The Determinants of Intra-Firm Trade

This paper analyzes the determinants of the intra-firm vs arms’length sourcing mode of imported inputs. We build a unique French dataset of 1,141,393 import transactions at the firm, country and product levels in the year 1999 that allow us to distinguish the different sourcing modes. We study the firms-, country- and product- determinants of intra-firm trade. We confirm a number of theory-based predictions building on the residuals property rights approach and provide some empirical facts that can be used to further refine this as well as alternative theories. In particular, we highlight the fact that firms’ heterogeneity needs to be evaluated across different dimensions. Furthermore, we point out that complex goods are more likely to be produced within the firm boundaries suggesting that those material and immaterial attributes that characterized a product play a key role in globalized sourcing strategies.Internationalization strategies; intra-firm trade; outsourcing; firm heterogeneity

Collider Signature of T-quarks

Little Higgs models with T Parity contain new vector-like fermions, the T-odd quarks or "T-quarks", which can be produced at hadron colliders with a QCD-strength cross section. Events with two acoplanar jets and large missing transverse energy provide a simple signature of T-quark production. We show that searches for this signature with the Tevatron Run II data can probe a significant part of the Little Higgs model parameter space not accessible to previous experiments, exploring T-quark masses up to about 400 GeV. This reach covers parts of the parameter space where the lightest T-odd particle can account for the observed dark matter relic abundance. We also comment on the prospects for this search at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Above and belowground community strategies respond to different global change drivers

Environmental changes alter the diversity and structure of communities. By shifting the range of species traits that will be successful under new conditions, environmental drivers can also dramatically impact ecosystem functioning and resilience. Above and belowground communities jointly regulate whole-ecosystem processes and responses to change, yet they are frequently studied separately. To determine whether these communities respond similarly to environmental changes, we measured taxonomic and trait-based responses of plant and soil microbial communities to four years of experimental warming and nitrogen deposition in a temperate grassland. Plant diversity responded strongly to N addition, whereas soil microbial communities responded primarily to warming, likely via an associated decrease in soil moisture. These above and belowground changes were associated with selection for more resource-conservative plant and microbe growth strategies, which reduced community functional diversity. Functional characteristics of plant and soil microbial communities were weakly correlated (P = 0.07) under control conditions, but not when above or belowground communities were altered by either global change driver. These results highlight the potential for global change drivers operating simultaneously to have asynchronous impacts on above and belowground components of ecosystems. Assessment of a single ecosystem component may therefore greatly underestimate the whole-system impact of global environmental changes

Leading the Way?: Maine's Initial Experience in Expanding Coverage Through Dirigo Health Reforms

Examines interim indicators -- enrollment of the previously uninsured, responses from small firms and the working poor, and the impact on costs -- of Maine's progress in providing affordable health insurance through the Dirigo Health program

The Determinants of Intrafirm Trade: Evidence from French Firms

How well does the theory of the firm explain the choice between intrafirm and arms' length trade? This paper uses firm-level import data from France to look into this question. We find support for three key predictions of property-rights theories of the multinational firm. Intrafirm imports are more likely: (i) in capital- and skill-intensive firms; (ii) in highly productive firms; (iii) from countries with well-functioning judicial institutions. We further bridge previous aggregate findings with our investigation by decomposing intrafirm imports into an extensive and intensive margin. Doing so we uncover interesting patterns in the data that require further theoretical investigation.intrafirm trade, outsourcing, firm heterogeneity, incomplete contracts, internationalization strategies, quality of institutions, extensive margin, intensive margin