11,722 research outputs found

    Essays on monetary policy and financial stability

    Get PDF
    Doutoramento em EconomiaBy focusing on the relationship between financial stability and monetary policy for the cases of Chile, Colombia, Japan, Portugal and the UK, this thesis aims to add to the existing literature on the fundamental issue of the relationship between financial stability and monetary policy, a traditional topic that gained importance in the aftermath of the GFC as Central Banks lowered policy rates in an effort to rescue their economies. As the zero-lower bound loomed and the reach of traditional monetary policy narrowed, policy makers realised that alternative frameworks were needed and hence, macroprudential policy measures aimed at targeting the financial system as a whole were introduced. The second chapter looks at the relationship between monetary policy and financial stability, which has gained importance in recent years as Central Bank policy rates neared the zero-lower bound. We use an SVAR model to study the impact of monetary policy shocks on three proxies for financial stability as well as a proxy for economic growth. Monetary policy is represented by policy rates for the EMEs and shadow rates for the AEs in our chapter. Our main results show that monetary policy may be used to correct asset mispricing, to control fluctuations in the real business cycle and also to tame credit cycles in the majority of cases. Our results also show that for the majority of cases, in line with theory, local currencies appreciate following a positive monetary policy shock. Monetary policy intervention may indeed be successful in contributing to or achieving financial stability. However, the results show that monetary policy may not have the ability to maintain or re-establish financial stability in all cases. Alternative policy choices such as macroprudential policy tool frameworks which are aimed at targeting the financial system as a whole may be implemented as a means of fortifying the economy. The third chapter looks at the institutional setting of the countries in question, the independence of the Central Bank, the political environment and the impact of these factors on financial Abstract stability. I substantiate the literature review discussion with a brief empirical analysis of the effect of Central Bank Independence on credit growth using an existing database created by Romelli (2018). The empirical results show that there is a positive relationship between credit growth and the level of Central Bank Independence (CBI) due to the positive and statistically significant coefficient on the interaction term between growth in domestic credit to the private sector and the level of CBI. When considering domestic credit by deposit money banks and other financial institutions, the interaction term is positive and statistically significant for the case of the UK for the third regression equation. A number of robustness checks show that the coefficient is positive and statistically significant for a number of cases when implementing a variety of estimation methods. Fluctuations in credit growth are larger for higher levels of CBI and hence, in periods of financial instability or ultimately financial crises, CBI would be reined back in an effort to re-establish financial stability. Based on the empirical results, and in an effort to slow down surging credit supply and to maintain financial stability, policy makers and governmental authorities should attempt to decrease the level of CBI when the economy shows signs of overheating and credit supply continues to increase. The fourth chapter looks at the interaction between macroprudential policy and financial stability. The unexpected interconnectedness of the global economy and the economic blight that occurred as a result of this, recapitulated the need to implement an alternative policy framework aimed at targeting the financial system as a whole and hence, targeting the maintenance of financial stability. In this chapter, an index of domestic macroprudential policy tools is constructed and the effectiveness of these tools in controlling credit growth, managing GDP growth and stabilising inflation growth is studied using a dynamic panel data model for the period between 2000 and 2017. The empirical analysis includes two panels namely an EU panel of 27 countries and a Latin American panel of 7 countries, the chapter also looks at a case study of Japan, Portugal and the UK. Our main results find that a tighter macroprudential policy tool stance leads to a decrease in both credit growth and GDP growth while, a tighter macroprudential policy tool stance results in higher inflation in the majority of cases. Further, we find that capital openness plays a more important role in the case of Latin America, this may be due to the region’s dependence on foreign capital flows and exchange rate movements. Lastly, we find that, in times of higher perceived market volatility, GDP growth tends to be higher and inflation growth tends to be lower in the EU. In the other cases, higher levels of perceived market volatility result in higher inflation, higher credit growth and lower GDP Abstract growth. This is in line with expectations as an increase in perceived market volatility is met with an increased flow of assets into safer markets such as the EU. This thesis establishes a relationship between financial stability and monetary policy by studying the response of Chile, Colombia, Japan, Portugal and the UK in the aftermath of the GFC as Central Banks lowered policy rates in an effort to rescue their economies. In short, the results of the work conducted in this thesis may be summarised as follows. Our results show that monetary policy contributes to the achievement of financial stability. Still, monetary policy alone is not sufficient and should be reinforced by less traditional policy choices such as macroprudential policy tools. Secondly, we find that the level of CBI should be reined in in times of surging credit supply in an effort to maintain financial stability. Finally, we conclude that macroprudential policy tools play an important role in the achievement of financial stability. These tools should complement traditional monetary policy frameworks and should be adapted for each region.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Resilience and food security in a food systems context

    Get PDF
    This open access book compiles a series of chapters written by internationally recognized experts known for their in-depth but critical views on questions of resilience and food security. The book assesses rigorously and critically the contribution of the concept of resilience in advancing our understanding and ability to design and implement development interventions in relation to food security and humanitarian crises. For this, the book departs from the narrow beaten tracks of agriculture and trade, which have influenced the mainstream debate on food security for nearly 60 years, and adopts instead a wider, more holistic perspective, framed around food systems. The foundation for this new approach is the recognition that in the current post-globalization era, the food and nutritional security of the world’s population no longer depends just on the performance of agriculture and policies on trade, but rather on the capacity of the entire (food) system to produce, process, transport and distribute safe, affordable and nutritious food for all, in ways that remain environmentally sustainable. In that context, adopting a food system perspective provides a more appropriate frame as it incites to broaden the conventional thinking and to acknowledge the systemic nature of the different processes and actors involved. This book is written for a large audience, from academics to policymakers, students to practitioners

    Central-provincial Politics and Industrial Policy-making in the Electric Power Sector in China

    Get PDF
    In addition to the studies that provide meaningful insights into the complexity of technical and economic issues, increasing studies have focused on the political process of market transition in network industries such as the electric power sector. This dissertation studies the central–provincial interactions in industrial policy-making and implementation, and attempts to evaluate the roles of Chinese provinces in the market reform process of the electric power sector. Market reforms of this sector are used as an illustrative case because the new round of market reforms had achieved some significant breakthroughs in areas such as pricing reform and wholesale market trading. Other policy measures, such as the liberalization of the distribution market and cross-regional market-building, are still at a nascent stage and have only scored moderate progress. It is important to investigate why some policy areas make greater progress in market reforms than others. It is also interesting to examine the impacts of Chinese central-provincial politics on producing the different market reform outcomes. Guangdong and Xinjiang are two provinces being analyzed in this dissertation. The progress of market reforms in these two provinces showed similarities although the provinces are very different in terms of local conditions such as the stages of their economic development and energy structures. The actual reform can be understood as the outcomes of certain modes of interactions between the central and provincial actors in the context of their particular capabilities and preferences in different policy areas. This dissertation argues that market reform is more successful in policy areas where the central and provincial authorities are able to engage mainly in integrative negotiations than in areas where they engage mainly in distributive negotiations

    Changing society: pioneering women entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia.

    Get PDF
    The research examines the role of institutions influencing Saudi female entrepreneurs, and how they became enabled to be social agents and institutional entrepreneurs in a very traditional, family-orientated society - albeit facing pressures to change. In acknowledging the uniqueness of the social-cultural context in Saudi Arabia, this study adopts a qualitative design. Specifically, purposive and snowball sampling techniques were implemented to gather primary qualitative data. The data draw on 31 interviews with female entrepreneurs residing in Jeddah, capturing the practical experiences of these entrepreneurs, and their engagement with the informal and formal institutions of their immediate societal surroundings. The analysis relies on the constant-comparative method (Anderson and Jack 2015) to illicit the meanings and implications taken from context, and also how this informs the day-to-day activities of the entrepreneur (Anderson et al. 2012). This study has found that existing institutions both constrain and enable Saudi women's entrepreneurship. In particular, the obligations and responsibility of Arab families are turned into an advantage, in the form of a patient resource base or networks of knowledge development. We saw too how pioneering efforts, in conjunction with other change, have begun to modestly alter the opportunity structure in Saudi Arabia, with the entrepreneur acting as an agent of change. Saudi women's entrepreneurship is thus best characterised as a recursive process between these entrepreneurs and the social system, which is an essential resource for - and product of - situated actions. This research makes a modest contribution to the long-running discussions on women's entrepreneurship in the context of the Arab world. The findings cannot suggest that it is going to be easy or smooth for future women entrepreneurs; traditions continue and there are also vested patriarchal interests. Nonetheless, increasing numbers of Saudi women are involved in growing their businesses. These pioneers have changed society; a modest, but progressive change for the better. This study has several implications. First, the produced empirical findings have highlighted certain areas for further improvement of female entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia, which goes in keeping with Saudi Vision 2030 and the expected role of women in the social and economic development of Saudi Arabia. Second, this study has contributed to the existing body of knowledge and understanding of what institutional barriers and challenges Saudi female entrepreneurs face and how they could be overcome at a national level

    Unlocking the potential for thermal energy storage in the UK

    Get PDF
    Rapid and deep energy system decarbonisation is essential to a safe future. Thermal energy storage may hold the key to significant carbon reduction of the heating, cooling and electricity sectors, but the UK remains largely locked in to a fossil-fuel based heating regime. Global urbanisation trends mean cities are crucial to the net-zero transition. This thesis provides a sociotechnical analysis of current and future thermal storage deployment, recognising that fundamental change is complex and involves individuals and companies, supply chains, infrastructures, markets, policy and regulation, norms and traditions. I explore this through the overarching research question: How can cities unlock the potential for thermal energy storage to support the UK’s net-zero transition? The work is presented through three empirical chapters. A pilot study used a survey, thematic analysis, and pre-existing sociotechnical frameworks to explore the current state of UK thermal storage deployment and how sociotechnical characteristics are shaping current and future deployment prospects. A case study of a particular storage approach known as geoexchange analyses the results of interviews with geoexchange practitioners using sociotechnical frameworks, and proposes a new critical success factors framework. Finally, a comparative case study of two UK cities explores the specific role of local authorities to use powers at their disposal within a common planning framework to support the deployment of urban shared ground heat exchange in residential and mixed-use developments. Based on this study, a framework for local policy, support and enforcement activities is proposed. Applied contributions are provided through new knowledge on sociotechnical factors shaping the prospects for TES to support the net-zero transition, the first sociotechnical analysis of UK geoexchange deployment, and policy and practice proposals to support city-based shared ground heat exchange. Theory is advanced through application, testing and development of several existing frameworks for understanding sociotechnical change. Based on empirical evidence, two novel frameworks are proposed to support deployment of geoexchange and shared ground heat exchange
    • 

    corecore