Telecommunications and economic growth: an empirical analysis of sub-saharan Africa

We examine the effect on economic growth of mobile cellular phones in sub-Saharan Africa where a marked asymmetry is present between land-line penetration and mobile telecommunications expansion. This study extends previous ones along two important dimensions. First, we allow for the potential endogeneity between economic growth and telecommunications expansion by employing a special linear generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator. Second, we explicitly model for varying degrees of substitutability between mobile cellular and land-line telephony, so that greater expansion of mobile telecommunications can have a different impact whenever the level of land-line penetration differs. We find that mobile cellular phone expansion is an important determinant of the rate of economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, we find that the contribution of mobile cellular phones to economic growth has been growing in importance in the region, and that the marginal impact of mobile telecommunication services is even greater wherever land-line phones are rare. Given the low cost of mobile telecommunications technology relative to other broad infrastructure projects, especially land-line infrastructure, we advocate that mobile telecommunication services be encouraged in the area.

Using RFID Technology To Track Attendance

The relationship between class attendance and academic performance continues to be of interest. The most common methods of tracking attendance, however, have their shortcomings and biases. We provide researchers with a method to collect unbiased and reliable attendance data. Late arrivals and early departures can also be recorded with ease, allowing researchers to evaluate these behaviors as well. Our method is intended to collect valuable attendance data at a minimal cost of time or money: setup takes 10-20 seconds per student initially, with no time lost subsequently, and the monetary cost is less than 29¢ for each student. An Excel-based version is discussed. Software code is provided, open-source, for instructors to implement

Pricing two-asset rainbow options with the fast Fourier transform

In this paper, we present a numerical method based on the fast Fourier transform (FFT) to price call options on the minimum of two assets, otherwise known as two-asset rainbow options. We consider two stochastic processes for the underlying assets: two-factor geometric Brownian motion and three-factor stochastic volatility. We show that the FFT can achieve a certain level of convergence by carefully choosing the number of terms and truncation width in the FFT algorithm. Furthermore, the FFT converges at an exponential rate and the pricing results are closely aligned with the results obtained from a Monte Carlo simulation for complex models that incorporate stochastic volatility

What Is The Most Popular Movie Of All Time?: Teaching The Importance Of Ceteris Paribus

Students often have difficulty understanding the importance of distinguishing between real and nominal prices, or more generally, why ceteris paribus conditions are important. We exploit students interests in popularity to teach the nominal/real distinction, and the importance of adjusting for inflation, population, and income levels. We illustrate the importance of these topics by asking, What is the most popular movie of all time

The Crystal Structures of Two Novel Cadmium-Picolinic Acid Complexes in Relation to the Solution Species

The crystal structures of two novel cadmium-picolinic acid complexes grown in aqueous solutions at selected pH values are reported. The structures are compared to expected solution species under the same conditions. The crystal structure of complex 1 exhibits a seven coordinate structure which contains a protonated picolinic acid ligand that bonds bidentately to the cadmium ion via both carboxylate oxygens. Two nitrates coordinate to the metal centre within the same plane, one monodentately and the other bidentately, and two water molecules are found in the axial positions. The structure of complex 2 shows cadmium bonded to three of N,O-bidentate picolinic acid ligands to produce a distorted octahedron.Keywords: Cadmium, picolinic acid, solution species, crystal structures, controlled pH PDF and supplementary file attached

The Efficient Corruption Hypothesis and the Dynamics between Economic Freedom, Corruption, and National Income

Income, economic freedom, and corruption interact in complex ways as all three variables are arguably endogenous. We explicitly model this endogeneity using a panel VAR framework. The pVAR models we estimate are able to explicitly model this endogeneity better than the single-equation panel data models previously used in the literature. Using data on corruption and income from the World Bank and economic freedom from the Fraser Institute, we provide evidence that corruption and the absence of economic freedom have a negative effect on national income

Numerical methods applied to derivative pricing in the Piterbarg framework

Abstract: Please refer to full text to view abstract.M.Com. (Quantitative Finance

A Fundamental Study of Char Oxidation Kinetics Using Model Materials

A fundamental study concerning the reactivity of carbon to oxygen, under conditions pertinent to the combustion of pulverized fuel particles, was conducted. Model, man-made materials have been synthesized and produced to aid in understanding the events that occur during pyrolysis and oxidation of chars. The benefit of employing synthetic materials, along with natural fuels, was that they allowed control of the purity and composition of the chars, as well as enabled production of particles of specific physical properties relevant to modeling combustion processes. Monodisperse, spherical, glassy carbon particles, of various sizes, were manufactured from spraying and thermally treating a carbon-yielding, highly crosslinked polymer. Various pore-forming agents were introduced and copolymerized, aiming to alter the pore structure, density and pore size distribution of the materials. Characterization of the chars, at various stages of pyrolysis and partial oxidation, employed widely varying techniques such as mercury intrusion, gas sorption, helium pycnometry, wide and small-angle scattering and nuclear magnetic resonance. Upon characterization, the influence of the physical factors on the combustion behavior was accounted for and the intrinsic reaction rates of the chars were correlated with their chemical nature. The mechanisms of pore coarsening, opening of pore restrictions and development of a large accessible pore surface area in the interior of the particles, in conjunction to the kinetics of structural ordering and graphitization, have been shown to influence critically the reactivity of chars. furthermore, experiments with calcium treated chars revealed that the catalytic effect of mineral matter on enhancing the combustion rate is very important.</p

Efficient pricing of spread options with stochastic rates and stochastic volatility

Spread options are notoriously difficult to price without the use of Monte Carlo simulation. Some strides have been made in recent years through the application of Fourier transform methods; however, to date, these methods have only been applied to specific underlying processes including two-factor geometric Brownian motion (gBm) and three-factor stochastic volatility models. In this paper, we derive the characteristic function for the two-asset Heston–Hull–White model with a full correlation matrix and apply the two-dimensional fast Fourier transform (FFT) method to price equity spread options. Our findings suggest that the FFT is up to 50 times faster than Monte Carlo and yields similar accuracy. Furthermore, stochastic interest rates can have a material impact on long-dated out-of-the-money spread options.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/jrfmhj2023Insurance and Actuarial ScienceMathematics and Applied Mathematic

Microstructural analysis of carbon nanomaterials produced from pyrolysis/combustion of Styrene-Butadiene-Rubber (SBR)

Styrene-Butadiene-Rubber (SBR) is a synthetic rubber copolymer used to fabricate several products. This study aims to demonstrate the use of SBR as feedstock for carbon nanomaterials (nanofibers and nanotubes) growth, and therefore to establish a novel process for destination of waste products containing SBR. A three stage electrically heated flow reactor was used. Small pellets of rubber were pyrolyzed at a temperature of 1000 ºC. The pyrolyzates were mixed with oxygen-containing gases and were burned. The products of combustion were used to synthesize the carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) at the presence of a catalyst. CNMs have a wide range of potential applications due to their extraordinary mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. Produced materials were characterized by SEM and TEM, whereas combustion products were assessed using GC. Results showed that CNMs with outer diameters of 30-100 nm and lengths of about 30 µm were formed. Therefore, it was demonstrated that waste products containing SBR can be used to generate CNMs which are value-added products of intense technological interest.CNPQCoordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES