Do R&D Tax Credits Work? Evidence from a Panel of Countries 1979-1997

This paper examines the impact of fiscal incentives on the level of R&D investment. An econometric model of R&D investment is estimated using a new panel of data on tax changes and R&D spending in nine OECD countries over a 19-year period (1979–1997). We find evidence that tax incentives are effective in increasing R&D intensity. This is true even after allowing for permanent country-specific characteristics, world macro shocks and other policy influences. We estimate that a 10% fall in the cost of R&D stimulates just over a 1% rise in the level of R&D in the short-run, and just under a 10% rise in R&D in the long-run.tax credits, R&D, panel data, tax competition

Crossing Idiomas: Negotiating Translingual Rhetoric within Global Health Publics

Increasing numbers of U.S. students and practitioners in the health professions travel annually to developing countries with global health programs. In these programs, visiting practitioners and local residents often work side-by-side to serve marginalized communities in need of better access to medical and dental care. This transnational public engagement in global health requires collaborative work among individuals with varied backgrounds of language, culture, class, and status. Health teams must develop communicative strategies to negotiate these differences and connect with their patients. This qualitative study examines these strategies for cross-cultural communication with two groups of volunteers that ran temporary health clinics in the Dominican Republic. Drawing from ethnographic methods (interviews and participant observation) and a methodology of rhetorical engagement, I examine how Dominican volunteers and visiting health practitioners assembled to form "emergent collectives" that collaborated across linguistic and cultural differences. I also analyze how individuals developed translingual rhetorical strategies that negotiated languages, dialects, and non-verbal gestures to support performances in the clinics. Using grounded practical theory, this study analyzes the communicative problems that volunteers encountered with varied proficiencies in English, varieties of Spanish, and medical terminology. It then examines the rhetorical strategies participants developed in response to those problems to interpret across English-Spanish, Spanish-Spanish, and non-verbal tactics. Although U.S. participants noted that the rural, Dominican dialect of Spanish of the local community was stigmatized, globally, I argue that it was considered the most "useful" form of Spanish to connect with patients and support performances in these clinics. By recognizing the integral support of the local volunteers' use of Spanish-Spanish interpretation and how U.S. participants performed language in ways to "sound more Dominican," I assert that vernacular language use was crucial to assembling as a collective and effectively caring for patients. This dissertation demonstrates how a situated health context outside of the U.S. can illuminate the complex "messiness" of translingual rhetoric in practice for transnational publics. Ultimately, this project encourages a collective approach to translingual rhetoric and advocates for more narratives that incorporate the vernacular voices of local volunteers working "on the ground" of global health

Competition and innovation: an inverted U relationship

This paper investigates the relationship between product market competition (PMC) and innovation. A Schumpeterian growth model is developed in which firms innovate ѳtep-by-stepҬ and where both technological leaders and their followers engage in R&D activities. In this model, competition may increase the incremental profit from innovating; on the other hand, competition may also reduce innovation incentives for laggards. This model generates four main predictions which we test empirically. First, the relationship between product market competition (PMC) and innovation is an inverted U-shape: the escape competition effect dominates for low initial levels of competition, whereas the Schumpeterian effect dominates at higher levels of competition. Second, the equilibrium degree of technological Ѯeck-and-neckness' among firms should decrease with PMC. Third, the higher the average degree of Ѯeck-and-neckness' in an industry, the steeper the inverted-U relationship between PMC and innovation in that industry. Fourth, firms may innovate more if subject to higher debt-pressure, especially at lower levels of PMC. We confront these four predictions with a new panel data set on UK firms' patenting activity at the US patenting office. The inverted U relationship, the neck and neck, and the debt pressure predictions are found to accord well with observed behavior in the data.

Competition and Innovation: An Inverted U Relationship

This paper investigates the relationship between product market competition (PMC) and innovation. A growth model is developed in which competition may increase the incremental profit from innovating; on the other hand, competition may also reduce innovation incentives for laggards. There are four key predictions. First, the relationship between product market competition (PMC) and innovation is an inverted U-shape. Second, the equilibrium degree of technological neck-and-neckness' among firms should decrease with PMC. Third, the higher the average degree of neck-and-neckness' in an industry, the steeper the inverted-U relationship. Fourth, firms may innovate more if subject to higher debt-pressure, especially at lower levels of PMC. We confront these predictions with data on UK firms' patenting activity at the US patenting office. They are found to accord well with observed behavior.

Addressing Pelvic Floor Dysfunctions in Older Women

Women’s pelvic health has become an emerging practice area for occupational therapy in recent years. The National Institute of Health (NIH) reports that 24% of women in the United States are impacted by pelvic floor disorders (2008). As the general population ages, older women’s health has become a pivotal topic for occupational therapists to include as part of a comprehensive plan of care. Occupational therapists must acquire deeper knowledge related to pelvic pain and urinary incontinence. Developing a deeper understanding of the types of pain and urinary incontinence in older women facilitates efficacy and efficiency in the delivery of occupational therapy services for these women. Evidence strongly supports the interdisciplinary approach between biomechanical and psychosocial interventions to address pelvic health issues in a holistic manner

Feasibility of using zein in gluten-free baking

Master of ScienceFood Science InstituteKaren SchmidtFlour is essential to bread production as it provides structure, texture, and flavor. The most common, wheat flour, is unique compared to other cereal flours as it forms gluten that is capable of forming viscoelastic dough, which retains gas produced during fermentation and helps create cohesive dough, all of which are critical to bread development. However, a certain percentage of the population has a rare autoimmune disorder, celiac disease, which is triggered by gluten. A gluten-free diet is the only remedy for celiac disease. Traditionally, in gluten-free breads, hydrocolloids, or gums have been used to mimic the behavior of gluten. However, the lack of a protein structure in breads made with hydrocolloids leads to an almost batter-like viscosity. Therefore, research has focused on gluten-free alternatives, particularly non-wheat cereal proteins that can be altered to mimic gluten’s dough forming properties. For example, zein has an average molecular weight and larger peptides than gluten, which contribute to its hydrophobic behavior. In fact, zein from maize flour is an ideal alternative as it can be manipulated to behave like gluten under certain conditions. The main difference between gluten and zein is that zein does not exhibit a large disulfide-linked polymer. Zein is also more hydrophobic than gluten. However, zein has been found to exhibit viscoelastic properties similar to gluten’s at temperatures higher than its glass transition. Other research has found the secondary structure of zein, in particular the β-sheet structure, increases at temperatures above its glass transition. This suggests that temperature and shear are not the only factors necessary to form and maintain the viscoelastic properties of zein; apparently, the β-sheet structures also affect viscoelasticity. Finally, differences such as maize variety and particle size also affect the properties of zein in bakery applications