Finite-temperature study of eight-flavor SU(3) gauge theory

We present new lattice investigations of finite-temperature transitions for SU(3) gauge theory with Nf=8 light flavors. Using nHYP-smeared staggered fermions we are able to explore renormalized couplings $g^2 \lesssim 20$ on lattice volumes as large as $48^3 \times 24$. Finite-temperature transitions at non-zero fermion mass do not persist in the chiral limit, instead running into a strongly coupled lattice phase as the mass decreases. That is, finite-temperature studies with this lattice action require even larger $N_T > 24$ to directly confirm spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking.Comment: Contribution to the Sakata Memorial KMI Workshop on "Origin of Mass and Strong Coupling Gauge Theories" (SCGT15), 3--6 March 2015, Nagoya Universit

GOVERNANCE AND SELECTIVITY IN MULTILATERAL AID ALLOCATION

La tesi si incentra sulle questioni legate alla distribuzione degli aiuti multilaterali allo sviluppo; in particolare due temi sono affrontati: la selettività degli aiuti e la qualità della governance. L’elaborato si basa sulla letteratura concernente l’efficacia e la distribuzione degli aiuti ed unisce quest’ultima alla letteratura sulla political economy delle organizzazioni internazionali e sulla good governance. Attraverso un’analisi econometrica si intende capire se le organizzazioni multilaterali hanno a cuore la qualità della governance del paese ricevente al momento dell’allocazione degli aiuti. Con un modello GMM-Diff che adopera sia strumenti interni che esterni, si evidenzia come l’interesse per la governance da parte delle istituzioni multilaterali non sia solo retorica, come invece appare da uno studio preliminare. Inoltre, attraverso l’analisi di un panel a tre dimensioni, la tesi monitora l’applicazione della selettività degli aiuti. Viene rigettata l’ipotesi di un aumento della selettività e si evidenziano margini per un miglioramento dell’efficacia allocativa degli aiuti. Le agenzie multilaterali devono cercare di distribuire gli aiuti con criteri diversi da quelli di natura geopolitica.The thesis examines the allocation of multilateral aid flows with respect to two current issues of the development agenda: the selectivity of aid and the quality of governance. The dissertation brings together three strands of the relevant literature: firstly, the reference literature relating to aid effectiveness and aid allocation, which is then followed by the literature on good governance and, lastly, on the political economy of international organizations. We carry out an econometric study to understand whether international organizations care about the recipients’ performance on governance. With a GMM-Diff methodology using both internal and external instruments we show that the focus on governance by multilateral bodies is not only rhetoric, as it appears at first glance. Moreover, we explore how the selectivity of multilateral aid varies over time by employing a three-dimensional panel. Our analysis rejects the hypothesis of increasing selectivity and confirms that there is room to improve on the allocation of aid. Multilateral institutions need to strengthen their efforts to allocate aid on criteria other than political-strategic ones

Cheers to a new solar system – and EU investment strategy. CEPS Commentary, 7 March 2017

It is the archetypal tragedy of the ‘Union’: if something doesn't work, the EU is to blame, if something does work, nobody knows about it. No credit goes to the Union. Nobody notices the million great things that the EU budget concretely supports, unless... unless a new planet is discovered. Well, seven planets, to be precise. No, in fact, nobody noticed this either – not even this. But it is now high time to give credit to the EU’s innovation policy and its financial arm, as well as to Belgium and its researchers, who are responsible for the discovery of the new solar system, TRAPPIST-1. Of course, reports that "Nasa discovers new solar system TRAPPIST-1 - where life may have evolved" did appear in the news, since it was NASA that made the announcement and also co-funded the project

The Impact of Brexit on the EU Budget: A non-catastrophic event. CEPS Policy Brief No. 347, September 2016

Given that the UK is one of the largest economies in the Europe Union – with per capita income above the EU average and therefore a net contributor – there have been concerns that the country’s decision to leave the EU could strongly impact the EU budget. On closer scrutiny, however, we find that the impact will be rather small due to the effects of the UK rebate and to the potential contribution the UK would be obliged to make as a condition to obtain access to the internal market. If the UK remains outside the internal market, tariff revenues would make up a considerable share of the ‘net loss’. On balance, the financial savings for the UK would be negligible and the impact on member states would be manageable. Also the impact on the classification of regions in EU Cohesion Policy is projected to be minimal and the European Fund for Strategic Investments is not affected by changes in membership

The European Fund for Strategic Investments as a New Type of Budgetary Instrument. CEPS Research Report No 2017/07, April 2017

This paper provides an overview of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) as a budgetary instrument. A preliminary analysis of the quantitative impact of its first year and a half of activity is complemented by an outline of the corollary policies that can determine the success of EFSI. Taking into account the instrument’s original mission, the preliminary evidence is encouraging and suggests that it is on track to attain expected targets. For EFSI 2.0, the study recommends revising the regulation to provide a window-specific definition of additionality and strengthening parliamentary oversight. In order for EFSI to contribute to the greater goal of cohesion and development, it further recommends the creation of a Development Window with a special guarantee for riskier regions and a push on EFSI corollary policies, including the establishment of country offices for the Advisory Hub and the development of a strategy for investment in human capital

Transparency and Oversight of the Council’s Budget: Council executive powers. CEPS Research Report No. 2017/11, July 2017

This briefing introduces the challenges that have been faced in delivering a discharge of the Council’s budget over the last decade, with particular regard to the Council’s executive activities. The authors analyse the institutional and legal constraints and put forward a number of recommendations aimed at achieving more accountability regarding the Council’s budget and executive expenditure without resorting to treaty reform

The EU Climate and Energy Package and E.ON: A two-step response to a disruptive policy. Bruges Series on European Business Cases 03 / 2016

This business case analyses why and how E.ON reacted to the EU climate regulations and to the changing environment of the European energy market. In December 2008 the European Parliament adopted the EU Climate and Energy Package to significantly decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and to promote renewables. The overcapacity on the market and the drop of wholesale price of electricity hit traditional oil, gas and coal energy utilities such as E.ON. The fast development of renewables also impacted the market structure. Faced with a disrupted market, E.ON carried massive losses. This business case analyses the corporate answers to this profoundly changing environment, from 2008 more common responses to E.ON’s drastic decision to split in two firms in 2014

First-order bulk transitions in large-NN lattice Yang--Mills theories using the density of states

We use the Logarithmic Linear Relaxation (LLR) density of states algorithm to study the bulk phase transitions of pure-gauge SU($N$) lattice Yang--Mills theories with $4 \leq N \leq 8$. This approach avoids super-critical slowing down at such transitions, which poses a problem for traditional importance sampling Monte-Carlo methods. We analyse the effect of different updating strategies within the LLR algorithm, different reconstruction techniques of the density of states and different lattice volumes. By comparing our results for the weakly first-order SU(5) bulk phase transition against those for the stronger transitions with $N \geq 6$, we demonstrate the advantages of the LLR method for analyses of strong transitions with large latent heat

The contribution G20 governments can make to support the circular economy. CEPS Policy Brief, 2 June 2017

In recent years the circular economy has received increasing attention worldwide due to, inter alia, the recognition that security of supply of resources and environmental sustainability are crucial for the prosperity of countries and businesses. This report urges G20 countries to develop frameworks that enhance the circular economy and more generally sustainable production and consumption modes. In this context, their governments are encouraged to: 1) integrate the circular economy into discussions about implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement, 2) work towards agreed terminologies for circular economy products and processes, 3) support demand for circular economy products and services, 4) support transparency across global supply chains, 5) facilitate financing for establishing circular supply chains and 6) proactively address transition issues. This Policy Brief was prepared for the German Presidency of the G20 in 2016-17 to provide input to the ongoing dialogue with G20 decisions-makers and other relevant stakeholders. During the G20 process, a network of research institutes, called Think20 (T20), develops policy recommendations within thematic Task Forces which are then published in the form of Policy Briefs. A Task Force was formed, co-chaired by CEPS Research Fellow Vasileios Rizos, to carry out an in-depth study of the ways in which G20 governments can support the circular economy. The report was prepared by Vasileios Rizos, Arno Behrens (CEPS Senior Research Fellow), David Rinaldi (CEPS Research Fellow) and Eleanor Drabik (CEPS Researcher)

The Instruments providing Macro-Financial Support to EU Member States. CEPS Research Report No 2017/06, March 2017

Following the financial crisis, the EU put in place a number of instruments aimed at providing macro-financial support to EU member states in difficulty, five of which remain in place. At the request of the European Parliament, CEPS carried out an in-depth assessment of the functioning and institutional arrangements of these support programmes with a view to providing a solid basis on which to design a sound architecture that can serve Europe for decades to come. This paper draws a number of important lessons from this assessment and identifies a few crucial issues that still need to be addressed