One way to the top: How services boost the demand for goods. National Bank of Belgium Working Paper No. 340

In this paper, we take advantage of a uniquely detailed dataset on firm-level exports of both goods and services to show that demand complementarities between services and goods enable firms to boost their manufacturing exports by also providing services. The positive causal effect of services accounts for up to 25% of the manufacturing exports of bi-exporters (i.e. the firms that export both goods and services), and 12% of overall goods exports from Belgium. We find that by associating services with their goods, bi-exporters increase both the quantities and the prices of their goods. To rationalize these findings, we develop a new model of oligopolistic competition featuring one-way complementarity between goods and services, product differentiation, and love for variety. By supplying services with their goods, firms increase their market share, and hence their market power and markup. The model then shows that exporting services acts as a demand shifter for firms, increasing the perceived quality of their products. Going back to the data, we find strong confirmation for this mechanism

Counterfactual Distribution Dynamics across European Regions

This paper proposes a methodology which combines elements of parametric regression analysis with the nonparametric distribution dynamics approach in order to analyse the role of some variables in the convergence of productivity across European regions over the period 1980-2002. We find that the initial productivity crucially accounts in the convergence process across European regions. Differently, employment growth seems not to play a role, while the Structural and Cohesion Funds seem to play a positive role, even though such effect seems to be very low and statistically significant only at the low bound of the range of initial productivity. The structural change of regional economies plays a positive role, but such effect is statistically significant only for the least productive regions. The output composition of a region in 1980 affects the convergence process of productivity growth in several ways. In particular, the share of non market services on output acts like a source of convergence from 1980 to 2002 but in the long-run it plays a negligible role. Finally, the share of finance acts like a force of divergence across European regions, especially for the least productive regions

On the Determinants of Distribution Dynamics

n this paper we propose a novel approach to identify the impact of growth determinants on the distribution dynamics of productivit y. Our approach integrates counterfactual analysis with the estima tion of stochastic kernels. The counterfactuals are constructed from a semi-parametric growth regression, in which the cross-section heterogeneity in the growth determinants is removed. The methodology also allows us to test for potential distributional effects in the residuals. We illustrate the usefulness of the proposed methodology by an application to a cross-section of countries, which highlights the significant impact on inequality and polarization in the world productivity distribution of growth determinants from an augmented Solow model

On the Determinants of Distribution Dynamics

n this paper we propose a novel approach to identify the impact of growth determinants on the distribution dynamics of productivit y. Our approach integrates counterfactual analysis with the estima tion of stochastic kernels. The counterfactuals are constructed from a semi-parametric growth regression, in which the cross-section heterogeneity in the growth determinants is removed. The methodology also allows us to test for potential distributional effects in the residuals. We illustrate the usefulness of the proposed methodology by an application to a cross-section of countries, which highlights the significant impact on inequality and polarization in the world productivity distribution of growth determinants from an augmented Solow model

DEEP AND PROXIMATE DETERMINANTS OF THE WORLD INCOME DISTRIBUTION

This paper studies the deep and proximate determinants of the evolution of the cross‐country distribution of GDP per worker in the period 1960–2008 by a novel method based on an information criterion. We find that countries of our sample follow three distinctive growth regimes identified by two deep determinants, namely life expectancy at birth in 1960 and the share of Catholics in 1965, and that each regime is characterized by non‐linearities. Growth regimes appear to be the main cause of the increased inequality and polarization, while technological catch‐up, proxied by the initial level of GDP per worker, acts in the opposite direction. Finally, human capital marginally reduces polarization, while investment rates and employment growth have no distributional effect

Modelling new sustainable cropping systems for advanced biofuel production

Through the re-use of empirical functions and new model development, this study aims at contributing to the development of advanced biofuels in Europe. Four lignocellulosic crops were selected and tested in stand-alone (sunn hemp – Crotalaria juncea L.) and rotation system (sunn hemp, biomass sorghum - Sorghum bicolor x Sorghum sudangrass, kenaf - Hibiscus cannabinus L. and industrial hemp - Cannabis sativa L.) in different European environments. The first Chapter deals with a new model development (SunnGro) to reproduce sunn hemp, an interesting summer crop for advanced biofuels in Europe; in the second Chapter, the same model was used to simulate 20-year sunn hemp productivity across Europe. The SunnGro model reproduces sunn hemp development and growth, while providing a detailed description of leaf/branch size heterogeneity and its evolution during the vegetative season, depending on thermal time accumulation (GDD), sowing time (ST) and density (SD). The model was calibrated and evaluated using 20 sunn hemp field datasets collected in Greece, Spain and Italy. Interesting correlations were found between simulated and measured values of branch and leaf number (0.80<R2<0.92) and biomass accumulation (0.67<R2<0.82). Hence, SunnGro can be a valuable tool for estimating the potentialities of sunn hemp, either as main or intercropping, as feedstock for advanced biofuels across Europe. The third Chapter is dedicated to the in-season growth simulation of first-of-a-kind food/energy crop rotations aimed at providing lignocellulosic feedstock for advanced biofuels without increasing land pressure. The rotations with biomass sorghum, industrial hemp and sunn hemp resulted in the highest biomass yields, whereas kenaf was less productive. The presented models were developed to provide user-friendly tools to estimate the potentialities of the selected lignocellulosic crops across Europe. Even though these models need further ameliorations and extensions, to now, they represent reliable tools for preliminary assessments

In Vitro Antioxidant Activity and In Vivo Topical Efficacy of Lipid Nanoparticles Co-Loading Idebenone and Tocopheryl Acetate

Idebenone (IDE) is a strong antioxidant that has been proposed for the treatment of skin disorders, including skin ageing. Unfavorable physico-chemical properties make IDE a poor skin permeant where effectiveness could be improved by its loading into suitable delivery systems such as solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC). In this work, we designed novel IDE-loaded NLC containing tocopheryl acetate (VitE) as a liquid component to obtain a synergic effect between IDE and VitE. The resulting NLC showed small particle sizes (24-42 nm), low polydispersity indices (&lt;0.300), good stability, and were assessed for their in vitro antioxidant activity and in vivo topical effects. IDE-loaded SLN and NLC showed a high antioxidant activity in in vitro assays (DPPH and reducing power method) and provided a similar and significant protection from oxidative stress of fibroblast cells, HS-68, exposed to UV light. After a two-week topical treatment of human volunteers with gels containing IDE-loaded SLN or NLC, a similar increase in skin hydration was observed, while IDE NLC reduced skin pigmentation to a greater extent than IDE SLN. These results suggest that co-loading IDE and VitE into NLC could be a promising strategy to obtain topical formulations with improved photo-protection

Cooled pads with bioinspired gyroid lattice for tilting pad journal bearings: Experimental validation of numerical model for heat transfer

Hydrodynamic journal bearings are essential components for industrial rotating machineries. Continuously growing specific power allows more compact and efficient machines to be obtained, by reducing the environmental footprint of production plants. The aim of this work is to provide a new design of an innovative pad for Tilting Pad Journal Bearings (TPJBs) with an embedded cooling circuit, able to limit the oil film temperature. As a result, specific load can be increased leading to a possible downsizing of the bearing and reduction of lubricant quantity. The heat exchange in the cooling circuit of the pad has been enhanced using bioinspired gyroid lattice. The thermo-mechanical study of the pad has been performed with both numerical and experimental analysis. The resulting thermal and mechanical performances have been calculated and discussed. The tested components have been manufactured in stainless steel by using a metal 3D printing technology, based on polymer-metal feedstock extrusion. A performance analysis is conducted to catch differences between the nominal and the printed geometry. The prototype is able to dissipate the generated heat with a higher efficiency, and the pressure drop inside the cooling circuit can be estimated with the numerical model here proposed

AAV-mediated transcription factor EB (TFEB) gene delivery ameliorates muscle pathology and function in the murine model of Pompe Disease

Pompe disease (PD) is a metabolic myopathy due to acid alpha-glucosidase deficiency and characterized by extensive glycogen storage and impaired autophagy. We previously showed that modulation of autophagy and lysosomal exocytosis by overexpression of the transcription factor EB (TFEB) gene was effective in improving muscle pathology in PD mice injected intramuscularly with an AAV-TFEB vector. Here we have evaluated the effects of TFEB systemic delivery on muscle pathology and on functional performance, a primary measure of efficacy in a disorder like PD. We treated 1-month-old PD mice with an AAV2.9-MCK-TFEB vector. An animal cohort was analyzed at 3 months for muscle and heart pathology. A second cohort was followed at different timepoints for functional analysis. In muscles from TFEB-treated mice we observed reduced PAS staining and improved ultrastructure, with reduced number and increased translucency of lysosomes, while total glycogen content remained unchanged. We also observed statistically significant improvements in rotarod performance in treated animals compared to AAV2.9-MCK-eGFP-treated mice at 5 and 8 months. Cardiac echography showed significant reduction in left-ventricular diameters. These results show that TFEB overexpression and modulation of autophagy result in improvements of muscle pathology and of functional performance in the PD murine model, with delayed disease progression