Capital Accumulation in an Economy with Heterogeneous Agents and Moral Hazard

This paper studies a closed economy with a continuum of agents and moral hazard. Economic agents in the economy operate a stochastic production technology with capital and labor inputs in which the latter is private information. I characterize efficient allocations of capital, labor, and consumption in a stationary recursive equilibrium for a decentralized economy with component planners. Allocation and accumulation of capital are facilitated by a 'capital planner' who serves as a financial intermediary for the component planners. In equilibrium, private information lowers the equilibrium interest rate below agents' discount rate and I show that contrary to the private-information endowment economies, a moral-hazard productive economy can exhibit both endogenous lower and upper bounds on the stationary distribution of utility entitlements.

Capital Accumulation in an Economy with Heterogeneous Agents and Moral Hazard

This paper studies a closed economy with a continuum of agents and moral hazard. Economic agents in the economy operate a stochastic production technology with capital and labor inputs in which the latter is private information. I characterize efficient allocations of capital, labor, and consumption in a stationary recursive equilibrium for a decentralized economy with component planners. Allocation and accumulation of capital are facilitated by a 'capital planner' who serves as a financial intermediary for the component planners. In equilibrium, private information lowers the equilibrium interest rate below agents' discount rate and I show that contrary to the private-information endowment economies, a moral-hazard productive economy can exhibit both endogenous lower and upper bounds on the stationary distribution of utility entitlements.

Long Shadows of History: Persecution in Central Europe and Its Labor Market Consequences

We analyze the extent and effects of job-related persecution under communist regimes in the Czech Republic and Poland using a representative sample of individuals aged 50+ from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Retrospective information collected in the SHARELIFE interview offers a unique chance to relate past and current labor market outcomes to experiences of persecution reflecting the historical developments in Central Europe in the 20th century. Individual level data with details on labor market histories is matched with information on the experiences of state oppression. On-the-job persecution is found to have significant effect on job quality assessment and is strongly related to reporting of distinct periods of stress in both countries. Consequences of on-the-job persecution seem to have been much more severe and longer lasting in the Czech Republic, with significant financial effects of job loss or discrimination. This is explained by the greater degree of state control over the labour market in the former Czechoslovakia compared to Poland and different characteristics of the dissident groups in both countries.labor discrimination, persecution, job satisfaction, life histories, history of Central Europe

Credit Markets and the Propagation of Monetary Policy Shocks

This paper analyzes the propagation of monetary policy shocks through the creation of credit in an economy. Models of the monetary transmission mechanism typically feature responses which last for a few quarters contrary to what the empirical evidence suggests. To propagate the impact of monetary shocks over time, these models introduce adjustment costs by which agents find it optimal to change their decisions slowly. This paper presents another explanation that does not rely on any sort of adjustment costs or stickiness. In our economy, agents own assets and make occupational choices. Banks intermediate between agents demanding and supplying assets. Our interpretation is based on the way banks create credit and how the monetary authority affects the process of financial intermediation through its monetary policy. As the central bank lowers the interest rate by buying government bonds in exchange for reserves, high productive entrepreneurs are able to borrow more resources from low productivity agents. We show that this movement of capital among agents sets in motion a response of the economy that resembles an expansionary phase of the cycle.Credit, Monetary policy shock; Heterogeneous agents

Misallocation of Capital in a Model of Endogenous Financial Intermediation and Insurance

In this paper we analyze productivity and welfare losses from capital misallocation in a general equilibrium model of occupational choice and endogenous financial intermediation. We study the effects of borrowing and lending, insurance, and risk sharing on the optimal allocation of resources. We find that financial markets together with general equilibrium effects have large impact on entrepreneurs' entry and firm-size decisions. Efficiency gains are increasing in the quality of financial markets, particularly in their ability to alleviate a financing constraint by providing insurance against idiosyncratic risk.Financial markets and the macroeconomy; Occupational choice; Personal income and wealth and their distributions

Measurement of frequency dependences of low-value four-terminal resistance standards

Peer Reviewe

Comparing the Effects of Various Estrogen Replacement Paradigms on Working Memory Performance in the Radial-Arm Maze

The current study compared the impact of different paradigms of estradiol replacement on working memory performance. In adult ovariectomized rats, a vehicle-treated control group (n=10) was compared to three estradiol replacement paradigms: 1) continuous delivery via Silastic capsules (n=8); 2) cyclic replacement via two 10 ìg injections on two out of every four days (n=10); 3) cyclic replacement via one 2 ìg injection every four days (n=10). While treatment continued, animals were tested over 24 days in the 8-arm radial maze. After this acquisition period, various delay times were introduced between 4th and 5th arm choices. Treatments had no effects during acquisition or delay trials of 1 min, 10 min, and 3 hours. However, when a 5-hour delay was imposed, rats receiving estradiol via implants outperformed all other groups. These results indicate that long-term continuous estradiol replacement is more effective in enhancing working memory performance than the tested cyclic paradigms

Sillgrisslor Uria aalge ändrar resmönster under häckning

Seabirds are facing immense pressures, primarily induced by competition with commercial fisheries; this is of considerable concern due to the critical role that they play in marine food webs and their invaluable function as bioindicators. In this thesis, I studied the temporal change in trip duration for the Common Guillemot Uria aalge, a circum-arctic seabird species. Pre-recorded video footage that focused on a group of guillemot pairs residing on the Swedish island of Stora Karlsö during the 2021 breeding season served as the basis for this study. Five pairs were observed from egg-laying in May to chick-fledging in July. I hypothesized that there would be distinct shifts in trip duration and frequency following egg hatching, compared to egg incubation. Moreover, I investigated the possible development of a Storer Ashmole’s Halo around the breeding colony; this would likely be evident due to an increase in trip duration as the season progressed and fish stocks near the colony progressively depleted. I found a significant increase in trip frequency following egg hatching. However, total time spent away from the nest did not appear to change; individual trips were, therefore, shorter once the chicks had hatched. The quantity of fish delivered to the chick fluctuated but did not show a clear correlation with chick age, or seasonal effects. Furthermore, the size of the fish delivered to the nest remained relatively stable throughout the breeding season. The results indicate that a Storer Ashmole’s Halo most likely does not develop around the Stora Karlsö breeding colony; however, more research surrounding the topic is ultimately needed. The data that I collected allows for the investigation of potential variations in feeding rates leading up to chick fledging

PRICE TRANSPARENCY IN RESIDENTIAL ELECTRICITY: EXPERIMENTS FOR REGULATORY POLICY. ESRI Research Bulletin, 2018/01

For markets to be efficient and competitive, consumers need to be able to identify which products are good value. PRICE Lab2 conducted two laboratory experiments in collaboration with the Commission for Energy Regulation (now the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU). The first tested whether consumers find it hard to choose among energy providers when prices are expressed as discounts from a standard unit rate, which can differ between providers. The second pre-tested a new regulation designed to make it easier for consumers to compare prices. This is the first time a regulation has been experimentally pre-tested like this in Ireland. The regulation, which requires providers to display an “Estimated Annual Bill” (EAB), is now in place