Downward Wage Rigidities in Slovakia

The degree of labor market flexibility is especially important for countries considering entry into monetary union. The aim of this article is to assess the extent of wage rigidities in Slovakia. The novelty of this paper is in the employment of Holden andWulfsberg (2009) approach to the micro data. Firstly, we apply the original methodology on industrial level data drawn from recent decade. The results obtained from sectoral data are ambiguous for Slovakia. Secondly, we turn to micro-approach, where we apply slightly modified methodology on company level data. The estimated extent of both nominal and real rigidities is relatively small. We conclude that flexible hourly wages favored the euro adoption in 2009.Nominal and real wage rigidity, Slovakia

DSGE Model-Slovakia

DSGE Slovakia is a medium size New Keynesian open economy model designed to simulate dynamic behavior of Slovak economy. It consists of about 50 equations and contains all important macroeconomic variables including real GDP and all its main components- consumption, investment, government expenditures, import and export then factors of production – labor, capital and oil and also consumer, producer, import and export price deflators, nominal interest rate and exchange rate. Most parameters of the model are calibrated and remaining ones are estimated by various estimation technique. Appropriateness of the model is judged by comparing statistics of simulated data with real ones, by analyzing impulse response functions and by reproducing historical time series.General equilibrium model, Slovakia

Exchange-Rate Regimes in Slovakia and the New EU Member States (in Slovak)

Using a large data set for 167 developed countries and emerging and transition economies, the authors estimate probability models (probit and ordered probit) based on available de jure and de facto classifications for 1970–1995 and 1995–1999. They show that economic openness, trade concentration, and national deficit increase the probability of fixed exchange rates. In contrast, large countries are more likely to choose floating exchange rates then small ones. Financial crisis also increases the probability of more flexible regimes. Finally, the authors present probabilities of adoption of various exchange-rate regimes for selected countries. The results confirm the preference for more rigid exchange-rate regimes (e.g. monetary union) by small EU economies, including the ten new EU member states.economic and monetary union; exchange-rate regimes; ordered probit

Control of the MKQA tuning and aperture kickers of the LHC

The large hadron collider (LHC) at CERN has been equipped with four fast pulsed kicker magnets in RA43 situated at point 4 which are part of the measurement system for the tune and the dynamic aperture of the LHC beam (Beam 1 and Beam 2). For the tune measurement 'Q', the magnets will excite oscillations in part of the beam. This is achieved by means of a generator producing a 5 µs base half-sine pulse of 1.2 kA [1] amplitude, superimposed with a 3rd harmonic to produce a 2 µs flat top. A kick repetition rate of 2 Hz will be possible. To measure the dynamic aperture 'A' of the LHC at different beam energies, the same magnets will also be driven by a more powerful generator which produces a 43 µs base half-sine current pulse of 3.8 kA. For the 'A' mode a thyristor is used as switching element inside the generator. A final third mode named 'AC dipole' will rely on the beam being excited coherently at a frequency close but outside its Eigen-frequencies by an oscillating dipole field. The beam is expected to oscillate at the exciter frequency of 3 kHz with a phase shift of π/2. The 'AC dipole' will use two 18 kW audio amplifiers capable of driving the magnets at 1 kHz(rms) around 3 kHz or between 2.7 kHz and 4 kHz. The complete system uses supervisory control implemented with Siemens PLC technology with added Siemens PROFIsafe safety feature to treat the various interlocks that have been introduced in the circuits and to assu re a safe functioning and provide 'LOCAL' and 'REMOTE' control (via CCC) of the complete installation

Sub-Nanosecond Switching of HV SiC MOS Transistors for Impact Ionisation Triggering

Pulse generators with multi kV/kA pulses are necessary for the particle accelerator environment for beam transfer magnets. Traditionally these generators are using thyratrons - until recently the only switches capable of switching such pulses within tens of ns. There is a strong demand to replace thyratrons with semiconductor switches to avoid their future obsolescence. Very promising candidates are components from the family of fast ionization dynistors triggered by impact ionization. Their sub-nanosecond switching time and extreme current densities can provide performances superior to that of thyratrons. Recent investigations showed that impact ionization triggering is feasible also in cheap industrial thyristors. The main issue is the generation of triggering pulses with slew rates in the multi kV/ns region and with the required output current for charging the parasitic capacitance of the thyristor. We present an approach of generating > 1 kV/ns pulses by ultra-boosted gate driving of HV SiC MOS transistors. We found that the MOS lifetime under these extreme triggering conditions can still reach more than 10⁸ pulses, enough for kicker generator applications

Ultra-Fast Generator for Impact Ionization Triggering

Impact ionization triggering can be successfully applied to standard thyristors, thus boosting their dI/dt capability by up to 1000x. This groundbreaking triggering requires applying significant overvoltage on the anode-cathode of thyristor with a slew rate > 1kV/ns. Compact pulse generators based on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components would allow the spread of this technology into numerous applications, including fast kicker generators for particle accelerators. In our approach, the beginning of the triggering chain is a HV SiC MOS with an ultra-fast super-boosting gate driver. The super boosting of a 1.7kV rated SiC MOS allows to reduce the MOS rise time by a factor of > 25 (datasheet tr = §I{20}{ns} vs. measured tr 1kV/ns and an amplitude > 1kV. Additional boosting is obtained by a Marx generator with GaAs diodes, reaching an output voltage slew rate > 11kV/ns. The final stage will be a Marx generator with medium size thyristors triggered in impact ionization mode with sufficient voltage and current rating necessary for the triggering of a big thyristor. This paper presents the impact ionization triggering of a small size thyristor

COVID-19 Pandemic and Performance: Empirical study of Integrated Remote Site Management services in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Generally and in the UAE, businesses worldwide are particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The SME companies in Dubai UAE faced a very tough challenge to deal with the new circumstances of lockdown and curfews in running the international business. The purpose of the current study was to analyze the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Business Performance. The theoretical frameworks for this study are Process Theory of Internationalization (PTI), Uppsala-model (the U-model), and internalization theories and the link with IB theories applications nowadays. The quantitative study applied a nonexperimental, deductive approach and explanatory correlation design, and Snowball sampling was used to select stakeholders of integrated remote site management (IRSM) services in Dubai, UAE. Data was collected at a single phase using a cross-sectional survey instrument and analyzed using inferential statistics with the aid of SPSS. The survey results revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly change the efficiency performance of the IRSM stakeholders. Stakeholders' confidence in their strategic leaders did not decrease while working under the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study did not account for any changes in employee or leaders’ behavior over time.  This Empirical study findings add value to the limited literature on the correlation between the COVID-19 pandemic and the strategic leadership of international businesses. The paper’s practical implications would be further study on strategic leadership in IB and efficiency performances during global pandemics

Measurement and analysis of SPS kicker magnet heating and outgassing with Different Bunch Spacing

Fast kicker magnets are used to inject beam into and eject beam out of the CERN SPS accelerator ring. These kickers are generally ferrite loaded transmission line type magnets with a rectangular shaped aperture through which the beam passes. Unless special precautions are taken the impedance of the ferrite yoke can provoke significant beam induced heating, over several hours, even above the Curie temperature of the ferrite. At present the nominal bunch spacing in the SPS is 25 ns, however for an early stage of LHC operation it is preferable to have 50 ns bunch spacing. Machine Development (MD) studies have been carried out with an inter-bunch spacing of 25 ns, 50 ns or 75 ns. For some of the SPS kicker magnets the 75 ns bunch spacing resulted in considerable beam induced heating. In addition the MDs showed that 50 ns bunch spacing could result in a very rapid pressure rise in the kicker magnet and thus cause an interlock. This paper discusses the MD observations of the SPS kickers and analyses the available data to provide explanations for the phenomena: possible remedies are also discussed

The end of the flat tax experiment in Slovakia : An evaluation using behavioural microsimulation in a dynamic macroeconomic framework

The paper introduces a new way of linking microsimulation models with dynamic general equilibrium frameworks to obtain an evaluation of the impact of detailed tax and benefit measures on the aggregate economy. In the approach presented in this paper, income heterogeneity interacts with the macro-economy via aggregated individual labour supply decisions which influence, and are influenced by, the dynamic evolution of the real wage rate. The method involves a reduced-form representation of the information flow between the macroeconomic and microeconomic blocks. The practical usefulness of the approach is demonstrated by evaluating actual and hypothetical tax reforms that involve abandoning the flat tax system in Slovakia. A hypothetical move to a highly progressive tax structure is shown to generate some employment gains but is associated with a drop in aggregate income and tax revenue

Injection and dump considerations for a 16.5 TeV HE-LHC

Injection and beam dumping is considered for a 16.5 TeV hadron accelerator in the current LHC tunnel, with an injection energy in the range 1 - 1.3 TeV. The present systems are described and the possible upgrade scenarios investigated for higher beam rigidity. In addition to the required equipment performance, the machine protection related aspects are explored. The expected constraints on the machine layout are also given. The technological challenges for the different equipment subsystems are detailed, and areas where R&D is necessary are highlighted.Comment: 6 pages, contribution to the EuCARD-AccNet-EuroLumi Workshop: The High-Energy Large Hadron Collider, Malta, 14 -- 16 Oct 2010; CERN Yellow Report CERN-2011-003, pp. 128-13