Temporal modulation transfer functions in the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris): II. Responses of auditory-nerve fibres

The temporal resolution of cochlear-nerve fibres in the European starling was determined with sinusoidally amplitude-modulated noise stimuli similar to those previously used in a psychoacoustic study in this species (Klump and Okanoya, 1991). Temporal modulation transfer curves (TMTFs) were constructed for cochlear afferents allowing a direct comparison with the starling's behavioural performance. On average, the neuron's detection of modulation was less sensitive than that obtained in the behavioural experiments, although the most sensitive cells approached the values determined psychophysically. The shapes of the neural TMTFs generally resembled low-pass or band-pass filter functions, and the shapes of the averaged neural functions were very similar to those obtained in the behavioural study for two different types of stimuli (gated and continuous carrier). Minimum integration times calculated from the upper cut-off frequency of the neural TMTFs had a median of 0.97 ms with a range of 0.25 to 15.9 ms. The relations between the minimum integration times and the tuning characteristics of the cells (tuning curve bandwidth, Q10 dB-value, high- and low-frequency slopes of the tuning curves) are discussed. Finally, we compare the TMTF data recorded in the starling auditory nerve with data from neurophysiological and behavioural observations on temporal resolution using other experimental paradigms in this and other vertebrate species

Prioritizing Policies for Pro-Poor Growth: Applying Bayesian Model Averaging to Vietnam

Pro-Poor Growth (PPG) is the vision of combining high growth rates with poverty reduction.Due to the myriad of possible determinants of growth and poverty a unique theoretical model for guiding empirical work on PPG is absent, though.Bayesian Model Averaging is a statistically robust framework for this purpose.It addresses the existent parameter and model uncertainty by not choosing a single model but averaging over all possible ones.Using data for the 61 Vietnamese provinces we are able to ascertain a prioritization of all used determinants of poverty, growth and of PPG of our large set of explanatory variables.poverty determinants;growth determinants;pro-poor growth;model uncertainty;Vietnam

Poverty, Government Transfers, and the Business Cycle: Evidence for the United States

We examine the impact of government transfers and the business cycle on poverty in the United States in the context of a poverty function that includes the official poverty rate, three types of government transfers, real wages, the number of female-headed families, and a business cycle variable. Using cointegration techniques, we find ─ contrary to most previous studies ─ that government transfer programs play an important poverty-reducing role. In addition, the findings suggest that the business cycle is one of the key variables in explaining poverty in the US. Furthermore, the empirical results show that the size and composition of public transfer payments change over the business cycle. We also find poverty to have a significant effect on government transfers, the business cycle, and the structure of households.

Land reform and the formalization of household credit in rural Vietnam

This article evaluates the impact of land-use certificate (LUC) issuance on credit market outcomes of households in rural Vietnam. Given the absence of appropriate data for the creation of a baseline (e.g. for difference-in-difference estimation), we propose an alternative regression-based evaluation procedure hinging on two pivotal steps: Firstly, we express the covariates related to a change in LUC status in terms of the household specific economic, social and geographic environment at the time the change occurred. Secondly, we estimate the propensity score to account for systematic pretreatment differences between households in the observational data. Conditional on the propensity score, we estimate the causal effect of LUC status on borrowing outcomes. We find that LUCs have a strong positive effect on formal borrowing, while households without LUCs collect loans in the informal credit sector. --Credit,consistency,land reform,program evaluation,Vietnam

Factor Substitution, Income Distribution, and Growth in a Generalized Neoclassical Model

We analyze a generalized neoclassical growth model that combines a normalized CES production function and possible asymmetries of savings out of factor incomes. This generalized model helps to shed new light on a recent debate concerning the impact of factor substitution and income distribution on economic growth. We can show that this impact relies on both an efficiency and an acceleration effect, where the latter is caused by the distributional consequences of an increase in the elasticity of substitution. While the efficiency effect is always positive, the direction of the acceleration effect depends on the particular savings hypothesis. However, if savings out of capital income are substantial so that a certain threshold value is surpassed we find that the efficiency effect dominates so that higher factor substitution can work as a major engine of growth.Capital Accumulation, Elasticity of Substitution, Income Distribution, Neoclassical Growth Model

Factor Substitution, Income Distribution, and Growth in a Generalized Neoclassical Model

We analyze a generalized neoclassical growth model that combines a normalized CES production function and possible asymmetries of savings out of factor incomes. This generalized model helps to shed new light on a recent debate concerning the impact of factor substitution and income distribution on economic growth. We can show that this impact relies on both an efficiency and an acceleration effect, where the latter is caused by the distributional consequences of an increase in the elasticity of substitution. While the efficiency effect is always positive, the direction of the acceleration effect depends on the particular savings hypothesis. However, if savings out of capital income are substantial so that a certain threshold value is surpassed we find that the efficiency effect dominates and higher factor substitution can work as a major engine of growth.capital accumulation, elasticity of substitution, income distribution, neoclassical growth model

Calibration of normalised CES production functions in dynamic models

Normalising CES production functions in the calibration of basic dynamic models allows to choose technology parameters in an economically plausible way. When variations in the elasticity of substitution are considered, normalisation is necessary in order to exclude arbitrary effects. As an illustration, the effect of the elasticity of substitution on the speed of convergence in the Ramsey model is computed with different normalisations. --CES production functions,normalisation,calibration,Ramsey model

Representation of property rights and credit market outcomes: Evidence from a land reform in Vietnam

This article evaluates the impact of a land certification program on credit market outcomes in rural Vietnam. We hypothesize that the representation of property increases households' participation in formal credit markets. We compare credit market outcomes for certified and non-certified households controlling for socioeconomic and geographic characteristics, and use an instrumental variable approach exploiting a partial delay in program rollout. Certified households are more likely to borrow from formal banks with a collateral-based lending policy. There is no evidence for an effect on borrowing from formal sources without such a policy. Moreover, certified households pay lower interest rates on formal loans than non-certified households on formal and informal loans. --Credit,Land reform,Vietnam

Factor Substitution and Factor Augmenting Technical Progress in the US: A Normalized Supply-Side System Approach

Using a normalized CES function with factor-augmenting technical progress, we estimate a supply-side system of the US economy from 1953 to 1998. Avoiding potential estimation biases that have occurred in earlier studies and putting a high emphasis on the consistency of the data set, required by the estimated system, we obtain robust results not only for the aggregate elasticity of substitution but also for the parameters of labor and capital augmenting technical change. We find that the elasticity of substitution is significantly below unity and that the growth rates of technical progress show an asymmetrical pattern where the growth of labor-augmenting technical progress is exponential, while that of capital is hyperbolic or logarithmic.Capital-Labor Substitution, Technological Change, Factor Shares, Normalized CES function, Supply-side system, United States.

The normalized CES production function: theory and empirics

The elasticity of substitution between capital and labor and, in turn, the direction of technical change are critical parameters in many fields of economics. Until recently, though, the application of production functions with non-unitary substitution elasticities (i.e., non Cobb Douglas) was hampered by empirical and theoretical uncertainties. As has recently been revealed, “normalization” of production functions and production-technology systems holds out the promise of resolving many of those uncertainties. We survey and critically assess the intrinsic links between production (as conceptualized in a macroeconomic production function), factor substitution (as made most explicit in Constant Elasticity of Substitution functions) and normalization (defined by the fixing of baseline values for relevant variables). First, we recall how the normalized CES function came into existence and what normalization implies for its formal properties. Then we deal with the key role of normalization in recent advances in the theory of business cycles and of economic growth. Next, we discuss the benefits normalization brings for empirical estimation and empirical growth research. Finally, we identify promising areas of future research on normalization and factor substitution. JEL Classification: C22, E23, E25, 030, 051Constant Elasticity of Substitution Production Function, estimation, Factor-Augmenting Technical Change, Growth Theory, Identification, Normalization