The impact of remittances on labor supply : the case of Jamaica

A puzzle in the recently stagnated economy of Jamaica is that high rates of unemployment have persisted even when real wages have been increasing. This paper examines aspects of the labor supply in an effort to understand why high rates of unemployment have existed with increasing real wages. This is a sign of a badly functioning labor market. The cross-sectional analysis suggests that remittances have some impact on labor supply, especially on labor market participation. The pseudo panel data analysis also confirms that remittances have a strong impact on labor participation but not on weekly working hours. Households with remittance income have a higher reservation wage and have reduced the supply of labor by moving out of the labor force.Labor Markets,Population Policies,Remittances,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Growth

Will the Belt and Road Initiative Boost Least Developed Countries Towards Sustainable Development?

This article reviews the progress of least developed countries (LDCs) towards LDC graduation and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It shows that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) could contribute to filling the financing gap and speed up progress. LDCs are defined as low-income countries with structural handicaps to achieving sustainable development. The comparison between SDG monitoring indicators and LDC identification indicators shows that progress towards the SDGs and towards the graduation from the LDC category are in general heading in the same direction. Estimates show that, under the business-as-usual scenario, only about half of LDCs could become eligible for graduation by 2030, while at the same time remaining a long way from the SDGs. There remains a significant financing gap which calls for additional cooperation initiatives, and the BRI to provide critical and necessary enabling conditions in this area.Center for International Knowledge on Development’s (CIKD) China–UK Partnership Programme on Knowledge for Development

Firm-level diversification and response to volatility in the US manufacturing sector, 1974-1998

Do firms adhere to a predetermined list of products, as in the widely used assumption in firm-behavior studies or do they keep a portfolio of products flexible over time? This paper uses the Longitudinal Research Database of the U.S. Bureau of Census from 1974 to 1998 to study the trend and cyclicality of firm/plant level diversification of the manufacturing sector in the United States. Empirical results find that firms use diversification as one of the adjustment margins, using within- and between-plant diversification whenever possible. Firm-level diversification decreases as the uncertainty decreases in the U.S. manufacturing sector

Economic Crises, Health and Education in Jamaica

We study the impact of growth fluctuation on education and health indicators in Jamaica. Using household surveys between 1989 and 2007, we study the impact by using pseudo-panel regressions at the parish level, instrumenting growth fluctuations with variations in major Jamaican export commodities, to account for the endogeneity of growth in its relationship with education and health indicators. The main finding of the instrumental variable regression is that GDP fluctuation has mixed impacts on education and health.Jamaica, economic crisis, human development, education, health

Three Essays in Volatility Change and Private and Government Investment

Studies of the volatility of the U.S. economy suggest a noticeable change in mid 1980s. There is some empirical evidence that the aggregate volatility of the U.S. economy has been decreasing over time. The response of firms to the change of economic volatility and economic fluctuation has been studied in terms of many margins a firm can adjust -capital, labor, capacity, material, etc. However, we have not studied the most important margin - the product. My dissertation studies the effect of profit volatility on the firm/plant level product diversification. Chapter 2 profiles diversification and shows that there is a downward trend of aggregate diversification in many industries. Cyclicality of diversification is not clear at the aggregate or industry level. Firms change their diversification very frequently and very differently from one another. Chapter 3 verifies the trend of volatility at the aggregate, sectoral, and firm level and studies the relationship between diversification and volatility at the firm level. Firm level diversification decreases as the aggregate, sectoral and idiosyncratic volatility decreases. Research on the volatility change is concentrated on recent U.S. history. However, new data allow us to study events of significant volatility change in early 19th century. Chapter 4 of my dissertation studies the causes and effects of the volatility change in early 19th century in U.S. and U.K

Overview: Economic Crises and Human Development

In order to better understand the potential impact of the current global economic crisis on human development, we explore how human development indicators have been affected in past economic shocks. The literature on the human development impacts of short-term economic fluctuations suggest some stylized facts. First, there exists an asymmetry between rich and poor countries in terms of the magnitude of impacts of economic crises: Health and education outcomes in rich countries often improve during economic crises, while they deteriorate in poor countries. Second, economic expansions have less significant effects than economic contractions: the recovery in human development indicators is not as rapid and steep (if it occurs at all) as the deterioration that occurred during the economic downturn.human development, economic crisis, developing countries Classification- JEL: O11.O15, O47

An Algorithm for Exchanging Target Asset Pairs using the Kidney Exchange Model

Since chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high yield explosive (CBRNE) attacks can cause catastrophic damage, it is important to detect and eliminate the means of attack at the origin. In surveillance operations, efficient allocation of friendly intelligence assets and enemy targets is critical for continuous and reliablemonitoring. In this research, we investigate a mathematical model for exchanging target–asset pairs when there are sudden changes in various operational environments. For this task, we refer to the kidney exchange model as a benchmark. In particular, the methods for constructing and solving the target–asset exchange problem in near realtime are presented. Additionally, we introduce the methodology and results for obtaining a feasible solution of the weapon target assignment problem using the exchange model. Our method can facilitate decisions in reconnaissance operations, especially when countless targets and assets are intricately intertwined in future battlefield scenarios

Orthodenticle homeobox 2 is transported to lysosomes by nuclear budding vesicles

Transcription factors (TFs) are transported from the cytoplasm to the nucleus and disappear from the nucleus after they regulate gene expression. Here, we discover an unconventional nuclear export of the TF, orthodenticle homeobox 2 (OTX2), in nuclear budding vesicles, which transport OTX2 to the lysosome. We further find that torsin1a (Tor1a) is responsible for scission of the inner nuclear vesicle, which captures OTX2 using the LINC complex. Consistent with this, in cells expressing an ATPase-inactive Tor1aΔE mutant and the LINC (linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton) breaker KASH2, OTX2 accumulated and formed aggregates in the nucleus. Consequently, in the mice expressing Tor1aΔE and KASH2, OTX2 could not be secreted from the choroid plexus for transfer to the visual cortex, leading to failed development of parvalbumin neurons and reduced visual acuity. Together, our results suggest that unconventional nuclear egress and secretion of OTX2 are necessary not only to induce functional changes in recipient cells but also to prevent aggregation in donor cells