Regional convergence: A relevant measure of policy success?

Regionale Entwicklung, Entwicklungskonvergenz, Wirtschaftspolitische Wirkungsanalyse, EU-Staaten, Regional development, Economic convergence, Economic policy analysis, EU countries

Term Structure Linkages Among the New EU Countries and the EMU

This paper uses cointegration and common trends techniques to investigate empirically the expectations hypothesis of the term structure of interest rates in the 10 new EU countries, and the 2 core EMU countries, France and Germany. By decomposing each term structure into its transitory and permanent components, we also analyze the possible short run and long run linkages among the term structures of these countries. The empirical results support the expectations theory of the term structure for all countries except Malta. Further, they point to both weak short run linkages and several strong long run linkages among the monetary policies of the 10 new EU and the core of the EMU. The group of the Central European countries and Latvia are prominent in the latter case.Term Structure, EU Enlargement, Cointegration, Common Trends, Granger

The Term Structure of Interest Rates in the European Union

This paper uses cointegration and common trends techniques to investigate empirically the expectations hypothesis of the term structure of interest rates among the original 15 EU countries. By decomposing each term structure into its transitory and permanent components, we also examine whether the short or the long rate is weakly exogenous and thus determine the long run behavior of each term structure. The empirical results support the expectations theory of the term structure of interest rates for all the EU-15 countries. They also indicate that the long term interest rates are weakly exogenous for almost all the countries in our sample. Further, we investigate if the expectation theory of the term structure of interest rates is affected by other exogenous variables such as nominal and real exchange rates, inflation rates, inflation variance, money growth and its variance. Our evidence suggests that the inclusion of the other exogenous variables does not affect the expectations hypothesis for most of the EU-15 countries.Term Structure, European Union, Cointegration, Common Trends, Weak Exogeneity

Enlargement and Eurozone: Convergence or Divergence

This paper investigates empirically the extent to which the ten new countries of the recent EU enlargement are ready to join the European Monetary Union (EMU). We assess the prospects of successful accession into the EMU using cointegration and common trends analysis on the nominal convergence criteria specified by the Maastricht Treaty as well as on real exchange rates and real per capita GDPs. The empirical results indicate that the enlargement countries are partially ready to join the Eurozone, and need further adjustments in their government policies to be fully prepared for joining the EMU.Economic Integration, EU Enlargement, Cointegration, Common Trends.

The Term Structures of Interest Rates in the New and Prospective EU Countries

This paper uses cointegration and common trends techniques to investigate empirically the expectations hypothesis of the term structure of interest rates for the 10 new EU countries, along with Bulgaria and Romania. The empirical results support the expectations theory of the term structure for all countries except Malta. By decomposing each term structure into its transitory and permanent components, we also analyze short run and long run interdependence among the term structures of interest rates in these countries. Our results indicate weak linkages among the term structures of the 10 new EU countries, and strong linkages between Bulgaria and Romania that hope to join the EU in 2007.Term Structure, EU Enlargement, Cointegration, Common Trends, Granger Causality

Il fischio che riforma: eredità del Mefistofele di Boito

In the Faustian myth, the figures of Mefistofele and Margherita contend to Doctor Faust the role of main character of the story. To consider Mefistofele as the true main character implies a priority attention attributed to the ethical-religious matter of the myth. In Italy Arrigo Boito certainly offers to the history of the myth the most original, complex and lasting interpretation in this directio

Le politiche del governo federale statunitense nell’edilizia residenziale. Suggerimenti per il modello italiano

this paper aims at examining the federal housing policy at present in place in the United States of America. The most significant initiatives are the “public housing” program, that provides rental housing for eligible low-income families, and “Section 8”, that grants, through the allocation of vouchers, rent subsidies to a relevant number of needy individuals. They’re both administered by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and, locally, by the public housing authorities. Particularly interesting are the programs aimed at helping assisted residents to move toward self-sufficiency. Funds for housing affordability are also provided to the states and the local governments through the housing block grants and the LIHTC program. The last part of the paper tries to underline the elements that could be of interest for a comparison with the Italian public housing system, which is object of many reform proposals in this period.Politiche sociali, Edilizia residenziale pubblica, Non-profit, Stati Uniti

Observational evidence for buffeting induced kink waves in solar magnetic elements

The role of diffuse photospheric magnetic elements in the energy budget of the upper layers of the Sun's atmosphere has been the recent subject of many studies. This was made possible by the availability of high temporal and spatial resolution observations of the solar photosphere, allowing large numbers of magnetic elements to be tracked to study their dynamics. In this work we exploit a long temporal series of seeing-free magnetograms of the solar photosphere to study the effect of the turbulent convection in the excitation of kink oscillations in magnetic elements. We make use of the empirical mode decomposition technique (EMD) in order to study the transverse oscillations of several magnetic flux tubes. This technique permits the analysis of non-stationary time series like those associated to the horizontal velocities of these flux tubes which are continuously advected and dispersed by granular flows. Our primary findings reveal the excitation of low frequency modes of kink oscillations, which are sub-harmonics of a fundamental mode with a $7.6 \pm 0.2$ minute periodicity. These results constitute a strong case for observational proof of the excitation of kink waves by the buffeting of the convection cells in the solar photosphere, and are discussed in light of their possible role in the energy budget of the upper Sun's atmosphere.Comment: A&A accepte

Foreign Recipes: Mothers, Daughters and Food in "Like Water For Chocolate" , "The Joy Luck Club" and "A Chorus of Mushrooms"

The following article will discuss the representation of food, eating and cooking in the context of fiction that focuses on the relationship between mothers and daughters by taking a closer look at the beginnings of contemporary ‘food-literature’ by female authors. By focusing on the novels "Like Water for Chocolate", "The Joy Luck Club" and "A Chorus of Mushrooms", three texts that were published before ‘food-literature’ turned into a mainstream sub-genre, this article will critically consider the various themes and ideas this type of literature introduced to the debate surrounding literary representation of gender and sexuality. Whilst the three texts differ in narrative structure and content, they share a specific preoccupation with food, cooking and eating which is linked textually and thematically to the relationships between mothers and daughters and the experience of cultural diaspora. The investigation will focus on the literary and formal modes that interconnect these themes, in particular when asking if food, cooking and eating should have a ‘special’ place in women’s writing, as it has been argued in recent publications exploring food and eating as a theme in women’s [email protected] Angelica Michelis is Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the Department of English at Manchester Metropolitan University. She has published widely on contemporary poetry and other areas in British literature. Together with Antony Rowland she edited and contributed to The Poetry of Carol Ann Duffy: ‘Choosing Tough Words (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2003). Her current research focuses on food and eating as cultural discourses; her most recent publications include the following articles: “Food and Crime: What’s eating the crime novel?” (2010), “Rhyming Hunger: Poetry, Love and Cannibalism”(2010), “‘Where bees pray on their knees’: Spiritual and religious symbolism in Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry” (2013), “‘Am I a vampire then, who must have a spike driven into my heart?’ Monstrosity and the Gothic in illness narratives and medical advice literature on eating disorders” (Gothic Studies, forthcoming 2015), “‘To learn to live without alternatives. German conditions’. Forgetting as Remembering in Christa Wolf’s The City of Angels, or The Overcoat of Dr Freud”(forthcoming in Journal of Literature and Trauma Studies ; The Poetry of Carol Ann Duffy: Readers Guide to Essential Criticism Series (Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming 2016).Manchester Metropolitan University4 (1/2014)163