Disparities in entrepreneurship indicators across EU countries

The levels and characteristics of entrepreneurship differ widely across EU member countries due to diverse cultural, educational, economic-financial and institutional reasons. Taking as reference data provided by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), this paper analyzes the disparities in entrepreneurship indicators among the EU member countries in 2007 and 2013, highlighting the most significant changes occurred during the Great Recession. For this purpose, some of the major indices of inequality have been calculated, namely the Gini, Theil and Atkinson indices. In addition, the change in the Gini coefficient between these two years is additively decomposed into mobility and progressivity components, and growth incidence curves of some key indicators of entrepreneurial activity are estimated. Overall, we find that inequality among countries in most entrepreneurial attitude and aspiration indicators tends to diminish over the period 2007-2013. For all indicators the reduction is more generalized across the efficiency-driven economies than across the innovation-driven economies.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Entrepreneurship and Economic Liberalization in the OECD Countries

Entrepreneurship displays remarkable differences across countries because of diverse factors. In this sense, it is frequently argued that economic liberalization encourages entrepreneurship. In this paper we address the extent to which economic freedom, understood as market economy oriented institutions and policies, matters for entrepreneurial activity through a panel data analysis for 78 countries during the period 2001-2012. We examine the relationship between the Fraser Institute’s economic freedom index and its five areas, and three entrepreneurial activity indicators from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, namely total entrepreneurial activity, necessity entrepreneurship and opportunity entrepreneurship. Economic freedom seems to increase opportunity entrepreneurship and decrease necessity entrepreneurship. Focusing on the OECD countries, we highlight that economic freedom is positively associated with entrepreneurship. In terms of entrepreneurship motivation, we find that a more flexible regulation of credit, labor and business, as well as entrepreneurial attitudes, may contribute to enhance opportunity entrepreneurshipUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Examinig the roloe of economic liberalization in entrepeneurship: a cross-country study

In the last few decades some authors have underlined the role of institutions and policies for entrepreneurship. North (1990) underlines that entrepreneurs are the main agents of change and that organizations, such as firms set up by entrepreneurs, adapt their activities and strategies to fit the opportunities and limitations provided through formal and informal institutional frameworks. Baumol (1990) hypothesizes that entrepreneurial individuals channel their efforts in different directions depending on the quality of prevailing economic, political, and legal institutions. Sobel (2008) asserts that better institutions have both more productive entrepreneurship and also less unproductive entrepreneurship. He stresses that the best path to foster entrepreneurship is through institutional reforms that constrain or minimize the role of government. In this context, economic freedom may be seen as a significant aspect for entrepreneurial activity and it is frequently argued that economic liberalization encourages entrepreneurship. In this paper we address the extent to which economic freedom, understood as market economy oriented institutions and policies, matters for entrepreneurial activityUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Does economic freedom increase income inequality? Evidence from the EU countries

Over the past decades there have been considerable changes in policies and institutions in favor of economic freedom in the EU countries. This trend coincides with widespread increases in income inequality in numerous member states. To what extent does economic freedom encourage inequality? This paper examines the relationship between economic freedom and income inequality in the EU countries using panel data for the 2000s. The empirical evidence suggests that economic freedom seems to entail greater income inequality. However, not all areas of economic freedom affect income distribution similarly. While government size and regulation appear to be robustly associated with income inequality, legal system and property rights, sound money, and freedom to trade internationally seem not to be significantly related with income distribution in the European context.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Propiedades mecánicas de componentes de aleación A356 producidos por el procedimiento industrial sub líquidus casting (SLC)

En este trabajo se revisan los antecedentes en la conformación de aleaciones de aluminio en estado semisólido, y se describen algunos procesos de acuerdo con la bibliografía consultada. Mediante la técnica de Sub Liquidus Casting se han fabricado, con la aleación A356, componentes de motocicleta. A estos materiales se les han realizado tratamientos térmicos de envejecimiento T5 y T6 con objeto de mejorar sus propiedades mecánicas, dado que esta tecnología de inyección permite estos tratamientos. Esta es una de las grandes ventajas de estos procesos frente a la inyección a alta presión convencional. Se ha estudiado también el efecto de los tratamientos térmicos en las propiedades mecánicas, mediante ensayos de tracción. A continuación se ha profundizado en el estudio de la influencia de los parámetros velocidad y temperatura de ensayo en las propiedades mecánicas de estos materiales a tracción. Así mismo, se han obtenido los coeficientes de endurecimiento por deformación n y de resistencia K del material, que nos permiten conocer en profundidad el comportamiento plástico de estos materiales. Los resultados obtenidos podrán ser aplicados a programas de simulación de procesos de conformación así como en la aplicación industrial de estos componentes. La experimentación ha de permitir obtener la influencia que ejercen los parámetros tratamiento térmico, temperatura y velocidad en el módulo elástico, límite elástico, resistencia a la tracción, alargamiento, coeficiente de endurecimiento n y coeficiente de resistencia K

Branched-chain amino acids and trimethylamine N-oxide as biomarkers of cardiometabolic outcomes

The identification of biomarkers that could improve the individual risk prediction of developing cardiometabolic disease is one of the salient goals of the 21th century paradigm in medicine captured as precision medicine. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) are novel biomarkers linked to key cardiometabolic features, such as insulin resistance, microbiome response to diet, kidney function, and atherogenesis.In this thesis, we studied the potential role of BCAA and TMAO in the context of cardiometabolic disease. We characterized the association of BCAA with the development of T2D, hypertension, and progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Moreover, we depicted the clinical impact of TMAO in the risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in patients with T2D and NAFLD; as well as kidney graft failure in post- transplant recipients. Overall, the results of this thesis support the concept that BCAA and TMAO provide valuable information that can be used to perform a better risk assessment of the early development of cardiometabolic disease, such as hypertension, TD2 and its complications. Given the nature of BCAA and TMAO, these results also pave the way for future studies of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions as strategies to mitigate the deleterious consequences of the still-growing pandemic of obesity and T2D. Finally, this thesis also reinforces the idea that it is possible and desirable to apply novel statistical methods that cope with the advanced methods of metabolites quantification, in order to better understand the underlying complexity of T2D and cardiometabolic disease

An econometric model of the balance of payments of Venezuela

PhDThe fundamental purpose of this study is to build an econometric model of the Venezuelan Economy to concentrate primarely on the following: first, to analyse the effects of monetary, fiscal and external disturbances on expenditures, prices and on the Balance of Payments during the period 1955-1984, a period of fixed exchange rate; second, to approximate an optomal policy 'mix' necessary to achieve certain macroeconomic objectives, i. e, steady economic growth, price stability and balance of payments equilibrium; thirdly, to provide a simple well integrated macroeconometric model of the Venezuelan Economy. The resulted model is a generalised income determination model where a short to medium term analysis of balance of payments can be exercised. The model belongs to the vintage of general keynesian type where the monetray and financial sector enters in a stock-flow fashion. Explicit recognition of the government budget constraint guarantees the integration of both sectors of the Venezuelan Economy as well as of the policy shocks. The empirical section of this dissertation is carried out using least squares method to estimate the structural parameters under the carefully scrutiny of the Econometric Modelling strategy developed by Professor David Hendry and associates and which has becoming standard in the econometric modelling practice in the United Kingdom. From the analysis of the dynamic multipliers emerges some already standard results. It has been demonstrated that the impact of the budget deficit on the economy-diverges depending on which method is used to finance the deficit. Money financing shows a strong impulse in economic growth with a large disequilibrium in the balance of payments. Multipliers are negative. Exchange rate multipliers are positive with respect to the balace of payments following its direct effect on the current account and its induced effect on economic growth. Price are sticky according to the manner they are incorporated, as well as for its Non-Granger causality with money. No empirical basis was found to accept the money-price causality. Pure monetary policy did show ambiguous results, however, financial liberalization produce strong economic growth and corresponding balance of payments deficit. Using these results we could inferr a plausible optimal combination of policies targeted towards equilibria in the external accounts with steady economic growth