Showing papers by "Francesco Grigoli published in 2013"

Automated Seismic Event Location by Travel‐Time Stacking: An Application to Mining Induced Seismicity

Abstract: Online Material: Additional synthetic test results, plots, and tables. The automated location of seismic events is an important and challenging task in microseismic monitoring applications (e.g., to analyze induced seismicity following oil/geothermal field exploitation and mining operations), where we deal with a large number of seismic events and weak signals characterized by low signal‐to‐noise ratios. Given the large number of seismic events, manual location procedures are time consuming, or not feasible. Standard automated location routines require precise automated picking procedure and phases identification (Gharti et al. , 2010). These methods are, generally, modified versions of the Geiger (1910, 1912) algorithm, based on the minimization of time residuals between theoretical and observed arrival times of body waves (generally first P and S onsets) by iterative inversion algorithms. In the last two decades a large number of picking algorithms have been developed; although P onsets can now be accurately picked, the automatic picking of later seismic phases (including S onsets) is still problematic. Their performance is limited in the presence of noisy data, when picking and phase identification might be difficult. The increasing interest on microseismic monitoring applications pushed the recent development of alternative techniques for automated seismic event location. These methods, similar to migration techniques used in reflection seismology, exploit the full waveforms and do not need any prior phase identification. Some methods are …

Multiyear Budgets and Fiscal Performance: Panel Data Evidence

Abstract: In the last two decades more than 120 countries have adopted a multiyear budget process (Medium-Term Framework, or MTF) that enables the central government to set multiyear fiscal targets. This paper analyzes a newly-collected dataset of worldwide MTF adoptions during 1990-2008. It exploits within-country variation in adoption in a dynamic panel framework to estimate MTFs' impacts on aggregate as well as sectoral measures of fiscal performance. We find that on average multiyear budgeting improves budget balance by about 2 percentage points with more advanced MTF phases having a larger impact. Higher-phase MTFs also reduce health spending volatility, while only the top-phase MTF has a measurable impact on health sector technical efficiency.

Waste Not, Want Not; The Efficiency of Health Expenditure in Emerging and Developing Economies

Abstract: Public health spending is low in emerging and developing economies relative to advanced economies and health outputs and outcomes need to be substantially improved. Simply increasing public expenditure in the health sector, however, may not significantly affect health outcomes if the efficiency of this spending is low. This paper quantifies the inefficiency of public health expenditure and the associated potential gains for emerging and developing economies using a stochastic frontier model that controls for the socioeconomic determinants of health, and provides country-specific estimates. The results suggest that African economies have the lowest efficiency. At current spending levels, they could boost life expectancy up to about five years if they followed best practices.

State-Owned Banks and Fiscal Discipline

Abstract: State-owned banks may help to soften the financing constraints of public sector entities and consequently become a factor that hampers fiscal discipline. Using a panel dataset, we find that a larger presence of state-owned banks in the banking system is associated with more credit to the public sector, larger fiscal deficits, higher public debt ratios, and the crowding out of credit to the private sector. These results suggest that the lending practices of state-owned banks should be carefully assessed in any strategy to pursue fiscal discipline.

Beyond the annual budget : global experience with medium-term expenditure frameworks

Abstract: This report is a comprehensive review of country experience with Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEFs) worldwide. It looks at countries both with and without MTEFs over the period 1990 to 2008 to obtain results about their impact on fiscal performance. The report is structured as follows. Chapter two provides background on what constitutes a MTEF and what it aims to achieve. It also describes the Bank's engagement with MTEFs, presents main points of debate over the experience with MTEFs, and provides a rationale for this study. Chapter three describes the key characteristics of MTEFs, explains the approach used to identify and classify them according to their stage of development, and reviews trends in their adoption. Chapter four outlines the methodological approaches used to examine the impact of MTEFs on fiscal performance, formulates the research hypotheses that are tested in the study, and presents empirical findings from the event studies and econometric analysis. It also presents qualitative insights, informed by case studies, on how MTEFs have affected the quality of budgeting. Chapter five draws some lessons about the key institutional determinants of MTEF performance. Chapter six discusses lessons learned from Bank support for MTEF implementation. Finally, chapter seven presents the conclusions of the study and discusses their implications for the Bank. Several appendixes provide supporting material, including a country-by-country tabulation of MTEF status, a full discussion of econometric results, and country case studies.

State-Owned Banks and Fiscal Discipline

Abstract: State-owned banks may help to soften the financing constraints of public sector entities and consequently become a factor that hampers fiscal discipline. Using a panel dataset, we find that a larger presence of state-owned banks in the banking system is associated with more credit to the public sector, larger fiscal deficits, higher public debt ratios, and the crowding out of credit to the private sector. These results suggest that the lending practices of state-owned banks should be carefully assessed in any strategy to pursue fiscal discipline.

State-Owned Banks and Fiscal Discipline

Abstract: State-owned banks may help to soften the financing constraints of public sector entities and consequently become a factor that hampers fiscal discipline. Using a panel dataset, we find that a larger presence of state-owned banks in the banking system is associated with more credit to the public sector, larger fiscal deficits, higher public debt ratios, and the crowding out of credit to the private sector. These results suggest that the lending practices of state-owned banks should be carefully assessed in any strategy to pursue fiscal discipline.

Waste Not, Want Not; The Efficiency of Health Expenditure in Emerging and Developing Economies

Abstract: Public health spending is low in emerging and developing economies relative to advanced economies and health outputs and outcomes need to be substantially improved. Simply increasing public expenditure in the health sector, however, may not significantly affect health outcomes if the efficiency of this spending is low. This paper quantifies the inefficiency of public health expenditure and the associated potential gains for emerging and developing economies using a stochastic frontier model that controls for the socioeconomic determinants of health, and provides country-specific estimates. The results suggest that African economies have the lowest efficiency. At current spending levels, they could boost life expectancy up to about five years if they followed best practices.

State-Owned Banks and Fiscal Discipline

Abstract: State-owned banks may help to soften the financing constraints of public sector entities and consequently become a factor that hampers fiscal discipline. Using a panel dataset, we find that a larger presence of state-owned banks in the banking system is associated with more credit to the public sector, larger fiscal deficits, higher public debt ratios, and the crowding out of credit to the private sector. These results suggest that the lending practices of state-owned banks should be carefully assessed in any strategy to pursue fiscal discipline. JEL Classification Numbers: G21, H60, H81.