Special Interests and Technological Change

We study an OLG economy where productivity growth comes from two alternative sources: process innovation and learning-by-doing. There is a trade-off between the two in so far as frequent technological updates reduce the scope for learning on existing technologies. A conflict is shown to arise between the young and the old, because the former favor innovation while the latter prefer learning. We model the interaction between overlapping generations and policy makers as a dynamic common agency problem, where competing generations invest a certain amount of resources to lobby either for the maintenance of the current technology or the adoption of a new one. By focusing on truthful Markov perfect equilibria, we characterize the political equilibrium and show its dependence on the underlying demographic, technological and preference parameters.Technological change, Technology option, Pressure goups, Dynamic common agency

Child Labor and Resistance to Change

We study the interactions between technological innovation, investment in human capital and child labor. In our setting new technologies require new skills and new skills can be developed only through schooling. In a two-stage game, first firms decide on innovation, then households decide on education. In equilibrium the presence of inefficient child labor depends on parameters related to technology, parents’ altruism and the diffusion of firm property. When child labor exists, it is due to either firms reluctance to innovate or households’ unwillingness to educate or both. The optimal policy to eliminate child labor depends crucially on its underlying cause. We show that, in some cases, compulsory schooling laws or a ban on child labor are welfare reducing, while a subsidy to innovation is the right tool to eliminate child labor and increase welfare.Child labor, Innovation

Assessing competitiveness: how firm-level data can help

As policymakers refocus on growth, the ability to take a firm-level view is key to disentangling the various factors at the root of competitiveness, and thus to designing appropriate policies. â?¢ Firm-level data provides critical information for the design of appropriate competitiveness measures that complement traditional macro analysis. â?¢ More work remains to be done assembling firm-level information, but the variance of the distribution of firm characteristics already conveys important information in addition to standard averages. â?¢ New indicators should be developed to translate the distribution of firm characteristics into indicators of competitiveness designed to capture not only average performance but also the heterogeneity of firm performance. This Policy Contribution builds on ongoing research within EFIGE (www.efige.org), a project to help identify the internal policies needed to improve the external competitiveness of the European Union.

Can fluctuating asymmetry in Talitrus saltator (Montagu, 1808) (Crustacea, Amphipoda) populations be used as a bioindicator of stress on sandy beach ecosystems?

This study focused on verifying the fluctuating asymmetry hypothesis in the crustacean Talitrus saltator, which lives in sandy beaches. We analysed three populations, one from an unpolluted Tuscan beach relatively free of tourism, and two from Sicilian beaches, which have been increasingly used for tourism and have been exposed to hydrocarbon/pesticide pollution. Results confirmed the sexual dimorphism in the second antennae flagella, which in the Tuscan population presented directional asymmetry. This population had a significant level of fluctuating asymmetry in the P6 and P3 meri. The results showed the importance of the developmental stage during which environmental mechanical stresses act

Fiat Chrysler’s story shows that manufacturing can be viableand successful in mature western economies

Is there a future for industry in Europe and North America? Giorgio Barba Navaretti and Gianmarco Ottaviano use the example of the newly merged transatlantic car-maker Fiat Chrysler to debunk a number of myths about the nature of manufacturing and its viability in the mature economies of the West

Child Labor and Resistance to Change

We study the interactions between technological innovation, investment in human capital and child labor. In our setting new technologies require new skills and new skills can be developed only through schooling. In a two-stage game, first firms decide on innovation, then households decide on education. In equilibrium the presence of inefficient child labor depends on parameters related to technology, parents’ altruism and the diffusion of firm property. When child labor exists, it is due to either firms reluctance to innovate or households’ unwillingness to educate or both. The optimal policy to eliminate child labor depends crucially on its underlying cause. We show that, in some cases, compulsory schooling laws or a ban on child labor are welfare reducing, while a subsidy to innovation is the right tool to eliminate child labor and increase welfare

Assessing competitiveness: how firm-level data can help. Bruegel Policy Contribution 2011/16, 16 November 2011

As policymakers refocus on growth, the ability to take a firm-level view is key to disentangling the various factors at the root of competitiveness, and thus to designing appropriate policies. • Firm-level data provides critical information for the design of appropriate competitiveness measures that complement traditional macro analysis. • More work remains to be done assembling firm-level information, but the variance of the distribution of firm characteristics already conveys important information in addition to standard averages. • New indicators should be developed to translate the distribution of firm characteristics into indicators of competitiveness designed to capture not only average performance but also the heterogeneity of firm performance. This Policy Contribution builds on ongoing research within EFIGE (www.efige.org), a project to help identify the internal policies needed to improve the external competitiveness of the European Union

Novel artful applications of vaccines at the horizon

Some live vaccines, particularly Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), oral polio vaccine (OPV), and measles vaccine, can reduce the incidence of all-cause mortality by outreaching the mere control of specific infections and exerting off-target effects. Asides from the prevention of viral infection, some other vaccines, such as those against flu or rotavirus, could reduce the risk of developing autoimmunity. The nonspecific effects of vaccines are mediated by the innate immune system, mainly through the so-called trained innate immunity. These observations paved the way for developing tolerogenic and trained immunity-based vaccines with substantial implications for more effective use of vaccines and combat vaccine hesitancy