Frequency of Anti-Sars-Cov-2 Antibodies in Various Occupational Sectors in an Industrialized Area of Northern Italy from May to October 2020

The results of a voluntary screening campaign for the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 serum antibodies are presented, performed on workers in the highly industrialized province of Modena in northern Italy in the period 18 May–5 October 2020. The employment activities of the subjects that tested positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM and/or IgG antibodies were determined and classified using the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC). The distribution across different sectors was compared to the proportion of workers employed in the same sectors in the province of Modena as a whole. Workers with anti-SARS-CoV-2 serum antibodies were mainly employed in manufacturing (60%), trade (12%), transportation (9%), scientific and technical activities (5%), and arts, entertainment and recreation activities (4.5%). Within the manufacturing sector, a cluster of workers with positive serological tests was observed in the meat processing sector, confirming recent data showing a possible increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in these workers.

UNEXPLAINED WAGE GAPS IN THE TRADABLE AND NONTRADABLE SECTORS: CROSS-SECTIONAL EVIDENCE BY GENDER IN BOLIVIA

This document analyzes the gender wage gap between in tradable and non-tradable sectors. The tradable sector is defined by the value of exports and imports in an industry based on the four-digit codes of the International Standard Industrial Classification. Based on Gary Becker's work, in an economy prone to discrimination against women, the document proposes a model from which discrimination is possible if companies generate supra-normal profits. These benefits will be determined by market power, which in turn depends on the number of companies participating in the industry, so under the assumption that tradable sectors are directly influenced by international trade and with the possibility of greater competition, this competition will generate a trend towards normal benefits, making it impossible to finance discrimination against women, so the wage gender gap should be lower in tradable than non-tradable sectors. Using the traditional Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition and the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition with Recentered Influence Function (RIF) regressions for the 2013 Household Survey, we find that unexplained wage differences against women are significantly lower in the tradable sector, suggesting that the impact of international trade on the tradable sector helps to reduce the gender wage gap in Bolivia.

APPROACHES TO THE CLASSIFICATION OF TRADE FLOWS IN THE ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURE OF COMMODITY EXPORT

The quality of the analysis of the structure of merchandise exports depends on the groups of trade flows, according to which the study is carried out, therefore, the choice of the classification on the basis of which the analytical study of the export structure is carried out can give answers regarding the choice of the further direction of development of foreign trade. The article discusses the main approaches to the classification of trade flows, identifies their features, advantages and disadvantages. It has been determined that the most common of these are the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC), Lall classification used by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTADstat) and the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISGC) or The International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC). The national classification of trade flows includes the Ukrainian Classification of Goods for Foreign Economic Activity (UKT FEA), compiled on the basis of the Harmonized System of Description and Coding of Goods and the Combined Nomenclature of the European Union (used in 207 countries), which promotes the closest relationship between foreign trade statistics and production statistics. Different classifications of trade flows are based on different approaches and different classification features. On the one hand, each classification should cover all groups of goods, on the other hand, show the quality component of exports. The Lall classification, which takes into account the technological complexity of exported goods, is most consistent with these two requirements. This classification is based on the available indicators of technological activity in production. It corresponds to the concept of most analysts regarding the technological rating of manufactured products. The success of a country's export directly depends on the quality of exported goods, therefore, the analysis of the structure of merchandise exports should be based on approaches that take this indicator into account.

Uso de sitios web por las pymes comerciales del cantón Cuenca // Use of commercial websites by the SMEs in the city of Cuenca

La investigación, por una parte, determina el número de micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas (pymes) activas del cantón Cuenca, a partir de utilizar los registros y base de datos de la Superintendencia de Compañías, Valores y Seguros y los criterios referenciales dispuestos por la Secretaría de la Comunidad Andina de Naciones. A partir de esta información, se utiliza la Clasificación Industrial Internacional Uniforme (CIIU) de todas las actividades económicas, para determinar el número de empresas que se dedican a la actividad comercial (Sección G). Con esta información, se realiza una investigación particular de cada empresa de este segmento para determinar qué porcentaje de estas mantienen un sitio web en línea, así como el uso que le dan al mismo. Los indicadores que se desprenden del estudio sirven como punto de partida para futuras investigaciones que registren la evolución del uso de páginas web en la ciudad de Cuenca, asimismo, la propuesta metodológica definida puede servir para estudios similares en otras ciudades y países. AbstractThis research checks the number of active small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the city of Cuenca using the records and database of the Superintendence of Companies, Appraisal and Insurance and the benchmarks set by the Secretariat of the Andean Community of Nations. Based on this information, we use the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) of all economic activities to determine the number of companies engaged in commercial activity (Section G). We performed a particular investigation of each company of this segment with this information to determine what percentage of these maintain an online website, as well as the use that they give to it. The indicators that emerge from the study serve as a starting point for future research that record the evolution of the use of web pages in the city of Cuenca. Moreover, similar studies in other cities and countries can use the methodological proposal offered in this study.