International Trade, Productivity Growth, Education and the Wage Differential: A Case Study of Taiwan

The cause of changes in the wage differential between skilled and unskilled labor has been an important subject of debate for several decades. International trade and productivity growth are two main causes that have been suggested from large country studies. Recent research proposes that education is another influence. All three causes have been significantly associated with Taiwan’s economic development. This paper attempts to contribute to the literature by investigating the wage differential in Taiwan, a small open economy. A Dynamic Intertemporal General Equilibrium (DIGE) model is used to perform theoretical simulation. An Error Correction Model (ECM) incorporating both short- and long-run effects is employed to accomplish the empirical examination. That education and international trade are important causes of changes in the wage differential is substantiated by Taiwanese data. Productivity growth has a significant influence on the wage differential in the short run but not in the long run.wage differential; dynamic intertemporal general equilibrium model; error correction model

ARE FOREIGN WORKERS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INCREASING UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN TAIWAN?

This paper investigates the current important issue in Taiwan that the impact of foreign workers on the rising unemployment by a dynamic intertemporal general equilibrium model. The results show that the introduction of foreign workers plays a complementary role and reduces unemployment rate at the early stage, defined as the first period after the shock. However, over time, the importation of foreign workers robs jobs from local unskilled labor and lifts the unemployment rate. In contrast to existing literature, this paper supports the view that immigration increases the unemployment rate for nationals in the long run. An appropriate policy regarding foreign workers for a small open economy like Taiwan needs to consider the state of the global economy. By considering the current ambiguity of world economic recovery and the high unemployment rate, a cautious policy for the Council of Labor Affairs to adopt is to maintain the current level of imported foreign workers.

THE IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ON THE WAGE DIFFERENTIAL IN AUSTRALIA

This paper investigates a significant current issue in Australia, the impact of immigration on the wage differential between skilled and unskilled labour, using simulation analysis from a dynamic intertemporal general equilibrium model. The results show that immigration cannot explain variations of the wage differential in Australia during the past ten years. In most of the years investigated, immigration only explains a small part of the change in the wage differential. There is also no evidence that immigration exerts significant downward pressure on the unskilled wage. A comparison of four policy options demonstrates that accepting an increased number of skilled immigrants per year at a certain rate will decrease the wage differential in both the short and long run. Cutting the number of skilled immigrants per year at a certain rate will increase the wage differential in the long run and decrease the wage differential in the short run. An effective policy to change the skilled-unskilled wage differential requires a mixture of a set of instruments aimed at other economic issues such as international trade, productivity growth and education.

BUDGET BALANCE AND TRADE BALANCE:KIN OR STRANGERS. A CASE STUDY OF TAIWAN

In line with the deterioration of Taiwanese budget deficits, the trade surplus has also decreased. It is the ideal time to investigate the relationship between budget balances and trade balances. Unit root tests, cointegration tests, Granger causality tests and the VARs model are techniques used to test the Keynesian proposition and the Ricardian equivalence. The main findings are that Keynesian proposition is supported only by the model using data of the whole period. There is no support for the Ricardian equivalence. That budget balances and trade balances being kin or strangers varies over periods of data used.Keynesian proposition, Ricardian equivalence, unit root tests, Grangercausality tests, VARs model

DO FOREIGN WORKERS HAVE AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON THE NATIVE UNSKILLED LABOR IN TAIWAN?

A decade has elapsed since the Taiwanese government first allowed the entry of foreign workers in 1989. A range of problems related to foreign workers have emerged and have become current issues in Taiwan. However, there is a lack of in-depth research into these issues as they relate to Taiwan. This paper is the first step to focus on the issue of native wages by investigating the wage differential between skilled and unskilled labor with importation of foreign workers. The main finding is that foreign workers do affect native unskilled labor negatively by enlarging the wage differential in both the short-and long-run. However, this adverse effect is not as serious as expected in the overall wage differential. This suggests the existence of another dominating factor(s). The Taiwanese public blame foreign workers for the wrong reasons. The policy strategies of increasing or decreasing the number of foreign workers have been examined. In order to prevent a further escalation of the wage differential, the Council of Labor Affairs should consider imposing a policy of not increasing the number of foreign workers.

A New Look at the Impact of Migration on the Wage Differential

The impact of migrants on the host country's wages has been an important issue for policy makers and has attracted much research attention. Since no consistent conclusion has been reached regarding this impact, the debate over immigration policy continues in many countries. This paper constructs a theoretical dynamic general equilibrium model by which the transitional and long-run effects of a migration shock on endogenous variables, including the wage differential, can be illuminated. Consistent results from different scenarios are obtained: first, the wage differential is boosted by permanent migrants in both the short and long run; second, if migrants stay temporarily, the wage differential increases in the short run and the effect dies out in the long run; third, unskilled migrants have a smaller effect on the wage differential while engaging in unskilled-labour intensive production than in skilled-labour intensive production; fourth permanent migrants impel domestic workers to upgrade skills by demanding an increased amount of education.

TRUNK AND SHOULDER MUSCLE ACTIVITIES DURING PUSH-UP EXERCISE ON STABLE AND UNSTBLE SURFACES

The purpose of this study was to evaluate muscle activity of the prime movers and core stabilizers on stable and unstable surfaces during push-up exercise. Subject: Fourteen healthy male participants (age, 21.6 ±2.3 years; height, 174.7 ±8.1cm; weight, 68.2 ±16.4kg) without low back pain and shoulder injury in the past year were recruited. The participants completed push-up exercise in three conditions: on the ground, air disc and sling. EMG activities of external abdominal oblique, pectoralis major, and anterior deltoid muscles and elbow joint kinematics were recorded. Our results showed that external abdominal oblique muscle had significantly greater activity in the sling group (

Genomic sequence of temperate phage Smp131 of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia that has similar prophages in xanthomonads

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a ubiquitous Gram-negative bacterium previously named as Xanthomonas maltophilia. This organism is an important nosocomial pathogen associated with infections in immunocompromised patients. Clinical isolates of S. maltophilia are mostly resistant to multiple antibiotics and treatment of its infections is becoming problematic. Several virulent bacteriophages, but not temperate phage, of S. maltophilia have been characterized

α-Lactosylceramide Protects Against iNKT-Mediated Murine Airway Hyperreactivity and Liver Injury Through Competitive Inhibition of Cd1d Binding.

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, which are activated by T cell receptor (TCR)-dependent recognition of lipid-based antigens presented by the CD1d molecule, have been shown to participate in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including asthma and liver injury. Previous studies have shown the inhibition of iNKT cell activation using lipid antagonists can attenuate iNKT cell-induced disease pathogenesis. Hence, the development of iNKT cell-targeted glycolipids can facilitate the discovery of new therapeutics. In this study, we synthesized and evaluated α-lactosylceramide (α-LacCer), an α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) analog with lactose substitution for the galactose head and a shortened acyl chain in the ceramide tail, toward iNKT cell activation. We demonstrated that α-LacCer was a weak inducer for both mouse and human iNKT cell activation and cytokine production, and the iNKT induction by α-LacCer was CD1d-dependent. However, when co-administered with α-GalCer, α-LacCer inhibited α-GalCer-induced IL-4 and IFN-γ production from iNKT cells. Consequently, α-LacCer also ameliorated both α-GalCer and GSL-1-induced airway hyperreactivity and α-GalCer-induced neutrophilia when co-administered in vivo. Furthermore, we were able to inhibit the increases of ConA-induced AST, ALT and IFN-γ serum levels through α-LacCer pre-treatment, suggesting α-LacCer could protect against ConA-induced liver injury. Mechanistically, we discerned that α-LacCer suppressed α-GalCer-stimulated cytokine production through competing for CD1d binding. Since iNKT cells play a critical role in the development of AHR and liver injury, the inhibition of iNKT cell activation by α-LacCer present a possible new approach in treating iNKT cell-mediated diseases