A Review on Singapore's Economic Growth

Master'sMASTER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

International transmission of inflation among G-7 countries: a data-determined VAR analysis

We investigate the international transmission of inflation among G-7 countries using a data-determined vector autoregression analysis, as advocated by Swanson and Granger (1997). Over the period 1973 to 2003, we find that U.S. innovations have a large effect on inflation in the other countries, although they are not always the dominant international factor. Similarly, shocks to some other countries also have a statistically and economically significant influence on U.S. inflation. Moreover, our evidence indicates that U.S. inflation has become less vulnerable to foreign shocks since the early 1990s, mainly because of the diminished influence from Germany and FranceInternational finance ; Time-series analysis

Does aggregate relative risk aversion change countercyclically over time? evidence from the stock market

Using a semiparametric estimation technique, we show that the risk-return tradeoff and the Sharpe ratio of the stock market increases monotonically with the consumption wealth ratio (CAY) across time. While early studies have commonly interpreted such a finding as evidence of the countercyclical variation in aggregate relative risk aversion (RRA), we argue that it mainly reflects changes in investment opportunities for two reasons. First, we fail to reject the null hypothesis of constant RRA after controlling for CAY as a proxy for the hedge against changes in the investment opportunity set. Second, by contrast with habit formation models but consistent with ICAPM, we find that loadings on the conditional stock market variance scaled by CAY are negatively priced in the cross-sectional regressions. For illustration, we replicate the countercyclical stock market risk-return tradeoff using simulated data from Guo's (2004) limited stock market participation model, in which RRA is constant and CAY is a proxy for shareholders' liquidity conditions.Capital assets pricing model ; Stock market

Synthesis And Applications Of Symmetric Building Blocks In Supramolecular, Single-Stranded, And Double-Stranded Polymers

In this study, supramolecular polymers from carbamates are studied. A number of three-fold symmetric carbamates have been synthesized, characterized and their self-assembly structure are studied. The lamellar structures are detected and compared by using their melting points, NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The hydrogen-bond networks of each compound in crystalline state are examined. A new hydrogen bonded network self-assembles under mild conditions from benzene-1,3,5-triyl tris(butyl carbamate) (2), benzene-1,3,5-triyl tris(pentyl carbamate) (3), benzene-1,3,5-triyl tris(hexyl carbamate) (4), and benzene-1,3,5-triyl tris(heptyl carbamate) (5). One of the carbonyl groups in the molecules 2-4 does not form a C=O⋯H–N hydrogen bond in the sheet-like structure. Three different types of hydrogen bonding sites are observed. Although the building blocks only differ in the number of carbons in their side chains, this 2D unsaturated hydrogen bonded network is different from the saturated one which is self-assembled from benzene-1,3,5-triyl tris(propyl carbamate) 1. For compounds 2-5, the odd-even effect is also observed in terms of melting point, as well as the dihedral angle between the aromatic core and the arm with an oversaturated hydrogen bond. The inverted carbamates 7-11 are also synthesized and studied. An organic gel is found in triheptyl Nʹ,Nʹʹ,Nʹʹʹ-benzene-1,3,5-tricarbamate 11 with a concentration of 20 g/L (2.6 Ã10-2 M) in n-dodecane. A mirror-symmetric building block for linear polymer is designed. 3,4-Di(furan-2-yl)cyclobutane-1,2-dicarboxylic acid (12) is synthesized from 3-(2-furyl)acrylic acid (12ʹ) through a solid-state [2+2] photocycloaddition by UV-A irradiation in quantitative yield. This building block molecule is derived from furfural and malonic acid. Thus, a novel 100% bio-based monomer has been successfully synthesized. For the first time, the single crystal is obtained in MeOH/DCM at room temperature. The thermal stability and acidic resistance of the cyclobutane ring of this building block is tested by thermal gravimetric analysis (GTA) and acid treatment. As a proof-of-concept, the condensation of 12 and 1,5-pentanediol is evaluated in this study. MS and NMR spectra of the product prove the formation of the target polymer. A series of cyclic C2-symmetric building blocks for double-stranded polymers are designed. Our goal is to synthesize a linear polymer with double-stranded chains. The two strands are anchored by a C-C single bond so that the width is only extended by one covalent bond while the strength of the chain is enhanced. To achieve this polymer, a three-step strategy has been designed. The first step is to synthesize a cyclic monomer with a C=C bond at each end of the molecule. The second step is to apply intermolecular interactions for self-assembling the monomer. When desirable crystalline packing is obtained, the third step is to generate cyclobutane rings between each neighboring C=C bond by solid-state [2+2] photocycloaddition to form the double-stranded polymer. A series of lactone monomers have been successfully synthesized and their structures are confirmed by NMR spectroscopy. (3Z,14Z)-1,6,12,17-tetraoxacyclodocosa-3,14-diene-2,5,13,16-tetraone (17) is synthesized from maleic anhydride and 1,5-pentanediol. Then isomerization of compound 17 afford (3E,14E)-1,6,12,17-tetraoxacyclodocosa-3,14-diene-2,5,13,16-tetraone (18). Crystalline structures of these two compounds are analyzed by SCXRD and their photoreactivity is examined. The photopolymerization of 17 is supported by IR and solid state 13C NMR spectra

Is value premium a proxy for time-varying investment opportunities: some time series evidence

We uncover a positive, empirical risk-return tradeoff in the stock market after controlling for the covariance of stock market returns with the value premium. The underlying premise is that, as conjectured by Fama and French (1996), the value premium is a proxy for time-varying investment opportunities. By ignoring the value premium, early specifications suffer from an omitted variable problem that leads to a downward bias in the estimate of the risk-return tradeoff. The paper also documents a new finding on a significantly positive relation between the value premium and its conditional variance.Time-series analysis ; Stocks

Testing for Cointegrating Rank via Model Selection: Evidence from 165 Data Sets

The model selection approach has been proposed as an alternative to the popular tests for cointegration such as the residual-based ADF test and the system-based trace test. Using information criteria, we conduct cointegration tests on 165 data sets used in published studies. The empirical results demonstrate the usefulness of the model selection approach for applied researchers

Changing Pastoralism and Pastoral Livelihoods Under Climate Change in Northwestern China

The livelihood of pastoralists is strongly influenced and partially determined by regulatory grazing limitations and global climate change. It was assumed that the challenges associated with the latter factor would invariably obligate and motivate herders to practice sustainable animal husbandry. However, the former factor also incentivizing adaptive changes in the agricultural practices of herders and pastoralists as well. The present study investigated changes in the management practices that rural pastoralists have made to ensure the sustainable maintenance of their livelihood in the face of strict public policy and climate risks. Surveys were conducted in two pastoral counties of northwestern China in a region subjected to frequent annual drought events and low wintertime temperatures. This region has already undergone numerous institutional changes within the last few decades. The results of the field research indicated that farmers in both counties have modified their livelihood patterns and nomadic practices in response to regulatory and climate change. Five new adaptive livelihood patterns were identified among the agricultural workers in the study area. The novel adaptive farming practices assumed by herders were intended to cope with the tension between the requirement for environmental protection and the need for socioeconomic development. The specificity of this research helps clarify how local communities change their livelihood patterns in response to ecosystem degradation and policy modifications resulting from climate change, and enrich the understanding of the actions for dealing with climate change under the individual perspective

Visual memory benefits from prolonged encoding time regardless of stimulus type

It is generally assumed that the storage capacity of visual working memory (VWM) is limited, holding about 3-4 items. Recent work with real-world objects, however, has challenged this view by providing evidence that the VWM capacity for real-world objects is not fixed but instead increases with prolonged encoding time (Brady, Stormer, & Alvarez, 2016). Critically, in this study, no increase with prolonged encoding time was observed for storing simple colors. Brady et al. (2016) argued that the larger capacity for real-world objects relative to colors is due to the additional conceptual information of real-world objects. With basically the same methods of Brady et al., in Experiments 1-3, we were unable to replicate their basic findings. Instead, we found that visual memory for simple colors also benefited from prolonged encoding time. Experiment 4 showed that the scale of the encoding time benefit was the same for familiar and unfamiliar objects, suggesting that the added conceptual information does not contribute to this benefit. We conclude that visual memory benefits from prolonged encoding time regardless of stimulus type

Image processing based quantitative damage evaluation in composites with long pulse thermography

Pulsed thermography is a contactless and rapid non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technique that is widely used for the inspection of fibre reinforced plastic composites. However, pulsed thermography uses expensive and specialist equipment such high-energy flash lamps to generate heat into the sample, so that alternative thermal stimulation sources are needed. Long pulse thermography was recently developed as a cost-effective solution to enhance the defect detectability in composites by generating step-pulse heat into the test sample with inexpensive quartz halogen lamps and measuring the thermal response during the material cooling down. This paper provides a quantitative comparison of long pulse thermography with traditional pulsed thermography and step heating thermography in carbon fibre and glass fibre composites with flat-bottomed holes located at various depths. The three thermographic methods are processed with advanced thermal image algorithms such as absolute thermal contrast, thermographic signal reconstruction, phase Fourier analysis and principal component analysis in order to reduce thermal image artefacts. Experimental tests have shown that principal component analysis applied to long pulse thermography provides accurate imaging results over traditional pulsed thermography and step heating thermography. Hence, this inspection technique can be considered as an efficient and cost-effective thermographic method for low thermal conductivity and low thermal response rate materials. This work is carried out within the scope of EU H2020 funded EXTREME projec