Monetary policy and risk taking : [draft january 2013]

We assess the effects of monetary policy on bank risk to verify the existence of a risk-taking channel - monetary expansions inducing banks to assume more risk. We first present VAR evidence confirming that this channel exists and tends to concentrate on the bank funding side. Then, to rationalize this evidence we build a macro model where banks subject to runs endogenously choose their funding structure (deposits vs. capital) and risk level. A monetary expansion increases bank leverage and risk. In turn, higher bank risk in steady state increases asset price volatility and reduces equilibrium output

US market entry by Spanish pharmaceutical firms

This work explores the factors that spur firms’ propensity to enter in international markets. Among the whole population of Spanish firms active in the pharmaceutical sector (over the period 1995-2004), we identify those firms that have entered the US market by assessing whether they have filed at least a trademark in the US Patents and Trademarks Office. By means of a hazard model, we empirically estimate which firm’s characteristics affect the probability of entry in the US market in a given year. Results show that technological capabilities (breadth and depth of firms’ patent base), and the firm’s cost structure explain the entry in the US market with a branded product. Moreover, our evidence shows that entry strategies based on differentiation advantage (technological diversification) and strategies based on cost advantage (scale economies) are exclusive and do not mix well each otherForeign market entry, Internationalization strategies, Firm-Specific advantages, Competitive advantage, Innovation and R&D, Patents, Trademarks

Monetary policy and risk taking. Bruegel Working Paper 2010/00, February 2010

We assess, through VAR evidence, the effects of monetary policy on banks’ risk exposure and find the presence of a risk-taking channel. A model combining fragile banks prone to risk mis-incentives and credit constrained firms, whose collateral fluctuations generate a balance sheet channel, is used to rationalize the evidence. A monetary expansion increases bank leverage. With two consequences: on the one side this exacerbates risk exposure; on the other, the risk spiral depresses output, therefore dampening the conventional amplification effect of the financial accelerator. Keywords: monetary policy, bank behavior, leverage, financial accelerator

“The elegance of quantum mechanics”: An at-distance proposal for secondary school students

INTRODUCTION: THE STATE OF THE ART AND OPEN PROBLEMS Quantum Mechanics has been the focus of physics education research since the 90s and, nowadays, researchers no longer express doubts on the fact that it is fundamental for the culture and the awareness of the individual citizen and of the whole society (Redish, 2000; Besson, 2017). From surveys on teacher training (Stefanel, 2008; Fera, 2011; Giliberti, 2014; Krijtenburg-Lewerissa, 2017), it emerged that most teachers - mainly with a degree in mathematics - often do not have a coherent framework of modern physics in general, and of quantum physics in particular. Furthermore, the didactic path presented in textbooks is limited to a pseudo-historical presentation, which provides a hyper-simplified explanation of the fundamental concepts, in an attempt to bypass the problems associated with students’ lack of adequate mathematical tools, leading to deep misconceptions. OUR COURSE: “THE ELEGANCE OF QUANTUM MECHANICS” In this presentation we describe the work of designing, testing, and evaluating the effectiveness of a course entitled, “The elegance of quantum mechanics”, presented in Academy Year 2021/22. The activity - done online - was offered to teachers and students of the last three years of high school (120 participants overall), from October 2021 to January 2022, through weekly appointments of one and a half hours each. Lessons were integrated with slides, questions with Kahoot! and graphic examples with GeoGebra (https://www.geogebra.org/m/aqf2dgn3). Course effectiveness was assessed by collecting and analyzing different types of data deriving from an anonymous satisfaction survey, 9 Google Forms (given after each of the first nine lessons, with a total of 38 open questions and 24 exercises; for example: https://forms.gle/Nr2umPc53FCCi3KZ9), and 19 individual interviews, aimed at investigating strengths and criticalities. This analysis allowed us to identify the reasoning that students commonly use in facing some conceptual issues of quantum mechanics. The following will be discussed: strengths of the activity, regarding the mathematical aspects, the use of GeoGebra and Kahoot!; criticalities, especially in dealing with spaces with more than 3 dimensions, with the concept of self-adjoint operator, and concerning the confusion between states and operators; materials (https://pls.fisica.unimi.it/materiali/). A new course, implemented with the improvements mentioned above, is expected to start in October 2022. REFERENCES Besson, U. (2017). Didattica della fisica. Rome: Carocci Editore. Fera, G., Challapalli, S. R., Michelini, M., Santi, L., Stefanel, A., & Vercellati, A. (2011). Formare gli insegnanti all’innovazione didattica e all’orientamento, Connessi! Scenari di Innovazione nella Formazione e nella Comunicazione, 411-420. Giliberti, M. (2014). Theories as Crucial Aspects in Quantum Physics Education. Frontiers of Fundamental Physics and Physics Education Research. Springer Proceedings in Physics, vol 145. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00297-2_51 Krijtenburg-Lewerissa, K., Pol, H.J., Brinkman, A., & Van Joolingen, W. R. (2017). Insights into teaching quantum mechanics in secondary and lower undergraduate education. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 13(1). Redish, E. F. (2000). Who needs to learn physics in the 21st century and why? Plenary lecture, GIREP Conference 2000. Stefanel, A. (2008). Impostazioni e percorsi per l’insegnamento della meccanica quantistica nella scuola secondaria. Giornale di Fisica 49, 15-53

Evidence of a low-temperature dynamical transition in concentrated microgels

A low-temperature dynamical transition has been reported in several proteins. We provide the first observation of a `protein-like' dynamical transition in nonbiological aqueous environments. To this aim we exploit the popular colloidal system of poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM) microgels, extending their investigation to unprecedentedly high concentrations. Owing to the heterogeneous architecture of the microgels, water crystallization is avoided in concentrated samples, allowing us to monitor atomic dynamics at low temperatures. By elastic incoherent neutron scattering and molecular dynamics simulations, we find that a dynamical transition occurs at a temperature $T_d\sim250$~K, independently from PNIPAM mass fraction. However, the transition is smeared out on approaching dry conditions. The quantitative agreement between experiments and simulations provides evidence that the transition occurs simultaneously for PNIPAM and water dynamics. The similarity of these results with hydrated protein powders suggests that the dynamical transition is a generic feature in complex macromolecular systems, independently from their biological function

The impact of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease on renal function in children with overweight/obesity

The association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and chronic kidney disease has attracted interest and attention over recent years. However, no data are available in children. We determined whether children with NAFLD show signs of renal functional alterations, as determined by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urinary albumin excretion. We studied 596 children with overweight/obesity, 268 with NAFLD (hepatic fat fraction >= 5% on magnetic resonance imaging) and 328 without NAFLD, and 130 healthy normal-weight controls. Decreased GFR was defined as eGFR < 90 mL/min/1.73 m(2). Abnormal albuminuria was defined as urinary excretion of >= 30 mg/24 h of albumin. A greater prevalence of eGFR < 90 mL/min/1.73 m2 was observed in patients with NAFLD compared to those without liver involvement and healthy subjects (17.5% vs. 6.7% vs. 0.77%; p < 0.0001). The proportion of children with abnormal albuminuria was also higher in the NAFLD group compared to those without NAFLD, and controls (9.3% vs. 4.0% vs. 0; p < 0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that NAFLD was associated with decreased eGFR and/or microalbuminuria (odds ratio, 2.54 (confidence interval, 1.16-5.57); p < 0.05) independently of anthropometric and clinical variables. Children with NAFLD are at risk for early renal dysfunction. Recognition of this abnormality in the young may help to prevent the ongoing development of the disease

US market entry by Spanish pharmaceutical firms

This work explores the factors that spur firms’ propensity to enter in international markets. Among the whole population of Spanish firms active in the pharmaceutical sector (over the period 1995-2004), we identify those firms that have entered the US market by assessing whether they have filed at least a trademark in the US Patents and Trademarks Office. By means of a hazard model, we empirically estimate which firm’s characteristics affect the probability of entry in the US market in a given year. Results show that technological capabilities (breadth and depth of firms’ patent base), and the firm’s cost structure explain the entry in the US market with a branded product. Moreover, our evidence shows that entry strategies based on differentiation advantage (technological diversification) and strategies based on cost advantage (scale economies) are exclusive and do not mix well each othe

Derecho en y tras la pandemia. Los mecanismos de apoyo de la UE para hacer frente a la crisis de la covid-19: el alcance de la solidaridad entre estados miembros de la UE

Para apoyar la recuperación de las economías de los Estados miembros de la Unión Europea (UE), tras la crisis derivada de la pandemia de la COVID-19, y a su vez, aumentar su resiliencia y fomentar las transiciones ecológica y digital, la UE ha aprobado un paquete de estímulos sin precedentes, el «Plan de recuperación para Europa». Este trabajo analiza en qué medida los programas que integran el citado Plan (especialmente el Mecanismo de Recuperación y Resiliencia) constituyen nuevos sistemas de apoyo financiero, de naturaleza e implicaciones –a nivel de endeudamiento– diferentes a los introducidos en la crisis de deuda soberana de 2010, y suponen un verdadero avance en la solidaridad entre Estados miembros de la UETo support the recovery of the economies of the Member States of the European Union (EU), after the crisis derived from the COVID-19 pandemic, and in turn, increase their resilience and promote ecological and digital transitions, the EU has approved an unprecedented stimulus package, the «Recovery Plan for Europe». This paper analyzes to what extent the programs that make up the aforementioned Plan (especially the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism) constitute new financial support systems, of a nature and implications – at the level of indebtedness – different from those introduced in the sovereign debt crisis of 2010 and represent a real advance in solidarity between EU Member State

La naturaleza de los recargos por declaración extemporánea voluntaria a la luz de la jurisprudencia del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos y del Tribunal Constitucional español

El presente trabajo analiza la figura del recargo por declaración extemporánea voluntaria a la luz de la jurisprudencia del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos (TEDH) y del Tribunal Constitucional español (TC). El TC se ha posicionado en varias ocasiones respecto de la naturaleza de dichos recargos, jurisprudencia que pone de manifiesto la dificultad de trazar una línea clara entre aquellas medidas que poseen naturaleza sancionadora de las que no. Distinción que en última instancia se ha configurado a través de un criterio, de discutible idoneidad, como es la cuantía. Por su parte, el TEDH no ha tenido la oportunidad de pronunciarse en concreto sobre la naturaleza de dichos recargos españoles. No obstante, la jurisprudencia del Tribunal de Estrasburgo sobre medidas similares aplicadas en otros ordenamientos jurídicos nos proporciona nuevos parámetros de análisis; especialmente, tras la sentencia Jussila, la cual aporta indicadores suficientes que permiten constatar la naturaleza sancionadora del recargo español desde la perspectiva del artículo 6 del Convenio Europeo de Derechos Humanos (derecho a un proceso equitativo)

Delimitación del sector público local y estabilidad presupuestaria

Los Estados miembros de la UE deben presentar a las instituciones europeas los datos referentes a sus niveles de déficit y deuda públicos siguiendo la metodología del Sistema Europeo de Cuentas (actualmente vigente, SEC-2010). El SEC-2010 ha supuesto un endurecimiento de los criterios para clasificar las entidades públicas (p. ej., empresas públicas) fuera del sector Administraciones públicas respecto al anterior SEC-95. El alcance de algunas de las limitaciones del SEC-2010 está todavía por determinar y depende, en gran medida, de la interpretación que Eurostat haga de las normas contables. En este trabajo se analizan los criterios para la delimitación del sector Administraciones públicas y las principales controversias de su aplicación, haciendo especial referencia al ámbito loca