Income Migration and Income Convergence across U.S. States, 1995–2010

In this paper we examine how internal migration redistributes earned income across U.S. states between 1995 and 2010. We examine interregional income flows by first describing the movement of earned income between U.S. states. Second, we examine the effect of income migration on spatial patterns of income inequality. The question we ask is, “does migration increase or decrease convergence income across U.S. States?” A primary contribution of this paper is that instead of using only 1 year of income migration data to explore these issues, we use yearly data from the first year the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data started including income (1995/1996) up to the most current data available (2009/2010). Results indicate that income convergence/divergence across states varies by whether or not there is general economic expansion or contraction. Nevertheless, some high‐amenity states continually attract high‐income households.     

Deployment of cold tolerance loci from Oryza sativa ssp. Japonica cv. ‘Nipponbare’ in a high‐yielding Indica rice cultivar ‘93‐11’

Cold tolerance is a complex trait, and QTL pyramiding is required for rice breeding. In this study, a total of seven QTLs for cold tolerance in the Japonica rice variety ‘Nipponbare’ were identified in an F_2:3 population. A stably inherited major QTL, called qCTS11, was detected in the region adjacent to the centromere of chromosome 11. In a near‐isogenic line population, the QTL was further dissected into two linked loci, qCTS11.1 and qCTS11.2. Both of the homozygous alleles of qCTS11.1 and qCTS11.2 from ‘Nipponbare’ showed major positive effects on cold tolerance. Through pyramiding the linked QTLs in the cold‐sensitive Indica rice cultivar ‘93‐11’, we have developed a new elite, high‐yielding Indica variety with cold tolerance.     

Cloning,characterization and overexpression of a 14‐3‐3 ω protein from oil palm (Elaeis guineensis)

Plant 14‐3‐3 proteins are involved in signal transduction pathways of nitrogen and carbohydrate metabolism. An Eg14‐3‐3 ω gene was isolated from the mesocarp of oil palm. The 1055‐bp cDNA had an open reading frame of 774 bp that encoded for 258 amino acids, and the cDNA had 113‐bp and 195‐bp 5′‐ and 3′‐untranslated regions, respectively. The calculated molecular weight was 28.06 kDa, with a pI of 5.04. The palm 14‐3‐3 showed closest identity to 14‐3‐3 proteins of the omega group. The entire sequence of Eg14‐3‐3 ω showed 83% identity with 14‐3‐3 protein isoform 16R from Solanum tuberosum. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Eg14‐3‐3 isoform was within the omega (ω) subgroup and, thus, was designated Eg14‐3‐3 ω. The Eg14‐3‐3 ω expression patterns were strong in the mesocarp as compared to the root. When Eg14‐3‐3 ω cDNA was overexpressed in transgenic calli, there was higher accumulation of oil in the transgenic calli than in the controls. Therefore, Eg14‐3‐3 ω has potential for applications in the breeding of oil palms in the future.     

Maquiladoras and U.S.‐Bound Migration in Central Mexico

Over the past one and a half decades, smaller cities and nonmetropolitan areas in Mexico have attracted manufacturing plants, led by the export manufacturing sector. Maquiladoras in particular are increasingly locating their plants in such places in the “deep interior” Mexico—outside of the border states. Using 1980 and 1990 Mexican census data for 19 growth centers and 27 high‐emigration municipios (counties) in Central Mexico, this paper suggests that foreign‐owned assembly (maquiladora) jobs decentralized significantly over the 1980s, locating closer to emigrant municipios. An examination of 17 emigrant municipios in the industrialized states of Jalisco and Guanajuato found that an emigrant municipio's accessibility to maquiladora jobs, and jobs indirectly related to maquiladora growth, was positively related to its overall employment growth, which was, in turn, negatively related to its U.S. migration rate over the decade. Although the migration reduction inherent in these relationships is relatively small, it could be accelerated by U.S. and Mexican policies giving incentives for more peripheral locations of export‐oriented and other manufacturing.