Exchange Rate Uncertainty and Import Demand of Thailand

This study investigates the impact of real exchange rate uncertainty on import demand of Thailand. The period of study is during July 1997 to December 2011. The results from bounds testing for cointegration show that all variables are cointegrated. Even though there is no short-run impact, but the long-run negative impact of real exchange rate uncertainty on real imports is large and highly significant under the floating exchange rate regime. In the long run, a rise in real exchange rate uncertainty can improve the country’s trade balance by substantially lowering import demand, but can harm industrial production at the same time. Therefore, stabilization of real effective exchange rate via major nominal exchange rates may deem necessary

Vertebral level of tuffier's line measured by ultrasonography in parturients in the lateral decubitus position

Tuffier's line intersects the spine at the L4 spinous process or at the L4-L5 intervertebral space. Full-term parturient women undergo various physical changes. Therefore, determining the vertebral level with Tuffier's line based on palpation inevitably is not very accurate. This study aimed to use ultrasound to verify the difference between vertebral levels for the palpated Tuffier's line in parturient and non-parturient women in the lateral decubitus position. In this study, consecutively enrolled 20 parturient women at 27-35 weeks of gestation and 20 non-parturient women scheduled for regional anesthesia. In the left lateral position, the location of the vertebra was identified using ultrasonography. We marked every intervertebral space from L5 to L2 vertebra, divided each spinous process into two equal parts, and numbered the spaces sequentially from 1 to 9. A Tuffier's line was drawn by palpating, recorded the vertebral level that this line intersected. The mean value of an arbitrary number of vertebral level of Tuffier's line was 5.4 ± 0.9 in the non-pregnant group and this represents L4-lower vertebral level. In the pregnant group, the mean value was 2.0 ± 1.0 which represents L3-lower vertebral level. There was a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05)

The effects of exchange rate variability on international trade: a meta-regression analysis

The trade effects of exchange rate variability have been an issue in international economics for the past 30 years. The contribution of this article is to apply meta-regression analysis (MRA) to the empirical literature. On average, exchange rate variability exerts a negative effect on international trade. Yet MRA confirms the view that this result is highly conditional, by identifying factors that help to explain why estimated trade effects vary from significantly negative to significantly positive. MRA evidence on the pronounced heterogeneity of the empirical findings may be instructive for policy: first, by establishing that average trade effects are not sufficiently robust to generalize across countries; and second, by suggesting the importance of hedging opportunities - hence of financial development - for trade promotion. For the practice of MRA, we make a case for checking the robustness of results with respect to estimation technique, model specification and sample.