Essays in Open Economy Macroeconomics

This dissertation studies the dynamic effects of various economic shocks in a two-sector small open economy. It is divided into three essays. Essays 1 and 2 have a theoretical focus; they involve the developing of intertemporal optimizing models of a small open economy. In these essays, we use the representative-agent framework to derive dynamic macroeconomic effects. Specifically, in the first essay we examine the effects of monetary policy targeted at an inflation rate in a small open economy. We adopt a two-sector dependent economy where money is introduced through various cash-in-advance (CIA) constraints. Results are very significant and sensitive to various CIA constraints as well as relative capital intensities. Higher inflation will generate more investment in the economy leading to a higher level of capital stock and a lower level of net foreign assets in the long-run when the nontraded sector is more capital intensive and households need cash for purchasing tradable goods. However, the long-run effects are completely opposite if households need real balances for purchasing nontradable goods instead. In the second essay we examine the effects and the associated dynamics of an increase in international oil prices and domestic inflation. We show that an increase in oil prices or higher domestic inflation lowers the level of investment, production, and consumption in the long-run. The economy experiences a current account surplus along with a fall in capital stock by holding more foreign traded bonds. Transitional dynamics significantly depend on sectoral capital intensity as well. In essay 3 we investigate the explanatory power of yield spread in predicting economic activities in developing economies. We employ both the Markov regime switching model (MS) and the probit model to estimate the probability of recessions during the Asian financial crisis. We find that three-regime MS model is better predictor of recessions than two-regime MS model. The MS results are also compared with that of the standard probit model for comparison. The MS model does not significantly improve the forecasting ability of the yield spread in forecasting business cycles

THE IMPACT OF ACTIVE LEARNING WITH ADAPTIVE LEARNING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL EDUCATION INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COURSES

An adaptive learning system is an effective educational tool that meets the individual needs of students, but it is limited in fostering student learning by itself. With active engagement, students learn better than with adaptive learning systems alone. In this study, we investigate the impact of an adaptive learning system with active learning projects on student learning in general education information technology courses. We believe that today\u27s classroom calls for adaptive learning to serve the needs of diverse student populations. Active learning through real-life hands-on learning activities can enhance student learning by allowing them to apply their knowledge to authentic projects. In the classroom, we often find that learning computing with authentic hands-on activities is not only useful, but it contributes to improving student motivation and confidence

The Vehicle Gap: Wealth Inequality and Road Injury Risk Characterization in Vietnam

Road traffic injury (RTI) is a frequently overlooked issue in the literature of global health. This perspective examines the ways in which wealth inequality exacerbates RTI risk characterization in the specific model of Vietnam. The framework of the Equality-Sustainability Hypothesis, as suggested by Cushing et. al, is used, with a specific focus on three factors: political misrepresentation, discrepancy in consumption intensity, and lack of social cohesion. Policies regarding helmet coverage, healthcare infrastructure, road quality and social psychology are critically analyzed, with sources drawn primarily from epidemiological study designs. Such analyses provide the basis for various policy suggestions towards the end of the perspective that focus specifically on wealth inequality as the primary point of intervention. Overall, this perspective suggests that the Equality-Sustainability Hypothesis holds true in the example of RTIs in Vietnam, which is specifically referred to as a “Vehicle Gap”, and that this hypothesis be made more comprehensive by liberalizing its definition of environment to also include man-made infrastructure

The Sasang Constitution as an Independent Risk Factor for Metabolic Syndrome: Propensity Matching Analysis

The Sasang Constitutional Medicine is a traditional Korean customized medicine that classifies people into four types: Tae-eumin (TE), Soyangin (SY), Soeumin (SE), and Taeyangin. The aim of this study was to show whether the Sasang Constitution (SC) could be an independent risk factor for the metabolic syndrome (MS). Totally, 3,334 subjects from 24 Korean medicine clinics participated in this study. A one-way ANOVA for the continuous variables and a chi-square test for the prevalence of MS were conducted. A logistic regression was conducted to calculate the propensity score and the odds ratios (ORs). The prevalence for MS in TE, SY, and SE was 50.6%, 30.9%, and 17.7% (P<0.001) before matching, and 36.7%, 28.6% and 28.2% (P=0.042) after matching, respectively. The TE was associated with an increased OR for MS compared with the SE and SY in both crude (OR 4.773, 95% CI 3.889–5.859, and OR 2.292, 95% CI 1.942–2.704, resp.) and matched groups (OR 1.476, 95% CI 1.043–2.089, and OR 1.452, 95% CI 1.026–2.053, resp.). This study reveals that the SC, especially the TE type, could be considered as a risk element for MS even in people with otherwise similar physical characteristics

Large-Scale Genomics Reveals the Genetic Characteristics of Seven Species and Importance of Phylogenetic Distance for Estimating Pan-Genome Size

For more than a decade, pan-genome analysis has been applied as an effective method for explaining the genetic contents variation of prokaryotic species. However, genomic characteristics and detailed structures of gene pools have not been fully clarified, because most studies have used a small number of genomes. Here, we constructed pan-genomes of seven species in order to elucidate variations in the genetic contents of >27,000 genomes belonging to Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica, Escherichia coli and Shigella spp., Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii. This work showed the pan-genomes of all seven species has open property. Additionally, systematic evaluation of the characteristics of their pan-genome revealed that phylogenetic distance provided valuable information for estimating the parameters for pan-genome size among several models including Heaps' law. Our results provide a better understanding of the species and a solution to minimize sampling biases associated with genome-sequencing preferences for pathogenic strains.

Regionally-varying and regionally-uniform electricity pricing policies compared across four usage categories

노트 : Selected Paper prepared for presentation at the 2015 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association and Western Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, July 26-2

Assessment in marine environment for a hypothetic nuclear accident based on the database of tidal harmonic constants

The eleven nuclear power plants in operation, under construction and a well-planned plant in the east coast of China generally use seawater for reactor cooling. In this study, an oceanic dispersion assessment system based on a database of tidal harmonic constants is developed. This system can calculate the tidal current without a large computational cost, and it is possible to calculate real-time predictions of pollu-tant dispersions in the ocean. Calculated amplitudes and phases have maximum errors of 10% and 20%with observations, respectively. A number of hypothetical simulations were performed according to vary-ing of the release starting time and duration of pollutant for the six nuclear sites in China. The developed system requires a computational time of one hour for one month of real-time forecasting in Linux OS. Thus, it can use to evaluate rapidly the dispersion characteristics of the pollutants released into the sea from a nuclear accident.European Union FP7 EURATOM project PREPARE 32328

Systemic EBV+ T-cell lymphoma in elderly patients: comparison with children and young adult patients

Fulminant Epstein–Barr virus (EBV+) T-cell lymphoma in immunocompetent elderly patients is rare and its character has not been well defined. This study analyzed the clinicopathological features of five elderly patients (group A: 50–84 years) and compared them with those of eight children and young adult patients with systemic T-cell lymphomas (group B: 10–34 years). Group A more commonly presented with generalized lymphadenopathy (n = 3) than did group B (n = 1). Chronic active EBV infection (n = 3) and hydroa vacciniforme-like eruptions (n = 1) were seen in group B, while group A showed no evidence of chronic EBV infection, but did show chronic hepatitis B or C virus infections (n = 3). The histological and immunophenotypical findings were similar. All patients died within 1 to 14 months of diagnosis. These findings suggest that EBV+ T-cell lymphoma in elderly patients is a unique disease with an underlying derangement of T-cell immunity and failure to eradicate infected virus. Additional factors related to senility may play a role in the disruption of homeostasis between the virus and the host’s immune system

Influence of cytokinins and yeast extract on growth and flavone production in hairy root cultures of Scutellaria baicalensis

Hairy roots produce various bioactive chemical compounds than wild-type roots which offer a promising in vitro approach for synthesizing important nutraceutical compounds. The purpose of this study is to increase the production of flavone compounds in hairy root cultures of Scutellaria baicalensis by the addition of elicitors such as cytokinins and yeast extract. Cytokinins such as kinetin (KIN), 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), and Thidiazuron (TDZ) were utilized at 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/L, whereas for yeast extract treatment 50, 100, and 150 mg/L concentrations were added to the ½ SH medium. Effects of elicitors were measured in terms of dry biomass and flavone contents (baicalin, baicalein, and wogonin) using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The highest dry weight was achieved in the control hairy root than that of all cytokinins-treated hairy root cultures. In all the cytokinin-treated hairy root cultures, as the concentration increased the dry weight of the hairy root decreased. In contrast, in all the yeast extract-treated hairy root cultures as the concentration increases the dry weight of the hairy root increased, whereas the highest dry weight was achieved in 150 mg/L of yeast extract. Moving to the flavone content, baicalin was detected highest content in all the hairy root cultures supplied with cytokinin and yeast extract. The highest total flavone content was achieved in the hairy root culture treated with 1.0 mg/L of TDZ and 50 mg/L of yeast extract. This result might help the commercial agronomic sector by facilitating the in vitro mass production of nutraceuticals using S. baicalensis hairy root cultures