The relevance of import competition to merger assessment in Australia

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has been criticised for failing to take due account of the impact import competition has on domestic firms when assessing whether or not a proposed merger will be likely to substantially lessen competition. This article reviews the approach taken by the ACCC to import competition in its merger assessments. Consideration is given to both the policy adopted by the ACCC and the statistical relevance that has, in fact, been placed on import competition in merger assessment. A conclusion is then drawn as to the appropriateness of the ACCC's current policy and practice.

Import-associated translational inhibition: novel in vivo evidence for cotranslational protein import into dictyostelium discoideum mitochondria

To investigate protein import into the mitochondria of Dictyostelium discoideum, green fluorescent protein (GFP) was fused as a reporter protein either to variable lengths of the N-terminal region of chaperonin 60 (the first 23, 40, 80, 97, and 150 amino acids) or to the mitochondrial targeting sequence of DNA topoisomerase II. The fusion proteins were expressed in AX2 cells under the actin-15 promoter. Fluorescence images of GFP transformants confirmed that Dictyostelium chaperonin 60 is a mitochondrial protein. The level of the mitochondrially targeted GFP fusion proteins was unexpectedly much lower than the nontargeted (cytoplasmic) forms. The distinction between targeted and nontargeted protein activities was investigated at both the transcriptional and translational levels in vivo. We found that targeting GFP to the mitochondria results in reduced levels of the fusion protein even though transcription of the fusion gene and the stability of the protein are unaffected. [³⁵S]methionine labeling and GFP immunoprecipitation confirmed that mitochondrially targeted GFP is translated at much slower rates than nontargeted GFP. The results indicate a novel phenomenon, import-associated translational inhibition, whereby protein import into the mitochondria limits the rate of translation. The simplest explanation for this is that import of the GFP fusion proteins occurs cotranslationally, i.e., protein synthesis and import into mitochondria are coupled events. Consistent with cotranslational import, Northern analysis showed that the GFP mRNA is associated with isolated mitochondria. This association occurred regardless of whether the GFP was fused to a mitochondrial leader peptide. However, the presence of an import-competent leader peptide stabilized the mRNA-mitochondria association, rendering it more resistant to extensive EDTA washing. In contrast with GFP, the mRNA of another test protein, aequorin, did not associate with the mitochondria, and its translation was unaffected by import of the encoded polypeptide into the mitochondria.

An empirical analysis of Fiji’s import demand function

Purpose – This paper aims to estimate a disaggregated import demand model for Fiji using relative prices, total consumption, investment expenditure and export expenditure variables for the period 1970 to 2000.

Design/methodology/approach – The recently developed bounds testing approach to cointegration to test for a long run relationship is used, while the autoregressive distributed lag model is used to estimate short run and long run elasticities. These methodologies are shown to perform well in small sample sizes, particularly given that the bounds F-test critical values for small sample sizes generated by Narayan in 2004 and 2005 are used.

Findings – Amongst the key results it is found: a long run cointegration relationship among the variables when import demand is the dependent variable; and import demand to be inelastic and statistically significant at the 1 per cent level with respect to all the explanatory variables in both the long-run and the short-run.

Originality/value – The disaggregated import demand model estimated here provides a complete picture of the determinants of Fiji's imports. This model can be used by Fijian policy makers to draw pertinent policies and forecast import demand for Fiji.

Estimating import and export demand elasticities for Mauritius and South Africa

In this paper, we re-estimate the import and the export demand functions for Mauritius and South Africa using time series data. We use the bounds tests for cointegration and find evidence of a long-run relationship between import demand, income and prices for both countries. Our long run elasticities reveal that domestic income and relative prices have significant effects on the import demand for both countries, with income being the most important determinant. Furthermore, we find that while South Africa’s export demand is not responsive to relative prices or income; for Mauritius income is statistically significant.

Is economic development in the Pacific island countries export led or import led?

This article examines the export-led growth and import-led growth hypotheses for a panel of Pacific island countries—namely, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu—for the period 1982–2004. The modelling is performed using a panel unit root, panel co-integration and panel Granger causality approach. We find bi-directional Granger causality for the panel of Pacific island countries between exports and economic growth, imports and economic growth, and exports and imports. The results suggest that the poor growth performance of many Pacific island countries reflects their poor export performance; however, if the supply-side constraints on exports are removed, there could be a virtuous cycle between economic growth and exports.

Developments in the Japanese beef market following import liberalisation

Over the last several years there has been increasing pressure on most western industrialised countries to liberalise trade for food and agricultural products and yet the full implications of freer trade are not always well understood. This paper attempts to fill this gap by reviewing the developments in the Japanese beef market following import liberalisation. We conclude that the Japanese beef market has experienced major structural changes over a relatively short period as a result of liberalising beef imports. The most apparent impact has been on Japanese consumers who have benefited from lower retail beef prices and a greater variety of beef cuts to choose from. The types and quality of beef imported have also changed and consequently major suppliers have adapted their production systems and their products to the changing taste and preferences of Japanese consumers. Beef exporters to Japan, on the other hand, have experienced declining wholesale prices but have, nevertheless, benefited from the growing size of the market. Developments in the wider economy, such as changes in the retail distribution systems and the exchange rate have also influenced the beef sector.

The impact of trade liberalization on import demand

In this paper, we empirically analyze the effects of trade reforms on import demand and derive their implications on economic development in Turkey, a country that underwent sudden and substantial trade liberalization in the mid-1980s. The tool for this analysis is the estimation of disaggregated import demand elasticities. The adoption of a more liberal trade regime as well as radical attempts to foster economic development makes the Turkish experience particularly interesting for analysis. Almost all of our elasticities are estimated to be significant, unlike those of most previous studies in the literature on other countries. We test for different elasticities over “closed” and “open” economy periods, and find that the effects of the trade reforms of the 1980s were significant for a number of industries that form the backbone of the Turkish economy. We also compare our results with elasticity estimates from past studies for developed countries.

Import substitution and economic growth

In spite of Latin America s dismal economic performance between the 1950s and 1980s, the region experienced strong capital deepening. Furthermore, pro- ductivity (measured as TFP) grew at low rates in comparison with the U.S. In this paper, we suggest that all these facts can be explained as a consequence of the restrictive trade regime adopted at that time. Our analytical framework is based on a dynamic Heckscher-Ohlin model, with scale economies in the capital- intensive sector. We assume an economy that is initially open and specialized in the production of labor-intensive goods. The trade regime is modeled as a move to a closed economy. The model produces results consistent with the Latin American experience. Speci cally, for a su¢ ciently small country, there will be no long-run growth in income per capita, but capital per capita will increase. As a result, measured TFP will fall.

Structural basis of nuclear import of flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Biophysical Characterization of Interactions Involving Importin-α during Nuclear Import

Proteins containing the classical nuclear localization sequences (NLSs) are imported into the nucleus by the importin-α/β heterodimer. Importin-α contains the NLS binding site, whereas importin-β mediates the translocation through the nuclear pore. We characterized the interactions involving importin-α during nuclear import using a combination of biophysical techniques (biosensor, crystallography, sedimentation equilibrium, electrophoresis, and circular dichroism). Importin-α is shown to exist in a monomeric autoinhibited state (association with NLSs undetectable by biosensor). Association with importin-β (stoichiometry, 1:1; K D = 1.1 × 10 -8 M) increases the affinity for NLSs; the importin-α/β complex binds representative monopartite NLS (simian virus 40 large T-antigen) and bipartite NLS (nucleoplasmin) with affinities (K D = 3.5 × 10 -8 M and 4.8 × 10 -8 M, respectively) comparable with those of a truncated importin-α lacking the autoinhibitory domain (T-antigen NLS, K D = 1.7 × 10 -8 M; nucleoplasmin NLS, K D = 1.4 × 10 -8 M). The autoinhibitory domain (as a separate peptide) binds the truncated importin-α, and the crystal structure of the complex resembles the structure of full-length importin-α. Our results support the model of regulation of nuclear import mediated by the intrasteric autoregulatory sequence of importin-α and provide a quantitative description of the binding and regulatory steps during nuclear import.