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The most salient trend in monetary policy over the past two decades has been increasing reliance on money market operations, which reflects the belief that allowing market forces to allocate financial resources brings about increased economic efficiency and growth. However, small economies and countries with undeveloped financial markets have found that a lack of competition in their financial markets complicates their efforts to rely on money market operations, at times forcing them to rely instead on direct instruments or moral suasion. In some larger countries, the shift toward a reliance on money market operations has been gradual and, at times, fraught with difficulty. This report draws on a variety of country experiences to analyze the reasons for such difficulties and proposes a stylized sequencing of reforms that enables countries to tailor the introduction of money market operations to their particular circumstances

General Equilibrium Theory studies the properties and operation of free market economies. The field is a response to a series of questions originally outlined by Leon Walras about the operation of markets and posed by Frank Hahn in the following way: 'Does the pursuit of private interest, through a system of interconnected deregulated markets, lead not to chaos but to coherence - and if so, how is that achieved?' This is always an apt question, but particularly so given the 'Global Financial Crisis' that emerged from the operation of market economies in the Americas and Europe in mid to late 2008. The answer that General Equilibrium Theory provides to the Walras-Hahn question is that, under certain conditions coherence is possible, while under certain other conditions chaos, in various forms, is likely to prevail. The conditionality of either outcome is not always well understood - neither by proponents of, or antagonists to, the 'free market position'. Consequently, this book attempts to show something of what General Equilibrium Theory has to say about the wisdom or otherwise of always relying on 'market forces' to manage complex socio-economic systems

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The sharing of regulatory and criminal history data among financial services regulators can reduce fraudulent activities. GAO recently reported on several instances in which unscrupulous brokers moved from one financial industry to another. This testimony focuses on (1) systems used by financial regulators for tracking regulatory history data, (2) regulatory history data needed to help prevent rogue migration and limit fraud, (3) criminal history data needs among financial regulators, and (4) challenges and considerations for implementing an information-sharing system among financial regulators."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The importance of the role of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is illustrated by the situation in California. Wholesale electricity prices in California rose sharply in May 2000 and have remained high. California also saw disruptions in service this winter and spring. GAO reviewed FERC's outage study and two other studies that examined possible exercise of market power in California's electricity industry. GAO found that FERC's study was not thorough enough to support its conclusion that audited generators were not physically withholding electricity to influence prices. FERC's study largely focused on determining whether or not the outages were caused by actual physical problems, such as leaks in cooling tubes that required maintenance or repairs. Two other studies GAO examined found evidence that electricity generators exercised market power to boost electricity prices in California. These studies sought broader evidence of the exercise of market power in the entire market by comparing wholesale electricity prices to the estimated costs of producing electricity. In doing so, they found that prices were higher than would be expected if the generators were acting competitively. None of the studies was thorough enough to determine the precise extent to which market power versus other factors has caused high electricity prices in California since May 2000. A thorough study of market power would combine the market-wide approach of the other two studies with a quantification of the extent to which outages, or other supply disruptions, were caused by factors other than generators' attempts to drive up prices. Such factors may include the operating and maintenance history of existing power plants, constraints on the number of hours certain plants can be run, and financial problems of utilities, which led to suspension of payments to some generators. This testimony summarized a June report (GAO-01-857)."

Projektion für den Klimawandel zeigen, dass die durchschnittliche globale Temperatur weiter sehr wahrscheinlich zunehmen wird. Die politischen Entscheidungsträger müssen geeignete Maßnahmen umsetzen. Diese Arbeit verwendet dynamische allgemeine Gleichgewichtsmodelle (DGE), um die möglichen wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen der Minderungspolitik zu analysieren. Kapitel 2 dokumentiert die Prognoseleistung von geschätzten makroökonomischen Modellen und vergleicht sie mit erweiterten Versionen. Es stellt sich heraus, dass weder alternative Erwartungsbildungsverhalten noch finanzielle Friktionen systematisch die Prognoseleistung von makroökonomischen Modellen erhöhen. Kapitel 3 analysiert mögliche wirtschaftliche Folgen eines Kohleausstieg in Deutschland mit einem räumlich dynamischen allgemeinen Gleichgewichtsmodell. Ein Ausstieg bis 2035 ist nicht schlechter in Bezug auf die Wohlfahrt im Vergleich zu einem Ausstieg bis 2040. Kapitel 4 schätzt ein dynamisches stochastisches allgemeines Gleichgewichtsmodell mit riskantem Kapital und Öl als Produktionsfaktoren. Der Beitrag von Finanzmarktfriktionen und Schwankungen auf dem Ölmarkt an dem US-Konjunkturzyklus ist gering. Eine Ölsteuererhöhung, um den Rohölverbrauch um 10 % zu reduzieren, kann zu einer Kontraktion des BIP um 1 bis 2 % führen. ; Climate change projections show that the average global temperature will very likely increase further. Policymakers need to implement suitable mitigation policy measures. This thesis uses dynamic general equilibrium models (DGEs) to analyse the potential economic effects of mitigation policy. Chapter 2 documents the forecasting performance of standardly estimated macroeconomic models and compare them to extended versions. It turns out that neither alternative expectation formation behaviour nor financial frictions can systematically increase the forecasting performance of macroeconomic models. Chapter 3 studies potential economic consequences of a coal phase-out in Germany, using a spatial dynamic general equilibrium model. A ...

"Despite the thousands of articles and the millions of times that the word 'bubble' has been used in the business press, there still does not appear to be a cohesive theory or persuasive empirical approach with which to study 'bubble' and 'crash' conditions. This book presents a plausible and accessible descriptive theory and empirical approach to the analysis of such financial market conditions. It advances such a framework through application of standard econometric methods to its central idea, which is that financial bubbles reflect urgent short side rationed demand. From this basic idea, an elasticity of variance concept is developed. It is further shown that a behavioral risk premium can probably be measured and related to the standard equity risk premium models in a way that is consistent with conventional theory"--Provided by publisher

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO is required to annually audit the financial statements of the three funds administered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): the Bank Insurance Fund (BIF), the Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF), and the FSLIC (Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation) Resolution Fund (FRF). GAO is responsible for obtaining reasonable assurance about whether FDIC's financial statements for BIF, SAIF, and FRF are presented fairly in all material respects, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, and whether FDIC maintains effective internal controls and FDIC has complied with selected laws and regulations. Created in 1933 to insure bank deposits and promote sound banking practices, FDIC plays an important role in maintaining public confidence in the nation's financial system. In 1989, legislation to reform the federal deposit insurance system created three funds to be administered by FDIC: BIF and SAIF, which protect bank and savings deposits, and FRF, which was created to close out the business of the former Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. GAO was asked by the Chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Financial Services, to discuss the results of its February 13, 2004, report, Financial Audit: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Funds' 2003 and 2002 Financial Statements (GAO-04-429)."

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Preface -- The Econometrics of Financial Markets -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The Predictability of Asset Returns -- 3. Market Microstructure -- 4. Event-Study Analysis -- 5. The Capital Asset Pricing Model -- 6. Multifactor Pricing Models -- 7. Present-Value Relations -- 8. Intertemporal Equilibrium Models -- 9. Derivative Pricing Models -- 10. Fixed-Income Securities -- 11. Term-Structure Models -- 12. Nonlinearities in Financial Data -- Appendix -- References -- Author Index -- Subject Index

'Research in Finance' seeks to provide a collection of quality research articles that reflect the current and primary issues in financial markets. Contributions include finance theory and financial practice, plus accounting issues such as reporting derivatives positions, reflecting intangible holdings, or predicting financial distress. The volume starts with empirical investigations of the impact from macroeconomic variables upon equity values in emerging economies compared with developed economies. Next is an empirical affirmation of the efficiency of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) electricity exchange. Next we find several investigations into the efficacy of efforts to stimulate the arousal of emerging nations around the world.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Home Loan Bank System (System) faces additional risks due to the development of new products such as direct mortgage purchase programs. Responding to concern about the methods used for administrative decisionmaking, and the ability of the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) to fulfill its critical mission to regulate the safety and soundness of the System, GAO was asked to (1) compare the FHFB chair's administrative authorities with those of other financial regulators and discuss the basis for that authority, (2) assess FHFB's compliance with selected statutes and regulations in connection with an August 2002 reduction-in-force (RIF) carried out as part of an agency reorganization, and (3) assess FHFB's progress in enhancing its FHLBank safety and soundness examination program."