How OECD policies affected Latin America in the 1980s

The authors assess the effects of OECD monetary and fiscal policies on Latin America by means of simulation studies using the LBS/NIESR Global Econometric Model and a new empirical model of Latin America. The Latin American model pays special attention to the supply-side determination of natural rate of output and to the effects of asset accumulation. The Latin American model and its properties are presented by both empirical simulations and by means of a simple analytical representation. This model of Latin America is used in conjunction with the Global Econometric Model to study the macroeconomic interactions between Latin America and the rest of the world. The assumption in policy simulations is that G-3 exchange rates are forward-looking while Latin America pegs its currency to the U.S. dollar. It is postulated that Latin American fiscal policy adjustments target a baseline current account balance, in the face of external shocks. The simulation results reflect a number of important international links, which can be quantified as multiplier properties of the linked system of models. A permanent 5 percent contraction in the U.S. money supply induces a contraction of about the same order in Latin American GDP and capital stock. This is caused by higher U.S. interest rates and diminished Latin American competitiveness in third markets, reinforcing the fall in U.S. demand. Similarly, a combined monetary contraction in G-3 countries on a permanent footing - a contraction like the one in 1978-80 (U.S., 5.2 percent, German, 11.9 percent, and Japanese, 1.7 percent) hurts Latin America. Latin American GDP remains depressed by 4 percent and capital stock by 5 percent even after 10 years. The effects of negative income and interest rates emanating from G-3 countries are mutually reinforcing. U.S. fiscal expansion equal to 1 percent of baseline GDP, sustained over five years, transmits negatively to Latin America, where GDP falls 0.6 percent in the short run and remains depressed by 0.3 percent even after 10 years. The negative effects of higher interest rates and diminished competitiveness dominate the positive effects (which are short-lived) of expanded U.S. demand for Latin American exports. Similarly, G-3 fiscal spending shocks, which aregradually built up over five years, then reversed the next two years, have a mild negative effect on Latin American GDP. The G-3 fiscal shocks administered were set to their actual magnitudes relative to baseline GDP, as observed in 1980-85 (U.S. expansion of 3.5 percent but contraction in German and Japanese spending of 4.4 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively). Latin American GDP is lower than baseline GDP by 0.5 percent when the shocks peak at the end of five years, but continues to remain depressed 0.3 percent by the end of 10 years. The simulated effects of G-3 monetary and fiscal policies, with the shocks constructed to reflect their actual sizes in the early 1980s, suggest that Latin America's adjustment problems in that period cannot be attributed to G-3 fiscal imbalances that arose because of failures of G-3 fiscal policy coordination. But concerted G-3 monetary contraction in response to the second oil shock imposed heavy costs on Latin America; without it, Latin American GDP would have been 5 percent higher in the 1980s.Fiscal&Monetary Policy,Macroeconomic Management,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Stabilization

Investigation of wheat coleoptile response to phototropic stimulations

This report provides a summary of the preparations for, and the conduct and post-flight data analysis of, the Spacelab flight investigation FOTRAN, which flew on the IML-1 mission (STS-42) in January, 1992. The investigation was designed to provide data on the responses of wheat seedlings to various blue-light stimuli given while the plants were exposed to orbital microgravity conditions. Before the flight, a number of hypotheses were established which were to be tested by the data from the flight and parallel ground studies. A description of the experiment protocol developed for the mission is provided, and an account of the activities supported during preparations for and support of the flight experiment is given. Details of the methods used to reduce and analyze the data from the flight are outlined

Sources of Financial Stress in Agricultural Cooperatives

Financial stress in agricultural cooperatives may be due to a combination of three factors: inadequate profitability, excessive debt, or high interest rates. This paper uses an analytical technique to determine the relative degree of financial stress in agricultural cooperatives attributable to each factor. Roughly 30 percent of agricultural cooperatives in our sample suffered financial stress from 1987 through 1992. The analysis indicates that the greatest portion of financial stress, 54 percent, originated from low earnings. High interest rates accounted for roughly 24 percent of the financial stress while leverage accounts for the remaining 22 percent. The results also indicate that smaller cooperatives are more than twice as likely to face financial stress than larger cooperatives. Small cooperatives are more likely to face profitability problems whereas large cooperatives are more likely to face debt and interest rate problems.Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance,

Flatness optimization of micro-injection moulded parts: The case of a PMMA microfluidic component

Micro-injection moulding (µ-IM) has attracted a lot of interest because of its potential for the production of low-cost, miniaturized parts in high-volume. Applications of this technology are, amongst others, microfluidic components for lab-on-a-chip devices and micro-optical components. In both cases, the control of the part flatness is a key aspect to maintaining the component's functionality. The objective of this work is to determine the factors affecting the flatness of a polymer part manufactured by µ-IM and to control the manufacturing process with the aim of minimizing the in-process part deformation. As a case study, a PMMA microfluidic substrate with overall dimensions of 10 mm diameter and 1 mm thickness was investigated by designing a µ-IM experiment having flatness as the experimental response. The part flatness was measured using a micro-coordinate measuring machine. Finite elements analysis was also carried out to study the optimal ejection pin configuration. The results of this work show that the control of the µ-IM process conditions can improve the flatness of the polymer part up to about 15 µm. Part flatness as low as 4 µm can be achieved by modifying the design of the ejection system according to suggested guideline

An Analysis of Efficiency of Midwestern Agricultural Cooperatives

Agribusiness,

Coarse-grained simulation of amphiphilic self-assembly

We present a computer simulation study of amphiphilic self assembly performed using a computationally efficient single-site model based on Gay-Berne and Lennard-Jones particles. Molecular dynamics simulations of these systems show that free self-assembly of micellar, bilayer and inverse micelle arrangements can be readily achieved for a single model parameterisation. This self-assembly is predominantly driven by the anisotropy of the amphiphile-solvent interaction, amphiphile-amphiphile interactions being found to be of secondary importance. While amphiphile concentration is the main determinant of phase stability, molecular parameters such as headgroup size and interaction strength also have measurable affects on system properties. </p

Optimal Capital Structure in Centralized Agricultural Cooperatives

Agribusiness,

Coping with newcomer “hangover”: how socialization tactics affect declining job satisfaction during early employment

New entrants to a job often experience a “hangover effect,” whereby their job satisfaction declines as they become familiar with the job. Socialization scholars thus have sought to identify ways to forestall or ameliorate such declines. Recently, Boswell, Shipp, Payne, and Culbertson (2009) found that the extent of socialization can exacerbate the hangover effect. Following up this provocative finding, this study investigated whether socialization tactics worsen or dampen the hangover effect and by so doing, affect newcomer attrition. We monitored how newcomers' job satisfaction changed over time by surveying them on four occasions during the first six months of employment. We observed that socialization tactics (especially context and social tactics) increase the rate of declining job satisfaction during early employment. Yet all three tactics decrease this descent rate when enacted at high levels. Moreover, the present research established that declining job satisfaction translates into a trajectory of increasing turnover intentions and thus higher quits. Further, we found that extremely high social tactics can actually suppress the hangover effect and thereby reduce newcomer attrition. Our dynamic research offered a more nuanced understanding of how socialization tactics influence the hangover effect and newcomer attrition

Collective turnover : an expanded meta-analytic exploration and comparison

As evidenced by the publication of three meta-analyses in 2013, the importance of collective turnover is garnering increasing attention. Although each of these meta-analyses delivers a unique and significant impact to the HR literature, there remain opportunities to expand and build upon their contributions. In a comparison of the three extant meta-analyses, we found over 90 unique papers that were included in only one of each of the three studies, and > 10 new studies published since 2013. We combined and expanded the existing meta-analyses, offering a comparison of results, as well as contributing to a greater understanding of the role of collective turnover. In the most comprehensive analysis to date, analyzing 2149 effect sizes from 159 studies across 150 articles, we find both support for and divergence from several previously examined relationships, as well as evidence of a curvilinear turnover-performance relationship and of the contagious influence of turnover

When “embedded” means “stuck” : moderating effects of job embeddedness in adverse work environments

Job embeddedness is predominately assumed to benefit employees, work groups, and organizations (e.g., higher performance, social cohesion, and lower voluntary turnover). Challenging this assumption, we examined the potentially negative outcomes that may occur if employees are embedded in an adverse work environment - feeling “stuck”, yet unable to exit a negative situation. More specifically, we considered two factors representing adverse work conditions: abusive supervision and job insecurity. Drawing from conservation-of-resources theory, we hypothesized that job embeddedness would moderate the relationship between these conditions and outcomes of voluntary turnover, physical health, emotional exhaustion, and sleep quality/quantity, such that employees embedded in more adverse environments would be less likely to quit, but would experience more negative personal outcomes. Results from two independent samples, one in Japan (N=597) and one in the United States (N=283), provide support for the hypothesized pattern of interaction effects, thereby highlighting a largely neglected “dark side” of job embeddedness