Credit constraints and distance, what room for Central banking? The French experience (1880-1913)

Although a relative consensus is emerging about the economic effects of credit development, many controversies remain as to the role of the central bank in that development. This paper addresses the process of credit allocation by the central bank as observed on a spatial basis. It examines how and why improved geographical access to the central bank contributes to credit development by looking at the Fench experience in the ‘classical period' (1880-1913). In an environment of emerging, but highly prudent, deposit banks and the absence of a centralised money market, Banque de Fance branches had enough supply and demand to generate a network. Access to “central loans” hence reduced liquidity constraints and encouraged local banks and firms to lend. We shape the proof in two stages. First, a simple banking model presents our intuition and the mechanisms at work. Second, we take a new data set on the development of credit by French geographic area (département) to test our hypothesis using panel econometric tools. The results show the Banque de France branches having a strong and robust impact on credit development.credit constraint ; distance ; soft information ; succursales of the Banque de France ; credit development

Looking on English and German banking in the French mirror: Banking and development in France (1880-1913)

This paper aim to prove positive correlations between local banking, industry, innovation, and growth in the French classical period (1880-1913). Empirical works on GDP per capita growth gives positive correlation with local banking indicator. The relation is all the more strong since local banking tied on non agricultural economies. Thus, we open the black box and give evidence of local banking connection with innovation. We set the proof through panel data analysis on a spacial basis. Regard to so called German and English banks performances, local knowledge looks like a key point of industrialization, at least in the French experience.local banking ; information management ; industrial development ; innovation

Seismic tests of accretion in central stars of planetary systems

Central stars of extra-solar planetary systems are metal-rich. Planet accretion or initial surmetallicity can explain this observationnal fact. These scenarios can be tested with asteroseismology. We calibrate two stellar models, one with accretion and one with high initial metallicity, in order to obtain the same external parameters for both of them. We then compare their internal structures and their oscillation frequencies.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, ASP Conferences Series, D.W. Kurtz & Karen Pollarrd, Ed

Probing the parameter space of HD 49933: a comparison between global and local methods

We present two independent methods for studying the global stellar parameter space (mass M, age, initial chemical composition X_0, Z_0) of HD 49933 with seismic data. Using a local minimization and an MCMC algorithm, we obtain consistent results for the determination of the stellar properties: M = 1.1 - 1.2 M_solar, Age ~ 3.0 Gyr, Z_0 ~ 0.008. A description of the error ellipses can be defined using Singular Value Decomposition techniques, and this is validated by comparing the errors with those from the MCMC method.Comment: to be published in JPC

Credit constraints and distance, what room for Central banking? The French experience (1880-1913)

Although a relative consensus is emerging about the economic effects of credit development, many controversies remain as to the role of the central bank in that development. This paper addresses the process of credit allocation by the central bank as observed on a spatial basis. It examines how and why improved geographical access to the central bank contributes to credit development by looking at the Fench experience in the ‘classical period' (1880-1913). In an environment of emerging, but highly prudent, deposit banks and the absence of a centralised money market, Banque de Fance branches had enough supply and demand to generate a network. Access to “central loans” hence reduced liquidity constraints and encouraged local banks and firms to lend. We shape the proof in two stages. First, a simple banking model presents our intuition and the mechanisms at work. Second, we take a new data set on the development of credit by French geographic area (département) to test our hypothesis using panel econometric tools. The results show the Banque de France branches having a strong and robust impact on credit development.Ce papier examine les effets du réseau de succursale de la Banque de France sur le développement du crédit de 1880 à 1914. Bien que controversée ailleurs, cette politique semble avoir été bénéfique dans le cas français. Nous montrons ainsi que certaines préconditions (le manque de centralisation du marché monétaire ou les effets structurels liés à la concurrence des banques de dépôts) ont permis de joindre offre et demande de succursales amenant l'action locale de la Banque de France. Un modèle bancaire simple permet de saisir les intuitions de ce phénomène. La construction d'une nouvelle base de données sur le développement du crédit par département français nous permet ensuite d'apporter une preuve empirique quantifiable. L'étude économétrique en panel montre finalement qu'une succursale explique en moyenne 25% du développement du crédit d'un département à cette époque

Looking on English and German banking in the French mirror: Banking and development in France (1880-1913)

This paper aim to prove positive correlations between local banking, industry, innovation, and growth in the French classical period (1880-1913). Empirical works on GDP per capita growth gives positive correlation with local banking indicator. The relation is all the more strong since local banking tied on non agricultural economies. Thus, we open the black box and give evidence of local banking connection with innovation. We set the proof through panel data analysis on a spacial basis. Regard to so called German and English banks performances, local knowledge looks like a key point of industrialization, at least in the French experience.Cet article établit d'intéressantes corrélations entre activité des banques locales, industrie, innovation et développement industriel en France de 1880 à 1914. En effet, les résultats empiriques montrent que les taux de croissance du PIB et du produit non agricole sont d'autant plus forts que l'activité des banques locales est grande dans un département donné. Nous entrons alors dans cette "boîte noire" et établissons un fort lien entre activité des banques locales et innovation (appréhendée par une taxe sur les brevets d'invention). Ainsi, la gestion locale de l'information semble jouer un rôle majeur par sélection directe ou indirecte des meilleurs projets. Au regard des activités bancaires d'outre-Manche et d'outre-Rhin de l'époque, ces résultats pourraient offrir une avancée, même modeste, au vieux débat "gerschenkronien"

Uncertainties and biases in modelling 16 Cyg A and B

In this study I assess how existing data for the solar analogues 16 Cyg A and B, in particular the asteroseismic measurements obtained from \emph{Kepler}, constrain theoretical stellar models. The goal is two-fold: first to use these stars as benchmarks to discuss which precisions can realistically be expected on the inferred stellar quantities; and second to determine how well 'non-standard' prescriptions, such as microscopic diffusion and overshoot, are constrained. I used a Bayesian statistical model to infer the values of the stellar parameters of 16 Cyg A and B. I sampled the posterior density of the stellar parameters via a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm, tested different physical prescription, and examined the impact of using different seismic diagnostics. General good agreement is found with several recent modelling studies on these stars, even though some discrepancies subsist regarding the precise estimates of the uncertainties on the parameters. An age of $6.88\pm0.12$ Gyr is estimated for the binary system. The inferred masses, $1.07\pm0.02$ M$_{\odot}$ for Cyg A and $1.05\pm0.02$ M$_{\odot}$ for Cyg B, are shown to be stable with respect to changes in the physical prescriptions considered for the modelling. For both stars, microscopic diffusion has a significant effect on the estimates of the initial metallicity. Overshoot is confined to very small regions below the convective zone. I show that a proper treatment of the seismic constraints is necessary to avoid biases in the estimate of the mass.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, to appear in A &

Asteroseismology of the planet-hosting star mu Arae. II. Seismic analysis

As most exoplanets host stars, HD 160691 (alias mu Ara) presents a metallicity excess in its spectrum compared to stars without detected planets. This excess may be primordial, in which case the star would be completely overmetallic, or it may be due to accretion in the early phases of planetary formation, in which case it would be overmetallic only in its outer layers. As discussed in a previous paper (Bazot and Vauclair 2004), seismology can help choosing between the two scenarios. This star was observed during eight nights with the spectrograph HARPS at La Silla Observatory. Forty three p-modes have been identified (Bouchy et al. 2005). In the present paper, we discuss the modelisation of this star. We computed stellar models iterated to present the same observable parameters (luminosity, effective temperature, outer chemical composition) while the internal structure was different according to the two extreme assumptions : original overmetallicity or accretion. We show that in any case the seismic constraints lead to models in complete agreement with the external parameters deduced from spectroscopy and from the Hipparcos parallax (L and Teff). We discuss the tests which may lead to a choice between the two typical scenarios. We show that the ``small separation'' seem to give a better fit for the accretion case than for the overmetallic case, but in spite of the very good data the uncertainties are still too large to conclude. We discuss the observations which would be needed to go further and solve this question.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, accepted in A&

Asteroseismic Stellar Modelling with AIMS

The goal of AIMS (Asteroseismic Inference on a Massive Scale) is to estimate stellar parameters and credible intervals/error bars in a Bayesian manner from a set of asteroseismic frequency data and so-called classical constraints. To achieve reliable parameter estimates and computational efficiency, it searches through a grid of pre-computed models using an MCMC algorithm -- interpolation within the grid of models is performed by first tessellating the grid using a Delaunay triangulation and then doing a linear barycentric interpolation on matching simplexes. Inputs for the modelling consist of individual frequencies from peak-bagging, which can be complemented with classical spectroscopic constraints. AIMS is mostly written in Python with a modular structure to facilitate contributions from the community. Only a few computationally intensive parts have been rewritten in Fortran in order to speed up calculations.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. Tutorial presented at the IVth Azores International Advanced School in Space Sciences on "Asteroseismology and Exoplanets: Listening to the Stars and Searching for New Worlds" (arXiv:1709.00645), which took place in Horta, Azores Islands, Portugal in July 201

Asteroseismology of exoplanets host stars: the special case of ι\iota Horologii (HD17051)

{This paper presents detailed analysis and modelisation of the star HD17051 (alias $\iota$ Hor), which appears as a specially interesting case among exoplanet host stars. As most of these stars, $\iota$ Hor presents a metallicity excess which has been measured by various observers who give different results, ranging from [Fe/H] = 0.11 to 0.26, associated with different atmospheric parameters. Meanwhile the luminosity of the star may be determined owing to Hipparcos parallax. Although in the southern hemisphere, this star belongs to the Hyades stream and its external parameters show that it could even be one of the Hyades stars ejected during cluster formation. The aim of this work was to gather and analyse our present knowledge on this star and to prepare seismic tests for future observations with the HARPS spectrometer (planned for November 2006).} {We have computed evolutionary tracks with various metallicities, in the two frameworks of primordial overmetallicity and accretion. We have concentrated on models inside the error boxes given by the various observers in the log g - log T$_{eff}$ diagram. We then computed the adiabatic oscillation frequencies of these models to prepare future observations.} {The detailed analysis of $\iota$ Hor presented in this paper already allowed to constrain its external parameters, mass and age. Some values given in the literature could be rejected as inconsistent with the overall analysis. We found that a model computed with the Hyades parameters (age, metallicity) was clearly acceptable, but other ones were possible too. We are confident that observations with HARPS will allow for a clear conclusion about this star and that it will bring important new light on the physics of exoplanet host stars.}Comment: to be published in Astronomy and Astrophysic