How production networks amplify economic growth.

Technological improvement is the most important cause of long-term economic growth. In standard growth models, technology is treated in the aggregate, but an economy can also be viewed as a network in which producers buy goods, convert them to new goods, and sell the production to households or other producers. We develop predictions for how this network amplifies the effects of technological improvements as they propagate along chains of production, showing that longer production chains for an industry bias it toward faster price reduction and that longer production chains for a country bias it toward faster growth. These predictions are in good agreement with data from the World Input Output Database and improve with the passage of time. The results show that production chains play a major role in shaping the long-term evolution of prices, output growth, and structural change.

Statistical analysis of teeth autotransplantation in Portugal's region of Chaves.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the success rate of 33 transplanted teeth in a northern population of Portugal. METHODS: The mean follow-up period was 7 years, ranging from 6 months to 20 years. RESULTS: Six teeth (18%) were rated as unsuccessful, 52% of the donor teeth were transplanted to receptor alveolus after immediate exodontia and 24% were transplanted to receptor alveolus surgically prepared. From the total number of cases, 64% had open root apex at the time of the transplantation and, in the latest control, of all teeth root development was over in 55%. Teeth ankylosis was present in 38% of all cases and 58% of all 33 transplants presented pulpar vitality. Data shows that, in males, teeth transplanted into natural alveolus were non-ankylosed, with normal color and vital teeth with incomplete root development at the time of the surgery. All cumulative curves obtained showed no statistical significance, mainly due to the low number of unsuccessful teeth autotransplantations. Orthodontic treatment performed after tooth autotransplantation showed success in 15% of all cases. CONCLUSION: Data reconfirms that autotransplantation of teeth is, in selected patients, the best option to replace a missing tooth in young patients.

Building an alliance to map global supply networks.

New firm-level data can inform policy-making.

Tracking the COVID-19 crisis with high-resolution transaction data.

Payments systems generate vast amounts of naturally occurring transaction data rarely used for constructing official statistics. We consider billions of transactions from card data from a large bank, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, as an alternative source of information for measuring consumption. We show, via validation against official consumption measures, that transaction data complements national accounts and consumption surveys. We then analyse the impact of COVID-19 in Spain, and document: (i) strong consumption responses to business closures, but smaller effects for capacity restrictions; (ii) a steeper decline in spending in rich neighbourhoods; (iii) higher mobility for residents of lower-income neighbourhoods, correlating with increased disease incidence.