The Quest for Purchasing Power Parity with a Series-specific Unit Root Test Using Panel Data

A unit root testing procedure is presented that exploits the well-established power advantages of panel estimation while rectifying a deficiency in other panel unit root tests. This procedure, which takes into account contemporaneous cross-correlation and heterogeneous serial correlation of the regression residuals, allows determination of which members of the panel reject the null hypothesis of a unit root and which do not. Applying the procedure to real exchange rates yields results that are in broad agreement with those obtained from single-equation unit root tests. There is little evidence that a unit root can be rejected in dollar-based real exchange rates for the floating rate period.Marketing,

The Quest for Purchasing Power Parity with a Series-specific Unit Root Test Using Panel Data

A unit root testing procedure is presented that exploits the well-established power advantages of panel estimation while rectifying a deficiency in other panel unit root tests. This procedure, which takes into account contemporaneous cross-correlation and heterogeneous serial correlation of the regression residuals, allows determination of which members of the panel reject the null hypothesis of a unit root and which do not. Applying the procedure to real exchange rates yields results that are in broad agreement with those obtained from single-equation unit root tests. There is little evidence that a unit root can be rejected in dollar-based real exchange rates for the floating rate period

Genome-wide association study reveals two new risk loci for bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a common and highly heritable mental illness and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have robustly identified the first common genetic variants involved in disease aetiology. The data also provide strong evidence for the presence of multiple additional risk loci, each contributing a relatively small effect to BD susceptibility. Large samples are necessary to detect these risk loci. Here we present results from the largest BD GWAS to date by investigating 2.3 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a sample of 24,025 patients and controls. We detect 56 genome-wide significant SNPs in five chromosomal regions including previously reported risk loci ANK3, ODZ4 and TRANK1, as well as the risk locus ADCY2 (5p15.31) and a region between MIR2113 and POU3F2 (6q16.1). ADCY2 is a key enzyme in cAMP signalling and our finding provides new insights into the biological mechanisms involved in the development of BD

Applying polygenic risk scoring for psychiatric disorders to a large family with bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder

Psychiatric disorders are thought to have a complex genetic pathology consisting of interplay of common and rare variation. Traditionally, pedigrees are used to shed light on the latter only, while here we discuss the application of polygenic risk scores to also highlight patterns of common genetic risk. We analyze polygenic risk scores for psychiatric disorders in a large pedigree (n similar to 260) in which 30% of family members suffer from major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder. Studying patterns of assortative mating and anticipation, it appears increased polygenic risk is contributed by affected individuals who married into the family, resulting in an increasing genetic risk over generations. This may explain the observation of anticipation in mood disorders, whereby onset is earlier and the severity increases over the generations of a family. Joint analyses of rare and common variation may be a powerful way to understand the familial genetics of psychiatric disorders

Applying polygenic risk scoring for psychiatric disorders to a large family with bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder

Psychiatric disorders are thought to have a complex genetic pathology consisting of interplay of common and rare variation. Traditionally, pedigrees are used to shed light on the latter only, while here we discuss the application of polygenic risk scores to also highlight patterns of common genetic risk. We analyze polygenic risk scores for psychiatric disorders in a large pedigree (n similar to 260) in which 30% of family members suffer from major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder. Studying patterns of assortative mating and anticipation, it appears increased polygenic risk is contributed by affected individuals who married into the family, resulting in an increasing genetic risk over generations. This may explain the observation of anticipation in mood disorders, whereby onset is earlier and the severity increases over the generations of a family. Joint analyses of rare and common variation may be a powerful way to understand the familial genetics of psychiatric disorders