Product market deregulation and labor market outcomes

We consider the dynamic relationship between product market entry regulationand equilibrium unemployment. The main theoretical contribution is combininga Mortensen-Pissarides model with monopolistic competition in the goods marketand individual wage bargaining. Product market competition affects unemploymentvia two channels: the output expansion effect and a countervailing effect dueto a hiring externality. Competition is then linked to barriers to entry. Acalibrated model compares a high-regulation European regime to a low-regulationAnglo-American one. Our quantitative analysis suggests that under individualbargaining, no more than half a percentage point of European unemployment ratescan be attributed to entry regulation.

The effects of uncertainty avoidance on brand performance: Marketing creativity, product innovation and the brand duration

This paper investigates the link between brand performance and cultural primes in high-risk,innovation-based sectors. In theory section, we propose that the level of cultural uncertaintyavoidance embedded in a firm determine its marketing creativity by increasing the complexityand the broadness of a brand. It determines also the rate of firm product innovations.Marketing creativity and product innovation influence finally the firm marketingperformance. Empirically, we study trademarked promotion in the Software Security Industry(SSI). Our sample consists of 87 firms that are active in SSI from 11 countries in the period1993-2000. We use the data coming from SSI-related trademarks registered by these firms,ending up with 2,911 SSI-related trademarks and a panel of 18,213 observations. We estimatea two stage model in which first we predict the complexity and the broadness of a trademarkas a measure of marketing creativity and the rate of product innovations. Among severalcontrol variables, our variable of theoretical interest is the Hofstede s uncertainty avoidancecultural index. Then, we estimate the trademark duration with a hazard model using thepredicted complexity and broadness as well as the rate of product innovations, along with thesame control variables. Our evidence confirms that the cultural avoidance affects the durationof the trademarks through the firm marketing creativity and product innovation.

Country asymmetries, endogenous product choice and the speed of trade liberalization

In a world with two countries which differ in size, we study theimpact of (the speed of) trade liberalization on firms' profitsand total welfare of the countries involved. Firms correctlyanticipate the pace of trade liberalization and take it intoaccount when deciding on their product choices, which areendogenously determined at the beginning of the game. Competitionin the marketplace then occurs either on quantities or on prices.As long as the autarkic phase continues, local firms are nationalmonopolists. When trade liberalization occurs, firms compete in aninternational duopoly. We analyze trade effects by using twodifferent models of product differentiation. Across all thespecifications adopted (and independently of the price v. quantitycompetition hypothesis), total welfare always unambiguously riseswith the speed of trade liberalization: Possible losses by firmsare always outweighed by consumers' gains, which come under theform of lower prices, enlarged variety of higher average qualitiesavailable. The effect on profits depends on the type of industryanalyzed. Two results in particular seem to be worth of mention.With vertical product differentiation and fixed costs of qualityimprovements, the expected size of the market faced by the firmsdetermines the incentive to invest in quality. The longer the periodof autarky, the lower the possibility that the firm from the smallcountry would be producing the high quality and be the leader in theinternational market when it opens. On the contrary, when trade opensimmediately, national markets do not play any role and firms fromdifferent countries have the same opportunity to become the leader.Hence, immediate trade liberalization might be in the interest ofproducers in the small country. In general, the lower the size of thesmall country, the more likely its firm will gain from tradeliberalization. Losses from the small country firm can arise when itis relegated to low quality good production and the domestic marketsize is not very small. With horizontal product differentiation (thehomogeneous good case being a limit case of it when costs ofdifferentiation tend to infinity), investments in differentiationbenefit both firms in equal manner. Firms from the small country do notrun the risk of being relegated to a lower competitive position undertrade. As a result, they would never lose from it. Instead, firms fromthe large country may still incur losses from the opening of trade whenthe market expansion effect is low (i.e. when the country is very largerelative to the other).

Pharmaceutical generics, vertical product differentiation and public policy

This paper studies oligopolistic competition in off-patent pharmaceuticalmarkets using a vertical product differentiation model. This model canexplain the observation that countries with stronger regulations havesmaller generic market shares. It can also explain the differences inobserved regulatory regimes. Stronger regulation may be due to a higherproportion of production that is done by foreign firms. Finally, a closelyrelated model can account for the observed increase in prices by patentowners after entry of generic producers.

Product market deregulation and the U.S. employment miracle

We consider the dynamic relationship between product market entry regulation and equilibrium unemployment. The main theoretical contribution is combining a job matchingmodel with monopolistic competition in the goods market and individual wage bargaining.Product market competition affects unemployment by two channels: the output expansion effect and a countervailing effect due to a hiring externality. Competition is then linked to barriers to entry. We calibrate the model to US data and perform a policy experiment to assess whether the decrease in trend unemployment during the 1980 s and 1990 s could be attributed to product market deregulation. Our quantitative analysis suggests that under individual bargaining, a decrease of less than two tenths of a percentage point of unemployment rates can be attributed to product market deregulation, a surprisingly small amount.

Effects of employment protection and product market regulations on the Italian labor market

Labor market regulations have often being blamed for high and persistentunemployment in Europe, but evidence on their impact remains mixed. Morerecently, attention has turned to the impact of product market regulationson employment growth. This paper analyzes how labor and product marketregulations interact to affect turnover and employment. We present a matchingmodel which illustrates how barriers to entry in the product market mitigatethe impact of labor market deregulation. We, then, use the Italian SocialSecurity employer-employee panel to study the interaction between barriersto entry and dismissal costs. We exploit the fact that costs for unjustdismissals in Italy increased for firms below 15 employees relative to biggerfirms after 1990. We find that the increase in dismissal costs after 1990decreased accessions and separations in small relative to big firms,especially for women. Moreover, consistent with our model, we find evidencethat the increase in dismissal costs had smaller effects on turnover for womenin sectors faced with strict product market regulations.

Comparative genomics of the odorant-binding and chemosensory protein gene families across the arthropoda: origin and evolutionary history of the chemosensory system

Chemoreception is a biological process essential for the survival of animals, as it allows the recognition of important volatile cues for the detection of food, egg-laying substrates, mates or predators, among other purposes. Furthermore, its role in pheromone detection may contribute to evolutionary processes such as reproductive isolation and speciation. This key role in several vital biological processes makes chemoreception a particularly interesting system for studying the role of natural selection in molecular adaptation. Two major gene families are involved in the perireceptor events of the chemosensory system: the odorant-binding protein (OBP) and chemosensory protein (CSP) families. Here, we have conducted an exhaustive comparative genomic analysis of these gene families in twenty Arthropoda species. We show that the evolution of the OBP and CSP gene families is highly dynamic, with a high number of gains and losses of genes, pseudogenes and independent origins of subfamilies. Taken together, our data clearly support the birth-and-death model for the evolution of these gene families with an overall high gene-turnover rate. Moreover, we show that the genome organization of the two families is significantly more clustered than expected by chance and, more important, that this pattern appears to be actively maintained across the Drosophila phylogeny. Finally, we suggest the homologous nature of the OBP and CSP gene families, dating back their MRCA (most recent common ancestor) to 380¿420 Mya, and we propose a scenario for the origin and diversification of these families.

Real interpolation for families of Banach spaces (II)

In this paper, we study the dual space and reiteration theorems for the real method of interpolation for infinite families of Banach spaces introduced in [2]. We also give examples of interpolation spaces constructed with this method.

A nuclear defect in the 4p16 region predisposes to multiple mitochondrial DNA deletions in families with Wolfram syndrome.

Wolfram syndrome is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder transmitted in an autosomal recessive mode. We report two Wolfram syndrome families harboring multiple deletions of mitochondrial DNA. The deletions reached percentages as high as 85-90% in affected tissues such as the central nervous system of one patient, while in other tissues from the same patient and from other members of the family, the percentages of deleted mitochondrial DNA genomes were only 1-10%. Recently, a Wolfram syndrome gene has been linked to markers on 4p16. In both families linkage between the disease locus and 4p16 markers gave a maximum multipoint lod score of 3.79 at theta = 0 (Pi<0.03) with respect to D4S431. In these families, the syndrome was caused by mutations in this nucleus-encoded gene which deleteriously interacts with the mitochondrial genome. This is the first evidence of the implication of both genomes in a recessive disease.

A nuclear defect in the 4p16 region predisposes to multiple mitochondrial DNA deletions in families with Wolfram syndrome.

Wolfram syndrome is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder transmitted in an autosomal recessive mode. We report two Wolfram syndrome families harboring multiple deletions of mitochondrial DNA. The deletions reached percentages as high as 85-90% in affected tissues such as the central nervous system of one patient, while in other tissues from the same patient and from other members of the family, the percentages of deleted mitochondrial DNA genomes were only 1-10%. Recently, a Wolfram syndrome gene has been linked to markers on 4p16. In both families linkage between the disease locus and 4p16 markers gave a maximum multipoint lod score of 3.79 at theta = 0 (Pi<0.03) with respect to D4S431. In these families, the syndrome was caused by mutations in this nucleus-encoded gene which deleteriously interacts with the mitochondrial genome. This is the first evidence of the implication of both genomes in a recessive disease.

First genome size estimations for some eudicot families and genera

First genome size estimations for some eudicot families and genera.- Genome size diversity in angiosperms varies roughly 2400-fold, although approximately 45% of angiosperm families lack a single genome size estimation, and therefore, this range could be enlarged. To contribute completing family and genera representation, DNA C-Values are here provided for 19 species from 16 eudicot families, including first values for 6 families, 14 genera and 17 species. The sample of species studied is very diverse, including herbs, weeds, vines, shrubs and trees. Data are discussed regarding previous genome size estimates of closely related species or genera, if any, their chromosome number, growth form or invasive behaviour. The present research contributes approximately 1.5% new values for previously unreported angiosperm families, being the current coverage around 55% of angiosperm families, according to the Plant DNA C-Values Database.

Generic brands and product differentiation strategies

Generic or own brand products were initially only lesser expensive copies of the branded label alternative, but nowadays, pricing alone is not enough in order to survive in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) or Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)markets. With this in mind manufacturers of generic brands have adapted to this rapidlygrowing niche by investing in design and marketing during the initial phase in order to be perceived as having a quality product comparable to that of the branded products. In addition, they have gone further ahead with a second phase and resorted to innovativeproduct differentiation strategies and even pure innovation in many cases. These strategies have granted generic brands constantly increasing market shares and a position of equals relative to national brands.Using previous analyses and case studies, this paper will provide conceptual and empirical evidence to explain the surprisingly fast growth and penetration of generic supermarket brands, which in their relatively short lifespan, have grown to rival the historical market leaders, the branded products. According to this analysis, the main conclusion is that the growth in generic brands can be explained not only by price competition, but also by the use of innovative product differentiation strategies.

Families of periodic orbits for the spatial isosceles 3-body problem

We study the families of periodic orbits of the spatial isosceles 3-body problem (for small enough values of the mass lying on the symmetry axis) coming via the analytic continuation method from periodic orbits of the circular Sitnikov problem. Using the first integral of the angular momentum, we reduce the dimension of the phase space of the problem by two units. Since periodic orbits of the reduced isosceles problem generate invariant two-dimensional tori of the nonreduced problem, the analytic continuation of periodic orbits of the (reduced) circular Sitnikov problem at this level becomes the continuation of invariant two-dimensional tori from the circular Sitnikov problem to the nonreduced isosceles problem, each one filled with periodic or quasi-periodic orbits. These tori are not KAM tori but just isotropic, since we are dealing with a three-degrees-of-freedom system. The continuation of periodic orbits is done in two different ways, the first going directly from the reduced circular Sitnikov problem to the reduced isosceles problem, and the second one using two steps: first we continue the periodic orbits from the reduced circular Sitnikov problem to the reduced elliptic Sitnikov problem, and then we continue those periodic orbits of the reduced elliptic Sitnikov problem to the reduced isosceles problem. The continuation in one or two steps produces different results. This work is merely analytic and uses the variational equations in order to apply Poincar´e’s continuation method.