Does International Trade Synchronize Business Cycles?

This paper studies the relationship between international trade and output fluctuations. The authors find evidence that the business cycles of countries that are more open to international trade are more likely to by synchronized with the business cycles of their major trading partners. A detailed study of the South Korean case shows that while business cycles are related to openness, the diversification of export destinations seems to weaken these links. The authors find no relationship between openness and output volatility.Coherence; Volatility; Business Cycles; Time Series

Self-assembled foam-like graphene networks formed through nucleate boiling

Self-assembled foam-like graphene (SFG) structures were formed using a simple nucleate boiling method, which is governed by the dynamics of bubble generation and departure in the graphene colloid solution. The conductivity and sheet resistance of the calcined (400 degrees C) SFG film were 11.8 S.cm(-1) and 91.2 Omega square(-1), respectively, and were comparable to those of graphene obtained by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) (similar to 10 S.cm(-1))(.) The SFG structures can be directly formed on any substrate, including transparent conductive oxide (TCO) glasses, metals, bare glasses, and flexible polymers. As a potential application, SFG formed on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) exhibited a slightly better overall efficiency (3.6%) than a conventional gold electrode (3.4%) as a cathode of quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs)open232