Farmers’ Choice and Informal Credit Markets in China

Informal credit markets are very active in many developing countries including China. Informal financial associations have become a major channel of borrowing. Using data from the 2006 Rural Household Survey, this paper investigates farmers’ borrowings from both formal and informal sources with higher/lower interest, by looking into both demand and supply of loan. Consistent with the theory and previous studies, age follows an inverted U-shaped pattern in its relationship with the probability of borrowing from informal loan with higher interest. Our study shows that the impact of age disappears for the formal loan participation. In addition, high income and saving imply lower credit constraints. Moreover, household and county characteristics and financial conditions have a large and varying influence on farmers’ borrowing behavior.informal credit, financial constraints, China, Agricultural Finance, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development, Q12, C5, G21,

Theoretical and Experimental Analysis of Auctions with Negative Externalities

We investigate a private value auction in which a single "entrant" on winning imposes a negative externality on two "regular" bidders. In an English auction, when all bidders are active "regulars" free ride, exiting before price reaches their value. In a first-price sealed-bid auction incentives for free riding and aggressive bidding coexist, limiting free riding. We find substantial, though incomplete, free riding in the clock auction. In first-price auctions, regular bidders bid more aggressively than the "entrant" and both bid higher than in auctions with no externality. Predictions regarding revenue, efficiency, and successful entry between the two auctions are satisfied

Theoretical and Experimental Analysis of Auctions with Negative Externalities

We investigate a private value auction in which a single "entrant" on winning imposes a negative externality on two "regular" bidders. In an English auction, when all bidders are active "regulars" free ride, exiting before price reaches their value. In a first-price sealed-bid auction incentives for free riding and aggressive bidding coexist, limiting free riding. We find substantial, though incomplete, free riding in the clock auction. In first-price auctions, regular bidders bid more aggressively than the "entrant" and both bid higher than in auctions with no externality. Predictions regarding revenue, efficiency, and successful entry between the two auctions are satisfied

Tourism experiences reduce the risk of cognitive impairment in the Chinese older adult: A prospective cohort study

Background: Given the etiological complexity of cognitive impairment, no effective cure currently exists for precise treatment of dementia. Although scholars have noted tourism’s potential role in managing cognitive impairment and mild dementia, more robust empirical investigation is needed in this area. This study aimed to examine the associations between tourism and cognitive impairment and dementia in older Chinese adults. Method: From a nationwide community-based cohort, 6,717 individuals aged ≥ 60 were recruited from 2011 to 2014, of whom 669 (9.96%) had had at least one tourism experience in the 2 years prior to enrollment. All the participants were then prospectively followed up until 2018. The association between tourism and cognitive impairment was examined by the Cox proportional hazards regression model. The adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to evaluate the effect of tourism experience on cognitive impairment and dementia. Results: A total of 1,416 individuals were newly diagnosed with cognitive impairment and 139 individuals with dementia onset during follow-up. The incidence of cognitive impairment was significantly lower among participants with tourism experiences (316.94 per 10,000 person-years) than those without such experiences (552.38 per 10,000 person-years). Cox regression showed that tourism decreased the risk of cognitive impairment (aHR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.41–0.62) when adjusted for behavioral covariates and characteristics. Compared with participants without tourism experiences, those with 1, 2, and ≥ 3 tourism experiences had a lower risk of cognitive impairment with the aHRs of 0.72 (95% CI: 0.52–0.99), 0.65 (0.42–1.01), and 0.68 (0.44–0.98), respectively. Tourism experiences also reduced participants’ risk of dementia (aHR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.19–0.89). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated associations between tourism and reduced risks of cognitive impairment and dementia in older Chinese adults. Thus, tourism could serve as a novel approach to dementia prevention

Effects of alendronate-immobilized calcium phosphate coating on bone growth into porous tantalum : a gap model animal study

Porous tantalum has been shown to be a promising orthopaedic implant material because of its similarity to bone in both mechanical properties and its three-dimensional porous structure. However, in some circumstances, bone quality or quantity is insufficient to allow adequate bone ingrowth. Alendronate, one of the bisphosphonate families, affects the activities of bone cells and enhances bone formation. In this thesis, we hypothesized that the addition of alendronate could increase the osteoconductivity and bone-ingrowth of porous tantalum and overcome the challenges of bone-implant gaps. To facilitate local delivery of alendronate, a micro-porous calcium phosphate coating was deposited onto the tantalum surface by an electrolytic deposition technique, which was followed by alendronate adsorption. Coating structures and morphologies were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The presence of alendronate was confirmed by high performance liquid chromatography. To study the effects of alendronate-immobilized calcium phosphate coating on bone reaction to porous implants, an animal gap model, with a fixed gap of 0.6 mm between implants and bone, was developed. Three types of surfaces, which were non-coating (Ta), calcium phosphate coating (Ta-CaP), and alendronate-immobilized calcium phosphate coating (Ta-CaP-AIN), were compared. Two fluorochromes were adopted to track the front of bone formation. After four weeks of healing and following standard histology techniques, the implants were analyzed with backscattered electron microscopy and fluorescent optical microscopy for bone-implant interactions. The relative volume increase of gap filling, bone ingrowth and total bone formation were 124 % (2.24-fold), 232% (3.32-fold) and 170% (2.7-fold) respectively in Ta-CaP-ALN compared with Ta controls. The contact length of newly formed bone on porous tantalum was increased by 700% (8-fold) in Ta-CaP-ALN compared with Ta plugs, suggesting enhanced osteoconductivity of Ta-CaP-ALN implants. The bone formation mechanism analysis found that bone growth initiated on both surfaces of the Ta-CaP-ALN implants and host bone, while little bone initiation on the Ta implant surface was detected. These significant enhancements of Ta-CaP^ALN may have direct applications in orthopaedics. For revision arthroplasty with insufficient bone stock, the local delivery of alendronate would enhance biological fixation of the implant and promote the healing of bone defects.Applied Science, Faculty ofMaterials Engineering, Department ofGraduat

Spillovers from foreign direct investment: evidence from the Chinese manufacturing sector

tocpublished_or_final_versionabstractEconomics and FinanceMasterMaster of Philosoph

Farmers’ Choice and Informal Credit Markets in China

Informal credit markets are very active in many developing countries including China. Informal financial associations have become a major channel of borrowing. Using data from the 2006 Rural Household Survey, this paper investigates farmers’ borrowings from both formal and informal sources with higher/lower interest, by looking into both demand and supply of loan. Consistent with the theory and previous studies, age follows an inverted U-shaped pattern in its relationship with the probability of borrowing from informal loan with higher interest. Our study shows that the impact of age disappears for the formal loan participation. In addition, high income and saving imply lower credit constraints. Moreover, household and county characteristics and financial conditions have a large and varying influence on farmers’ borrowing behavior