Defence and space expenditures in the US: An inter-firm analysis

The economic impact of defence and space expenditures has been an important policy issue because of the secondary benefits expected to be accruing from it. Although defence and space activities can stimulate the early development of many technologies, the lasting economic impact of these technologies is difficult to measure. To capture the scientific and technological values added of defence and space financed productions, we have depended on the patents and scientific and technical publications as the indicators. The economic performance has been measured by two separate indicators: (a) firm growth in terms of average annual rate of change in the number of employees, and (b) rate of return on sales measured by the company's net profits in relation to sales. From 1970-75 and 1980-85 the weight within the manufacturing sector of both defence contractors and the civilian companies increased. Defence firms gained considerably in terms of sales, employment, gross plants and company funded R&D in the latter period under the Reagan Administration. Whereas this may be considered a Reagan effect in defence procurement, other indicators point to in the opposite direction: (a) decrease in the shares of defence R&D contracts, (b) relatively low growth of patent output as percent of total manufacturing from the defence firms, and (c) decrease in scientific publications from defence firms per 1000 employees. Firm level analysis showed that military R&D contracts did not contribute to economic or technical efficiency. Space expenditure did not contribute to improvement of economic performance as measured by company growth and profitability. NASA contracts were not associated with technical progress measured by patents, but they improved scientific publications. Defence expenditures are not of importance for the overall economic efficiency. The standard financial variables, capital formation and own R&D activities prove mostly relevant. The study is restricted to an efficiency analysis in a cross sectional comparison and does not include the effect of market structure.

Defence and space expenditures in the US: An inter-firm analysis

The economic impact of defence and space expenditures has been an important policy issue because of the secondary benefits expected to be accruing from it. Although defence and space activities can stimulate the early development of many technologies, the lasting economic impact of these technologies is difficult to measure. To capture the scientific and technological values added of defence and space financed productions, we have depended on the patents and scientific and technical publications as the indicators. The economic performance has been measured by two separate indicators: (a) firm growth in terms of average annual rate of change in the number of employees, and (b) rate of return on sales measured by the company's net profits in relation to sales. From 1970-75 and 1980-85 the weight within the manufacturing sector of both defence contractors and the civilian companies increased. Defence firms gained considerably in terms of sales, employment, gross plants and company funded R&D in the latter period under the Reagan Administration. Whereas this may be considered a Reagan effect in defence procurement, other indicators point to in the opposite direction: (a) decrease in the shares of defence R&D contracts, (b) relatively low growth of patent output as percent of total manufacturing from the defence firms, and (c) decrease in scientific publications from defence firms per 1000 employees. Firm level analysis showed that military R&D contracts did not contribute to economic or technical efficiency. Space expenditure did not contribute to improvement of economic performance as measured by company growth and profitability. NASA contracts were not associated with technical progress measured by patents, but they improved scientific publications. Defence expenditures are not of importance for the overall economic efficiency. The standard financial variables, capital formation and own R&D activities prove mostly relevant. The study is restricted to an efficiency analysis in a cross sectional comparison and does not include the effect of market structure

ADVANCE system testing: Can coverage of pertussis vaccination be estimated in European countries using electronic healthcare databases: An example

Introduction: The Accelerated Development of VAccine beNefit-risk Collaboration in Europe (ADVANCE) is a public-private collaboration aiming to develop and test a system for rapid benefit-risk (B/R) monitoring of vaccines, using existing healthcare databases in Europe. The objective of this paper was to assess the feasibility of using electronic healthcare databases to estimate dose-specific acellular pertussis (aP) and whole cell pertussis (wP) vaccine coverage. Methods: Seven electronic healthcare databases in four European countries (Denmark (n = 2), UK (n = 2), Spain (n = 2) and Italy (n = 1)) participated in this study. Children were included from birth and followed up to age six years. Vaccination exposure was obtained from the databases and classified by type (aP or wP), and dose 1, 2 or 3. Coverage was estimated using period prevalence. For the 2006 birth cohort, two estimation methods for pertussis vaccine coverage, period prevalence and cumulative incidence were compared for each database. Results: The majority of the 2,575,576 children included had been vaccinated at the country-specific recommended ages. Overall, the estimated dose 3 coverage was 88–97% in Denmark (birth cohorts from 2003 to 2014), 96–100% in the UK (2003–2014), 95–98% in Spain (2004–2014) and 94% in Italy (2006–2007). The estimated dose 3 coverage per birth cohort in Denmark and the UK differed by 1–6% compared with national estimates, with our estimates mostly higher. The estimated dose 3 coverage in Spain differed by 0–2% with no consistent over- or underestimation. In Italy, the estimates were 3% lower compared with the national estimates. Except for Italy, for which the two coverage estimation methods generated the same results, the estimated cumulative incidence coverages were consistently 1–10% lower than period prevalence estimates. Conclusion: Thi

Defence and space expenditures in the US: an inter-firm analysis

SIGLEAvailable from Bibliothek des Instituts fuer Weltwirtschaft, ZBW, Duesternbrook Weg 120, D-24105 Kiel C 173914 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Is It Time for Vaccination to "Go Viral"?

To promote and sustain excellent vaccination coverage, while preserving the key core values of ethics, truth, transparency and trust, the vaccine community should adopt modern digital communication strategies. This article summarizes our views-as experts in multidisciplinary field of vaccinology (consisting of an anthropologist, a public health policy advisor, a vaccine industry expert, a health care journalist and a practicing physician)-which were presented at a satellite symposium held at the 33rd European Society of Paediatric Infectious Disease conference in Leipzig, Germany, in May 2015. This article aims to suggest and recommend strategies to promote vaccination awareness, and highlight proactive measures for building, maintaining and enhancing trust in vaccination through innovative communication and evidence-based interaction with the end user. We believe that converting the results of vaccine research into a successful vaccination program, and replacing misinformation with evidence-based communication, will require a multidisciplinary approach that embraces modern digital and tailored applications to reach out to all populations