Essays In Australian Macroeconomic Policy

This thesis is a collection of three essays on macroeconomic policy for the Australian economy, which are contained in Chapters 2, 3 and 4. This thesis makes three main contributions. First, the thesis presents the estimation of fiscal expenditure and net revenue multipliers, taking into account the external sector and the government budget constraint. The incorporation of the government budget constraint allows a better estimation of the effect of fiscal policy on the components of GDP. Second, this thesis contributes to the understanding of the interaction of monetary policy, asset prices and credit and the implications on real activity. Finally, the thesis decomposes total hours worked into average hours worked and employment in order to estimate the responses of output, average hours worked and employment to shocks that have permanent (technology shocks) and transitory (average hours worked and employment shocks) effects on output. Chapter 2 analyses the effect of fiscal policy on real activity and debt dynamics using a SVAR model with short run restrictions. The estimates of government spending and net revenue multipliers are statistically significant. The model shows that the effect of fiscal policy on output is of short duration and takes place basically during the first quarter. When debt feedback is included in the model, the shock to government spending generates higher GDP on impact and over time as well as higher government revenue and exchange rate than the corresponding responses in the model without debt feedback. The GDP and net revenue responses in the model with debt feedback contribute to the gradual reduction of the debt-toGDP ratio. The composition of the change of GDP is also affected with more investment and less net exports over time. The results also support the Keynesian view that a positive shock to government spending increases private consumption. Chapter 3 assesses the relationship between monetary policy, credit and asset prices using a FAVAR model. The results indicate that a positive shock to the cash rate has a negative effect on asset prices. This chapter also presents estimates of the negative effects of this policy on GDP, GNE and employment, which should be taken into account in policy implementation. The effect of an increase in credit on asset prices is not statistically significant and is negative for share prices and positive for house prices. The response of the interest rate is almost zero for the whole projection period, which could be explained by an elastic supply of loans in Australia, as the international funds market is an important source of financing for bank loans. This study also finds a statistically significant positive response of credit to an increase in share and housing prices, providing evidence that supports the financial accelerator hypothesis. Chapter 4 analyses the responses of output and hours worked to shocks that have permanent and transitory effects on output. The permanent and transitory shocks are identified using an SVAR with long-run restrictions, assuming that only technological shocks can have a permanent effect on labour productivity and that hours worked per working-age population follows a stationary process. Hours worked is decomposed into average hours worked and employment. The results show a negative response of total hours to a positive, neutral technology shock and that total hours adjust mainly through employment. Additionally, when the model is extended to include the price of investment, a positive investment-specific technology shock produces a positive response of average hours worked and employment, with average hours having a more relevant role in the adjustment of total hours than in the case of the responses to a neutral technology shock. Labour productivity decreases temporarily after an average hours shock and increases after an employment shock

Factors Determining the Behavior of E-commerce Users According to the Demographic Aspects of College Students

Purpose: E-commerce is a supply of needs typical of the information age. Based on contemporary technologies, it has represented an up-and-coming channel for multiplying the possibilities of supplying demands practically everywhere on the planet. So that it can be constantly improved, scientists and managers have been concerned with better understanding the behavior of online buyers. In this sense, this study aimed to identify the determining factors of e-commerce according to demographic aspects (purchase frequency, income, paid activity, age, and gender) of university students at an institution in the North of Brazil.   Theoretical framework: The study was theoretically based on the factors and variables determining consumer purchasing behavior. Factors as analytical dimensions formed a theoretical architecture, each composed of their respective variables and analysis categories.   Design/Methodology/Approach: The method used was a survey, whose population consisted of 51 students enrolled in the second semester of 2022, from which a sample of 47 respondents was extracted, given that the others dropped out of class. Data were collected with a questionnaire with closed questions, the validity of which was checked with a Cronbach's alpha test at 0.82, considered very compliant. The results were generated using the Mann-Whitney U test, given that the behavior of the variables was not regarded as normal by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilkens tests. The conclusion points to a kind of virtual democracy in which little differentiation can be seen in the factors determining purchases when taken from the point of view of the demographic variables studied.   Findings: The results showed no differences in the determining factors of e-commerce regarding paid activity, frequency of purchases, and age. A difference in behavior was detected between men and women regarding price and between those with higher incomes and those with lower incomes regarding practicality.   Research, Practical, and Social Implications: The practical implication of the study is that marketing strategies and new product launches offered in the virtual world can be mainly standardized because the demographic differences that impact the behavior of virtual consumers are statistically similar. From a theoretical point of view, the results indicate the need to study other demographic variables to confirm or refute these behavioral uniformities.   Originality/Value: The contribution of this study to the science and practice of electronic commerce is the finding that consumers present similar behaviors when considering the demographic aspects of university students, who represent a large portion of virtual buyers

A Mechanism Linking Two Known Vulnerability Factors for Alcohol Abuse: Heightened Alcohol Stimulation and Low Striatal Dopamine D2 Receptors

Alcohol produces both stimulant and sedative effects in humans and rodents. In humans, alcohol abuse disorder is associated with a higher stimulant and lower sedative responses to alcohol. Here, we show that this association is conserved in mice and demonstrate a causal link with another liability factor: low expression of striatal dopamine D2 receptors (D2Rs). Using transgenic mouse lines, we find that the selective loss of D2Rs on striatal medium spiny neurons enhances sensitivity to ethanol stimulation and generates resilience to ethanol sedation. These mice also display higher preference and escalation of ethanol drinking, which continues despite adverse outcomes. We find that striatal D1R activation is required for ethanol stimulation and that this signaling is enhanced in mice with low striatal D2Rs. These data demonstrate a link between two vulnerability factors for alcohol abuse and offer evidence for a mechanism in which low striatal D2Rs trigger D1R hypersensitivity, ultimately leading to compulsive-like drinkingFil: Bocarsly, Miriam E.. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: da Silva e Silva, Daniel. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Kolb, Vanessa. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Luderman, Kathryn D.. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Shashikiran, Sannidhi. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Rubinstein, Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Sibley, David R.. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Dobbs, Lauren K.. National Institutes of Health; Estados Unidos. University of Texas at Austin; Estados UnidosFil: Álvarez, Verónica Alicia. National Institutes of Health; Estados Unido