Minimum Threshold Level Research Articles

Financial Development, Integration, Inclusion, and Economic Growth: Co-Integrating Relationships and Threshold Analysis

This study examines the short and long-run relationships between financial development, integration, inclusion, and economic growth in SADC, as well as the corresponding threshold levels. Covering the period 1995 to 2020, the ARDL technique was used to test for co-integrating relationships, and the GLS was utilized for the determination of the respective threshold levels. The study establishes that bank credit to the private sector negatively affects economic growth in the long run. Most SADC countries were still operating below their respective minimum financial development threshold levels. It is observed that there are no threshold levels for financial integration in SADC, although the result, compared with the threshold levels of financial development seems to suggest that the financial domestic system and some level of economic development are a prerequisite for financial integration decisions. The financial inclusion threshold level for poor SADC countries is low. Yet most of these countries had the highest mobile banking facilities in the region. One possible indication can be that these countries may be operating at financial inclusion levels detrimental to economic growth. Financial development, along with its facets of financial integration and financial inclusion, is found to be the driver of economic growth in SADC. SADC countries, therefore, need to establish a strategic mix of these facets of financial development for the realization of significant economic growth.

Association of Optimal Lamotrigine Serum Levels and Therapeutic Efficacy in Mood Disorders: A Systematic Review.

The aim of the study was to appraise the current evidence on the optimal serum level for lamotrigine (LAM) in the treatment of mood disorders (major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder). Major databases were searched for randomized controlled trials, open-label trials, and observational studies reporting serum LAM levels in adult patients treated with LAM for mood disorders. A total of 814 abstracts were screened and 24 articles were selected for full-text review. Seven studies (226 bipolar disorder and 17 major depressive disorder patients) including 1 randomized controlled trial (n = 43), 3 prospective (n = 53), and 3 retrospective (n = 147) studies met the study criteria with a study duration range from 6 to 96 weeks. Lamotrigine daily dosage varied from 25 to 425 mg/d among the studies. Studies reported inconsistent findings between LAM concentration and efficacy. Three studies did not identify a relationship between LAM levels and a significant improvement in mood symptoms. Two studies (n = 99) reported higher response rates with LAM serum levels of greater than 3.25 μg/mL and 1 study (n = 25) reported a wide therapeutic window of 5 to 11 μg/mL. Overall, LAM was well tolerated with no major significant adverse effects. Most studies showed a minimum LAM threshold level of 3 μg/mL in patients with mood disorders; however, the data are inconsistent regarding the therapeutic range for LAM. Based on the pooled data, there is inconsistent evidence to make conclusive recommendations on therapeutic LAM serum levels for mood improvement. Further studies including larger sample sizes are required to address this relevant clinical question.

Effect of Dynamic Stereoscopic Vision on Balance with Induced Anisometropia

The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between dynamic stereoscopic vision and balance, and to compare our results to previous studies that sought to determine the correlation between changes in visual information and balance. Thirty-three healthy adults participated in the measurement of balance by inducing anisometropia with +0.0D, +2.0D, and +5.0D refractive lenses placed in specially made glasses that removed peripheral vision. COP data was collected via force plate and was evaluated by converting it to COP velocity. An α <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Our results show that, provided it is above a minimum threshold level, the greater the change in dynamic stereoscopic vision, the poorer the balance. And it was found that changes below a minimum threshold level did not affect the balance. These results provide a potential explanation for the complementary compensatory action of sensory information, which could not be explained previously based on the change of balance due to changes in visual information across both eyes. Given these data, it seems clear that vision correction is essential for those affected by dynamic stereoscopic vision formation disorders above a certain level in order to improve balance. On the other hand, dynamic stereoscopic vision formation disorders below a certain level can likely be improved using simple somatosensory treatments. This study will help physical therapists better consider dynamic stereoscopic vision when evaluating and conducting therapies designed to increase balance.

Food and Nutrient Supply from Organic Agriculture in the Least Developed Countries and North America

Although organic agriculture (OA) is praised unequivocally for its environmental and health benefits, its potential for food security is often questioned because of its perceived lower yield. Least developed countries (LDCs), which have a high prospect of conversion to OA, are underrepresented in the literature related to the yield potential of OA, and its impact on regional food security. This paper aims to assess food and nutrient (calorie, protein, and fat) supply, thereby contributing to food security, from OA using yield ratio (YR) in LDCs and to compare this with North America (NA). Literature is the main source of data to estimate YR. Food supply data available in FAOSTAT for 1963–2013 along with the YR is used to estimate food and nutrient supply from OA in 2013. YR of crops shows a higher yield from OA in LDCs compared to NA. The food supply in LDCs between 1963 and 2013 increased at a higher rate than in NA. However, per capita nutrient supply is growing at a meager rate in LDCs; calorie and protein supply are just above the minimum threshold level and fat supply is still below the threshold level. Cereal is the single most important food item contributing to nutrient supply in LDCs, indicating a lack of dietary diversity. Thus, with relatively higher yields and crop diversity, and localized production and distribution systems, OA will have important contributions in dealing with persistent food insecurity in LDCs. However, a concerted effort is necessary to achieve yield gain and wider acceptance of OA.

Effects of Foreign Aid and Remittances Flows on Saving and Investment in Developing South Asia: Panel Data Study

In this study, we investigate the impact of remittances and foreign aid (official foreign assistance) on investment and saving in South Asian countries. We also analyze the comparative influence of remittances and foreign aid in stimulating saving and investment. We use a sample of five South Asian countries over the period 1985-2018 and employ OLS and 2SLS methods to estimate the effect of remittance and foreign aid on saving and investment. The result reveals that remittance has a positive impact on saving but has no significant effect on investment and shows that foreign aid has no significant impact on saving but negatively influences investment. In line with our results, a rise in 10 percent of remittances in South Asia raises savings by 1.6 percent in the OLS estimates and by 1.7 percent when we use 2SLS. At the same time for a 10% increase in foreign aid decreases saving by 4.3% and 3.3%, respectively, in two methods. For the second regression, an increase in 10% remittances hamper investment by 1.3% and 1% for OLS and 2SLS, respectively. And for the analogous 10% increase in foreign aid decrease investment by 5.4% and 5.2%, respectively. However, if foreign aid is efficiently used, it can be an important complement to remittances by permitting households to overcome the minimum threshold level and they can use a bigger portion of their remittances for savings and investment motive.

GIS and Remote Sensing based Land Use/Land Cover Change Detection: The Case of Kility Watershed

The land cover and land use changes are caused by both, natural and anthropogenic factors. This study was conducted in kility Watershed, Amhara Region, North western Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to detect and analyse LULC changes in the watershed. The study has used ArcGIS10.3 and ERDAS IMAGINE 15, Landsat images of 1986 and 2002; Sentinel 2 image for 2019 to analyse land cover and land use changes of Kility watershed. In addition, the survey was conducted to detect the land use class and their drivers of changes. The Maximum Likelihood Algorithm of Supervised Classification has been used to generate land use and land cover maps. For the accuracy of classified Land Use/Land Cover maps, a confusion matrix was used to derive overall accuracy and results were above the minimum and acceptable threshold level. Post classification comparison change detection method was employed to identify gains and losses between Land Use/Land Cover classes. The satellite image results showed that Bush land decreased in the first period but increased in the second and the entire study periods. Grassland increased in the first period and increased in the entire periods. Agricultural land is the most converted cover type during the second study period. In the 33 years, forest lands expanded by over 8.48 % of the original forest cover what was existed at the base year. Settlement area which was not found in the first two study years satellite image result have 1.46 % proportion in 2019 Land Use/Land Cover classification.

Do the minimum and maximum comfortable stimulation levels influence the cortical potential latencies or the speech recognition in adult cochlear implant users?

IntroductionCochlear implants (CI) programming is based on both the measurement of the minimum levels required to stimulate the auditory nerve and the maximum levels to generate loud, yet comfortable loudness. Seeking for guidance in the adequacy of this programming, the cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEP) have been gaining space as an important tool in the evaluation of CI users, providing information on the central auditory system. ObjectiveTo evaluate the influence of mishandling of electrical stimulation levels on speech processor programming on hearing thresholds, speech recognition and cortical auditory evoked potential in adult CI users. Material and methodsThis is a prospective cross-sectional study, with a sample of adult unilateral CI users of both sexes, aged at least 18 years, post-lingual deafness, with minimum experience of 12 months of device use. Selected subjects should have average free field hearing thresholds with cochlear implant equal to or better than 34 dBHL and monosyllable recognition different from 0%. Individuals who could not collaborate with the procedures or who had no CAEP recordings were excluded. Participants were routinely programmed, and the map was named MO (optimized original map). Then three experimentally wrong maps were made: optimized original map with 10 current units below the maximum comfort level (C), named MC- (map minus C); optimized original map with minus 10 current units at minimum threshold level (T), named MT- (map minus T) and optimized original map with 10 current units above minimum level (T), named MT + (map plus T). In all programs, participants underwent free-field auditory thresholds from 250Hz to 6000Hz, recorded sentences and monosyllabic recognition tests presented at 65dB SPL in quiet and in noise, and free field CAEP evaluation. All tests were performed in an acoustically treated booth, in a randomized order of map presentation. Data were compared by Wilcoxon test. ResultsThirty individuals were selected and signed an informed consent form. The MC- map provided worsening of all free field thresholds, quiet and noise speech recognition, and P1 wave latency delay with significant difference from the results with the MO map. The MT- map worsened the hearing thresholds and statistically significantly reduced the P2 wave latency; MT+ map improved free field thresholds except 6000Hz, worsening speech recognition, without statistical significance. ConclusionsThe results suggest that maximum levels below the optimal thresholds lead to worse cochlear implant performance in both hearing thresholds and speech recognition tests in quiet and noise, increasing CAEP component P1 latency. On the other hand, the manipulation of minimum threshold levels showed alteration in audibility without significant impact on speech recognition.

IDENTIFYING THE CONNECT BETWEEN STUDENTS’ SCIENCE ANXIETY LEVELS AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENT IN SCIENCE

This study aims to explore the effect of an affective variable 'science anxiety' on students' achievement in science subject. By affective we refer to the learners' affect such as emotions, feelings, moods and attitudes involved in teaching-learning process. The chosen sample comprised of 1134 students (532 boys and 602 girls) of class X from 34 schools of Aizawl district of Mizoram. An adapted version of 'Science Anxiety Questionnaire' was used with some indigenous modifications to assess the level of science anxiety amongst the sample. The science anxiety scores of students were correlated with their science achievement scores obtained in class X board examination. Past researches have recognized 'science anxiety' as a negative affect responsible for student's underperformance in science. However, in the present finding the correlation coefficient value was found to be 0.1 indicating a very low but statistically significant positive relationship. This suggested that a minimum threshold level of science anxiety positively becomes the achievement in science. Anxiety levels were found to differ significantly between high and low science achievers, interestingly the high achievers (upper 27%) were found to be more science anxious suggesting that the very low positive relationship between the science anxiety and science achievement of students was contributed more from the high achievers. The findings revealed a significant difference between science anxiety levels of boys and girls, the latter being more science anxious. The chi-square analysis also supported that science anxiety is not independent of gender. KEYWORDS: Achievement in Science, Affect and Science, Science Anxiety, Secondary School Students

Dialysis adequacy reconsidered: The person comes first.

Although many nephrologists see value in maximizing clearance and time on dialysis, clinical trials have failed to show a clear and consistent benefit of increasing clearance above the minimum threshold level recommended in clinical practice guidelines or of increasing dialysis session length or frequency. Available evidence suggests that patients and clinicians do not necessarily agree on what matters most when it comes to dialysis care, and that what patients consider to be an adequate dialysis session is highly individual and has little to do with solute clearance. Qualitative studies suggest that patients value spending less time on dialysis, having the dialysis procedure go smoothly, and being treated like an individual by staff members. Because many patients feel that they have little choice but to show up for their dialysis sessions, failing to involve them in decisions about time spent on the machine can contribute to feelings of powerlessness and loss of control, erode their sense of self, and diminish the quality of therapeutic relationships. On the other hand, a flexible and shared approach to decision-making about time spent on dialysis (and other aspects of care) can help to strengthen relationships, uphold personhood, and align care with what matters most.

GIS and Remote Sensing Based Detecting the Expansion of Tree Plantation and Its Impacts on Fagita Lekoma District, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

The study intended to detect the expansion of tree plantation based on the existing land use land cover changes, trends, and their magnitude between 1986 and 2019 years using remote sensing and GIS and establishes the main drivers of land use land cover change in Fagita Lekoma District. In order to achieve these, satellite data of Landsat Thematic Mapper for 1986, Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus for 2002, and Operational Land Imager for 2019 have been obtained and preprocessed using ERDAS Imagine. The Maximum Likelihood Algorithm of Supervised Classification has been used to generate land use and land cover maps. For the accuracy of classified Land Use Land Cover maps, a confusion matrix was used to derive overall accuracy and results were above the minimum and acceptable threshold level. Post classification comparison changed detection method was employed to identify gains and losses between Land Use Land Cover classes. The satellite image results show that cultivated land and wetland similarly increased in the first period but decline in the second and the entire study periods. Grassland decreased from the first period and almost constant in the second period. In the 33 years, forest lands expanded by upon 200% of the original forest cover what was existed on the base year. Whereas, as a result of the socio-economic analysis the higher population growth, expansion of tree plantations, and agricultural land are the main causes of land use land cover change in the study area. The impact of this land use land cover change is more significant on the livelihood condition and status of the study area. From the observed changes expansion of forest coverage and growth of urban areas can be taken as something positive. The expansion of this land-use type is the cause to decrement of productive farmland which opened the way for the introduction and expansion of Acacia decurrens.

Epigenetic Requirements for Triggering Heterochromatinization and Piwi-Interacting RNA Production from Transgenes in the Drosophila Germline.

Transgenes containing a fragment of the I retrotransposon represent a powerful model of piRNA cluster de novo formation in the Drosophila germline. We revealed that the same transgenes located at different genomic loci form piRNA clusters with various capacity of small RNA production. Transgenic piRNA clusters are not established in piRNA pathway mutants. However, in the wild-type context, the endogenous ancestral I-related piRNAs heterochromatinize and convert the I-containing transgenes into piRNA-producing loci. Here, we address how the quantitative level of piRNAs influences the heterochromatinization and piRNA production. We show that a minimal amount of maternal piRNAs from ancestral I-elements is sufficient to form the transgenic piRNA clusters. Supplemental piRNAs stemming from active I-element copies do not stimulate additional chromatin changes or piRNA production from transgenes. Therefore, chromatin changes and piRNA production are initiated by a minimum threshold level of complementary piRNAs, suggesting a selective advantage of prompt cell response to the lowest level of piRNAs. It is noteworthy that the weak piRNA clusters do not transform into strong ones after being targeted by abundant I-specific piRNAs, indicating the importance of the genomic context for piRNA cluster establishment. Analysis of ovarian transcription profiles suggests that regions facilitating convergent transcription favor the formation of transgenic piRNA clusters.

Testing of Ferarabivac anti-rabies live vaccine for wild carnivores for its immunogenicity and protectivity

Rabies is one of the most important human and animal viral diseases, being one of the most dangerous zoonoses, causing damage to the central nervous system with an inevitable fatal outcome. This disease is of global concern, and it attracts special attention of international organizations (WHO, OIE, FAO, GARC) and of veterinary services in many countries around the world. A variety of anti-rabies vaccines have been used for specific rabies prevention in wild carnivores, however, the safety and effectiveness of some of them is doubtful. New, more advanced products are being developed, one of which is Ferarabivac, a live oral vaccine. The vaccine was tested for its immunogenicity and protectivity in wild carnivores. The optimal immunizing dose was 2.0 cm3, with the infectivity titre of RV-97 strain of at least 6.00 lg KKID50/cm3. Anti-rabies antibody titres detected in the blood sera of foxes and raccoon dogs 14 days post vaccination, were 0.70 ± 0.18 and 0.73 ± 0.19 IU/cm3, respectively, which provided protection against rabies virus infection (≥ 0.50 IU/cm3). Rabies virus neutralizing antibodies in foxes reached their maximum level of 4.30 ± 0.32 IU/cm3 50 days post vaccination. Antibody titres in vaccinated raccoon dogs also reached their maximum level of 4.53 ± 0.27 IU/cm3 50 days post vaccination. The minimum protective threshold levels of serum neutralizing antibodies was determined 12 months after the vaccination, and it was 0.62 ± 0.28 and 0.71 ± 0.17 IU/cm3 in foxes and raccoon dogs, respectively, which proves the necessity to perform booster vaccination one year later. No animals vaccinated against rabies with Ferarabivac live vaccine showed any clinical signs of the disease during the entire observation period following the challenge test carried out 30 days post vaccination.

A Mathematical Study of Break-Even Analysis Based on Dairy Farms in Bangladesh

Break-even analysis is the analysis of the level of sales at which a company would make zero profit and it assists management in determining the number of products to be produced to attain desired profits, the number of products to be produced at a minimum threshold level, gaining desired profits under different cost and volume relationship. This technique has been applied to focus on how selling prices, the volume of sales, total costs such as variable cost and fixed costs as well as the mix of product sold affects profit. This research study aimed to determine the profitability position of several dairy farms in Bangladesh based on their cost-volume of the production. The study is conducted on two dairy farms named as Subarna Agro-Based Initiative and Nusrat Agro & Dairy Farm in Noakhali district. To obtain the objectives, ten years of financial data are taken from the period of 2009-10 to 2018-19 in the form of primary data. Utilizing these data profit volume ratio (P/V ratio), break-even point (BEP) and margin of safety are calculated for ten years. From the analysis, a P/V ratio from 2009-10 to 2018-19 is gradually raised and also break-even point demonstrates an optimal level considering the level of sales volume in ten years. Besides, the margin of safety helps us to know the risk level of a business. As-a-results, this article will lead to making how much cost to be spent to produce the required number of volumes of products to achieve the desired profit goal.

On-Chip CMOS Self-Decoupling Battery Cell System for Security Protection

This article presents an effective on-chip power analysis attack countermeasure based on a new CMOS self-decoupling battery cell system that uses a self-decoupling circuit. The self-decoupling circuit dynamically controls an on-chip virtual power supply point, $V_{\mathrm {ddv}}$ , that can be used to power security-sensitive modules. The circuit automatically decouples an on-chip CMOS battery cell from powering a sensitive module when its voltage level reaches a designed minimum threshold level $V_{\mathrm {dd-min}}$ and connects it for a very short charging cycle to the chip’s main voltage supply, $V_{\mathrm {dd}}$ . The charging cycles for the experiments presented in this article are less than 10 ns and are designed to support the CMOS battery cell size and the minimum designed threshold voltage level $V_{\mathrm {dd-min}}$ . Simulation results of test designs implemented in the 45-nm CMOS technology process show that the proposed countermeasure is efficient when used with battery cell sizes that can power the protected cryptographic module for more than ten data operation cycles before recharging. In addition, using the on-chip self-decoupling battery cell system allows for power consumption savings within the protected module of up to 43 % due to the dynamic voltage scaling generated at the virtual power supply point.

Conceptual and Simulated Semi-Automatic Urban Waste Management System using Global Systems for Mobile Communication and Customer Reliability Indices

: Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) poses great challenges to many cities around the world. The challenges are fuelled by population explosions all over the world, especially in the major urban centres, against the backdrop of limited resources to manage wastes efficiently. In this paper, a conceptual and simulated semi-automatic approach to MSWM is considered using the prevalent Global Systems for Mobile Communication (GSM) technology to engage both the waste generators and collectors. This system connects users into a central database where data about their waste bin levels are harnessed. Users are prompted via GSM handsets daily for the level of the waste bin. Waste Collection Vehicles are routed based on the responses while an updatable Reporting Reliability Index (RRI) is computed for each user based on estimate of actual level of waste collected as against the reported level to factor future reporting. With history of collection volume at a location known, forecast is made as to the generated waste level when a customer’s response to prompt is not available. The system is tested on a simulated 30-node housing estate and two dump sites with vehicles routed to optimize distance covered and volume of waste collected. Customers report when prompted with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 for waste levels ranging from empty to full bin fills. Vehicles are routed to collect wastes at locations with a minimum threshold level of 2. Results obtained showed statistically insignificant differences in distribution of means of collection distance covered weekly but 13.31 volume units/km collected with this method compared with 3.08 volume units/km run of fixed routing scheme, at = 0.05. The cost saving potential and environmental benefits of timely waste disposal of this scheme is thus demonstrable.Keywords: Municipal Solid Waste, Waste Management, SMS Gateway, GSM, Reporting Reliability Index.

Foreign direct investment, financial development and economic growth in Africa: evidence from threshold modeling

This paper investigates the role of local financial development in facilitating the materialisation of the growth-enhancing effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) in African countries. To this end, we improve on earlier studies by using a panel smooth transition regression model (PSTR) which is able to deal with heterogeneity issue associated with cross-country data. Based on a sample of 26 African countries over the period of 1990–2013, the results show that there is a minimum threshold level of financial development above which the growth-enhancing effect of FDI is unlocked in African countries. In other words, only countries that are located above a certain threshold level of financial development enjoy the growth-enhancing effect of FDI. These findings suggest that effort should be made by financial policymakers in African countries to improve the local financial markets conditions in order to extract the economic gains from FDI.

Resource rents, economic growth, and the role of institutional quality: A panel threshold analysis

This study uses rule of law (i.e., institutional quality; IQ) as a threshold variable and revisits the nonlinear relationship between natural resource rent and economic growth under the resource curse hypothesis. The research utilizes the panel data of 14 resource-rich countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to identify possible threshold level(s) and to assess the effects using conventional OLS standard error and White-correlated standard error models. The empirical results confirm the existence of two significant threshold effects, indicating a positive relationship between resource rent and economic growth when a country's IQ is above the threshold level of −1.28 and within the range −1.28 to −1.37. However, below the threshold level of −1.37, the resource curse starts to operate, impeding economic growth. The results are robust under the alternative specification of system generalized methods of moment (GMM). Therefore, in contrast to linear and exogenous threshold estimations, this paper shows the required IQ threshold levels for SSA resource-rich countries where they can ensure economic growth using their natural resource windfalls. Failing to account for the endogenous nonlinearities may conceal both the required minimum threshold levels of countries to maintain economic growth and the dynamic effects of IQ. Thus, we recommend policymakers and researchers consider the pivotal role of the threshold effects of IQ to allow for sustainable economic growth.

Associations between Urban Green Spaces and Health are Dependent on the Analytical Scale and How Urban Green Spaces are Measured.

Although the benefits from exposure to urban green spaces (UGS) are increasingly reported, there are important knowledge gaps in the nature of UGS-health relationships. One such unknown area is the dependence of UGS-health associations on the types of UGS studied, the way they are quantified, and the spatial scale used in the analysis. These knowledge gaps have important ramifications on our ability to develop generalizations to promote implementation and facilitate comparative studies across different socio-cultural and socio-economic contexts. We conducted a study in Singapore to examine the dependence of UGS-health associations on the metrics for quantifying UGS (vegetation cover, canopy cover and park area) in different types of buffer area (circular, nested and network) at different spatial scales. A population-based household survey (n = 1000) was used to collect information on self-reported health and perception and usage pattern of UGS. The results showed that although all three UGS metrics were positively related to mental health at certain scales, overall, canopy cover showed the strongest associations with mental health at most scales. There also appears to be minimum and maximum threshold levels of spatial scale at which UGS and health have significant associations, with the strongest associations consistently shown between 400 m to 1600 m in different buffer types. We discuss the significance of these results for UGS-health studies and applications in UGS planning for improved health of urban dwellers.

Depletion, technology, and productivity growth in the metallic minerals industry

Technological advancements dictate the productivity growth in all industries, including extractive ones. In the peculiar case of metallic mineral industries, this growth is also impacted by the natural variation in the metal content and chemical composition of the ore input, in the course of cumulative extraction and depletion of resources. Through a disaggregated treatment of productivity data achieved by using the input-output data on subprocesses of copper production and correlating them with input characteristics (ore grade), this study identifies and evaluates the impacts of the periodic changes in the natural input, as well as those of the technological progress, while reasonably controlling the influence of the other unrelated factors. This provides an objective assessment of the manner and extent of mitigation of the impact of the depletion-driven changes in the natural inputs of the said industry, through technological advancements. It reveals that the continuous and incremental developments in technology, successfully offset the detrimental effects of depletion on the copper sector productivity, often aided by the geological characteristics that changed to the miners’ advantage. However, the impact of depletion stands to outweigh the gains from innovative technologies, as soon as the ores breach a minimum threshold level of purity or chemistry. This study thus establishes the usefulness of productivity studies in estimating the impacts of depletion that may not proceed in strictly sequential and uni-directional manner. More importantly, it shows that the impacts are neither uniform nor linear and are not always detrimental to productivity growth. Though the study is primarily based on copper industry, the findings hold relevance for other metal industries too.

The Impact of Financial Sector Development on Foreign Direct Investment: An Empirical Study on Minimum Threshold Levels

Using panel data of 21 emerging economies, the paper investigates the financial sector development threshold levels that would influence foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. The threshold levels we identified are 41.27% of stock market capitalization for stock market turnover, 53.55% of gross domestic product (GDP) for stock market value traded, 121.53% of GDP for stock market capitalization, 114.43% of GDP for domestic credit to private sector by banks, 144.06% of GDP for domestic credit provided by financial sector, 0.22% of GDP for outstanding domestic private debt securities and 41.26% of GDP for outstanding domestic public debt securities. Our results show that higher stock market and banking sector development above the threshold level positively and significantly influence FDI inflows whilst the influence of lower stock market and banking sector development on FDI inflows was weak and not significant. Levels of private bond market development equal to or greater than the threshold level are found to have a positive but non-significant impact on FDI inflows whilst private bond market development levels less than the threshold have a weaker positive and non-significant influence on FDI inflows. On the other hand, public bond market development levels equal to or greater than the threshold level negatively influenced FDI inflows whilst levels of public bond market development less than the threshold positively but non-significantly attracted FDI inflows into emerging markets.