466 research outputs found
Financial integration and growth - Is emerging Europe different?
Using industry-level data, this paper shows that the European transition region benefited much more strongly from financial integration in terms of economic growth than other developing countries in the years preceding the current crisis. We analyse several factors that may explain this finding: financial development, institutional quality, trade integration, political integration, and financial integration itself. The explanation that stands out is political integration. Within the group of transition countries, the effect of financial integration is strongest for countries that are politically closest to the European Union. This suggests that political and financial integration are complementary and that political integration can considerably increase the benefits of financial integration.
Financial Integration and Growth -Is Emerging Europe Different?
Using industry-level data, this paper shows that the European transition region benefited much more strongly from financial integration in terms of economic growth than other developing countries in the years preceding the current crisis. We analyze several factors that may explain this finding: financial development, institutional quality, trade integration, political integration, and financial integration itself. The explanation that stands out is political integration. Within the group of transition countries, the effect of financial integration is strongest for countries that are politically closest to the EU. This suggests that political and financial integration are complementary and that political integration can considerably increase the benefits of financial integration.Financial integration; political integration; economic growth; parent banking; European transition economies
Betriebliches Ausbildungsverhalten zwischen Kosten-Nutzen-Kalkül und gesellschaftlicher Verantwortung: Einflussfaktoren der Ausbildungsintensität von deutschen Betrieben
Theoretische Überlegungen und empirische Analysen auf Basis einer Befragung von 35 Ausbildungsbetrieben in Bayern zeigen, dass der Beschäftigtenanteil von Auszubildenden mit der Betriebsgröße und den Bruttokosten einer Ausbildung tendenziell abnimmt. Besonders intensiv bilden Betriebe im Falle eines Fachkräftemangels aus und falls extern Ausgebildete eine längere Einarbeitungszeit aufweisen als selbst Ausgebildete. Dies deutet darauf hin, dass die Ausbildungsentscheidungen der Arbeitgeber weniger kurzfristiges Kostendenken als vielmehr langfristige Humankapitalinvestitionen widerspiegeln. Weitere von den Befragten genannten Ausbildungsmotive sind die Tradition des Betriebes sowie die Schaffung eines guten Rufes am Arbeitsmarkt, doch kann der letztere Einfluss ökonometrisch nicht bestätigt werden. -- Theoretical considerations and empirical analyses based on a survey of 35 establishments in Bavaria show that the employment share of apprentices tends to fall with firm size and with the gross costs of vocational training. Establishments are particularly engaged in training if they experience a shortage of skilled labour and if employees hired from the external labour market have a longer settling-in period than own trainees. This indicates that employers decisions on vocational training mainly reflect long-term investments in human capital rather than short-term cost considerations. Other motives mentioned by the establishments surveyed are the firms tradition and the aim of obtaining a good labour market reputation, but this influence cannot be confirmed econometrically.Betriebliche Ausbildung,Fachkräftebedarf,Humankapital
Broadband squeezing of quantum noise in a Michelson interferometer with Twin-Signal-Recycling
Twin-Signal-Recycling (TSR) builds on the resonance doublet of two optically
coupled cavities and efficiently enhances the sensitivity of an interferometer
at a dedicated signal frequency. We report on the first experimental
realization of a Twin-Signal-Recycling Michelson interferometer and also its
broadband enhancement by squeezed light injection. The complete setup was
stably locked and a broadband quantum noise reduction of the interferometers
shot noise by a factor of up to 4\,dB was demonstrated. The system was
characterized by measuring its quantum noise spectra for several tunings of the
TSR cavities. We found good agreement between the experimental results and
numerical simulations
The GEO600 squeezed light source
The next upgrade of the GEO600 gravitational wave detector is scheduled for
2010 and will, in particular, involve the implementation of squeezed light. The
required non-classical light source is assembled on a 1.5m^2 breadboard and
includes a full coherent control system and a diagnostic balanced homodyne
detector. Here, we present the first experimental characterization of this
setup as well as a detailed description of its optical layout. A squeezed
quantum noise of up to 9dB below the shot-noise level was observed in the
detection band between 10Hz and 10kHz. We also present an analysis of the
optical loss in our experiment and provide an estimation of the possible
non-classical sensitivity improvement of the future squeezed light enhanced
GEO600 detector.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
Twenty million years of evolution: The embryogenesis of four Caenorhabditis species are indistinguishable despite extensive genome divergence
The four Caenorhabditis species C. elegans, C. briggsae, C. remanei and C. brenneri show more divergence at the genomic level than humans compared to mice (Stein et al., 2003; Cutter et al., 2006, 2008). However, the behavior and anatomy of these nematodes are very similar. We present a detailed analysis of the embryonic development of these species using 4D-microscopic analyses of embryos including lineage analysis, terminal differentiation patterns and bioinformatical quantifications of cell behavior. Further functional experiments support the notion that the early development of all four species depends on identical induction patterns. Based on our results, the embryonic development of all four Caenorhabditis species are nearly identical, suggesting that an apparently optimal program to construct the body plan of nematodes has been conserved for at least 20 million years. This contrasts the levels of divergence between the genomes and the protein orthologs of the Caenorhabditis species, which is comparable to the level of divergence between mouse and human. This indicates an intricate relationship between the structure of genomes and the morphology of animals.publishedVersio
Diagnostic Specificity of Two Dengue Virus IgG ELISAs after Yellow Fever and Japanese Encephalitis Virus Vaccination
Dengue virus (DENV) antibody assays frequently cross-react with sera from individuals
who have been infected with or vaccinated against related flaviviruses. The goal of this study was to
determine the specificity of two DENV ELISAs with sera from individuals vaccinated against yellow
fever virus (YFV) and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). The Panbio and the Novatec Dengue IgG ELISAs
were tested with sera obtained 3–4 weeks or 0.5–6 years after YFV or JEV vaccination and the diagnostic
specificity of the assays was determined. As controls, the sera were tested using DENV, YFV, JEV, Zika
and West Nile virus neutralization assays. The diagnostic specificity of the Panbio and the Novatec
ELISA with sera from YFV-vaccinated subjects was 98.2% and 88.2%, respectively. Cross-reactions were
rare in the first 4 weeks despite high YFV-neutralizing antibody titers and were mostly found later. The
specificity of the Panbio and Novatec assays with sera from JEV-vaccinated individuals was 100% and
92.9%. Cross-reactions occurred in the early time period after vaccination. The measurement values of
the two ELISAs correlated strongly. Thus, the Panbio ELISA showed higher diagnostic specificity and
may be suitable for seroprevalence studies in areas with high disease prevalence
On the mechanical quality factors of cryogenic test masses from fused silica and crystalline quartz
Current interferometric gravitational wave detectors (IGWDs) are operated at
room temperature with test masses made from fused silica. Fused silica shows
very low absorption at the laser wavelength of 1064 nm. It is also well suited
to realize low thermal noise floors in the detector signal band since it offers
low mechanical loss, i. e. high quality factors (Q factors) at room
temperature. However, for a further reduction of thermal noise, cooling the
test masses to cryogenic temperatures may prove an interesting technique. Here
we compare the results of Q factor measurements at cryogenic temperatures of
acoustic eigenmodes of test masses from fused silica and its crystalline
counterpart. Our results show that the mechanical loss of fused silica
increases with lower temperature and reaches a maximum at 30 K for frequencies
of slightly above 10 kHz. The losses of crystalline quartz generally show lower
values and even fall below the room temperature values of fused silica below 10
K. Our results show that in comparison to fused silica, crystalline quartz has
a considerably narrower and lower dissipation peak on cooling and thus has more
promise as a test mass material for IGDWs operated at cryogenic temperatures.
The origin of the different Q factor versus temperature behavior of the two
materials is discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Class. Quantum Gra
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