Monetary policy and financial market evolution

Monetary policy ; Financial markets

Equity markets, transaction costs, and capital accumulation

There is a close, if imperfect, relationship between the effectiveness of an economy's capital markets and its level (or rate of growth) of real development. This may be because financial markets provide liquidity, promote the sharing of information, or permit agents to specialize. There is literature about how these functions help increase real activity, but surprisingly little literature predicting how the volume of activity in financial markets relates to the level or efficiency of an economy's productive activity. The authors address this question: how does the efficiency of an economy's equity market -- as measured by transaction costs -- affect its efficiency in producing physical capital and, through this channel, final goods and services? The answer: As the efficiency of an economy's capital markets increases (that is, as the transaction costs fall), the general effect is to cause agents to make longer-term -- hence, more transction-intensive -- investments. The result is a higher rate of return on savings and a change in its composition. These general equilibrium effects on the composition of savings cause agents to hold more of their wealth in the form of existing equity claims and to invest less in the initiation of new capital investments. As a result, a reduction in transaction costs can cause the capital stock either to rise or fall (under scenarios described in the paper). Further, a reduction in transaction costs will typically alter the composition of saving and investment, and any analysis of the consequences of such changes must take those effects into account.International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Trade and Regional Integration

Quantitative analysis of defects in silicon. Silicon sheet growth development for the large are silicon sheet task of the low-cost solar array project

One hundred and seventy four silicon sheet samples were analyzed for twin boundary density, dislocation pit density, and grain boundary length. Procedures were developed for the quantitative analysis of the twin boundary and dislocation pit densities using a QTM-720 Quantitative Image Analyzing system. The QTM-720 system was upgraded with the addition of a PDP 11/03 mini-computer with dual floppy disc drive, a digital equipment writer high speed printer, and a field-image feature interface module. Three versions of a computer program that controls the data acquisition and analysis on the QTM-720 were written. Procedures for the chemical polishing and etching were also developed

Sustainability of the Western Rock Lobster Fishery: A review of past progress and future challenges

The Western Rock (spiny) Lobster Fishery has 594 boats operating about 57,000 pots. The average annual catch of 11,000 tonnes is valued at around US$150 million. In addition to the commercial catch, recreational fishers take about 600 tonnes a year. Sustainability in this fishery is maintained by analysis of a comprehensive fisheries database, some of which dates back to the 1960s (e.g. catch, effort, length-frequencies, fishery-independent breeding-stock surveys, puerulus settlement monitoring, recreational catch monitoring); an extensive set of management controls (including a limited fishing season and legal minimum and maximum sizes); and an effective compliance program. Effort in the fishery is controlled by input restrictions on the number of pots allowed and number of days fishing, which are implemented after considerable consultation with industry. The principal method of ensuring the sustainability of the fishery is by monitoring the size of the breeding stock, using data from both a commercial at-sea monitoring program and an annual fishery-independent breeding-stock survey. When the breeding stock fell to low levels in the early 1990s, management initiatives succeeded in returning it to what are considered to be safe levels. Catches are currently high, but fishers have acquired sufficient scientific knowledge to understand that catches will fluctuate for environmental reasons and to take this into account in their fishing operations. Environmental effects have been shown to drive the level of settlement in a particular season. These settlement levels are in turn highly correlated with catches three to four years later, which provides a means of predicting future catches and managing the fishery accordingly. There are issues to be considered in assessing the sustainability of this fishery in the future. The fishery may be overly reliant on egg production from the Abrolhos Islands; catching power of the commercial fleet is increasing due to improvements in gear and technological equipment; growth in catches made by the recreational sector are currently unconstrained; pueruli may be harvested for aquaculture in the near future; and regulations protecting the female brood stock more than the male population could lead to reproductive issues. These potential threats are considered to be low, but will need to be monitored. The fishery was awarded Marine Stewardship Council certification in March 2000, the first in the world to receive this imprimatur

An archaeological survey of the phase I Riverpark development, Chattanooga, Tennessee

In August and September, 1986, the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, conducted a systematic subsurface archaeological survey of a 2.5 km (1.5 mile) corridor along the left bank of the Tennessee River, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee. The survey was funded by the RiverCity Company, Chattanooga, a non-profit corporation overseeing the implementation of a plan to create a public recreation facility known as the Tennessee Riverpark. As part of the final planning of the Phase I area of the Riverpark, environmental impact studies of the project area were commissioned. The project area extends from the C. B. Robinson Bridge off Amnicola Highway to the Tennessee Valley Authority\u27s Chickamauga Dam. The archaeological survey of the Riverpark Phase I project area was conducted by using a power soil auger to drill test cores at 80° (25 meter) intervals in grid and linear patterns to a depth not exceeding 5.5\u27. The fill from the auger tests was sifted using 1/4 inch mesh screens for standardized artifact recovery. Testing was confined to the proposed project area. Excepting modern debris, the cultural materials recovered from subsurface contexts consisted of prehistoric artifacts from the Late Archaic, Woodland and Mississippian periods. A thin scatter of artifacts is present along the entire length of the project area but two concentrations of debris were noted and tested by hand-excavated test units 3\u27 by 6° in size. One concentration represented a Woodland period occupation superimposed on a Late Archaic component; this site has been designated 40HA233 in the Tennessee archaeological site file. The second concentration was a Woodland occupation previously recorded as site 40HA102 by the Tennessee Department of Transportation in 1979. Mississippian ceramics were present above the Woodland midden. A second previously-recorded site in the project area, 40HA83, situated behind Chattanooga State Technical Community College, was not sampled in the auger survey. It is recommended that the sites noted on each side of the C. B. Robinson Bridge be preserved and protected from construction impacts during development of the Tennessee Riverpark. If preservation of the sites is not feasible, further evaluation in the form of a secondary archaeological testing program is recommended. Since the project area landforms consist of alluvially-aggrading river terraces, there exists the possibility of deeply-buried Archaic occupations not detected by the auger survey. Monitoring of any deep excavations undertaken in the course of construction is recommended.https://scholar.utc.edu/archaeology-reports/1052/thumbnail.jp

Cloning, sequencing, and characterization of the hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine degradation gene cluster from Rhodococcus rhodochrous

Hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) is a high explosive which presents an environmental hazard as a major land and groundwater contaminant. Rhodococcus rhodochrous strain 11Y was isolated from explosive contaminated land and is capable of degrading RDX when provided as the sole source of nitrogen for growth. Products of RDX degradation in resting-cell incubations were analyzed and found to include nitrite, formaldehyde, and formate. No ammonium was excreted into the medium, and no dead-end metabolites were observed. The gene responsible for the degradation of RDX in strain 11Y is a constitutively expressed cytochrome P450-like gene, xpLA, which is found in a gene cluster with an adrenodoxin reductase homologue, xplB. The cytochrome P450 also has a flavodoxin domain at the N terminus. This study is the first to present a gene which has been identified as being responsible for RDX biodegradation. The mechanism of action of XplA on RDX is thought to involve initial denitration followed by spontaneous ring cleavage and mineralization

Growth rates and survival of western rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus) at twotemperatures (ambient and 23 C) and two feeding frequencies

Wild caught post-pueruli, year one and year two post settlement juvenile western rock lobster, Panuliruscygnus, were held at ambient temperatures (15.6 C to 23.1 C; mean 19.00.07 C) or at 23 C, and fed thesame ration of a formulated pellet diet either once per night, or 3 times per night, over 12 months, todetermine whether elevated temperatures and multiple feeds per night would stimulate growth throughincreased metabolism and feed utilisation without significant negative impacts on survival. Survival of postpueruli(mean 63%) did not differ between ambient and 23 C. Survival of year 1 and 2 juveniles was higher atambient temperatures (pb0.01 ambient: year 1 juveniles, 68%; year 2 juveniles, 88%; 23 C: 57% and 74%,respectively). Feeding frequency did not affect survival of post-pueruli and year 2 juveniles (mean 63%, 81%respectively), but survival was 9% higher for year 1 juveniles fed three times per night (58% versus 67%;pb0.01). All lobsters grew faster at 23 C than at ambient temperatures (pb0.05), with the growth ofpost-pueruli almost doubled at 23 C (weight gain at 23 C versus ambient: post-pueruli, 18 438 % versus 9915 %; year 1 juveniles 259% versus 165%; year 2 juveniles 23% versus 21%). Feed frequency did not influencethe growth of year 1 and 2 juveniles. However, there was an interaction effect of temperature and feedfrequency on post-pueruli where weight and carapace length were significantly higher at ambienttemperatures when post-pueruli were fed three times a day, whereas at 23 C weight and carapace lengthwere significantly greater when fed once per day (pb0.05). Feed intake (g pellet dry matter lobster-1 day-1)of pellet was higher at 23 C for all lobsters (pb0.05), but was the same between lobsters fed 3 times pernight versus once per night. This study has shown that increasing temperatures to 23 C significantlyimproved the growth of P. cygnus post-pueruli without any adverse effects on survival. The faster growthrates exhibited by year 1 and 2 juveniles at 23 C may potentially offset their lower survival by significantlyreducing culture period. There is no benefit of feeding P. cygnus multiple times at night in terms of growthand survival. The implications for P. cygnus culture are that temperatures should be maintained close to 23 Cduring the entire growout period, with due care taken to minimise mortalities through adequate provision offood and shelter. Feeding P. cygnus once daily to excess just prior to dusk to co-incide with nocturnal feedingbehaviour is recommended

Method of ultrasonic measurement of texture

A method for measuring texture of metal plates or sheets using non-destructiveultrasonic investigation includes measuring the velocity of ultrasonic energy waves in lower order plate modes in one or more directions, and measuring phase velocity dispersion of higher order modes of the plate or sheet if needed. Textureor preferred grain orientation can be derived from these measurements with improves reliability and accuracy. The method can be utilized in production on moving metal plate or sheet