The attempted merger between General Electric and Honeywell, a case study of transatlantic conflict

\cf1\f1 This paper analyzes how State aid affects and distorts competition and trade within and across jurisdictions. We identify the circumstances in which state aid is likely to involve the largest distortions. In the context of the paper distortion of competition" is interpreted as the effect on rivals\f2\rquote\f1 profits. We consider three types of state intervention, namely subsidies which affect marginal cost, entry and quality and analyse whether particular market characteristics are robust indicators of the magnitude of the distortions. We obtain the following results: (i) it appears that concentration is a fairly robust indicator; (ii) A high degree of substitution across differentiated products is not a robust indicator of the magnitude of the distortions. Its effect depends on the type of state intervention; (iii) The substitution among domestic products may have opposite effects respectively on domestic and foreign firms. In particular, when the market is not concentrated and state aid takes the form of a production subsidy, a stronger substitution among domestic products will reduce the distortions felt by the foreign firm (but increase that felt by domestic rivals); Finally, (iv) the paper demonstrates that the impact of selective State aid on market prices and competitors can depend on the particular characteristics of the market JEL Classification numbers: K21; L10; L40State aids; EU Antitrust; distortions of competition

The influence of online posting dates on the bibliometric indicators of scientific articles

This article analyses the difference in timing between the online availability of articles and their corresponding print publication and how it affects two bibliometric indicators: Journal Impact Factor (JIF) and Immediacy Index. This research examined 18,526 articles, the complete collection of articles and reviews published by a set of 61 journals on Urology and Nephrology in 2013 and 2014. The findings suggest that Advance Online Publication (AOP) accelerates the citation of articles and affects the JIF and Immediacy Index values. Regarding the JIF values, the comparison between journals with or without AOP showed statistically significant differences (P=0.001, Mann-Whitney U test). The Spearman's correlation between the JIF and the median online-to-print publication delay was not statistically significant. As to the Immediacy Index, a significant Spearman's correlation (rs=0.280, P=0.029) was found regarding the median online-to-print publication delays for journals published in 2014, although no statistically significant correlation was found for those published in 2013. Most journals examined (n=52 out of 61) published their articles in AOP. The analysis also showed different publisher practices: eight journals did not include the online posting dates in the full-text and nine journals published articles showing two different online posting dates--the date provided on the journal website and another provided by Elsevier's Science Direct. These practices suggest the need for transparency and standardization of the AOP dates of scientific articles for calculating bibliometric indicators for journals

Essays on the economics of foreign aid in Niger

This thesis identifies the gaps in the literature on foreign aid, and tries to fill some of them focusing particularly on Niger, a country that has received aid since its independence in 1960, yet remains one of the world's poorest. The work contributes to the literature in three ways: First, it addresses moral hazard: the relationship between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the country is analysed through a historical case study. Niger's requests for assistance are accompanied by promises to undertake reforms; however, once aid is disbursed, these undertakings rarely materialize. Despite this record of poor (and deteriorating) compliance, IMF aid continues to flow, engendering perverse incentives and moral hazard. Secondly, it analyses whether aid is associated with poverty reduction. Aid is correlated with poverty, which is to be expected due to its pro-poor targeting nature. However, this study found increases in poverty associated with communities which were recipients of aid. To shed more light on this, households receiving aid were compared with those receiving no project assistance at all, and with households who benefited from non-aid based development projects. The results showed that changes in poverty levels among aid recipient households were not statistically different to those among households receiving no assistance. However, households benefiting from aid under-performed those who benefited from other projects. Thirdly, it explores whether aid brings utility to households through the provision of public goods. The results suggest that aid projects do help households. However, other sources of development projects are more efficient at doing so. Information is the key: it is a vital prerequisite for projects to address the needs of the population, and not all donors have the same information. Information can be obtained through co-funding projects with other donors, although there are also coordination costs. The models estimated allow the prediction of the benefits a project could provide to a household. Such predictive abilities could allow policymakers to coordinate donors' initiatives to maximize their effectiveness. However, at present Niger lacks the capacity to achieve such coordination. Furthermore, such an approach would involve having to reduce the least efficient donors to mere providers of finance (i.e. channel their resources through other donor types), a role they might not be willing to accept

Beyond SmartCities: How to create an Attractive City for Talented Citizens

In the recent context of general economic stability and peace, cities have become the world’s key centers for human development. Without a clear leader in the 4th Industrial Revolution, cities are fiercely competing to attract talent. Investing in technology and innovation (SmartCities) is an essential and mandatory condition to draw that talent in, yet it is not sufficient alone. Choosing a city to live in is a complex decision, akin to making a major purchase, getting married, or signing a contract. So, the question arises: what makes a city attractive to talent?In this article, it is postulated that, as with every human decision, there is a compromise between two parties: the emotional component, which we call city magnetism, and the rational component, which we call city profitability.We study the world’s top 140 most attractive cities according to international studies in a custom model made up of more than 100 indicators. The objective is twofold: to help talented citizens evaluate cities in order to find which ones will best help them reach their potential; and to help politicians and city officials create the conditions that make their city as attractive as possible. This is not simply a question of technology or investment; identity, urban planning and social sustainability are determining factors too.En el contexto actual de estabilidad económica y paz, las ciudades lideran el mundo como centros clave del desarrollo humano. Sin un claro líder en la 4ª revolución industrial, las ciudades compiten ferozmente por el talento. Invertir en tecnología e innovación (SmartCities) es fundamental y condición necesaria para este propósito, pero no suficiente. La decisión de optar por una ciudad es humana, y por tanto compleja. Es como una decisión de compra, como un matrimonio, como un contrato. ¿Qué hace a una ciudad atractiva para el talento? En este artículo se postula que, como toda decisión humana que implica un compromiso entre dos partes, tiene un componente emocional que llamaremos City Magnetism; y un componente racional que llamaremos City Profitability. Estudiaremos las 140 ciudades más atrayentes según estudios internacionales en un modelo compuesto por más de 100 indicadores. El objetivo es doble: ayudar a los ciudadanos talentosos a valorar las ciudades para encontrar las que mejor les ayuden a desarrollar su potencial; y ayudar a los alcaldes y los poderes públicos municipales a generar las condiciones que hagan su ciudad lo más atractiva posible. No es sólo cuestión de tecnología o de inversión: la identidad, el urbanismo y la sostenibilidad social son determinantes

Synchronizing a modular robot colony for cooperative tasks based on intrainter robot communications

The implementation of robotic cooperative tasks such as pushing an object toward a desired destination or manipulating an object using mobile robots or robotic arms requires motion coordination between the robot colony. When a robot is built by the union of several robots, such as modular robot systems, it is critical to have the complete coordination of each robot configuration within the colony and also overall robot coordination of the colony. The paper presents a demonstration of parallel motion for modular robot configurations through the combination of two types of communications, i.e., Inter-robot and Intra-robot communications. The two types of communications are described and implemented in a real modular robot system. Experiments are executed to show the performance of the robot colony synchronizatio

Analysis of a public repository for the study of automatic fall detection algorithms

The use of publicly available repositories containing movement traces of real or experimental subjects is a key aspect to define an evaluation framework that allows a systematic assessment of wearable fall detection systems. This papers presents a detailed analysis of a public dataset of traces which employed five sensing points to characterize the user’s mobility during the execution of ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) and emulated falls. The analysis is aimed at analysing two main factors: the importance of the election of the position of the sensor and the possible impact of the user’s personal features on the statistical characterization of the movements. Results reveal the importance of the nature of the ADL for the effectiveness of the discrimination of the falls.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

API de Google maps para un mapa de conocimiento de los asesores especializados de un centro de desarrollo empresarial

Existen sitios dedicados a asesorar a emprendedores y micro empresarios en temas de compras, producción, innovación, ventas, finanzas, etc. Tanto en México, como en otros países, existen los CDE (Centros de Desarrollo Empresarial) otros denominados Incubadoras de Empresas, donde se brinda apoyo a los emprendedores que inician una nueva empresa. En la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, se creó una red de Incubadoras de Empresas en los Centros Universitarios, Una de estas unidades se encuentra en el Centro Universitario UAEM Texcoco, donde se enfocó este proyecto. Una de las misiones de los CDE es ofrecer y llevar a cabo asesorías ante los problemas y retos de las empresas nacientes. Para lo anterior se creó una aplicación Web para administrar el conocimiento a través de un Mapa de Conocimiento. Los usuarios pueden consultar la existencia de conocimiento requerido; si existe, lo podrán visualizar en un mapa con ayuda de la API (Interfaz de Programación de Aplicaciones) de Google Maps. Para su uso, basta un dispositivo con conexión a internet. Esta aplicación busca apoyar a emprendedores y empresarios que tiene las preguntas: ¿El CDE Tiene el conocimiento qué requiero? ¿Quién tiene el conocimiento? ¿Dónde están los portadores del conocimiento? ¿Cómo y dónde los contacto? De existir el conocimiento en el mapa bastará contactar a algún portador y establecer una modalidad para la asesoría requerida. Se parte, de la búsqueda de conocimiento, su existencia, ubicación y forma de contactar al portador del conocimiento. Para lo anterior se logró una aplicación capaz de filtrar un tipo de conocimiento y el mapeo sobre la plataforma de la API de Google Maps

Open innovation : organizational challenges of a new paradigm of innovation management

The goal of this paper is to analyze the main problems that emerge from the open innovation model. Adopting as analytical framework an organizational perspective we divide the main challenges that arise from the management of open innovation in two main categories: coordination problems as a result of open the innovation system to ideas and knowledge that may lie outside the boundaries of the firm and, incentive problems related with the creation and value capture of ideas an knowledge by the innovator. We describe and analyze several problems related with coordination and incentives.peer-reviewe

Impacto del manejo del ganado en la conservación del puma y el jaguar en México

El aumento de la población humana y la demanda cada vez mayor de recursos ha dado como resultado áreas muy pequeñas donde se trata de conservar la diversidad biológica. Dando como resultado el conflicto humano-carnívoro el cual surge cuando el depredador ataca al ganado doméstico provocando pérdidas económicas al productor y éste último como represalia persigue al carnívoro hasta que logra eliminarlo afectando su estado de conservación. Considerando que en el país no existe un diagnóstico de la ganadería como actividad productiva y que las prácticas de manejo ganadero están directamente relacionadas con el riesgo de depredación, es necesario generar análisis integrales y a diferentes escalas, por lo que el objetivo del estudio fue identificar los aspectos del manejo del ganado que pueden ser modificados o mejorados para aumentar la producción y disminuir el impacto de la depredación. Los sitios con y sin registros de depredación se compararon en un análisis nacional (a nivel municipal) y local (a nivel de ranchos). Los sitios donde hay casos de depredación tienen una mayor proporción de hectáreas forestales y más corrales, sin embargo, los corrales no tienen el diseño adecuado o materiales para proteger el ganado. Se propone un "rancho modelo", considerando los datos promedio de la RNSN así como los programas gubernamentales que podrían subsidiarlo, de manera que la inversión en su construcción representaría un beneficio económico neto 2,4 veces mayor que su costo. Se presenta además, información sobre los aspectos y problemas que deben abordar los programas de subsidios gubernamentales para la actividad ganadera para aumentar la rentabilidad del sector, pero también contribuir al desarrollo social y la conservación de la vida silvestre.Beca otorgada por CONACYT (CVU/Becario) 702134/58441