1,721,108 research outputs found
Global financial uncertainty
No full textWe estimate a novel measure of global financial uncertainty (GFU) with a dynamic factor framework that jointly models global, regional, and country-specific factors. We quantify the impact of GFU shocks on global output with a VAR analysis that achieves set identification via a combination of narrative, sign, ratio, and correlation restrictions. We find that the contraction in world output during the Great Recession would have been 13% milder in absence of GFU shocks. We also find support for a global finance uncertainty multiplier: the more global financial conditions deteriorate after a GFU shock, the larger the world output contraction is
Are Fiscal Multipliers Estimated with Proxy-SVARs Robust?*
Full text linkWe estimate government spending and tax multipliers in the United States via a flexible proxy-SVAR model, where identification is achieved by combining fiscal and non-fiscal instruments with additional parametric restrictions. We find that, while the spending multiplier is robustly estimated to be larger than one across different models, the estimate of the tax multiplier is sensitive to the combination of instruments that we use. We unveil that the key factor behind these heterogeneous estimates is the assumption of orthogonality between total factor productivity (our main non-fiscal proxy) and the tax shock. If this assumption is imposed, the tax multiplier is around one. If it is not imposed, the tax multiplier is three times as large. Our results point to the need of accounting for the large uncertainty surrounding the tax multiplier for the design of optimal fiscal policies
Economic Policy Uncertainty Spillovers in Booms and Busts
Full text linkWe estimate a nonlinear VAR to quantify the impact of US economic policy uncertainty shocks on the Canadian unemployment rate in booms and busts. We find strong evidence in favour of asymmetric spillover effects. Unemployment in Canada is shown to react more strongly to uncertainty shocks in economic busts. Such shocks explain about 13% of the variance of the 2-year ahead forecast error of the Canadian unemployment rate in recessions vs. just 2% during economic booms. Counterfactual simulations point to a novel ‘economic policy uncertainty spillovers channel’. According to this channel, jumps in US uncertainty foster economic policy uncertainty in Canada in the first place and, because of the latter, lead to a temporary increase in the Canadian unemployment rate. Evidence of asymmetric spillover effects are also found for the UK economy, whose trade intensity with the US is low. This result is consistent with a transmission channel other than trade behind our findings
Proposta di Digital Services Act e rimozione dei contenuti illegali online
No full textIl contributo ha a oggetto la disciplina della proposta di Digital Services Act (DSA) sulla rimozione dei contenuti illegali online. Premessi brevi cenni alla questione esaminata (par. 1), il par. 2 esamina la disciplina orizzontale vigente della direttiva eCommerce, come interpretata negli anni dalla Corte di giustizia. Il par. 3, invece, esamina l’àmbito di applicazione della proposta DSA in rapporto ad alcune normative settoriali che continueranno ad applicarsi quali lex specialis. I paragrafi 4 e 5 esaminano le pertinenti disposizioni della proposta DSA in materia di rimozione dei contenuti illegali. Nelle conclusioni, infine, si dà conto dell’andamento della procedura legislativa per la sua approvazione.The present contribution deals with the regulation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) proposal on the removal of illegal content online. After a brief outline of the issue (Para. 1), Para. 2 deals with the horizontal framework of the eCommerce Directive, as interpreted over the years by the ECJ. Para. 3, on the other hand, examines the scope of application of the proposed DSA in relation to certain sectoral legislation which will continue to apply as lex specialis. Paras. 4 and 5 focus on the relevant provisions of the DSA proposal concerning the removal of illegal content. Finally, some conclusions are drawn on the progress of the legislative procedure for its adoption
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide wipes for surface disinfection in healthcare facilities
Full text linkIntroduction. The correct method of surface disinfection in hospitals is an essential tool in the fight against the spread of healthcareassociated infections caused by multi-resistant microorganisms. Currently, there are many disinfectants on the market that can be used against different microorganisms. However, the effectiveness of different active molecules is controversial in the literature. Study design. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of wipes based on hydrogen peroxide (1.0 %) and highly specific plant-based surfactants, contained in H 2 O 2 TM (Hi-speed H 2 O 2 TM ) products, against some hospital -associated microorganisms. Methods. The effectiveness of the wipes was tested against nosocomial and control strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase, Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida parapsilosis. Specifically, in vitro activity was assessed using three different techniques: stainless steel surface testing, surface diffusion testing and well diffusion test. Results. The three different methods tested confirm the wipes'good effectiveness against the most common multi-resistant bacteria and against fungi. Conclusions. These data show that the tested wipes could be a valid adjunct to the disinfection process and could assist in the prevention of healthcare-associated infections
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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