Imports as product and labour market discipline

This paper tests the pro-competitive effect of trade in the product and labour markets of UK manufacturing sectors between 1988 and 2003 using a two-stage estimation procedure. In the first stage, we use data on 9820 firms from twenty manufacturing sectors to simultaneously estimate mark-up and workers' bargaining power parameters according to sector, firm size and period. We find a significant drop in both the mark-up and the workers' bargaining power in the mid-nineties. In the second stage, we relate our parameters of interest to trade variables. Our results show that imports from developed countries have significantly contributed to the decrease in both mark-ups and workers' bargaining powe

Insider power and wage determination in Bulgaria: An econometric investigation

Using a unique three-digit firm-level data set of all medium- and large-sized manufacturing enterprises in Bulgaria covering the years 1997/1998, and investigation is conducted into how wage determination is related to ownership status. Building on a slightly modified version of the right-to-manage model, the pooled, OLS, panel and first-difference TSLS estimates show statistically significant differences in the share of rents taken by workers employed in state, private domestic and foreign firms. Taking account of firm heterogeneity, it is found that rent sharing is nearly non-existent in foreign-owned firms, while the level of pay is higher compared with state-owned companies. Further, rent sharing seems to be highly pronounced in state-owned enterprises, while on zaverage domestically private-owned companies are characterised by less rent sharing. Overall, the robustness checks confirm these findings

SAU 300 - Pekerjaan Dan Kehidupan & SAU 403 - Sosiologi Pekerjaan - September 1997

Peperiksaan Semester Pertama Sidang Akademik 1997/1998 September 1997 Masa: 3 ja

Expression Analysis of the Theileria parva Subtelomere-Encoded Variable Secreted Protein Gene Family

Background The intracellular protozoan parasite Theileria parva transforms bovine lymphocytes inducing uncontrolled proliferation. Proteins released from the parasite are assumed to contribute to phenotypic changes of the host cell and parasite persistence. With 85 members, genes encoding subtelomeric variable secreted proteins (SVSPs) form the largest gene family in T. parva. The majority of SVSPs contain predicted signal peptides, suggesting secretion into the host cell cytoplasm. Methodology/Principal Findings We analysed SVSP expression in T. parva-transformed cell lines established in vitro by infection of T or B lymphocytes with cloned T. parva parasites. Microarray and quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed mRNA expression for a wide range of SVSP genes. The pattern of mRNA expression was largely defined by the parasite genotype and not by host background or cell type, and found to be relatively stable in vitro over a period of two months. Interestingly, immunofluorescence analysis carried out on cell lines established from a cloned parasite showed that expression of a single SVSP encoded by TP03_0882 is limited to only a small percentage of parasites. Epitope-tagged TP03_0882 expressed in mammalian cells was found to translocate into the nucleus, a process that could be attributed to two different nuclear localisation signals. Conclusions Our analysis reveals a complex pattern of Theileria SVSP mRNA expression, which depends on the parasite genotype. Whereas in cell lines established from a cloned parasite transcripts can be found corresponding to a wide range of SVSP genes, only a minority of parasites appear to express a particular SVSP protein. The fact that a number of SVSPs contain functional nuclear localisation signals suggests that proteins released from the parasite could contribute to phenotypic changes of the host cell. This initial characterisation will facilitate future studies on the regulation of SVSP gene expression and the potential biological role of these enigmatic proteins