Central Bank Independence, Centralization of Wage Bargaining, Inflation and Unemployment - Theory and Some Evidence

This paper proposes a conceptual framework to investigate the effects of central bank independence, of the degree of centralization of wage bargaining and of the interaction between those institutional variables, on real wages, unemployment and inflation, in a framework in which unions are averse to inflation. This aversion moderates unions wage demands as they attempt to induce the central bank to inflate at a lower rate. An increase in the degree of centralization of wage bargaining (a decrease in the number of unions) triggers two opposite effects on real wages, unemployment and inflation. It reduces the substitutability between the labor of different unions and therefore the degree of effective competition between them. This "reduced competition effect" raises real wages, unemployment and in°ation. But the decrease in the number of unions also strengthens the moderating effect of in°ationary fears on the real wage demands of each union. This "strategic effect" lowers real wages, unemployment and inflation. For sufficiently inflation averse unions the interaction between those two effects produces a Calmfors-Driffill type relation between real wages and centralization. The paper analyzes the effects of central bank independence on the position and the shape of this relation, as well as on inflation and unemployment. The paper features two mechanisms, one of which is novel, through which monetary institutions have real effects. The paper's framework implies that social welfare is maximized when the central bank is ultra liberal. This result is critically assessed. Empirical evaluation of some of the theoretical implications, using data from nineteen developed economies, is for the most part supportive of those implications.central banks;independence;wages;bargaining;inflation;unemployment

Artificial Parthenogenesis in Rana Pipiens

This 39 page thesis provides a history of artificial parthenogenetic experiments and examines the technique by using frogs\u27 eggs

Relationship between governance diversity and company growth: Evidence from the FT 1000 Europe's fastest growing companies

The issue of diversity within the boards of directors (BoD) of companies is a key topic; however, it is still highly focused on gender diversity. In this study, several elements of BoD diversity are related to economic variables other than profitability, namely corporate growth, by analysing the fifth annual Financial Times (FT) 1000 ranking based on the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). These results indicate that gender diversity does not affect corporate growth. Instead, the BoD's age and members' educational levels play a key role

Labor markets and Monetary Union: A Strategic Analysis

Monetary union;inflation;unemployment;labor unions;strategic monetary policy

Potential preanalytical and analytical vulnerabilities in the laboratory diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

A novel zoonotic coronavirus outbreak is spreading all over the world. This pandemic disease has now been defined as novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and is sustained by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As the current gold standard for the etiological diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is (real time) reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) on respiratory tract specimens, the diagnostic accuracy of this technique shall be considered a foremost prerequisite. Overall, potential RT-PCR vulnerabilities include general preanalytical issues such as identification problems, inadequate procedures for collection, handling, transport and storage of the swabs, collection of inappropriate or inadequate material (for quality or volume), presence of interfering substances, manual errors, as well as specific aspects such as sample contamination and testing patients receiving antiretroviral therapy. Some analytical problems may also contribute to jeopardize the diagnostic accuracy, including testing outside the diagnostic window, active viral recombination, use of inadequately validated assays, insufficient harmonization, instrument malfunctioning, along with other specific technical issues. Some practical indications can hence be identified for minimizing the risk of diagnostic errors, encompassing the improvement of diagnostic accuracy by combining clinical evidence with results of chest computed tomography (CT) and RT-PCR, interpretation of RT-PCR results according to epidemiologic, clinical and radiological factors, recollection and testing of upper (or lower) respiratory specimens in patients with negative RT-PCR test results and high suspicion or probability of infection, dissemination of clear instructions for specimen (especially swab) collection, management and storage, together with refinement of molecular target(s) and thorough compliance with analytical procedures, including quality assurance

A simple planning problem for COVID-19 lockdown: a dynamic programming approach

A large number of recent studies consider a compartmental SIR model to study optimal control policies aimed at containing the diffusion of COVID-19 while minimizing the economic costs of preventive measures. Such problems are non-convex and standard results need not to hold. We use a Dynamic Programming approach and prove some continuity properties of the value function of the associated optimization problem. We study the corresponding Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation and show that the value function solves it in the viscosity sense. Finally, we discuss some optimality conditions. Our paper represents a first contribution towards a complete analysis of non-convex dynamic optimization problems, within a Dynamic Programming approach