On the Stock Markets’ Reactions to Taxation and Public Expenditure. LEQS Discussion Paper No. 115/2016 September 2016

In this paper a panel analysis is employed to investigate the effects of governments’ expenditure and taxation on stock market indexes in 11 members of the Eurozone. A significant number of studies have focused on the effects of monetary policy on the Eurozone stock markets, while only a limited number of papers have investigated the effects of fiscal policy on the stock markets. Therefore, we know little, if anything, on the sign and the stability of the stock markets’ reaction to taxation and public expenditure. Our results show that fiscal maneuvers influence stock markets and that, following an increase (decrease) in public deficit, stock markets indexes go down (up). Nevertheless, further analysis shows that the signs of the estimated stock markets’ reactions are not constant over time and that they can change according to the surrounding macroeconomic scenario

Wheel – Rail interaction based on roughness calculation

Rolling noise is a relevant source in railway applications. The rolling noise is generated by the contact force the wheel, and the rail, exchange each other during relative motion. The interaction force between wheel and rail is generated by their roughness. Wheel and rail surfaces are not perfectly flat, they have a lot of small micro imperfections due to usage, damages, manufacturing. The whole of these imperfection is the roughness of the two surfaces. In the following a new interaction model will be shown where the roughness in kept in account to simulate the real case application. The model, based on previously studies, is improved introducing the rail and wheel real roughness for interaction force calculation. A real case study will be kept in account for model application and its application

Money Demand in the Eurozone: Do Monetary Aggregates Matter?

The definition of money demand and the study of its stability are still relevant issues, as the effects of monetary policies are also analyzed on the basis of the movements in the demand for money. Therefore, understanding the functioning of money demand is extremely important for monetary policy decisions. In this paper we study money demand in the euro-area, investigating if its estimated stability is influenced by the monetary aggregate employed. This aspect is particularly relevant in the context of the European Monetary Union (EMU), as the European Central Bank (ECB) conducts monetary policy on the basis of the broad money aggregate M3 and one of the most relevant problems for monetary policy decisions in this area is the instability of money demand. By employing panel data techniques, we are able to show that the stability of the relation between money demand and its determinants changes depending on the monetary aggregate (M1, M2 or M3) employed as a proxy for money demand. Moreover, money demand is substantially more stable when M2 is considered. Then, by switching from M3 to M2 as the reference monetary aggregate can increase the estimated money demand stability and improve the performance of the ECB’s monetary policy. This result is also confirmed by splitting the sample in two separate groups of countries. Nevertheless, in less stable economies the impact of inflation on money demand is significantly higher, while in more stable economies the role of income is more relevant

On Keynesian effects of (apparent) non-Keynesian fiscal policies

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the robustness of the theory that claims for restrictive effects of expansionary fiscal policy. It shows that such socalled “non-Keynesian effects” may arise as a consequence of a synchronous and opposite monetary policy intervention. The paper demonstrate this conclusion through a stylized model – supported by an empirical investigation on ECB and FED reaction functions - in which Central Banks take into account deficit spending as an element that generate inflation expectations. The econometric analysis shows also that the ECB reacts asymmetrically to deficit spending variations while the FED has a linear reaction to this indicator.Fiscal policy, Monetary policy, Central Banks Policy strategies

On Keynesian effects of (apparent) non-Keynesian fiscal policies

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the robustness of the theory that claims restrictive effects of expansionary fiscal policy. It shows that such so-called “non-Keynesian effects” may arise from synchronous and opposite monetary policy interventions. The paper demonstrates this conclusion through a stylized model – supported by an empirical investigation on ECB and FED reaction functions – in which Central Banks consider deficit spending as an element that generates inflation expectations. Econometric analysis also shows that the ECB reacts asymmetrically to deficit spending variations while the FED has a linear reaction to this indicator.Fiscal policy; Monetary policy; Central Banks Policy strategies

An Innovative Procedure for the Rolling Noise Evaluation

Noise is often generated by pressure changes in the air induced by mechanical vibrations. The study of these phenomena is known as structural acoustics or, in a more fashionable way, virboacoustics. Vibroacoustics is the study of the mechanical waves in structures and how they interact with, and radiate into, adjacent media. In railway the most important noise source, based on fluid and structure interaction is the rolling noise. The aim of the paper is the development and implementation of a numerical method for the rail decay rate and combined roughness calculation according to the FprCEN/TR 16891:2015 and a subsequent evaluation of the excess noise level in accordance with the ISO/FDIS 3095: 2013. The tool, as a final results, will make possible the evaluation of the rail parameters without the involvement of long and expensive test campaign based on classical roughness measurement methods and will permit the compensation of the roughness induced excess noise level for a comparative comprehension of the acoustic experimental data

An innovative numerical approach for railway rolling noise forecast

In recent years there has been a growing worldwide development of rail transport, mainly due to technological innovations both on armaments and on rail vehicles. Such technological issue focused almost parallel on two main fronts: on one hand the performance enhancement and on the other side the internal comfort. This technology advancement has been driven mainly by the need to move goods and passengers over long distances in a short time, making it the safest transportation system in the world thanks also to the latest monitoring systems, of which European Community is undoubtedly one of the major leaders. The passenger transport has introduced problems related to comfort: traveling so fast is the main goal so long as it is comfortable and safe. One of the requirements that mostly turned out to be significant and sometimes more difficult to satisfy is that regarding acoustic comfort and environmental impact. As known, the regulations become with the passage of time more and more stringent, and every company that wants to operate in this area is required to respect them. The acoustic comfort improvement implies the intervention as much as possible focused on noise sources, which in this case are constituted by: electric motor, pantograph, wheel-rail contact. In such research framework, the authors focused on determination of a simple, but at the same time reliable, method for radiated sound power assessment in the wheel-rail contact due to combined wheel-rail roughness in order to reduce the environmental impact of this type of transmission system. Targeted analysis were implemented in an efficient numerical investigation in MSC NASTRAN® and ACTRAN® environments providing the necessary vibro-acoustic parameters as input data for the further definition of the wheel-rail interaction force by a MATLAB® customized tool, once known the roughness profile

ANN tool for impact detection on composite panel for aerospace application

Fleet maintenance and safety aspects represent a strategic aspect in the managing of the modern aircraft fleets. The demand for efficient techniques of system and structure’s monitoring represent so a key aspect in the design of new generation aircraft. This is even more significant for composite structures that can be highly susceptible to delamination of the ply, which is often very difficult to detect externally and can lead to a dramatic reduction of design strength and service life, as a consequence of impact damage. The purpose of the work is the presentation of an innovative application within the Non Destructive Testing field based upon vibration measurements. The aim of the research has been the development of a Non Destructive Test (NDT) which meets most of the mandatory requirements for effective health monitoring systems while, at the same time, reducing as much as possible the complexity of the data analysis algorithm and the experimental acquisition instrumentation

Experimental Validation Of An Innovative Procedure For The Rolling Noise Correction

Among the wide contest of the train vehicles rolling noise evaluation, the aim of the paper is the development, implementation and experimental testing of a new method for roughness calculation according to FprCEN/TR 16891:2015 and the successive evaluation of the correction parameters of the measured rolling noise due to the presence of not compliant rail roughness. It is, in-fact, a very often operative condition, the execution of rolling noise tests over standard in-operation rails that are characterized by roughness profiles very different from standard one as those prescribed within the ISO 3095 procedure. Very often, this difference lead to the presence of an exceeding noise that needs to be evaluated and revised for a correct definition of the phenomena. Within the paper, the procedure implementation is presented and later on verified in operative experimental contest; forecasted and measured data are compared and successively commented

Acoustic performance assessment of innovative blankets for aeronautical applications

Polyurethane blankets are increasingly used for many aeronautical NVH applications. These foams, generally available in various thickness and density, are great sound absorber, therefore suitable in the aircraft interior. These foams are used as replacement to traditional combination of mineral wools / rock wool along with perforated panels, which require labor and also health hazardous. Polyurethane foams are generally available in various densities and thickness. The acoustic performance of sound absorbing poroelastic materials is characterized by intrinsic physical parameters like flow resistivity, and absorption coefficient. This paper presents a detailed discussion on measurement of flow resistivity as well as acoustic absorption coefficient of PU foam samples. Such numerical database of examined samples has been then validated through other laboratories activities, which shows the good accuracy of the methodology implemented within