Heavy-Flavor Measurements by the PHENIX Experiment at RHIC

In recent years, PHENIX has studied many important observables related to heavy-flavor physics through their leptonic decay measurements including the invariant yield of electrons from nonphotonic sources, and prompt single muons, both of which are dominated by D and B mesons. Charm and beauty cross-sections were measured and compared through single lepton, and lepton-hadron correlations in p+p collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV. Observables for quarkonia production such as invariant yield and polarization were also measured in p+p collisions. In Au+Au collisions, preliminary results for the $R_{AA}$ for single electrons and a 90% CL upper limit for the suppression of $\Upsilon$s were produced. And in $d$+Au collisions, a preliminary $R_{CP}$ study for $J/\psi$ production in different centrality ranges was extracted.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, International Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter Conference 2009 Proceeding

Why Should Naive Investors Avoid Stock Markets ?

The goal of this paper is to present an original and simple analysis aimed to understand why investing in capital markets can be very dangerous for “naive investors”. Stock markets are characterized by instability and subjected to external shocks. The probability of making money on them is often very low, especially in high volatility periods. We will show that, in absence of any “wise” asset allocation strategy and not being professional investors, a risk-free portfolio may perform better than a portfolio composed entirely by risky assets.Asset Allocation, Investment Strategies, Stock Markets, Risk-Free Securities

Understanding the Global Demand Collapse: Empirical Analysis and Optimal Policy Response

The goal of this project is to deeply investigate on the main causes of the global economic and financial crises and, based on a theoretical framework, to describe a suitable optimal monetary policy. According to our empirical analysis (basically based on US data) we will prove that a mix of extraordinary conditions have been crucial for the origin, develop and growth of the recent crisis. In finding what has been the main cause of such collapse we will prove that the credit crunch has played a crucial role, especially as a sort of contractionary monetary policy. We will also discuss the quantitative easing policies implemented by the Central Banks. Finally, we will seek to establish, by using an existing theoretical model and given extraordinary market conditions, in what central banks were wrong, and if so, where they made mistakes.Economic and Financial Crisis, Credit Crunch, Optimal Monetary Policy

International diffusion of shocks under different degrees of cross-country shocks comovement and economic integration

This paper studies the international transmission of shocks under different degrees of cross-country shocks comovement and economic integration via a two country-two good model with recursive preferences, frictionless markets, and correlated short- and long-run innovations. In contrast to recent studies, I show that the inclusion of cross-country balance sheet linkages and borrowing constraints does not represent a necessary condition to produce a strong international propagation mechanism. The novel risk sharing mechanism embodied in the model produces symmetric and synchronized movements in consumption and stock prices even if there are uncorrelated shocks and segmented goods markets. Nevertheless, model's results give rise to a "quantitative trade-off". On the one side, the presence of correlated long-run growth prospect is needed to produce a relatively low risk-free rate and a relatively high equity risk premium (consistent with asset pricing data), a no-close to unity cross-country consumption growth correlation (consistent with international consumption data), and the Backus-Smith correlation. On the other side, a negative short-run shock is key to produce a large and synchronized drop in real and financial flows (consistently with the properties of the 2008-2009 global demand collapse)

When evidence does not matter – what Brazil teaches us about the fragility of evidence based policymaking

An underlying assumption of modern political states is that they are rational systems that ‘follow the science’ to achieve optimal outcomes for their citizens. Whilst COVID-19 continues to foreground the strengths and weaknesses of different national scientific advice systems, Flavia Donadelli draws on evidence from Brazilian policymaking to argue that evidence informed policymaking is a far more ephemeral process and heavily dependent on institutional and political contexts for it to operate effectively

Machinery of Government Reforms in New Zealand: continuous improvement or hyper-innovation?

This article assesses the reasons for frequent national-level administrative reforms in New Zealand and reflects on their potential consequences. It explores three potential reasons: the particularities of Wellington as a highly conducive place for ideas to be shared between decision makers and academics; the characteristics of New Zealand institutions; and the effects of innovations themselves as drivers of disappointment and more innovation. The article reflects on reforms as drivers of continuous and incremental improvements as opposed to a hyper-innovative, politically driven administrative system. It concludes by stressing the importance of incorporating experiences ‘from the bottom’ in reform processes, and reliance on reflective mechanisms capable of creating opportunities for incremental, piecemeal and often ‘inelegant’ administrative adjustments

Rio 2016 Olympics: a rite of non-passage

In 2009 Rio won the race to host the Olympics amid a wave of Brazilian optimism, however in 2016 some Brazilians are feeling less than enthusiastic about the games. Flavia Donadelli and Bruno Queiroz Cunha argue that the discontent and controversy surrounding Rio 2016 highlights the deep-seated political, social and economic problems that Brazil needs to address

Deterministic and efficient minimal perfect hashing schemes

Neste trabalho apresentamos versões determinísticas para os esquemasde hashing de Botelho, Kohayakawa e Ziviani (2005) e por Botelho, Pagh e Ziviani(2007). Também respondemos a um problema deixado em aberto no primeiro dostrabalhos, relacionado à prova da corretude e à análise de complexidade do esquemapor eles proposto. As versões determinísticas desenvolvidas foram implementadase testadas sobre conjuntos de dados com até 25.000.000 de chaves, e os resultadosverificados se mostraram equivalentes aos dos algoritmos aleatorizados originais

The macro and asset pricing implications of rising Italian uncertainty: Evidence from a novel news-based macroeconomic policy uncertainty index

We develop a new monthly and daily index of economic policy uncertainty for Italy based on articles from the Sole 24 Ore (a popular Italian business daily newspaper). VAR investigations document that an unexpected rise in the Sole 24 Ore news-based EPU index (EPU24) has mild effects on the real economic activity. Cross-sectional asset pricing tests then show that both monthly and daily EPU24 shocks command a positive risk premium. A standard event study finally indicates the presence of statistically significant positive cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) in the energy sector following different categories of policy-related events. Negative and significant CARs in the financial sector are instead found to be generated by international-related events and political elections

On the Impact of COVID-19-Related Uncertainty

3noCOVID-19 has generated a substantial increase in the level of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) around the World. Recent empirical investigations suggest that the COVID-19 has played a key role in amplifying the overall level of political uncertainty. In Italy, where anti-COVID-19 measures were implemented with some delay and were badly communicated, EPU rose dramatically. We examine the implications of rising COVID-19-related uncertainty for company revenues, gross operating margin and employment in 16 different Italian sectors. Our findings indicate construction, education, manufacturing activities and hospitality as the most hit sectors, with an average short-term drop in company revenues of around 4% in annual terms and a recovery time of almost two years. Thus, COVID-19-related uncertainty is found to be a significant business cycle driver.openopenGufler, Ivan; Donadelli, Michael; Castellini, MartaGufler, Ivan; Donadelli, Michael; Castellini, Mart