(The) effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth (GDP) : case of Ecuador

Vasquez, Edison Daniel Munoz Ajou University 2017 국내석사

(The) effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth (GDP) : Case of Ecuador

MUNOZ, VASQUEZ EDISON DANIEL 아주대학교 Graduate School of International Studies Ajo 2017 국내석사

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), theoretically speaking, is one financing source to accelerate economic development. It helps to improve the welfare of a country throughout the generation of employment, transfer of technology, capital accumulation, etc. However, several empirical studies have suggested that there is either a negative or positive impact on the economic growth. Those different results can be explained because of the particular characteristics of each study such as the period of time, methodologies, type of data, etc. Despite the facts that Ecuador's economy was ranked as eighth in the largest economies in Latin America with an average of 4.6% of GDP Growth during the period from 2000 to 2006, the development of the country is restricted. For instance, Ecuador adopted the US dollar as a national currency, the economy is highly dependent on oil exportation and a populist and protectionist governmental framework was imposed during the last 10 years. Consequently, there are few incentives for foreign investors and competitive disadvantages due to the cost opportunity in comparison to similar economies in Latin America. This research conducts a theoretical and empirical approach. It uses an adapted estimated model and econometric techniques in order to understand the positive contribution of FDI to the economic growth specifically in the case of Ecuador. In addition, it provides a precise interpretation of its interaction with human capital, capital accumulation and transfer of technology. Finally, this research provides enough evidence and suggestions to modify governmental policies to promote foreign direct investment as a way to develop the country.

Wireless Communication with Energy Harvesting for the Ultra Low Power Internet of Things

GERARDO FRANCISCO SACARELO VASQUEZ 경희대학교 대학원 2021 국내박사

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a new paradigm that has transformed our physical world into a smart one with automated processes. The necessity to minimize human interaction became apparent last year when the global pandemic broke out, resulting in an increase in demand for IoT devices and technology. As interest in IoT grows, various concerns must be addressed in order to enable additional devices in a large area as power consumption and spectral efficiency. Furthermore, battery replacements are a concern when IoT devices are used in hazardous environments, certain configurations have been proposed to reduce or eliminate battery replacements. This thesis considers wireless powered communication networks (WPCN) and wireless powered backscatter networks (WPBN) for improving coverage, spectrum efficiency and low power consumption towards massive device connectivity, all of which are needed to support a variety of new IoT-enabled services and applications. By harvesting energy from the radio frequency signal and charging the devices before wireless communications, wireless powered communication networks allow battery-limited devices to be sustained. On the other hand, backscatter modulation transmits data by reflecting a carrier signal excited from a different source, allowing IoT devices to avoid power-hungry active RF circuitry and potentially recover energy from the incident carrier. However, essential characteristics, as well as resource allocation and beamforming (BF) algorithms, must be carefully examined and developed in order to realize the full potential of IoT. As the number of devices grows, BF helps to optimize the received power that will be used for energy harvesting or information transfer, while power and time allocations enhance the device rate balance in the network. We start by considering a resource allocation for a wireless powered (WP) multi-pair massive antenna relay network to expand the coverage area, in which a relay powers the sources and assists with wireless information transfer (WIT) to the destination. We investigate the average achievable rates with imperfect channel state information and maximize the minimum rate using power allocation (PA) in energy and transmit BF and time allocation (TA). The optimal PA policy improves the minimum rate in each WIT phase by balancing asymmetric link qualities among the devices, while the TA solution leverages the performance significantly by balancing the rates of the WIT phases. The next step is to look at a WP two-way multi-antenna relay network, in which a relay delivers power to devices and aids data exchange using network coding to improve spectral efficiency. In this setup, we optimize energy BF and transmit BF as well as TA in order to maximize the rate fairness among the devices. The optimal energy BF is found by searching through the span of channel matched filters, while the optimal two-step transmit BF is given in closed-form and the TA problem is shown to be convex. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed network outperforms traditional networks significantly. We then investigate at a monostatic WPBN, in which a low-power device uses the received signal from a multi-antenna hybrid access point to perform backscatter modulation and energy harvesting (EH). The rate-energy regions of the WPBN are studied for power splitting (PS) and time switching (TS) receivers architecture by using the rate and EH functions reflecting the effects of practical systems. The results show that dynamic strategies outperform static strategies, and their gains are more pronounced in a specific region of a nonlinear EH circuit and number of antennas. The strategies established explicitly using the piecewise linear EH model are demonstrated to operate well with a practical EH model as well, with no significant performance loss. Finally, we deal with a monostatic multiantenna WPBN supporting massive devices through nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) over space division multiple access (SDMA). For the network, we optimize transmit BF for signal excitation, reflection coefficients of devices for backscattering and EH, and receive BF for information decoding toward the maximum fairness. The optimization problem without successive interference cancellation (SIC) has an analogy with the problem considered for a WPCN. As a result, we offer a new alternating optimization technique that is suitable for both SIC and non-SIC situations and has a lower complexity. Simulation results show that the proposed approach outperforms the conventional one for networks with SIC while achieving indistinguishable results for networks without SIC. Additionally, NOMA/SDMA enhanced by the proposed algorithm increases the minimum system throughput as well as the total energy harvested in the network by utilizing limited resources more effectively for a larger number of devices.

Making a difference and facilitating success: A model of Chicana/o student retention in Chicana/o studies

Vasquez, Philip L Iowa State University 2011 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

For every 100 Chicana/o students only 24 will enroll in college and of those students only seven will obtain a bachelor's degree (Yosso, 2006). These data present the need for increased examination of how students are retained in higher education. Therefore, this study sought to further understand and explore the retention factors contributing to the development and anticipated college completion of a case of Chicana/o studies students working toward the completion of their bachelor's degrees. Findings revealed that retention was impacted by academic factors such as faculty affirmation, and positive contributions to academic development. Social factors contributing to retention included community building, developing and discovering a sense of self, and supportive personal relationships. With a theoretical framework grounded in the model of student engagement and validation theory guiding the analysis, the model of Chicana/o student retention in Chicana/o studies was conceptualized. The model provides an understanding of how validation, relational learning, and engaging academic spaces helped to facilitate increased knowledge acquisition, personal development and professional aspirations. This study provides new knowledge and evolution of existing theories, which speak to retention in understudied contexts like Chicana/o studies. Recommendations and implications are provided.

Salvadoran returnee migrants : an analysis of El Salvador's government actions for their effective reintegration to society

VASQUEZ SOSA, Alejandra Carolina KDI School of Public Policy and Management 2023 국내석사

Discrete/continuous choice models and consumer heterogeneity

Vasquez Lavin, Felipe Antonio University of California, Berkeley 2007 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

This dissertation consists of three chapters on demand estimation using discrete and discrete/continuous choice models. In all papers I address the identification of heterogeneity in preferences using random parameter specifications. From a policy perspective, preference heterogeneity is important in the design of policy interventions targeting groups with different behavior patterns and, in a political economy context, enables us to identify winners and losers from these interventions, and to deal with them appropriately. Framed in a Lancasterian demand model, where demand depends on the attributes of the goods, the first chapter entitled "Taste Indicators and Heterogeneous Revealed Preferences for Congestion in Recreation Demand" presents a method combining taste indicators and revealed preferences to estimate a distribution of preferences for attributes of a commodity. This work is motivated by the fact that results of a traditional Mixed Logit (ML) model are sometimes inconsistent with people's attitudes towards those attributes. I include these attitudes into the estimation process and I utilize them to describe the distribution of preferences in the sample. I apply this procedure to estimate a distribution of taste for congestion in a recreation demand model. While the traditional ML model suggests that around 60% of the sample likes crowding, my estimations show that nobody in the sample likes this attribute of the sites. A correct estimation of the distribution of tastes in the population may contribute to correctly assess the benefit or cost of some policy intervention. The second chapter, "Functional Forms in Discrete/Continuous Choice Models with General Corner Solutions", presents a new utility model serving as the basis for modeling discrete/continuous consumer choices with a general corner solution. The new model involves a more flexible representation of preferences than what has been previously used in the literature and, unlike most of it, the model is not additively separable. This functional form can handle richer substitution patterns such as complementarity and substitution among goods. I focus in part on the Quadratic Box-Cox utility function and examine its properties from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. I also identify the significance of the various parameters of the utility function, and demonstrate an estimation strategy that can be applied to demand systems involving both a small and large number of commodities. Finally, the chapter three entitled "Quality Effects on the Demand for Broadway Shows" presents an estimation of live theatre demand using a discrete choice model commonly used in industrial organization applications with aggregate data. The focus of this paper is the identification of the effect of quality on attendance to a Broadway show. Quality is defined as the number of Tony awards won by each show. A positive correlation between admission price and show's quality has produced upward sloping demand curves in previous studies in the economics of the Arts, contradicting economic theory. The application in this chapter uses an unique panel dataset created by matching weekly Broadway show attendance, theatre gross revenue, and capacity figures with show attributes for all plays performing between December 1995 and June 2003. Using a discrete choice model with instrumental variables the results show Broadway show demand slopes down, the Tony award has a positive impact on demand, individuals like Musicals more than Plays, and Hollywood actors draw bigger crowds. Obtaining consistent estimates of the demand for Broadway shows opens several avenues for future work in this topic such as market concentration and competition among firms and survival analysis for plays.

Towards Achieving Clean Water Goals: An Evaluation of California's Mandatory Minimum Penalty Enforcement Program

Vasquez, Victor Rigor University of California, Los Angeles 2014 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

An effective environmental regulatory policy requires an effective monitoring and enforcement strategy implemented by the regulatory agency. To achieve effective deterrence to prevent or reduce violations of environmental regulations, enforcement actions must have severity, and violation costs must be greater than the economic benefits realized by violators. Effective deterrence also requires certainty that violations will be detected and sanctioned and that enforcement actions will be taken swiftly. Environmental monetary penalties may take into consideration factors such as the degree of environmental damage, frequency of violations, and the culpability of the violator. Mandatory minimum penalties (MMPs) are a form of monetary penalties that require regulatory agencies to issue a set fixed dollar amount per violation, often through expedited administrative procedures; thus increasing certainty and celerity of enforcement actions but at the same time removing discretion from regulatory agencies to tailor the penalty amount to the violation. In California starting in 2000, an MMP of $3,000 has been issued to violating facilities for each violation of effluent limitations contained in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued pursuant to the 1972 US Clean Water Act. Three investigations were conducted to evaluate California's MMP enforcement program to quantitatively estimate its impact on the number of NPDES effluent limitation violations and on improvements in water quality. Data from the 2000-2011 NPDES and MMP enforcement program record were analyzed using linear regression models. Results suggest that the MMP enforcement program has resulted in modest decreases in the number of violations across the state and in measurable improvements in effluent quality discharged to San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; however improvements in receiving water quality may not be observable due to other pollution inputs and fate and transport processes. The results suggest that mandatory penalties are effective in promoting compliance and achieving reductions in pollution and that the effects are due to both facility-specific effects as well as enhancement of the regulatory agency's enforcement reputation. However, because violations continue despite the MMP enforcement program, the results may also suggest that the MMP enforcement program could be optimized to achieve larger effects.

Chemical Approaches to Investigate Quorum Sensing in the Staphylococci

Vasquez, Joseph K ProQuest Dissertations & Theses The University of 2019 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

The current understanding of bacterial cell-cell communication is being reshaped and redefined by chemical biology research. One example of bacterial communication is quorum sensing (QS), which is mediated by small chemical signals and allows bacteria to alter the expression of genes to match the environmental needs. QS has been identified as a crucial mechanism of population density assessment in many common pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus. The Staphylococci use a QS system called the accessory gene regulator (agr) to control numerous genes that are often associated with infections. Inhibition of agr represents one strategy to block virulence by the Staphylococci, and this approach has become a focus of numerous research laboratories, including our own. In this dissertation, different chemical methods were used to expand the current understanding of the agr system in S. aureus and S. epidermidis. Both species are responsible for high numbers of serious infections and represent a significant burden on our healthcare system. S. aureus and S. epidermidis use macrocyclic autoinducing peptide (AIP) signals for QS. We demonstrate herein that the important binding epitope of a S. aureus AIP can be mimicked using peptidomimetics that have simpler structures than the full-length AIP. Systematic exploration of the AIP mimetic chemical space led to the development of peptidomimetics that have potencies and efficacies comparable to lead peptide-derived agr antagonists.In S. epidermidis, the function of AIP and agr are less well characterized than in S. aureus. To improve the understanding of S. epidermidis agr signaling, solution-phase NMR was used to characterize the three-dimensional structure of native AIPs and recently reported AIP mimics. A macrocycle based on a β-turn was found to improve AIP recognition by its cognate protein receptor, and a simple hydrophobic group was identified as crucial for receptor agonism in S. epidermidis. Modulation of agr in S. epidermidis may allow for the control of biofilm formation and production of phenol-soluble modulins, an important virulence factor. The structural information garnered herein will guide the development of new compounds capable of intercepting agr in S. epidermidis.

Shaping Strategy: An Institutional Analysis of Decision Making in the Middle Tier

Vasquez, Alejandro ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Boston College 2017 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

The intent of this single-case study was to explore the effects of a competitive environment on organizational decision making. The study examines the decision making processes that resulted in the adoption of an undergraduate business major at a traditional, middle-tier Liberal Arts College and offers an analysis of academic leaders' perspectives on institutional identity, environmental pressures, strategic decision making and organizational change. This qualitative study uses Institutional theory to examine organizational behavior in competitive environments. Analysis of interviews and institutional data revealed four important findings. 1. The external environment defined the organizational reality and significantly influenced and shaped behavior and decision making; 2. A unique organizational culture and identity moved the organization to rely on rules and routines which reflected historic institutional values; 3. Responses to uncertainty produced an organizational adaptation that reflected a decoupling of one subunit which represented a new institutional strength, and 4. The environment exerted isomorphic pressure on the College to adopt a change that was incongruent with its historic values. The implications of the study include identifying the pressing need for new revenue streams that strengthen the financial model for tuition-dependent liberal arts colleges while preserving the values of a liberal education. Also, organizations should find ways to extend and share leadership in order to facilitate necessary organizational learning and time-bound responses to organizational threats.

Modeling peer influence and peer selection as processes

Vasquez, Bob Edward State University of New York at Albany 2009 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Behavioral scientists are aware of the strong and persistent correlation between peer and individual behavior. Evidence suggests selection and socialization effects explain the correlation, but the processes, or the details of the ways in which these effects operate in an empirical model, remain relatively unexamined. This dissertation uses data from waves 3-5 of the National Youth Survey and waves 4-6 of the Rochester Youth Development Study, and finds that the strength of peer influence depends on the bond to peers. The effect of peers increases with the intensity of the bonds to peers. Like any causal mechanism, the effect of peers fades over time, and detecting details of a lagged process becomes difficult. The effect of previous peer associations does not always depend on the bond to peers, and even an additive effect is not always demonstrated. However, the current effect of peers is consistently demonstrated, and evidence for the peer-bond dependency hypothesis, which is consistent with a peer influencing process, is produced. Selection effects, or the notion that delinquent peer associations are a function of delinquency, are also substantiated. However, evidence for empirical complexities consistent with a delinquent peer selection process, such as whether the effect of delinquency on associating with delinquents varies with previous delinquent peer associations, is rather limited and ultimately additive in nature. Since conclusions vary depending on the estimation strategy, especially when concerning statistical interactions and censored outcomes, the dissertation discusses the limitations of usual methods including Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Tobit regression. Censored least absolute deviations (CLAD) models provide an alternative, but results from logistic regression models are emphasized.