Technological sources of productivity growth in Japan, the U.S. and Germany

In this paper, we use a dynamic general equilibrium growth model to quantify the contribution of different technological sources to productivity growth in the three leading economies: Germany, Japan, and the U.S. The sources of technology are classified as representing either neutral progress or investment-specific progress. The latter can be split into two different types of equipment: information and communication technologies (ICT) and non-ICT equipment. We find that in the long run, neutral technological change is the main source of productivity growth in Germany. For Japan and the U.S., the main source of productivity growth is investment-specific technological change, mainly associated with ICT. We also find that a non negligible part of productivity growth has been due to technology specific to non-ICT equipment; this is mainly true after 1995.Productivity growth; Investment-specific progress; Neutral progress; Information and communication technology.

Following the yellow brick road? The Euro, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.

This paper uses a combination of VAR and bootstrapping techniques to analyze whether the exchange rates of some New Member States of the EU have been used as output stabilizers (those of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland), during 1993-2004. This question is important because it provides a prior evaluation on the costs and benefits involved in entering the European Monetary Union (EMU). Joining the EMU is not optional for these countries but mandatory, although there is no definite deadline. Therefore, if the exchange rate works as a shock absorber, monetary independence could be retained for a longer period. Our main finding is that the exchange rate could be a stabilizing tool in Poland and the Czech Republic, although in Hungary it appears to act as a propagator of shocks. In addition, in these three countries, demand and monetary shocks account for most of the variability in both nominal and real exchange rates.EMU, exchange rate, Structural VAR, stationary bootstraps.

The Productivity Paradox and the New Economy: The Spanish Case

This paper studies the impact of the information and communication technologies (ICT) on economic growth in Spain using a dynamic general equilibrium approach. Contrary to previous works, we use a production function with six different capital inputs, three of them corresponding to ICT assets. Calibration of the model suggests that the contribution of ICT to Spanish productivity growth is very relevant, whereas the contribution of non-ICT capital has been even negative. Additionally, over the sample period 1995-2002, we find a negative TFP and productivity growth. These results together aim at the hypothesis that the Spanish economy could be placed within the productivity paradox.New economy, information and communication technologies, technological change, productivity paradox.

ICT-specific technological change and productivity growth in the US 1980-2004

This paper studies the impact of the information and communication technologies (ICT) on U.S. economic growth using a dynamic general equilibrium approach. We use a production function with six different capital inputs, three of them corresponding to ICT assets and other three to non-ICT assets. We find that the technological change embedded in hardware equipment is the main leading non-neutral force of the U.S. productivity growth and accounts for about one quarter of it during the period 1980-2004. As a whole, ICT-specific technological change accounts for about 35% of total labor productivity growth.New economy, information and communication technologies, specific-technological change, neutral-technological change.

Following the yellow brick road? The Euro, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland

This paper uses a combination of VAR and bootstrapping techniques to analyze whether the exchange rates of some New Member States of the EU have been used as output stabilizers (those of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland), during 1993-2004. This question is important because it provides a prior evaluation on the costs and bene?ts involved in entering the European Monetary Union (EMU). Joining the EMU is not optional for these countries but mandatory, although there is no de?nite deadline. Therefore, if the exchange rate works as a shock absorber, monetary independence could be retained for a longer period. Our main ?nding is that the exchange rate could be a stabilizing tool in Poland and the Czech Republic, although in Hungary it appears to act as a propagator of shocks. In addition, in these three countries, demand and monetary shocks account for most of the variability in both nominal and real exchange rates.EMU, exchange rate, Structural VAR, stationary bootstraps

Productivity growth and technological change in Europe and the U.S.

This paper presents an evaluation on the technological sources of labor productivity growth across European countries and the US economy for the period 1980-2004. Assets of capital are divided into those related to the information and communication technologies (ICT), and non-ICT assets. Technological progress is divided into neutral change and investment specific change. Previous exercises have aimed at ICT as a serious contributor to the upsurge of US productivity from 1995 on. Contribution to productivity growth from each type of technological progress for the US and EU-15 countries is computed using two different approaches: a growth accounting and a general equilibrium. The US and Denmark are the countries with the larger contribution from ICT-technological progress. Overall, we find that Europe is well behind the US in terms of the effects of ICT technological change.Productivity growth, Investment-specific technological change, Neutral technological change

Demand Shocks and Trade Balance Dynamics

This paper studies the current account dynamics in the G-7 countries plus Spain. We estimate a SVAR model which allows us to identify three different shocks: supply shocks, real demand shocks and nominal shocks. We use a different identification procedure from previous work based on a microfounded stochastic open-economy model in which the real exchange rate is a determinant of the Phillips curve. Estimates from a structural VAR show that real demand shocks explain most of the variability of current account imbalances, whereas, contrary to previous findings, nominal shocks play no role. The results we obtain are consistent with the predictions of a widely set of open-economy models and illustrate that demand policies are the main responsible of trade imbalances.Current account, SVAR.

Asma inducida por el ejercicio y la clase de Educación Física : ¿qué aspectos ha de tener en cuenta el profesor durante la clase de E. Física enfocada al desarrollo de la resistencia en niños con AIE?

El asma inducida por el ejercicio es una manifestación de la enfermedad asmática. La prevalencia está en aumento y una de las zonas dentro de España con más casos es Andalucía. De este modo existe una gran probabilidad de que un maestro se encuentre con este tipo de alumnos. El problema es el gran desconocimiento por parte del profesorado sobre este tipo de enfermedad. Esto es debido a que existe una gran desinformación sobre qué aspectos hay que tener en cuenta con este tipo de alumnado. Por ello el alumno con AIE muestra una peor condición física con respecto a sus compañeros. Uno de los tratamientos del AIE es la mejora de la condición física. En este aspecto el maestro de educación física tiene un papel fundamental ya que en los objetivos recogidos en el Currículo de Educación Primaria se expone tanto directa como indirectamente el desarrollo de la resistencia. Por ello el maestro de E. Física debe de tener una serie de factores en cuenta de manera que permitan la mejora de la resistencia en este tipo de alumnos y de este modo, intentar reducir el riesgo de crisis o saber actuar durante ellas. La resistencia es uno de los componentes de la condición física y se ha comprobado que a mayor capacidad aeróbica los niños con AIE tienen una mejor respuesta al ejercicio. El eje principal sobre los factores a tener en cuenta es la humedad y temperatura ambienta

On the impact of the radiation pattern of the antenna element on MU-MIMO indoor channels

This paper presents an analysis of the effect that the radiation pattern of the antenna element that makes up the base station array has on the structure of multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) channels. In this paper, the analysis focuses on the uplink. It is well known that the antennas are an inseparable part of the radio channel. The use of more or less directional antennas as elements of the base station array of a MIMO system influences the channel in two fundamental parameters that affect the performance of MU-MIMO systems: on the one hand, the coherence bandwidth, which determines the necessary overhead in the channel estimation; and, on the other hand, the orthogonality of the subchannels between the multiple users and the base station, which influences the degree with which the condition of "favorable propagation" is fulfilled. Based on an experimental analysis using both omnidirectional and directional antennas, conclusions are drawn about how these two parameters are affected and their influence on the spectral efficiency obtainable. The measurement campaign was carried out in an indoor environment in the 3 to 4 GHz band.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, under the project TEC2017-86779-C2-1-R