Does Inequality Hamper Innovation and Growth?

The paper builds upon the Agent Based-Stock Flow Consistent model presented in Caiani et al. (2015) to analyze the relationship between income and wealth inequality and economic development. For this sake, the original model has been amended under three main dimensions: first, the households sector has been subdivided into workmen, office workers, researchers, and executives which compete on segmented labor markets. Conversely, firms are now characterized by a hierarchical organization structure which determines, according to firms’ output levels, their demand for each type of workers. Second, in order to account for the impact of income and wealth distribution on consumption patterns, different households classes - also representing different income groups - have diversified average propensities to consume and save. Finally, the model now embeds technological change in an evolutionary flavor, affecting labor productivity evolution in the consumption sector through product innovation in the capital sector, where firms invest in R&D and produce differentiated vintages of machineries. The model is then calibrated using realistic values for both income and wealth distribution across different income groups, and their average propensities to consume. Results of the simulation experiments suggest that more progressive tax schemes and labor market policies aiming to increase low and middle workers’ coordination, and to support their wage levels, concur to foster economic development and to reduce inequality, though the latter seem to be more effective under both respects. The model thus provides some evidence in favor of a wage-led growth regime, where improvements of middle-low levels workers’ conditions create positive systemic effects, which eventually trickle up also to high income-profit earners households

Does Inequality Hamper Innovation and Growth?

The paper builds upon the Agent Based-Stock Flow Consistent model presented in Caiani et al. (2015) to analyze the relationship between income and wealth inequality and economic development. For this sake, the original model has been amended under three main dimensions: first, the households sector has been subdivided into workmen, office workers, researchers, and executives which compete on segmented labor markets. Conversely, firms are now characterized by a hierarchical organization structure which determines, according to firms’ output levels, their demand for each type of workers. Second, in order to account for the impact of income and wealth distribution on consumption patterns, different households classes - also representing different income groups - have diversified average propensities to consume and save. Finally, the model now embeds technological change in an evolutionary flavor, affecting labor productivity evolution in the consumption sector through product innovation in the capital sector, where firms invest in R&D and produce differentiated vintages of machineries. The model is then calibrated using realistic values for both income and wealth distribution across different income groups, and their average propensities to consume. Results of the simulation experiments suggest that more progressive tax schemes and labor market policies aiming to increase low and middle workers’ coordination, and to support their wage levels, concur to foster economic development and to reduce inequality, though the latter seem to be more effective under both respects. The model thus provides some evidence in favor of a wage-led growth regime, where improvements of middle-low levels workers’ conditions create positive systemic effects, which eventually trickle up also to high income-profit earners households

Evaluation of T-wave alternans activity under stress conditions after 5 d and 21 d of sedentary head-down bed rest

It is well known that prolonged microgravity leads to cardiovascular deconditioning, inducing significant changes in autonomic control of the cardiovascular system. This may adversely influence cardiac repolarization, and provoke cardiac rhythm disturbances. T-wave alternans (TWA), reflecting temporal and spatial repolarization heterogeneity, could be affected. The aim of this work was to test the hypothesis that 5 d and 21 d head-down (-6°) bed rest (HDBR) increases TWA, thus suggesting a higher underlying electrical instability and related arrhythmogenic risk.Forty-four healthy male volunteers were enrolled in the experiments as part of the European Space Agency's HDBR studies. High-fidelity ECG was recorded during orthostatic tolerance (OT) and aerobic power (AP) tests, before (PRE) and after HDBR (POST). A multilead scheme for TWA amplitude estimation was used, where non-normalized and T-wave amplitude normalized TWA indices were computed. In addition, spectral analysis of heart rate variability during OT was assessed.Both 5 d and 21 d HDBR induced a reduction in orthostatic tolerance time (OTT), as well as a decrease in maximal oxygen uptake and reserve capacity, thus suggesting cardiovascular deconditioning. However, TWA indices were found not to increase. Interestingly, subjects with lower OTT after 5 d HDBR also showed higher TWA during recovery after OT testing, associated with unbalanced sympathovagal response, even before the HDBR. In contrast with previous observations, augmented ventricular heterogeneity related to 5 d and 21 d HDBR was not sufficient to increase TWA under stress conditions

Monetary Policy Transmission in a Macroeconomic Agent-Based Model

In this paper we explore the variety of monetary policy transmission channels in an agent-based macroeconomic model. We identify eight transmission channels and present a model based on [Caiani et al., J. Econ. Dyn. Contr. 69 (2016) 375–480], extended with an interbank market. We then analyze model simulation results of interest rate shocks in terms of GDP and inflation for four of the transmission channels. We find these effects to be small, in line with the view that monetary policy is a weak tool to control inflation