Abstract
This paper studies the effects of carbon pricing on inflation dynamics. We construct a sample of carbon taxes implemented in Europe and Canada over three decades and estimate the response of ...inflation and price components to carbon pricing. Our empirical results suggest that carbon taxes did not significantly increase inflation, with dynamic effects estimated around zero in most specifications. Instead we find support for relative price changes, increasing the cost of energy but leaving the price of other goods and services unaffected. This is consistent with previous findings on the limited aggregate economic costs of carbon taxes. Based on the cross-section of taxes in Europe, we provide suggestive evidence that the response of inflation was especially muted in countries with revenue-neutral carbon taxes and autonomous central banks that can accommodate potential inflationary pressure associated with carbon pricing.
•While Bitcoin and Ether prices are rising, ICO returns have low correlations.•When these prices are falling, ICO returns are highly correlated.•When the 1990s Nasdaq bubble burst, returns were not ...highly correlated.
We investigate whether the market for ICOs in 2017–2018 and 2021 showed signs of contagion from prices of Bitcoin and Ether. During phases of optimism, ICO daily returns display low correlations with those of Bitcoin or Ether. But when the bubble bursts, correlations jump to very high levels, signaling that the ICO market becomes a sideshow of the cryptocurrency dynamics. We demonstrate that this high correlation was not present during the Nasdaq bubble in the 1990s, signaling that the price dynamics of digital tokens seems to be driven by a common factor, much more than in previous bubbles.
We analyze the reactions of stock returns and the spreads of credit default swaps (CDS) of banks from Europe and the USA to four major regulatory reforms in the aftermath of the subprime crisis, ...employing an event study analysis. Contrary to public perception, we find that financial markets indeed reacted to the structural reforms enacted at the national level. The reforms succeeded in reducing bail-out expectations relative to the post-bail-out period, especially for systemic banks. The strongest effects were found for the Dodd-Frank Act and in particular for the Volcker rule. Bank profitability was affected in all countries, showing up in lower equity returns.
The International Monetary Fund and the European Stability Mechanism softened their crisis lending policies repeatedly to deal with the Greek debt crisis, but the analysis of debt sustainability ...still acts as the gatekeeper for access to official financing. We explore the underlying mechanics of debt sustainability analysis and show that the standard model is inappropriate for Greece since it ignores the highly concessional terms of Greek debt. Greek debt has been restructured repeatedly, and now two-thirds of the stock contains grant elements of about 54 percent. The present value of outstanding Greek debt is currently about 100 percent of GDP and will rise to about 120 percent under the new program. Greek debt sustainability therefore is less a problem of the debt stock. By simulating different paths of the gross financing needs, we show that there may be liquidity problems over the medium to long terms (in particular, in 2035 and beyond). However, our estimation of the financing need is subject to high uncertainty and mainly depends on whether Greece will be able to regain access to markets at reasonable terms.
This article examines the channels through which offshoring affects employment in a representative sample of German establishments, using a difference‐in‐differences matching approach. Offshoring is ...measured by an increase in the share of foreign to total intermediate inputs at the plant‐level. We identify a positive productivity effect and isolate a negative downsizing effect from offshoring on employment, by exploiting differences between offshoring plants that do and do not simultaneously restructure. Furthermore, we cannot find evidence of negative indirect employment effects on domestic suppliers or competitors. (JEL F16, J23, F23, C21)
This study investigates the impact of international competitiveness on net employment, job creation, job destruction, and gross job flows for a representative sample of German establishments from ...1993 to 2005. We find a statistically significant but economically small effect of real exchange rate shocks on employment, comparable to the one found in studies for the United States. However, contrary to the United States, the employment adjustment (among surviving firms) operates mainly through the job creation rather than the job destruction rate. Job destruction occurs essentially through discrete events such as restructuring, outsourcing and bankruptcy. We suggest that these findings are consistent with a highly regulated labor market, in which smooth adjustment is costly and possibly delayed.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the overall diet quality effects, mainly on antioxidant nutritional status and some cytokines related to the cellular immune response as well as oxidative ...stress in a healthy Italian population group.
An observational study was conducted on 131 healthy free-living subjects. Dietary intake was assessed by dietary diary. Standardised procedures were used to make anthropometric measurements. On blood samples (serum, plasma and whole blood) were evaluated: antioxidant status by vitamin A, vitamin E, carotenoids, vitamin C, uric acid, SH groups, SOD and GPx activities; lipid blood profile by total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides; total antioxidant capacity by FRAP and TRAP; the immune status by TNF-α, and IL-10 cytokines; the levels of malondialdehyde in the erythrocytes as marker of lipid peroxidation.
The daily macronutrients intake (g/day) have shown a high lipids consumption and significant differences between the sexes with regard to daily micronutrients intake. On total sample mean Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) was 4.5 ± 1.6 and no significant differences between the sexes were present. A greater adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern increases the circulating plasma levels of carotenoids (lutein plus zeaxanthin, cryptoxanthin, α and β-carotene), vitamin A and vitamin E. The levels of endogenous antioxidants were also improved. We observed higher levels in anti-inflammatory effect cytokines (IL-10) in subjects with MDS ≥ 6, by contrast, subjects with MDS ≤ 3 show higher levels in sense of proinflammatory (TNF α P < 0.05). Lower levels of MDA were associated with MDS > 4. Our data suggest a protective role of vitamin A against chronic inflammatory conditions especially in subjects with the highest adherence to the Mediterranean-type dietary pattern.
Mediterranean dietary pattern is associated with significant amelioration of multiple risk factors, including a better cardiovascular risk profile, reduced oxidative stress and modulation of inflammation.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
CD36 is a membrane receptor with a wide variety of functions, including the regulation of energy metabolism, fat storage, and adipocyte differentiation. To assess the relationship between CD36 gene ...single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and obesity in adolescents, we evaluated the relationship between CD36 SNPs and the risk of obesity in a case–control study composed of 307 obese (age = 15.0 ± 1.1 years) and 339 normal‐weight adolescents (age = 14.6 ± 1.1 years). To validate the results, we assessed the relation between the same SNPs and percentage of body fat (BF%) and BMI in 1,151 European adolescents (age = 14.8 ± 1.4 years). SNPs with a minor allele frequency >0.10 were selected to tag CD36. Genotyping was performed on an Illumina system. Four SNPs (rs3211867, rs3211883, rs3211908, and rs1527483) were associated with increased risk of obesity in the case–control study (odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval)): 1.96 (1.26–3.04, P = 0.003; 1.73 (1.16–2.59), P = 0.007; 2.42 (1.47–4.01), P = 0.0005 and 1.95 (1.25–3.05), P = 0.003, respectively). The same four SNPs were associated with higher BMI (P < 0.05) and BF% (P < 0.04) in the validation study. Further analyses identified a haplotype (frequency: 0.05) carrying the minor allele of these SNPs as being associated with obesity (OR: 2.28; P = 0.0008) in the case–control study and with excess adiposity (i.e., higher BF% (P = 0.03) and BMI (P = 0.04)) in the validation study. Our data suggest that genetic variability at the CD36 gene locus could be associated with body weight variability in European adolescents but these findings require replication.
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