Traditional trade policy tools like tariffs and quotas are being actively replaced with non-tariff policy tools (NTB) by governments throughout the world. In this paper we investigate how introduction of two types of non-tariff measures, technical barriers to trade (TBT) and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, affects exporters in different countries. According to the heterogeneous firms...

Movements of pelagic organisms in the tidal freshwater regions of estuaries are sensitive to the movements of water. In the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta—the tidal freshwater reach of the San Francisco Estuary—such movements are key to losses of fish and other organisms to entrainment in large water-export facilities. We used the Delta Simulation Model-2 hydrodynamic model and its particle track...

This paper presents a new model, MUSCLE (Multidirectional Scanning for Line Extraction), for automatic vectorization of raster images with straight lines. The algorithm of the model implements the line thinning and the simple neighborhood methods to perform vectorization. The model allows users to define specified criteria which are crucial for acquiring the vectorization process. In this model...

We reconcile trade theory with plant-level export behavior, extending the Ricardian model to accommodate many countries, geographic barriers, and imperfect competition. Our model captures qualitatively basic facts about U.S. plants: (i) productivity dispersion, (ii) higher productivity among exporters, (iii) the small fraction who export, (iv) the small fraction earned from exports among export...

The U.S. government awarded export subsidies to agribusiness firms through the Export Enhancement Program (EEP). This study analyzes (a) whether the subsidies promoted new firm market entry and (b) whether firm characteristics influenced program participation. Trade in three commodities, poultry, wheat, and wheat flour, was analyzed using firm-level data. It was found that new firm market entry...

To what extent can exporters cushion the impact of currency appreciation shocks by using imported intermediates? We apply a partial equilibrium model with heterogeneous firms. Producers can serve the domestic market, export final goods, or import inputs. In the model, an exogenous exchange rate shock simultaneously affects the variable costs and revenues associated with exports and imports. The...

Export has played an important role for firms in the context of globalization. However, firms, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) developing countries, have faced many barriers to export; one major is their less competitive products. This study aimed examine effects innovation on SMEs’ decisions export Vietnam. To this relationship, used dataset from SMEs surveys 2011, 2013 ...

Mechanical unfolding trajectories for single molecules of the Tetrahymena thermophila ribozyme display eight intermediates corresponding to discrete kinetic barriers that oppose mechanical unfolding with lifetimes of seconds and rupture forces between 10 and 30 piconewtons. Barriers are magnesium dependent and correspond to known intra- and interdomain interactions. Several barrier structures a...