Ownership structure, customer satisfaction and brand equity

This paper studies the interaction between ownership structure, taken as a proxy for shareholders commitment, and customer satisfaction - the main driver of consumer loyalty - and their impact on a firm s brand equity. The results show that customer satisfaction has a positive direct effect on brand equity but an indirect negative one because of reductions in ownership concentration. This latter effect emerges when managers are mainly customer-oriented. Such result gives out a warning signal that highlights the perverse effect of implementing policies, focused excessively on satisfying customers at the expense of shareholders, on a firm s brand equity. The empirical analysis uses an incomplete panel data comprising 69 firms from 11 nations, for the period 2002-2005.

The determinants of football match attendance revisited: Empirical evidence from the Spanish Football League

An attendance equation is estimated using data on individual games playedin the Spanish First Division Football League. The specification includesas explanatory factors: economic variables, quality, uncertainty andopportunity costs. We concentrate the analysis on some specificationissues such as controlling the effect of unobservables given the paneldata structure of the data set, the type of functional form and thepotential endogeneity of prices. We obtain the expected effects onattendance for all the variables. The estimated price elasticities aresmaller than one in absolute value as usually occurs in this literaturebut are sensitive to the specification issues.

Strike outcomes and wage settlements in Spain

This paper analyzes collective bargaining using Spanish firm level data. Centralto the analysis are the joint determination of wage and strike outcomes in adynamic framework and the possibility of segregate wage equation for strike andnon-strike outcomes. Conditional to strikes taking place, we confirm a negativerelationship between strike duration and wage changes in a dynamic context.Furthermore, we find selection in wage equations induced by the strike outcome.In this sense, the possibility of wage determination processes being differentin strike and non-strike samples is not rejected by the data. In particular,wage dynamics are of opposite sing in both strike and non-strike equations.Finally, we find evidence of a 0.33 percentage points wage change strike premium.

Post-detection analysis for grating-based ultra-small angle X-ray scattering.

Until recently, the hard X-ray, phase-sensitive imaging technique called grating interferometry was thought to provide information only in real space. However, by utilizing an alternative approach to data analysis we demonstrated that the angular resolved ultra-small angle X-ray scattering distribution can be retrieved from experimental data. Thus, reciprocal space information is accessible by grating interferometry in addition to real space. Naturally, the quality of the retrieved data strongly depends on the performance of the employed analysis procedure, which involves deconvolution of periodic and noisy data in this context. The aim of this article is to compare several deconvolution algorithms to retrieve the ultra-small angle X-ray scattering distribution in grating interferometry. We quantitatively compare the performance of three deconvolution procedures (i.e., Wiener, iterative Wiener and Lucy-Richardson) in case of realistically modeled, noisy and periodic input data. The simulations showed that the algorithm of Lucy-Richardson is the more reliable and more efficient as a function of the characteristics of the signals in the given context. The availability of a reliable data analysis procedure is essential for future developments in grating interferometry.

Breaking the panels: an application to the GDP per capita

This paper proposes a test statistic for the null hypothesis of panel stationarity that allows for the presence of multiple structural breaks. Two different speci¿cations are considered depending on the structural breaks affecting the individual effects and/or the time trend. The model is ¿exible enough to allow the number of breaks and their position to differ across individuals. The test is shown to have an exact limit distribution with a good ¿nite sample performance. Its application to a typical panel data set of real per capita GDP gives support to the trend stationarity of these series

El desempleo español : factores estructurales

El paro es uno de los problemas más importantes de la economía española y del resto de economías europeas. Un posible análisis, ampliamente extendido en la literatura reciente, considera el desajuste existente entre la oferta y la demanda de trabajo como posible causante de esta situación. En este sentido, la relación empírica entre la tasa de paro y la tasa de vacantes, la denominada curva UV o de Beveridge, ofrece un instrumento para caracterizar el paro d'una economía determinada. Diferentes estudios, como por ejemplo, Jackman et. al. (1983) o Pissarides (1985) entre otros, consideran que los desplazamientos de la curva de Beveridge pueden interpretarse como variaciones del paro estructural. La identificación de estos desplazamientos puede dar información relevante para diseñar políticas económicas adecuadas. El principal objetivo de este trabajo es el de identificar los desplazamientos de la curva de Beveridge para la economía española durante el período 1978-96 utilizando datos anuales de la Encuesta de Población Activa (INE) y de Estadística de Empleo (INEM). Dado que ambas fuentes facilitan la información desagregada territorialmente, se puede construir un panel de datos regionales que permite analizar un amplio conjunto de factores que pueden explicar el desplazamiento de la curva, un posible cambio en la elasticidad de la tasa de paro respeto a la tasa de vacantes, así como también valorar la existencia de diferentes comportamientos regionales en el proceso de emparejamiento de trabajos con trabajadores

El desempleo español : factores estructurales

El paro es uno de los problemas más importantes de la economía española y del resto de economías europeas. Un posible análisis, ampliamente extendido en la literatura reciente, considera el desajuste existente entre la oferta y la demanda de trabajo como posible causante de esta situación. En este sentido, la relación empírica entre la tasa de paro y la tasa de vacantes, la denominada curva UV o de Beveridge, ofrece un instrumento para caracterizar el paro d'una economía determinada. Diferentes estudios, como por ejemplo, Jackman et. al. (1983) o Pissarides (1985) entre otros, consideran que los desplazamientos de la curva de Beveridge pueden interpretarse como variaciones del paro estructural. La identificación de estos desplazamientos puede dar información relevante para diseñar políticas económicas adecuadas. El principal objetivo de este trabajo es el de identificar los desplazamientos de la curva de Beveridge para la economía española durante el período 1978-96 utilizando datos anuales de la Encuesta de Población Activa (INE) y de Estadística de Empleo (INEM). Dado que ambas fuentes facilitan la información desagregada territorialmente, se puede construir un panel de datos regionales que permite analizar un amplio conjunto de factores que pueden explicar el desplazamiento de la curva, un posible cambio en la elasticidad de la tasa de paro respeto a la tasa de vacantes, así como también valorar la existencia de diferentes comportamientos regionales en el proceso de emparejamiento de trabajos con trabajadores

The determinants of social spending in Spain (1880-1960): Is Lindert right?

[spa] El principal objetivo de este artículo se centra en analizar los orígenes del Estado de Bienestar en España a partir del marco teórico elaborado por Peter Lindert. Con este fin, se ofrece un análisis econométrico de los factores que determinaron la evolución del gasto social público en este país entre 1880 y 1960. Utilizando nueva evidencia cuantitativa, se construyó un panel de datos por quinquenios con el porcentaje de gasto social respecto al PIB desagregado en tres partidas: sanidad, seguridad social y beneficencia. El análisis permite insertar el caso español en el debate internacional y los resultados revelan interesantes singularidades de este país.

Breaking the panels: an application to the GDP per capita

This paper proposes a test statistic for the null hypothesis of panel stationarity that allows for the presence of multiple structural breaks. Two different speci¿cations are considered depending on the structural breaks affecting the individual effects and/or the time trend. The model is ¿exible enough to allow the number of breaks and their position to differ across individuals. The test is shown to have an exact limit distribution with a good ¿nite sample performance. Its application to a typical panel data set of real per capita GDP gives support to the trend stationarity of these series

BIO-INSPIRED COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES APPLIED TO THE CLUSTERING AND VISUALIZATION OF SPATIO-TEMPORAL GEOSPATIAL DATA

The coverage and volume of geo-referenced datasets are extensive and incessantly¦growing. The systematic capture of geo-referenced information generates large volumes¦of spatio-temporal data to be analyzed. Clustering and visualization play a key¦role in the exploratory data analysis and the extraction of knowledge embedded in¦these data. However, new challenges in visualization and clustering are posed when¦dealing with the special characteristics of this data. For instance, its complex structures,¦large quantity of samples, variables involved in a temporal context, high dimensionality¦and large variability in cluster shapes.¦The central aim of my thesis is to propose new algorithms and methodologies for¦clustering and visualization, in order to assist the knowledge extraction from spatiotemporal¦geo-referenced data, thus improving making decision processes.¦I present two original algorithms, one for clustering: the Fuzzy Growing Hierarchical¦Self-Organizing Networks (FGHSON), and the second for exploratory visual data analysis:¦the Tree-structured Self-organizing Maps Component Planes. In addition, I present¦methodologies that combined with FGHSON and the Tree-structured SOM Component¦Planes allow the integration of space and time seamlessly and simultaneously in¦order to extract knowledge embedded in a temporal context.¦The originality of the FGHSON lies in its capability to reflect the underlying structure¦of a dataset in a hierarchical fuzzy way. A hierarchical fuzzy representation of¦clusters is crucial when data include complex structures with large variability of cluster¦shapes, variances, densities and number of clusters. The most important characteristics¦of the FGHSON include: (1) It does not require an a-priori setup of the number¦of clusters. (2) The algorithm executes several self-organizing processes in parallel.¦Hence, when dealing with large datasets the processes can be distributed reducing the¦computational cost. (3) Only three parameters are necessary to set up the algorithm.¦In the case of the Tree-structured SOM Component Planes, the novelty of this algorithm¦lies in its ability to create a structure that allows the visual exploratory data analysis¦of large high-dimensional datasets. This algorithm creates a hierarchical structure¦of Self-Organizing Map Component Planes, arranging similar variables' projections in¦the same branches of the tree. Hence, similarities on variables' behavior can be easily¦detected (e.g. local correlations, maximal and minimal values and outliers).¦Both FGHSON and the Tree-structured SOM Component Planes were applied in¦several agroecological problems proving to be very efficient in the exploratory analysis¦and clustering of spatio-temporal datasets.¦In this thesis I also tested three soft competitive learning algorithms. Two of them¦well-known non supervised soft competitive algorithms, namely the Self-Organizing¦Maps (SOMs) and the Growing Hierarchical Self-Organizing Maps (GHSOMs); and the¦third was our original contribution, the FGHSON. Although the algorithms presented¦here have been used in several areas, to my knowledge there is not any work applying¦and comparing the performance of those techniques when dealing with spatiotemporal¦geospatial data, as it is presented in this thesis.¦I propose original methodologies to explore spatio-temporal geo-referenced datasets¦through time. Our approach uses time windows to capture temporal similarities and¦variations by using the FGHSON clustering algorithm. The developed methodologies¦are used in two case studies. In the first, the objective was to find similar agroecozones¦through time and in the second one it was to find similar environmental patterns¦shifted in time.¦Several results presented in this thesis have led to new contributions to agroecological¦knowledge, for instance, in sugar cane, and blackberry production.¦Finally, in the framework of this thesis we developed several software tools: (1)¦a Matlab toolbox that implements the FGHSON algorithm, and (2) a program called¦BIS (Bio-inspired Identification of Similar agroecozones) an interactive graphical user¦interface tool which integrates the FGHSON algorithm with Google Earth in order to¦show zones with similar agroecological characteristics.

Toward synthetic combinatorial peptide libraries in positional scanning format (PS-SCL)-based identification of CD8+ Tumor-reactive T-Cell Ligands: a comparative analysis of PS-SCL recognition by a single tumor-reactive CD8+ cytolytic T-lymphocyte clone.

The use of synthetic combinatorial peptide libraries in positional scanning format (PS-SCL) has emerged recently as an alternative approach for the identification of peptides recognized by T lymphocytes. The choice of both the PS-SCL used for screening experiments and the method used for data analysis are crucial for implementing this approach. With this aim, we tested the recognition of different PS-SCL by a tyrosinase 368-376-specific CTL clone and analyzed the data obtained with a recently developed biometric data analysis based on a model of independent and additive contribution of individual amino acids to peptide antigen recognition. Mixtures defined with amino acids present at the corresponding positions in the native sequence were among the most active for all of the libraries. Somewhat surprisingly, a higher number of native amino acids were identifiable by using amidated COOH-terminal rather than free COOH-terminal PS-SCL. Also, our data clearly indicate that when using PS-SCL longer than optimal, frame shifts occur frequently and should be taken into account. Biometric analysis of the data obtained with the amidated COOH-terminal nonapeptide library allowed the identification of the native ligand as the sequence with the highest score in a public human protein database. However, the adequacy of the PS-SCL data for the identification for the peptide ligand varied depending on the PS-SCL used. Altogether these results provide insight into the potential of PS-SCL for the identification of CTL-defined tumor-derived antigenic sequences and may significantly implement our ability to interpret the results of these analyses.

Design, data management, and population baseline characteristics of the PERFORM magnetic resonance imaging project.

Quantitative information from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may substantiate clinical findings and provide additional insight into the mechanism of clinical interventions in therapeutic stroke trials. The PERFORM study is exploring the efficacy of terutroban versus aspirin for secondary prevention in patients with a history of ischemic stroke. We report on the design of an exploratory longitudinal MRI follow-up study that was performed in a subgroup of the PERFORM trial. An international multi-centre longitudinal follow-up MRI study was designed for different MR systems employing safety and efficacy readouts: new T2 lesions, new DWI lesions, whole brain volume change, hippocampal volume change, changes in tissue microstructure as depicted by mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy, vessel patency on MR angiography, and the presence of and development of new microbleeds. A total of 1,056 patients (men and women ≥ 55 years) were included. The data analysis included 3D reformation, image registration of different contrasts, tissue segmentation, and automated lesion detection. This large international multi-centre study demonstrates how new MRI readouts can be used to provide key information on the evolution of cerebral tissue lesions and within the macrovasculature after atherothrombotic stroke in a large sample of patients.

The determinants of social spending in Spain (1880-1960): Is Lindert right?

[spa] El principal objetivo de este artículo se centra en analizar los orígenes del Estado de Bienestar en España a partir del marco teórico elaborado por Peter Lindert. Con este fin, se ofrece un análisis econométrico de los factores que determinaron la evolución del gasto social público en este país entre 1880 y 1960. Utilizando nueva evidencia cuantitativa, se construyó un panel de datos por quinquenios con el porcentaje de gasto social respecto al PIB desagregado en tres partidas: sanidad, seguridad social y beneficencia. El análisis permite insertar el caso español en el debate internacional y los resultados revelan interesantes singularidades de este país.

Human capital spillovers, productivity and regional convergence in Spain

This paper analyses the differential impact of human capital, in terms of different levels of schooling, on regional productivity and convergence. The potential existence of geographical spillovers of human capital is also considered by applying spatial panel data techniques. The empirical analysis of Spanish provinces between 1980 and 2007 confirms the positive impact of human capital on regional productivity and convergence, but reveals no evidence of any positive geographical spillovers of human capital. In fact, in some specifications the spatial lag presented by tertiary studies has a negative effect on the variables under consideration.

Percentage of nonoverlapping corrected data

The present study proposes a modification in one of the most frequently applied effect size procedures in single-case data analysis the percent of nonoverlapping data. In contrast to other techniques, the calculus and interpretation of this procedure is straightforward and it can be easily complemented by visual inspection of the graphed data. Although the percent of nonoverlapping data has been found to perform reasonably well in N = 1 data, the magnitude of effect estimates it yields can be distorted by trend and autocorrelation. Therefore, the data correction procedure focuses on removing the baseline trend from data prior to estimating the change produced in the behavior due to intervention. A simulation study is carried out in order to compare the original and the modified procedures in several experimental conditions. The results suggest that the new proposal is unaffected by trend and autocorrelation and can be used in case of unstable baselines and sequentially related measurements.