Skill-biased Technical Change and the Relative Pay and Employment of Men and Women in the UK Economy 1971 – 1991

This paper presents quantitative estimates of the effects of technological change in industries and services on skill composition in the United Kingdom for four skill groups, for men and women separately for the period 1971 – 1991. The paper separates the effects of relative wage change, biased technological change and changes in sectoral composition and estimates the effect of biased technological change on relative pay.Skill change; United Kingdom; technological change; relative pay

Development of convection along the SPCZ within a Madden-Julian oscillation

A subtropical Rossby wave propagation mechanism is proposed to account for the poleward and eastward progression of intraseasonal convective anomalies along the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) that is observed in a significant proportion of Madden-Julian Oscillations (MJOs). Large scale convection, associated with an MJO, is assumed to be already established over the Indonesian region. The latent heating associated with this convection forces an equatorial Rossby wave response with an upper tropospheric anticyclone, centred over or slightly to the west of the convection. Large potential vorticity (PV) gradients, associated with the subtropical jet and the tropopause, lie just poleward of the anticyclone and large magnitude PV air is advected equatorwards on the eastern side of the anticyclone. This ``high'' PV air, or upper tropospheric trough, is far enough off the equator that it has associated strong horizontal temperature gradients, and it induces deep ascent on its eastern side, at a latitude of about 15-30\degr. If this deep ascent is over a region susceptible to deep convection, such as the SPCZ region, then convection may be forced or triggered. Hence convection develops along the SPCZ as a forced response to convection over Indonesia. The response mechanism is essentially one of subtropical Rossby wave propagation. This hypothesis is based on a case study of a particularly strong MJO in early 1988, and is tested by idealised modelling studies. The mechanism may also be relevant to the existence of the mean SPCZ, as a forced response to mean Indonesian convection

The linear dependence relations and truncation errors for interpolating even order splines

Linear dependence relations are derived for even order polynomial splines defined over the points midway between a uniformly spaced set of knots. The leading term of the truncation error is determined and is illustrated by an example

Defending zero inflation: all for naught

Economists and policymakers disagree on the lengths central banks should go in pursuit of price stability and, in fact, on exactly what price stability means. This essay advocates that central banks try to maintain stable price levels in their countries, and it argues that the benefits of achieving this objective are worth the transition costs. The essay reviews some of the relevant academic literature on the economic effects of inflation and specifically addresses the issues of transition cost, fiscal dominance, and credibility.Inflation (Finance)

Price stability and world economic recovery

An assertion that central banks can promote long-term investment and stable economic growth only by guaranteeing price stability and that a coordinated global easing of monetary policies would damage central-bank credibility and jeopardize progress against inflation.Monetary policy ; Prices ; Banks and banking, Central