Inequality, Transfers and Growth: New Evidence from the Economic Transition in Poland

This paper challenges the conventional wisdom that inequality in Poland increased markedly during the economic transition that began in 1989-90. Using micro data from the Household Budget Surveys, we find that, after a brief spike in 1989, income and consumption inequality actually declined to below pre-transition levels during 1990-92 and then increased gradually, rising only moderately above pre-transition levels by 1997. In sharp contrast, inequality in labor earnings increased markedly and consistently throughout the 1990-97 period. We find that social transfer mechanisms, including pensions, played an important role in mitigating increases in both overall inequality and poverty. We argue that, from a political economy perspective, transfer mechanisms were well-designed to reduce political resistance to market-oriented reforms in the early years of transition, paving the way for rapid growth. Finally, we provide cross-country evidence from the transition economies that is consistent with our interpretation of the Polish experience and is also consistent with recent work in growth theory which suggests that redistribution that reduces inequality can enhance growth.

Enhancement of magnetoresistance in manganite multilayers

Magnanite multilayers have been fabricated using La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 as the ferromagnetic layer and Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3 and Nd0.5Ca0.5MnO3 as the spacer layers. All the multilayers were grown on LaAlO3 (100) by pulse laser deposition. An enhanced magnetoresistnace (defined (RH- R0)/R0) of more than 98% is observed in these multilayers. Also a low field magnetoresistance of 41% at 5000 Oe is observed in these multilayer films. The enhanced MR is attributed to the induced double exchange in the spacer layer, which is giving rise to more number of conducting carriers. This is compared by replacing the spacer layer with LaMnO3 where Mn exists only in 3+ state and no enhancement is observed in the La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 / LaMnO3 multilayers as double exchange mechanism can not be induced by external magnetic fields.Comment: 13 pages, 5 Figure

Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope observations of an M2.8 flare: insights into the initiation of a flare-coronal mass ejection event

We present the first observations of a solar flare with the GMRT. An M2.8 flare observed at 1060 MHz with the GMRT on Nov 17 2001 was associated with a prominence eruption observed at 17 GHz by the Nobeyama radioheliograph and the initiation of a fast partial halo CME observed with the LASCO C2 coronograph. Towards the start of the eruption, we find evidence for reconnection above the prominence. Subsequently, we find evidence for rapid growth of a vertical current sheet below the erupting arcade, which is accompanied by the flare and prominence eruption.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physic

Shorted Operators Relative to a Partial Order in a Regular Ring

In this paper, the explicit form of maximal elements, known as shorted operators, in a subring of a von Neumann regular ring has been obtained. As an application of the main theorem, the unique shorted operator (of electrical circuits) which was introduced by Anderson-Trapp has been derived.Comment: There was a small mistake in the published version which has been corrected her

Growth and Volatility in an Era of Globalization

We extend the analysis in Kose, Prasad, and Terrones (2005) to provide a comprehensive examination of the cross-sectional relationship between growth and macroeconomic volatility over the past four decades. We also document that while there has generally been a negative relationship between volatility and growth during this period, the nature of this relationship has been changing over time and across different country groups. In particular, we detect major shifts in this relationship after trade and financial liberalizations. In addition, our results show that volatility stemming from the main components of domestic demand is negatively associated with economic growth. Copyright 2005, International Monetary Fund

Thresholds in the process of international financial integration

The financial crisis has re-ignited the fierce debate about the merits of financial globalization and its implications for growth, especially for developing countries. The empirical literature has not been able to conclusively establish the presumed growth benefits of financial integration. Indeed, a new literature proposes that the indirect benefits of financial integration may be more important than the traditional financing channel emphasized in previous analyses. A major complication, however, is that there seem to be certain"threshold"levels of financial and institutional development that an economy needs to attain before it can derive the indirect benefits and reduce the risks of financial openness. This paper develops a unified empirical framework for characterizing such threshold conditions. The analysis finds that there are clearly identifiable thresholds in variables such as financial depth and institutional quality -- the cost-benefit trade-off from financial openness improves significantly once these threshold conditions are satisfied. The findings also show that the thresholds are lower for foreign direct investment and portfolio equity liabilities compared with those for debt liabilities.Debt Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Currencies and Exchange Rates,Emerging Markets,Achieving Shared Growth

Magnetotransport in the low carrier density ferromagnet EuB_6

We present a magnetotransport study of the low--carrier density ferromagnet EuB_6. This semimetallic compound, which undergoes two ferromagnetic transitions at T_l = 15.3 K and T_c = 12.5 K, exhibits close to T_l a colossal magnetoresistivity (CMR). We quantitatively compare our data to recent theoretical work, which however fails to explain our observations. We attribute this disagreement with theory to the unique type of magnetic polaron formation in EuB_6.Comment: Conference contribution MMM'99, San Jos

Financial Globalization, Growth and Volatility in Developing Countries

This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of empirical evidence about the impact of financial globalization on growth and volatility in developing countries. The results suggest that it is difficult to establish a robust causal relationship between financial integration and economic growth. Furthermore, there is little evidence that developing countries have been consistently successful in using financial integration to stabilize fluctuations in consumption growth. However, we do find that financial globalization can be beneficial under the right circumstances. Empirically, good institutions and quality of governance are crucial in helping developing countries derive the benefits of globalization. Similarly, macroeconomic stability appears to be an important prerequisite for ensuring that financial globalization is beneficial for developing countries. Finally, countries that employ relatively flexible exchange rate regimes and succeed in maintaining fiscal discipline are more likely to enjoy the potential growth and stabilization benefits of financial globalization.