Opportunities and challenges in agriculture and garments

"For the past two decades, Bangladesh has enjoyed steady growth in per capita incomes enabling a significant reduction in poverty. An increase in rice productivity, achieved through a combination of improved seeds, increased fertilizer use, and public and private investments in irrigation, played a major role in the increase in incomes. Among the other major factors were a large expansion in textile exports, made possible by changes in world demand, Bangladesh trade liberalization, and macro-economic stability; and increases in workers remittances. In order to accelerate or even maintain income growth rates and poverty reduction, future policies must be carefully designed to capture the benefits and minimize the risks of international trade and a constantly changing international environment. A proper assessment of the impact of such policies and economic developments on the poor requires a comprehensive framework to analyze interactions between different sectors as well as linkages between macro and micro levels. In this paper we construct a social accounting matrix for 1999/2000 and develop a computable general equilibrium model (CGE) with special treatment of the rice and wheat sectors. We then present simulations of the effects of (i) rice productivity shocks, (ii) a decline in the world rice price, and (iii) a reduction in RMG exports, reflecting an end to preferential access to RMG markets for Bangladesh goods.... Overall, these simulations illustrate the importance of trade policy and links between Bangladesh and the world economy. International trade offers the potential to prevent a decline in real prices of rice if productivity of paddy production increases and to benefit from increased export earnings. It has also permitted a large increase in RMG export earnings. However, changes in international markets could threaten welfare of some Bangladesh households, as well, as illustrated by the simulations of lower import prices of rice that could sharply reduce farmer incomes, and of a decline in textile export earnings that could sharply reduce female urban employment and urban household incomes....[T]hese simulations show that the Bangladesh economy and household incomes are clearly linked with the global economy, particularly through foodgrain trade and the RMG sector. Efforts to alleviate poverty and raise the incomes of the poor should not neglect these linkages, particularly in cases where these poverty alleviation interventions are large enough to have major effects on the real exchange rate and female labor earnings." Author's Abstract.Equilibrium (Economics) Models ,

Performance Enhancement of Double Tube Heat Exchanger Using Coiled Fins

The effect of inserting coil wire in the shell side of a doublepipe heat exchanger on the heat transfer and pressure drop areexperimentally investigated. The experiments are performedusing water as the hot and cold working fluid under the turbulentflow condition. Nine coils with different wire diameter (dw = 2, 4and 6 mm) and different coil pitch ratio (P/ dw = 2.5, 5 and 7.5)are used in the study. Results presented an increasing up to 1.59in the heat transfer coefficient while the pressure drop increased10 times compared with the smooth pipe. Results also showedthat the increase in the heat gain is very big than the loss in thepumping power

Closure between aerosol particles and cloud condensation nuclei at Kaashidhoo Climate Observatory

Predicting the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) supersaturation spectrum from aerosol properties is a fairly straightforward matter, as long as those properties are simple. During the Indian Ocean Experiment we measured CCN spectra, size-resolved aerosol chemical composition, and aerosol number distributions and attempted to reconcile them using a modified form of Köhler theory. We obtained general agreement between our measured and modeled CCN spectra. However, the agreement was not as good during a time period when organic carbon comprised a quarter of the total mass of the aerosol in the submicron size range. The modeled concentrations overpredict those actually measured during that time period. This suggests that some component, presumably organic material, can inhibit the uptake of water by the electrolytic fraction of the mass

Analyse numérique de l’effet de l’intensification des transferts thermiques par extension de surface sur les cinétiques de fusion/solidification d’un MCP dans un échangeur-stockeur tube-calandre

International audienc

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN AGRICULTURE AND GARMENTS: A GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM ANALYSIS OF THE BANGLADESH ECONOMY

For the past two decades, Bangladesh has enjoyed steady growth in per capita incomes enabling a significant reduction in poverty. An increase in rice productivity, achieved through a combination of improved seeds, increased fertilizer use, and public and private investments in irrigation, played a major role in the increase in incomes. Among the other major factors were a large expansion in textile exports, made possible by changes in world demand, Bangladesh trade liberalization, and macro-economic stability; and increases in workers. remittances. In order to accelerate or even maintain income growth rates and poverty reduction, future policies must be carefully designed to capture the benefits and minimize the risks of international trade and a constantly changing international environment. A proper assessment of the impact of such policies and economic developments on the poor requires a comprehensive framework to analyze interactions between different sectors as well as linkages between macro and micro levels. In this paper we construct a social accounting matrix for 1999/2000 and develop a computable general equilibrium model (CGE) with special treatment of the rice and wheat sectors. We then present simulations of the effects of (i) rice productivity shocks, (ii) a decline in the world rice price, and (iii) a reduction in RMG exports, reflecting an end to preferential access to RMG markets for Bangladesh goods. The simulation results suggest that increases in productivity of rice, a key to the gains in rice production and fall in real rice prices that helped Bangladesh to reduce rural poverty in the last two decades, still have the potential to benefit most households. However, in the absence of intervention in domestic markets, the resulting decline in real rice prices reduces real incomes of larger farmers. If trading links can be established and exports prevent a price fall, however, both producers and consumers enjoy real income gains. Reduced Bangladesh textile (RMG) exports affect all households through the depreciation of the real exchange rate required to offset the decline in export earnings as well as through the overall reduction in labor demand. According to the simulations, a 25 percent decline in RMG export (excluding knitwear) volume would lead to a 6.0 percent decrease in wage payments to unskilled female labor in non-agricultural sectors and a 0.5 to 1.0 percent decline in the real incomes of urban poor households. Overall, these simulations illustrate the importance of trade policy and links between Bangladesh and the world economy. International trade offers the potential to prevent a decline in real prices of rice if productivity of paddy production increases and to benefit from increased export earnings. It has also permitted a large increase in RMG export earnings. However, changes in international markets could threaten welfare of some Bangladesh households, as well, as illustrated by the simulations of lower import prices of rice that could sharply reduce farmer incomes, and of a decline in textile export earnings that could sharply reduce female urban employment and urban household incomes. Moreover, the simulations illustrate important general equilibrium considerations that need to be taken into account in policy analysis, including large changes in the real exchange rate needed to avoid an a substantial increase in the current account deficit in the case of a decline in RMG exports. Further analysis is needed to better quantify the magnitude of the key linkages with alternative model specifications and parameters, and in different policy scenarios. In addition, work is needed on policy alternatives to offset the potential adverse impacts of declines in terms of trade and export opportunities. Nonetheless, these simulations show that the Bangladesh economy and household incomes are clearly linked with the global economy, particularly through foodgrain trade and the RMG sector. Efforts to alleviate poverty and raise the incomes of the poor should not neglect these linkages, particularly in cases where these poverty alleviation interventions are large enough to have major effects on the real exchange rate and female labor earnings

Metal-organic frameworks in cooling and water desalination: Synthesis and application

Energy-efficient alternative desalination and cooling systems are pivotal in addressing the incredible increase in energy and water demands worldwide. Sorption-based technology is a unique system that could help in solving the energy and water crisis and cut down the overall carbon footprint. Such systems’ performance relies on the adsorption characteristics of the employed nanoporous adsorbent. Although different nanoporous materials were developed, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are fast becoming a key working substance in water capture applications due to their interesting adsorption characteristics. Owing to the chemical tunability of MOFs, scientists developed thousands of MOFs in the last few decades. With the increasing interest in MOFs, this review paper provides a comprehensive survey of MOFs adsorbents and their roles in cooling and water desalination systems. Herein, three aspects are covered, the synthesis processes, the adsorption characteristics, and the implementation of MOFs at the system level. Many challenges are discussed, such as mass production, the energy demand for synthesis, and the chemical modulation of MOFs to enhance their adsorption characteristics. Many MOFs are presented, but the sorption characteristics of most of them have not been tested yet. Subsequently, a small number of the presented MOFs have been employed in sorption applications. Accordingly, a gap should be filled to test and employ the MOFs in sorption applications