In Search of An ICT Impact on TFP: Evidence from Industry Panel Data

This paper uses a new set of industry data for the US and the UK non-agricultural market economy, to provide new evidence on the impact of ICT on TFP. We compare the results from standard panel data techniques with newly developed dynamic panel data estimation methods. The traditional industry panel data analysis fails to find a significant impact of ICT on output/TFP growth. This paper argues that this is due to heterogeneity across industries, particularly in the time dimension. An alternative technique which allows the dynamic specification to vary across industries yields a positive and significant long-run impact of ICT on TFP.productivity, ICT capital, heterogeneous dynamic panels

A perspective on UK productivity performance

The paper reviews recent UK productivity performance using insights from new growth economics and its embodiment in growth accounting techniques. The sources of the UK labour productivity gap are found to differ across countries; broad capital per worker plays a larger part with regard to France and Germany while innovation matters more compared with the USA. The role of incentive structures is examined and the importance of competition as an antidote to agency problems in UK firms is highlighted. Current UK policy is reviewed and the need to address government as well as market failures is stressed.

Technology, intangible assets and the decline of the labor share

We investigate the decline of the labor share in a world characterized by rapid technological changes and increasing heterogeneity of capital assets. Our theoretical model allows for these assets to affect the labor share in different directions depending on the capital-labor substitution/complementary relationship and the workers' skill level. We test the predictions of our model using a large cross-country, cross-industry data set, considering different forms of tangible and intangible capital inputs. Our results show that, over the 1970-2007 period, the decline of the labor share has been mainly driven by technical change and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) assets, mitigated by increasing investments in R&D-based knowledge assets. Extending to other forms of intangible capital from 1995 onwards, we find that intangible investments related to innovation increase the labor share while those related to the organisation of firms contribute to its decline, particularly for the low and intermediate skilled workers. Our results are robust to an array of econometric issues, namely heterogeneity, cross-sectional dependence, and endogeneit

Skill bias, age and organizational change

This paper considers evidence on the impact of ICT on demand for different types of workers, focusing in particular on the age dimension. It first examines data from EUKLEMS using regressions standard in the literature and suggests ICT may have adversely affected older workers, in particular high skilled males aged 50 and over. The paper then uses data from the EU Labour Force Survey, linked to EUKLEMS, to examine whether the observed differences by worker type could be due to variations in on the job training. It shows that training linked to ICT use can explain some of the wage variation and that reluctance by older men to undertake training has a role as well as lower offers of training by firms

Skill bias, age and organizational change

This paper considers evidence on the impact of ICT on demand for different types of workers, focusing in particular on the age dimension. It first examines data from EUKLEMS using regressions standard in the literature and suggests ICT may have adversely affected older workers, in particular high skilled males aged 50 and over. The paper then uses data from the EU Labour Force Survey, linked to EUKLEMS, to examine whether the observed differences by worker type could be due to variations in on the job training. It shows that training linked to ICT use can explain some of the wage variation and that reluctance by older men to undertake training has a role as well as lower offers of training by firms

New measures of workforce skills in the EU

This paper presents new data series designed to yield a more complete picture of the growth in average skill levels embedded in the EU workforce, comparing with competitor countries such as the US and China. Harmonised data from EU surveys are employed to extend coverage in existing databases to more countries, to cover the period of the financial crisis, and to skills acquired through informal workforce training. The results indicate growth in labour quality in the EU15 marginally below the US, convergence of the group of new member states to the EU15 but no sign of convergence of China to more developed regions. There is evidence of a pronounced rise in labour quality in most countries after 2007, consistent with theories of labour hoarding, but with some notable exceptions. Expanding the conventional measures of labour quality to include informal training leads to small but significant increases in the growth of human capital in some EU15 member states

Multiple-locus variable number of tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) of Irish verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli O157 from feedlot cattle: uncovering strain dissemination routes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The identification of the routes of dissemination of <it>Escherichia coli (E. coli) </it>O157 through a cohort of cattle is a critical step to control this pathogen at farm level. The aim of this study was to identify potential routes of dissemination of <it>E. coli </it>O157 using Multiple-Locus Variable number of tandem repeat Analysis (MLVA).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty-eight environmental and sixteen cattle faecal isolates, which were detected in four adjacent pens over a four-month period were sub-typed. MLVA could separate these isolates into broadly defined clusters consisting of twelve MLVA types. Strain diversity was observed within pens, individual cattle and the environment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Application of MLVA is a broadly useful and convenient tool when applied to uncover the dissemination of <it>E. coli </it>O157 in the environment and in supporting improved on-farm management of this important pathogen. These data identified diverse strain types based on amplification of VNTR markers in each case.</p

Confined crystallization of fenofibrate in nanoporous silica

Producing stable nanocrystals confined to porous excipient media is a desirable way to increase the dissolution rate and improve the bioavailability of poorly water soluble pharmaceuticals. The poorly soluble pharmaceutical fenofibrate was crystallized in controlled pore glass (CPG) of 10 different pore sizes between 12 nm and 300 nm. High drug loadings of greater than 20 wt% were achieved across all pore sizes greater than 20 nm. Nanocrystalline fenofibrate was formed in pore sizes greater than 20 nm and showed characteristic melting point depressions following a Gibbs–Thomson relationship as well as enhanced dissolution rates. Solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) was employed to characterize the crystallinity of the confined molecules. These results help to advance the fundamental understanding of nanocrystallization in confined pores.Novartis-MIT Center for Continuous ManufacturingNational Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (Grant EB-002026)Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship