Can Business and Social Networks Explain the Border Effect Puzzle?

McCallum (1995) shows in an influential contribution that, even when controlling for the impact of bilateral distance and region size, borders sharply reduce trade volumes between countries. We use in this paper data on bilateral trade flows between 94 French regions, for 10 industries and 2 years (1978 and 1993) to study the magnitude and variations over time of trade impediments, both distance-related and (administrative) border-related. We focus on assessing the role that business and social networks can play in shaping trade patterns and explaining the border effect puzzle. Using a structural econometric approach, we show that intra-national administrative borders significantly affect trade patterns inside France. The impact is of the same order of magnitude as in Wolf (2000) for trade inside the United States. We show that more than 60\% of these (puzzling) intra-national border effects can be explained by the composition of local labour force in terms of birth place (social networks) and by inter-plants connections (business networks). In addition, controlling for these network effects reduces the impact of transport cost on trade flows by a comparable factor. Thus, business and social networks that help to reduce informational trade barriers are shown to be strong determinants of trade patterns and to explain a large part of the border puzzle.gravity, border effects, networks

Une T.V.A. ou une T.V. fédérale au Québec? Quelques réponses tirées d’une analyse d’équilibre général

Le 18 juin 1987, le ministre des Finances canadien, M. Michael Wilson, rendait publique une proposition de réforme de la fiscalité fédérale. Un des volets de cette réforme consiste à remplacer l’actuelle taxe de vente manufacturière par une taxe générale à la consommation. Il devrait en résulter des recettes fiscales accrues, qui serviraient à compenser partiellement la diminution des impôts sur le revenu des particuliers. Cette étude détermine empiriquement, dans le cadre d’une modélisation d’équilibre général, la marge de manoeuvre qui se dégage de la mise en place, au Québec, d’une taxe fédérale sur la consommation comme substitut partiel à l’impôt fédéral sur le revenu des particuliers. En outre, elle prend en considération l’impact, sur l’économie et la répartition du revenu, de consacrer une partie des recettes nettes, générées par une telle taxe, à une augmentation substantielle du crédit d’impôt remboursable à ce titre.The Federal Minister of Finance, Mr. Michael Wilson, made public in June 1987 a White Paper on Tax Reform. In the second stage of this reform, the government will replace the existing manufacturer's sales tax by a broader multi-stage tax. The new consumption tax should raise enough revenue to replace the existing tax, to remove the existing personal and corporate income surtaxes, to provide for additional tax cuts and a significantly enriched refundable sales tax credit for low- and middle-income Canadians. This study is an empirical analysis, within the framework of applied general equilibrum, of the effects that such a federal tax might have on Quebec's economy and on the income distribution

Une taxe nationale de vente doit-elle exempter l’alimentation? Une réponse d’une analyse d’équilibre général dans le cas du Québec

Cette étude analyse, à l’aide d’un modèle d’équilibre général de l’économie du Québec, le bien-fondé d’exclure l’alimentation de la base de taxation dans le cadre d’une taxe de vente nationale telle que proposée dans le Livre blanc de juin 1987 du ministère des Finances du Canada. Elle évalue, en termes de bien-être et de sa répartition entre 28 ménages représentatifs de la population du Québec, le remplacement des régimes existants de taxes de vente par une taxe nationale selon deux scénarios : en incluant ou excluant l’alimentation de l’assiette fiscale. Il se dégage des résultats que l’élargissement de la base de taxation à l’alimentation accroît l’efficacité économique mais que le fait d’exclure ou non l’alimentation modifie peu la distribution des gains ou des pertes de bien-être. Il ressort aussi que les résultats sont très sensibles aux conditions de demande d’exportations de l’économie.This paper analyses the national retail sales tax reform proposed in the federal government's June 1987 White Paper on Tax Reform using an applied general equilibrium model of the Quebec economy. The model evaluates the welfare effect and the incidence effects in Quebec of replacing both the federal manufacturer's sales tax and the existing provincial retail sales tax with a two-rate national retail sales tax. We consider two scenarios, the first with food exempt and the second with food taxed. The results show that the reform with food taxed increases the efficiency gains. However, the impact on the distribution of the welfare gains (burden) of the sales tax for 28 representative household groups is only slightly modified by the tax treatment of food. It also appears that the effects of sales tax reforms are very sensitive to the export demand conditions of the economy

Une T.V.A. ou une T.V. fédérale au Québec? Quelques réponses tirées d’une analyse d’équilibre général

The Federal Minister of Finance, Mr. Michael Wilson, made public in June 1987 a White Paper on Tax Reform. In the second stage of this reform, the government will replace the existing manufacturer's sales tax by a broader multi-stage tax. The new consumption tax should raise enough revenue to replace the existing tax, to remove the existing personal and corporate income surtaxes, to provide for additional tax cuts and a significantly enriched refundable sales tax credit for low- and middle-income Canadians. This study is an empirical analysis, within the framework of applied general equilibrum, of the effects that such a federal tax might have on Quebec's economy and on the income distribution. Le 18 juin 1987, le ministre des Finances canadien, M. Michael Wilson, rendait publique une proposition de réforme de la fiscalité fédérale. Un des volets de cette réforme consiste à remplacer l’actuelle taxe de vente manufacturière par une taxe générale à la consommation. Il devrait en résulter des recettes fiscales accrues, qui serviraient à compenser partiellement la diminution des impôts sur le revenu des particuliers. Cette étude détermine empiriquement, dans le cadre d’une modélisation d’équilibre général, la marge de manoeuvre qui se dégage de la mise en place, au Québec, d’une taxe fédérale sur la consommation comme substitut partiel à l’impôt fédéral sur le revenu des particuliers. En outre, elle prend en considération l’impact, sur l’économie et la répartition du revenu, de consacrer une partie des recettes nettes, générées par une telle taxe, à une augmentation substantielle du crédit d’impôt remboursable à ce titre.

La fin d'une étrange lacune de la sociologie des mobilisations:L'étude par sondage des manifestants : fondements théoriques et solutions techniques

Si les formes et les ressorts de l'action collective commencent à être mieux connus, les individus qui manifestent — acteurs des démonstrations de rue — n'ont guère fait l'objet d'études centrées sur les modalités du passage à l'acte. Depuis Barnes et Kaase, il existe de solides études par sondage de la propension des individus à manifester, mais ces études renseignent sur les représentations, et notamment sur la perception de la légitimité de l'action collective, et sur les dispositions à agir, et non sur les comportements effectifs. La plupart des travaux classiques sur la manifestation prennent comme unité d'analyse ces événements que sont les manifestations et constituent des corpus plus ou moins étendus mais toujours riches en informations. Mais d'une part, les conclusions qui s'en dégagent sont le plus souvent non compatibles avec celles issues des études sur la propension à manifester. D'autre part, ces travaux n'aident guère à élucider les mécanismes de la participation des individus à l'action. La solution proposée pour mettre fin à cette étrange lacune de la sociologie des mobilisations est le recours au sondage effectué pendant les manifestations. Mais cette méthode, qui n'a que de rares précédents, soulève des difficultés techniques spécifiques. Trois sondages dans des manifestations effectués à Paris entre février et mai 1994 ont permis d'apporter à ces difficultés des solutions qui font l'objet d'un exposé détaillé. L'apparence antinomie entre cette méthode par construction individualisante qu'est le sondage d'opinion et l'objet par nature collectif (la manifestation de rue) auquel on l'applique ne doit donc plus être considérée comme un obstacle.While the forms and springs of collective action are beginning to be better known, the individuals who demonstrate — the actors in street demonstrations — have not been subjected to studies centered on the modes of the move to action. Since Barnes and Kaase, we have serious survey studies of the propensity of individuals to demonstrate, but they provide data about representations, and in particular on the perception of the legitimacy of collective action and on the willingness to act, not on actual behavior. Most classic works on demonstrations take these as the units of analysis and build up more or less extensive data sets, always rich in information. But on the one hand, their conclusions are often incompatible with those of studies on the propensity to demonstrate. On the other hand, such research does not contribute much to elucidating the mechanisms of individual participation in demonstrations. The solution suggested in order to remedy this strange gap in the sociology of mobilizations is to take sample surveys during demonstrations. Rarely used, this procedure raises specific technical difficulties. Three polls taken during demons-trations in Paris between February and May 1994 provide solutions to these problems, which are here discussed at length. The apparent antinomy between a method of individualizing construction — the opinion poll — and an object of a collective nature — the street demonstration — to which it is applied must therefore no longer be considered an obstacle

The trade-creating effects of business and social networks: evidence from France

Using theory-grounded estimations of trade flow equations, this paper investigates the role that business and social networks play in shaping trade between French regions. The bilateral intensity of networks is quantified using the financial structure and location of French firms and bilateral stocks of migrants. Compared to a situation without networks, migrants are shown to double bilateral trade flows, while networks of firms multiply trade flows by as much as four in some specifications. Finally, taking network effects into account divides the estimation of the impact of transport costs and of the effect of administrative borders by around three.http://econ.sciences-po.fr/sites/default/files/file/tmayer/networks_clm.pd

Area under the curve-derived measures characterizing longitudinal patient responses for given thresholds

Background: Calculation of the area under the curve (AUC) is a widely used practice in longitudinal study settings. The AUC values should reflect study participants’ particular trajectories by means of a continuous measure which can be further analysed with ordinary statistical methods. However, its sheer calculation does not necessarily mirror exactly the piece of information one is seeking for.  Methods: Available formulas for the calculation of the AUC as well as their specific advantages and limitations are presented. Furthermore, some approaches are discussed to develop AUC-derived measures for the application in particular analysis situations, especially capturing the extent of undercutting or exceeding a given threshold.  Results: The presented formulas provide an extension of the well-established AUC formulas for respective situations where threshold-dependent subareas of the entire AUC are of interest. To our knowledge, the proposed formulas have been introduced for the first time. Their application to real-world data sets demonstrated the ability to flexibly calculate AUCs of specific interest.  Conclusions: The extended AUC formulas presented in this paper may help to answer research questions more properly in situations where particular thresholds have to be considered in the course of the analysis. Future developments may address the problem of missing values as well as the current limitation of a fixed threshold.&nbsp

An Epigenetics-Inspired DNA-Based Data Storage System.

Biopolymers are an attractive alternative to store and circulate information. DNA, for example, combines remarkable longevity with high data storage densities and has been demonstrated as a means for preserving digital information. Inspired by the dynamic, biological regulation of (epi)genetic information, we herein present how binary data can undergo controlled changes when encoded in synthetic DNA strands. By exploiting differential kinetics of hydrolytic deamination reactions of cytosine and its naturally occurring derivatives, we demonstrate how multiple layers of information can be stored in a single DNA template. Moreover, we show that controlled redox reactions allow for interconversion of these DNA-encoded layers of information. Overall, such interlacing of multiple messages on synthetic DNA libraries showcases the potential of chemical reactions to manipulate digital information on (bio)polymers.C.M. is grateful for the financial support by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant number P2EZP2_152216). G.R.M. was supported by funding from Trinity College, Cambridge, the Herchel Smith fund and the Wellcome Trust. P.M. was funded by the Wellcome Trust and is currently supported by an ERC Advanced grant. P.V.D was funded by the Wellcome Trust and a Marie Curie Fellow of the European Union (grant number FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF/624885). The S.B. lab is supported by a program grant and core funding from Cancer Research UK (C9681/A18618), an ERC Advanced grant (339778) and by a Senior Investigator Award of the Wellcome Trust (099232/Z/12/Z). We thank Eun-Ang Raiber and Dario Beraldi for stimulating discussions and proofreading the manuscript.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201605531