international crisis, doctrinal conflict and american exceptionalism in the federal reserve 1913-1932

This paper seeks to explain the collapse of the market for bankers’ acceptances between 1931 and 1932 by tracing the doctrinal foundations of Federal Reserve policy and regulations back to the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. I argue that a determinant of the collapse of the market was Carter Glass’ and Henry P. Willis’ insistence on one specific interpretation of the “real bills doctrine”, the idea that the financial system should be organized around commercial bills. The Glass- Willis doctrine, which stressed non-intervention and the self-liquidating nature of real bills, created doubts about the eligibility of frozen acceptances for purchase and rediscount at the Reserve Banks and caused accepting banks to curtail their supply to the market. The Glass-Willis doctrine is embedded in a broader historical narrative that links Woodrow Wilson’s approach to foreign policy with the collapse of the international order in 1931

The Interwar Trade Collapse Revisited

Was the collapse of world trade between 1928 and 1937 caused by higher transport costs, increased protectionism or the collapse of the gold standard? Using recent advances in the estimation of gravity equations, I examine the partial and general equilibrium effects of bilateral distance, international borders, and the payment system on trade. My results suggest that had average tariff and non-tariff trade barriers remained at their 1928 level, total international trade would have been 64.6% higher in 1937. Had the gold standard not collapsed in 1931 and had the British Empire not departed to establish its own currency and trade blocs, international trade would have been 3% larger. Finally, had transport costs remained at their 1928 level, global trade would not have been significantly different nine years on. These results are supported by over 6,000 new hand-collected observations of ad-valorem ocean freight rates for cotton, which show an average increase of only 1.2 percentage points between 1928 and 1936. When expressed as an index, the movement of freight rates mirrors the evolution of the elasticity of trade to distance over the period

Bowling Boccia on to the map at the University of Lincoln

People who have a disability have traditionally been excluded from different aspects of society like work, education and sports (DePauw and Gavron, 2005: Disability Sports, 15). In recent decades there has been a dramatic change in the extent of this exclusion, as legislation, interventions and programmes have increased the amount of opportunities available to those with a disability (DePauw and Gavron, 2005: Disability Sports, 16). However, even with these changes in recent years the University of Lincoln still provide little sports provision for disability sports and its followers. Therefore the principal aim of this project was to develop and complete a programme evaluation of additional provision of Boccia in the short term, with a view to ensuring long-term provision at the University. The project aimed to increase the awareness of the sport amongst students creating the conditions necessary to start up a club. The project took on a reverse integration approach as reverse integration can serve to promote a better understanding of the actual abilities of people with disability and create an equitable platform for socialisation and competition (Spencer-Cavaliere and Peers, 2011: Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 28, 291-309). As Boccia was a new sport to the university, the project focused on the short term goal of increasing the awareness of the sport amongst the university students but also to increase the interest of starting up a club. This was done by organising, promoting and running an event in which the sport was showcased to the students. A programme theory was developed which enabled us to complete a programme evaluation of the project (Evans and Sleap, 2012: International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education, 6, 24-38). A re-aim framework contoured outcome measures of this programme evaluation to ensure the validity and effectiveness of the project. Questionnaires were administered to participants in the programme and results suggested the project met initial targets, including; the increased awareness of Boccia, a number of qualified officials and also an interest in a Boccia specific club at the University. The project highlighted that the students at the University of Lincoln are in need of disability sports provision, beyond Boccia. In conclusion the project was able to increase the awareness of Boccia and this was achieved more so by the reverse integration approach that was taken

Credit constraints and the propagation of the Great Depression in Germany

We evaluate the role played by loan supply shocks in the decline of investment and industrial production during the Great Depression in Germany from 1927 to 1932. We identify loan supply shocks in the context of a time varying parameter vector autoregression with stochastic volatility. Our results indicate that credit constraints were a significant driver of industrial production between 1927 and 1932, supporting the view that a structurally weak banking sector was an important contributor to the German Great Depression. We find further that loan supply shocks were an important driver of investment in the early phase of the depression, between 1927 and 1929, but not between 1930 and 1932. We suggest possible explanations for this puzzle and directions for future research

The impact of fire suppression tasks on firefighter hydration: A critical review with consideration of the utility of reported hydration measures

BACKGROUND: Firefighting is a highly stressful occupation with unique physical challenges, apparel and environments that increase the potential for dehydration. Dehydration leaves the firefighter at risk of harm to their health, safety and performance. The purpose of this review was to critically analyse the current literature investigating the impact of fighting ‘live’ fires on firefighter hydration. METHODS: A systematic search was performed of four electronic databases for relevant published studies investigating the impact of live fire suppression on firefighter hydration. Study eligibility was assessed using strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. The included studies were critically appraised using the Downs and Black protocol and graded according to the Kennelly grading system. RESULTS: Ten studies met the eligibility criteria for this review. The average score for methodological quality was 55 %, ranging from 50 % (‘fair’ quality) to 61 % (‘good’ quality) with a ‘substantial agreement’ between raters (k = .772). Wildfire suppression was considered in five studies and structural fire suppression in five studies. Results varied across the studies, reflecting variations in outcome measures, hydration protocols and interventions. Three studies reported significant indicators of dehydration resulting from structural fire suppression, while two studies found mixed results, with some measures indicating dehydration and other measures an unchanged hydration status. Three studies found non-significant changes in hydration resulting from wildfire firefighting and two studies found significant improvements in markers of hydration. Ad libitum fluid intake was a common factor across the studies finding no, or less severe, dehydration. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence confirms that structural and wildfire firefighting can cause dehydration. Ad libitum drinking may be sufficient to maintain hydration in many wildfire environments but possibly not during intense, longer duration, hot structural fire operations. Future high quality research better quantifying the effects of these influences on the degree of dehydration is required to inform policies and procedures that ensure firefighter health and safety

Impact of changes in mode of travel to work on changes in body mass index: evidence from the British Household Panel Survey

BACKGROUND Active commuting is associated with various health benefits, but little is known about its causal relationship with body mass index (BMI). METHODS We used cohort data from three consecutive annual waves of the British Household Panel Survey, a longitudinal study of nationally representative households, in 2004/05 (n=15,791), 2005/06 and 2006/07. Participants selected for the analyses (n=4,056) reported their usual main mode of travel to work at each time point. Self-reported height and weight were used to derive BMI at baseline and after two years. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to assess associations between switching to and from active modes of travel (over one and two years) and change in BMI (over two years) and to assess dose-response relationships. RESULTS After adjustment for socioeconomic and health-related covariates, the first analysis (n=3,269) showed that switching from private motor transport to active travel or public transport (n=179) was associated with a significant reduction in BMI compared to continued private motor vehicle use (n=3,090) (-0.32kg/m2, 95% CI: -0.60 to -0.05). Larger adjusted effect sizes were associated with switching to active travel (n=109) (-0.45kg/m2, -0.78 to -0.11), particularly among those who switched within the first year and those with the longest journeys. The second analysis (n=787) showed that switching from active travel or public transport to private motor transport was associated with a significant increase in BMI (0.34kg/m2, 0.05 to 0.64). CONCLUSION Interventions to enable commuters to switch from private motor transport to more active modes of travel could contribute to reducing population mean BMI