Credit Rationing and Exchange-Rate Stabilization: Examining the Relation between Financial Frictions, Exchange-Rate Volatility, Lending Rates, and Capital Inflows

This paper develops and tests a model of the relation between the volatility of the exchange rate, default rates, the level of interest rates on loans, and the availability of credit, laying emphasis on frictions in the financial market, specifically foreclosure costs to collecting bad debts. On the assumption that foreign sources of funds are crucial for domestic finance, the paper tests the hypothesis of a high positive relation between the volatility of the exchange rate and the lending rate, and between the volatility of the exchange rate and capital inflows, on a sample of 54 countries over 1980-2000. The paper finds that exchange-rate and macroeconomic volatility are strong predictors of capital inflows (but not of lending rates) and that there may be an important role for financial frictions in the transmission process. Moreover, the paper finds that episodes of disinflation that rely on a reduction of the rate of depreciation tend to be accompanied by lower exchange rate volatility (in addition to simply lower rates of devaluation). Both effects, but principally the latter through financial frictions, suggest a solution to the lack of connection between the theory and the stylized facts of exchange rate-based stabilizations: ERBS programs may lead to initial booms through should cause a significant rise in the availability of credit, even if the cost of credit does not fall by much.interest rates, exchange rate volatility, financial frictions, creditor rights, exchange rate based stabilization

The Idea of Economics in a University

Relying on John Henry Newman’s Idea of a University, this paper explores the relation between economics and other disciplines. Newman had high regard for disciplinary specialization, which he thought would teach students and scholars how to think and would keep them intellectually honest. At the same time, he insisted that the learning and exploring of a science had to take place within a university, that is, with proper regard to the science’s place among other disciplines. This paper contributes to the debate on the proper way to do economics by applying to it Newman’s ideas, arguing that it is at its best when faithful to its own character, as long as it seeks out the contributions and the corrections of other disciplines. Indeed, because economics focuses on order, principle, and method, and because it provides a “connected view or grasp of things,” it can contribute to the cultivation of the philosophical habit of mind.Newman, philosophy of economics

Shell Model Calculation of the β- and β+ Partial Half-Lives of 54Mn and Other Unique Second Forbidden β Decays

The nucleus 54Mn, observed in cosmic rays, decays there dominantly by the β- branch with an unknown rate. The branching ratio of its β+ decay was determined recently. We use the shell model with only a minimal truncation and calculate both β+ and β- decay rates. Good agreement for the β+ branch suggests that the calculated partial half-life of the β- decay, 4.94×10^5 yr, should be reliable. However, this half-life is noticeably shorter than the range 1–2×10^6 yr indicated by the fit based on the 54Mn abundance in cosmic rays. We also evaluate other known unique second forbidden β decays from the p and sd shells and show that the shell model can describe them with reasonable accuracy as well

Calculation of nuclear matrix elements in neutrinoless double electron capture

We compute nuclear matrix elements for neutrinoless double electron capture on $^{152}$Gd, $^{164}$Er and $^{180}$W nuclei. Recent precise mass measurements for these nuclei have shown a large resonance enhancement factor that makes them the most promising candidates for observing this decay mode. We use an advanced energy density functional method which includes beyond mean-field effects such as symmetry restoration and shape mixing. Our calculations reproduce experimental charge radii and $B(E2)$ values predicting a large deformation for all these nuclei. This fact reduces significantly the values of the NMEs leading to half-lives larger than $10^{29}$ years for the three candidates

CU2CL: A CUDA-to-OpenCL Translator for Multi- and Many-core Architectures

The use of graphics processing units (GPUs) in high-performance parallel computing continues to become more prevalent, often as part of a heterogeneous system. For years, CUDA has been the de facto programming environment for nearly all general-purpose GPU (GPGPU) applications. In spite of this, the framework is available only on NVIDIA GPUs, traditionally requiring reimplementation in other frameworks in order to utilize additional multi- or many-core devices. On the other hand, OpenCL provides an open and vendorneutral programming environment and runtime system. With implementations available for CPUs, GPUs, and other types of accelerators, OpenCL therefore holds the promise of a “write once, run anywhere” ecosystem for heterogeneous computing. Given the many similarities between CUDA and OpenCL, manually porting a CUDA application to OpenCL is typically straightforward, albeit tedious and error-prone. In response to this issue, we created CU2CL, an automated CUDA-to- OpenCL source-to-source translator that possesses a novel design and clever reuse of the Clang compiler framework. Currently, the CU2CL translator covers the primary constructs found in CUDA runtime API, and we have successfully translated many applications from the CUDA SDK and Rodinia benchmark suite. The performance of our automatically translated applications via CU2CL is on par with their manually ported countparts

Phase transitions in multi-cut matrix models and matched solutions of Whitham hierarchies

We present a method to study phase transitions in the large N limit of matrix models using matched solutions of Whitham hierarchies. The endpoints of the eigenvalue spectrum as functions of the temperature are characterized both as solutions of hodograph equations and as solutions of a system of ordinary differential equations. In particular we show that the free energy of the matrix model is the quasiclassical tau-function of the associated hierarchy, and that critical processes in which the number of cuts changes in one unit are third-order phase transitions described by C1 matched solutions of Whitham hierarchies. The method is illustrated with the Bleher-Eynard model for the merging of two cuts. We show that this model involves also a birth of a cut

What Happens to Wages After Displacement?

Faced with limited resources, policymakers need to know when and where to target support for displaced workers. The academic literature offers little support, presenting wide-ranging results with no consistent explanation for the observed differences in wages after workers are displaced. In this paper, we demonstrate that the heterogeneity found in the literature is consistent with varying market conditions. The results suggest that support for displaced workers can be more efficiently allocated by considering the timing and location of displacement.Displaced Workers; Mexico

Linking neutrino oscillations to the nucleosynthesis of elements

Neutrino interactions with matter play an important role in determining the nucleosynthesis outcome in explosive astrophysical environments such as core-collapse supernovae or mergers of compact objects. In this article, we first discuss our recent work on the importance of studying the time evolution of collective neutrino oscillations among active flavors in determining their effects on nucleosynthesis. We then consider the possible active-sterile neutrino mixing and demonstrate the need of a consistent approach to evolve neutrino flavor oscillations, matter composition, and the hydrodynamics when flavor oscillations can happen very deep inside the supernovae.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, OMEG 2015 conference proceedings, to appear in EPJ WOC proceeding