Firms and the global crisis: French exports in the turmoil.

The unprecedented drop in international trade during the last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 has mostly been analysed at the macroeconomic or sectoral level. However, heterogeneous exporters in terms of productivity, size or external finance dependence should be hit differently by the crisis. This issue is examined here using data on monthly exports at the product and destination level for some 100,000 individual French exporters, up to 2009M4. We show that the drop in French exports is mainly due to the intensive margin of large exporters. Small and large firms are evenly affected when sectoral and geographical specialisations are controlled for. Lastly, firms (small and large) in sectors structurally more dependent on external finance are the most affected by the crisis.Financial crisis , international trade , firms heterogeneity , intensive and extensive margins.

Advances in Understanding Mobilization Processes of Trace Metals in Marine Sediments

Different mobilization mechanisms control the metal distribution in surface sediments of the Belgium coastal zone (BCZ) and the anoxic Gotland basin (GB). This mobilization was studied using DGT (diffusive gradients in thin films): vertical one-dimensional (1D) profiles of Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn were measured at 5 mm intervals, while two-dimensional (2D) high-resolution (100 μm) images of smaller zones of the sediment profile were obtained on separate DGT probes. Removal of dissolved Cd, Cu, and Pb in BCZ sediments caused steep vertical gradients at the sediment-water interface that were well replicated in 1D profiles and 2D images. While 1D profiles showed apparent coincident maxima of Co, Mn, and Fe, 2D images revealed mutually exclusive Co and Fe mobilization. Correlation analysis supported this observation and showed a consistent linkage between Co and Mn. Sharp maxima of some metals in the vertical 1D profiles of GB sediment were attributed to localized mobilization in microniches. Examination of an ∼1 mm diameter Cu and Ni maximum in 2D, defined by ∼300 data points, showed that the metals were supplied from localized decomposition of reactive organic material, rather than from reductively dissolving Fe or Mn oxides, and that they were removed as their sulfides

Ultrafast pulse shaping modulates perceived visual brightness in living animals

Vision is usually assumed to be sensitive to the light intensity and spectrum but not to its spectral phase. However, experiments performed on retinal proteins in solution showed that the first step of vision consists in an ultrafast photoisomerization that can be coherently controlled by shaping the phase of femtosecond laser pulses, especially in the multiphoton interaction regime. The link between these experiments in solution and the biological process allowing vision was not demonstrated. Here, we measure the electric signals fired from the retina of living mice upon femtosecond multipulse and single-pulse light stimulation. Our results show that the electrophysiological signaling is sensitive to the manipulation of the light excitation on a femtosecond time scale. The mechanism relies on multiple interactions with the light pulses close to the conical intersection, like pump-dump (photoisomerization interruption) and pump-repump (reverse isomerization) processes. This interpretation is supported both experimentally and by dynamics simulations

Exports and Property Prices in France: Are They Connected?

We argue that resource reallocation from the exporting to the construction sector triggered by fast rising property prices hindered France to meet world export demand vis-à-vis its products. Our econometric analysis shows that the resource reallocation argument helps explain French export performance between the early 2000s and 2007, unexplained by traditional models. This result is confirmed for a set of OECD countries that experienced a marked decline in their export performance and sustained realestate boom after 2000.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/132997/1/wp985.pd