"Wage Differentials and Wage Inequality in Croatia, 1970-2008: Assessing the Labor Market Impact of Economic Transformation"

In this paper, we examine wage inequality and wage differentials in Croatia from 1970 to 2008. We focus especially on changing income inequality related to educational and vocational attainment, changing income inequality within those groups, and how these two components of inequality were affected by the economic transformation from Socialism to capitalism. We find that income inequality between groups was relatively stable, while overall inequality trended upward in the post-transformation period. This finding is consistent with a growing importance of individual rather than group productivity in labor market compensation, a change broadly consistent with the economic transformation of the Croatian labor market.Croatia, Economics of Transition, Inequality, Gini coefficient

"Croatian Wage Inequality and Wage Differentials, 1970-2008: Measurement and Determinants"

We use newly-available data on income by educational and vocational attainment and grouped income-interval data to examine wage inequality and wage differentials in Croatia between 1970 and 2008. This is a time period during which Croatia experienced enormous institutional and structural change, including the fall of socialism, hyperinflation, the Homeland war and the creation of sovereign Croatia. We construct both Gini and Theil measures of inequality, using grouped data. We find a general compression of earnings differences by educational and vocational attainment, but with a slight increase in the capitalist period post-1990. The income interval data shows a clearer pattern of a secular increase in inequality that is sharper in the capitalist period. We also examine within-industry inequality to see whether industries that experienced stronger structural changes also experienced a greater increase in inequality. Our evidence on this is mixed.Croatia, Transition Economy Labor Markets, Inequality, Gini coefficient, Theil Index

Thermal diffusivity of periderm from tomatoes of different maturity stages as determined by the concept of the frequency-domain open photoacoustic cell

The frequency-domain open photoacoustic cell (OPC) approach was used to determine room temperature thermal diffusivity of skins (pericarps) from the raw tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculetum Mill.) characterized by the three different stages of ripeness (from immature-green to a mature-red). Periodically interrupted 532 nm laser radiation was used to heat the dry tomato skins, typically 10 mm in diameter and up to 68 µm thick; the modulating frequency f varied from 8 to 150 Hz. Initially, a combined OPC-model that takes into account both, the thermoelastic bending and the effect of thermal diffusion (TD), has been applied. Preliminary results showed that until at least 40 Hz, the effect of TD dominates; above this value the combined model fits the experimental data only poorly. For this reason a less complex OPC-TD approach was applied to all investigated skins instead, which predicts an exponential decrease for the amplitude of measured photoacoustic signal S with increasing f. For a specimen that is simultaneously opaque and thermally thick, S depends on f as S~exp(-b f1/2) where b is a fitting parameter. The S versus f plot enables one to deduce the numerical value for b which, on its turn allows for the assessment of skin’s thermal diffusivity a. Thermal diffusivities obtained for the immature green, orange, and red skins (periderms) are 9.9×10-8 m2¿s-1, 7.2×10-8 m2¿s-1, and 4.6×10-8 m2¿s-1, respectively; the uncertainty was typically 5% of the measured value

Photoacoustic Characterization Of A Two-layer System

In this paper the use of the so-called open photoacoustic cell for thermal characterization of two-layer systems of variable thickness is described. It is shown that the thermal diffusivity as well as the thermal conductivity are completely determined, based upon the effective sample model widely used in heat-transfer problems.70117046705

Correlation of trans-Lycopene Measurements by the HPLC Method with the Optothermal and Photoacoustic Signals and the Color Readings of Fresh Tomato Homogenates

The trans-lycopene content of fresh tomato homogenates was assessed by means of the laser photoacoustic spectroscopy, the laser optothermal window, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and colorimetry; none of these methods require the extraction from the product matrix prior to the analysis. The wet chemistry method (high-performance liquid chromatography) was used as the absolute quantitative method. Analytical figures of merit for all methods were compared statistically; best linear correlation was achieved for the chromaticity index a* and chroma C*

Assaying Total Carotenoids in Flours of Corn and Sweetpotato by Laser Photoacoustic Spectroscopy

This study describes the application of the laser photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) for quantification of total carotenoids (TC) in corn flours and sweetpotato flours. Overall, thirty-three different corn flours and nine sweetpotato flours were investigated. All PAS measurements were performed at room temperature using 488-nm argon laser radiation for excitation and mechanical modulation of 9 and 30 Hz. The measurements were repeated within a run and within several days or months. The UV–Vis spectrophotometry was used as the reference method. The concentration range that allows for the reliable analysis of TC spans a region from 1 to 40 mg kg−1 for corn flours and from 9 to 40 mg kg−1 for sweetpotato flours. In the case of sweetpotato flours, the quantification may extend even to 240 mg kg−1 TC. The estimated detection limit values for TC in corn and sweetpotato flours were 0.1 and 0.3 mg kg−1, respectively. The computed repeatability (n = 3–12) and intermediate precision (n = 6–28) RSD values at 9 and 30 Hz are comparable: 0.1–17.1% and 5.3–14.7% for corn flours as compared with 1.4–9.1% and 4.2–23.0% for sweetpotato flours. Our results show that PAS can be successfully used as a new analytical tool to simply and rapidly screen the flours for their nutritional potential based on the total carotenoid concentration

Assessing the Extent of Degradation in the UV Radiation and Heat-Catalyzed Oxidised Whole Milk Powder : The UV Photoacoustic and Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopies Versus the Peroxide Value

The extent of quality loss caused by enzymatic and nonenzymatic browning reactions in milk powders is usually assessed by the chemical methods, among which the determination of peroxide value (PV) is a widely used approach. In this paper, peroxide values obtained from deliberately oxidized (UV irradiation combined with the thermal stress) whole milk powders are compared to the results of photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) and diffuse reflectance spectrometry (DRS) in the ultraviolet and visible region. The same samples were also investigated by various methods in the near-infrared (NIR) region. The experimental data suggest a good degree of correlation between the PV and the PAS and DRS data collected at 335 nm

Vapor phase spectra and the pressure-temperature dependence of long-chain carboxyllic acids studied by a CO laser and the photoacoustic heat-pipe detector.

A resonant photoacoustic heat-pipe (PAHP) cell was constructed and used for spectral studies of four long-chain saturated fatty acids (C10:0 to C16:0) at CO laser wavelengths and temperatures above that of the ambient. Vapor-phase absorption spectra were recorded at temperatures of 383 K for capric acid C10H20O2, 400 K for lauric acid C12H24O2, 438 K for myristic acid C14H28O2, and 445.5 K for palmitic acid C16H32O2, respectively. In addition, the temperature dependence (298 to 393 K) of vapor pressure was determined for C10:0; measurable PA signals were obtained at a temperature only a few degrees above the melting point for this acid. The data observed for C10:0 could be linearly fitted from as low as 323 K, indicating the validity of the Clausius-Clapeyron equation for temperatures lower than the 398 K < T < 541.4 K range anticipated so far