Is China taking away foreign direct investment from other Asian economies?: An analysis of Japanese, US and Korean FDI

This paper applies the dynamic panel model to investigate whether China is crowding- out FDI from other Asian economies. In addition to an analysis of aggregate FDI like prior studies, an investigation is carried out for FDI from three major investors in the region: Japan, the United States and Korea. It order to deal with possible problems of serial correlation and simultaneous causality bias, refined estimation techniques; namely, Arellano Bond and Instrumental Variable estimations were undertaken. We found that the study on aggregate FDI did not produce any evidence on so called crowding- out of FDI by China, which is consistent with other studies. In FDI source country specific analysis, we did not find any “China effect” on Japanese and Korean FDI. However, the analysis of US FDI found that FDI in China had positive impact on FDI to other Asian economies. These findings led us to conclude that the rise of China could be seen as an opportunity rather than threat in attracting FDI for other Asian economies in the region.China; FDI; crowding- out

Effect of regional integration agreement on foreign direct investment : A theoretical perspective

This paper looked into inter- relationships between Regional Integration Agreement (RIA) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from theoretical point of view. It tried to figure out the conducts of FDI after the formation of RIA from intra- regional and inter- regional perspective. The theoretical framework was developed from the cross- section tabulation of motives and modes of FDI. It is identified that multinationals have two basic rationales for their motives of investment abroad: tariff- jumping and internalization. Further, they conduct their decision of FDI through two modes: vertical and horizontal FDI. To study the distribution of FDI in individual economy after RIA, the study of “Attractiveness matrix” was carried out. It suggested that the flow of FDI depends upon the consequences of “Environmental change” and “Locational advantage” of the host economies within the region.Regional integration, Tariff- jumping, Internalization, Vertical FDI, Horizontal FDI, Environmental change, Locational advantage

Brief outrage – but little tangible progress: Nepali migrants in the time of COVID

The sudden closure of the Nepal-India border last year undermined the fundamental rights and dignity of returnee migrants, sparking widespread outrage and calls for action that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Yet the subsequent political crisis has hindered any meaningful policy interventions aimed at the marginalised migrants, says Nimesh Dhungana (LSE)

A Comparative Analysis of Node.js (Server-Side JavaScript)

Node.js (also termed Node) is a platform built on Google Chrome V8 JavaScript runtime engine for easily building fast, scalable, and lightweight applications.V8 and Node are mostly implemented in C and C++ focusing on performance and low memory consumption. In this paper, we provide an overview of Node by comparing it to a conventional server-side scripting programming language, PHP. Initially, we focus on Node’s modularity, its in-built package manager labeled Node Package Manager and Node’s working architecture. The main feature of Node is its use of non-blocking event-driven I/O with an asynchronous programming model to remain lightweight and efficient in handling concurrency. These comprise the underlying features of Node which we discuss in detail. Node differs from JavaScript which we describe by emphasizing some major deficiencies in JavaScript that Node remediates. Likewise, by introducing AJAX, and its pros and cons, we show how Node surpasses AJAX in real-time application development usability. With Node.js, complex real-time applications can be built that can scale to millions of client connections. We also discuss factors supporting choosing Node and why developers should use it. We describe some of the security holes in Node with solutions to handle them. In order to clarify where Node succeeds and where it fails, we present two different benchmarks comparing Node with PHP. We conclude by highlighting some of the limitations of Node and we discuss the current developments in process to remediate Node’s deficiencies

Serum levels of RBP4 and adipose tissue levels of PTP1B are increased in obese men resident in northeast Scotland without associated changes in ER stress response genes

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Revisiting Nepal's year of elections: less success than meets the eye?

While Nepal's elections were widely hailed as a major success, it would be a mistake to ignore many underlying issues that question the integrity and effectiveness of the recent elections, writes Nimesh Dhungana

2015 Nepal Earthquake and COVID-19: a comparison of the politics of crisis governance

As Nepal marks the fifth anniversary of the devasting 2015 earthquake, the global crisis triggered by COVID-19 should be remembered not just as a moment of suffering. Here (Nimesh Dhungana, LSE) argues how the earthquake prompted many forms of citizen-centric politics of governance – forms we can witness in the immediate response to the global pandemic

Changing PHD research in response to COVID19: key considerations

Changing course as a PhD student is hardly uncommon. However, during a crisis, the temptation to respond intellectually combined with the external limitations imposed on pre-existing research plans makes this pull even greater. In this post, Nimesh Dhungana outlines his own experience of changing PhD topic in response to a crisis and gives advice for ... Continue

The Role of Pharmacist in the Health Care System: Current Scenario in India

Pharmacists are society's specialists on drugs. The Pharmacist of today is a drug-maker, drug-dispenser, drug-custodian, patient-counselor, drug-researcher, and drug-educator and above all an honest and patriotic citizen. The techno-proficient foundation of the drug expert gives him/her the certainty of providing services with a moral way to deal with the satisfaction of patients. The consecrated qualities are required to be cherished and professed by the pharmacist. Pharmacists assume a significant job in giving health care services, benefits by means of community pharmacy services in rural areas where physicians are not accessible or where physician services are unreasonably expensive for meeting the health care necessities. The paper at that point recognizes how pharmacists give expanded services, identifies key challenges and barriers, and suggests rules and regulations that could help secure open doors for pharmacists to play out an extended job