Has the Canada-US trade agreement fostered price integration?

Has the Canada-US Trade Agreement Fostered Price Integration? — This paper assesses the Canada-US Trade Agreement (CUSTA) from the perspective of market integration. Using monthly data on producer price indices and the exchange rate of both countries for the 1974:1–1996:1 period, a Johansen procedure is used to test for a long-run equilibrium or cointegrated price system among the price series. In addition, to determine whether product markets are converging after the implementation of CUSTA, a Kaiman filter or time-varying parameter analysis is used. Empirical evidence supports the conclusion that CUSTA did not cause price integration or convergence, rather for the two markets convergence and integration were well established prior to CUSTA. The success of CUSTA appears to be in maintaining Canadian access to the US market in the face of rising US protectionism.     

一场数字标识革命 这不再是你爸爸的生意了

从1976年到1985年,我掌管Biggsigns Inc.(aka Wet Paint Sign)I,是一个为大辛辛那提和北肯塔基服务的标识和图形设计公司。我学这个的时候用的是老式的工具和方法。我们以前用的是刻字笔,油漆喷雾器,支腕杖,提花轮,丝网印刷,一次性刻字瓷漆和普锐涂料等等。     

Pattern and Determinants of United States' Intra-Industry Trade

This study identifies country and industry-level determinants of intra-industry trade and its components, vertical (VIIT) and horizontal (HIIT) intra-industry trade, in bilateral U.S. trade. Unlike studies for other countries, U.S. intra-industry trade is found to be dominated by HIIT rather than VIIT. This finding is important because HIIT tends to have relatively low factor adjustment costs relative to VIIT. Industry specialization takes place within, rather than across, product lines within the same industry. Two new variables contribute to our understanding of intra-industry trade. Country-level product differentiation and the interaction between technological innovation and foreign direct investment are found to be important determinants of both HIIT and VIIT. Distance, foreign direct investment flows, scale economies, and seller concentration affect HIIT but not VIIT. Other influences exert similar influences on components of intra-industry trade.     

The Role of Behavioral Survey Methodologists in National Statistical

The expertise of behavioral survey methodologists is needed in national statistical agencies because of the necessity of using theory and research from the social sciences to reduce survey error. In this paper various social science based explanations for measurement error and nonresponse error are described in order to illustrate the conceptual foundations of such error reduction efforts. Three roles for behavioral survey methodologists in national statistical agencies are then discussed. They include: 1) bring an error reduction perspective to bear in an influential way for all aspects of designing and implementing agency surveys; 2) bring theoretical efficiency and effectiveness to experimental tests of alternative questionnaire designs and implementation procedures through the use of theories, concepts and pretests and findings of past behavioral science research; and 3) contribute to the expanding science of survey methodology.     

Segmented labour markets and the estimation of wage functions

This paper uses a stratified random sample of private sector employees to estimate wage equations for both the male labour market as a whole and six ‘segments’ of the labour market, segement which are defined with respect to the industry and size characteristics of the employing establishmen. Highly conventional results are obtained when wage equations are estimated for the male labour market as a whole, or within two segements, comprising almost half the survey population. However, one can reject conclusively the hypothesis that the same estimating equation is appropriate for modelling wage determination in all segments and if a ‘human capital’ (HK) model is, within segements, tested against more appropriate alternative hypotheses for wage determination using the Davidson and Mackinnon (1981) methodology for the testing of non-nested hypotheses, the conclusion is that one should reject the HK specification and not reject the alternative.

It is therefore argued that the disaggregation of labour market data reveals differences in the wage determination process that are not consistent with the view that labour markets are ‘dualistic’ but are consistent with the view that are segmented.     

Regime Change and the Role of International Markets on the Stock Returns of Small Open Economies

We examine the influence of US, UK and German macroeconomic and financial variables on the stock returns of two relatively small, open European economies, Ireland and Denmark. Within a nonlinear framework, we allow for time variation via regime switching using a smooth transition regression (STR) model. We find that US (global) and UK and German (regional) stock returns are significant determinants of returns in both markets. Further, global information represented by oil and US asset price movements drive changes between states in each market. Significantly, the role of country‐specific domestic variables is typically confined to a single state while global and regional variables pervade all states.     

An account of the Washington Lend Lease negotiations 1944 by E. A. G. Robinson

In September 1944, John Maynard Keynes set sail for Washingtonwhere Keynes was to be a key negotiator in the talks leadingup to Stage II of Lend Lease. Accompanying him and his wifewas Keynes's colleague and friend, E. A. G. (Austin) Robinson.Robinson's role was to be Head of Programmes Division for theMinistry of Production. While Keynes would deal with Harry Whiteand Henry Morgenthau, Robinson was involved with the underlyingproduction of a case for the urgent financial needs of war-timeBritain. Robinson saw the tensions at all levels of daily lifeand he recorded his demanding times in a series of letters hometo his wife, Joan Robinson. These letters are published herefor the first time.     

Biotechnology Piracy: Rethinking the International Protection of Intellectual Property

Access to international markets will be an important factor in investment decisions for firms engaging in the research and development of agricultural biotechnology. International market access can be restricted in two ways: the imposition of trade barriers and intellectual property piracy. This paper develops a model of the enforcement game between a developing country=s government and a foreign biotechnology firm to examine the efficacy of the World Trade Organization=s Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement for the protection of intellectual property in agricultural biotechnology. The conclusion is that the TRIPS is unlikely to provide sufficient protection and, thus, will lead to suboptimal levels of investment.
L'accès aux marchés étrangers jouera un rôle capital dans les décisions des entreprises qui souhaitent investir dans la recherche et le développement en biotechnologie agricole. Deux éléments peuvent entraver l'accès au marché international: les barrières commerciales et le piratage de la propriété intellectuelle. Dans cet article, les auteurs modélisent les interactions entre le gouvernement d'un pays en développement et une entreprise de biotechnologie étrangère en vue d'établir dans quelle mesure l'Accord sur les ADPIC de l'OMC protège la propriété intellectuelle dans le secteur de la biotechnologie agricole. De cet exercice, ils concluent que la protection assurée par l'Accord sur les ADPIC est insuffisante, donc qu'on assistera à des investissements inférieurs aux investissements optimaux.     

Making and maintaining the subject in call centre work

This article reports an ethnographic study of call centre work. Analytics are applied enabling study of relations between power and subjectivity. Findings indicate that organisational 'truth' claims about workers are produced in a constellation of architectural, technological and managerial apparatuses. Workers orient to and reify the power of these claims, even when resisting.