bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
On the New Economic Policies Promoted by the 17th CCP Congress in China
Authors: Yao Shujie , Morgan Stephen 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThe 17th Chinese Communist Party Congress in October 2007 attracted attention within and outside China for the bold development agenda that was placed before delegates. After 30 years of economic reform that has produced a remarkable improvement in living standards and China's reintegration into the world economy, the Party unveiled a programme that would push China to become a world superpower over the next 30 years. China's ambition is to become a technologically innovative state, to make China a ‘moderately prosperous’ and ‘harmonious society’ with a ‘scientific outlook on development’, and to achieve full industrialisation and sustainable prosperity. Whether China is able to attain its objectives will critically depend on the Party's ability to implement the new economic policies and address the social and political challenges that economic growth has created. The aim of the paper is to examine the policies, motivations and constraints that China faces in achieving the objectives laid out at the Party Congress.
Exchange Rates and FDI: Goods versus Capital Market Frictions
Authors: Buch Claudia M. , Kleinert Jörn 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACTChanges in exchange rates affect countries through their impact on cross‐border activities such as trade and foreign direct investment (FDI). With increasing activities of multinational firms, the FDI channel is likely to gain in importance. Economic theory provides two main explanations why changes in exchange rates can affect FDI. According to the first explanation, FDI reacts to exchange rate changes if there are information frictions on capital markets and if investment depends on firms’ net worth (capital market friction hypothesis). According to the second explanation, FDI reacts to exchange rate changes if output and factor markets are segmented, and if firm‐specific assets are important (goods market friction hypothesis). We provide a unified theoretical framework of these two explanations. We analyse the implications of the model empirically using a dataset based on detailed German firm‐level data. We find greater support for the goods market than for the capital market friction hypothesis.
The Uneven Pace of Deindustrialisation in the OECD
Authors: Nickell Stephen , Redding Stephen , Swaffield Joanna 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThroughout the OECD, the period since the 1970s saw a secular decline in manufacturing's share of GDP and a secular rise in the share of services. Despite this being a central feature of growth, the economic forces behind deindustrialisation and the reasons why its pace varied so markedly across OECD countries are not well understood. Adopting an econometric approach founded in neoclassical production theory, we provide an empirical analysis of the role of changes in relative prices, technology and factor endowments in driving changes in production structure. The speed of adjustment to changes in these determinants of production structure varies across OECD countries and is correlated with levels of employment protection.
Monetary Policy, Vagabonding Liquidity and Bursting Bubbles in New and Emerging Markets: An Overinvestment View
Authors: Schnabl Gunther , Hoffmann Andreas 
Published: October 2008

Abstract‘Capitalism without failure is like religion without sin’. Charles Kindleberger's bookManias, Panics and Crashespoints out that speculation and crises have always been present: the world economic crisis of the 20th century, the South Sea bubble in the 18th century, and the tulip mania in the first part of the 17th century. Starting with the Japanese bubble in the 1980s we take the reader on a tour through 20 years of bubbles in emerging markets and industrial countries which have recently culminated in the 2007/08 US subprime market crisis. We explain the global stock market and real estate booms based on the real and monetary overinvestment theories of Hayek, Wicksell and Schumpeter, arguing that ample liquidity supply originating in the large industrialised countries has contributed – independent from the exchange rate regime – to overinvestment cycles in new and emerging markets around the globe. The policy implication is to keep interest rates not too low for too long in response to bursting bubbles.
Competition and productivity growth in South Africa
Authors: Aghion Philippe , Braun Matias , Fedderke Johannes 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThis article shows that mark‐ups are significantly higher in South African manufacturing industries than they are in corresponding industries worldwide. We test for the consequences of this low‐level of product market competition on productivity growth. The results of the paper are that high mark‐ups have a large negative impact on productivity growth in South African manufacturing industry. Our results are robust to three different data sources, two alternative measures of productivity growth, and three distinct measures of the mark‐up. Controlling for potential endogeneity of regressors does not eliminate the findings.
South Africa's export predicament*
Authors: Hausmann Ricardo , Klinger Bailey 
Published: October 2008

AbstractUsing South Africa as an example, this article explores how the structure of production affects export diversification and economic growth. We show that the lagging process of structural transformation is part of the explanation for stagnant exports per capita in South Africa over the past 40 years. This slow structural transformation is shown to be a consequence in part of the peripheral nature of South Africa's productive capabilities: the country is specialized in sectors intensive in highly specific factors of production that cannot be easily redeployed to other activities. Using this methodology, we examine the sectoral priorities of the South African Department of Trade and Industry and explore the policy implications of the country's orientation in the product space.
South African trade policy matters Trade performance and trade policy*
Authors: Edwards Lawrence , Lawrence Robert 
Published: October 2008

AbstractSouth African trade policy has exerted a major influence on the composition and aggregate growth of trade. In the Apartheid period, South Africa developed a comparative advantage in capital‐intensive primary and manufactured commodities partly because of its natural resource endowments, but also because the pattern of protection was particularly detrimental to exports of non‐commodity manufactured goods. By contrast, trade liberalization from 1990 not only increased imports, but by reducing both input costs and the relative profitability of domestic sales also boosted exports. This evidence suggests that additional trade liberalization and policies that afford South African firms access to inputs at world prices could well be part of the strategy to enhance export diversification.
Fiscal and monetary policy in a commodity‐based economy1
Authors: Frankel Jeffrey , Smit Ben , Sturzenegger Federico 
Published: October 2008

AbstractA rough description of macroeconomic policy in South Africa would be that monetary policy concentrates on building nominal credibility through focusing on inflation, while the brunt of the responsibility for output stabilization rests on fiscal policy. This aricle discusses the convenience of such a policy mix. First, we estimate the business cycle impact of fiscal and monetary policy to find that so far fiscal policy has been mostly pro‐cyclical, whereas monetary policy has been, over the last couple of years, mildly counter‐cyclical. We argue that fiscal policy should be made significantly more counter‐cyclical than it has been – a strategy that would deliver more macroeconomic stability and potentially higher growth. Furthermore, we believe the Central Bank has earned the credibility to operate macro policy with a more decisive output stabilization objective, and we discuss several reinterpretations of the inflation targeting regime that provide the flexibility to do so without risking the strong anti‐inflationary credibility of the SARB. On exchange rate policy we recommend that the authorities take a pragmatic approach to floating, mostly allowing the currency to move freely, but intervening to avoid overvaluation. We explain why and discuss how this objective could be achieved.
Why has unemployment risen in the New South Africa?1
Authors: Banerjee Abhijit , Galiani Sebastian , Levinsohn Jim , McLaren Zoë , Woolard Ingrid 
Published: October 2008

AbstractWe document the rise in unemployment in South Africa since the transition in 1994. We describe how changes in labour supply interacted with stagnant labour demand to produce unemployment rates that peaked between 2001 and 2003. Meanwhile, compositional changes in employment at the sectoral level widened the gap between the skill‐level of the employed and the unemployed. Using nationally representative panel data, we show that stable unemployment rates mask high individual‐level transition rates in labour market status. Our analysis highlights several key constraints to addressing unemployment in South Africa. We conclude that unemployment is near equilibrium levels and is unlikely to self‐correct without policy intervention.
South Africa: Macroeconomic challenges after a decade of success1
Authors: Frankel Jeffrey , Smit Ben , Sturzenegger Federico 
Published: October 2008

AbstractMore than halfway through the decade, the South African economy has done very well. This report asks whether such achievements provide grounds for complacency. In particular it discusses the current account challenge in light of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGI‐SA) program. Our assessment is that a cautionary note on the need to reduce external imbalances is needed. We provide policy recommendations to minimize the negative impact of a possible sudden stop of capital inflows. On the consistency of ASGI‐SA program, we note that, given South Africa's recent employment and productivity performance a large investment program would be required to deliver the desired growth rates. In our view this imposes a large burden on public investment and on the current account itself.
Understanding South Africa's economic puzzles*
Authors: Rodrik Dani 
Published: October 2008

AbstractSouth Africa has undergone a remarkable transformation since its democratic transition in 1994, but economic growth and employment generation have been disappointing. Most worryingly, unemployment is currently among the highest in the world. While the proximate cause of high unemployment is that prevailing wages levels are too high, the deeper cause lies elsewhere, and is intimately connected to the inability of the South African to generate much growth momentum in the past decade. High unemployment and low growth are both ultimately the result of the shrinkage of the non‐mineral tradable sector since the early‐1990s. The weakness in particular of export‐oriented manufacturing has deprived South Africa of growth opportunities as well as of job creation at the relatively low end of the skill distribution. Econometric analysis identifies the decline in the relative profitability of manufacturing in the 1990s as the most important contributor to the lack of vitality in that sector.
Do Unions Benefit from Working in Partnership with Employers? Evidence from Ireland
Authors: GEARY JOHN 
Published: October 2008

Advocates and critics of voluntary workplace partnership have presented a series of theoretical arguments as to the potential consequences for unions working under partnership arrangements. A survey of Irish employees’ views is used to assess these competing claims. The study is timely on two counts: first, empirical investigations of the effects of partnership on union influence and members’ commitment to unions are rare; and, second, it is 11 years since employers, unions, and government in Ireland first signed a national framework agreement to promote the diffusion of partnership as a means for the handling of workplace change. The evidence provides support for the arguments as advanced by advocates.
A randomised controlled trial of intravaginal dinoprostone, intravaginal misoprostol and transcervical balloon catheter for labour induction
Authors: Prager M , Eneroth‐Grimfors E , Edlund M , Marions L 
Published: October 2008

Objective  To compare the efficacy and safety of induction of labour by vaginal application of dinoprostone or misoprostol or transcervical insertion of a balloon (Bard) catheter.Design  A non‐blinded, randomised, controlled trial.Setting  A tertiary level Swedish hospital.Population  A total of 592 women who had undergone full‐term pregnancies, not previously been subjected to a caesarean section, and required induction of labour for common, routine indications.Methods  Women were randomly assigned to induction of labour using intravaginal dinoprostone (2 mg once every 6 hours) or misoprostol (25 micrograms once every 4 hours) or a transcervical balloon catheter.Main outcome measures  The time interval between induction to delivery in general and vaginal delivery in particular, the mode of delivery, maternal and neonatal parameters of outcome.Results  Of the 588 subjects included in the final intention‐to‐treat analysis, 191 were assigned to treatment with dinoprostone, 199 with misoprostol and 198 with the balloon catheter. The shortest mean induction‐to‐delivery interval was obtained with the catheter (12.9 hours versus 16.8 and 17.3 hours for dinoprostone and misoprostol, respectively). The efficacies of the two prostaglandins were similar. The maternal and neonatal outcomes associated with each of the three procedures were similar.Conclusions  Induction of labour with a transcervical balloon catheter is effective and safe and can be recommended as the first choice. The two prostaglandins, dinoprostone and misoprostol, were shown to be equally effective and safe, while misoprostol costs significantly less and is easier to store.
Divergent biogeography of native and introduced soil macroinvertebrates in North America north of Mexico
Authors: Lilleskov Erik A. , Mattson William J. , Storer Andrew J. 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACTTo improve understanding of the biogeographical consequences of species introduction, we examined whether introduced soil macroinvertebrates differ from natives in the relationship between species richness and key environmental predictors, and whether such differences affect the relationship between native and introduced species richness. For North America north of Mexico, we summarized jurisdiction occurrence data for seven macroinvertebrate taxa with strong influences on soil biodiversity or processes. We analysed the relationships of native and introduced species richness to each other using linear regression; to latitude using Gaussian regressions; and, using the residuals of the richness–latitude regressions, to distance from coasts, human population density, and human population size using regression and correlation. We found weak to strong positive relationships between native and introduced species richness. This variation was related to divergent relationships of native and introduced species with latitude, human population density, and distance from coasts. Native species richness declined with increasing latitude for all taxa, as did introduced species richness for taxa with predominantly lower‐latitude origins (ants, termites, non‐lumbricid earthworms). In contrast, introduced species richness peaked at higher latitudes for four taxa of predominantly Palearctic origins (weevils, ground beetles, lumbricid earthworms, isopods). Partitioning introduced taxa within these groups based on region of origin, we found that Palearctic taxa were distributed at higher latitudes than non‐Palearctic taxa. Thus source region appears to strongly influence introduced species richness–latitude relationships. Compared to natives, introduced species exhibited more positive relationships with human population density and negative relationships with distance from coasts, but did not differ in relationships with human population size. Thus coastal, densely populated regions are likely to have a higher proportion of introduced soil macroinvertebrate species. These differences between distribution of native and introduced species tend to weaken positive correlations between native and introduced species richness, especially for taxa dominated by Palearctic introductions.
New York's nature: a review of the status and trends in species richness across the metropolitan region
Authors: Puth Linda M. , Burns Catherine E. 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACTAim  The world's population is urbanizing, yet relatively little is known about the ecology of urban areas. As the largest metropolitan area in the USA, New York City is an ideal location to study the effects of urbanization. Here, we aim to produce a better understanding of the state of the research for species richness of flora and fauna across the New York metropolitan region.Location  New York metropolitan region, USA.Methods  We conducted a review of the published and grey literature, in which we targeted studies of species richness, and categorized each study by habitat, location and taxonomic group.Results  We found 79 studies reporting location‐specific species richness data, resulting in 261 location‐taxonomic group records. Of these, 26 records had data from multiple time periods; 17 showed decreases in species richness, six reported increases and three showed stable species richness. Of these 26 records, most declines were attributed to anthropogenic causes, such as habitat loss/degradation and invasive species, while most increases reflected recovery from major habitat loss or increases in exotic species. Overall, most records (84) were terrestrial, followed by those in freshwater (72) and mixed habitats (61). When parsed by taxonomic group, the most commonly studied groups were plants (76) and mammals (48).Main conclusions  In general, we discovered fewer studies than expected reporting species richness, especially studies reporting species richness for more than one point in time. Most studies that did contain data over time reported declines in species richness, while several studies reporting increasing or stable species richness reflected increases in exotic species. This survey provides a crucial first step in establishing baseline ecological knowledge for the New York metropolitan region that should help prioritize areas for protection, research and development. Furthermore, this research provides insights into the impacts of urbanization across the USA and beyond and should help establish similar frameworks for ecological understanding for other metropolitan regions throughout the world.
Assessing the effectiveness of protected areas: paradoxes call for pluralism in evaluating conservation performance
Authors: Caro Tim , Gardner Toby A. , Stoner Chantal , Fitzherbert Emily , Davenport Tim R. B. 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACTAim  To highlight and examine apparent paradoxes in assessing the effectiveness of different forms of land‐use for biodiversity conservation.Location  Tanzania.Methods  We compare and contrast the findings of two recent and seemingly conflicting studies on the effectiveness of conservation protection strategies in Tanzania. We evaluate these studies in the context of a wider body of evidence relating to the problem of determining protected area performance.Results  We highlight the importance of landscape‐scale management approaches for biodiversity conservation; establishing clear management and monitoring objectives in advance; the interrelation between the choice of target species and the appropriate spatial scale over which to measure their fate; and differences between snapshot and longitudinal scales in assessing the effectiveness of conservation strategies.Main conclusions  Protected area assessments should not promote an isolated focus on particular conservation targets or methods of monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of conservation strategies. Instead we argue for a more pluralistic approach to evaluating conservation performance that can help to reveal where potential synergies in tackling different objectives exist, and clarifying the trade‐offs when they do not.
Incorporating habitat use in models of fauna fatalities on roads
Authors: Roger Erin , Ramp Daniel 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACTAim  To highlight the benefit of using habitat use to improve the accuracy of predictive road fatality models.Location  The Snowy Mountains Highway in southern New South Wales, Australia.Methods  A binary logistic regression model was constructed using wombat fatality presences and randomly generated absences. Species‐specific habitat variables were included as predictors in the model selection process as well as two spatially explicit measures of wombat habitat use. Generalized additive models (GAMs) were constructed for each possible combination of predictors in R. The final model was selected by comparing all models subsets for the eight predictors and employing the one standard error rule to select the best model set.Results  The final predictive model had high discriminatory power and incorporated both measures of species habitat use, greatly exceeding the variation explained by a previously published model for the same species and road.Main Conclusions  Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating variables that describe habitat use by fauna for predictive modelling of animal‐vehicle crashes. Reliance upon models that ignore landscape patterns are limited in their capacity to identify hotspots and inform managers of locations to engage in mitigation.
Lake construction has facilitated calanoid copepod invasions in New Zealand
Authors: Banks Chistopher M. , Duggan Ian C. 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACTAim  We tested the hypothesis that construction of lakes and ponds has facilitated both inter‐ and intracontinental invasions of calanoid copepod species.Location  North Island, New Zealand.Methods  We sampled both natural and constructed lakes, ponds and reservoirs for calanoid copepods in the North Island, New Zealand. Species records were supplemented by examining historically collected samples and literature review. Distributions of non‐indigenous calanoid copepod species were compared between constructed and natural waters. Species distributions of native species were compared with the basement terranes (microplates) of the North Island to determine if they possess ‘natural ranges’, and to assess whether construction of new water bodies had altered these distributions.Results  Ten calanoid copepod species have been recorded. At least four, and possibly five, of these species are non‐indigenous and were restricted to constructed water bodies. Occurrences in constructed water bodies were not restricted to dammed valleys, but also included ponds constructed on farms, ornamental ponds, disused quarries and retired mines. Four Boeckella species had distributions in natural waters closely related to the North Island basement terranes, and therefore possess ‘natural ranges’ on the island. One species, Boeckella propinqua, was found in natural lakes over a small geographical range only, but has spread with construction of new water bodies to now be widely distributed over the island.Main conclusions  Construction of lakes and ponds has facilitated the invasion of calanoid copepod species at both inter‐ and intracontinental scales. Our findings suggest that resident native calanoid copepod species may reduce the risk of invasion to natural water bodies, as similar‐sized species are commonly unable to co‐occur. Spread of the non‐indigenous representatives from constructed into natural waters is inevitable, with established populations providing local propagule supplies for regular introductions.