Persistence Endogeneity Via Adjustment Costs: An Assessment based on Bayesian Estimations

This paper estimates a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model for the European Monetary Union by using Bayesian techniques. A salient feature of the model is an extension of the typically postulated quadratic cost structure for the monopolistic choice of price variables. As shown in Sienknecht (2010a), the enlargement of the original formulation by Rotemberg (1983) and Hairault and Portier (1993) leads to structurally more sophisticated inflation schedules than in the staggering environment by Calvo (1983) with rule-of-thumb setters. In particular, a desired lagged inflation term always arises toghether with a two-period-ahead expectational expression. The two terms are directly linked by a novel structural parameter. We confront the relationships obtained by Sienknecht (2010a) against European data and compare their data description performance against the widespread extension of the Calvo setting with rule-of-thumb behavior.Bayesian, Simulation, Indexation, Model Comparison

Which Parameters Drive Approximation Inaccuracies?

This paper identifies parameters responsible for welfare reversals when the basic New Keynesian model is approximated. In our setting, a reversal occurs when the Ramsey policy under timeless perspective commitment ceases to be dominant against the Taylor rule after approximating the model. We find that the parameters involved are the degree of persistence in the autoregressive shock process and the labor elasticity of real output.Optimal Monetary policy, Approximations, Welfare Analysis, Timeless Perspective

Dyslexia in Schools

Teachers hold high importance in the development of students with dyslexia, especially in the area of beginning reading skills. Early diagnosis and intervention from highly effective teaching professionals plays a critical part in whether or not a student with dyslexia has success in learning to read. Teacher knowledge of dyslexia and a targeted intervention plan are keys to providing students with dyslexia the opportunity to learn and be successful in a variety of aspects: reading, spelling, writing, comprehension, fluency, and any other areas of learning. Students with dyslexia should be able to meet any and all benchmarks through grade level assessments if provided adequate instruction and structured intervention for dyslexia. All professionals involved in a dyslexic student\u27s life should aspire to understand research and strive to create a solid learning environment that will foster student success. This literature review focuses on the presence of dyslexia in schools and the knowledge and misconceptions teachers have in meeting the needs of students with dyslexia. The review looks at the history of dyslexia and the impacts it has on students, teachers, and school districts

To fight or to vote: Sovereignty referendums as strategies in conflicts over self-determination

Subnational groups employ a variety of strategies to contest governments. While democratic states offer a broader array of accessible options, autocratic regimes are more difficult to contest via conventional means. Why do subnational groups stage sovereignty referendums across regime types? Our argument is that public votes over greater autonomy or independence signal adherence to international democratic norms and the legitimacy of the demand towards three audiences: the state, the domestic population, and the international community. Self-determination groups seek to gain support from their domestic constituency as well as the international community in order to pressure the state government into granting concessions. We introduce a new dataset of referendums and international diplomacy by subnational self-determination groups on a global scale between 1990 and 2015. We supplement the descriptive evidence and assess the plausibility of the proposed mechanism with an out-of-sample case of an in-sample observation, the 2017 independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan. We show that referendums are indeed associated with international diplomacy and domestic state building by self-determination groups, suggesting that both tools are critical for the choice of conventional strategies across regime types.Subnationale Gruppen verwenden eine Vielzahl von Strategien bei der Verfolgung ihrer Forderungen gegenüber der Regierung. Während demokratische Staaten zahlreiche Handlungsoptionen für Gruppen bereithalten, ist es in autokratischen Regimen schwieriger, die Politik auf konventionellem Wege anzufechten. Warum führen subnationale Gruppen Referenden in unterschiedlichen Regimetypen durch? Unser Argument ist, dass Referenden (über größere Autonomie oder Unabhängigkeit) die Einhaltung internationaler demokratischer Normen und die Legitimität der Forderungen gegenüber drei Zielgruppen - dem Staat, der Gruppenpopulation und der internationalen Gemeinschaft - signalisiert. Selbstbestimmungsgruppen versuchen, die Unterstützung von Gruppenangehörigen und der internationalen Gemeinschaft zu sichern um die Regierung zu Zugeständnissen zu bewegen. Wir stellen einen neuen Datensatz vor, der Referenden und internationale Diplomatie von subnationalen Selbstbestimmungsgruppen auf globaler Ebene zwischen 1990 und 2015 erhebt. Wir ergänzen die deskriptive Datenanalyse und testen die Plausibilität des vorgeschlagenen Mechanismus mithilfe des kurdischen Unabhängigkeitsreferendums im Nordirak in 2017, einer Beobachtung eines Falles aus dem Datensatz, aber außerhalb des Analysezeitraums. Wir zeigen, dass Referenden in der Tat mit internationaler Diplomatie und der Einrichtung substaatlicher Institutionen verbunden sind, was darauf hinweist, dass beide Strategien wesentlich sind für die Wahl konventioneller Strategien über Regimetypen hinweg

Robust policy choice under Calvo and Rotemberg pricing

This paper examines the robustness of welfare-based policy choices across the nonlinear Calvo and Rotemberg pricing assumptions. Comparisons between simple interest rate rules turn out to be robust and independent of the price dispersion inherent in the Calvo setting. This robustness is violated if there is a policy alternative that controls for price dispersion

Reassessing price adjustment costs in DSGE models

Indexation theories have become standard for inflation persistence in DSGE models (Smets and Wouters (2003, 2007)). However, these theories overlook an important stylized fact of U.S. business cycles: high fluctuations in the first difference of inflation. I find that this pattern can be captured by adjustment costs precisely from the first difference of inflation (Pesaran (1991) labels this difference as a "speed change"). I estimate four DSGE models differing in their rigidity assumption and find that a framework with inflation-based adjustment costs has the highest probability to fit U.S. data

Robust policy choice under Calvo and Rotemberg pricing

This paper examines the robustness of welfare-based policy choices across the nonlinear Calvo and Rotemberg pricing assumptions. Comparisons between simple interest rate rules turn out to be robust and independent of the price dispersion inherent in the Calvo setting. This robustness is violated if there is a policy alternative that controls for price dispersion

Marketing in college admissions

The first rule of effective marketing in business is that you cannot be all things to all people, and you cannot expect to sell to everyone. Marketing higher education is considered by some to be a somewhat undignified or unprofessional approach to the recruitment of students. However, with declining populations of traditional college students and the increased financial stringencies placed on both public and private colleges, many institutions have already adopted marketing approaches and still others may consider changes in their recruitment and admission strategies in the coming years

Wissenschaftliche Wahrheit und politische Verantwortung

Wissenschaft und Politik bilden keine Einheit, sondern voneinander unabhängige Teilsysteme. Politische Verantwortung heißt daher auch, sich nicht hinter der Wissenschaft zu verstecken

Die EU als imperiale und hegemoniale Macht: aus europäischen und amerikanischen Fachzeitschriften und Think Tank Publikationen 2008

So what is the nature of the beast? Die Frage, was für ein außenpolitisches Profil die Europäische Union eigentlich hat, wird in der Literatur schon lange kontrovers behandelt. Ist sie eine Zivilmacht, eine ökonomische Großmacht oder lediglich ein handlungsunfähiges politisches Mehrebenensystem? In Reaktion auf die Weiterentwicklung der Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik der Union und ihre wachsenden weltwirtschaftlichen Einflussmöglichkeiten wird der EU neuerdings das Potential zu einer imperialen und hegemonialen Politik attestiert. Der folgende Überblick soll zeigen, welche Argumente ausgewählte Autoren in europäischen und amerikanischen Fachzeitschriften zu der Ansicht verleiten, dass die EU trotz ihrer internen Verfassungskrise einen Großmachtanspruch formulieren kann. (Autorenreferat