Tracking productivity in real time

Because volatile short-term movements in productivity growth obscure the underlying trend, shifts in this trend may go unrecognized for years - a lag that can lead to policy mistakes and hence economic instability. This study develops a model for tracking productivity that brings in additional variables to help reveal the trend. The model's success is evident in its ability to detect changes in trend productivity within a year or two of their occurrence. Currently, the model indicates that the underlying trend remains strong despite recent weak productivity data.Industrial productivity - Measurement ; Economic policy ; Econometric models

The geography of strain: organizational resilience as a function of intergroup relations

Organizational resilience is an organization’s ability to absorb strain and preserve or improve functioning, despite the presence of adversity. In existing scholarship there is the implicit assumption that organizations experience and respond holistically to acute forms of adversity. We challenge this assumption by theorizing about how adversity can create differential strain, affecting parts of an organization rather than the whole. We argue that relations among those parts fundamentally shape organizational resilience. We develop a theoretical model that maps how the differentiated emergence of strain in focal parts of an organization triggers the movements of adjoining parts to provide or withhold resources necessary for the focal parts to adapt effectively. Drawing on core principles of theories about intergroup relations, we theorize about three specific pathways—integration, disavowal, and reclamation—by which responses of adjoining parts to focal part strain shape organizational resilience. We further theorize about influences on whether and when adjoining parts are likely to select different pathways. The resulting theory reveals how the social processes among parts of organizations influence member responses to adversity and, ultimately, organizational resilience. We conclude by noting the implications for organizational resilience theory, research, and practice.Accepted manuscrip

Spin and exchange coupling for Ti embedded in a surface dipolar network

We have studied the spin and exchange coupling of Ti atoms on a Cu$_2$N/Cu(100) surface using density functional theory. We find that individual Ti have a spin of 1.0 (i.e., 2 Bohr Magneton) on the Cu$_2$N/Cu(100) surface instead of spin-1/2 as found by Scanning Tunneling Microscope. We suggest an explanation for this difference, a two-stage Kondo effect, which can be verified by experiments. By calculating the exchange coupling for Ti dimers on the Cu$_2$N/Cu(100) surface, we find that the exchange coupling across a `void' of 3.6\AA\ is antiferromagnetic, whereas indirect (superexchange) coupling through a N atom is ferromagnetic. We confirm the existence of superexchange interactions by varying the Ti-N angle in a model trimer calculation. For a square lattice of Ti on Cu$_2$N/Cu(100), we find a novel spin striped phase

Position determination of a lander and rover at Mars with Earth-based differential tracking

The presence of two or more landed or orbiting spacecraft at a planet provides the opportunity to perform extremely accurate Earth-based navigation by simultaneously acquiring Doppler data and either Same-Beam Interferometry (SBI) or ranging data. Covariance analyses were performed to investigate the accuracy with which lander and rover positions on the surface of Mars can be determined. Simultaneous acquisition of Doppler and ranging data from a lander and rover over two or more days enables determination of all components of their relative position to under 20 m. Acquiring one hour of Doppler and SBI enables three dimensional lander-rover relative position determination to better than 5 m. Twelve hours of Doppler and either SBI or ranging from a lander and a low circular or half synchronous circular Mars orbiter makes possible lander absolute position determination to tens of meters

Tax Consequences of Assigning Life Insurance - Time for Another Look

The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 furnishes the courts and the Internal Revenue Service an opportunity to close certain loopholes in the federal tax consequences of assigning life insurance. About twenty years ago, we published an article arguing that the tax consequences of assigning life insurance affords taxpayers unwarranted opportunities for tax avoidance. Since then, developments in the case law and Internal Revenue Service rulings have broadened the loopholes. In the update of our article, we show how the new tax law supports our original position

Retirees Beware: Don\u27t Worry About the British, Taxmageddon Is Coming

This article is adapted from the authors\u27 article published under a similar title in 136 Tax Notes 107 (July 2, 2012)

Federal Taxation of the Assignment of Life Insurance

The most litigated estate tax issue concerning life insurance is whether the proceeds should be included in the insured\u27s gross estate. This question usually is governed by section 2042 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, the estate tax provision directed specifically at life insurance. While the Tax Reform Act of 1976 wrought enormous changes in many areas of estate taxation, Congress did not change section 2042. Thus the several unresolved questions concerning the interpretation of that section remain unsettled. But the question of the includability of life insurance proceeds in the gross estate of the insured is not always governed by section 2042. It sometimes turns on one of the other sections of the Code, notably section 2035. This Article will deal with the treatment under section 2035 of various types of transactions concerning life insurance

Retirees Beware: Don\u27t Worry About the British, \u27Taxmageddon\u27 is Coming

Taxmageddon is coming. Unless Congress extends the current rates or reaches an agreement on tax reform, dividends will then be taxed as ordinary income at a marginal rate as high as 39.6 % and net capital gains will then be taxed at 20%. For high-income taxpayers, a 3.8% Medicare surtax will be added to the taxation of net capital gains, dividend income, interest, and other investment income, bringing the highest marginal rate to 43.4%