Blockchain Papers

Johannes Bleher, Thomas Dimpfl

No abstract is available for this record.

Jean-Marc Seigneur

An overview of blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) including consensus, PoW, PoS, dBFT, DAG, smart contracts, Ethereum, Stellar, Ripple, Hashgraph Hedera, tokens, tokenomics, cryptocurrencies, ICO...

George Allayannis, Paul Tudor Jones, Aaron Fernstrom

The case describes a hypothetical hedge fund manager who is examining whether to invest in bitcoin. The case discusses potential risks and rewards of investing in bitcoin, the role of bitcoin and digital currencies more broadly, and financial innovation in the space, such as ICOs. It can be taught as part of a second-year MBA elective course in investments, financial institutions/capital markets, or fintech.

Aygül Anavatan, Eda Yalçın Kayacan

Bitcoin is the most radical of the cryptocurrencies which are becoming popular
\nnowadays. The advantage of the cryptocurrencies is that they are decentralized
\nsystems so do not need central banks. The purpose of this study is to determine if
\nthere is a volatility in the returns of Bitcoin and if so, whether it is predictable.
\nThe volatility of the Bitcoin returns was investigated using the log-normal
\nstochastic volatility model and stochastic volatility model with leverage for daily
\ndata covering the period between 19.12.2011 and 29.01.2018. While there is no
\nsignificant leverage effect in the Bitcoin returns, it has been revealed that the
\nvolatility is permanent and unpredictable. The unpredictability of Bitcoin returns’
\nfluctuations suggests that it is risky to use it as an investment tool or currency. It
\nis increasing day by day that Bitcoin takes place of banknotes or digital money,
\nwhich are conventional means of payment. The more widespread the system, the
\nsafer and the more resistant to speculations it is. The widespread popularity of
\nBitcoin may facilitate its recognition by states and inclusion in traditional
\npayment methods.

Doaa Mohey El-Din M. Hussein, Mohamed Hamed, Nour Eldeen

A Blockchain is considered the main mechanism for Bitcoin concurrency. A Blockchain is known by a public ledger and public transactions stored in a chain. The properties of blockchain demonstrate in decentralization as distribution blocks, stability, anonymity, and auditing. Blockchain can enhance the results of network efficiency and improve the security of network. It also can be applied in several fields like financial and banking services, healthcare systems, and public services. However, the research is still opening at this point. It includes a big number of technical challenges which prevents the wide application of blockchain, for example, scalability problem, privacy leakage, etc. This paper shows a proposed comprehensive study of blockchain technology. It also examines the research efforts in blockchain. It presents a proposed blockchain lifecycle which refers to an evolution and a linked ring between business process management improvement and Internet-of-Things concepts. Then, this paper presents a practical proof of this relationship for smart city. It presents a new algorithm and a proposed blockchain framework for 38 blocks (which recognized as smart-houses). Finally, the future directions are well presented in blockchain field.

Alastair Berg, Brendan Markey‐Towler, Mikayla Novak

No abstract is available for this record.

Zhihao Yao, Haiying Zeng

Urban renewal in the USA derived from slum clearance movement in the early 20th century under the background of urban sprawl and inner city blight, and had shifted its target from slum clearance and blight area elimination to economy revitalization, and has been a kind of comprehensive public policy in the field of urban governance since 1950s.During the institutional transition of marketization and decentralization, ideology change of urban renewal promotes the establishment and replacement of policy tools.Renewal policy instruments try to response the demands of local economic development and try to protect private property right and social justice, however, confronts policy objective deviation under the marketization operation.Urban renewal in China is in short of supply of continuous and systematic policy instruments, subject to the traditional material planning paradigm and power division of urban construction and management, resulting in the failure of implementation of ideal spatial scheme.This paper aims to explore the regularity elements behind the evolution of urban renewal policy instruments from the perspective of tax and financing, land use regulation and development management and provides learning experience and enlightenment to urban renewal practice in contemporary China.

Borgklint, Erik, Söderberg, Michael

Bakgrund: Satoshi Nakamoto kallas gruppen eller individen bakom kryptovalutan Bitcoin. Syftet med valutan är att kunna genomföra transaktioner snabbt, anonymt och kunna hålla tredje part, centralbanker och banker utanför. Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka och analysera svenska bankers inställning till Bitcoin. Det författarna till denna studie vill undersöka är hur bankens inställning ser ut till valutan om den blir allt mer populär att företag och privatpersoner börjar genomföra transaktioner utan inblandning med banken. Metod: För att kunna svara på syftet har studien genomförts med en abduktiv metod. Datainsamling har skett genom att intervjua relevanta personer på banker genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. I analysen förklaras sedan den datainsamlingen utifrån studiens teoretiska referensram. I syfte att få kvalificerade bedömningar om framtiden har studien använt sig av delfi-metoden. Slutsats: Författarna till studien kom fram till att Bitcoin inte utgör något hot mot bankerna eftersom de kan kopiera tekniken och bankens kärnverksamhet handlar inte bara om att genomföra transaktioner. Den underliggande tekniken till Bitcoin tillsammans med en mer legitimerad valuta (exempelvis e-krona) har en möjlighet att användas av banker i framtiden.

Alexander A. Kharlamov, Glenn Parry

No abstract is available for this record.

Dov Fischer

No abstract is available for this record.

Cathy Barrera, Stephanie Hurder

No abstract is available for this record.

Primavera De Filippi, Greg McMullen

No abstract is available for this record.

José C. Garay

Asynchronous iterative algorithms are parallel iterative algorithms in which communications and iterations are not synchronized among processors. Thus, as soon as a processing unit finishes its own calculations, it starts the next cycle with the latest data received during a previous cycle, without waiting for any other processing unit to complete its own calculation. These algorithms increase the number of updates in some processors (as compared to the synchronous case) but suppress most idle times. This usually results in a reduction of the (execution) time to achieve convergence. Optimized Schwarz methods (OSM) are domain decomposition methods in which the transmission conditions between subdomains contain operators of the form \linebreak $\partial/\partial \nu +\Lambda$, where $\partial/\partial \nu$ is the outward normal derivative and $\Lambda$ is an optimized local approximation of the global Steklov-Poincar\'e operator. There is more than one family of transmission conditions that can be used for a given partial differential equation (e.g., the $OO0$ and $OO2$ families), each of these families containing a particular approximation of the Steklov-Poincar\'e operator. These transmission conditions have some parameters that are tuned to obtain a fast convergence rate. Optimized Schwarz methods are fast in terms of iteration count and can be implemented asynchronously. In this thesis we analyze the convergence behavior of the synchronous and asynchronous implementation of OSM applied to solve partial differential equations with a shifted Laplacian operator in bounded rectangular domains. We analyze two cases. In the first case we have a shift that can be either positive, negative or zero, a one-way domain decomposition and transmission conditions of the $OO2$ family. In the second case we have Poisson's equation, a domain decomposition with cross-points and $OO0$ transmission conditions. In both cases we reformulate the equations defining the problem into a fixed point iteration that is suitable for our analysis, then derive convergence proofs and analyze how the convergence rate varies with the number of subdomains, the amount of overlap, and the values of the parameters introduced in the transmission conditions. Additionally, we find the optimal values of the parameters and present some numerical experiments for the second case illustrating our theoretical results. To our knowledge this is the first time that a convergence analysis of optimized Schwarz is presented for bounded subdomains with multiple subdomains and arbitrary overlap. The analysis presented in this thesis also applies to problems with more general domains which can be decomposed as a union of rectangles.

Dr. BILLA ASIRATNAM

This study examines the relationship between decentralization, democratic governance, and the working of local self-government institutions in India. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments established Panchayats and Municipalities as constitutionally recognized bodies of grassroots governance, intended to promote participation, accountability, and locally responsive development. However, the quality of decentralization continues to vary because the transfer of authority, finance, and personnel remains uneven across states. The study adopts a descriptive and analytical design to assess how local self-government influences democratic participation, administrative responsiveness, and service satisfaction. For academic demonstration, a structured survey framework using a sample of 63 respondents was prepared, including elected representatives, officials, and citizens. Three dimensions were examined: the link between citizen participation and accountability, the relationship between fiscal decentralization and service delivery satisfaction, and differences in perceptions of responsiveness among stakeholder groups. The analysis applies Chi-square, Spearman rank correlation, one-way ANOVA, and multiple regression to interpret the data. The results indicate that decentralization improves democratic governance when it is accompanied by meaningful devolution, transparent institutions, trained local leadership, and active community engagement. The study concludes that local self-government can become a more effective instrument of inclusive development when constitutional design is supported by administrative capacity, fiscal autonomy, and regular citizen oversight.

Fangze Yang

In recent years, there has been an upsurge of researching and learning the Amoeba management model in China. Amoeba management model is a business model created by INAMORI KAZUO in KYOCERA, and then many enterprises have achieved unprecedented success. At present, a large number of scholars have studied the amoeba management model, but the exploration of the operation mechanism of the amoeba management model has not yet appeared. As for an organization management model, it is very important to explore the mechanism for its normal operation, which provides the research question for this article, namely, the operation mechanism of amoeba organization model. Therefore, based on the characteristics of Amoeba organization, this paper explores the operation mechanism of Amoeba’s organizational model, which provides reference for other enterprises that want to implement the Amoeba organization model. The research found that the operation mechanism of Amoeba’s organizational model mainly includes Amoeba’s team relationship, team incentive mechanism, team accounting mechanism and team evaluation mechanism. The Amoeba team broke the traditional relationship between the corporate sector and the traditional relationship resulting in low efficiency of the enterprise, while the amoeba organization leads the trading relationship into the enterprise Amoeba teams, the trading between teams, and self-financing of each team resulting in the active communication between teams and the actively cooperate. The Incentive mechanism is mainly for the amoeba team decentralization, the establishment of a strict responsibility and profit mechanism for each team, the division of power and responsibility, so that each team has its own power. The accounting mechanism and the accounting of Amoeba organization model mainly introduce the independent accounting mechanism; each team is responsible for its own profit and loss, independent accounting, and uses the unit time accounting system to calculate the team. The Evaluation mechanism rigorously assesses the amoeba team. In the light of the strategy at this stage of the company, we need to build a guiding evaluation system so that the team goals and corporate goals become same, and commonly achieve the enterprise strategies.

Yin Huayang, Xia Tingting, Cui Bing, Zhou Di

Combining the location characteristics of provincial capitals and municipalities, from the perspective of fiscal financial decentralization system, the different expansion of local debt financing platform is studied to find out that the degree of financial fiscal decentralization is the main institutional incentives of local financing platform debt expansion difference, and Shanghai and Hangzhou have obvious location advantages. The advantages of these factors may include the development of the financial industry, the development of the Internet and other factors.

Hongjiang Zhao, Cephas Paa Kwasi Coffie

No abstract is available for this record.

Li Guo, Yubo Tao, Wolfgang K. HHrdle

No abstract is available for this record.

Genadijs GROMOVS, Mika Lammi

Short description of higher education study programme creation and evaluation process is stated. The study pointed out the difficulties of...

Nikolai Leopold

The goal of this thesis is to provide a mathematical rigorous derivation of the Schrödinger-Klein-Gordon equations, the Maxwell-Schrödinger equations and the defocusing cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation in two dimensions. We study the time evolution of the Nelson model (with ultraviolet cutoff) in a limit where the number N of charged particles gets large while the coupling of each particle to the radiation field is of order N^{−1/2}. At time zero it is assumed that almost all charges are in the same one-body state (a Bose-Einstein condensate) and that the radiation field is close to a coherent state. We show the persistence of condensation over time and prove that the time evolution is approximately described by the Schrödinger-Klein-Gordon system of equations in the large N limit. Subsequently, we consider the spinless Pauli-Fierz Hamiltonian which models the interaction between charged bosons and the quantized electromagnetic field. We discuss the limit previously described and prove that the time evolution is approximated by the Maxwell-Schrödinger equations. To our knowledge, this is the first rigorous result concerning a mean-field limit of the Pauli-Fierz Hamiltonian. We then turn to the evolution of Bose-Einstein condensates in two dimensions and consider N bosons which interact by a repulsive two-body potential. The interaction is given either by N^{−1+2β}V(N^{β}x) with β∈R^{+}_{0} or by e^{2N}V(e^{N}x), for some spherical symmetric, positive and compactly supported V∈L_{∞}(R^{2},R). We prove that the dynamics is approximated by the defocusing two-dimensional cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation in the large N limit. In case of the exponential scaling, we show that a short-scale correlation structure affects the dynamics of the condensate. This is the first rigorous derivation that considers an exponential scaling of the interaction. All derivations rely on a method developed by Pickl in [Lett. Math. Phys. 97(2), 151–164 (2011)]. The first two results are obtained by an extension of the method to systems which interact with quantized radiation fields. The latter is derived by an appropriate adaption of the proof in three space dimensions [Rev. Math. Phys., 27, 1550005 (2015)]. The crucial insight to derive the Maxwell-Schrödinger equations is to restrict the class of many-body wave functions to a subspace of states whose energy per particle only fluctuates little around the energy functional of the Maxwell-Schrödinger system. To derive the two-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation it is essential to define a measure of condensation which properly incorporates the correlations that arise from the exponential scaling of the interaction. This thesis is based on the preprints [54, 47].

Erik Arnesson

Sweden has as the first welfare state signed the petition of having net zero GHG emissions 2045. The construction industry is a large contributor to Sweden’s current GHG emissions and an action plan signed by several construction companies, including Veidekke, has stated several partial goals and one end goal of a construction industry with net zero emissions 2045. At the same time the demand of new residential houses is high. The choice of material affects the GHG emissions during the entire lifetime, making it a key parameter when planning a construction. 80 % of the emissions during a construction origin from the production of the materials used. The R&D intensity in the construction industry is low and the sector is ruled by a high level of competition and low margins. This thesis aimed to investigate more sustainable building materials for bearing parts of multifamily houses, how they compare with conventional materials and challenges facing them. The materials investigated was compared to a reference wall with KPI:s from one construction made by Veidekke. The GHG emission from the reference wall was calculated to be 107 kg CO2-eq/m2wall. The materials were evaluated with the method of Industrial Dynamics to investigate salient and reverse salient properties, lock-ins and important stakeholders. The materials investigated were Cross-laminated timber (CLT) and different types of sustainable concretes. Creating timber concrete hybrids were also explored. CLT currently has a small market share but is a promising material with several beneficial properties. The current development of more sustainable concrete resulted in the investigation of Recycled Aggregates Concrete, Alkali Activated Concrete and the Eco-concrete with reduced amount of cement in favor for limestone powder. A second step was to explore the social and economic challenges for integrating new building materials into the construction industry. As the industry is heavily project based, the timeframe and lack of budget to explore new options acts as barrier. The processes also tend to be repetitive. As of now the industry has made itself path dependent to concrete in a large extent. However, the social acceptance towards CLT is rising and making sustainability a strategic business goal is becoming more important to appeal to the customers. Interviews at Veidekke showed the rising interest of mixing timber and concrete, but also the difficulties of pushing development forward in the industry. The materials and their KPI:s resulted in the further investigation of CLT and Eco-concrete. By stating the salient and reverse salient properties of the materials further analysis could be done. CLT showed the greatest reduction of GHG emissions due to the embodied carbon resulting in a negative GHG emission of -66.2 kg CO2-eq/m2wall. In addition to this the construction time and several other beneficial properties were found. The reduction of GHG emissions of the Eco-concrete is great too, about 50 % comparing with the concrete used in the reference wall. As a concrete the Eco-concrete should also face less barriers as the industry is familiar with the product. Further analysis with tools from industrial dynamics showed the importance of creating incitements for developing the knowledge of a sustainable construction industry. Results also showed that new networks between the manufactures and the building sector is of essence to find and use new materials. Timber and concrete industries have the main responsibility of developing new and more sustainable products. The building sector also have a responsibility of choosing sustainable options. Advocating a diversity of solutions will create a more robust and resilient industry with fewer lock-ins and path dependencies occurring today. The key stakeholders identified from stakeholder mapping was the business developers, the department of purchase, the timber and concrete industry and lastly the customers. Business developers need to pursue projects with clear and tough goals of sustainability. This will increase the chance of succeeding. The department of purchase need to have incitements for mapping sustainable materials and the ability to explore new subcontractors. The results of the analysis show that not a single innovation will solve the goal of having a construction industry with net zero emissions 2045. The key innovation opportunities for CLT is to develop a standardization and modularization comparable with the concrete industry. Improving the fire safety of CLT is also of essence and the development of fire proofing plasterboards and insulation could be a solution. Further research on modified design mixing and the usage of pozzolanic materials like limestone in concrete is also an important way forward. Constructing timber concrete hybrids have also raised great potential both in the literature, analysis and from the interviews to simplify the integration of timber into the market.

Wanyang Hu

Labor force is very important to drive urban development. Labor contributes skills and generate positive knowledge spillovers to urban economy, especially high-skilled labor. Labor also constitutes the tax base that determines the fiscal wellness of the city. Moreover, the major source of urban and regional population change is through internal migration. Given the importance of labor in urban economy, there has been long-lasting research interests in factors that drive inter-city migration. Jobs, amenities and living costs are regarded as the main determinants of labor migration. Recent research also points to the importance of local informal institution, such as culture and attitude to migration, in urban development. However, labor mobility within the national border can face formal policy barriers as well. In China, due to the household registration system, many migrants cannot access local social services in host cities due to the lack of local Hukou, especially social insurances and housing provident funds. Due to the decentralized financing and governance of these social services, cities vary greatly in their coverages of social services among urban migrants. Using this cross-city variations, I define local inclusiveness as the extent to which a city government allows migrants to access local social insurances and housing provident funds and construct an urban inclusiveness index to measure it. I examine how local inclusiveness affects urban development via the quantity and quality of labor supply. Specifically, I study three inter-related questions. First, at the individual level, how does local inclusiveness affect migrants’ choices of destination cities? Second, at the city level, how does local inclusiveness impact urban development through aggregate urban labor supply? Third, what factors may explain a city’s inclusion for migrants? Using a conditional discrete choice model to examine the role of local inclusiveness in migrants’ choices of destinations, I find inclusive cities attract more migrants, controlling for expected wage, housing costs, and a host of urban characteristics that affect quality of life. I then construct a two-sector structural model to estimate how urban inclusiveness affects urban productivity through the quantity and the composition of labor supply. I use historical cultural openness to instrument for urban inclusiveness. I find more inclusive cities perform better economically through higher labor supply, especially high-skilled migrants. Using spatial statistics to correct for spatial error dependence, I find a city’s inclusiveness towards migrants largely depends on its fiscal capacity and labor demand, instead of cultural factors. This research reveals the connection among local inclusion, internal migration, and urban development in China. Evidence suggests the importance of attracting and retaining migrant labor through an inclusive local policy agenda.

Valentyna Kostyuchenko, A. Malinovskaya, Anastasiia Mamonova

Introduction. The worldwide expansion of digital technologies and the development of the cyber economy led to emergence of a new digital assets – the cryptographic currency that rapidly growing popularity. The phenomenon of cryptocurrency is relatively new and little investigated.
\n
\nPurpose. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the preconditions for the introduction of accounting and taxation of transactions with cryptic currencies in Ukraine.
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\nResults. The article considers the economic preconditions for the introduction of accounting and taxation of cryptocurrencies transactions in Ukraine. The definition of the economic content of cryptocurrency has been researched. On the basis of the definitions analysis, an author’s definition of cryptocurrency is proposed. In particular, the cryptocurrency is understood as the digital (virtual) currency, with the unit “coin”, which is emitted in the network according to certain principles of cryptography to provide transactions and control the creation of new coins.
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\nThe advantages and disadvantages of cryptocurrency as a digital currency have been analyzed. The common and distinctive characteristics of cryptocurrencies and gold were determined. The mechanism of cryptocurrencies functioning was disclosed and a glossary of terms used in cryptocurrencies transactions was provided. The cryptocurrencies development in the world and in Ukraine was investigated. Legal and tax bases for the cryptocurrencies introduction into the activities of small business entities was given.
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\nConclusions. The cryptocurrency exists outside the jurisdiction of Ukraine and in the majority world countries. The state should adopt it, acknowledge either as a digital (virtual) currency or as another digital asset, to regulate the taxation system and introduce an accounting methodology of cryptocurrencies transactions for integration into the global economic environment.

Нина Ефимова

The prerequisites and main trends in the development of the latest financial technologies (FinTech) are considered. The emerging approaches to the legal regulation of ICO and crypto currency in foreign countries and the European Union (EU) are analysed. It is concluded that the legal ways of regulating new phenomena are ambiguous while in the main states adhere to the principle of technological neutrality. In relation to the EU member states, there is a need to comply with the supranational legislation of the European Union. The conclusion about the high level of mobility of legal foundations in the field under investigation is made.