Academic literature on the topic 'Time value of monetary resources'

Abstract Worth the While presents comparative case studies of clock time from Fiji and Finland in order to ask what other values is time capable of expressing besides monetary worth – what “else” can time be besides money? Time is a highly particular vehicle for different considerations of what is good or important, but it is also one which is deployed at different settings with surprisingly little consideration for the specificity of this particular a value form. This book looks into the different ways in which time is deployed in value projects in Fiji and Finland, not just to point out the various possible ways of allocating value to time, but to show that European clock-time, just like its Oceanic counterparts, requires a great deal of conceptual work to make it serve as vehicle of valuation. The cases analysed in the book range from considerations of rank and conspicuous leisure in Fiji to Finnish timebanking, taxation, and university auditing.

The financial and credit system is of great importance for the effective implementation of monetary policy, the pace of economic growth depends on the stable functioning of credit institutions, expanding the capabilities of enterprises to attract financial resources, and therefore ensuring the economic security of banking, insurance and financial activities is a primary task. At the same time, the financial and credit system is subject to numerous threats, the main of which are crimes of an economic orientation, in this regard, the importance of their statistical analysis increases, as well as the development of measures to neutralize them from the standpoint of the economic security of the state, which determines the relevance of this monograph.
 It is intended for students, cadets, masters, postgraduates, doctoral students enrolled in programs of economic training and specialties, as well as for practitioners in the field of ensuring the economic security of the financial and credit system.

In the textbook in an accessible form presented and discussed the development of the economy and the inventory management of railway transport in the new economic environment. For the first time in Russian literature, made a theoretical attempt at a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of, and satisfaction of needs in material resources structural divisions, subsidiaries and affiliates of JSC "RZD". According to the results of theoretical research, innovative and production potential of the supply system of railway transport the main directions and methods of transformation of the restructuring process under the corporate changes of JSC "RZD", positioned value system of logistics of rail transport, a comprehensive approach to the development of systems of balanced indicators of supply and prompt handling of material resources. Recommendations for the implementation of the developed algorithms and models are long term in nature and are based on the concept of logistics management improve business processes, system logistics.
 For students and teachers, workers of enterprises of railway transport, and others interested in questions of transport Economics.

Read professional, fair reviews by practicing academic, public, and school librarians and subject-area specialists that will enable you to make the best choices from among the latest reference resources. This newest edition of American Reference Books Annual (ARBA) provides librarians with insightful, critical reviews of print and electronic reference resources released or updated in 2017-2018, as well as some from 2019 that were received in time for review in the publication. By using this invaluable guide to consider both the positive and negative aspects of each resource, librarians can make informed decisions about which new reference resources are most appropriate for their collections and their patrons' needs. Collection development librarians who are working with limited budgets as is the case in practically every library today will be able to maximize the benefit from their monetary resources by selecting what they need most for their collection, while bypassing materials that bring limited value to their specific environment.

AbstractThe formation of cities, and the relocation of workers to densely populated areas reflect a spatial equilibrium, in which the higher real consumption levels of urban areas are offset by lower non-monetary amenities [1]. However, as the society progress toward a post-COVID stage, the prevailing decentralized delivery systems and location-based services, the growing trend of working from home, with citizens’ shifting preference of de-appreciating densities and gathering, have not only changed the possible spatial distribution of opportunities, resources, consumption and amenities, but also transformed people’s preference regarding desirable urban spatial qualities, value of amenities, and working opportunities [2, 3].This research presents a systematic method to evaluate the perceived trade-off between urban spatial qualities and urban utilities such as amenities, transportation, and monetary opportunities by urban residence in the post-COVID society. The outcome of the research will become a valid tool to drive and evaluate urban design strategies based on the potential self-organization of work-life patterns and social profiles in the designated neighbourhood.To evaluate the subjective perception of the urban residence, the study started with a comparative survey by asking residence to compare two randomly selected urban contexts in a data base of 398 contexts sampled across Hong Kong and state their living preference under the presumption of following scenarios: 1. working from home; 2. working in city centre offices. Core information influencing the spatial equilibrium are provided in the comparable urban context such as street views, housing price, housing space, travel time to city centre, adjacency to public transport and amenities, etc. Each context is given a preference score calculated with Microsoft TrueSkill Bayesian ranking algorithm [4] based on the comparison survey of two scenarios.The 398 contexts are further analysed via GIS and image processing, to be deconstructed into numerical values describing main features for each of the context that influence urban design strategies such as composition of spatial features, amenity allocation, adjacency to city centre and public transportations. Machine learning models are trained with the numerical values of urban features as input and two preference scores for the two working scenarios as the output. The correlation heat maps are used to identify main urban features and its p-value that influence residence’s preference under two working scenarios in post–COVID era. The same model could also be applied to inform the direction of urban design strategies to construct a sustainable community for each type of working population and validate the design strategies via predicting its competitiveness in attracting residence and developing target industries.

AbstractThe rise of collaborative platforms has revolutionized the way individuals and organizations interact. The impact perimeter embraces interpersonal communication, knowledge sharing, and collective problem-solving. Indico, a web-based platform providing a free event management system, designed, implemented, maintained, and operated by CERN is a prime example of such type of platform. It provides a range of features and benefits for organizations and individuals hosting events of any kind. Indico improves work efficiency by streamlining the event management processes, reducing manual effort, and saving time. It also leads to sustainable practices and cost savings by eliminating paper-based processes and minimizing physical infrastructure requirements. It enhances accessibility by offering virtual event options, enabling wider participation, and promoting inclusivity. The platform fosters interdisciplinary knowledge sharing and collaboration among event participants by serving as a persistent and durable repository of presentations, articles, minutes, and writeups, including publication and protection mechanisms. Making event-relating materials available online contributes to knowledge dissemination and advancing research and professional communities. Additionally, Indico can further contribute to environmental sustainability by reducing carbon emissions through virtual events and reducing the use of paper. The data management and reporting capabilities of Indico enable data-driven decision-making for future events and resource allocation. This article reports on the socio-economic value of the Indico platform. The presented work used the stated preferences approach to estimate the socio-economic value that can be expected from a collaborative platform that a future large-scale international research infrastructure will require and put in place for its purposes. The approach taken to monetarize the socio-economic impact produced by the platform is the Choice Experiment Method. The monetary values obtained amounts to about 3.1 billion CHF discounted for a period of 29 years (2028–2057).

Abstract Investing in fundamental research enables us to push the frontiers of knowledge. However, since we don’t have access to unlimited resources we have to make choices about which areas to invest in. It is often easier to place a value on the costs of an investment than the benefits. Often, the benefits of funding a piece of research cannot be known in advance of making the investment, plus it may take many years for those benefits to be realised. Even in cases where we are looking back—trying to place a value on a past or ongoing investment in research—it is not always straightforward to identify, attribute and quantify the benefits and it is typically harder still to place a monetary value upon them.

AbstractWork Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) are one of the leading forms of Social Enterprises in Europe. The analogy of the Public Procurements that Greek Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) acquire on the total monetary resources of the WISE, was connected to the ability of the WISE to develop job positions that are sufficient to keep the employ above the monetary poverty line and bring it closer to the concept of a full-time job. A response rate of 62.50% resulted in primary data from 51.47% of the population of WISEs in Greece. Ordinal Regression Analysis showed that WISEs that relied heavily on Public Procurements had low performance in developing job positions that were sufficient to keep the employee above the monetary poverty line, and low performance in creating job positions that are close to the concept of a full-time job. There is evidence that Greek WISEs should reinvent their entrepreneurial nature and act more as innovative challengers and less as adjustable followers. Policymakers could consider relating the amount of public procurements that a WISE acquires to the open market share of the WISE, at least after the initial state of the WISE’s development.

Abstract This chapter explores the many ways in which economic resources—both income and accumulated wealth—affect health. Wealth (the monetary value of all accumulated assets minus debts) may be even more important to health than income (which reflects resources acquired over a limited period of time); however, wealth is not often considered in health studies. Systemic and structural racism have produced poorer health among people of color in part (but not only) by constraining the economic opportunities, including wealth, of people of color. A stepwise gradient pattern, with health improving incrementally as income or wealth increases, can help shed light on how economic resources influence health. The distribution of wealth and income has become increasingly unequal over time in the United States and globally. Policies to improve health by improving economic opportunity are discussed.

Since its establishment in 1945, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has played a key role in ‘giv[ing] confidence to members by making the general resources of the Fund temporarily available to them under adequate safeguards, thus providing them with opportunity to correct maladjustments in their balance of payments without resorting to measures destructive of national or international prosperity’ through its crisis prevention and resolution role. In exercising its mandate, the IMF has had to adapt over time to significant developments in the global monetary and financial systems. Since the Second Amendment of the IMF’s Articles in 1978, subject to certain obligations under the IMF’s Articles, members may freely decide on their exchange rate arrangements merely notifying the IMF of any changes to their own exchange arrangements, which is a departure from the par value system prevalent when the IMF was established.

In the late summer of 2018, the Hambach Forest (North Rhine Westphalia/ Germany) appeared prevalently in the media due to massive protests against its clearance for lignite mining with for the power generation. Because coal power as a form of energy supply is extremely climate intensive, the Hambach Forest rapidly became a symbol of the fight against climate change and the ongoing destruction of nature and its resources for economic reasons. Due to the extra-ordinarily prominent role of the Hambach Forest in the public opinion across Germany, this research addresses values of the forest to the population in monetary terms as well as the underlying factors that determine those values. For the analysis, a contingent valuation survey was conducted in December 2019 in Germany. The proposed amounts for the preservation of the Hambach Forest are mostly in accordance with previous evaluation studies of woods and forests, although this time almost only passive-use values are decisive. Further, a conversion of the WTP values to the area of the Hambach Forest results in an extra-ordinarily high per-hectare value of about 3.6 million. Thus, the symbolic value of the forest is remarkable and should be considered in future political decisions.

Abstract In this chapter the methods related to costing in economic evaluation are discussed. Costing involves identifying, measuring and valuing all resource changes that occur as a certain health care intervention is carried out. The aim is to value the use of scarce resources (materials, drugs, time of physicians, time of patients etc.) that is needed to produce a certain health effect - the outcome of the intervention. Then, we may be able to weigh the sacrifices against the gains of the intervention and thus determine the relative desirability of such an intervention. In Figure 4.1 we indicate which resource uses may in general be distinguished and need to be identified, estimated in quantitative terms and valued monetarily.

In climate change, drought, and water scarcity, the natural functioning of river systems largely depends on the proper distribution of water resources. Accurate determination of hydrological characteristics is essential for the sustainable management of water resources and provides information on the status and potential of water systems. Water management must be implemented in such a way as to meet the needs of man and the economy. At the same time, measures are taken to protect the quantitative characteristics of the aquatic environment. This means that water consumption must not exceed a particular limit value of the river flow - the ecological river flow. The development set determines the hydrological characteristics according to the methodology developed for determining the environmental flow for Bulgarian conditions and comparing it with the value according to the current regulation. The results obtained make it possible to make adequate management decisions, guaranteeing the maintenance of sufficient water in rivers and water ecosystems. The current regulation uses average annual and minimum average monthly water quantities. In our presented Methodology, the estimates are based on average monthly values grouped by three types of water content. It is recommended to work with a hydrological approach and standard statistical methods for calculating ecological flow, which requires a minimum of hydro-ecological information and enables the development of a national strategy.

This paper provides an integrative perspective on the factors influencing platform participation, a key driver of platform success. Based on a structured literature review of 99 scholarly articles from leading journals, this study synthesizes insights from the strategic, technical, and economic perspectives on digital platform design and governance from a participant viewpoint. It develops a participant-centric model that outlines the major determinants of platform adoption and homing decisions, considering both monetary and non-monetary costs, opportunity costs, and perceived benefits. The model also captures the dynamics of network effects and their implications for platform value creation, emphasizing the importance of strategic resource orchestration and adaptation over time. By unifying diverse concepts and frameworks, the paper addresses the complexity of platform ecosystems and provides actionable insights for platform providers seeking to enhance participant engagement and long-term platform viability. It contributes to the academic discourse by offering a comprehensive reference for future research and practical guidance for effective platform design and management.

Increasing financialization in the EU over the last two decades rendered different macroeconomic stories in regard to growth rates, industrialization and innovation, institutional transformation, inequality and financial stability. In addition, monetary union has created a favourable environment for such process by increasing a market expansion of financial institution and increasing financial assets within companies. However, the process of financial liberalization has changed economic structure in many countries leading to an excessive increase in both private and public debt and subsequently to the process of deindustrialization. For example, deindustrialization lead to a significant reallocation of resources from the industrial sector to the service sector in Croatia. The Global economic crisis of 2008 has shortly devitalized excessive financialization, yet it did not contain it. The aim of this paper is to evaluate whether the two economic lanes, financialization and industrialization, are mutually related and do they follow same linear or non-linear process. Identification is based on Markow switching approach with time-varying transition probabilities and covers annual data from 1995 to 2018. The period covers and extends beyond the Global crisis, which facilitates our empirical logic on examining the regime switching behaviour for both economic processes. Obtained results suggest nonlinearity within, both financialization and industrialization processes, by identifying two distinct levels of behaviour before and after the Global crisis.

The article describes and discusses to some detail a method for computing the cost of a commodity in terms of its resource-base equivalent value (as opposed to its monetary cost). The method is called the extended exergy accounting technique (EEA), and its proper application enables the analyst to perform more complete and meaningful assessments of a complex production system, including of course energy conversion processes. The novelty as well as the decisive advantage of EEA consists in its being entirely and uniformly resource-based: the so-called externalities (labor, capital and environmental remediation costs) are included in the system balance by means of their equivalent exergetic fluxes, which represent the gross amount of primary exergy required to locally generate the specified amount of capital, the specified number of work-hours, or to reduce the emissions below a certain specified level. EEA owes some of its structural formalism to Sraffa’s “network” representation of the economic production of commodities by means of other commodities, which it extends by accounting for the unavoidable energy dissipation in every productive chain. The method has also borrowed several definitions, concepts and procedures from Georgescu-Roegen’s classical work on the economic implications of irreversibility on production chains, from Daly’s pioneering work in resource-oriented economics and from Szargut’s “cumulative exergy content” method. The representation of a general energy conversion process by means of its extended exergy flow diagram is discussed in this article, and it is argued that some of the issues that are difficult to address with a purely monetary approach can be properly resolved by EEA. It is also shown how EEA, being intrinsically “localized” both in time and in space, can account for the non-uniformity of societal conditions without the need of patching the theory with artificial features external to its paradigm. In the conclusions, some indications are given as to the possibility of using the extended exergy accounting technique to supplement and substantially improve Thermo-Economics on one side and Life-Cycle Assessment or Environmental Footprint Analysis on the other side.

Abstract Technology development in the energy sector typically suffers from an ad hoc approach to making decisions about the key questions of "What is the next de-risking step?" and "At what scale?". This lack of structure in decision making occurs despite the technology development process usually being within a stage gated protocol. This often leads to significant waste of time and resources and plenty of "surprises" about the extent of additional testing required. The approach proposed in this manuscript is relatively simple to use, scalable, and transferable across industry sectors. Consistent application of the methodology has the potential to bring a quantitative rigor that can lead to more effective and efficient technology development and improve both intellectual and monetary capital allocation. Additionally, the framework provided facilitates a more structured and faster learning curve for people moving into technology development roles. Starting with a high-level understanding of the technology and business case, the methodology identifies possible commercial deployments and associates key technical and commercial risks that can be barriers to commercialization. Then, using a "Risk Burndown" approach based around an initial assessment of Probability of Success (POS), different Paths to Deployment (PTD) are developed. A Value of Information (VOI) approach is used to evaluate key metrics. This leads to a diverse set of de-risking options with associated trade-offs for informed decision making. The methodology has been developed and deployed since 2017 across a portfolio of both incremental improvement and game-changing subsurface technologies at Suncor Energy, a large integrated Canadian energy company. Over 25 technologies have been progressed using elements of this workflow with 7 of the more complex and expensive projects employing the full quantitative VOI approach. These analyses have been used to inform decision making on over CAD 400 million of proposed de-risking activity spend.

Abstract Lost circulation and problems related to drilling present a major challenge for the drilling industry. Each year, billions are spent to treat these problems. There is not a single solution to lost circulation because of the complexity and kind of formations susceptible to this issue. Lost circulation treatment data for the Shuaiba formation (induced fractured formation) were gathered from drilled wells in Southern Iraq (over 2000). Treatments have been grouped according to the volume of mud loss as complete, severe, and partial loss remedies. Detailed costs and probabilities calculations were conducted. The costs of three types of loss treatments (partial, severe, and complete) were handled separately since some treatments of severe, and all treatments of complete losses have to be introducing through open end drill pipe (OEDP). Expected monetary value (EMV) and decision tree analysis (DTA) were utilized to choose the optimal mud loss pathway to treat the lost circulation type. In this study, probability and cost were both considered to select the practical and efficient strategy of stopping mud loss. Too many of the remedy scenarios were investigated. The selection of the optimum strategy for every type of loss was based on the lowest EMV and efficiency. Once both conditions were satisfied, the treatment strategies were selected to treat each type of loss. Treatment strategies were provided for complete, severe, and partial losses as flowcharts that can be utilized as a reference in the field to stop or at least mitigate this troublesome problem. The methods used in this paper have the possibility to be adopted and invested to treat mud loss based on historical data of treatments in any formation worldwide.

Abstract The offshore oil and gas industry encounters several challenges, particularly when it comes to ensuring the reliability of Hydraulic Power Unit (HPU) unit that play a crucial role in providing clean hydraulic oil power for the purpose of critical valves actuation, including Christmas trees (Xmas), High Integrity Pressure Systems (HIPS) and boundaries Shutdown Valves (ZV) either locally or remotely. The concern comes from the magnitude of the growth in the unmanned offshore gas facilities, mainly Wellhead Platform (WHP) and the associated challenge of operating big bore producer wells. This design utilizes multiple Hydraulic Power Units (HPUs), which consumes significant resources in terms of cost, time, and effort. The current setup promotes optimization efforts, leading to a redesign that centralizes the HPU and integrates additional features. Centralizing the HPU reduces the risk of single-component failures that could potentially halt production. One of the major concerns in HPU operation is maintaining the quality and cleanliness of hydraulic oil since the oil contamination leads to elastomer seal failures in the valves with severe impact on HIPS, HIPS as SIS (safety Instrumented System) is the ultimate overpressure protection that performs as High-class of Safety Instrumented Function (SIF). To overcome this issue, a revolutionary method has been developed, incorporating a state-of-the-art hydraulic oil flushing recirculation system paired with real-time oil monitoring. This mechanism works by continuously and remotely thru Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) by circulating hydraulic oil for predetermined intervals, with the duration adjusted based on the desired level of oil cleanliness. Typically, the system maintains oil purity within strict limits as per international standards, ensuring the hydraulic oil remains suitable for reliable valve operation. An additional key feature of this novel design is the employment of mechanically driven intensifier pumps instead of traditional high-pressure Alternative Current (AC) driven hydraulic pumps. These intensifiers efficiently transform low-pressure hydraulic oil into high-pressure output to operate Tubing Retrievable Sub Surface Safety Valves (TRSSSV) of the wells, resulted in higher wells availability as well as energy saving. The design is undertaken significant steps to guarantee continuous hydraulic oil power, even during instances of field power outages or planned major maintenance activities. This is accomplished by integrating a built-in Direct Current (DC) driven pump, supplemented by an independent Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system. The UPS provides backup power for several hours in the event of Alternating Current (AC) power loss. The implementations of the adapted HPU design produces outstanding outcomes in unmanned offshore gas facilities. The system consistently displays significant reliability improvements, resulting in substantial cost savings measured in millions of dollars over the field's operational lifespan. These monetary advantages originate from reduced OPEX on High Integrity Pressure Protection System (HIPS) repairs, shorter production downtime durations, and decreased maintenance costs.

The 2016 Quality Payment Program (QPP) is a Medicare reimbursement reform designed to incentivize value-based care over volume-based care. A core tenet of the QPP is integrated utilization of certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT). Adopting and implementing CEHRT is a resource-intensive process, requiring both financial capital and human capital (in the form of knowledge and time). Adoption can be especially challenging for small or rural practices that may not have access to such capital. In this issue brief, we discuss the role of CEHRT in the QPP and offer policy recommendations to help small and rural practices improve their health information technology (IT) capabilities with regards to participation in value-based care. The QPP requires practices to have health IT capabilities, both as a requirement for a complete performance score and to facilitate reporting. Practices that are unable to implement CEHRT will have difficulty complying with the new reimbursement system, and will likely incur financial losses. We recommend monetary support and staff training to small and rural practices for the adoption of CEHRT, and we recommend assistance to help practices comply with the requirements of the QPP and coordinate with other small and rural practices for reporting purposes.

Investment in transportation infrastructure projects generates benefits, both direct and indirect. While emissions reductions, crash reductions, and travel time savings are prominent direct benefits, there are indirect benefits in the form of real estate enhancements that could pay off debt or loan incurred in the improvement of the infrastructure itself. Studies have shown that improvements associated with rail transportation (such as station upgrades) trigger an increase in the surrounding real estate values, increasing both the opportunity for monetary gains and, ultimately, property tax collections. There is plenty of available guidance that provides blueprints for benefits calculations for operational improvements in rail transportation. However, resources are quite limited in the analysis of benefits that accrue from the separation of railroad at-grade crossings. Understanding the impact of separation in a neighborhood with high employment or population could generate revenues through increased tax collections. In California, the research need is further amplified by a lack of guidance from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on at-grade crossing for separation based on revenue generated. There is a critical need to understand whether grade separation projects could impact neighboring real estate values that could potentially be used to fund such separations. With COVID-19, as current infrastructure spending in California is experiencing a reboot, an approach more oriented to benefits and costs for railroad at-grade separation should be explored. Thus, this research uses a robust benefits-to-cost analysis (BCA) to probe the economic impacts of railroad at-grade separation projects. The investigation is carried out across twelve railroad-highway at-grade crossings in California. These crossings are located at Francisquito Ave., Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station, Sassafras St., Palm St., Civic Center Dr., L St., Spring St. (North), J St., E St., H St., Parkmoor West, and Nursery Ave. The authors found that a majority of the selected at-grade crossings analyzed accrue high benefits-to-cost (BC) ratios from travel time savings, safety improvements, emissions reductions, and potential revenue generated if property taxes are collected and used to fund such separation projects. The analysis shows that with the estimated BC ratios, the railroad crossing at Nursery Ave. in Fremont, Palm St. in San Diego, and H St. in Chula Vista could be ideal candidates for separation. The methodology presented in this research could serve as a handy reference for decision-makers selecting one or more at-grade crossings for the separation considering economic outputs and costs.

Banco de la República is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023. This is a very significant anniversary and one that provides an opportunity to highlight the contribution the Bank has made to the country’s development. Its track record as guarantor of monetary stability has established it as the one independent state institution that generates the greatest confidence among Colombians due to its transparency, management capabilities, and effective compliance with the central banking and cultural responsibilities entrusted to it by the Constitution and the Law. On a date as important as this, the Board of Directors of Banco de la República (BDBR) pays tribute to the generations of governors and officers whose commitment and dedication have contributed to the growth of this institution.1 Banco de la República’s mandate was confirmed in the National Constitutional Assembly of 1991 where the citizens had the opportunity to elect the seventy people who would have the task of drafting a new constitution. The leaders of the three political movements with the most votes were elected as chairs to the Assembly, and this tripartite presidency reflected the plurality and the need for consensus among the different political groups to move the reform forward. Among the issues considered, the National Constitutional Assembly gave special importance to monetary stability. That is why they decided to include central banking and to provide Banco de la República with the necessary autonomy to use the instruments for which they are responsible without interference from other authorities. The constituent members understood that ensuring price stability is a state duty and that the entity responsible for this task must be enshrined in the Constitution and have the technical capability and institutional autonomy necessary to adopt the decisions they deem appropriate to achieve this fundamental objective in coordination with the general economic policy. In particular, Article 373 established that “the State, through Banco de la República, shall ensure the maintenance of the purchasing power of the currency,” a provision that coincided with the central banking system adopted by countries that have been successful in controlling inflation. In 1999, in Ruling 481, the Constitutional Court stated that “the duty to maintain the purchasing power of the currency applies to not only the monetary, credit, and exchange authority, i.e., the Board of Banco de la República, but also those who have responsibilities in the formulation and implementation of the general economic policy of the country” and that “the basic constitutional purpose of Banco de la República is the protection of a sound currency. However, this authority must take the other economic objectives of state intervention such as full employment into consideration in their decisions since these functions must be coordinated with the general economic policy.” The reforms to Banco de la República agreed upon in the Constitutional Assembly of 1991 and in Act 31/1992 can be summarized in the following aspects: i) the Bank was assigned a specific mandate: to maintain the purchasing power of the currency in coordination with the general economic policy; ii) the BDBR was designatedas the monetary, foreign exchange, and credit authority; iii) the Bank and its Board of Directors were granted a significant degree of independence from the government; iv) the Bank was prohibited from granting credit to the private sector except in the case of the financial sector; v) established that in order to grant credit to the government, the unanimous vote of its Board of Directors was required except in the case of open market transactions; vi) determined that the legislature may, in no case, order credit quotas in favor of the State or individuals; vii) Congress was appointed, on behalf of society, as the main addressee of the Bank’s reporting exercise; and viii) the responsibility for inspection, surveillance, and control over Banco de la República was delegated to the President of the Republic. The members of the National Constitutional Assembly clearly understood that the benefits of low and stable inflation extend to the whole of society and contribute mto the smooth functioning of the economic system. Among the most important of these is that low inflation promotes the efficient use of productive resources by allowing relative prices to better guide the allocation of resources since this promotes economic growth and increases the welfare of the population. Likewise, low inflation reduces uncertainty about the expected return on investment and future asset prices. This increases the confidence of economic agents, facilitates long-term financing, and stimulates investment. Since the low-income population is unable to protect itself from inflation by diversifying its assets, and a high proportion of its income is concentrated in the purchase of food and other basic goods that are generally the most affected by inflationary shocks, low inflation avoids arbitrary redistribution of income and wealth.2 Moreover, low inflation facilitates wage negotiations, creates a good labor climate, and reduces the volatility of employment levels. Finally, low inflation helps to make the tax system more transparent and equitable by avoiding the distortions that inflation introduces into the value of assets and income that make up the tax base. From the monetary authority’s point of view, one of the most relevant benefits of low inflation is the credibility that economic agents acquire in inflation targeting, which turns it into an effective nominal anchor on price levels. Upon receiving its mandate, and using its autonomy, Banco de la República began to announce specific annual inflation targets as of 1992. Although the proposed inflation targets were not met precisely during this first stage, a downward trend in inflation was achieved that took it from 32.4% in 1990 to 16.7% in 1998. At that time, the exchange rate was kept within a band. This limited the effectiveness of monetary policy, which simultaneously sought to meet an inflation target and an exchange rate target. The Asian crisis spread to emerging economies and significantly affected the Colombian economy. The exchange rate came under strong pressure to depreciate as access to foreign financing was cut off under conditions of a high foreign imbalance. This, together with the lack of exchange rate flexibility, prevented a countercyclical monetary policy and led to a 4.2% contraction in GDP that year. In this context of economic slowdown, annual inflation fell to 9.2% at the end of 1999, thus falling below the 15% target set for that year. This episode fully revealed how costly it could be, in terms of economic activity, to have inflation and exchange rate targets simultaneously. Towards the end of 1999, Banco de la República announced the adoption of a new monetary policy regime called the Inflation Targeting Plan. This regime, known internationally as ‘Inflation Targeting,’ has been gaining increasing acceptance in developed countries, having been adopted in 1991 by New Zealand, Canada, and England, among others, and has achieved significant advances in the management of inflation without incurring costs in terms of economic activity. In Latin America, Brazil and Chile also adopted it in 1999. In the case of Colombia, the last remaining requirement to be fulfilled in order to adopt said policy was exchange rate flexibility. This was realized around September 1999, when the BDBR decided to abandon the exchange-rate bands to allow the exchange rate to be freely determined in the market.Consistent with the constitutional mandate, the fundamental objective of this new policy approach was “the achievement of an inflation target that contributes to maintaining output growth around its potential.”3 This potential capacity was understood as the GDP growth that the economy can obtain if it fully utilizes its productive resources. To meet this objective, monetary policy must of necessity play a countercyclical role in the economy. This is because when economic activity is below its potential and there are idle resources, the monetary authority can reduce the interest rate in the absence of inflationary pressure to stimulate the economy and, when output exceeds its potential capacity, raise it. This policy principle, which is immersed in the models for guiding the monetary policy stance, makes the following two objectives fully compatible in the medium term: meeting the inflation target and achieving a level of economic activity that is consistent with its productive capacity. To achieve this purpose, the inflation targeting system uses the money market interest rate (at which the central bank supplies primary liquidity to commercial banks) as the primary policy instrument. This replaced the quantity of money as an intermediate monetary policy target that Banco de la República, like several other central banks, had used for a long time. In the case of Colombia, the objective of the new monetary policy approach implied, in practical terms, that the recovery of the economy after the 1999 contraction should be achieved while complying with the decreasing inflation targets established by the BDBR. The accomplishment of this purpose was remarkable. In the first half of the first decade of the 2000s, economic activity recovered significantly and reached a growth rate of 6.8% in 2006. Meanwhile, inflation gradually declined in line with inflation targets. That was how the inflation rate went from 9.2% in 1999 to 4.5% in 2006, thus meeting the inflation target established for that year while GDP reached its potential level. After this balance was achieved in 2006, inflation rebounded to 5.7% in 2007, above the 4.0% target for that year due to the fact that the 7.5% GDP growth exceeded the potential capacity of the economy.4 After proving the effectiveness of the inflation targeting system in its first years of operation, this policy regime continued to consolidate as the BDBR and the technical staff gained experience in its management and state-of-the-art economic models were incorporated to diagnose the present and future state of the economy and to assess the persistence of inflation deviations and expectations with respect to the inflation target. Beginning in 2010, the BDBR established the long-term 3.0% annual inflation target, which remains in effect today. Lower inflation has contributed to making the macroeconomic environment more stable, and this has favored sustained economic growth, financial stability, capital market development, and the functioning of payment systems. As a result, reductions in the inflationary risk premia and lower TES and credit interest rates were achieved. At the same time, the duration of public domestic debt increased significantly going from 2.27 years in December 2002 to 5.86 years in December 2022, and financial deepening, measured as the level of the portfolio as a percentage of GDP, went from around 20% in the mid-1990s to values above 45% in recent years in a healthy context for credit institutions.Having been granted autonomy by the Constitution to fulfill the mandate of preserving the purchasing power of the currency, the tangible achievements made by Banco de la República in managing inflation together with the significant benefits derived from the process of bringing inflation to its long-term target, make the BDBR’s current challenge to return inflation to the 3.0% target even more demanding and pressing. As is well known, starting in 2021, and especially in 2022, inflation in Colombia once again became a serious economic problem with high welfare costs. The inflationary phenomenon has not been exclusive to Colombia and many other developed and emerging countries have seen their inflation rates move away from the targets proposed by their central banks.5 The reasons for this phenomenon have been analyzed in recent Reports to Congress, and this new edition delves deeper into the subject with updated information. The solid institutional and technical base that supports the inflation targeting approach under which the monetary policy strategy operates gives the BDBR the necessary elements to face this difficult challenge with confidence. In this regard, the BDBR reiterated its commitment to the 3.0% inflation target in its November 25 communiqué and expects it to be reached by the end of 2024.6 Monetary policy will continue to focus on meeting this objective while ensuring the sustainability of economic activity, as mandated by the Constitution. Analyst surveys done in March showed a significant increase (from 32.3% in January to 48.5% in March) in the percentage of responses placing inflation expectations two years or more ahead in a range between 3.0% and 4.0%. This is a clear indication of the recovery of credibility in the medium-term inflation target and is consistent with the BDBR’s announcement made in November 2022. The moderation of the upward trend in inflation seen in January, and especially in February, will help to reinforce this revision of inflation expectations and will help to meet the proposed targets. After reaching 5.6% at the end of 2021, inflation maintained an upward trend throughout 2022 due to inflationary pressures from both external sources, associated with the aftermath of the pandemic and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, and domestic sources, resulting from: strengthening of local demand; price indexation processes stimulated by the increase in inflation expectations; the impact on food production caused by the mid-2021 strike; and the pass-through of depreciation to prices. The 10% increase in the minimum wage in 2021 and the 16% increase in 2022, both of which exceeded the actual inflation and the increase in productivity, accentuated the indexation processes by establishing a high nominal adjustment benchmark. Thus, total inflation went to 13.1% by the end of 2022. The annual change in food prices, which went from 17.2% to 27.8% between those two years, was the most influential factor in the surge in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Another segment that contributed significantly to price increases was regulated products, which saw the annual change go from 7.1% in December 2021 to 11.8% by the end of 2022. The measure of core inflation excluding food and regulated items, in turn, went from 2.5% to 9.5% between the end of 2021 and the end of 2022. The substantial increase in core inflation shows that inflationary pressure has spread to most of the items in the household basket, which is characteristic of inflationary processes with generalized price indexation as is the case in Colombia. Monetary policy began to react early to this inflationary pressure. Thus, starting with its September 2021 session, the BDBR began a progressive change in the monetary policy stance moving away from the historical low of a 1.75% policy rate that had intended to stimulate the recovery of the economy. This adjustment process continued without interruption throughout 2022 and into the beginning of 2023 when the monetary policy rate reached 12.75% last January, thus accumulating an increase of 11 percentage points (pp). The public and the markets have been surprised that inflation continued to rise despite significant interest rate increases. However, as the BDBR has explained in its various communiqués, monetary policy works with a lag. Just as in 2022 economic activity recovered to a level above the pre-pandemic level, driven, along with other factors, by the monetary stimulus granted during the pandemic period and subsequent months, so too the effects of the current restrictive monetary policy will gradually take effect. This will allow us to expect the inflation rate to converge to 3.0% by the end of 2024 as is the BDBR’s purpose.Inflation results for January and February of this year showed declining marginal increases (13 bp and 3 bp respectively) compared to the change seen in December (59 bp). This suggests that a turning point in the inflation trend is approaching. In other Latin American countries such as Chile, Brazil, Perú, and Mexico, inflation has peaked and has begun to decline slowly, albeit with some ups and downs. It is to be expected that a similar process will take place in Colombia in the coming months. The expected decline in inflation in 2023 will be due, along with other factors, to lower cost pressure from abroad as a result of the gradual normalization of supply chains, the overcoming of supply shocks caused by the weather, and road blockades in previous years. This will be reflected in lower adjustments in food prices, as has already been seen in the first two months of the year and, of course, the lagged effect of monetary policy. The process of inflation convergence to the target will be gradual and will extend beyond 2023. This process will be facilitated if devaluation pressure is reversed. To this end, it is essential to continue consolidating fiscal sustainability and avoid messages on different public policy fronts that generate uncertainty and distrust. 1 This Report to Congress includes Box 1, which summarizes the trajectory of Banco de la República over the past 100 years. In addition, under the Bank’s auspices, several books that delve into various aspects of the history of this institution have been published in recent years. See, for example: Historia del Banco de la República 1923-2015; Tres banqueros centrales; Junta Directiva del Banco de la República: grandes episodios en 30 años de historia; Banco de la República: 90 años de la banca central en Colombia. 2 This is why lower inflation has been reflected in a reduction of income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient that went from 58.7 in 1998 to 51.3 in the year prior to the pandemic. 3 See Gómez Javier, Uribe José Darío, Vargas Hernando (2002). “The Implementation of Inflation Targeting in Colombia”. Borradores de Economía, No. 202, March, available at: https://repositorio.banrep.gov.co/handle/20.500.12134/5220 4 See López-Enciso Enrique A.; Vargas-Herrera Hernando and Rodríguez-Niño Norberto (2016). “The inflation targeting strategy in Colombia. An historical view.” Borradores de Economía, No. 952. https://repositorio.banrep.gov.co/handle/20.500.12134/6263 5 According to the IMF, the percentage change in consumer prices between 2021 and 2022 went from 3.1% to 7.3% for advanced economies, and from 5.9% to 9.9% for emerging market and developing economies. 6 https://www.banrep.gov.co/es/noticias/junta-directiva-banco-republica-reitera-meta-inflacion-3

This paper evaluates seven output gap models for real-time estimates, based on three criteria: stability of estimations on new observations, data revisions and/or methodological changes; inflation forecasting accuracy; and potential output response to structural economic shocks. Results confirm no single model outperforms across all criteria. Structural VARs exhibit superior inflation forecasts but show high instability, while semi-structural models produce more theoretically consistent potential output responses. To overcome this trade-off, we propose a novel clustering approach to pool models based on their real-time performance, yielding improved estimates. Our findings highlight the value of this method for enhancing real-time output gap measurement and informing monetary policy decisions.

Every day, decision-makers must allocate resources based on the best available information at the time. Military installations face a variety of threats which challenge sustained functionality of their supporting and supported deployable systems. Considering the compounding and interdependent impacts of the threats, both specified (what is known) and unspecified (what is not known) and the investments needed to address these threats adds value to the decision-making process. Current risk management practices are generally evaluated via scenario analyses that do not consider compound threats, resulting in limited risk management solutions. Current practices also challenge the ability of decision-makers to increase resilience against such threats. The Resilient Installation Support against Compound Threats Analysis and Mitigation for Equipment and Resources (RISC TAMER) Framework establishes a decision support structure to identify and categorize system components, compound threats and risks, and system relationships to provide decision-makers with more complete and comprehensive information from which to base resilience-related decisions, for prevention and response. This paper focuses on the development process for RISC TAMER framework to optimize resilience enhancements for a wide variety of deployable systems in order to implement resilience strategies to protect assets, to increase adaptability, and to support power projection and global operations.

Global growth projections have waned since last year and growth may be suppressed below potential for several years to come. Lower global growth will, all things being equal, imply lower growth in Latin America and the Caribbean. At the same time, clear limits to the potential use of monetary and fiscal policy measures pose another constraint. Consequently, countries should consider further structural reform measures to enhance economic prospects and to escape suppressed global growth. If all countries pursue reforms to enable growth to accelerate by 1.5% on average, then the effect on the region as a whole may reach 2.3% additional growth per annum. The 2013 Latin American and Caribbean Macroeconomic Report presents evidence of great potential to enhance growth in the region by reallocating existing resources.

The paleontological resources (fossils) of Katmai National Park and Preserve (also referred to as ?the park? or ?Katmai? throughout this report) record the evolution of the park?s ancient life throughout most of the Mesozoic Era and portions of the Cenozoic Era (see Table 1 for a geologic time scale). A focused condition assessment (FCA) of the paleontological resources of Katmai was conducted in 2021; this report summarizes the findings of the FCA, including information on the park?s geology and paleontology, management issues related to paleontological resources, and the results of a field survey of the Kamishak Bay area. The FCA project also included fieldwork to monitor fossils at Kaguyak Point. The results of the Kaguyak Point monitoring are presented in Harrington et al. (In preparation). The first section of this report (?Paleontology?) examines the fossiliferous geologic units within Katmai as well as the fossils found within them. Fossils range from small bivalves and belemnites to large ammonites and a possible dinosaur bone. Plant fossils are abundant in the Eocene-aged Copper Lake Formation, Ketavik Formation, and Hemlock Conglomerate. The Jurassic-aged Naknek and Cretaceous-aged Kaguyak Formations are the most abundantly fossiliferous units within the park, containing ammonites, bivalves, brachiopods, gastropods, and other invertebrates. The ?Paleontological Resources Monitoring and Management? section of this report discusses potential threats to paleontological resources and management recommendations. The fossils within Katmai are nonrenewable resources that the NPS is mandated to protect, preserve, and manage. Fossils can be at risk of damage or loss from natural (e.g., erosion) and/or anthropogenic (e.g., unauthorized collection) forces. Damage or loss of fossils greatly reduces the scientific value they possess, as well as degrades the overall heritage of the park. Most of the park?s fossils have a low risk for anthropogenic impacts because many fossil sites are remote and receive little visitation. Areas in the park that contain fossils and receive visitors include the Brooks Camp area, Ukak Falls, the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Hallo Bay, and Kaguyak Point. Fieldwork was conducted during the summer of 2021 to explore Katmai for new vertebrate fossil localities (?Kamishak Bay Reconnaissance? section of this report). The current extent of vertebrate fossils within Katmai is limited to a single heavily worn bone chunk that was found in the vicinity of Ukak Falls. Vertebrate fossils have been uncovered south of the park near Becharof Lake and near Chignik Bay in the Indecision Creek Member of the Naknek Formation. To search for vertebrate fossils, exposures of the Indecision Creek Member of the Naknek Formation were surveyed along the coast of Kamishak Bay. Bluffs and outcrops were examined for fossils and evidence supporting the existence of vertebrate trackways or remains. The study determined that exposures of the Indecision Creek Member along Kamishak Bay are unlikely to contain vertebrate fossils. This portion of the member contained marine fossils and driftwood, indicating deposition in a marine environment, and the rock outcrops fractured perpendicularly to the bedding plane, limiting the potential for preserving fossil trackways. Future exploration for vertebrate fossils in Katmai could target Mt Katolinat and Ukak Falls.

The crude oil being transported by pipeline varies widely in density, viscosity, sulfur content, and other fluid properties. In a custody transfer, both parties are concerned with the quantity and the quality of the crude oil since this determines the monetary value of the transaction. The objective of this project is to investigate various factors that can impact accurate determination of the density, sediment and water content of crude. The findings will be critical to improve current procedures, including proper sample mixing and handling, analytical methodologies, and operation parameters, so that reliable and accurate custody transfer can be provided to all involved parties internationally. This project investigated the impact of mixing and analytical methodologies on crude density and S and W determination. Operating parameters tested included mixing time (3 or 5 minutes), mixing system (new or old) and sample size (3 or 7 liters). Density determination was conducted by a thermos-hydrometer test and a digital density meter and the results were compared. S and W content was quantified by the centrifuge method and Karl Fischer titration and the results were compared. For the centrifuge method, the impact of two centrifugal forces on S and W results was also studied. There is a related webinar.

World agriculture has undergone significant transformation over the past six decades. Over this period, most regions of the world transitioned from a natural resource-dependent to a productivity-led growth path, made possible by the development and adoption of new technologies and farming practices. This USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) report documents those changes, providing insights into shifting patterns of agricultural production and resource use world-wide. It also shows the evolution of agricultural growth over time and discusses the implications of these dynamics for sustainable use of natural resources and global food security. Over the past 60 years (1961-2020), world production of crop, livestock, and aquaculture commodities grew fourfold, from a gross value of $1.1 trillion to $4.3 trillion dollars (at constant 2015 commodity prices).--