abstract: The present essay addresses the epistemic difficulties involved in achieving consensus with respect to the Hayek-Keynes debate. In particular, it is argued that the debate cannot be settled on the basis of the observable evidence; or, more precisely, that the empirical implications of the theories of Hayek and Keynes are such that, regardless of what is observed, both of the theories can be interpreted as true, or at least, not falsified. Regardless of the evidence, both Hayek and Keynes can be interpreted as right. The underdetermination of theories by evidence is an old and ubiquitous problem in science. The present essay makes explicit the respects in which the empirical evidence underdetermines the choice between the theories of Hayek and Keynes. In particular, it is argued both that there are convenient responses one can offer that protect each theory from what appears to be threatening evidence (i.e., that the choice between the two theories is underdetermined in the holist sense) and that, for particular kinds of evidence, the two theories are empirically equivalent (i.e., with respect to certain kinds of evidence, the choice between the two theories is underdetermined in the contrastive sense). / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Philosophy 2012

Este trabalho tem por objetivo verificar se a política fiscal brasileira influencia a política monetária por meio do impacto nas variações do hiato do produto. Dentro desse contexto, será avaliado qual foi o comportamento cíclico da política fiscal no ciclo de negócios. Para isto, será usado a metodologia da OCDE de decomposição do saldo orçamentário no saldo ciclicamente ajustado (política discricionária) e no saldo cíclico (estabilizadores fiscais). A metodologia requer a estimação de elasticidades para identificar a parte cíclica do saldo orçamentário do governo. Essa tarefa será realizada por um importante programa de seleção automática de modelos chamado Autometrics. Os resultados encontrados indicam que a política fiscal não tem atuado de maneira contra-cíclica após o estabelecimento do regime de metas de inflação. O que para o lado monetário é desfavorável, uma vez que aumenta o peso relativo do instrumento monetário (taxa de juros) quando o Banco Central objetiva reduzir as variações do hiato do produto. / The objective of this work is to verify if the Brazilian fiscal policy influences the monetary policy through output gap variation impacts. In this context, an evaluation of the behavior of the fiscal policy in the business cycle is done. In order to it, the OCDE methodology will be used to decompose the budget balance in the cyclically-adjusted budget balance (discretionary policy) and cyclically budget balance (automatic stabilizers). The methodology requires the estimation of elasticities to identify the cyclical part of the government budget balance. This task will be done by using an important program of automatic model selection named Autometrics. The founded results indicated that the fiscal policy has not been working in a countercyclical form after the establishment of inflation target. This result is unfavorable for the monetary side because it increases the relative weight of the monetary tool (interest rate) when the Central Bank objective is to reduce the variation of output gap.

The objective of master thesis is the examination of Swedish, Swiss and Polish business cycle in four key areas consisting of internal and external macroeconomic equilibrium, cyclical development indicators and financial stability during 2000-2015 period and analysis of fiscal and monetary policy with respect to anti-crisis measures. The pivotal hypothesis is that Sweden, Switzerland and Poland have managed to deal with Great Recession relatively better than other advanced economies. Theoretical section characterises chosen countries, explains fundamental terms and sets the research framework. The empirical part monitors business cycle by chosen indicators within internal and external equilibrium, cyclical development and financial stability, subsequently evaluates situation before the crisis outbreak and examines anti-crisis measures that have been taken. Empirical section is closed by SWOT which evaluates economic development during 2009-2015 period and serves as tool for main hypothesis verification.

There exists an extensive literature related to creditor protection and its relation to the financial market, but few if any studies try to asses its net impact on the stability of the economy. In this paper we investigate the effects of creditor protection on the business cycle, and the economy during times of financial distress. More precisely we investigate how creditor protection is related to the recovery from financial crises, and how it affects growth volatility. We find support for our hypothesis that creditor protection is positively related to business cycle volatility and that this effect might work through a destabilising of the credit market.

We analyse the dynamics of the standard deviation of demand and supply shocks as well as of the demand component of GDP across countries in the European Monetary Union (EMU). This analysis allows us to evaluate the patterns of cyclical comovement in EMU and compare them the cyclical performance of the new members of the EU and other OECD countries. We make use of sigma-convergence methods to identify synchronization patterns in business cycles. The Eurozone has converged to a stable lower level of dispersion across business cycles during the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s. The new EU members have also experienced a strong pattern of convergence from 1998 to 2005, when a strong divergence trend appears. An enlargement of the EMU to 22 members would not significantly decrease its optimality as a currency area. There is evidence for some Europe-specific characteristics as compared to global comovements in business cycles. (authors' abstract)

1 Abstract This master thesis examines linkages among bond and stock markets in Ger- many, Austria and Italy. For the purpose of analysis of return spillovers, we use Spillover index framework which enables us to describe development of inter- market linkages over time. The data used in the study includes the period from January 2nd, 1998 to May 23rd, 2017 which allows us to estimate long- term development of spillovers among markets. We find unequal link between stocks and bonds and increase in co-integration of markets during the financial crisis of 2007-2008 with significant persistence after the crisis. Mechanism of transmission of financial shocks among European countries is affected by eco- nomic and political integration of countries. We identify strong interlinkages of markets with substantial influence of Italian assets in transmitting shocks to German and Austrian assets, especially during periods of economic distress. On the other hand, Germany represents an open economy that is increasingly integrated to other markets. Scale of return spillovers is highly dependent on economic situation which is evident from clustering of high spillovers during recessions and a great deal of persistence of these interdependencies. JEL Classification G01, G12, G15, C63, C67 Keywords return spillovers, asset...

The recent global financial crisis of 2007-2009 and the subsequent recession have prompted renewed interest into how banking regulation and fluctuations in the financial sector impact the business cycle. Using three different model setups, this thesis promotes a further understanding and identification of the various transmission channels through which regulatory changes and volatility in the financial system link to the real economy. Chapter 1 examines the effects of bank capital requirements in a simple macroeconomic model with credit market frictions. A bank capital channel is introduced through a monitoring incentive effect of bank capital buffers on the repayment probability, which affects the loan rate behaviour via the risk premium. We also identify a collateral channel, which mitigates moral hazard behaviour by firms, and therefore raises their repayment probability. Basel I and Basel II regulatory regimes are then defined, with a distinction made between the Standardized and Foundation Internal Ratings Based (IRB) approaches of Basel II. We analyse the role of the bank capital and collateral channels in the transmission of supply shocks, and show that depending on the strength of these channels, the loan rate can either amplify or mitigate the effects of productivity shocks. Finally, the impact of the two channels also determines which of the regulatory regimes is most procyclical. Chapter 2 studies the interactions between bank capital regulation and the real business cycle in a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) framework with financial frictions, along with endogenous risk of default at the firm and bank capital levels. We show that in a model which accounts for bank capital risk and regulatory requirements, the endogenous risk of default produces an accelerator effect and impacts the loan rate and the real economy through multiple channels. Furthermore, the simulations illustrate that a risk sensitive regulatory regime (Basel II) amplifies the response of macroeconomic and financial variables following supply, monetary and financial shocks, with the strength of the key transmission channels depending on the nature of the shock. The impact of higher regulatory requirements (as proposed under Basel III) is also examined and is shown to increase procyclicality in the financial system and real economy. Chapter 3 studies the interactions between loan loss provisions and business cycle fluctuations in a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model with credit market imperfections. With a backward-looking provisioning system, provisions are triggered by past due payments (or nonperforming loans), which, in turn, depend on current economic conditions and the loan loss reserves-loan ratio. With a forward-looking system, both past due payments and expected losses over the whole business cycle are accounted for, and provisions are smoothed over the cycle. Numerical experiments based on a parameterized version of the model show that holding more provisions can reduce the procyclicality of the financial system. However, a forward-looking provisioning regime can increase or lower procyclicality, depending on whether holding more loan loss reserves translates into a higher or lower fraction of nonperforming loans.

My dissertation investigated business cycle effects on US sectoral stock returns. The first chapter examined the relationship between the business cycle and sectoral stock returns. First, I calculated constant correlation coefficients between the business cycle and sectoral stock returns. Then, I employed the DCC GARCH model to estimate time-varying correlation coefficients for each pair of the business cycle and sectoral stock returns. Finally, I ran regression of sectoral returns on dummy variables designed to capture the four stages of the business cycle. I found that though sectoral stock returns were closely related to the business cycle, they did not share some of its main characteristics. The second chapter developed two models in order to discuss possible asymmetric business cycle effects on US sectoral stock returns. One was a GARCH model with asymmetric explanatory variables and the other one was an ARCH-M model with asymmetric external regressors. In the second model, square root of conditional variance of the business cycle proxy was characterized as positive or negative risk, depending on the algebraic sign of past innovations driving the business cycle proxy. I found that some sectors changed their cyclicities from expansions to recessions. Negative shocks to business cycles had most power to influence sectoral volatilities. Positive and negative parts of business cycle risk had same effects on some sectors but had opposite effects on other sectors. A general conclusion of both models was that business cycle had stronger effects than own sectoral effects in driving sectoral returns. The third chapter discussed Chinese business cycle effects on US sectoral stock returns at two horizons. At a monthly horizon, the third lag of Chinese IP growth rate had positive effects on most sectors. The second lag of US IP growth rate had positive effects on almost all sectors. At a quarterly horizon, besides the extensive positive effects of the first lag of Chinese IP growth rate, the third and fourth lags also had effects on some sectors. The US IP growth rate had the same pattern, namely positive first and fourth lag effects and negative third lag effects. Using a 5-year rolling fixed window, I found that these business cycle effects were time-varying. The major changes in parameters resulted from the elimination of quota on textiles by WTO, the terrorist attacks on the US, and the 2007 financial crisis.

The aim of this diploma paper is to describe the mortgage market in the Czech Republic. Firstly, I have analysed the general situation which is connected with the issue of providing the mortgage credit in the Czech Republic. The next point is the analysis of market of flats and support of the flat's market. One of this product is mortgage credit. I have analysed the main economic values such as mortgage credit, mortgage interest, classified mortgage credit, business cycle, etc. Especially I discussed the household sector because we can see the biggest growth there. Finally, I have compared the mortgage market in the Czech Republic, in the European Union and in the United States of America. The mortgage crisis in the USA is an ongoing economic problem and it caused a global financial crisis during 2007 -- 2008.

This diploma thesis -- Credit risk management and business cycle -- is divided in four chapters. The first explains the purpose of bank as the financial intermediate and the main financial risk, which may results from its activities. The second part describes the theory of business cycle from the view of the main economic schools and clears up the problems of price bubbles on assets markets. The third part analyses the models and methods of credit risk management in the financial institution and the roles of regulatory authorities including the influence of Basel II. The last part concerns about credit risk development in bank sector in the Czech Republic including the ČNB macroeconomic credit risk model. The main focus is how the changes in business cycle development influence the credit risk.