Offshoring and the onshore composition of tasks and skills

We analyze the relationship between offshoring and the onshore workforce composition in German multinational enterprises (MNEs), using plant data that allow us to discern tasks, occupations, and workforce skills. Offshoring is associated with a statistically significant shift towards more non-routine and more interactive tasks, and with a shift towards highly educated workers. The shift towards highly educated workers is in excess of what is implied by changes in either the task or the occupational composition. Offshoring to low-income countries—with the exception of Central and Eastern European countries—is associated with stronger onshore responses. We find offshoring to predict between 10 and 15 percent of observed changes in wage-bill shares of highly educated workers and measures of non-routine and interactive tasks

Offshoring and the Onshore Composition of Tasks and Skills

We analyze the relationship between o®shoring and the onshore workforce composition tasks, occupations, and workforce skills. O®shoring is associated with a statistically signi¯cant shift towards more non-routine and more interactive tasks, and with a shift towards highly educated workers. Moreover, the shift towards highly educated work- ers is in excess of what is implied by changes in either the task or the occupational composition. Whether o®shored activities are located in low-income or high-income countries does not alter the direction of the relationship. We ¯nd o®shoring to predict between 10 and 15 percent of observed changes in wage-bill shares of highly educated workers and measures of non-routine and interactive tasks.trade in tasks, multinational firms, demand for labor, linked-employer-employee data

Location choice and employment decisions: a comparison of German and Swedish multinationals

Using data for German and Swedish multinational enterprises (MNEs), this paper assesses international employment patterns. It analyzes determinants of location choice and the degree of substitutability of labor across locations. Countries with highly skilled labor forces attract German MNEs, but we nd no such evidence for Swedish MNEs. This is consistent with the hypothesis that German MNEs locate production stages intensive in high-skilled labor abroad. In MNEs from either country, af liate employment tends to substitute for employment at the parent rm. At the margin, substitutability is the strongest with respect to af liate employment in Western Europe. A one percent larger wage gap between Germany and locations in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is estimated to be associated with 900 fewer jobs in German parents and 5,000 more jobs in af liates located in CEE. A one percent larger wage gap between Sweden and CEE is estimated to be associated with 140 fewer jobs in Swedish parents and 260 more jobs in af liates located in CEE. --Multinational enterprises,location choice,multinomial choice,labor demand,translog cost function

On the quiescence of the Hubble flow in the vicinity of the Local Group

Cepheid distances of local galaxies (<7 Mpc) are used to study the very nearby velocity field, as pioneered by Sandage (Sandage 1986) who also pointed out its remarkable properties: linearity and quietness. The new data show that the velocity dispersion in the distance range as seen from the barycentre of the Local Group 1-8 Mpc is as low as 38 km/sec. The local rate of expansion coincides with the global Hubble constant. Down to 1.5 Mpc we cannot detect a deviation from the linear Hubble flow. This puts an upper limit for the mass of the Local Group, for a wide class of Friedman models, including those with the cosmological constant.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Accepted to Astron. Astrophys. Letter

Rational Symplectic Field Theory for Legendrian knots

We construct a combinatorial invariant of Legendrian knots in standard contact three-space. This invariant, which encodes rational relative Symplectic Field Theory and extends contact homology, counts holomorphic disks with an arbitrary number of positive punctures. The construction uses ideas from string topology.Comment: 58 pages, many figures; v3: minor corrections; final version, to appear in Inventiones Mathematica

The Properties and Role of O-Acyl-omega-hydroxy Fatty Acids and Type I-St and Type II Diesters in the Tear Film Lipid Layer Revealed by a Combined Chemistry and Biophysics Approach

Correction: 10.1021/acs.joc.1c02513.The tear film lipid layer (TFLL) that covers the ocular surface contains several unique lipid classes, including O-acyl-omega-hydroxy fatty acids, type I-St diesters, and type II diesters. While the TFLL represents a unique biological barrier that plays a central role in stabilizing the entire tear film, little is known about the properties and roles of individual lipid species. This is because their isolation from tear samples in sufficient quantities is a tedious task. To provide access to these species in their pure form, and to shed light on their properties, we here report a general strategy for the synthesis and structural characterization of these lipid classes. In addition, we study the organization and behavior of the lipids at the air-tear interface. Through these studies, new insights on the relationship between structural features, such as number of double bonds and the chain length, and film properties, such as spreading and evaporation resistance, were uncovered.Peer reviewe

Tear Film Lipid Layer Structure : Self-Assembly of O-Acyl-omega-hydroxy Fatty Acids and Wax Esters into Evaporation-Resistant Monolayers

In healthy eyes, the tear film lipid layer (TFLL) is considered to act as an evaporation resistant barrier, which prevents eyes from drying. Seeking to understand the mechanisms behind the evaporation resistance of the TFLL, we studied mixtures of lipid layer wax esters and O-acyl-omega-hydroxy fatty acids. Analyzing their self-assembly and biophysical properties led to new discoveries concerning the structure and function of the TFLL. We discovered how these lipids self-assemble at the air-water interface and form an efficient antievaporative barrier, demonstrating for the first time how the interaction of different tear film lipid species can improve the evaporation resistance compared with individual lipid classes on their own. These results provide a potential mechanism for the evaporation resistance of the lipid layer. In addition, the results serve as a base for the future development of improved dry eye treatments and other applications where the evaporation of water represents a significant challenge.Peer reviewe