The fallacy in productivity decomposition

This paper argues that the typical practice of performing growth decompositions based on log-transformed productivity values induces fallacious conclusions: using logs may lead to an inaccurate aggregate growth rate, an inaccurate description of the microsources of aggregate growth, or both. We identify the mathematical sources of this log-induced fallacy in decomposition and analytically demonstrate the questionable reliability of log results. Using firm-level data from the French manufacturing sector during the 2009-2018 period, we empirically show that the magnitude of the log-induced distortions is substantial. Depending on the definition of accurate log measures, we find that around 60-80% of four-digit industry results are prone to mismeasurement. We further find significant correlations of this mismeasurement with commonly deployed industry characteristics, indicating, among other things, that less competitive industries are more prone to log distortions. Evidently, these correlations also a affect the validity of studies that investigate the role of industry characteristics in productivity growth

Distant but within sight: Firm-level evidence about productivity gaps between Germany and France

The study investigates differences in firm productivity levels between France and Germany within the manufacturing sector. In addition, it analyzes the possible asymmetric effect that the Great Recession had on firm productivity in both countries. Our results reveal a systematic productivity advantage of Germany over France in the manufacturing industry over the period 2003-2013. This is explained by a lead of Germany over France in almost every sector considered. At the same the productivity gaps have significantly narrowed down over time. This result is explained both by a better performance of French firms in every sector and by a deterioration of German firms in some sectors, especially after the Great Recession

Regional imaginaries of governance agencies: practising the region of South West Britain

publication-status: AcceptedHarvey D C, Hawkins H, Thomas N J, 2011. The definitive, peer-reviewed and edited version of this article is published in Environment and Planning A 43(2) 470 – 486 DOI: 10.1068/a43380Copyright © 2011 PionChanges in government and governmentality in the UK have witnessed what has been termed a ‘regional renaissance’ over the last decade. This has led to an increase in the number of offices, institutions and agencies operating with a regional remit that is based upon a notion of fixed territorial containers. One sector that has increasingly been brought into the orbit of the new regional policy framework is that of the creative industries, and research is required in order to understand how creative industry governance agencies imagine and interpret the regional spaces that they administer. Notwithstanding the supposedly agreed upon and bounded nature of the territories over which they have competence, we find that personnel working within these regional bodies negotiate and imagine regional space in a number of ways. Drawing on empirical work with three creative governance agencies in the South West of Britain, we consider a range of dynamic and sometimes contradictory understandings of regional space as practised through their policy development and implementation. The paper traces how the practice of creative industry governance challenges the governmentally determined region and, by implication, any territorial unit as a naturally given container that is internally coherent and a discrete space available for governance. In doing so, the paper has broader lessons for effective policy delivery more generally

Varieties of Participation in Public Services: The Who, When, and What of Coproduction

Despite an international resurgence of interest in coproduction, confusion about the concept remains. This article attempts to make sense of the disparate literature and clarify the concept of coproduction in public administration. Based on some definitional distinctions and considerations about who is involved in coproduction, when in the service cycle it occurs, and what is generated in the process, the article offers and develops a typology of coproduction that includes three levels (individual, group, collective) and four phases (commissioning, design, delivery, assessment). The levels, phases, and typology as a whole are illustrated with several examples. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for research and practice

LEARN: A multi-centre, cross-sectional evaluation of Urology teaching in UK medical schools

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the status of UK undergraduate urology teaching against the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) Undergraduate Syllabus for Urology. Secondary objectives included evaluating the type and quantity of teaching provided, the reported performance rate of General Medical Council (GMC)-mandated urological procedures, and the proportion of undergraduates considering urology as a career. MATERIALS AND METHODS: LEARN was a national multicentre cross-sectional study. Year 2 to Year 5 medical students and FY1 doctors were invited to complete a survey between 3rd October and 20th December 2020, retrospectively assessing the urology teaching received to date. Results are reported according to the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES). RESULTS: 7,063/8,346 (84.6%) responses from all 39 UK medical schools were included; 1,127/7,063 (16.0%) were from Foundation Year (FY) 1 doctors, who reported that the most frequently taught topics in undergraduate training were on urinary tract infection (96.5%), acute kidney injury (95.9%) and haematuria (94.4%). The most infrequently taught topics were male urinary incontinence (59.4%), male infertility (52.4%) and erectile dysfunction (43.8%). Male and female catheterisation on patients as undergraduates was performed by 92.1% and 73.0% of FY1 doctors respectively, and 16.9% had considered a career in urology. Theory based teaching was mainly prevalent in the early years of medical school, with clinical skills teaching, and clinical placements in the later years of medical school. 20.1% of FY1 doctors reported no undergraduate clinical attachment in urology. CONCLUSION: LEARN is the largest ever evaluation of undergraduate urology teaching. In the UK, teaching seemed satisfactory as evaluated by the BAUS undergraduate syllabus. However, many students report having no clinical attachments in Urology and some newly qualified doctors report never having inserted a catheter, which is a GMC mandated requirement. We recommend a greater emphasis on undergraduate clinical exposure to urology and stricter adherence to GMC mandated procedures

The fallacy in productivity decomposition

This paper argues that the typical practice of performing growth decompositions based on log-transformed productivity values induces fallacious conclusions: using logs may lead to an inaccurate aggregate growth rate, an inaccurate description of the microsources of aggregate growth, or both. We identify the mathematical sources of this log-induced fallacy in decomposition and analytically demonstrate the questionable reliability of log results. Using rm-level data from the French manufacturing sector during the 2009-2018 period, we empirically show that the magnitude of the log-induced distortions is substantial. Depending on the de nition of accurate log measures, we nd that around 60-80% of four-digit industry results are prone to mismeasurement. We further nd signi cant correlations of this mismeasurement with commonly deployed industry characteristics, indicating, among other things, that less competitive industries are more prone to log distortions. Evidently, these correlations also a ect the validity of studies that investigate the role of industry characteristics in productivity growth

Erythropoiesis in Xenopus laevis during recovery from phenylhydrazine-induced anaemia

The present study has been concerned with the characteristics of the erythropoietic process in Xenopus laevis. Phenylhydrazine was used as a haemolytic agent; at the dosage used it caused complete destruction of circulating erythrocytes. The resultant anaemia stimulated erythropoietic activity. Examination of the blood at varying times after the induction of anaemia has shown the presence of large numbers of immature erythroid cells in the peripheral circulation; to a large extent these appear to differentiate as a cohort. The morphological-biosynthetic correlates of the cells present at different times in the recovery from anaemia have been established. Cell morphology was studied by measurements of cell dimensions in smearss and by staining characteristics. The biosynthetic capacities of the erythroid cells were determined by in vitro incubation of the cells with the radioisotopes, H3 thymidine, H3 uridine and H3 leucine, and subsequent estimation of their rates of incorporation into DNA, RNA and protein respectively, by scintillation counting and autoradiographic techniques. The origin of the immature erythroid cells which appear in the peripheral circulation was studied by preparing tissue touch imprints of potential erythropoietic organs. Evidence is presented which indicates that a population of cells presentin the livers and, to a lesser extent, the spleens of anaemic animals are the probable precursors of the circulating erythroid cells. The use of erythropoiesis as a model system for the study of the processes involved in cytodifferentiation has been considered. The advantages of using phenylhydrazine-treated Xenopus laevis as a system for the study of erythropoiesis and of differentiation, in general, has been discussed and suggestions for its further use in this respect have been made.</p