L’autobiographie dans la littérature de l’immigration italienne du Luxembourg et de la Grande Région

in Cicotti, Claudio (Ed.) La volonté d s'écrire (in press)

Do banks and microfinance institutions compete? Microevidence from Madagascar

in Economic Development and Cultural Change (in press)

This paper examines whether the loan strategy of a microfinance institution is shaped by the entry of a bank. Specifically, we investigate whether the distance between a borrower of a microfinance ... [more ▼]

This paper examines whether the loan strategy of a microfinance institution is shaped by the entry of a bank. Specifically, we investigate whether the distance between a borrower of a microfinance institution and the closest bank influences loan conditions provided by the microfinance institution. We use an original panel dataset of 32,374 loans granted to 14,834 borrowers provided by one of the largest microfinance institutions in Madagascar between 2008 and 2014. We find that the closer a bank is located to a given MFI borrower, the larger the loan obtained and the less collateral required. We also find that the effect is stronger for clients that could be more easily caught by banks (i.e., large firms and clients without a previous relationship with the MFI). [less ▲]

Book review: Bessey, Valérie et Werner Paravicini: Guerre des manifestes : Charles le Téméraire et ses ennemis (1465-1475)

in Hemecht: Zeitschrift für Luxemburger Geschichte (in press)

The legacy of coal mining – a view on examples in Belgium and France

in Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum (Ed.) Boom – Crisis – Heritage. King Coal and Energy Revolutions after 1945; proceedings of the international conference March 14th-16th 2018, Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola, Bochum (in press)

Following the end of coalmining in Belgium (1992) and France (2004), the year 2018 marks the end of hard coal mining in Germany as well. This contribution looks at the legacy of coalmining of Germany’s ... [more ▼]

Following the end of coalmining in Belgium (1992) and France (2004), the year 2018 marks the end of hard coal mining in Germany as well. This contribution looks at the legacy of coalmining of Germany’s French-speaking neighbours and presents the most important remaining coal mining heritage sites as well as some extraordinary converted sites in France and the Belgian province Wallonia. [less ▲]

The mod 2 cohomology rings of congruence subgroups in the Bianchi groups

E-print/Working paper (in press)

We provide new tools for the calculation of the torsion in the cohomology of congruence subgroups in the Bianchi groups : An algorithm for finding particularly useful fundamental domains, and an analysis ... [more ▼]

We provide new tools for the calculation of the torsion in the cohomology of congruence subgroups in the Bianchi groups : An algorithm for finding particularly useful fundamental domains, and an analysis of the equivariant spectral sequence combined with torsion subcomplex reduction. [less ▲]

A Bayesian framework to identify random parameter fields based on the copula theorem and Gaussian fields: Application to polycrystalline materials

in Journal of Applied Mechanics (in press)

For many models of solids, we frequently assume that the material parameters do not vary in space, nor that they vary from one product realization to another. If the length scale of the application ... [more ▼]

For many models of solids, we frequently assume that the material parameters do not vary in space, nor that they vary from one product realization to another. If the length scale of the application approaches the length scale of the micro-structure however, spatially fluctuating parameter fi elds (which vary from one realization of the fi eld to another) can be incorporated to make the model capture the stochasticity of the underlying micro-structure. Randomly fluctuating parameter fields are often described as Gaussian fields. Gaussian fi elds however assume that the probability density function of a material parameter at a given location is a univariate Gaussian distribution. This entails for instance that negative parameter values can be realized, whereas most material parameters have physical bounds (e.g. the Young's modulus cannot be negative). In this contribution, randomly fluctuating parameter fi elds are therefore described using the copula theorem and Gaussian fi elds, which allow di fferent types of univariate marginal distributions to be incorporated, but with the same correlation structure as Gaussian fields. It is convenient to keep the Gaussian correlation structure, as it allows us to draw samples from Gaussian fi elds and transform them into the new random fields. The bene fit of this approach is that any type of univariate marginal distribution can be incorporated. If the selected univariate marginal distribution has bounds, unphysical material parameter values will never be realized. We then use Bayesian inference to identify the distribution parameters (which govern the random fi eld). Bayesian inference regards the parameters that are to be identi fied as random variables and requires a user-defi ned prior distribution of the parameters to which the observations are inferred. For the homogenized Young's modulus of a columnar polycrystalline material of interest in this study, the results show that with a relatively wide prior (i.e. a prior distribution without strong assumptions), a single specimen is su ciffient to accurately recover the distribution parameter values. [less ▲]

La Charte dans l'action extérieure de l'Union européenne

in Iliopoulou Penot, Anastasia; Xenou, Lamprini (Eds.) La Charte des droits fondamentaux de l'UE (in press)

The Origins and Contemporary Development of Work-based Higher Education in Germany: Lessons for Anglophone Countries?

in Wheelehan, Leesa; Bathmaker, Ann-Marie; Orr, Kevin (Eds.) et al Higher-level Vocational Education: The Route to High Skills and Productivity as well as Greater Equity? An International Comparative Analysis (in press)

Today, higher education is typically seen as offering the most assured pathways to secure careers and low unemployment rates. Yet, increasingly some groups, not least higher education graduates and their ... [more ▼]

Today, higher education is typically seen as offering the most assured pathways to secure careers and low unemployment rates. Yet, increasingly some groups, not least higher education graduates and their families paying ever-higher tuition fees, question the taken-for-granted contributions higher education makes to individuals and society as a whole. Despite decades of mass higher education expansion, even societies with strong systems continue to struggle to achieve their goal of universalizing participation and equalizing access. While in part this is due to limited public or corporate funding for (affordable) study opportunities, differentiated systems, such as in the US, also lack policy coordination and effective governance, providing a surfeit of options. While participation rates have climbed worldwide, higher education systems continue to produce winners (“insiders”) and losers (“outsiders”), even as the “schooled society” shifts the occupational structure upward. Market-oriented higher education systems face increasing privatization, which also involves financializing university governance. Many states have retrenched investments that had once underwritten universities’ flourishing and their moves toward massification. Tensions have deepened over who should pay for rising costs, exacerbated in an era of increasing status competition via higher education. In the face of such challenges globally, which alternatives exist? A prominent possibility, pioneered in Germany in the 1970s, are “dual study” programs offered by several organizational forms, from vocational academies to universities of applied sciences. Such hybrid programs fully integrate phases of higher education study and paid work in firms. Another potential advantage of apprenticeship training being offered in conjunction with higher education is that this would boost the reputation of apprenticeships overall. The German experience indicates that the attractiveness of the apprenticeship training system as a whole can be bolstered when it offers a viable pathway also for those individuals with a traditional university entrance certificate. If these students seriously consider and choose advanced work-based higher education, this may well increase the standing of apprenticeship training among students, their families, and employers. Thus, dual study programs provide an innovative model for policymaking and implementation. Especially when considering strategies to improve skill formation overall, to reduce the costs individuals must bear in attaining higher education, and to improve the fit between the expectations of employers and potential employees regarding skill formation, dual study programs excel. The origins and contemporary developments in work-based higher education in Germany offer lessons and inspiration for Anglophone countries, with their strong and differentiated higher education systems, to further bolster study programs coordinated with firms. [less ▲]

Local times and sample path properties of the Rosenblatt process

in Stochastic Processes and Their Applications (in press)

Carrier collaboration with endogenous networks: Or, the limits of what carrier collaboration can achieve under antitrust immunity

in Journal of Air Transport Management (in press)