Job and Workers Flows in Europe and the US: Specific Skills or Employment Protection?. Midwest Macroeconomics Meetings 2007, April 27-29, 2007, Cleveland, Ohio.

There is more resistance to layoffs in continental Europe than in the U.S. At the same time, there is some evidence that employed European workers are more productive than their American counterparts. We reconcile these two facts by proposing that some institutions, such as Employment Protection Legislation (EPL), induce workers to invest in and develop job specific skills, making them more productive and leading to costly displacement as these types of skills are lost upon separation from the employer. It is also well established that mobility patterns -flows in and out of unemployment or even movements from job to job, are reduced in continental Europe relative to the U.S. The possibility to invest in skill improvement introduces a complementarity between EPL and the investment decision: more stable matches increase the incentive to accumulate specific skills; but also more productive matches are broken less frequently; hence there is a “mutliplier” effect arising from this complementarity. To quantitatively assess all these propositions, we built a tractable asymmetric information matching model featuring all types of transitions out of employment: layoffs, quits to unemployment and job-to-job transitions. We find that EPL does induce workers to invest more in human capital and may help explain greater resistance to layoffs in Europe. We find that flows out of employment are indeed reduced by EPL. However, allowing for skill investment does not generate any strong multiplier due to the fact several new effects are at play keeping unemployment duration at a low level and thus putting downward pressure on the multiplier. The conclusion of all this may be that EPL matters for explaining specialization and low movements out of jobs, but that low movements out of unemployment may be better explained by other institutions such as unemployment benefits.

Layoff Costs and Efficiency with Asymmetric Information

Wage determination under asymmetric information generates inefficiencies due to excess turnover. Severance pay and layoff taxes can improve efficiency. We show that inefficient separations can even be fully removed with fixed separation taxes in the case where the relevant private information is exponentially distributed.bargaining, asymmetric information, employment protection legislation, inefficient job separations

VR-PMS: a new approach for performance measurement and management of industrial systems

A new performance measurement and management framework based on value and risk is proposed. The proposed framework is applied to the modelling and evaluation of the a priori performance evaluation of manufacturing processes and to deciding on their alternatives. For this reason, it consistently integrates concepts relevant to objectives, activity, and risk in a single framework comprising a conceptual value/risk model, and it conceptualises the idea of value- and risk based performance management in a process context. In addition, a methodological framework is developed to provide guidelines for the decision-makers or performance evaluators of the processes. To facilitate the performance measurement and management process, this latter framework is organized in four phases: context establishment, performance modelling, performance assessment, and decision-making. Each phase of the framework is then instrumented with state of-the-art quantitative analysis tools and methods. For process design and evaluation, the deliverable of the value- and risk-based performance measurement and management system (VR-PMS) is a set of ranked solutions (i.e. alternative business processes) evaluated against the developed value and risk indicators. The proposed VR-PMS is illustrated with a case study from discrete parts manufacturing but is indeed applicable to a wide range of processes or systems

Specifications and Development of Interoperability Solution dedicated to Multiple Expertise Collaboration in a Design Framework

This paper describes the specifications of an interoperability platform based on the PPO (Product Process Organization) model developed by the French community IPPOP in the context of collaborative and innovative design. By using PPO model as a reference, this work aims to connect together heterogonous tools used by experts easing data and information exchanges. After underlining the growing needs of collaborative design process, this paper focuses on interoperability concept by describing current solutions and their limits. Then a solution based on the flexibility of the PPO model adapted to the philosophy of interoperability is proposed. To illustrate these concepts, several examples are more particularly described (robustness analysis, CAD and Product Lifecycle Management systems connections)

An improved approach for automatic process plan generation of complex borings

The authors are grateful for funding provided to this project by the French Ministry of Industry, Dassault Aviation, Dassault Systemes, and F. Vernadat for his review and recommendations.The research concerns automated generation of process plans using knowledge formalization and capitalization. Tools allowing designers to deal with issues and specifications of the machining domain are taken into account. The main objective of the current work is to prevent designers from designing solutions that would be expensive and difficult to machine. Among all available solutions to achieve this goal, two are distinguished: the generative approach and the analogy approach. The generative approach is more adapted to generate the machining plans of parts composed of numerous boring operations in interaction. However, generative systems have two major problems: proposed solutions are often too numerous and are only geometrically but not technologically relevant. In order to overcome these drawbacks, two new concepts of feature and three control algorithms are developed. The paper presents the two new features: the Machining Enabled Geometrical Feature (MEGF) and the Machinable Features (MbF). This development is the result of the separation of the geometrical and the technological data contained in one machining feature. The second objective of the paper is to improve the current Process Ascending Generation (PAG) system with control algorithms in order to limit the combinatorial explosion and disable the generation of unusable or not machinable solutions

Job and Workers Flows in Europe and the US: Specific Skills or Employment Protection?

There is more resistance to layoffs in continental Europe than in the U.S. At the same time, there is some evidence that employed European workers are more productive than their American counterparts. We reconcile these two facts by proposing that some institutions, such as Employment Protection Legislation (EPL), induce workers to invest in and develop job specific skills, making them more productive and leading to costly displacement as these types of skills are lost upon separation from the employer. It is also well established that mobility patterns -flows in and out of unemployment or even movements from job to job, are reduced in continental Europe relative to the U.S. The possibility to invest in skill improvement introduces a complementarity between EPL and the investment decision: more stable matches increase the incentive to accumulate specific skills; but also more productive matches are broken less frequently; hence there is a “mutliplier” effect arising from this complementarity. To quantitatively assess all these propositions, we built a tractable asymmetric information matching model featuring all types of transitions out of employment: layoffs, quits to unemployment and job-to-job transitions. We find that EPL does induce workers to invest more in human capital and may help explain greater resistance to layoffs in Europe. We find that flows out of employment are indeed reduced by EPL. However, allowing for skill investment does not generate any strong multiplier due to the fact several new effects are at play keeping unemployment duration at a low level and thus putting downward pressure on the multiplier. The conclusion of all this may be that EPL matters for explaining specialization and low movements out of jobs, but that low movements out of unemployment may be better explained by other institutions such as unemployment benefits

Comment modérer les prix de l'immobilier ?

Les prix de l'immobilier ont fortement progressé en France, entre 1998 et 2007, puis entre 2009 et 2012. La première phase d'augmentation est en partie liée à des facteurs communs à la zone euro (assouplissement des conditions de financement), en partie aussi à des facteurs spécifiquement français (politiques de soutien de la demande, insuffisances de l'offre foncière, hausse des coûts de construction). La seconde phase est plus directement liée à la crise financière qui a encouragé des comportements de repli sur des valeurs considérées comme sûres, parmi lesquelles l'immobilier dont l'attrait a encore été rehaussé par les politiques de soutien à la demande. Le logement constitue en France le premier poste de dépense des ménages, loin devant l'alimentation. L'accès à un logement décent, ou même tout simplement à un logement, est devenu un problème majeur, en particulier dans les zones tendues comme la région parisienne. De nombreux arguments plaident en faveur d'une politique publique visant à modérer la hausse, voire inverser la courbe des prix immobiliers, surtout si une partie de la hausse des prix a pour origine des politiques publiques mal adaptées : la hausse des prix accentue les inégalités (au détriment notable des jeunes générations de milieux modestes) et conduit à des inefficacités économiques, telles que l'éloignement entre domicile et travail, l'investissement (en cas de bulle) dans des biens surévalués ou encore la perte de compétitivité de l'économie française lorsque le coût du logement se répercute sur les salaires ou dans l'immobilier d'entreprise. Les risques liés à un retournement du marché immobilier nous paraissent moins importants en France que dans d'autres pays. Dans ce cadre, nous proposons de combiner des mesures destinées à stimuler l'offre, corriger des distorsions du côté de la demande et fluidifier le marché. Pour stimuler l'offre, nous proposons d'améliorer la gestion du foncier en transférant sa responsabilité de façon systématique au niveau des intercommunalités et de favoriser les gains de productivité et la concurrence dans le secteur de la construction. Pour fluidifier le marché et rendre la fiscalité foncière plus équitable, nous suggérons de supprimer par étapes les droits de mutation à titre onéreux et de réformer la taxe foncière sur la propriété bâtie. Cette dernière serait désormais assise sur la valeur vénale nette des biens (valeur de marché déduction faite des emprunts en cours). Neutre pour le budget, cette réforme serait complétée par une taxation des plus-values latentes des terrains non bâtis encourageant la vente des terrains lorsqu'ils deviennent constructibles. Ces réformes supposent de mettre rapidement en application l'obligation faite aux notaires de renseigner les bases notariales. En parallèle, il nous semble souhaitable de supprimer progressivement l'ensemble des aides à la pierre, mesures coûteuses (plus de 4 milliards d'euros en 2012) qui tendent à soutenir les prix pour un gain limité en termes d'accession à la propriété. Les politiques du logement et, en particulier, les politiques d'accession à la propriété, recèlent un potentiel de progrès en termes à la fois d'efficacité, d'équité et d'économies budgétaires. Cette note a été présentée au Premier ministre le 13 février 2013

Tolerance analysis approach based on the classification of uncertainty (aleatory / epistemic)

Uncertainty is ubiquitous in tolerance analysis problem. This paper deals with tolerance analysis formulation, more particularly, with the uncertainty which is necessary to take into account into the foundation of this formulation. It presents: a brief view of the uncertainty classification: Aleatory uncertainty comes from the inherent uncertain nature and phenomena, and epistemic uncertainty comes from the lack of knowledge, a formulation of the tolerance analysis problem based on this classification, its development: Aleatory uncertainty is modeled by probability distributions while epistemic uncertainty is modeled by intervals; Monte Carlo simulation is employed for probabilistic analysis while nonlinear optimization is used for interval analysis.“AHTOLA” project (ANR-11- MONU-013

Layoff Costs and Efficiency with Asymmetric Information

Wage determination under asymmetric information generates ine¢ ciencies due to excess turnover. Severance pay and layo¤ taxes can improve e¢ ciency. We show that inefficient separations can even be fully removed with …xed separation taxes in the case where therelevant private information is exponentially distributed

The autoscopic flying avatar: a new paradigm to study bilocated presence in mixed reality

This position paper presents the project "Becoming Avatar" deals with avatarial immersion [1] addressed through an interdisciplinary experimental approach. Its goal, at the crossroad of the creation of images and interactive technology, of virtual reality, neurophysiology and information and communication sciences, is to develop a device and a media scenario to support the hypothesis of a split state and to objectify the situation of bilocation [2]. Being present both here in front of the screen and over there, beyond the screen, which is shown by empirical studies of video games and by artists and metaverse explorers in Second Life. This type of state resonates in neurophysiology with the artificial "Out-of-Body Experiences" sensations produced with the aid of virtual reality equipment on healthy subjects. The production includes the development of a scientific experimental facility for physiological measurements and a public installation allowing someone to live a non-ordinary experience of split self. The common feature to both aspects of the project is based on the original idea of integrating video and 3D technology in order to experiment a situation of flight in mixed reality. The subject is literally invited to "become an avatar", indeed, he sees his own image, filmed from behind, inlaid into a synthetic world where he will be able to move freely and experiment different events. This autoscopic system of immersion was imagined in 2012 by E. Pereny and worked again in 2013-2014 with Pr A. Berthoz and E.A. Amato, to be developed and finalized with N. Galinotti and G. Gorisse, with Jams sessions integrating students