Time and uncertainty in resource dilemmas: equilibrium solutions and experimental results

Most common pool resource (CPR) dilemmas share two features: they evolve over time and they are managed under environmental uncertainties. We propose a stylized dynamic model that integrates these two dimensions. A distinguishing feature of our model is that the duration of the game is determined endogenously by the users’ collective decisions. In the proposed model, if the resource stock level below which the irreversible event occurs is known in advance, then the optimal resource use coincides with a unique symmetric equilibrium that guarantees survival of the resource. As the uncertainty about the threshold level increases, resource use increases if users adopt decision strategies that quickly deplete the resource stock, but decreases if they adopt path strategies guaranteeing that the unknown threshold level is never exceeded. We show that under relatively high uncertainty about resource size, CPR users frequently implement decision strategies that terminate the game immediately. When this uncertainty is reduced, they maintain a positive resource level for longer durations.     

Additional evidence on monetary base and interest rate linkages in the EMS

Conclusion This note has examined interest rate and monetary base linkages within the EMS. Cointegration tests suggest the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between German and other EMS interest rates and German and other EMS country monetary bases in a number of cases. Bivariate VAR analysis suggested that Granger causality with respect to EMS interest rate linkages stemmed either from German to European markets or was bi-directional and that the monetary base linkages were overwhelmingly bi-directional. When allowance is made for the influence of US monetary policy developments, the pattern of Granger causality within the EMS is predominantly bi-directional. These findings may be attributable to integrated financial markets and the discipline of a formal exchange rate mechanism. Thus, our results fail to support the hypothesis that German monetary policy plays a dominant and independent role within the EMS. Rather, they suggest that monetary policies in the EMS mainly respond to each other and, to a very limited extent, to developments in US monetary policy.     

Organization of work in the company and family rights of the employees

The duty to respect, protect and help the family rights is related very closely with the organization of work in the firm. This paper summarizes and illustrates, using mini-case studies, the relationship between the organization of work in companies and the family rights and duties of employees.Domènec Melé is the Director of Business Ethics Dept. at IESE (the Business School of the University of Navarra in Barcelona, Spain). He has a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain and a Ph.D. in Moral Theology from the University of Navarra, Spain.Before, he has been professor at the Polytechinc University in Valencia, Spain. His published works consist of several articles on engineering topics and more recently on Business Ethics and Social Teaching of the Church on economics and business.     

On the role of money in a business cycle model of a small open economy: The case of Spain

This paper examines the consequences of introducing a cash-in-advance constraint into a small open economy business cycle model for the Spanish case. A business cycle model is built extending Correia, Neves and Rebelo's (1995) small open economy framework and Cooley and Hansen's (1995) monetary economy. Money is introduced through a cash-in-advance constraint. The stochastic simulation of the model and its comparison to Spanish data show that the model is able to mimic i) the Dolado et al. puzzle, that is, the high volatility of private consumption for this economy; ii) the Dunlop-Tarshis observation, i.e., the negative correlation between real wages and hours worked; and iii) some cyclical features of the nominal dimension.     

Redistribution and entrepreneurship with Schumpeterian growth

We examine the effects of redistributive taxation on growth and inequality in a Schumpeterian model with risk-averse agents. There are skilled and unskilled workers, and the growth rate is determined by the occupational choice of skilled agents between entrepreneurship and employment. We show that redistribution provides insurance to entrepreneurs and increases the growth rate. The effects on inequality are such that low tax rates increase inequality relative to laissez-faire due to changes in wages, but higher tax rates can simultaneously raise growth and reduce inequality. We contrast the optimal linear income tax with alternative policies for promoting R&D and find that it is preferable on both equity and efficiency grounds.      

Comparing new Keynesian models in the Euro area: a Bayesian approach

This paper estimates and compares four versions of the sticky price New Keynesian model for the Euro area using a Bayesian approach. We find that the average duration of price contracts is between two and four quarters, while the average duration of wage contracts is estimated to be below two quarters. Both mechanisms of price and wage indexation are not important when autocorrelated price markup shocks are introduced in the model. These results are in stark contrast to Smets and Wouters (2003): when we use their priors, our estimated posterior distributions are similar to theirs, but the models’ fit to the data is worse. We are thankful to the Econometric Modelling Unit at the European Central Bank for providing us with the Euro area data. We also thank two anonymous referees for helpful suggestions. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Caixa d’Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona (“la Caixa”).     

Visualization of time-dependent dynamics of postglacial rebound

Postglacial rebound is a major geological process which plays an important role in many areas in the earth sciences. Up to now, most of the images derived from studies of the glacial isostatic adjustment phenomenon have been concerned with surface signatures, such as the uplift and gravity anomalies and not much attention has been paid on the dynamical responses in the mantle. We will make use of the 3D visualization package Amira to depict both the external and internal deformation histories of the transient viscoelastic flow inside the mantle induced by postglacial uplift. Of particularly great interest are the transient displacement fields and shear heating inside the mantle. This same visualization technology can be brought to bear in the future for visualizing tsunami waves in ocean basins excited by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and InSAR images. We have also integrated the visualization results into the Google Earth virtual globe by combining this scheme with the Amira package to provide a better geographical and dynamical context.     

The tourism SMEs in the global value chains: the case of Andalusia

This paper examines the implications of the globalization of value chains for the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism industry. To begin with, the configuration of the global tourism value chain is analysed. Next, the participation of Andalusian SMEs in the global tourism value chains is investigated. A number of case studies have been developed in two relevant sectors, hotels and travel agencies, giving priority to the main tourist typologies existing in Andalusia: sun and sand, business and congress, cultural and rural. As a result, a SWOT analysis has been produced. Finally, from the key findings some policy recommendations supporting the role of tourism SMEs in global value chain are made.

On the direct and indirect real effects of credit supply shocks

We explore the real effects of bank-lending shocks and how they permeate the economy through buyer-supplier linkages. We combine administrative data on all Spanish firms with a matched bank-firm-loan dataset of all corporate loans from 2003 to 2013 to estimate firm-specific credit supply shocks for each year. We compute firm-specific measures of exposure to bank lending shocks of customers (upstream propagation) and suppliers (downstream propagation). Our findings suggest that credit supply shocks have sizable direct and downstream propagation effects on employment, investment, and output, especially during the 2008–2009 crisis, but no significant impact on employment during the expansion. We provide evidence that both trade credit extended by suppliers and price adjustments in general equilibrium explain downstream propagation of credit shocks.