On the Accuracy of Bootstrap Confidence Intervals for Efficiency Levels in Stochastic Frontier Models with Panel Data

We study the construction of confidence intervals for efficiency levels of individual firms in stochastic frontier models with panel data. The focus is on bootstrapping and related methods. We start with a survey of various versions of the bootstrap. We also propose a simple parametric alternative in which one acts as if the identity of the best firm is known. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that the parametric method works better than the per- centile bootstrap, but not as well as bootstrap methods that make bias corrections. All of these methods are valid only for large time-series sample size (T), and correspondingly none of the methods yields very accurate confidence intervals except when T is large enough that the identity of the best firm is clear. We also present empirical results for two well-known data sets.Stochastic frontier, bootstrap, efficiency

Poverty and Economic Freedom: Evidence from Cross-Country Data

This paper explores the empirical relationship between poverty and economic freedom. In doing so, it estimates the levels of absolute poverty for a panel of over forty developing countries and then utilizes fixed effects and GMM-IV estimators to derive the empirical relationships. The principal empirical results that emerge from this exercise indicate that important indicators of economic freedom such as openness to trade and small size of the government are robustly associated with poverty reduction. Labor market flexibility, which reflects an important dimension of economic freedom, does not have a significant effect on poverty on average. However, there is some evidence that trade's beneficial impact on poverty has been smaller in economies with more regulated labor markets. Finally, civil liberties that encompass various types of important economic freedom such as poverty rights, rule of law, etc., also contribute significantly to poverty reduction. This result contrasts with that for political liberties, which have seemingly no impact on poverty reduction. All these suggest that economic freedom is as much important for economic growth as for poverty reduction.

A Ligation-PCR Approach for Generating Gene Replacement Constructs in Magnaporthe grisea

The conventional approach for generating gene replacement constructs involves several sequence-specific cloning steps and is time-consuming. A ligation-PCR approach was developed to efficiently generate gene replacement constructs. Two vectors useful for this ligation-PCR approach and another vector suitable for improving the efficiency of knockout mutant screens were constructed

Complete genome sequence of functional probiotic candidate Lactobacillus amylovorus CACC736

Lactobacillus amylovorus CACC736 was originated from swine feces in Korea. The complete genome sequences of the strain contained one circular chromosome (2,057,809 base pair [bp]) with 38.2% guanine-cytosine (GC) content and two circular plasmids, namely, pCACC736-1 and pCACC736-2. The predicted protein-coding genes, which are encoding the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated proteins, biosynthesis of bacteriocin (helveticin J), and the related proteins of the bile, acid tolerance. Notably, the genes related to vitamin B-group biosynthesis (riboflavin and cobalamin) were also found in L. amylovorus CACC736. Collectively, the complete genome sequence of the L. amylovorus CACC736 will aid in the development of functional probiotics in the animal industry

Characterization of MST11, a MEK kinase gene in the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea

Rice blast, a devastating disease on rice worldwide, is caused by heterothallic haploid ascomycete Magnaporthe grisea. On plant leaves or artificial hydrophobic surfaces, germ tubes produced from conidia differentiate into specialized infection structures called appressoria. The fungus then uses enormous turgor pressure generated in appressoria for plant penetration. In M. grisea, the Pmk1 MAP kinase regulates appressorium formation and plant infection. MST11 encodes a MEK kinase that is homologous to yeast STE11. The mst11 deletion mutants failed to form appressoria and penetrate plant cells. MST11 has a sterile alpha motif (SAM), Ras association (RA) domain, two putative phosphorylation sites, and a protein kinase domain. The SAM of Mst11 was essential for its interaction with Mst50 and activities. In contrast, deletion of the RA domain had no effect on appressorium formation but was reduced in the efficiency of appressorial penetration and virulence. Multiple appressoria were formed by branching germ tubes in the MST11ΔRA transformants. The two putative phosphorylation sites and the self-inhibitory interaction between the N-terminal region and the kinase domain of MST11 also were functionally characterized. We also examined the interaction between Mst11 and Ras proteins and determined the effect of a putative dominant active mutation. Results from these studies indicate that MST11 encodes a MEK kinase that plays a critical role in the activation of the PMK1 MAP kinase pathway

Trade, investment and economic integration of South Korea and China

노트 : Prepared for presentation at "Korea and the World Economy, V" conference, July 7-8, 2006

Poverty and economic freedom : evidence from cross-country data

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/This paper explores the empirical relationship between poverty and economic freedom. In doing so, it estimates the levels of absolute poverty for a panel of over forty developing countries and then utilizes fixed effects and GMM-IV estimators to derive the empirical relationships. The principal empirical results that emerge from this exercise indicate that important indicators of economic freedom such as openness to trade and small size of the government are robustly associated with poverty reduction. Labor market flexibility, which reflects an important dimension of economic freedom, does not have a significant effect on poverty on average. However, there is some evidence that trade's beneficial impact on poverty has been smaller in economies with more regulated labor markets. Finally, civil liberties that encompass various types of important economic freedom such as property rights, rule of law, etc., also contribute significantly to poverty reduction. This result contrasts with that for political liberties, which have seemingly no impact on poverty reduction. All these suggest that economic freedom is as much important for economic growth as for poverty reduction