Inflation dynamics and New Keynesian Phillips Curve in Australia

The New Keynesian Phillips Curve (NKPC) is a standard model in the analysis of inflation dynamics. For the Australian economy, this study establishes the empirical evidence that the NKPC can explain the process of inflation dynamics and the price-setting mechanism. The trade shocks, such as the real exchange rate and the terms of trade, play an important role in inflation dynamics.

The new Keynesian Phillips curve: an update on recent empirical advances

This paper presents a comprehensive review of the newly emerging literature on the New Keynesian Phillips Curve (NKPC). The theoretical predictions, econometric estimation techniques as well as the corresponding empirical evidence are discussed focusing on both the closed economy and the open economy versions of the NKPC. A number of important findings are reported about the ability of NKPC to explain the process of inflation dynamics. First, there is weak support for the open economy version of the NKPC to be able to track inflation dynamics if imported inputs are used in the production process. Second, the NKPC describes inflation dynamics across sectors if microeconomic and sectoral level data are used. Further, the survey data employed as a proxy for inflation measure in the newer studies provide enhanced support to the closed economy NKPC with the sign, size and statistical significance of coefficients in line with the theoretical predictions. We provide fresh empirical evidence to check the first finding from the review. The deep structural parameters for four different versions of the NKPC, the pure forward looking NKPC, the Gali and Monacelli's (2005) NKPC, the open economy NKPC and the open economy hybrid NKPC, are estimated for Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. These estimated coefficients show some support that the specifications of open economy NKPC, which incorporate prices of imported goods as opposed to the terms of trade and real exchange rate, seems to be a better, however, weak indicator of the inflation dynamics. These findings may have important policy implications.

The new Keynesian Phillips curve in a small open economy: empirical evidence from Australia

This study estimates the new Keynesian Phillips curve (NKPC) ofGali and Monacelli for a small open economy using Australian data.Our detailed investigation hinges on estimating the structuralparameters in five different variants of the Gali–Monacelli NKPC,which relates the inflation process to terms of trade and the realexchange rate; the marginal cost and output gap as proxies for realeconomic activity and the hybrid version incorporating bothforward- and backward-looking inflation expectations. The analysisand extensive robustness checks overwhelmingly establish that theGali–Monacelli NKPC cannot explain the dynamics of inflation andis rejected by the Australian data.

Conversion of the hot torsion test results into flow curve with multiple regimes of hardening

The method of Fields and Backofen has been commonly used to reduce the data obtained by hot torsion test into flow curves. The method, however, is most suitable for materials with monotonic strain hardening behaviour. Other methods such as Stüwe’s method, tubular specimens, differential testing and the inverse method, each suffer from similar drawbacks. It is shown in the current work that for materials with multiple regimes of hardening any method based on an assumption of constant hardening indices introduces some errors into the flow curve obtained from the hot torsion test. Therefore such methods do not enable accurate prediction of onset of recrystallisation where slow softening occurs. A new method to convert results from the hot torsion test into flow curves by taking into account the variation of constitutive parameters during deformation is presented. The method represents the torque twist data by a parametric linear least square model in which Euler and hyperbolic coefficients are used as the parameters. A closed form relationship obtained from the mathematical representation of the data is employed next for flow stress determination. Two different solution strategies, the method of normal equations and singular value decomposition, were used for parametric modelling of the data with hyperbolic basis functions. The performance of both methods is compared. Experimental data obtained by FHTTM, a flexible hot torsion test machine developed at IROST, for a C–Mn austenitic steel was used to demonstrate the method. The results were compared with those obtained using constant strain and strain rate hardening characteristics.

Determination of plastic yield stress from spherical indentation slope curve

The indentation slope curve from a spherical indentation on elastic-plastic materials is examined. By comparing it with that of an linear elastic material of the same elastic properties, we found that the start point of plastic yielding for an elastic-plastic material can be easily located from the indentation slope curve. Based on this analysis, a simple but effective method is proposed to measure the plastic yield stress of very small samples from a spherical nano-indentation slope curve.

New Zealand’s trade balance : evidence of the J-curve and granger causality

This article tests for the existence of any cointegration relationship between trade balance and real effective exchange rate (REER), foreign income and domestic income for New Zealand during the period 1970-2000. It also examines the direction of the casual relationship between the above variables, and applies the impulse response analysis to determine whether shocks to the REER induce the trade balance to follow a J-curve pattern. The results indicate that there is no cointegration relationship between the above variables; there is a casual connection in both directions between trade balance and foreign income; and New Zealand's trade balance exhibits a J-curve pattern when there is a depreciation of the New Zealand dollar.

The J-curve : evidence from Fiji

This article provides new evidence on both long run and short-run determinants of trade balance for Fiji and investigates evidence of J-curve adjustment behaviour in the aftermath of a devaluation. We adopt a partial reduced form model that models the real trade balance directly as a function of the real exchange rate and real domestic and foreign incomes. Cointegration analysis is based on a recently developed autoregressive distributed lag approach—shown to provide robust results in finite samples. The long run elasticities are also estimated using a dynamic ordinary least squares approach and the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FM-OLS) approach. Amongst our key results we find that there is a long-run relationship between trade balance and its determinants. There is evidence of the J-curve pattern; growth in domestic income affects Fiji's trade balance adversely while foreign income improves it.

Diagnosis of {alpha}+-thalassemias by determining the ratio of the two {alpha}-globin gene copies by oligonucleotide hybridization and melting curve analysis

Most cases of {alpha}-thalassemia result from large deletions at the {alpha}-globin locus (1). The {alpha}-globin gene cluster contains a tandem array of 2 nearly identical {alpha}-globin genes (HBA; Fig. 1A ) (2). The {alpha}0-thalassemias are characterized by deletions that inactivate both {alpha}-globin genes of a given chromosome, whereas in {alpha}+-thalassemias, one gene remains functional. The most widespread {alpha}+-thalassemias are those designated –{alpha}3.7 and –{alpha}4.2, according to the lengths of the deleted fragments (3).

SAS macros for point and interval estimation of area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for non-proportional and proportional hazards Weibull models

Aims and objectives  For prediction of risk of cardiovascular end points using survival models the proportional hazards assumption is often not met. Thus, non-proportional hazards models are more appropriate for developing risk prediction equations in such situations. However, computer program for evaluating the prediction performance of such models has been rarely addressed. We therefore developed SAS macro programs for evaluating the discriminative ability of a non-proportional hazards Weibull model developed by Anderson (1991) and that of a proportional hazards Weibull model using the area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.

Method  Two SAS macro programs for non-proportional hazards Weibull model using Proc NLIN and Proc NLP respectively and model validation using area under ROC curve (with its confidence limits) were written with SAS IML language. A similar SAS macro for proportional hazards Weibull model was also written.

Results  The computer program was applied to data on coronary heart disease incidence for a Framingham population cohort. The five risk factors considered were current smoking, age, blood pressure, cholesterol and obesity. The predictive ability of the non-proportional hazard Weibull model was slightly higher than that of its proportional hazard counterpart. An advantage of SAS Proc NLP in terms of the example provided here is that it provides significance level for the parameter estimates whereas Proc NLIN does not.

Conclusion  The program is very useful for evaluating the predictive performance of non-proportional and proportional hazards Weibull models.

Internationalisation of vocational education and training: an adapting curve for teachers and learners

Competency-based training and training packages are mandatory for Australian vocational education and training (VET). VET qualifications are designed to provide learners with skills, knowledge, and attributes required for Australian workplaces. Yet, toward the end of December 2011, there were 171,237 international student enrolments in the Australian vocational education sector.

VET currently ranks second behind the university sector by volume of international student enrolments in Australia. The flow of international students into Australian vocational education, their diverse learning characteristics, and their different acquired values have created new challenges as well as possibilities for teachers to transform their pedagogic practices and contribute to reshaping the pedagogy landscape in vocational education.

Drawing on interviews with 50 teachers from VET institutes in three states of Australia, this article discusses the emergence of international vocational education pedagogy that enables international students and indeed all learners to develop necessary skills, knowledge, and attributes in response to the new demands of the changing workplace context and global skills and knowledge mobility.

This article addresses a number of important issues concerning the interrelationship of international pedagogy and learner-centered education, notions of productive and inclusive pedagogies, transnational skills mobility, cultural diversity, and internationalization within the context of the Australian VET sector. Finally, the significance of these issues to educational providers and teachers across different educational levels and national contexts is discussed.