Federal State-building, asymmetric federalism and European integration: the case of the Eurozone

This thesis aims at answering the following questions: To what extent does the Eurozone represent a federal political system; to what extent does the EU’s monetary integration through the Eurozone represent a process of federal state-building; and to what extent can the Eurozone represent a case of asymmetric federalism? In this thesis, federalism is described as a process of state-building, and more precisely, the theory of replicating the features of states, in particular federal states, (and thus, of, federal state-building), to include the presence of a common market, foreign policy, trade policy, and monetary policy. The Eurozone was selected as a case study, as it represents the most integrated case of federal state-building; and the economic and monetary policies as the policy areas of the Union most echoing the traditional elements of states, although the Eurozone it is not itself a state. The thesis highlights the process of monetary integration and how this has been a de facto attempt, sometimes in a more Europeanised fashion, sometimes with just an intergovernmental outcome, to tackle the sovereign debt crisis in a way which vindicates the federalist arguments. In the conclusions I argue that while the specific case of the Eurozone does not represent a federal political system per se, it remains the most important example of federal state-building at the supranational level. Additionally, I argue that the presence of many typical elements of federal states are indeed a confirmation that the process of European integration is, above all, one of federal state-building, with all its complexities and specificities

Is there an Equity Premium Puzzle in Italy? A Look at Asset Returns, Consumption and Financial Structure Data over the Last Century

This paper reconstructs the series of the real returns on Italian equities, bank and PO deposits and long-term government bonds from 1860 to today. In the long-run the return on shares was much higher than that on government securities and also that on bank and PO deposits. However, this summary assessment is considerably influenced by the exceptional falls in the real value of government securities and bank deposits caused by the hyperinflation that occurred in conjunction with the two world wars. Within the period, there were alternate phases, paralleling the economic cycle and the main institutional changes, in which the return on shares was higher than those on the other two instruments and vice versa. Overall, the Italian equity market provided long-run returns to investors comparable to those of other major countries, although a large fraction of the risk premium for the whole period can be accounted for by the performance following of the hyperinflation episodes of the wars. However, the risk-return trade-off, owing to much larger volatility, compared unfavourably with other markets. Moreover, the Italian equity market in the last 30 years (up to 1994), when equity prices barely kept up with inflation, looks very different. The econometric analysis suggests the presence of an equity premium puzzle in Italy during the estimation period, 1892-1993. In contrast, for government securities the observed returns were approximately in line with the theoretical values. The estimates show that both the returns on government securities and those on shares include an inflation risk premium. For government securities, this was estimated at around 0.8 percentage points. The inflation risk premium was smaller for shares.intertemporal consumer choice, asset prices, equity premium, Italian financial markets history

The Probability Density Function of Interest Rates Implied in the Price of Options

The paper contributes to the stochastic volatility literature by developing simulation schemes for the conditional distributions of the price of long term bonds and their variability based on non-standard distributional assumptions and volatility concepts; it illustrates the potential value of the information contained in the prices of options on long and short term lira interest rate futures for the conduct of monetary policy in Italy, at times when significant regime shifts have occured.stochastic models, statistical analysis, interest rates, financial market

Hospitalization for pneumonia and risk of cardiovascular disease

Hospitalization for Pneumoniaand Risk of Cardiovascular Diseas

COMPARISON OF NEW ZEALAND AND THE UNITED STATES MEAT INDUSTRY EXPORTING AND MARKETING PRACTICES

The paper is a comparative analysis of selected beef and sheep meat exporting practices. These two particular types of meat were selected as these are the two major export products from New Zealand. The United States also is a major beef exporter, but exports little sheep meat. There is a major difference between the two countries in their overall approach to the export market. New Zealand utilizes a coordinated industry strategy while the United States does not have a coordinated strategy as individual companies aggressively pursue their own individual interests without much consideration of the overall implications for the total industry. The paper initially considers beef and sheep meat production, exports and imports, and the critical issues pertaining to exports. Then there is consideration of the two countries' approaches to export markets and future opportunities, and the differences in industry strategies.International Relations/Trade, Marketing,

Atrial Fibrillation and Myocardial Infarction: A Systematic Review and Appraisal of Pathophysiologic Mechanisms

A growing body of evidence suggests that atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with myocardial infarction (MI). However, incidence and management of MI in AF is still undefined. METHODS AND RESULTS: We searched MEDLINE via PubMed and Cochrane database between 1965 and 2015. All observational clinical studies and interventional trials reporting 1-year incidence of MI in AF were included. We also discussed pathophysiological mechanisms, predictors, and therapeutic approaches to reduce the risk of MI in AF. Twenty-one observational studies and 10 clinical trials were included. The annual rate of MI in observational studies including AF patients ranged from 0.4% to 2.5%. Higher rates of MI were reported in AF patients with stable coronary artery disease (11.5%/year), vascular disease (4.47%/year), heart failure (2.9%/year), and in those undergoing coronary artery interventions (6.3%/year). However, lower annual rates have been described in AF patients from Eastern countries (0.2-0.3%/year), and in those enrolled in clinical trials (from 0.4 to 1.3%/year). CONCLUSIONS: AF patients had a significant residual risk of MI despite anticoagulant treatment. Coexistence of atherosclerotic risk factors and platelet activation account for the increased risk of MI in AF. Identification of high-risk AF patients is a needed first step to develop cost-effective approaches for prevention. A new score, the 2MACE score, has been recently developed to stratify MI risk in AF, and may help not only in allocating resources to high-risk groups, but also in design of studies examining novel therapies for prevention of MI in AF