Accommodative Policy Research Articles

Risk Premia, Asset Price Bubbles, and Monetary Policy

We develop a dynamic general equilibrium asset pricing model with heterogeneous beliefs to study the effects of monetary policy on prices, risk premia, asset price bubbles, and financial stability. Bubble risk premia arise from an interaction between disagreements among investors and dynamic trading constraints. Under a non-accommodative monetary policy, liquidity adjusted risk and bubble risk premia increase. We propose a new framework for monetary policy with respect to bubbles. What matters for policy is the trading constrained fraction/mass of agents that disagree about fundamentals (i.e. optimists/pessimists). Accommodative policy can lead to a larger fraction of trading constrained agents that disagree, larger bubbles, and increased systemic risk. An implication of our results is that accommodative monetary policy in response to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis does not increase systemic risk due to asset price bubbles, as long as the policy keeps inflation under control.

Consequences of Accommodation: Parental Perceptions of School Staff and Peer Bullying of Children with Food Allergies

Children with food allergies report relatively high rates of bullying compared with the general population. Scholars have raised concerns that children with food allergies may be targeted for bullying because accommodation policies can isolate the child or generate stigma among peers. Yet, few have empirically examined the extent to which accommodation policies relate to bullying victimization or considered bullying beyond that which is committed by peers. This study examines if having a 504 plan and having more serious food allergy conditions are related to bullying victimization among children with food allergies by considering bullying committed by peers and school staff. Data were collected using a web-based survey of parents of children with food allergies (N = 613). Results show that having a 504 plan is related to increased odds that children with food allergies are bullied by both peers and school staff.

Bank capital in the short and in the long run

How far should capital requirements be raised to ensure a resilient banking system without imposing undue costs on the real economy? Capital requirement increases make banks safer and are beneficial in the long run but entail transition costs because they reduce credit supply and aggregate demand on impact. In the baseline scenario of a quantitative macro-banking model, 25% of the long-run welfare gains are lost due to transitional costs. The strength of monetary policy accommodation and bank riskiness are key determinants of the trade-off between the short-run costs and long-run benefits from capital requirement changes.

St. Augustine and China: A Reflection on Augustinian Studies in Mainland China

Summary Augustine of Hippo was one of the most influential church father in Western Christianity. However, little attention has been paid Augustine’s significance for China in the early history of Sino-Western theological and cultural dialogue. This article aims to fill this gap by providing a historical and documentary study of the reception of Augustine in China, with particular focus on the issue of how the story of Augustine was introduced into China and how Augustinian studies was developed as an independent discipline at the present stage of Chinese theological studies. Examining the newly discovered Chinese biographies of Augustine, the first section explores the early introduction of the story of Augustine during the Ming and Qing Empires, identifying the Catholic and the Protestant approaches to the translation of Augustine’s biography. The second section addresses Augustinian studies in the Minguo period (1912–1949) and analyses various approaches to the study of St. Augustine. The third section proceeds to the stage of the establishment of the new China (PRC), with a careful survey of Augustinian studies after the Cultural Revolution (1976–present). In particular, the new exploration by Chinese Augustinian scholars over the last five years will be highlighted. Based on the above observations, the article concludes with the evaluation that the biography of St. Augustine was adopted by the early Jesuits as an additional advantage for propagating the Christian faith in the Chinese context, in which the policy of cultural accommodation (initiated by Michele Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci) had proved a useful approach for theological contextualization and would continue to serve as a resourceful strategy in the Chinese approach to Augustinian theology as well as an effective method for deepening the Sino-Western theological dialogue.

Negative policy interest rates and exchange rate behavior: Further results

Since 2012, seven central banks have sought additional monetary policy accommodation through the adoption of negative policy interest rates (NPIR). The policy resulted in a significant reduction in exchange rate volatility and weaker exchange rates in NPIR--adopter countries relative countries that did not adopt the policy.

The enactment of the counter-terrorism “Prevent duty” in British schools and colleges: beyond reluctant accommodation or straightforward policy acceptance

ABSTRACT When Britain imposed the “Prevent duty”, a legal duty on education, health and social welfare organisations to report concerns about individuals identified as at-risk of radicalisation, critics argued it would accentuate the stigmatisation of Muslim communities, “chill” free speech, and exacerbate societal securitisation. Based on 70 interviews with educational professionals and a national online survey (n = 225), this article examines their perceptions of how the duty has played out in practice. It then provides an explanation for why, contrary to expectations, not only has overt professional opposition been limited, but there has been some evidence of positive acceptance. It is argued that these findings neither simply reflect reluctant policy accommodation nor do they simply reflect straightforward policy acceptance, but rather they comprise the outcome of multi-level processes of policy narration, enactment and adaptation. Three processes are identified as being of particular importance in shaping education professionals’ engagement with the duty: the construction of radicalisation as a significant societal, institutional and personal risk; the construction of continuity between the Prevent duty and existing professional practices; and the responsibilisation of first-line professionals. The conclusion reflects on the wider public and policy implications of these findings.

The Mark of a Food Allergy Label: School Accommodation Policy and Bullying

ABSTRACTThis study examines the extent to which specific school accommodation policies relate to bullying victimization among children with food allergies using a labeling framework. Data were collected through a web-based survey of parents of children with food allergies from several online support groups (N = 622). Using logistic regression, results reveal that school the self-carry rescue medication and hand-washing food accommodation policies are related to increased odds of bullying victimization. Potential policy implications of these findings are discussed.

Introducing Tridentine Marriage: The Jesuits’ Strategy in Japan (Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries)

This article discusses the way the Jesuits introduced the sacrament of marriage in Japan in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in the wake of the major reforms enacted at the Council of Trent. Rigorous implementation of the Church’s regulations was impractical in a society in which the institution of marriage was far removed from the Christian ideal and where Christians were a vulnerable minority. Concerned about the negative impact on conversions, the Japanese mission ini- tiated a genuine dialogue with several Iberian theologians and with Rome. The article analyses the exchanges of questions and answers, showing how the various actors managed to somehow reconcile the Rome’s concern to impose its rules globally with the Jesuit mission’s pragmatic ap- proach, in keeping with its policy of accommodation. Recommended citation: Vu Thanh, Hélène, Introducing Tridentine Marriage: The Jesuits’ Strategy in Japan (Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries), in: Rechtsgeschichte - Legal History Rg 27 (2019) 143-151, online: http://dx.doi.org/10.12946/rg27/143-151

Toward a Crypto-friendly Index for the APEC Region

This paper presents a new index concerning the extent of public policy accommodation towards usage of blockchain technology. The coverage of the index is for the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member states, representing a significant bloc of global production, trade and economic development. The crypto-friendly index includes indicators related to four general categories of blockchain policy: (i) extent of policy restrictiveness toward cryptocurrency initial coin offerings; (ii) extent of policy restrictiveness toward cryptocurrency exchanges; (iii) taxation treatment toward cryptocurrencies; and (iv) type and extent of general public policy interest in blockchain-related activity. Based on data and information available as at October 2018, the index results reveal considerable diversity exists amongst APEC countries in terms of their degree of crypto-friendliness. Jurisdictions such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, the United States and Canada are seen as relatively crypto-friendly locations, whereas jurisdictions such as China, Vietnam and Peru have the greatest scope for pro-blockchain policy improvement. This paper suggests future avenues for index refinement, as well as the potential for additional research into the concept of crypto-friendliness using this and similar policy indexes.

Monetary Policy Options at the Effective Lower Bound: Assessing the Federal Reserve's Current Policy Toolkit

We simulate the FRB/US model and a number of statistical models to quantify some of the risks stemming from the effective lower bound (ELB) on the federal funds rate and to assess the efficacy of adjustments to the federal funds rate target, balance sheet policies, and forward guidance to provide monetary policy accommodation in the event of a recession. Over the next decade, our simulations imply a roughly 20 to 50 percent probability that the federal funds rate will be constrained by the ELB at some point. We also find that forward guidance and balance sheet polices of the kinds used in response to the Global Financial Crisis are modestly effective in speeding up the labor market recovery and return of inflation to 2 percent following an economic slump. However, these policies have only small effects in limiting the initial rise in the unemployment rate during a recession because of transmission lags. As with any model-based analysis, we also discuss a number of c aveats regarding our results.

On the Credit and Exchange Rate Channels of Central Bank Asset Purchases in a Monetary Union

Through the euro area crisis, financial fragmentation across jurisdictions became a prime concern for the single monetary policy. The ECB broadened the scope of its instruments and enacted a series of non-standard measures to engineer an appropriate degree of policy accommodation. The transmission of these measures through the currency union remained highly dependent on the financial structure and conditions prevailing in various regions. This paper explores the country-specific macroeconomic transmission of selected non-standard measures from the ECB using a global DSGE model with a rich financial sector: we extend the six-region multi-country model of Darracq Paries et al. (2016), introducing credit and exchange rate channels for central bank asset purchases. The portfolio rebalancing frictions are calibrated to match the sovereign yield and exchange rate responses after ECB's Asset Purchase Programme (APP) first announcement. The domestic transmission of the APP through the credit intermediation chain is significant and quite heterogeneous across the largest euro area countries. The introduction of global portfolio frictions on euro area government bond holdings by international investors opens up for a larger depreciation of the euro. The interaction between international and domestic channels affect the magnitude and the cross-country distribution of the APP impact.

Accommodation Policy of Jesuit Missionaries and Du Halde’s Kingdom of Corea

본고에서는 뒤 알드의 『조선전(Kingdom of Corea)』(1735)의 집필 배경과 내용을 살펴보았다. 『조선전』은 18세기초 중국에서 선교활동을 하던 프랑스 예수회원들에 의해 작성된 『중화제국전지(中華帝國全志)』의 일부로, 당시 유럽에 조선을 알린 소수의 자료 중 하나이다. 『조선전』의 저자인 예수회원들은 16세기 스페인에서 창립된 이래 기독교의 해외 선교 사업을 주도하였는데, 예수회는 지역별로 다른 선교방식을 택하였으며, 문화, 경제, 정치적 수준이 높았던 중국 및 주변 지역에서는 적응주의 방식을 따랐다. 문화와 학문적 교류를 통하여 선교 대상 지역민들의 동조를 얻는 방식으로 이루어진 적응주의는 동서양의 문화 교류의 주요한 계기가 되었다. 『조선전』은 기자조선설, 중국과 조선의 잦은 분쟁, 임진왜란 등을 상세하게 다루고 있다. 이는 당시 중국과 조선의 안정적인 관계가 선교 활동에 영향을 미치는 상황이었던 점, 임진왜란으로 인해 중국 내에서 외국인에 대한 경계심이 높아진 점 등에 영향을 받았다고 할 수 있다. 『조선전』은 이후 볼테르의 문학작품에서처럼 유럽에서 조선에 관한 주요 저서로 인용되며 한반도에 대한 이미지를 형성시켰다.This paper examined the circumstances and characteristics of Du Halde’s Kingdom of Corea published in 1735. Kingdom of Corea is a portion of The General History of China written by French Jesuits stayed in China during the early 18th century, and one of the rare materials containing the contents on the Korean Peninsula. The Jesuits who devoted to overseas missionaries were great investigators as well as writers on so called “the New World.” They adopted the strategy of accommodation on China and her neighbors which were assessed as culturally, economically and politically advanced countries. The accommodation strategy which respected the native society and culture became the impetus of cultural exchanges between Europe and China. The contents of Kingdom of Corea are composed of ‘Chosun originated by Kija,’ frequent conflicts between China and Joseon, and Japanese invasions of the Korean Peninsula from 1592 to 1598. Although the stable relationships between China and Joseon were crucial in that the Jesuits purported to come into the Peninsula through China, the foreign phobia in China caused by Japanese invasions of Joseon worsened the situation. As in the writings of Voltaire, Kingdom of Corea had effects on creating the European’ image of the Korean Peninsula.

Unconventional Monetary Policies in the Euro Area, Japan, and the United Kingdom

The global financial crisis hit hard in the euro area, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Real GDP from peak to trough contracted by about 6 percent in the euro area and the United Kingdom and by 9 percent in Japan. In all three cases, central banks cut interest rates aggressively and then, as policy rates approached zero, deployed a variety of untested and unconventional monetary policies. In doing so, they hoped to restore the functioning of financial markets, and also to provide further monetary policy accommodation once the policy rate reached the zero lower bound. In all three jurisdictions, the strategy entailed generous liquidity support for banks and other financial intermediaries and large-scale purchases of public (and in some cases private) assets. As a result, central banks’ balance sheets expanded to unprecedented levels. This paper examines the experience with unconventional monetary policies in the euro zone, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The paper starts with a discussion of how quantitative easing, forward guidance, and negative interest rate policies work in theory, and some of their potential side effects. It then reviews the implementation of unconventional monetary policy by the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Japan, including a narrative of how central banks responded to the crisis and the evidence on the effects of unconventional monetary policy actions.

Imposing Death: Religious Witness on Brain Death.

The bioethical, professional, and policy discourse over brain death criteria has been portrayed by some scholars as illustrative of the minimal influence of religious perspectives in bioethics. Three questions then lie at the core of my inquiry: What interests of secular pluralistic societies and the medical profession are advanced in examining religious understandings of criteria for determining death? Can bioethical and professional engagement with religious interpretations of death present substantive insights for policy discussions on neurological criteria for death? And finally, how extensive should the scope of policy accommodations be for deeply held religiously based dissent from neurological criteria for death? I begin with a short synopsis of a recent case litigated in Ontario, Canada, Ouanounou v. Humber River Hospital, to illuminate this contested moral terrain.

Toward a Crypto-Friendly Index for the APEC Region

This paper presents a new index concerning the extent of public policy accommodation towards usage of blockchain technology. The coverage of the index is for the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member states, representing a significant bloc of global production, trade and economic development. The crypto-friendly index includes indicators related to four general categories of blockchain policy: (i) extent of policy restrictiveness toward cryptocurrency initial coin offerings; (ii) extent of policy restrictiveness toward cryptocurrency exchanges; (iii) taxation treatment toward cryptocurrencies; and (iv) type and extent of general public policy interest in blockchain-related activity. Based on data and information available as at October 2018, the index results reveal considerable diversity exists amongst APEC countries in terms of their degree of crypto-friendliness. Jurisdictions such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, the United States and Canada are seen as relatively crypto-friendly locations, whereas jurisdictions such as China, Vietnam and Peru have the greatest scope for pro-blockchain policy improvement. This paper suggests future avenues for index refinement, as well as the potential for additional research into the concept of crypto-friendliness using this and similar policy indexes.

Elusive inclusion: comparing the counter-intuitive accommodation policies of Islamic schools in Scotland and Quebec

ABSTRACT In many respects the sub-state nation of Scotland seemingly has a stronger relationship with Muslim communities than its counterpart, Quebec. While both jurisdictions fund faith schools to varying degrees, Scotland does not fund Islamic schools and Quebec does. Thus, this paper considers an intriguing puzzle: one jurisdiction which has a more contentious relationship with Muslim communities accommodates the public funding of Islamic schools, than the jurisdiction which demonstrates a more inclusive embrace towards them. Why? It considers four factors: church-state settlements, Muslim mobilisation, civil society actors, and political parties. It argues that church-state settlements are the critical component in explaining the outcome, and political parties the most powerful intervening variable. Ultimately, it concludes that while the counter-intuitive element in the analysis is indicative of policy legacies, substantive inclusion within the realm of education eludes Muslims in both jurisdictions.

The World of Ethnic Regional Autonomies: Introducing the New Dataset

The article introduces the Ethnic Regional Autonomies Dataset (ERAD), which describes the contemporary population of politically autonomous regions established on the basis of ethnicity. We conceptualize an ERA as a special case of accommodative policy related to decentralization/devolution of powers to relevant territorially concentrated ethnic groups. The data captures the major characteristics of ERAs across the world, including demographic, economy, and politics. We describe the process of compiling the comprehensive list of ethnoregional autonomies and discuss the issues of coding and mis-categorization. Finally, we present descriptive statistics and illustrative cases alongside exploratory analysis of the data. We conclude with the prospects for future developments.

Who Represents the Needs of Domestic Violence Survivors in State Welfare Policy?

AbstractA large percentage of women receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) — known colloquially as welfare—have experienced domestic violence in their lives, with studies reporting that upwards of 50% of welfare recipients have been abused at some point. Receiving TANF benefits can provide the financial stability that is necessary for a woman to leave an abusive relationship, though some TANF provisions, such as child support reporting requirements, may also put victims of domestic violence at risk. Under TANF, states may adopt the Family Violence Option and waive many program requirements, including time limits, work requirements, and child support reporting requirements, for victims of domestic violence. Given the importance of TANF for those trying to leave, or who have left, abusive situations, this article asks: Who represents the interests of these women in the states? To answer this question, I employ a mixed methods approach, combining a quantitative analysis of the diversity of interest groups in the states with a case study of Connecticut and New Jersey. I find that feminist and domestic violence organizations do not consistently have a significant effect on the adoption of policy accommodations for survivors, but these groups are speaking out.

Scriptural reasoning: An expression of what it means to be a Faculty of Theology and Religion

During 2017, the year of its centenary celebration, the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria finalised the process to change its name to the Faculty of Theology and Religion. This indicates an inclusivity and accommodative policy for all to study at the faculty. However, what does it mean to become a faculty of theology and religion at a public university in 21st century South Africa? The consequences and implications have not been thought through completely. This article does not pretend to identify all consequences of a name change but wants to contribute to the conversation by suggesting that the concept of scriptural reasoning might be one practice to be implemented as a consequence. Scriptural reasoning at a faculty of Theology and Religion, which is part of a public university in the South African context, attests to the way in which the faculty perceives its own identity. The relation between theology, religion and a public university is discussed, indicating the possibilities of implementing scriptural reasoning.

Core beliefs/content accommodation policies and teaching practice

ABSTRACTAfter nearly five years of litigation and public debate, the University of Utah now follows a Content Accommodations policy that outlines how students may ask for university curriculum to be altered based on their sincerely held beliefs. This essay is written about experiences teaching at another public university in Utah (Weber State), which has a similar Core Beliefs policy written in the aftermath of the University of Utah lawsuit. Teaching under a core beliefs policy has resulted in at least three notable influences on my own teaching practices: tensions between planning and spontaneity, vagaries surrounding reasonable accommodation, and pre-curation (or self-censorship) strategies.