"The Rhetoric of Policy Relevance in International Economics"

This paper addresses the link between the generation of economic knowledge and economic policy conclusions. Focusing on the case of research in international trade, I establish a taxonomy of rhetorical practices used to make such a link. The flexibility observed in these practices contrasts markedly with the rigidity of the conventions of theoretical and empirical knowledge creation. A survey of articles on international trade from four major journals from 1988-1992 shows that most policyrelevant research is entirely theoretical, but the incidence of rhetorical practices depends on the nature of the research method (theoretical or empirical), and the journal in which the research is published. The survey data support the view that the flexiblity of rhetorical practices is integral to the legitimation of the knowledge generated by international trade economists.Rhetoric, methodology, trade policy, new international economics, epistemology

Globalization, Offshoring and Economic Insecurity in Industrialized Countries

This paper shows that a “new wave of globalization,” involving extensive offshoring, has raised both actual and perceived labor market insecurity in industrialized countries. The paper analyzes various channels through which this new wave of globalization leads to economic insecurity. It emphasises the key role of overall macroeconomic conditions in determining the outcome of offshoring. The paper points out the inadequacies of various policy responses that industrialized countries have come up with so far and advocates urgent steps toward formulation of policies and erection of institutional structure more appropriate to confront the challenges of the new of globalization.offshoring, contracting out internationally, economic insecurity, profit share, financialization, globalized production, social security benefits

Trade crisis and recovery : restructuring of global value chains

The recent large and rapid slowdown in economic activity has resulted in even larger and more rapid declines in international trade. As world trade is set to rebound, this paper addresses three questions: (i) Will trade volumes rebound in a symmetric fashion as world economic growth rebounds? (ii) Will the crisis result in a change in the structure of trade, and in particular will it lead to a reversal of the pattern of more diversified sourcing and thus to a consolidation of global value chains? (iii) What policies can improve the prospects for developing country growth in the event that trade volumes do not rebound symmetrically and there is a consolidation of some global value chains?Economic Theory&Research,Currencies and Exchange Rates,Emerging Markets,Debt Markets,Trade Policy

"The Productivity Convergence Debate: A Theoretical and Methodological Reconsideration"

Two fundamental issues have been ignored in the convergence debate which are addressed in this paper. First, there has been little attention paid to the development of a general model able to explain convergence a divergence. Second, in the rush to put data to a convergence hypothesis, researchers have failed to consider certain methodological procedures with respect to the treatment of capital. To remedy this problem we use an input-output approach to measure catch-up. To address the theoretical lacunae we present case studies of Portugal and Japan, two countries which by 1959 had attained the threshold level of development required to join the “convergence- club”, but which, for various historical (path-dependent) reasons, have diverged rapidly from each other in the period since the late 1950’s.

Deindustrialization and changes in manufacturing trade: Factor content calculations for 1978-1995

Input-output analysis is used to estimate the labor content embodied in changes in manufacturing output resulting from changing patterns of manufacturing trade. For ten OECD countries from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, changes in world trade of manufactures are estimated to have had a negative net effect on manufacturing employment of 3.5 million jobs, 2.0 million in the US alone, compared to a 6.2 million decline in actual manufacturing employment. The employment losses resulted mainly from North-South trade. At the industry level, there were large losses in labor-intensive industries and in industries that were strategically targeted by developing country industrial policies. There were employment losses in nearly all manufacturing industries, not a mixture of winners and losers. Such a pattern may result not from surging imports from the South but rather declining exports to the South in the aftermath of the 1980s debt crisis. JEL no. F14, F16, O2

Caloric vestibular stimulation in aphasic syndrome

Caloric vestibular stimulation (CVS) is commonly used to diagnose brainstem disorder but its therapeutic application is much less established. Based on the finding that CVS increases blood flow to brain structures associated with language and communication, we assessed whether the procedure has potential to relieve symptoms of post-stroke aphasia. Three participants, each presenting with chronic, unilateral lesions to the left hemisphere, were administered daily CVS for 4 consecutive weeks. Relative to their pre-treatment baseline scores, two of the three participants showed significant improvement on both picture and responsive naming at immediate and one-week follow-up. One of these participants also showed improved sentence repetition, and another showed improved auditory word discrimination. No adverse reactions were reported. These data provide the first, albeit tentative, evidence that CVS may relieve expressive and receptive symptoms of aphasia. A larger, sham-controlled study is now needed to further assess efficacy

The Rhetoric of Policy Relevance in International Economics

There is a widespread belief that economic policy prescriptions, especially in international economics, are of grave importance for individual and national well being. Milberg contends, however, that there is little thought given to how such prescriptions follow from the theoretical models used to generate these conclusions. In fact, different models appear to be used: A formal theoretical model and a less formal one to reach policy conclusions. In this working paper, Milberg seeks to find out why this dichotomy occurred by analyzing the rhetoric contained in casual models, that is, those used to arrive at policy conclusions. He asserts that this rhetoric was not an accidental methodological discrepancy, but a necessary strategy for reaching policy conclusions.

The Productivity of Convergence Debate: A Theoretical and Methodological Reconsideration

While the debate over whether and why convergence between national productivity rates between countries over time has occurred is a lively one, the discussion has largely ignored two issues: the development of a generalized theoretical model of cross-country growth patterns that could explain convergence or divergence, and disregard of alternative, well-established methodologies to measure convergence in favor of the mainstream, neoclassical model, which is argued to have problems with respect to the "operationalization of the concept of capital." Elmslie and Milberg attempt to remedy the situation by first providing an examination of the convergence debate based on an input-output analysis, and then employing an historical/institutionalist framework to explain the current wide disparities in the rates of convergence found between two countries—Japan and Portugal—that had, at one point in time, been on a similar convergence paths but that experienced two different futures.

Effects of OEF/OIF-Related Physical and Emotional Co-Morbidities on Associative Learning: Concurrent Delay and Trace Eyeblink Classical Conditioning

This study examined the performance of veterans and active duty personnel who served in Operation Enduring Freedom and/or Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) on a basic associative learning task. Eighty-eight individuals participated in this study. All received a comprehensive clinical evaluation to determine the presence and severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). The eyeblink conditioning task was composed of randomly intermixed delay and trace conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) pairs (acquisition) followed by a series of CS only trials (extinction). Results revealed that those with a clinical diagnosis of PTSD or a diagnosis of PTSD with comorbid mTBI acquired delay and trace conditioned responses (CRs) to levels and at rates similar to a deployed control group, thus suggesting intact basic associative learning. Differential extinction impairment was observed in the two clinical groups. Acquisition of CRs for both delay and trace conditioning, as well as extinction of trace CRs, was associated with alcoholic behavior across all participants. These findings help characterize the learning and memory function of individuals with PTSD and mTBI from OEF/OIF and raise the alarming possibility that the use of alcohol in this group may lead to more significant cognitive dysfunction

Reduced cortical thickness with increased lifetime burden of PTSD in OEF/OIF Veterans and the impact of comorbid TBI☆

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in military personnel is increasing dramatically following the OEF/OIF conflicts and is associated with alterations to brain structure. The present study examined the relationship between PTSD and cortical thickness, and its possible modification by mTBI, in a 104-subject OEF/OIF veteran cohort ranging in age from 20 to 62 years. For each participant, two T1-weighted scans were averaged to create high-resolution images for calculation of regional cortical thickness. PTSD symptoms were assessed using the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and scores were derived based on the previous month's symptoms (“current”) and a Cumulative Lifetime Burden of PTSD (CLB-P) reflecting the integral of CAPS scores across the lifetime. Mild TBI was diagnosed using the Boston Assessment of TBI-Lifetime (BAT-L). Results demonstrated a clear negative relationship between current PTSD severity and thickness in both postcentral gyri and middle temporal gyri. This relationship was stronger and more extensive when considering lifetime burden (CLB-P), demonstrating the importance of looking at trauma in the context of an individual's lifetime, rather than only at their current symptoms. Finally, interactions with current PTSD only and comorbid current PTSD and mTBI were found in several regions, implying an additive effect of lifetime PTSD and mTBI on cortical thickness