The Value of a Coordination Game

The value of a game is the payoff a player can expect (ex ante) from playing the game. Understanding how the value changes with economic primitives is critical for policy design and welfare. However, for games with multiple equilibria, the value is difficult to determine. We therefore develop a new theory of the value of coordination games. The theory delivers testable comparative statics on the value and delivers novel insights relevant to policy design. For example, policies that shift behavior in the desired direction can make everyone worse off, and policies that increase everyone's payoffs can reduce welfare.

Electrochemical Properties of Natural Sensitizer from Garcinia mangostana and Archidendron pauciflorum Pericarps for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) Application

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) create imitation photosynthesis by using chemical reactions to produce electricity from sunlight. DSSC has been pursued in numerous studies due to its capability to achieve efficiencies of up to 15% with artificial photosensitizer in diffuse light. However, artificial photosensitizers present a limitation because of the complex processing of metal compound. Therefore, various types of sensitizers were developed and synthesized to surpass the artificial sensitizer performances such as natural sensitizers from bio-based materials including plants, due to simple processing techniques and low environmental impact. Thus, this study examines the potential and properties of natural sensitizers from the waste of bio-based materials from Garcinia mangostana (mangosteen fruit) and Archidendron pauciflorum (jering fruit). Both fruits pericarps have dark color pigments as dark purple and dark brown, respectively, which promise a good absorption and has potential to be used as sensitizer for DSSC. Each pericarps dye extracted using cold extraction method in methanol solvent. Electrochemical properties and photovoltaic properties of the natural photosensitizers were studied. The highest peaks of photoluminescence spectra of mangosteen and jering sensitizers were at 490 and 670 nm, respectively, due to their different types of dye pigment extracted. We also obtained the absorption spectra for both mangosteen and jering sensitizers at 380-500 and 400-600 nm, respectively, in blue shift behavior. The redox reaction was also studied using cyclic voltammetry and identify their energy levels. The DSSC device with mangosteen sensitizer achieved an efficiency of 0.38% with 35.43% (IPCE at 337 nm) and 37.75 Ω (Rs), whereas that with jering sensitizer has efficiency of 0.07% with 25.31% (IPCE at 337 nm) and 490.70 Ω (Rs). Performance studies for both photosensitizers were weak due to their HOMO-LUMO levels, but the results show that both natural dyes can be potentially applied as photosensitizer in DSSC.

Concentration Quantification of Oil Samples by Three-Dimensional Concentration-Emission Matrix (CEM) Spectroscopy

Developing fast and accurate fluorescence detection technology of oil spill is significant for quantitative analysis in unexpected oil spill events. As the oil sample concentration increases, the fluorescence spectrum produces red-shift behavior, which seriously affects the quantitative detection of concentration. In this work, a three-dimensional concentration-emission matrix (CEM) was constructed by using a series of emission spectra with different levels of concentration at the excitation wavelength of 266 nm. The database is the interpolated CEM of six samples using bicubic interpolation in the concentration dimension. With matrix similarity matching, the database was used to achieve quantification of the concentration of oil samples. The recovery rates of prediction for test samples and weathering samples of six oil samples were between 86.8% and 116.11%, with relative errors of predictions ranging from 2.09% to 15.2%. The results show that this method can provide accurate quantitative determination of the concentration of different oil samples.

TESTING A FRAMEWORK FOR INDUSTRY 4.0 DIGITAL DISRUPTION-A STUDY IN MALAYSIAN SMES

Industry 4.0 has become a buzzword among the global industry and it is an amazing melting pot of disruptive technologies and is referred to as production-based industries digitalization transformation, driven by connected technologies. Malaysia is still ranging between industry 2.0 and 3.0 and unable to enter into the era of digital innovation whereas the neighboring countries are building bridges to connect to the era of Industry 4.0. The eleventh plan of Malaysia represents a crucial platform for Malaysian SMEs to create the essential strategy relocation and this research integrates Industry 4.0 and sustainability addressing the thrust area of digital Malaysia to shift behavior from being consumption- to production-centric using digital technologies. Due to the lack of an integration model of 4.0 and environmental sustainability, the actual advantages are not recognized by SMEs and the purpose of this research will help to come up with a national policy/framework on Industry 4.0.

Analyzing Oil Price Shocks and Exchange Rates Movements in Korea using Markov Regime-Switching Models

Korea imports all of its crude oil, and is the world's fifth largest oil importing country. We analyze the effects of oil prices, interest rates, consumer price indexes (CPIs), and industrial production indexes (IPIs) on the regime shift behavior of the Korean exchange rates against the USA from January 1991 to March 2019. We use the Markov regime switching model (MRSM) to detect the regime shift behavior of the movements of Korean exchange rates. In order to select the optimal MRSM, we fit a total of 30 models considering four explanatory variables. The selected model based on Akaike information criteria (AIC) and maximum log likelihood (MLL) includes the log-differentials of oil prices, the log-differentials of CPIs compared to those of the US, and its own auto-regressive terms. Based on the selected MRSM model, throughout all markets, we find evidence to support the existence of two distinct regimes: a stable regime with low-volatility, and an unstable regime with high-volatility. The regime with high-volatility includes the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and the global financial crisis of 2008–2009 in the Korean exchange rates market. In the regime with low-volatility, the Korean exchange rates are not significantly influenced by any of the explanatory variables, except for its own auto-regressive terms. In the regime with high-volatility, the Korean exchange rates are significantly influenced by the CPIs and oil prices. The transition probability from the regime with low-volatility to the regime with high-volatility is about ten times that of the opposite case.