium isotopes - $^{44}$Ti, $^{46}$Ti, and $^{48}$Ti. We first do calculations with the FPD6 interaction. Then to study the effect of T=0 matrix elements on the M1 and GT rates we introduce a second interaction in which all the T=0 matrix elements are set equal to zero and a third in which all the T=0 matrix elements are set to a constant. For the latter two interactions the T=1 matrix elements are the same as for FPD6. We are thus able to study the effects of the fluctuating T=0 matrix elements on M1 and GT rates

Quantifying dust and the ultraviolet radiation-density in the local universe

A sample of local galaxies for which far infrared and uv fluxes are available is used to estimate the characteristic dust extinction in galaxies and to test whether standard dust properties are plausible. Assuming galaxies can be characterized by a single dust optical depth (certainly not valid for galaxies with a dominant starburst component), the infrared excess and ultraviolet colours of local galaxies are found to be consistent with normal Milky Way dust, with a mean value for E(B-V) of 0.16. A significant fraction of the dust heating is due to older, lower mass stars, and this fraction increases towards earlier galaxy types. Analysis of F_fir/F_uv versus uv colour diagrams for starburst galaxies in terms of a simple screen dust model does not support a Calzetti (1999) rather than a Milky Way extinction law, though the absence of the expected strong 2200 A feature in several galaxies with IUE spectra does show that more detailed radiative transfer models are needed, probably with non-spherical geometry. A simple treatment in which the 100/60 mu flux-ratio is used to subtract the optically thick starburst contribution to the far infrared radiation results in lower extinction estimates for the optically thin cirrus component, with a mean E(B-V) of 0.10 The uv luminosity density, corrected for dust extinction, is derived and a value for the local mean star-formation rate inferred. This is consistent with previous estimates from uv surveys and from H-alpha surveys.Comment: Accepted MNRAS, 11 pages, 11 figure

The Imperial IRAS-FSC Redshift Catalogue (IIFSCz)

We present a new catalogue, the Imperial IRAS-FSC Redshift Catalogue (IIFSCz), of 60,303 galaxies selected at 60 micron from the IRAS Faint Source Catalogue (FSC). The IIFSCz consists of accurate position, optical, near-infrared and/or radio identifications, spectroscopic redshift (if available) or photometric redshift (if possible), predicted far-infrared (FIR) and submillimetre (submm) fluxes ranging from 12 to 1380 micron based upon the best-fit infrared template. About 55% of the galaxies in the IIFSCz have spectroscopic redshifts and a further 20% have photometric redshifts obtained through either the training set or the template-fitting method. For S(60)>0.36 Jy, the 90% completeness limit of the FSC, 90% of the sources have either spectroscopic or photometric redshifts. Scientific applications of the IIFSCz include validation of current and forthcoming infrared and submm/mm surveys such as AKARI, Planck and Herschel, follow-up studies of rare source populations, large-scale structure and galaxy bias, local multiwavelength luminosity functions and source counts. The catalogue is publicly available from http://astro.imperial.ac.uk/~mrr/fss/Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, 1 table. Revised on 23/04/09. The catalogue has been revised to correct the fluxes of extended sources. Accepted for publication in MNRA