IT in the European Union:driving productivity divergence?

This paper analyses the contributions of IT-capital deepening and total factor productivity growth (TFP) in IT-production on aggregate labour productivity growth patterns within the European Union in comparison with the US. We find that differences in the direct effects of IT almost fully explain the US lead in labour productivity growth over the EU aggregate over the period 1995-2001. However differences in the direct effects of IT are by no means the sole determinants of the widening of the "Atlantic Divide", neither the main cause of divergent labour productivity growth patterns within Europe. Non-IT capital deepening and non-IT TFP growth were major contributors to continued or even accelerating growth in small economies such as Austria, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Sweden. In Finland, Sweden and especially Ireland this was augmented by high contributions from IT, which were even higher than in the US. At the same time, decelerating labour productivity growth in major European countries such as France, Germany, Italy and the UK was mainly due to declining contributions of non-IT capital deepening and non-IT TFP growth compared to the period 1980-1995

IT in the European Union: driving productivity divergence?

This paper analyses the contributions of IT-capital deepening and total factor productivity growth (TFP) in IT-production on aggregate labour productivity growth patterns within the European Union in comparison with the US. We find that differences in the direct effects of IT almost fully explain the US lead in labour productivity growth over the EU aggregate over the period 1995-2001. However differences in the direct effects of IT are by no means the sole determinants of the widening of the "Atlantic Divide", neither the main cause of divergent labour productivity growth patterns within Europe. Non-IT capital deepening and non-IT TFP growth were major contributors to continued or even accelerating growth in small economies such as Austria, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Sweden. In Finland, Sweden and especially Ireland this was augmented by high contributions from IT, which were even higher than in the US. At the same time, decelerating labour productivity growth in major European countries such as France, Germany, Italy and the UK was mainly due to declining contributions of non-IT capital deepening and non-IT TFP growth compared to the period 1980-1995.

Bordetella Pertussis virulence factors in the continuing evolution of whooping cough vaccines for improved performance.

Despite high vaccine coverage, whooping cough caused by Bordetella pertussis remains one of the most common vaccine-preventable diseases worldwide. Introduction of whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccines in the 1940s and acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines in 1990s reduced the mortality due to pertussis. Despite induction of both antibody and cell-mediated immune (CMI) responses by aP and wP vaccines, there has been resurgence of pertussis in many countries in recent years. Possible reasons hypothesised for resurgence have ranged from incompliance with the recommended vaccination programmes with the currently used aP vaccine to infection with a resurged clinical isolates characterised by mutations in the virulence factors, resulting in antigenic divergence with vaccine strain, and increased production of pertussis toxin, resulting in dampening of immune responses. While use of these vaccines provide varying degrees of protection against whooping cough, protection against infection and transmission appears to be less effective, warranting continuation of efforts in the development of an improved pertussis vaccine formulations capable of achieving this objective. Major approaches currently under evaluation for the development of an improved pertussis vaccine include identification of novel biofilm-associated antigens for incorporation in current aP vaccine formulations, development of live attenuated vaccines and discovery of novel non-toxic adjuvants capable of inducing both antibody and CMI. In this review, the potential roles of different accredited virulence factors, including novel biofilm-associated antigens, of B. pertussis in the evolution, formulation and delivery of improved pertussis vaccines, with potential to block the transmission of whooping cough in the community, are discussed