Assessing the impact of foreign direct investment on regional growth - An analysis of the Spanish case

The massive increase in foreign direct investment inflows following the Spanish integration with the now European Union in 1986, has been one of the most important features shaping the behaviour of the Spanish economy in the last twenty years. In this paper we will try to provide an assessment of its impact on regional economic growth, using data for the 17 Spanish regions, from 1986 on. To that end, we will estimate an aggregate production function where the foreign-owned capital stock is included as an additional factor.

Insurance Mechanisms against Asymmetric Shocks in a Monetary Union : a Proposal with an Application to EMU

In this paper we propose a simple, automatic insurance mechanism designed to cope with asymmetric shocks in a monetary union, which could be used as starting point of a more elaborated policy instrument. The mechanism would use as indicator of the occurrence of a shock the changes in the unemployment rate of the countries belonging to the union, and would be financed through a fund built from contributions of these countries as a percentage of their tax receipts. The fund would be distributed among the countries affected by a négative asymmetric shock according to the proportion in which every one of them would hâve been affected by the shock. Our proposai is illustrated by means of an empirical application to the case of EMU.Monetary union, asymmetric shocks, insurance function

The Territotiality Inquiry Under The Act Of State Doctrine: Continuing The Search For An Appropriate Application Of Situs Of Debt Rules In International Debt Disputes

Recent economic downturns in Argentina, Uruguay, and Venezuela, to name a few Latin American states among others in various parts of the world, have once again raised serious concerns regarding the ability of international lenders or creditors to recover on the sovereign and private debt instruments that they hol

Vowel Intelligibility of Salvadoran-Accented English Vowels in Running Speech

This study focuses on English in El Salvador, which is a country located in Central America, and it presents information about the production of Salvadoran-accented English vowels by speakers of English in this country. Peña (2019) started studying Salvadoran-accented vowels in isolation. For this study, the vowels in running speech are analyzed. The participants of this study include English speakers from El Salvador. The information of Salvadoran-accented vowels, including the formats F0, F1, F2, F3, duration, and intensity, is compiled in this study. The focus of the study is to assess intelligibility levels within Salvadoran-accented vowels in running speech and to compare them with those produced by a native English speaker. For this study, 5775 tokens were utilized. F1 receives most of the attention because it plays a disproportionate role in intelligibility. According to Ladefoged and Johnson (2015:207), it controls 80% of the acoustic energy in vowels. Second, F2 is measured and analyzed because it gives precise information about the tongue movement in the production of vowels. Data analysis was also conducted for the rest of the correlates because they also contribute to getting an accurate representation of Salvadoran-accented vowels that can help determine how each vowel is pronounced. Data shows that Salvadorans have intelligibility issues with the kiss vowel [ɪ], the goat vowel [o], and the trap vowel [æ]. This study also provides the readers with conclusions and pedagogical implications for ESL/EFL teachers and researchers working with Salvadoran learners

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThis dissertation presents two validation/uncertainty quantification (VUQ) studies, one on the 1.5 MWth coal fired furnace (L1500) and the other on the Reacting Particle and Boundary Layer (RPBL) char oxidation model. A six-step methodology is used in bo

Impact of genetic and environmental factors in intestinal inflammation

The gastrointestinal tract, is continuously exposed to a wide variety of stimuli, including dietary-derived metabolites, environmental compounds and the microbiota. Since these antigens can be beneficial or detrimental for the organism, proper sensing of the luminal content is essential for orchestrating both pro-inflammatory and tolerogenic immune responses on demand and therefore, ensure the establishment of intestinal homeostasis. Disruption of these mechanisms might result in inflammation, a characteristic of intestinal disorders, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). How environmental triggers modulate intestinal inflammation in genetically susceptible host leading to IBD is largely unclear. The gap in knowledge around this topic is likely due to the lack of versatile in vivo models allowing the testing of a wide variety of compounds in a cost-effective manner. The aim of my doctoral thesis was to understand how intestinal inflammation is impacted by genetic factors and environmental exposures. In study I and II we analyzed how the sensing of dietary-derived metabolites modulate immune homeostasis. In study I, we found that retinoic acid receptor a (RARa) signaling in intestinal epithelial cells modulated lineage specification of secretory cells and the development of the intestinal immune system. Epithelial RARa signaling was essential for mounting protective responses against pathogen infection and maintaining intestinal homeostasis. In study II, we explored how combinatorial activation of ligand-activated transcription factors that sense dietary metabolites in vivo modulate cytokine signaling. We found that co-exposure with more than one ligand resulted in activation of the corresponding receptors, and in induction of specific cytokine profiles as a result of their interaction. In study III, we investigated how GPR35, an IBD-risk gene, modulated intestinal immune homeostasis. We found that Gpr35 deficiency in macrophages resulted in exacerbated colitis, due to low expression of genes involved in corticosterone synthesis and tumor necrosis factor (Tnf). We also identified lysophosphatidic acid as a potential GPR35 ligand that induces Tnf expression in macrophages in a GPR35-dependent manner. In study IV, we further examined how environmental factors modulate intestinal inflammation and found that perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), an environmental pollutant, exacerbates intestinal inflammation. This was associated with impaired epithelial barrier function and systemic T cell responses. Taken together, this doctoral thesis provides insight into how environmental and genetic factors modulate immune responses contributing to the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis