Capital Goods Prices, Global Capital Markets and Accumulation: 1870-1950

Conventional wisdom has it that global financial markets were as well integrated in the 1890s as in the 1990s, but that it took several post-war decades to regenerate the connections that existed before 1914. This view has emerged from a variety of tests for world financial capital market integration ranging from the correlation of saving and investment aggregates to the dispersion of security prices and real interest rates. Presumably, we care about global capital market integration because it can have an impact on accumulation performance and the global distribution of the capital stock. Oddly enough, however, the relative price of capital goods, an important component of the user cost of capital, has never been incorporated into studies of capital market integration and almost never in comparative studies of pre-1950 economic growth. This could be an important omission. This paper explores the issue with a panel data base 1870-1950 for eleven OECD countries. It turns out that capital goods prices have been central to accumulation, and therefore to growth and convergence. They have also been as important to the evolution of global capital markets as have been interest rates and other financial costs.

Improving Emergency Department Throughput: Using a Pull Method of Patient Flow

Practice Problem: Overcrowding in the emergency department (ED) has been shown to increase the length of hospital stay, adversely impact patient outcomes, and reduce patient satisfaction. Problems with overcrowding and throughput are often thought of as an ED-specific inefficiency; however, the issue is indicative of hospital-wide inefficiencies. PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was “For ED patients admitted to the medical-surgical unit at an acute medical center, will the implementation of a pull model for patient flow, when compared to the current push model, reduce admission delay and length of stay (LOS) within six weeks of implementation? Evidence: A total of 21 studies were identified in the literature that directly support the implementation of this project. Themes from the literature include delays adversely impact patients, ED throughput is directly affected by throughput of inpatient units, and bed ahead programs can improve throughput. Intervention: The primary intervention for this project was implementing a bed ahead process for the host facility. The nurse hand-off process was also altered to improve efficiency. Outcome: The project resulted in an improvement in the ED delay time. During the project, the mean admission delay time was reduced from 184 minutes to 112 minutes. Conclusion: Using a pull methodology effectively enhances ED throughput by reducing delays in the ED admission process

Were Trade and Factor Mobility Substitutes in History?

Trade theorists have come to understand that their theory is ambiguous on the question: Are trade and factor flows substitutes? While this sounds like an open invitation for empirical research, hardly any serious econometric work has appeared in the literature. This paper uses history to fill the gap. It treats the experience of the Atlantic economy between 1870 and 1940 as panel data with almost seven hundred observations. When shorter run business cycles and long swings' are extracted from the panel data, substitutability is soundly rejected. When secular relationships are extracted over longer time periods and across trading partners, once again substitutability is soundly rejected. Finally, the paper explores immigration policy and finds that policy makers never behaved as if they viewed trade and immigration as substitutes.

Seed Yield Prediction Models of Four Common Moist-Soil Plant Species in Texas

Seed production by moist-soil plant species often varies within and among managed wetlands and on larger landscapes. Quantifying seed production of moist-soil plants can be used to evaluate wetland management strategies and estimate wetland energetic carrying capacity, specifically for waterfowl. In the past, direct estimation techniques were used, but due to excessive personnel and time costs, other indirect methods have been developed. Because indirect seed yield models do not exist for moist-soil plant species in east-central or coastal Texas, we developed direct and indirect methods to model seed production on regional managed wetlands. In September 2004 and 2005, we collected Echinochloa crusgalli (barnyard grass), E. walterii (wild millet), E. colona (jungle rice), and Oryza sativa (cultivated rice) for phytomorphological measurements and seed yield modeling. Initial simple linear and point of origin regression analyses demonstrate strong relationships (P \u3c 0.001) among phytomorphological and dot grid methods in predicting seed production for all four species. These models should help regional wetland managers evaluate moist-soil management success and create models for seed production for other moist-soil plants in this region

The Effects of Fluoxetine on Aggressive Behaviour in Betta Splendens

Previous studies have shown strong evidence that the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) Fluoxetine reduces aggression and inhibits learning in Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta Splendens). While this evidence has been replicated across multiple studies, the behavioral mechanism of Fluoxetine on aggressive behavior and learning is still unknown. In particular, Fluoxetine may produce its anti-aggressive effects by altering the motivational arousal component of aggressive responding or through the sedation of motoric activity. In order to examine these two models, a maze-swimming task for access to reinforcing aggressive opportunities was implemented. Based on previous evidence, researchers hypothesized that subjects would have decreased rates of aggressive responding to mirror and live conspecific stimuli when exposed to Fluoxetine than when not being administered the drug through either the blocking of motor or motivational functions. Results from this study indicated that Fluoxetine administration reduces the appetitive properties of aggressive encounters through inhibition of motor processes which impacted the performance of the fish in the task. Based on these results, further studies should focus on the relationship of serotonin pathways on arousal and motor processes in operant and classically conditioned behavior