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Language barriers and translation costs are persistent obstacles to communication and have particularly pronounced economic impacts in technical domains. Here we provide causal evidence on the effects of language barriers on the speed and extent of knowledge diffusion by exploiting a change in US patent policy that resulted in earlier disclosure of English-language technical knowledge from Japan. Using a targeted sample of 2,770 citations from US-based inventors to Japanese inventions, we find that language barriers accounted for almost half the diffusion lag of Japan-originating knowledge to US-based inventors, relative to Japan-based inventors. This acceleration is significant only for firms with limited ability to translate (small research and development scale, or little involvement in the Japanese market) and is more pronounced for the diffusion of high-quality inventions, suggesting difficulties in quality-targeted translation. Thus, early publication of patent applications provides a substantial public good for cumulative innovation through accelerated access to translated foreign patents.
Material hardship experiences during childhood have been shown to negatively impact development. Existing longitudinal research points to variability in hardship across childhood but less is known about how persistence and age-graded hardship experiences are associated with early adolescent outcomes. To examine such associations, we used data from the Growing Up in New Zealand study, a prospective birth cohort of 6,853 children recruited antenatally and followed up regularly with their families from pregnancy. To investigate longitudinal experiences of material hardship, we applied social sequence analysis to measures assessed at five time points: 9-months, 2-years, 4.5-years, 8-years, and 12-years. We identified four distinct groups:‘no material hardship’, ‘early hardship’, ‘increasing hardship’, and ‘persistent hardship’. To examine associations between hardship groups and internalizing and externalizing symptoms at age 12, multivariable regression models were used for those with available outcome data (n = 4,431). Compared to the reference group of ‘no material hardship’, all groups exposed to material hardship were associated with increased internalizing and externalizing symptoms. In the fully adjusted models, experiencing ‘persistent hardship’ was most strongly associated with higher internalizing symptoms (B = 1.28, SE = 0.21), whereas ‘increasing hardship’ was most strongly associated with higher externalizing symptoms (B = 0.98, SE = 0.15). The findings provide support for policies that both disrupt persistent hardship and prevent families from falling into hardship to begin with.
ABSTRACT Exotic, invasive conifer tree species, known as ‘wilding conifers’, pose a significant threat to natural ecosystems and are costly to manage, creating a need to identify community preferences in order to inform and balance public investment in their control. Currently, approximately 7% of New Zealand's total land area is covered by invasive wilding conifers, and the rate of spread is approximately 5% per year. This study analysed the preferences of the New Zealand population regarding the control of wilding conifers in indigenous ecosystems using a choice experiment. The results, obtained through a mixed logistic model in willingness‐to‐pay space, showed that the public places significant value on controlling the spread of wilding conifers. Preferences for control displayed distance decay and diminishing marginal utility. The study also examined the spatial heterogeneity of preferences in terms of distance decay and the spatial dimension of scope. Finally, the study estimated the value of controlling the spread of wilding conifers nationally, which was found to be about NZ$147 million annually, and broadly consistent with the economic damage caused by other major invasive weeds in New Zealand. These findings confirm the importance of spatial factors in explaining preferences for the control of invasive trees and demonstrate how policymakers can use the estimated values to measure the benefits of different control options.
We evaluate temperature, humidity, electricity use and subjective wellbeing impacts of installing heat pumps through New Zealand's Warmer Kiwi Homes programme. The government-funded programme included provision of heat pumps in already insulated houses that lack efficient heating. Staggered installation enables difference-in-difference estimates of impacts of heat pump installation on living area temperatures and relative humidity, and on household electricity use. Surveys conducted before and after installation provide demographic and housing information plus measures of occupants' wellbeing. Living areas of treated houses experience increases in temperature which are most pronounced around breakfast and evening times, and when outdoor temperatures are low. Houses also experience reductions in relative humidity. Winter electricity use falls in houses that have a heat pump fitted, with electricity savings peaking in the evening. Heat pump installation reduces perceptions of living in a cold house and improves aspects of residents' mental wellbeing during winter.
