Reframing science and other local knowledge traditions

By recognizing science as a set of local practices it becomes possible to ‘decentre’ it and develop a framework within which all knowledge systems can be equitably compared. It is argued that all knowledge traditions are spatial in that they link people, sites and skills. In order to ensure the continued existence of the diversity of knowledge traditions rather than have them absorbed into the great imperialist archive we need to enable disparate knowledge traditions to work together through the creation of a third space in which the social organization of trust can be negotiated.     

Right-sided endocarditis

Right-sided endocarditis is uncommon and usually involves the tricuspid valve. It occurs primarily in intravenous drug uses, and patients having pacemakers, central lines, or congenital heart disease.     

Inflation and total factor productivity in Germany

Conclusions This paper has found a significant and substantial negative relationship between inflation and economic growth in Germany. Thus, inflation substantially reduced the rate of productivity growth and output growth in Germany. German policymakers, especially the Bundesbank, have emphasized the importance of low inflation rates, and inflation in Germany has been less than in most OECD countries. As a result, Germany has benefitted from relatively high rates of economic growth. But had the Bundesbank succeeded in achieving zero inflation, the underlying rate of productivity growth would have been almost a third higher and output growth about a sixth higher.     

Human capital,trade, and economic growth

Human Capital, Trade, and Economic Growth. — Human capital, because of its special role in innovative activity and technological progress, has formed the bedrock of the new theories of endogenous growth. However, it not only serves as an engine of growth but also as a productive input along with labor and physical capital. In this study, the authors find evidence of the importance of both roles of human capital. They also find that the relationship between growth and the external effects of human capital vary according to trade regime. When literacy rates are relatively high, open economies grow about 0.65 to 1.75 percentage points more than closed economies.     

Reforming Hungarian agricultural trade policy: A quantitative evaluation

Reforming Hungarian Agricultural Trade Policy: A Quantitative Evaluation. — In this paper, the authors quantitatively assess the consequences for Hungary of: (i) removing its quantitative import restraints in agriculture, (ii) removing the export subsidy program in agriculture, and (iii) adopting an EU-type “CAP” system in Hungary. The consequences are estimated through the use of a small open economy computable general equilibrium model for Hungary, calibrated to the year 1990. The tariff equivalent of the import licenses was estimated through a detailed price comparisons study, the first of its kind for Hungary. Import protection, export subsidies and a potential CAP system would contribute significantly to the Government's fiscal problems.     

Model-free portfolio theory: A rough path approach

Based on a rough path foundation, we develop a model-free approach to stochastic portfolio theory (SPT). Our approach allows to handle significantly more general portfolios compared to previous model-free approaches based on Föllmer integration. Without the assumption of any underlying probabilistic model, we prove a pathwise formula for the relative wealth process, which reduces in the special case of functionally generated portfolios to a pathwise version of the so-called master formula of classical SPT. We show that the appropriately scaled asymptotic growth rate of a far reaching generalization of Cover's universal portfolio based on controlled paths coincides with that of the best retrospectively chosen portfolio within this class. We provide several novel results concerning rough integration, and highlight the advantages of the rough path approach by showing that (nonfunctionally generated) log-optimal portfolios in an ergodic Itô diffusion setting have the same asymptotic growth rate as Cover's universal portfolio and the best retrospectively chosen one.