The choice of technology in the production of fertilizer: A case study of ammonia and urea

The need to increase agricultural production has led many underdeveloped countries to produce industrial fertilizer domestically. A case study of the choice of technology in the production of ammonia and a nitrogenous fertilizer, urea, in the context of India, suggests that there is little scope for utilizing more labour in what is a highly capital-intensive process. There is, however, a choice between increasing energy costs and capital costs, which the Indians might exploit to reduce foreign exchange requirements. The paper then examines briefly some wider technological alternatives.     

Alternative Mortgage Instruments, Qualification Constraints and the Demand for Housing: An Empirical Analysis

Government-guaranteed mortgage loans (GFRMs) and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) were introduced to make payment to income (PTI) and loan-to-value (LTV) qualification conventions less restrictive. This paper analyzes the effect of GFRMs and ARMs on the demand for housing. Using a large national data set for the 1988 to 1989 period, we employ a two-stage procedure to estimate housing demand. In the first stage, a multinomial logit model estimates the probability of choosing an FRM, ARM or GFRM. Predicted values from the logit are used to construct user costs and estimate housing demand. Using the model estimates, we simulate demand under four different mortgage availability regimes: FRM, FRM and GFRM, FRM and ARM and all three. These simulations indicate that GFRMs, by relaxing LTV constraints, increase housing demand by approximately 6.2% relative to the FRM regime; the addition of ARMs, by relaxing both PTI and LTV constraints, raises demand by an additional 6%, for a total of 12.2% with inclusion of all alternatives.     

Observations on the conditionality of international financial institutions

Conditionality, the terms imposed by international financial institutions on borrowing countries, has been regarded by critics as being too inflexible and focussing too narrowly on demand forces and monetary policy instruments. The major intent of the paper, however, is to shift the discussion of conditionality to its functions in relation to private international lending. Conditionality provides information to lenders and certification of borrowers which, by decreasing uncertainty, may increase the quantities and reduce the costs of private lending. Yet restrictions on total and/or foreign credit may also reduce competition. These are examples of neglected issues of conditionality which deserve more attention.     

The brain drain: A tax analysis of the Bhagwati proposal

To alleviate the problems caused by the brain drain, Professor Bhagwati proposes that professional, technical, and kindred persons who emigrate from less developed countries be subjected to a special tax on the income they earn in developed countries. This paper highlights the political and legal issues raised by his proposal and examines three approaches to implementation: a tax levied by the less developed country, a tax levied by the developed country, and a tax levied by the United Nations. Specific aspects of the proposal which require further study and refinement, such as administrative feasibility, are outlined.     

On the expected length of the least squares coefficient vector

As a motivation for biased estimation procedures, it is often stated that the vector of the least squares estimator is too long on average. Some authors have given an invalid proof of this statement. In this note a proof is given and comments added to indicate how large is this average length.