THE FEDERAL RESERVE AND EUROSYSTEM´S BALANCE SHEET POLICIES DURING THE FINANCIAL CRISIS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

The balance sheet developments of the Federal Reserve System have received increased attention during recent events. The Fed has expanded its balance sheet and also changed its composition in order to support the financial system. As a consequence the average quality of the assets have, on average, deteriorated. In a similar way, the ECB has recently implemented novel balance sheet policies. In this article we compare the balance sheet policies of these two central banks. We assess the differences in policy strategies and deduct consequences concerning the quality of the respective currencies, as well as future directions of monetary policy.Central Bank Balance Sheets, Quality of Money, Balance Sheet Analysis, Monetary Policy, Subprime Crisis

A new species of Lomanoxia Martínez from Costa Rica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae)

A new species of Lomanoxia Martínez is described from Costa Rica: L. canthonopsis Skelley and Howden. This represents the first member of the genus reported from Central America. The status of the tribe Lomanoxini Stebnicka is evaluated and is here synonymized under Eupariini LePeletier and Serville

Ethics and Monetary Theory: Is There a Common Middle Ground?

The current bust has brought a boom to at least one area: the subject of business ethics. While ethics in the general business realm is hotly debated, the monetary sphere is woefully neglected. Jörg Guido Hülsmann’s (2009) The Ethics of Money Production has revived interest in applying an ethical foundation to monetary theory – specifically, bouts of inflation. Given that Central Banks – those institutions entrusted with the control and issuance of a country’s currency – regularly “earn” profits far in excess of what conventional deposit banks report, an ethical assessment is in order. Pushing economics back to its original position as a “moral science” is a welcome move. Monetary economics may be the area most in need of this shift, and will yield the greatest advancements when it is finally achieved

Recasting Economics as if the Climate and Global Ecology Really Mattered

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Feasibility study of resistance welding of aluminum alloys, stainless steel, and titanium in a hard vacuum Final report, Jun. 27, 1967 - Feb. 29, 1968

Tensile strength and X ray analysis of resistance spot welded aluminum and stainless steel alloy

Assessing housing quality and its impact on health, safety and sustainability

Background The adverse health and environmental effects of poor housing quality are well established. A central requirement for evidence-based policies and programmes to improve housing standards is a valid, reliable and practical way of measuring housing quality that is supported by policy agencies, the housing sector, researchers and the public. Methods This paper provides guidance on the development of housing quality-assessment tools that link practical measures of housing conditions to their effects on health, safety and sustainability, with particular reference to tools developed in New Zealand and England. Results The authors describe how information on housing quality can support individuals, agencies and the private sector to make worthwhile improvements to the health, safety and sustainability of housing. The information gathered and the resultant tools developed should be guided by the multiple purposes and end users of this information. Other important issues outlined include deciding on the scope, detailed content, practical administration issues and how the information will be analysed and summarised for its intended end users. There are likely to be considerable benefits from increased international collaboration and standardisation of approaches to measuring housing hazards. At the same time, these assessment approaches need to consider local factors such as climate, geography, culture, predominating building practices, important housing-related health issues and existing building codes. Conclusions An effective housing quality-assessment tool has a central role in supporting improvements to housing. The issues discussed in this paper are designed to motivate and assist the development of such tools

Fiat Money and the Distribution of Incomes and Wealth

Under a fiat money system, the money supply is subject to the human will. It therefore tends to grow faster than under a commodity money system. We analyse the implications of this fact for the distribution of incomes, and especially for the distribution of wealth. We argue that fiat money systems tend to increase the gap between incomes and wealth and also tend to leverage income differences into even greater differences of wealth.