Global versus local shocks in micro price dynamics

A number of recent papers point to the importance of distinguishing between the price reaction to micro and macro shocks in order to reconcile the volatility of individual prices with the observed persistence of aggregate inflation. We emphasize instead the importance of distinguishing between global and local shocks. We exploit a panel of 276 micro price levels collected on a semi-annual frequency from 1990 to 2010 across 88 cities in 59 countries around the world, that enables us to distinguish between different types (local and global) of micro and macro shocks. We find that global shocks have more persistent effects on prices as compared to local ones e.g. prices respond faster to local macro shocks than to global micro ones, implying that the relatively slow response of prices to macro shocks documented in recent studies comes from global rather than local sources. Global macro shocks have the most persistent effect on prices, with the majority of goods and locations sharing a single source of trend over time stemming from these shocks. Finally, both local macro and local micro shocks are associated with relatively fast price convergence.global shocks, local shocks, micro shocks, macro shocks, price adjustment, micro-macro gap, price-setting models, micro prices.

gamma-delta T Cells Regulate the Early Inflammatory Response to Bordetella pertussis Infection in the Murine Respiratory Tract

The role of T cells in the regulation of pulmonary inflammation following Bordetella pertussis infection was investigated. Using a well-characterized murine aerosol challenge model, inflammatory events in mice with targeted disruption of the T-cell receptor -chain gene (TCR mice) were compared with those in wild-type animals. Early following challenge with B. pertussis, TCR mice exhibited greater pulmonary inflammation, as measured by intra-alveolar albumin leakage and lesion histomorphometry, yet had lower contemporaneous bacterial lung loads. The larger numbers of neutrophils and macrophages and the greater concentration of the neutrophil marker myeloperoxidase in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from TCR mice at this time suggested that differences in lung injury were mediated through increased leukocyte trafficking into infected alveoli. Furthermore, flow cytometric analysis found the pattern of recruitment of natural killer (NK) and NK receptor T cells into airspaces differed between the two mouse types over the same time period. Taken together, these findings suggest a regulatory influence for T cells over the early pulmonary inflammatory response to bacterial infection. The absence of T cells also influenced the subsequent adaptive immune response to specific bacterial components, as evidenced by a shift from a Th1 to a Th2 type response against the B. pertussis virulence factor filamentous hemagglutinin in TCR mice. The findings are relevant to the study of conditions such as neonatal B. pertussis infection and acute respiratory distress syndrome where T cell dysfunction has been implicated in the inflammatory process

PETROLOGY, GEOCHEMISTRY AND GEOTECTONIC SETTING OF THE TITAROS OPHIOLITE AND ASSOCIATED PELAGONIAN BASEMENT ROCKS IN THE AREA NW OF MT. OLYMPOS, GREECE

To οφιολιθικό σύμπλεγμα του όρους Τίταρος στην περιοχή ΒΔ του Ολύμπου βρίσκεται επωθημένο σε Περμο-Αιθανθρακοφόρους γρανιτικούς ορθογνεύσιους και άγνωστης ηλικίας αμφιβολίτες στο ανατολικό περιθώριο της Πελαγονικής μάζας. Αποτελείται από μανδυακό περιδοτίτη χαρτσβουργιτικής σύστασης με κατά τόπους εμφανίσεις χρωμίτη και ένα καλά ανεπτυγμένο μαγματικό θάλαμο με κυκλικές ενότητες σωρειτικών πετρωμάτων δουνίτη-λερζόλιθου-βερλίτη-πυροξενίτη που μεταβαίνουν σε συμπαγείς γάββρους με φωλιές πλαγιογρανιτών και διαβασικές φλέβες στα ανώτερα τμήματα τους. Χημικές αναλύσεις ορυκτών και ολικού πετρώματος φανερώνουν συνθήκες γένεσης του οφιόλιθου σε ένα καθαρά ωκεάνειο περιβάλλον επάνω από μία ζώνη κατάδυσης πλάκας και την περιστασιακή συμμετοχή τηγμάτων προερχόμενων από καταδυθέντα ιζήματα. Οι αμφιβολίτες του κρυσταλλικού υπόβαθρου δείχνουν σαφή χημική συγγένεια προς θολεϊίτες εσωτερικού πλάκας με μια ελαφρά επίδραση από ρευστά καταδυόμενης πλάκας. Εφελκυστικές γραμμώσεις ορυκτών και κινηματικοί δείκτες στους ορθογνεύσιους και αμφιβολίτες υποδηλώνουν φορά μετακίνησης του οφιόλιθου προς τα ΑΝΑ. Προτείνεται ότι οι βασαλτικοί πρωτόλιθοι των αμφιβολιτών τοποθετήθηκαν κατά τη διαμπερή ρήξη του Α. περιθωρίου της Πελαγονικής στο Περμο-Τριαδικό η οποία και κατέληξε στη μετέπειτα δημιουργία του ωκεανού του Βαρδάρη. Ο οφιόλιθος του Τίταρου σχηματίσθηκε όταν ο ωκεανός του Βαρδάρη άρχισε να κλείνει μέσω μιας διαδικασίας ενδο-ωκεάνειας κατάδυσης πλάκας με φορά προς τα ΒΑ και επακόλουθη τοποθέτηση του προς τα ΝΑ επάνω στο Α. περιθώριο της Πελαγονικής, πιθανόν κατά το Κατώτερο Κρητιδικό.The Titaros ophiolite in Greece is a coherent thrust sheet of oceanic rocL· that lies atop Permo-Carboniferous granitic orthogneisses and amphibolites of unknown age of the eastern Pelagonian margin in the area NW of Mt. Olympos. It comprises a harzburgite tectonite mantle sequence with chromite mineralisation and a welldeveloped magma chamber with cyclic units ofdunite-lherzolite-wehrlite-pyroxenite that pass upwards into massive gabbros cut by diabase dykes and locally containing plagiogranite ponds. Ophiolite mineral and whole-rock chemistry are strongly in favour of a supra-subduction zone origin in a purely oceanic setting with the occasional brawny signature of melts from subducted sediments. By contrast, the basement amphibolites display a clear within-plate tholeiitic affinity with a slight imprint of subduction-zone fluids. Mineral stretching lineations and kinematics indicators of the orthogneisses and amphibolites suggest a consistent transport direction to the WSW. It is proposed that the basaltic protoliths of the amphibolites were emplaced during Permo-Triassic rifting of the eastern Pelagonian margin that led to the subsequent formation of the Vardar Ocean. The Titaros ophiolite was formed during closure of the Vardar Ocean via northeast-directed intra-oceanic subduction and subsequent obduction towards the southwest onto the eastern Pelagonian margin, probably in the Lower Cretaceous

Barriers to price convergence

This paper uncovers novel empirical patterns in the cross-country price mechanism using a nonlinear factor model and threshold regression analysis based on individual goods retail price data for a large panel of countries. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to find strong evidence for club convergence of retail prices. These clubs emerge due to the interaction of traded and non-traded factors. For example, countries physically closer to potential trade partners converge faster than countries in the high distance regime as long as they have low initial labor productivity or low initial income. Moreover, we find an asymmetry in the extent that arbitrage opportunities related to international trade are exploited, with low initial price regime countries exhibiting faster convergence from below than high initial price regime countries exhibit from above, consistent with less resistance to exporting than to importing due to political economy considerations. We interpret our findings as evidence of a local law of one price due to barriers to price convergence influencing the duration of the effect of price shocks

Wafer-scale uniformity of Dolan-bridge and bridgeless Manhattan-style Josephson junctions for superconducting quantum processors

We investigate die-level and wafer-scale uniformity of Dolan-bridge and bridgeless Manhattan Josephson junctions, using multiple substrates with and without through-silicon vias (TSVs). Dolan junctions fabricated on planar substrates have the highest yield and lowest room-temperature conductance spread, equivalent to ~100 MHz in transmon frequency. In TSV-integrated substrates, Dolan junctions suffer most in both yield and disorder, making Manhattan junctions preferable. Manhattan junctions show pronounced conductance decrease from wafer centre to edge, which we qualitatively capture using a geometric model of spatially-dependent resist shadowing during junction electrode evaporation. Analysis of actual junction overlap areas using scanning electron micrographs supports the model, and further points to a remnant spatial dependence possibly due to contact resistance.Comment: 25 pages, 13 figures, 1 tabl

Immigration and prices: quasi-experimental evidence from Syrian refugees in Turkey

We exploit the regional variation in the unexpected (or forced) inflow of Syrian refugees as a natural experiment to estimate the impact of immigration on consumer prices in Turkey. Using a difference-in- differences strategy and a comprehensive data set on the regional prices of CPI items, we find that general level of consumer prices has declined by approximately 2.5 percent due to immigration. Prices of goods and services have declined in similar magnitudes. We highlight that the channel through which the price declines take place is the informal labor market. Syrian refugees supply inexpensive informal labor and, thus, substitute the informal native workers especially in informal labor intensive sectors. We document that prices in these sectors have fallen by around 4 percent, while the prices in the formal labor intensive sectors have almost remained unchanged. Increase in the supply of informal immigrant workers generates labor cost advantages and keeps prices lower in the informal labor intensive sectors

satin: A Component Model for Mobile Self Organisation

We have recently witnessed a growing interest in self organising systems, both in research and in practice. These systems re-organise in response to new or changing conditions in the environment. The need for self organisation is often found in mobile applications; these applications are typically hosted in resource-constrained environments and may have to dynamically reorganise in response to changes of user needs, to heterogeneity and connectivity challenges, as well as to changes in the execution context and physical environment. We argue that physically mobile applications benefit from the use of self organisation primitives. We show that a component model that incorporates code mobility primitives assists in building self organising mobile systems. We present satin, a lightweight component model, which represents a mobile system as a set of interoperable local components. The model supports reconfiguration, by offering code migration services. We discuss an implementation of the satin middleware, based on the component model and evaluate our work by adapting existing open source software as satin components and by building and testing a system that manages the dynamic update of components on mobile hosts