Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Economic Growth? Evidence from a Threshold Regression Analysis

Using threshold regression techniques developed by Caner and Hansen(2004),this paper examines whether the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth is dependent upon different absorptive capacities. There are three absorptive capacities, namely, initial GDP, human capital and the volume of trade, that are used as threshold variables in our paper. The empirical analysis shows that FDI alone plays an ambiguous role in contributing to economic growth based on a sample of 62 countries covering the period from 1975 through 2000. Under the threshold regression, we find that initial GDP and human capital are important factors in explaining FDI. FDI is found to have a positive and significant impact on growth when host countries have better levels of initial GDP and human capital.

Asymmetric Exchange Rate Exposure and Industry Characteristics : Evidence from Japanese Data

This paper investigates the asymmetric effects of exchange rate exposure on Japanese stock returns at the industry level.Using the asymmetric correlation test of Hong et al.(2007), we examine five major currencies against the yen and thirty-three Japanese sectoral stock returns.Signi ficant asymmetric responses in stock returns to exchange rate changes are found in the pharmaceutical, real estate, and air transportation industries.These findings are consistent with the pricing-to-market and hysteretic behavior for the pharmaceutical and air transportation industries and with the hedging behavior for the real estate industry.The results for the threshold models confirm that the asymmetric exposures are based on industry characteristics.exchange rate exposure, asymmetric correlation, threshold model

Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma

AbstractBronchioloalveolar carcinoma is a subtype of adenocarcinoma of the lung with a relatively better prognosis. We reviewed the cases of 50 consecutive patients with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma treated during a 10-year period and attempted to analyze factors related to prognosis. During the 10-year study period, the prevalence of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma relative to adenocarcinoma of the lung remained steady. The subjects included 32 male and 18 female patients with mean ages of 64.7 years and 55.1 years, respectively (p = 0.0030). The preoperative radiographic findings included 40 cases of localized and 10 cases of diffuse bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. The clinicopathologic TNM staging included 20 patients with stage I cancer, 4 with stage II cancer, 11 with stage IIIa cancer, 3 with stage IIIb cancer, and 12 with stage IV cancer. Forty patients with clinical stage I, II, or III disease underwent operation (operability 80%). The resectability rate was 90% (36 of 40). Thirty-four procedures were considered as curative. The overall cumulative survival at 5 years was 22.2% (46.4% for stage I). Different TNM stages showed significant differences in survival time (p = 0.0001). The median survival times were 64.6 months for stage I, 48.0 months for stage II, 24.7 months for stage IIIa, 9.0 months for stage IIIb, and 4.5 months for stage IV disease. The median survival time for localized bronchioloalveolar carcinoma was 27.5 months, and the median survival time for diffuse bronchioloalveolar carcinoma was 4.3 months (p = 0.0002). The median survival time for the curative resection group was 30.6 months, and the median survival time for the noncurative resection or nonresection group was 5.8 months (p = 0.0001). On the basis of this study we conclude that (1) the prevalence of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma is quite steady, (2) bronchioloalveolar carcinoma presents at an earlier age in women, (3) bronchioloalveolar carcinoma frequently presents with lymphatic spread or systemic metastasis at diagnosis, (4) most localized bronchioloalveolar carcinomas are resectable and the prognosis with this type is better than that of the diffuse type, and (5) long-term survival correlates closely with initial roentgenographic appearance, TNM stage, and completeness of surgical resection. (J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG 1995;110:374-81

Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis associated with risperidone-induced hyperprolactinemia

Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is a rare inflammatory breast disease. The etiology and treatment options of IGM remain controversial. Previous case reports have suggested that hyperprolactinemia may be associated with IGM. In the present report, we describe the first case of IGM associated with risperidone-induced hyperprolactinemia

Research on the Motivation and Attitude of College students' Physical Education in Taiwan

College students' physical education plays an important role in physical activity and cultivates the concept of independent health management. At present, what kind of learning attitude do Taiwan college students face in physical education? What motivation does the student influence the attitude of the physical education? What is the relevance? All of the above are the purpose of this study. The research method adopts the questionnaire survey method, and the survey data adopts descriptive statistical analysis, independent sample t test, single factor variance analysis, LSD post hoc comparison method, and typical correlation analysis. Research results: 1. The different background variables of Taiwanese college students are that the main motivation factor of physical education is to obtain good health fitness for "physical health". 2. Taiwanese college students have different background variables. They all think that the "cognitive learning" of physical education is the main factor of attitude, that is, the knowledge about health care and sports skills. 3. There is a positive correlation between learning motivation and learning attitude (ρ=.90). Learning motivation is one of the important factors affecting learning attitude. Research conclusions: 1. The factors of Taiwanese male and female college students' motivation for learning in physical education are mainly based on "physical health". 2. Freshmen have higher motivations and learning attitudes in physical education than second-grade to fourth-grade. 3. Taiwan female college students average 1 or 2 times per week, male college students have the most athletes 2 to 3 times per week, more than 90% of college students like sports. 4. There is a positive correlation between learning motivation and learning attitude, indicating that the stronger the attribute of learning motivation "physical health", the higher the student's learning attitude. 5. Satisfying students' motivation for learning helps students to learn positively. 6. Another important task of the college physical education class is to prepare students for future lifelong sports