Wage bargaining and the boundaries of the multinational firm

Do variations in labor market institutions across countries affect the cross-border organization of the firm? Using firm-level data on multinationals located in France, we show that firms are more likely to outsource the production of intermediate inputs to external suppliers when importing from countries with empowered unions. Moreover, this effect is stronger for firms operating in capital-intensive industries. We propose a theoretical mechanism that rationalizes these findings. The fragmentation of the value chain weakens the union's bargaining position, by limiting the amount of revenues that are subject to union extraction. The outsourcing strategy reduces the share of surplus that is appropriated by the union, which enhances the firm's incentives to invest. Since investment creates relatively more value in capital-intensive industries, increases in union power are more likely to be conducive to outsourcing in those industries. Overall, our findings suggest that multinational firms use their organizational structure strategically when sourcing intermediate inputs from unionized markets

Global Sourcing under Imperfect Capital Markets

We develop a simple model to study the interactions between a supplier’s financial constraints and contract incompleteness in a vertical relationship. Production complexity increases the extent of contract incompleteness and the hold-up problem, which generates a cost when the supplier needs financial participation from the downstream firm. Vertical integration alleviates the impact of financial constraints but reduces the supplier’s incentives. We apply the model to an analysis of multinational firms’ sourcing strategies and predict that (1) complex and specific inputs are more likely to be sourced from financially developed countries and (2) multinationals are more likely to integrate suppliers located in countries with poor financial institutions, especially when trade involves complex goods. We examine and validate these predictions using firm-level trade data on multinational firms with operations in France. We provide evidence that financial development generates a comparative advantage in the supply of complex goods. Moreover, we find higher shares of intra-firm imports of complex inputs from countries with a lower level of financial development. The findings are robust to different measures of complexity and specificity, and are not driven by industry differences in fixed costs or traditional measures of external financial dependence. Quantitatively, we find that financial development is as important as contract enforcement in alleviating hold-up problems.Sourcing, FDI, financial constraints, contractual frictions.

Multinationals, technological incompatibilities and spillovers

Empirical studies provide evidence of positive spillovers from multinational firms to upstream suppliers coupled with negative spillovers to firms in the same industry. This paper shows that these empirical regularities can be rationalized in a model with incompatibilities between foreign and domestic technologies. When foreign technologies require specialized inputs, some local suppliers self-select into production for multinational firms. This "technological segmentation" in the upstream industry magnifies the productivity advantage of multinationals by restricting backward and forward linkages to groups of firms using the same technology. In this setting we study the role of heterogeneity among domestic firms. We show that only the best suppliers adopt the foreign technology and cater to multinationals. In the long run, technology adoption by the most productive downstream firms creates complementarities with multinationals that can offset the negative impact of segmentation.MNEs ; backward and forward linkages ; technological segmentation ; firm heterogeneity ; spillovers

Global sourcing under imperfect capital markets

We develop a simple model to study the interactions between a supplier's financial constraints and contract incompleteness in a vertical relationship. Production complexity increases the extent of contract incompleteness and the hold-up problem, which generates a cost when the supplier needs financial participation from the downstream firm. Vertical integration alleviates the impact of financial constraints but reduces the supplier's incentives. We apply the model to an analysis of multinational firms sourcing strategies and predict that (1) complex and specific inputs are more likely to be sourced from financially developed countries and (2) multinationals are more likely to integrate suppliers located in countries with poor financial institutions, especially when trade involves complex goods. We examine and validate these predictions using firm-level trade data on multinational firms with operations in France. We provide evidence that financial development generates a comparative advantage in the supply of complex goods. Moreover, we find higher shares of intra-firm imports of complex inputs from countries with a lower level of financial development. The findings are robust to different measures of complexity and specificity, and are not driven by industry differences in fixed costs or traditional measures of external financial dependence. Quantitatively, we find that financial development is as important as contract enforcement in alleviating hold-up problems.sourcing ; FDI ; financial constraints ; contractual frictions

Wage Bargaining and the Boundaries of the Multinational Firm

Do variations in labor market institutions across countries affect the cross-border organization of the firm? Using firm-level data on multinationals located in France, we show that firms are more likely to outsource the production of intermediate inputs to external suppliers when importing from countries with empowered unions. Moreover, this effect is stronger for firms operating in capital-intensive industries. We propose a theoretical mechanism that rationalizes these findings. The fragmentation of the value chain weakens the union's bargaining position, by limiting the amount of revenues that are subject to union extraction. The outsourcing strategy reduces the share of surplus that is appropriated by the union, which enhances the firm's incentives to invest. Since investment creates relatively more value in capital-intensive industries, increases in union power are more likely to be conducive to outsourcing in those industries. Overall, our findings suggest that multinational firms use their organizational structure strategically when sourcing intermediate inputs from unionized markets.wage bargaining, trade unions, sourcing, multinational firms

Pitfalls In Estimating ß-Convergence By Means Of Panel Data: An Empirical Test

This paper aims to test the conjecture advanced in a recent work by Bianchi and Menegatti (2007) that usual !convergence panel regressions may produce biased evidence, due to their inability to distinguish between actual catching-up across countries and decreasing growth rates over time within countries. The test considers different sub-groups in a dataset of 72 countries for the period 1970-2000 and introduces both human capital and proxies for technological differences into the analysis. The results confirm the conjecture that traditional evidence about - convergence may be misleading; they also show that catching-up across countries is weaker than usually claimed and that this process occurred only in some sub-groups of countries.Catching-up, Convergence, Economic Growth, Panel Estimation Techniques.

Do Privatizations Boost Household Shareholding? Evidence from Italy

It is believed that privatizations substantially contributed to boost stock markets through the 1980s and 1990s. However, trough which channels did that materialize? We test whether privatizations –improving households’ acquaintance with the risk and return characteristics of stocks through the massive accompanying advertising campaigns– boosted demand for stocks by enlarging the set of households willing to invest in shares. We use a unique micro-data set collected for a large sample of Italian households on Public Offerings (PO) during 1995-99, the climax of privatizations in Italy. We show that advertising increased the notoriety of the incoming PO at households, and through this furthered households’ propensity to subscribe that PO. Furthermore, the propensity to subscribe the incoming PO also increased as households became better informed about past privatizations. Thus, privatizations expanded households’ share participation in Italy.Household portfolio choice, Information, Privatizations

Roland Barthes : la résurrection du stéréotype

« La Doxa est un mauvais objet parce que c’est une répétition morte,qui ne vient du corps de personne – sinon peut-être, précisément, de celui desMorts », dit Roland Barthes dans un fragment de son autobiographie. La reformulationsuggère qu’il y a bien un « corps », sous la Doxa. Le présent article estconsacré à cette hantise barthésienne de la chose doxique, telle qu’elle se manifestedans les Mythologies, à propos des mythes, ces « cadavres parlants ». Lecommentaire prend pour objet particulier le texte sur le catch, lu à la lumière del’essai sur Michelet et du thème, cher à l’historien, de la résurrection. Il s’attacheà montrer que le mythe christique, comme le rapprochement avec la tragédie,transfi gure le mythe prosaïque du catch, dans la vision et dans l’écriture de Barthes

Articular cartilage regenerative strategies based on platelet derivatives with perspective view in 3D-bioprinting technology

Articular cartilage is an unique and highly specialized connective tissue adapted to bear compressive loads and shear forces in synovial joints, which is a crucial function during body\u2019s motion. In adult joints, articular cartilage is composed by chondrocytes immersed in an intricate extracellular matrix, displaying a complex multi-zonal organization. Despite a relatively low metabolic activity within a harsh physical environment, chondrocytes are active in maintaining the matrix, thus allowing healthy tissue to sustain itself and carry out its functions. Damage to tissue high level of organization and molecular architecture is a major source of morbidity for articular cartilage, thus it is usually susceptible to malfunction following acute injury or chronic diseases such as osteoarthritis. Cartilage has poor intrinsic repair and regenerative capacity, although it has been demonstrated to contain a subset of progenitors even in adults. These cells have shown to react to injury, but do not seem to be able to mount an effective tissue reparative or regenerative action when needed. Hence, much effort has been devoted to finding ways by which articular cartilage repair could be induced and enhanced. Surgical techniques and bioengineered treatment options developed over recent decades have led to several clinical treatment modalities for acutely injured or osteoarthritic joints. To prevent progressive cartilage degeneration or to replace damaged tissue, the surgical treatment is often the only option, but it does not ensure full tissue function recovery. Therefore, regenerative medicine has emerged as an important field of research in the treatment of cartilage disorders. In this context, the medical community have shown great interest in therapeutic strategies based on the use of platelet-derived products, such as platelet rich plasma (PRP) and platelet lysate (PL). Since these derivatives are a mix of growth factors, cytokines and chemokines normally involved in tissue healing, the rationale behind their application is the re-activation of latent endogenous regenerative mechanisms. PRP therapeutic use in musculoskeletal disorders have led to promising outcomes, although mechanism of action and efficacy of platelet products in orthopaedics still need to be elucidate. The main objective of this PhD thesis is to study the effects of platelet derivatives on cartilage cell behaviour, including chondrocytes and chondro-progenitors, in order to highlight potentialities and even identify limits concerning their use, both useful in better direct biomedical applications in the field of articular cartilage therapy. Indeed, a better understanding of the events that could induce cartilage repair by PRP or PL may allow to clarify current experimental outcomes and offer the opportunity to conceive innovative strategies or tools in cell therapy approach and in the latest tissue engineering technologies. In this regard, it will be beneficial to find alternative options to cell transplantation (based on mesenchymal stem cells or chondrocytes) aimed in achieving cartilage regeneration, planning interventions focused on in situ stimulation of resident cell population or local progenitor niche in the joint, that are developmentally endowed with greater chondrogenic potential than traditional cell sources. In parallel, the research in the field of tissue engineering continues to be active and innovative strategies for the fabrication of enhanced bioengineered grafts are recently emerging by the spreading of 3D-printing technology. 3D-bioprinting especially represents a developmental biology inspired alternative to classic scaffold-based approaches in the field, since it shows the ability to assemble biological components replicating complex native-like tissue architecture more faithfully than traditional methods of assembly as well as patient customization. In this context, bioprinted constructs may provide a solution for cartilage injuries and defects, despite 3D-bioprinting is still a technology in progress and consequently some challenges have to be overcome before its translation to clinical applications. The research tasks of this work and the main obtained results are: 1) the in vitro characterization of human articular chondrocyte responses at PL treatment with focus on the recruitment/re-activation of a chondro-progenitor cell population from PL-treated cartilage explant cultures. Stem cell-based therapies to achieve articular cartilage regeneration attract great interest. Stem cell niches are located within the joint, where they could participate directly in tissue homeostasis and repair processes. It is reasonable that exploiting local chondro-progenitors for cartilage repair may be a better and more efficient cell-based therapeutic strategy compared to the use of mesenchymal stem cell from different sources, given that they are developmentally primed for differentiation into chondrocytes. Furthermore, in the field of regenerative medicine therapeutic strategies targeting stem cells in situ could be more attractive and more advantageous than stem cell transplantation. According to this approach, endogenous stem cells could be recruited to the injury site by administration of bioactive factors. Thus, in the last decades, among a wide range of products, PRP has spread as a clinical treatment tool for musculoskeletal diseases. Several studies have investigated PRP or PL roles both in vitro and in vivo, highlighting their capacity to exert anti-inflammatory and proliferating effects on cells, as well as to stimulate resident progenitors or to recruit circulating ones. Primary cultures of human articular chondrocytes and cartilage chips were set up from donor biopsies and were treated in vitro with PL. Proliferation, clonogenic potential and phenotype of chondrocytes and chondro-progenitor cells derived from explant cultures in PL were characterized. Tri-lineage differentiation potential were tested in vitro and scaffold-assisted chondrogenesis of these cells were studied in nude mice. Moreover, secretory profile of chondro-progenitors were analysed together with their migratory capabilities by mimic osteoarthritis in vitro. Finally, it was reported that ex vivo treatment of human articular cartilage with PL induced activation and outgrowth of cells showing features of stemness, such as clonogenicity and expression of nestin. The stimulation of nestin-positive progenitor cells induced by PL in articular cartilage is of particular interest for the future development of therapeutic strategies given the involvement of these cells in tissue regenerative processes. In addition, their high proliferation capacity with concurrent chondrogenic potential maintenance further sustain the potential of PL-mobilized chondro-progenitor cells as promising tool in the field of cartilage tissue engineering. Moreover, PL-induced effects on phenotype of mature articular chondrocytes were further characterized, showing that they can revert to an earlier stage similar to chondro-progenitor one. 2) Embedding and re-differentiation of primary human articular chondrocytes in PRP-based hydrogel suitable for 3D-bioprinting. Although the implantation of cultured chondrocytes intended for injured cartilage therapy is performed worldwide, there are still unresolved challenges associated with the maintenance of their chondrogenic phenotype. The expansion of chondrocytes in vitro is associated with de-differentiation, which is a reduction in the expression of cartilage-specific markers. Accordingly, such cells often produce fibrocartilage rather than native hyaline cartilage when used in clinical procedures. Several strategies to counteract this phenomenon have been adopted, such as 3D-culture of chondrocytes encapsulated in biomaterials. Adoption of hydrogels attracts particular interest in cartilage regeneration since they provide a highly hydrated environment similar to that of native tissue. In this context, progresses are expected thanks to the application of the 3D-bioprinting. However, the field of biofabrication often strongly focuses on the biomaterial rheology to allow controlled production, taking less care of its inherent impact on cellular phenotype. The combination of both aspects can be achieved by incorporation of biological components in printable hydrogels that often lack of bioactivity. Primary human articular chondrocytes derived from previous monolayer culture expansion were bioprinted by embedding them in a commercial available alginate-based ink and their ability to regain the chondrogenic potential both in vitro and in vivo was evaluated. Interestingly, an improved ability to sustain cell viability, proliferation and a certain degree of chondrogenic phenotype rescue were found inside the bioprointed constructs by adding PRP as a source of biological agents in the ink formulation