The Determinants of Actual Migration and the Role of Wages and Unemployment in Albania: an Empirical Analysis

The paper explores the determinants of internal migration in Albania, adopting the Harris-Todaro approach to migration: an internal migration function is estimated using district wage and unemployment rate differentials. The aggregate level wages and unemployment, included in the migration equation, are retrieved from a first stage wage and unemployment equations, estimated controlling for personal characteristics. Moreover, in order to test the predictions of the human capital model of migration, the difference between migrants and non-migrants is emphasized in the estimation. The data source is the "Living Standard Measurement Survey for Albania" (2002), undertaken by the national Institute of Statistics and the World Bank jointly. The results reveal that both wage and unemployment differentials are important determinants of the propensity to migrate in Albania. This conclusion is further emphasized by noting that migrants gain substantially in terms of higher returns to individual characteristics after emigration.Internal Migration ; Wage ; Unemployment ; Transitional Economy

The Self-Selection in the Migration Process: What Can We Learn?

This paper reviews the theoretical and the empirical literature regarding migration in order to cast some light upon the nature of self-selection. In particular it attempts to identify the specific factors which induce a skilled rather than an un-skilled migration. As a result, some conclusions upon the existence as well as the determinants of selective processes in migration will be offered. Three contributions of the theoretical literature can be highlighted: first, sending country characteristics vis-à-vis host country conditions create uneven incentives for different levels of abilities or education, and therefore create the ground for a selectivity process. Second, migration costs play a major role in determining the direction of the selectivity and third, host country migration policies as well as demand side considerations influence the direction of the selection. The empirical evidence shows that the direction of the selectivity in terms of educational level varies considerably across countries: in some cases the emigrant flow is mainly characterized by highly educated individuals, whereas in other, the emigration flow is predominantly made by low skilled individuals. On the contrary in terms of unobservable characteristics, the empirical literature reveals that either the movers are positively selected or they are not selected at all.

The Determinants of Actual Migration and the Role of Wages and Unemployment in Albania: an Empirical Analysis

The paper explores the determinants of internal migration in Albania, adopting the Harris-Todaro approach to migration: an internal migration function is estimated using district wage and unemployment rate differentials. The aggregate level wages and unemployment, included in the migration equation, are retrieved from a first stage wage and unemployment equations, estimated controlling for personal characteristics. Moreover, in order to test the predictions of the human capital model of migration, the difference between migrants and non-migrants is emphasized in the estimation. The data source is the "Living Standard Measurement Survey for Albania" (2002), undertaken by the national Institute of Statistics and the World Bank jointly. The results reveal that both wage and unemployment differentials are important determinants of the propensity to migrate in Albania. This conclusion is further emphasized by noting that migrants gain substantially in terms of higher returns to individual characteristics after emigration

Industrial Coal Demand in China: A Provincial Analysis

The general concern on the environmental implications of the rising demand for coal registered in China during the last few years has induced considerable research effort to produce accurate forecasts of China’s energy requirements. Nevertheless, no previous study has modelled the coal demand in China at provincial level. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we estimate and forecast the Chinese demand for coal using panel data disaggregated by provinces and accounting for spatial heterogeneity. Second, given the spatial nature of the data, we explicitly capture the spatial autocorrelation among provinces using spatial econometrics. In particular, we specify the Chinese industrial coal demand at provincial level with a fixed-effect spatial lag model and a fixed-effect spatial error model. The fixedeffect spatial lag model seems to better capture the existing interdependence between provinces. This model forecasts an average annual increase in coal demand to 2010 of 4 percent.Energy demand in China, Coal demand in China, Chinese provinces, Panel data; Spatial econometrics, Forecasting

Industrial coal demand in China: A provincial analysis

The general concern on the environmental implications of the rising demand for coal registered in China during the last few years has induced considerable research effort to produce accurate forecasts of China's energy requirements. Nevertheless, no previous study has modelled the coal demand in China at provincial level. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we estimate and forecast the Chinese demand for coal using panel data disaggregated by provinces and accounting for spatial heterogeneity. Second, given the spatial nature of the data, we explicitly capture the spatial autocorrelation among provinces using spatial econometrics. In particular, we specify the Chinese industrial coal demand at provincial level with a fixed-effect spatial lag model and a fixed-effect spatial error model. The fixedeffect spatial lag model seems to better capture the existing interdependence between provinces. This model forecasts an average annual increase in coal demand to 2010 of 4 percent

RADIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS IN FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY. FRACTURE HEALING AND DATING

The accurate dating of bone fractures constitutes a critical component of trauma analysis in forensic anthropology and the research in this field represents to date a challenging opportunity to apply scientific knowledge and methods to real problems of society, including also global humanitarian and human rights issues. However, the literature review performed in order to describe the state of the art in fracture healing and dating showed that forensic studies are scarce and that the assessment of fractures lacks consensus about both the definition of fracture healing and the duration of the fracture healing process. Thus, the aim of the present PhD project, including two research lines, was to acquire a better knowledge of the process of bone remodeling both in the living and the dead with regard to the timing of injury as well as to evaluate the applicability of high-resolution radiological techniques for objective dating of the healing phase of the fracture. The 1 st retrospective study, dedicated to the living, was based on digital radiographs from the largest adult living population ever analyzed and was aimed not only at examining time frames for healing of bone fractures but also at investigating the effect of variables, including age, sex, bone type and number of fracures on the timing of healing stages of traumatic skeletal lesions. For these purposes a multivariable model was built, which showed a significant association between the healing stages and the variables analyzed, so that a dynamic nomogram was preliminary proposed to predict a time interval since fracture from digital radiographs. The 2 nd experimental study, dedicated to the dead, was based on dry human bones presenting calluses of different known age in order to preliminary assess the potential of an advanced and non-destructive imaging technology, like microcomputed tomography (micro-CT), in order to obtain a future objective dating of the healing phase of the fracture on post-cranial human bone calluses of known age. The results not only demonstrated the potential utility of micro-CT to obtain a wealth of qualitative details about the microstructure of the callus but also to reach an objective fracture dating, laying promising foundations for further studies on this topic in light of the highlighted existence of a certain trend of some parameters of trabecular microstructure relative to the age of the callus, including the degree of anisotropy, the connectivity and the trabecular spacing

A model for coupled electro-hydro-mechanical processes in fine grained soils accounting for gas generation and transport

A theoretical and numerical model is developed for the quantitative analysis of coupled processes taking place in active waste containment systems, such as electrokinetic barriers or fences, in which alow intensity DC current is circulated across the clay barrier to move polar and non-polar contaminants. A novel feature of the proposed approach is the allowance for the presence of air in the pore space. Under unsaturated conditions, all transport coefficients involved in the electrokinetic process are strongly dependent on the degree of saturation of pore liquid. In order to assess the predictive capability of the proposed theory and to appreciate the impact of gas production at the electrodes, a series of numerical simulations of simple onedimensional electrokinetic tests have been performed. The results of the simulations compare reasonably well with data obtained from laboratory experiments performed on an illitic clayey silt. The numerical results indicate that the impact of gas production at the electrodes can be significant, even in low-intensity and short-duration treatments

Immigration and careers of European workers: effects and the role of policies

In this paper we analyze the response of career, employment and wage of native Europeans to immigration. We then ask how individual country's policies affect these responses. We use data on 11 EU countries, over the period 1995-2001. We also use the 1991 distribution of immigrants by nationality across European labor markets to construct a version of the enclave-based instrument to proxy for the flow of immigrants, that is exogenous to local demand shocks. We find that native Europeans are more likely to upgrade to more skilled and better paid occupations, when a larger number of immigrants enter their labor market. We find no evidence of an increased likelihood of non-employment or geographical mobility. We find that more flexible labor markets in a country are a key factor to have employment upgrading in response to immigration

15 Jahre alt 1992 - heute über dreissig. Über eine 15jährige Entwicklung der schulischen und beruflichen Übergänge nach der obligatorischen Schulzeit

En 1992, la moitié des jeunes tessinois (N=1471) qui venaient de terminer leur scolarité obligatoire ont participé à une recherche longitudinale qui s\u27est terminée quinze ans plus tard, en 2007. La recherche présentée ici a suivi les parcours scolaires et professionnels de ces jeunes adultes afin de mieux saisir les logiques et les stratégies adoptées dans leurs choix de parcours de formation et au moment du passage en emploi. Le dispositif adopté a permis de réaliser un suivi soutenu quant au relevé des données et aux thèmes analysés (formation, travail, valeurs, aspects culturels, dimensions sociodémographiques, degré de satisfaction, etc.). Cette recherche a pu réunir beaucoup d\u27information et a déjà fait l\u27objet de nombreuses publications. Dans la présente contribution, il a été été démontré que, à l\u27âge de trente ans, les jeunes adultes sont assez satisfaits de leur vie, qu\u27ils ont acquis une bonne formation et par la suite une place de travail stable. Ils considèrent les amis et la famille comme très importants, tout comme les loisirs et le travail. Ils disent avoir confiance dans les enseignants, les scientifiques et la police, mais moins dans l\u27église, les partis politiques et les hommes politiques eux-mêmes. Ce portrait d\u27ensemble nous renseigne sur les parcours par moments ardus et parsemés d\u27interruptions, de changements de formation, de difficultés à trouver un premier emploi stable, de compromis salariaux et de quelques regrets, le plus souvent en lien direct avec les choix scolaires et professionnels effectués. (DIPF/Orig.)15 Jahre lang standen 1471 Schulabgänger/innen des Jahrganges 1992 (50% mit Sekundarabschluss) im Fokus einer Längsschnittstudie, die 2007 abgeschlossen wurde. Ein wesentliches Ziel bestand darin, Logiken und Strategien betreffend der Berufswahl und des Berufseinstiegs zu erkennen und zu dokumentieren. Zusätzlich wurden individuelle Entwicklungen im schulischen wie auch im beruflichen Kontext nachgezeichnet und verfolgt. Die Untersuchungsanlage ermöglichte eine intensive und nachhaltige Aufarbeitung der Erhebungsdaten wie auch der breit gefächerten Untersuchungsthemen (Ausbildung, Arbeit, Werte, kulturelle Aspekte, soziografische Dimensionen, Zufriedenheit etc.). Die Längsschnittstudie brachte umfassende Daten und Informationen zu Tage, welche in diversen Publikationen bereits dargelegt werden konnten. Deutlich wurde, dass die heute über dreißigjährigen jungen Erwachsenen mehrheitlich mit ihrem Leben zufrieden sind, unterstützt durch eine gute Ausbildung und integriert in der Arbeitswelt. Familiäre und freundschaftliche Beziehungen sind zentrale Werte, neben Freizeitbeschäftigungen und der Arbeit; sie geben an, Vertrauen in die Arbeit von Lehrerinnen und Lehrern, von Wissenschaftler/ innen und der Polizei zu haben; weniger stark in die Arbeit der Kirchen, politischer Parteien sowie von Politikerinnen und Politikern. Die Daten ergeben ein Bild einer Generation, deren individuelle Biografien nicht immer linear verlaufen und durch Friktionen gekennzeichnet sind, ausgelöst durch Wechsel in der Ausbildung, durch die Schwierigkeit eine erste Stelle zu finden, durch Gehaltseinbußen oder durch falsche bzw. problematische Berufswahlentscheide. (DIPF/Orig.