Bootstrapping the Error Correction Model Cointegration Test

This paper is concerned with using the bootstrap to obtain improved critical values for the error correction model (ECM) cointegration test in dynamic models. In the paper we investigate the effects of dynamic specification on the size and power of the ECM cointegration test with bootstrap critical values. The results from a Monte Carlo study show that the size of the bootstrap ECM cointegration test is close to the nominal significance level. We find that overspecification of the lag length results in a loss of power. Underspecification of the lag length results in size distortion. The performance of the bootstrap ECM cointegration test deteriorates if the correct lag length is not used in the ECM. The bootstrap ECM cointegration test is therefore not robust to model misspecification.

Income Inequality and Healt: A Multi-Country Analysis

This paper investigates the effect of income inequality on health status. A model of health status was specified in which the main variables were income level, income inequality, the level of savings and the level of education. The model was estimated using a panel data set for 44 countries covering six time periods. The results indicate that income inequality (measured by the Gini coefficient) has a significant effect on health status when we control for the levels of income, savings and education. The relationship is consistent regardless of the specification of health status and income. Thus, the study results provide some empirical support for the income inequality hypothesis.

Practical Proposals for Specifying k-Nearest Neighbours Weights Matrices

In this article we introduce and evaluate testing procedures for specifying the number k of nearest neighbours in the weights matrix of spatial econometric models. The spatial J-test is used for specification search. Two testing procedures are suggested: an increasing neighbours testing procedure and a decreasing neighbours testing procedure. Simulations show that the increasing neighbours testing procedures can be used in large samples to determine k. The decreasing neighbours testing procedure is found to have low power, and is not recommended for use in practice. An empirical example involving house price data is provided to show how to use the testing procedures with real data.

A Reference Architecture for Electronic Business-to-Business Collaboration Setup and Enactment Systems

The question what a business-to-business (B2B) collaboration setup and enactment application-system should look like remains open. An important element of such collaboration constitutes the inter-organizational disclosure of business-process details so that the opposing parties may protect their business secrets. For that purpose, eSourcing [37] has been developed as a general businessprocess collaboration concept in the framework of the EU research project Cross- Work. The eSourcing characteristics are guiding for the design and evaluation of an eSourcing Reference Architecture (eSRA) that serves as a starting point for software developers of B2B-collaboration systems. In this paper we present the results of a scenario-based evaluation method conducted with the earlier specified eSourcing Architecture (eSA) that generates as results risks, sensitivity, and tradeoff points that must be paid attention to if eSA is implemented. Additionally, the evaluation method detects shortcomings of eSA in terms of integrated components that are required for electronic B2B-collaboration. The evaluation results are used for the specification of eSRA, which comprises all extensions for incorporating the results of the scenario-based evaluation, on three refinement levels.

GATA Factors Regulate Inner Ear Development and Midbrain Neurogenesis

The zinc-finger transcription factors GATA2 and GATA3 in vertebrates belong to the six-member family that are essential regulators in the development of various organs. The aim of this study was to gain new information of the roles of GATA2 and GATA3 in inner ear morphogenesis and of the function of GATA2 in neuronal fate specification in the midbrain using genetically modified mouse and chicken embryos as models. A century ago the stepwise process of inner ear epithelial morphogenesis was described, but the molecular players regulating the cellular differentiation of the otic epithelium are still not fully resolved. This study provided novel data on GATA factor roles in several developmental processes during otic development. The expression analysis in chicken suggested that GATA2 and GATA3 possess redundant roles during otic cup and vesicle formation, but complementary cell-type specific functions during vestibular and cochlear morphogenesis. The comparative analysis between mouse and chicken Gata2 and Gata3 expression revealed many conserved aspects, especially during later stages of inner ear development, while the expression was more divergent at early stages. Namely, expression of both Gata genes was initiated earlier in chicken than mouse otic epithelium relative to the morphogenetic stages. Likewise, important differences concerning Gata3 expression in the otic cup epithelium were detected between mouse and chicken, suggesting that distinct molecular mechanisms regulate otic vesicle closure in different vertebrate species. Temporally distinct Gata2 and Gata3 expression was also found during otic ganglion formation in mouse and chicken. Targeted inactivation of Gata3 in mouse embryos caused aberrant morphology of the otic vesicle that in severe cases was disrupted into two parts, a dorsal and a ventral vesicle. Detailed analyses of Gata3 mutant embryos unveiled a crucial role for GATA3 in the initial inner ear morphogenetic event, the invagination of the otic placode. A large-scale comparative expression analysis suggested that GATA3 could control cell adhesion and motility in otic epithelium, which could be important for early morphogenesis. GATA3 was also identified as the first factor to directly regulate Fgf10 expression in the otic epithelium and could thus influence the development of the semicircular ducts. Despite the serious problems in the early inner ear development, the otic sensory fate establishment and some vestibular hair cell differentiation was observable in pharmacologically rescued Gata3-/- embryos. Cochlear sensory differentiation was, however, completely blocked so that no auditory hair cells were detected. In contrast to the early morphogenetic phenotype in Gata3-/- mutants, conditional inactivation of Gata2 in mouse embryos resulted in a relatively late growth defect of the three semicircular ducts. GATA2 was required for the proliferation of the vestibular nonsensory epithelium to support growing of the three ducts. Concurrently, with the role in epithelial semicircular ducts, GATA2 was also required for the mesenchymal cell clearance from the vestibular perilymphatic region between the membranous labyrinth and bony capsule. The gamma-aminobutyric acid-secreting (GABAergic) neurons in the midbrain are clinically relevant since they contribute to fear, anxiety, and addiction regulation. The molecular mechanisms regulating the GABAergic neuronal development, however, are largely unknown. Using tissue-specific mutagenesis in mice, GATA2 was characterized as a critical determinant of the GABAergic neuronal fate in the midbrain. In Gata2-deficient mouse midbrain, GABAergic neurons were not produced, instead the Gata2-mutant cells acquired a glutamatergic neuronal phenotype. Gain-of-function experiments in chicken also revealed that GATA2 was sufficient to induce GABAergic differentiation in the midbrain.

New Governance and the EU Courts : The Experimentalist Architecture of Judicial Decision-Making

The dissertation examines the role of the EU courts in new governance. New governance has raised unprecedented interest in the EU in recent years. This is manifested in a plethora of instruments and actors at various levels that challenge more traditional forms of command-and-control regulation. New governance and political experimentation more generally is thought to sap the ability of the EU judiciary to monitor and review these experiments. The exclusion of the courts is then seen to add to the legitimacy problem of new governance. The starting point of this dissertation is the observation that the marginalised role of the courts is based on theoretical and empirical assumptions which invite scrutiny. The theoretical framework of the dissertation is deliberative democracy and democratic experimentalism. The analysis of deliberative democracy is sustained by an attempt to apply theoretical concepts to three distinctive examples of governance in the EU. These are the EU Sustainable Development Strategy, the European Chemicals Agency, and the Common Implementation Strategy for the Water Framework Directive. The case studies show numerous disincentives and barriers to judicial review. Among these are questions of the role of courts in shaping governance frameworks, the reviewability of science-based measures, the standing of individuals before the courts, and the justiciability of soft law. The dissertation analyses the conditions of judicial review in each governance environment and proposes improvements. From a more theoretical standpoint it could be said that each case study presents a governance regime which builds on legislation that lays out major (guide)lines but leaves details to be filled out at a later stage. Specification of detailed standards takes place through collaborative networks comprising members from national administrations, NGOs, and the Commission. Viewed this way, deliberative problem-solving is needed to bring people together to clarify, elaborate, and revise largely abstract and general norms in order to resolve concrete and specific problems and to make law applicable and enforceable. The dissertation draws attention to the potential of peer review included there and its profound consequences for judicial accountability structures. It is argued that without this kind of ongoing and dynamic peer review of accountability in governance frameworks, judicial review of new governance is difficult and in some cases impossible. This claim has implications for how we understand the concept of soft law, the role of the courts, participation rights, and the legitimacy of governance measures more generally. The experimentalist architecture of judicial decision-making relies upon a wide variety of actors to provide conditions for legitimate and efficient review.

META-NORD: Towards Sharing of Language Resources in Nordic and Baltic Countries

This paper introduces the META-NORD project which develops Nordic and Baltic part of the European open language resource infrastructure. META-NORD works on assembling, linking across languages, and making widely available the basic language resources used by developers, professionals and researchers to build specific products and applications. The goals of the project, overall approach and specific focus lines on wordnets, terminology resources and treebanks are described. Moreover, results achieved in first five months of the project, i.e. language whitepapers, metadata specification and IPR, are presented.