3,577 research outputs found
Frequency-domain analysis of debt service in a macro-finance model for the euro area.
This paper illustrates how a parsimonious macro-finance model can be exploited to investigate the frequency-domain properties of debt service implied by various financing srategies. This orginal approach is valuable to public debt managers seeking to assess the fiscal-hedging properties of the financing strategies they implement. The model, inspired by Rudebusch and Wu (2008), is estimated on euro-area data over the period 1999-2009. At business-cycle frequencies, the variance of interest payments is lower when nominal long-term bonds are issued. From a budget-smoothing perspective, debt service variability plays a major role, but pro- or counter-cyclicality of debt service also matters. In this respect, the results suggest that while interest payments associated with medium- to long-term nominal bonds are negatively correlated with real activity, those associated with inflation-linked bonds and short-term nominal bonds tend to be pro-cyclical.Macro-finance model , spectral analysis , term-structure of interest rates , public debt management
Belief as Willingness to Bet
We investigate modal logics of high probability having two unary modal
operators: an operator expressing probabilistic certainty and an operator
expressing probability exceeding a fixed rational threshold . Identifying knowledge with the former and belief with the latter, we may
think of as the agent's betting threshold, which leads to the motto "belief
is willingness to bet." The logic for has an
modality along with a sub-normal modality that extends
the minimal modal logic by way of four schemes relating
and , one of which is a complex scheme arising out of a theorem due to
Scott. Lenzen was the first to use Scott's theorem to show that a version of
this logic is sound and complete for the probability interpretation. We
reformulate Lenzen's results and present them here in a modern and accessible
form. In addition, we introduce a new epistemic neighborhood semantics that
will be more familiar to modern modal logicians. Using Scott's theorem, we
provide the Lenzen-derivative properties that must be imposed on finite
epistemic neighborhood models so as to guarantee the existence of a probability
measure respecting the neighborhood function in the appropriate way for
threshold . This yields a link between probabilistic and modal
neighborhood semantics that we hope will be of use in future work on modal
logics of qualitative probability. We leave open the question of which
properties must be imposed on finite epistemic neighborhood models so as to
guarantee existence of an appropriate probability measure for thresholds
.Comment: Removed date from v1 to avoid confusion on citation/reference,
otherwise identical to v
THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMISTS: THE NEXT 100 YEARS OR LESS
Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,
Knowledge, Justification, and Reason-Based Belief
Is knowledge definable as justified true belief ("JTB")? We argue that one
can legitimately answer positively or negatively, depending on how the notion
of justification is understood. To facilitate our argument, we introduce a
simple propositional logic of reason-based belief. We show that this logic is
sufficiently flexible to accommodate various useful features, including
quantification over reasons. We use our framework to contrast two notions of
JTB: one internalist, the other externalist. We argue that Gettier cases
essentially challenge the internalist notion but not the externalist one. In
particular, we may equate knowledge and JTB if the latter is grounded in what
we call "adequate" reasons.Comment: v3 edits acknowledgment
Logics of Temporal-Epistemic Actions
We present Dynamic Epistemic Temporal Logic, a framework for reasoning about
operations on multi-agent Kripke models that contain a designated temporal
relation. These operations are natural extensions of the well-known "action
models" from Dynamic Epistemic Logic. Our "temporal action models" may be used
to define a number of informational actions that can modify the "objective"
temporal structure of a model along with the agents' basic and higher-order
knowledge and beliefs about this structure, including their beliefs about the
time. In essence, this approach provides one way to extend the domain of action
model-style operations from atemporal Kripke models to temporal Kripke models
in a manner that allows actions to control the flow of time. We present a
number of examples to illustrate the subtleties involved in interpreting the
effects of our extended action models on temporal Kripke models. We also study
preservation of important epistemic-temporal properties of temporal Kripke
models under temporal action model-induced operations, provide complete
axiomatizations for two theories of temporal action models, and connect our
approach with previous work on time in Dynamic Epistemic Logic
Credit and liquidity risks in euro area sovereign yield curves
In this paper, we propose a model of the joint dynamics of euro-area sovereign yield curves. The arbitrage-free valuation framework involves five factors and two regimes, one of the latter being interpreted as a crisis regime. These common factors and regimes explain most of the fluctuations in euro-area yields and spreads. The regime-switching feature of the model turns out to be particularly relevant to capture the rise in volatility experienced by fixed-income markets over the last years. In our reduced-form set up, each country is characterized by a hazard rate, specified as some linear combinations of the factors and regimes. The hazard rates incorporate both liquidity and credit components, that we aim at disentangling. The estimation suggests that a substantial share of the changes in euro-area yield differentials is liquidity-driven. Our approach is consistent with the fact that sovereign default risk is not diversifiable, which gives rise to specific risk premia that are incorporated in spreads. Once liquidity-pricing effects and risk premia are filtered out of the spreads, we obtain estimates of the actual –or real-world– default probabilities. The latter turn out to be significantly lower than their risk-neutral counterparts.default risk, liquidity risk, term structure of interest rates, regime-switching, euro-area spreads.
Strain-dependent porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) entry and replication in T-lymphoblasts
Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is the etiological agent of PCV2-associated diseases (PCVAD). PCV2 targets lymphoblasts, and pigs suffering from PCVAD display lymphocyte depletion in lymphoid tissues. PCV2 infection of lymphoblasts has not been studied. Here, the replication cycle of PCV2 (abortion strain 1121 and PMWS strain Stoon1010) in T-lymphoblasts was examined. The expression of Rep and Cap were found for both viral strains, while progeny virus was detected for Stoon1010 but not for 1121. PCV2 attached to 11-26% (1121-Stoon1010) of the T-lymphoblasts while 2.6-12.7% of cells showed virus internalization. Chondroitin sulfate (CS) was present on 25% of T-lymphoblasts, and colocalized with PCV2 on 31-32% of the PCV2+ cells. Enzymatic removal of CS reduced PCV2 infection. PCV2 infection was decreased by chlorpromazine, cytochalasin D and Clostridium difficile toxin B for both viral strains and by amiloride for 1121 but not for Stoon1010. Inhibiting either endosome acidification or serine proteases strongly reduced PCV2 infection. Three-dimensional analysis of Cap structure demonstrated a better Cap-nucleic acid affinity for Stoon1010 than for 1121. Taken together, PCV2 binds to T-lymphoblasts partially via CS, enters via clathrin-mediated endocytosis, and disassembles under functions of a pH-drop and serine proteases. Strain Stoon1010 displayed an enhanced viral binding, a specific receptor-mediated endocytosis, an increased Cap-nucleic acid affinity, and a more productive infection in T-lymphoblasts than 1121 did, indicating an evolution from 1121 to Stoon1010
Dissipative collapse of the adiabatic piston
An adiabatic piston, separating two granular gases prepared in the same
macroscopic state, is found to eventually collapse to one of the sides. This
new instability is explained by a simple macroscopic theory which is
furthermore in qualitative agreement with hard disk molecular dynamics.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
- …