The causes of the debt crisis in Europe and the role of regional integration

The factors that allow the launch of a speculative attack, such as those on he government debts of Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy in 2010, are always multiple. In this case, they can be found in some simultaneous events (e.g. the regional German elections of the 9th of May), in some previous faulty behaviors of the governments under attack, and in some defects of the institutional organization of the European Monetary Union. Those who believe that the operation of market forces (and of financial speculation) is always able to bring about efficiency tend to stress the role played by the faulty behaviors of the authorities. Those holding a different standpoint tend to blame the faults in the institutional organization that have prevented the authorities from operating effectively against the speculative attack. For those having faith in the “market efficiency hypothesis”, the government of Greece and of the other countries under attack failed to take advantage of the positive trend of the world economy before the financial crisis.

A Scheme to Coordinate Monetary and Fiscal Policies in the Euro Area

The paper deals with the problems of coordination between monetary and fiscal policies in the Euro area. It examines how the existing institutions handle these problems and presents a proposal to reorganize them. The paper points out that, contrary to what is often stated by the literature, there is a need for coordination between monetary and fiscal policies when both cyclical (short-run) and structural (long-run) problems are dealt with. Then it assesses how coordination is carried out under the existing institutional arrangements, summarizes the main literature that has dealt, in recent years, with the need to modify them and proposes a new scheme, which intends to make them work effectively.European Monetary Union, policy coordination, Stability and Growth Pact

Composition of public expenditure, effective demand, distribution and growth

We introduce public expenditure (PE) in a general post Keynesian framework characterized by a nonlinear investment function. Our aims are: 1) to provide a systematic analysis of the impact of PE (‘productive’ or ‘non productive’) and of the Government sector size on economic growth, allowing effective demand to play a crucial role. Our work fills a lacuna in the post Keynesian literature given that scant attention has been devoted to this topic. In our paper, ‘Productive’ PE affects the (fixed) coefficients of production similarly to Barro (1990); 2) to compare and contrast two different interpretations which assign a different meaning to the autonomous component of the investment function, corresponding to long run demand growth expectations: the Kaleckian interpretation assumes exogenous long run expectations; in the Classical or Harrodian interpretation, long-run expectations are linked to the ‘warranted rate of growth’; 3) to reproduce a variety of complex phenomena (multiple equilibria, hysteresis, low growth traps, regular and irregular growth cycles), by introducing a simple nonlinearity in the investment function in the spirit of Kalecki’s (1937) investment theory and Kaldor’s (1940) trade cycle model. A plethora of results emerge from our simple framework concerning comparative statics and dynamicbehaviour.

Monetary Policy in Liberalized Financial Markets: The Mexican Case

The paper examines the conduct of monetary policy and the institutional organization of economic policy in Mexico during the years of financial liberalization and the outgrowth of the financial industry. It argues that they have favored the monetary and financial stability at the cost of reducing investment and negatively affecting the strength of the productive structure and the international competitiveness of the Mexican economy. The paper argues that these negative results will eventually make the present conduct of monetary policy unable to pursue the monetary and financial stability of the economy. Unlike other outstanding critical literature, the emphasis of our evaluation of the negative consequence of the current policy is on the reduction of public investment that the institutional organization of economic policy produces, rather than the over-valuation of the real exchange rate. The paper finally discusses how the institutional organization can be reformed to avoid weakening further the productive structure and the international competitive of the Mexican economy

Benefici, problemi e prospettive dell’integrazione monetaria in Europa

This article discusses European monetary integration, recalling the benefits and the costs of the euro for the Member States. It reviews the policies adopted in the wake of the financial crisis and discusses the associated challenges. An outlook on the possible long-term design of monetary policy is provided, mainly in terms of EU coordination processes

Quince años de integración monetaria en Europa

The experience of the euro-zone is evaluated after fifteen years of existence and of the debt crisis. There are highlighted both the benefits and the problems that the introduction of the Euro has brought to the countries participants and are considered to be the perspectives of the zone. Some historical precedents of the union are checked, his benefits are discussed, in terms of placement in the monetary international system and of implementation of the monetary politics, and the adopted solutions are analyzed and the perspectives distinguish themselves for the zone

U.S. Monetary Policy and the Decline in the Interest Rates (1990-2007)

Interest rates in the US and in other countries have experienced persistent and generalised declines since the 1980s. The main interpretations of this phenomenon ignore the role of monetary factors, such as financial and monetary policy. The essay proposes an alternative interpretation based on the choice of the Federal Reserve (FED) to conduct monetary policy by attributing high priority to financial stability. The interaction between changes in financial regulation, the transformation of specialized into universal” banking, and the concern with financial instability have led the central bank to add to the role of lender of last resort that of lender of first resort , which systematically provides liquidity at a low cost to financial firms. This new conduct of monetary policy has produced the downward trend in interest rates

Energy metabolism and the skeleton: Reciprocal interplay

The relation between bone remodelling and energy expenditure is an intriguing, and yet unexplained, challenge of the past ten years. In fact, it was only in the last few years that the skeleton was found to function, not only in its obvious roles of body support and protection, but also as an important part of the endocrine system. In particular, bone produces different hormones, like osteocalcin (OC), which influences energy expenditure in humans. The undercarboxylated form of OC has a reduced affinity for hydroxyapatite; hence it enters the systemic circulation more easily and exerts its metabolic functions for the proliferation of pancreatic β-cells, insulin secretion, sensitivity, and glucose tolerance. Leptin, a hormone synthesized by adipocytes, also has an effect on both bone remodelling and energy expenditure; in fact it inhibits appetite through hypothalamic influence and, in bone, stimulates osteoblastic differentiation and inhibits apoptosis. Leptin and serotonin exert opposite influences on bone mass accrual, but several features suggest that they might operate in the same pathway through a sympathetic tone. Serotonin, in fact, acts via two opposite pathways in controlling bone remodelling: central and peripheral. Serotonin product by the gastrointestinal tract (95%) augments bone formation by osteoblast, whereas brain-derived serotonin influences low bone mineral density and its decrease leads to an increase in bone resorption parameters. Finally, amylin (AMY) acts as a hormone that alters physiological responses related to feeding, and plays a role as a growth factor in bone. In vitro AMY stimulates the proliferation of osteoblasts, and osteoclast differentiation. Here we summarize the evidence that links energy expenditure and bone remodelling, with particular regard to humans

La scozzese di Carlo Goldoni in traduzione giudeospagnola

Nel 1883 venne pubblicata sulle pagine di un giornale di Istanbul la traduzione sefardita (o giudeospagnola che dir si voglia) di un’opera goldoniana intitolata La Escoĉeśa, quasi a conferma delle parole di Jérôme Carré-Voltaire riportate all’inizio, secondo le quali il soggetto della commedia poteva essere con successo tradotto e rappresentato in tutte le lingue. Come abbiamo visto, Goldoni non fu un pedissequo traduttore dell’opera francese, ma un “ricreatore” che trasse spunto dalla vicenda ampliandone tuttavia l’intreccio e adattandola alla realtà e al gusto italiani. Confrontando invece la versione sefardita con l’opera goldoniana risulta subito chiaro che non si tratta di una rielaborazione ma di una traduzione vera e propria, benché siano evidenti alcune piccole differenze che consistono sostanzialmente in omissioni di brevi parti di testo o nella traduzione imprecisa di alcuni termini.Nel 1883 venne pubblicata sulle pagine di un giornale di Istanbul la traduzione sefardita (o giudeospagnola che dir si voglia) di un’opera goldoniana intitolata La Escoĉeśa, quasi a conferma delle parole di Jérôme Carré-Voltaire riportate all’inizio, secondo le quali il soggetto della commedia poteva essere con successo tradotto e rappresentato in tutte le lingue. Come abbiamo visto, Goldoni non fu un pedissequo traduttore dell’opera francese, ma un “ricreatore” che trasse spunto dalla vicenda ampliandone tuttavia l’intreccio e adattandola alla realtà e al gusto italiani. Confrontando invece la versione sefardita con l’opera goldoniana risulta subito chiaro che non si tratta di una rielaborazione ma di una traduzione vera e propria, benché siano evidenti alcune piccole differenze che consistono sostanzialmente in omissioni di brevi parti di testo o nella traduzione imprecisa di alcuni termini

Composition of public expenditure, effective demand, distribution and growth

We introduce public expenditure (PE) in a general post Keynesian framework characterized by a nonlinear investment function. Our aims are: 1) to provide a systematic analysis of the impact of PE (‘productive’ or ‘non productive’) and of the Government sector size on economic growth, allowing effective demand to play a crucial role. Our work fills a lacuna in the post Keynesian literature given that scant attention has been devoted to this topic. In our paper, ‘Productive’ PE affects the (fixed) coefficients of production similarly to Barro (1990); 2) to compare and contrast two different interpretations which assign a different meaning to the autonomous component of the investment function, corresponding to long run demand growth expectations: the Kaleckian interpretation assumes exogenous long run expectations; in the Classical or Harrodian interpretation, long-run expectations are linked to the ‘warranted rate of growth’; 3) to reproduce a variety of complex phenomena (multiple equilibria, hysteresis, low growth traps, regular and irregular growth cycles), by introducing a simple nonlinearity in the investment function in the spirit of Kalecki’s (1937) investment theory and Kaldor’s (1940) trade cycle model. A plethora of results emerge from our simple framework concerning comparative statics and dynamicbehaviour