The effects of the TRIPS Agreement on international protection of intellectual property rights

Draft version ‐ final version forthcoming in International Trade JournalInternational Relations/Trade,

Multilateral Trade Liberalisation and FDI: An Analytical Framework for the Implications for Trading Blocs

The proliferation of regional integration agreements (RIAs) over the past several years has led to significant changes in the global configuration of trade and investment activity. Multinational enterprises now face the prospect of multilateral trade liberalisation that could significantly affect the foreign direct investment (FDI) incentive structures that were established within the range of current RIAs. RIAs that provide preferential market access to member countries modify firms’ incentives to undertake FDI activities and can lead to various permutations of trade and investment creation and diversion. This article provides an analytical framework for understanding the implications of multilateral trade liberalisation for the incentive structures of firms to conduct FDI and discusses how multilateral liberalisation could undo many of the FDI activities that were initiated in response to previous RIAs.foreign direct investment, incentives, multilateral trade liberalisation, regional integration agreements, Demand and Price Analysis, Financial Economics, International Relations/Trade, Political Economy,

Did Massive Primordial Stars Preenrich the Lyman Alpha Forest?

We examine the dynamical evolution and statistical properties of the supernova ejecta of massive primordial stars in a cosmological framework to determine whether this first population of stars could have enriched the universe to the levels and dispersions seen by the most recent observations of the Lyman-Alpha forest. We evolve a lambda CDM model in a 1 Mpc^3 volume to a redshift of z = 15 and add ``bubbles'' of metal corresponding to the supernova ejecta of the first generation of massive stars in all dark matter halos with masses greater than 5 times 10^5 solar masses. These initial conditions are then evolved to z = 3 and the distribution and levels of metals are compared to observations. In the absence of further star formation the primordial metal is initially contained in halos and filaments. Photoevaporation of metal-enriched gas due to the metagalactic ultraviolet background radiation at the epoch of reionization (z ~ 6) causes a sharp increase of the metal volume filling factor. At z = 3, ~ 2.5% of the simulation volume (approx. 20% of the total gas mass) is filled with gas enriched above a metallicity of 10^-4 Z_solar, and less than 0.6% of the volume is enriched above a metallicity of 10^-3 Z_solar. This suggests that, even with the most optimistic prescription for placement of primordial supernova and the amount of metals produced by each supernova, this population of stars cannot entirely be responsible for the enrichment of the Lyman-$\alpha$ forest to the levels and dispersions seen by current observations unless we have severely underestimated the duration of the Pop III epoch. However, comparison to observations show that Pop III supernovae can be significant contributors to the very low overdensity Lyman-Alpha forest.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures (color). Accepted to ApJ Letters. Replaced version has some correction

Sol–gel synthesis and characterization of barium (magnesium) aluminosilicate glass sealants for solid oxide fuel cells

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) correspond to efficient energy conversion systems coupled with low emissions of pollutants. In the aim to fabricate high temperature planar SOFC, glass and glass-ceramic sealants are developed to associate several criteria and properties : high thermal expansion (11.0 to 12.0 ⋅ 10− 6 K− 1), high electrical resistance > 2 kΩ/cm2, good thermochemical compatibility with the other active materials of the fuel cell, and stability under H2 and H2O atmospheres at an operation temperature of 800 °C for a long time. According to these requirements, new BAS (BaO–Al2O3–SiO2) and BMAS (BaO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2) glass-ceramic sealants have been developed by sol–gel route which is a non-conventional process for such applications. By this soft chemistry process, we anticipate a decrease in the glasses processing temperature due to a better homogeneity between cationic precursors in the mixture and a more important reactivity of materials. Experimental results in terms of thermomechanical properties, thermal expansion coefficient, crystalline phase content, and microstructure were discussed. In particular, the influence of the %BaO on the thermomechanical properties of glass-ceramics was described. Changes in properties of glass-ceramics were closely related to the microstructure. The influence of MgO on glass processing temperatures, on the structure and on the microstructure is evaluated in order to confirm that these glass-ceramics are promising candidates to SOFC applications. So, after performing a systematic investigation to the various systems, the properties of suitable glass were proposed

Best Management Practices to Enhance Water Quality: Who is Adopting Them?

This study investigates the determinants affecting producers’ adoption of some Best Management Practices (BMPs). Priors about the signs of certain variables are explicitly accounted for by testing for inequality restrictions through importance sampling. Education, gender, age, and on-farm residence are found to have significant effects on the adoption of some BMPs. Farms with larger animal production are more apt to implement manure management practices, crop rotation, and riparian buffer strips. Also, farms with larger cultivated acres are more inclined to implement herbicide control practices, crop rotation, and riparian buffer strips. Belonging to an agro-environment club has a positive impact for most BMPs.adoption, Bayesian analysis, best management practices, priors, runoff, water quality, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries, Q12, Q25, C11,

Politically Acceptable Trade Compromises Between The EC and The US: A Game Theory Approach

A model is developed to quantify the special status of agriculture in the US and the EC trade negotiations. The role of special interests are measured by a policy goals function (PGF) whose weights are estimated for each special interest group. The analysis searches for mutually acceptable, mutually advantageous trade agreements between the US and the EC using a partial equilibrium world trade model coupled with game theory. Results suggest that it is in the best interest of the US (resp. EC) 'for the EC (resp. US) to liberalize whi1e the other follows the status quo policies of 1986. Mutual gains in PGF values to both countries pursuing "large" liberalizations are unlikely to exist, although "small" liberalizations may give rise to "small" mutual gains. Altering each country's action space, and permitting compensatory payments to the most influencial groups yields trade liberalization, but free trade does not result.game theory, trade liberalization, trade negotiations, International Relations/Trade,

Excess mortality during heat waves in Ireland

Ireland is not known for having extreme high temperatures, with values above 30C uncommon. Ireland has significant excess winter mortality compared to summer. The objective of this study is to estimate the impact of nation-wide heat waves on the total, cardiovascular and respiratory relationship, for the period 1981–2003, to determine if there are any periods of excess summer mortality