The Impact of R&D Spillovers on Export Value: Does the Transmission Channel matter?

There is overwhelming evidence in the literature that open economies benefit from spillover effects from foreign R&D efforts. These effects increase in particular total factor productivity. Several transmission channels have been detected and studied intensively. Most of them are related to foreign direct investments or international trade. These real economic phenomena are themselves affected by spillovers, either indirectly through their effect on total factor productivity or directly through, for example, increased business contacts between investors, traders and producers.à In this empirical paper we study the effects of R&D spillovers on exports within the OECD. Previous evidence pointed to the crucial role of the transmission channel for such spillovers. Therefore we distinguish between trade-related and foreign-direct-investment related channels and indicators. By doing so we are able to determine the relevance and importance of each of the suggested channels and measures. We control for alternative determinants of export value by extending the well-accepted gravity model for international trade by incorporating R&D spillovers in the standard gravity specification. Our results indicate that – at least at the macro-level – the choice of the transmission channel matters. In particular we find clear evidence that imports are an important transmission channel for technological spillovers, whereas there is only weak evidence in favour of any role for foreign direct investments. Hence these findings simply that openness to trade is a better policy in order to benefit from foreign knowledge than openness to investments.

Central Banks and Payment Instruments: a Serious Case of Schizophrenia

This article analyses the competition between cash and payment cards against the backdrop of the dual role of central banks - as issuers of cash and as institutions with a mandate to foster the efficiency of payment systems in general. It is argued that this dual role results in a number of policy dilemmas, namely concerning pricing, traceability of banknotes and the choice of denominations of coins and banknotes. On a general level, the article argues that central banks should place greater emphasis on improving the efficiency of retail payments and less on protecting their self-interest. More concretely, the article repeats the suggestion - originally put forward in VAN HOVE & VUCHELEN (1996) - that the ECB should place the upper limit of its banknote series at EUR 50 instead of EUR 500. It is also argued that policy makers should explicitly foster the use of cost-based pricing and in particular create a legal environment that makes it possible for commercial banks to start using it.payment instruments; central banks; cash; banknotes; payment cards; public policy; efficiency

Learning to read in regular and special schools: a follow up study of students with Down Syndrome

In 2006, a questionnaire was sent to 160 parents of children with Down syndrome in Dutch primary education (special and regular) with a response rate of 76%. Questions were related to the child's gender, age and school history, academic and non-academic skills, IQ, parental educational level, and the extent to which parents worked on academics with their child. In a 2010-follow-up, out of these 121 parents, 115 (95%) filled in a questionnaire on reading and school placement of 16 of these children, IQ was unknown. These children were excluded from the analysis. Controlling for reading scores at time 1 (2006) and the other 2006-variables, ANCOVA's showed that reading scores at time 2 (2010) were higher for children the more years they had been in a regular school between time 1 (t1) and time 2 (t2). This was true for the total group and particularly for the younger children(< 9 years), whether all children or only children still in regular education in 2006 were included. Predicting change scores confirmed this advantage of regular placement, but only in the younger children. Particularly during the first years of primary school, reading development of children with Down syndrome appears to be stimulated by regular school placement

The two dimensional Antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model with next nearest neighbour Ising exchange

We have considered the $S=1/2$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model in two dimensions, with an additional Ising \nnn interaction. Antiferromagnetic \nnn interactions will lead to frustration, and the system responds with flipping the spins down in the $xy$ plane. For large next nearest neighbour coupling the system will order in a striped phase along the z axis, this phase is reached through a first order transition. We have considered two generalizations of this model, one with random \nnn interactions, and one with an enlarged unit cell, where only half of the atoms have \nnn interactions. In both cases the transition is softened to a second order transition separating two ordered states. In the latter case we have estimated the quantum critical exponent $\beta \approx 0.25$. These two cases then represent candidate examples of deconfined quantum criticality.Comment: Extensive revisions. Two new models with contious quantum phase transitio

Transverse Mass Distribution Characteristics of π0\pi^0 Production in 208^{208}Pb-induced Reactions and the Combinational Approach

The nature of invariant cross-sections and multiplicities in some $^{208}Pb$-induced reactions and some important ratio-behaviours of the invariant multiplicities for various centralities of the collision will here be dealt with in the light of a combinational approach which has been built up in the recent past by the present authors. Next, the results would be compared with the outcome of some of the simulation-based standard models for multiple production in nuclear collisions at high energies. Finally, the implications of all this would be discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, a few changes have been made in the tex