Recent Developments in Trade Between the U.S. and the P.R.C.: A Legal and Economic Perspective

This paper presents the life story of a single small-business owner of immigrant background who wants his companyto grow. His business strategies are analysed both as a part of his own biographical work, and as they wereinfluenced and framed by broader political, economic and social processes. It is shown how his own personalqualities in combination with opportunity structures in the local market provided favourable conditions for hisbreak-in. Breaking out, however, seems to be presented with different types of barriers, such as lack of access tocapital, discrimination, and the fact that new markets may consist of different sorts of network that are in its turnmore difficult for new actors to enter. But even if newcomers often find these barriers difficult for to overcome,individuals are not just passive objects but also have the opportunity to realize their lives according to their own lifeplans

Rainfall index insurance in India

This thesis provides three works which each contribute to understanding of the promising yet struggling market for rainfall index insurance in India. The first chapter contains an analysis of the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for rainfall insurance by poor farmers in Gujarat, India. It develops a theoretical model to predict individual WTP and contrasts it with emprical estimates of WTP using the Becker-DeGroot-Marshalk (BDM) mechanism. We find that BDM works well as a predictor of WTP, but that our model significantly overestimates WTP. The second chapter seeks to provide a possible explanation for demand being lower than theoretical predictions by looking at the dynamics of insurance demand. Using a panel dataset of insurance purchasers in India, it shows that people who receive an insurance payout are 9-22% more likely to purchase insurance the following year. The results are consistent with a dynamic model of insurance demand featuring loss aversion, in which receiving an insurance payout shifts the reference point such that people become more risk averse the following season. I provide evidence against other possible explanations, such as increased trust and learning about insurance, and direct effects of bad weather. The final chapter explores the possibility that combining rainfall insurance with savings may result in a more attractive financial product than insurance on its own. We conduct a laboratory experiment with Indian farmers that uses the BDM mechanism to assess the valuation of various insurance/savings combinations, which we title WISAs (Weather Insured Savings Accounts). We find that, contrary to theoretical predictions, most people prefer both pure savings and pure insurance to any combination of the two. This paper hopefully provides valuable contibutions to solving the puzzle of how to shield poor farmers from uncertain rainfall

Postbuckling response of long thick plates loaded in compression including higher order transverse shearing effects

Buckling and postbuckling results are presented for compression-loaded simply-supported aluminum plates and composite plates with a symmetric lay-up of thin + or - 45 deg plies composed of many layers. Buckling results for aluminum plates of finite length are given for various length-to-width ratios. Asymptotes to the curves based on buckling results give N(sub xcr) for plates of infinite length. Postbuckling results for plates with transverse shearing flexibility are compared to results from classical theory for various width-to-thickness ratios. Characteristic curves indicating the average longitudinal direct stress resultant as a function of the applied displacements are calculated based on four different theories: Classical von Karman theory using the Kirchoff assumptions, first-order shear deformation theory, higher-order shear deformation theory, and 3-D flexibility theory. Present results indicate that the 3-D flexibility theory gives the lowest buckling loads. The higher-order shear deformation theory has fewer unknowns than the 3-D flexibility theory but does not take into account through-the-thickness effects. The figures presented show that small differences occur in the average longitudinal direct stress resultants from the four theories that are functions of applied end-shortening displacement

Postbuckling response of long thick isotropic plates loaded in compression including higher order transverse shearing effects

Buckling and postbuckling results for aluminum plates loaded in compression are presented. The buckling results were plotted to show the effects of thickness on the stress coefficient. Buckling results are given for various length-to-width ratios. Postbuckling results for plates with transverse shearing flexibility are compared to results from classical theory for various width-to-thickness ratios. The plates are considered to be long with side edges simply supported, with edges free of stress and the plates are subjected to longitudinal compressive displacement. Characteristic curves indicating the average longitudinal direct stress resultant as a function of the applied displacements are calculated based on four different theories: Classical von Karman, first-order shear deformation, higher-order shear deformation, and three-dimensional flexibility. Present results indicate that the three-dimensional flexibility theory gives the lowest and therefore, most accurate results. The higher-order shear deformation theory has fewer unknowns than the three-dimensional flexibility but is not as accurate. The figures presented show that small differences occur in the maximum stress resultants and the transverse displacements calculated when the effects of transverse shear are included