Recovering the sunk costs of R&D: the moulds industry case

Sunk costs for R&D are an important determinant of the level of innovation in the economy. In this paper I recover them using a Markov equilibrium framework. The contribution is twofold. First, a model of industry dynamics which accounts for selection into R&D, capital accumulation and entry/exit is proposed. The industry state is summarized by an aggregate state with the advantage that it avoids the "curse of dimensionality". Second, the estimated sunk costs of R&D for the Portuguese moulds industry are shown to be important (3.4 million Euros). They become particularly relevant since the industry is mostly populated by small firms. Institutional changes in the early 1990s generated an increase in demand from European car makers and created the incentives for firms to pay the costs of investment. Trade-induced innovation reinforced the selection effect by which international trade leads to productivity growth. Finally, using the estimated parameters, simulations evaluate the effects of changes in market size, sunk costs and entry costs

MIMAC-He3: a new detector for non-baryonic dark matter search

The project of a micro-TPC matrix of cells of 3He for direct detection of non-baryonic dark matter is presented. The privileged properties of 3He for this detection are highlighted. The double detection: ionization-projection of tracks is explained and its rejection evaluated. The specific capabilities of this project with respect to other experiments are mentioned and its complementarities concerning the supersymmetric phenomenology explicitly showed.Comment: to appear in Proc. of 5th International Workshop on the Identification of Dark Matter (IDM2004), Sept. 2004, Edinburgh (Scotland

Absolutely summing multilinear operators: a panorama

This paper has a twofold purpose: to present an overview of the theory of absolutely summing operators and its different generalizations for the multilinear setting, and to sketch the beginning of a research project related to an objective search of \textquotedblleft perfect\textquotedblright \ multilinear extensions of the ideal of absolutely summing operators. The final section contains some open problems that may indicate lines for future investigation.Comment: 30 page

Recovering the Sunk Costs of R&D: the Moulds Industry Case

Sunk costs for R&D are an important determinant of the level of innovation in the economy. In this paper I recover them using a Markov equilibrium framework. The contribution is twofold. First, a model of industry dynamics which accounts for selection into R&D, capital accumulation and entry/exit is proposed. The industry state is summarized by an aggregate state with the advantage that it avoids the "curse of dimensionality". Second, the estimated sunk costs of R&D for the Portuguese moulds industry are shown to be important (3.4 million Euros). They become particularly relevant since the industry is mostly populated by small firms. Institutional changes in the early 1990s generated an increase in demand from European car makers and created the incentives for firms to pay the costs of investment. Trade-induced innovation reinforced the selection effect by which international trade leads to productivity growth. Finally, using the estimated parameters, simulations evaluate the effects of changes in market size, sunk costs and entry costs.Aggregate state, industry dynamics, Markov equilibrium, moulds industry, R&D, structural estimation, sunk costs

Description of the female of Malukandra heterostyla (Lameere, 1902) (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Parandrinae)

The female of Malukandra heterostyla (Lameere, 1902) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is described and figured for the first time. An identification key to Malukandra is provided.A fêmea de Malukandra heterostyla (Lameere, 1902) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) é descrita e figurada pela primeira vez. É fornecida uma chave de identificação para Malukandra