Based on suitable video recordings of interactive pedestrian motion and improved tracking software, we apply an evolutionary optimization algorithm to determine optimal parameter specifications for the social force model. The calibrated model is then used for large-scale pedestrian simulations...

The timely release of macroeconomic data imposes a distinct structure on the panel: the clustering and sequential ordering of real and nominal variables. We call this orderly release of economic data sequential information flow. The ordered panel generates a new class of restrictions that are...

Price clustering is a well-documented regularity of foreign exchange transactions. In this paper, I present new empirical evidence of price clustering for central bank interventions. A feature of the price clustering in Swiss National Bank (SNB) transactions is market dependency. Evidence of...

In this article, we demonstrate that a small degree of stochastic variation in the depreciation rate of capital can greatly reduce the comovement between hours worked and labor productivity in a neoclassical growth model. The depreciation rate is modeled as a Markov process to place a strict...

Reuters reports have become an accepted tool for empirical studies analyzing informationa l asymmetries in exchange rate markets. This paper tests the accuracy of the Reuters announcements for Swiss interventions. The evidence finds that the Reuters announcements are not concentrated just after...

This paper proposes a new procedure for shock identification of macroeconomic forecasts based on factor analysis. Our identification scheme for information shocks relies on data reduction techniques for daily panels and the recognition that macroeconomic releases exhibit a high level of...

Recent time-series evidence has re-confirmed the forecasting ability of Swiss broad money. The same money demand studies and others, however, find that the income elasticity is greater than one. Such parameter estimates are difficult to reconcile with transactions demand theory. This study...

Merchanting is goods trade that does not cross the border of the firm's country of residence. Merchanting grew strongly in the last decade in several small open economies, particularly in Finland, Ireland, Sweden, and Switzerland, and has become an important driver of these countries' current...

We propose a new family of Newton-type methods for the solution of constrained systems of equations. Under suitable conditions, that do not include differentiability or local uniqueness of solutions, local, quadratic convergence to a solution of the system of equations can be established. We...