Contractual Versus Generic Outsourcing: The Role of Proximity

We explore the relationship between proximity of buyers and sellers and the organizational form of outsourcing. Outsourcing can be "contractual" in which suppliers undertake specific investments or involve "generic" market transactions. Proximity expands the variety of products sourced through contracts abroad rather than at home, but the range of generic imports is unchanged. A higher-quality foreign workforce raises the variety of contractual trade, but at the expense of generics. We confirm these predictions using data for ordinary versus processing exports from Chinese provinces to destination markets and also the predictions of an extended model that allows for multinational production.

Contractual Versus Non-Contractual Trade: The Role of Institutions in China

Recent research has demonstrated the importance of institutional quality at the country level for both the volume of trade and the ability to trade in differentiated goods that rely on contract enforcement. This paper takes advantage of cross-provincial variation in institutional quality in China, and export data that distinguishes between foreign and domestic exporters and processing versus ordinary trade, to show that institutional quality is a significant factor in determining Chinese provincial export patterns. Institutions matter more for processing trade, and more for foreign firms, just as we would expect from a greater reliance on contracts in these cases.

Small Punch Creep

A thorough characterisation of the creep properties of any modern alloy designed for a structural application can be an expensive and timely process. As such, significant effort is now being placed in identifying suitable alternative characterisation techniques. The small punch creep (SPC) test is now widely regarded as an effective tool for ranking and establishing the creep properties of a number of critical structural materials from numerous industrial sectors. Over recent years, the SPC test has become an attractive miniaturised mechanical test method ideally suited for situations where only a limited quantity of material is available for qualification testing. Typically, the method requires only a modest amount of material and can provide key mechanical property information for highly localised regions of critical components. As such, SP creep testing offers a feasible option of determining the creep properties of novel alloy variants still at the experimental stage and the residual life of service-exposed material

Exploring the Sub-State Intergovernmental Game

Draft: Do not cite without author permissionThe (draft) article of record as published may be found at https://ssrn.com/abstract=3562735Cooperative budgeting arrangements between state and local governments jointly fund local programs. The mix of state and local revenues contributed to these arrangements can change as budget priorities shift over time. This study examines the strategic choices public officials make as they determine their contributions to jointly-funded programs. Using a game theory model known as the “Diner’s Dilemma”, the analysis explores how each level of government considers how much revenue to contribute and whether it can induce its partner to increase their level of support. This analysis applies primarily to local programs with regional externalities. The model illustrates how local efforts to aggressively try to shift costs to the state government can backfire, particularly during periods of state fiscal stress

Effect of Time-of-Flight and Regularized Reconstructions on Quantitative Measurements and Qualitative Assessments in Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer With 18F-Fluorocholine Dual Time Point PET/MRI.

Recent technical advances in positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) technology allow much improved time-of-flight (TOF) and regularized iterative PET reconstruction regularized iterative reconstruction (RIR) algorithms. We evaluated the effect of TOF and RIR on standardized uptake values (maximum and peak SUV [SUVmax and SUVpeak]) and their metabolic tumor volume dependencies and visual image quality for 18F-fluorocholine PET/MRI in patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer. Fourteen patients were administered with 3 MBq/kg of 18F-fluorocholine and scanned dynamically for 30 minutes. Positron emission tomography images were divided to early and late time points (1-6 minutes summed and 7-30 minutes summed). The values of the different SUVs were documented for dominant PET-avid lesions, and metabolic tumor volume was estimated using a 50% isocontour and SUV threshold of 2.5. Image quality was assessed via visual acuity scoring (VAS). We found that incorporation of TOF or RIR increased lesion SUVs. The lesion to background ratio was not improved by TOF reconstruction, while RIR improved the lesion to background ratio significantly ( P < .05). The values of the different VAS were all significantly higher ( P < .05) for RIR images over TOF, RIR over non-TOF, and TOF over non-TOF. In conclusion, our data indicate that TOF or RIR should be incorporated into current protocols when available

Trevor Swan And The Neoclassical Growth Model

Trevor Swan independently developed the neoclassical growth model. Swan (1956) was published ten months later than Solow (1956), but included a more complete analysis of technical progress, which Solow treated separately in Solow (1957). Reference is sometimes made to the "Solow-Swan growth model", but more commonly reference is made only to the "Solow growth model". This paper examines the history of Swan’s development of the growth model, the similarities and differences between the approaches of Swan and Solow and the reasons why Swan's contribution has been overshadowed. We draw on unpublished work to show that in 1950, Swan was working on a growth model in a verbal format. In 1956, Swan published only a simplified version of his model based on a Cobb-Douglas production function, but Swan's original model (circulated July 1956 and published posthumously in 2002) was much more general. Swan's reluctance to publish was consistent with his perhaps counterproductive modesty and perfectionism. His well known paper, "Longer run problems of the Balance of Payments" was circulated in 1955, eight years before publication in 1963. His pioneering work in 1945, developing the first macroeconomic model of the Australian economy, was published posthumously in 1989.

The Timing of Managerial Responses to Fiscal Stress

17 USC 105 interim-entered record; under temporary embargo.Using 34 years of data from Florida counties, we examine the effect of multiple fiscal stressors on expenditures over time to test theoretical propositions in Charles Levine's seminal study on cutback management. We demonstrate support for Levine's stages model and his claims on linkages between the causes of fiscal stress and managerial responses. Specifically, unemployment levels produce differential effects by service area (e.g., human services bear the most significant share of the reductions), especially in relation to the persistence of the stressor. We cannot support the stages model with other stressor measures. We expand the literature to include county governments, enhancing the contemporary literature on local government fiscal stress.U.S. Government affiliation is unstated in article text