Lost in Transition? The returns to education acquired under communism 15 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall

Using data for 23 economies in Eastern and Western Europe, we find evidence that having studied under communism is relatively penalized in the economies of the late 2000s. This evidence, however, is limited to males and to primary and secondary education, and holds for eight CEE economies but not for the East Germans who have studied in the former German Democratic Republic. We also find that post-secondary education acquired under communism yields higher, not lower, payoffs than similar education in Western Europe.

Lost in Transition? The Returns to Education Acquired under Communism 15 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Using data for 22 economies in Eastern and Western Europe, we find evidence that having studied under communism is relatively penalized in the economies of the late 2000s. This evidence, however, is limited to males and to primary and secondary education, and holds for eight CEE economies but not for the East Germans who have studied in the former German Democratic Republic. We also find that post-secondary education acquired under communism yields higher, not lower, payoffs than similar education in Western Europe.returns to education, Eastern Europe

Lost in transition? The returns to education acquired under communism 15 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall

Using data for 22 economies in Eastern and Western Europe, we find evidence that having studied under communism is relatively penalized in the economies of the late 2000s. This evidence, however, is limited to males and to primary and secondary education, and holds for eight CEE economies but not for the East Germans who have studied in the former German Democratic Republic. We also find that post-secondary education acquired under communism yields higher, not lower, payoffs than similar education in Western Europe

Mental health and education decisions

Mental health problems - and depression in particular - have been rising internationally. The link between poor mental health and poor educational outcomes is particularly interesting in the case of the UK which has a low international ranking both on measures of child wellbeing and the probability of early drop-out from the labour market and education. We study this issue using a large longitudinal study of a recent cohort of teenagers in England. We use the General Health Questionnaire to derive measures of poor mental health. We find a large negative association between mental health problems and educational outcomes - where we consider examination results before leaving compulsory education and the probability of being not in education, employment or training at a young age. The association is large even after including a very rich set of controls. Results are stronger for girls and also vary according to the different components of the mental health measure. We also explore the potential role of intermediary mechanisms (truancy and risky behaviors)

Virtual reality navigation system for prostate biopsy

Prostate cancer is the most common non-cutaneous cancer in America. Tumor detection involves non-invasive screening tests, but positive results must be confirmed by a prostate biopsy. About twelve random samples are obtained during the biopsy, which is a systematic procedure traditionally performed with trans-rectal ultrasound (TRUS) guidance to determine prostate location. Recently, methods of fusion between TRUS and preoperative MRI have been introduced in order to perform targeted biopsies aimed to reduce the number of samples to few suspicious areas. Since the TRUS displaces the prostate during the procedure, the preoperative MRI does not match patient anatomy. Therefore, complex MRI deformation algorithms are needed. However, despite the substantial increase in complexity and cost, there is no strong evidence that the TRUS-MRI fusion actually improves accuracy and surgical outcomes. This paper presents an innovative virtual reality surgical navigation system for performing targeted prostate biopsies, without the need of the uncomfortable TRUS. Both biopsy needle and patient anatomy are constantly tracked by an electromagnetic tracking system that provides their 3D position and orientation with respect to the surgical bed. Multiple fiducial markers are placed on the patient skin (at the iliac crest and pubic bone) during MRI scanning. Once in the operative room, the surgeon is presented a stereoscopic 3D volumetric rendering and multiple orthogonal views of the patient anatomy, as well as a virtual representation of the tracked needle. After a simple registration process between the MRI and the tracker coordinate system, the navigation system guides the needle insertion in the patient perineum through several anatomical layers towards the biopsy targets

An evaluation of the impact of RDI State aid in Slovenia on firms' performance

Following a request from the Slovenian Ministry of Finance (MoF) for technical support to improve its capacity to assess the effectiveness of State interventions, the European Commission Joint Research Centre, unit S.3 Competence Centre on Microceconomic Evaluation, offered its technical expertise. This report is the results of Activity 2 of the project, namely the counterfactual impact evaluation of three State aid measures aimed at promoting technological development and innovation. The report first presents the main characteristics of the Slovenian economy and of the State aid schemes that have been evaluated. Then, available data and the construction of the final dataset for the analysis are presented and the methodology employed for the evaluation, which relies on a treatment and control group framework implemented through matching and difference-in-differences analysis, is discussed. Finally, the results are presented and discussed. The findings are consistent with previous studies that have shown the positive impact of state aid policies on firms' competitiveness. However, our analysis provides more nuanced insights into the mechanisms of the effect and the differential impact of the policy on firms of different sizes and sectors.JRC.S.3 - Science for Modelling, Monitoring and Evaluatio

Guidance note for the impact evaluation of State aid for R&D in Slovenia

Following a request from the Slovenian Ministry of Finance (MoF) for technical support to improve its capacity to assess the effectiveness of State interventions, the European Commission Joint Research Centre, unit S.3 Competence Centre on Microeconomic Evaluation, offered its support. This report is the result of part of Activity 3 of the project, namely the production of a `guidance note to support future evaluations’. This guidance document provides an overview of the necessary steps for carrying out the impact evaluation of R&D grants and describes several counterfactual methods fit for the job.JRC.S.3 - Science for Modelling, Monitoring and Evaluatio

Study on the effectiveness of COVID-Aid on firms

The study investigates the impact of COVID-related State aid measures (COVID-aid) on firms’ performance in selected EU countries, distinguishing among different categories of (pre-crisis) firm size, economic sector, and type of financial instrument received. The current analysis covers three countries with available National State Aid Registries, namely Italy, Poland, and Spain, which enable precise identification of the beneficiaries of various forms of State aid. It focuses on turnover and probability of default as outcomes and considers companies that received only COVID-aid as beneficiaries, excluding all firms that received any other type of State aid. The methodology relies on a difference-in-differences approach combined with matching techniques. The impact of the aid is estimated as the difference in the outcome between the treated and control groups before and after the treatment. Given that firms may differ in several observed characteristics that might, in turn, affect their probability of receiving aid, Propensity Score Matching is also applied to account for this selection-based endogeneity. Overall, the results indicate that the COVID State aid on average led to statistically significant increases in turnover, therefore helping firms to remain active despite the slack caused by the COVID crisis. Yet, the aid slightly increased the probability of default.JRC.S.3 - Science for Modelling, Monitoring and Evaluatio

Guidebook for conducting counterfactual impact evaluations of State aid schemes for research, development and innovation

This guidebook describes why quantitative counterfactual impact evaluations (CIE) of research, development and innovation (RDI) State aid policy schemes should be carried out, and how such CIE studies can be implemented. It discusses the motivation for governmental intervention in the market for RDI. For instance, why positive external effects are associated with RDI activities and how financial constraints for RDI arise. The guidebook then explains why impact evaluations of policy interventions are important and presents econometric methods that may be applied in CIE studies. Examples are matching methods, difference-in-difference regressions and regression discontinuity designs, among others. Some existing good practice examples of CIE studies are presented after the description of each econometric method. The guidebook also discusses data requirements for CIE studies, and suggests potential data sources that could be used in the area of RDI, such as firm-level innovation and Research & Development databases, as well as patent and trademark data. It also describes how the design of schemes may be used to identify policy effects. It concludes with suggestions on how to prepare CIEs.JRC.S.3 - Science for Modelling, Monitoring and Evaluatio

Energy State aid: A Toolbox on Counterfactual Impact Evaluation

This document aims to provide a Toolbox for the use of Counterfactual Impact Evaluation (CIE) methods in the case of energy State aid interventions. In particular, it seeks to assist Member State (MS) policy officers when devising an evaluation plan to be submitted to the European Commission for adoption and also for writing the Terms of Reference for the tendering of evaluation reports.JRC.I.1 - Monitoring, Indicators & Impact Evaluatio