The relative importance of Term Spread, Policy Inertia and Persistent Monetary Policy Shocks in Monetary Policy Rules

This paper estimates a standard version of the New Keynesian Monetary Model (NKM) augmented with the term structure in order to analyze two types of issue. First we analyse the relative importance of policy inertia, persistent policy shocks and the term spread in the estimated US monetary policy rule. Second, we study the ability of the model to reproduce some stylized facts such as high persistent dynamics and the weak comovement between economic activity and inflation observed in actual US data. The estimation procedure implemented is a classical structural method based on the indirect inference principle. The empirical results show that (i) policy intertia, persistent policy shocks and the term spread are all significant determinants in the estimated US monetary policy rule, (ii) the Fed responds to the information content of the spread about future inflation and real activity, but the Fed does not seem to respond independently to the spread; and (iii) the model augmented with term structure reproduces the weak comovement between economic activity and inflation as well as the strong comovement at medium and long-term forecast horizons between the Fed rate and the 1-yar rate observed in the US datNKM model, term structure, monetary policy rule

Las 27 rectas de una superficie cúbica

Exposición de una demostración elemental de que una superficie cúbica lisa contiene 27 rectas y relación con las variedades de Fano y la teoría de grupos

PRODUCTIVITY MANAGEMENT OF THE CACAO AGRO-FOOD SYSTEM IN TABASCO (MEXICO): A FITNESS APPROACH

The farming industry and the agro-food system as a whole are now required to adapt to a challenging and more competitive environment. How the food industry can fit itself into such environment is the main question that is addressed in this study. The fitness approach, an exploratory framework, is applied in order to study the Cacao Agro-food System (CAPS) in Tabasco. Mexico. The final sample consisted of 356 farmers, 37 curing plants, 6 wholesaling firms, and 7 chocolate firms. An anatomical model using correspondence analysis was adopted to understand the main features of every industry in the CAPS. The Pitness Appraisal Instrument (FAI) was constructed and applied to determine the relationships between factors and aspects of organisational configuration with 5 key performance indicators of the CAPS farming industry. The anatomy of CAPS revealed that it is based on raw and bulk products, has a potential to diversify vertically and horizontally, and has a dual structure private and union related -which is not appropriate to deal with issues such as free market pressures or lethal fungal diseases. Results of the PAI analysis revealed that both the factors and the aspects of organisational configuration are significantly related to performance indicators. Indeed, 14 of the 20 productivity management elements are significantly related to performance indicators. Moreover, the results show that a set of fittest solutions, rather than a unique solution, exists among farmers. Visualisation of the productivity management elements reveals that participation of organic cacao, education levels, and price setting exert the strongest influence on productivity indicators. The key implication of this study is that both efficiency and effectiveness are the two valid strategies that enable the farming industry to cope with the challenging and competitive environment. The Policy makers should be aware of a set of solutions (fitness landscape) instead of just focusing on individual (often narrow) solution

Degree of strata of singular cubic surfaces

Determinación de los grados de algunos estratos de una clasificación de superficies cúbicas singulares, que son subvariedades del espacio proyectivo de dimensión 19 de las que se conoce su dimensión y que son irreducibles

Orthotropic rotation-free basic thin shell triangle

A methodology for the geometrically nonlinear analysis of orthotropic shells using a rotation-free shell triangular element is developed. The method is based on the computation of the strain and stress fields in the principal fiber orientation of the material. Details of the definition of the fiber orientation in a mesh of triangles and of the general formulation of the orthotropic rotation-free element are given. The accuracy of the formulation is demonstrated in examples of application

Astrobiological significance of minerals on Mars surface environment: UV-shielding properties of Fe (jarosite) vs. Ca (gypsum) sulphates

The recent discovery of liquid water-related sulphates on Mars is of great astrobiological interest. UV radiation experiments, using natural Ca and Fe sulphates (gypsum, jarosite), coming from two selected areas of SE Spain (Jaroso Hydrothermal System and the Sorbas evaporitic basin), were performed using a Xe Lamp with an integrated output from 220 nm to 500 nm of 1.2 Wm-2. The results obtained demonstrate a large difference in the UV protection capabilities of both minerals and also confirm that the mineralogical composition of the Martian regolith is a crucial shielding factor. Whereas gypsum showed a much higher transmission percentage, jarosite samples, with a thickness of only 500 microns, prevented transmission. This result is extremely important for the search for life on Mars as: a) jarosite typically occurs on Earth as alteration crusts and patinas, and b) a very thin crust of jarosite on the surface of Mars would be sufficient to shield microorganisms from UV radiation.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology (invited paper), special issue "Extreme Life

Nonlinear finite element analysis of orthotropic and prestressed membrane structures

A new methodology for the geometrically nonlinear analysis of orthotropic membrane structures using triangular finite elements is presented. The approach is based on writing the constitutive equations in the principal fiber orientation of the material. A direct consequence of the fiber orientation strategy is the possibility to analyze initially out-of-plane prestressed membrane structures. An algorithm to model wrinkling behavior is also described. Examples of application to a number of membrane structures are presented

Diversiones públicas en la Ciudad de México, 1920-1924

El divertirse es sustancial y primario, se da en todos los individuos, sociedades y en todos sus niveles. Sin embargo, implica más que un entretenimiento, que una actividad recreativa, en él se sociabiliza y socializa. Este último elemento definido como el aprendizaje, apropiación y transformación de los elementos socioculturales con los cuales convivimos, como las conductas, hábitos o modelos de vida, valores, visiones sobre el pasado, presente y futuro de una sociedad dada, y que están materializados en una serie de elementos culturales como las obras artísticas, de las cuales se componen las diferentes formas de diversión, y en elementos legal es , como reglamentos y leyes a las cuales están sujetas las diversiones a las cuales acudimos. Estos elementos configuran una cosmovisión de la vida personal y social que tanto vanaglorian las buenas conductas como a su vez sancionan, por ejemplo, lo que se considera fuera de los cánones de “moralidad y buenas costumbres” de una época determinada, tanto en el ámbito público como en el privado. Estos últimos rubros son esenciales, sin embargo, se hace especial énfasis en el ámbito público, en otras palabras, cuando los individuos se reúnen entre sí, por ejemplo en un café, en el teatro, el cine, las mismas calles y plazas públicas, llegando a formar vínculos de diferente magnitud e índole, como personales, laborales, de resistencia y de protesta social, de identidad nacional, que cohesionan e integran a la sociedad en general, y dicho proceso se denomina, sociabilidad. Al evolucionar el hombre y la sociedad también lo han hecho las formas en que se juega y se entretiene, ya no sólo es una forma natural y primaria, se complejiza, civiliza y controla desde el momento en que los instrumentos de socialización se ponen en marcha, se estipulan normas y reglamentos, se censura y prohíbe para normar, modificar y orientar tanto las diversiones en sí como las conductas de los espectadores. Entonces, si las diversiones públicas 2 son un espacio que por su esencia de aglutinamiento de individuos se puede poner en marcha de manera efectiva la socialización, por lo tanto, resulta sumamente atractivo que en estos espacios los grupos de poder (élites, autoridades y los medios de comunicación) puedan tratar de imponer su visión y concepción acerca de una serie de elementos como las prácticas sociales, las conductas, valores sociales, etc