Major EU Countries Research Articles

Building geochemical vectors with trace element compositions of sulfides in orogenic gold mineral systems in northern Finland

Exploring and discovering new ore deposits that supply the needed metals for our current societal transition to a green-energy and technologically advanced low-carbon future is becoming increasingly difficult. To fully convert the current system however, a significant increase of mining of minerals is required, particularly since current global mineral reserves are insufficient to cover the growing demand for a fossil fuel-free infrastructure. It is therefore even more important to develop and introduce new time-and cost-efficient exploration tools, which can be utilized in the discovery of new mineral deposits and applied in the early, or through advanced stages of mineral exploration. Given that Finland is one of the major EU countries that covers the supply chain for the EU battery industry, its metallogenic provinces are extensively tested and investigated by new exploration technologies. For this purpose, a comprehensive dataset of trace element contents in single grains of pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite was compiled on the basis of results of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) analyses. Samples were systematically collected from drill cores from orogenic Au-only and Au-base-metal deposits in the Paleoproterozoic Svecofennian orogenic belts in northern Finland. The objective of this dataset is to serve as a reference tool in heavy indicator minerals-based exploration. By performing correlation analysis with the symmetric pivot coordinates approach for compositional data, as well as principal component analysis, it is demonstrated how all analyzed sulfide species have the capacity to discriminate between Au-only and Au-base-metal deposit types, as well as occurrences of free Au versus refractory Au. Element pairs of symmetric coordinates most suitable for differentiating Au-only systems from Au-base-metal settings are Co/Au and Au/Se in pyrite; Ni/Bi and Se/As in pyrrhotite; and Ni/Ag, Ag/In, Se/Ag, Cr/Ag, Cr/In, Cr/Zn, Zn/Se and Sn/Se in chalcopyrite. Results from principal component analysis reveal that pyrites from Au-base-metal deposits are associated with the positive loadings of Se-As-Co onto PC1 and those from Au-only deposits with negative loadings of Bi-Sb-Te-Au and Ni onto PC1 and PC2, respectively. In the case of pyrrhotite, samples from Au-Co and Au-Cu deposits are clearly distinguished between the positive loadings of Hg-Se-Co onto PC1, and the negative loadings of Sb-Au-Bi-Ni onto PC1. Positive loadings of Ag-Se and Co along PC1 are indicative of chalcopyrite from Au-Co deposits, while negative loadings of Ni and Zn onto PC1 are pointing towards an origin from Au-Cu, as well as Au-only deposits. Additionally, when testing the indicator mineral method with recovered pyrites from till samples from the Peräpohja belt, a potential relationship with bedrock pyrites is successfully demonstrated. This study aims to present the versatility of sulfide trace elements in geochemical exploration, as it could complement the mineral exploration industry with a more efficient and less expensive practice for profitable deposit discovery.

To be or not to be in the EU: the international economic effects of Brexit uncertainty

This paper evaluates the impact of Brexit-related uncertainty on the economies of the UK, EU, and the US. We propose a measure of Brexit uncertainty that has not been employed before in the literature. We first construct a binary variable by selecting Brexit-related events. We subsequently employ the Qual VAR model of Dueker [2005. “Dynamic Forecasts of Qualitative Variables: A Qual VAR Model of US Recessions.” Journal of Business & Economic Statistics 23: 96–104] to transform this variable to a continuous latent variable that captures uncertainty on important economic and financial variables. Next, this latent variable enters a structural Factor-Augmented Vector AutoRegression model combined with 452 macro and financial variables for the sample countries. Overall, our results indicate that the prolonged period of uncertainty, had a positive effect on the economies of major EU countries and negative effects for the UK economy. Additionally, the UK is the most important net sender of uncertainty spillovers in the EU, while Germany and France are among the most important net receivers of uncertainty shocks.

Technology and task changes in the major EU countries

AbstractDrawing on the Acemoglu–Restrepo framework, this article investigates the influence of technological innovations on the wage bill of France, Germany, Italy and Spain We show that in these countries: (a) the wage‐bill deceleration since the 1990s has mainly been productivity driven; (b) but was also affected by a wage‐share compression; (c) contraction of labor‐intensive tasks played a relevant role in such compression; (d) this reflected an acceleration of technology‐induced labor displacement not sufficiently offset by the reinstatement of new labor‐intensive tasks; (e) labor displacement was higher in low‐end services. Econometric analysis of displacement confirms the influence of technology.

Economic Activities of African Migrants in Major EU Countries: New Approaches

The growing interest in migration issues in the EU has not affected the analysis of African migrants. The focus is on social and political issues, while the economic issues studied are primarily related to the assessment of the reasons for the arrival of Africans in the EU, the trajectory of their movement, as well as the scale of remittances to their homeland and the conditions for their return back to Africa. The article focuses on the main features of African migrants’ economic activity in the EU. Instead of the traditional consideration of only one or several diasporas in a single country or a generalized analysis of the entire EU, we compare the specifics of immigrants from different African countries in the 4 largest EU member states (including the UK, which left the integration project in 2020). Our article begins with a review of studies that contain information on the economic activities of migrants from African countries. Then, based on data from Eurostat and national statistics from Germany, France, Italy and the UK, the role of people from Africa in these countries population is shown. The reasons for the differences between these four countries in the dynamics and structure of immigration from Africa are explained. Statistics of refugees, naturalized persons over the past 10 years, foreign citizens and residents with migration past are considered. France is the leader in the number of migrants, mainly due to people from French-speaking countries of North and West Africa. Italy stands out because it is targeted by many illegal migrant routes due to its geographical proximity to this region. The UK has become a target mainly for residents of former British colonies who are quite successful in naturalization in the United Kingdom (therefore, there are as many Africans without local passports in the UK as in Germany – 0.6 million). Further, it is shown that the key factor for taking a particular economic position in society is the status of migrants, their education also plays an important role (although Africans often work in places where a lower level of qualification is required than they have), as well as language barriers. There are big gender differences. At the end of the article we make conclusions about the problems of African migrants’ adaptation, although the EU countries cannot refuse to employ migrants in unattractive jobs in any case.

A Longitudinal Study on Web-Sites Password Management (in)Security: Evidence and Remedies

Single-factor password-based authentication is generally the norm to access on-line Web-sites. While single-factor authentication is well known to be a weak form of authentication, a further concern arises when considering the possibility for an attacker to recover the user passwords by leveraging the loopholes in the password recovery mechanisms. Indeed, the adoption by a Web-site of a poor password management system makes useless even the most robust password chosen by the registered users. In this paper, building on the results of our previous work, we study the possible attacks to on-line password recovery systems analyzing the mechanisms implemented by some of the most popular Web-sites. In detail, we provide several contributions: (i) we revise and detail the attacker model; (ii) we provide an updated analysis with respect to a preliminary study we carried out in December 2017; (iii) we perform a brand new analysis of the current top 200 Alexa's Web-sites of five major EU countries; and, (iv) we propose Maildust, a working open-source module that could be adopted by any Web-site to provide registered users with a password recovery mechanism to prevent mail service provider-level attacks. Overall, it is striking to notice how the analyzed Web-sites have made little (if any) effort to become compliant with the GDPR regulation, showing that the objective to have basic user protection mechanisms in place-despite the fines threatened by the GDPR-is still far, mainly because of sub-standard security management practices. Finally, it is worth noting that while this study has been focused on EU registered Web-sites, the proposed solution has, instead, general applicability.

EU Countries in Face of the New Refugee Crisis: Controversy and Cooperation

Since 2010, the number of refugees applying for immigration to Europe has increased year by year, and reached the highest point in 2015. Europe is undergoing a new wave of immigration. Faced with the complicated situation, EU countries have caused contradictions and disputes on account of their respective interests. It is precisely because of the same difficulties that have created their alliances and collaborations. This article will start from the causes of the influx of refugees, then it will continue to compare and analyze the refugees’ situation in the major EU countries and their corresponding policies adopted. Next, it will implement an in-depth study on the EU’s “relocation plan” and “quota system” from the source to the end. Based on this analysis, we try to predict the development of the European refugee problem and explore the solutions.

The intensity of business R&D in Italy: why reducing the gap with the EU is possible and worthwhile

This note examines the level, trend and size distribution of the R&D expenditures by Italian firms. Comparisons with the performance of the major EU countries indicate that the Italian backwardness in terms of business R&D is mainly due to a declining contribution of the largest firms. Only thanks to an increasing number of SMEs performing R&D and the investments of a group of not too large companies, the Italian performance has not deteriorated over the last years. This suggests that, by means of well-designed and adequately funded policy measures, the goal of reducing the R&D gap with the EU is still possible.

284P - Patient reported pain severity and interference in HR + /HER2- advanced/metastatic breast cancer in real world settings

To assess patient reported pain severity and pain interference in HR + /HER2- advanced/metastatic breast cancer (ABC/MBC) across multiple countries in a real world setting. Physicians across 5 major EU countries and the US participated in a cross-sectional study of over 2000 patients with HR + /HER2- ABC/MBC. A subset of patients (N = 739) completed validated questionnaires, including the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), used to assess the severity and impact of pain on daily functions. Pain severity is reported at its worst on a 0-10 scale, while average pain severity is a mean of 4 items on a 0-10 scale (worst & least in past 24 hours, average and current pain). On both scales a higher score implies greater pain. Interference is a mean of 7 items on a 0-10 scale with higher scores implying greater pain interference. Mean scores are reported for the overall cohort and by sites of metastases and compared using Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Mean (SD) scores for worst pain was 3.1 (2.4), average pain was 2.4 (1.9), and pain interference was 2.8 (2.2). The subgroup with bone and visceral metastases had significantly higher (p < 0.05) average pain severity [3.0 (1.9)], compared to those with bone disease (no visceral metastases) [2.5 (1.9)] and those with visceral (no bone) disease [2.2 (1.9)]. Pain interference was significantly higher (p < 0.05) for those with both bone and visceral metastases (3.4 [2.2]) followed by bone disease (2.9 [2.1]) and visceral disease (2.6 [2.2]). In a subset of patients receiving chemotherapy at the time of completion of the BPI, worst pain was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in patients with both metastases [3.8 (2.4)], compared to those with bone metastases [3.4 (2.3)] and those with visceral metastases [2.8 (2.3)]. No significant difference in pain interference scores were observed by type of metastatic site within the subset of patients treated with chemotherapy. Low to moderate levels of pain severity and pain interference scores observed in advanced/metastatic breast cancer patients in the real world, which vary significantly by extent and site of metastases.

Breast cancer specific quality of life in HR+/HER2- advanced/metastatic breast cancer patients in a real-world setting.

554Background: To assess patient reported breast cancer (BC) specific quality of life (QOL) in HR+/HER2- advanced or metastatic BC (ABC/MBC). Methods: Patients (N=2,352) were recruited into a cross-sectional survey from centers in 5 major EU countries and the US. BC specific QOL was reported by a subset of patients (n=739) using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Breast (FACT-B) tool, which includes the FACT General (FACT-G) (4 subscales assessing physical [PWB], social [SWB], emotional [EWB], and functional [FWB] wellbeing) and the BC specific subscale (BCS). Results are reported for the overall cohort, by therapy and sites of metastases. Significance was assessed using Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results: Patients’ mean (SD) age was 65.2 (10.6). Most patients (82.7%, n=611) had MBC, of which 31.9% had bone only metastases, 39.6% visceral only, 18.0% had bone + visceral, and 10.5% had other metastasis sites. Most patients received either endocrine or chemotherapy (46.3% and 48.6%), ...

Return-to-work intervention for cancer survivors: budget impact and allocation of costs and returns in the Netherlands and six major EU-countries.

BackgroundReturn-to-work (RTW)-interventions support cancer survivors in resuming work, but come at additional healthcare costs. The objective of this study was to assess the budget impact of a RTW-intervention, consisting of counselling sessions with an occupational physician and an exercise-programme. The secondary objective was to explore how the costs of RTW-interventions and its financial revenues are allocated among the involved stakeholders in several EU-countries.MethodsThe budget impact (BI) of a RTW-intervention versus usual care was analysed yearly for 2015–2020 from a Dutch societal- and from the perspective of a large cancer centre. The allocation of the expected costs and financial benefits for each of the stakeholders involved was compared between the Netherlands, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden.ResultsThe average intervention costs in this case were €1,519/patient. The BI for the Netherlands was €-14.7 m in 2015, rising to €-71.1 m in 2020, thus the intervention is cost-saving as the productivity benefits outweigh the intervention costs. For cancer centres the BI amounts to €293 k in 2015, increasing to €1.1 m in 2020. Across European countries, we observed differences regarding the extent to which stakeholders either invest or receive a share of the benefits from offering a RTW-intervention.ConclusionThe RTW-intervention is cost-saving from a societal perspective. Yet, the total intervention costs are considerable and, in many European countries, mainly covered by care providers that are not sufficiently reimbursed.

Innovation and Drugs Price and Reimbursement: A Comparison between Italy and the other Major EU Countries

Innovation and Drugs Price and Reimbursement: A Comparison between Italy and the other Major EU Countries

Innovation and Drugs Price and Reimbursement: A Comparison between Italy and the other Major EU Countries

This paper aims at investigating (i) differences and commonalities of drugs Price and Reimbursement (P&R) criteria between Italy and the other major EU countries and (ii) comparative advantages, pi...

Location Choices of Korean Multinationals in Europe

This paper aims to investigate what economic factors Korean firms consider when they select host countries in Europe. The empirical results demonstrate that chaebol firms and independent firms show different behaviors in selecting host countries. Compared to independent ones, chaebol firms consider a fewer number of economic factors and implement aggressive strategies by actively investing in countries that have not joined the EU or in which other Korean firms are less present. In contrast, independent firms tend to consider a wider range of economic factors and show more conservative behaviors by investing in major EU countries. It is also found that operational experience in the European market has more impacts on the location decisions of chaebol firms than independent ones.

A Case Study on the Hidden Champion Enterprises of Major EU Countries

A Case Study on the Hidden Champion Enterprises of Major EU Countries

Expectations hypothesis in the context of debt crisis: Evidence from five major EU countries

The present paper examines the empirical adequacy of the expectations hypothesis of the term structure of interest rates in the context of the current debt crisis. Using a sample consisted of the five largest EU countries, namely France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, and accounting for structural breaks in the data, I investigate cointegration, spread stationarity, validity of the cross-equation restrictions implied by the theory, and the possibility of excess returns. Overall, the empirical findings are against the EHTS for the whole maturity spectrum, implying evidence of economically important deviations from the theory. Only for specific spreads of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom there is some evidence in favour of the expectations hypothesis.

PRS61 - European ex-factory price development for global pharmaceutical companies in the context of the international price reference (ipr) framework. Impact of the german health care reform (amnog) on the european price development for innovative pharmaceuticals

To evaluate pharmaceutical pricing in the EU with a focus of cost-containment due to International Price Reference (IPR) in the context of the German AMNOG on pricing in Europe. Qualitative research identified guidelines for international price reference from each national reimbursement body (focusing on 10 major EU countries). Reimbursement submissions and results of price negotiations per country were also reviewed to gain insight into the application of pricing guidelines. Findings are based on review of the guidelines, selected appraisals and interviews with national payers in Germany, France and UK. In consideration of existing European price differences, high-price countries have so far increasingly attempted to also lower their pharmaceutical prices: preferably with different cost containment policies and measurements and in addition referencing low-price countries in international price reference (IPR). In both situations, an international downward effect on pricing threatens to happen for global pharmaceutical companies investing in Europe. This creates a European pricing and reimbursement network of connections of countries referencing each other with the tendency to develop a standard price across European countries. Germany is directly price referenced by more than 15 countries and indirectly referenced by around 5 countries. What impact on European pricing the change from the previously free pricing and full reimbursement of patented drug prices in Germany really has, after the implementation of the AMNOG, is quantitatively hard to assess. If Germany will follow more strictly the international price referencing in the future for innovative drugs based on the AMNOG process, it will lose anchor function in European pricing with an overall international downward effect on the European pricing for innovative pharmaceuticals.

Performance of European insurance firms in the single insurance market

The deregulation and liberalization process towards establishing a single European financial market has some important implications for the insurance industries. Due to the increased competition, insurance firms have to adjust their costs and operate efficiently to survive in this new environment. This paper attempts to analyze the cost efficiency and scale economies in the single European insurance market. Considering the ongoing enlargement process of the EU, our sample includes the insurance industries of the major EU‐15, four new members and a candidate country, Turkey, over the period 1995–2005. We use the firm‐level financial data and estimate a stochastic cost frontier that controls for differences in environmental conditions. All insurance systems display significant levels of cost inefficiency. The results further indicate that there are significant economies of scale, particularly for small‐ and medium‐size insurance firms. Finally, the analyses suggest similar results for major EU countries, new members and the candidate.

Quality Competition Versus Price Competition Goods: An Empirical Classification

Based on the recent trade models of the Heterogeneous Firms Trade (HFT) model and the Quality Heterogeneous Firms Trade (QHFT) model, we classify export goods (at the HS 6-digit level of disaggregation) by quality and price competition. We find a high proportions of quality-competition goods for the major EU countries and lower proportions for Canada, Australia and China. However, the overlap of these quality-competition goods is not large, which suggests that characteristics of export goods are substantially different across countries at the same HS 6-digit code.

Engines of growth. Innovation and productivity in industry groups

The diversity of technological activities that contribute to growth in labour productivity is examined in this article for manufacturing and services industries in eight major EU countries. We test the relevance of two “engines of growth”, i.e., the strategies of technological competitiveness (based on innovation in products and markets) and cost competitiveness (relying on innovation in processes and machinery) and their impact on economic performance. We propose models for the determinants of changes in labour productivity and we carry out empirical tests for both the whole economy and for the four Revised Pavitt classes that group manufacturing and services industries with distinct patterns of innovation. Tests are carried out by pooling industries, countries and three time periods, using innovation survey data from CIS 2, 3 and 4, linked to economic variables. The results confirm the specificity of the two “engines of growth”; economic performances in European industries appear as the result of different innovation models, with strong specificities of the four Revised Pavitt classes.

Structure Versus Conduct – A Comparison of the National Merger Remedies Practice in Seven European Countries

This paper provides a comparative analysis of 234 national merger remedies decisions in the six major EU countries plus one non‐EU country, Switzerland. While structural remedies tend to dominate, there are significant differences between countries and sectors. Overall, the analysis reveals a complex interaction between the features of markets which may give rise to competition concerns, the scope for remedial solutions and, not least, the extent of structural interventions in well established antitrust jurisdictions. In the wholesale and retail sector, shop and outlet divestitures are classic. However, they are often accompanied by behavioural remedies that seek to remedy vertical competition issues. In contrast, there is a preference for behavioural remedies in the network and infrastructure industries, with access remedies prominent as the case study of the information and communications sector shows.