Subject of research is fiscal decentralization. The goal of this research paper is the analysis of the dynamics and status of fiscal decentralization. Methods which were used in course of research: generalization, comparative analysis method, statistical method and other methods. Study results. Characterized and analyzed Application of results: Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Conclusions. Decentralization in terms of expansion of powers at the local level leads to high efficiency of public administration at the lowest level, and to improve the efficiency and quality of public services. But the significant transfer of powers and functions from state to local levels without adequate financial security can lead to negative financial results. It is therefore particularly important is finding the optimum between the volume of granted powers, and their support by adequate financial resources.
Sayan Basu Roy, Shubhendu Bhasin, Indra Narayan Kar
Convergence of controller parameters in standard model reference adaptive control (MRAC) requires the system states to be persistently exciting (PE), a restrictive condition to be verified online. A recent data-driven approach, concurrent learning, uses information-rich past data concurrently with the standard parameter update laws to guarantee parameter convergence without the need of the PE condition. This method guarantees exponential convergence of both the tracking and the controller parameter estimation errors to zero, whereas, the classical MRAC merely ensures asymptotic convergence of tracking error to zero. However, the method requires knowledge of the state derivative, at least at the time instances when the state values are stored in memory. The method further assumes knowledge of the control allocation matrix. This paper addresses these limitations by using a memory-based finite-time system identifier in conjunction with a data-driven approach, leading to convergence of both the tracking and the controller parameter estimation errors without the PE condition and knowledge of the system matrices and the state derivative. A Lyapunov based stability proof is included to justify the validity of the proposed data-driven approach. Simulation results demonstrate the efficacy of the suggested method.
Virtual currencies have recently become one of the most popular topics in the media. This paper focuses on economic aspects of Bitcoin, being an attempt to answer the question if Bitcoin can be considered money in the light of economic theories of money. On the basis of the reports published by the European Central Bank and the Financial Action Task Force, as well as the available Internet and primary sources, there have been presented the types, history and functioning of virtual currencies. The knowledge of virtual currencies makes it possible to foresee the problems arising from their existence, such as possible threats to international security, difficulties with taxation etc. The growing popularity of virtual currencies and cryptocurrencies is linked with the increase of importance of non-cash payments on global scale. Thus, Bitcoin may be considered next step in the evolution of digital money.
Development approach from centralization to decentralization implies the implementation of education decentralization. The purpose of this writing is to discuss problems related to the objective of education, the authority relation of district/city, the limits of authority, and the support of independency and interdependency. Such problems influence the school in ensuring the quality of education and imply the need for human as well as financial resources. It seems that education decentralization needs to be redefined. Empowering the school can be done through strengthening the curriculum to guarantee the relevance and the accountability of the education, improving the school-based management, self financing, and establishing networks between the school and government, community, and stakeholders.
Government leaders' attention to participatory governance, public-private partnership, and community empowering has been increased in developing countries as well as developed countries as a way of enhancing public trust in government and overcoming economic and social challenges in governance. Korea is no exception. Especially, the evolution of participatory budgeting (PB) in the Republic of Korea shows very interesting dynamics in the context of democratization and decentralization. PB in Korea is a mandatory citizen participation program in local governments since enacting the Local Finance Act in 2011. The case of PB program in Korea presents an important policy diffusion process from a bottom-up approach to a top-down one concerning intergovernmental relations for implementing a citizen participation program. As PB has been implemented in all the local governments in Korea, it provides a great opportunity to conduct a nation-wide assessment study of the PB adoption and diffusion, local government capacity for the PB implementation, and the impacts of the PB on public administration and values in local governance. Focusing on local governments' experiences of PB implementation, "Participatory Governance and Policy Diffusion in Local Governments in Korea: Implementation of Participatory Budgeting," provides theoretical and practical insights for understanding policy diffusion, implementation capacity, impacts, and challenges. It further elaborates several policy recommendations for enhancing PB implementation capacity given the ongoing challenges of PB implementation, including weak financial independency of local governments, the relation between local government and local council, and the low level of citizen participation in the PB program.
In the past decade, blockchain technology has garnered significant attention from a diverse array of industries. Despite the fact that blockchain technology was initially developed for the Bitcoin P2P cryptocurrency network, there has been a recent surge in interest in its potential integration with other service sectors. In the domain of machine-to-machine commerce, distributed ledger technologies, as seen in blockchain systems, have recently been hailed as potential platforms. A decentralised network architecture, security, immutability, and transparency are among the primary attributes of blockchains. The unalterable nature of blockchain ledgers enables members to rely on one another, thereby increasing performance and participation. Scalability and security are substantial challenges for blockchain technology. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the emergence of blockchain technology and various methods for addressing the scalability issues associated with distributed ledgers
Beginning students in algebra classes have little experience and struggle to write proofs. The aim of this study was to look at students’ use of definitions in determining the validity of statements and in writing proofs for given propositions on divisibility of integers. The main objectives were to highlight the difficulties students have with proofs and suggest strategies to help them in writing proofs. In the first part of the study the class was given the definition of divisibility and problems were set to which written responses were obtained. In the second part of the study, divisibility problems were set and students were guided through their proofs using dialogue. The final set of tasks involved skeleton proofs to support the writing of proofs. We found that all the students had difficulties with problems involving generalised variables as opposed to numerical tasks. There was conflict between the new definition and preconceptions and prior knowledge. Students had language problems, problems of division by zero, and were reluctant to use proof by counter-example or contradiction when no direct proof was possible. The implications are that new definitions must be introduced carefully, using a wide range of examples and appropriate prompts. Dialogue and skeleton proofs are two strategies that can be used to improve students’ understanding of proofs.
Maria Ambrosanio, Paolo Balduzzi, Massimo Bordignon
For almost two decades, starting from the early ‘90s, Italy experienced the strongest wave of decentralization reforms in its post II World War history. The causes were both economic and political. Yet, in recent years, again economic and political causes seem to call for opposite reforms. Along with a second wave of scandals, this time interesting local politicians, the crisis that has hit our country since 2008 is having relevant effects on the relationships between central and local governments. The aim of this paper is to assess dimension and direction of these effects. We first review the situation of "fiscal federalism" in Italy before the crisis, summarizing the decentralization process in the ‘90s, its consequences in terms of financing and functions for local governments, the constitutional reform of 2001 and the implementation problems this created. We then look at the numbers of the crisis; the "double dip" of the economic cycle in the period 2007- 2013, the policies implemented to contrast the financial market confidence crisis and the distribution of the burden of the fiscal consolidation across levels of government. We also discuss the institutional features of the implemented policies, in particular referring to number of local governments and to the financial relationships between level of governments, including taxes, transfers, fiscal rules and bankruptcy procedurals. Finally, we look at the future: what consequences will the new European rules, as enshrined in the new art. 81, have on the financial relationships between levels of government? And how is the balance of power between the center and the periphery going to change in lieu of the new proposed Constitutional reform?
Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis bagaimana kemampuan pengelolaan keuangan daerah Kota Semarang dalam rangka mendukung pelaksanaan otonomi daerah. Sedangkan data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah Laporan Realisasi Anggaran Kota Semarang Periode 2009 -2013. Metode Penelitian ini menggunakan Deskriptif Komperatif analisisis untuk mengukur kinerja pengelolaan keuangan daerah dan tingkat kemandirian daerah Kota Semarang, yaitu Rasio Kemandirian Keuangan Daerah, Rasio Derajat Desentralisasi, Rasio Efektifitas PAD, dan Rasio Keserasian Belanja Daerah. Berdasarkan hasil analisis yang telah dilakukan diperoleh hasil sebagai berikut: hasil analisis rasio derajat desentralisasi dapat dijelaskan bahwa rata– rata rasio derajat desentralisasi sebesar 25,87% yang berada interval 25% –50% atau mempunyai kemampuan yang sudah baik dalam membiayai pembangunan daerah. Berdasarkan rasio KKD dengan rata – rata rasio KKD sebesar 37,79% berada pada interval 25% -50% berarti konsultatif artinya campur tangan pemerintah pusat sudah mulai berkurang, karena daerah dianggap sedikit lebih mampu melaksanakan otonomi daerah. Rata-rata Rasio Efektivitas PAD ³ 100%, berarti kemampuan daerah dalam menjalankan tugas dikategorikan sangat efektif itu menunjukan dalam memobilisasi penerimaan PAD sesuai dengan yang ditargetkan. Menurut uraian dan perhitungan Rasio Keserasian bahwa sebagian besar dana yang dimiliki pemerintah Kota Semarang diprioritaskan untuk belanja pembangunan sehingga belanja rutin masih relatif kecil. Kata Kunci : Kinerja Pengelolaan Keuangan Daerah, Tingkat Kemandirian Daerah Abstract This study aimed to analyze the effect the financial ability of Semarang City in order to support the implementation of regional autonomy, base on Semarang Budget Realization Reported the period of 2009 -2013. A descriptive comparative analysis used to measure the performance of regional financial management and the independence level of Semarang, consist of Regional Financial Independence Ratio, Degree of Decentralization Ratio, PAD effectiveness Ratio, and the Harmony Expenditure Ratio. Based on the analysis that has been obtained, the following results: from the analysis of the ratio of the degree of decentralization can be explained that the average ratio of the degree of decentralization is 25,87% of which is in the internal level of level 25%-50%, means already have a good ability to finance region development. Average KKD ratio is 37.79% which is in the interval 25 % -50 % means that central government intervention has begun to decrease, because the region is considered a little more able to implement region autonomy. From the analysis of PAD effectiveness is more than 100%, it can be concluded that the overall performance of local financial management and the degree of independence of Semarang area continued to improve. It can be seen from some of the financial performance ratio is the ratio of the area of financial independence, the ratio of degrees desentralization, effectiveness ratio and the ratio continues to increase harmony and good effect on the autonomy of the region . Keywords: Region financial management performance, Degree of region decentralization
This thesis is divided into eight sections that contextualize and illustrate the market potential for commercial PPA solar leasing on mid-sized commercial roofs in the US.First, a discussion of the drawbacks from fossil fuel reliance reveals the benefits of solar energy.The second section explains the photovoltaic effect and the process through which sunlight is converted to electricity.From that foundation, the theoretical solar dependence in the US is then contrasted with current energy consumption.The disparity shown to be the result of such large-scale challenges as the reliance on peak power plants, unavoidable heat losses and other problems stemming from the lack of a decentralized grid infrastructure.By factoring in these challenges, a commercialization strategy for mid-sized commercial photovoltaics business is realized, which logically leads to a discussion of the cost trends of photovoltaic modules and parts.Understanding costs gives rise to an examination of potential pricing options in the following section, along with breakeven analyses.Lastly, a discussion of the developments of the solar industry shows that traditional silicon wafer cells are the least expensive and most efficient technology available, and that a hypothetical company serving enterprise-class data centers in the state Ohio will break even in 9 years with optimal debt financing.
Maria Helena Machado, Mônica Wermelinger, Monica Vieira, Eliane De Oliveira · 11 authors
O artigo tem como objetivo analisar os aspectos gerais da formação profissional dos trabalhadores da equipe de enfermagem. É um estudo transversal cuja população alvo é constituída por todos os enfermeiros, técnicos e auxiliares de enfermagem do Brasil, que possuem registro ativo no Conselho Federal de Enfermagem (COFEN). Os resultados enfatizam que a formação é realizada principalmente no setor privado e no Sudeste. Mostram ainda, que a maioria concluiu a graduação há menos de 10 anos e em horário parcial. Constata que 1/3 fez o curso de técnico e/ou auxiliar em enfermagem e em sua maioria exerceu a função. Já a formação dos técnicos e auxiliares é realizada pela iniciativa privada e em cursos noturnos, mais de 1/3 tem ou está realizando graduação e, desses 11,5% já concluíram e a maior parte demonstra interesse em continuar os estudos na própria área. As políticas públicas existentes não têm sido efetivas no sentido de desconcentrar o aparelho formador e o financiamento, bem como reverter o quadro de desequilíbrio entre oferta e demanda de profissionais. Os dados da pesquisa permitem subsidiar a construção de políticas públicas adequadas com a realidade desse imenso contingente de trabalhadores, fundamentais para o Sistema Único de Saúde.Descritores: Perfil da enfermagem, formação profissional, equipe de enfermagem.The article aims to analyze the general aspects of their training. It is a cross-sectional study whose target population consists of all nurses, technicians and nursing assistants from Brazil, which have active registration with the Federal Nursing Council (COFEN).The results emphasize that the training is carried out mainly in the private sector and in the Southeast. Still show that the majority concluded graduation less than 10 years and part-time. It notes further that 1/3 made the technical course and / or auxiliary nursing and mostly served the function. Already the training of technicians and assistants are held by the private sector and evening courses. Realize the data that more than one third have or are conducting graduate and, of these 11.5% have completed and most shows interest in continuing their studies in their own area. Still show the existing public policies have not been effective in order to decentralize the trainer device and financing, as well as reverse the imbalance between supply and demand picture professionals. The survey data may subsidize the construction of public policies adequate to the reality of the huge number of workers, fundamental for the National Health Sistem.Descriptors: Profile of nursing, vocational training, the nursing staff.El artículo tiene como objetivo analizar los aspectos generales de su formación. Se trata de un estudio transversal cuya población objetivo consta de todas las enfermeras, técnicos y auxiliares de enfermería de Brasil, que tienen el registro activo con el Consejo Federal de Enfermería (COFEN).Los resultados ponen de manifiesto que la formación se lleva a cabo principalmente en el sector privado y en el sureste. Aún muestran que la mayoría llegó a la conclusión de graduación inferior a 10 años y de tiempo parcial. Señala además que 1/3 hicieron el curso técnico y / o auxiliar de enfermería y en su mayoría se sirve la función.Ya la formación de los técnicos y auxiliares están en manos de los cursos del sector privado y de la tarde. Darse cuenta de los datos que más de un tercio han o están llevando a cabo de posgrado y, de éstos el 11,5% ha completado y la mayoría de los espectáculos de interés en continuar sus estudios en su propia área. Aún muestran las políticas públicas actuales no han sido eficaces, a fin de descentralizar el dispositivo de entrenador y la financiación, así como revertir el desequilibrio entre los profesionales de la oferta y la demanda de imagen. Los datos de la encuesta pueden subsidiar la construcción de políticas públicas adecuadas a la realidad de la gran cantidad de trabajadores, fundamental para el Sistema Único de Salud...Descriptores: El perfil de la enfermería, la formación profesional, el personal de enfermería.
Bitcoin is the first decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) electronic currency. It was created in November 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Nakamoto released the first implementation of the protocol in an open source client software and the genesis of bitcoins began on January 9th 2009. The Bitcoin protocol is based on clever ideas which solve a form of the Byzantine Generals Problem and sets the foundation for Decentralized Trust Protocols. Still in its infancy, the currency and the protocol have the potential to disrupt the international financial system and other sectors where business is based on trusted third parties. The security of the bitcoin protocol relies on strong cryptography and one way hashing algorithms.
Шульгина Анастасия Николаевна, Колядина Марина Геннадьевна, Бикалова Надежда Александровна
в работе рассмотрены основные особенности платежной системы Bitcoin, история и перспективы развития данной системы. Приведены сведения по использованию данной платежной системы в разных странах, а также выполнен краткий анализ позитивных и негативных сторон использования Bitcoin. Системы стимулирования развития операций с данной «валютой». Развитие информационных технологий способствует развитию системы быстрых платежей. Отношение к данному процессу неразрывно связано с уровнем развития и культуры и экономики стран. Приведенные положения являются самыми важными, но не единственными, которые делают систему ВТС противоречивой, неповторимой, притягательной и непредсказуемой. Идеи Bitcoin революционны, несут в себе возможность создания уникальной финансовой системы, при которой люди будут защищены от любых посягательств на их капитал
Central governments canalize to decentralized organization for compensate public demands faster, high quality and efficiency in globalization process. Local governments take effectively charge in distribution of income, education, health, housing on local basis which are parts of public policy and increasing the welfare level of the citizens of their municipality with their own facilities. The most important mission is incumbent to municipalities which is local governments’ type, in decentralized organization. Municipalities have two types incoming source; one of them from central governments sources the other one is internal revenue. This study aims to give information about municipalities which are at the forefront among local governments and property tax which is one of income sources municipalities. In this sense, law no. 5393 which was accepted on the 3rd of July, 2007 was studied in the frame of property tax and information about the phases of municipalities from the foundation up to now and their financial structure was given. Keywords: property tax, local government, decentralization, budget.
Key points The year 2014 witnessed the advent of new and strengthened collective action clauses (CACs) in foreign law sovereign bonds. These new clauses hold the promise to significantly strengthen the orderliness and predictability of the contractual market-based framework for the sovereign debt-restructuring process. This article looks at how these new CACs came about. The new CACs were borne from a process undertaken by an informal ‘Sovereign Debt Roundtable’ grouping that was convened, chaired and strategically led by US Treasury staff over more than one-and-a-half years. The inclusiveness of the Roundtable, the deliberative process, which was followed and the leadership and backing of the official community were integral to bringing about the private sector and success. The Roundtable’s deliberations built heavily upon earlier Treasury work to advance CACs, in particular during the 2002–2004 period. But the new clauses go further than the bond-by-bond clauses that were the focus from 2002 to 2004, as they allow in certain defined conditions the votes of different bond issues to be aggregated into a single up or down vote on the issuers’ restructuring proposal. In this regard, the new clauses reflect the continuity in the US approach under the Bush and Obama Administrations to promoting an orderly and predictable sovereign debt-restructuring process based upon the contractual framework, in addition to US opposition to statutory approaches. But they also represent innovation under the Obama Administration in advancing and buttressing the US approach. … in order to strengthen the orderliness and predictability of the sovereign debt restructuring process, we welcome the international work on strengthened collective action and pari passu clauses. We call for their inclusion in international sovereign bonds and encourage the international community and private sector to actively promote their use. G20 Leaders’ Communique; Brisbane, Australia; 16 November 2014 We welcome Mexico’s leadership with its successful issuance of a bond with new and innovative collective actions clauses under New York law. These new clauses will strengthen the sovereign debt restructuring process, and we encourage other nations to follow suit. Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew, 19 November 2014 We look forward to upcoming discussions around the International Capital Market Association’s (ICMA) proposal on possible means to reinforce collective action clauses in sovereign bonds… G20 Finance Ministers; Cairns, Australia; 21 September 2014 … ICMA recently published revised collective action clauses for sovereign debt that permit more orderly workouts and lower the chance of spillovers. These clauses … now allow for aggregation across many different debt issues, avoiding the need to vote on each loan one by one. John B. Taylor, Wall Street Journal, 9 July 2015 The late autumn of 2014 witnessed the advent of new and strengthened collective action clauses (CACs) in foreign law sovereign bonds. These new clauses hold the promise to significantly strengthen the orderliness and predictability of the contractual market-based framework for the sovereign debt-restructuring process. They were born from a process that was convened, chaired and strategically led by Treasury staff over more than one to one-and-a-half years. 1 The group working on the new clauses included issuing country representatives, inter alia from Mexico, Uruguay, Brazil and Turkey; leading UK and US sovereign debt legal experts; an array of market participants and academics; other official actors, including from France, the UK and Germany; and the IMF. In particular, this informal ‘Sovereign Debt Roundtable’ grouping also included Mexico’s debt manager and representatives from the London-based International Capital Markets Association (ICMA), an association representing some 500 firms from the international financial community, among others. The inclusiveness of the Roundtable, the deliberative process, which was followed and the leadership and backing of the official community were integral to bringing along the private sector and success. The Roundtable’s deliberations built heavily upon earlier Treasury work to advance CACs, in particular during the 2002–2004 period. But the new clauses go further than the bond-by-bond clauses that were the focus from 2002 to 2004, as they allow, in certain defined conditions, the votes of different bond issuers to be aggregated into a single up or down vote on the issuers’ restructuring proposal. In this regard, the new clauses reflect the continuity in the US approach under the Bush and Obama Administrations to promoting an orderly and predictable sovereign debt-restructuring process based upon the contractual framework, in addition to US opposition to statutory approaches. But they also represent innovation under the Obama Administration in advancing and buttressing the US approach. The US Treasury, in a speech by the then Under Secretary John B Taylor, outlined its support for the decentralized, market-oriented contractual approach to sovereign debt restructuring in 2002. 2 Around that time, a G-10 working group, chaired by Randal K Quarles, then Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, and including leading sovereign debt lawyers, began work on developing CACs for inclusion in foreign law sovereign bonds. 3 In 2003, building on the ‘Quarles Report’, Mexico launched the first CACs pursuant to New York law. Mexico’s issuance solved the first mover problem, there was no observable pricing impact, and CACs overnight became the norm in the New York market. 4 Importantly, though, the CACs applied only to each individual bond. During this period, the IMF advocated a statutory approach to sovereign debt restructuring. The Fund in essence reasoned that in a domestic setting, all unsecured creditors were bound into the restructuring deal through the bankruptcy process. Since there was no analogous international mechanism to bind similarly placed creditors into the restructuring through a single vote, there was a gap in the global financial architecture that should be filled through the creation of a ‘Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism’ (SDRM). 5 Treasury was sceptical that the SDRM could be made to work in practice. There were concerns about politicization of the mechanism. There were questions about the possible impact on official debt. There was no appetite for pursuing an international agreement that could result in a supranational body having the authority to supplant core US sovereign decision making or judicial authority. There was the basic judgement that there would be little Congressional support for any amendment to the IMF Articles needed to implement SDRM. In contrast, the advent of CACs offered the promise that the contractual framework could be used to better mimic domestic bankruptcy proceedings and bind creditors. In 2012, two important developments occurred, raising questions about the continued viability of the contractual framework to promote the orderliness and predictability of the sovereign debt-restructuring process and giving rise in some quarters to renewed calls for re-consideration of SDRM or statutory approaches more generally. These developments, left unaddressed, also had important implications for New York’s continued role as a major financial centre for the issuance of foreign law bonds. Long-standing debates about the meaning of the ‘ pari passu ’ clause in sovereign law bonds were underscored in judicial rulings. Many sovereign debt lawyers had long felt that the pari passu clause simply meant that the legal ranking of an instrument was equal (and not subordinate) to a borrower’s other debt instruments. Others, for over a decade through a novel interpretation of the clause, contended borrowers could be compelled to pay all of their obligations on a ratable basis. With US federal court rulings in New York supporting the latter interpretation, clearly the meaning of the ‘ pari passu ’ clause could no longer be considered settled. 6 Importantly, these legal challenges were not arising in the context of just one country; rather, there had been a substantial increase in creditor litigation over the past two decades impacting countries across the globe. 7 While bond-by-bond CACs had become the market practice in New York since 2003, the limits of this ‘per series’ approach became clear in the case of the Greek debt exchange. Of the 36 bond issuances governed by English law that included CACs and could partake in the debt exchange, only 17 were successfully restructured using CACs, accounting for 30 of the total value of Greek debt governed by foreign law. 8 In early 2013, against the background of these emerging questions about the ability of the contractual framework to continue delivering orderly and predictable outcomes, as well as renewed interest in statutory approaches, especially in the United Nations, Treasury staff convened a roundtable of governmental and private sector experts and interested parties to discuss potential changes to clauses in sovereign bond contracts. The effort was premised on the US retaining its long-standing reservations about statutory approaches, and instead examining what changes in the ‘ pari passu clause’ and in ‘bond aggregation’ could strengthen and impart renewed vigour to the contractual framework. Equally, the effort was premised on seeking pragmatic, targeted and concrete results, but not engaging in a meta-debate about broad strategic or conceptual approaches. At the outset, Treasury staff made clear that the USA did not support work on statutory approaches. For their part, the IMF representatives also made clear that the Fund had no intention of pursuing work on statutory approaches and it would be regardless infeasible to do so without the full support of the institution’s Executive Board, including major shareholders. At a kick-off meeting in April 2013, on the margins of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings, the Roundtable launched into a discussion of the evolution of the sovereign debt-restructuring process over the prior decade, recent ‘ pari passu ’ litigation and its implications and how ‘aggregation clauses’ could be used to help overcome some of the problems posed by bond-by-bond voting and increased creditor litigation. Private sector participants discussed how recent court ‘ pari passu ’ rulings could complicate the sovereign debt-restructuring process and how ‘ pari passu ’ language had taken on many disparate forms in contracts over the years. They were concerned about the consequences of the ‘ratable payments’ interpretation of the pari passu clause for the majority of creditors. With respect to aggregation features, there was a lengthy discussion of the Greek restructuring, and a view that the Greek foreign law bond restructuring was far less successful, because of the bond-by-bond collective action feature, than the Greek domestic law-governed bond restructuring. Some participants advocated developing ideas on aggregation across foreign law sovereign bonds so that there could be one vote to modify an entire series of bonds. However, it was also underscored that developing aggregation features could have important implications for inter-creditor equity considerations. Against this background, a number of key points were agreed at the meeting, in turn charting the path forward for the Roundtable: Modifications to contractual clauses should be developed to address the emerging issues that had complicated the sovereign debt-restructuring process. Clarity was needed on pari passu clauses to dispel confusion and provide legal certainty. The clause should be seen as an ‘equal ranking’ clause; the ‘ratable payments’ interpretation of the clause was not the intended meaning. Aggregation features in bonds, especially aimed at allowing one vote to modify a series of foreign law bonds, could represent a useful innovation to enhance the restructuring process, provided that strong safeguards were also incorporated to protect the rights of all creditors. At a second meeting in October 2013, again on the margins of the semi-annual IMF/World Bank meetings, the Roundtable reconvened to continue its discussions on pari passu clauses and aggregation. The group reviewed an options paper on the ‘ pari passu clause’. 9 In the end, the Roundtable reached several conclusions on the pari passu clause and narrowed down consideration to two of the options, both of which were seen as offering a plausible path forward: There was concern that the clause had resulted in significant litigation over the past decade, complicating the sovereign debt-restructuring process, and that the likelihood was for continued increases in creditor litigation in coming years. Several lawyers in the Roundtable in particular felt that given the confusion raised by the clause over the years and its uncertain meaning, the pari passu clause should be simply eliminated from bond contracts. However, others questioned whether market participants would readily accept elimination of the clause, and thus proposed retaining a rewritten version that disavowed the ratable payments interpretation of the clause. They pointed to market inertia as well as noted that retaining such a modified version of the clause would still protect against the risk of involuntary legal subordination. Participants agreed that the Roundtable needed to come to a consensus on pari passu to provide a basis for market acceptability for a first mover. The discussions on aggregation, in contrast, entered more of an exploratory realm. The Roundtable agreed that a key policy goal of constructing an aggregation framework was to reduce the scope for obtaining blocking positions, provide the sovereign with greater flexibility and at the same time protect against possible abuse or oppression of the minority by sovereigns. While there was wide acceptance of the concept of aggregation in principle, it was also recognized that to achieve these goals, there were numerous design details to be worked out with consequential legal ramifications and an enormous bearing on market acceptability. In wrapping up the second meeting, the Roundtable agreed to further pursue the one-limb option and its requisite features and come to a conclusion on the future of the pari passu clause. The IMF also expressed interest in pursuing further work on the contractual framework, using the Roundtable’s work as a foundation to inform its activities. An initial discussion focused on whether to use a ‘one limb’ aggregated voting structure, or a ‘two limb’ structure with an aggregated and a per series vote. Several European officials supported a ‘two limb’ structure as this approach had already been enshrined in the ESM treaty, developed and adopted within the euro-area. The rest of the Roundtable wished to explore whether a suitable ‘one limb’ framework could be developed, and felt an appropriate aggregation clause could further reduce incentives for creditor litigation. 10 One participant offered the insight that an important feature of a one-limb aggregation structure was that it would lessen the chances that a creditor—that might wish to vote against the proposal, but be willing to accept it should the requisite majority decide to do so—would ‘accidentally’ be kept out of the restructuring. The Roundtable began to delve into the kinds of protections that would be essential to protect against abuse of the minority. Most significantly, the Roundtable agreed that there should be a high voting threshold for one-limb aggregation, and that all participants in an aggregated vote should be treated the same. Participants also agreed that the scope of aggregated debt should be confined to foreign law sovereign bonds, and thus differ from the European CAC framework, which did not differentiate between foreign and domestic law bonds. In discussions in early 2014, including conference calls, and at a third meeting in April, the Roundtable reviewed a model aggregation clause 11 and bore down on achieving concrete results. In wrapping up this meeting, the Roundtable also welcomed ICMA’s proposal to develop model pari passu and aggregation language and conduct a public consultation. 12 To address the question of which pari passu option to pursue and given the view that eliminating the clause might not be seen as acceptable by all market participants, the Roundtable agreed to back model pari passu language that disavowed the ratable payments interpretation. The Roundtable further agreed that aggregation, allowing for a single cross-series vote with strong safeguards, along with a bond-by-bond restructuring option, would help promote the orderliness and predictability of the sovereign debt-restructuring process. With respect to safeguards, it was agreed that: ‘voting thresholds’ should be set at a level which an aggregated cross-series modification vote could only succeed with the support of a large super-majority (ultimately 75 per cent of the eligible outstanding principal); single-limb aggregation would be limited to ‘bonds governed by foreign law’ (outside of the euro-area, which retained its two-limb structure for foreign and domestic bonds); ‘uniform applicability’ would provide for an identical offer requirement for any cross-series vote; ‘robust disenfranchisement provisions’ would exclude bonds controlled by the issuer from the vote; and ‘enhanced transparency and information disclosure’ would be required such that the issuer would need to disclose its overall restructuring plan, including its proposed treatment of other groups of creditors and claims, as part of its offer. In subsequent months, ICMA’s model clauses became the new market standard. The IMF staff proposed to prepare a staff paper for the IMF Executive Board to endorse the key features of the model pari passu and aggregation language. 13 The third and last meeting of the Roundtable was by no means the end of the process. It was critical to develop a strong legal and market consensus behind the new clauses in order for a ‘first mover’ to move without facing market turbulence. Roundtable participants dedicated themselves to this task over the course of the remainder of the an initial and ICMA of proposed model clauses was provided to Roundtable participants for to market participants and their While the of the ICMA model clauses were the same for both the New York and were required to to the of each market. In the of information about the new clauses and their were with leading sovereign debt legal in both New York and Treasury staff also with market In particular, staff with representatives in a series of with of the New emerging market and and also reached out to several London-based Roundtable participants also with debt in potential emerging market sovereign bond issuing especially that had not in the working The IMF an role as The were by IMF staff in a series of and discussions with public debt the basis of a paper in large part by the of the the IMF Board also in the of 2014 the use of modified pari passu clauses in new international sovereign bonds so as to enhance legal and across The Board noted the broad support of for CACs with aggregation features, and in particular considered the limb’ clause with appropriate safeguards along the of forward in the model ICMA clauses as a significant to the sovereign debt-restructuring process. In addition to the IMF the of the market-based contractual framework also the strong of the official The of the G20 Finance and Bank meeting in Cairns, in as well as the G20 Leaders’ in in both the strengthened 16 Most significantly, countries began to sovereign bonds with the new clauses. In particular, Mexico in around the time of the the first public offering with the strengthened CACs under New York in bonds strong and in the in the same leadership as in 2003, the issuance with new CACs the first mover and no pricing impact Mexico’s issuance was by the of its Finance debt in the Around this time, many other countries from of the followed in was the first mover at the global leading the in the market. While the advent of the new CACs a major it not a and work to be to strengthen the contractual framework. The inclusion of new CACs in bonds will address the future of sovereign but it will not address the large outstanding noted by the that and it will 10 years for per cent to This process could be by Some market participants to be possible The of the new CACs so far been strong in the New York which a in which have more of an and been strong but not as but especially for the market. 17 Several issuers have it to thus over or raising in several than the more work and of a new global But in time, such countries will use new the new clauses. already this continue in some quarters about whether the of a restructuring should be through the required use of a structure, including one in which the to a and pay its This was not by the Roundtable, which was focused from the on in two pari passu and Some country representatives, especially at the United Nations, continue to for of a statutory the statutory approach little support in the IMF and and been by the USA and the key in which over of foreign law bond issuance of the new CACs the of the contractual framework and again work on statutory approaches to be needed or in financial policy The recent of CACs through the of the meaning of the pari passu clause and the advent of single-limb aggregation with strong creditor protections a of the of the international financial time and work needed for the new CACs to their full potential in the orderliness and predictability of the sovereign debt-restructuring process. in a of time, the strengthened CACs already a part of the international financial and have the of the contractual framework, the foundation for which was in the early US Treasury staff and a international in which all up their to of new
Over the period 2007–2013, a series of undertakings were made to introduce fundamental elements of decentralized education finance to Egypt. In 2009, 8.4M Egyptian pounds (EGP) of the Government of Egypt’s (GOE) budget was decentralized to every primary school in three pilot governorates. By 2013, EGP 1.2B of the GOE’s money had been decentralized nationwide. This paper describes what these undertakings strived to achieve, what specifically was done to achieve these objectives, the degree to which these objectives were achieved, the reasons why they were achieved to the degree they were with particular attention paid to the institutional and political context within which these undertakings unfolded. The account of the technical work that was undertaken to decentralize these funds is important, but more important is the account of the interplay between the technical work, the fact that this work supported a GOE-led initiative, and the volatile political environment—pre-revolution, revolution, and post-revolution Egypt—in which the work was done for it is here where important lessons about reform emerge.
I present the design and implementation of a novel anti-malware environment called BitAV. BitAV allows for the decentralization of the update and maintenance mechanisms of the software, traditionally performed by a central host, and uses a staggered scanning mechanism in order to improve performance. The peer-to-peer network maintenance mechanism lowered the average update propagation speed by 500% and is far less susceptible to targeted denial-of-service attacks. The feedforward scanning mechanism significantly improved end-to-end performance of the malware matching system, to a degree of an average 14x increase, by decomposing the file matching process into efficient queries that operate in verifiably constant time.
Francisco Martín-Fernández, Pino Caballero‐Gil, Cándido Caballero‐Gil
This paper describes the design and analysis of a new scheme for the authenticated exchange of confidential information in insecure environments within the Internet of Things, which allows a receiver of a message to authenticate the sender and compute a secret key shared with it. The proposal is based on the concept of a non-interactive zero-knowledge proof, so that in a single communication, relevant data may be inferred to verify the legitimacy of the sender. Besides, the new scheme uses the idea under the Diffie-Hellman protocol for the establishment of a shared secret key. The proposal has been fully developed for platforms built on the Android Open Source Project, so it can be used in any device or sensor with this operating system. This work provides a performance study of the implementation and a comparison between its promising results and others obtained with similar schemes.
Large-scale deployment of reliable smart electricity metering networks has been considered as the first step towards a smart, integrated and efficient grid. On the consumer’s side, however, the real impact is still uncertain and limited. This paper evaluates the consumer’s perspective in the city of Västerås, Sweden, where full implementation of smart meters has been reached. New services, such as consumption feedback and the possibility to choose dynamic electricity pricing contracts, have been available from the adoption of this infrastructure. A web-based survey evaluating customers’ perception of these new services was carried out. The survey included consumers’ personal information, preferences about the type of information and the frequency of delivery and the preference for electricity pricing contracts. The results showed that the electricity consumption information offered by distribution system operators (DSOs) today is not detailed enough for customers to react accordingly. Additionally, while variable pricing contracts are becoming more popular, the available pricing schemes do not encourage customers to increase their consumption flexibility. Therefore, more detailed information from the smart meters should be made available, including disaggregated electricity consumption per appliance that would allow consumers to have more control over their energy consumption activities.
The paper examines decentralized cryptocurrency protocols that are based on the use of internal tokens as identity tools. An analysis of security problems with popular Proof-of-stake consensus protocols is provided. A new protocol, Interactive Proof-of-stake, is proposed. The main ideas of the protocol are to reduce a number of variables a miner can iterate over to a minimum and also to bring a communication into block generation. The protocol is checked against known attacks. It is shown that Interactive Proof-of-stake is more secure than current pure Proof-of-stake protocols.
Derzeit wird in technisch-orientierten Kreisen häufig über das “The Next Big Thing” diskutiert. Wie Facebook die Massenmedien verändert hat und sehr wichtig fürs Marketingfeld geworden ist, können auch die Kryptowährungen ihre Stelle im internationalen Handel finden. Diese Masterarbeit konzertiert sich auf die Kryptowährungen und ihre Eigenschaften im Zusammenhang mit internationalem Business. Im ersten Teil dieser Masterarbeit wurden mehrere Vorteile für Unternehmen dargestellt. Die Hindernisse, die der weiteren Verbreitung schaden, können in diesem Teil auch gefunden werden. Die Literaturrecherche ergab mehrere IT,- und Währungsakzeptanzmodellen. Je nach den Faktoren aus diesen Modellen und Kommentaren vom Luther, wurden die Treiber, die für die Verwendung von Kryptowährungen sprechen, geschildert. Diese Arbeit ist in Form einer vergleichenden Fallstudie mit qualitativen Expertenbefragungen ausgearbeitet. Diese Forschungsstrategie ermöglichte die aktuelle Situation, Vorteile, Nachteile und Treiber aus den Akzeptanzmodellen, anhand von PraxisErfahrungen, zu beschreiben. Basierend auf diesen Befragungen, ein überarbeitetes Akzeptanzmodell wurde dargestellt und die Propositionen getestet Die geringe Anzahl der Befragten erlaubt keine konkreten Kausalbeziehungen zu ziehen. Daher wurden nur die Propositionen getestet. Die Ergebnisse haben gezeigt, dass die Kryptowährungen sehr gute Chance haben, ein wichtiges Instrument für Wertübertragung zu werden. Nicht nur die Kryptowährungen, sondern auch die grundlegende Architektur, sprich Blockchain, scheint auf Akzeptanz zu gewinnen. Die Experten waren sich bzgl. der Zukunft einig. Die derzeit Nummer 1 Kryptowährung Bitcoin, wird durch technologisch fortgeschrittene Währungen in kommenden Jahren ersetzt. Des Weiteren wurde auch der slowakische und österreichische Markt untersucht. Es wurden keine markanten Unterschiede zwischen diesen beiden Ländern festgestellt. In beiden Ländern spielen die sozialen Normen eine wichtige Rolle. (im Zusammenhang mit Akzeptanz von neunen Währungen und Technologien) Außer von sozialen Normen, gibt es auch andere Treiber wie wahrgenommene Handhabung, wahrgenommene Nützlichkeit, Möglichkeit des Ausprobierens, Beobachtbarkeit und die unterstützenden Bedingungen bzw. die Architektur, 97 die für Verwendung der Kryptowährungen sprechen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Masterarbeit haben die wichtige Rolle von Kryptowährungen im internationalen Handel bestätigt. Es ist nur Frage der Zeit, bis die Kryptowährungen auch in täglichem Leben verwendet werden.
This document established the main factors of bitcoin risk perception based on the explorative factor analysis, then studied them using structural equation model and conducted one-order and second-order confirmatory factor analysis. The results show that the bitcoin perceived risk mainly includes four aspects: bitcoin technology and security risk, national policy and legal risks, social risks, bitcoin market and transaction risk, the risk perception has correlation on each other. Based on the model, the author put forward the corresponding policy recommendations.