Measuring Chronic Non-Income Poverty

An increasing interest in poverty dynamics has lately also led to an extensive literature on the analysis of chronic poverty. Based on Amartya Sen?s groundbreaking work on capabilities and functionings static poverty measures have long used non-income indicators. In contrast, measures of poverty dynamics - including chronic poverty – have in general conceptualised poverty only in an income dimension. Hence, this paper first critically discusses the conceptual and empirical potentials and limitations of analysing chronic poverty from a nonincome perspective. Second, it proposes methods to empirically measure chronic nonincome poverty, with an exploratory application to panel data from Vietnam from 1992 and 1997, which demonstrates that a range of useful insights can be generated from such an analysis. In particular, we find that the correlation between chronic income and non-income poverty is rather low which is mostly due to a low correlation between income and nonincome poverty in each period, while both move relatively closely over time. We also find a surprising amount of heterogeneity in static and dynamic non-income poverty within households. --

Foreign Subsidiaries in the East German Innovation System – Evidence from Manufacturing Industries

This paper analyses the extent of technological capability of foreign subsidiaries located in East Germany, and looks at the determinants of foreign subsidiaries’ technological sourcing behaviour. The theory of international production underlines the importance of strategic and regional level variables. However, existing empirical approaches omit by and large regional level factors. We employ survey evidence from the “FDI micro data- base” of the IWH, that was only recently made available, to conduct our analyses. We find that foreign subsidiaries are above average technologically active in comparison to the whole East German manufacturing. This can be partially explained by the industrial structure of foreign direct investment. However, only a limited share of foreign subsidiaries with R&D and/or innovation activity source technological knowledge from the East German innovation system. If a subsidiary follows a competence augmenting strategy or does local trade, it is more likely to source technological knowledge locally. The endowment of a region with human capital and a scientific infrastructure has a positive effect too. The findings suggest that foreign subsidiaries in East Germany are only partially linked with the regional innovation system. Policy implications are discussed.east germany, regional innovation system, foreign direct investment

Ostdeutsches Innovationssystem attraktiv für ausländische Investoren

Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays an important role in the catching-up process of East Germany due to direct employment- and demand related effects. However, this article takes a technological perspective on FDI in East Germany. It considers technological activities of foreign investors (R&D and innovation) and asks to what extent these are integrated into the East German innovation system. In other words, do foreign investors interact technologically with domestic enterprises and scientific institutions? So far, there seems to be a striking absence of empirical evidence on this issue. The basis for our analysis is recent data from a representative survey of foreign direct investors in East German manufacturing completed in 2007. The findings show that on average foreign investors are more R&D and innovation intensive compared to the total of East German manufacturing. In addition, their technological activities are by no means isolated from the East German innovation system. Foreign subsidiaries seem to benefit from East German customers, suppliers and especially scientific institutions with regard to locally conducted R&D and innovation. Contrary to existing assumptions the East German innovation system seems to be particularly attractive for the most technologically active foreign subsidiaries. This could constitute a major locational advantage for FDI in East Germany over Central and East Europe. However, the technologically active foreign investors believe that only East German suppliers are able to benefit from their technological cooperation. The same cannot be said about East German customers or competitors. Thus, the potential for technological externalities from FDI in East Germany seems still to be limited.

Multi-Decadal Variability of Polynya Characteristics and Ice Production in the North Water Polynya by Means of Passive Microwave and Thermal Infrared Satellite Imagery

The North Water (NOW) Polynya is a regularly-forming area of open-water and thin-ice, located between northwestern Greenland and Ellesmere Island (Canada) at the northern tip of Baffin Bay. Due to its large spatial extent, it is of high importance for a variety of physical and biological processes, especially in wintertime. Here, we present a long-term remote sensing study for the winter seasons 1978/1979 to 2014/2015. Polynya characteristics are inferred from (1) sea ice concentrations and brightness temperatures from passive microwave satellite sensors (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E and AMSR2), Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR), Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSM/I-SSMIS)) and (2) thin-ice thickness distributions, which are calculated using MODIS ice-surface temperatures and European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) atmospheric reanalysis data in a 1D thermodynamic energy-balance model. Daily ice production rates are retrieved for each winter season from 2002/2003 to 2014/2015, assuming that all heat loss at the ice surface is balanced by ice growth. Two different cloud-cover correction schemes are applied on daily polynya area and ice production values to account for cloud gaps in the MODIS composites. Our results indicate that the NOW polynya experienced significant seasonal changes over the last three decades considering the overall frequency of polynya occurrences, as well as their spatial extent. In the 1980s, there were prolonged periods of a more or less closed ice cover in northern Baffin Bay in winter. This changed towards an average opening on more than 85% of the days between November and March during the last decade. Noticeably, the sea ice cover in the NOW polynya region shows signs of a later-appearing fall freeze-up, starting in the late 1990s. Different methods to obtain daily polynya area using passive microwave AMSR-E/AMSR2 data and SSM/I-SSMIS data were applied. A comparison with MODIS data (thin-ice thickness ≤ 20 cm) shows that the wintertime polynya area estimates derived by MODIS are about 30 to 40% higher than those derived using the polynya signature simulation method (PSSM) with AMSR-E data. In turn, the difference in polynya area between PSSM and a sea ice concentration (SIC) threshold of 70% is fairly low (approximately 10%) when applied to AMSR-E data. For the coarse-resolution SSM/I-SSMIS data, this difference is much larger, particularly in November and December. Instead of a sea ice concentration threshold, the PSSM method should be used for SSM/I-SSMIS data. Depending on the type of cloud-cover correction, the calculated ice production based on MODIS data reaches an average value of 264.4 ± 65.1 km 3 to 275.7 ± 67.4 km 3 (2002/2003 to 2014/2015) and shows a high interannual variability. Our achieved long-term results underline the major importance of the NOW polynya considering its influence on Arctic ice production and associated atmosphere/ocean processes

Thin-ice dynamics and ice production in the Storfjorden polynya for winter-seasons 2002/2003–2013/2014 using MODIS thermal infrared imagery

Spatial and temporal characteristics of the Storfjorden polynya, which forms regularly in the proximity of the islands Spitsbergen, Barentsøya and Edgeøya in the Svalbard archipelago under the influence of strong north-easterly winds, have been investigated for the period 2002/2003 to 2013/2014 using thermal infrared satellite imagery. Thin-ice thicknesses were calculated from MODIS ice-surface temperatures, combined with ECMWF ERA-Interim atmospheric reanalysis data in an energy-balance model. Based on calculated thin-ice thicknesses, associated quantities like polynya area and total ice production were derived and compared to previous remote sensing and modeling studies. A basic coverage-correction scheme was applied to account for cloud-gaps in the daily composites. The sea ice in the Storfjorden area experiences a late fall freeze-up in several years over the 12 winter-period, with an increasing frequency of large polynya events until the end of December. During the regarded period, the mean polynya area is 4555.7 ± 1542.9 km2. The average ice production in the fjord is estimated with 28.3 ± 8.5 km3 per winter and therefore lower than in previous studies. Despite this comparatively short record of 12 winter-seasons, a significant positive trend of 20.2 km3 per decade could be detected, which contrasts earlier reports of a slightly negative trend in accumulated ice production prior to 2002. Derived estimates underline the importance of this relatively small coastal polynya system considering its contribution to the cold halocline layer through salt release during ice formation processes