Pricing and Liquidity in Decentralized Asset Markets

I develop a search-and-bargaining model of endogenous intermediation in over-the-counter markets. Unlike the existing work, my model allows for rich investor heterogeneity in three simultaneous dimensions: preferences, inventories, and meeting rates. By comparing trading-volume patterns that arise in my model and are observed in practice, I argue that the heterogeneity in meeting rates is the main driver of intermediation patterns. I find that investors with higher meeting rates (i.e., fast investors) are less averse to holding inventories and more attracted to cash earnings, which makes the model corroborate a number of stylized facts that do not emerge from existing models: (i) fast investors provide intermediation by charging a speed premium, and (ii) fast investors hold more extreme inventories. Then, I use the model to study the effect of trading frictions on the supply and price of liquidity. On social welfare, I show that the interaction of meeting rate heterogeneity with optimal inventory management makes the equilibrium inefficient. In the equilibrium, investors have less dispersed inventories than the socially efficient allocation. I provide a financial transaction tax/subsidy scheme that corrects this inefficiency, in which fast investors cross-subsidize slow investors

Renewable energy governance in India: challenges and prospects for achieving the 2022 energy goals

India has set colossal renewable energy (RE) targets (achieving 175GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022) which need a clear strategy roadmap, integrated planning and a whole-of-system approach. However, the loopholes in institutional mechanisms are bound to hinder the process of policy formulation and implementation for the aspired quantum leap. This paper is an attempt to observe governance of renewable energy in India while exploring the issues and challenges that have been stalling the process of clean energy uptake. The paper finds that despite the comprehensive policy and regulatory frameworks, the large disconnect between the central policies and regional needs has created barriers for deployment of renewable technologies. The paper emphasizes the provision for clean energy financial support to be made available to the states for addressing the disparities between RE potential and the development cost, and planning for better grid management systems. The RE targets also demand an intensive capital market development and innovative financial support mechanisms and products. While aligning itself with the clean energy goals, India needs to focus significantly on the energy needs of the rural population which has been grappling with electricity cuts and brownouts. For regions with limited or no electricity supply, the government should aggressively promote the ideas of off-grid solar power and micro grids. The paper also recommends the possibilities for private sector investments, rural entrepreneurship and public- private ventures for filling in the gaps, and thus harnessing the potential of RE-rich states

L’insostenibile consumo di terreno agricolo

Consumption of agricultural land through various forms of degradation, erosion, compaction, waterproofing, has an impact on the entire primary sector, with increasing costs. Thus, if the Italian surface is 30 million hectares, 17 is the total agricultural (SAT), but only 12 is actually productive. The SAU, which has been properly used for crops, has decreased by 20% over the past 30 years and its incidence contracted from 52.4% to 42.6%, but only part of the loss is due to urban expansion processes and consumption of soil. Thus, there is an inadequate loss indicator, not including weighing roads, irrigation systems, woods, uncultivated, major renaturalisation phenomena that affect the lost surface [Soriani, 2014]. SAU is best suited to a timely planning of quality, considering the specific agricultural space and productivity. Its contraction must be accompanied by several factors, in addition to the loss of the SAT, linked to the reforms of the common agricultural policy, the various forms of support to agricultural income, the dynamics of international competition, with the effect of abandoning crops. This is often the result of wild re-naturalization, within settlements dynamics that attest to the evolution of land use patterns, only contributing to the loss of lost biodiversity, fueling instead various forms of degradation and disaster in regaining the natural forces of space

The hidden side of dynamic pricing in airline markets

To study dynamic pricing in airline markets it is essential to model the time variation of the distribution of fares that airlines assign to all the airplane's seats. We show how a flight's fare distribution is set in practice and its consistency with the properties of a theoretical model. First, fare distributions are increasing across seats. Second, over time fare distributions move downward to reflect the perishable nature of seats. Third, we find that the fare observed by prospective buyers tends to increase as the date of departure nears

Do Women Socialize Better? Evidence from a Study on Sociality Effects on Gender Differences in Cooperative Behavior

Human behavior is greatly influenced by the social context. The currrent study on men’ and women’s cooperative behavior investigated the influence of long-term and short-term effects of socializing in group. The repeated Prisoner’s dilemma carried out in groups of 6 participants was used as the main experimental situation. The differences were found in changes in the level of cooperation, taking in to account the effects of mixing social and gender variables. Socialization made cooperation of group members strength and sustainable. However, men’ and women’s cooperative behavior in groups differed. Women were initially more inclined to cooperate in interaction with strangers. Men showed greater sensitivity to sociality effects. They tended to make cooperative decisions more often if there are friends in the group. Furthermore, men cooperated with previously unknown people after socializing with them significantly more than women

El peligro de la sobrepoblación disminuye con el desarrollo de la civilización

This document, written as an essay, recounts the thoughts of the well-known classical economist Thomas Roberth Malthus about his principles on population, mainly his theory about the population growth in which he indicates that food increases geometrically and individuals do it exponentially; however, the population growth has been affected by expert aspects that will be addressed in the present investigation

Przyszłość edukacji zawodowej. Metody modernizacji szkół zawodowych i zwiększenia adaptacyjności pracowników oświaty

Polish Abstract: Publikacja powstała w ramach projektu PO KL "PWP: PRZYSZŁOŚĆ EDUKACJI ZAWODOWEJ - lokalne partnerstwo na rzecz zwiększenia adaptacyjności nauczycieli zawodowych", realizowanego na zlecenie Wojewódzkiego Urzędu Pracy w Białymstoku. Publikacja prezentuje modernizację szkolnictwa zawodowego w modelach angażujących kapitał edukacyjny otoczenia szkoły oraz aspiracje rozwojowe kadry dydaktycznej, które należy traktować jako wyzwanie o charakterze strategicznym dla regionu i które powinno być podjęte równolegle i wspólnie przez organizacje pracodawców będących głównymi beneficjentami systemu kształcenia zawodowego. English Abstract: The publication was created as part of the project "PWP: Future of vocational education - a local partnership to increase the adaptability of vocational teachers" carried out on behalf of the Regional Labour Office in Bialystok, Poland. The publication presents the modernization of vocational education in the models involving education capital of school environment and development aspirations of the teaching staff, which should be treated as a strategic challenge for the region and which should be taken in parallel and jointly by employers who are the main beneficiaries of the vocational education system

Methodology Does Matter: About Implicit Assumptions in Applied Formal Modelling. The case of Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium Models vs Agent-Based Models

This article uses the functional decomposition approach to modeling Mäki (2009b) to discuss the importance of methodological considerations before choosing a modeling framework in applied research. It considers the case of agent-based models and dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models to illustrate the implicit epistemological and ontological statements related to the choice of the corresponding modeling framework and highlights the important role of the purpose and audience of a model. Special focus is put on the limited capacity for model exploration of equilibrium models and their difficulty to model mechanisms explicitly. To model mechanisms that have interaction effects with other mechanisms is identified as a particular challenge that sometimes makes the explanation of phenomena by isolating the underlying mechanisms a difficult task. Therefore I argue for a more extensive use of agent-based models as they provide a formal tool to address this challenge. The overall conclusion is that a plurality of models is required: single models are simply pushed to their limits if one wishes to identify the right degree of isolation required to understand reality

Theoretical approaches of endogenous regional development

The territory affects how economic systems work, geographic proximity being a primary source of economic and social benefits. Generally speaking, territorial development is minimal determined by exogenous factors, while the main factors that influence the potential of local development are: endowment, resources, human and social capital, accessibility, infrastructure etc. These factors can be found in the regional growth theory which, by its scientific nature, is assimilated with macroeconomic theory. New economic geography emphasizes the importance of these factors, which focus on the lower production costs. At the same time, technological change and diffusion of technologies are considered endogenous variables which react to the market signals. Positive externalities are produced by using technological investment, employment and income redistribution in society. Research development, entrepreneurial skills, local production, innovation, knowledge, learning networks etc. are considered to be the engine of economic growth. In this paper, there are presented the main theoretical approaches of endogenous growth, which have contributed to understanding the implications and the effects of this process upon regional development

Halal Industry : Key Challenges and Opportunities

The global halal market has emerged as a new growth sector in the global economy and is creating a strong presence in developed countries. The most promising halal markets are the fast-growing economies of the Asia, Middle East, Europe and the Americas. With a growing consumer base, and increasing growth in many parts of the world, the industry is set to become a competitive force in world international trade. The halal industry has now expanded well beyond the food sector further widening the economic potentials for halal. This paper will help to deepen understanding of the concept of Halal so as to familiarize non-Muslims about Halal principles and products