34,435 research outputs found
Against Amnesia: Re-Imagining Central Banking
The purpose of the present paper is to identify and challenge contemporary adherence to the core of the prevailing monetary policy consensus. This consensus consists of what we call the holy trinity of the inflation targeting paradigm: price stability as the primary goal of the central bank; central bank independence as the institutional arrangement; and the short-term interest rate as the operational target. Drawing on the literature on the history and political economy of central banking, we argue that the inability to think beyond this holy trinity stems from a severe case of collective institutional amnesia and comes at a heavy cost. We highlight that monetary policy can be deployed towards social purposes other than controlling inflation, in institutional configurations other than isolation from the rest of the government and with instruments other than interest rate manipulation. One central message is that whereas central banks are commonly portrayed as commanding only one instrument, in reality they have a battery of instruments at their disposal. We should think of central banking not as a hammer – a tool to hit inflation where it rears its ugly head – but as a Swiss army knife – a multi-purpose tool with many instruments. Doing so will help overcome the collective amnesia that stands in the way of an enlightened debate about how the power of central banking can – and perhaps should – be harnessed in the pursuit of collective social goals.1 Introduction 2 The Holy Trinity 3 Historical Specificity 3.1 Pre-War 3.2 Post-War, Pre-Inflation 3.3 Holy Trinity 3.4 Shoring up the Holy Trinity: The Tinbergen Rule 4 Beyond the Tinbergen Rule: A Swiss Army Knife Theory of Central Banking 4.1 Lender of Last Resort 4.2 Financial Market-Shaping I: Monetary Policy Implementation 4.3 Financial Market-Shaping II: Monetary Policy Transmission 5 Conclusion Reference
Modeling the Void H I Column Density Spectrum
The equivalent width distribution function (EWDF) of \hone absorbers specific
to the void environment has been recently derived (Manning 2002), revealing a
large line density of clouds (dN/dz ~500 per unit z for Log (N_HI)> 12.4). I
show that the void absorbers cannot be diffuse (or so-called filamentary)
clouds, expanding with the Hubble flow, as suggested by N-body/hydro
simulations. Absorbers are here modeled as the baryonic remnants of
sub-galactic perturbations that have expanded away from their dark halos in
response to reionization at z ~ 6.5. A 1-D Lagrangian hydro/gravity code is
used to follow the dynamic evolution and ionization structure of the baryonic
clouds for a range of halo circular velocities. The simulation products at z=0
can be combined according to various models of the halo velocity distribution
function to form a column density spectrum that can be compared with the
observed. I find that such clouds may explain the observed EWDF if the halo
velocity distribution function is as steep as that advanced by Klypin (1999),
and the halo mass distribution is closer to isothermal than to NFW.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures. Paper in press; ApJ 591, n
The B-L/Electroweak Hierarchy in Smooth Heterotic Compactifications
E8 X E8 heterotic string and M-theory, when appropriately compactified, can
give rise to realistic, N=1 supersymmetric particle physics. In particular, the
exact matter spectrum of the MSSM, including three right-handed neutrino
supermultiplets, one per family, and one pair of Higgs-Higgs conjugate
superfields is obtained by compactifying on Calabi-Yau manifolds admitting
specific SU(4) vector bundles. These "heterotic standard models" have the
SU(3)_{C} X SU(2)_{L} X U(1)_{Y} gauge group of the standard model augmented by
an additional gauged U(1)_{B-L}. Their minimal content requires that the B-L
gauge symmetry be spontaneously broken by a vacuum expectation value of at
least one right-handed sneutrino. In a previous paper, we presented the results
of a renormalization group analysis showing that B-L gauge symmetry is indeed
radiatively broken with a B-L/electroweak hierarchy of O(10) to O(10^{2}). In
this paper, we present the details of that analysis, extending the results to
include higher order terms in tan[beta]^{-1} and the explicit spectrum of all
squarks and sleptons.Comment: 60 pages, 6 figure
Seasonal Solow residuals and Christmas: a case for labor hoarding and increasing returns
In aggregate unadjusted data, measured Solow residuals exhibit large seasonal variations. Total Factor Productivity grows rapidly in the fourth quarter at an annual rate of 16 percent and regresses sharply in the first quarter at an annual rate of ?24 percent. This paper considers two potential explanations for the measured seasonal variation in the Solow residual: labor hoarding and increasing returns to scale. Using a specification that allows for no exogenous seasonal variation in technology and a single seasonal demand shift in the fourth quarter, we ask the following question: How much of the total seasonal variation in the measured Solow residual can be explained by Christmas? The answer to this question is surprising. With increasing returns and time varying labor effort, Christmas is sufficient to explain the seasonal variation in the Solow residual, consumption, average productivity, and output in all four quarters. Our analysis of seasonally unadjusted data uncovers important roles for labor hoarding and increasing returns which are difficult to identify in adjusted data.Seasonal variations (Economics)
The Exact MSSM Spectrum from String Theory
We show the existence of realistic vacua in string theory whose observable
sector has exactly the matter content of the MSSM. This is achieved by
compactifying the E_8 x E_8 heterotic superstring on a smooth Calabi-Yau
threefold with an SU(4) gauge instanton and a Z_3 x Z_3 Wilson line.
Specifically, the observable sector is N=1 supersymmetric with gauge group
SU(3)_C x SU(2)_L x U(1)_Y x U(1)_{B-L}, three families of quarks and leptons,
each family with a right-handed neutrino, and one Higgs-Higgs conjugate pair.
Importantly, there are no extra vector-like pairs and no exotic matter in the
zero mode spectrum. There are, in addition, 6 geometric moduli and 13 gauge
instanton moduli in the observable sector. The holomorphic SU(4) vector bundle
of the observable sector is slope-stable.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX; v2: Hidden sector is unstable, symbol typesetting
error corrected, clarifications and references added; v3: New discussion of
hidden secto
The leading-twist pion and kaon distribution amplitudes from the QCD instanton vacuum
We investigate the leading-twist light-cone distribution amplitudes for the
pion and kaon, based on the nonlocal chiral quark model from the instanton
vacuum. Effects of explicit flavor SU(3)-symmetry breaking are taken into
account. The Gegenbauer moments are computed, analyzed and compared with those
of other models. The one-loop QCD evolution of the moments is briefly
discussed. The transverse momentum distributions are also discussed for the
pion and kaon light-cone wave functions.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Runoff modelling in glacierized Central Asian catchments for present-day and future climate
A conceptual precipitation–runoff model was applied in five glacierized catchments in Central Asia. The model, which was first developed and applied in the Alps, works on a daily time step and yields good results in the more continental climate of the Tien Shan mountains for present-day climate conditions. Runoff scenarios for different climates (doubling of CO2) and glacierization conditions predict an increased flood risk as a first stage and a more complex picture after a complete glacier loss: a higher discharge during spring due to an earlier and more intense snowmelt is followed by a water deficiency in hot and dry summer periods. This unfavourable seasonal redistribution of the water supply has dramatic consequences for the Central Asian lowlands, which depend to a high degree on the glacier melt water for irrigation and already nowadays suffer from water shortages
- …