An insight into the role of trissolcus mitsukurii as biological control agent of halyomorpha halys in Northeastern Italy

11noSustainable strategies such as classical or augmentative biological control are currently being evaluated for the long-term management of the alien invasive pest Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). A three-year study carried out in northeastern Italy was performed to investigate the distribution and field performance of the H. halys egg parasitoid Trissolcus mitsukurii (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae), in comparison with other parasitoid species. In the study area, adventive populations of T. mitsukurii were present since 2016, representing the earliest detection of this species in Europe. Trissolcus mitsukurii was the most abundant parasitoid and showed a higher “parasitoid impact” (i.e., number of parasitized eggs over the total number of field-collected eggs) compared to the other species, i.e., Anastatus bifasciatus (Geoffroy) (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) and Trissolcus kozlovi Rjachovskij (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae). The hyperparasitoid Acroclisoides sinicus (Huang and Liao) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) was also recorded. Phylogenetic analysis of T. mitsukurii population distinguished two clades, one covering samples from Italy, Japan and China, the other from South Korea. The present study provides promising results for the biological control of a pest that is having a dramatic impact on a wide range of crops worldwide.openopenScaccini D.; Falagiarda M.; Tortorici F.; Martinez-Sanudo I.; Tirello P.; Reyes-Dominguez Y.; Gallmetzer A.; Tavella L.; Zandigiacomo P.; Duso C.; Pozzebon A.Scaccini, D.; Falagiarda, M.; Tortorici, F.; Martinez-Sanudo, I.; Tirello, P.; Reyes-Dominguez, Y.; Gallmetzer, A.; Tavella, L.; Zandigiacomo, P.; Duso, C.; Pozzebon, A

Assessing the distribution of exotic egg parasitoids of Halyomorpha halys in Europe with a large-scale monitoring program

The brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys is an invasive agricultural pest with a worldwide distribution. Classical biological control has been identified as the most promising method to reduce the populations of H. halys. Adventive populations of two candidates for releases, Trissolcus japonicus and Trissolcus mitsukurii, have recently been detected in Europe. To assess their distribution and abundance, a large-scale survey was performed. From May to September 2019, a wide area covering northern Italy and parts of Switzerland was surveyed, highlighting the expanding distribution of both Tr. japonicus and Tr. mitsukurii. Within four years after their first detection in Europe, both species have rapidly spread into all types of habitats where H. halys is present, showing a wide distribution and continuous expansion. Both exotic Trissolcus showed high levels of parasitism rate towards H. halys, while parasitization of non-target species was a rare event. The generalist Anastatus bifasciatus was the predominant native parasitoid of H. halys, while the emergence of native scelionids from H. halys eggs was rarely observed. The presence of the hyperparasitoid Acroclisoides sinicus was also recorded. This study provided fundamental data that supported the development of the first inoculative release program of Tr. japonicus in Europe

Are East African Countries Ready for a Common Currency? A Structural Vector Autoregression Analysis

The East African Community (EAC), a regional block composed of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, has monetary integration as one of its short-term goals. This paper empirically investigates the suitability of such a project by using two different Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) models, which allow to identify the underlying structural shocks of the economies. The results indicate that the business cycles of these countries are generally not symmetric, and the five economies respond quite differently to shocks, suggesting that the EAC does not yet constitute an Optimum Currency Area (OCA)

Credit, Endogenous Collateral and Risky Assets: A DSGE Model

We propose a new Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model with credit frictions and a banking sector. LTV ratios are assumed to be influenced by systemic and idiosyncratic risk. The model also features endogenous balance sheet choices and a novel formulation of the capital ratio, in which assets are risk-weighted by risk-sensitivity measures. We find that the presence of endogenous LTV ratios exacerbates the procyclicality of lending. Moreover, the model captures the role played by prudential regulatory frameworks in affecting business cycle fluctuations and restoring macroeconomic and financial stability. Our findings highlight the scope for coordination between monetary and macro-prudential policies

The macroeconomic impact of financial fragmentation in the euro area: Which role for credit supply?

This paper studies the macroeconomic impact of financial fragmentation in the euro area by analysing the role of credit supply shocks during the recent pre-crisis, bust, and post-crisis periods. We estimate a time-varying parameter vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) with stochastic volatility à la Primiceri (2005) for euro area countries, and we identify the structural shocks by imposing sign restrictions on impulse response functions based on the theoretical model by Gerali et al. (2010). The results suggest that credit supply shocks have been an important driver of business cycle fluctuations in euro area countries, and that their effects on the economy have generally increased since the recent crisis. More specifically, we find evidence that credit supply shocks contributed positively to output growth during the pre-crisis period and negatively during the downturn in economic activity in 2008–2009 in all the countries considered. In the post-crisis period, by contrast, we observe a strong rise in cross-country heterogeneity, reflecting financial fragmentation in the euro area associated with the sovereign debt crisis and weaker banks' balance sheets. Although this heterogeneity across euro area countries started to decline around 2012, the contribution of credit supply shocks to GDP growth and credit growth remained negative in most euro area countries in mid-2013 (the end of our sample), suggesting that constraints in the supply of credit continued to weaken economic activity

Bank Lending to Euro Area Firms - What Have Been the Main Drivers During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had a strong impact on firms’ business plans and financing needs. In view of the importance of bank borrowing as a source of financing for euro area non-financial firms, the banking sector has played a key role in facilitating the flow of credit to the corporate sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. This role has been crucially supported by the sizeable support measures by monetary, fiscal and supervisory authorities, which have so far acted as a backstop against the risk of an adverse feedback loop between the real and financial sectors. This article discusses the main drivers of bank lending to euro area firms during the pandemic. Understanding the relative role of credit supply and demand forces as well as the impact of the various policy measures is crucial for policy makers in order to draw appropriate conclusions with respect to the effectiveness of the implemented measures and the possible need for further action. Against this background, the article first focuses on the early stages of the pandemic, when acute emergency liquidity needs arising from the lockdown measures were satisfied by bank borrowing at very favourable conditions. Then, it examines bank lending dynamics in the second phase of the pandemic, which was characterised by abating liquidity needs, a continuation of the policy support measures, but also by the emergence of pressures on bank intermediation due to intensifying concerns about the deterioration of borrowers’ creditworthiness. The article concludes by highlighting some of the risks to banks’ credit intermediation capacity in the near future

Quantitative easing and credit rating agencies

This paper investigates the behaviour of credit rating agencies (CRAs) using a natural experiment in monetary policy. We exploit the corporate QE of the Eurosystem and its rating-based specific design which generates exogenous variation in the probability for a bond of becoming eligible for outright purchases. We show that after the launch of the policy, rating activity was concentrated precisely on the territory where the incentives of market participants are expected to be more sensitive to the policy design. Our findings contribute to better assessing the consequences of the explicit reliance on CRAs ratings by central banks when designing monetary policy