Taking Keller seriously: trade and distance in international R&D spillovers

In a much cited paper, Wolfgang Keller (Are international R&D spillovers trade-related? Analyzing spillovers among randomly matched trade partners, European Economic Review, 48, 1469-1481, 1998) claims that international R&D spillovers are global and trade-unrelated. In following works, Keller revisits his position and maintains that spillovers are localized because the tacit nature of knowledge favors the direct interaction among agents. Whether the international R&D spillovers are global and trade-related still remains a debated issue in the empirical literature. By adopting two empirical specifications that nest Keller's models, we i) reject the hypothesis that international R&D spillovers are global and ii) show that these latter depend on both geographical distance and international trade.International R&D spillovers, International technology diusion, Localized knowledge spillovers, Total Factor Productivity

Taking Keller seriously: trade and distance in international R&D spillovers

In a much cited paper, Wolfgang Keller (Are international R&D spillovers trade-related? Analyzing spillovers among randomly matched trade partners, European Economic Review, 48, 1469-1481, 1998) claims that international R&D spillovers are global and trade-unrelated. In following works, Keller revisits his position and maintains that spillovers are localized because the tacit nature of knowledge favors the direct interaction among agents. Whether the international R&D spillovers are global and trade-related still remains a debated issue in the empirical literature. By adopting two empirical specifications that nest Keller’s models, we i) reject the hypothesis that international R&D spillovers are global and ii) show that these latter depend on both geographical distance and international trade.International R&D spillovers, International technology diffusion,Localized knowledge spillovers, Total Factor Productivity

International R&D spillovers, absorptive capacity and relative backwardness: a panel smooth transition regression model

We investigate how the country’s absorptive capacity and relative backwardness affect the impact of international R&D spillovers on domestic Total Factor Productivity (TFP). To account for nonlinearities, we adopt a Panel Smooth Transition Regression (PSTR) approach, where the country’s elasticity of TFP to foreign R&D stock is allowed to change smoothly across various identified extreme values, and this change is related to observable transition variables: human capital (capturing the country’s absorptive capacity) and relative backwardness. The results suggest that absorptive capacity is positively associated with international R&D spillovers. In addition, and in contrast with previous results, relative backwardness has a negative and significant impact on them.Absorptive capacity, International R&D spillovers, Nonlinear panel, Smooth Transition Regression, Total Factor Productivity

Informal economy and extractive institutions

The paper aims at assessing the impact of the extractiveness of institutions on the size of the informal economy. After the identification of the variables suitable to proxy the distinct features of institutions, among which their extractiveness, the paper offers a battery of cross-section regressions over two large samples of developed and developing countries. The results suggest that the extractiveness of institutions is a significant determinant of the size of the informal economy and that greater informality is associated with a higher perceived distrust in formal institutions. The results are robust to the inclusion of standard controls, as well as proxies for culture, generalized trust and generalized morality

The gravity of foreign news coverage in the EU: does the euro matter?

This work investigates the systemic factors behind cross-country variability in the transnational media coverage of foreign news in the EU in 2010. Using a large dataset on the transnational coverage of news by 148 EU national media, the paper maps the network of EU transnational citations and performs a quantitative assessment of their systemic determinants via the estimation of a gravity model of news. Nine empirical hypotheses are tested. Size and economic development of the target (source) country are positively (negatively) associated with the probability of coverage. Historical, linguistic and economic ties increase this probability. The evidence on the effect of the countries’ participation in the currency union is weak: once the historical levels of trade integration and the effects of the sovereign debt crisis are accounted for, there is no robust evidence of a higher integration of the media spheres within the euro area

Treatment of primary epiglottis collapse in OSA in adults with glossoepiglottopexy: a 5-year experience

Objective. To review our 5-year experience with a modified version of glossoepiglottopexy for treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSA) in two hospitals.Methods. A retrospective analysis was carried out on a cohort of adult patients affected by OSA suffering from primary collapse of the epiglottis who underwent a modified glossoepiglottopexy. All patients underwent drug-induced sleep endoscopy, polysomnographic and swallowing evaluation, and assessment with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS).Results. Forty-nine patients were retrospectively evaluated. Both the apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) (median AHI(post)-AHI(pre) = -22.4 events/h; p < 0.001) and oxygen desaturation index (ODI) showed a significant postoperative decrease (median ODIpost-ODIpre = -18 events/h; p < 0.001), as did hypoxaemia index (median T-90% post - T-90% pre = 5%; p < 0.001). The ESS questionnaire revealed a significant decrease in postoperative scores (median ESSpost-ESSpre =- 9; p < 0.001). None of the patients developed postoperative dysphagia.Conclusions. Our 5-year experience demonstrates that modified glossoepiglottopexy is a safe and reliable surgical technique for treatment of primary epiglottic collapse in OSA patients

A Distinct Pattern of Circulating Amino Acids Characterizes Older Persons with Physical Frailty and Sarcopenia: Results from the BIOSPHERE Study

Physical frailty and sarcopenia (PF&amp;S) are hallmarks of aging that share a common pathogenic background. Perturbations in protein/amino acid metabolism may play a role in the development of PF&amp;S. In this initial report, 68 community-dwellers aged 70 years and older, 38 with PF&amp;S and 30 non-sarcopenic, non-frail controls (nonPF&amp;S), were enrolled as part as the "BIOmarkers associated with Sarcopenia and Physical frailty in EldeRly pErsons" (BIOSPHERE) study. A panel of 37 serum amino acids and derivatives was assayed by UPLC-MS. Partial Least Squares\u207bDiscriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) was used to characterize the amino acid profile of PF&amp;S. The optimal complexity of the PLS-DA model was found to be three latent variables. The proportion of correct classification was 76.6 \ub1 3.9% (75.1 \ub1 4.6% for enrollees with PF&amp;S; 78.5 \ub1 6.0% for nonPF&amp;S). Older adults with PF&amp;S were characterized by higher levels of asparagine, aspartic acid, citrulline, ethanolamine, glutamic acid, sarcosine, and taurine. The profile of nonPF&amp;S participants was defined by higher concentrations of \u3b1-aminobutyric acid and methionine. Distinct profiles of circulating amino acids and derivatives characterize older people with PF&amp;S. The dissection of these patterns may provide novel insights into the role played by protein/amino acid perturbations in the disabling cascade and possible new targets for interventions

Metabolites

An altered amino acid metabolism has been described in frail older adults which may contribute to muscle loss and functional decline associated with frailty. In the present investigation, we compared circulating amino acid profiles of older adults with physical frailty and sarcopenia (PF&S, = 94), frail/pre-frail older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (F-T2DM, = 66), and robust non-diabetic controls ( = 40). Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models were built to define the amino acid signatures associated with the different frailty phenotypes. PLS-DA allowed correct classification of participants with 78.2 ± 1.9% accuracy. Older adults with F-T2DM showed an amino acid profile characterized by higher levels of 3-methylhistidine, alanine, arginine, ethanolamine, and glutamic acid. PF&S and control participants were discriminated based on serum concentrations of aminoadipic acid, aspartate, citrulline, cystine, taurine, and tryptophan. These findings suggest that different types of frailty may be characterized by distinct metabolic perturbations. Amino acid profiling may therefore serve as a valuable tool for frailty biomarker discovery