Knowledge characteristics and the dynamics of technological alliances in pharmaceuticals: empirical evidence from Europe,US and Japan

The paper investigates the co-evolutionary patterns of the dynamics of technological alliances and of the structure of the knowledge base in the pharmaceutical sector. The main hypothesis under scrutiny is that technological alliances represent a key resource for firms in knowledge intensive sectors to cope with dramatic changes in the knowledge base, marked by the introduction of discontinuities opening up new technological trajectories. Using patent information and data on technological alliances drawn from the CATI-MERIT database, we compare the evidence concerning the so-called triad regions, i.e. United States, Europe and Japan. The empirical results support the existence of a life cycle in biotechnology affecting the pharmaceutical industry. Furthermore, the dynamics of alliances is found to depend on (i) the phase of the biotechnology life cycle, (ii) the strength of the region in biotechnology and (iii) the general features of the economic environment of the region.     

基于低碳理念的景观全生命周期碳源和碳汇量化探究——以天津仕林苑居住区为例

：景观全生命周期包含景观材料的生产、建造、日常使用和维护及废弃拆除4个阶段。在提出景观全生命周期碳源和碳汇量化比较模型的基础上,以天津仕林苑居住区为例,对其景观50年全生命周期的碳源和碳汇进行比较研究,得到居住区景观在建设初期存在碳源和碳汇不平衡,碳源和碳汇量在将近30年时才可达到平衡的结果。其中,景观材料和维护阶段的碳源是居住区碳源的主要来源,因此,在居住区景观建设中,如何减少碳源量、增加碳汇量,是营建低碳景观的关键。     

LES QUASI‐MARCHES DANS L’AIDE A DOMICILE: UNE MISE EN PERSPECTIVE EUROPEENNE

RESUME ** 2 Abstract at the end of the article; Zusammenfassung am Ende des Artikels; resumen al final del artículo.
: L’aide à domicile est emblématique d’importantes mutations à l’?uvre dans les sociétés européennes. L’objet de l’article est d’analyser les enjeux sous‐jacents à l’évolution des modes de régulation vers les quasi‐marchés. Dans la première partie, nous rappelons la nature des modes de régulations historiques de l’aide à domicile dans chacun des pays qui façonnent ainsi des régimes de care. Ensuite, nous analysons comment l’introduction de régulations quasi‐marchandes vient se greffer et ainsi infléchir les régimes de care. Enfin, nous analysons en quoi la présence d’échecs du marché soulève des questions toutes particulières en terme de régulation publique.     

Intersectoral labour reallocations and unemployment in Italy

The Italian labour market, like most European labour markets and unlike the US, shows a greater cyclical sensitivity of the service sector with respect to manufacturing and firing costs higher than hiring costs. This accounts for the negative relationship between sectoral employment shifts and Italian unemployment in the post-war period and, correspondingly, for the pro-cyclical pattern of the Lilien index, in contrast with the US experience.By applying the Lilien index to the Italian context, this paper analyses the relative importance of sectoral regional and national factors in the explanation of changes in industrial structure, and their impact on unemployment. The econometric exercise illustrates that, given the structural features of the Italian labour market, the decline in intersectoral and interregional labour reallocations has significantly contributed to the increase of unemployment in Italy. New hires, the pull of new sectors, sectoral shifts and regional mobility can keep unemployment down, while at the same time maintaining some of the structural features of the “European model” (high employment security and stability).     

FDI determination and corporate tax competition in a volatile world

This paper investigates the impact of economic and political volatility on corporate tax rates on a large dataset of countries over the 1983–2003 period. Estimation of a dynamic tax rate equation supports the hypothesis that economic volatility negatively affects statutory corporate tax rates, while political volatility has no significant effect. In order to identify the channels through which volatility works, we estimate a structural model allowing for simultaneous determination of corporate tax rates and FDI inflows, and find that economic volatility affects the corporate tax setting process through its impact on FDI inflows.     

Enabling open innovation in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises: how to find alternative applications for your technologies

A critical success factor in the practice of Open Innovation is the timely identification of opportunities for out‐licensing a firm's technologies outside its core business. This can be particularly challenging for small‐ and medium‐sized enterprise (SMEs), because of their focussed business portfolio, specialized knowledge basis, and limited financial resources that can be devoted to innovation activities. The paper illustrates a quick and easy‐to‐use methodology for the identification of viable opportunities for out‐licensing a firm's technologies outside its core business. The method uses established TRIZ instruments in combination with non‐financial weighting and ranking techniques and portfolio management tools. It has been developed by the authors in collaboration with an Italian SME working in the packaging industry.     

Designing flexible work practices for job satisfaction: the relation between job characteristics and work disaggregation in different types of work arrangements

The literature on flexible work practices has not yet evaluated in detail how the characteristics of a job affect job satisfaction. This study makes a distinction between two types of flexible work practices according to their aims: the accommodation of employees’ personal lives (employment practice) and the operational reasons of a firm (work practice). Based on this distinction, we studied how the characteristics of a job, which reflect the use of ICT to support the spatial disaggregation of business processes, influence the relationship between the two types of flexible work practices and job satisfaction. We show, through a survey conducted on 987 workers, that the characteristics of a job that favour work disaggregation positively moderate the influence of flexible work as a work practice on job satisfaction, but they do not moderate the influence of flexible work as an employment practice. The implications for managers, workers and scholars are discussed.     

On the Price Comovement of U.S. Residential Real Estate Markets

We investigate the comovement among Case‐Shiller Home Price Indices for 14 metropolitan areas between 1992 and 2008. We define the portion of this comovement deemed as fundamental (excessive) as the covariation that can (cannot) be attributed to common fundamental factors directly influencing real estate prices. We find that i) comovement among these markets considerably increased over the sample period, especially in the late 1990s; ii) this increase is mostly attributable to underlying systematic real and financial factors, consistent with a greater fundamental integration of those markets; and iii) excess comovement is a less important factor than commonly believed. We discuss the implications of these results for the evolution of U.S. real estate prices over the last two decades and the ongoing credit crisis.     

Redenomination Risk and Bank Runs in a Monetary Union with and Without Deposit Insurance Schemes

Open Economies Review - This paper develops a basic framework characterized by a monetary union in which a shock to the policy interest rate, i.e. the determinant of a recessionary stance in the...     

The link between computer use and job satisfaction: The mediating role of job tasks and task discretion

This study focuses on the consequences of the use of computerized work equipment (hereafter: computer use) on the content and quality of work. It investigates, first, the relationship between computer use and both job tasks and task discretion and, second, their mediating role for the relationship between computer use and job satisfaction. With our German-UK comparison, we contribute to the long-standing debate on the upskilling/de-skilling nature of the use of technology and its repercussions on the quality of work. We analyse data from the Skills and Employment Surveys for the UK and the BIBB/BAuA Employment Surveys for Germany using structural equation modelling. In line with the literature on routine-biased technological change, we show that computers are complementary to the performance of less routine and more abstract cognitive tasks and that this relationship is conducive to a higher level of task discretion and job satisfaction in both countries. Accounting for differences in job tasks performed, we find a negative direct effect of computer use on both task discretion and job satisfaction in the United Kingdom but not in Germany. Our results indicate that the ultimate effect of computer use on both task discretion and job satisfaction depends on the institutional contexts in which technology is introduced.