The Veblen-Gerschenkron Effect of FDI in Mezzogiorno and East Germany

The presence of foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) should benefit local economies. In particular if MNEs are particularly productive compared to domestic firms they may promote learning and catch-up of local firms. Such channel of spillovers from MNEs to local firms is known as the Veblen Geschenkron effect. Rather than the overall density of MNE in a region or sector, it is their productivity advantage on the local firm to determine the positive effect on domestic productivity growth.We test this hypothesis using firm level data for German and Italian company for the 90''s. and we find evidence of a significant and robust Veblen-Gerschenkrion effect. The initial total factor productivity advantage of MNEs on local firm acts as a stimulus for productivity growth of local firms in the same region.FDI, Spillovers, Productivity

How alternative food networks work in a metropolitan area? An analysis of Solidarity Purchase Groups in Northern Italy

Our paper focuses on Solidarity Purchase Group (SPG) participants located in a highly urbanized area, with the aim to investigate the main motivations underlining their participation in a SPG and provide a characterization of them. To this end, we carried out a survey of 795 participants involved in 125 SPGs in the metropolitan area of Milan (Italy). Taking advantage of a questionnaire with 39 questions, we run a factor analysis and a two-step cluster analysis to identify different profiles of SPG participants. Our results show that the system of values animating metropolitan SPG practitioners does not fully conform to that traditionally attributed to an alternative food network (AFN). In fact, considerations linked to food safety and healthiness prevail on altruistic motives such as environmental sustainability and solidarity toward small producers. Furthermore, metropolitan SPGs do not consider particularly desirable periurban and local food products. Observing the SPGs from this perspective, it emerges as such initiatives can flourish also in those places where the lack of connection with the surrounding territory is counterbalanced by the high motivation to buy products from trusted suppliers who are able to guarantee genuine and safe products, not necessarily located nearby

Multidimensional assessment of food security and environmental sustainability: a vulnerability framework for the Mediterranean Region [Poster]

Poster presented at Tropentag 2013. International Research on Food Security, Natural Resource Management and Rural Development. "Agricultural development within the rural-urban continuum". Stuttgart-Hohenheim (Germany), Sep 17-19 2013

An approach to the multidimensional assessment of food security and environmental sustainability: a vulnerability framework for the Mediterranean region

Poster presented at First International Conference on Global Food Security. Noordwijkerhout (The Netherlands), 29 Sep - 2 Oct 201

An approach to the multidimensional assessment of food security and environmental sustainability: a vulnerability framework for the Mediterranean region

Poster presented at First International Conference on Global Food Security. Noordwijkerhout (The Netherlands), 29 Sep - 2 Oct 201

Perubahan Tradisi Menanam Padi di Desa Kepala Pulau Kecamatan Kuantan Hilir Kabupaten Kuantan Singingi

This research was conducted in the Kepala Pulau village Kuantan Hilirsubdistrict, Kuantan Singingi Regency. The purpose of this study is the first tofind out what kind of a tradition in the Kepala Pulau village community to growrice. The second objective is to determine what changes occur in the tradition ofgrowing rice in the Kepala Pulau village community. The third goal is todetermine what are the factors that cause changes in the tradition of growing ricein the Kepala Pulau village community. Analyzing the data in this study usingQualitative Research Methods. Qualitative Research Methods This is an analysisthat seeks to provide a detailed picture of reality based on facts obtained from thefield and also supported by the data in order to support the primary and secondarydata exist. Qualitative research is presented in the form of words from theinterview with the author of the respondents that describe the specificcircumstances of the people in the Kepala pulau village about the tradition ofplanting rice, the changes that occur in the tradition of growing rice and thefactors that cause changes in the tradition of growing rice in the Kepala Pulauvillage community. The results of field research shows that there is occurrence ofsignificant changes in the tradition of growing rice in the Kepala Pulau villagecommunity even the traditions that have been around since the former in theplanting of rice has been lost. It is caused by several factors that influence thechanges that occur in the tradition of growing rice that is the internal factors andexternal factors.Keywords : Tradition of planting rice, Change

Egg parasitoid exploitation of plant volatiles induced by single or concurrent attack of a zoophytophagous predator and an invasive phytophagous pest

Zoophytophagous insect predators can induce physiological responses in plants by activating defence signalling pathways, but whether plants can respond to facultative phytophagy by recruiting natural enemies remains to be investigated. In Y-tube olfactometer bioassays, using a system including a Vicia faba plant, the zoophytophagous predator Podisus maculiventris and the egg parasitoid Telenomus podisi, we first demonstrated that T. podisi females are attracted by broad bean plants damaged by feeding activity of P. maculiventris and on which host egg masses had been laid, while they are not attracted by undamaged plants or plants damaged by feeding activity alone. In a second experiment, we evaluated the impact of the invasive phytophagous pest Halyomorpha halys on this plant volatile-mediated tritrophic communication. Results showed that the invasive herbivorous adults do not induce plants to recruit the native egg parasitoid, but they can disrupt the local infochemical network. In fact, T. podisi females are not attracted by volatiles emitted by plants damaged by H. halys feeding alone or combined with oviposition activity, nor are they attracted by plants concurrently infested by P. maculiventris and H. halys, indicating the specificity in the parasitoid response and the ability of the invasive herbivore in interrupting the semiochemical communication between plants and native egg parasitoids. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study showing that zoophytophagous predator attacks induce indirect plant defences similarly to those defence strategies adopted by plants as a consequence of single or concurrent infestations of herbivorous insects

Risk measures on P(R) and value at risk with probability/loss function

We propose a generalization of the classical notion of the V@Rλ that takes into account not only the probability of the losses, but the balance between such probability and the amount of the loss. This is obtained by defining a new class of law invariant risk measures based on an appropriate family of acceptance sets. The V@Rλ and other known law invariant risk measures turn out to be special cases of our proposal. We further prove the dual representation of Risk Measures on math formula

Effect of fruit-to-leaf area ratio on fruit quality and vegetative growth of 'bing' sweet cherry trees at optimal leaf area index

Fruit yield and quality determine grower income from commercial sweet cherry orchards. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of Fruit Number to Leaf Area Ratio (FNLAR, fruit m-2 LA) on Mean Fruit Weight (MFW), firmness (F), soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and SSC:TA ratio of `Bing¿ sweet cherries trees of near-optimal leaf area index (LAI). The effect of FNLAR on Mean Shoot Growth (MSG) and trunk cross-sectional area increment (TCSAI) also was analysed to determine possible competition between reproductive and vegetative growth. Regression analysis was used with FNLAR as the independent variable. While SSC:TA, MSG and TCSAI were not significantly correlated to FNLAR (P>0.05), MFW, TA and SSC decreased linearly with increasing FNLAR (

X-ray study of bow shocks in runaway stars

Massive runaway stars produce bow shocks through the interaction of their winds with the interstellar medium, with the prospect for particle acceleration by the shocks. These objects are consequently candidates for non-thermal emission. Our aim is to investigate the X-ray emission from these sources. We observed with XMM-Newton a sample of five bow shock runaways, which constitutes a significant improvement of the sample of bow shock runaways studied in X-rays so far. A careful analysis of the data did not reveal any X-ray emission related to the bow shocks. However, X-ray emission from the stars is detected, in agreement with the expected thermal emission from stellar winds. On the basis of background measurements we derive conservative upper limits between 0.3 and 10 keV on the bow shocks emission. Using a simple radiation model, these limits together with radio upper limits allow us to constrain some of the main physical quantities involved in the non-thermal emission processes, such as the magnetic field strength and the amount of incident infrared photons. The reasons likely responsible for the non-detection of non-thermal radiation are discussed. Finally, using energy budget arguments, we investigate the detectability of inverse Compton X-rays in a more extended sample of catalogued runaway star bow shocks. From our analysis we conclude that a clear identification of non-thermal X-rays from massive runaway bow shocks requires one order of magnitude (or higher) sensitivity improvement with respect to present observatories.Fil: del Valle, Maria Victoria. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía; ArgentinaFil: Romero, Gustavo Esteban. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía; ArgentinaFil: Peri, Cintia Soledad. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía; ArgentinaFil: Benaglia, Paula. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía; ArgentinaFil: De Becker, M.. Université de Liège; Bélgic