Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry

Language barriers and translation costs are persistent obstacles to communication and have particularly pronounced economic impacts in technical domains. Here we provide causal evidence on the effects of language barriers on the speed and extent of knowledge diffusion by exploiting a change in US patent policy that resulted in earlier disclosure of English-language technical knowledge from Japan. Using a targeted sample of 2,770 citations from US-based inventors to Japanese inventions, we find that language barriers accounted for almost half the diffusion lag of Japan-originating knowledge to US-based inventors, relative to Japan-based inventors. This acceleration is significant only for firms with limited ability to translate (small research and development scale, or little involvement in the Japanese market) and is more pronounced for the diffusion of high-quality inventions, suggesting difficulties in quality-targeted translation. Thus, early publication of patent applications provides a substantial public good for cumulative innovation through accelerated access to translated foreign patents.

Abstract This study analyzes how multinational enterprises (MNEs) influence corporate labor share in their home countries, using the 2011 Thailand Floods as a natural experiment. Flood-related disruptions to Thai subsidiaries of Japanese MNEs generated a negative foreign productivity shock that raised labor share in Japan. We interpret this pattern using a model with international factor substitution and estimate the elasticity of substitution between domestic labor and foreign inputs using an instrument based on flood exposure. The estimated model quantifies the long-run e!ect of Thai productivity growth on Japan's labor share, indicating that expanding global production networks can shift labor–capital balances.

To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, there is an increasing need to actively capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. Direct Air Capture (DAC) has attracted attention as a method for directly capturing CO2, and amine-based compounds have been actively studied as CO2 adsorbents. By polymerizing amine and epoxy, we developed thermosetting DAC nanofibers with excellent low-temperature desorption properties and excellent heat resistance. In the fabrication of epoxy-crosslinked amine nanofibers by the electrospinning process, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was added to improve spinnability, and direct spin-line heating in the electrospinning process was successfully performed for in-situ thermal polymerization. However, because of the relatively high energy consumption of the process, we tried to produce amine-epoxy/PVA nanofibers through a process that does not require spin-line heating in this research. For this purpose, amine and epoxy were reacted in advance to convert them to B-stage. With the highly B-staged spinning solution, AE/PVA nanofibers of approximately 500–700 nm diameter could be produced without spin-line heating. When the B-stage state was low, in-situ heating during the electrospinning process was required, as in the previous report, however, the temperature required for the formation of fibers decreased with the increasing degree of B-stage. When the spin-line heating temperature was low or without the spin-line heating, additional annealing of the prepared web was required to complete the polymerization, even though fabrication of nanofibers was possible in the electrospinning. We confirmed that the obtained amine-epoxy/PVA nanofiber web had the same CO2 adsorption performance as in-situ polymerized nanofibers. In addition, by B-staging, the viscosity of the spinning solution increased, making it possible to reduce the concentration of the PVA aqueous solution, and it became possible to obtain nanofibers with a higher amine-epoxy ratio.

IntroductionThere is clear evidence on the physical and psychological benefits of a bodily approach for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. They can have a significant impact on the patient’s perceived suffering (Carek et al. IJPM 2011; 41(1) 15–28). In January 2024, a Physiotherapy Project started at the Acute Psychiatric Service of the Rieti ASL in collaboration with the Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine service.ObjectivesEvaluate the impact of the physiotherapy program on psychopathological dimensions and on the patients subjective well-being.MethodsThe naturalistic study was conducted on subjects consecutively hospitalized at the SPDC from January to June 2024 who voluntarily joined the physiotherapy activity. The intervention was administered with bi-weekly sessions of about 45 minutes and included: stretching, orientation exercises, active movement, coordination, muscle strengthening. The Exclusion Criteria were: sedation status, disorganization, behavioral problems. The General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) were adminstred at admission (T0) and discharge (T1). A Self-evaluation of the useful of the program was administred only to discarege (T1): participants answered by choosing between “not useful”, “partly useful”, “very useful” to 4 questions on the usefullness of the intervention.ResultsThirty-five participants (17 M, 18 F; mean age 38.2±15,4) were admitted to physical activity. They recieved the following diagnoses: 48.6% Psychotic Disorder, 20% Depressive Disorder, 2.9% Bipolar Disorder, 28.6% Personality Disorder. Eleven of 35 participants had comorbid substance use disorder (14.3% alcohol, 5.7% cocaine, 5.7% cannabis, 2.9% opioids, 2.9% other substances). The hospitalization time was 11.8±4.3 and the average number of physical sessions was 1.7±0.8. The BPRS (44.4±11vs25.9±4.5; F=1024.25; p<0.001) and GHQ-12 (24.6±4.9vs15.11±5.8; F=833,43; p<0.001) mean scores significant improved in two time of evaluation (T0 and T1).ConclusionsParticipants showed a reduction in psychopathological severity and an increase in perceived well-being between T0 and T1. They found useful to practice physioterapy during hospitalozation and to manage anxiety, muscle relaxation and mood improvement.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

ABSTRACTThe literature has produced mixed findings on the relationship between industry agglomeration and firm‐level productivity where it concerns the self‐selection of productive firms into locations characterized by different levels of industry agglomeration. We argue that the nature of this self‐selection crucially depends on whether incumbent and entrant firms compete on the same market. Adverse selection of less productive firms into a location only dominates if knowledge spillovers in agglomerated locations are harmful to productive entrants: when the entrant and local incumbents target the same (domestic) product market and the entrant risks losing market share and profits. We find evidence for this notion in analysis of location decisions for new plants at the fine‐grained geographical level in Japan by firms with known productivity records in the industry (multi‐plant firms). We conclude that sorting processes do occur, but that the nature of these processes can only be uncovered in analysis that considers competition on product markets and accurate measures of firm heterogeneity in productivity.