Adopting a time series convergence definition and panel unit root testing procedures, we fail to reject the null hypothesis of no convergence in GDP per capita across former West German states. This result stands in contrast to the findings of previous studies for West German regions using cross-section regression techniques and is contrary to the time series findings for the United States. Fro...

This paper is a pioneering attempt to include India with east and Southeast Asia to study the existence of the economic criteria for a common currency. The analysis in this paper shows that significant complementarities in trade exist among these countries, most of them experience similar shocks and labor mobility is already present. These results point to the fact that the cost of adopting a s...

Pathogens such as MERS-CoV, influenza A/H5N1 and influenza A/H7N9 are currently generating sporadic clusters of spillover human cases from animal reservoirs. The lack of a clear human epidemic suggests that the basic reproductive number R0 is below or very close to one for all three infections. However, robust cluster-based estimates for low R0 values are still desirable so as to help prioritis...

We utilized one-step multiplex reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and Luminex xMAP technology to develop a respiratory multiplex liquid-chip assay (rMLA) for simultaneous detection of 6 common respiratory viruses, including influenza virus type A (FluA) and type B (FluB), para-influenza virus type 3 (PIV-3), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (MPV) and a threatening virus ...

www.thelancet.com Vol 383 May 17, 2014 1697 10 WHO. IHR Emergency Committee concerning Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). July 9, 2013. http://www.who.int/ihr/ ihr_ec_2013/en/ (accessed May 6, 2014). 11 Independent Monitoring Board of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Sixth Report. London: Independent Monitoring Board, November, 2012. 12 WHO. International travel an...

in more recent years, it has become increasingly recognized that r&d; (research and development) is a key driver of economic growth, a source of innovation and change, and as such stimulates improvements in productivity and economic competitiveness. it is closely associated with knowledge and flexibility, two factors that have gained new significance as a source of competitiveness in an increas...

Two parallel analyses are carried out in order to assess the degree of integration of financial markets within Europe, within East Asia, between these two regions, and with the external financial community. The investigation is based on cointegration and Granger causality techniques, to detect the presence of short-run and long-run cross-country relationships in equity and bond markets. The emp...

Physical stature is used as a proxy for the biological standard of living in the two Germanies before and after unification in an analysis of a cross-sectional sample (1998) of adult heights, as well as among military recruits of the 1990s. West Germans tended to be taller than East Germans throughout the period under consideration. Contrary to official proclamations of a classless society, the...