Quasi-fiscal operations of central banks in transition economies

This paper reviews issues associated with quasi-fiscal operations (QFO) of central banks in a sample of countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The concern is the problem of transparency in fiscal and monetary accounts when the central bank undertakes quasi-fiscal operations and the government falls short of providing full coverage of fiscal operations. QFO can also jeopardize monetary policy designed to maintain price stability. A simple framework is developed to estimate the extent of QFO. In some cases, the magnitude of QFO is significant in indicating underestimation of fiscal deficit figures. We claim that the lack of transparency in fiscal accounts of transition countries warrants serious concern.quasi-fiscal operations; transition economy and transparency

Kyrgyzstan — Economic Reforms in 1996

The expectations of the government of Kyrgyzstan and the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan were quite optimistic. In 1996, despite of fiscal problems, further macroeconomic stabilization (i.e., reduction of the annual rate of inflation) and a stable rise of production were expected. However, as it is shown in the analysis below, not all economic targets have been achieved, and stabilization reforms in 1996 should not be considered as very successful (inflation rate increased to 35%, and national currency depreciated by about 50%). On the other hand, another aim - overcoming the slump in production - has been achieved (GDP increased by 5.6%)11, and several important socio- economic reforms have been started and continued.Kyrgyzstan, economic reform, 1996

Van Hove Excitons and High-Tc_c Superconductivity: VIIIC Dynamic Jahn-Teller Effects vs Spin-Orbit Coupling in the LTO Phase of La2−x_{2-x}Srx_xCuO4_4

The possible role of the van Hove singularity (vHs) in stabilizing the low-temperature orthorhombic (LTO) phase transition in La$_{2-x}$\-Sr$_x$\-CuO$_ 4$ (LSCO) is discussed. It is found that the vHs can drive a structural distortion in two different ways, either due to spin-orbit coupling or to dynamic Jahn-Teller (JT) effects. This paper discusses the latter effect in some detail. It is shown that a model Hamiltonian introduced earlier to describe the coupled electron -- octahedral tilt motions (`cageons') has a series of phase transitions, from a high-temperature disordered JT phase (similar to the high-temperature tetragonal phase of LSCO) to an intermediate temperature dynamic JT phase, of average orthorhombic symmetry (the LTO phase) to a low temperature static JT phase (the low temperature tetragonal phase). For some parameter values, the static JT phase is absent.Comment: 28 pages plain TeX, 14 figures available upon request, NU-MARKIEWIC-93-0

Finding Traps in Non-linear Spin Arrays

Precise knowledge of the Hamiltonian of a system is a key to many of its applications. Tasks such state transfer or quantum computation have been well studied with a linear chain, but hardly with systems, which do not possess a linear structure. While this difference does not disturb the end-to-end dynamics of a single excitation, the evolution is significantly changed in other subspaces. Here we quantify the difference between a linear chain and a pseudo-chain, which have more than one spin at some site (block). We show how to estimate a number of all spins in the system and the intra-block coupling constants. We also suggest how it is possible to eliminate excitations trapped in such blocks, which may disturb the state transfer. Importantly, one uses only at-ends data and needs to be able to put the system to either the maximally magnetized or the maximally mixed state. This can obtained by controlling a global decoherence parameter, such as temperature.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

UCI and Entrepreneurship

Faculty reflection on VCU Great Bike Race Book course. Course Description: This course will guide students through the process of evaluating entrepreneurial opportunities with the intention of identifying viable businesses. YouTube video pitches: Winning Pitch And the other amazing pitches in no particular order: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDKBakM0XH4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-RpEOObbHE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdyLF_BXpTM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSDuNX-_4go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMEX4cSvkt4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek7dvG92Ln