The effect of market power on bank risk taking in Turkey

The aim of this paper is to understand the role of market power on the loan risk and overall bank risk measures for Turkish banks during 2001-2009. Testing for this question is particularly important for the Turkish banking system, which experienced an intense regulation process after 2000 leading to a significant decrease in the number of banks and thereby possibly reducing competition. The results of the study provide some evidence regarding the competition-stability hypothesis.competition, banking

Il risk management nelle medie imprese del Nord Est: risultati di un'indagine.

La gestione del rischio nelle imprese non finanziarie è un argomento oggetto di numerose ricerche empiriche e approfondimenti teorici. Questo lavoro intende analizzare le pratiche di risk management delle imprese italiane, applicando una matrice di classificazione che tiene dell'evoluzione recente delle pratiche professionali e del dibattito accademico. Per raggiungere tale obbiettivo è stata svolta un'indagine su 85 imprese non finanziarie di medie dimensioni del Nord Est, area geografica scelta la particolarità del modello d'impresa prevalente, caratterizzato da forte dinamismo e, di conseguenza, dall'utilizzo intensivo della capacità di assunzione del rischio. I risultati in sintesi evidenziano una consapevolezza diffusa del problema, con buoni presidi per la misurazione e l'analisi, e spazi di miglioramento sulla consuntivazione e sulla gestione integrata. Il focus risulta ancora incentrato sui rischi della gestione caratteristica (business, credito, materie prime, legali e operativi), mentre per quanto riguarda la consulenza si avverte l'esigenza di una risposta più continuativa a supporto della gestione finanziaria.

Il rischio sistemico in finanza: una rassegna dei recenti contributi in letteratura.

In questo lavoro si presenta una rassegna dei principali contributi che riguardano il rischio sistemico apparsi in letteratura negli ultimi vent'anni, periodo nel quale si è assistito ad una fiorente attività causa anche il manifestarsi di varie crisi economiche e finanziarie. Lo scopo principale che ci siamo posti è quello di individuare una chiave di lettura organica per i vari filoni di indagine. Questi sono stati classificati in base al "luogo" dove si origina l'evento che fa iniziare la crisi: sistema dei pagamenti, sistema finanziario e sistema bancario. Abbiamo inoltre evidenziato i meccanismi di trasmissione delle crisi all'interno dei vari sistemi, mostrando i legami che si vengono a creare tra variabili economiche e finanziarie. Nelle conclusioni indichiamo una possibile direzione di indagine per i lavori futuri.

ENDOGENOUS FLUCTUATIONS IN MACROECONOMICS: THE ROLE OF HETEROGENEITY

My Ph.D. thesis contributes to the growing literature investigating the role of heterogeneity in the macroeconomics volatility. Particularly, it focuses on bounded rationality and heterogeneous expectations in financial accelerator frameworks. In the first paper, I present a literature review tackling the theoretical and the empirical challenges of bounded rationality and heterogeneous expectations. More precisely, I decided to analyse the Adaptive Belief System (ABS) because it is relevant to the purpose of solving the \u201cwilderness problem\u201d of bounded rationality. Moreover, it introduces complex dynamical evolution in the system and it can describe many stylized financial and macroeconomics phenomena, like fat tails, unpredictable returns and excess volatility. I conclude the survey showing some experimental analyses suggesting the importance of heterogeneity and bounded rationality in the expectations formation and in the evolution of the economic system. In the other two papers, I elaborate two financial accelerator (FA) frameworks focusing on the role of heterogeneous expectations, investment decisions and macroeconomic fluctuations. In the first one, starting from the Bernanke-Gertler-Gilchrist financial accelerator (1999), I develop an Agent-Based financial accelerator introducing bounded rationality, heterogeneous expectations, actual bankruptcy and a balance sheet for the financial intermediary. I specify a setup in which the heterogeneity is inserted in the agents\u2019 wealth as well as in their heuristics. The agents make mistakes in forecasting future macroeconomic variables and update their beliefs when new information becomes available. Since they commit mistakes in their investment and borrowing decisions, the entrepreneurs may not be able to fulfil their debt and therefore go bankrupt. To account for the losses of defaults I introduce the balance sheet of the financial intermediary. Then, the bankruptcy affects the credit channel: firstly because the bank will settle an extra cost to the defaulted entrepreneur, secondly because banks with lower financial soundness will fix on average higher interest rate on loans. Finally, I explore the macroeconomic volatility running some simulations which consider different heuristics and different monetary policies. My results suggest that a monetary authority should take into account the \u201csentiment of the market\u201d when designing its policy. Indeed, applying the same monetary policy may have different consequences on macroeconomic volatility when the expectations are non-identical. However, if two monetary policies are implemented in the same scenario, it seems that the strongest monetary policy will reduce the waves of optimism and pessimism better stabilizing the macroeconomic environment. In the second model, I propose a financial accelerator in which the evolution of expectations is based on the adaptive belief system. Within this framework, the entrepreneurs have cognitive limitations and are not able to forecast in advance the actual return on capital. However, when new information becomes available, they can compute their investment performance and switch to the most performing heuristic. Through this mechanism, they update their beliefs on future investment return introducing complex dynamics in the model. In the last part of the paper, I explore the macroeconomic volatility of the system considering different heuristics and monetary policies. One the one side, the core results suggest that no monetary policy is able to quickly stabilize the system completely; some fluctuations persist for many periods. Moreover, flexible inflation targeting policies yield lower fluctuations but these are more persistent. On the contrary, strict inflation targeting policies produce deeper macro-volatility but lower persistency. Finally, the stabilizing effect of the monetary policy strongly depends on the nature of the heuristics and, counterintuitively, the volatility is higher in scenarios with more sophisticated heuristics

Violence and human prayer to God in Q 11

The present article examines the use of κρούω in Q 11:9 against the backdrop of documentary papyri and Greek literary texts that employ the verb to evoke a stock scene of aggression and threat at the door of a house. In the unit 11:2–4, 9–13 the Sayings Gospel employs the same language and gestures in a similar rhetorical situation to advance a complex and ambiguous representation of human agency in prayer, which is not conceived as a mere passive expectancy of God’s intervention. This representation fits the socio-cultural profile of village scribes as the authors of Q, given their familiarity with administrative terminology and their acquaintance with widespread and simple rhetorical tropes. Moreover, such an ambiguous stance towards human agency is mirrored in Q’s similarly complex understanding of human participation in the establishment of God’s βασιλεία. Finally, comparable thematic and linguistic features have been detected in the ‘parable of the friend at midnight’ (Lk 11:5–8), strengthening the hypothesis that the parable might have been part of the Sayings Gospel.http://www.hts.org.zaam201

Infra-Low Frequency Neurofeedback: A Systematic Mixed Studies Review

INTRODUCTION: Neurofeedback training is increasingly applied as a therapeutic tool in a variety of disorders, with growing scientific and clinical interest in the last two decades. Different Neurofeedback approaches have been developed over time, so it is now important to be able to distinguish between them and investigate the effectiveness and efficiency characteristics of each specific protocol. In this study we intend to examine the effects of Neurofeedback based on slow brain activity, the so-called Infra-Low Frequency (ILF) training a recently developed methodology that seems promising for the regulation of the central nervous system. AIMS: With this review we intend to summarize the currently existing literature on ILF-Neurofeedback, examine its quality and formulate indications about the clinical effectiveness of ILF-Neurofeedback. METHODS: Literature search was first conducted according to PRISMA principles, described, and then assessed using the MMAT appraisal tool. 18 well-documented studies of ILF-Neurofeedback training in human subjects were picked up and analyzed. Reports include group interventions as well as single case studies. RESULTS: Research data indicates good potential for ILF-Neurofeedback to influence brain activity and neurovegetative parameters. From the clinical profile, a salient common observation is a high level of individualization as a specific characteristic of ILF-Training: this feature seems to correlate with effectiveness of ILF-Neurofeedback, but also poses a challenge for researchers in terms of producing controlled and comparable findings; according to this point, some recommendation for future research on ILF-Neurofeedback are proposed. In conclusion, ILF-neurofeedback shows great potential for application for all those conditions in which the regulation of brain activity and neurophysiological processes are crucial. Further research will make it possible to complete the available data and to have a broader overview of its possible applications

Collateral Requirements of SMEs: The Evidence from Less–Developed Countries

A rating trigger is a particular type of debt covenant that mandates the borrower to maintain its own credit rating above a certain rating threshold, requiring in the event of a rating downgrade the adoption of specific enforceable actions aimed at securing the lender claims from the borrower's higher risk level. Rating triggers lower the cost of borrowing capital, but in case they are activated they exacerbate the borrower's need for liquidity just in the moment when its credit risk is higher, making the borrower's default more likely to occur. Despite the potential threat posed by rating triggers on debt markets, these contractual devices remain almost unregulated both in the U.S. and in Europe. The purpose of this paper is first to analyze the effects rating triggers can have on overall market risk and second to assess the proliferation of rating triggers among large U.S. companies in order to ensure whether these contractual devices need a stricter regulation. The article is divided in two parts. From section 2 to 5, I provide an overview on the different types of triggers and analyze the rationale behind their use in terms of advantages and disadvantages for both issuers and investors. From section 6 to 9 I perform an empirical analysis by assessing the rating triggers that have been used by Dow Jones Industrial Average index companies. I then examine the correlation between the use of rating triggers and the companies’ risk profiles by measuring their credit ratings and their Altman’s Z-Scores in order to find out whether triggers are mostly used by risky companies, capable of being impaired by the triggers’ activation and thus posing a threat to market stability. Then in section 10 I draw the conclusions suggesting the introduction by U.S. and European regulators of a specific duty to disclose all the rating triggers that listed companies include every year in bond indentures and in financial contract

Antagonism and Mutual Dependency. Critial Models of Performance and “Piano Interpretation Schools”

To polarize and, coincidently, intersect two different concepts, in terms of a distinction/analogy between “piano interpretation schools” and “critical models” is the aim of this paper. The former, with its prior connotations of both empiricism and dogmatism and not directly shaped by aesthetic criteria or interpretational ideals, depends mainly on the aural and oral tradition as well the teacher-student legacy; the latter employs ideally the generic criteria of interpretativeness, which can be measured in accordance to an aesthetic formula and can include features such as non-obviousness, inferentially, lack of consensus, concern with meaning or significance, concern with structure or design, etc. The relative autonomy of the former is a challenge to the latter, which embraces the range of perspectives available in the horizon of the history of ideas about music and interpretation. The effort of recognizing models of criticism within musical interpretation creates the vehicle for new understandings of the nature and the historical development of Western classical piano performance, promoting also the production of quality critical argument and the communication of key performance tendencies and styles

Statistical and Probabilistic Extensions to Ground Operations' Discrete Event Simulation Modeling

NASA's human exploration initiatives will invest in technologies, public/private partnerships, and infrastructure, paving the way for the expansion of human civilization into the solar system and beyond. As it is has been for the past half century, the Kennedy Space Center will be the embarkation point for humankind's journey into the cosmos. Functioning as a next generation space launch complex, Kennedy's launch pads, integration facilities, processing areas, launch and recovery ranges will bustle with the activities of the world's space transportation providers. In developing this complex, KSC teams work through the potential operational scenarios: conducting trade studies, planning and budgeting for expensive and limited resources, and simulating alternative operational schemes. Numerous tools, among them discrete event simulation (DES), were matured during the Constellation Program to conduct such analyses with the purpose of optimizing the launch complex for maximum efficiency, safety, and flexibility while minimizing life cycle costs. Discrete event simulation is a computer-based modeling technique for complex and dynamic systems where the state of the system changes at discrete points in time and whose inputs may include random variables. DES is used to assess timelines and throughput, and to support operability studies and contingency analyses. It is applicable to any space launch campaign and informs decision-makers of the effects of varying numbers of expensive resources and the impact of off nominal scenarios on measures of performance. In order to develop representative DES models, methods were adopted, exploited, or created to extend traditional uses of DES. The Delphi method was adopted and utilized for task duration estimation. DES software was exploited for probabilistic event variation. A roll-up process was used, which was developed to reuse models and model elements in other less - detailed models. The DES team continues to innovate and expand DES capabilities to address KSC's planning needs

Local Perceptions of Water-Energy-Food Security: Livelihood Consequences of Dam Construction in Ethiopia

The concept of the water-energy-food (W-E-F) nexus has quickly ascended to become a global framing for resource management policies. Critical studies, however, are questioning its value for assessing the sustainability of local livelihoods. These critiques flow in part from the perception that the majority of influential nexus analyses begin from a large-scale, implicitly top-down perspective on resource dynamics. This can lead to eciency narratives that reinforce existing power dynamics without adequate consideration of local priorities. Here, we present a community-scale perspective on large W-E-F oriented infrastructure. In doing so, we link the current debate on the nexus with alternative approaches to embrace questions of water distribution, political scales, and resource management. The data for this paper come from a survey of 549 households conducted around two large-scale irrigation and hydropower dams in the Upper Blue Nile basin of Ethiopia. The data analysis involved descriptive statistics, logistic analysis, and multinomial logistic analysis. The two case studies presented show that the impact of dams and the perception thereof is socially diverse. Hydropower dams and irrigation schemes tend to enhance social dierences and may therefore lead to social transformation and disintegration. This becomes critical when it leads to higher vulnerability of some groups. To take these social factors/conditions into consideration, one needs to acknowledge the science-policy interface and make the nexus approach more political. The paper concludes that if the nexus approach is to live up to its promise of addressing sustainable development goals by protecting the livelihoods of vulnerable populations, it has to be applied in a manner that addresses the underlying causes that produce winners and losers in large-scale water infrastructure developments