Country portfolios and the Solow-model

This paper shows that an open economy Solow model provides a good description of international investment positions in industrialized countries. More than half of the variation of net foreign assets in the 1990's can be attributed to cross country differences in the savings rate, population and productivity growth. Furthermore, these factors seem to be an important channel through which output and wealth affect international investment positions. We interpret this funding as evidence that decreasing returns are an important source of international capital movements. The savings rate (and population growth) influence the composition of country portfolios through their downward (upward) pressure on the marginal productivity of capital.International investments, savings rate, productivity growth

Interplay of bulk and edge states in transport of two-dimensional topological insulators

We study transport in two-terminal metal/quantum spin-Hall insulator (QSHI)/metal junctions. We show that the conductance signals originating from the bulk and the edge contributions are not additive. While for a long junction the transport is determined by the edge states contribution, for a short junction, the conductance signal is built from both bulk and edge states in the ratio which depends on the width of the sample. Further, in the topological insulator regime the conductance for short junctions shows a non-monotonic behavior as a function of the sample length. Surprisingly this non-monotonic behavior of conductance can be traced to the formation of an effectively propagating solution which is robust against scalar disorder. Our predictions should be experimentally verifiable in HgTe QWs and Bi$_2$Se$_3$ thin films.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Welfare Analysis in a Schumpeterian Growth Model with Capital

In this note we compare the laissez-faire steady-state solution in the Howitt and Aghion (1998) model to the social optimum. The analysis offers several new insights in comparison to the welfare analysis in Aghion and Howitt (1992). We find various new distortions between private and optimal solution. First, a monopoly distortion effect generates too little capital accumulation in the private solution because households' gross return per unit of capital will be lower than in the social optimum due to monopoly power. Second, a cost-benefit gap effect leads to excessive research in the private solution because the planner is interested in the average technology whereas the private researcher is interested in the leading-edge technology. Third, we decompose the well-known intertemporal spillover effect into three subeffects and clarify why the planner does not consider other factors than the interest rate to discount gains from innovation.Endogenous Growth Model

The effectiveness of subsidies revisited: Accounting for wage and employment effects in business R&D

The present paper investigates the effectiveness of public subsidies to business enterprise research in a panel of OECD countries. We contribute to the literature by explicitly distinguishing between effects of a subsidy on R&D employment and expenditure, thereby accounting for a potential increase in scientists’ wages. The results indicate that subsidies are effective in generating additional research. We find that an increase in the direct subsidy rate of one percentage point leads to at least 1% more business R&D employment in the long run. Expenditure for business research increases by roughly 20-30% more than employment. We take this as evidence that subsidies also raise scientists’ wages. In addition, we find that there exists significant crowding out of private research through university research. Research performed in public non-university institutions seems to have no effect on private research. --

The effectiveness of subsidies revisited: Accounting for wage and employment effects in business R&D

The present paper investigates the effectiveness of public subsidies to business enterprise research in a panel of OECD countries. We contribute to the literature by explicitly distinguishing between effects of a subsidy on R&D employment and expenditure, thereby accounting for a potential increase in scientists’ wages. The results indicate that subsidies are effective in generating additional research. We find that an increase in the direct subsidy rate of one percentage point leads to at least 1% more business R&D employment in the long run. Expenditure for business research increases by roughly 20-30% more than employment. We take this as evidence that subsidies also raise scientists’ wages. In addition, we find that there exists significant crowding out of private research through university research. Research performed in public non-university institutions seems to have no effect on private research

Prokaryotic respiration and production in the meso- and bathypelagic realm of the eastern and western North Atlantic basin

We measured prokaryotic production and respiration in the major water masses of the North Atlantic down to a depth of,4,000 m by following the progression of the two branches of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) in the oceanic conveyor belt. Prokaryotic abundance decreased exponentially with depth from 3 to 0.4 3 105 cells mL21 in the eastern basin and from 3.6 to 0.3 3 105 cells mL21 in the western basin. Prokaryotic production measured via 3H-leucine incorporation showed a similar pattern to that of prokaryotic abundance and decreased with depth from 9.2 to 1.1 mmol C m23 d21 in the eastern and from 20.6 to 1.2 mmol C m23 d21 in the western basin. Prokaryotic respiration, measured via oxygen consumption, ranged from about 300 to 60 mmol C m23 d21 from,100 m depth to the NADW. Prokaryotic growth efficiencies of,2 % in the deep waters (depth range 1,200–4,000 m) indicate that the prokaryotic carbon demand exceeds dissolved organic matter input and surface primary production by 2 orders of magnitude. Cell-specific prokaryotic production was rather constant throughout the water column, ranging from 15 to 32 3 1023 fmol C cell21 d21 in the eastern and from 35 to 58

Welfare Analysis in a Schumpeterian Growth Model with Capital

In this note we compare the laissez-faire steady-state solution in the Howitt and Aghion (1998) model to the social optimum. The analysis offers several new insights in comparison to the welfare analysis in Aghion and Howitt (1992). We find various new distortions between private and optimal solution. First, a monopoly distortion effect generates too little capital accumulation in the private solution because households? gross return per unit of capital will be lower than in the social optimum due to monopoly power. Second, a cost-benefit gap effect leads to excessive research in the private solution because the planner is interested in the average technology whereas the private researcher is interested in the leading edge technology. Third, we decompose the well-known intertemporal spillover effect into three subeffects and clarify why the planner uses the interest rate as discount rate

Evaluation of the efficacy of Alpron disinfectant for dental unit water lines

AIMS: To assess the efficacy of a disinfectant, Alpron, for controlling microbial contamination within dental unit water lines. METHODS: The microbiological quality of water emerging from the triple syringe, high speed handpiece, cup filler and surgery hand wash basin from six dental units was assessed for microbiological total viable counts at 22 degrees C and 37 degrees C before and after treatment with Alpron solutions. RESULTS: The study found that the use of Alpron disinfectant solutions could reduce microbial counts in dental unit water lines to similar levels for drinking water. This effect was maintained in all units for up to six weeks following one course of treatment. In four out of six units the low microbial counts were maintained for 13 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Disinfectants may have a short term role to play in controlling microbial contamination of dental unit water lines to drinking water quality. However, in the longer term attention must be paid to redesigning dental units to discourage the build up of microbial biofilms

Digital Reconstructions of Little Ice Age Glacier Extents and Surfaces

Comprehensive studies on Little Ice Age glacier mapping and surface reconstructions are important for understanding the effects of climate change and projecting future scenarios. This thesis examines the mapping and reconstruction of Little Ice Age (LIA) glacier extents and surfaces, focusing on uncertainties and methods. Using high-resolution satellite imagery and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), 709 new digital LIA glacier outlines were produced in five regions: Alaska, Baffin Island, Novaya Zemlya, the European Alps and the Tropics. The thesis assesses the uncertainties associated with data quality and interpretation and shows that a predominant uncertainty is due to analyst interpretation. Several Geographic Information System (GIS)-based surface reconstruction methods were examined, and a new approach was developed based on up-scaling recent elevation changes to LIA surfaces, which proved to be more accurate, especially in the accumulation area. Glacier area and volume changes since the LIA were quantified, showing regional variations and significant losses, especially in the European Alps and Tropics with an accelerating trend. The work contributes to the understanding of glacier response to climate change and its impact on sea level rise, providing insights into long-term glacier dynamics and methodologies for future studies. This research was carried out as part of the Horizon 2020 PROTECT project and resulted in three first-author scientific publications