Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary final environmental impact statement/management plan / Sanctuaries and Reserves Division.

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The role of central bank operating procedures in an economy with productive government spending

The choice of either the rate of monetary growth or the nominal interest rate as the instrument controlled by monetary authorities has both positive and normative implications for economic performance. We reexamine some of the issues related to the choice of the monetary policy instrument in a dynamic general equilibrium model exhibiting endogenous growth in which a fraction of productive government spending is financed by means of issuing currency. When we evaluate the performance of the two monetary instruments attending to the fluctuations of endogenous variables, we find that the inflation rate is less volatile under nominal interest rate targeting. Concerning the fluctuations of consumption and of the growth rate, both monetary policy instruments lead to statistically equivalent volatilities. Finally, we show that none of these two targeting procedures displays unambiguously higher welfare levels.

Memòria: estada a London South Bank University (Regne Unit)

Investigación producida a partir de una estancia en la London South Bank University, Reino Unido, entre los meses de setiembre y diciembre del 2005. Se estudia el trabajo sexual en el Reino Unido desde tres perspectivas diferentes. Por una parte, se trata la historia del feminismo anglosajón respecto a sus visiones sobre la prostitución, desde una aproximación a las fuentes. Por otra parte, se plantea la situación jurídico-política. Finalmente, se presenta brevemente a las principales entidades que dan apoyo al colectivo de trabajadoras del sexo en la ciudad de Londres.

Dietary modulation of plasma antioxidant deficiencies: effect of mediterranean diet

Estudi elaborat a partir d’una estada al National Research Institute for Food and Nutrition, Itàlia, des de novembre del 2006 fins a febrer del 2007. La capacitat antioxidant total (TAC) en plasma pot ser un bon biomarcador del estat antioxidant dels humans. Prenent les mostres de dos projectes diferents de recerca s’ha mesurat la TAC mitjançant el FRAP (ferric reductant antioxidant potencial) i el TRAP (total radical-trapping antioxidant parameter ). D’una banda el PREDIMED, és un estudi prospectiu aleatoritzat i controlat, amb una cohort d’ individus sense patología vascular coneguda, però amb un alt risc de patir-la. En aquest es valora la utilitat d’una intervenció dietética del tipus mediterrània en la prevenció primària de la malaltia cardiovascular. L’altre és el de biodisponibilitat en humans dels metabòlits dels polifenols presents en els solubles de cacau, un estudi crònic (28 dies) on es vol mesurar la influència de la llet en l’absorció dels polifenols del cacau, en voluntaris amb elevat risc de sofrir patologia cardiovascular.

Granulomatous hypersensitivity to Schistosoma mansoni egg antigens in human Schistosomiasis: I. Granuloma formation and modulation around polyacrylamide antigen-conjugated beads

We have developed an in vitro model of granuloma formation for the purpose of studying the immunological components of delayed type hypersensitivity granuloma formation in patients infected with Schistosoma mansoni. Our data show that 1) granulomatous hypersensitivity can be studied by examining the cellular reactivity manifested as multiple cell layers surrounding the antigen conjugated beads; 2) this reactivity is a CD4 cell dependent, macrophage dependent, B cell independent response and 3) the in vitro granuloma response is antigenically specific for parasite egg antigens. Studies designed to investigate the immune regulation of granulomatous hypersensitivity using purified populations of either CD4 or CD8 T cells have demonstrated the complexity of cellular interactions in the suppression of granulomatous hypersensitivity. The anti-S. mansoni egg immune responses of individual patients with chronic intestinal schistosomiasis can be classified either as soluble egg antigen (SEA) hypersensitive with maximal granulomatous hypersensitivity or SEA suppressive with activation of the T cell suppressor pathway with effective SEA granuloma modulation. Our data suggest that T cell network interactions are active in the generation of effective granuloma modulation in chronic intestinal schistosomiasis patients.

On the Relationship between Market Power and Bank Risk Taking

We analyse risk-taking behaviour of banks in the context of spatial competition. Banks mobilise unsecured deposits by offering deposit rates, which they invest either in a prudent or a gambling asset. Limited liability along with high return of a successful gamble induce moral hazard at the bank level. We show that when the market power is low, banks invest in the gambling asset. On the other hand, for sufficiently high levels of market power, all banks choose the prudent asset to invest in. We further show that a merger of two neighboring banks increases the likelihood of prudent behaviour. Finally, introduction of a deposit insurance scheme exacerbates banks’ moral hazard problem.

Official Central Bank Interventions in the Foreign Exchange Markets: A DCC Approach with Exogenous Variables

This paper assesses the impact of official central bank interventions (CBIs) on exchange rate returns, their volatility and bilateral correlations. By exploiting the recent publication of intervention data by the Bank of England, this study is able to investigate fficial interventions by a total number of four central banks, while the previous studies have been limited to three (the Federal Reserve, Bundesbank and Bank of Japan). The results of the existing literature are reappraised and refined. In particular, unilateral CBI is found to be more successful than coordinated CBI. The likely implications of these findings are then discussed.

The Signalling Channel of Central Bank Interventions: Modelling the Yen/US Dollar Exchange Rate

This paper presents a theoretical framework analysing the signalling channel of exchange rate interventions as an informational trigger. We develop an implicit target zone framework with learning in order to model the signalling channel. The theoretical premise of the model is that interventions convey signals that communicate information about the exchange rate objectives of central bank. The model is used to analyse the impact of Japanese FX interventions during the period 1999 -2011 on the yen/US dollar dynamics.

The Signalling Channel of Central Bank Interventions: Modelling the Yen/US Dollar Exchange Rate

This paper presents a theoretical framework analysing the signalling channel of exchange rate interventions as an informational trigger. We develop an implicit target zone framework with learning in order to model the signalling channel. The theoretical premise of the model is that interventions convey signals that communicate information about the exchange rate objectives of central bank. The model is used to analyse the impact of Japanese FX interventions during the period 1999 -2011 on the yen/US dollar dynamics.

Time Horizons And Smoothing In The Bank Of England’s Reaction Function: The Contrast Between The Standard GMM And Ex Ante Forecast Approaches

The monetary policy reaction function of the Bank of England is estimated by the standard GMM approach and the ex-ante forecast method developed by Goodhart (2005), with particular attention to the horizons for inflation and output at which each approach gives the best fit. The horizons for the ex-ante approach are much closer to what is implied by the Bank’s view of the transmission mechanism, while the GMM approach produces an implausibly slow adjustment of the interest rate, and suffers from a weak instruments problem. These findings suggest a strong preference for the ex-ante approach.

Time Horizons And Smoothing In The Bank Of England’s Reaction Function: The Contrast Between The Standard GMM And Ex Ante Forecast Approaches

The monetary policy reaction function of the Bank of England is estimated by the standard GMM approach and the ex-ante forecast method developed by Goodhart (2005), with particular attention to the horizons for inflation and output at which each approach gives the best fit. The horizons for the ex-ante approach are much closer to what is implied by the Bank’s view of the transmission mechanism, while the GMM approach produces an implausibly slow adjustment of the interest rate, and suffers from a weak instruments problem. These findings suggest a strong preference for the ex-ante approach.

(No)competition in the Spanish retailing gasoline market: a variance filter approach

Various methodologies in economic literature have been used to analyse the international hydrocarbon retail sector. Nevertheless at a Spanish level these studies are much more recent and most conclude that generally there is no effective competition present in this market, regardless of the approach used. In this paper, in order to analyse the price levels in the Spanish petrol market, our starting hypothesis is that in uncompetitive markets the prices are higher and the standard deviation is lower. We use weekly retail petrol price data from the ten biggest Spanish cities, and apply Markov chains to fill the missing values for petrol 95 and diesel, and we also employ a variance filter. We conclude that this market demonstrates reduced price dispersion, regardless of brand or city.

Immunopathology of american cutaneous leishmaniasis. Modulation of MHC class II gene products by Keratinocytes before and after glucantime therapy

Epidermal changes from 32 cutaneous and 3 mucosal American leishmaniasis (ACL) active lesions were studied for HLA-DR, -DP expression, Lanerhans cells and lymphocyte infiltration. In addition to a DR and DQ positivity at the surface of the cells of the inflammatory infiltrate, a strong reaction for DR antigens was detected on keratinocytes. Hyperplasia of Langerhans cells was present in al cutaneous lesions and epidermis was infiltrated by T lymphocytes. When healed lesions of 14 of these subjects were re-biopsied 1 to 12 months after the end of pentavalent antimonial therapy, MHC class antigens could no longer be seen on keratinocytes. Our data represrn evidence for hhe reversibility of the abnormal HLA-DR expression by keratinocytes in ACL after Glucantime therapy or spontaneous scar formation, demonstrating that this expresion is restricted to the period of active lesions. The present findings can be regarded as an indirect evidence that keratinocytes may be involved in the immunopathology of ACL.

Liquidity, moral hazard and bank crises

Bank crises, by interrupting liquidity provision, have been viewed as resulting in welfare losses. In a model of banking with moral hazard, we show that second best bank contracts that improve on autarky ex ante require costly crises to occur with positive probability at the interim stage. When bank payoffs are partially appropriable, either directly via imposition of fines or indirectly by the use of bank equity as a collateral, we argue that an appropriately designed ex-ante regime of policy intervention involving conditional monitoring can prevent bank crises.