FDI another day: Russian reliance on European investment. Bruegel Policy Contribution Issue n˚3 | February 2020

Most foreign direct investment into Russia originates in the European Union: European investors own between 55 percent and 75 percent of Russian FDI stock. This points to a Russian dependence on European investment, making the EU paramount for Russian medium-term growth. Even if we consider ‘phantom’ FDI that transits through Europe, the EU remains the primary investor in Russia. Most phantom FDI into Russia is believed to originate from Russia itself and thus is by construction not foreign

THE STATE OF CHINA-EUROPEAN UNION ECONOMIC RELATIONS. Bruegel Working Paper Issue 09 20 November 2019

China and the European Union have an extensive and growing economic relationship. The relationship is problematic because of the distortions caused by China’s state capitalist system and the diversity of interests within the EU’s incomplete federation. More can be done to capture the untapped trade and investment opportunities that exist between the parties. China’s size and dynamism, and its recent shift from an export-led to a domesticdemand- led growth model, mean that these opportunities are likely to grow with time. As the Chinese economy matures, provided appropriate policy steps are taken, it is likely to become a less disruptive force in world markets than during its extraordinary breakout period

From climate change to cyber-attacks: incipient financial-stability risks for the euro area. Bruegel Policy Contribution Issue n˚2 | February 2020

The European Central Bank’s November 2019 Financial Stability Review highlighted the risks to growth in an environment of global uncertainty. It also discusses sovereign-debt concerns in case interest rates increase, and risks arising from household and corporate debt. It assesses the risks from a possible overvaluation of asset prices, and evaluates risks within the banking and non-banking system, and climate risks. On the whole, the ECB report is comprehensive and covers the main risks to euro-area financial stability. However, some issues deserve more attention. • First, the assessment of risks in the housing market should be more nuanced. Current housing markets relative to those pre-crisis seem to be far less driven by mortgage credit, and the size of the construction sector has not increased. This is possibly good news for financial stability because a house price correction would transmit less into mortgage defaults and corrections to economic activity. • Second, there should be greater emphasis on changes in market expectations of interest rates, which can have substantial effects on asset prices. This could be particularly relevant if interest rate changes are not driven by real-economy developments. • Third, the financial system relies on a safe asset as a reference. We show that the supply of safe sovereign assets in the euro area has fallen dramatically, driven by deteriorating sovereign credit ratings and reduced supplies of bonds from the safest countries. More safe assets would support financial stability. • Fourth, though climate risks to financial stability must be taken seriously, risk weights on green assets should not be reduced since they still contain normal financial stability risks. Instead, risk weights for brown assets should be increased. • Fifth, the ECB does not consider cybersecurity and hybrid threats in its assessment. These threats are significant risks for financial institutions and at the more systemic level. • Policies to address financial-stability concerns include macroprudential measures. In this respect, we discover discrepancies between EU countries: countries with the same levels of house-price overvaluation have adopted very different macroprudential measures. Some countries might thus have done too much, while others have done too little. • When it comes to preventing the next recession or reducing its impact, we argue that EU policymakers need to be better prepared to use discretionary fiscal policy earlier and more forcefully, in particular because the ability of monetary authorities to react to the next cyclical downturn is very limited

The financial fragility of European households in the time of COVID-19. Bruegel Policy Contribution Issue n ̊15 | July 2020.

The concept of household financial fragility emerged in the United States after the 2007-2008 financial crisis. It grew out of the need to understand whether households’ lack of capacity to face shocks could itself become a source of financial instability, in addition to risks to the stability of banks and the greater financial system. The concept goes beyond assessing the level of assets and encompasses the state of household balance sheets, including indebtedness. It relies also on individual perceptions of the ability to rely on families and friends and other methods to deal with shocks, though such aspects are less easy to measure and rely frequently on self-assessments. In the wake of COVID-19, we ask how well-prepared households were in the European Union (including the United Kingdom) to handle an unexpected expense. Two years before the pandemic hit, a substantial share of EU households reported that they would be unable to handle unexpected expenses. In some EU countries, many households had savings equivalent to just a few weeks of basic consumption. We find that one in three EU households is unable to meet an unexpected shock during regular times, let alone during a pandemic. COVID-19-related support measures put in place across the EU are intended to provide economic help to those households where members have lost jobs or face a severe reduction in income. However, in a number of countries where one in two households was already fragile – typically countries that are already economically weaker – state help is likely to be smaller and shorter-lived. Policies that increase financial resilience in structural ways will become necessary in the future. Such policies include financial education programmes in the workplace or initiatives to promote financial resilience among households directly. There are many examples of such policies put in place worldwide that aim to increase structurally the level of financial preparedness and financial literacy. The latter is shown to correlate strongly with financial resilience. Our evidence also shows that there are major differences between EU countries in term of financial fragility. This points to different degrees of urgency and also to the need for different policies to promote financial resilience. However, to the extent that financial fragility is a source of financial instability, there is a case for monitoring such indicators at the European level, for example by including a measure of financial fragility in the European Semester as part of the monitoring of Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure indicators

Six years after Ukraine’s Euromaidan: reforms and challenges ahead. Bruegel Policy Contribution Issue n ̊14 | June 2020.

Since the Euromaidan protests (2013-2014), Ukraine has had two presidents and four governments. They have initiated various reforms in the economic, institutional and political spheres, with the aim of bringing the country closer to the European Union, boosting eco- nomic growth and international competitiveness, and building a liberal democracy. Reforms have been implemented in a difficult environment of external aggression, which has led to human and material losses and has caused loss of control over part of the country’s territory. However, resistance to aggression and fresh memories of the kleptocratic regime of the former president Viktor Yanukovych (2010-2014) have helped to unite society and Ukraine’s political forces in favour of the reform programme. Although many important policy and systemic changes have been implemented, the reform agenda remains unfinished. It must be continued despite the dramatic new challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. International financial support and especially International Monetary Fund con- ditionality have been instrumental in pushing the Ukrainian authorities to carry out major reforms (including of banking law, the gas sector and land ownership). This was done despite these reforms being opposed by old elites, or running counter to populist instincts (such as gas price reform and pension reform). The dominant role of old elites still holds back home- grown reform, leading to reformers having an unhealthy reliance on outside pressure

Identity development and adjustment during emerging adulthood from a gender perspective

Identity development is a key task during emerging adulthood. The goals of the present study are to validate the Spanish version of the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS) and to explore the relationship between identity dimensions and adjustment (flourishing and distress), from a gender perspective. The sample comprised 1502 Spanish university students (60.1% women). The results reveal that the DIDS is valid in the Spanish context and that significant gender differences were observed in some dimensions of identity development, with men scoring higher for identification with commitment and women scoring higher for exploration in depth and ruminative exploration. Finally, both dimensions of commitment and ruminative exploration had a stronger effect on men's than on women's adjustment, suggesting that the integration of the self has more impact on men's outcomes than on women's. These findings highlight the need to include the gender perspective in all future research in order to gain deeper insight into the relationship between the identity development process and adjustment during emerging adulthood.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO). España EDU2013-45687-RMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MICINN). EspañaEuropean Commission (EC). Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) RTI2018-097405-B-I00Consejería de Transformación Económica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades de la Junta de Andalucía PROYEXCEL _00766European Commission. Fondo Social Europeo (FSO) 2019-Line_2,PAIDI_202

Presence of infotainment in Spain's mainstream DTT channels

Producción CientíficaEl artículo se incluye dentro de las investigaciones empíricas sobre infoentretenimiento y realiza una caracterización de los estilemas del infoentretenimiento televisivo comprobando su presencia dentro de la programación de los canales generalistas de la TDT española. Metodología. Se analizan las parrillas de los seis canales generalistas contabilizando el tiempo dedicado al infoentretenimiento; posteriormente se realiza un análisis de contenido de los espacios en prime time. Resultados. Se observa cómo el infoentretenimiento ocupa una posición privilegiada dentro de la programación aunque con diferencias significativas entre cadenas. Como estilemas dominantes destacan el humorismo, la dramatización y los recursos técnicos para espectacularizar la imagen. Discusión. El infoentretenimiento se consolida como un macrogénero relevante con porcentajes que van del 34,91% (La Sexta) al 8,12% (La 2), siendo el magazine y el debate los formatos dominantes. Sorprendentemente La 1 de TVE con un índice de infoentretenimiento del 18,10% se sitúa por encima de Antena 3 o CuatroThis article is part of the strand of empirical studies on infotainment and presents a characterisation of the infotainment content broadcast by the Spanish mainstream DTT channels. Method. The study is based on the analysis of the infotainment content included in the programming of the six most important mainstream DTT channels in Spain, and the content analysis of the prime time infotainment content. Results. Infotainment occupies a privileged position in the mainstream television channels but there are significant differences across networks. The main distinctive features that characterise infotainment are humour, drama and the use of technical resources to increase the sensationalism of images. Discussion. Infotainment is consolidated as a relevant macro-genre whose presence ranges from 34.91% (in La Sexta) to 8.12% (in La 2), being the magazine and debate shows the dominant formats. Surprisingly, the presence of infotainment in TVE 1 (18.10%) is higher than in the networks Antena 3 and Cuatro.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (CSO2012-34698

Comparative Study of Semen Parameters and Hormone Profile in Small-Spotted Catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula): Aquarium-Housed vs. Wild-Captured

[EN] Comprehensive knowledge of chondrichthyan reproductive biology is crucial for the development of reproductive technologies. For that reason, a male reproductive evaluation was performed on the basis of a comparison of samples collected from wild-captured and aquarium-housed small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula). Semen quality, sperm morphometry, and reproductive hormones were assessed. The results demonstrate good in vitro semen quality in aquarium-housed sharks, although there was lower plasma testosterone. Several chondrichthyan species are threatened, and we must increase our knowledge of their reproductive biology in order to establish assisted reproductive protocols for ex situ or in situ endangered species. The small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula) is one of the most abundant shark species of the Mediterranean coast and is easy to maintain in aquaria; therefore, it is considered an ideal reproductive model. This study aimed to compare S. canicula male reproductive function in aquarium-housed (n = 7) and wild-captured animals, recently dead (n = 17). Aquarium-housed animals had lower semen volume (p = 0.005) and total sperm number (p = 0.006) than wild-captured animals, but similar sperm concentrations. In terms of sperm parameters, aquarium-housed sharks showed higher total sperm motility (p = 0.004), but no differences were observed regarding sperm viability, mitochondrial membrane potential, or membrane integrity. A morphometric study pointed to a significantly longer head (p = 0.005) and acrosome (p = 0.001) in wild-captured animals. The results of the spermatozoa morphological study of S. canicula were consistent with previous results obtained in other chondrichthyan species. With regard to sex hormones, testosterone levels were significantly lower in aquarium-housed animals (p & LE; 0.001), while similar levels of 17 beta-estradiol and progesterone were found. In short, the present study provides evidence of good in vitro semen quality in S. canicula housed in an aquarium, underlining their excellent potential for application in reproductive technologies for this and other chondrichthyan species.Muñoz-Baquero, M.; Marco-Jiménez, F.; Garcia-Domínguez, X.; Ros-Santaella, JL.; Pintus, E.; Jiménez-Movilla, M.; García-Párraga, D.... (2021). Comparative Study of Semen Parameters and Hormone Profile in Small-Spotted Catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula): Aquarium-Housed vs. Wild-Captured. Animals. 11(10):1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11102884114111

Connexin43 recruits PTEN and Csk to inhibit c-Src activity in glioma cells and astrocytes

[EN] Connexin43 (Cx43), the major protein forming gap junctions in astrocytes, is reduced in high-grade gliomas, where its ectopic expression exerts important effects, including the inhibition of the proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src (c-Src). In this work we aimed to investigate the mechanism responsible for this effect. The inhibition of c-Src requires phosphorylation at tyrosine 527 mediated by C-terminal Src kinase (Csk) and dephosphorylation at tyrosine 416 mediated by phosphatases, such as phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN). Our results showed that the antiproliferative effect of Cx43 is reduced when Csk and PTEN are silenced in glioma cells, suggesting the involvement of both enzymes. Confocal microscopy and immunoprecipitation assays confirmed that Cx43, in addition to c-Src, binds to PTEN and Csk in glioma cells transfected with Cx43 and in astrocytes. Pull-down assays showed that region 266–283 in Cx43 is sufficient to recruit c-Src, PTEN and Csk and to inhibit the oncogenic activity of c-Src. As a result of c-Src inhibition, PTEN was increased with subsequent inactivation of Akt and reduction of proliferation of human glioblastoma stem cells. We conclude that the recruitment of Csk and PTEN to the region between residues 266 and 283 within the C-terminus of Cx43 leads to c-Src inhibition

Desarrollo de la identidad y la salud mental durante la adultez emergente en población universitaria de España

El objetivo de esta investigación fue analizar la relación entre los procesos de desarrollo identitarios (PDI) y la incidencia de síntomas clínicos de ansiedad, depresión y estrés durante la adultez emergente, todo ello desde una perspectiva de género. Método: Un total de 1502 adultos y adultas emergentes estudiantes de Universidad (39.9% chicas y 60.1% chicos), de entre 18 y 29 años (M = 20.32; DT = 0.92), y de dos universidades españolas (Sevilla y País Vasco), participaron en el estudio cumplimentando un cuestionario en papel distribuido durante las clases presenciales. Resultados: Se observaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en las puntuaciones de las cinco dimensiones del PDI (Proceso de Desarrollo Identitario) entre quienes no presentaban síntomas clínicos y quienes sí, siendo los primeros los que tienen una puntuación mayor en las subescalas de desarrollo de compromiso e identificación con el compromiso, y menor puntuación que los grupos clínicos en exploración en amplitud, exploración en profundidad y exploración rumiativa. Estas diferencias permanecieron invariantes para los síntomas de ansiedad, depresión y estrés. No se hallaron diferencias significativas por género. Discusión: Tener síntomas clínicos se asocia con una mayor tendencia a desarrollar conductas exploratorias (en amplitud y profundidad) y rumiativas, y esto se relaciona, a su vez, con un mayor desajuste en el PDI, o lo que es lo mismo, una menor adquisición e identificación de compromisos vitales en la adultez emergente. Estos resultados coinciden parcialmente con estudios previos sobre desarrollo de identidad. Aunque los estudios de PDI y salud mental en la adultez emergente son escasos, resultan muy necesarios para entender cómo desarrollan su identidad los y las jóvenes en un mundo donde la adquisición de roles plenamente adultos se ha retrasado más que nunca