The Returns to Cognitive Abilities and Personality Traits in Germany

We provide the first joint evidence on the relationship between individuals' cognitive abilities, their personality and earnings for Germany. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, we employ scores from an ultra-short IQ-test and a set of measures of personality traits, namely locus of control, reciprocity and all basic items from the Five Factor Personality Inventory. Our estimates suggest a positive effect of so-called fluid intelligence or speed of cognition on males' wages only. Findings for personality traits are more heterogeneous. There however is a robust wage penalty for an external locus of control for both men and women

Gender Pay Gaps in the Former Soviet Union: A Review of the Evidence

The goal of this paper is to examine the patterns and movements of the gender pay gaps in the countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU) and to place them in the context of advanced economies. We survey over 30 publications and conduct a meta-analysis of this literature. Gender pay gaps in the region are considerable and above the levels observed in advanced economies. Similar to advanced economies, industrial and occupational segregation widens the gaps in the FSU countries, whereas gender differences in educational attainment tend to shrink them. However, a much higher proportion of the gaps remain unexplained, pointing toward the role of unobserved gender differences related to actual and perceived productivity. Over the last 25 years, the gaps contracted in most FSU countries, primarily due to the reduction in the unexplained portion. Underlying the contraction at the mean are different movements in the gap across the pay distribution. Although the glass-ceiling effect has diminished in some FSU countries, it has persisted in others. We investigate the reasons underlying these findings and argue that the developments in the FSU region shed new light on our understanding of the gender pay gaps

Temporary Agency Work and Firm Competitiveness: Evidence from German Manufacturing Firms

This paper addresses the relationship between the utilization of temporary agency workers by firms and their competitiveness measured by unit labor costs, using a rich, newly built, data set of German manufacturing enterprises. The analysis is conducted by applying different panel data models while taking the inherent selection problem into account. Making use of dynamic panel data models allows us to control for firm specific fixed effects as well as for potential endogeneity of explanatory variables. The results indicate a U-shaped relationship between the extent that temporary agency workers are used and the competitiveness of firms

ОПЫТ ПРИМЕНЕНИЯ РИТУКСИМАБА У БОЛЬНОЙ СИСТЕМНЫМ ЮВЕНИЛЬНЫМ ИДИОПАТИЧЕСКИМ АРТРИТОМ

The article presents a case of early onset and severe systemic form of juvenile idiopathic arthritis refractory to classical immunosuppressive therapy, including pulse therapy with methotrexate and combined therapy with methotrexate and cyclosporine. There is described the successful use of chimeric antibodies to CD20 on B lymphocytes — Rituximab — a dose of 375 mg/m2 of body surface in the form of intravenous infusions of 1 time per week for 4 weeks. The child has got one course of treatment with rituximab. By the 12th week of treatment the extraarticular disease manifestations and acute inflammatory changes in the joints stopped, the range of motion in affected joints significantly increased. 22 weeks later the drug induced the development of clinical and laboratory remission, the duration of which is 2.5 years.В статье представлен случай раннего дебюта и тяжелого течения системного варианта ювенильного идиопатического артрита, рефрактерного к терапии классическими иммунодепрессантами, включая пульс-терапию метотрексатом и комбинированное лечение метотрексатом и циклоспорином. Описано успешное применение химерных антител к CD20 на В лимфоцитах — ритуксимаба — в дозе 375 мг/м2 поверхности тела в виде внутривенных инфузий 1 раз в нед в течение 4 нед. У ребенка был проведен 1 курс лечения ритуксимабом. К 12-й нед от начала лечения купировались экстраартикулярные проявления болезни и островоспалительные изменения в суставах, значительно нарос объем движений в пораженных суставах. Через 22 нед препарат индуцировал развитие клинико-лабораторной ремиссии, длительность которой составляет 2,5 года.

Is Being Agreeable a Key to Success or Failure in the Labor Market?

The aim of this study was to elucidate how individual differences in noncognitive skills, as measured by the Big Five personality traits, explain variation in labor market outcomes. Japanese and U.S. survey data were analyzed to examine the associations between personality traits and later outcomes in the two countries. We focused on country-specific, noncognitive determinants of annual income, which were found in agreeableness among male workers. Agreeableness seemed to contribute to annual income in Japanese men, whereas it acted as a penalty in American men. In both countries, higher agreeableness tended to translate into higher income for those working at large companies (1,000 employees or more) compared with those working at small companies. Although agreeableness was rewarded by income, it did not necessarily lead to career advancement. Furthermore, the agreeableness premium was still observed even after controlling for labor-related variables such as occupational choice and working hours. This suggests that agreeableness might act as part of a skill set that directly improves job performance and productivity at large companies, rather than acting indirectly through career advancement or occupational choice

Sourcing Technological Knowledge Through Foreign Inward Licensing to Boost the Performance of Indian Firms: The Contingent Effects of Internal R&D and Business Group Affiliation

Sourcing technological knowledge from abroad is becoming a popular strategy among emerging market firms (EMFs). Combining the Knowledge-Based View and the Resource Dependence Theory, we argue that augmenting technological knowledge through foreign licensing enables EMFs to access state-of-the-art technological knowledge, reduce operational costs and risks associated to the innovation process, and develop a knowledge-based competitive advantage, ultimately boosting their financial performance. Using data about Indian firms observed from 2001 to 2013, we find that firms with a higher share of foreign inward technology licenses report better financial performance. However, the positive impact of technological knowledge accessed through inward licensing on firm performance is contingent upon: (1) the internal knowledge developed through R&D activity, and (2) the affiliation with business groups. While Indian firms with higher level of internal R&D are able to better leverage the value of foreign technological knowledge, thus reaching higher performance, firms affiliated to business groups gain fewer benefits from licensed foreign technological knowledge than non-business-group affiliated firms

The Returns to Personality Traits Across the Wage Distribution

This paper investigates heterogeneous wage effects of non-cognitive skills across the wage distribution. I develop a model of wage determination under uncertainty with respect to individual productivity based on three components (minimum wages, productivity premiums, bargaining premiums). Based on this model, I expect (i) a larger importance and (ii) larger effects of non-cognitive skills for high-wage employees compared to their low-wage counterparts. I test these hypotheses with unconditional quantile regressions using large-scale survey data from Germany, the UK, and Australia. To test the joint explanatory contribution of multiple variables within a quantile-regression framework, I propose a new statistic that quantifies the rise in explanatory power generated by additional explanatory variables. The findings indicate a rising importance as well as increasing effects of certain personality traits (agreeableness, neuroticism and risk taking) across the wage distribution for full-time employed males and females