Affordable homeownership policy : implications for housing markets

Affordable homeownership is a policy that is often accorded a great deal of policy attention by governments of many countries. In this paper, we examine the market implications of setting a housing price to income ratio target for a market segment by the government. The policy requires active intervention by the government with regard to the targeted sector. We use a simple model of the housing market with a homeownership affordability target to derive the market implications of such targets. In the presence of uncertainty and resource constraints, the objective of homeownership affordability is achieved for the targeted group at the expense of greater volatility in residential construction activity. When the size of the targeted sector is significant in size, there are spillover price and crowding out effects on the non-targeted housing market segment. This results in political pressure on the government to expand homeownership affordability targets to increasing segments of the population. Housing price to income ratios tend to be fairly constant over time and across targeted groups, the housing supply is relatively price inelastic and the income elasticity of housing demand is less than one. The Singapore government intervenes extensively in the housing sector to ensure homeownership affordability, with a resulting homeownership rate of 91 percent for the resident population. The above hypotheses regarding the implications of setting housing price to income ratio targets are tested using the Singapore housing market. The experience and data for Singapore were found to support the above hypotheses.Affordable homeownership policy, market implications, Singapore

From efficiency-driven to innovation-driven economic growth : perspectives from Singapore

This paper looks at Singapore's efforts to transform the economic growth base from one that is predominantly efficiency-driven to one that is more innovation-driven. To accelerate the transition process, the government is aggressively investing in"innovation infrastructure"-systems and institutions that make the city a more conducive environment for innovations. The modus operandi, with a distinctive"winner-picking"flavor, mirrors that of its earlier strategic industrial policy in building up the manufacturing sector. It is also in sync with the new urban growth literature which argues that the success of any innovation-driven growth strategy depends on a city's ability to attract a large community of creative individuals in different fields. Innovation infrastructure building requires more than putting in the right systems. It also requires a mindset change at various levels of society. This paper looks at how the government's policy philosophy and practices have evolved over time, and discusses the effectiveness of the government-led, strategic supply-push approach in propelling Singapore onto an innovation-driven growth path. It takes into consideration the city-state's underlying comparative advantages (or disadvantages) and asks how Singapore's existing strength in efficiency infrastructure may give it a first mover advantage in attracting creative talent, how its success may be affected by the small size of the economy, and the various political and social constraints that a small sovereign city-state faces. These issues are explored against the backdrop of the keen competition among the major cities in the region to become an innovation hub.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Environmental Economics&Policies,ICT Policy and Strategies,Agricultural Research,Banks&Banking Reform

Affordable homeownership policy: implications for housing markets

Affordable homeownership is a policy that is often accorded a great deal of policy attention by governments of many countries. In this paper, we examine the market implications of setting a housing price to income ratio target for a market segment by the government. The policy requires active intervention by the government with regard to the targeted sector. We use a simple model of the housing market with a homeownership affordability target to derive the market implications of such targets. In the presence of uncertainty and resource constraints, the objective of homeownership affordability is achieved for the targeted group at the expense of greater volatility in residential construction activity. When the size of the targeted sector is significant in size, there are spillover price and crowding out effects on the non-targeted housing market segment. This results in political pressure on the government to expand homeownership affordability targets to increasing segments of the population. Housing price to income ratios tend to be fairly constant over time and across targeted groups, the housing supply is relatively price inelastic and the income elasticity of housing demand is less than one. The Singapore government intervenes extensively in the housing sector to ensure homeownership affordability, with a resulting homeownership rate of 91 percent for the resident population. The above hypotheses regarding the implications of setting housing price to income ratio targets are tested using the Singapore housing market. The experience and data for Singapore were found to support the above hypotheses.Affordable homeownership policy, market implications, Singapore

From Efficiency-driven to Innovation-driven Economic Growth: Perspectives from Singapore

The Singapore economy is going through a period of major restructuring. Economic stagnation since the 1997 Asia financial crisis (except for a brief recovery in 1999) has called into question the continued relevance of many fundamental policies that had worked well in the past. In 2002, a high-level Economic Review Committee (ERC) was convened by the government to chart new directions for the economy. A common thread that ran through the committee’s various reports was a call to enhance the economy’s innovative capacity, with the aim of making Singapore an innovation hub in the region.2 The call reflects an increased awareness both within and outside the government of the need to redefine Singapore’s comparative advantage through a new national innovation policy.

Representational Difference Analysis to Identify Genomic Differences between Musa Acuminata X Balbisiana Cv Mutiara and Musa Acuminata X Balbisiana Cv Rastali in Relation to Fusarium Tolerance

Inherited characteristics of an organism are the reflections of gene structure and organization, including interactions among different genes and their products, as well as environmental factors. Thus, variations in other genes may affect the expression or activity of proteins encoded by specific genes. The study of genetic variation is essential in order to examine differences among members of the same species, such as to differentiate between individuals. Musa acuminata x balbisiana cv Rastali is very susceptible to Fusarium Wilt Race 1 and Race 4, which is caused by the soil inhibiting fungus known as Fusarium oxyporum f. sp. Cubense. Micropropagation of Fusarium wilt tolerant M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Rastali selection has been successfully developed by United Plantations Bhd. These bananas have shown a high tolerance to Fusarium wilt race 4 and it is known as M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Mutiara. Fusarium wilt tolerant M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Rastali selection is based on the screening of banana clones by field testing in the “Fusarium Hot-Spot”. The process is time consuming and the process may result in a disease outbreak. Thus, polymorphic markers to differentiate M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Rastali from M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Mutiara will facilitate the early identification and screening process. In this study, representational difference analysis (RDA) approach has been used to identify genomic differences between M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Mutiara and M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Rastali. A total of 56 difference products were isolated from the variable sequences present in the genomes of both cultivars with two enzymes and four subtractions. These clones were selected for sequencing and homology search against the available databases. Generally, the two cultivars showed a high degree of genomic similarity (identities > 98 %). Base changes and short deletions of DNA sequences of both cultivars were detected by the sequence analysis of 8 interesting clones that were expressed during the infection of M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Mutiara. One of the prospective clone, 1.2-5b is homologous to chitinase class III which is a plant defence related gene. It was found to only express in the root of infected M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Mutiara although it was present in both M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Mutiara and M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Rastali genomic DNA. The amplified DNA fragment using primer 1.2-5b for both cultivars is different in length. The most variable region was found at the sequence after the specific forward primer site and the identity of sequence was found at the second half of the sequence. Besides, primer 2.2-9 also gave a different amplified product size, whereby the amplified fragment of M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Mutiara is 25 bp longer than the M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Rastali. Homology search of the sequence from M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Mutiara was unknown. Both cultivars can be easily distinguished from each other by using primers 1.2-5b and 2.2-9. The highly variable region in the sequence of 1.2-5b and 2.2-9 for both cultivar might be due to the natural mutation and environment stresses for the M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Mutiara which derived from M. acuminata x balbisiana cv Rastali to be Fusarium tolerance and survived. The RDA approach has successfully isolated and identified potential variable regions of DNA fragments that might be related to their genotype as Fusarium wilt tolerant and Fusarium wilt susceptible cultivars

Identification of a Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria, Bacillus Sphaericus (UPMB10), Using PCR-Based DNA Fingerprinting Technique

One of the major constraints in increasing crop yield is the supply of nutrient and nitrogen is obviously the main limiting nutrient. Biological nitrogen fixation is believed to have a great potential to contribute to productive and sustainable agricultural system for the tropics. Bacillus sphaericus UPMB10 is a locally isolated plant growth promoting rhizobacteria that has the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen efficiently and has been proven to promote the growth of vegetable soybean, oil palm and bananas. When UPMB10 is applied to the soil as a biofertilizer, it is very important to have a method of identifying and monitoring the effectiveness of the introduced inoculant. Polymerase chain reaction based DNA fingerprinting, a DNA polymorphism assay based on the amplification of random DNA segment with single primers of arbitrary nucleotide sequence, was employed to detect UPMB10 used as an inoculant. DNA polymorphism simply detects DNA segments, which are amplified from one individual bacterium but not others and the polymorph isms function as genetic markers. peR amplification does not require the culturing of the bacterial strains and since it is capable of amplifying unique sequences in the midst of a myriad of DNA sequences, it has the potential to identify specific strains found within the soil. The objectives of this study were to identify suitable primers for identification and distinguishing UPMB1 0 when applied as a biofertilizer

Underpriced Default Spread Exacerbates Market Crashes

In this paper, we develop a specific observable symptom of a banking system that underprices the default spread in non-recourse asset-backed lending. Using three different data sets for 18 countries and property types, we find that, following a negative demand shock, the underpricing economies experience far deeper asset market crashes than economies in which the put option is correctly priced. Furthermore, only one of the countries in our sample continues to exhibit the underpricing symptom following a market crash. This indicates that market crashes have a cleansing effect and eliminate underpricing at least for a period of time. This makes investing in such markets safer following a negative demand shock.real estate bubble, lender optimism, disaster myopia, Asian financial crisis

Underpriced Default Spread Exacerbates Market Crashes

In this paper, we develop a specific observable symptom of a banking system that underprices the default spread in non-recourse asset-backed lending. Using three different data sets for 18 countries and property types, we find that, following a negative demand shock, the “underpricing” economies experience far deeper asset market crashes than economies in which the put option is correctly priced. Furthermore, only one of the countries in our sample continues to exhibit the underpricing symptom following a market crash. This indicates that market crashes have a cleansing effect and eliminate underpricing at least for a period of time. This makes investing in such markets safer following a negative demand shock.real estate bubble, lender optimism, disaster myopia, Asian financial crisis

Chemistry and material science at the cell surface

Cell surfaces are fertile ground for chemists and material scientists to manipulate or augment cell functions and phenotypes. This not only helps to answer basic biology questions but also has diagnostic and therapeutic applications. In this review, we summarize the most recent advances in the engineering of the cell surface. In particular, we focus on the potential applications of surface engineered cells for 1) targeting cells to desirable sites in cell therapy, 2) programming assembly of cells for tissue engineering, 3) bioimaging and sensing, and ultimately 4) manipulating cell biology.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grabt R03DE019191)American Heart Association (Grant 0970178N