Bidding behaviour in the ECB’s main refinancing operations during the financial crisis

Liquidity provision through its repo auctions has been one of the main instruments of the European Central Bank (ECB) to address the recent tensions in financial markets since summer 2007. In this paper, we analyse banks’ bidding behaviour in the ECB’s main refinancing operations (MROs) during the ongoing turmoil in money and financial markets. We employ a unique data set comprising repo auctions from March 2004 to October 2008 with bidding data from 877 counterparties. We find that increased bid rates during the turmoil can be explained by, inter alia, the increased individual refinancing motive, the increased attractiveness of the ECB’s tender operations due to its collateral framework and banks’ bidding more aggressively, i.e. at higher rates to avoid being rationed at the marginal rate in times of increased liquidity uncertainty. JEL Classification: E52, D44, C33, C34Bidding Behavior, Central Bank Auctions, Financial Market Turmoil, monetary policy instruments, Panel Sample Selection Model

Modelling the daily banknotes in circulation in the context of the liquidity management of the European Central Bank

The main focus of this paper is to model the daily series of banknotes in circulation in the context of the liquidity management of the Eurosystem. The series of banknotes in circulation displays very marked seasonal patterns. To the best of our knowledge the empirical performance of two competing approaches to model seasonality in daily time series, namely the ARIMA-based approach and the Structural Time Series approach, has never been put to the test. The application presented in this paper provides valid intuition on the merits of each approach. The forecasting performance of the models is also assessed in the context of their impact on the liquidity management of the Eurosystem. JEL Classification: C22, C51, C53, C59Daily Forecast, liquidity management, seasonality, time series models

Excess reserves and implementation of monetary policy of the ECB

This paper explains to what extent excess reserves are and should be relevant today in the implementation of monetary policy, focusing on the speci?c case of the operational framework of the Eurosystem. In particular, this paper studies the impact that changes to the operational framework for monetary policy implementation have on the level and volatility of excess reserves. A ‘transaction costs’ model that replicates the rather speci?c intra-reserve maintenance period pattern of excess reserves in the euro area is developed. Simulation results presented not only show that excess reserves may increase considerably under some changes to the operational framework, but also that their volatility and hence unpredictability could. JEL Classification: E52, E58excess reserves, liquidity management, monetary policy implementation

Excess reserves and implementation of monetary policy of the ECB

This paper explains to what extent excess reserves are and should be relevant today in the implementation of monetary policy, focusing on the speci?c case of the operational framework of the Eurosystem. In particular, this paper studies the impact that changes to the operational framework for monetary policy implementation have on the level and volatility of excess reserves. A ‘transaction costs’ model that replicates the rather speci?c intra-reserve maintenance period pattern of excess reserves in the euro area is developed. Simulation results presented not only show that excess reserves may increase considerably under some changes to the operational framework, but also that their volatility and hence unpredictability could

Modelling the daily banknotes in circulation in the context of the liquidity management of the European Central Bank

El principal objeto de este estudio es el de modelizar la serie diaria de billetes en circulacion dentro del ambito de la gestion de la liquidez del Eurosistema. La serie de billetes en circulacion exhibe un marcado patron estacional. Con el fin de mejorar el conocimiento empirico de esta serie, se propone la comparacion de dos aproximaciones alternativas paramodelizar dicha estacionalidad: la aproximacion basada en modelos ARIMA y la aproximacion estructural de series temporales. La aplicacion presentada en este trabajo suministra una intuicion valida de los meritos de cada aproximacion. Asimismo, se hace una valoracion, en el propio contexto de la gestion de la liquidez del Eurosistema, del impacto de las predicciones obtenidas a partir de ambos modelos. (ac) (ac

Thermodynamic Modeling and Experimental Validation of Acetic Acid Attack on Hardened Cement Paste: Effect of Silica Fume

Concrete structures are increasingly becoming exposed to organic acid attack conditions, such as those found in agriculture and food-related industries. This paper aims to experimentally verify the thermodynamic modeling of cement pastes under acetic acid attack. For this, a modeling approach implemented in IPHREEQC via Matlab is described, and results are compared with measured pH and compositions of equilibrated solutions (MP-AES) as well as unreacted/precipitated solids (XRF, XRD and STA) for a wide range of acid concentrations. The 11% replacement of cement by silica fume (SF) led to a 60 or 70% reduction (measured or modeled, respectively) of Portlandite content in the hardened cement paste due to the pozzolanic reaction resulting in higher content of CSH phases, which has effects on the progression of dissolution processes and a resulting pH with increased acid concentrations. Considering that no fitting parameter was used, the model predictions showed good agreement with measured values of pH, dissolved ion concentrations and composition of the remaining (degraded) solids overall. The discrepancies here were more pronounced at very high acid concentrations (equilibrium pH < ~4), i.e., after the full dissolution of hydrate phases due to limitations in the model used to describe Al-, Si- and Fe-gel phases and/or identified experimental challenges in precipitation of calcium and aluminum acetate hydrates

Carbonation resistance of alkali-activated GGBFS/calcined clay concrete under natural and accelerated conditions

The carbonation resistance of alkali-activated materials (AAMs) is a crucial parameter for their applicability in concrete construction, yet the parameters influencing it are insufficiently understood to date. In the present study, the carbonation resistance of alkali-activated concretes with varying fractions of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and calcined clay (i.e., high, intermediate, and low Ca contents) were assessed under natural and accelerated conditions. Corresponding hardened AAM pastes were studied using X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, Raman microscopy, and mercury intrusion porosimetry. The carbonation resistance of the concretes at natural CO2 concentration depended principally on their water/(CaO + MgOeq + Na2Oeq + K2Oeq) ratio. The remaining variability for similar ratios was caused by differences between the pore structures of the AAMs. For concrete with favorable water/(CaO + MgOeq + Na2Oeq + K2Oeq) ratio and pore structure, the carbonation resistance was comparable to that of Portland cement concrete. The relationship between carbonation coefficients obtained under accelerated and natural conditions differed for concretes with high and low fractions of calcined clay, indicating that accelerated carbonation testing is less suitable to study the carbonation of low-Ca AAMs

Thermodynamic Modeling of Sulfuric and Acetic Acid Attack on Hardened Cement Paste: Effect of Silica Fume

The exposure of concrete structures to acid attack is a growing concern. This study employs thermodynamic modeling to investigate the changes in phase assemblage of powdered cement pastes subjected to a wide range of sulfuric and acetic acid concentrations. A modeling approach utilizing IPHREEQC implemented through Matlab is presented, and the obtained results are compared with pH measurements and compositions of equilibrated calcium and sulfate solutions. The influence of incorporating 11% silica fume (SF) as a replacement for cement predicted a 70% reduction of Portlandite content in the hardened cement paste. Consequently, the acid attack processes and subsequent pH reduction are affected. The modeling approach demonstrates good agreement with experimental data for acetic acid, across a broad range of acid concentrations, for both Portland cement and a blend with SF, without the need for any fitting parameters. However, significant discrepancies between the model and experiments are observed in the case of sulfuric acid. This discrepancy arises due to the formation of lump pieces of material in the experimental setup at higher acid concentrations. These lumps consist of a thin layer of altered hardened cement paste, primarily composed of sulfate‐rich phases, encapsulating unaltered hardened cement paste. Since the reaction was not homogeneous and the powder did not entirely react, the sulfuric attack experimental setup was not representative for validating the thermodynamic model

Thermodynamic Modeling and Experimental Validation of Acetic Acid Attack on Hardened Cement Paste: Effect of Silica Fume

Concrete structures are increasingly becoming exposed to organic acid attack conditions, such as those found in agriculture and food-related industries. This paper aims to experimentally verify the thermodynamic modeling of cement pastes under acetic acid attack. For this, a modeling approach implemented in IPHREEQC via Matlab is described, and results are compared with measured pH and compositions of equilibrated solutions (MP-AES) as well as unreacted/precipitated solids (XRF, XRD and STA) for a wide range of acid concentrations. The 11% replacement of cement by silica fume (SF) led to a 60 or 70% reduction (measured or modeled, respectively) of Portlandite content in the hardened cement paste due to the pozzolanic reaction resulting in higher content of CSH phases, which has effects on the progression of dissolution processes and a resulting pH with increased acid concentrations. Considering that no fitting parameter was used, the model predictions showed good agreement with measured values of pH, dissolved ion concentrations and composition of the remaining (degraded) solids overall. The discrepancies here were more pronounced at very high acid concentrations (equilibrium pH < ~4), i.e., after the full dissolution of hydrate phases due to limitations in the model used to describe Al-, Si- and Fe-gel phases and/or identified experimental challenges in precipitation of calcium and aluminum acetate hydrates

Ética profesional en educación superior : finalidades, estrategias y desafíos de la formación

Todo proyecto educativo que no responde a su época se expone a problemas de legitimidad y al duro escrutinio y sanción de los usuarios. Las instituciones de educación superior no son la excepción de esta premisa clásica, incluso más validada por eldinamismos, la versatilidad y ojo crítico en el mundo contemporáneo. La ética se ha convertido en el baremo principal para someter a juicio a las instituciones y a las personas que ahí actuan, como a las finalidades que se pretenden en sus acciones. En esta perspectiva, debe examinarse la función de las instituciones de educación superior.Este libro es el esfuerzo colectivo por acercarnos a esa problemática, en especial a las finalidades, estrategias y relaciones en juego para cumplir la tarea de la formación y sus nexos inevitables con la ética profesional