Essays on fiscal and monetary policy in open economies

textIn the first chapter, I quantify the welfare effect of eliminating the U.S. capital income tax under international financial integration. I employ a two-country, heterogeneous-agent incomplete markets model calibrated to represent the U.S. and the rest of the world. Short-run and long-run factor price dynamics are key: after the tax reform, post-tax interest rate increases less under financial openness relative to autarky. Therefore the wealth-rich households gain less. Post-tax wages also fall less, so the wealth-poor are hurt less. Hence, the fraction in favor of the reform increases, although the majority still prefers the status quo. Aggregate welfare effect to the U.S. is a permanent 0.2 % consumption equivalent loss under financial openness which is 85.5 % smaller than the welfare loss under autarky. The second chapter aims to answer two questions: What helps forecast U.S. inflation? What causes the observed changes in the predictive ability of variables commonly used in forecasting US inflation? In macroeconomic analysis and inflation forecasting, the traditional Phillips curve has been widely used to exploit the empirical relationship between inflation and domestic economic activity. Atkeson and Ohanian (2001), among others, cast doubt on the performance of Phillips curve-based forecasts of U.S. inflation relative to naive forecasts. This indicates a difficulty for policy-making and private sectorâs long term nominal commitments which depend on inflation expectations. The literature suggests globalization may be one reason for this phenomenon. To test this, we evaluate the forecasting ability of global slack measures under an open economy Phillips curve. The results are very sensitive to measures of inflation, forecast horizons and estimation samples. We find however, terms of trade gap, measured as HP-filtered terms of trade, is a good and robust variable to forecast U.S. inflation. Moreover, our forecasts based on the simulated data from a workhorse new open economy macro (NOEM) model indicate that better monetary policy and good luck (i.e. a remarkably benign sample of economic shocks) can account for the empirical observations on forecasting accuracy, while globalization plays a secondary role.Economic

The treatment of talar body fractures with compression screws: a case series

Fractures of talar body are rare and serious injuries and frequently seen in multiply injured and polytraumatised patients. The high variability of talar fractures, their relatively low incidence together with the high percentage of concomitant injuries makes treatment of these injuries a challenge to the surgeon

Arthroplasty as a Choice of Treatment in Hip Surgery

The hip joint bears the most load in the human body. For this reason, it carries the potential risk of degenerative arthritis in individuals with a functionally active lifestyle. The main goal in the treatment of degenerative arthritis is to achieve pain relief and create a hip joint range of motion close to normal. Even today, it is not possible to transform the hip joint, which has been degenerated due to several reasons and worn out due to the physiological properties of the cartilage structure, back to its natural state. Osteotomies, resection arthroplasties and hip arthrodeses, which are designed to compensate the load distribution affecting the hip and relieve the pain, are still employed methods. Total hip arthroplasty, on the other hand, is an alternative solution for the problem. Cemented, cementless and hybrid methods are widely used for this purpose in total hip arthroplasties. The purpose of hip prosthesis surgery is to shape the bone tips and to fill the fragments with various materials and keep these two structures as separate surfaces. Total hip arthroplasty consists of a femoral component placed in the medullas of the femur and an acetabular component placed in the acetabulum. In this article we will review the aims, causes, types and techniques of total hip arthroplasty

ESSAYS IN INTERNATIONAL AND FINANCIAL ECONOMICS

This dissertation is a collection of three essays in international and financial economics. In these essays, I focus on government debt and firm financing decisions over the business cycle. In the first essay, I study the role of income inequality in government’s borrowing and default decisions. To explore the relationship between default risk and income inequality, I extend the standard endogenous default model to allow for heterogeneous agents. The main finding of this paper is that inequality shocks can increase the default risk significantly. The model can also generate high consumption volatility of poor households relative to rich households, consistent with the data. I extend the model by introducing progressive income taxes and show that as the progressivity of the tax increases, the probability of default decreases. In the second essay, I address how the financing of working capital plays a role in the default risk and the business cycle characteristics observed in emerging market economies. I propose a general equilibrium model with endogenous sovereign default risk and working capital conditions and study the role of labor markets in generating the drops in output observed in defaults. I find that the working capital condition increases the default risk through a feedback loop. I show that this model is able to match the countercyclical interest rates, high volatility of consumption relative to output and countercyclical trade balance observed in Argentina. The third essay analyzes the role of binding financing constraints on manufacturing firms’ investment decisions in the U.S., using the Great Recession period as a natural case study. The main finding of this paper is that firms that do not borrow from public bond markets experienced binding liquidity constraints on their R&D investments during the recession. The paper also compares the evidence on financial constraints in R&D investments to the evidence about capital and inventory investments. Firms without bond ratings show the highest liquidity sensitivity for inventory investments, and investment-liquidity sensitivity is greater for capital than it is for R&D investments

Self-transcendence among adults 65 years and older : A meta-analysis

Introduction Self-transcendence is a human capacity for wellbeing by expanding one's personal boundaries and may act as a health-promoting resource among adults ≥65 years. Therefore, the objectives of this meta-analysis were to determine the mean score of self-transcendence based on place of residence and gender, and to evaluate the correlations of self-transcendence with meaning, sense of coherence, resilience and depression. Methods Based on inclusion criteria, 13 studies were included. Orwin Safe N and Egger's test assessed publication bias. The mean score of self-transcendence and the correlation coefficients of the selected variables were estimated by random effects models. Results The self-transcendence mean score (n = 1634) was low (M = 43.6) and a bit lower among those staying in care facilities (M = 42.8), but did not vary significantly across gender. The correlation coefficients were self-transcendence_depression (r = −0.40), self-transcendence_meaning-in-life (r = 0.53), self-transcendence_resilience (r = 0.50) and self-transcendence_sense of coherence (r = 0.28). The correlation coefficients, except for meaning-in-life, were homogeneous. Conclusion In a health-promoting perspective, the concept of self-transcendence can help to better understand wellbeing among older individuals and provide guidance for health professionals in facilitating wellbeing and health. The concept and theory of self-transcendence can inspire health professionals in realising new health-promoting approaches to support older individuals in maintaining health, wellbeing and independency.publishedVersio

Characterization of Structural Defects in (Cd,Zn)Te Crystals Grown by the Travelling Heater Method

Structural defects and compositional uniformity remain the major problems affecting the performance of (Cd, Zn)Te (CZT) based detector devices. Understanding the mechanism of growth and defect formation is therefore fundamental to improving the crystal quality. In this frame, space experiments for the growth of CZT by the Travelling Heater Method (THM) under microgravity are scheduled. A detailed ground-based program was performed to determine experimental parameters and three CZT crystals were grown by the THM. The structural defects, compositional homogeneity and resistivity of these ground-based crystals were investigated. A ZnTe content variation was observed at the growth interface and a high degree of stress associated with extensive dislocation networks was induced, which propagated into the grown crystal region according to the birefringence and X-ray White Beam Topography (XWBT) results. By adjusting the growth parameters, the ZnTe variations and the resulting stress were efficiently reduced. In addition, it was revealed that large inclusions and grain boundaries can generate a high degree of stress, leading to the formation of dislocation slip bands and subgrain boundaries. The dominant defects, including grain boundaries, dislocation networks and cracks in the interior of crystals, led to the resistivity variation in the crystals. The bulk resistivity of the as-grown crystals ranged from 109 Ωcm to 1010 Ωcm

Malignant Struma Ovarii: A Case Report

We present a case of a 40-yr-old woman diagnosed with a primary malignant struma ovarii. The patient was admitted with the complaint of pelvic pain and a large pelvic mass in the mid-portion of lower abdomen on gynecological examination. Pre-operative tumor markers and routine biochemistry were unremarkable. She was treated with total abdominal hysterectomy and right salpingo-oopherectomy. Post-operatively, she was diagnosed with a malignant struma ovarii through the usage of histopathological criteria similar to the guidelines for primary thyroid gland disease. The patient was subsequently performed left salpingo-oopherectomy and retroperitoneal pelvic lympadenectomy for re-staging. Although, left ovary and lymph nodes were histopathologically normal, she was offered thyroidectomy but she refused to accept the offer. Thyroglobulin level was monitored in the post-operative period. She is free of the disease for 18 months

Ovarian germ cell tumors with rhabdomyosarcomatous components and later development of growing teratoma syndrome: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Development of a sarcomatous component in a germ cell tumor is an uncommon phenomenon. Most cases reported have a grim prognosis. Growing teratoma syndrome is also an uncommon phenomenon and occurs in approximately 2% to 7% of non seminomatous germ cell tumors and should be treated surgically.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a 12-year-old Asian girl with an ovarian mixed germ cell tumor containing a rhabdomyosarcomatous component. She was treated with a germ cell tumor chemotherapy regimen and rhabdomyosarcoma-specific chemotherapy. Towards the end of her treatment, she developed a retroperitoneal mass that was increasing in size. It was completely resected, revealing a mature teratoma, consistent with growing teratoma syndrome. She is still in complete remission approximately three years after presentation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The presence of rhabdomyosarcoma in a germ cell tumor should be treated by a combined chemotherapy regimen (for germ cell tumor and rhabdomyosarcoma). In addition, development of a mass during or after therapy with normal serum markers should raise the possibility of growing teratoma syndrome that should be treated surgically.</p