Industrial agglomerations and wage gradients: the Spanish economy in the interwar period

This paper gives new evidence on the relationship between integration and industrial agglomeration in the presence of scale economies, by testing directly one of the predictions that can be derived from Krugman (1991), that is, the existence of regional nominal wage gradients and its transformation following changes in trade regimes. Our case study analyzes the effects of the substitution of an open economy by a closed economy regime, exactly the opposite process studied by Hanson (1996, 1997). In Spain, during the interwar period, protectionist policies would have favored the loss of centrality of the coastal location (Barcelona) and the relative rise of central locations (such as Madrid). Our results indicate the existence of a wage gradient centered in Barcelona during the interwar period (1914-1930) and its weakening after 1925.

Industrial agglomerations and wage gradients: the Spanish economy in the interwar period

This paper gives new evidence on the relationship between integration and industrial agglomeration in the presence of scale economies, by testing directly one of the predictions that can be derived from Krugman (1991), that is, the existence of regional nominal wage gradients and its transformation following changes in trade regimes. Our case study analyzes the effects of the substitution of an open economy by a closed economy regime, exactly the opposite process studied by Hanson (1996, 1997). In Spain, during the interwar period, protectionist policies would have favored the loss of centrality of the coastal location (Barcelona) and the relative rise of central locations (such as Madrid). Our results indicate the existence of a wage gradient centered in Barcelona during the interwar period (1914-1930) and its weakening after 1925.

Closing the gap between T-cell life span estimates from stable isotope-labeling studies in mice and humans.

Quantitative knowledge of the turnover of different leukocyte populations is a key to our understanding of immune function in health and disease. Much progress has been made thanks to the introduction of stable isotope labeling, the state-of-the-art technique for in vivo quantification of cellular life spans. Yet, even leukocyte life span estimates on the basis of stable isotope labeling can vary up to 10-fold among laboratories. We investigated whether these differences could be the result of variances in the length of the labeling period among studies. To this end, we performed deuterated water-labeling experiments in mice, in which only the length of label administration was varied. The resulting life span estimates were indeed dependent on the length of the labeling period when the data were analyzed using a commonly used single-exponential model. We show that multiexponential models provide the necessary tool to obtain life span estimates that are independent of the length of the labeling period. Use of a multiexponential model enabled us to reduce the gap between human T-cell life span estimates from 2 previously published labeling studies. This provides an important step toward unambiguous understanding of leukocyte turnover in health and disease.

Incentives and promotion in wage hierarchies

Most of the large firms organization schemes consist in hierarchical structures of tiers with different wage levels. Traditionally the existence of this kind of organizations has been associated to the separation of productive and managerial or supervision tasks and to differences in the skills of the workers. However, many firms now employ workers with similar skills, and then the hierarchical structure can be related to an incentive scheme to ensure that workers supply effort. The model we present investigates how firm owners should determine the optimal wage distribution in order to maximize profits.

Union power, minimum wage legislation endogenous labor supplies and production

The objective of this work is to study the impact of the unions' bargaining power on production and wages. We present a model where a competitive final good is produced through two substitutable intermediate goods, one produced by unskilled labor and the other by skilled labor. Potential workers decide at their cost to become skilled or unskilled and, thus, labor supplies are determined endogenously. We find that the reallocation of the labor supplies due to changes in the unskilled (or skilled) unions¿ bargaining power may have a positive impact on the final goods production. At the same time, total labor earnings increase with the unskilled unions¿ bargaining power if the final goods production increases too. We also show that the minimum wage legislation has efects similar to an increase in the bargaining power of the unskilled unions.

GAP-independent functions of DLC1 in metastasis.

Metastases are responsible for most cancer-related deaths. One of the hallmarks of metastatic cells is increased motility and migration through extracellular matrixes. These processes rely on specific small GTPases, in particular those of the Rho family. Deleted in liver cancer-1 (DLC1) is a tumor suppressor that bears a RhoGAP activity. This protein is lost in most cancers, allowing malignant cells to proliferate and disseminate in a Rho-dependent manner. However, DLC1 is also a scaffold protein involved in alternative pathways leading to tumor and metastasis suppressor activities. Recently, substantial information has been gathered on these mechanisms and this review is aiming at describing the potential and known alternative GAP-independent mechanisms allowing DLC1 to impair migration, invasion, and metastasis formation.

Reconsidering the "policy gap":policy implementation and outcomes in Spain

By analysing entry policies and regularisation procedures in Spain from the 1990s to 2007, this article examines how the mismatch between very restrictive immigration policies and increasing foreign labour demands translated into a model of illegal migration, which in turn gave rise to the need to carry out periodical regularisation drives. This double 'policy gap' between legality and reality, and between entry policies and regularisation procedures, is explained as a policy in itself and as a way to solve in practice the apparently unsolvable dilemma between the demands for closure and the insatiable demands for foreign workers.

Understanding the gains from wage flexibility: The exchange rate connection

We study the gains from increased wage flexibility and their dependence on exchange rate policy, using a small open economy model with staggered price andwage setting. Two results stand out: (i) the impact of wage adjustments on employment is smaller the more the central bank seeks to stabilize the exchange rate,and (ii) an increase in wage flexibility often reduces welfare, and more likely so ineconomies under an exchange rate peg or an exchange rate-focused monetary policy.Our findings call into question the common view that wage flexibility is particularlydesirable in a currency union.

Lake dwellers occupation gap in Lake Geneva (France-Switzerland) possibly explained by an earthquake-mass movement-tsunami event during Early Bronze Age

High-resolution seismic and sediment core data from the 'Grand Lac' basin of Lake Geneva reveal traces of repeated slope instabilities with one main slide-evolved mass-flow (minimum volume 0.13 km3) that originated from the northern lateral slope of the lake near the city of Lausanne. Radiocarbon dating of organic remains sampled from the top of the main deposit gives an age interval of 1865-1608 BC. This date coincides with the age interval for a mass movement event described in the 'Petit Lac' basin of Lake Geneva (1872-1622 BC). Because multiple mass movements took place at the same time in different parts of the lake, we consider the most likely trigger mechanism to be a strong earthquake (Mw 6) that occurred in the period between 1872 and 1608 BC. Based on numerical simulations, we show the major deposit near Lausanne would have generated a tsunami with local wave heights of up to 6 m. The combined effects of the earthquake and the following tsunami provide a possible explanation for a gap in lake dwellers occupation along the shores of Lake Geneva revealed by dendrochronological dating of two palafitte archaeological sites.

Evaluation of Gap-Graded Asphalt Concrete Mixtures, Vol. 1. Physical Properties (Part I: Mechanical Properties), HR-157, Volume 1, 1972 (1973)

This report presents the results of a comparative laboratory study between well- and gap-graded aggregates used in asphalt concrete paving mixtures. A total of 424 batches of asphalt concrete mixtures and 3,960 Marshall and Hveem specimens were examined. There is strong evidence from this investigation that, with proper-combinations of aggregates and asphalts, both continuous- and gap-graded aggregates can produce mixtures of high density and of qualities meeting current design criteria. There is also reason to believe that the unqualified acceptance of some supposedly desirable, constant, mathematical relationship between adjacent particle sizes of the form such as Fuller's curve p = 100(d/D)^n is not justified. It is recommended that the aggregate grading limits be relaxed or eliminated and that the acceptance or rejection of an aggregate for use in asphalt pavement be based on individual mixture evaluation. Furthermore, because of the potential attractiveness of gap-graded asphalt concrete in cost, quality, and skid and wear resistance, selected gap-graded mixtures are recommended for further tests both in the laboratory and in the field, especially in regard to ease of compaction and skid and wear resistance.