Earnings inequality in transition economies of Central Europetrends and patterns during the 1990s

This paper documents trends in earnings distribution during the transition in Central Europe, and examines changes in relative wages that have underlined the rise in earnings inequality. The paper finds that the widening of earnings distribution was concentrated in the early phase of transition, and the trend towards greater inequality in most countries tapered off during the late 1990s. This suggests that a new equilibrium has been reached, or at least approached. This equilibrium is characterized by high but not exorbitant earnings dispersion. In most transitional economies of Central Europe earnings inequality is in the upper part of the OECD range, rarely beyond that range. The widening of earnings distribution has occurred at its both ends. The relative position of low-paid workers has deteriorated while the position of top paid workers has improved. At the same time the incidence of both low- and high-pay has considerably increased. High earnings dispersion is particularly pronounced in the private sector. The main observable factor behind the increase in earnings inequality during the transition has been the increase in the premium to university education. Education is currently the single most important variable explaining the attained level of inequality, whereas inter-industry wage differentials are second in importance. The contribution of other factors, such as gender, labor market experience, location, is small or insignificant.Inequality,Wages, Compensation&Benefits,Fiscal&Monetary Policy,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Economic Theory&Research

Aeroelastic stability analysis of the AD-1 manned oblique-wing aircraft

The AD-1 manned flight test program was conducted to evaluate the stability, control and handling characteristics of oblique wing aircraft. The results of the aeroelastic stability analysis are presented for both the wing alone and the wing with ailerons. A comparison was made between the results obtained using the traditional k-method of flutter analysis and the results using the PK or British method of flutter analysis. Studies were performed using the latest version of the NASTRAN computer code as well as the PASS/FLUT program

Einstein clusters as models of inhomogeneous spacetimes

We study the effect of small-scale inhomogeneities for Einstein clusters. We construct a spherically symmetric stationary spacetime with small-scale radial inhomogeneities and propose the Gedankenexperiment. An hypothetical observer at the center constructs, using limited observational knowledge, a simplified homogeneous model of the configuration. An idealization introduces side effects. The inhomogeneous spacetime and the effective homogeneous spacetime are given by simple solutions to Einstein equations. They provide a basic toy-model for studies of the effect of small-scale inhomogeneities in general relativity. We show that within our highly inhomogeneous model the effect of small-scale inhomogeneities remains small for a central observer. The homogeneous model fits very well to all hypothetical observations as long as their precision is not high enough to reveal a tension.Comment: 23 pages; minor changes to match published versio

Symbiotic stars as possible progenitors of SNe Ia: binary parameters and overall outlook

Symbiotic stars are interacting binaries in which the first-formed white dwarf accretes and burns material from a red giant companion. This paper aims at presenting physical characteristics of these objects and discussing their possible link with progenitors of type Ia supernovae.Comment: 4 pages. Invited rewiev at "Binary Paths to Type Ia Supernovae", IAU Symposium No. 281, R. Di Stefano & M. Orio, eds., Cambridge University Pres

Labor markets and poverty in Bulgaria

Economic transition in Bulgaria has been associated with the emergence of unemployment, the fall in real wages and a substantial increase in wage inequality. The ranks of low-paid workers have grown and their relative wage status has substantially deteriorated. Unemployment is of long duration. A part of the problem is that the unemployed have excessive wage expectations. Their reservation wages far exceed the wages that employers actually offer for people of given qualifications. The reservation wages hardly fall with the duration of unemployment, which implies that job search is not adaptive. The receipt of unemployment benefits does not seem to reduce the job search effort. The transition hit the hardest the low-skilled workers among whom both the incidence of unemployment and low pay is the highest. Poverty in Bulgaria tends to be a result of both low (relative) earnings and low household labor supply, which often go hand-in-hand. However, work does not keep families out of poverty: the"working poor"account for one-third of all poor. Moreover, poverty incidence s quite high even among families with two earners. Thus, Bulgaria does not conform to the usually observed pattern whereby two earners effectively protect against poverty.Labor Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Youth and Governance

The vibration characteristics of a coupled helicopter rotor-fuselage by a finite element analysis

The dynamic coupling between the rotor system and the fuselage of a simplified helicopter model in hover was analytically investigated. Mass, aerodynamic damping, and elastic and centrifugal stiffness matrices are presented for the analytical model; the model is based on a beam finite element, with polynomial mass and stiffness distributions for both the rotor and fuselage representations. For this analytical model, only symmetric fuselage and collective blade degrees of freedom are treated. Real and complex eigen-analyses are carried out to obtain coupled rotor-fuselage natural modes and frequencies as a function of rotor speed. Vibration response results are obtained for the coupled system subjected to a radially uniform, harmonic blade loading. The coupled response results are compared with response results from an uncoupled analysis in which hub loads for an isolated rotor system subjected to the same sinusoidal blade loading as the coupled system are applied to a free-free fuselage