The structure of the unbound F15 nucleus is investigated using inverse kinematics resonant scattering a radioactive O14 beam impinging on CH2 target. analysis H1(O14,p)O14 and H1(O14,2p)N13 reactions allowed confirmation previously observed narrow 1/2? resonance, near two-proton decay threshold, identification two new 5/2? 3/2? resonances. newly levels by 1p emission to ground O14, sequential 2...

This papers analyses the causes behind Africa’s unfortunate transformation into the source of the world’s slaves over the early modern period. We discuss the economic and technological forces leading to it, and address questions such as why were most slave buyers Europeans and most slave sellers Africans. We then relate the discussion to the long-term determinants of African underdevelopment, a...

This essay analyzes the long-term lessons of the recent upturn and downturn in the telecommunications industry. It concludes that volatility and cyclicality will be an inherent part of the telecom sector in the future. To deal with such instabilities, companies and investors seek consolidation and cooperation. Government, too, is likely to stress stability more than before. Hence, an oligopoly ...

This paper argues that barriers affect both the beginning date and the subsequent pace of modern growth, and taking into account this fact enriches our knowledge of cross-country income differences. The model matches the observed inverted U-shape of cross-country income differences, which implies that a substantial fraction of current income differences is transitional. Hence, the model require...

Do transitory economic shocks affect neonatal outcomes? I show that an unexpected, monthlong blackout in Tanzania caused a sharp but temporary drop in work hours for workers in electricity-dependent jobs. Using records from a maternity ward, I document a reduction in birth weights for children exposed in utero to the blackout, and an increase in the probability of low birth weight. The reductio...

Three dimensions of the performance of firms in Ghana’s manufacturing sector are investigated in this paper: their technology and the importance of technical and allocative efficiency. We show that the diversity of factor choices is not due to a non-homothetic technology. Observable skills are not quantitatively important as determinants of productivity. Technical inefficiency is not lower in f...

Recently Acemolgu, Aghion, Bursztyn and Hemous (AER 2012) formulated a model in which a high macroeconomic elasticity of substitution between clean and dirty production represents a crucial condition for green growth. Until now it has never been systematically estimated. Using a novel panel of cross-country sectoral data, we formulate specifications of nested CES production functions that allow...

Two issues related to mapping a multi-sector model into a reduced-form value-added model are often neglected: the composition of intermediate goods, and the distinction between value added productivity and gross output productivity. We demonstrate their quantitative significance for the case of the well known model of Greenwood, Hercowitz and Krusell (1997), who find that about 60% of economic ...

This paper explores the relevance of unknown nonlinearities for growth empirics. Recent theoretical contributions and case-study evidence suggest that nonlinearities are pervasive in the growth process. I show that the postwar data provide strong evidence in favor of generalized non-linearities. I provide two alternative mechanisms for making inference about the effects of production-function s...