Migration and public finances in the EU

We provide novel and comprehensive evidence on the net fiscal contributions of natives and migrants to the governmental budgets of EU countries. We account for income taxes and cash benefits, along with indirect taxes and in-kind benefits, which are often missing in standard datasets. We find that on average, migrants were net contributors to public finances over the period of 2014–2018 in the EU and, moreover, that they contribute approximately €1.5 thousand more per capita each year than natives. We also show that this difference is partly due to the selection on characteristics that make migrants net fiscal contributors, such as demographic factors and employment probability

Consumers’ satisfaction and regulation of local public transport: evidence from European cities

In recent decades, market-opening policies in local public transport (LPT) have impacted most European countries. However, we can observe a high degree of variability in possible LPT arrangements, from public monopolies to open markets. This work addresses the following research question: How does user satisfaction correlate to alternative organisational models of LPT service provision? We use the results of a large survey conducted in 2009 in 33 European cities to analyse the likelihood of satisfaction with standard probit models. Results show that the highest levels of satisfaction correlate with the presence of a single LPT provider, as opposed to an industry structure in which multiple providers operate in the same market area

Functional neurological disorders as seen by a cohort of general practitioners in northern italy: Evidence from an online survey

General practitioners (GPs) provide primary care and advise their patients on which diagnostic and therapeutic pathways they judge most appropriate. For patients with functional neurological disorders (FND), receiving a proper explanation of diagnosis by their GP from the very beginning may drastically improve prognosis. Novel approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of FND have important implications for effective management. The aim of this study was to investigate Italian GP opinion and knowledge about FND in light of new approaches to the illness. To do this, we evaluated the responses to a 13-item web-based survey completed by 133 GPs practicing in northern Italy. Psychological terms to describe FND were more frequently used than functional neurological disorder and mental illness was considered an important predictor of diagnosis. Referral to a neurologist rather than to a psychiatrist was largely preferred, while physiotherapy consultation was seldom recognized as a valuable approach to treating FND. Overall, the survey findings suggest that knowledge about novel approaches to FND is somewhat lacking. Currently, GPs appear to be transitioning from a classical psychological view of the disorder toward a more modern conceptualization, in which neurobiological, psychological, and social factors all play an important role. Professional education during this transition would be an advantageous way to optimize physician management of FND and to enhance diagnosis, explanation, and management across primary and secondary care pathways

Impaired temporal processing of tactile and proprioceptive stimuli in cerebellar degeneration.

Performance of timed motor sequences relies on the cerebellum and basal ganglia, which integrate proprioceptive information during the motor task and set internal timing mechanisms. Accordingly, these structures are also involved in other temporal processes, such as the discrimination of the different afferent information in the domain of time. In the present study we tested temporal processing of proprioceptive and tactile stimuli in 20 patients with neurodegenerative cerebellar ataxia and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. Tactile temporal discrimination threshold was defined as the value at which subjects recognized the two stimuli as asynchronous. Temporal discrimination movement threshold of the first dorsal interosseous and flexor carpi radialis was defined as the shortest interval between two paired electrical stimuli in which the subjects blindfolded perceived two separate index finger abductions and wrist flexions. Both tactile and movement temporal discrimination thresholds were higher in patients with cerebellar ataxia. No correlation was found with disease duration and severity. Our study demonstrates that temporal processing of tactile and proprioceptive stimuli is impaired in patients with cerebellar neurodegeneration and highlights the involvement of cerebellum in temporal processing of somatosensory stimuli of different type

Ownership and performance in the market for corporate control: the role of state-owned enterprises

Despite a wave of privatizations in the past three decades, several governments own major corporations in industries such as energy, mining, telecommunications, transport, banking, manufacturing, in emerging economies as well as in some developed ones. Contemporary state\u2010owned enterprises (SOEs) are increasingly active players in the international and domestic markets for corporate control, through mergers and acquisitions. This paper contributes to a new strand of literature on SOEs form the angle of the market for corporate control. Do the SOEs, behave as their private counterparts when purchasing other firms? The standard prediction of the \u201cinefficient management hypothesis\u201d is that firms that perform well will buy firms of inferior managerial quality (Manne, 1965). An alternative prediction is offered more recently by Rhodes\u2010Kropf and Robinson (2008), who suggest that for US listed companies \u201clike buys like\u201d. To test both the alternative views and the research question on how public ownership has an impact on the market for corporate control, we build a new dataset from Zephyr and Orbis, two databases developed by the Bureau Van Dijk since early 2000s. Our sample is composed by 25,332 deals worldwide, of which around 10% are performed by a SOE acquirer. By focusing on the difference of the return on sales between the acquirer and the target firm, and controlling for different factors, we find that the Rhodes\u2010Kropf and Robinson (2008) prediction is more likely for listed companies, but not for the others; SOEs tend to buy \u201clower\u201d relative to their own performance than private companies do, while their behavior converges towards the private benchmark when the SOEs are listed. We conclude that mergers and acquisitions by SOEs in the years we consider are not as much at variance with the \u201cinefficient market hypothesis\u201d as private firms

Tactile and proprioceptive temporal discrimination are impaired in functional tremor

Background and Methods: In order to obtain further information on the pathophysiology of functional tremor, we assessed tactile discrimination threshold and proprioceptive temporal discrimination motor threshold values in 11 patients with functional tremor, 11 age- and sex-matched patients with essential tremor and 13 healthy controls. Results: Tactile discrimination threshold in both the right and left side was significantly higher in patients with functional tremor than in the other groups. Proprioceptive temporal discrimination threshold for both right and left side was significantly higher in patients with functional and essential tremor than in healthy controls. No significant correlation between discrimination thresholds and duration or severity of tremor was found. Conclusions: Temporal processing of tactile and proprioceptive stimuli is impaired in patients with functional tremor. The mechanisms underlying this impaired somatosensory processing and possible ways to apply these findings clinically merit further research

Resposta da cultura do milho a adubação nitrogenada após cultivo de tremoço branco (Lupinus albus) em duas unidades de solos.

Este trabalho teve por objetivo estudar a influência de dois fertilizantes nitrogenados na produção de grãos e de matéria seca do milho nos solos Podzolico Vermelho Amarelo Latossolico eutrofico (PVLe) e Podzolico Vermelho Amarelo Latossolico distrofico (PVLd), cultivados previamente com tremoço branco