Serological surveillance reveals patterns of exposure to H5 and H7 influenza A viruses in European poultry

Influenza A viruses of H5 and H7 subtype in poultry can circulate subclinically, and subsequently mutate from low to high pathogenicity with potentially devastating economic and welfare consequences. European Union Member States undertake surveillance of commercial and backyard poultry for early detection and control of subclinical H5 and H7 influenza A infection. This surveillance has moved towards a risk‐based sampling approach in recent years; however quantitative measures of relative risk associated with risk factors utilised in this approach are necessary for optimisation. This study describes serosurveillance for H5 and H7 influenza A in domestic and commercial poultry undertaken in the European Union from 2004 to 2010, where a random sampling and thus representative approach to serosurveillance was undertaken. Using these representative data, this study measured relative risk of seropositivity across poultry categories and spatially across the EU. Data were analysed using multivariable logistic regression. Domestic waterfowl, game birds, fattening turkeys, ratites, backyard poultry and the “other” poultry category holdings had relatively increased probability of H5 and/or H7 influenza A seropositivity, compared to laying‐hen holdings. Amongst laying‐hen holdings, free‐range rearing was associated with increased probability of H7 seropositivity. Spatial analyses detected ‘hotspots’ for H5 influenza A seropositivity in western France and England, and H7 influenza A seropositivity in Italy and Belgium, which may be explained by the demographics and distribution of poultry categories. Findings suggest certain poultry category holdings are at increased risk of subclinical H5 and/or H7 influenza A circulation, and free‐range rearing increases the likelihood of exposure to H7 influenza A. These findings may be used in further refining risk‐based surveillance strategies, and prioritising management strategies in influenza A outbreaks

Evaluating the internal dualism of the informal sector: evidence from the European Union

Purpose To transcend the current debates about whether participation in the informal sector is a result of informal workers “exclusion” or their voluntary “exit” from the formal sector, the aim of this paper is to propose and evaluate the existence of a dual informal labour market composed of an exit-driven “upper tier” and exclusion-driven “lower-tier” of informal workers. Methodology To do this, data from a 2013 Eurobarometer survey involving 27,563 face-to-face interviews across the European Union is reported. Findings The finding is that in the European Union, there is a dual informal labour market with those participating in the informal sector due to their exclusion from the formal sector being half the number of those doing so to voluntarily exit the formal sector. Using a logistic regression analysis, the exclusion-driven “lower tier” is identified as significantly more likely to be populated by the unemployed and those living in East-Central Europe and the exit-driven “upper tier” by those with few financial difficulties and living in Nordic nations. Research implications The results reveal the need not only to transcend either/or debates about whether participants in the informal sector are universally exclusion- or exit-driven, and to adopt a both/and approach that recognises a dual informal labour market composed of an exit-driven upper tier and exclusion-driven lower tier, but also for wider research on the relative sizes of these two tiers in individual countries and other global regions, along with which groups populate these tiers. Originality/value This is the first evaluation of the internal dualism of the informal sector in the European Union

Reassessing the Integration of European Electricity Markets: A Fractional Cointegration Analysis

This study extends existing literature on the assessment of electricity market integration in Europe, by developing and testing hypotheses on the convergence of electricity wholesale prices, and adopting a time-varying fractional cointegration analysis. In addition, the potential impacts of some special events that may affect system capacity (new interconnection, market coupling, increase in share of intermittent generation) on spot and forward markets are considered and evaluated. Daily spot prices from February 2000 to March 2013 of nine European electricity spot markets (APX-UK, APX-NL, Belpex, EPEX-FR, EPEX-DE, IPEX, Nordpool, Omel and OTE) and month-ahead prices in four markets (French, British, German and Dutch) from November 2007 to December 2012 are investigated. Results show that unit root tests, which are generally used in the literature to test market integration, are inadequate for assessing electricity spot market convergence, because spot prices are found to be fractionally integrated and mean-reverting time series. Furthermore, spot price behaviour and their association with different markets change over time, reflecting changes in the EU electrical system. One-month-ahead prices, by contrast, were found to have become more resilient to shocks and to follow more stable trends

The portuguese natural gas market in the european context

The Portuguese natural gas market is recent and small – being an emergent market according to Directive 98/30/EC. It is still protected and monopolistic while most other European countries have already liberalized, at least partially, their natural gas markets. This paper focuses on the process of restructuring the energy market in the European Union, and the present situation in Portugal, and emphasizes the regional dimension of the Portuguese market. The natural gas price strategies followed by Portuguese companies are analyzed, and a comparison with those of liberalized Europe is attempted. Special attention is given to the United Kingdom, as an example of a completely liberalized market, and also to Spain due to its close links to the Portuguese energy sector. From the results obtained, possible future scenarios for Portugal in a liberalization context are presented

Integration in European Retail Banking : Evidence from savings and lending rates to non-financial corporations

The aim of this paper is to investigate the integration process in the European Union retail banking sector during the period 1995-2008, by analysing deposit and lending rates to nonfinancial corporations which represent one of the main constituents of retail banking. An important contribution of the paper is the application of the recently developed Phillips and Sul (2007a) panel convergence methodology which has not hitherto been employed in this area. This method analyses the degree as well as the speed of convergence, identifies the presence of club formation, and measures the behaviour of each country’s transition path relative to the panel average. The results obtained point to the presence of close convergence in all deposit rates and in the short-term lending rates to non-financial corporations. However, we also detect the presence of heterogeneity in the European retail banking sector with notably some diverse convergence patterns observed for the transition paths for the deposit and lending rates with longer maturities.Submitted Versio

Europe’s Care Regimes and the Role of Migrant Care Workers Within Them

This paper is an examination of the recent restructuring and subsequent convergence of European long-term care models. This paper also aims to highlight the increased role of migrant care workers and the need for great social and governmental recognition for all care providers. The provision of long term care is complex, divided between state, market and family providers; the state alone could not and does not act as the sole provider of care (Banks 1998). The extent to which different sectors are relied upon is largely dependent on the ideology of the country's welfare state (Timonen and Doyle 2007)

Motivators of SME initial export choice and the European Union regional effect in manufacturing

Purpose – A global reach in exporting has been linked to profitability. The purpose of this paper is to answer the influence of EU regulations on exporting decisions of UK manufacturing small- and medium-sized firms (SMEs) by investigating the home and host country-based motivators behind SMEs’ choice to export, and export regionally, within the EU. Design/methodology/approach – Contrasting the Uppsala and resource-based view perspectives (using a sample of UK independent manufacturing SMEs and utilizing a survey, correlation analysis and factor analysis), the paper finds and describes the effect of the most recurrent motivators from the literature on the SMEs’ decision to export within the EU or not. Findings – The paper finds that SMEs whose latest international market entry was not in the EU scored significantly higher in the factor scorings for the motivators in the external dimension than participants whose latest entry was in the EU. Several motivators show an association with the choice to export per se. The importance of regionalization to export initiation (and EU membership) within the EU is emphasized in the results. Research limitations/implications – The sample size is limited. Practical implications – In the current climate, how can SMEs reduce market research costs for managers by relying solely and proactively on home country and internal advantages and motivators and being more aware of their surroundings? Managers and policymakers can direct their strategy, resources and policy more efficiently according to motivators; internal home country motivators (e.g. strengths of prices of products) direct the SME to overcome inter-regional liability of foreignness, while host country motivators (e.g. legal restrictions in the host country) direct them to regional ventures. Originality/value – The theoretical and empirical work on the topic, until recently, has been fragmented and inconsistent focusing on specific motivators but not necessarily justifying the selection or origin of variables even less on SMEs

Cultural and creative industries and regional diversification:Does size matter?

This paper aims at analysing how the presence of workers employed in cultural and creative industries (CCIs) is related to regional specialized diversification. From a theoretical perspective, CCIs drive economic development and local innovative capacity by facilitating processes of cross-fertilization of ideas. This study estimates an entry model analysing the ability of Italian provinces to successfully create new sectoral specializations. The results indicate that the relationship between the share of employees in CCIs and the probability of creating new sectoral specializations is non-linear, highlighting the need for CCIs-led policies to achieve a certain level of critical mass to be successful