Low Migration Costs Research Articles

Economic Integration, Factor Mobility, and Wage Convergence

This paper studies the effect of economic integrationof two regions on the mobility of skilled and unskilled workersacross regions and on the resulting location of industrial activity.In particular, we study what happens when wages in both regionsare set by the unions of the ‘West’—the region with agreater initial relative stock of human capital. We show thatunder some circumstances, it is the interest of the West's unionsto set up a speed of wage convergence greater than equilibrium,thus generating unemployment in the East. This slows the migrationof human capital toward the East, but quickens the migrationof raw labor toward the West. A greater share of economic activityis eventually located in the Western region. Unions in the Westwill benefit from this provided human capital has low migrationcosts relative to raw labor.

HEURISTIC SUBCUBE ALLOCATION WITH TASK MIGRATION IN HYPERCUBE SYSTEMS

In this paper, we propose a new top-down subcube allocation scheme, called HSA (Heuristic Subcube Allocation) strategy, and also present a task migration scheme to solve the fragmentation problem in a hypercube. An undirected graph, called SC (Subcube)-graph, whose vertices represent the available subcubes in the hypercube is used for the subcube allocation, and the higher dimension subcube is generated by the cycle detection using the SC-graph. When a subcube is released, a heuristic algorithm is used to maintain the available subcubes as large as possible and to reduce the response time. It is theoretically shown that the HSA strategy is not only statically optimal but also it has a complete subcube recognition capability in the dynamic environment. Extensive simulation results show that the HSA strategy improves the efficiency and significantly reduces the response time with a lower migration cost compared to the previously proposed schemes.

Alternative Mating Strategies in the Mongolian Gerbil

Abstract1. In previous enclosure studies female Mongolian gerbils were found to trespass into strange territories on oestrous days and mate with the neighbouring males, although they lived in stable territorial pairs or family-groups (ÅGREN, 1976, 1983, 1984). The females mated with their social partners as well. 2. A comparable 'unfaithful' behaviour in females in oestrous was observed in a laboratory choice-test (ÅGREN & MEYERSON, 1977). 3. A mating-preference for non-siblings has been demonstrated in enclosure as well as laboratory studies (ÅGREN, 1981, 1983). 4. In the present enclosure studies four females of one family consistently trespassed in oestrous, while three females in a second family did not. Only these latter females mated within their own social group, i.e. the two daughters incestuously. 5. When two females and three males of each of these same families were placed into a new enclosure only cross family pairs formed. 6. In a laboratory experiment 12 out of 18 pairliving females gave birth to, and raised their litter, sired by a strange male, when replaced into the cage of the familiar male the day following oestrous. The cage mate was prevented from copulations by a wire-mesh during 10 days following the insemination by the strange male. These results indicate that an 'unfaithful' female may be reproductively successful. 7. The observations of the unfaithful behaviour in the females are suggestive of an alternative mating strategy to monogamy in females beneficial under high population densities. This strategy would result in avoidance of inbreeding, low migration costs, and increased chances for winter-survival.