Uniform saddlepoint approximations for ratios of quadratic forms

Ratios of quadratic forms in correlated normal variables which introduce noncentrality into the quadratic forms are considered. The denominator is assumed to be positive (with probability 1). Various serial correlation estimates such as least-squares, Yule--Walker and Burg, as well as Durbin--Watson statistics, provide important examples of such ratios. The cumulative distribution function (c.d.f.) and density for such ratios admit saddlepoint approximations. These approximations are shown to preserve uniformity of relative error over the entire range of support. Furthermore, explicit values for the limiting relative errors at the extreme edges of support are derived.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.3150/07-BEJ6169 the Bernoulli (http://isi.cbs.nl/bernoulli/) by the International Statistical Institute/Bernoulli Society (http://isi.cbs.nl/BS/bshome.htm

Leptodactylus rugosus

Number of Pages: 5Integrative BiologyGeological Science

TIME VARYING PARAMETERS WITH RANDOM COMPONENTS: THE ORANGE JUICE INDUSTRY

Crop Production/Industries,

Globalization and Country-Specific Service Links

The Jones-Kierzkowski model of global fragmentation of production draws attention to the cost and efficiency of “service links” connecting “production blocks” in different countries. Country-specific service links include transport and telecommunications infrastructure and the overall business climate. Mobile factors of production, most prominently foreign direct investment (FDI), can shop around for countries with the most functional and inexpensive service links along with low labor costs. Those countries with favorable business climates and well-functioning service links are able to attract FDI and other mobile inputs, and participate in international production networks. We provide evidence that successful exporters of manufactures, notably in East Asia, have relatively favorable service links. A cross-section analysis of manufactured exports and of FDI in manufacturing confirms the importance of service link infrastructure.Conflicting claims, Division rules, Operators, Minimal rights, Maximal claims, Duality, Convexity.

Globalization and Country-Specific Service Links

The Jones-Kierzkowski model of global fragmentation of production draws attention to the cost and efficiency of “service links” connecting “production blocks” in different countries. Country-specific service links include transport and telecommunications infrastructure and the overall business climate. Mobile factors of production, most prominently foreign direct investment (FDI), can shop around for countries with the most functional and inexpensive service links along with low labor costs. Those countries with favorable business climates and well-functioning service links are able to attract FDI and other mobile inputs, and participate in international production networks. We provide evidence that successful exporters of manufactures, notably in East Asia, have relatively favorable service links. A crosssection analysis of manufactured exports and of FDI in manufacturing confirms the importance of service link infrastructure.

Elimination of Clock Jitter Noise in Spaceborn Laser Interferometers

Space gravitational wave detectors employing laser interferometry between free-flying spacecraft differ in many ways from their laboratory counterparts. Among these differences is the fact that, in space, the end-masses will be moving relative to each other. This creates a problem by inducing a Doppler shift between the incoming and outgoing frequencies. The resulting beat frequency is so high that its phase cannot be read to sufficient accuracy when referenced to state-of-the-art space-qualified clocks. This is the problem that is addressed in this paper. We introduce a set of time-domain algorithms in which the effects of clock jitter are exactly canceled. The method employs the two-color laser approach that has been previously proposed, but avoids the singularities that arise in the previous frequency-domain algorithms. In addition, several practical aspects of the laser and clock noise cancellation schemes are addressed.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Towards a Post-Structural View of Competition: Three Cases of Horizontal Merger

We examine the question of adaptive firm conduct using longitudinal product-level data from three large horizontal mergers in the food manufacturing industry. Our model is grounded in a poststructural view of competition that we deduce from recent writings from the fields of strategy, organizational ecology, and industrial organization. Consistent with this model, we find that the influence of horizontal merger on product performance (i.e., rent) varies with the product niche, time, the specific firms that merged, and dominance of the product, and its market scope.Industrial Organization,

Impact of Changes in U.S. Grain Standards on Discounts for Insects in Stored Grain

The Federal Grain Inspection Service changed U.S. grain standards in 1988. Insect discounts given at country elevators and at terminal elevators were analyzed to determine impacts of the new standards. Insect discounts influence grain quality by affecting insect control decisions by producers and country elevator managers.Grain Inspection, Insect Discounts, Wheat, Farm Storage, Elevator Storage, Crop Production/Industries,

Wall-liquid and wall-crystal interfacial free energies via thermodynamic integration: A molecular dynamics simulation study

A method is proposed to compute the interfacial free energy of a Lennard-Jones system in contact with a structured wall by molecular dynamics simulation. Both the bulk liquid and bulk face-centered-cubic crystal phase along the (111) orientation are considered. Our approach is based on a thermodynamic integration scheme where first the bulk Lennard-Jones system is reversibly transformed to a state where it interacts with a structureless flat wall. In a second step, the flat structureless wall is reversibly transformed into an atomistic wall with crystalline structure. The dependence of the interfacial free energy on various parameters such as the wall potential, the density and orientation of the wall is investigated. The conditions are indicated under which a Lennard-Jones crystal partially wets a flat wall.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figure