Kappa as a measure of pattern in sequential data

The kappa statistic is suggested as a means to index the degree to which particular patterns occur in social interaction. It is suggested that the value of the kappa statistic for each interaction be used as a dependent measure. Particular formulas for kappa are derived for undirectional dependence, bidirectional dependence, other additive patterns, and for dominance.     

The migration and development nexus in Southern Africa Introduction

The role of international and internal migration in facilitating or inhibiting development is currently attracting considerable attention globally. In southern Africa, the migration–development nexus has been researched for a number of years and policy makers in both the development and migration fields are now paying it increasing attention and increasingly recognising the significance of migration for development and poverty reduction. Much of the international debate on this nexus is hampered by the absence of sound, reliable national and local data. This collection of essays by southern African researchers combines the national with the local, the quantitative with the qualitative, and addresses several prominent themes in the global migration–development debate: remittances, the brain drain and migrant rights. It also focuses on key migration–development issues which have received less attention globally, but which are of critical importance to southern Africa: migration and HIV/AIDS, migration and food security and the rural impact of migrant retrenchments. This Introduction to the collection contextualises the essays within current international and local debates.     

Futures sustainability

This article presents a strategic framework to guide public policy with respect to very long-term futures. The framework is based upon three fundamental principles. Threats to meeting the principles are assessed. Integrated planning responses to overcoming the threats are proposed. Significant changes in economic, political and social theory and organization required to support the strategic responses are discussed. It is argued that human civilization would need to pass through the mythic ‘singularity’ on the path to futures sustainability.     

Foreign Direct Investment,Economic Growth,and the Human Capital Threshold: Evidence from US States*

The United States has experienced a dramatic increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) in recent years. While foreign firms bring immediate benefits of high‐paying jobs, data limitations have prevented detailed study on FDI's long‐term effects on the states receiving it. By creating a new stock measure of FDI based on employment, we are able to capture these long‐term effects. Results demonstrate that FDI has a greater impact on per capita output growth than domestic investment for US states that meet a minimum human capital threshold. Ironically, the most active states in the recruitment of FDI tend to fall below this threshold.     

Market efficiency,purchasing power parity,and black markets: Evidence from latin american countries

Zusammenfassung Markteffizienz, Kaufkraftparit?t und Schwarzm?rkte: Evidenz aus lateinamerikanischen L?ndern. - Die Arbeit verwendet den von Rogalski/Vinso und Roll entwickelten theoretischen Rahmen, um das Verhalten der W?hrungen von Kanada und den USA sowie von ausgew?hlten lateinamerikanischen L?ndern auf dem dortigen Schwarzmarkt zu untersuchen. Abweichungen von der Kaufkraftparit?t werden analysiert, ebenso die Beziehungen zwischen diesen Abweichungen, den Wechselkursen und Inflationsdifferentialen, um die Vereinbarkeit der Kaufkraftparit?t mit der Konzeption der effizienten M?rkte und mit dem monet?ren Ansatz zu prüfen. Die Ergebnisse stützen im allgemeinen die Hypothese der effizienten M?rkte und liefern interessante Informationen über eine normalerweise vernachl?ssigte Gruppe von Wechselkursen.

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Résumé Efficacité de marché, parité de pouvoir d’achat et marchés noirs: Evidence des pays latino-américains. - Les auteurs utilisent le cadre théorique développé par Rogalski/ Vinso et Roll pour analyser la performance des monnaies de marché noir des pays latinoaméricains sélectionnés ainsi que des monnaies des E. U. et de Canada. Le comportement des déviations de la parité du pouvoir d’achat (PPA) est examiné aussi bien que les relations entre ces déviations, les taux de change et les différences d’inflation pour analyser la compatibilité de la PPA avec la conception des marchés efficients et l’approche monétaire. Les résultats supportent généralement l’hypothèse de marché efficient et offrent des informations intéressantes sur un groupe des taux de change généralement négligé.

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Resumen Mercados eficientes, paridad del poder adquisitivo y mercados negros: Evidencia de países latinoamericanos. - En este trabajo se utiliza el marco teórico desarrollado por Rogalski/Vinso y por Roll para analizar el funcionamiento de mercados negros seleccionados en Latinoamérica, los EEUU y Canadá. Se examina el comportamiento de las desviaciones de la paridad del poder adquisitivo (PPA) como también las relaciones entre las desviaciones, los tipos de cambio y las diferencias entre las tasas de inflatión con el fin de investigar la compatibilidad del PPA con los enfoques de mercados eficientes y monetario. Los resultados obtenidos apoyan en general la hipótesis de mercodos eficientes e iluminan aspectos interesantes de tipos de cambio habitualmente obviados.

     

Board diversity in the United Kingdom and Norway: an exploratory analysis

This paper examines the evolving pattern of gender diversity of the boards of directors of leading Norwegian and British companies on a longitudinal basis. The period covered by the study covers the run up to proposed affirmative action legislation in Norway and, as such, affords an insight into corporate actions in this emerging institutional context. The findings demonstrate that, while board diversity has grown substantially in both countries in recent years, it has done so considerably more rapidly in Norway than in the United Kingdom. The analysis highlights the sectoral variation between the countries in the pattern and growth of board diversity and suggests that the vast majority of the overall growth in board diversity is the result of changing firm behaviour rather than sectoral shift in the United Kingdom or Norwegian economies. It is also shown that as diversity has increased there has been no fall in how experienced female directors are; neither is there evidence of a rise in the number of boards that female directors sit on. This suggests that the rapid growth in board diversity has been achieved without any fall in the quality of female directors.     

中国式上市

中国的银行和保险公司在纽约和香港的高价首次公募引人注目.但是近些年来,还有一批中国公司一直在默默地开发国际资本市场.不具备开展引人注目的首次公募的规模或利润的企业发现,它们可以通过反向兼并的方式实现觊觎已久的海外上市目标.     

The Effects of Open Market Operations in a Model of Intermediation and Growth

This article presents a monetary growth model where spatial separation and limited communication create a role for banks. Monetary policy interacts with the financial system's liquidity provision to affect the existence, multiplicity, and dynamical properties of equilibria. Moderate levels of risk aversion and tight monetary policy can lead to multiple steady states. Dynamical equilibria can be indeterminate, with oscillatory paths. Thus financial market frictions are a source of indeterminacies and endogenous volatility. Under plausible conditions, tight monetary policy raises the nominal interest rate and inflation rate and reduces long run output. Thus, a central bank's liquidity provision can promote growth.