Niigata Institute of Technology Repository
Not a member yet
5446 research outputs found
Sort by
Energy Consumption and Production with new Posibilities
No full textReducing harmful emissions and decreasing costs of large weather problems is the aim of today. This means new strategies and investment in renewable types of energy.
The most countries still linger in old system contributing to its own problems. If problems are not locally solved the world initiatives will reach the end point
The Economic Cost of Nationalism
No full textWe identify the negative influence of nationalist sentiment on economic growth. Our cross-country evidence confirms the growth-depressing effect of nationalism, projecting that economic growth has been constrained by roughly 12 percent over thirty years. This conclusion is robust across various tests. Paradoxically, nationalism helps reduce environmental damage, lowering overall emissions and intensity, especially in the building, industry, and transportation sectors. We observe that the effect of nationalism in cutting carbon emissions weakens slightly as GDP per capita rises. However, in poorer countries, this environmental impact remains steady regardless of changes in income, suggesting nationalism’s role in reducing emissions stays stable despite economic growth
Asymmetric Price Adjustment over the Business Cycle
No full textStudies of micro-level price datasets find more frequent small price increases than decreases, which can be explained by consumer inattention because time-constrained shoppers might ignore small price changes. Recent empirical studies of the link between shopping behavior and price attention over the business cycle find that consumers are more (less) attentive to prices during economic downturns (booms). These two sets of findings have a testable implication: the asymmetry in small price changes should vary over the business cycle—it should diminish during recessions and strengthen during expansions. We test this prediction using a large US store-level dataset with more than 98 million weekly price observations for the years 1989–1997, which includes an 8-month recession period, as defined by the NBER. We compare price adjustments between periods of recession (high unemployment) and expansion (low unemployment). Focusing on small price changes, we find, consistent with our hypothesis, that there is a greater asymmetry in small price changes during periods of low unemployment compared to the periods of high unemployment, implying that firms’ price-setting behavior varies over the business cycle
Optimal Monetary Policy and Weather Shocks in Small Open Economies
No full textClimate change has led to an increase in extreme weather events, causing significant
challenges for macroeconomic stability and monetary policy, particularly in small open
economies (SOEs). This paper investigates the optimal monetary policy response to
weather shocks in an SOE framework, using a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium
(DSGE) model calibrated for Turkey. The model includes sectoral price rigidities,
trade openness, and climate-related productivity shocks affecting agricultural output.
We evaluate alternative monetary policy rules, including those that target aggregate
inflation, sector-specific inflation, and output stabilization. Our findings suggest that
an aggressive monetary policy response to agricultural inflation mitigates short-term
economic disruptions and accelerates recovery, albeit at the cost of a deeper initial
contraction. The Ramsey-optimal policy prioritizes inflation stability while minimizing
the long-term persistence of weather-induced output losses. Our results offer insights
into the role of monetary policy in addressing climate-induced economic fluctuations
in SOEs, highlighting the importance of tailored monetary policies that account for
sectoral heterogeneities
Evaluación del método de corriente de bienes frente a un enfoque de demanda para estimar el gasto mensual de los hogares en Argentina
No full textThe paper evaluates the validity of the "flow of goods" method for estimating monthly household expenditure in Argentina, comparing it with an approach based on a demand function. Four retail time series (wholesale and retail supermarkets, shopping centers, and appliances) are analyzed from January 2017 to March 2025. Two VARX models are fitted: one based on the Industrial Production Index (IPI, flow of goods) and another on the relationship between the Consumer Price Index (CPI) deflated by the Wage Index (ISAL) and the Monthly Economic Activity Estimator (EMAE, demand function). The results indicate that the IPI only explains sales in malls and household appliances, while the CPI/ISAL ratio explains sales in all four types of stores, and the EMAE explains sales in malls and household appliances. This result suggests that monthly household expenditures adjust to prices, relative to wages, and in certain cases to income, independently of the flow of production. It is concluded that the flow of goods method is inadequate for monthly expenditure estimates, as it does not capture short-term consumer behavior. A mixed estimation strategy for aggregate consumption based on sales surveys and demand functions is proposed for those items whose sales are not recorded in the statistical system
Drought in the sertão versus violence in the city: A study on the Brazilian semi-arid region
No full textThis study aimed to investigate how water scarcity and periods of drought can affect firearm homicide rates in the Brazilian semi-arid region between 2002 and 2020. To this end, the methodology of inference in counterfactual distributions proposed by Chernozhukov, Fernández-Val and Melly (2013) was employed. The main findings indicate that periods of severe drought have a significant impact on homicide rates in the semi-arid region. These effects are more pronounced when associated with factors such as the presence of rural municipalities and the migration process. In other words, there is strong evidence that drought in the hinterlands/countryside contributes to the increase in crime rates in both urban and rural municipalities. Additionally, the decomposition of the results revealed that periods of extreme drought, coupled with other unfavorable factors, act as triggers for the increase in homicide rates in the Brazilian semi-arid region, significantly exacerbating conditions of vulnerability during these adverse climatic shocks
Double-Hopf bifurcation in an extended Goodwin model with Mechanization, Independent Investment, and Disequilibrium: Toward a Marxian-Keynesian Synthesis
No full textThis paper proposes an extended Goodwin model that synthesizes Marxian and Keynesian dynamics into a unified four-dimensional framework. The model integrates endogenous technical change via mechanization, investment behavior driven by effective demand, and goods market disequilibrium. We develop two three-dimensional closures–a Classical-Marxian and a Keynesian-Kaleckian formulation–each capable of generating persistent endogenous cycles through Hopf bifurcations. These are then combined into a Marxian-Keynesian (MK) system, which exhibits complex dynamics including quasi-periodicity and, under specific parameter values, a double-Hopf bifurcation. This result, to our knowledge not previously identified in extended Goodwin models, points to the potential for interacting oscillatory modes and long-run fluctuations even with relatively simple behavioral rules. Numerical simulations suggest that the MK synthesis captures rich endogenous fluctuations without relying on exogenous shocks and may exhibit chaotic dynamics under future extensions. These findings lay the groundwork for a more comprehensive Marx-Keynes-Schumpeter synthesis of capital instability, as suggested in the conclusion section
Corporate Finance and Interest Rate Policy
No full textI develop flexible- and sticky-price general equilibrium models that embody endogenous corporate financing decisions affecting firm value due to distortionary taxes. Nominal interest-rate variations impact the costs of debt and equity capital asymmetrically and thereby induce firms to modify the financial structure, altering the gap between the optimization-based weighted average cost of capital and the real interest rate. Under these circumstances, I characterize conditions under which rules-based monetary policies that set the nominal interest rate as an increasing function of the inflation rate induce aggregate stability in the form of a unique stable equilibrium. In contrast to what is commonly argued, I demonstrate that both passive interest rate policies, which underreact to inflation, and mildly active interest rate policies, which overreact to inflation but below a threshold reflecting both tax and capital structures, ensure determinacy of equilibrium. Conversely, excessively aggressive inflation-fighting monetary actions are destabilizing in the presence of price stickiness by generating either multiple equilibria or the nonexistence of stable equilibria. Under the stabilizing monetary regimes, I prove that macroeconomic dynamics following either interest rate normalization or temporary monetary tightening critically depend upon the tax code and the
steady-state debt-equity ratio
Persistent global growth differences and Euro Area adjustment: real activity, trade and the real exchange rate
No full textBased on an estimated two-region dynamic general equilibrium model, we show that the persistent productivity growth differential between the Euro Area (EA) and rest of the world (RoW) has been a key driver of the EA trade surplus since the launch of the Euro. A secular decline in the EA’s spending home bias and a trend decrease in relative EA import prices account for the stability of the EA real exchange rate, despite slower EA output growth. By incorporating trend shocks to growth and trade, the analysis departs from much of the open-economy macroeconomics literature which has focused on stationary disturbances. Our results highlight the relevance of non-stationary shocks for the analysis of external adjustment
The Skill Inside the Task: How AI and Robotics Reshape the Structure of Work.
No full textWe examine how exposure to artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics reshapes the skill composition of occupations. Using O*NET data from 2006 to 2019, we construct indicators tracking the importance of seven broad skill categories within each occupation over time. We link these indicators to task-based measures of technological exposure at the occupational level. We then focus on the effect of AI and robotics in altering the skill composition of high-, middle- and low-skilled groups of occupations. We find that AI primarily affects high-skill occupations by increasing the importance of Technical and Resource Management skills and decreasing that of Systems and Social skills. Robotics instead boosts Technical skills in middle and low-skill occupations and reduces Process skills in low-skilled ones. Notably, neither AI nor robots affect the importance of Complex Problem Solving skills