The bank lending survey for the euro area

This occasional paper explains why the bank lending survey was developed by the ECB and describes its main features. It discusses the importance of credit developments for both the economy and the functioning of monetary policy, and further clarifies why the survey was introduced. Furthermore, the paper demonstrates that the value added of implementing a bank lending survey for the euro area lies in particular in the way it provides greater insight into developments in credit standards, non-interest rate credit conditions and terms, the risk perception of banks and the willingness of banks to lend. Credit standards are the internal guidelines or criteria of a bank which reflect the bank’s loan policy. The terms and conditions of a loan refer to the specific obligations agreed upon by the lender and the borrower. This occasional paper also considers similar surveys conducted by the Federal Reserve System in the US and by the Bank of Japan.Survey; Banks; Credit Standards; Credit Markets; European Central Bank; Federal Reserve; Bank of Japan

The euro area Bank Lending Survey matters: empirical evidence for credit and output growth

This study examines empirically the information content of the euro area Bank Lending Survey for aggregate credit and output growth. The responses of the lending survey, especially those related to loans to enterprises, are a significant leading indicator for euro area bank credit and real GDP growth. Notwithstanding the short history of the survey, the findings are robust across various specifications, including “horse races” with other well-known leading financial indicators. Our results are supportive of the existence of a bank lending, balance sheet, and risk-taking channel of monetary policy. They also suggest that price as well as non-price conditions and terms of credit standards do matter for credit and business cycles. Finally, we discuss the implications for the 2007/2009 financial and economic crisis. JEL Classification: C23, E32, E51, E52, G21, G28bank lending survey, business cycle, credit cycle, euro area, Monetary policy transmission

Financing conditions in the euro area

For central banks, the monitoring of financing conditions plays a pivotal role in assessing the actual transmission of monetary policy impulses to borrowers. This paper presents in detail some of the indicators and data used by the ECB to assess financing conditions in the euro area. It also shows how these indicators have been used to provide a broad assessment of developments in financing conditions in the euro area in recent years. The ECB’s analysis of financing conditions is dynamic and seeks to reflect underlying changes in the euro area’s financial structure.

A CONCEPÇÃO ARGUMENTATIVA DE LINGUAGEM NO ENSINO DE REDAÇÃO DE TEXTOS DISSERTATIVO-ARGUMENTATIVOS

A crescente demanda no uso de redações de textos dissertativo-argumentativos como instrumento de seleção em concursos para ingresso no ensino superior ou em recrutamento de pessoal para o mercado de trabalho exerce uma pressão, ainda maior, sobre a escola no sentido de didatizar esse gênero textual/discursivo. O presente trabalho propõe uma aplicação da semântica argumentativa, criada em 1983 por Oswald Ducrot e Jean-Claude Anscombre, denominada Argumentation dans la langue (ADL), ao desenvolvimento da competência argumentativa e retórica, especificamente materializada na forma de textos dissertativo-argumentativos escritos. Mais especificamente serão utilizados princípios e conceitos da Teoria dos Blocos Semânticos, versão técnica mais recente da ADL, introduzida pelos estudos de Marion Carel (1992) e desenvolvida juntamente com Ducrot. Palavras-chave: Argumentação linguística. Argumentação retórica. Ensino de dissertação. Abstract The growing demand for the use of writing expository argumentative texts as selection tools on admittance examinations to higher education institutions or when selecting personnel for the working market has put even greater pressure upon schools so as to make such textual/discursive genre didactic. This work proposes a semantic argumentative application, created in 1983 by Oswald Ducrot and Jean-Claude Anscombre, called Argumentation dans la langue (ADL), to the development of argumentative and rhetorical competence, specifically materialised as written expository argumentative texts. More specifically, principles and concepts from the Theory of Semantic Blocks, a newer technical version of LDA, introduced by Marion Carel (1992) and developed with Ducrot, shall be used. Keywords: Linguistic argumentation. Rhetorical argumentation. Teaching dissertation

Seed mass and germination in Asteraceae species of Argentina

The effects of seed mass variation on germination percentage, mean time to germinate and light requirements for germination in seven Asteraceae species of Argentina were studied. Germination, mean time to germinate and light requirements were significantly different among species at both 20°C and 25/10°C temperature regimes. In general, larger (> 1.0 mg) and intermediate-mass seeds (≥ 0.1 ≤ 1.0 mg) species showed higher germination, lower mean time to germinate and less light requirement than smaller-mass seeds (< 0.1 mg). However, these responses can vary with the species and temperature regime under which germination is tested. These results could help to explain the field observations for variation in seedling establishment between species and populations studied.Fil: Galindez, Guadalupe. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación de Recursos Naturales. Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ortega Baes, Francisco Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Escuela de Agronomía. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Botánicas; ArgentinaFil: Daws, M. I.. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino UnidoFil: Sühring, Silvia Susana. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Escuela de Agronomía. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Botánicas; ArgentinaFil: Scopel, Ana Leonor. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario; ArgentinaFil: H.W. Pritchard. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Escuela de Agronomía. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Botánicas; Argentin