Deep and Proximate Determinants of the World Income Distribution

This paper studies the deep and proximate determinants of the evolution of the cross-country distribution of GDP per worker in the period 1960–2008 by a novel method based on an information criterion. We find that countries of our sample follow three distinctive growth regimes identified by two deep determinants, namely life expectancy at birth in 1960 and the share of Catholics in 1965, and that each regime is characterized by non-linearities. Growth regimes appear to be the main cause of the increased inequality and polarization, while technological catch-up, proxied by the initial level of GDP per worker, acts in the opposite direction. Finally, human capital marginally reduces polarization, while investment rates and employment growth have no distributional effect

Counterfactual Distribution Dynamics across European Regions

This paper proposes a methodology which combines elements of parametric regression analysis with the nonparametric distribution dynamics approach in order to analyse the role of some variables in the convergence of productivity across European regions over the period 1980-2002. We find that the initial productivity crucially accounts in the convergence process across European regions. Differently, employment growth seems not to play a role, while the Structural and Cohesion Funds seem to play a positive role, even though such effect seems to be very low and statistically significant only at the low bound of the range of initial productivity. The structural change of regional economies plays a positive role, but such effect is statistically significant only for the least productive regions. The output composition of a region in 1980 affects the convergence process of productivity growth in several ways. In particular, the share of non market services on output acts like a source of convergence from 1980 to 2002 but in the long-run it plays a negligible role. Finally, the share of finance acts like a force of divergence across European regions, especially for the least productive regions

On the Determinants of Distribution Dynamics

n this paper we propose a novel approach to identify the impact of growth determinants on the distribution dynamics of productivit y. Our approach integrates counterfactual analysis with the estima tion of stochastic kernels. The counterfactuals are constructed from a semi-parametric growth regression, in which the cross-section heterogeneity in the growth determinants is removed. The methodology also allows us to test for potential distributional effects in the residuals. We illustrate the usefulness of the proposed methodology by an application to a cross-section of countries, which highlights the significant impact on inequality and polarization in the world productivity distribution of growth determinants from an augmented Solow model

On the Determinants of Distribution Dynamics

n this paper we propose a novel approach to identify the impact of growth determinants on the distribution dynamics of productivit y. Our approach integrates counterfactual analysis with the estima tion of stochastic kernels. The counterfactuals are constructed from a semi-parametric growth regression, in which the cross-section heterogeneity in the growth determinants is removed. The methodology also allows us to test for potential distributional effects in the residuals. We illustrate the usefulness of the proposed methodology by an application to a cross-section of countries, which highlights the significant impact on inequality and polarization in the world productivity distribution of growth determinants from an augmented Solow model

Experimental characterization of the inner surface in micro-drilling of spray holes: A comparison between ultrashort pulsed laser and EDM

In this research, the inner surface characteristics of micro-drilled holes of fuel injector nozzles were analyzed by Shear Force Microscopy (SHFM). The surface texture was characterized by maximum peak-to-valley distance and periodicity whose dimensions were related to the adopted energy. 180 μm diameter holes were drilled using ultrashort pulsed laser process using pulse energies within the range of 10-50 μJ. Laser ablated surfaces in the tested energy range offer a smooth texture with a peculiar periodic structure with a variation in height between 60 and 90 nm and almost constant periodicity. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) photograph of the Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structure (LIPSS) showed the co-existence of Low Spatial Frequency LIPSS (LSFL) and High Spatial Frequency LIPSS (HSFL). A comparative analysis was carried out between the highest laser pulse energy in the tested range energy laser drilling which enables the shortest machining time and micro-Electrical Discharge Machining (μ-EDM). On the contrary, results showed that surfaces obtained by electro-erosion are characterized by a random distribution of craters with a total excursion up to 1.5 μm with a periodicity of 10 μm. The mean-squared surface roughness (Rq) derived from the scanned maps ranges between 220 and 560 nm for μ-EDM, and between 50 and 100 nm for fs-pulses laser drilling

Electroweak superpartner production at 13.6 TeV with Resummino

Due to the greater experimental precision expected from the currently ongoing LHC Run 3, equally accurate theoretical predictions are essential. We update the documentation of the Resummino package, a program dedicated to precision cross section calculations for the production of a pair of sleptons, electroweakinos, and leptons in the presence of extra gauge bosons, and for the production of an associated electroweakino-squark or electroweakino-gluino pair. We detail different additions that have been released since the initial version of the program a decade ago, and then use the code to investigate the impact of threshold resummation corrections at the next-to-next-to-leading-logarithmic accuracy. As an illustration of the code we consider the production of pairs of electroweakinos and sleptons at the LHC for centre-of-mass energies ranging up to 13.6 TeV and in simplified model scenarios. We find slightly increased total cross section values, accompanied by a significant decrease of the associated theoretical uncertainties. Furthermore, we explore the dependence of the results on the squark masses.Comment: 30 pages, 5 figure

evaluation of botulinum toxin therapy of spastic equinus in paediatric patients with cerebral palsy

Objective: To develop a clinical and instrumental protocol to assess the postural and dynamic effects following treatment with botulinum neurotoxin A in children with cerebral palsy affected by spastic equinus. Design: Open study, in which every patient served as his or her own control. Patients: Ten sequential children with cerebral palsy and spastic dynamic equinus foot. Methods: Botulinum neurotoxin A was injected in the gastrocnemius, soleus and tibialis posterior muscles. The main measures were: pedobarometry, dynamic surface electromyography, video gait analysis scale, and the modified As hworth Scale. Results: After treatment with botulinum neurotoxin A, pedobarometric evaluation revealed a significant change in all parameters, including a decrease in the modified Ashworth Scale and an increase in the range of motion. All children showed significant improvement in initial foot contact, as documented by the video gait analysis scale. The calf muscle electromyography pattern showed a decrease in co-contraction during gait in all children. These modifications were sta tistically significant for all parameters considered ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: This pilot study suggests that dynamic electr