On the Home Market Effect: Theory and Empirical Evidence

This paper addresses the question of how to discriminate between the H-O paradigm and the C-H-O paradigm of international trade. The test is based on the home-biased expenditure. The model predicts a positive relationshipp between a country's share of world's output (in any particular sector) and the country's share of world's home-biased expenditure if and only if the sector is characterize4d by IRS and monopolistic competition. The Empirical implementation showed an important but not overwhelming presence of the relationship. Specifically, 55% of the industrial activity could be attributed to the H-O paradigm while 45% could be attributed to the C-H-O paradigm.

Home-Biased Demand and International Specialisation: A Test of Trade Theories

We develop and apply a discriminating criterion to distinguish the two principal paradigms of international trade theory: constant-returns perfectly competitive models on the one hand, and increasing-returns monopolistically competitive models on the other. Our criterion rests on the existence of home-biased demand. It predicts a positive relationship between countries' relative output and their relative home bias in increasing-returns sectors, and no relationship in constant-returns sectors. In implementing the test on data for OECD countries we find that industries accounting for up to two thirds of manufacturing output conform to the increasing-returns monopolistically competitive model

The Centre acknowledges financial support from The Leverhulme Trust under Programme Grant F114/BFThe Authors

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Autophagy and the lysosomal system in cancer

Autophagy and the lysosomal system, together referred to as the autophagolysosomal system, is a cellular quality control network which maintains cellular health and homeostasis by removing cellular waste including protein aggregates, damaged organelles, and invading pathogens. As such, the autophagolysosomal system has roles in a variety of pathophysiological disorders, including cancer, neurological disorders, immune- and inflammation-related diseases, and metabolic alterations, among others. The autophagolysosomal system is controlled by TFEB, a master transcriptional regulator driving the expression of multiple genes, including autophagoly sosomal components. Importantly, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) production and control are key aspects of the physiopathological roles of the autophagolysosomal system, and may hold a key for synergistic therapeutic interventions. In this study, we reviewed our current knowledge on the biology and physiopathology of the autophagolysosomal system, and its potential for therapeutic intervention in cancer

Policy Issues in NEG Models: Established Results and Open Questions

This paper provides a non-technical overview of NEG models dealing with policy issues. Considered policy measures include alternative categories of public expenditure, international tax competition, unilateral actions of protection/liberalisation, and trade agreements. The implications of public intervention in two-region NEG models are discussed by unfolding the impact of policy measures on agglomeration/dispersion forces. Results are described in contrast with those obtained in standard non-NEG theoretical models. The high degree of abstraction limits the applicability of NEG models to real world policy issues. We discuss in some detail two extensions of NEG models to reduce this applicability gap: the cases of multi-regional frameworks and firm heterogeneity

Achats publics et spécialisation internationale: l'effet d'entraînement

Nous étudions les conséquences sur la spécialisation internationale, des achats publics biaisés en faveur des producteurs nationaux. Notre analyse théorique conclut qu'un pays se spécialisera dans le secteur relativement favorisé par les achats publics (Nous appelons ceci "l'effet d'entraînement" des dépenses publiques) . L'analyse empirique qui s'en suit, menée à partir de données input-output de l'Union européenne, vient soutenir nos prédictions théoriques

Public expenditure, international specialisation and agglomeration

We study the impact of home-biased public expenditure on international specialisation in general equilibrium models with increasing returns and monopolistic competition. It is found that home-biased procurement attracts increasing-returns industries to the home country (the "pull" effect) and attenuates the overall degree of industrial specialisation (the "spread" effect). Empirical evidence based on input-output data for the European Union confirms the existence of these links between public expenditure and the location of manufacturing activities

Public expenditure, international specialisation and agglomeration

We study the impact of home-biased public expenditure on international specialisation in general equilibrium models with increasing returns and monopolistic competition. It is found that home-biased procurement attracts increasing-returns industries to the home country (the "pull" effect) and attenuates the overall degree of industrial specialisation (the "spread" effect). Empirical evidence based on input-output data for the European Union confirms the existence of these links between public expenditure and the location of manufacturing activities