The cooling of spent carbon anodes in the aluminium smelting industry : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Mathematics at Massey University

As part of the New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) upgrade, a hot butt cleaning system has been proposed, this would remove the bath from anodes as they are removed from the cells. It is expected that the time to cool for hot cleaned anodes would be significantly less than for current method of allowing the butts to cool before the bath is removed. In this project a mathematical model of the cooling process of both the clean and dirty anodes is developed. This model will aid in the investigation of the hot butt cleaning system by showing the difference in cooling times between the clean and dirty anodes. The temperature profiles within both clean and dirty anodes is calculated for one-, two- and three-dimensional models. Temperature changes in the anodes with time are also compared to experimental data

The cooling of spent carbon anodes in the aluminium smelting industry : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Mathematics at Massey University

As part of the New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) upgrade, a hot butt cleaning system has been proposed, this would remove the bath from anodes as they are removed from the cells. It is expected that the time to cool for hot cleaned anodes would be significantly less than for current method of allowing the butts to cool before the bath is removed. In this project a mathematical model of the cooling process of both the clean and dirty anodes is developed. This model will aid in the investigation of the hot butt cleaning system by showing the difference in cooling times between the clean and dirty anodes. The temperature profiles within both clean and dirty anodes is calculated for one-, two- and three-dimensional models. Temperature changes in the anodes with time are also compared to experimental data

Re-examining the pollution-income relationship: a random coefficients approach

This paper re-examines the pollution-income relationship using a random coefficients model to allow for greater cross-country heterogeneity. The existence of a common pollution-income relationship across countries is rejected and hence little support for the environmental Kuznets curve is found.growth

Not All Trade Restrictions are Created Equally

There has been great focus in the recent trade theory literature on the introduction of firm heterogeneity into trade models. This introduction has highlighted the importance of the entry/exit decision of firms in response to changes in trade barriers. However, it is typical in many of these models to use iceberg transport costs as a general form of trade barriers that can be interchangeable with ad valorem tariffs. I show that this is not always an appropriate conclusion. Specifically, I illustrate that profit for an exporter is more elastic in response to tariffs than iceberg transport costs, which has implications for total product variety. One such implication is the possibility for there to be an anti-variety effect associated with lower transport costs while there also being a pro-variety effect associated with lower tariffs.Intra-industry Trade; Trade policy; Firm heterogeneity; Monopolistic competition

Space station internal environmental and safety concerns

Space station environmental and safety concerns, especially those involving fires, are discussed. Several types of space station modules and the particular hazards associated with each are briefly surveyed. A brief history of fire detection and suppression aboard spacecraft is given. Microgravity fire behavior, spacecraft fire detector systems, space station fire suppression equipment and procedures, and fire safety in hyperbaric chambers are discussed

The Choice of Modeling Firm Heterogeneity and Trade Restrictions

There has been great focus in the recent trade theory literature on the introduction of firm heterogeneity into trade models. However, these models tend to rely heavily on symmetry assumptions and assume melting iceberg transport costs as the only form of trade restrictions. Moreover, a standard assumption is that firms differ across marginal cost, yet empirical evidence suggests this is not the only important source of heterogeneity. I provide a highly tractable model, in which firms differ across fixed costs, that qualitatively maintains the main results of these models, but allows for asymmetric changes in trade restrictions, a necessary step towards studying strategic trade policy. In addition, I highlight the differences in the effects on product variety associated with changes in an ad valorem tariff, iceberg transport costs, and additional beachhead costs to become an exporter. This is important as there are potential offsetting effects on firm entry.Intra-industry Trade; Trade policy; Firm heterogeneity; Monopolistic competition

Optimal Tariffs with FDI: The Evidence

Recent theoretical work suggests that the presence of foreign direct investment (FDI) lowers a country’s noncooperative Nash tariff. To test this hypothesis, we first adapt the theoretical model formulated by Blanchard (2010) to derive an intuitive, empirically testable equation. This equation is an augmentation of the standard formula equal to the inverse of export supply elasticity. Using constructed estimates of export supply elasticities and measures of FDI, we test this hypothesis with respect to tariffs set by China prior to 2001. We focus on China before its accession into the World Trade Organization (WTO) for two primary reasons: first, China is a recipient of FDI during this time; and second, prior to becoming a WTO member China can be seen as a player in a noncooperative game. We find evidence to suggest that before entering the WTO, China chooses lower tariffs, ceteris paribus, for industries that receive more FDI. This is an important result since having a better understanding of how countries act unilaterally will provide insight into the multilateral cooperative outcome; that is trade negotiations.Foreign direct investment; Optimal tariffs

The Impact of Poor Health on Total Factor Productivity

A number of recent studies have illustrated the link between health and growth (Gallup and Sachs 2000, McCarthy et al. 2000, Bhargava et al. 2000). This paper argues that a key mechanism through which health affects growth is via total factor productivity (TFP). We first estimate TFP based on a production function and then estimate the determinants of TFP, paying particular attention to three indicators of health that are particularly problematic in developing regions: malnutrition, malaria and waterborne diseases. We find the impact of poor health on TFP to be negative, significant, and robust across a wide variety of specifications.Total factor productivity, disease, health, underdevelopment

Royale with Cheese: The Effect of Globalization on the Variety of Goods

The key result of the so-called “New Trade Theory” is that countries gain from falling trade costs by an increase in the number of varieties available to consumers. Though the number of varieties in a given country rises, it is also true that global variety decreases from increased competition wherein imported varieties drive out some local varieties. This second result is a major issue for anti-trade activists who criticize the move towards free trade as promoting homogenization” or “Americanization” of varieties across countries. We present a model of endogenous entry with heterogeneous firms which models this concern in two ways: a portion of a consumer’s income is spent overseas (i.e. tourism) and an existence value (a common tool in environmental economics where simply knowing that a species exists provides utility). Since lowering trade costs induces additional varieties to export and drives out some non-exported varieties, these modifications result in welfare losses not accounted for in the existing literature. Nevertheless, it is only through the existence value that welfare can fall as a result of declining trade barriers. Thus, for these criticisms of globalization to dominate, it must be that this loss in the existence value outweighs the direct benefits from consumption.firm heterogeneity; tourism