Civil wars and economic growth: A regional comparison

The paper examines the impact of civil wars on income per-capita growth at home and in neighbors for four regional groupings of countries: Africa, Asia, Latin America, and a pooled Asian and Latin American sample. Both macroeconomic and civil-war influences on growth differ by region. With the use of a distance measure, we demonstrate that the spatial reach from the negative consequences of a civil war are region and time period specific. Generally, there was less dispersion in Africa than in Asia and Latin America. Moreover, Africa demonstrates a greater ability to recover from the adverse effects of civil wars than the other regions tested.     

Transportation type problems with quantity discounts

It is known to be real that the per unit transportation cost from a specific supply source to a given demand sink is dependent on the quantity shipped, so that there exist finite intervals for quantities where price breaks are offered to customers. Thus, such a quantity discount results in a nonconvex, piecewise linear functional. In this paper, an algorithm is provided to solve this problem. This algorithm, with minor modifications, is shown to encompass the “incremental” quantity discount and the “fixed charge” transportation problems as well. It is based upon a branch-and-bound solution procedure. The branches lead to ordinary transportation problems, the results of which are obtained by utilizing the “cost operator” for one branch and “rim operator” for another branch. Suitable illustrations and extensions are also provided.     

Some pros and cons of MIL-STD-414

MIL-STD-414 has been in existence in its original form since 1957. Obviously, there are some things that are right about 414. But there are some changes to the standard that are long overdue. This article presents some pros and cons of 414 and a recommendation that it be replaced by a MIL-STD-414A. Two concerns regarding ANSI/ASQC Z1.9 are discussed.     

Inventory models of future supply uncertainty with single and multiple suppliers

We consider order-quantity/reorder-point inventory models where the availability of supply is subject to random fluctuations. We use concepts from renewal reward processes to develop average cost objective function models for single, two, and multiple suppliers. Identifying the regenerative cycle for each problem aids the development of the cost function. In the case of two suppliers, spectral theory is used to derive explicit expressions for the transient probabilities of a four-state continuous-time Markov chain representing the status of the system. These probabilities are used to compute the exact form of the average cost expression. For the multiple-supplier problem, assuming that all the suppliers have similar availability characteristics, we develop a simple model and show that as the number of suppliers becomes large, the model reduces to the classical EOQ model. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Arms trade,arms control,and security: Collective action issues

This article puts forth collection action as a unifying theme for the conference essays on arms trade, control, and production. For each of these topics, collective action failures are related to group size and group composition considerations. Other issues are also examined including the manner in which individual contributions determine the overall level of the associated collective good ‐ the so‐called aggregation technology of public supply. Based on alternative aggregation technologies, the game‐theoretic underpinnings of these arms issues are explored.     

Japan's plutonium policy: Consequences for nonproliferation

ABSTRACT

What do we mean by nuclear proliferation? What does it mean to proliferate? This article investigates both the literal and figurative meaning of the term “proliferation.” It argues that many of the definitions and conceptualizations of nuclear proliferation often used by scholars are either limited in their utility or logically inconsistent. It then reconceptualizes and redefines the term, incorporating an understanding of both its etymological origins and the geopolitical context in which the phenomenon occurs. It concludes by exploring the potential impact that the politicization of the phenomenon may have on the identification of occurrences of proliferation, from both an academic and a policy-making perspective.