Monetary economics after the global financial crisis: what has happened to the endogenous money theory?

The 2010s have witnessed a new shift in central banking and, partially at least, in monetary economics and macroeconomic modelling. It is a fact that the endogenous money theory has been gradually clawing back popularity at the expense of the classical theory of interest rates, the financial intermediation view of banks, the money-multiplier story and the quantity theory of money. However, the loanable funds theory and the view of banks as pure financial intermediaries (sometimes coupled with the money-multiplier story) are still sometimes invoked. In addition, the dynamic process of creation, circulation and destruction of money is usually neglected. The point is that money endogeneity is still regarded by many mainstream economists as a mere empirical fact, not a key feature of capitalist market-based economies to be properly explained by a logically consistent theory. By contrast, dissenting economists have further advanced the endogenous money view through: (a) a generalised theory of the endogenous process of money creation; (b) the increasing popularity of modern monetary theory in the public debate; and (c) the development of aggregative stock–flow consistent models and agent-based stock–flow consistent models as an alternative to dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models

Behavior and Strengthening of RC Beam-Column Joints: Experimental Program and First Results of the Research Activity in the Framework of DPC-ReLUIS Project (Research Line 2)

The 2005-2008 DPC-Reluis Project, funded by the Italian Department of Civil Protection (DPC), is made up of ten Research Lines (RL). RL 2 specifically focuses on the seismic performance of existing RC buildings and is, in turn, organised in nine different Tasks. In the paper, the design of the research activities being carried out within the Task 7 by the four involved Research Units (RU UNIBAS, RU UNIUD, RU UNISA, and RU UNINA) and some first results are reported. Main objective of Task 7 is to investigate on the experimental behaviour of beam-column joints without or with strengthening, thus providing a contribution to a more reliable evaluation of the seismic vulnerability of Reinforced Concrete existing buildings. To this purpose the main activities carried out have been devoted to design and set up of wide experimental programs on beam-column joints relevant to typical existing RC buildings having different Earthquake Resistant Design (ERD) level, to make a literature review of the state of the art on the subject, to perform numerical simulations based on some analytical models available in literature in order to fully understand the mechanical behaviour. Further, some results of the tests already carried out are reported, analysed and compared in order to understand the failure mechanism and evaluate the seismic performance of joints with and without ERD

Monetary Policy Rules and Directions of Causality: a Test for the Euro Area

Using a VAR model in first differences with quarterly data for the euro zone, the study aims to ascertain whether decisions on monetary policy can be interpreted in terms of a “monetary policy rule” with specific reference to the so-called nominal GDP targeting rule (Hall and Mankiw, 1994; McCallum, 1988; Woodford, 2012). The results obtained indicate a causal relation proceeding from deviation between the growth rates of nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and target GDP to variation in the three-month market interest rate. The same analyses do not, however, appear to confirm the existence of a significant inverse causal relation from variation in the market interest rate to deviation between the nominal and target GDP growth rates. Similar results were obtained on replacing the market interest rate with the European Central Bank refinancing interest rate. This confirmation of only one of the two directions of causality does not support an interpretation of monetary policy based on the nominal GDP targeting rule and gives rise to doubt in more general terms as to the applicability of the Taylor rule and all the conventional rules of monetary policy to the case in question. The results appear instead to be more in line with other possible approaches, such as those based on post Keynesian analyses of monetary theory and policy and more specifically the so-called solvency rule (Brancaccio and Fontana, 2013, 2015). These lines of research challenge the simplistic argument that the scope of monetary policy consists in the stabilization of inflation, real GDP, or nominal income around a “natural equilibrium” level. Rather, they suggest that central banks actually follow a more complex purpose, which is the political regulation of the financial system with particular reference to the relations between creditors and debtors and the related solvency of economic units

Modellazione del comportamento di elementi presso-inflessi in c.a. confinati con tessuti in materiale composito

Potenza-Mater

FRP confined masonry under compression: database collection and design proposals

Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) materials have now reached the status of well-established technical solution for the external confinement of existing concrete or masonry members. Within this context, the scientific literature collects a number of experimental investigations proving the capability of the FRP wrapping in improving the mechanical behavior of members. However, from an analytical point of view, while several formulations are available for evaluating the compressive strength of FRP confined concrete, no general accredited formulae can be found for masonry columns, also due to the higher complexity and heterogeneity of this material with respect to concrete. With the aim to provide an updated contribute on this topic, this paper presents an analytical study on the FRP confinement of masonry columns with the twofold objective to: a) propose new models for the estimate of the compressive strength, and, b) assess existing formulae. A wide database including results of compression tests on over 230 masonry members externally wrapped with FRP was assembled from the literature. The experimental results were employed to develop new relationships for the estimate of the compressive strength of the FRP confined masonry through best-fit analyses. Comparisons with some formulations available in the literature and international guidelines were performed

Augusto Graziani, a leading Italian Post Keynesian economist

Augusto Graziani (1933-2014) was one of the leading Italian scholars of the Post Keynesian economics school. This paper honours his memory by presenting his life and works, including his world-renowned contributions to the monetary circuit theory (often also called the monetary theory of production) and the dualistic model of economic development