Strategic delegation and international capital taxation

The literature on tax competition generally concludes that international coordination of capital taxes among symmetric countries increases tax rates. This paper investigates whether this conclusion also holds in a political economy framework where taxes are set by elected policy makers. It shows that policy makers are fiscally more liberal than the average citizen if taxes are set non-cooperatively. However, fiscally more conservative policy makers are elected if taxes are set cooperatively. The introduction of tax coordination cannot remove the incentive to compete for foreign capital, but simply shifts it to the election stage. The paper proves that with standard specifications of the utility functions, coordination leads to lower tax rates than competition. --Tax competition,tax coordination,strategic delegation

Does broad money matter for interest rate policy?

This paper presents a business cycle model with financial intermediation encompassing the conventional New Keynesian model. Households’ financial wealth comprises cash and interest bearing deposits. When deposits provide transaction services, real broad money, which is predetermined, affects aggregate demand and has a stabilizing impact. Monetary policy can ensure equilibrium uniqueness if the central bank reacts at least slightly on the real broad money gap. Moreover, if the central bank aims at minimizing a standard loss function, real broad money enters the interest rate reaction function. Thus, money matters if it is defined broadly enough to include all households’ financial assets. --Interest rate policy,real broad money,financial wealth,macroeconomic stability

Can Money Matter for Interest Rate Policy?

In this paper it is shown that money can matter for macroeconomic stability under interest rate policy, if transactions frictions are specified in a consistent way. We develop a sticky price model with a shopping time specification, which induces the marginal utility of consumption to depend on the (predetermined) stock of money held at the beginning of the period. Saddle path stability is then ensured by a passive interest rate policy, whereas activeness is associated with an explosive equilibrium path unless the central bank reacts to changes in beginning-of-period real balances. When the central bank aims at minimizing macroeconomic distortions, real balances enter the interest rate feedback rule under discretionary optimization. If it is alternatively assumed that end-of-period money provides transaction services, money can be neglected for interest rate policy in order to implement the optimal plan. However, the equilibrium under the targeting rule is likely to be indetermined, allowing for endogenous fluctuations, which can be avoided by the central bank implementing the optimal plan with an interest rate feedback rule featuring beginning-of-period real balances.Transactions frictions, predetermined money, real balance effects, saddle path stability, discretionary optimization

Monetary policy in unknown territory: The European Central Bank in the early years

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Strategic delegation and international capital taxation

The literature on tax competition generally concludes that international coordination of capital taxes among symmetric countries increases tax rates. This paper investigates whether this conclusion also holds in a political economy framework where taxes are set by elected policy makers. It shows that policy makers are fiscally more liberal than the average citizen if taxes are set non-cooperatively. However, fiscally more conservative policy makers are elected if taxes are set cooperatively. The introduction of tax coordination cannot remove the incentive to compete for foreign capital, but simply shifts it to the election stage. The paper proves that with standard specifications of the utility functions, coordination leads to lower tax rates than competition

Non-parametric Sequential and Adaptive Designs for Survival Trials

This thesis deals with fixed samples size, sequential and adaptive survival trials and consists of two major parts. In the first part fixed sample size, sequential and adaptive testing methods are derived that utilize data from a survival as well as a categorical surrogate endpoint in a fully non-parametric way without the need to assume any type of proportional hazards. In the second part extensions to quality-adjusted survival endpoints are discussed. In existing adaptive methods for confirmatory survival trials with flexible adaptation rules strict type-I-error control is only ensured if the interim decisions are based solely on the primary endpoint. In trials with long-term follow-up it is often desirable to base interim decisions also on correlated short-term endpoints, such as a surrogate marker. Surrogate information available at the interim analysis may be used to predict future event times. If interim decisions, such as selection of a subgroup or changes to the recruitment process, depend on this information, control of the type-I-error is no longer formally guaranteed for methods assuming an independent increments structure. In this thesis the weighted Kaplan-Meier estimator, a modification of the classical Kaplan-Meier estimator incorporating discrete surrogate information, is used to construct a non-parametric test statistic for the comparison of survival distributions, a generalization of the average hazard ratio. It is shown in this thesis how this test statistic can be used in fixed design, group-sequential and adaptive trials, such that the type-I-error is controlled. Asymptotic normality of the multivariate average hazard ratio is first verified in the fixed sample size context and then applied to noninferiority testing in a three-arm trial with non-proportional hazards survival data. In the next step the independent increments property is shown to hold asymptotically for the weighted Kaplan-Meier estimator. Consequently, for all test statistics based on it. Standard methods for the calculation of group-sequential rejection boundaries are applicable. For adaptive designs the weighted Kaplan-Meier estimator is modified to support stage-wise left-truncated and right-censored data to ensure independence of the stage-wise test statistics, even when interim decisions are based on surrogate information. Standard combination test methodology can then be used to ensure strict type-I-error control. Quality-adjusted survival is an integrated measure of quality-of-life data, which has gained interest in recent years. In this thesis a novel non-parametric two-sample test for quality-adjusted survival distributions is developed, that allows adjustment for covariate-dependent censoring, whereby the censoring is assumed to follow a proportional hazards model. It is shown how this result can be used to design adaptive trials with a quality-adjusted survival endpoint

Does broad money matter for interest rate policy?

This paper presents a business cycle model with financial intermediation encompassing the conventional New Keynesian model. Households’ financial wealth comprises cash and interest bearing deposits. When deposits provide transaction services, real broad money, which is predetermined, affects aggregate demand and has a stabilizing impact. Monetary policy can ensure equilibrium uniqueness if the central bank reacts at least slightly on the real broad money gap. Moreover, if the central bank aims at minimizing a standard loss function, real broad money enters the interest rate reaction function. Thus, money matters if it is defined broadly enough to include all households’ financial assets

Giant cell arteritis exclusively detected by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography: a case report

INTRODUCTION: This case of giant cell arteritis is noteworthy because it evaded standard diagnostic criteria and only emerged as fever of unknown origin. In this regard, we present (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography as a valid diagnostic method. CASE PRESENTATION: This case report describes a 58-year-old Caucasian woman who is a cigarette smoker with a 10-week history of fever of unknown origin, night sweats and weight loss of 12kg. Initially, clinical presentation was suspicious of malignant disease. Laboratory findings detected significantly elevated inflammatory blood parameters including C-reactive protein and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (110mm/hour). Extensive diagnostic workup including microbiological and rheumatological assessment, ultrasonography, endoscopy and computed tomography of abdomen and thorax did not indicate any septic or malignant focus. Eventually, (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography was able to reveal arteritis of her aortic arch and supraaortic branches. Subsequently, she commenced steroid and methotrexate therapy that led to sustained remission. CONCLUSIONS: This case of giant cell arteritis may promote discussion regarding a more specific classification for this disease entity. Furthermore, it confirms that (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography might serve as a valuable tool for diagnosis of giant cell arteritis, because it could facilitate an accurate and non-invasive detection of lesions of large vessels

Automatisierte Messdatenauswertung am Motorprüfstand in Python

In diesem Dokument ist ein Skript vorgestellt, welches Messdaten in Python aus verschiedenen Messsystemen eines Motorprüfstands automatisiert zusammenfasst, erforderliche motorische Berechnungen durchführt und Diagramme ausgewählter Kennwerte zeichnet.:1. Problemstellung 2. Datenverarbeitung im Auswerteskript 2.1. Import der Messdaten 2.2. Benennung der Messdaten zur Datenüberprüfung 3. Verarbeitung und Berechnung 4. Diagrammerstellung zur Auswertung 5. Fazit Literatu