The alpha_s^3 correction to Gamma (Z^0 -> hadrons)

We present the alpha_s^3 correction to the Z^0 decay rate into hadrons in the limit m_top >> m_Z.Comment: 7pages, NIKHEF-H/93-2

Central Banking and the Choice of Currency Regime in Accession Countries

The subject matter of this paper is the design of appropriate Central Banking arrangements and exchange rate regimes for those former centrally planned Central and East European countries that are candidates for full membership in the European Union. We give an overview of the existing arrangements and point out to which extent monetary arrangements are restricted by conditions for entry both into the European Union and eventually into the European Monetary Union. Furthermore we investigate to which degree countries are fulfilling the accession criteria and compare their performance with the performance of earlier EU joiners like the countries of the Iberian Peninsula, Ireland and Greece.

Nominal versus Real Convergence with Respect to EMU Accession - EMU Entry Scenarios for the New Member States

This paper explores the conflict of real and monetary convergence during the EMU run-up of the Central and Eastern European new EU member states. Based on a Balassa-Samuelson model of productivity driven inflation, it finds a high probability of higher inflation in the new member states. It compares the policy options which might make the compliance possible, i.e., fiscal tightening and nominal appreciation within the ERM2 band. Nominal appreciation within ERM2 seems the better option to achieve the compliance with the Maastricht criteria as no discretionary government intervention is necessary and losses in terms of real growth are less. Having once opted for nominal appreciation within ERM2 by fixing the ERM2 entry rate as the ERM2 central rate (Irish model), a high degree of flexibility is provided in coping with erratic short-term capital inflows. Setting the ERM2 entry rate above the ERM2 central rate (Greek model) implies a clear exchange rate path within ERM2 and thereby less exchange rate volatility. Despite the merits of nominal appreciation, countries committed to hard euro pegs or with high budget deficits might choose fiscal contraction as a solution, which will require a high degree of fiscal flexibility and thereby decisiveEMU, ERMII, Balassa-Samuelson Effect, Real Appreciation, Monetary Union, Central and Eastern Europe.

A transient outward current in a mammalian central neurone blocked by 4-aminopyridine

It is becoming increasingly clear that nerve cells in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) have a very complex electroresponsiveness. They exhibit not only time- and voltage-dependent Na+ and K+ conductances, analogous to those in the squid giant axon1, but also a variety of other conductances that have a significant role in the control of cell excitability. Of the outward currents, there are, in addition to the delayed rectifier, the Ca2+-activated K+ current2,3 which underlies the long-lasting spike afterhyperpolarization, and the M current4, a non-inactivating K+ current evoked by membrane depolarization and blocked by muscarinic, cholinergic agonists. We demonstrate here the existence in a mammalian central neurone (hip-pocampal CA3 pyramidal cells) of yet another outward current, which is transient and may be carried by K+ ions. Further, the experiments show that this current is substantially reduced by the convulsant 4-aminopyridine (4-AP)5, resulting in a marked increase in cell excitability

truthmakers for 1st order sentences - a proposal

The purpose of this paper is to communicate - as a proposal - a general method of assigning a 'truthmaker' to any 1st order sentence in each of its models. The respective construct is derived from the standard model theoretic (recursive) satisfaction definition for 1st order languages and is a conservative extension thereof. The heuristics of the proposal (which has been somewhat idiosyncratic from the current point of view) and some more technical detail of the construction may be found in my article on part I of Spinoza's `ethica, ordine geometrico demonstrata', which is the context within which I elaborated the assignment. But this context need not be repeated here, the presentation of the truthmaker assignment will be comprehensible to anybody with solid basic knowledge in 1st order model theory, anything used is standard and no advanced techniques are required

note on Sorites series

Vagueness does not necessarily come in with vague predicates, nor need it be expressed by them , but undoubtedly 'vague predicates' are traditionally in the focus of main stream discussions of vagueness. In her current modal logic presentation and discussion of the Sorites paradox Susanne Bobzien[1] lists among the properties of a Sorites series a rather weak modal tolerance principle governing the 'grey zone' containing the borderline cases of the Sorites series, which later proves crucial for her solution of the Sorites paradox by use of epistemic interpreted modal operators in 1st order modal logic. We suggest (for different research interest) instead a non-modal description of the switch in the grey zone (respecting tolerance), by resort to similarity sequences, thus getting tangent to two other areas of research in the field. Let's say -any way- the Sorites paradox vanishes, the Sorites series does not

In situ concrete spaces: introducing Nuno M. Sousa s practice

[EN] Nuno Melo Sousa (NMS) presents himself as an architectural practice based in Penafiel, a small city 40 km from Porto, that believes in method, provocation, and the production of architecture through an intuitive collaborative process. Introduces his work as having a close relationship with the peculiar construction context in which it is inserted, hinged on simple building processes determined with and by clients with the help of local artisans. In addition, he would also add the aim to do most with few means, looking at sustainability as a way of reusing existing elements as a generator.[ES] Nuno Melo Sousa (NMS) se presenta como un estudio de arquitectura con sede en Penafiel, una pequeña ciudad a 40 km de Oporto, que cree en el método, la provocación y la producción de arquitectura a través de un proceso colaborativo e intuitivo. Muestra su obra en estrecha relación con el peculiar contexto constructivo en el que se inserta, articulada en procesos constructivos sencillos determinados con y para los clientes, con la ayuda de artesanos locales. También tiene como objetivo hacer más con pocos medios, viendo la sostenibilidad como una forma de reutilizar lo existente como generador.Casal Ribeiro, H. (2022). In situ espacios concretos: introduciendo la práctica de Nuno M. Sousa. https://doi.org/10.4995/eb.2022.17524OJ

Contrasting different forms of price stickiness: an analysis of exchange rate overshooting and the beggar thy neighbour policy

This paper considers a two country economy similar to that in Obstfeld and Rogoff (1995). We build on their model by distinguishing between sticky retail prices, sticky wholesale prices and sticky ages. We find that conclusions about whether monetary shocks lead to exchange rate overshooting and spillovers on foreign production and consumption depend crucially on the form of price stickiness assumed in the economy. Sticky retail prices not only allow for a profitable 'Beggar Thy Neighbour Policy' but also lead to exchange rate overshooting. Although the outcome is similar to the seminar work by Dornbusch (1976), the driving force in our model is quite different. With sticky retail prices, the exchange rate overshoots even though the interest rate parity may not even hold in equilibrium. These results are in sharp contrast to the outcomes under the sticky wholesale prices scenario wherein prices are fixed in the producers' currency. Contrary to the spirit of the 'Beggar Thy Neighbour Policy', an unexpected money expansion benefits inhabitants in the other country as well. The interest rate parity always holds in equilibrium and there is no exchange rate overshooting