1,720,961 research outputs found
Modeling country-sectoral spillovers in generalized propensity score matching: An empirical test on trade data
No full textIn this paper, we address identification concerns linked to spillover effects. The literature is still scanty on this issue. To this aim, we propose an innovative strategy combining a counterfactual approach with spatial models. Specifically, we suggest an original revision of spatial propensity score matching, extending it to handle continuous treatment and weighting the spatial lags by the products' distances over a "product-country space". Adopting this strategy, we aim to address the bias in treatment selection and effectively manage interference and spillover effects from policy interventions and from government actions in other sectors. Using standard data, we then test our model in an empirical application that assesses the causal impact of agricultural policy support on product trade performance. Results show that not considering spillover effects leads to underestimating treat-ment assessment
The socio-economic value of scientific publications: The case of Earth Observation satellites
No full textThis paper provides a conceptual framework to estimate the socio-economic benefits of new knowledge generated within research infrastructures from the scientific community's perspective. We use Earth Observation (EO) satellites as a case study. Constructing, operating, and exploiting cutting-edge EO infrastructures is generating a vast amount of knowledge ultimately embodied in scientific publications. Using bibliometric and machine learning techniques, we analyse 1,235 publications in 1998–2018 related to Cosmo Skymed, the EO satellites constellation of the Italian Space Agency. Thanks to these satellites, 2,377 authors from 160 institutions and 68 countries worldwide have contributed to various subjects in several scientific fields. By using the marginal social value method in a cost-benefit analysis perspective, we conservatively estimate the value of such publications, including their marginal cost and value of citations. This original and straightforward approach can be used to estimate the socio-economic value of scientific publications produced within any research infrastructure, including universities, in any field of study
The impact of the Italian Space Agency on scientific knowledge: Evidence from academic publications
No full textIndustrial and research activities in the space sector involve a heterogeneous group of actors such as private and public firms, universities, research institutes and space agencies, collaborating to different stages of missions’ realization. Such collaborations are associated to the creation of spillover effects, proxied in different ways, such as the number of patents recorded, post-graduate students involved, spin-off activities and co-authored papers.
The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of the collaboration between universities /research institutes and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). To this aim, we focus on papers where the authors acknowledge grants received by ASI. We use data on publications and citations to capture the association between ASI funding of a large number of scientific articles published in the period 1989–2017 and the quality of research, proxied by the number of citations received.
By performing parametric estimates with multiple levels of fixed effects (year, author and coauthors fixed effects), we find that articles mentioning ASI in the funding information are associated to a higher citation impact with respect to articles not financially supported by ASI. Such result suggests a positive impact on the scientific community of public funds granted to universities and research institutes
On the evolution of comparative advantage: Path-dependent versus path-defying changes
No full textA country's specialization evolves over time in a dynamic process, with shifts in comparative advantages, resulting in new products being added to the country's export basket. According to the renowned Product Space (PS) framework (Hausmann and Klinger, 2007; Hidalgo et al., 2007), this dynamic process is characterized by strong path dependence, as a country's current production capabilities (technologies, production factors, institutions, etc.) determine what a country produces today, but also limits what it can produce tomorrow. We use a novel methodology to explore whether the patterns of specialization of a large sample of countries for the period 1995–2015 correspond to the predictions of the PS framework. Despite finding evidence of path dependence, our analysis also finds that a significant number of new products later added to countries’ export baskets were unrelated to their initial specialization pattern. We shed light on the determinants of these path-dependent changes in countries’ export baskets and show that economic growth is weaker in countries with a higher degree of path dependence
Positioning in Global Value Chains: World Map and Indicators, a New Dataset Available for GVC Analyses
No full textThis work reviews and computes the commonly used Global Value Chains (GVC) positioning indicators found in the empirical literature, providing scholars with a novel and comprehensive global dataset of upstreamness and downstreamness measures. This dataset covers a wide range of countries, including many developing nations, and industries, and spans an extensive timeframe. Specifically, it offers GVC positioning indicators for all economies and industries included in prominent Inter-Country Input-Output tables, such as ADB, EORA, OECD TiVA, WIOD, and Long-run WIOD. This work also delves into the degree of comparability across the different datasets, offering informative comparisons of the GVC positioning measures encompassing overlapping countries and periods, sectors, geographical regions, and income levels. Notably, these indicators are “ready-to-use” and open access, presenting an exceptional opportunity for qualitative and quantitative analyses of various economic dimensions on GVCs and for informing policymaking
A long contiguous stretch of homozygosity disclosed a novel stag3 biallelic pathogenic variant causing primary ovarian insufficiency: A case report and review of the literature
Full text linkPrimary ovarian insufficiency (POI) refers to an etiologically heterogeneous disorder characterized by hypergonadotropic hypogonadism that represents a major cause of infertility in women under 40 years of age. Most cases are apparently sporadic, but about 10–15% have an affected first-degree relative, indicating a genetic etiology. Pathogenic variations in genes involved in development, meiosis and hormonal signaling have been detected in the hereditary form of the disorder. However, most cases of POI remain unsolved even after exhaustive investigation. A 19-year-old Senegalese female affected by non-syndromic POI presented with primary amenorrhoea and answered well to the hormonal induction of puberty. In order to investigate the presence of a genetic defect, aCGH-SNP analysis was performed. A 13.5 Mb long contiguous stretch of homozygosity (LCSH) was identified on chromosome 7q21.13-q22.1 where the exome sequencing revealed a novel homozygous 4-bp deletion (c.3381_3384delAGAA) in STAG3. Pathogenic variants in this gene, encoding for a meiosis-specific protein, have been previously reported as the cause of POI in only eight families and recently as the cause of infertility in a male. The here-identified mutation leads to the truncation of the last 55 amino acids, confirming the important role in meiosis of the STAG3 C-terminal domain
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Energy Efficiency and Productivity: A Worldwide Firm-level Analysis
No full textThis work aims to explore the relationship between energy efficiency and productivity using firm-level data. Although important to policymaking, very few academic studies analyze this relationship at the firm level. Taking advantage of the national representative World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) data, we contribute to the current literature by providing one of the most comprehensive firmlevel analyses to date in terms of geographical coverage. To this end, we apply a standard constant return to scale Cobb-Douglas production function expanded to energy efficiency. Our findings show a positive relationship between alternative measures of energy efficiency and firm-level productivity. This relationship holds, albeit with different magnitudes, for all industries and regional groups. This work provides further empirical support for the messages conveyed by international institutions regarding the positive relationship between environmental actions and f irm performance, thus supporting collective efforts to improve the private sector’s energy efficiency, including the implementation of Agenda 2030
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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