CLIMATE AND SCALE IN ECONOMIC GROWTH

This paper introduces new data on climatic conditions to empirical tests of growth theories. We find that, since 1960, temperate countries have converged towards high levels of income while tropical nations have converged towards various income levels associated with economic scale and the extent of the market. These results hold for a wide range of tests. A plausible explanation is that temperate regions' growth was assisted by their climate, perhaps historically for their transition out of agriculture into sectors whose productivity converges across countries, while tropical countries' growth is relatively more dependent on gains from specialization and trade.International Development,

Africa's Growth Trap: A Political-Economy Model of Taxation, R&D and Investment

Why do so many African governments consistently impose high tax rates and make little investment in productive public goods, when alternative policies could yield greater tax revenues and higher national income? We posit and test an intertemporal political economy model in which the government sets tax and R&D levels while investors respond with production. Equilibrium policy and growth rates depend on initial cost structure. We find that in many (but not all) African countries, low tax/high investment regimes would be time-inconsistent. For pro-growth policies to become sustainable, commitment mechanisms or new production techniques would be needed.time consistency, agricultural policy, economic growth

Climate and scale in economic growth.

This paper introduces new data on climatic conditions to empirical tests of growth theories. We find that, since 1960, temperate countries have converged towards high levels of income while tropical nations have converged towards various income levels associated with economic scale and the extent of the market. These results hold for a wide range of tests. A plausible explanation is that temperate regions' growth was assisted by their climate, perhaps historically for their transition out of agriculture into sectors whose productivity converges across countries, while tropical countries' growth is relatively more dependent on gains from specialization and trade.growth accounting, empirical growth models, endogenous growth

Africa's growth trap: a political-economy model of taxation, R&D and investment.

Why do so many African governments consistently impose high tax rates and make little investment in productive public goods when alternative policies could yield greater tax revenues and higher national income? We posit and test an intertemporal political economy model in which the government sets tax and R&D levels while investors respond with production. Equilibrium policy and growth rates depend on initial cost structure. We find that in many (but not all) African countries, low tax/high investment regimes would be time-inconsistent. For progrowth policies to become sustainable, commitment mechanisms or new production techniques would be needed.time consistency, agricultural policy, tax regimes and growth.

AN AFRICAN GROWTH TRAP: PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY AND THE TIME-CONSISTENCY OF AGRICULTURAL TAXATION, R&D AND INVESTMENT

Why do so many African governments consistently impose high tax rates and make little investment in productive public goods, when alternative policies could yield greater tax revenues and higher national income? We posit and test an intertemporal political economy model in which the government sets tax and R&D levels while investors respond with production. Equilibrium policy and growth rates depend on initial cost structure. We find that in many (but not all) African countries, low tax/high investment regimes would be time-inconsistent, primarily because production technology requires relatively large sunk costs. For pro-growth policies to become sustainable, commitment mechanisms or new production techniques would be needed.International Development, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Conscious monitoring and control (reinvestment) in surgical performance under pressure.

Research on intraoperative stressors has focused on external factors without considering individual differences in the ability to cope with stress. One individual difference that is implicated in adverse effects of stress on performance is "reinvestment," the propensity for conscious monitoring and control of movements. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of reinvestment on laparoscopic performance under time pressure

In the museum: containing antiquity. An exhibition in the Sasol Art Museum, Stellenbosch

CITATION: Masters, S. 2008. In the museum: containing antiquity. An exhibition in the Sasol Art Museum, Stellenbosch. Akroterion, 53:99-109, doi:10.7445/53-0-43.The original publication is available at https://akroterion.journals.ac.zaA selection of ancient Classical and Near Eastern artefacts belonging to the Iziko Museums of Cape Town is currently on display at the Sasol Art Museum (a Stellenbosch University Museum) as the remodelled exhibition, Containing Antiquity. The exhibition, though modest in size, features several important and interesting pieces, many of which are known to South African and international scholars.https://akroterion.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/43Publisher's versio

IN THE MUSEUM: CONTAINING ANTIQUITY AN EXHIBITION IN THE SASOL ART MUSEUM, STELLENBOSCH

A selection of ancient Classical and Near Eastern artefacts belonging to the Iziko Museums of Cape Town1 is currently on display at the Sasol Art Museum (a Stellenbosch University Museum)2 as the remodelled exhibition, Containing Antiquity. The exhibition, though modest in size, features several important and interesting pieces, many of which are known to South African and international scholars

LIGHT, SPACE AND AFFLUENT TASTE: ANCIENT POMPEIAN HOUSES AND THEIR DECORATION

While Pompeian houses vary in size, ground plan, opulence and specific decorative schemes, they do tend to exemplify certain consistent design motivations. The owner of an urban Pompeian house — or domus — of whatever size, seems to aim towards creating a certain kind of domestic space. This paper investigates some aspects of the design and decoration of Pompeian houses of roughly the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD, with a particular interest in motives — practical, social, and aspirational — for creating domestic spaces of a particular kind. In doing so three key principles of Pompeian house design and interior decoration will be highlighted: the maximisation of light and space and the display of affluent taste