Endogenous Globalization and Income Divergence

This paper develops a growth theory that accounts for the evolution of trade policy, underlying internal class conflicts, and global income divergence over the last few centuries. By analyzing political responses to the distributional effects of international trade, this paper finds a prominent interaction between trade policy and the pattern of economic development, and suggests that the nature of the interaction depends on a country's resource abundance and distribution. As shown by the example of Western Europe, land-scarce countries will reach a developed stage through a non-monotonic evolution of trade policy. In contrast, land- abundant countries, especially those with concentrated landownership, tend to fail to take off because of landlords' opposition to industrialization.Trade Policy, Growth, Class Conflict

Inequality, Growth, and Overtaking

This research develops a theory about the role of inequality in the overtaking of growth performance across countries. The theory captures two opposing effects of inequality on factor accumulation and suggests that the qualitative change in their combined effect is a prime cause of overtaking. Due to the initial dominance of the positive effect of inequality, a less egalitarian economy undergoes a higher growth path in the short run, followed by a lower growth path in the long run. It is also shown that divergence or convergence may arise instead of overtaking, depending on the initial levels of development and inequality.Wealth Distribution, Overtaking, Divergence, Convergence

Income Distribution and Macroeconomics Revisited: The Role of Fertility Adjustment

This paper develops a theory in which households prepare for future education by adjusting the number of children they intend to raise. Income inequality lowers output per worker only if the inequality is attributed in some part to unexpected disturbances after childbirth.

From Duty to Right: The Role of Public Education in the Transition to Aging Societies,

This paper argues that currently advanced, aging economies experienced a qualitative change in the role of public education during the process of industrialization. In the early phases of the Industrial Revolution, public education was regarded as a duty that regulated child labor and thereby discouraged childbirth. As these economies developed and the population aged, younger generations came to view public education as a right, whereas older generations desirous of other public services became more politically in.uential. The eventual policy bias in favor of the elderly placed a heavier education burden on the young, inducing them to have fewer children. This vicious cycle between population aging and the undersupply of public education may have decelerated the growth of advanced economies in the last few decades.

From Duty to Right: The Role of Public Education in the Transition to Aging Societies

This paper argues that the introduction of compulsory schooling in early industrialization promoted the growth process that eventually led to a vicious cycle of population aging and negative pressure on education policy. In the early phases of industrialization, public education was undesirable for the young poor who relied on child labor. Compulsory schooling therefore discouraged childbirth, while the accompanying industrialization stimulated their demand for education. The subsequent rise in the share of the old population, however, limited government resources for education, placing heavier financial burdens on the young. This induced further fertility decline and population aging, and the resulting cycle may have delayed the growth of advanced economies in the last few decades.Compulsory Education; Fertility; Generational Conflict; Growth

Endogenous Trade Policy: Political Struggle in the Growth Process

This paper develops a dynamic theory that accounts for the evolution of trade policy, underlying internal class conflicts, and output growth performance over the last few centuries. By analyzing political responses to the distributional effects of international trade, it finds a prominent interaction between trade policy and the pattern of economic development, and also a significant role for trade liberalization in economic take-off. Consistent with historical evidence for Western Europe, land-scarce economies reach a developed stage through the ebb and flow of liberalism. In contrast, land-abundant countries tend to stagnate because of landlords' opposition to industrialization.

Synthesis of ordered mesoporous ruthenium by lyotropic liquid crystals and its electrochemical conversion to mesoporous ruthenium oxide with high surface area

In ordered to prepare high capacitance pseudo-capacitive oxides, it is important to design nanostructures with appreciable mesopores. Supramolecular templating has become a popular method to synthesize ordered mesoporous metals; however, the application of the same technique to synthesis of high surface area oxides is more demanding. We present here, the synthesis of ordered mesoporous ruthenium metal by lyotropic liquid crystal templating and its electrochemical conversion to ordered mesoporous ruthenium oxide by a simple, room temperature procedure. The bulk, unsupported metallic ordered mesoporous ruthenium exhibits high surface area of 110 m(2) g(-1), which is comparable to typical supported Ru nanoparticles. The oxide analogue gives a high specific capacitance of 376 Fg(-1), owing to the porous structure. These results demonstrate a possible facile and generic process to synthesize oxides with ordered nanostructures by utilization of the various phases that can be obtained with lyotropic liquid crystalline templates such as cubic, hexagonal, lamellar, etc.ArticleJOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES. 204:244-248 (2012)journal articl