Banking union in historical perspective: the initiative of the European Commission in the 1960s-1970s

This article shows that planning for the organization of EU banking regulation and supervision did not just appear on the agenda in recent years with discussions over the creation of the eurozone banking union. It unveils a hitherto neglected initiative of the European Commission in the 1960s and early 1970s. Drawing on extensive archival work, this article explains that this initiative, however, rested on a number of different assumptions, and emerged in a much different context. It first explains that the Commission's initial project was not crisis-driven; that it articulated the link between monetary integration and banking regulation; and finally that it did not set out to move the supervisory framework to the supranational level, unlike present-day developments

Beyond the personal–anonymous divide: agency relations in powers of attorney in France in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

Powers of attorney are often interpreted as evidence of trust among the parties involved. We build a novel dataset of notarized powers of attorney, capturing a wide variety of agency relationships in four large French commercial cities in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, to test hypotheses on the relational basis of economic relationships. We find little support for the idea of a radical shift from personal to anonymous relationships during our period. Our results point to more nuanced transformations. The preference for proxies in the same occupation as the principal somewhat declined, while professional proxies emerged and principals used relational chains, especially involving notaries, to find proxies.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151849/1/ehr12784_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151849/2/ehr12784.pd

Rethinking European integration history in light of capitalism: the case of the long 1970s

This introduction outlines the possibilities and perspectives of an intertwining between European integration history and the history of capitalism. Although debates on capitalism have been making a comeback since the 2008 crisis, to date the concept of capitalism remains almost completely avoided by historians of European integration. This introduction thus conceptualizes ‘capitalism’ as a useful analytical tool that should be used by historians of European integration and proposes three major approaches for them to do so: first, by bringing the question of social conflict, integral to the concept of capitalism, into European integration history; second, by better conceptualizing the link between European governance, Europeanization and the globalization of capitalism; and thirdly by investigating the economic, political and ideological models or doctrines that underlie European cooperation, integration, policies and institutions. Finally, the introduction addresses the question of the analytical benefits of an encounter between capitalism and European integration history, focusing on the case of the 1970s. This allows us to qualify the idea of a clear-cut rupture, and better highlight how the shift of these years resulted from a complex bargaining that took place in part at the European level

International money markets: eurocurrencies

Eurocurrencies are international markets for short-term wholesale bank deposits and loans. They emerged in Western Europe in the late 1950s and rapidly reached a global scale. A Eurocurrency is a form of bank money: an unsecured short-term bank debt denominated in a currency (for instance, US dollars) but issued by banks operating offshore, in a geographical location or a legal space situated outside of the jurisdiction of the national authorities presiding over that currency (for instance, the Federal Reserve). In Eurocurrency markets, banks intermediate mainly between foreign residents. They borrow funds by "accepting" foreign currency deposits and lend foreign currency-denominated funds by "placing" deposits with other banks, by granting short-term loans or investing in other liquid assets. Historically, Eurodollars accounted for the largest share of Eurocurrencies, although other international currencies (Deutsche Marks, Japanese yens, and especially Euros since 1999) played an important role. Eurocurrency markets were a manifestation of financial integration and interdependence in a globalizing economy and performed critical functions in the distribution and creation of international liquidity. At the same time, their fast growth was a recurrent source of concerns for central bankers and policymakers due to their implications for macroeconomic policies and financial stability. This chapter analyzes different aspects of the historical development of Eurocurrency markets and their role in the international monetary and financial system. The first part discusses theoretical interpretations, presents estimates of markets' size, describes their structure, and explains the determinants of their growth. The second part analyzes the spread between Eurodollar rates and other US money market rates, the role of arbitrage, the evolution of risk factors, and the causes of historical episodes of stress and contagion in the interbank market. The last part discusses political economy issues, such as the role of governments and market forces in the emergence of Eurodollars in the 1950s and the failed attempts to impose multilateral controls on Eurocurrency markets in the 1970s

ASTRAL V2.2: A new version to better assess post-accidental situations

Should an important release of radionuclides occur in the environment, one would quickly have to assess radionuclide concentration in media and foodstuff, deduce the potential exposition of concerned populations to the radiations, predict the evolution of the situation and propose different scenarios of managing the contaminated zones. To achieve this, the ASTRAL code was created, which can be used by a relatively large group of people composing crisis centres or making predictive impact studies. The starting point of the assessments is the ground deposit of radionuclides: the atmospheric dispersion phase and the cloud exposure are not taken into account here. The calculations achieved concern time evolution of radionuclide concentration in compartments of the agricultural and forest food chain as well as assessment of doses due to external and internal exposure. These values are compared to regulation limits and/or intervention levels. Different simulations of contaminated zones management can be led by applying counter-measures, dispositions meant to reduce the accident's impact on environment and populations. The seventy radionuclides taken into account in the present version are some of those met in case of accidents or during the exploitation of a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). They relate to 37 elements: Ag, Am, Ba, Br, Cd, Ce, Cl, Cm, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, I, Ir, La, Mn, Mo, Nb, Nd, Ni, Np, Pm, Pr, Pu, Rb, Rh, Ru, Sb, Sm, Sn, Sr, Tc, Te, Y, Zn, Zr. On a temporal point of view, the predictions extend to 3 years after the deposition. The internet technology chosen for this version offers important advantages: the spreading and maintenance of the tool are very easy, the code may be installed on a portable computer, the access to results is much quicker, the interface is very user friendly, so that no training is needed to perform calculations. As for any radioecological tool, a large number of parameters intervene in the calculations. All parameters can be modified, even though different user profiles grant different rights in handling them

Demonstration of the ASTRAL post accidental code

Whether for studying impacts of a hypothetical nuclear accident or for handling a crisis situation, experts and decision-makers, after a large scale atmospheric radioactive release, want to assess the contamination of the environment and food products, derive from it the potential exposure of populations to ionized radiations, predict the evolution of the situation and propose different scenarios for the management of contaminated zones. Starting from estimations or measurements of a radionuclide deposit on the ground, the ASTRAL computer code meets these demands : it calculates the evolution of concentrations in the food chain components and the doses to man due to external exposition and internal intake through inhalation of resuspended radionuclides and ingestion of contaminated foodstuff. Furthermore, various counter-measures can be simulated and therefore the efficiency of different managements of contaminated zones and products can be evaluated. A first version of ASTRAL has been released in 1997, and is installed in IPSN's Crisis Technical Center and in EDF (Electricité De France). A demonstration of its second version, which is to be released at the end of year 2001, is proposed. For this version, the choice of an internet architecture was made : it enables quick viewing of results, intuitive ergonomics - thus requiring a minimized training - and facilitates the spreading and the maintenance of the software, since only a web browser is necessary for the customer

Modelling transfers of carbon 14 emitted by pressurised water reactors under normal operating conditions, in continental ecosystems

A model of transfers of 14C in the terrestrial and freshwater environment, emitted by atmospheric and liquid discharges from Pressurised Water Reactors under normal operating conditions, is proposed. Despite the complexity of the ecosystems involved, a simple assessment of the transfer pathways in the environment may be envisaged on the basis of the following assumptions : (a) 14C behaves like 12C with an isotopic ratio between the two isotopes that is unvarying during all considered transfers, and, (b) the 14C concentrations in the environment are constant over time, which is only valid for chronic discharges. This model takes into account the chemical form, mineral or organic, of the released 14C, and the input of 14C through the irrigation water in the case of terrestrial agricultural products. An example of human dose calculation is achieved on the basis of a standard diet, assumed to be entirely self-consumed and contaminated by a chronic discharge. In this case, the annual dose equivalent by ingestion is respectively 40 µSv year-1 for a volumic air activity of 1 Bq m-3, and near 0,1 µSv year-1 for a volumic water activity of 1 Bq m-3

Modelling 14C transfer in terrestrial environments in response to chronic and accidental 14C releases.

International audienceConcern about the quantity of carbon-14 (14C) released for several decades from nuclear facilities has prompted several modelling approaches of 14C behaviour in the environment. The TOCATTA model aims at estimating 14C (and 3H) transfers in terrestrial ecosystems exposed to atmospheric 14C (and 3H) releases from nuclear facilities under normal operating or accidental conditions. The model belongs to the larger framework of the SYMBIOSE modelling and simulation platform that aims at assessing the fate and transport of a wide range of radionuclides in various environmental systems, and their impact on humans and/or biota. In this context, the conceptual and mathematical modelling in TOCATTA have been designed to be relatively simple, minimizing the number of compartments and input parameters required, for being used in an operational mode

Modelling the dynamics of ambient dose rates induced by radiocaesium in the Fukushima terrestrial environment

Since the Fukushima accident, Japanese scientists have been intensively monitoring ambient radiations in the highly contaminated territories situated within 80 km of the nuclear site. The surveys that were conducted through mainly carborne, airborne and in situ gamma-ray measurement devices, enabled to efficiently characterize the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of air dose rates induced by Caesium-134 and Caesium-137 in the terrestrial systems. These measurements revealed that radiation levels decreased at rates greater than expected from physical decay in 2011–2012 (up to a factor of 2), and dependent on the type of environment (i.e. urban, agricultural or forest). Unlike carborne measurements that may have been strongly influenced by the depuration of road surfaces, no obvious reason can be invoked for airborne measurements, especially above forests that are known to efficiently retain and recycle radiocaesium. The purpose of our research project is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the data acquired by Japanese, and identify the environmental mechanisms or factors that may explain such decays. The methodology relies on the use of a process-based and spatially-distributed dynamic model that predicts radiocaesium transfer and associated air dose rates inside/above a terrestrial environment (e.g., forests, croplands, meadows, bare soils and urban areas). Despite the lack of site-specific data, our numerical study predicts decrease rates that are globally consistent with both aerial and in situ observations. The simulation at a flying altitude of 200 m indicated that ambient radiation levels decreased over the first 12 months by about 45% over dense urban areas, 15% above evergreen coniferous forests and between 2 and 12% above agricultural lands, owing to environmental processes that are identified and discussed. In particular, we demonstrate that the decrease over evergreen coniferous regions might be due the combined effects of canopy depuration (through biological and physical mechanisms) and the shielding of gamma rays emitted from the forest floor by vegetation. Our study finally suggests that airborne surveys might have not reflected dose rates at ground level in forest systems, which were predicted to slightly increase by 5–10% during the same period of time. © 2015 Elsevier Lt