The effect of the Mahathir regime on the Malaysian economy

Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad is often credited with Malaysia's dramatic economic success post-1980. It is well known that the Mahathir regime installed centralized power in the Office of the Prime Minister (PM) and greatly extended state capacity through a far-reaching clientelist system. Prima Facie, the Malaysian experience appears to validate power centralization and state capacity as complementary to economic development. Though these changes did make Malaysia more susceptible to corruption, dramatically exhibited in 2015 with the 1MDB 5 billion dollar scandal, it has been argued that the clientelist political structure installed in Malaysia generally manages corruption at tolerable levels in order to provide the state the capacity needed to implement controls for economic development that began in the 1980s. While Malaysia experienced impressive economic growth during the Mahathir administration, our test using the Synthetic Control Method finds that GDP per capita fell well below what would have been expected under the governing structures in place in the 1970s, before Mahathir took office—a loss of approximately $4000 per capita below its potential. This study provides evidence of powerful negative economic consequences attributable to greater power centralization and enhanced state capacity inaugurated under Mahathir.     

Beneficial impact of tax reforms on tax revenue performances in Togo: Myth or reality?

Tax reforms are often motivated by their potential to improve tax revenue mobilization. However, their actual impacts are difficult to quantify. Using cross-country panel data over the period 2000–2021, this article evaluates the impact of the 2012 tax reforms on tax revenue performance in Togo. We follow the Synthetic Control Method (SCM) estimation procedures. After comparing the observed evolution of Togo's tax revenue output in the period 2013–2021 with that of synthetic Togo, our estimates show that an accumulated yearly average gain is about 3.09% of GDP. Hence, the article concludes that after 9 years of reform, the improvement in Togo's tax performance is remarkable. However, more tax-related and institutions-related reforms are crucial to make Togo's tax system more buoyant and sustainably improve tax revenue mobilization.     

光纤无线融合网络(FiWi)能效改善综述

光纤无线宽带接入网架构(Fiber Wireless Broadband Access Network,FiWi)能随时随地为终端用户提供高质量的宽带接入服务。然而，由于大量智能设备的互联和指数级数据业务的增长，FiWi接入网也面临着高能耗的潜在挑战。针对融合FiWi接入网中无线反复重传、业务共存转发以及跨域资源整合所引发的高能耗问题，从高效频带分配、协作计算卸载以及网络虚拟化等方面介绍了国内外研究现状并进行了展望，以期在满足服务质量约束时进一步降低FiWi接入网中的能耗。     

The decline of US manufacturing productivity between 1941 and 1948

The view that war benefits potential output has been influential in treatments of US mobilization for the Second World War, where it has been largely premised on the benefits of learning by doing in producing military durables. If the thesis that war benefits aggregate supply is correct, it is indeed within manufacturing that we should most likely see its effects. Total factor productivity within the sector in fact fell at a rate of −1.4 per cent per year between 1941 and 1948, −3.7 per cent a year between 1941 and 1944, and −5.1 per cent a year between 1941 and 1945. The emphasis on learning by doing has obscured the negative effects of the sudden, radical, and temporary changes in the product mix, the behavioural pathologies accompanying the transition to a shortage economy, and the resource shocks inflicted on the country by the Japanese and Germans. From a long-run perspective, the war can be seen, ironically, as the beginning of the end of US world economic dominance in manufacturing.     

Years of life lost to revolution and war in Iran

How was life expectancy in Iran affected by the Islamic Revolution and subsequent war with Iraq? This study examines the joint effect of regime change and the war against Iraq on life expectancy in Iran between 1978 and 1988. If there had been no revolution and war in Iran, how would the life expectancy of Iranians have developed? To answer this question, we use a synthetic control model to construct a counterfactual Iran based on a weighted average of other comparable countries, which reproduces the situation of pre-revolution Iran but does not experience the revolution and war. We then compare the life expectancies of the counterfactual and actual Iran that underwent a regime change and war with Iraq. Our results indicate that an average Iranian's total life expectancy would have been approximately five years longer without the revolution and war. The revolution had a moderate long-term impact on total life expectancy at birth, with the most significant influence being attributed to the war itself, particularly on male life expectancy. Our main findings are robust to a series of tests, including placebo tests. We investigate possible reasons that may explain the impact on longevity.     

A note on synthetic data for replication purposes in agricultural economics

Empirical studies in agricultural economics usually involve policy implications. In many cases, such studies rely on proprietary or confidential data that cannot be published along with the article, challenging the replicability and credibility of the results. To overcome this problem, the use of synthetic data—that is, data that do not contain a single unit of the original data—has been proposed. In this note, we illustrate the utility of synthetic data generation methods for replication purposes using a range of methods from agricultural production analysis. More specifically, we compare input elasticities and technical efficiency scores based on different farm-level production data between original data and synthetic data. We generate synthetic data using a non-parametric method of classification and regression trees (CART) and parametric linear regressions. We find synthetic data result in elasticities and technical efficiency distributions that are very similar to the original data, especially when generated with CART, and conclude with implications for the research community.     

纤维素酶处理对针织牛仔性能的影响

为了解决机械摩擦导致的织物表面光洁度和手感差的问题,基于纤维素酶与机械摩擦复合处理织物的优点,采用酸性纤维素酶对牛仔布进行水洗,通过正交试验设计,探索了纤维素酶浓度、浸泡温度、浸泡时间、pH值对织物白度、耐磨性、顶破强力和弯曲性能的影响。结果表明,温度及pH值对白度的影响显著,纤维素酶浓度对织物顶破强力的影响大于其他因素。用纤维素酶处理后,针织牛仔的耐磨性增强,白度增大。因此,纤维素酶可使针织牛仔的使用性能得到有效改善。     

一种应急救援索系统的开发应用研究

在地形、地势复杂的地区输送应急救援人员或物资面临着道路中断等情况。为了解决这类问题,依据国标规范和实地工况,提出了小型救援系统的基本设计要求和工作原理,设计了结构参数。针对该救援系统的承载索部件,阐述了其设计方法和力学计算过程,并建议采用超高分子量纤维绳替代钢丝绳的设计,以降低系统成本,提高工效,然后对该救援索系统的牵引驱动模块进行了设计计算。在湖北省某地,采用机械提升倒装法对该救援索系统进行了现场组装、调制和试验,证实了在复杂的地理条件下利用临时组装架空索道实现小型物资应急输送的可行性,为实现经济物资的远距离、快速架设索道应急输送技术开发提供了数据支持及设计试验方法,具有一定的推广应用意义。     

基于博弈论的跳频通信装备电子防御效能评估

为解决不同电子进攻条件下跳频通信装备电子防御效能动态评估问题，提出了一种基于博弈论的评估方法。首先，从技术性能、战术策略、操作人员3个角度构建评估指标体系；其次，通过4种归一化方法、复合权重、两种聚合模型，设计了一种多指标综合算法对通信电子防御效能进行评估；最后，将评估结果作为盈利，通过攻防双方博弈得到纳什均衡评估值。仿真分析表明，该方法能合理地考虑攻防双方、战术策略和操作人员对效能发挥的影响，与传统的静态评估方法相比更具科学性、优越性，具有一定的实用价值。     

集体经营性建设用地入市对城乡融合发展影响研究 ——基于浙江省德清县改革试点的经验证据

研究目的：以浙江省德清县集体经营性建设用地入市作为准自然实验，评估集体经营性建设用地入市对城乡融合发展的影响及作用机制。研究方法：合成控制法（SCM）、中介效应模型。研究结果：德清县通过实施集体经营性建设用地入市后，显著地提升了城乡融合发展水平；集体经营性建设用地入市对德清县城乡融合发展水平的影响效应随时间推移而增加，分别采用安慰剂检验和排序检验方法检验后结果依然稳健；集体经营性建设用地入市主要通过要素流动效应、公共服务优化效应两个方面发挥作用，并且劳动力流动效应和公共服务优化效应的中介占比分别为2.36%和30.7%。研究结论：集体经营性建设用地入市改革是优化土地资源配置的重要举措，未来应通过改革之间的协调联动，完善农村集体经营性建设用地入市收益分配机制、推动城乡公共服务均等化和要素优化配置，实现城乡融合发展。