Using a Spreadsheet SAM for GAMS CGE Modeling

This technical document provides in a single document a template to follow when using spreadsheet Social Accounting Matrix data to drive a GAMS-based Computable General Equilibrium model

Three Essays on the Economics of Public Libraries

This dissertation explores empirical issues concerning public libraries in the United States. In particular, it analyzes the direct and indirect effects to and from public libraries, on different issues such as charitable donations, labor market outcomes, institutions and technical efficiency. Chapter 1 discusses the economics of public libraries and its relevance. In addition, it provides an outline of the dissertation and its main contribution to the literature. Chapter 2, analyzes the determinants of donations to public libraries testing the crowding effect from government funding of public libraries. I find suggestive results of a crowd in effect with an inverted U shape in all levels of government. In other words, additional government dollars increase private donations to public libraries at a decreasing rate. Chapter 3 investigates the effect of public library programs and participation on unemployment and labor force participation in Appalachia. Using an instrumental variable approach, I show that neither adult nor children’s programs and participation affect local labor market outcomes. These results are robust across different specifications. Chapter 4 explores the institutional determinants of public library technical efficiency in West Virginia. The analysis is carried out in two steps. First, I document considerable cross-district variation in library efficiency. Then, I estimate the effect of institutional characteristics on the technical efficiency measures. I find consistent evidence that urban libraries are more inefficient than county and multi-jurisdictional libraries. In addition, I find revenue from local sources is associated with reduced efficiency, contrary to what would be predicted by local public goods producer theory. Chapter 5 concludes the dissertation by summarizing its main findings and discussing possible implications

Setting up a SAM in Excel using VBA

This technical document describes how to set up a full Social Accounting Matrix from its own partition in a spreadsheet file. This is done using VBA code

RUSSIA, CHINA AND SOUTH KOREA IN THE SOUTH-AMERICAN DEFENSE MARKET

O artigo busca discutir se o impacto das mudanças políticas, ocorridas na América do Sul a partir da primeira de década do século, influenciou a compra de equipamentos militares por alguns países da região. O surgimento de novos governos, com forte inclinação à esquerda, ocorreu concomitantemente com uma clara mudança no padrão clássico de compra de equipamentos de defesa. Países europeus e os EUA passaram a ser preteridos, em contraponto a Rússia e China, como fornecedores de armamentos para as várias forças armadas sul-americanas.The article tries to discuss if the impact of the political changes, which occurred in South America from the first decade of the century, influenced the purchase of military equipment by some countries of the region. The emergence of new governments, with a strong left leaning, occurred concurrently with a clear change in the classic pattern of buying defense equipment. European countries and the US have come to be preferred, as opposed to Russia and China, as suppliers of arms to the various South American armed forces

Pengaruh Lingkungan Kerja Dan Beban Kerja Terhadap Kinerja Karyawan Di Puskesmas Semen Kediri

Kinerja karyawan sangat penting bagi suatu perusahaan karena penilaian kinerja diperlukan untuk mengevaluasi karyawan secara berkala agar kinerjanya meningkat sesuai dengan tujuan perusahaan dan juga penilaian kinerja.Hal ini diperlukan untuk menjaga semangat karyawan yang berada di suatu perusahaan untuk bersaing di era sekarang globalisasi. Untuk meningkatkan kinerja pegawai maka Puskesmas harus memperhatikan lingkungan kerja dan beban kerja yang diberikan kepada pegawai, karena lingkungan kerja yang memadai akan meningkatkan kinerja pegawai serta mendorong kerjasama yang baik antar pegawai selain itu beban kerja juga sangat penting bagi suatu perusahaan, karena beban kerja kerja yang efektif akan memungkinkan suatu perusahaan untuk mengetahui sejauh mana karyawannya dapat diberikan beban kerja yang maksimal dan sejauh mana hal tersebut mempengaruhi kinerja. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh lingkungan kerja dan beban kerja terhadap kinerja pegawai di Puskesmas Semen. Pengumpulan data dalam penelitian ini menggunakan kuesioner. Populasi dalam penelitian ini adalah seluruh pegawai Puskesmas Semen Kediri sebanyak 57 pegawai. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan adalah analisis regresi linier berganda dengan alat analisis datanya menggunakan SPSS v.24 for Windows. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa terdapat pengaruh yang signifikan antara lingkungan kerja dan beban kerja secara parsial dan simultan terhadap kinerja pegawai. Pusat Kesehatan Semen

Field sources in a Lorentz symmetry breaking scenario with a single background vector

This paper is devoted to investigating the interactions between stationary sources of the electromagnetic field, in a model which exhibits explicit Lorentz-symmetry breaking due to the presence of a single background vector. We focus on physical phenomena that emerge from this kind of breaking and which have no counterpart in Maxwell Electrodynamics

As várias dimensões da lei do valor [The various dimensions of the law of value]

This article intends to demonstrate that the law of value can be understood based on three successive versions, through which it becomes progressively more complex. The least complex law is the law of value determined by years worked. The second version is the law of social work distribution (which may also be interpreted as the law of equilibrium in the distribution of social work). Examination of the impact of intrasectorial competition among capitals in the capitalist economy leads to the third version of the law of value, the law of minimization of abstract work time. In this manner, the law of value is a dynamic law which forms the basis for general laws of capitalist economy development. Finally, in the international scene, the law of value is presented as the law of high-profit generation and of the widening of inequality.value, competition, years worked, inequalities, Marx

Scientific output: labor or capital intensive? An analysis for selected countries

Scientific research contributes to sustainable economic growth environments. Hence, policy-makers should understand how the different inputs—namely labor and capital—are related to a country’s scientific output. This paper addresses this issue by estimating output elasticities for labor and capital using a panel of 31 countries in nine years. Due to the nature of scientific output, we also use spatial econometric models to take into account the spillover effects from knowledge produced as well as labor and capital. The results show that capital elasticity is closer to the labor elasticity. The results suggest a decreasing return to scale production of scientific output. The spatial model points to negative spillovers from capital expenditure and no spillovers from labor or the scientific output

MATLAB and Python Functions for Weighted Disaggregation

This technical document describes a weighted disaggregation problem and provides the code for a function in MATLAB and Python to perform such disaggregation