Productivity and Credit Constraints: Firm-Level Evidence from Propensity Score Matching

Drawing on a unique, farm-level panel dataset with 37,409 observations and employing a matching estimator, this paper analyses how farm access to credit affects farm input allocation and farm efficiency in the Central and Eastern European transition countries. We find that farms are asymmetrically credit constrained with respect to inputs. Farm use of variable inputs and capital investment increases up to 2.3% and 29%, respectively, per €1,000 of additional credit. Our estimates also suggest that farm access to credit increases total factor productivity up to 1.9% per €1,000 of additional credit, indicating that an improvement in access to credit results in an adjustment in the relative input intensities on farms. This finding is further supported by a negative effect of better access to credit on labour, suggesting that these two are substitutes. Interestingly, farms are found not to be credit constrained with respect to land.

Detección de delaminaciones y otros defectos de unión en productos de acero multicapa Al/Al-Sn/Al llevando a cabo la monitorización con ondas guiadas EMAT

Rayleigh-Lamb, ultrasonic, guided wave modes were used to detect delamination, embedded steel debris and a brittle intermetallic Al-Fe diffusion bond layer at the interface between clad Al and steel, which were bonded together in a cold roll bonding (CRB) process. Multi-layered samples were produced, with artificially implanted defects of different sizes between the clad Al and steel layer to determine the sensitivity of the guided wave modes to qualitatively indicate the occurrence of defects based on signal attenuation caused by defects. Electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) were used to generate and detect the guided waves in the pitch and catch technique. Signals were measured in the as rolled and post rolling annealed state to determine the influence of the altered material properties on attenuation and Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). Results show very good sensitivity of the S0 wave mode for delamination and embedded steel debris detection and a relation between attenuation, defect type, size and annealing state. However, detection of the presence of a brittle intermetallic Al-Fe diffusion layer was not possible due to the strong sensitivity to the material properties and thicknesses of the clad Al and steel materials. Micro sections of all samples were examined to explain the observations. The results suggest a promising use of Rayleigh-Lamb guided wave modes for online detection of bond defects in serial production of Al-Sn alloy/steel bimetal strips

The Summer Camp of 1930

“So this is Bitterroot!” The foresters had arrived. The first four of the student woodchoppers stood on the bank of the clear blue lake and viewed their prospective home for the summer. It met their approval

Our Athletes

Once again the Iowa State Foresters have loaned their share of athletes to the major sports of Iowa State College. Fifteen men of the department have gained recognition for participation in varsity athletic competition. The athletic ability of these men is above the average, considering that three of them are captains of major sports, and that the others have enviable records in their sports. We are proud of these men and wish to pay them honorable recognition. They are doing their part to add emphasis to the tradition that IOWA STATE FIGHTS

Energetics of a black hole: constraints on the jet velocity and the nature of the X-ray emitting region in Cyg X-1

We investigate the energetics of the jet and X-ray corona of Cyg X-1. We show that the current estimates of the jet power obtained from Halpha and [O III] measurements of the optical nebula surrounding the X-ray source allow one to constrain the bulk velocity of the jet. It is definitely relativistic (v >0.1c) and most probably in the range (0.3-0.8)c. The exact value of the velocity depends on the accretion efficiency. These constraints are obtained independently of, and are consistent with, previous estimates of the jet bulk velocity based on radio measurements. We then show that the X-ray emission does not originate in the jet. Indeed, the energy budget does not allow the corona to be ejected to infinity at relativistic speed. Rather, either a small fraction of the corona escapes to infinity, or the ejection velocity of the corona is vanishingly low. Although the corona could constitute the jet launching region, it cannot be identified with the jet itself. We discuss the consequences for various X-ray emission models.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, to appear in MNRA

The Forestry Club

Once again the Forestry Club has passed through a successful season of outdoor campfires, club meetings and general good times. Judging by the number of men who attended these affairs it can never be said that the foresters failed to support their activities

Luminous infrared galaxies as possible sources of the UHE cosmic rays

Ultra High Energy (UHE) particles coming from discrete extragalactic sources are potential candidates for EAS events above a few tens of EeV. In particular, galaxies with huge infrared luminosity triggered by collision and merging processes are possible sites of UHECR acceleration. Using the PSCz catalogue of IR galaxies we calculate a large scale anisotropy of UHE protons originating in the population of the luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs). Small angle particle scattering in weak irregular extragalactic magnetic fields as well as deflection by regular Galactic field are taken into account. We give analytical formulae for deflection angles with included energy losses on cosmic microwave background (CMB). The hypotheses of the anisotropic and isotropic distributions of the experimental data above 40 EeV from AGASA are checked, using various statistical tests. We show that on the basis of the small scale clustering analysis there is a much better correlation of the UHECRs data below GZK cut-off with the predictions of the LIRG origin than with those of isotropy. We derive analytical formulae for a probability of a given number of doublets, triplets and quadruplets for any density distribution of independent events on the sky. The famous AGASA UHE triple event is found to be very well correlated on the sky with the brightest extragalactic infrared source within 70 Mpc - merger galaxies Arp 299 (NGC 3690 + IC 694).Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publ: Journal of Physics

Senior Recital: Tracey Kowski

Kemp Recital HallOctober 20, 2012Sunday Afternoon3:00 p.m