Formal Education and Public Knowledge

In this paper, I examine the transitional dynamics of an economy populated by individuals who split their time between acquiring a formal education, producing final goods, and innovating. The paper has two objectives: (i) uncovering the macroeconomic circumstances that favored the rise of formal education; (ii) to reconcile the remarkable growth of the education sector with the constancy of other key macroeconomic variables, such as the interest rate, the consumption-output ratio, and the growth rate of per capita income (Kaldor facts). The transitional dynamics of human capital growth models, such as Lucas (1988), would attribute the arrival of education to the diminishing marginal productivity of physical capital. Conversely, the model proposed here suggests that it is the rate of learning that catches up with the rate of return on physical capital. As technical knowledge expands, the rate of return on education increases, and this induces individuals to stay longer in school. The model's transitional paths are matched with long run U.S. educational and economic data.Public Knowledge, Learning Rate, Transitional Dynamics, Calibration.

Human Capital Dispersion and Incentives to Innovate

Do policies that alter the allocation of human capital across individuals affect the innovation capacity of an economy? To answer this question I extend Romer’s growth model to allow for individual heterogeneity. I find that the value of an invention rises with equality. If skills and talents are evenly distributed, inventions are more widely adopted in production and users are willing to bid a higher price. Therefore more inequality is associated with a larger share of the population employed in the business of invention. But, somehow surprisingly, the analysis suggests that although an equal society values inventions more than an unequal one, it may produce fewer of them, or, equivalently, generates inventions of a lower quality. A calibration of the model suggests a weak, but positive, relationship between the rate of innovation and inequality. Finally, in a two-country world, in which ideas, individuals, and capital circulate without restrictions, I find that the unequal economy tends to specialize into the business of innovation. The main implication of the analysis is that an observed difference in the innovation rate between two countries with similar levels of education can hardly be attributed to variations in domestic human capital policies.human capital, inequality, innovation

Human Capital Dispersion and Incentives to Innovate

Do policies that alter the allocation of human capital across individuals affect the innovation capacity of an economy? To answer this question, I extend Romer's (1990) growth model to allow for individual heterogeneity. I find that the value of an invention rises with equality. If skills and talents are evenly distributed, inventions are more widely adopted in production and users are willing to bid a higher price. Therefore, more equality is associated with a larger share of the population employed in the business of invention. However, inventors of an equal society are not as creative as those of an unequal one. As a result an inverted-U curve relating inequality and the innovation rate emerges, indicating that departures from extreme forms of equality or inequality are growth-enhancing. I discuss evidence that agrees with the main implications of the analysis, namely that the market size and the number of inventors are negatively affected by inequality. Finally, a calibration exercise suggests that in recent decades the U.S. has been in the ascending portion of the inequality-growth curve.human capital, inequality, innovation

Dynamic Programming, Maximum Principle and Vintage Capital

We present an application of the Dynamic Programming (DP) and of the Maximum Principle (MP) to solve an optimization over time when the production function is linear in the stock of capital (Ak model). Two views of capital are considered. In one, which is embraced by the great majority of macroeconomic models, capital is homogeneous and depreciates at a constant exogenous rate. In the other view each piece of capital has its own finite productive life cycle (vintage capital). The interpretation of the time patterns of macroaggregates is quite different between the two cases. A technological shock generates an oscillatory movement in the time pattern of per capita output when capital has a vintage structure; conversely an instantaneous adjustment with no transitional dynamics occurs when capital is homogeneous. From a methodological point of view it emerges that the DP approach delivers sharper results than the MP approach (for instance it delivers a closed form solution for the optimal investment strategy) under slacker parameter restrictions. Cross-time and cross-country data on investments, income, and consumption drawn from the Penn World Table version 6.2 are used to evaluate the vintage and standard Ak model.Vintage Capital; Penn World Table; Maximum Principle; Hilbert Space

Reply: Thymidylate synthase polymorphism and survival of colorectal cancer patients treated with 5-fluorouracil

British Journal of Cancer (2002) 86, 1366. DOI: 10.1038/sj/bjc/6600230 www.bjcancer.co

A dynamic analysis of nash equilibria in search models with fiat money

We analyze the rise in the acceptability fiat money in a Kiyotaki–Wright economy by developing a method that can determine dynamic Nash equilibria for a class of search models with genuine heterogeneous agents. We also address open issues regarding the stability properties of pure strategy equilibria and the presence of multiple equilibria, numerical experiments illustrate the liquidity conditions that favor the transition from partial to full acceptance of fiat money, and the effects of inflationary shocks on production, liquidity, and trade

« Retrouver l’esprit industriel du capitalisme » : de la recherche d’actionnaires patients à celle d’une gouvernance partagée

Le gouvernement, fort de la loi visant à reconquérir l’économie réelle, dite loi Florange, qui institue la possibilité de votes doubles pour les actionnaires patients (conservant leurs actions au moins deux ans), vient de prendre deux décisions significatives en augmentant temporairement sa participation au capital de Renault et d’Air France afin d’éviter qu’en assemblée générale cette possibilité de votes doubles soit rejetée par la majorité qualifiée retenue dans la loi. L’objectif affiché par le Ministre de l’Economie dans une tribune du journal Le Monde est d’aider à « retrouver l’esprit industriel du capitalisme » en privilégiant les engagements à long terme de manière à promouvoir des investissements porteurs d’une croissance solide. Cette initiative conduit à reprendre la discussion sur les conditions de gouvernance des sociétés par actions (‘corporations’) (Pollin, 2004, 2006), à examiner les dérives dont elle a pu être l’objet et les remèdes qui ont pu et pourraient dans l’avenir y être apportés, impliquant de savoir ce que peut en attendre le gouvernement. [Premiers paragraphes

Peripheral-to-Central Neuroimmune Communication and the Sun: Implications for Addiction and Neurodegenerative Disease Pathology

The format of this thesis is as follows: a general introduction, a literature review, a research proposal, a systematic review, a general discussion, references and appendices. Both the literature review and systematic review (Chapters 2 and 4) have been published in peer-reviewed journals and are presented in their original manuscript format, except that language had been adjusted into Australian English for consistency, and literature citations have been collated within the reference section. The work presented herein explores how peripheral ultraviolet light applied to the skin can affect the central nervous system and behaviour, with a focus on the clinical translation to prevalent neurological disorders. First, the impact of solar irradiation on the integumentary system and evidence of skin-brain-communication pathways are introduced. This discussion builds the concept that peripheral UV signals arising in the skin may result in global manifestations via the brain (Chapter 1). The idea of skin-brain communication is further explored with a literature review linking sunbathing, UV exposure seeking and addictive behaviour (Chapter 2). In this chapter, a novel hypothesis is presented suggesting that UV-induced inflammatory signalling may influence neuronal circuits to increase the addictive-like behaviours observed in frequent tanners (Chapter 2). This idea provides the basis for a research proposal (Chapter 3) detailing planned experimental work to investigate whether UV radiation influences mesolimbic dopaminergic systems within the brain, and if inflammation plays a substantial role. Chapter 3 is presented as a research proposal as the work could not be completed due to unforeseen circumstances, which significantly reduced my capacity to continue with the study. Appendices have been included to exhibit the pilot research that had commenced. The final research chapter (Chapter 4) focuses on the role of sun-induced or administered vitamin D and its influence on neurological health. This chapter presents a systematic review of published literature that investigates whether the presumed protective benefits from vitamin D, in neurodegenerative disease, is dependent on route of administration.Thesis (MPhil) -- University of Adelaide, Adelaide Medical School, 201