Burgernomics: a big MacT guide to purchasing power parity

The theory of purchasing power parity (PPP) has long been a staple of international economic analysis. Recent years have seen the rise in popularity of a tongue-in-cheek, fast-food version of PPP: The Big Mac™ index. In this article, Michael Pakko and Patricia Pollard describe how comparisons of Big Mac prices around the world contain the ingredients necessary to demonstrate the fundamental principles of PPP. They show that the Big Mac index does nearly as well as more comprehensive measures of international price comparisons and that deviations from “McParity” illustrate why PPP often appears not to hold as a practical matter.Purchasing power parity

For here or to go? Purchasing power parity and the Big Mac

Purchasing power

WP 2017-377

Working paperSame-sex marriage became legal nationwide in the United States on June 26, 2015. Federal legalization of same-sex marriage expands the pool of individuals potentially eligible for spousal Social Security benefits to the estimated 4 percent of the population that is lesbian, gay, or bisexual. This paper is a foundational step toward better understanding the potential impact of the expansion of marriage rights to same-sex couples on Social Security. We primarily use data from the 2011-2015 American Community Survey to describe the economic circumstances of couple households. Building on this information, we find that same-sex couples tend to have higher household earnings than heterosexual couples, especially male couples. We estimate that same-sex couples have a smaller earnings gap (up to 4 percentage points) compared with heterosexuals. Intrahousehold division of labor explains 58 to 66 percent of the observed smaller earnings gaps in same-sex versus heterosexual couples. Same-sex married couples are less likely than heterosexuals to qualify for spousal SS benefits, but given that they are eligible, males can generally claim higher benefit amounts than heterosexuals (about $8,400 /year), while female couples could claim similar amounts to heterosexuals (about$7,200 /year). We project spousal benefit claims for same-sex couples 2017 to 2040, using standard demographic methods to estimate the gay and lesbian population by age and sex for this period. Finally, we collect new data that confirm the results obtained from the ACS, and provide insights about subjective expectations about marriage and labor supply prospects for this population. These can be used for future estimations.Social Security Administration, RRC08098401-09, R-UM17-07https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143131/1/wp377.pd

The Importance of Incorporating Landscape Change for Predictions of Climate-Induced Plant Phenological Shifts

Warming in the high Arctic is occurring at the fastest rate on the planet, raising concerns over how this global change driver will influence plant community composition, the timing of vegetation phenological events, and the wildlife that rely on them. In this region, as much as 50% of near-surface permafrost is composed of thermally sensitive ground ice that when melted produces substantial changes in topography and microbiome conditions. We take advantage of natural variations in permafrost melt to conduct a space-for-time study on Ellesmere Island in northern Canada. We demonstrate that phenological timing can be delayed in thermokarst areas when compared to stable ground, and that this change is a function of shifting species composition in these vegetation communities as well as delayed timing within species. These findings suggest that a warming climate could result in an overall broadening of blooming and leafing windows at the landscape level when these delayed timings are taken into consideration with the projected advance of phenological timings in ice-poor areas. We emphasize that the impacts of geomorphic processes on key phenological drivers are essential for enhancing our understanding of community response to climate warming in the high Arctic, with implications for ecosystem functioning and trophic interactions.ISSN:1664-462

Relationships between School Desegregation and Government Housing Programs: A Milwaukee Case Study

School desegregation was initiated in Milwaukee in the 1976-77 school year through a court-ordered city desegregation program and a state-financed city-suburban pupil transfer program. This pilot study by the Metropolitan Integration Research Center explored three dimensions of the complex interrelationships between these school desegregation programs and housing patterns in Milwaukee County. First, a field study explored the attitudes of minority families participating in the innovative city-suburban school desegregation program. The survey found high satisfaction with the educational program and relatively strong interest in possible integrating housing moves to suburban areas where children were busing to school. Secondly, the pupil movement under the city and metropolitan desegregation plans was assessed for its impact on segregated residential housing patterns in the community. The largely voluntary plan implemented by the Milwaukee Public Schools appeared to have negative impacts on racially changing neighborhoods. The highest percentages of students were leaving schools in residentially integrated areas, and schools in transitional areas were allowed to tip to predominantly black. The third aspect of the study analyzed federal rental housing programs operating in the county. The Section 8 rent assistance program, operated by three governmental units in Milwaukee County, appeared to reinforce the segregated housing patterns of the community and failed to complement school desegregation efforts. Scattered site and traditional public housing provided by the City of Milwaukee also impacted negatively on the racial make-up of neighborhood schools in the city. The study suggests the need for more coordinated efforts by school and housing officials if successful, long-range integration is to occur

Improving quality of life in patients with end-stage age-related macular degeneration: focus on miniature ocular implants

Low vision devices in the past have been mainly extraocular. There are now four new devices in different stages of development and implementation that are currently available. Three of them, the Implantable Miniature Telescope (IMT, VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies, Saratoga, CA), Intraocular Lens for Visually Impaired People (IOL-VIP, IOL-VIP System, Soleko, Pontecorvo, Italy), and Lipschitz Mirror Implant (LMI, Optolight Vision Technology, Herzlia, Israel) are implanted into the anterior segment while the Argus II (Second Sight Medical Products, Sylmar, CA) is implanted into the posterior segment. The goal of these devices is to increase the patient quality of life which has been measured by Visual Functioning Questionnaire (VFQ) scales. The IMT is the only device that has been shown to increase the VFQ score by seven points at 6 months compared to baseline. It is the only FDA-approved device in the US while the Argus has been approved in Europe. Each of these prosthetics has potential benefits for patients

Gene regulatory networks in lactation: identification of global principles using bioinformatics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The molecular events underlying mammary development during pregnancy, lactation, and involution are incompletely understood.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mammary gland microarray data, cellular localization data, protein-protein interactions, and literature-mined genes were integrated and analyzed using statistics, principal component analysis, gene ontology analysis, pathway analysis, and network analysis to identify global biological principles that govern molecular events during pregnancy, lactation, and involution.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Several key principles were derived: (1) nearly a third of the transcriptome fluctuates to build, run, and disassemble the lactation apparatus; (2) genes encoding the secretory machinery are transcribed prior to lactation; (3) the diversity of the endogenous portion of the milk proteome is derived from fewer than 100 transcripts; (4) while some genes are differentially transcribed near the onset of lactation, the lactation switch is primarily post-transcriptionally mediated; (5) the secretion of materials during lactation occurs not by up-regulation of novel genomic functions, but by widespread transcriptional suppression of functions such as protein degradation and cell-environment communication; (6) the involution switch is primarily transcriptionally mediated; and (7) during early involution, the transcriptional state is partially reverted to the pre-lactation state. A new hypothesis for secretory diminution is suggested – milk production gradually declines because the secretory machinery is not transcriptionally replenished. A comprehensive network of protein interactions during lactation is assembled and new regulatory gene targets are identified. Less than one fifth of the transcriptionally regulated nodes in this lactation network have been previously explored in the context of lactation. Implications for future research in mammary and cancer biology are discussed.</p

Cost-effectiveness of insulin pumps compared with multiple daily injections, both provided with structured education, for adults with type 1 diabetes:a health economic analysis of the Relative Effectiveness of Pumps over Structured Education (REPOSE) randomised controlled trial

Objectives To assess the long-term cost-effectiveness of insulin pumps and Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating (pumps+DAFNE) compared with multiple daily insulin injections and DAFNE (MDI+DAFNE) for adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in the UK. Methods We undertook a cost–utility analysis using the Sheffield Type 1 Diabetes Policy Model and data from the Relative Effectiveness of Pumps over Structured Education (REPOSE) trial to estimate the lifetime incidence of diabetic complications, intervention-based resource use and associated effects on costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). All economic analyses took a National Health Service and personal social services perspective and discounted costs and QALYs at 3.5% per annum. A probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed on the base case. Further uncertainties in the cost of pumps and the evidence used to inform the model were explored using scenario analyses. Setting Eight diabetes centres in England and Scotland. Participants Adults with T1DM who were eligible to receive a structured education course and did not have a strong clinical indication or a preference for a pump. Intervention Pumps+DAFNE. Comparator MDI+DAFNE. Main outcome measures Incremental costs, incremental QALYs gained and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). Results Compared with MDI+DAFNE, pumps+DAFNE was associated with an incremental discounted lifetime cost of +£18 853 (95% CI £6175 to £31 645) and a gain in discounted lifetime QALYs of +0.13 (95% CI -0.70 to +0.96). The base case mean ICER was £142 195 per QALY gained. The probability of pump+DAFNE being cost-effective using a cost-effectiveness threshold of £20 000 per QALY gained was 14.0%. All scenario and subgroup analyses examined indicated that the ICER was unlikely to fall below £30 000 per QALY gained. Conclusions Our analysis of the REPOSE data suggests that routine use of pumps in adults without an immediate clinical need for a pump, as identified by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, would not be cost-effective. Trial registration number ISRCTN61215213