Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policy under Sectorial Heterogeneity

This paper characterizes optimal fiscal and monetary policy in a new keynesian model with sectorial heterogeneity in price stickiness. In particular, we (i) derive a purely quadratic welfare-based loss function from an approximation of the representative agent's utility function and (ii) provide the optimal target rule for fiscal and monetary policy. Differently from the homogeneous case, the loss function includes sectorial inflation variances instead of aggregate inflation, with weights proportional to the degree of price stickiness; and sectorial output gaps instead of aggregate output gap with equal weight in each sector. Optimal policy implies a very strong positive correlation among sectorial output gaps and some dispersion of sectorial inflation in response to shocks. Larger heterogeneity in price stickiness implies larger impact of shocks on aggregate inflation. Optimal taxes are more responsive in sectors with stickier prices.

Technical Appendix to "Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policy under Sectorial Heterogeneity"

This is the complete technical appendix to "Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policy under Sectorial Heterogeneity".

Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise? Socioeconomic Status and Morbidity/Mortality

No abstract.

The impact of toeholds on the distribution of M&A gains

Dissertação de mestrado em FinançasPerante a dinâmica em constante mudança das Fusões e Aquisições, este estudo explora o potencial de sinergias quando um adquirente possui uma participação inicial, um toehold, na empresa-alvo antes do anúncio da aquisição. Esta pesquisa foca-se nos resultados contrastantes entre adquirentes com e sem toehold, dando particular atenção às sinergias criadas e ao tamanho da participação inicial. Um conjunto de dados que abrange 1774 transações de Fusões e Aquisições de países da OCDE entre 2005 e 2019 serve como base para esta análise. O estudo utiliza a metodologia de estudo de evento de MacKinlay, avaliando os CARs (Retornos Anormais Acumulados) em intervalos de 3, 5 e 11 dias. Um portefólio ponderado por valor foi usado para calcular o retorno Anormal Médio Acumulado (CAAR). Os resultados corroboram a ideia de que a presença de uma posição inicial amplifica o CAR do adquirente em torno do período de anúncio, com um efeito mais pronunciado para participações iniciais maiores (acima da mediana). No entanto, o impacto afirmativo dos toeholds na criação de sinergias ainda está para ser confirmado de forma definitiva.Amid the changing dynamics of Mergers & Acquisitions, this study delves into the potential of increased synergies when an acquirer has an initial stake, a toehold in the target company before the acquisition announcement. This research focuses on the contrasting outcomes between acquirers with and without toehold, giving particular attention to the synergies created and the size of the toehold. A dataset encompassing 1774 M&A deals from OECD countries spanning 2005-2019 serves as the foundation for this analysis. The study employs the MacKinlay event study methodology, evaluating CARs over 3, 5, and 11-day intervals. Value-weighted portfolio constructions used for cumulative average abnormal return (CAAR). Results corroborate the idea that toehold presence amplifies Acquirer CAR around the announcement periods, with a more pronounced effect for larger (above-median) toeholds. However, the affirmative impact of toeholds on synergy creation is yet to be definitively confirmed

Toda a memória das imagens: o ensaio audiovisual

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Implementation of X-ray reflectivity on the characterization of ultra-thin films for memory devices

In this work X-ray reflectivity (XRR) was implemented as a characterization technique to study very thin films produced at CENIMAT. Three groups of samples were analysed: thin films of Ta2O5, thin films Ta2O5 mixed with SiO2 (TaSiO) and thin films of zinc-tin oxide (ZTO). Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used as a complementary technique and all results were compared with the results of profilometry and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). A good agreement was found between the thicknesses obtained by all techniques. XRR revealed to be a better technique than SE to determine the thickness of the native oxide of silicon. In the same way the determination of the roughness was more accurate with XRR. The objective of the characterization of the TaSiO and Ta2O5 samples was to study the influence of the radio frequency (rf) power in the Ta2O5 target during the sputtering process. In the case of the TaSiO samples an increase of the rf power resulted in an increase of the percentage of Ta2O5 and Ar in the films, as well as an increase of the density and dielectric constant. On the other side, the short-range order decreased. With the increase of the rf power the Ta2O5 samples only revealed a lower short-range order. The aim of the characterization of the ZTO was to study of the effect of rf power in the ZTO target during the sputtering process, as well as the influence of the H2 and O2 flows. The increase of the rf power resulted in denser films with lower short-range order. In a less clear way a change in the H2 influenced the films thickness. The increase of theO2 flow had as a result films less dense and less rough

Enhancing the efficiency of electricity utilization through home energy management systems within the smart grid framework

The concept behind smart grids is the aggregation of “intelligence” into the grid, whether through communication systems technologies that allow broadcast/data reception in real-time, or through monitoring and systems control in an autonomous way. With respect to the technological advancements, in recent years there has been a significant increment in devices and new strategies for the implementation of smart buildings/homes, due to the growing awareness of society in relation to environmental concerns and higher energy costs, so that energy efficiency improvements can provide real gains within modern society. In this perspective, the end-users are seen as active players with the ability to manage their energy resources, for example, microproduction units, domestic loads, electric vehicles and their participation in demand response events. This thesis is focused on identifying application areas where such technologies could bring benefits for their applicability, such as the case of wireless networks, considering the positive and negative points of each protocol available in the market. Moreover, this thesis provides an evaluation of dynamic prices of electricity and peak power, using as an example a system with electric vehicles and energy storage, supported by mixed-integer linear programming, within residential energy management. This thesis will also develop a power measuring prototype designed to process and determine the main electrical measurements and quantify the electrical load connected to a low voltage alternating current system. Finally, two cases studies are proposed regarding the application of model predictive control and thermal regulation for domestic applications with cooling requirements, allowing to minimize energy consumption, considering the restrictions of demand, load and acclimatization in the system

Tax policy stance over the business cycle: evidence from Europe

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Economics from the NOVA – School of Business and EconomicsWe contribute to the literature addressing the cyclical behavior of tax policy. Most recent studies have relied on tax revenues and adjusted measures of tax collections to analyze this issue. We argue that such methodology is insufficient to characterize tax policy cyclicality, as tax revenues move endogenously with the business cycle. Consequently, this topic is revisited by making use of the policy instrument, tax rate, as opposed to the policy outcome, tax revenues. Using data for 13 European countries, we find that tax policy has mostly been a-cyclical over the last 30 years