A study of Kuwait's monetary sector.

This study is concerned with the structure, development and working of the monetary sector in the State of Kuwait. Initially, the characteristics of the Kuwaiti economy are examined in order to put the monetary sector into perspective. It is shown that the Kuwaiti economy possesses the general characteristics of less developed economies together with some distinguishing properties. It is argued that since there exists no one-to-one relationship between government revenue and expenditure, the money supply, in the short run, tends to be insulated from the effect of the external balance. - The working of Kuwait's monetary sector is studied through the balance sheets of the Central Bank and commercial banks, and that leads on to an analysis of the money supply process. The definition of money is discussed, and it is argued on the basis of empirical evidence that the broad money supply is the most appropriate for the purpose of monetary control. Causality testing reveals a unidirectional effect from money to income, and the estimation of velocity equations indicates that financing economic development by monetary injections is inflationary in the short run. A multiplier reduced-form model reveals the viability of short-run monetary control in Kuwait, but it is argued that monetary policy has been ineffective in this respect. It is also postulated that the combination of interest and exchange rate policies gives rise to the recurring problem of capital outflows. A structural econometric model of the monetary sector shows that the equilibrium stock of money is determined by supply and demand factors, and that the control of banks' reserves can (in part) accomplish the objective of monetary control. The model also reveals that both monetary and fiscal actions affect real output and prices, but the former tend to be more powerful. It is recommended on the basis of this study that the Central Bank should be given greater autonomy in formulating and executing monetary policy, and that its research capabilities need to be improved. Urgent attention must be paid to developing financial markets and upgrading tools of monetary policy. Finally, It Is argued that the Ministry of Finance should take part in the control of money and credit by manipulating its deposits and, perhaps, adopting a simple constant change rule in government expenditure

Direct and Cross Forward Hedging of Transaction Exposure to Foreign Exchange Risk

Three hedging decisions are evaluated using historical data involving four currencies over the period l986-1998. Using the mean-variance criterion as applied to the domestic currency value of foreign currency payables, it is found that the no-hedging, direct forward hedging and cross forward hedging decisions produce similar results. This is attributed to the validity of the unbiasedness hypothesis and the cyclical movements of exchange rates, which cause the extreme domestic currency values of the payables to cancel out over a long period of time. This finding is not interpreted to mean that hedging is a useless operation because the results are only　valid in the long run and on average

The Effectiveness of Cross-Currency Hedging

Abstract This study examines the effectiveness of cross-currency hedging compared to that of forward hedging and money market hedging. It is demonstrated that cross-currency hedging is not only less effective than forward and money market hedging but also that it is totally ineffective unless the exchange rate of the exposure currency and that of the third currency are highly correlated. The results indicate that for an effective crosscurrency hedging a correlation coefficient of 0.50 is required. This kind of correlation reduces the variance of the rate of return on the unhedged position by about 25 per cent

The Classical Gold Standard : A Miracle or a Myth ?

This paper investigates the working of the classical gold standard during the period l885-1913. On the basis of historical data for Britain and the U.S. the paper presents empirical evidence refuting the effectiveness of the price adjustment mechanism. The results also show that the income adjustment mechanism played a complementary role, and that there was no such thing as a common price level under the gold standard. The overall conclusion is that the gold standard does not provide a magic formula to solve current international monetary problems

Quantitative positron emission tomography-guided magnetic resonance imaging postprocessing in magnetic resonance imaging-negative epilepsies

Objective: Detection of focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is of paramount importance in epilepsy presurgical evaluation. Our study aims at utilizing quantitative positron emission tomography (QPET) analysis to complement magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) postprocessing by a morphometric analysis program (MAP) to facilitate automated identification of subtle FCD. Methods: We retrospectively included a consecutive cohort of surgical patients who had a negative preoperative MRI by radiology report. MAP was performed on T1-weighted volumetric sequence and QPET was performed on PET/computed tomographic data, both with comparison to scanner-specific normal databases. Concordance between MAP and QPET was assessed at a lobar level, and the significance of concordant QPET-MAP(+) abnormalities was confirmed by postresective seizure outcome and histopathology. QPET thresholds of standard deviations (SDs) of -1, -2, -3, and -4 were evaluated to identify the optimal threshold for QPET-MAP analysis. Results: A total of 104 patients were included. When QPET thresholds of SD = -1, -2, and -3 were used, complete resection of the QPET-MAP(+) region was significantly associated with seizure-free outcome when compared with the partial resection group (P = 0.023, P <0.001, P = 0.006) or the no resection group (P = 0.002, P <0.001, P = 0.001). The SD threshold of -2 showed the best combination of positive rate (55%), sensitivity (0.68), specificity (0.88), positive predictive value (0.88), and negative predictive value (0.69). Surgical pathology of the resected QPET-MAP(+) areas revealed mainly FCD type L Multiple QPETMAP(+) regions were present in 12% of the patients at SD = -2. Significance: Our study demonstrates a practical and effective approach to combine quantitative analyses of functional (QPET) and structural (MAP) imaging data to improve identification of subtle epileptic abnormalities. This approach can he readily adopted by epilepsy centers to improve postresective seizure outcomes for patients without apparent lesions on MRI.Peer reviewe

A framework to embed Asset Management in production companies

open2noThe aim of this article is to investigate how to embed asset management in production companies. A framework is defined based on literature analysis and focus groups findings, in which the fundamentals to guide the integration of asset management are systematized. Two dimensions are identified—the asset life cycle and the hierarchical level of the asset-control activities—and four founding principles—life cycle, system, risk and asset-centric orientation—as levers to integrate asset management within an industrial organization. An empirical investigation is then developed through multiple case study involving eight production companies in Italy, with the purpose to map the elements of the framework against the real mechanisms in the industrial practices. This allows testing the relevance of the framework itself and demonstrating its potential as a support for companies to implement gap analysis on asset management practices. Empirical evidence on current practices of asset management in production companies is contextually unveiled.openRoda, Irene*; Macchi, MarcoRoda, Irene; Macchi, Marc

Foreign direct investment : theory, evidence, and practice

xvi, 311 p. : ill. ; 23 cm