Trade and Development in Vietnam: Exploring Investment Linkages

This paper presents and uses a new, stylized single country dynamic CGE model to explore the trade-development linkages in Vietnam. Application of this framework involves addressing three basic questions: 1. Does a model that properly determines capacity additions and more fully captures macroeconomic accounting and growth dynamics predict trade levels in a satisfactory manner? 2. Are those capacity additions determined by trade liberalization, and if so, which aspects of trade liberalization? 3. Under this framework what are expected impacts of trade liberalization initiatives, such as past bilateral trade agreements and recent WTO accession, taking into account their potential effect on incentives to invest via both tariff changes and institutional reforms? We also explore the role of the state in determining investment patterns, since the government of Vietnam has played a crucial role in setting both the aggregate level and sectoral pattern of investment in the past. But recently there has been a recovery of foreign investment as well as an upsurge of investment by the domestic private sector. Moreover, Vietnam’s WTO accession agreement was as much about incentives to FDI as it was about tariff concessions, and it spurred ongoing institutional reforms that impact the investment climate.trade, development, Vietman, investment linkages

The efficient computation of the nonlinear dynamic response of a foil-air bearing rotor system

AbstractThe foil–air bearing (FAB) enables the emergence of oil-free turbomachinery. However, its potential to introduce undesirable nonlinear effects necessitates a reliable means for calculating the dynamic response. The computational burden has hitherto been alleviated by simplifications that compromised the true nature of the dynamic interaction between the rotor, air film and foil structure, introducing the potential for significant error. The overall novel contribution of this research is the development of efficient algorithms for the simultaneous solution of the state equations. The equations are extracted using two alternative transformations: (i) Finite Difference (FD); and (ii) a novel arbitrary-order Galerkin Reduction (GR) which does not use a grid, considerably reducing the number of state variables. A vectorized formulation facilitates the solution in two alternative ways: (i) in the time domain for arbitrary response via implicit integration using readily available routines; and (ii) in the frequency domain for the direct computation of self-excited periodic response via a novel Harmonic Balance (HB) method. GR and FD are cross-verified by time domain simulations which confirm that GR significantly reduces the computation time. Simulations also cross-verify the time and frequency domain solutions applied to the reference FD model and demonstrate the unique ability of HB to correctly accommodate structural damping

Influence of polar co-solutes and salt on the hydration of lipid membranes

The influence of the co-solutes TMAO, urea, and NaCl on the hydration repulsion between lipid membranes is investigated in a combined experimental/simulation approach. Pressure–hydration curves obtained via sorption experiments reveal that the repulsion significantly increases when the membranes are loaded with co-solutes, most strongly for TMAO. As a result, the co-solutes retain additional water molecules and therefore provide membranes with a fluid and more physiological environment. The experimental data are quantitatively reproduced in complementary solvent-explicit atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, which yield the chemical potential of water. Simulation analysis reveals that the additional repulsion arises from the osmotic pressure generated by the co-solutes, an effect which is maximal for TMAO, due to its unfavorable interactions with the lipid headgroup layer and its extraordinarily high osmotic coefficient

Honesty of a Dynamic Female Aggressive Status Signal: Baseline Testosterone Relates to Bill Color in Female American Goldfinches

Status signals are linked to fighting ability and enable competitors to gain access to resources without risking injury in aggressive combat. The relationship between testosterone (T), a hormone that mediates aggression, and signals of status is well studied in males, but little is known about the relationship between T and female signals of status. Female and male American goldfinches Spinus tristis express a dynamic carotenoid-based orange bill color during the breeding season and previous work has demonstrated that females use orange bill color to communicate competitive ability during intrasexual competition. We test the hypothesis that female bill color reflects baseline T, which would allow receivers to directly assess a competitor\u27s aggressive potential. We found a positive relationship between T and bill coloration in females, indicating that bill color has the ability to signal female competitive status. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that female bill color is a reliable signal of fighting ability, and indicates that females, like males, may use coloration to signal their hormonally mediated aggressive potential

Complexation of 6-(4'-(toluidinyl)naphthalene-2-sulfonate by β-cyclodextrin and linked β-cyclodextrin dimers

The complexation of 6-(4′-(toluidinyl)naphthalene-2-sulfonate, TNS-, by β-cyclodextrin (βCD) and five linked βCD-dimers is characterized by UV-Vis, fluorescence and 1H NMR spectroscopy. In aqueous phosphate buffer at pH 7.0, I = 0.10 mol dm -3 and 2

Trade and Development in Vietnam: Exploring Investment Linkages

This paper presents and uses a new, stylized single country dynamic CGE model to explore the trade-development linkages in Vietnam. Application of this framework involves addressing three basic questions: 1. Does a model that properly determines capacity additions and more fully captures macroeconomic accounting and growth dynamics predict trade levels in a satisfactory manner? 2. Are those capacity additions determined by trade liberalization, and if so, which aspects of trade liberalization? 3. Under this framework what are expected impacts of trade liberalization initiatives, such as past bilateral trade agreements and recent WTO accession, taking into account their potential effect on incentives to invest via both tariff changes and institutional reforms? We also explore the role of the state in determining investment patterns, since the government of Vietnam has played a crucial role in setting both the aggregate level and sectoral pattern of investment in the past. But recently there has been a recovery of foreign investment as well as an upsurge of investment by the domestic private sector. Moreover, Vietnam’s WTO accession agreement was as much about incentives to FDI as it was about tariff concessions, and it spurred ongoing institutional reforms that impact the investment climate