Neoclassical growth and the natural resource curse puzzle

We advance a novel mechanism that helps to explain the puzzling evidence on the natural resource curse. The new channel arises in a standard dynamic Heckscher-Ohlin model composed of small-open economies that take international output prices as given. Within this framework, a more capital-intensive primary sector implies that natural-resource abundant economies grow more slowly along the adjustment path. This effect might be only temporary because the natural input also affects long-run income, and not necessarily in the same direction as transitional growth. We produce quantitative results that show that the new mechanism can account for a significant fraction of the observed output growth gap between resource rich and resource poor U.S. states

An analysis of the hipster (sub)culture and Its reflection in HBO’s TV series girls

According to the casting call posted by Lena Dunham at Backstage.com, one feels tempted to classify the TV series Girls as a hipster show automatically. In fact, this is what its creators and producers have been trying to do since its premiere. This association with this alternative subculture was also emphasized by the differences that the new program presented with respect to its predecessor, Sex in the City. In contrast to its snob protagonists, Girls major characters are designed to give the impression of sharing the characteristics that are considered essential in hipsters, as I will demonstrate. Thus, Hannah Horvath, the protagonist, proclaims herself as "the voice of her generation" in the pilot; and its creators, especially she, try to give that voice hipster-like tones. However, as Michael Scott clearly asserts, "'hipster' and 'hipsterism' are notoriously difficult to define". Notwithstanding this complexity and, in connection with the methodology that I follow in this work, it is my aim to use a solid theoretical background to analyze, first, the features present in Girls that might be connected to its hipster nature; then, I will study their authenticity, with the objective of reflecting on the reasons why those elements might have been used by its creators, to see if they are connected to capitalist economic interests, which is one of my hypotheses. The conclusions of this paper will show the results of the above mentioned analysis. As there are not many academic studies on the hipster and the hipster culture as relevant specialists recognise (e.g.: Schiermer 168), the analysis that I propose here is quite original and necessary. Even more so, if we take into account the fact that most definitions of hipsters are centered on male ones, but little attention is given to female hipsters. Lena Dunham helps to eliminate this stereotype as well as others connected to this type of alternative people (not without controversy).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The complex high order Toda lattice and polynomials generated by three term recurrence relations

Se estudia la relación entre redes de Toda y sucesiones de polinomios dados por recuurencias a tres término

Convergence in a dynamic Heckscher–Ohlin model with land

Convergence among nations that share the same preferences and technologies is a key result of the closed-economy neoclassical growth framework that has received substantial support in the data. However, Heckscher–Ohlin versions of the two-sector neoclassical growth model predict that nations that differ in their capital–labor ratios may not converge to the same steady state, even if they are identical in all other aspects. This is a puzzling result that warns us about potential dangers of international trade. In this paper we show that when land, an input in fixed supply, is introduced into the model, international trade in goods no longer limits the capacity of poor nations to catch up with the advanced world

Analyzing aggregate real exchange rate persistence through the lens of sectoral data.

In this paper we analyze the persistence of aggregate real exchange rates (RERs) for a group of EU-15 countries by using sectoral data. The tight relation between aggregate and sectoral persistence recently investigated by Mayoral (2008) allows us to decompose aggregate RER persistence into the persistence of its different subcomponents. We show that the distribution of sectoral persistence is highly heterogeneous and very skewed to the right, and that a limited number of sectors are responsible for the high levels of persistence observed at the aggregate level. We use quantile regression to investigate whether the traditional theories proposed to account for the slow reversion to parity (lack of arbitrage due to nontradibilities or imperfect competition and price stickiness) are able to explain the behavior of the upper quantiles of sectoral persistence. We conclude that pricing to market in the intermediate goods sector together with price stickiness have more explanatory power than variables related to the tradability of the goods or their inputs.PPP puzzle, real exchange rates, persistence, heterogeneous dynamics, aggregation bias, nontradability, imperfect competition, pricing-to-market.

Influence of dissociative recombination on the LTE of argon high-frequency plasmas at atmospheric pressure

This work presents a few preliminary results from a collisional-radiative (CR) model intended to describe an argon microwave (2.45 GHz) plasma at atmospheric pressure. This model aims to investigate the influence of dissociative recombination products on the Saha-Boltzmann plasma equilibrium. The model is tested through comparison with experimental results obtained in an argon plasma column generated by a traveling electromagnetic surface-wave, which is suitable to perform a parametric investigation of the plasma. It is shown that dissociative recombination predominantly populates the 4s levels and the ground state. It is further observed that it strongly influences the population of the levels, specially those of lower energy. However, the higher levels (close to the ionization limit) appear to be in equilibrium whatever the plasma density. This allows assuming that the excitation temperature Texc determined from the upper levels in the atomic system in the Boltzmann-plot is equal to Te.Comment: 12th International Congress on Plasma Physics, 25-29 October 2004, Nice (France

El papel del ingeniero mecánico en el contexto energético actual

En el presente trabajo se analiza, en primer término, la evolución del papel del ingeniero a través de la historia, desde sus orígenes en la Revolución Industrial hasta nuestros días; asimismo se abordan las diferentes formas en que se ha ido concibiendo la función del ingeniero mecánico y los efectos de la situación económica, tecnológica y medioambiental en estas percepciones sociales. Esta última implicación, la ambiental, sirve de base para establecer la responsabilidad actual de este profesional de la Ingeniería en el consumo de energía, tanto en México como a nivel mundial y el papel que debe cumplir en el diseño de sistemas que permitan transformar y/o emplear la energía de manera racional y eficiente. Con base en lo anterior, finalmente se indican algunos de los conocimientos y habilidades que este profesional debe adquirir durante su formación profesional, para cumplir con esta importante responsabilidad.En el presente trabajo se analiza, en primer término, la evolución del papel del ingeniero a través de la historia, desde sus orígenes en la Revolución Industrial hasta nuestros días; asimismo se abordan las diferentes formas en que se ha ido concibiendo la función del ingeniero mecánico y los efectos de la situación económica, tecnológica y medioambiental en estas percepciones sociales. Esta última implicación, la ambiental, sirve de base para establecer la responsabilidad actual de este profesional de la Ingeniería en el consumo de energía, tanto en México como a nivel mundial y el papel que debe cumplir en el diseño de sistemas que permitan transformar y/o emplear la energía de manera racional y eÀciente. Con base en lo anterior, Ànalmente se indican algunos de los conocimientos y habilidades que este profesional debe adquirir durante su formación profesional, para cumplir con esta importante responsabilidad

The comovement between height and some economic development indicators in Spain

This paper investigates the relationship between height and some measures of human welfare in Spain for the period 1850-1978. For that purpose, we employ several filtering methods to measure the correlation between variables such as first order differences, deterministic trends, the Hodrick and Prescott filter, the band-pass filter or den Haan (2000)’s methodology which uses a new set of statistics to characterize the co-movement between variables to capture the dynamic between variables. We always find a strong and positive correlation between height and GDP per cápita, height and the weight of health services in total consumption, and height and openness. By contrast, we have a negative correlation between height and the mortality rate and height and the ratio between the deflator of private consumption and the GDP deflator. By applying den Haan (2000)’s method, we find that the comovement between height and GDP per cápita is always positive, increasing in the medium and long-run. This correlation is higher after the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). We also observe that height and mortality rate have a negative correlation in the medium-run. Other health indicators such as the weight of health services in total consumption and the ratio between the deflator of private consumption and the GDP deflator show a positive and negative co-movement in the short-run, respectively. Nevertheless, they change their sign of correlation in the long-run. Finally, we observe a positive co-movement between height and illiteracy rate in the short-run, a negative one in the long-run, and a strong and positive comovement between height and the grade of openness.Height, physical stature, anthropometrics, education, economic development, VAR forecast errors