291 research outputs found
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on scientific research in the life sciences
The COVID-19 outbreak has posed an unprecedented challenge to humanity and
science. On the one side, public and private incentives have been put in place
to promptly allocate resources toward research areas strictly related to the
COVID-19 emergency. But on the flip side, research in many fields not directly
related to the pandemic has lagged behind. In this paper, we assess the impact
of COVID-19 on world scientific production in the life sciences. We investigate
how the usage of medical subject headings (MeSH) has changed following the
outbreak. We estimate through a difference-in-differences approach the impact
of COVID-19 on scientific production through PubMed. We find that COVID-related
research topics have risen to prominence, displaced clinical publications,
diverted funds away from research areas not directly related to COVID-19 and
that the number of publications on clinical trials in unrelated fields has
contracted. Our results call for urgent targeted policy interventions to
reactivate biomedical research in areas that have been neglected by the
COVID-19 emergency
Grounding the case for a European approach to the regulation of automated driving: the technology-selection effect of liability rules
In the current paper, we discuss the need for regulation at EU level of Connected and Automated Driving solutions (henceforth CAD) based on multiple considerations, namely (i) the need for uniformity of criteria across European Member States, and (ii) the impact that regulationâor the absence of itâhas on the proliferation of specific technological solutions. The analysis is grounded on legal and economic considerations of possible interactions between vehicles with different levels of automation, and shows how the existing framework delays innovation. A Risk-Management Approach, identifying one sole responsible party ex ante (one-stop-shop), liable under all circumstancesâpursuant to a strict, if not absolute liability ruleâis to be preferred. We analyse the solution adopted by some Member States in light of those considerations and conclude that none truly corresponds to a RMA approach, and differences will also cause market fragmentation. We conclude that because legal rules determine what kind of technological application is favoured over othersâand thence they are not technology-neutralâuniformity across MSs is of essential relevance, and discuss possible policy approaches to be adopted at European level
The evolution of networks of innovators within and across borders: Evidence from patent data
Recent studies on the geography of knowledge networks have documented a negative impact of physical distance and institutional borders upon research and development (R&D) collaborations. Though it is widely recognized that geographic constraints and national borders impede the diffusion of knowledge, less attention has been devoted to the temporal evolution of these constraints. In this study we use data on patents filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) for OECD countries to analyze the impact of physical distance and country borders on inter-regional links in four different networks over the period 1988-2009: (1) co-inventorship, (2) patent citations, (3) inventor mobility and (4) the location of R&D laboratories. We find the constraint imposed by country borders and distance decreased until mid-1990s then started to grow, particularly for distance. We further investigate the role of large innovation "hubs" as attractors of new collaboration opportunities and the impact of region size and locality on the evolution of cross-border patenting activities. The intensity of European cross-country
inventor collaborations increased at a higher pace than their non-European counterparts until 2004,
with no significant relative progress thereafter. Moreover, when analyzing networks of geographical mobility, multinational R&D activities and patent citations we cannot detect any substantial progress in European research integration above and beyond the common global trend
Networks of innovators within and across borders. Evidence from patent data
Recent studies on the geography of knowledge networks have documented a negative impact of physical distance and institutional borders upon research and development (R&D) collaborations. Though it is widely recognized that geographic constraints hamper the diffusion of knowledge,
less attention has been devoted to the temporal evolution of these constraints. In this study we use data on patents filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) for 50 countries to analyze the impact of physical distance and country borders on inter-regional links in four different networks over the period 1988-2009: (1) co-inventorship, (2) patent citations, (3) inventor mobility and (4)
the location of R&D laboratories. We find the constraint imposed by country borders and distance decreased until mid-1990s then started to grow, particularly for distance. The intensity of European cross-country inventor collaborations increased at a higher pace than their non-European counterparts until 2004, with no significant relative progress afterwards. Moreover, when analyzing
networks of geographical mobility, multinational R&D activities and patent citations we do not depict any substantial progress in European research integration aside from the influence of common global trends
COVID-19 vaccination and unemployment risk: lessons from the Italian crisis
This paper analyzes the impact of mobility contraction on employee furlough and excess deaths in Italy during the COVID-19 crisis. Our approach exploits rainfall patterns across Italian administrative regions as a source of exogenous variation in human mobility to pinpoint the causal effect of mobility restrictions on excess deaths and furlough workers. Results confirm that the first countrywide lockdown has effectively curtailed the COVID-19 epidemics restricting it mainly to the northern part of the country, with the drawback of a countrywide increase in unemployment risk. Our analysis points out that a mobility contraction of 1% leads to a mortality reduction of 0.6%, but it induces an increase of 10% in Wage Guarantee Funds allowed hours. We discuss return-to-work policies and prioritizing policies for administering COVID-19 vaccines in the most advanced stage of a vaccination campaign when the healthy active population is left to be vaccinated
A Generalized Preferential Attachment Model for Business Firms Growth Rates: II. Mathematical Treatment
We present a preferential attachment growth model to obtain the distribution
of number of units in the classes which may represent business firms
or other socio-economic entities. We found that is described in its
central part by a power law with an exponent which depends on
the probability of entry of new classes, . In a particular problem of city
population this distribution is equivalent to the well known Zipf law. In the
absence of the new classes entry, the distribution is exponential. Using
analytical form of and assuming proportional growth for units, we derive
, the distribution of business firm growth rates. The model predicts that
has a Laplacian cusp in the central part and asymptotic power-law tails
with an exponent . We test the analytical expressions derived using
heuristic arguments by simulations. The model might also explain the
size-variance relationship of the firm growth rates.Comment: 19 pages 6 figures Applications of Physics in Financial Analysis,
APFA
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