Growth and Welfare Effects of Stabilizing Innovation Cycles

We consider a simple model of innovation where equilibrium cycles may arise and show that, whenever actual capital accumulation falls below its balanced growth path, subsidizing innovators by taxing consumers has stabilizing effects, promotes sustained growth and increases welfare. Further, if the steady state is unstable under laissez faire, the introduction of the subsidy can make the steady state stable. Such a policy has beneficial effects as it fosters output growth along the transitional adjustment path, and increases the welfare of current and future generations.Growth, endogenous cycles, stabilization, innovation, subsidy, welfare.

Entry Dynamics, Capacity Utilisation and Productivity in a Dynamic Open Economy.

This paper analyses an open economy Ramsey model with an endogenous labour supply without capital. The technology defines an optimal firm size. Changes to the number of firms is subject to adjustment costs, so that the entry dynamics is determined endogenously. We find that there is a short run transitory productivity dynamic introduced when there is imperfect competition due to changes in capacity utilization. We are able to analyze this in different contexts, including demand and technology shocks, both anticipated and unanticipated.Entry; capacity utilisation; adjustment costs; Ramsey.

Entry Dynamics, Capacity Utilisation and Productivity in a Dynamic Open Economy

This paper analyses an open economy Ramsey model with an endogenous labour supply without capital. The technology defines an optimal firm size. Changes to the number of firms is subject to adjustment costs, so that the entry dynamics is determined endogenously. We find that there is a short run transitory productivity dynamic introduced when there is imperfect competition due to changes in capacity utilization. We are able to analyze this in different contexts, including demand and technology shocks, both anticipated and unanticipated.entry, capacity utilisation, adjustment costs, Ramsey

National Labor Markets, International Factor Mobility and Macroeconomic Instability

We consider a standard two—country environment, where one of the countries has rigid wages and unemployment, and analyze how factor markets’ integration affects the economy with respect to expectationsdriven fluctuations. We demonstrate that by allowing free capital mobility, indeterminacy is exported to the world economy. If further liberalization is permitted, by allowing free movements of labor, the scope for indeterminacy is reduced and open labor markets may produce a stabilizing effect on the global macroeconomy. Whether this also implies higher welfare in the long run depends on differentials in average firm size across countries.Indeterminacy, Factor Movements, Globalization, Efficiency Wages

Soft Power and Polite Propaganda: Public Diplomacy in the Early Cold War

In the Aftermath of the Second World War, the United States and The USSR stood as the only true superpowers. Both states held their own spheres of influence, with interests in spreading that influence. With the fear of nuclear war and the still looming shadow of global conflict, a new brand of diplomacy began to take hold as the preferred method of international relations between adversarial states. Soft power was beginning to become an influential means to accomplishing the goal of nations abroad. The careful curation of print media, literature, and informational campaigns became an important element to how the US chose to present themselves in the USSR in an attempt to realign the views of the Soviet people. Programs ranging from hard news radio broadcasts to cultural exploration magazines earned this brand of public outreach a fitting name, polite propaganda. In my research, I hope to examine the impact that the Cold War had in defining soft power, more specifically one of the tools that falls under the umbrella of soft power—cultural and public diplomacy. Through primary research of policies enacted at the time, and examination of State Department records and interdepartmental notes of the mid to late 1940s, as well as secondary resources concerning early US backed Cold War programs in the Soviet Union, I hope to make clear not only the use of soft power in late 1940s US-Soviet relations, but also the impact public diplomacy had on the direction of the Cold War and future endeavors regarding public diplomacy campaigns

Is Regenerative Injection Therapy (Prolotherapy) Effective at Reducing Pain Associated With Knee Osteoarthritis?

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not “Is regenerative injection therapy (prolotherapy) effective at reducing pain associated with knee osteoarthritis?” Study Design: Review of all English language primary studies published in 2012 and 2013. Data Sources: One randomized control trial, one randomized crossover study and one single-arm uncontrolled study were found using PubMed and Ebscohost. Outcomes Measured: Clinical outcome for all three articles was measured using the Western Ontario McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC); which specifically focuses on quality of life, function, and pain reduction after the use of prolotherapy versus the saline placebo. Results: In a randomized control study (RCT) by Rabago et al. (2012) they found that patients given prolotherapy sustained significant improvement of pain, function, and stiffness scores for knee osteoarthritis compared with the blinded saline injection group. The randomized crossover study by Dumais et al. also came to the conclusion that prolotherapy is associated with a marked reduction in symptoms that was sustained for over 24 weeks. The Rabago et al. (2013) single-arm uncontrolled study also found similar results; 36% improvement on the WOMAC. Conclusions: Both randomized controlled trials and the single-arm uncontrolled studies included in this review indicate that regenerative injection therapy, also known as RIT or prolotherapy, is an effective treatment for knee osteoarthritis in regards to quality of life, pain, and function