The Effect of Extending the Duration of Eligibility in an Italian Labour Market Programme for Dismissed Workers

Liste di mobilità (LM) is an Italian labour market programme targeted to dismissed workers. There is a ‘passive’ component granting monetary benefits to employees dismissed by firms larger than 15 employees, and an ‘active’ component providing an employment subsidy to any firm hiring workers from the LM. Eligibility duration varies with the worker’s age at dismissal. We exploit the variability of these provisions to evaluate the impact of extending the duration of eligibility on re-employment probabilities and wages over the 36 months subsequent to enrolment in the programme. The average treatment effect is identified via a Regression Discontinuity Design. A major negative impact emerges for workers aged 50 or more granted the monetary benefit.active labour market policies, regression discontinuity design

How do immigrants fare during the downturn? Evidence from matching comparable natives

BACKGROUND This paper provides empirical evidence regarding the supposed vulnerability of immigrants to the recent economic downturn. OBJECTIVE Our purpose is to understand whether immigrant workers are suffering more from the downturn and, if so, to disentangle whether this is related to being an immigrant or to specific characteristics that make immigrants different from natives. METHODS We use longitudinal data from the Italian Labour Force Survey to compare immigrant and native workers, matched for observable personal, household, and job characteristics by propensity score methods. RESULTS Immigrant workers face a higher probability of ending an ongoing employment spell because their characteristics are more likely associated with higher separation rates, while, when comparing similar workers, differences with natives disappear. In 2009 job separations increased for all male workers, but the impact was stronger for immigrants, mainly because of their characteristics. On the contrary, both groups of female workers showed a slightly lower probability of losing a job in 2009, so that observed differences remained the same before and after the downturn. CONCLUSIONS The impact of the downturn differs markedly by gender, with only male workers being affected. Among these, immigrants suffer more than natives, as their observable characteristics are more associated with losing a job. When comparing only comparable workers, immigrant status itself has no impact on separation rates. 1 University of Padua, Department of Statistical Sciences, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]. Paggiaro: How do immigrants fare during the downturn? Evidence from matching comparable natives 230 http://www.demographic-research.or

New Pharmacologic Perspectives in Pneumology: Beclomethasone-Formoterol Extrafine

International asthma guidelines have recently focused on the concept of «control», which is the main outcome to reach and maintain in the long term management. Asthma control is associated with several positive consequences, both in terms of quality of life and pathophysiological findings. Combination therapy with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and long-acting-beta2-agonists (LABA) is recommended in a large part of asthmatic subjects (those who are not controlled with low-dose ICS alone)

Evaluation of information retrieval systems using structural equation modeling

The interpretation of the experimental data collected by testing systems across input datasets and model parameters is of strategic importance for system design and implementation. In particular, finding relationships between variables and detecting the latent variables affecting retrieval performance can provide designers, engineers and experimenters with useful if not necessary information about how a system is performing. This paper discusses the use of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in providing an in-depth explanation of evaluation results and an explanation of failures and successes of a system; in particular, we focus on the case of evaluation of Information Retrieval systems

The effect of extending the duration of eligibility in an Italian labour market programme for dismissed workers

Liste di mobilità (LM) is an Italian labour market programme targeted to dismissed workers. There is a passive component granting monetary benefits to employees dismissed by firms larger than 15 employees, and an active component providing an employment subsidy to any firm hiring workers from the LM. Eligibility duration varies with the worker's age at dismissal. We exploit the variability of these provisions to evaluate the impact of extending the duration of eligibility on re-employment probabilities and wages over the 36 months subsequent to enrolment in the programme. The average treatment effect is identified via a Regression Discontinuity Design. A major negative impact emerges for workers aged 50 or more granted the monetary benefit

The effect of extending the duration of eligibility in an Italian labour market programme for dismissed workers

Liste di mobilità (LM) is an Italian labour market programme targeted to dismissed workers. It combines a 'passive' component granting monetary benefits to employees dismissed by firms larger than 15 employees, and an 'active' component providing an employment subsidy to any firm hiring workers from the LM. Eligibility duration varies with the worker's age at dismissal. Using a new linked administrative panel data set for an Italian region, we exploit the variability of these provisions to evaluate the impact of extending the duration of eligibility on re-employment probabilities and wages over the 36 months subsequent to enrolment in the programme. The average treatment effect is identified via a Regression Discontinuity Design. We validate the design by a set of overidentification tests. For most of the sub-groups we analyse, we find that a longer eligibility period has no impact on re-employment rates. A negative impact emerges for women entitled to monetary benefits at the end of the second year of eligibility, but it disappears one year later. A major negative impact emerges for workers aged 50 or more granted the monetary benefits; it is most likely due to the fact that they can use the LM as a bridge to retirement

Magnetoencephalography in Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a non-invasive neurophysiological technique used to study the cerebral cortex. Currently, MEG is mainly used clinically to localize epileptic foci and eloquent brain areas in order to avoid damage during neurosurgery. MEG might, however, also be of help in monitoring stroke recovery and rehabilitation. This review focuses on experimental use of MEG in neurorehabilitation. MEG has been employed to detect early modifications in neuroplasticity and connectivity, but there is insufficient evidence as to whether these methods are sensitive enough to be used as a clinical diagnostic test. MEG has also been exploited to derive the relationship between brain activity and movement kinematics for a motor-based brain-computer interface. In the current body of experimental research, MEG appears to be a powerful tool in neurorehabilitation, but it is necessary to produce new data to confirm its clinical utility

Per un pugno di euro. Storie di ordinaria disoccupazione

L’assicurazione contro la disoccupazione involontaria in molti paesi sviluppati costituisce uno dei cardini delle politiche di sostegno del reddito dei lavoratori. In Italia, invece, ha un ruolo piuttosto marginale. Inoltre, è da molti anni oggetto di critiche, segnatamente per il basso tasso di copertura della platea di riferimento. In questo lavoro mostriamo come le debolezze e le incongruenze del disegno dell’indennità di disoccupazione ordinaria – la principale misura contro la disoccupazione involontaria – siano ancora più gravi. Una ragguardevole frazione di lavoratori ammissibili a questa misura accede, invece, all’indennità di disoccupazione a requisiti ridotti, eludendo così la condizione di essere disponibili a lavorare. Circa la metà dell’utilizzo dell’indennità di disoccupazione ordinaria, poi, avviene per il lavoro stagionale, il lavoro precario nel pubblico impiego o come sostituto improprio della Cassa integrazione guadagni quando non sussistono le condizioni per accedervi. Ciò dà origine a uno squilibrio strutturale tra contributi pagati e prestazioni erogate, che solleva questioni di equità nonché di equilibrio finanziario per il fondo dell’INPS.Indennità di disoccupazione; Lavoro stagionale; Precariato nel pubblico impiego

The effect of a new geometric bicycle saddle on the genital-perineal vascular perfusion of female cyclists

Purpose. — Female cyclists undergo a perineal compression of the pudendal nerve and genitalperineal area, with underexplored effects on genital injuries and sexual dysfunctions. This study tests the effects of a new geometric bicycle saddle (SMP) on perineal compression, blood perfusion, genital sensation and sexual function. Methods. — Thirty-three professional female athletes were monitored when using both the new saddle and a traditional professional saddle, in a randomized order. Short-term effects are estimated by measuring the partial pressure of vagina transcutaneous oxygen (PtcO2) before using the saddle, after 10 minutes of static sitting, after riding 20 minutes. Long-term effects are estimated by measuring athletes Female Sexual Distress Scale (FSDS) before using the new saddle and after 6 months using it. Results. — From an initial average of 70 mmHg, PtcO2 decreases by 30 mmHg after riding on a traditional saddle, 10 mmHg on the new saddle (respectively 20 and 7 after just sitting). When using the traditional saddle all FSDS scores are well over the 12 ‘‘normality’’ threshold, with an average of 41, while after using the new saddle the average falls to 12. All differences between the saddles are strongly significant: paired t-tests > 6; P < 0.001; 95% confidence intervals respectively 13 ± 3 mmHg after sitting, 20 ± 3 mmHg after riding, 29 ± 2 FSDS scores. Conclusion. — Traditional saddles have strong negative effects on the vascular perfusion of the vulva, with possible consequences on female sexual functions. The SMP saddle reduces the compression on the pelvic floor and can help reducing the incidence of urogenital pathologies for female cyclists

Sviluppo di una GUI per l'analisi automatizzata della variabilità del potenziale evento-correlato P300 con test su dati reali di soggetti sani e affetti da SLA

La componente P300, deflessione positiva degli ERPs di particolare interesse clinico, è stata caratterizzata in latenza e ampiezza mediante la tecnica single-trial B2S. L'approccio bayesiano ha consentito di estrarre dal tracciato EEG degli ERPs regolari e sottoporli a una successiva peak-detection. E' stata realizzata una GUI flessibile ed usabile, il cui test su dati relativi a controlli e pazienti SLA ha evidenziato le potenzialità del metodo e condotto a importanti conclusioni clinicheopenEmbargo per motivi di segretezza e/o di proprietà dei risultati e informazioni di enti esterni o aziende private che hanno partecipato alla realizzazione del lavoro di ricerca relativo alla tes